Month: December 2022

The Future of Amateur Radio

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[As we prepare to ring in the New Year, I wanted to share this insightful essay generated by an artificial intelligence program known as “ChatBOT.” Pete Chamalian, W1RM, asked it about the future of  ham radio. -K9HI]

“Ham radio, also known as amateur radio, is a hobby that involves the use of radio frequency spectrum for the purpose of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication. It has a long history dating back to the early 20th century, and it has remained popular among a dedicated group of enthusiasts around the world.

“Despite the proliferation of modern communication technologies such as the internet and cellular networks, ham radio continues to be a valuable resource for emergency communication, as it can operate independently of these systems in the event of a disaster or other emergency situation. As a result, it is likely that ham radio will continue to be an important resource for emergency communication in the future.

“Additionally, the advancement of technology has made it easier and more affordable for individuals to get involved in ham radio, with the availability of small, portable transceivers and a wide range of online resources for learning and training. This may help to attract new enthusiasts and keep the hobby alive and thriving in the future.

“Overall, while it is difficult to predict the exact future of ham radio, it is likely that it will continue to be a popular hobby for those interested in communication and technology, and it will remain an important resource for emergency communication.”

 

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ARRL Handbook 100th Edition Includes Prominent New England Amateurs Among Its Contributors

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ARRL Handbook 100th editionDave Tessitore, K1DT, President of the Providence Radio Association (W1OP) writes in a December 27 email:

“…Under our Christmas tree, from my XYL, was the hot-off-the-press 100th Edition ARRL Handbook.  After our family and friends had all gone home, I sat at my desk and cracked it open.

“There on the title page, under the impressive words, One-Hundredth Edition, is the list of Contributors.  Among them are two PRA Members:  Frank Donovan, W3LPL and Rick Rosen, K1DS.  What an honor to have these two giants in their fields as members of our club!

“I next turned to the middle of the Handbook, to the full-color 100 edition retrospective, and there is a 2-page interview with friend and former PRA member Skip Youngberg, K1NKR, who recently spoke at our 100th anniversary dinner!

“What other radio club has three members contributing to the definitive publication on Amateur Radio?

“But wait, make that four members, for let us not forget our Secretary Domenic Mallozzi, N1DM, who contributed to both the 1986 and 1999 Handbooks!

“Congratulations to Frank, Rick, Skip, and Dom! You make us Proud.”

Well, Dom, N1DM (who will be speaking at the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club’s (NVARC) January meeting) is a member of Marlborough’s Algonquin Amateur Radio Club (AARC).  So that makes two AARC members in the 100th Handbook.

And as far as NVARC is concerned, Phil Erickson, W1PJE, is listed on the title page as a contributor and an article by Joe Dzekevich, K1YOW, is in the Handbook’s supplemental files.  That’s three for NVARC.

Also on the local front, Doug Grant, K1DG, has a title page listing and copious acknowledgements throughout the book.  Club members remember Doug from WRTC2014 and probably a few talks at meetings over the years.  Plus, Jim Idelson, K1IR, and Bob Clarke, N1RC, (whose affiliations are unknown to me) have Handbook title page listings.

It seems like one-land is well represented.

Background (courtesy Skip, K1NKR):

Last Spring, Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, asked me about the status of my QST and Handbook collection.  The League was putting together the 100th edition of the ARRL Handbook for Radio Communications and was looking to contact a collector.  Fred subsequently put me in contact through League Headquarters with Mark Derks (unlicensed then, now KC1RVQ), a member of the publications staff.  Mark and I exchanged phone calls in mid-April, then he and a photographer came over from Newington and visited my shack to conduct an interview.  The result in the hardcover version of the Handbook was a sixteen-page color section of radio history which included two pages devoted to the interview.

The whole exercise was quite enjoyable, with the only difficulty being that I was under a nondisclosure agreement until the Handbook came out.  I had a hard time keeping the secret between April and October!

The K1NKR collection contains every issue of the League’s monthly “QST” magazine back to 1915 (all library-style hardbound) and all but one year of the Handbook.

Technically, this year’s Handbook edition is the hundredth, not the centennial.  The first Handbook edition was published in 1926.  The years 1927 and 1928 actually had two numbered editions published per year.

As you know, the Handbook is a massive, almost 1300-page encyclopedia of electronics and communications technology that weighs in at 6.2 pounds—a pretty good pennies-per-page investment even if you only spring for a Handbook “every hundred years or so.”  And if you do, go for the hardcopy version.

73 all, and the best of the New Year,

Skip

ARLB026 Rep. Bill Johnson Introduces Bill to Eliminate Private Land Use Restrictions on Amateur Radio

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QST de W1AW 
ARRL Bulletin 26  ARLB026
From ARRL Headquarters 
Newington CT  December 24, 2022
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB026
ARLB026 Rep. Bill Johnson Introduces Bill to Eliminate Private Land Use Restrictions on Amateur Radio

Congressman Bill Johnson (OH-6) introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R.9670) on Thursday, December 22, 2022, to eliminate private land use restrictions that prohibit, restrict, or impair the ability of an Amateur Radio Operator from operating and installing amateur station antennas on property subject to the control of the Amateur Radio Operator.

The exponential growth of communities subject to private land use restrictions that prohibit both the operation of Amateur Radio and the installation of amateur station antennas has significantly restricted the growth of the Amateur Radio Service. These restrictions are pervasive in private common interest residential communities such as single-family subdivisions, condominiums, cooperatives, gated communities, master-planned communities, planned unit developments, and communities governed by community associations. The restrictions have particularly impacted the ability of Amateur Radio to fulfill its statutorily mandated duty of serving as a voluntary noncommercial emergency communications service.

Congress in 1996 directed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to promulgate regulations (Public Law 104-104, title II, section 207, 110 Stat. 114; 47 U.S.C. 303 note) that have preempted all private land use restrictions applicable to exterior communications facilities that impair the ability of citizens to receive television broadcast signals, direct broadcast satellite services, or multichannel multipoint distribution services, or to transmit and receive wireless internet services. ARRL attempts to obtain similar relief for Amateur Radio were rejected by the FCC with a statement such relief would have to come from Congress.

ARRL Legislative Advocacy Committee Chairman John Robert Stratton, N5AUS, noted that Congress, in 1994 by Joint Resolution, S.J.Res.90/H.J.Res.199, declared that regulations at all levels of government should facilitate and encourage the effective operation of Amateur Radio from residences as a public benefit. He continued by stating that “H.R.9670, the Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act, is intended to fulfill that mandate and preserve the ability of Amateur Radio Operators to continue to serve as a key component of American critical communications infrastructure.”

ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, and Mr. Stratton both extended on behalf of the ARRL, its Members, and the Amateur Radio community their thanks and appreciation for the leadership of Rep. Johnson in his tireless efforts to support and protect the rights of all Amateur Radio Operators.

The full text of the bill in PDF format is available online at, https://www.arrl.org/files/file/HR9670/HR9670-Amateur-Radio-Emergency-Preparedness-Act.pdf

Tower Collapse, Concord NH

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Chuck Cunningham, K1MIZ, writes on the NEDECN list:
 
 
From: Chuck Cunningham <c.cunningholst@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Dec 23, 2022 at 2:39 PM
Subject: [NEDECN] Tower Collapse
To: <nedecn@googlegroups.com>
 

This morning the 190’ free standing red and white tower owned by ATC located on Plausawa Hill over looking Concord NH collapsed. The tower itself was ripped right out of the ground. Foundation and all. This tower had AT&T cellular and First Net on it. It appears when it collapsed it missed the public safety, National Weather and some Ham Radio towers.  It pulled on a 900 MHZ feed line and ripped a cabinet right across the room. I would love to know what the wind speeds were at the time of collapse.
—
http://www.nedecn.org/
—

Sincerely
Charles Cunningham
K1MIZ

Rep. Lesko Introduces Bill to Replace Symbol Rate Limit with Bandwidth Limit

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ARRL logoFrom ARRL News:

12/22/2022 – Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (AZ-08) introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 9664) on December 21, 2022, to require that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) replace the current HF digital symbol rate limit with a 2.8 kHz bandwidth limit.

After being petitioned by ARRL  The National Association for Amateur Radio® in 2013 (RM-11708) for the same relief, in 2016 the Commission issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (WT Docket No. 16-239) in which it agreed that the HF symbol rate limit was outmoded, served no purpose, and hampered experimentation. But the Commission questioned whether any bandwidth limit was needed in its place. Most amateurs, including the ARRL, objected to there being no signal bandwidth limit in the crowded HF bands given the possibility that unreasonably wide bandwidth digital protocols could be developed, and since 2016 there has been no further FCC action.

In conjunction with introducing the legislation, Congresswoman Lesko stated that “With advances in our modern technology, increased amounts of data can be put on the spectrum, so there is less of a need for a regulatory limit on symbol rates. I am pleased to introduce this important piece of legislation to update the FCC’s rules to support the critical role amateur radio operators play and better reflect the capabilities of our modern radio technology.”

ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, hailed introduction of the bill. Roderick stated that “the FCC’s delay in removing this outdated restriction has been incomprehensible, given that the biggest effect of the delay is to require totally inefficient spectrum use on the already-crowded amateur HF bands. I hope that the Commission will act to remove this harmful limitation without waiting for the bill to be passed.”

ARRL Legislative Committee Chairman John Robert Stratton, N5AUS, added that “the symbol rate limit hampers experimentation and development of more efficient HF data protocols by U.S. amateurs. For all practical purposes the field has been ceded to amateurs outside the U.S., where there is no comparable limit. Removing the restriction not only will allow U.S. amateurs to use the most efficient data protocol suitable for their purpose, but it also will promote and incentivize U.S. amateurs to experiment with and develop even more efficient protocols.”

 

World Amateur Radio Day—Get Your State Legislature Involved!

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World Amateur Radio Day collageMaine Section Manager Phil Duggan, N1EP, writes:

Attached is a PDF draft resolution that was submitted to the Maine legislature for World Amateur Radio Day. […] Maine’s is based off of an ARRL sample and the 2011 resolution that [former Section Manager] N1KAT prepared.
 
73
Phil Duggan, N1EP
Maine Section Manager

 

[World Amateur Radio Day is April 18, 2023—plenty of time for State Government Liaisons or other field organization volunteers to prepare a draft resolution for submission to their state legislatures or governors’ offices.  -K9HI]

See also: 2022 World Amateur Radio Day

“Jumpstart Program” Offers Free Handheld Radios to New Hams

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Bruce Tinkler, N9JBT, writes on the New England Sci-Tech ARS mailing list:

After giving away thousands of free handheld radios to new hams, the QRZ Jumpstart program is back with an exciting new deal!

QRZ, RT Systems and GigaParts are teaming up to offer a more sustainable program that will run at least through the end of this year and will be expanded to include hams who have been licensed for 6 months or less. The new program offers a coupon code to the new ham that gives them a QRZ-1 radio, programming cable, RT Systems programming software, New Ham Welcome Kit, and a QRZ membership for only $21.99. 

This program is available to amateur radio operators licensed in the USA and expires December 31, 2022, or while supplies last. To signup, new hams should complete the application process at www.qrz.com/jumpstart

Jumpstart packages will be begin shipping immediately.

What’s Included:

  • Explorer QRZ-1 Handheld radio
  • Programming cable
  • RT Systems Programming Software
  • Premium QRZ Subscription

How it works:

  1. Apply at www.qrz.com/jumpstart
  2. Receive your unique discount code from QRZ via email
  3. Add a QRZ-1 to your cart 
  4. Add any accessories you may want to purchase
  5. At checkout, enter your unique discount code

*Some restrictions apply, click here for details.

NEAR-Fest XXXIII Date Change: April 28-29, 2023

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NEAR-Fest logoMike Crestohl, W1RC, writes:

NEAR-FestXXXIII will be held on April 28th and 29th 2023 and not on its traditional date which always has been the first weekend in May every year since 2007.  NEAR-Fest XXXIV scheduled for October 13th and 14th 2023 is NOT affected.

Last month the Deerfield Fair Association informed me that they booked two events, the NH Farm, Forest and Garden Show and the NH Arabian Horse Ass’n Show at the Fairgrounds for May 5th and 6th 2023 which is the weekend before Mothers Day.  We were told we were welcome to hold the NEAR-Fest at the same time with the two other shows but there would be a “few small changes” to the parts of the Fairgrounds that we would be allowed to use.
 
Ben, KB1NZN, and I attended a meeting on Thursday December 15th with the DFA Directors and officers and were told that we would have to move what we consider the central part of the flea market to a remote area of the grounds to accommodate the horse show.  Two of our food vendors, Patty and Angelino’s, would also be affected. 
 
[…]
 
Regretfully I decided the best course of action is to take a chance on the weather one week earlier and change the date.  My team agrees with me.  It’s the best way to deal with it.  We have full use of the grounds with no stinking and noisy horses and outsiders to bother us.  I resisted it at first but changed my mind after discussing it with my colleagues who run the fester with me.  
 
Is this a one-time thing or is it permanent?  Depends on if the horse show comes back next spring.  We could co-exist with the Farm Show but it is the horse show that causes us the problems because we use part of the grounds adjacent to the Horse Show ring and bleachers.
 
I still don’t like it but I know it is the right decision.  We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause anyone.
 
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year my friends.

Mentoring and Ham Development/Youth Outreach Group Meeting December 15th

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Our next meeting of the Mentoring and Ham Development and Youth Outreach Groups will be held on Thursday, December 15th from 7:00 to 8:00 pm.

Our speaker will be Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, from the ARRL, who will speak about the Year of the Volunteers.

Contact Anita, AB1QB at ab1qb@nediv.arrl.org to get the Zoom link, or join our Groups.io group – ne-ham-dev .

Hope to see you on Thursday!