Subject: SPECIAL REQUEST – HELP PREVENT BAN ON MOBILE OPERATING

(Reply to nb4k@arrl.org)

Dear Ohio Amateur Radio Operator,

US Senate Bill S. 1536, the Alert Drivers Act, is intended to improve
highway safety by reducing driving distractions caused primarily by
cell phones. Unfortunately, current wording of this Bill does not
specifically exempt Amateur Radio from is provisions. The Bill is in
the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. As a result, ARRL
asks members who live in states that have a representative on this
committee to direct letters to senators who are on this Committee.
Senator George Voinovich of Ohio is one of the members of the Senate
Environment and Public Works Committee.

We ask each ARRL member in Ohio to write a letter to Senator Voinovich
asking that Senate Bill S. 1536 be amended to exempt Amateur Radio.
You may use the letter that is attached or compose one of your own.
Either way it needs to be done as soon as possible.

As has been done in the past, please send your signed letter to our
Washington representative, John Chwat. Mr. Chwat will deliver the
letters directly to Mr. Voinovich’s office to increase their impact.
Please send your letter via one of the following methods:

As a signed attachment to an email to: arrl@chwatco.com.

As a signed fax to: 703-684-7594

As a signed letter to:
John Chwat
Chwat & Co.
625 Slaters Lane, Suite 103
Alexandria, VA 22314

If you choose to email your letter, please send it as a
personally-signed attachment to the email instead of as unsigned e-mail
text. This allows the letter to be easily printed and delivered to Mr.
Voinovich. If you decide to draft your own letter instead of editing
the sample, please remember to include the following key points:

- Identify the bill by number and title: S 1536 “The ALERT Drivers
Act”.

- Ask that S 1536 be amended to exempt “two way mobile radio
transmitters or receivers used by licensees of the Federal
Communications Commission in the Amateur Radio service.”

- Keep the letter brief and on the single topic – one page at the
most.

- Ask the Senator to consider becoming a co-sponsor and support this
amendment.

- Thank the Senator for considering your request.

If you prefer to send your letter directly to Senator Voinovich, please
also send a copy of it to Chwat & Co. This allows our team to discuss
accurately with the Senator and his staff the amount of support the
bill has in Ohio.

Thanks for your help on this Bill. I look forward to corresponding
further with you in the future.

The draft letter is below.

73,

John D. Meyers, NB4K
Great Lake Division
Legislative Action Chairman
Nb4k@arrl.org

——————————————————-

(Date)

Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH)
524 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Attn: Chip Abernathy
Fax: 202-228-1382

Dear Senator Voinovich,

I understand that S. 1536, “The ALERT Drivers Act,” will be voted
upon in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. As an
amateur radio licensee and member of the American Radio Relay League,
representing over 680,000 amateur radio licensees nationwide, including
28,377 in the state of Ohio, I urge you to support an amendment to S.
1536 that exempts amateur radio licensees from this type of ban. The
amendment would seek to exempt “two way mobile radio transmitters or
receivers used by licensees of the Federal Communications Commission in
the Amateur Radio service.”

The form of communication used by amateur radio licensees is
fundamentally different from that of cell phone users. Amateur radio
utilizes simplex, two-way radio communication in which relatively
little time is spent transmitting-unlike cell phones. Additionally,
the mobile radio sets used by amateur radio operators are typically
permanently mounted on the floor of the motor vehicle and do not
interfere with operation of the vehicle. In fact, after more than 50
years of amateur radio in the U.S., we are unaware of any evidence that
mobile radio operation has contributed to driver inattention. Amateur
radio licensees are public-service minded citizens who use their
radio-equipped motor vehicles to aid others, and they focus on driving
in order to perform these services.

Please contact our Washington representative, John Chwat, if you can
help us by sponsoring this amendment. Please contact him at
john.chwat@chwatco.com or (703) 684-7703.

Thank you,

(Your signature)

(Your printed name)
(Your address)
(Your city, state, ZIP)
(Your telephone number, e-mail address)

—————————————————————–

Tnx vy much for your important help,

Jim

Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director
ARRL Great Lakes Division
5065 Bethany Rd.
Mason, OH 45040; Tel. 513-459-1661
ARRL, The national organization for Amateur Radio

——————————————————————–
ARRL Great Lakes Division
Director: James E Weaver, K8JE
k8je@arrl.org

With the rip-roaring success of the first-ever ARRL Rookie Roundup this past April — modeled on the popular Novice Roundups from a decade or two ago — the ARRL is pleased to announce that a second Rookie Roundup is coming this Sunday, August 15 from 1800-2359 UTC. You don’t have to be a rookie to participate. For the purpose of the Rookie Roundup, a “rookie” is defined as someone who has been licensed for three years or less, regardless of license class. If you received your license in 2008, 2009 or 2010, you are eligible to compete as a rookie. Non-rookies are encouraged to work the rookies and be an Elmer to those just starting out. It is an immediate, hands-on way to teach good operating practices to those just getting started. Read more here.

The Ohio QSO Party (OhQP) is just 5 weeks away, and the excitement is already building. Stations from across Ohio are making their plans to be on the air for one of the premier state QSO parties. Small stations from Ohio can make hundreds of QSOs during the short 12 hour event. Get on and call “CQ Ohio QSO Party” and run the pileups! We hope you will join us to make this the best event yet – our goal is to get fixed operations on from every county this year. If you are planning on being on, please let everyone know by posting your county of operation on the “Planned Operations” website at http://ohqp.org/plannedOpsEntry.html

For those who don’t know what the OhQP is all about, it’s a fun time for Ohio stations to be on the air and be the hunted station, or “DX”. People from around the world are seeking out Ohio stations in this event, which is a nice change from most operating events. The OhQP occurs on Saturday August 28, 2010 from local noon to local midnight. In the basic QSO exchange, Ohio stations send a consecutive serial number + county, and non-Ohioans (who can only work Ohio) send a consecutive serial number and state/province/DX. Suggested frequencies are: CW: 3545, 7045, 14,045, 21,045, 28,045 kHz; SSB 3825, 7200, 14,250, 21,300, and 28,450 kHz. Don’t be shy – try calling CQ in addition to searching and pouncing. Remember, the world is tuning the bands looking for Ohio stations – your CQ’s will be answered! Full details and an OhQP operating guide can be found on the official website at: www.ohqp.org/.

This is a great event for a club activity or a training ground for new(er) hams. QSO rates are as high or higher than Field Day, and there’s virtually no QRM in this event. Round up the club and have some fun. If you are in the mood to enjoy the great Ohio countryside, try operating portable or mobile from a rare county. Remember, the ultimate goal is to just get on the air and have some fun!

73 and we hope to hear you on the air,

Kenny K2KW
Ohio QSO Party PR Coordinator
kenny.k2kw@gmail.com

P.S. If any Ohio amateur radio organization has an upcoming event, they can post it on the ARRL Ohio Section calendar, even if they are not a member of the ARRL. http://arrlohio.org/calendar/calendar.php (QSP from Scott N8SY, ARRL Assistant Section Manager)

Please join the Milford Amateur Radio Club (MARC) for our ARRL Field Day operations. We will again be operating from Barb and Bill Steward’s house on Newtonsville-Hutchinson Rd. The club again thanks Barb and Bill for having our club out there for a couple of days!

Directions to Barb and Bill’s Field Day Site: Map Here

5681 Newtonsville-Hutchinson Rd
Batavia, OH 45103

Reminder: We will start setting up the site on Friday at 2:00 PM local time. Let Bill, WS6K know if you’ll be available to help. We will finish setting up on Saturday morning and start operating at 2:00 PM.

About Field Day
The first Field Day dates back to June 1933 when gasoline was 12 cents a gallon, transmitter tuning was done by holding a neon bulb near the plate tank circuit and tuned for maximum brilliance, and the transmitted frequency was fixed and not readily movable. Field Day was in 1933, and still is, a way to test a station’s or a club’s emergency preparedness.

Sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), Field Day is an annual event testing emergency preparedness and communication skills for hams. We use generators, and string antennas through trees to make contacts with other hams at field day sites across the country. The idea is to put together self-sufficient, working stations quickly and begin making contacts. It is an ideal event to practice skills in portable operation, erecting antennas, operating a HF station and logging contacts.

When is Field Day?
Field Day 2010 takes place June 26-27th, starting Saturday at 1800 UTC (2:00 PM) and ending at 1200 UTC (2:00 PM) Sunday running for 24 hours straight.

Setup and Tear Down
We need volunteers to help us setup, the day before, and to tear down, immediately at the end (Sunday 2:00 PM). We can start setting up equipment 24 hours before the start of Field Day. We will start setting up Friday afternoon, June 25th at 2:00 PM.

Who Can Operate the HF Stations?
You do not need to have a General License or an amateur radio license to operate a HF station during Field Day. If a technician class or someone totally new to ham radio is interested in operating the station, they can operate as long as there is a higher class operator present. We have Extra Class operators that are in the immediate area, allowing everyone to operate within the FCC rules. We encourage people interested in seeing what amateur radio is all about and to come out and visit us and operate. The Field Day event is operated under the club call W8MRC.

Have Fun
We want everyone to have a good time, be able to make SSB, PSK and CW contacts, and encourage camaraderie. You are welcome to just stop by and check things out, and if you are not interested in operating, you can help with the setup, take photos and/or video, log contacts for operators, or help us tear down. Hamburgers and hotdogs (typically) are provided for the potluck (bring a dish/snacks) dinner on Saturday night and breakfast is provided on Sunday morning.

Different clubs have different goals for what Field Day is. Some clubs, like the Milford Amateur Radio Club (MARC) encourage new people to get involved and when we can, try to make as many contacts as possible during the 24 hour period.

This is a short video “preview” of the Product Review section of the February issue of QST.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz6aBjmFRRU

This is great seeing the continued growth of Amateur Radio over the past five years!

—

This past year was a banner year for new Amateur Radio licensees. According to ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, the FCC issued more than 30,000 new ham radio licenses. “In 2009, the demand for Amateur Radio exam sessions remained elevated and is still running at a higher rate than before the FCC’s restructuring of the license requirements in 2007,” Somma said. “This high level of exam session activity has produced an elevated influx of new applications, far outpacing recent years.”
[caption id="attachment_1715" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="In 2009, the FCC issued more than 30,000 new Amateur Radio licences -- an almost 3 percent increase in the number of new licenses issued in 2008. At the end of 2009, there were 17,084 Novices, 334,245 Technicians, 150,970 Generals, 60,795 Advanced and 119,403 Amateur Extra class licensees."][/caption]
A total of 30,144 new licenses were granted in 2009, an increase of almost 7.5 percent from 2008. In 2005, 16,368 new hams joined Amateur Radio’s ranks; just five years later, that number had increased by almost 14,000 — a whopping 84 percent! The ARRL VEC is one of 14 VECs who administer Amateur Radio license exams.

“When looking at the statistics over the last 10 years, these are some the highest numbers we’ve seen,” Somma explained. “Additionally, our total number of licensees across all three classes has grown each year.” Currently there are 682,500 licensed Amateur Radio operators in the US, an almost 3 percent rise over 2008. In 2008, there were 663,500 licensed amateurs; there were 655,800 in 2007. Broken down by license class, at the end of 2009 there were 17,084 Novices, 334,245 Technicians, 150,970 Generals, 60,795 Advanced and 119,403 Amateur Extra licensees.

“The ARRL VEC has been busy meeting the needs of the Amateur Radio community by helping people to become radio amateurs or upgrade their existing licenses,” Somma said. “In 2009, ARRL VEs administered 44,595 exam elements at 6369 ARRL VEC-sponsored exam sessions. The number of amateurs who want to be Volunteer Examiners and who want to teach Amateur Radio classes is also going up — we’ve seen a spike in the number of applications from General and Extra class radio amateurs who want to give back to their community by serving as ARRL examiners and instructors.”

Somma applauded all the volunteers whose “hard work and contribution of countless hours of time helps to ensure the future of Amateur Radio. The ARRL VEC thanks our 32,411 VEs from around the world whose dedication and service helped to contribute to the success of Amateur Radio. I am delighted by these important achievements. 2009 was a very good year for Amateur Radio and I am excited by the promise of 2010.”

Source: ARRL

Here is a follow-up to the post on “Technician Class – Question Pool Updated” that I made last week about the Technician Question Pool.

—

NCVEC Releases New Technician Class Question Pool (Jan 4, 2010) — The Question Pool Committee (QPC) of the National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) released the new Technician class (Element 2) question pool on Monday, January 4. This new question pool will become effective for all examinations administered on or after July 1, 2010; it will remain valid until June 30, 2014. The current Technician question pool that became effective July 1, 2006 will expire June 30, 2010. The new Technician pool contains approximately 400 questions, from which 35 are selected for an Element 2 examination; it will contain graphics and diagrams, something new for this element. The current General class question pool was effective July 1, 2007 and is valid through June 30, 2011. The current Amateur Extra class pool was effective July 1, 2008 and is valid until June 30, 2012.
Link to this item

Source: ARRL

Unless you plan to take the Technician class license examination before
July 1, 2010, don’t use study guides based on the question pool that
became effective July 1, 2006. The 2006 pool will be replaced by a
2010 question pool effective July 2010. The 2006 pool and study
materials used for it are useable for Technician exams to be given as
late as Jun 30, 2010.

Beginning July 1, 2010 Tech exams will be based upon the 2010 question
pool. This pool will be available to the public in early January.
People wishing to obtain a printed copy of the pool or a study manual
based on it should watch for announcements in ham publications or on
the web. Of course, www.arrl.org and ARRL bulletins will be a good
source of information on these.

Source: Jim Weaver, K8JE (ARRL Great Lakes Division Director)

Don’t forget the ARRL 10 Meter Contest is this weekend. Technicians can now operate in this band, so this is a good opportunity to make some HF contacts! Contest starts at 2400 Z Friday and ends at 2399 Z on Sunday.

I have included the ARRL write-up on the contest below.

73, Steve

The Doctor Is IN: Focusing on 10 Meters

By S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL News Editor
k1sfa@arrl.org

December 09, 2009

Now with the ARRL 160 Meter Contest come and gone, it’s time for me to focus on the opposite end of the HF Spectrum: 10 meters. You guessed it — I’m gearing up for the 37th running of the ARRL 10 Meter Contest. This contest has a bit of a twist to it: Operators have the choice of using CW only, SSB only or they can mix it up and use both. So as I prepare this week for the ‘test, I went to ask the Doctor what is so special about 10 meters. Is there anything I need to be aware of and watch out for this weekend when I’m on the air?

The Doctor — who chortled and wondered about my fascination with this band that everyone claims is all but dead — told me that the 10 meter band is a very interesting band. Sometimes it shares propagation modes with 6 meters, the “magic” band. At other times, it can sound like 20 meters, but with less noise and stronger signals. During the current state of the sunspot cycle, the 20 meter-like occurrences are few and far between, but there are still almost always some kind of medium to long haul propagation modes available, such as sporadic E, transequatorial and the like.

He told me that he has always found the 10 meter contest the most fascinating in terms of showing what the band can do. His belief is that the band is often open to some exotic spot, but no one is on to notice. People turn on the receivers, hear nothing and then switch to 17 or 20 meters where there are some signals. During the 10 meter contest there are signals on from all over the world. If you tune the band you will hear signals from somewhere else. What’s fascinating is that the far end changes rapidly as the contest progresses — you might hear stations from southern Africa, but not northern Africa, a while later from Europe or South America and nowhere else. He said he knows the same propagation quirks are happening when it’s not the contest, but no one notices.

So why not give 10 meters a try? Hopefully you will get a great feel for this great band. Now that Technician class licensees can enjoy the fun, there will be even more signals. As with all operations, antennas can make a big difference, but when 10 is really open, you will be able to get to distant spots with almost anything. If you have yet to try your hand on the 10 meter band, a contest like the ARRL 10 Meter Contest might be just the ticket. Do you have a question or a problem for the Doctor? Send your questions via e-mail or to “The Doctor,” ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 (no phone calls, please). Look for “The Doctor Is IN” every month in QST, the official journal of the ARRL.

The Fall ARRL OH Section Journal has been published. Click here to view this newsletter from the OH Section.