It is with deep regret, that I accept the resignation of Chester S. Bowles, W1CSB as the Public Information Coordinator for the New Hampshire Section. To say that Chet has been the most successful PIC in NH’s recent history is an understatement.. In the four years that Chet has served, he has had over 15 articles published in national magazines including QST on the subject of Amateur Radio. Chet served as a charter staff member of both the ‘93 and ‘95 New England Division Conventions in Manchester.
Chet finds it increasingly difficult to balance job requirements coupled with his many other activities such as being a member of the Connecticut Valley School Board, New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and a member of the Town of Sharon’s Planning Board.
I would like to take this opportunity to publicly express my sincere thanks to Chet for his friendship, support as well as being my confidant. I personally will miss working with Chet on a regular basis and wish him well. After four years of having to dealing with me, thankfully Chet has agreed to remain a close friend. :)
No replacement as of yet has been named.
73 Al Shuman, N1FIK SM
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I am please to announce that on February 3rd 1997, George Iverson Director of the New Hampshire Office of Emergency Management in Concord NH, that Gary Okula, N3CLZ was appointed as the New Hampshire Office of Emergency Management Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service Officer. (RACES). Gary currently serves as an Assistant Section Manager who coordinates both ARES and RACES activity for the New Hampshire Section. Gary is also the Section Emergency Coordinator and the Vice Chairman of NH - Volunteer Organization Active in Disasters (VOAD).
During the presentation, Director Iverson extended his thanks to the NH ARES organization for their active participation in the supporting the Office of Emergency Management. Gary also took the time to thank all of the ARES DEC’s, EC’s, AEC’s and all ARES members on a job well done noting that many ARES members were active in both drills, and real events last year. ARES finished a tough last quarter of 1996 by supporting emergency communications during hurricanes, floods and power outages.
Director Iverson read the letter of
appointment, during the presentation
ceremony. “It is with great pleasure that I
appoint you are the New Hampshire Office
of Emergency Management Radio Amateur
Civil Emergency Service (RACES) Officer.
Your vast experience as an amateur radio
operator, your untiring efforts as the New
Hampshire Section Assistant Manager for
RACES and ARES issues and Section
Emergency Coordinator for the American
Radio Relay League more than qualify you
for this position.
The amateur radio community and the
emergency management community are
fortunate to have you talents available to
assist in preparing for disaster response. The
Office of Emergency Management is most
appreciative of you acceptance of these
additional responsibilities.
Sincerely George L. Iverson Director. ”
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Following up on “a few inquiries’’ into why certain call signs were not assigned when they were available, FCC personnel in Gettysburg report they found some 3355 call signs (mostly 2x2 and 2x3 format) that should have been made available for the vanity program but were not, for some reason. An FCC spokesman in Gettysburg reports a search of all vanity applications (including those that required special handling) comparing requested call sign(s) against the 3355 turned up four to be resolved. The other call signs now have been made available for future vanity grants.
Earlier this month, callers to the FCC’s Gettysburg office were being told that processing of vanity call sign applications would not resume until early March because of ‘’unspecified computer-related problems.’’ Gettysburg now seems to be pulling back from that date, and a spokesperson said this week that the FCC hoped to resume vanity processing by February 1. Before processing the backlog of vanity call sign applications, personnel in Gettysburg first plan to deal with those applications that required special handling— the so-called ‘’WIPS’’ (work in process) stack—which is backlogged from early November. A spokesman said Wednesday that the FCC will resume work on the WIPS stack “in about a week.’’ Also, contrary to what several callers were told, the FCC did not issue a public notice about the vanity call sign program this week.
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ARRL members are being invited to add
their ideas, comments and recommendations
to those of the ARRL WRC-99 Planning
Committee, which has suggested sweeping
—and potentially controversial—changes to
the Amateur Radio licensing structure in the
US. On the table for open discussion and
debate are proposals that include:
After its research revealed that as many as three Novices in four are inactive, the committee concluded that the Novice license is no longer useful. Although the committee would end the Novice license, its plan provides current Novices with an easy means to upgrade (via an open-book test) to the new Intermediate class license, which would replace the current Technician Plus. All present Tech Plus licensees would become Intermediate licensees. The Basic license would supplant the Technician license—now the hobby’s most-popular entry-level ticket—with no changes in privileges. In addition, the committee’s plan would phase out the current Novice and Tech Plus bands on 80, 40 and 15 meters, and replace them with new Intermediate- class allocations. The committee’s consensus plan for Intermediate-class licensees calls for new CW bands on 80, 40 and 15 meters starting 25 KHz up from the lower band edge, digital and phone-band privileges on 75 and 15 meters and a 50-kHz phone or CW segment at the top end of 160 meters, plus expanded Novice and Tech Plus CW and phone allocations on 10 meters.
According to the proposal, Intermediate CW bands would be 3525 to 3700 KHz, 7025 to 7050 KHz, 21025 to 21150 KHz and 28050 to 28300 KHz. Digital operation was suggested for 3600 to 3625, 21100 to 21125 and 28100 to 28189 KHz. Phone privileges would include 1950 to 2000, 3900 to 4000, 21350 to 21450, SSB from 28300 to 28500 and FM from 29500 to 29700 KHz. Transmitter power for Intermediate-class licensees would be limited to 200 W PEP output (other licensees using these bands would not be limited to 200 W, however).
General-class and higher amateurs also would benefit from the plan, if it’s adopted according to the committee’s outlines. General-class hams would get additional phone privileges 3800 to 3850, 7200 to 7225, and 21250 to 21300 KHz; Advanced- class hams would add 3725 to 3775, 7125 to 7150 and 21175 to 21225 KHz; Extra-class hams would also have 3700 to 3750, 7125 to 7150 and 21150 to 21200 KHz.
With the exception of 40 meters, where Novice and Tech Plus licensees already have privileges, the committee suggested no changes on the hobby’s narrowest and most crowded bands—including 20 meters and the narrow WARC bands at 30, 17 and 12 meters.
The Intermediate CW test would be 5 words per minute (the same as the current Tech Plus requirement), but the committee proposed that the General class CW requirement be set at 10 wpm. There still would be no additional CW exam for the Advanced ticket, nor would there be any change in the 20-wpm requirement for the Extra. Exams for all classes would include a return to a sending test and the requirement for one minute of solid copy during a five- minute test—instead of the current method that tests on the content of the CW text.
Right now, these major changes are only in the talking stage. “Let us be very clear about this,” said ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, who characterized the committee’s proposals as a starting point for discussion, not a done deal. “The changes are not ARRL policy; nothing has been proposed to, or by, the FCC, and the ARRL Board is committed to making no decision before its July 1997 meeting.” Sumner said there is no timetable to complete the process.
Only after there is an opportunity for in- depth consideration and discussion by the membership will the ARRL Board consider taking the next step—to approach the FCC with a rulemaking proposal—a process that automatically invites additional comments and suggestions.
Between the time they receive March QST and the end of May, members are asked to voice their opinions on the committee’s suggestions to their directors, whose postal and e-mail addresses are listed on page 10 of QST. All suggestions and comments— positive and negative—are welcome.
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Vanity call sign processing apparently will remain on hold for a while longer as the FCC’s Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, office continues to deal with a backlog of vanity applications that required special handling— the so-called WIPS (work in process) stack. As of February 6, WIPS was backlogged to mid-November. An FCC spokesman said the FCC will process vanity applications received in December, January and February—in parts or all at once—after it has completed work on the WIPS backlog. The FCC has not processed any vanity call sign applications since mid-December, but some new call signs have trickled out over the past several weeks as the FCC resolved issues on WIPS applications. The last applications processed were received by the FCC prior to December 1, 1996.
Although vanity Gate 2 opened in late September, the program remains popular, and vanity call sign applications continue to pour into Gettysburg office. During January, Gettysburg got 945 applications, 479 on paper and 466 filed electronically. The FCC has not said when Gate 3 will open.
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