***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 25, No. 28
July 14, 2006
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IN THIS EDITION:
* +Canadian WRTC-2006 team takes home the gold
* +ARRL Board set to meet in Connecticut
* +Children's museum visitors in Japan talk with ISS via ham radio
* +Severe weather in New England prompts SKYWARN activation
* +FCC seeks public input on Katrina panel recommendations
* +German astronaut-ham settles in as third ISS crew member
* +Six meters -- the "Magic Band" -- lives up to its name
* +"Bart" Bartlett, W6OWP, SK
* Solar Update
* IN BRIEF:
This weekend on the radio
ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration
FCC has openings for telecommunications specialists at monitoring
center
Major changes to UK amateur rules announced
Free IOTA Contest logger available
DXCC Desk approves operation for DXCC credit
Ted Tate, K6YN, SK
+Available on ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>
===========================================================
==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!):
letter-dlvy@arrl.org
==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl@arrl.org
===========================================================
==>CANADIAN TEAM TAKES WRTC-2006 GOLD, "PHANTOM QSOs" MYSTERY CLOUDS EVENT
Canadians John Sluymer, VE3EJ, and Jim Roberts, VE7ZO (ex-VE3IY), officially
topped the 46-team field at World Radiosport Team Championship 2006
(WRTC-2006) in Brazil <http://www.wrtc2006.org/> July 8-9. As PT5M they
logged nearly 2.44 million points to take home the gold. US teams took the
second and third positions for silver and bronze medals, respectively. But
the appearance in one log of a large number of what officials are calling
"phantom QSOs" took another team out of medal contention.
Earning the silver medal was the US-West team of Californians Dan Craig,
N6MJ, and Dave Mueller, N2NL, with nearly 2.32 million points from PW5C. The
national special invited team of Doug Grant, K1DG, and Andy Blank, N2NT --
operating as PT5Y -- landed in third place with almost 2.1 million points.
They had been in fourth place in the preliminary "Scoreboard" results as the
event ended at July 9 at 1200 UTC. The final five changed, however, once
WRTC-2006 officials reviewed all logs.
Preliminary Scoreboard numbers had the Serbia-Montenegro team of Ranko Boca,
YT6A, and Djurica Maletin, YT6T -- operating as PT5L -- scrambling from 11th
to third place in the final hour of the event. When the smoke cleared,
however, they ended in 11th place.
In a statement <http://www.wrtc2006.com/release59.html> July 14, WRTC-2006
officials explained that the PT5L log contained an unusually high number of
"uniques" -- call signs that appeared rarely or not at all in the logs of
more than 1000 IARU contest participants or of other WRTC-2006 competitors.
The officials said recorded audio from PT5L confirmed that the QSOs had in
fact taken place.
"It appeared to the judges, from listening to the recording while examining
annotated log extracts identifying the 'uniques,' that there was a small
number of stations, probably more than one, feeding 'phantom QSOs' to PT5L,"
the WRTC-2006 statement said. Signing the statement in addition to Atilano
de Oms, PY5EG, as WRTC-2006 steering committee chair, were judges David
Sumner, K1ZZ, and Roger Western, G3SXW, and Log-Checking Committee members
Larry "Tree" Tyree, N6TR, and Phil Goetz, N6ZZ.
As a result, the judges and log-checking committee decided to reduce the
threshold for determining a unique QSO to a relatively small number of logs
and to delete all uniques from the logs of all 46 competing teams.
While most teams lost about 15 QSOs, the action resulted in the deletion of
240 contacts -- nearly all "manufactured" at the other end -- from the PT5L
log and the loss of the bronze medal. The five WRTC-2006 officials said it
appears most likely that the "phantom QSOs" were intended to sabotage either
one or both of the PT5L operators specifically or a randomly selected WRTC
station.
"Such behavior, by amateur operators outside the WRTC event itself, is both
reprehensible and illegal and deserves to be thoroughly investigated," the
officials said. "However, doing so within the time frame of the WRTC event
was impossible."
Taking the fourth spot with some 2.02 million points was the Ukrainian team
of Yuri Onipko, UT4UZ, and Dimitry Stashuk, UT5UGR, who competed as PW5X.
They'd showed up in fifth place in the preliminary standings. Rounding out
the top five was the PT5D team of Stefano Brioschi, IK2QEI, and Stefano
Galli, IK2JUB, of Italy. They racked up nearly 1.99 million points.
These special awards were also presented: PW5U (XE1KK/XE1NTT) for the most
CW QSO points among stations with at least 35 percent SSB QSOs; PT5N
(9A8A/9A5K) for the most SSB QSO points; PW5K (ES5TV/ES2RR) for the most
accurate log among the top 20 finisher, and PW5G (IZ3EYZ/9A1UN) for the top
score among Bi-National Young Team participants.
WRTC-2006 selected 47 teams to take part, but only 46 competed because the
Czech Republic team of OK1FUA and OK2RZ was unable to get to Brazil because
of an airline service suspension. Citing other commitments, three-time WRTC
winners Dan Street, K1TO, and Jeff Steinman, N5TJ, did not participate in
this year's event in Brazil.
==>ARRL BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO MEET JULY 21-22
The ARRL Board of Directors will convene Friday and Saturday, July 21-22, in
Windsor, Connecticut, for its second meeting of 2006. ARRL President Joel
Harrison, W5ZN -- who was elected at the January Board meeting -- will
preside.
During an informal session Thursday, July 20, Board members will discuss
possible ways to improve League members' awareness of how to interact with
Congress regarding Amateur Radio-related legislation.
During the Friday session, the Board will concentrate on routine business
matters including receiving reports from officers and committees as part of
its "consent agenda." In addition, the Board will discuss proposals for
amendments to the League's Articles of Association and Bylaws and consider a
2007 ARRL National Convention proposal and the recommendations of standing
committees. Board members also will review and act upon recommendations to
designate the recipients of various ARRL awards.
Following the Friday morning roll call, Radio Amateurs of Canada President
Earle Smith, VE6NM, a guest of the Board, will extend greetings from the RAC
and speak briefly. The Board plans to devote Friday evening to hearing a
presentation from ASMAT-NA.
On Saturday, the Board will focus on a review and revision of the ARRL
Strategic Plan and the selection of strategies for 2007. It also will
consider any additional business that might come before it.
The July meeting will be the first for Delta Division Vice Director Karl
Bullock, WA5TMC. He was named earlier this year to succeed Henry Leggette,
WD4Q, who became Delta Division Director when Rick Roderick, K5UR, was
elected a vice president at the January meeting.
==>HIROSHIMA CHILDREN'S MUSEUM VISITORS SPEAK WITH ISS VIA HAM RADIO
Youngsters visiting Hiroshima Children's Museum in Japan July 4 were among
the latest earthlings to have the opportunity to speak via Amateur Radio
with the crew of the International Space Station. The Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) program arranged the direct 2-meter
contact between 8J4CM at the museum and NA1SS in space. Expedition 13
astronaut Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, answered 15 of the kids' questions. One
youngster wanted to know if it was hard to live in space.
"Probably the most difficult thing is being up here so long and being away
from our families and our friends," Williams said. "Six months is a long
time to be isolated away from Earth."
Williams also allowed that it's easier to live on Earth than in space,
despite the microgravity environment aboard the ISS.
"Well, of course, in a weightless environment, some things are very easy in
space. To move large objects, it's very easy to move around -- you don't
have to work very hard to move around," the astronaut said. "But generally
living on Earth is much easier because you have a lot of conveniences that
we generally can take for granted on Earth, and we don't have up here. So,
it takes a little bit more work, and it's a little more difficult generally
up here."
Responding to another youngster's question, Williams explained how the ISS
gets its power.
"We use solar arrays outside that capture the energy from the sun and turn
it into electricity," Williams told the youngsters. "We have rocket engines
outside the space station that are used to adjust the orbit and also to
maintain the attitude of the space station."
Williams pointed out that the ISS crew's schedule is governed by the clock
-- the ISS operates on UTC -- not by whether it's light or dark outside. He
said the crew typically awakens at 0600 UTC and retires at around 2200 UTC.
The Amateur Radio Earth station was set up in the museum's planetarium.
Control operator Osamu "Sam" Shimoi, JA4QAO, told Williams that the contact
would be "a lasting memory for all of us." The ARISS mentor was Satoshi
Yasuda, 7M3TJZ. Nearly 200 people were on hand for the ARISS event,
including a newspaper reporter.
ARISS <http://www.rac.ca/ariss> is a nine-nation educational outreach with
US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.
==>SKYWARN BUSY AS SEVERE WEATHER, TORNADO HIT NEW ENGLAND
An outbreak of severe weather in New England July 11 kept SKYWARN nets in
Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire busy fielding reports of high
winds, large hail, flooding and even a small tornado. Amateur Radio SKYWARN
coordinators assisted with damage assessment well into the evening.
"We haven't had a severe weather outbreak like this in quite some time,"
said ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section Emergency Coordinator Rob Macedo,
KD1CY, who also serves as ARES SKYWARN Coordinator for the National Weather
Service office in Taunton, Massachusetts. Amateur Radio volunteers activated
in May after the worst flooding in 70 years struck several New England
coastal communities, but this week's outbreak offered up a wide range of
weather phenomena, including golf ball-sized hail.
SKYWARN initiated nets to support NWS Taunton after the Storm Prediction
Center issued a severe thunderstorm watch and cited the possibility of
isolated tornadoes on July 11, Macedo told ARRL. Amateur Radio SKYWARN
volunteers filed numerous reports, including one of a funnel cloud in the
Topsfield/Danvers, Massachusetts, area. That report prompted the NWS to
issue a tornado warning for eastern Essex County, Massachusetts, Macedo
said.
The NWS determined this week that an F2 tornado did touch down in Wendell,
located east of Greenfield in Franklin County, Massachusetts. Western
Massachusetts ARES SKYWARN Coordinator Ray Weber, KA1JJM, reviewed an area
of significant damage in Wendell. Macedo says the NWS Taunton County Warning
Area averages up to three tornadoes per year.
The biggest hailstones fell in Peabody, Salisbury and Marblehead,
Massachusetts, among other communities. "We received reports of hail one to
three inches in diameter in many locations," Macedo said. "Golf ball to
tennis ball-sized hail also fell in Exeter, New Hampshire." Macedo also
cited reports of wind damage, with trees and wires down in many towns, and
urban flooding significant enough to close roads and cause some cars to get
stuck.
High winds along Massachusetts' North Shore in the Marblehead area toppled
trees, damaged houses and tore some two dozen boats from their moorings,
piling them on top of each other. Weather spotters measured wind gusts
approaching 100 MPH in Marblehead, Palmer said.
TV outlets credited Amateur Radio SKYWARN spotters for spotting a funnel
cloud in the North Shore and aired video shot by North Shore ARES Emergency
Coordinator Jim Palmer, KB1KQW, on the 11 PM news. Palmer is also assistant
SKYWARN coordinator. Photos of the funnel cloud, flooding and other storm
damage are on the North Shore Radio Association (NSRA) Web site
<http://www.nsradio.org/SKYWARN/photo/severe071106/index.htm>.
Assistant Section Manager Chief of Staff and South Shore ARES District
Emergency Coordinator Carl Aveni, N1FY, said he was pleased about the TV
coverage. "We need to raise public awareness of how valuable Amateur Radio
and weather spotting can be and how they complement one another," said
Aveni, who worked with Macedo at the NWS Taunton office.
Macedo says Amateur Radio SKYWARN coordinators this week assisted NWS
Taunton with damage assessment. "We could use a break from the active
weather," he said.
==>FCC INVITES COMMENTS ON KATRINA PANEL RECOMMENDATIONS
Comments are due Monday, August 7, in response to an FCC Notice of Proposed
Rule Making (NPRM) regarding recommendations of the independent panel that
reviewed Hurricane Katrina's impact on communication systems (EB Docket
06-119). Reply comments are due by Monday, August 21.
"The Commission, in this proceeding, is to take the lessons learned from
this disaster and build upon them to promote more effective, efficient
response and recovery efforts as well as heightened readiness and
preparedness in the future," the FCC said.
Some of the wide-ranging proposals in the NPRM, released in June, could
affect the Part 97 Amateur Service rules. The FCC asked if it should explore
amending its rules to permit automatic grants of certain types of waivers or
special temporary authority (STA) in declared disaster areas. After last
year's devastating hurricanes, the FCC issued a handful of STAs to permit
licensees lacking HF privileges to operate on HF for emergency purposes.
The NPRM further offered three specific areas for consideration: Waiver of
Amateur Radio and license-exempt rules, permitting transmissions necessary
to meet essential communications needs; waiver of application filing
deadlines, something the FCC did last fall for amateurs living in
hurricane-stricken states; and a streamlined STA process.
Interested parties may file comments and view the comments of others via the
Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) <http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/>. In
either case, enter "06-119" in the "Proceeding" field (without quotation
marks but including the hyphen). A copy of the NPRM is on the FCC Web site
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-06-83A1.pdf>.
==>NEW ISS CREW MEMBER SETTLING IN, SCHOOL QSOS BEING LINED UP
European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Reiter, DF4TR, has been
settling in as part of the International Space Station crew. He joined
Expedition 13 earlier this month after arriving aboard the shuttle
Discovery, marking the first time since May 2003 that the station has had a
three-member crew. The 48-year-old Frankfurt, Germany, native spent 179 days
aboard the Russian Mir space station more than a decade ago. He told
reporters that experience should make this duty tour seem more routine.
Reiter will spend a little more than two months with his Expedition 13
crewmates, Commander Pavel Vinogradov, RV3BS, and Flight Engineer Jeff
Williams, KD5TVQ, who return to Earth in September. Under a contract between
the ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos, Reiter will remain
aboard the ISS through part of Expedition 14.
At the ESA's request, the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) international team is lining up a schedule of school QSOs for
Reiter. So far, the schedule calls for Reiter to make his first school
contact July 29 with youngsters at an ESA space camp in Greece.
The ARISS equipment on the ISS has been powered up again after being shut
down per standard operating procedure to accommodate this week's spacewalks,
and the RS0ISS packet station is active again.
Mission STS-121 shuttle crew members this week conducted three spacewalks to
perform station maintenance and to test on-orbit heat shield repair
techniques. Both crews cooperated in transferring cargo this week. Discovery
is scheduled to return to Earth July 17.
==>"MAGIC BAND" DOES ITS THING
Stations in several parts of the US took advantage of a monster opening on 6
meters -- the "Magic Band" -- Wednesday, July 12. The Daily DX
<http://www.dailydx.com/> Editor Bernie McClenny, W3UR, who also edits "How's
DX?" for QST, says the band began warming up at his Maryland QTH before
sunrise, but the biggest opening occurred just before 2100 UTC.
"The band stayed open to Europe until just after 0000Z today," McClenny said
July 13. He credits fellow 6-meter DX chaser Marty Green, K2PLF, with
tipping him off. "I ran downstairs and could not believe my ears," McClenny
enthused in the July 13 edition of The Daily DX. "I have never heard
conditions so good and so widespread into Europe."
McClenny said "the band was packed" from about 50.066 to well above 50.200
MHz with CW and SSB signals and even a few weak digital signals. So
bountiful were the 6-meter DX spots, he recounts, "I didn't know where to
begin." McClenny said conditions were so good "stations with 10-foot high
antennas and 5 W were making it across the pond."
QST's "World Above 50 MHz" Editor Gene Zimmerman, W3ZZ, called it "probably
the best 6 meter Es [sporadic E] opening of all time" into Europe. "I worked
about two dozen Europeans as far east as Bulgaria but no new countries,"
Zimmerman said.
Rich Lawrence, KB1DMX, in Connecticut reported hearing stations in Italy,
France, Spain, England, the Canary Islands, Serbia, Belgium and the Azores.
Rick Tharrington, KD4JRX, in North Carolina was among those posting
exclamatory reports to the SixClub reflector. "I could not believe the
European stations on the band," he said. "It sounded like 20 meters for
while!" He worked EH8BPX and ON4IQ, among others, with 59 reports. "The
magic band is working its magic today!" he added.
On the same reflector, Paul Lenharr, KB3NDS, reported working 18 stations in
just under 45 minutes from his modest station -- 100 W to a dipole at 35
feet -- in Maryland. "This was one of the best openings for me since I
started using 6 meters," he said.
In another SixClub posting, Jack Shutt, W9GT, said the band "was hopping" at
his QTH in Indiana the evening of July 12, but he couldn't hear any DX. "Six
meters, however, was open coast to coast," he reported, noting that he
worked several stations to his west, including a couple in Nevada and one in
California.
"I hope we can enjoy these conditions for a while yet," Shutt said. "Sure is
fun when 6 is open!"
McClenny said Jose DaSilva, N4IS, in Southern Florida, may have been the
first US station to work Montenegro on 6 meters when he snagged YU6DZ at
1559 UTC. "After four seasons on the band," McClenny concluded, "I would
have to say that overall this has been the best -- and we are just about at
the bottom of the sunspot cycle! Are you on 6?"
==>FORREST A. "BART" BARTLETT, W6OWP, SK
Forrest "Bart" Bartlett, W6OWP, of Paradise, California, died July 3. He was
92. For more than a half-century, W6OWP was the home of the ARRL code
practice and West Coast Qualifying Run transmissions, provided for those
unable to reliably copy W1AW. Licensed in the 1930s, Bartlett contributed
several articles to QST between 1941 and 1995, including two on electronic
keyer design in 1948 and 1951. Bartlett also was a ham radio radioteletype
(RTTY) pioneer. His friend Marvin Collins, W6OQI, says he and Bartlett may
have enjoyed the longest-running RTTY schedule in the history of Amateur
Radio.
"Bart and I kept a weekly RTTY sked for over 50 years," said Collins. "There
is going to be a large void in my Tuesday evenings from now on." Collins
said their RTTY get togethers began in February of 1956 and lasted until
April of 2006, when Bartlett's health deteriorated. They continued to stay
in contact via telephone, however.
In 2000, after Bartlett retired from providing regular on-the-air code
practice transmissions and qualifying runs for 52 years for residents of the
West Coast, the ARRL Board of Directors conferred the National Certificate
of Merit on W6OWP. In its resolution, the Board said Bartlett "exemplifies
the very best in Amateur Radio volunteerism." In 2003 he was inducted into
the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame for his role in promoting Morse code
proficiency.
Bartlett related a good deal of his RTTY background in an undated "letter of
recollections" he wrote to George Hutchison, W7TTY
<http://www.rtty.com/history/w6owp.htm>. As Bartlett tells it, his
familiarity with radiotelegraphy led to his employment at KNX Radio in Los
Angeles, where he intercepted shortwave dispatches for the station's news
department.
Turned down for World War II service in the US Navy, Bartlett went to work
for Press Wireless, which, he points out, pioneered the HF development of
frequency shift keying (FSK). By the end of the war, Bartlett said, FSK "had
made radioteletype a practical reality in the military and commercial
fields." Following World War II, Bartlett worked at Press Wireless's HF
transmitter near San Francisco. In 1949, he was awarded a US patent for
developing a radio multiplex system.
By the early 1950s, Bartlett was experimenting with RTTY on ham radio. In
1953, minutes after the FCC authorized radio amateurs to use FSK, Bartlett
and Richie Hoeck, W6RZL, made what may have been the first FSK RTTY contact.
Bartlett was active in the Northern California Amateur Radio Teletype
Society (NCARTS) as well as in US Air Force MARS CW and RTTY nets in the
1950s and 1960s.
A member of ARRL and of the A-1 Operator Club, W6OWP was a superb CW
operator, and Collins says Bartlett retained his ability to copy 50 WPM or
better and was a mobile CW pioneer. He also belonged to the Quarter Century
Wireless Association and the Old Old Timers Club.
"Bart was a long-time RTTY and CW operator who will be missed by all who
knew and maintained schedules with him on HF RTTY and CW over many years,"
his close friend Larry Laitinen, W7JYJ, said in a memorial posting on the
Greenkeys RTTY reflector. "His life spanned a period of time covering
tremendous changes in worldwide printing radiotelegraphy communications." --
thanks to Marvin Collins, W6OQI, for providing information used in this
article
==>SOLAR UPDATE
Propagation maven Tad "Sunrise, Sunset" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington,
reports: Sunspot numbers and solar flux declined this week. Average daily
sunspot numbers dropped 10 points to 25.6, and average solar flux was down
by nearly 11 points. There were no remarkable geomagnetic disturbances. July
9 saw a weak solar wind from a coronal mass ejection followed by another
period two days later, but every day the IMF pointed north, protecting
Earth's geomagnetic field.
The latest forecast calls for solar flux around 70 over the next week, lower
than it has been lately. Sunspot numbers should also be low. Predicted
planetary A index for July 14 is 8, and then 5 for the next week.
For more information concerning propagation and an explanation of the
numbers used in this bulletin see the ARRL Technical Information Service
Propagation page <http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html>.
Sunspot numbers for July 6 through 12 were 34, 35, 34, 33, 18, 13 and 12,
with a mean of 25.6. 10.7 cm flux was 85, 79.9, 77.4, 74.6, 72.8, 71.2, and
70.6, with a mean of 75.9. Estimated planetary A indices were 11, 6, 3, 5,
11, 7 and 12, with a mean of 7.9. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 7,
5, 2, 5, 12, 5 and 9, with a mean of 6.4.
__________________________________
==>IN BRIEF:
* This weekend on the radio: The North American QSO Party (RTTY), the CQ
Worldwide VHF Contest, RSGB Low Power Field Day, and the Run for the Bacon
QRP Contest are the weekend of July 15-16. JUST AHEAD: The NAQCC Straight
Key/Bug Sprint and the RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship, (Data) are July 20.
The Thursday NCCC Sprint Ladder is July 21. The Great Lakes Sweepstakes has
been cancelled. The VK/Trans-Tasman 160-Meter Contest (CW) is July 22. The
RSGB Islands on the Air (IOTA) Contest and the ARS Flight of the Bumblebees
contest are the weekend of July 29-30. See the ARRL Contest Branch page
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/> and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar
<http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more info.
* ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration: ARRL
Certification and Continuing Education course registration: Registration
remains open through Sunday, July 23, for these ARRL Certification and
Continuing Education (CCE) online courses: Amateur Radio Emergency
Communications Level 1 (EC-001), Radio Frequency Interference (EC-006),
Antenna Design and Construction (EC-009), Analog Electronics (EC-012) and
Digital Electronics (EC-013). Classes begin Friday, August 11. The same
courses will again open for registration Monday, July 24, for classes
beginning September 1. To learn more, visit the CCE Course Listing page
<http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or contact the CCE Department
<cce@arrl.org>;.
* FCC has openings for telecommunications specialists at monitoring center:
The FCC has two, full-time openings in its Spectrum Enforcement Division for
telecommunications specialists at its High Frequency Direction Finding
Center in Columbia, Maryland. The deadline to apply is August 2, 2006.
Interested applicants may review the duties, qualifications and requirements
for these positions via the FCCJobs Web-based recruitment system, which
electronically qualifies, rates, and ranks applicants
<http://www.fcc.gov/jobs/fccjobs.html>. Key requirements include US
citizenship and a security clearance as well as drug testing and a
background investigation. Shift work is involved. Duties include using radio
signal analysis equipment deployed throughout the US to collect, correlate,
and analyze the characteristics of radio signals involved in interference
problems, distress or safety-related signals or other radio signals involved
in other high-priority activities such as law enforcement or national
defense. Applicants must have knowledge of communication technology,
modulation techniques and transmission practices, including knowledge of
radio receiver operation and transmission systems. Specialized experience
includes the ability to analyze routine complaints and inquiries, knowledge
of investigative techniques and knowledge of HF propagation. The FCC is an
equal opportunity employer.
* Major changes to UK amateur rules announced: The Radio Society of Great
Britain (RSGB) reports radio amateurs there soon will no longer have to keep
a log unless telecoms regulator Ofcom specifically requests it. Other
significant rules changes Ofcom has announced include a substantial
relaxation of regulations regarding unattended operation and remote control.
Amateurs will be able to use 10 mW on any amateur band for remote operation
within a 100-meter range. "Interestingly," RSGB commented, "Ofcom appears to
have formally recognized Amateur Radio as a leisure activity as well as a
self-training hobby." In 2005, Ofcom unveiled a laundry list of changes to
the Amateur Radio rules, including the introduction of a lifetime license
that could be renewed free of charge via the Internet. The lifetime license
and the new changes to the licence Ofcom has just announced go into effect
in October 2006. RSGB encouraged UK amateurs to read and file comments on
Ofcom's documentation
<http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/aradio/lifetimelicence> on the new
license format.
* Free IOTA Contest logger available: A free logging program for the Islands
on the Air (IOTA) contest July 29-30 is available from Paul O'Kane, EI5DI.
His program, SDI is the only contest logger dedicated to the IOTA event and
comes recommended in the IOTA Contest rules
<http://www.contesting.co.uk/hfcc/rules/riota.shtml>, for single-operator
entrants. The Windows-based SDI is optimized for IOTA. Among other features,
it shows the multiplier status of all relevant island groups by country and
call area as the operator enters call sign prefixes. It also will autofill
the IOTA reference when the call sign appears to correspond to that island
group. The program can reference a call sign database of known island
operations, extracting the island reference and filling it in automatically.
It includes provisions for CW keying. Download SDI from EI5DI's Web site
<http://www.ei5di.com/sd/sdisetup.exe>.
* DXCC Desk approves operation for DXCC credit: The ARRL DXCC Desk has
approved this operation for DXCC credit: YU6AO, Montenegro, operation
beginning July 4, 2006. For more information, visit the DXCC Web page
<http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc>. "DXCC Frequently Asked Questions" can
answer most questions about the DXCC program.
* Ted Tate, K6YN, SK: Wireless and ham radio veteran Theodore H "Ted" Tate,
K6YN, of W Covina, California, died March 1. He was 100. An ARRL member,
Tate remained an active CW operator, keeping regular on-air schedules, until
his health declined last summer. Tate's radio history goes back to the early
1920s, when he served as a Navy radio operator in the China Sea using a
spark-gap transmitter. In the years leading up to World War II, Tate worked
for the FCC at a monitoring post in the Pacific. After the war, he became
involved in a commercial enterprise that used CW to relay messages between
customers' locations. He also once was an operator at a commercial maritime
station in Ohio, communicating with ships on the Great Lakes. He belonged to
the ARRL, the A-1 Operator Club, F.I.S.T.S. and the USS Wisconsin Radio
Club.
===========================================================
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The ARRL Letter also is available to all, free of charge, from these
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