Subj : The Weekly ARRL Letter
To   : All
From : Sean Dennis
Date : Fri Feb 28 2020 09:05 am

  The ARRL Letter
  February 27, 2020

    * ARRL Seeks a New Chief Executive Officer
    * ARRL Comments in Opposition to FCC Plan to Delete the 3.4 GHz Band
    * AMSAT Cites Need for equate Spectrum in Opposing Deletion of 3.4
      GHz Band
    * ARRL Podcasts Schedule
    * ARRL Announces Interruptions to Online Services
    * FCC Turns Down Amateur Licensee's Appeal
    * The K7RA Solar Update
    * Just Ahead in Radiosport
    * Auxiliary Communications Training to Be Held in Conjunction with
      Dayton Hamvention^(R)
    * It's Never Too Late to Upgrade
    * In Brief...
    * Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions

  ARRL Seeks a New Chief Executive Officer

  ARRL is seeking an experienced radio amateur to be Chief Executive
  Officer (CEO) at its headquarters in Newington, Connecticut. The CEO is
  the top compensated employee in ARRL's management structure and
  oversees all operations in collaboration with the President and the
  Board of Directors, in accordance with ARRL's Articles of Association,
  Bylaws, and Board policies. The successful candidate will ensure
  day-to-day management of ARRL, including fiscal operations and will
  oversee and make certain that its fund-raising, marketing, human
  resources, technology, advocacy, and governance strategies are
  effectively implemented.

  Essential CEO Functions Include:
    * Leading the headquarters staff and field volunteers, in response to
      Board policy, in the development and implementation of effective
      programs for the promotion and growth of amateur radio and the
      provision of services to members.
    * Planning, developing, organizing, implementing, directing, and
      evaluating ARRL's operational and fiscal performance.
    * Providing leadership, directing headquarters staff, and maintaining
      performance standards in headquarters operations.
    * Participating, in collaboration with officers, Directors, and
      staff, in developing ARRL's plans and programs.

  The successful candidate will be a strategic thinker with a record of
  significant amateur radio experience and a broad understanding of its
  operational, technical, regulatory, and social facets. The CEO will be
  responsible for effective financial and operational management and
  oversight.

  CEO candidates should possess a bachelor's degree or equivalent
  (master's degree preferred), be an active radio amateur who has
  initiated or led a significant amateur radio activity within the past
  10 years, and have 10 years of management and supervisory experience.
  Candidates should be able to demonstrate ability in providing effective
  leadership and management of business operations.

  The position is located at ARRL Headquarters, and the successful
  candidate will be required to establish a residence in the Hartford,
  Connecticut, area.

  For More Information

  The CEO Position Announcement includes details. Interested candidates
  should submit a cover letter and resume via e-mail to ARRL Human
  Resources Assistant Monique Levesque.
  ARRL Comments in Opposition to FCC Plan to Delete the 3.4 GHz Band

  ARRL has filed comments opposing an FCC proposal to delete the 3.3 -
  3.5 GHz secondary amateur allocation. The comments, filed on February
  21, are in response to an FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in
  WT Docket 19-348 in which the FCC put forward a plan to remove
  "existing non-federal secondary radiolocation and amateur allocations"
  in the 3.3 - 3.55 GHz band and relocate incumbent non-federal
  operations. The FCC's proposal was in response to the MOBILE NOW
  [Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive
  and Needless Obstacles to Wireless] Act, enacted in 2018 to make new
  spectrum available for mobile and fixed wireless broadband use. ARRL
  noted that amateur radio has a long history of successful coexistence
  with primary users of the band.

  "There is no reason suggested by the Commission, or known to us, why
  the secondary status for amateur radio operations should not be
  continued for the indefinite future," ARRL said in its comments. "We
  understand that secondary commercial users are less flexible than
  amateur radio users and may desire to relocate to protect continued
  provision of services and service quality. Radio amateurs, by contrast,
  benefit from having technical knowledge and no customer demands for
  continuous service quality, more flexibility to make adjustments, and
  often have the technical abilities necessary to design and implement
  the means to coexist compatibly with the signals of primary users."

  ARRL pointed to amateur radio's "decades-long experience observing and
  experimenting with radiowave propagation" in the 3.3 - 3.5 GHz band
  that includes mesh networks, amateur television networks, weak signal
  long-distance communication, Earth-Moon-Earth (moonbounce)
  communication, beacons used for propagation study, and amateur
  satellite communications. In its comments, ARRL argued that it would be
  "premature" to remove the current secondary amateur radio allocation.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------

  Radio amateurs have established extensive infrastructure for the
  current band and are engaged in construction and experimentation that
  includes innovative "mesh networks" and amateur television networks
  that can be deployed to support public service activities.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------

  "This spectrum should not be removed from the amateur radio secondary
  allocation and left unused," ARRL told the FCC. "Only at a later time
  may an informed assessment of sharing opportunities be made in the
  specific spectrum slated for re-allocation.... This depends upon the
  Congressionally mandated NTIA studies of sharing or relocation options
  that have yet to be completed and, if all or part of this spectrum is
  re-allocated, the nature and location of buildout by the non-federal
  users." The National Telecommunications and Information ministration
  (NTIA) oversees spectrum allocated to federal government users. ARRL
  noted that radio amateurs have established extensive infrastructure for
  the current band and are engaged in construction and experimentation
  that includes innovative "mesh networks" and amateur television
  networks that can be deployed to support public service activities.

  With the NTIA report addressing the 3.1 - 3.55 GHz spectrum not
  expected until late March, ARRL said, "we do not yet know how much
  spectrum below and above the amateur secondary allocation may be
  reallocated to non-federal users and what opportunities may exist or be
  developed to share [that] spectrum" with new primary users and systems.

  "Even if suitable new spectrum could be found for the existing amateur
  uses -- which is difficult before the spectrum musical chairs activity
  is concluded -- the costs to radio amateurs would be significant and be
  borne with no countervailing public benefit," ARRL told the FCC.

  "If the advent of new primary licensees forecloses some types of
  secondary operations, the amateur community will reevaluate the
  situation when some certainty exists," ARRL concluded.

  AMSAT Cites Need for equate Spectrum in Opposing Deletion of 3.4 GHz
  Band

  AMSAT has commented on the FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in
  WT Docket 19-348 that proposes to delete the 3.3 - 3.5 GHz (9
  centimeter) amateur band and relocate incumbent non-federal operations.
  The band includes the 3.40 - 3.41 GHz Amateur Satellite Service
  allocation. In its remarks, AMSAT said it opposes deletion of the
  allocation and stressed the necessity of having adequate microwave
  spectrum available for future amateur satellite projects, including
  AMSAT's GOLF program and the Lunar Gateway. AMSAT acknowledged that the
  3.4 GHz Amateur Satellite Service allocation is not currently used by
  any amateur satellites and that it is unsuitable for worldwide
  communication because it is not available in ITU Region 1. AMSAT said a
  number of potential future uses for the band remain, however, as
  worldwide usage of other available allocations increases.

  "These potential uses include a future amateur satellite in
  geostationary orbit above the Americas," AMSAT said, explaining that
  the segment could support uplink or downlink frequencies for such a
  spacecraft without potential interference to worldwide activities
  involving space stations in high-Earth or lunar orbit. The
  most-desirable allocations for use as uplinks are between 2.4 GHz and
  5.67 GHz -- 80 MHz in all, AMSAT told the FCC. "As many of the proposed
  uses include amateur television and high-speed data transmission with
  satellites in high-Earth orbit or lunar orbit, these allocations may
  quickly become inadequate," AMSAT said.

  AMSAT told the FCC the 3.40 - 3.41 GHz allocation could be utilized as
  a command channel or secondary data downlink for AMSAT ground stations
  in ITU Region 2 without interfering with the primary communications on
  the other allocations or other satellites utilizing those segments.

  AMSAT said several non-amateur satellites use the broader 3.3 - 3.5 GHz
  amateur allocation, which also sees wide use for amateur radio mesh
  networking, EME communications, and contesting.

  "The Amateur Satellite Service continues to provide immense value to
  the growing field of small satellites," AMSAT concluded. "Experiments
  conducted by amateur satellites...continue to inform the development of
  the commercial small satellite industry. ditionally, student
  participation in amateur satellite projects provides both inspiration
  for young men and women to pursue careers in the commercial satellite
  industry and practical experience for those careers.

  "A strong and robust Amateur Satellite Service will continue to benefit
  the public interest and inspire future developments in satellite
  technology," AMSAT said. "Continued progress in achieving these goals
  requires adequate spectrum, especially in suitable microwave bands." --
  Thanks to AMSAT News Service via AMSAT Executive Vice President Paul
  Stoetzer, N8HM
  ARRL Podcasts Schedule

  The February 13 episode of the On the Air podcast focuses on building
  the hands-free soldering tool from the article, "Extend Your Handheld's
  Range with a Simple Ground-Plane Antenna," seen in the January/February
  2020 issue of On the Air magazine; a discussion of open-wire feed
  lines, and an interview with a public service volunteer. New On the Air
  podcast episodes are available monthly.

  The new episode of Eclectic Tech podcast goes live February 27. Episode
  2 touches on these topics: Most expensive home PC ever; Alexa and
  amateur radio; solar activity's influence on whales, and a HamSCI
  update from Ward Silver, N0AX.

  Both podcasts are available on iTunes (iOS) and Stitcher (Android) as
  well as on Blubrry -- On the Air | Eclectic Tech.

  ARRL Announces Interruptions to Online Services

  The ARRL website and other online services will be offline on Friday,
  February 28, for up to 8 hours in order to conduct necessary
  maintenance. The outage will begin at 0500 UTC and should end by 1300
  UTC. It will affect the main ARRL website, the ARRL Store, and the ARRL
  contesting-related pages, including the log submission page. Logbook of
  The World (LoTW), email, and all ARRL Headquarters systems will not be
  affected.

  As part of ARRL Headquarters' transition to new internet service
  providers, an interruption of internet access at ARRL Headquarters is
  set for Wednesday, March 4, starting at 2300 UTC. The interruption will
  last no longer than 4 hours. During the work period, these services
  will be unavailable: Logbook of The World (LoTW), Online DXCC,
  International Grid Chase Archive, National Parks on the Air Archive,
  Centennial QSO Party Archive, W1AW Echolink Conference Server, and VPN
  access to Headquarters. Email to Headquarters will remain online, and

--- SendMsg/2

--- Squish/386 v1.11
* Origin: Outpost BBS * Limestone, TN, USA (1:18/200)