Public Relations

ARRL Responds to Story of Radio Amateur Told to Remove His Antenna

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From ARRL Web:

09/02/2021 – ARRL has responded to an Orlando, Florida, news story on August 23, 2021 by WFTV Channel 9 alleging a radio amateur was told to remove his antenna by the management of his subdivision following a complaint made by a neighbor.

“The news story appears to stem from a 2-year-old complaint from a neighbor who believed her insulin pump had malfunctioned due to the radio amateur’s operations ‘a few doors down,’” said ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI. “The story is lacking any details or timeline, so I contacted the radio amateur involved for information, and volunteered ARRL’s assistance.”

Hare explained that medical devices such as insulin pumps are regulated by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) specifically for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) purposes and are expected to be capable of operating in all the RF environments likely to be encountered by consumers. FDA published guidance for its staff and industry defines EMC with respect to electrically powered medical devices “as the ability of a device to function safely and effectively in its intended electromagnetic environment, including immunity to electromagnetic disturbance (interference).” FDA review of EMC information submitted with a device for approval “is based on the risk associated with EMC malfunction or degradation of the device under review, as well as the use of appropriate FDA-recognized standards or appropriate consensus standards.”

Hare noted there is an FDA recall for the model number of the insulin pump in question, in approximately the same time frame. “But with so few details, there is no way of knowing whether that recall applies to the serial number used or whether the exact unit has the mechanical defect indicated in the recall notice that could cause the malfunction,” explained Hare.

It also became apparent that there is no actual evidence connecting the amateur’s transmissions to operation of the insulin pump. Hare was told that the amateur agreed to run tests to establish whether there was a cause and effect, but the neighbor declined. 

Hare commented, “While there are no requirements for a radio amateur to stop transmitting due to alleged interference to a non-radio device, the preferred path with any complaint is for neighbors to work together.”

 

N1DUC Featured Guest on Ham Talk Live!

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Greater Bridgeport (CT) Amateur Radio Club assistant secretary Junie Cassone, N1DUC, was the featured guest on Episode 263 of Neil Rapp’s Ham Talk Live!:  “POTA, Lighthouses, and Ducks.” Junie talked about her Parks on the Air activations, Lighthouses, Field Day–and, of course, her ducks.

The episode can be heard at: <https://www.spreaker.com/user/hamtalklive/episode-263-pota-lighthouses-and-ducks-w>.

WA1JXR Featured on QSO Today

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Greg WA1JXR in the shack
Greg Algieri, WA1JXR. Photo courtesy QSO Today.

Greg Algieri, WA1JXR, was interviewed by Eric Guth, 4Z1UG for QSO Today, episode #357. Greg lives in Lancaster, MA, and is a member of the Central Massachusetts Amateur Radio Association. WA1JXR serves as ARRL Technical Coordinator for the Western MA section.

“Greg began his ham radio journey by asking his dad for a Gillette Blue Razor Blade to make this first receiver, leading to amateur radio licenses, higher electronics education, and an entire career with Raytheon, where he worked in radio and antenna design. WA1JXR is active in his amateur radio community as a teacher of new and existing hams, restoring boat anchor vintage radios, and getting on the air.”

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QSO Today is a podcast about the international hobby of amateur radio also known as ham radio. Every week, Eric interviews hams to hear their ham radio story and what they are doing now.  Many of the technologies that we enjoy today including television and radio, cell phones, computers, and the Internet were born out amateur radio hobbyists experimenting with electronics and radio in their basements and garages. Amateur radio was and still is the frontier where hams conducted electronic experiments in order to make that wireless contact around the World.”

U.S. House Member Recognizes Amateur Radio

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Screenshot of Rep. Debbie Lesko recognizing amateur radio on the House floorFred Hopengarten, K1VR, writes:

I’m a member of the ARRL’s Legislative Action Committee and for months we’ve been seeking this endorsement of amateur radio on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. Here it is, just in time for Field Day!

https://fb.watch/6liAYi4SvP/

[Debra Kay Lesko is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Arizona’s 8th congressional district.]

N1EP’s Mainely HamRadio Pocast: “Engaging Young People & New Hams in Amateur Radio”

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Maine Ham Radio Society logoPhil Duggan, N1EP, writes:

Please view the latest Mainely HamRadio podcast at <https://youtu.be/an43OuU0ykY>. The episode features Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, presenting “Engaging Young People & New Hams In Amateur Radio.”  Fred talks about Field Day, ARISS, satellites, youth and Ham Bootcamp. There are valuable opportunities presented in this video not just for young and new hams, but for all.
 
73,

Phil Duggan, N1EP

 

Field Day PR: “Bopping Through the Wild Blue, Amateur Radio Field Day Makes a Connection”

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The Kennebunk (ME) Press Herald carried a story on June 9 entitled, “Bopping Through the Wild Blue, Amateur Radio Field Day Makes a Connection.”
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KENNEBUNK – Interest in amateur, often called “ham” radio began at the turn of the 20th century. It was a way people could talk to each other, across town or across the world.

And although cell phones and other means of communication are very much in use, ham radio remains a popular pastime and a valuable resource.

“It can provide communications when all other systems fail – that has been proven many times during events such as hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, etc.,” said Alex Mendelsohn of the New England Radio Discussion Society. The society will host its annual field day later this month. [Full story]

Field Day Promoted on WOON Radio in Woonsocket, RI

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Blackstone Valley ARCBob Jones, WB1P, writes on the Blackstone Valley ARC (RI) list:

For those who did not catch it,  Ron Blais, KB1RYT, made a fantastic presentation earlier today [June 11, 2021] promoting Field Day on Woonsocket’s WOON radio.  He covered all the aspects of the event and stressed the Blackstone Valley Amateur Radio Club‘s involvement in the activity including its purpose and  schedule.

Thank you Ron!!

“20 Towns in 20 Days: Newington is Home to the American Radio Relay League”

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NEWINGTON, CT (WFSB) – Newington is home to the American Radio Relay League, thee ARRL, and a destination from Ham Radio operators from all over the world.

The organization’s headquarters is in Newington.

“Really, the purposed of Newington in 1938 was to overcome the flooded station at Brainard field. The founder of the organization, Hiram Percy Maxim, found a great piece of property here in Newington and we’ve been here ever since,” said Bob Interbitzen, Product Development Manager at ARRL.

The National Organization for Amateur Radio, or ham operators, has been around for more than 100 years. It was founded on the premise that this budding radio community of amateurs from all over the United States would relay messages wirelessly from location to locations.

“An in the beginning, it was like, ‘let’s get a message from Hartford to Springfield,’ and then all of a sudden, it’s Hartford to Cleveland, and before you know it, we’re all across the country. And then this network of radio amateurs is around the world communicating with each other,” Interbitzen said. [Full story]

“Connecting With Strangers Over Ham Radio Cleared My Family’s Static”

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SU1CR QSL Card imageBoston Globe reporter Gabriella Gage writes this nice human interest story in the May 22, 2012 issue of The Boston Globe:

“On a rainy October night during the pandemic, my husband, David, searches for a faint voice in the distance. He doesn’t know who’s calling, but he knows he wants to speak to them. David adjusts the tuning knob on the decades-old transceiver ever so slightly, as if cracking a safe. Outside, a homemade antenna bobs in the wind. On his computer, pulsating lines tell him the voice is one of hundreds calling out on this busy night. The voice gets clearer: ‘CQ,’ the magic letters he’s been awaiting — the amateur radio operators’ invitation for a response — followed by a call sign. David jumps on his mic, repeating the stranger’s call sign and adds: “This is KB1TOY, Kilo-Bravo-1-Tango-Oscar-Yankee. You’re light but I can hear you!”  [Full story]

 

 

“Saving the MIT Radome”

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Green Bldg rooftop MIT campusFrom ema.arrl.org:

Perched atop the MIT Cecil and Ida Green Building (Building 54), MIT’s tallest academic building, a large, golf ball-like structure protrudes from the roof, holding its own in the iconic MIT campus skyline. This radar dome — or “radome” for short — is a fiberglass shell that encases a large parabolic dish, shielding it from the elements while allowing radio waves to penetrate. First installed in 1966, it was used initially to pioneer weather radar research. As the years passed and technology evolved, the radome eventually fell out of use for this purpose and was subsequently slated for removal as MIT began a major renovation and capital improvement project for the building. That’s when the student-led MIT Radio Society, who had found creative new uses for the radome, sprang into action to save it — and succeeded. [Full story]