Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Sat Oct 24 2020 04:16:52 Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2243, for Friday, October 23rd, 2020 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2243, with a release date of Friday, October 23rd, 2020, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. The FCC invites comments on its proposed license fee. A ham is assaulted while operating portable in the UK -- and young hams pass the baton of leadership in Europe. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2243 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** FCC OPENS COMMENT PERIOD FOR $50 FEE PROPOSAL NEIL/ANCHOR: We begin this week with word that the comment period has opened for the FCC's much-talked-about fee proposed for amateur radio licenses. Stephen Kinford, N8WB, has more. STEPHEN: The comment period has opened for amateur radio operators and others in the United States to weigh in the FCC's proposal to charge a $50 fee for license applications and renewals due every 10 years. In its notice published in the Federal Register, the FCC states that licenses, such as those for amateur radio, are mostly automated processes not requiring staff review. As such, the FCC is calling the proposed fee "nominal," saying it covers the costs of routine ULS maintenance, the automated process itself plus any occasional instance requiring staff input. Comments are due no later than the 16th of November. Reply comments can be made on or before November 30th. To file your comments visit the webpage for the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System at fcc dot gov stroke ecfs stroke (fcc.gov/ecfs/) For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephen Kinford, N8WB. NEIL/ANCHOR: There's one more address for the FCC that hams in the U.S. need to be aware of too -- and it's not on the internet. It's at 45 L Street NorthEast, Washington, D.C. 20554. That's the new location of the agency's headquarters. The FCC is finally in its new offices after a delay in the spring caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. (FCC) ** NEW LEADERSHIP FOR IARU REGION 1 YOUTH NEIL/ANCHOR: In IARU Region 1, the chair of the Youth Working Group has passed the baton, as we hear from Ed Durrant, DD5LP. ED: By the time the IARU Region 1 Virtual General Conference closed on Friday October 16th, the leader of the organisation's Youth Working Group had passed the baton to the next generation. The youth group's chair, Lisa Leenders, PA2LS, ended her tenure, which had begun when the region-wide working group was formed in 2014. Lisa, who was 24 at the time, steps aside for two new leaders elected by the member societies at the conference: Philipp Springer DK6SP, the new chair, and Markus Gro�er, DL8GM, the vice chair. Philipp, who is 22 years old, has been a ham since he was 10. In August, he joined the board of directors of the nonprofit World Wide Radio Operators Foundation. The two new Youth Working Group leaders committed themselves to continuing the Working Group's programmes and moving them forward. They pledged to expand the YOTA program as well and help grow youth activities in the IARU's two other regions. Region 1 represents international amateur radio societies in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Congratulations to Philipp and Markus. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ed Durrant, DD5LP. (YOUNGSTERS ON THE AIR) ** WORLD'S YOUNG AMATEURS PREP FOR YOTA MONTH NEIL/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, the world's young amateurs have been busy. We are just about a month away from December, but it's worth planning ahead for this event - it involves the world's youngest radio amateurs and they're looking for your show of support and your entry in their logbook. December is YOTA Month - that means Youngsters on the Air. It's time for young people to experience their first DX, their first pileup or to show some of their friends who aren't yet licensed amateurs how much fun it is to key that mic. YOTA is asking radio operators around the world to be listening for such stations as HA6YOTA, GB20YOTA, DB0YOTA, HS9YOTA and others who will be using the YOTA suffix and one by one callsigns ending in Y, O, T, and A from the United States. You can be a youngster OR an oldster. Just be listening! (YOUNGSTERS ON THE AIR) --- SBBSecho 3.11-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (454:1/33) .