Subj : The Weekly ARRL Letter To : All From : Sean Dennis Date : Fri Feb 28 2020 09:05 am The ARRL Letter February 27, 2020 * ARRL Seeks a New Chief Executive Officer * ARRL Comments in Opposition to FCC Plan to Delete the 3.4 GHz Band * AMSAT Cites Need for equate Spectrum in Opposing Deletion of 3.4 GHz Band * ARRL Podcasts Schedule * ARRL Announces Interruptions to Online Services * FCC Turns Down Amateur Licensee's Appeal * The K7RA Solar Update * Just Ahead in Radiosport * Auxiliary Communications Training to Be Held in Conjunction with Dayton Hamvention^(R) * It's Never Too Late to Upgrade * In Brief... * Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions ARRL Seeks a New Chief Executive Officer ARRL is seeking an experienced radio amateur to be Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at its headquarters in Newington, Connecticut. The CEO is the top compensated employee in ARRL's management structure and oversees all operations in collaboration with the President and the Board of Directors, in accordance with ARRL's Articles of Association, Bylaws, and Board policies. The successful candidate will ensure day-to-day management of ARRL, including fiscal operations and will oversee and make certain that its fund-raising, marketing, human resources, technology, advocacy, and governance strategies are effectively implemented. Essential CEO Functions Include: * Leading the headquarters staff and field volunteers, in response to Board policy, in the development and implementation of effective programs for the promotion and growth of amateur radio and the provision of services to members. * Planning, developing, organizing, implementing, directing, and evaluating ARRL's operational and fiscal performance. * Providing leadership, directing headquarters staff, and maintaining performance standards in headquarters operations. * Participating, in collaboration with officers, Directors, and staff, in developing ARRL's plans and programs. The successful candidate will be a strategic thinker with a record of significant amateur radio experience and a broad understanding of its operational, technical, regulatory, and social facets. The CEO will be responsible for effective financial and operational management and oversight. CEO candidates should possess a bachelor's degree or equivalent (master's degree preferred), be an active radio amateur who has initiated or led a significant amateur radio activity within the past 10 years, and have 10 years of management and supervisory experience. Candidates should be able to demonstrate ability in providing effective leadership and management of business operations. The position is located at ARRL Headquarters, and the successful candidate will be required to establish a residence in the Hartford, Connecticut, area. For More Information The CEO Position Announcement includes details. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume via e-mail to ARRL Human Resources Assistant Monique Levesque. ARRL Comments in Opposition to FCC Plan to Delete the 3.4 GHz Band ARRL has filed comments opposing an FCC proposal to delete the 3.3 - 3.5 GHz secondary amateur allocation. The comments, filed on February 21, are in response to an FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in WT Docket 19-348 in which the FCC put forward a plan to remove "existing non-federal secondary radiolocation and amateur allocations" in the 3.3 - 3.55 GHz band and relocate incumbent non-federal operations. The FCC's proposal was in response to the MOBILE NOW [Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless] Act, enacted in 2018 to make new spectrum available for mobile and fixed wireless broadband use. ARRL noted that amateur radio has a long history of successful coexistence with primary users of the band. "There is no reason suggested by the Commission, or known to us, why the secondary status for amateur radio operations should not be continued for the indefinite future," ARRL said in its comments. "We understand that secondary commercial users are less flexible than amateur radio users and may desire to relocate to protect continued provision of services and service quality. Radio amateurs, by contrast, benefit from having technical knowledge and no customer demands for continuous service quality, more flexibility to make adjustments, and often have the technical abilities necessary to design and implement the means to coexist compatibly with the signals of primary users." ARRL pointed to amateur radio's "decades-long experience observing and experimenting with radiowave propagation" in the 3.3 - 3.5 GHz band that includes mesh networks, amateur television networks, weak signal long-distance communication, Earth-Moon-Earth (moonbounce) communication, beacons used for propagation study, and amateur satellite communications. In its comments, ARRL argued that it would be "premature" to remove the current secondary amateur radio allocation. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Radio amateurs have established extensive infrastructure for the current band and are engaged in construction and experimentation that includes innovative "mesh networks" and amateur television networks that can be deployed to support public service activities. ------------------------------------------------------------------- "This spectrum should not be removed from the amateur radio secondary allocation and left unused," ARRL told the FCC. "Only at a later time may an informed assessment of sharing opportunities be made in the specific spectrum slated for re-allocation.... This depends upon the Congressionally mandated NTIA studies of sharing or relocation options that have yet to be completed and, if all or part of this spectrum is re-allocated, the nature and location of buildout by the non-federal users." The National Telecommunications and Information ministration (NTIA) oversees spectrum allocated to federal government users. ARRL noted that radio amateurs have established extensive infrastructure for the current band and are engaged in construction and experimentation that includes innovative "mesh networks" and amateur television networks that can be deployed to support public service activities. With the NTIA report addressing the 3.1 - 3.55 GHz spectrum not expected until late March, ARRL said, "we do not yet know how much spectrum below and above the amateur secondary allocation may be reallocated to non-federal users and what opportunities may exist or be developed to share [that] spectrum" with new primary users and systems. "Even if suitable new spectrum could be found for the existing amateur uses -- which is difficult before the spectrum musical chairs activity is concluded -- the costs to radio amateurs would be significant and be borne with no countervailing public benefit," ARRL told the FCC. "If the advent of new primary licensees forecloses some types of secondary operations, the amateur community will reevaluate the situation when some certainty exists," ARRL concluded. AMSAT Cites Need for equate Spectrum in Opposing Deletion of 3.4 GHz Band AMSAT has commented on the FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in WT Docket 19-348 that proposes to delete the 3.3 - 3.5 GHz (9 centimeter) amateur band and relocate incumbent non-federal operations. The band includes the 3.40 - 3.41 GHz Amateur Satellite Service allocation. In its remarks, AMSAT said it opposes deletion of the allocation and stressed the necessity of having adequate microwave spectrum available for future amateur satellite projects, including AMSAT's GOLF program and the Lunar Gateway. AMSAT acknowledged that the 3.4 GHz Amateur Satellite Service allocation is not currently used by any amateur satellites and that it is unsuitable for worldwide communication because it is not available in ITU Region 1. AMSAT said a number of potential future uses for the band remain, however, as worldwide usage of other available allocations increases. "These potential uses include a future amateur satellite in geostationary orbit above the Americas," AMSAT said, explaining that the segment could support uplink or downlink frequencies for such a spacecraft without potential interference to worldwide activities involving space stations in high-Earth or lunar orbit. The most-desirable allocations for use as uplinks are between 2.4 GHz and 5.67 GHz -- 80 MHz in all, AMSAT told the FCC. "As many of the proposed uses include amateur television and high-speed data transmission with satellites in high-Earth orbit or lunar orbit, these allocations may quickly become inadequate," AMSAT said. AMSAT told the FCC the 3.40 - 3.41 GHz allocation could be utilized as a command channel or secondary data downlink for AMSAT ground stations in ITU Region 2 without interfering with the primary communications on the other allocations or other satellites utilizing those segments. AMSAT said several non-amateur satellites use the broader 3.3 - 3.5 GHz amateur allocation, which also sees wide use for amateur radio mesh networking, EME communications, and contesting. "The Amateur Satellite Service continues to provide immense value to the growing field of small satellites," AMSAT concluded. "Experiments conducted by amateur satellites...continue to inform the development of the commercial small satellite industry. ditionally, student participation in amateur satellite projects provides both inspiration for young men and women to pursue careers in the commercial satellite industry and practical experience for those careers. "A strong and robust Amateur Satellite Service will continue to benefit the public interest and inspire future developments in satellite technology," AMSAT said. "Continued progress in achieving these goals requires adequate spectrum, especially in suitable microwave bands." -- Thanks to AMSAT News Service via AMSAT Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM ARRL Podcasts Schedule The February 13 episode of the On the Air podcast focuses on building the hands-free soldering tool from the article, "Extend Your Handheld's Range with a Simple Ground-Plane Antenna," seen in the January/February 2020 issue of On the Air magazine; a discussion of open-wire feed lines, and an interview with a public service volunteer. New On the Air podcast episodes are available monthly. The new episode of Eclectic Tech podcast goes live February 27. Episode 2 touches on these topics: Most expensive home PC ever; Alexa and amateur radio; solar activity's influence on whales, and a HamSCI update from Ward Silver, N0AX. Both podcasts are available on iTunes (iOS) and Stitcher (Android) as well as on Blubrry -- On the Air | Eclectic Tech. ARRL Announces Interruptions to Online Services The ARRL website and other online services will be offline on Friday, February 28, for up to 8 hours in order to conduct necessary maintenance. The outage will begin at 0500 UTC and should end by 1300 UTC. It will affect the main ARRL website, the ARRL Store, and the ARRL contesting-related pages, including the log submission page. Logbook of The World (LoTW), email, and all ARRL Headquarters systems will not be affected. As part of ARRL Headquarters' transition to new internet service providers, an interruption of internet access at ARRL Headquarters is set for Wednesday, March 4, starting at 2300 UTC. The interruption will last no longer than 4 hours. During the work period, these services will be unavailable: Logbook of The World (LoTW), Online DXCC, International Grid Chase Archive, National Parks on the Air Archive, Centennial QSO Party Archive, W1AW Echolink Conference Server, and VPN access to Headquarters. Email to Headquarters will remain online, and --- SendMsg/2 --- Squish/386 v1.11 * Origin: Outpost BBS * Limestone, TN, USA (1:18/200) .