 
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 16, No. 48
December 5, 1997
__________________________________
* Address Changes: Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO, e-mail kcapodicasa@arrl.org
* Editorial: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, e-mail elindquist@arrl.org
* ARRL Audio News now is available at http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/
__________________________________

[NOTE: Because your editor will be on the road for the rest of this week,
The ARRL Letter is being posted early. Hope to see you in the ARRL 160 Meter
Contest (or on other bands) from FP-land.--Rick Lindquist, N1RL]

IN THIS EDITION:
* +Hams to be among first ISS crew members
* +ARRL Humanitarian Awards nominations open
* +UK hams to get another LF band
* +Comments due on ARRL petition
* +Phase 3D update
*  Nevada hams get a better deal
*  Just in time for the holidays
*  FCC issued sequential call signs
*  Solar update
*  IN BRIEF: This weekend on the radio;
   Vanity update; The FCC clarifies;
   KC5VPF says ham radio on his "to do" list;
   Correction; ARRL instructors, teachers
   take note; 1X5AA; Schweitzer Institute
   gets antenna; DOVE-17 QSLs; First
   Arkansas 5.7 GHz EME QSO; AMSAT
   News Chief recuperating

+Available on ARRL Audio News
__________________________________

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CREW TO INCLUDE HAMS

Hams will be among the first crew members to live and work aboard the
International Space Station. In addition, several of the crew members named
recently by the US and Russia are studying for their licenses. The R0MIR Mir
club station call may also be available to the Russian crew members on the
ISS.

The first crew will consist of US astronaut William M. Shepherd, as the
expedition commander. Shepherd is studying for his ticket. He'll be
accompanied by Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR.
All three have previous space flight experience. The crew is training for an
early 1999 launch on a Soyuz vehicle for a planned five-month mission on the
ISS. Initially, crews will inhabit the service module, which will include a
ham radio antenna. Ham gear will be delivered aboard STS-96 late next year.

The second crew, headed by Russian cosmonaut Yuri Usachev, R3MIR, will
include US astronauts Susan Helms, KC7NHZ, and James S. Voss, who's
indicated an interest in getting his ham ticket. All three have spaceflight
experience.

No licensed hams are among the third crew, which will be headed by astronaut
Kenneth Bowersox and will include Russian crewmates Vladimir Dezhurov and
Mikahil Turin. Bowersox also has said he'd like to get his ham license.

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Onufrienko will head the fourth crew. US astronauts
Carl Walz, KC5TIE, and Daniel Bursch will accompany him.

NASA has said it won't have the International Space Station assembled fully
until the end of 2003--some 18 months behind the June 2002 date announced
earlier this year. Microsat/repeater payloads are supposed to arrive in
early 2002, expanding ham radio capability aboard the ISS. NASA says the US
habitation module--the astronaut's living quarters--should be in place by
the end of 2003. Fifteen countries are cooperating in building the
International Space Station.--NASA; Matt Bordelon, KC5BTL

ARRL INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AWARD NOMINATIONS OPEN

We radio amateurs provide assistance to people in need throughout the world
on a regular basis. We communicate daily with common people from all parts
of the world. Amateur Radio is one of the few media where average people
throughout the world can meet to talk to each other and spread goodwill
across otherwise impenetrable political boundaries. The world needs positive
efforts toward international understanding and peaceful communications.

Recognizing the above, the League established an annual international prize
to be awarded to truly outstanding Amateur Radio operators in areas of
international humanitarianism and the furtherance of peace. The award is
dedicated to those amateurs who, through Amateur Radio, are devoted to
promoting the welfare of mankind.

The selection of the recipient of the award is made by a committee appointed
by the President of the ARRL.

All licensed radio amateurs or group of amateurs who, by use of their skills
of Amateur Radio, have provided extraordinary service for the benefit of
others in times of crisis or disaster, are qualified to receive the award.

Nominations for the award will be accepted by the committee from a licensed
radio amateur, governmental or any other organization which has received the
benefits of the radio amateur's extraordinary service. In the event that no
nominations are received, the committee may determine possible recipients or
may decide to make no award in a given year.

Nominations must contain a summary of the actions of the nominee which
qualify the recipient for the award, and statements from at least two
references, including names and addresses for verification. All nominations
and supporting materials for 1997's award must be submitted in writing in
English to ARRL International Humanitarian Award, 225 Main St, Newington, CT
06111 USA. Nominations must be received by December 31, 1997. The award
winner receives an engraved plaque, and is profiled in QST.--Rick Palm, K1CE

UK HAMS LOOK FORWARD TO ANOTHER NEW LF BAND

Hams in the United Kingdom are looking forward to another new low frequency
band. The Radiocommunications Agency--the British equivalent to our FCC--has
told the RSGB that it hopes to release the 136-kHz band to all UK Class A
licensees early in 1998. Like the 73-kHz band opened in the UK last year
(see "73 kHz--A New Band for Great Britain," by Paul Duell, G0TLG, QST, Mar
1997, page 40), the new allocation will be a "sliver band." But at 2.1 kHz,
it will be slightly smaller than the 2.8 kHz available at 73 kHz. The RSGB
says the band likely will be in accordance with a CEPT recommendation for
135.7 to 137.8 kHz. However, unlike the 73-kHz band, hams will not have to
apply for special permission to use 136 kHz. Finland made 135.7-137.8 kHz
available last April to all holders of general or technical (CEPT 1 or CEPT
2) licenses with an output power limit of 100 W.

The RSGB said it anticipates that the new band soon will be added to the
table of allocations and will become available for use shortly thereafter.

Meanwhile, the 73-kHz band will remain available in parallel with the new
allocation "for a while," the RSGB says. Permission to operate on 73 kHz
will available through next June. It's expected the band will be withdrawn
from amateur use in the UK after June 30, 2000.

UK hams have managed distances of up to 400 km (248 miles) on 73 kHz, and
it's expected that greater distances will be achieved on the new 136 kHz
band.--RSGB

COMMENTS DUE ON FCC PETITION

Comments are due December 29 on the ARRL's petition to change the way Morse
code exam exemptions for severely handicapped applicants are handled. The
League wants to change the procedural requirements in Part 97 that must be
met, prior to granting examination credit. The FCC has designated the
petition as RM-9196.

The League has proposed that a candidate at least would have to attempt the
CW test--with any and all necessary accommodations--before being granted an
exam waiver based on a physician's certification. Also, Volunteer Examiner
Coordinators (VECs) would be entitled to request medical information
pertinent to an applicant's handicap from the certifying physician. VECs
also would be required to have this information on file before the
application is forwarded to the FCC for processing.

In its petition filed September 23, the League said the two "rather minor
changes" would stem abuses of the waiver system and limit its use only to
severely handicapped individuals without putting an unreasonable burden on
examinees.

Comments to the FCC should reference RM 9196. Address them to Secretary,
Federal Communications Commission, 1919 M St NW, Washington DC 20554.

PHASE 3D UPDATE

AMSAT's Keith Baker, KB1SF, reports that AMSAT-DL President and Phase 3D
Project Leader Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, visited the Phase 3D Integration Lab in
Orlando recently for a top-to-bottom review of Phase 3D's status. While work
remains to recover from the structural rebuild as well as to finish up the
satellite and make it flight-ready, "the end is in sight!" says Baker. Phase
3D was to have been aboard the Ariane 502 flight in October, but the
imposition of new structural standards last summer--and the consequent
"structural rebuild," made it impossible for Phase 3D to remain on the
flight schedule.

Baker says he doesn't expect any developments on setting a new launch date
for Phase 3D until European space authorities pin down the cause of the
problems during the recent Ariane 502 flight. He says reports indicate that
analysis of telemetry from the recent Ariane 502 flight is proceeding and
that ESA/CNES and ArianeSpace officials now seem to have isolated the direct
cause--but not the root cause--of the early cryogenic stage shutdown on that
flight. The early shutdown put the payloads into lower-than-expected orbits.

The Orbital Report On-Line newsletter reports that ArianeSpace took over
operations of the $900-million Ariane 5 launch processing facilities in
Kourou, French Guiana, on November 25. The next Ariane 5 vehicle (503) is
due to lift off next May for the last qualification flight on behalf of ESA
and CNES, the French space agency. ArianeSpace's first commercial launch
(L504) is planned for the second half of 1998.

NEVADA HAMS GET A BETTER DEAL

Glenn Roberts, KU7Z, says that, for years, hams in Boulder City, Nevada,
have been limited to an antenna height of 35 feet. Last spring, with
guidance from the ARRL, hams there submitted what Roberts called "a very
detailed and well documented petition" asking for a revision in the antenna
code to allow a maximum tower height of 70 feet.

"We had been working closely with city officials ever since, to get this
code revised," he says. On November 25, the City Council voted unanimously
to approve a new code allowing antennas up to 70 feet tall.

"Persistence paid off!" Roberts concluded.

JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

The ARRL is offering three new coffee mugs, just in time for holiday giving.
You have your choice of "The Old Man" mug, which features a picture of ARRL
cofounder Hiram Percy Maxim, W1AW, at his radio and the legend "The Old Man"
surrounding the ARRL diamond. Order item number 6494.

Traffic handlers will want the National Traffic System mug, featuring the
NTS logo in red, white and blue. Order item number 6486.

Members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service will enjoy the ARES mug ,
featuring the ARES logo in red, white and blue, Order item number 6478.

Each mug is $7 plus $3 shipping. To order, call toll-free, 888-277-5289 (8
AM until 9 PM Eastern Time) or visit the ARRLWeb,
http://www.arrl.org/catalog.

FCC SEQUENTIAL CALL SIGN UPDATE (Best viewed with nonproportional font)

The following is a list of FCC sequentially assigned call signs issued as of
December 1, 1997.

District        Group A Group B   Group C   Group D
                Extra   Advanced  Tech/Gen  Novice

   0            AB0GQ   KI0KU      ++       KC0CIG
   1            AA1SX   KE1IV     N1ZXA     KB1CFW
   2            AB2EP   KG2ND      ++       KC2CSQ
   3            AA3QN   KF3AP      ++       KB3BXZ
   4            AF4GW   KU4MR      ++       KF4UWW
   5            AC5OG   KM5NI      ++       KD5CUB
   6            AD6DX   KQ6TM      ++       KF6OTL
   7            AB7WV   KK7KU      ++       KC7ZTP
   8            AB8BP   KI8ER      ++       KC8IWZ
   9            AA9VD   KG9MA      ++       KB9RTD
N. Mariana Is   NH0B    AH0AY     KH0GT     WH0ABI
Guam             ++     AH2DF     KH2SR     WH2ANV
Hawaii          KH7V    AH6PE     KH7HH     WH6DEL
American Samoa  AH8P    AH8AH     KH8DL     WH8ABF
Alaska          AL0H    AL7QW     KL0KX     WL7CUO
Virgin Islands   ++     KP2CM     NP2JW     WP2AIJ
Puerto Rico     NP3Q    KP3BD     NP3SR     WP4NNM

++All call signs in this group have been issued in this district.

SOLAR UPDATE

Check W1AW bulletins on December 5 for a complete report.

The sunspot numbers for November 20 through 26 were 57, 52, 62, 70, 61, 58
and 43 with a mean of 57.6. 10.7 cm flux was 88.7, 95.9, 100.2, 99.8, 103.3,
102.1 and 108.1, with a mean of 99.7, and estimated planetary A indices were
2, 2, 45, 60, 7, 3, and 2, with a mean of 17.3.

__________________________________

IN BRIEF:

* This weekend on the radio: The ARRL 160 Meter Contest (CW) gets under way
December 5 (Friday) evening at 2200 UTC and continues until December 7 at
1600 UTC. Complete rules are in November QST, page 107. Also on tap: The QRP
ARCI Holiday Spirits Homebrew Sprint, the TOPS Activity 3.5 MHz CW Contest,
and the TARA RTTY sprint.

* Vanity update: As it cleared the decks for an anticipated rush of Gate 4
vanity applications on December 2, the FCC office in Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, processed all vanity applications received during the last
week of October on November 25. A spokesman reports 74 grants and 80 WIPs
(work in process). All WIPs have been processed for that period. The FCC
reports it got 828 new, electronically filed vanity applications on December
2 (the numbers are not yet in for paper applications). The FCC will not
schedule processing of first-day applications until the 10-day deadline to
receive fee payments for electronically filed applications is past.

* The FCC clarifies: All club station trustees requesting the call sign of a
deceased former member as a club station vanity call sign (and holding a
letter of consent of a close relative of the former holder), should check
Box 7D on FCC Form 610V and fill in the call sign of the deceased former
holder plus the relationship of the close relative to the former holder. Do
this whether applying under Gate 1A or Gate 4. Applicants should ignore the
Box 7D reference to clubs that held a club station license granted before
March 24, 1995. This date is no longer relevant. Do not check Box 7F and do
not put the requested in memoriam call sign in the preference list on the
back of the Form 610V.--thanks to FCC via Bart Jahnke, W9JJ

* KC5VPF says ham radio on his "to do" list: The MIREX and SAREX teams
report that US astronaut David Wolf, KC5VPF, aboard Mir has not been active
on either the 2 meter or 70-cm Amateur Radio equipment, since a temporary
power outage November 21. Wolf has stated that powering up the radio
equipment is "on his list," however.--AMSAT News Service/Frank Bauer, KA3HDO

* Correction: Our report in The ARRL Letter, Vol 16, No 47 about the
availability QSL cards for working the space shuttle contained the incorrect
shuttle missions. It should have said "STS-83/STS-94."

* ARRL instructors, teachers take note: If you're an ARRL-registered
instructor or ARRL-registered school teacher and have not been receiving
your educator's newsletter via mail or e-mail, it's possible that your name
has been removed from our database or that we may not have your current
e-mail address--especially if we have not heard from you in a while. To get
current, contact Jean Wolfgang, WB3IOS, EAD, ARRL, 225 Main, Newington CT
06111; tel 860-594-0219; fax 860-594-0259; e-mail wb3ios@arrl.org.

* 1X5AA: You might have snagged 1X5AA as a "new one" recently, but, at least
for now, it's no good for DXCC, says ARRL DXCC Manager Bill Kennamer, K5FUV.
The 1X5 prefix is an unofficial one that does not have international
recognition. The station--said to be operating from Chechnya, a "breakaway"
Russian republic--has been attracting huge pileups on 40 meter CW in recent
days. Kennamer said that for 1X5 contacts to count towards DXCC, a petition
would have to be filed for new country status, and it would have to be
studied and voted on. Kennamer said the determination of the starting date
for valid contacts would depend on the circumstances.

* Schweitzer Institute gets antenna: The non-profit Albert Schweitzer
Institute for the Humanities in Wallingford, Connecticut, has accepted the
donation of an antenna for its proposed new ham station, which will operate
as W1BV. Accepting the gift November 8 was station trustee Philip
D'Agostino, W1KSC. Antenna manufacturer Thomas Evans, W1JC, donated the
antenna, a G5RV design. The donation ceremony was held recently during a
regular luncheon meeting of the local QCWA chapter. Plans call for the
Schweitzer Institute to use W1BV in carrying out its disaster relief and
humanitarian efforts. By the way, W1BV will be on the air January 18 as a
special event station commemorating Schweitzer's birth.--Al Cohen, W1FXQ

* DOVE-17 QSLs: QSL cards for the DOVE (DO-17) satellite are again
available. These cards, depicting a dove carrying an olive branch, will be
provided to all who send a report indicating they've heard the satellite.
DO-17 transmits on 145.825 and 2401.220 MHz. It's now sending 1200 baud
AX.25 (standard packet) ASCII telemetry on 2 meters. On S band, DOVE
transmits PSK flags continuously, and then  repeats the same data
transmitted on 2 meters. To receive a DOVE QSL, send a reception report and
an SASE to Dianne White, N0IZO, 45777 Rampart Rd, Parker, CO
80138-4316.--AMSAT News Service

* First Arkansas 5.7 GHz EME QSO: On November 26, ARRL Vice President Joel
Harrison, W5ZN, and well-known VHF/UHFer Al Ward, WB5LUA, completed a
5760-MHz EME contact-- the first-ever QSO of its kind from Arkansas! W5ZN
was using a 10-foot dish, 18 W, and a homebrew WR-137 to 1.5-inch copper
pipe feed with coffee can scalar ring and a homebrew LuaCom preamp. WB5LUA
was using a 5-meter dish, 28 W, and a homebrew WR-137 to 1.5" copper pipe
feed with scalar ring and homebrew LuaCom preamp. Moon conditions were not
good, and the moon was at apogee, but the contact was fully completed after
about five sequences.--Joel Harrison, W5ZN

* AMSAT News Chief recuperating: BJ Arts, WT0N, the chief editor for the
weekly AMSAT News Service bulletins, was reported to be resting comfortably
at home after major surgery recently. He sends his thanks to all for their
thoughts and prayers during his recent hospitalization. Dan James, NN0DJ,
has volunteered to join the editorial team for ANS and will be assisting BJ
Arts with the weekly bulletins.--AMSAT News Service

===========================================================
The ARRL Letter is published by the American Radio Relay League, 225 Main
St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259. Rodney J.
Stafford, KB6ZV, President; David Sumner, K1ZZ, Executive Vice President.

Circulation, Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO, e-mail kcapodicasa@arrl.org.
Editorial, Rick Lindquist, N1RL, e-mail elindquist@arrl.org.

Visit the ARRLWeb page at http://www.arrl.org.

The purpose of The ARRL Letter is to provide the essential news of interest
to active, organizationally minded radio amateurs faster than it can be
disseminated by our official journal, QST. We strive to be fast, accurate
and readable in our reporting.

Material from The ARRL Letter may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any
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