There was some encouraging news in late September. On the 22nd, spaceweather.com reported: "For the first time in months, a significant sunspot is emerging on the sun. It is a fast-growing active region with two dark cores, each larger than Earth. The magnetic polarity of the sunspot identifies it as a member of new Sunspot Cycle 24. Because the year 2008 has brought so many blank suns, some observers have wondered if we are ever going to climb out of the ongoing deep solar minimum. Today's new sunspot is an encouraging sign that the 11-year solar cycle is indeed progressing, albeit slowly."

Meanwhile, researchers at MIT and other locations are working on devices that use magnetic fields to wirelessly transmit electrical power to wireless devices. This, according to a report in the Newark, NJ Star-Ledger, opens up the possibility that you could power or charge a device such as a cellphone, iPod or HT simply by placing it within the magnetic field of the power source. So far, the article says, wireless power transmissions have succeeded over a range of about one foot.

Finally on the power front, a group of hams in Ohio reportedly used fuel cells provided by UltraCell Corporation to power its mobile rigs and handhelds while providing communications for the United States Air Force Marathon September 20 in Dayton.

According to the society's newest "Profiles of Engineering and Engineering Technology Colleges," released in late June, the overall number of bachelor's degrees in engineering fell 1.2% between 2006 and 2007, the first decrease since the 1990s. In addition, the group's survey shows that undergraduate enrollment in engineering programs dropped in both 2004 and 2005, indicating that the trend is likely to continue for the next several years. There was an even greater drop in master's degrees, falling 8.8% from 2005 to 2007, although engineering Ph.D. degrees have increased an average 11% since 2004. The report also says that within the broad field of engineering, electrical and computer engineering have declined in popularity while biomedical and aerospace engineering have become more popular.

The report also cites a projection from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that the number of engineering jobs needing to be filled between 2006 and 2016 will increase by some 160,000, or 11%, not including the replacement of many retiring engineers.

In an earlier statement, Kenwood said the merger would have no impact on its amateur radio business. However, the joint statement in June said the merged companies' focus would be on auto electronics, home and mobile electronics, professional systems and entertainment. There was little mention of the communications segment (amateur and land mobile) except to note that it currently accounts for about 35% of Kenwood's business. The merged company, on the other hand, expects the four areas mentioned above to account for 90% of its sales by fiscal year 2011. This is the second merger of a major amateur radio manufacturer in the past year, following Motorola's acquisition of Yaesu's parent company, Vertex-Standard, last year.

However, Imlay noted that there are no guarantees about how broadly the statute will be interpreted, and the League bulletin noted that hams may "have to go through the inconvenience of appearing in court to contest a citation." There is additional concern among some California hams because a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page on the state motor vehicles website originally appeared to exclude amateur radio from the provisions of the new law; and they note that a new version of the FAQ page has omitted both the question and the answer about ham rigs.

In other amateur satellite news, ANS reports that China plans to launch a new ham "bird" early next year. The satellite, currently called CAS-1, is expected to include a CW telemetry beacon, a linear transponder, an FM repeater and a digital store-and-forward transponder. It will have a 2-meter uplink and 70-centimeter downlink. In addition, ANS says the European Space Agency has offered a free launch later this year or early next year for nine student-built "cubesats" from universities across Europe. One from Belgium is planning to use D-Star digital transmissions.

Thomas Nichols, WA6BKR, of Fairfield, California, apparently responded to an FCC letter about out-of-band operation with what the Commission termed "comments on the Morse Code exam, Amateur Radio in general, the Extra Class examination and other ration and kit building topics not relevant to your out of band operation." FCC Special Counsel Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, did not respond to any of those items, but simply advised Nichols that "additional incidents of out-of-band operation may lead to revocation of your license or a monetary forfeiture…"

Frederick Severa, AH8I, was sent a letter at his regarding out-of-band operation in early 2007. It went to his address of record in Pago Pago, American Samoa, and was apparently returned. The FCC then tried sending it to the addresses of two clubs for which Severa is listed at trustee, one in Folsom, California and the other in Juneau, Alaska. Those were both returned as well. The Commission finally found him in Chico, California, and apparently accepted his explanation for operating out of band. But he was given ten days to update his address in the FCC records and was reminded that "(f)ailure to respond to Commission mail sent to your address of record is a separate violation of Commission rules."

According to the Chinese Radio Sport Association (CRSA) website, personnel and equipment have been removed from the disaster zone, and the frequencies of 7.030, 7.050, 7.060 and 14.270 MHz are no longer in use for emergency communications. However, International Amateur Radio Union Region 3 Disaster Communications Chairman Jim Linton, VK3PC, says the CRSA notes that one or more of those frequencies may be returned to use in the event of further severe aftershocks.

CRSA would like to thank all amateurs around the world who helped keep these frequencies clear for emergency communications, and for the concern of amateurs and amateur radio societies worldwide.

Please note that 7077, 7085, and 7140 kHz continue to be in use for emergency communications by amateurs in Colombia following last weekend's earthquake there.

The following frequencies are in use by amateur radio rescue teams following the 5.5 magnitude earthquake in Colombia:

7077kHz

7085kHz

7140kHz

PLEASE keep these frequencies clear to allow the emergency support to continue.

Frequencies provided from Oscar HK6PRO, Emergency Dispatcher andFirefighter - IRESC member in Colombia.

In addition, the IRESC website reported that, according to the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck just off the coast of Guatelmala on the morning of May 27. This was confirmed by the US Geological Survey's Earthquake Center. As this is posted, this has not yet been reported by the mainstream media, and there are no reports yet of amatgeur frequencies in use there.

All amateurs should keep the above frequencies clear, and listen for any distress calls out of Guatemala.

In a case brought by the ARRL, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled April 25 that the FCC had relied heavily in its decision on five internal studies but then impermissibly refused to release those studies in full for review and comment. The ruling said, "It would appear to be a fairly obvious proposition that studies upon which an agency relies in promulgating a rule must be made available during the rulemaking in order to afford interested persons meaningful notice and an opportunity for comment." There is no indication at this time as to when the FCC might reopen the proceedings and/or whether it will appeal the ruling to the United States Supreme Court.

In a somewhat related story, EarthLink has ended its free WiFi internet service in Philadelphia after failing to reach agreement with the city or a non-profit organization to transfer ownership of its $17 million wireless network at no charge, according to Government Technology magazine. The company told the magazine it now has no choice but to dismantle the setup and help its customers find new ways to access the internet.

Michael Chen, BD5RV, reports in a post on qrz.com that "a group of radio amateurs is now transmitting from Wenchuan, the center of quake. Its signal is reported to be very weak. They tried to keep communication with BY8AA in Chengdu, seeking for all resources needed. During a contact finished a few minutes ago, they were asking for raincoats, water, tents, and outdoor living facilities." Michael also asked that this request be forwarded as widely as possible.

In nearby Myanmar (Burma), where tens of thousands of people were killed by a typhoon last week, CQ Public Service Editor Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, passes on a report from G4HPE of the International Radio Emergency Support Coalition (IRESC) that there currently is no amateur radio activity there; and that while the UN has been permitted to set up both HF and VHF communications based in the capital city of Yangon (Rangoon) "for use by the entire humanitarian community," none of the frequencies in use are in the amateur bands.

Randy has been a contester for more than three decades and has multiple wins to his credit in the single-op, all-band categories of both the CQ World Wide DX Contest and the CQ WPX Contest, in both CW and SSB modes. Randy is also a past editor of the National Contest Journal (a post he has held three separate times) and a co-founder of the eHam-dot-net website. He is a longtime member of the Yankee Clipper Contest Club and an instructor at K3LR's Contest University. In the past year, Randy has been working with Steve Merchant behind the scenes on the WPX contests, so he is already familiar with the program from the administrative side.

Any questions regarding the 2008 WPX Contests (SSB weekend was held last March; CW weekend is coming up at the end of May) should be directed to Randy via e-mail to <(Randy's callsign) at cqwpx.com> (e-mail address altered to discourage spambots.) We thank K6AW for his years of dedicated service to the WPX Contests and look forward to a seamless transition to K5ZD's administration of the event.

Cebik was a prolific author on antennas and related topics. He was a contributor to virtually all of the major ham magazines, was the author of more than a dozen books and had regular columns in Ten-Ten International News and the online antenna magazine, AntenneX. His passing was reported to the ham community by AntenneX Publisher Jack Stone.

Stone wrote in an e-mail that he became concerned after not hearing from Cebik in several days, something he described as "highly unusual." Cebik lived in Knoxville, Tennessee and, while he had many ham friends, he had lived by himself since his wife's death and had no other family members in the area. Stone said he called the local sheriff to check on Cebik's well-being, who then called back to report the sad news. As of now, no additional details are known.

Silver, a prolific author whose titles include the introductory Ham Radio for Dummies book, was selected as Amateur of the Year.

McDermott was chosen for the Technical Achievement Award in recognition of his pioneering work in amateur radio digital communications, starting with developing one of the first wide-coverage packet radio networks in the mid-1980s.

McClendon was recognized with the Hamvention's Special Achievement Award for starting Amateur Radio Military Appreciation Day (ARMAD) in 2003 and using it not only to help hams and the public express thanks to members of the military for their service, but also to introduce amateur radio to thousands of people around the world. McClendon has also been honored for his volunteer work by President Bush.

The three were scheduled to be presented with their awards at the 2008 Dayton Hamvention® in mid-May.

All issues through early 2006 are now online, according to Buckmaster President Jack Speer, N1BIC. By agreement with CQ, issues are not posted until two years after their publication dates, as paper copies are still available from the CQ bookstore. Newer issues will be posted as the two-year "window" expires.

Buckmaster, which produces the "HamCall" CD and website, and has for decades filmed back issues of CQ onto microfiche for use by researchers and hobbyists alike, has applied its advanced scanning and searching technology for online posting of documents to back issues of CQ. It has taken nearly four years to get all back issues scanned and posted. Pages are available to users as either low-resolution or high-resolution JPEG image files, or as PDF files, which are more "printer-friendly" than the JPEGs.

"One of the great benefits to this approach is Buckmaster's very powerful search engine," which indexes every word on every page, notes CQ Publisher Dick Ross, K2MGA. "It is far better than anything we could put onto a CD." Ross also noted that most readers looking for back issues are seeking a specific article and don't necessarily want to spend the money for a set of CDs, "an amount which can really add up if you want access to nearly 65 years worth of magazines."

On the HamCall archive site, pricing is based on the length of time for which the user wants access. Searches are free, as is access to the first ten pages of each issue, assuring that the table of contents page will always be accessible. Archive subscription pricing is as follows:

* Searching and access to the first ten pages of each issue: Free

* 1-day "test drive": $5 (same as the cost for ordering a reprint of a single article from CQ)

* 3 months: $20

* 6 months: $30

* 12 months: $50

Views are limited to 300 pages per day to conserve bandwidth on the busy "HamCall" server.

Verifications for contacts made on or after February 17, 2008 are acceptable for CQ DX Award credit. CQ DX Honor Roll members with 335 or more credits should update by May 31st for highest placement in Honor Roll listings.

The new 339 entity maximum will appear on CQ DX Honor Rolls to be prepared in early June. CQ DX Honor Roll listings prepared in early April will be based on a 338 maximum count.

All Kosovo contacts will count for field KN on applications for the CQ DX Field Award.

Kosovo's status has been the subject of some controversy in the amateur radio community as well as the world community, as the ARRL declared that special operations from there on February 17 will count as Serbia, not Kosovo, in terms of DXCC credit. The United States and many European countries immediately recognized Kosovo's independence. However, Russia and China are opposed to it and Russia has threatened to veto any U.N. action to recognize Kosovo as an independent nation.

"We are aware that the ARRL has not yet added Kosovo to the DXCC list," explained CQ magazine Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU. "The League says it is waiting for Kosovo to become a member state of the United Nations or be issued a callsign block by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a U.N. agency. However, because of geopolitical issues far beyond the realm of amateur radio, it is unlikely that the United Nations or the ITU will act on Kosovo in the near future, even though the United States and many other countries have granted it recognition."

"Because it is CQ's policy to grant credit for contacts with 'new' entities as of the date that their status changes," Moseson continued, "we have decided not to wait for U.N. action, but to follow the lead of the United States and other countries that have recognized Kosovo's independence, and to grant credit for contacts made with stations in Kosovo as of its independence day, February 17, 2008."

(NOTE: This action does not affect the country list for the CQ WW DX Contest. CQWW rules state that its country list is composed of those entities on the DXCC list and the WAE (Worked All Europe) award list. If the WAE Committee decides to add Kosovo to its list, it will automatically be added to the CQWW list.)

The 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07) ended November 16th with a combination of good news and bad news for hams, but no major changes.

The ARRL Letter reports that the conferees at the International Telecommunication Union conference approved a new worldwide secondary allocation for amateur radio at 135.7-137.8 kHz, with a maximum effective radiated power of 1 watt; and agreed to consider a possible additional LF allocation around 500 kHz at its next conference in 2011. However, an attempt to secure a worldwide amateur allocation in the vicinity of 5 MHz was defeated, and the delegates turned down a bid to discuss at WRC-11 a greater 6-meter allocation for hams in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit heard oral arguments in late October on the ARRL's appeal of the FCC's refusal to reconsider its 2004 Report and Order setting up rules for Broadband over Power Lines, or BPL. The ARRL has claimed consistently that certain BPL systems cause widespread interference across the HF and low VHF bands. According to the ARRL Letter, the League's main points dealt with the FCC's decision that interference to mobile stations could not be considered "harmful" because those stations could move away from the interference, and the fact that the Commission deleted several key portions of a technical study the ARRL had requested under the Freedom of Information Act. It will be several months before the court issues its decision.

Meanwhile, the FCC has "admonished" Ambient Corporation for exceeding radiated emission limits on its BPL system in Briarcliff Manor, New York. The system has been the source of a steady stream of interference complaints filed with the FCC by the ARRL and local amateurs since 2004. The FCC letter did not specifically address any of those complaints, nor did it make any finding about interference.

Motorola announced in early November that one of its subsidiaries, MI, Inc., was launching an effort to buy controlling interest in Vertex Standard, the parent company of Yaesu. If the $108 million bid is successful, Vertex Standard will become a subsidiary of Motorola, but will still be headquartered in Japan and day-to-day management is supposed to remain intact. The January issue of CQ  will carry details and an interview with Vertex Standard's US amateur sales chief, Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV.

AMSAT says it's working on a deal with Intelsat to put amateur radio transponders on a future commercial satellite in geosynchronous orbit (this means it orbits at the same speed as the Earth and always appears to be in the same spot overhead). According to the AMSAT News Service, AMSAT-NA President Rick Hambly, W2GPS, and Engineering Vice President Bob McGwier, N4HY, told attendees at the 2007 AMSAT Space Symposium that while arrangements are not yet complete, "there is enough in place at this time that AMSAT needs to begin planning engineering work" and possible construction of a ham payload for one of Intelsat's satellites.

In addition to potentially providing audio, video and digital messaging relays for hams on Earth, the payload under consideration could also be used to provide relays for school contacts in the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program, potentially expanding the current 10-minute-per-pass contact limit with hours-long access that might permit student involvement with experiments aboard the space station.

Ham radio in Iraq may be back on the air. On November 13, according to the ARRL Letter, Iraqi Amateur Radio Society President Diya Sayah, YI1DZ, announced that hams there would be allowed back on the air as of today, November 20. All ham radio operation there had been shut down in March 2007 for security reasons. We will update this article when we get reports of actual on-air activity.

FCC Amateur Radio enforcement chief Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, announced in late October that he would be retiring from his post in early January of 2008. But a week later, he let it be known that he'd changed his mind. "I know it's embarrassing," he told CQ, "but I agonized about it over the weekend and I realized I'm not ready to be a retired person yet." So in case you were planning anything nasty as of this month, be forewarned: The Sheriff is still in town.

Retired Vice Admiral John "Scott" Redd, K0DQ, who stepped down recently as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, has been awarded the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal for his exceptional contributions to the intelligence community and defense of the nation. The medal was presented on November 9 by Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell at a ceremony held in Redd’s honor at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. (An interview with Adm. Redd is scheduled to appear in the February 2008 issue of CQ.)

Two antennas for use by the ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) program have been installed on the outside of the new Columbus space station module, which is scheduled for launch later this year. According to the ARRL Letter, the two antennas passed electrical and SWR tests, and one of them also passed a thermal test under vacuum. The Columbus module will house an additional ham station for the space station, including an OSCAR-like transponder operating on 1.2/2.4 GHz and the first digital amateur television (DATV) station in space. The DATV downlink will be on 2.4 GHz. The ham gear is still being built. It is expected that the transponder will support a bandwidth of between 4 and 8 MHz, and that its separation from the primary ARISS station will permit both to operate at the same time.

Donations are needed to fill a $21,000 funding shortfall. See the Columbus website at <http://www.ariss-eu.org/columbus.htm> for details on contributing.

The FCC has revoked the amateur license of Robert D. Landis, N6FRV, due to a 1991 conviction for child molestation and his continued confinement in a psychiatric hospital following completion of his prison term. In a November 20 order signed by Enforcement Bureau Chief Kris Anne Monteith, the FCC said the evidence before it leads to the conclusion that Landis "lacks the basic requisite character qualifications to be and remain a Commission licensee." The Commission notes that Landis has never violated any provisions of the Communications Act of 1934 and reports that he says his on-air conduct and his status as a war veteran should demonstrate his good character.

However, the FCC says that after completing his 11-year prison term, Landis was confined to a mental hospital and found by the state court in California to be "a sexually violent predator who is a danger to others…" Therefore, says the Commission, "neither his assertions regarding his character nor the passage of time have sufficiently rehabilitated him to mitigate his past misconduct," and determined that Landis "does not possess the character qualifications required by this Commission to be or remain a licensee." The revocation takes effect December 30th, unless Landis files a petition for reconsideration or an application for review before December 20th.

A ham in Illinois has been asked to provide the FCC with a wide range of information regarding allegations that he was operating an unlicensed radio station on 6.950 and 13.556 MHz. Those frequencies are allocated to the fixed services. According to the FCC, signals "exceed(ing) the power limit of Part 15 of the Commission's rules for unlicensed transmitters" were traced to the Taylorville, Illinois, address of Todd Daugherty, N9OGL. Among the questions Daugherty needs to answer are what "Omega One Radio" and "Langley Park Studios" are, and his relationship to either of them, whether he has ever applied for a low-power broadcast license, and whether he has ever identified himself (and if so, when) as "Todd O'Dochartaigh N9OGL." He was given 20 days to respond to the FCC's inquiries.

The FCC also wants some information from Charles Caprio, AD8Q, of Bullhead City, Arizona. It says complaints have been filed against his station alleging operations outside the ham bands, recording and retransmitting wireless telephone calls and making threats to other amateurs. He also was given 20 days to tell the Commission his side of the story.

The FCC has dropped an inquiry into the 17 club callsigns held by Anthony Amato, KR4UQ, of Chester, Virginia. He is listed as the trustee for all 17 stations, which are licensed as club stations to various Virginia RACES clubs. "Although the number of such club licenses appears more than necessary," wrote FCC Special Counsel for Amateur Radio Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, "we have accepted your responses." Amato was reminded that each club holding a club license must have at least four members, a name, an organizing document and a primary purpose devoted to amateur radio activities. Hollingsworth added that "(y)ou may be periodically requested to document that these club stations comply with the above rules."

The Amateur Radio Service has been designated the Marine Corps Marathon's Volunteer Group of the Year in light of 30 years of support and service provided by hams to the foot race held each year in Arlington, Virginia and Washington, DC. According to the ARRL Letter, hams began providing communications for the event in 1978, in the marathon's third running. Race Director Rick Nealis said the ham volunteers play a "vital role" in medical operations during the race, enabling the Marine Corps Marathon "to provide all participants the highest level of emergency care." Nealis added, "I am deeply appreciative of the hams' continued support." The award also recognized two individual hams in leadership roles, Rick Bunn, N4ASX, and Tom Azlin, N4ZPT.

Retired Vice Admiral Scott Redd, K0DQ, has stepped down as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, citing health reasons. Redd, a well-known contester and DXer, has been NCTC director since mid-2005. According to spokeswoman Leslie Jewell, Redd needs to undergo double knee replacement surgery, and felt the recovery and rehabilitation time would keep him away from his post for too long. Deputy Director Michael Leiter is serving as Acting Director until a permanent replacement is named. CQ will be featuring an an interview with K0DQ in its January 2008 issue.

Delegates and observers representing amateur radio societies from 18 countries in North and South America met in Brazil in October at the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region II conference. Among proposals adopted, according to the Radio Amateurs of Canada, were to establish a region-wide emergency communications committee; set up a relief fund to help national societies whose headquarters buildings and stations are damaged by natural disasters, and to implement a new, bandwidth-based, HF band plan for North and South America, effective Jan. 1, 2008.

The 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07) got under way on October 22. WRCs are held by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to decide international issues regarding frequency allocations, license requirements, etc. While this year' conference did not have a specific focus on amateur radio as was the case at the last conference in 2003, there were two agenda items that may affect hams. According to the ARRL Letter, one involves proposals from several countries to give hams greater worldwide access to the 5 MHz (60-meter) band, and the other is a proposal for a worldwide secondary amateur allocation at 136 kHz. In addition, Newsline reports that the conference was expected to feature a showdown between international broadcasters and military users over access to spectrum in the 4-10 MHz region. The conference runs through mid-Novmeber. We expect to have a report on the conference highlights in our January issue, with more detailed coverage (if warranted) in the February CQ.

The ARRL Letter reports that the Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has gotten his ham license. Dr. Hamadoun Touré, a native of Mali, received the Swiss callsign HB9EHT (the ITU's headquarters are in Geneva). The ITU is a United Nations agency responsible for establishing international regulations regarding all types of telecommunications.

Four 70-centimeter repeaters in Massachusetts have gone off the air after apparently being unable to sufficiently reduce interference to a nearby Air Force "Pave Paws" radar site. The system is used to detect water-launched missiles and is in use around the clock. Amateur radio use of the 420-450 MHz band is secondary to government radiolocation. According to Newsline, a fifth system in Rhode Island was likely to follow. In addition, more than 100 repeaters in California are trying to work out interference issues with the Pave Paws system on the west coast. At press time, no final decisions had been made regarding any of those repeaters.

A ham from Bellingham, Washington, accused of causing willful and repeated interference to a repeater across the border in British Columbia, Canada, has been issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture by the FCC in the amount of $7,000. According to the FCC, its inspectors monitored James Grinton, K7VNI, repeatedly transmitting unidentified signals on the repeater input frequency and had warned him that if the interference continued he would be subject to enforcement action and fines. The FCC says the interference did continue and imposed a fine of $3000 for failure to identify and another $4000 for "unauthorized emissions." Grinton was given 30 days to either pay the fine or file a written petition for reduction or cancellation.

In another enforcement action, Darin Colville, KM0Q, of O'Fallon, Missouri, has agreed not to operate his or any other amateur station on VHF or UHF for six months. This, in response to accusations of broadcasting, deliberate interference and failure to identify. Colville agreed to the restriction in order to avoid further enforcement sanctions. The restriction is retroactive to July 9, 2007, and ends January 6, 2008.

Three astronaut hams, including two women, have been appointed to top positions in NASA. Bob Cabana, KC5HBV, has been named Director of the agency's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. He will be succeeded in Houston as Deputy Director of the Johnson Space Center by Ellen Ochoa, KB5TZZ, who had been Director of Flight Crew Operations there. Meanwhile, Astronaut Peggy Whitson, KC5ZTD, arrived at the International Space Station in mid-October, where she takes over as the first woman commander of a space station crew. Coincidentally, a Discovery mission scheduled for late October was to be commanded by Astronaut Pamela Melroy (not a ham as far as we know). It will be the first time two women were simultaneously commanding two separate spacecraft.

Many CQ readers recall listening to the first ham to operate from space, Astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL, who made contacts from the shuttle Columbia in 1983. Now, Garriott's son, Richard - who is KE5QNX and has applied for his grandfather's former call, W5KWQ - is also planning to fly in space, although as a private citizen rather than a NASA astronaut. The younger Garriott is a successful video game software designer, and is currently vice chairman of Space Adventures, the company that is arranging his trip for between $30 and $55 million. According to the ARRL Letter, Richard will conduct experiments in orbit for Extermozyme, a biotechnology company co-founded by his father. He is also planning on making ham radio contacts with school groups through the ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) program while in space.

The National Frequency Coordinators' Council (NFCC) is asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to clarify its definition of what constitutes a repeater. According to Newsline, the request was prompted by an informal opinion from an FCC official suggesting that digital voice systems, such as D-Star, are not technically repeaters because there is a slight delay between reception of the input signal and transmission of the output signal. As a result, some digital systems are not being put up outside the repeater subbands, threatening to cause interference to weak-signal and satellite transmissions. The NFCC asked the FCC to define as a repeater "any amateur station, other than a message forwarding system, that automatically retransmits a signal sent by another amateur station on a different frequency while it is being received, regardless of any delays in processing that signal or its format or content…" No response so far from the FCC.

Researchers from NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) have issued a report on Broadband over Power Lines (BPL), also known in Europe as Power Line Communications (PLC), in which they cite potential interference threats to military communications. The report, from the Research Task Group on HF Interference, Procedures and Tools, concludes that if BPL technology comes into widespread operation, then "existing HF background noise possibly may be increased via ground wave and/or sky wave propagation." The report continues that a higher "noise floor" on HF "will bring up problems for Military Radio Users as well as for HF Communication Intelligence (COMINT) in all NATO countries," adding, "The signal-to-noise ratio thus may be reduced for tactical and strategic HF radio as well as for fixed sensitive COMINT sites." The report further concluded that there is "a) High probability that PLT would cause increased noise levels at sensitive receiver sites given the projected market penetration; and b) The percentages are highly influenced by assumptions on transmitter EIRP, PLT market penetration, and duty cycle." The group recommended that, at a minimum, "regulatory limits on PLT emissions be harmonised throughout the NATO countries…" A complete copy of the report is available online at <http://ftp.rta.nato.int/public//PubFullText/RTO/TR/RTO-TR-IST-050/$$TR-IST-050-ALL.pdf>.

Satellite TV provider DirecTV reportedly is going into the BPL business, partnering with the Current Group to offer customers high-speed internet and phone service over power lines, to better compete with cable and phone company package offers. According to "Newsline," the ARRL is not too concerned with this development, noting that Current Technologies is one of the BPL good-guys, and that there have been no significant interference problems is the company's BPL installations in Cincinnati, Ohio or Dallas, Texas. DirecTV may begin to offer this service by the end of this year.

A ham in Lubbock, Texas, has been suffering power line interference problems for more than a decade, and the FCC has been involved in the matter since 1994. Now, the Commission has finally issued citations to two power companies -- Lubbock Power & Light and Xcel Energy -- after an investigation in May of this year reportedly showed that the two utilities had 'caused harmful  interference to the reception of amateur communications to amateur licensee W5KFT."

The ARRL Letter reports that Xcel Energy responded by hiring interference detective Mike Martin, K3RFI, to track down the specific source of the problem. The company said it tried to get Lubbock Power & Light to join the effort, but it declined. Lubbock Power & Light, meanwhile, denied any rules violation in its response to the FCC citation.

The ARRL says it is continuing to work with the Defense Department and UHF repeater owners in California and Massachusetts to eliminate interference to an Air Force radar system known as PAVE PAWS. After meeting with defense officials, the ARRL sent letters to specifically-identified repeater owners, asking them to reduce their signal levels by anywhere from 7 dB to 56 dB. Suggestions for methods to accomplish this were included in the letters, including reducing power output and shifting from omnidirectional to directional antennas. Repeaters that continue to interfere may be ordered shut down by the FCC. PAVE PAWS helps detect water-launched missiles and is in constant use on the 440 MHz band. The military is the primary occupant of the 70 centimeter band. Amateur radio's allocation there is secondary, and amateur stations may not cause interference to the primary occupants.

The FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has started up a web-based, automated Disaster Information Reporting System. According to Government Technology magazine, "DIRS is a voluntary, efficient, web-based system that communications companies, including wireless, wireline, broadcast, and cable providers, can use to report communications infrastructure status and situational awareness information during times of crisis." More information is available at <http://www.govtech.com/gt/articles/142319>.

The Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications (GAREC) conference has recommended worldwide adoption of emergency communications "Centre of Activity" frequencies in five HF bands, to better promote international response to major disasters. The recommended frequencies, already adopted by Region I of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), which covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa, are: 21,360 kHz, 18,160 kHz, 14,300 kHz, 7,060 kHz and 3,760 kHz. The recommendations were released at the GAREC conference held in August in Huntsville, Alabama. See the "Public Service" column on page 46 of the November issue of CQ for additional information on the conference.

The cost of applying for or renewing a custom, or vanity, amateur radio callsign has gone down to its lowest point ever. As of September 17, the FCC lowered the fee for the 10-year license from $20.80 to $11.70. The amount of the fee is subject to adjustment every year, and according to the ARRL Letter, fees have ranged from $12 to $50 since the vanity call program began in 1996.

Former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite, KB2GSD, will receive a dual honor this month from the Radio Club of America, the world's oldest radio communications society. According to a news release, Cronkite and fellow ham Jack Belrose, VE2CV, will be presented with the club's Armstrong Medal at its annual dinner on November 16. In addition, Cronkite will become only the 26th person in the club's 98-year history to be granted honorary membership in the organization.

VHF DXers and HF operators pursuing CQ's DX Field Award will be pleased to know that the QRZ.com website has added a new feature. According to "Newsline," the "GridFinder" will let hams find the Maidenhead grid locator for just about any point on the planet. More information is available at <http://www.qrz.com/gridfinder>.

A ham radio packet station on the International Space Station is back on the air. "Newsline" reports that the ISS packet beacon has been heard on 145.825 MHz simplex, running APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System) software. It is operating under the Russian callsign, R0ISS.

            On July 31, the ARRL filed a reply brief in a Federal appeals court in response to an FCC brief which aimed to rebut the ARRL's challenge to the Commission's Broadband over Power Line (BPL) rules, which were enacted in 2004.  According to the ARRL Letter, the reply brief charges that the FCC was "engaging in misdirection - rebutting hyperbolic arguments ARRL never made, refusing to address the precedents ARRL cited and attempting to rewrite the Orders as if they made factual rather than legal determinations."  ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, said that the reply brief focuses largely on the FCC's "unprecedented failure" to protect mobile stations from interference.

            In a related story, on July 25, the ARRL filed an Informal Objection to the request by the Ambient Corporation for a renewal of the experimental authorization that permits it to run BPL anywhere in the United States. The League says Ambient's long-running system in Briarcliff Manor, New York, has been the cause of harmful interference since it started operating, something the FCC has done little to resolve. According to the League's objection, "there is nothing that has been filed by Ambient which could justify the continuation of experimental operation of this system rather than operation pursuant to the Commission's rules governing virtually all other BPL systems."

            Meanwhile, some FCC commissioners still seem to be promoting BPL. Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein addressed the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications in late July on the need for "a national broadband strategy to ensure the ubiquitous deployment of affordable, high speed broadband infrastructure in this country."  According to the ARRL Letter, he described BPL as "a technology deserving of 'increasing incentives for investment.' "  ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, faxed a response to the FCC Commissioner in which he expressed "great disappointment" with Adelstein's BPL remarks.  Sumner referred to the ARRL's objections to BPL's "propensity to interfere with radio communications, a flaw that is not shared by other broadband delivery platforms," and said that BPL "has not earned a place in the much-needed national broadband strategy to benefit all Americans."

In light of recent FCC actions such as the lifting of the Morse code testing requirement, the ARRL Board of Directors has set a goal of recruiting 30,000 new ham licensees in 2008.  According to the ARRL Letter, "with approximately 6,000 licensees disappearing from the ranks of amateurs every year through attrition and non-renewal, the board recognized the importance of striving to create real growth in the Service."  The Letter went on to say that the combination of the new licensing system and the coming upswing in the sunspot cycle will enable hams to bring in an increased number of new licensees and generally increase interest in ham radio. 

            The Letter also reports that the Board "took action on two pressing matters, background checks and emerging digital technologies," at its July meeting.  The Board responded to an ongoing conflict with the American Red Cross over its background check requirement by approving a policy stating that "communications volunteers participating in ARRL-sponsored programs should not be required by served agencies to undergo background investigations of any kind," but also said that criminal background checks done by law enforcement are "generally acceptable."  The new policy said it was "not reasonable" for an agency being assisted by ham volunteers to require them to "consent to credit checks, mode of living investigations or investigative consumer reports," and that Memoranda of Understanding between the League and organizations to which it was providing volunteer emergency communications services would have to ensure that such requirements would not be imposed. 

            The Board also asked frequency coordination groups to provide coordination for D-Star digital communications systems. Some repeater coordinators do not consider D-STAR a repeater due to the nature of digital communications.

FCC amateur enforcement chief Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, says the number of complaints about misbehavior on the ham bands has dropped off dramatically in recent months. The ARRL Letter reports that at the annual National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators in late July, Hollingsworth said he'd received only three ham-related complaints in the two and a half months since the Dayton Hamvention®, and said he was "very happy" that there has been a "slowdown" in the need for enforcement action on the ham bands.

The ARRL Letter reports that the International Telecommunication Union has approved a new callsign block - E7A to E7Z - for Bosnia and Herzegovina, to replace the currently used T9A-T9Z block. The changeover is expected to take place late this year.

            On August 8th, the space shuttle Endeavour lifted off with a crew including Mission Specialist Barbara Morgan, KD5VNP.  Morgan is a teacher who was first selected for the Teacher in Space Project 22 years ago as the backup for teacher Christa McAuliffe on the Space Shuttle Challenger.  McAuliffe and seven other crew members died on January 28th, 1986 when the Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff. 

"I'm really excited about going up and doing our jobs and doing them well," Morgan was quoted as saying in the ARRL Letter.  "I'm excited about experiencing the whole spaceflight, seeing Earth from space for the very first time and experiencing weightlessness and what that's all about.  I am excited about seeing what it's like living and working on board the International Space Station." 

            In other ISS news, an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was made on August 4th between astronauts on the station and scouts at the 21st World Scout Jamboree, which was held in Chelmsford, England. According to the Letter, the Jamboree hosted about 40,000 scouts from around the world.  Ten scouts were able to ask two questions each to astronaut Clay Anderson, KD5PLA, using special event station GB100J.  The contacts were broadcast on the jamboree's radio station and was streamed on the station's website and on EchoLink, where it received 50 connections from 12 countries.  Video and audio of the contacts is available at <http://www.g6lvb.com/GB100JISS.wmv>.

What does Saturn sound like? The AMSAT News Service reports that NASA is making available a recording of Saturn's radio emissions picked up by the Cassini spacecraft. The recording is said to sound very similar to recordings of Earth's auroral radio emissions, suggesting numerous small radio sources moving along magnetic field lines. More information, as well as the recording itself, can be found online at <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia07966.html>.

Also in space, "Newsline" reports that the long-silent RS-15 amateur satellite has apparently been heard again. The Russian satellite, launched in 1994, hasn't been heard from in more than a decade. Dutch amateur H.M. Hamoen, PA3GUO, says he heard and recorded the RS-15 beacon on 29.3516 MHz on July 29. More information is available at <http://home.vianetworks.nl/users/hamoen/pa3guo>.

There are developments in Congress, the federal courts, and at the FCC in the ARRL's ongoing battle against interference caused by Broadband over Power Lines, or BPL. On Capitol Hill, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) has introduced S. 1629, the Senate version of a bill previously filed in the House by fellow Arkansan Rep. Mike Ross. The bill would require the FCC, within 90 days, to study specific factors relating to interference by BPL to licensed radio users, and to report back to Congress with options for "new or improved rules" to "prevent harmful interference to public safety and other radio communication systems." The bill is in committee in both houses.

At the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, the ARRL has filed a brief outlining its arguments for having the court review the FCC's decisions on BPL. Among the League's arguments is that, by permitting unlicensed users to operate in bands already occupied by licensed users even if they cause interference, the FCC is reversing "nearly seven decades of consistent statutory interpretation … without so much as acknowledging the reversal, let alone justifying it." The FCC had until July 2 to respond to the ARRL's brief.

Meanwhile, the ARRL Letter reports that the League has again called on the FCC to shut down a BPL system in Briarcliff Manor, New York that it says has been out of compliance with the terms of its experimental license for more than two and a half years. On May 21, the FCC called on the system operator to demonstrate that it's complying with all the terms of its license, but the ARRL called the move "too little, too late." No response as yet from the FCC.

The ARRL is working with the FCC and the Department of Defense (DoD) to try to resolve interference problems between more than 100 amateur repeaters on the 70-centimeter (440 MHz) band and the Air Force's "Pave Paws" radar system. According to the ARRL Letter, the Pave Paws system is used, among other things, to detect water-launched missiles, and is in use around the clock. Government radiolocation has the primary allocation on 70 centimeters and hams are secondary, meaning we cannot cause interference to this system. After talking with DoD and the FCC, the ARRL sent a letter to the owners/trustees of all the repeaters near two Pave Paws installations, asking them to immediately reduce power to 5 watts transmitter power output. The letters also stated that the ARRL would provide the DoD with Longley-Rice calculations (a method of predicting signal loss over irregular terrain) for all affected repeaters by June 15. Those calculations would then be jointly reviewed by DoD, the ARRL and the FCC to determine any additional measures that may be required for each individual repeater, with the goal of resolving all interference by August 1 while permitting all of the repeaters to remain in operation.

Governor Brad Henry of Oklahoma has signed a law enacting the FCC's "PRB-1" antenna rules for amateurs into state law. The new law defines amateur radio antenna support structures as "removable" structures for assessment purposes and states, "A municipal ordinance regulating amateur radio antenna or amateur radio antenna support structures shall comply with the requirements of 47 C.F.R., Section 97.15(b) … by allowing for the erection of an amateur radio antenna or an amateur radio antenna support structure at a height and dimension sufficient to accommodate amateur radio service communications." The law takes effect November 1.

As our August issue went to press, North Carolina's legislature was poised to give final approval to a similar bill, with the added provision that a city or county may not restrict amateur antenna installations to heights below 90 feet "unless the restriction is necessary to achieve a clearly defined health, safety, or aesthetic objective…"

In New Jersey, the legislature passed and sent to the Governor a bill designed to restrict text-messaging while driving, but whose original language banning the use of all "electronic communications devices" threatened to outlaw mobile ham rigs. ARRL Northern New Jersey Section Manager Bill Hudzik, W2UDT, reports that hams were able to get the sponsor to add language specifying that "electronic communications devices do not include amateur radios." It remains unclear how CB radios and scanners would be affected.

If you're a regular reader, you'll recall a bizarre FCC enforcement case in which Frank C. Richards of New York allegedly tried to "steal" the ham license of Frank C. Richards, KB4VU, of Florida by filing to change the address for KB4VU from Florida to New York and change the callsign to the next systematically assigned call. Now, it seems, the New York Richards has taken and passed his Technician Class license exam, but the FCC is saying "not so fast." It has designated Richards' license application for hearing, saying the record raises questions as to "whether he possesses the requisite character qualifications to be a Commission licensee."

The same questions are raised regarding the application of Jack Sharples for a new amateur license. According to the FCC, Sharples, who applied for his license in 2005, is a twice convicted child-sex offender and has been designated by the state of Florida as a sexual predator. While noting that his convictions - in 1996 and 1999 - were more than seven years ago, the FCC says "the nature of his criminal misconduct and the fact that the amateur radio service is particularly attractive to children call into serious question whether he should be permitted to obtain an amateur radio authorization." His application was also designated for a hearing.

One more application designated for hearing was the renewal application of David Castle, WA9KJI. Castle, the Commission says, has caused intentional interference, transmitted without communicating with any particular station and used "slanderous, harassing and indecent language on amateur frequencies." This continuing misconduct, says the FCC, raises questions as to his qualifications to remain a Commission licensee.

The Potomac Valley Radio Club (PVRC) has voluntarily forfeited the Club Gavel Award for the 2006 ARRL Sweepstakes contest after discovering that some participating members were spread out over too great an area. Club president Jim Nitzberg, WX3B, explained in a letter to members (posted on the PVRC website) that club competition rules clearly state that all participants must be within 175 miles of "a center," and that close examination of participants' locations showed that "there was measurable activity that occurred from areas that were clearly beyond any … competition boundary." Subtracting the scores of those stations resulted in "losing the contest by a wide margin," Nitzberg reported. He emphasized that this was an internal decision, "consistent with our high ethical standards," and that the club had not been challenged or asked to forfeit. He concluded by congratulating the new gavel winners, "our worthy competitors and good friends at the Northern California Contest Club.

The BS7H DXpedition to Scarborough Reef - #1 on the DX "most wanted" list -- provided many DXers with their last "entity" needed to "work them all." Nearly 18,000 hams made contact with the group of 16 operators from seven different countries, including hams from both China and Taiwan. The week-long operation between April 29 and May 5 resulted in a total of 45,820 QSOs with 17,884 unique callsigns, according to the BS7H website. Nearly half the contacts were made on 20 meters, and those were about evenly split between CW and SSB. The group's logs are online at http://www.scarboroughreef.com/srlog.html. QSL via KU9C.

Amid what it termed "widespread misconceptions" about the intent and effects of its proposal to subdivide amateur radio bands by signal bandwidth rather than by mode, the ARRL has withdrawn its November 2005 "regulation by bandwidth" petition to the FCC. According to the ARRL Letter, the League left open the possibility of re-submitting the petition in the future, either as it is or with changes. ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, said any future petition would be accompanied by a "far better explanation" of its consequences, "so that the misunderstandings that occurred with respect to [the initial petition] do not happen again."

The surge in applications for new and upgraded amateur licenses that began with the removal of the code test requirement for General and Extra Class licenses earlier this year, has dropped off somewhat but continues far above last year's rates. The ARRL Letter reports that new amateur license applications coming through the ARRL VEC are 35% higher than at the same time last year, while upgrade applications are 150% above last year's pace. The heavy volume of applications is stretching the FCC's ability to quickly process all the paperwork. As of the end of April, it was typically taking eight to ten days from the time a test was given until the time the upgrade or new license appeared on the FCC database.

More than 100 amateur repeaters on the 70-centimeter (420-450 MHz) band may be forced to make changes to their power and/or signal patterns or be shut down due to reported interference from them to Air Force "PAVE PAWS" radar systems in California and Massachusetts. Amateur radio is secondary to military users in the 70-centimeter band. The ARRL has submitted an "interference mitigation plan" to the Defense Department which, according to the ARRL Letter, would include temporary output power reductions to 5 watts and studies of each repeater system to make specific recommendations, such as site relocation, directional antenna patterns, permanent power reductions or a combination of these efforts. The League pointed out that it cannot force repeater owners to cooperate, but noted that the alternative would be getting shut down by the FCC. At press time, the Defense Department had not yet responded to the ARRL proposal.

Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) is back in the news, with two recent developments. Online newsletter BetaNews reported on May 15 that satellite television provider DirecTV is considering a wide-scale test sometime next year of delivering signals to homes via BPL rather than individual dish antennas. The company is already sending its signals into homes over phone company DSL lines. The article points out that BPL has its opponents - especially hams - due to interference problems, noting that "(i)nterference has been observed across the high frequency or 'shortwave bands,' as well as on VHF frequencies commonly used by first responders."

Meanwhile, Motorola is pulling the plug on its "Powerline LV" BPL product, one of the few systems that operated without causing interference to hams and other HF radio users. The ARRL Letter reports that the company has suspended product development on the LV system, deciding instead to focus on a system for multiple-unit dwellings called "Powerline MU." The ARRL says Motorola's move "reflects declining interest in residential broadband service delivery among utilities, coupled with more immediate demand for in-building BPL systems."

The governments of Serbia and Montenegro have agreed on dividing the callsign prefixes previously assigned to the two states when they were a single country, something demanded by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which did not want to issue a totally new prefix block to Montenegro, which became independent in June 2006. As a result of the agreement, reports the ARRL Letter, the entire 4O (four-oh, not four-zero) prefix block, from 4O0 to 4O9, will now belong to Montenegro, while Serbian stations will all soon have callsigns beginning with YT or YU. Two other prefix blocks previously assigned to the former Serbia-Montenegro, 4N and YZ, have been returned to the ITU for future reassignment. No firm date has been set for reissuing calls that no longer have the correct prefix, except that the ITU reportedly told the two administrations to do so as quickly as possible.

The FCC has issued an order affirming and clarifying an earlier ruling which exempted "cognitive radios," also known as "smart radios," built for the Amateur Service from FCC certification requirements. The order also applies to digital-to-analog (D/A) converters. According to the ARRL Letter, a cognitive radio is a software defined radio (SDR) that can change its operating parameters based on what else is happening in the RF spectrum around it. In an earlier proceeding, the FCC had adopted certification rules for "smart radios" in general, but apparently it was not clear whether ham rigs would be included. The recent ruling clarified that the FCC "did not intend to impose any new certification requirements for Amateur Radio equipment."

The South African Radio League (SARL) is reaching out to teens and their parents across the country with a new traveling program called "Technology in Action." According to an article in Dataweek magazine, the program is intended "to highlight the technologies that amateur radio embraces and to encourage people to become more involved in technologically-based leisure-time activities." Talks and demonstrations include such topics as the invention of the battery ("The Mystery of the Frog's Thigh"), kit-building, "cricket satellites," ionospheric propagation research and cognitive radio (see previous article). Presentations were scheduled in five South African cities between April and August.

A lack of packet radio traffic and other factors have led to a decision to shut down the SatGate packet message forwarding system. According to the AMSAT News Service, the fully automated system would upload messages from terrestrial packet networks to a digital satellite, then download the messages to networks in the proper part of the world for the destination station. At its peak several years ago, there were 35 SatGate stations around the world.

In other satellite news, the AMSAT News Service reports that the Fuji-OSCAR 29 satellite may have stopped transmitting. ANS asks that any telemetry received from FO-29 be forwarded to JARL controllers at lab@jarl.or.jp .

       (Dayton, Ohio - May 19, 2007) -- CQ Amateur Radio magazine today announced this year’s inductees into the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame and the CQ Contest and DX Halls of Fame. There are 15 inductees into the Amateur Radio Hall of Fame and three new members each of the DX Hall of Fame and the Contest Hall of Fame.

                                           CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame

The CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame honors individuals who: 1) Whether licensed hams or not, who have made significant contributions to amateur radio; and/or 2) As licensed amateurs, have made significant contributions either to amateur radio, to their professional careers or to some other aspect of life on our planet. This year's inductees are, in alphabetical order:

Catona, Phillip W2JAV (SK) - RTTY pioneer, inventor of the modern-day terminal unit

Flaherty, Paul N9FZX (SK) - co-inventor of Alta Vista search engine

Geloso, John I1JGM, Italian amateur radio manufacturer

Griffin, Michael, NR3A - NASA Administrator

Hillier, James ex-VE3SH (SK) - co-inventor of scanning electron microscope; former head of RCA Labs

Johnson, Herb W6QKI (ex-W7GRA) (SK) - Founder of Swan Electronics

Lewallen, Roy W7EL - Developer of EZ-NEC antenna modeling software

Lindquist, Rick N1RL - As ARRL Senior News Editor, he has been responsible for the past decade for keeping the amateur community updated on new developments, via the ARRL Letter and the ARRLWeb news pages.

MacDonald, Copthorne VY2CM - Developer of slow-scan TV (SSTV), author, philosopher

McArthur, Bill KC5ACR - Astronaut who set various ham radio operating records from the International Space Station, including being the first person to complete WAS (Worked All States), WAC (Worked All Continents) and DXCC (DX Century Club) from orbit.

Miller, Don W9NTP - SSTV pioneer; developed (with KB9VAK) first high-definition digital SSTV protocol and program.

Tristao, Louis KG6VY (SK) - Inventor of crank-up tower

Tucker, Durward J., W5VU (SK) - Helped promote and popularize RTTY in the 1950s; oilman and Managing Director of WRR Radio, Dallas

Weiss, Adrian (Ade) W0RSP (ex-K8EEG) - leading proponent and promoter of QRP (low-power communications) in the 1970s and 80s

Winder, Farrell, W8ZCF - Transmitted first SSTV signals to MIR space station. Active with MAREX (MIR Amateur Radio EXperiment) and Suitsat-1 planning teams

                                                 CQ DX Hall of Fame

There are three new inductees this year into the CQ DX Hall of Fame:

Roger Western, G3SXW, and Nigel Cawthorne, G3TXF, were nominated together. Roger and Nigel are avid DXpeditioners and have activated many rare locations with their two-man, CW-only, expeditions. To date, Nigel has operated from 44 DX locations, while Roger has been on the air from 37. Nigel owns what may be the world's largest collection of QSL cards. In fact, he recently completed an addition to his home solely to house his QSL collection!

In addition to his trips with Nigel, Roger is a founding member of the "Voodudes" contest DXpedition group, a member of the CQ Contest Hall of Fame, and an international adviser to the CQ World Wide DX Contest Committee. He has also authored two books, Up Two: Adventures of a DXpeditioner and Contesting in Africa: Multi-Multi on the Equator.

Mauro Pregliasco, I1JQJ, is co-editor (with his wife, Valeria, IK1ADH) of 425 DX News, the leading DX bulletin in Europe and one of the most popular in the world. The newsletter is published online in both Italian and English, with some 15,000 subscribers to the English version alone. Mauro is also a very active DXer, holding most of the major DX awards, sits on the Radio Society of Great Britain's IOTA committee, and is Vice Secretary General and HF Award Manager for ARI, the Italian national amateur radio association.

                                                CQ Contest Hall of Fame

The CQ Contest Hall of Fame inducts three new members this year as well:

Fred Capossela, K6SSS, is a past CQ World Wide DX Contest Director and, for the past 40 years, has maintained and annually updated the CQWW All-Time Records List. It was under Fred's direction that the CQWW became the world's most popular and most professionally-run amateur radio contest. The first contester to run the contest, Fred introduced the rigorous verification standards for contacts and multipliers, developed the All-Time Records List, set the current contest dates and introduced the Band-by-Band top scorers' matrix. It was Fred's dedication to running the contest in a fair, honest and professional manner that laid the foundation for the CQWW's current stature.

Phil Goetz, N6ZZ (SK), has the distinction of having operated the CQWW DX Contest from each of the world's 40 CQ zones - one of only two amateurs ever to accomplish this feat (Dick Norton, N6AA, is the other) - and missed operating in the CQWW only three times in the 47 years between 1960 and 2006. Phil was a member of the first ARRL Contest Advisory Committee and served three separate times on the CQWW Contest Committee. In addition, he was a judge at every World Radio Teamsport Championship (WRTC) event, except in 2002, when he was a contestant. Phil became a Silent Key earlier this year.

Tom Taormina, K5RC, has been contesting since 1959, when he entered the ARRL Sweepstakes and made a whopping 35 contacts. His scores improved dramatically since then, and he has held several records and won several national and divisional championships. He has also mentored a string of world-class contesters, who have themselves gone on to record-setting performances. Tom helped develop the Multi-Two category in the ARRL DX contests and helped create the North American QSO Party. He is also a past member of the CQ WW Contest Committee and a past Editor of the National Contest Journal. Tom is also active in DXing and public service communications.

####

Ham radio in Iraq remains shut down indefinitely, and early optimism by Iraq Amateur Radio Society President Diya Sayah, YI1DZ, that he might persuade officials to change their minds has not panned out so far. According to the ARRL Letter, Sayah has not been able to meet with either Defense Ministry officials or Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, although efforts are ongoing. Sayah also says the IARS refused a government request to warehouse all ham radio equipment in the country, citing the danger involved in going out to pick up gear. Meanwhile, Sayah reports that many Iraqi hams continue to be active via Echolink and other Voice-over-Internet ham connections.

The ARRL notes that the ham radio shutdown in Iraq does not apply to MARS stations, which operate on military frequencies.

The draft text of a technical report to the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) includes proposals for worldwide allocations on three amateur bands that are currently authorized in some countries but not in others. The ITU-R study group recommends a worldwide secondary amateur allocation at 135.7-135.8 kHz, a primary worldwide allocation at 7.2-7.3 MHz, and a worldwide secondary allocation at 5.26-5.40 MHz.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has developed a set of requirements for a worldwide standard for Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) systems. According to "Newsline," it is hoped that the new standard, when finalized (possibly as early as next year), could help reduce or eliminate some of the current problems with interference to radio communications, including HF and VHF amateur radio.

Meanwhile, proponents of a bill in Congress that would mandate an FCC study of BPL interference issues are worried that the advent of an IEEE standard will reduce chances of getting the bill passed. HR-462, the Emergency Amateur Radio Interference Protection Act of 2007, is currently in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Proponents are concerned that the IEEE is giving a level of respectability to BPL that they feel it does not deserve.

Space tourist Charles Simonyi, who was licensed as KE7KDP before his trip to the International Space Station, reportedly was quite active on ham radio during his brief visit, conducting general QSOs from the ISS ham station. AMSAT News Service reports that Simonyi at one point said, "I think amateur radio was the beginning of the internet … I never thought I would do either amateur radio or space flight, but both of them are a lot of fun."

Meanwhile, Astronaut Suni Williams, KD5PLB, "ran" the Boston Marathon in orbit, completing the requisite 26.2 miles on the ISS treadmill in four hours, 23 minutes and 10 seconds, according to NASA. She was probably the only runner in the race to stay dry, as the weather in Boston was rainy and windy. A Massachusetts native and accomplished marathoner, Williams made the run - circling the Earth at least twice in the process - "to encourage kids to start making physical fitness part of their daily lives."

You've heard of hybrid cars, but what about hybrid cards? A pair of Israeli hams, Azar Hami, 4X6MI, and Paul Gross, 4X6UU, have developed something called "Global QSL," which is a mix between traditional and electronic QSLing. According to "Newsline," registered users can design their own cards, then upload QSO information either manually or through the standard ADIF format used by most logging programs. Global QSL will then print out "real" cards, sort them and mail them to incoming QSL bureaus around the world. Basic rates are 100 cards (including distribution) for $9.90 US, or 1,000 cards (including distribution) for $82 US. For more info, see www.globalqsl.com .

The ARRL is now permitting its volunteer DXCC field checkers to certify cards for contacts more than ten years old (which previously had to be sent to ARRL headquarters), and to check cards for the Worked All States (WAS) and VHF/UHF Century Club (VUCC) awards as well. Field checkers still may not certify cards for contacts on 160 meters or with entities that have been deleted from the DXCC list.

What does Warren Buffett, one of the world's richest men, have to do with electronic parts? Well, his company, Berkshire Hathaway, now owns the company that owns Mouser Electronics, a major supplier of parts to hams who like to build. Mouser is part of TTI, Inc., which was purchased March 30 by Berkshire Hathaway. According to a company news release, TTI's and Mouser's management will remain in place and the change of ownership "should be invisible to customers and suppliers." (So this is probably why we didn't see Warren Buffett roaming the flea market at Dayton - ed.)