*************** The ARRL Letter Vol. 25, No. 13 March 31, 2006 *************** IN THIS EDITION: * +ARRL sponsoring five free Teachers Institutes in 2006 * +Ham club has role in getting BPL "out of Dodge" * +Students take part in the space program via ham radio * +FCC imposes $21,000 in fines on Maine amateur licensee * +Cost of vanity call sign application to drop slightly * +New Mexico funds emergency communication network * +Miner Randy McCloy, KC8VKZ, returns home * Solar Update * IN BRIEF: This weekend on the radio ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration Low-frequency experimenters seek reports, crossband skeds +TAPR/ARRL Digital Communications Conference issues call for papers +Cubesats get OSCAR numbers DXCC Desk approves operations for DXCC credit Correction +Available on ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> =========================================================== ==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!): letter-dlvy@arrl.org ==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl@arrl.org =========================================================== ==>ARRL SPONSORING FIVE FREE EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY TEACHERS INSTITUTES Gifts from generous donors will help the ARRL Education and Technology Program (ETP--also known as "The Big Project") to expand the number of Teachers Institutes (TIs) it's offering this year. Now in their third year, the free, weeklong workshops provide educators with hands-on experience in electronics and wireless technology. ETP Coordinator Mark Spencer, WA8SME, says the five Teachers Institutes will expand upon what he learned during the 2004 and 2005 sessions. "I was hands-on before," Spencer says. "I'm just going to make it even more hands-on." Those participating in this year's TIs will get to use various pieces of test equipment and electronic devices early in the class session. In past years, students first built the project boards from kits, then used them in experiments. "They still will leave the institute with the boards in kit form," Spencer explained. "I think it's important for the teachers to smell rosin smoke in their faces. They need to build the boards." That do-it-yourself aspect, he said, "is a basic part of learning about electronics, but they already will have used the completed boards in the classroom." The 2006 classes also will place a greater emphasis on space-related technology including Amateur Radio satellites. "My slant on that is you don't need to have thousands of dollars of sophisticated equipment to operate the satellites today," Spencer said. "You can use the current generation of satellites with some very simple equipment." The curriculum also includes material on weather satellites. Two of the 2006 Teachers Institutes will be held at ARRL Headquarters. The other three will take place in New Jersey and California (see schedule below). The program hopes to serve 60 educators this year, about twice as many as in 2005. The 12 seats available for each institute are filled on a first come, first served basis. The ETP TI scholarship grant includes travel, room and board, and a modest per diem stipend to help out with incidentals. Attendees also leave with instructional resources for the electronics, microcontroller and robotics segments and a resource library of relevant ARRL publications. ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH, says the Teachers Institutes have been beneficiaries of the Brandenburg Life Foundation established by David Brandenburg, K5RQ, and his wife Diana. Other donor partners wish to remain anonymous. For 2006, appeals went out to additional donors to fund the added course sessions. "The TI program has become a keystone of ARRL's invigorated commitment to education," said Hobart. "These have been universally well-received, and there's been a lot of positive feedback from the teachers who attended." Hobart and Spencer point out that the impact of the sessions on each teacher ultimately will touch thousands of their students. "It's an ooze," Spencer described the process. He says his experience has shown that teachers who attend the TIs don't necessarily start applying what they learned until well after the institutes have adjourned. "Because there's a lot of material, it takes them a good nine months to see where it fits and start feeding it into the curriculum," he said, "but it's happening." The deadline to apply for an Education and Technology Program Teachers Institute grant is May 15, 2006. Contact ETP Coordinator Mark Spencer, WA8SME, 530-495-9150 (Pacific Time zone) or via e-mail <mspencer@arrl.org> for more information. Teachers Institutes 2006 schedule: June 19-23, Parallax Inc, Roseville, California; July 24-28, ARRL Headquarters, Newington, Connecticut; July 31-Aug 4, ARRL Headquarters, Newington, Connecticut; August 7-11, Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, New Jersey; August 14-18, Moorpark High School, Moorpark, California, ==>ARIZONA BPL FIELD TRIAL ENDS A BPL field trial in Cottonwood, Arizona, that drew complaints from Amateur Radio operators from 2004 until earlier this year apparently has shut down for good. The small system, which Mountain Telecommunications Inc (MTI) operated under an FCC Part 5 Experimental license WD2XMB, went silent in early March. The Part 5 license stipulates that the company "establish and maintain" a relationship with the Verde Valley Amateur Radio Association (VVARA), which called for the system's shutdown as recently as last December. According to VVARA BPL Committee Chair Bob Shipton, K8EQC, MTI initially took the system down for a firmware upgrade but subsequently told him that it was discontinuing the experiment in Cottonwood and moving it, possibly to the Phoenix area, where MTI is headquartered. "There's no definitive statement from Arizona Public Service or Mountain Telecommunications that they have stopped BPL in the state of Arizona entirely," Shipton told ARRL this week. "It's just that they pulled out of the Cottonwood area." Not only did the VVARA determine the system was generating interference on the high end of 20 meters and elsewhere, Shipton said, the club demonstrated that it could "break" the system's datastream while running as little as 65 watts from a mobile station. "I think that was a bit of a surprise to them," allowed Shipton, who noted that MTI remained helpful and lived up to its agreement to keep the VVARA in the loop. At the same time, he said, MTI learned everything it wanted to learn in the Cottonwood area, "and they know we're not going to let this thing go." According to club measurements made in cooperation with MTI, the BPL interference in the vicinity of the system on the upper end of 20 meters was 20 dB over S9, Shipton said, and even in the middle of the band, it was S7 to S9. "On 17 meters, from 18.059 to 18.180 they were S9, on the 15 meter band they were S7," he added. In support of the VVARA effort, the ARRL twice asked the FCC to shut down the Cottonwood BPL field trial for interfering with Amateur Radio communication. The League's own testing of the Cottonwood system in the summer of 2004 indicated "extremely high" levels of radiated RF energy on amateur HF allocations--well in excess of the FCC Part 15 levels. Beyond the mere fact of the RF interference, Shipton continued, was the nature of the interference itself. "With the high-speed chipsets, the sound is so obnoxious that you don't necessarily have to have a lot of RF strength on an S meter to cause interference when you're trying to listen to a station--even if it's stronger," he said, describing it as an annoying "raspy, buzzing" noise. In December, the VVARA filed with the FCC what Shipton characterized as an "informal" interference report of ongoing interference on 20, 17 and 15 meters and reiterated its request that the FCC shut down the system. While MTI's interactions with the VVARA may not have been the primary factor in its decision to take its BPL pilot elsewhere, Shipton believes his club at least played a role. "We feel at least we got 'em out of Dodge--they're out of Cottonwood," he said. "What they do in Phoenix will have to be taken up by the Phoenix amateur operators, if they do anything." Shipton said he believes efforts like those of the VVARA to raise the interference issue and keep it before the public are prompting the BPL industry to take a harder look at how to avoid the problem altogether. "The issue of ham interference was one issue on their plate out of many, many issues," he said. ==>STUDENTS IN ITALY, CANADA, US EXPLORE SPACE VIA HAM RADIO Tuesday, March 21, was a banner day for schools in Italy, Canada and the US, when students got the rare opportunity to hook up via Amateur Radio with the commander of the International Space Station. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program arranged contacts between NA1SS and IZ7EVR at the Giuseppe Settanni School in Rutigliano, Italy, and VE6AFO at Sir James Lougheed Elementary School in Calgary, Alberta, in advance. A couple of contacts the same day with KG4EDK at Coloma Junior High School in Michigan came about through luck and happenstance. During the Rutigliano contact, ISS Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, predicted that humans one day will settle elsewhere in the universe. "I think that is the destiny of mankind to leave the earth and colonize and settle other planets, and we will start by learning how to settle and live on the moon," McArthur said. In a similar vein, McArthur hypothesized in response to another question that the universe is larger than humans can fully understand. "And there are so many other stars and so many planets that the probability of life elsewhere in the universe is very, very high. I do not think we have ever met any however." McArthur said he believes humans can remain in orbit as long as they have food, water and air and can get regular exercise, and he said he feels wonderful living in space. Princess Elettra Marconi, the youngest daughter of the wireless pioneer, was on hand for the event and greeted McArthur. "My father was also very keen to share his inventions with school children," she said in part. "I am sure that it will inspire these young adults to follow a path of scientific exploration." Responded McArthur: "We are able to do such grand things as explore space because of the inventions of your father. We are very grateful for the wonderful scientific work he did and are very honored to speak with you." In January 2003, Elettra Marconi greeted ISS Expedition 6 Commander Ken Bowersox, KD5JBP, during events marking the 100th anniversary of Marconi's first transatlantic wireless message. Later that day, a dozen pupils at Sir James Lougheed Elementary School in Alberta, Canada, quizzed McArthur on a variety of topics related to living in space. McArthur told the youngsters he believes there will be commercial space travel in their lifetimes, and the space station is one key to making that a reality. "We think we need a space station because people want to explore, they want to learn new things, and many people would like us to go to other planets such as Mars," McArthur said. "And so, on the space station, we can learn how people can live and work in space and stay healthy." Becoming an astronaut involves a lot of schooling, he advised the youngsters. "I never stopped studying to be an astronaut," he said. "Part of being an astronaut is you never stop learning." The Lougheed kids asked 14 questions before the ISS slipped over the horizon and out of radio range. Past Radio Amateurs of Canada President Ken Oelke, VE6AFO, loaned his call sign for the occasion, while a team of radio amateurs coordinated through QCWA Wild Rose Chapter 151 set up the Earth station. Not long after the Lougheed QSO, teacher Matt Severin, KG4EDK, at Coloma Junior High School lucked out by briefly contacting McArthur while his earth science students listened in. McArthur told the class that earth science is an important topic. "We live it everyday as we observe the earth, and it's truly spectacular," he said. On a subsequent pass, Severin reports, 13 somewhat better-prepared Coloma students had the opportunity to question McArthur themselves. Responding to a question, McArthur described the crew's work in space. "Our activities can range from anything from doing experiments--most of our experiments are on ourselves--or we can do maintenance around the space station, replace components or take them apart and repair," McArthur said. "We also may spend several hours a day just cleaning the space station." Said Severin afterward: "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be able to provide this opportunity to my kids. This was the ultimate teachable moment. I couldn't let it pass by." Severin's classroom station is remarkably modest--a handheld VHF transceiver and a homemade "copper cactus antenna stuck in a bucket of sand on the roof of the school," he said. ARISS is an international educational outreach, with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA. ==>FCC AFFIRMS $21,000 IN FINES LEVIED ON MAINE RADIO AMATEUR The FCC has affirmed a total of $21,000 in fines it proposed last year to levy on Glenn A. Baxter, K1MAN, of Belgrade Lakes, Maine. The FCC's Forfeiture Order (NoF), released March 29, comes nearly 10 months after a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) in the case. The FCC has alleged that Baxter violated several sections of the Part 97 Amateur Service rules. "The noted violations of the rules involve interference with the ongoing communications of other Amateur Radio stations, failure to exercise station control, transmission of communications in which Baxter had a pecuniary interest, and transmission of communications that constituted impermissible broadcasting," the FCC said. The NoF reiterates specific allegations outlined in the NAL last June. The FCC also has concluded that Baxter "apparently willfully and repeatedly" failed to file required information pursuant to an Enforcement Bureau directive. In two warning notices in 2004, FCC Special Counsel in the Enforcement Bureau Riley Hollingsworth directed Baxter to provide information on how K1MAN was controlled and the identity of the station's control operator. "The Boston [FCC] Office found that Mr. Baxter's statements that '[n]o correction actions are necessary' and '[n]o changes are needed with regard to station control' failed to comply with the Bureau's demand for station information, the FCC said in the NoF. Replying to the June 2005 NAL, Baxter denied any liability for the forfeiture amount, the FCC said. According to the Commission, Baxter cited the fifth and sixth amendments to the US Constitution and requested "all documentation regarding the alleged apparent liability" and "a trial like hearing before the full Commission." Baxter did not submit "any substantive responses" to the alleged violations recited in the NAL, the Commission said. The FCC denied Baxter's request for a hearing. According to the Communications Act, the FCC said, providing a hearing is at the Commission's discretion, and a hearing is "not normally utilized when only monetary forfeiture matters are involved." Its procedures, the FCC noted, do not deprive Baxter of his right to due process, because the Communications Act provides that any forfeitures issued in accordance with its procedures are "ultimately subject to a trial de novo in federal district court" should Baxter not pay the fine beforehand. A licensee's decision to forego presentation of arguments and evidence in response to an NAL "does not create a right to a hearing," the Commission contended in the NoF. The FCC further noted that the fifth and sixth amendments to the US Constitution "address the rights of defendants in criminal cases" and said Baxter's reliance on those amendments to support his hearing request "is misplaced." "Baxter received notice regarding the legal and factual bases for the apparent violations and proposed forfeiture and has been afforded an opportunity to respond 'why no such forfeiture penalty should be imposed,'" the FCC said. According to the NoF, Baxter, while denying any liability, "has chosen not to present any specific exculpatory arguments or evidence in response to the violations set forth in the NAL." Baxter has 30 days from the release of the order to pay the $21,000 or appeal. If the forfeiture is not paid within that time, the FCC can refer the case to the US Department of Justice for collection. A copy of the NoF is on the FCC Web site <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-663A1.pdf>. Baxter's Amateur Radio license expired last October 17, but according to the FCC, he has continuing operating authority since he filed a timely renewal. His renewal application remains under review based on complaints filed and on FCC correspondence regarding the operation of his station. The forfeiture action is separate. ==>VANITY CALL SIGN FEE POISED TO DROP SLIGHTLY LATER THIS YEAR The FCC wants to reduce the Fiscal Year 2006 regulatory fee to obtain an Amateur Radio vanity call sign by $1.80 to $20.10 for the 10-year license term. The current vanity call sign fee is $21.90. The Commission proposed the new fee in a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), "Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2006, in MD Docket 06-68, released March 27. If ordered as proposed, the new vanity fee would become effective in August or September. The FCC is obligated to collect nearly $289 million in regulatory fees during FY 2006 to fund its operations. "Consistent with our established practice, we plan to collect these regulatory fees in the August-September 2006 time frame in order to collect the required amount by the end of the fiscal year," the FCC said in its NPRM. Comments on the proposed fee schedule are due Friday, April 14. Reply comments are due Friday, April 21. The FCC has projected collecting $171,188 in vanity call sign fee receipts from 8500 applications in FY 2006. The vanity call sign fee has assumed somewhat greater significance this year as the renewal window is about to open for the first Amateur Radio vanity call sign licenses granted in 1996. Applicants wishing to keep their post-1995 vanity call signs must pay the regulatory fee in effect at the time the renewal application reaches the FCC, currently $21.90. Any Amateur Radio renewal application may only be filed within 90 days of the license expiration date. Vanity call sign holders are not obliged to keep their current call signs, however, and can request that it be changed to a sequentially assigned call sign. Amateur Radio licensees holding vanity call signs granted prior to 1996 do NOT have to pay a regulatory fee when renewing. This is because Congress did not begin requiring the FCC to annually recover its regulatory costs until 1993. Additionally, such licensees are not specifically tagged as vanity call sign holders in the ULS. To renew via the Universal Licensing System (ULS) <http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/>, licensees should log into ULS License Manager Online Filing (click on "Log In") using their FCC Registration Number (FRN) and Commission Registration System (CORES) password. Anyone doing business with the FCC must supply an FRN on any application. Licensees wishing to keep a vanity call sign should select "Renew" under the "Work on this License" option. Fees for electronically filed applications may be paid online or mailed to Federal Communications Commission, Regulatory Fees, PO Box 358835, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-5835. The ARRL plans to inaugurate a vanity call sign renewal service for its members in the near future. ==>NEW MEXICO FUNDS EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION NETWORK New Mexico has allocated $500,000 to design, construct and install a statewide Amateur Radio emergency communication network. Rep Tom Anderson (R-Bernalillo), KB5YSG, sponsored the funding bill in the 2006 New Mexico legislative session. "After hurricane Katrina, we've seen firsthand just how valuable Amateur Radio can be in a disaster," Anderson said. "The Gulf Coast hurricanes destroyed communications infrastructure and overwhelmed government resources. It was Amateur Radio operators who helped to save the day." The state Department of Public Safety will pay for the equipment for Amateur Radio volunteers to use in disasters and emergencies. All of the equipment will be state-owned. Early plans call for the installation of strategically located, interlinked VHF and UHF repeaters to handle both voice and digital communication. In New Mexico, the potential exists for disastrous wildfires, tornadoes and floods. This year, when range fires broke out near Hobbs, Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) volunteers provided communication support. Over the past several years, radio amateurs in New Mexico have been called upon to support communication during fires, for severe weather spotting (SKYWARN), during public service events and to assist Albuquerque with Hurricane Katrina refugees. ==>INJURED MINER RANDY MCCLOY, KC8VKZ, GOES HOME Randy McCloy, KC8VKZ, the sole survivor of the January 2 Sago Mine disaster in West Virginia, left a Morgantown rehabilitation center March 30 and returned to his home on newly named Miracle Road in Simpson, West Virginia. "I'd just like to thank everybody for their thoughts and prayers," McCloy remarked on his departure. Neurologist Julian Bailes told reporters that he believes McCloy, 26, has a great potential for "a possibly complete" recovery. McCloy did require some assistance walking as he left the Morgantown facility. West Virginia Gov Joe Manchin announced the new street name at a press briefing this week, and he presented McCloy with a Miracle Road street sign. Earlier this month McCloy visited his home in for the first time since the mine tragedy. On March 2, McCloy's wife Anna told CBS The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm that her husband has told her he remembers "bits and pieces" of the mining disaster that left 12 of his co-workers dead of carbon monoxide poisoning. McCloy this week told the Associated Press that he doesn't understand why he was the only one to survive. He also said he will not go back to work in the mines. Well-wishers have been sending cards and QSLs to McCloy at PO Box 223, Philippi, WV 26435. A fund has been set up to accept donations for McCloy's benefit: The Randal McCloy Jr Fund, c/o Clear Mountain Bank, 1889 Earl Core Rd, Morgantown, WV 26505. ==>SOLAR UPDATE Propagation maven Tad "Might As Well Be Walkin' on the Sun" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: Sunspots continue to be scarce, although numbers have risen the past couple of days. March 25-27 had zero spots, but then they rose over the next few days to 11, 31 and 35, respectively. Geomagnetic conditions have been nice and stable and should continue that way until April 6. Sunspot numbers for March 23 through 29 were 36, 44, 0, 0, 0, 11 and 31, with a mean of 17.4. The 10.7 cm flux was 76.6, 75.8, 75.6, 73.6, 74.3, 79.3, and 81.7, with a mean of 76.7. Estimated planetary A indices were 5, 4, 7, 7, 9, 6 and 6, with a mean of 6.3. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 2, 2, 4, 5, 8, 4 and 4, with a mean of 4.1. __________________________________ ==>IN BRIEF: * This weekend on the radio: Kids Roundup, the SP DX Contest, the EA RTTY Contest, the QCWA Spring QSO Party and the Missouri QSO Party are the weekend of April 1-2. JUST AHEAD: The ARS Spartan Sprint is April 4. The YLRL DX-YL to NA-YL Contest (CW) takes place from April 4 until April 6. The SARL 80-Meter QSO Party is April 6. The ARCI Spring QSO Party, the JIDX CW Contest, the EU Spring Sprint (SSB), the Georgia and Montana QSO parties, the Yuri Gagarin International DX Contest, the UBA Spring Contest (SSB), and the SARL Hamnet 40-Meter Simulated Emergency Contest are the weekend of April 8-9. The YLRL DX-YL to NA-YL Contest (SSB) runs from April 11 to April 13. See the ARRL Contest Branch page <http://www.arrl.org/contests/> and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more info. * ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration: Registration remains open through Sunday, April 16, for these ARRL Certification and Continuing Education (CCE) Program on-line courses: Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 2 (EC-002), Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 3 (EC-003), Antenna Modeling (EC-004), HF Digital Communications (EC-005), VHF/UHF Beyond the Repeater (EC-008), Technician Licensing (EC-010) and Radio Frequency Propagation (EC-011). Classes begin Friday, April 28. NOTE: Because Technician Licensing (EC-010) courses beginning in April are based upon the current question pool, students completing these April classes should take the FCC Technician class (Element 2) examination by June 30. A new Element 2 question pool goes into effect July 1. To learn more, visit the CCE Course Listing page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or contact the CCE Department <cce@arrl.org>. * Low-frequency experimenters seek reports, crossband skeds: The next round of LF transpacific testing between ZM2E, Quartz Hill, New Zealand, and VA7LF, S Pender Island, British Columbia, will take place April 3, 4 and 5. Testing will begin shortly after sunset at VA7LF (approximately 0630 UTC) and will continue until sunrise (approximately 1400 UTC). The frequency will be 137.7890 / 137.7886 kHz (0.4 Hz shift) using FSK90. Following a schedule with VA7LF, ZM2E will continue with R6L until sunrise in New Zealand. Reception reports via the reflectors are encouraged, and the VA7LF site will be Internet equipped. "If we are able to get things set up smoothly, we may be on the air for testing on Sunday night, April 2," said Steve McDonald, VE7SL. "Since we will be at our maximum ERP limit, we hope to have some time available to attempt some crossband HF-LF CW-CW QSOs or QRSS-CW contacts in our early evening hours (0300-0600 UTC)." Interested stations should contact McDonald via e-mail, <jsm@gulfislands.com>. * TAPR/ARRL Digital Communications Conference issues call for papers: The 2006 TAPR/ARRL Digital Communications Conference (DCC) has issued a call for papers. The event is slated for September 15-17 at the Clarion Airport Hotel in Tucson, Arizona. This year's conference celebrates the 25th anniversary of the founding of Tucson Amateur Packet Radio (TAPR) <http://www.tapr.org/>. The deadline to submit conference papers is July 31. Authors do not need to attend the conference to have their papers included in the conference Proceedings. Submit papers and presentations via USPS or e-mail to Maty Weinberg, KB1EIB, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 <maty@arrl.org>. * Cubesats get OSCAR numbers: AMSAT-NA has issued OSCAR designations for two Japanese cubesat Amateur Radio satellites. XI-IV (pronounced "sai four"), launched in 2003, will be known as CUBESAT-OSCAR-57 or CO-57. XI-V (pronounced "sai five"), launched with SSETI Express in 2005, will be known as CUBESAT-OSCAR-58 or CO-58. "AMSAT-NA and I wish to congratulate you and your entire team for the successful construction, testing and launching of these innovative spacecraft," said AMSAT's Bill Tynan, W3XO, in announcing the designations. "Your pioneering work certainly inspires others to follow your lead." The satellites were built and launched by the University of Tokyo Cubesat Team. Both satellites have similar payloads. CO-57 has a CW beacon on 436.8475 MHz and a 1200 bps AFSK packet downlink on 437.490 MHz. CO-58 has a CW beacon on 437.4650 MHz and a 1200 bps AFSK packet downlink on 437.3450 MHz. * DXCC Desk approves operations for DXCC credit: The ARRL DXCC Desk has approved these operations for DXCC credit: 3Y0X (Peter I Island), February 8-19, 2006; 6O0N (Somalia), January 18-February 18, 2006; YI/OM2DX (Iraq), July 27-September 21, 2003; YI3SRA (Iraq), commencing October 3, 2003. For more information, visit the DXCC Web page <http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/>. "DXCC Frequently Asked Questions" can answer most questions about the DXCC program. ARRL DX bulletins are available on the W1AW DX Bulletins page <http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/dx/>. * Correction: The article "Logbook of The World Now Supports Worked All States Award" in The ARRL Letter, Vol 25, No 12 (Mar 24, 2006) contained an error. Logbook of the World was inaugurated in 2003. =========================================================== The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American Radio Relay League--The National Association For Amateur Radio--225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259; <http://www.arrl.org/>. Joel Harrison, W5ZN, President. The ARRL Letter offers a weekly e-mail digest of essential news of interest to active amateurs. The ARRL Letter strives to be timely, accurate, concise, and readable. Visit ARRLWeb <http://www.arrl.org/> for the latest news, updated as it happens. The ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/> offers access to news, informative features and columns. ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> is a weekly "ham radio newscast" compiled from The ARRL Letter. Material from The ARRL Letter may be republished or reproduced in whole or in part in any form without additional permission. Credit must be given to The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League. ==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!): letter-dlvy@arrl.org ==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl@arrl.org ==>ARRL News on the Web: <http://www.arrl.org/> ==>ARRL Audio News: <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> or call 860-594-0384 ==>How to Get The ARRL Letter The ARRL Letter is available to ARRL members free of charge directly from ARRL HQ. To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your address for e-mail delivery: ARRL members first must register on the Members Only Web Site <http://www.arrl.org/members/>. You'll have an opportunity during registration to sign up for e-mail delivery of The ARRL Letter, W1AW bulletins, and other material. To change these selections--including delivery of The ARRL Letter--registered members should click on the "Member Data Page" link (in the Members Only box). Click on "Modify membership data," check or uncheck the appropriate boxes and/or change your e-mail address if necessary. (Check "Temporarily disable all automatically sent email" to temporarily stop all e-mail deliveries.) Then, click on "Submit modification" to make selections effective. (NOTE: HQ staff members cannot change your e-mail delivery address. You must do this yourself via the Members Only Web Site.) The ARRL Letter also is available to all, free of charge, from these sources: * ARRLWeb <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>. (NOTE: The ARRL Letter will be posted each Friday when it is distributed via e-mail.) * The QTH.net listserver, thanks to volunteers from the Boston Amateur Radio Club: Visit Mailing Lists@QTH.Net <http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/letter-list>. (NOTE: The ARRL cannot assist subscribers who receive The ARRL Letter via this listserver.)