Subj : The Weekly ARRL Letter
To   : All
From : Sean Dennis
Date : Fri Apr 17 2020 09:05 am

  The ARRL Letter
  April 16, 2020

    * Remotely ministered Amateur Exam Systems Showing Promise
    * New Volunteer Monitor Program is Up and Running
    * Greater LoTW Database Accuracy is the Goal of TQSL Update(s)
    * ARRL Announces New Benefits for Members
    * ARRL Podcasts Schedule
    * The K7RA Solar Update
    * Just Ahead in Radiosport
    * ARRL Rookie Roundup SSB Edition Considers Social Distancing
    * HAM RADIO in Friedrichshafen, Germany, Announces Cancellation of
      2020 Show
    * ARISS Altering its Approach in Light of COVID-19 Pandemic
    * In Brief...
    * Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions

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

  COVID-19 Impact & News

  Find the latest news and information on the impact of the coronavirus
  pandemic to ARRL members and our global amateur radio community.

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

  Remotely ministered Amateur Exam Systems Showing Promise

  Facing a growing demand for amateur radio exam sessions in a time of
  social distancing and stay-at-home orders, sponsors of some Volunteer
  Examiner (VE) teams have risen to the challenge and are developing
  systems to remotely proctor test sessions.

  "Many of our VEs and VE Teams have been working on remotely proctored
  exam session ideas, employing both video and in-person components --
  following social distancing protocols," ARRL Volunteer Examiner
  Coordinator (VEC) Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, said. "We have been
  receiving interesting and innovative suggestions, and we appreciate the
  dedication and ingenuity our examiners have shown."

  The Spalding County Amateur Radio Club in Georgia is among those that
  have come up with plans to remotely administer amateur exams while
  complying with ARRL VEC testing standards during COVID-19 stay-home
  mandates and social distancing guidelines. Current systems leverage
  Zoom video-teleconferencing technology, the "Fill & Sign" feature of
  obe PDFs, reliable email, appropriate computer equipment and internet
  connection, and no volunteer examiners (VEs) present at individual
  remote test sites. The Georgia club collaborated and shared ideas with
  the Emergency Amateur Radio Club (EARC) in Hawaii, which has
  successfully conducted sessions since 2011 with its own remote testing
  system, initially with paper exams with a proctor on site and now with
  fillable PDFs, with no on-site proctor.

  The Georgia club obtained ARRL VEC approval to administer
  video-supervised exams. "We have started with testing just one
  candidate at a time, but are planning to ramp up to multiple candidates
  -- probably two or three -- simultaneously," club member David
  Robinson, K4WVZ, told ARRL. "Before we do that, we want a few more
  single sessions under our belt and a few more Video VEs trained."

  The club's procedures entail a pre-exam video interview with candidates
  to ensure they understand all the requirements and procedures.
  Following the exam, the VEs score the test and sign off on the
  paperwork, with the VE Team Leader submitting the application online
  and by mail, per ARRL VEC instructions.

  New England Amateur Radio Inc (NE1AR), an affiliate of New England
  Sci-Tech, (NESciTech), has taken it one step further, Somma said. It
  got the approval of ARRL VEC to begin trials of what it describes as
  "completely online testing with strict rules and protocols for
  maintaining the integrity of the testing environment." NE1AR is
  limiting candidates to one exam per session, due to the current
  candidate backlog and the "difficulty of administering exams online."
  Candidates must agree to a list of protocols, which include a
  cell-phone camera scan of the entire room and exam area "to show that
  there are no materials or people [in the room] that could aid in taking
  the exam."

  "We began a series of trials on April 1 under ARRL VEC review and have
  now been asked to help train more VE teams on the process," NE1AR
  President Bob Phinney, K5TEC, told ARRL. "We have now tested 12
  applicants and are still working on streamlining the process. We are
  working with the software developer of the exam delivery system to help
  them adapt the system for video-supervised testing."

  With pressure continuing to build to provide testing compatible with
  COVID-19 guidelines and stay-home orders, ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma
  has asked the amateur radio community to be patient. "Please remember
  that with the introduction of significant new processes such as these,
  that there should be proof of concept, establishment of protocols and
  procedures, and beta testing, before expanding to a larger audience,"
  she said this week. Somma said video-supervised exam sessions require a
  different skillset than in-person exam administration, and not all
  teams will be equipped to deliver video exams right away.

  "ARRL is pleased to be one of the leaders in providing an opportunity,
  although limited initially, for video-supervised exams in this time of
  social distancing and isolation required by the current health
  situation," Somma said. Read more.

  New Volunteer Monitor Program is Up and Running

  After kicking off on January 1, the new Volunteer Monitor Program has
  ramped up to operational status. A "soft rollout" of the program began
  on February 1, designed to familiarize Volunteer Monitors (VMs) with
  issues on the bands and to put into practice what to report -- and what
  to ignore, based on their training. The VMs will not only be looking
  for operating discrepancies, but for examples of good operating. The VM
  program has, at least for the moment, put Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH,
  back in the center of amateur radio enforcement as the Volunteer
  Monitor Coordinator (VMC). He was brought aboard to get the program up
  and running, and ARRL will eventually take over the VMC function.

  Hollingsworth is using a system called VMTRAC -- developed by a VM --
  to measure the work of VMs and determine instances that qualify for
  good operator or discrepancy notices, referral to the FCC, or follow-up
  with FCC requests to the VM program. Hollingsworth reported that during
  March, the 165 active VMs logged upward of 2,300 hours of monitoring on
  HF, and nearly 2,000 hours on VHF-UHF and other frequencies.

  "I am extremely pleased with the number of hours devoted to monitoring
  this early in the program," Hollingsworth said. No stone is being left
  unturned. Two VMs constantly monitor FT8 watering holes and have
  developed programs that alert them if a licensee is operating outside
  of privileges accorded to that license class or if a license has
  expired. "We have 30 open cases, five of which are good operator
  cases," Hollingsworth said. "Regarding open cases relating to rule
  violations, none have yet had to be referred to the FCC." He said he's
  experimented with letters, telephone calls, or emails to the subjects
  of

                                               Riley Hollingsworth,
                                               K4ZDH.

  discrepancy reports where they could be identified. While he's still
  waiting for replies to his written correspondence, he has received
  responses to his calls and emails, and the violations have either
  stopped or were explained. "They were violations such as expired
  licenses, Technicians operating on General frequencies, unauthorized
  use of a call sign, and deliberate interference," he said.

  One case "being groomed for FCC referral," he said, involves
  long-standing interference to a repeater in the Philadelphia area by
  someone using an unauthorized call sign. Hollingsworth said he worked
  with net control operators of nets on 75 and 40 meters that had been
  suffering serious interference, and so far the solutions are working.

  "It is becoming apparent that if informal contact can be made by the
  VMC with a known offender, the problem can sometimes be stopped,"
  Hollingsworth said. "We do not want to call upon the FCC unless
  absolutely necessary." Read more.

  Greater LoTW Database Accuracy is the Goal of TQSL Update(s)

  The recently released TQSL version 2.5.2 application for uploading logs
  to Logbook of The World (LoTW) tightens requirements for data
  consistency, with the goal of improving the integrity of the LoTW
  database. Starting with TQSL version 2.5.2, discrepancies in submitted
  logs are now flagged, especially when it comes to the Amateur Data
  Interchange Format (ADIF) files frequently uploaded to LoTW. This has
  prompted questions and concerns, however, when the system fails to
  accept a user's uploaded contact or log.

  ADIF exists precisely to help ensure the accuracy of "data interchange"
  among amateur radio applications -- different logging programs, for
  example. TQSL uses ADIF file data for cross-checks that help to keep
  inaccurate or incomplete information from contaminating the LoTW
  database, and that's where some user issues have arisen. For example,
  the OPERATOR field, which should be a call sign, sometimes shows up as
  a name. Occasionally, operators have reversed their ITU and CQ zones.
  Another issue is in the MY_STATE field, which should show a US Postal
  Service two-letter state abbreviation. Anything else is a problem.

  "The value of the checks added to TQSL is that it lets operators know
  when the data they're handling in their computer-based logs is
  correct," said TQSL Developer Rick Murphy, K1MU. "It's important to
  make sure that when a ham submits a log to LoTW that the content of
  that log accurately captures the details."

  Some help is on the way. Murphy will soon release TQSL version 2.5.3,
  which, among other things, skips over the OPERATOR field check. "We
  have found that some of the checking performed for TQSL 2.5.2 was
  incomplete in some cases -- for example, allowing incorrect zone
  information to pass, and overly strict in other cases -- for example,
  the STATION_OWNER tag," Murphy said. "We've made great strides in
  improving the way logs are checked to ensure that checking is more
  complete while not raising false alarms."

  The problem is not always with the user. The initial implementation of
  cross-checks in TQSL 2.5.2 revealed that not all logging applications
  conform to the ADIF standard. TQSL 2.5.2 has offered support for
  operations from several locations, as well as the ability to detect
  uploads that contain incorrect location data.

  "Operators have a right to insist that the logging applications they
  use conform to the standards agreed upon by the ADIF collective," said
  Greg Widin, K0GW, the chair of the ARRL LoTW Committee. "Those who find
  that their logger is out of conformance should demand an update." Read
  more.
  ARRL Announces New Benefits for Members

  ARRL members will now receive digital access to four ARRL magazines
  beginning with their May/June issues. Joining QST and On the Air
  magazines on a digital platform will be the bimonthly editions of QEX
  -- The Forum for Communications Experimenters and NCJ -- National
  Contest Journal. QEX includes articles, columns, and other features
  ranging from construction projects to more advanced technical
  information in radio theory and practice. NCJ, published since 1973,
  targets radio amateurs active in radiosport. NCJ includes scores,
  technical articles, contributions from top contesters, and advice for
  beginners and seasoned radiosport enthusiasts alike.

  "Feedback from ARRL members and our readership surveys has shown that
  our magazines are one of the most valued member benefits," said ARRL
  Publications Manager Steve Ford, WB8IMY. "Our investment in digital
  access provides another channel through which we can deliver content to
  our members across the expanse of interests and activities in amateur
  radio. All members can enjoy specialized content and a high-quality
  reading experience whether at their desk or on the go. Offering this
  suite of digital magazines is an opportunity for us to give members
  more of what they want while adding value to ARRL membership."

  ARRL's digital magazine editions provide replicas of the printed
  editions with added functionality, allowing users to fully search
  issues, enlarge pages, share articles, and more. The free ARRL
  Magazines app also supports downloading complete issues onto your
  mobile device or tablet for offline reading.

  Members who have elected to receive a printed QST or On the Air as part
  of their membership benefits will continue to have this service.
  Members may not substitute a print subscription of QEX or NCJ as their
  delivered magazine member benefit. Print subscriptions of QEX and NCJ
  will continue to be available at additional cost for those who want to
  receive them.

  All four magazines are easily accessed through any web browser from
  members-only links. The free ARRL Magazines app is available for iOS
  and Android in the Apple App Store and Google Play. If you're already
  an ARRL member and previously created an arrl.org website account, your
  username and password will provide you access to the digital editions,
  whether online or in the app. Members who have not previously
  registered will need to create a new account. If you've forgotten your

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