*************** The ARRL Letter Vol. 24, No. 13 April 1, 2005 *************** IN THIS EDITION: * +Utility pulls plug on Texas BPL pilot project * +ARRL takes issue with BPL proponents' reconsideration petitions * +ARISS school contacts to double in remaining weeks * +Ham radio provides crucial communications in quake's wake * +League says BPL equipment maker, FCC failing to address interference * +FCC adopts "Smart Radio" rules * Solar Update * IN BRIEF: This weekend on the radio ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration +FCC to update third-party traffic list to include all UK stations +Supreme Court rules no attorneys' fees for California radio amateur ARRL VEs, number of sessions served now on League Web site Project OSCAR inaugurates newsletter column service DXCC Desk approves operations for DXCC credit +Available on ARRL Audio News =========================================================== ==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!): letter-dlvy@arrl.org ==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl@arrl.org =========================================================== ==>TEXAS BPL PILOT PROJECT SHUTS DOWN, LEAGUE WITHDRAWS COMPLAINT An Irving, Texas, BPL pilot project that was the target of an ARRL complaint has shut down and removed its equipment. In mid-March, the League called on the FCC to shut down the system and issue fines for causing harmful interference to Amateur Radio communications. The ARRL's March 15 filing to the FCC's Enforcement Bureau, its Office of Engineering and Technology, system operator TXU and equipment manufacturer Amperion supported a complaint from ARRL member and North Texas Section BPL Task Force Chair Jory McIntosh, KJ5RM, who regularly commutes through the BPL test zone in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. "I just got back from reviewing the site and can confirm that the BPL installation in Irving, Texas, has been removed and is no longer operating," McIntosh told ARRL this week. "Things are so quiet you can hear a pin drop. Definitely quite a change!" He said when the system was running, interference in its vicinity was 20 dB over S9 or stronger on all amateur bands from 40 through 6 meters. The ARRL became involved after the FCC failed to respond to McIntosh's formal complaint last fall. ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, also took measurements at the Texas site that verified McIntosh's observations. ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, thanked McIntosh for his help in bringing the situation to a head. "I hope your example inspires other amateurs facing similar situations to get involved," Sumner added. On the basis of McIntosh's report, the ARRL this week canceled its complaint to the FCC. "ARRL therefore withdraws its complaint with respect to the TXU/Amperion site and requests that the Commission turn its attention to the remainder of the BPL sites which are actively causing interference to radio amateurs, including Briarcliff Manor, New York," ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, wrote the Commission. There's been no word from TXU as to its reasons for shutting down the system and removing the equipment. The test report the League included with its complaint pointed out that the interference was not confined to Amateur Radio spectrum but included additional HF spectrum. The ARRL said the system failed to protect many of the bands that the FCC's new BPL rules will require to be notched by July 2006. The Irving BPL test site is the third using Amperion BPL equipment to shut down following complaints from Amateur Radio operators. In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, last June, Alliant Energy cut short its BPL "evaluation system" after the utility and Amperion were unable to resolve ongoing HF interference to amateurs. In the Raleigh, North Carolina, area last October, Progress Energy Corporation shut down Phase II of its BPL field trial after pronouncing the test a success. Despite an FCC inspection report to the contrary, local amateurs said Progress and Amperion had only limited success in mitigating interference on amateur frequencies in that trial. While initially saying it had no plans for a large-scale commercial rollout of BPL in its service areas, Progress later backed away from that statement, contained in a memorandum announcing the shutdown. The ARRL formally supported Amateur Radio complaints in Iowa and North Carolina. ==>LEAGUE FILES OPPOSITION TO BPL RECONSIDERATION PETITIONS The ARRL has filed an Opposition to three petitions for reconsideration in the broadband over power line (BPL) proceeding, ET Docket 04-37. The League targeted points raised in reconsideration petitions from Current Technologies LLC, the United Power Line Council (UPLC) and Amperion Inc. Each is seeking reconsideration of certain aspects of the Report and Order (R&O) the FCC adopted last October 14 that spell out new Part 15 rules to govern BPL deployment. In its Opposition, the ARRL says the FCC should not eliminate a requirement that BPL providers give 30 days' advance notice of service initiation, as Current, UPLC and Amperion have requested. "Grant of the petitioners' request to eliminate the 30-day advance notice requirement would not only be antithetical to the Commission's goal of providing competitive, affordable and efficient broadband access;" the ARRL said, "it would also eliminate even the most minimal means for Amateur Radio licensees to be able to identify and contact the source of harmful BPL interference when it occurs." Current, UPLC and Amperion contended in their petitions that the 30-day rule forces BPL providers to tip their hands to their competition. The League charged that the petitioners were, in effect, asking the Commission "to protect them by regulatory means from competition in broadband delivery." Keeping the 30-day notification period in place, the ARRL argued, offers radio amateurs a chance to determine baseline ambient noise levels ahead of a BPL deployment and to be able to identify interference when it occurs and the extent to which the HF and low-VHF operating environment is degraded. The ARRL also took issue with requests by Current and UPLC either to extend the transition period for certification of BPL equipment made, marketed or installed on or after July 7, 2006, or to drop it altogether. Either approach, the League contended, "is tantamount to an abdication of any requirement to implement any of the admittedly inadequate interference mitigation requirements in the Report and Order at all." As the rule is written, the League's Opposition points out, "no BPL system placed in operation ever has to come into compliance with the interference requirements." The ARRL maintains that the FCC erred in its R&O by permitting the installation and operation of non-compliant equipment after the R&O's effective date. "The rule, as it now stands, actually encourages the installation of systems incorporating non-compliant equipment which creates harmful interference over the next 18 months," the ARRL said. Based on actual interference cases, the ARRL continued, "any reasonable analysis of BPL leads to the conclusion that the rules adopted in the Report and Order are woefully inadequate in terms of interference prevention." Noting that Current's equipment already excludes all amateur allocations but 60 meters, the League said everyone would be better served if the FCC had required BPL providers to avoid Amateur Radio spectrum altogether--or if they would so voluntarily. The ARRL also took the FCC to task with respect to how it's dealt with the BPL initiative and the industry itself. "The extent to which spectrum-polluting BPL systems have been accommodated by a Commission with its collective head in the sand about interference is shameful and an abdication of duty," the League's Opposition concludes. "To further deregulate this ill-advised polluting technology would, in this context, be unconscionable." ==>UPPING THE ARISS ANTE International Space Station Commander Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, has decided to double up on the number of Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) school group QSOs during his remaining two weeks of operation from NA1SS. ARRL Field & Educational Services Manager Rosalie White, K1STO, says Chiao has enjoyed speaking via ham radio with students on Earth during his ISS duty tour. "Sparking youth interest in science and technology is quite high on the list of what's important to astronauts and to NASA," she said, noting that NASA's Education Office has been strongly supporting Amateur Radio in space for more than a decade. Since Expedition 10 began last October, Chiao has logged 19 ARISS school group contacts. During a direct contact March 29 between NA1SS and W5NGU, the astronaut spoke with youngsters at the Science Discovery Center in Denton, Texas. White said successfully putting together the many pieces of an ARISS school-group QSO is tricky at the eleventh hour. To accommodate the change, ARISS moved up a scheduled QSO for a school in Zurich whose volunteers are well-prepared. For the second extra slot, ARISS scrambled to make arrangements with a NASA Explorer School from which a teacher interested in using ham radio in class had submitted an ARISS application. For this QSO--with Flory Academy of Sciences and Technology, in Moorpark, California, ARISS plans to employ a combination of Amateur Radio and teleconferencing rather than attempt to set up a direct QSO. Arriving later this month, the next crew increment, Expedition 11, will put two hams aboard the ISS--US Astronaut John Phillips, KE5DRY, and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR. Krikalev, who will be Expedition 11 crew commander, will be doing his second tour of duty aboard the ISS. He served as flight engineer on the very first ISS crew and served aboard the Russian Mir space station in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ARISS is an international educational outreach with US support from ARRL, AMSAT and NASA. ==>AMATEUR RADIO LINKS EARTHQUAKE-STRICKEN ISLAND WITH OUTSIDE WORLD Working under harsh conditions, Indonesian Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) volunteers this week established VHF links between earthquake-stricken Nias Island and northern Sumatra. Nias Island was hit March 28 by nearby magnitude 8.2 and 8.7 underwater earthquakes. More than 1000 people are reported to have died as a result of the earthquakes. The tremors affected some of the same areas still recovering from the December earthquake and tsunami. Although officials and residents remained on alert for tsunamis this week, none occurred. A magnitude 6.3 aftershock occurred in the vicinity March 30. Organization of Amateur Radio for Indonesia (ORARI) headquarters in Jakarta this week called on its members to be ready to assist. An ORARI team deployed by air to Nias Island March 29 set up "zulu" (emergency) station YB6ZAH in Gunung Sitoli, the island's largest city. YB6ZAH has been in contact with the ORARI District 6 command post in Medan, North Sumatra. The ORARI team already had experience supporting communication following the December 2004 tsunami that claimed an estimated 300,000 lives in South Asia. In the earthquake's immediate aftermath, ORARI ARES members reportedly were on duty with little or no food to eat, although they did have drinking water. At that point, many victims had not yet been evacuated, and some remained trapped in the debris. ORARI team members include Zulkarman Syafrin, YC6PLG, Herman Rangkuti, YC6IQ, and Soejat Harto, YB6HB--a medical doctor. Syafrin reports that the earthquake damaged the power, telecommunication and transportation infrastructure or took them out altogether on Nias Island. Buildings in Gunung Sitoli were reportedly flattened and roads severely damaged or impassable. In the early going, the team was using portable generators and had to restrict operation to every two hours to conserve scarce fuel. TELKOM, the Indonesian Department of Public Telecommunication, has since provided the ORARI ARES team with a bigger generator, and the operation has relocated to the TELKOM building, where fuel is no longer a problem. ORARI District 6 plans to supply more logistical and radio equipment, while Ady Susanto, YB6VK, was preparing a set of solar cells for the ORARI ARES team's use in Gunung Sitoli. New Mexico radio amateur Earl Campbell, N8TV, now working with the International Red Cross in Banda Aceh on post-tsunami relief, plans to set up an emergency Amateur Radio station on Simeulue Island, which also was affected by the earthquakes. Campbell's IT team reportedly is headed for Nias Island to set up a satellite Internet connection and to support the ARES team in Gunung Sitoli. Updates on ham radio earthquake relief activity in Indonesia are available on the AB2QV Web site .--Wyn Purwinto, AB2QV ==>AMBIENT, FCC FAILING TO ADDRESS NEW YORK BPL COMPLAINTS, ARRL CHARGES The ARRL has charged BPL equipment maker Ambient Corporation and the FCC with being unwilling or unable to effectively deal with harmful interference stemming from a New York BPL pilot project. The League also asked the Commission for the fourth time to shut down Ambient's Briarcliff Manor "non-compliant system without further delay" until Ambient addresses interference complaints. The League's latest salvo in the Briarcliff Manor BPL battle was in response to a February 10 letter from Bruce Franca, deputy chief of the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology (OET). Franca's letter concluded that FCC measurements in response to Amateur Radio complaints of harmful interference showed no changes were required to the BPL system. "The Commission's failure to conduct a thorough investigation of this matter, and the tenor of your February 10, 2005, letter, lead to speculation that the Commission is really not interested in finding the interference that exists at Briarcliff Manor or at other BPL test sites or in enforcing the Part 15 rules," the ARRL responded. "Ambient's apparent tactic of making changes in the system after receiving interference complaints and then denying that the interference problems complained of ever existed is not helpful." Nor did it help, the League's filing continued, that Ambient's engineer refused last December to participate with ARRL in a demonstration of the interference. The League said it's no longer possible for the Commission or Ambient "to deny the ongoing, serious interference problems at Briarcliff Manor." The League pointed out that a member of the FCC Enforcement Bureau's staff personally witnessed the interference from the Briarcliff Manor system at two locations that were the focus of complaints last December. Franca's February letter failed to acknowledge video documenting the visit and uploaded to the League's Web site, even though the ARRL has provided him with the URL . At that time, ARRL Laboratory staff members took measurements at various points in the system to document problems. While subsequent ARRL measurements did turn up a reduction of BPL emissions in some areas, emissions that would "substantially preclude Amateur communications" remain, the ARRL said, and along Dalmeny Road, interference is still at levels essentially unchanged from those measured last December and appear throughout the 20-meter band. ARRL Laboratory staff members most recently visited Briarcliff Manor on March 11, and the League's filing to the FCC and Ambient March 17 included a summary of their measurements and observations. At one point, RF emission levels from the BPL system exceeded the FCC's Part 15 permitted levels by up to 20 dB, the League said. Elsewhere, emissions along Dalmeny Road--which the FCC did not revisit earlier this year--"continue to contribute 14 dB of degradation of ambient noise" on 20 meters, the ARRL said. BPL interference also has been reported on 80 meters. The ARRL further faulted the FCC for not contacting the complainant, Westchester County ARES Emergency Coordinator Alan Crosswell, N2YGK, who routinely travels the roads in question and has experienced interference. Crosswell, who's also Westchester County RACES Officer, has documented BPL interference, complaints and related information on his "BPL in Briarcliff Manor" Web site . The League said the FCC's continued refusal to shut down the Ambient Corporation's BPL system in Briarcliff Manor "highlights the completely arbitrary and baseless findings in the Commission's Report and Order in Docket 04-37, adopted last October 14." In early January, the ARRL questioned Ambient's veracity and technical competence and criticized the FCC for not shutting the system down. The League requested then that the FCC rescind Ambient's WD2XEQ Part 5 Experimental license for the BPL pilot project. The latest League filing is on the ARRL Web site ==>FCC ADOPTS RULE CHANGES FOR "SMART RADIOS" The FCC has released a Report and Order (R&O) on cognitive or "smart radio" systems. In its 42-page R&O, "Facilitating Opportunities for Flexible, Efficient, and Reliable Spectrum Use Employing Cognitive Radio Technologies" (ET Docket 03-108), the Commission declined to adopt any new regulations for Amateur Radio transceivers or for digital-to-analog (D/A) converters "at this time." The ARRL and the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council had commented earlier on the impracticality of incorporating hardware features to prevent out-of-band transmissions. The League, AMSAT-NA and TAPR also opposed regulating the marketing of high-speed D/A converters as burdensome, more costly to consumers and unnecessary because the devices don't pose a risk of interference. "No parties have provided any information that shows that software programmable amateur transceivers or high-speed D/A converters present any significantly greater risk of interference to authorized radio services than hardware radios," the FCC concluded in its R&O. The Commission went on to note that "certain unauthorized modifications of amateur transmitters are unlawful" and that it may revisit the issues "if misuse of such devices results in significant interference to authorized spectrum users." In its December 2003 Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) leading up to this month's R&O, the FCC had proposed exempting manufactured software defined radios (SDRs) designed to operate solely in amateur bands from any mandatory declaration and certification requirements, provided the equipment incorporated hardware features to prevent operation outside of amateur bands. The Commission also had sought comment on the need to restrict the mass marketing of D/A converters "that could be diverted for use as radio transmitters." In its comments last May, the ARRL sympathized with the Commission's concerns about out-of-band operation and expressed its appreciation for the FCC's "sensitivity to the need to encourage, rather than discourage, amateur experimentation and innovation." But, the League characterized the FCC's fears as "overstated." The Commission said its R&O, released March 11, is intended to "facilitate continued growth in the deployment of radio equipment employing cognitive radio technologies and make possible a full realization of their potential benefits." The hope is that cognitive radios will allow more-efficient use of the radio spectrum. "Given their technical and operational flexibility, smart radios make possible the improved use of vacant spectrum channels--that is, spectrum that may be available in a specific frequency range at a particular geographic location or during a particular period of time--spectrum that would otherwise go unused," the FCC explained in a Public Notice. "Smart radios have the technical capability to adapt their use of spectrum in response to information external to the radio." ARRL participates in international bodies that are currently working toward establishing standards for SDRs and cognitive radios. These include International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Working Parties 8A (Land Mobile Service, excluding IMT-2000; Amateur and Amateur-Satellite service) and 8F (IMT-2000 and systems beyond IMT-2000). The R&O is available on the FCC Web site ==>SOLAR UPDATE Sun gazer Tad "Black Hole Sun" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: We saw a decline this week in average daily sunspot numbers and solar flux. Average daily sunspot numbers were down more than 10 points to 34 as compared to the previous week, and average daily solar flux declined almost 12 points to 80.2. The short-term prediction shows solar flux values rising slowly over the next week, reaching 100 around April 8. The planetary A index should rise over the next few days. Predicted planetary A index for April 2-5 is 15, 25, 35 and 20. Cycle 23 continues its fall toward solar minimum, which is currently forecast to occur in the October 2006 to April 2007 time frame. We shouldn't expect conditions to improve beyond what we've had recently until early 2008--a little less than three years from now. Current sunspot numbers are lower than they've been since 1997. The peak of the next cycle will probably occur in 2010. Sunspot numbers for March 24 through 30 were 57, 65, 41, 35, 15, 15 and 11, with a mean of 34.1. The 10.7 cm flux was 87.1, 82.1, 77.7, 78.4, 79.7, 78.8 and 77.6, with a mean of 80.2. Estimated planetary A indices were 6, 18, 16, 13, 4, 5 and 9, with a mean of 10.1. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 4, 15, 12, 8, 2, 3 and 6, with a mean of 7.1. __________________________________ ==>IN BRIEF: * This weekend on the radio: The SP DX Contest, the EA RTTY Contest, the Missouri QSO Party, the QCWA Spring QSO Party, the AARC JR Kids Roundup Contest and the RSGB RoPoCo are the weekend of April 2-3. The 144 MHz Spring Sprint and the RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (CW) are April 4. The ARS Spartan Sprint is April 5, the YLRL DX-YL to NA-YL Contest (CW) is April 6-8 and the SARL 80-Meter QSO Party is April 7. JUST AHEAD: The JIDX CW Contest, the ARCI Spring QSO Party, the EU Spring Sprint (SSB), the Georgia QSO Party, 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 9-10. The 222 MHz Spring Sprint is April 12, the RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (SSB), is April 13 and the YLRL DX-YL to NA-YL Contest (SSB) is April 13-15. See the ARRL Contest Branch page and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar for more info. * ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration: Registration for the ARRL RFI (EC-006), Antenna Design and Construction (EC-009) and Analog Electronics (EC-013) courses remains open through Sunday, April 3. Classes begin Friday, April 15. Antenna Design and Construction students will, among other things, learn about basic dipoles and ground planes and how to assemble combinations of these into more complex antennas. Students also learn about transmission lines, standing wave ratio, phased arrays and Yagis. Students participating in the RFI course will learn to identify various interference sources. Analog students will learn about the use of instrumentation, Kirchhoff's laws, diodes, rectifier circuits, bipolar and field effect transistors, various amplifier configurations, filters, timers, op amps and voltage regulators. To learn more, visit the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education (C-CE) Web page or contact the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Program Department cce@arrl.org. * FCC to update third-party traffic list to include all UK stations: The FCC is expected to soon update its Web site listing of countries with which US Amateur Radio Service licensees may exchange third-party traffic (ie, messages on behalf of a party other than the control operator). The updated list will include all amateur stations in the United Kingdom (the UK, the Channel Islands, including Guernsey and Jersey, Great Britain, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland). The change is already effective. Section 97.115 of the FCC's Amateur Radio Service rules regulates communications from a station's control operator (first party) to another amateur station's control operator (second party) on behalf of another person (third party). No FCC-regulated amateur station may transmit messages for a third party to any amateur station located within the jurisdiction of any foreign government not on the FCC list or whose administration has not made specific arrangements with the US to allow amateur stations to transmit international communications on behalf of third parties. The prohibition regarding third-party traffic does not apply to messages for any third party who is eligible to be the control operator of the station. The FCC list of countries that have third-party agreements with the US is on the FCC Web site . * Supreme Court rules no attorneys' fees for California radio amateur: In a case involving a California radio amateur but not amateur antennas, the US Supreme Court has ruled 9-0 to deny attorneys' fees and damages to ARRL Life Member Mark J. Abrams, WA6DPB, of Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The justices demurred on an application of federal law that Abrams had argued entitled him to recover legal fees and damages. The case, which the Supreme Court agreed to hear last fall, originated after Abrams erected commercial Land Mobile Radio Service antennas on his residential property, and the city denied him a conditional use permit it said he needed for the commercial application. The California Supreme Court subsequently ruled that Abrams didn't need the permit in the first place. In the meantime, Abrams had filed suit in US District Court asserting that the city's denial of the conditional use permit violated the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Again, Abrams prevailed, but the District Court turned down Abrams' request to recover monetary damages and attorneys' fees. The US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit reversed the US District Court, but the 3rd and 7th Circuits ruled otherwise. The City of Rancho Palos Verdes then took the case to the US Supreme Court on the issue of damages and attorneys fees, and the high court agreed to hear the case because of the disparity in the Circuit Court decisions. Some news accounts on the Supreme Court decision have reported incorrectly that the case had involved Abrams' efforts to get permission to erect an amateur antenna system. Abrams got the city's okay for an approximately 50-foot Amateur Radio antenna support structure in 1989. * ARRL VEs, number of sessions served now on League Web site: The ARRL Web site now makes it possible to access a list of ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) volunteer examiners (VEs) and the number of volunteer exam sessions each has served. The listings via the "VE Session Counts " page are in alphanumeric call sign order according to VE location by state. Activity (count) is measured by being present and ready to serve--or providing service--at an ARRL/VEC-coordinated test session. "Celebrating 20 years of service, the VEC system enjoys a reputation of high integrity and is a prime example of a successful privatized licensing system," said ARRL VEC Manager Bart Jahnke, W9jj. "The VE Session Counts page serves to highlight the accomplishments of the 25,000-plus current and actively accredited ARRL VEs." * Project OSCAR inaugurates newsletter column service: Project OSCAR, the oldest Amateur Radio club dedicated to amateur satellites, has inaugurated a service aimed at encouraging satellite newcomers. "The Satellite Beacon" is a monthly column produced by Project OSCAR members that Amateur Radio newsletter editors may freely republish. Topics cover a wide range of satellite topics geared to new or novice satellite users. Project OSCAR Vice President and Beacon Editor Emily Clarke, W0EEC, says that by publishing "The Satellite Beacon," Project OSCAR hopes to provide a reliable source of information about amateur satellites at the local level and keep interest in ham radio high as the solar minimum approaches. Newsletter editors may subscribe to a monthly electronic distribution or download any of the currently available articles directly from "The Satellite Beacon" Web page . For more information, visit the Project OSCAR Web site . * DXCC Desk approves operations for DXCC credit: The ARRL DXCC Desk has approved these operations for DXCC credit: TT8AMO, Chad, current operation effective March 9, 2005; 6O0X, Somalia, November 18-26, 2004. For more information, visit the DXCC Web page. "DXCC Frequently Asked Questions" can answer most questions about the DXCC program. ARRL DX bulletins are available on the W1AW DX Bulletins page . =========================================================== 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; . Jim Haynie, W5JBP, 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 for the latest news, updated as it happens. The ARRL Web site offers access to news, informative features and columns. ARRL Audio News 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: ==>ARRL Audio News: 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. 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