ENTERPRISE AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY PO BOX 310034 ENTERPRISE, AL 36331-0034 Pres - N4WIG ironmike@snowhill.com VPres - KF4JTF rbmesser@snowhill.com Sec/Treas - N4JAG rickpal@snowhill.com PIO - KD4FNI kd4fni@wd4roj.ampr.org News Editor - N4RYC geleam@snowhill.com AUGUST 1999 NEWSLETTER The August meeting will be held at 7:00 PM, Thursday, 19 August, in Room S-100 at ESJC. DUES REMINDER The following members annual dues of $20 ($5 Associate) are due. June - KF4JTF. July - KE4LSH/VJM, KF4BHP/CHK. August W0PKM/RHG, KE4AYM, KE4AYL, WA6GBJ (Assoc), KG2JD (Assoc). Please remember that after you are three months overdue, you will be dropped from the club roster. If you can't attend a meeting, please mail your check, payable to EARS, to the club address. Thank you for your support. ROSTER UPDATE Please change KE4AYM's address to #59 County Road 159; Enterprise, AL 36330 EVENT CALENDAR EARS Meeting - 19 August Hamfest - Huntsville - 21-22 August Hamfest - Pell City - 28 August EARS Meeting - 16 September Hamfest - Mobile - 25 September EARS Meeting - 21 October Hamfest - Montgomery - 13 November EARS Meeting - 18 November Hamfest - Dothan - 4 December Boll Weevil Net on 147.24+ each Tuesday at 7 PM. Saturday morning breakfasts at Dottie's in Enterprise at 7 AM and at Ann's in Ozark at 8 AM. Wednesday lunches at the Deli in Daleville around 11:00. Amateur Exams following EARS meetings. Contact Tom, WA4YQT, at 464-0532 at least 24 hours in advance to schedule a test. * * New meeting location - Room S-100 at ESJC. FOR SALE From: "Mike G" I've got a Yaesu FT-840 with a Heil Proset headset mic, with the HC-4 mic cartridge and a Vectronics VC3000DLP antenna tuner I'd like to sell. I haven't used them other than the radio to listen to SW so they are practically brand new. $130--Mic $150--Tuner ------------NEW PRICES $740--Radio I'll sell it all for $600.00 Thanks Mike (If you are interested and don't have e-mail, contact N4RYC or N4JAG and we will pass along your message.) BREAKFAST Don't forget the breakfast on Saturday mornings. It isn't all that early and you need to get an early start anyway. Dottie's at 7AM and Ann's at 8AM. See you there. Jerry N4RYC --------------------------------- Electronic Edition Since you are reading this, you must have e-mail, and some sort of an Internet Service Provider. Therefore, the following, from the ARRL, might be of interest to you: ULS LOOMS LARGE FOR AMATEURS Say hello to the ULS! Monday, August 16, the FCC's Universal Licensing System becomes a reality for the Amateur Service. The FCC said August 13 that the ULS would be out of service until then to prepare for implementation. This means amateurs will have to wait until the ULS is back up to register. The ULS ushers in an era of electronic, interactive filing and handling of Amateur Radio applications and marks a major change in the way hams will deal with the FCC. It also means the demise of the familiar paper FCC Form 610 series in favor of the "universal" Form 605--primarily designed for electronic use but also available on paper. Once registered, amateurs filing applications with the FCC under the ULS will use Form 605 for all purposes except--at least for now--club station applications. The FCC began a weeklong ULS phase-in period for the Amateur Service August 8 and has been converting existing Amateur Radio licensing data into the ULS database. Electronic Amateur Radio license renewal using FCC Form 900 was scheduled to end August 9. Electronic vanity call sign application using Form 610V was to terminate August 13 at 5:30 PM Eastern Time. Hams should not file renewal or vanity applications until the ULS comes up August 16. Before using the ULS to file an application, renew or modify a license, or apply for a vanity call sign, all amateurs must register. When registering, individuals eligible to hold a Social Security Number must provide this number--which the FCC refers to as a Taxpayer Information Number or TIN. This requirement is a mandate of Congress, not of the FCC. All hams must be registered in the ULS to do business with the FCC. Applicants use TIN Registration Form 606 for both electronic or manual registration. To register electronically, visit http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls/ and click on "TIN/Call Sign Registration." A paper Form 606 is available at http://www.fcc.gov/formpage.html or by calling 800-418-FORM (3676). One big advantage only to on-line registrants is that the ULS application system checks for errors before data are submitted. Applicants first register their Social Security Number (or TIN), then enter a call sign. Applicants also must select a password to identify themselves in future, private transactions with the FCC database. A valid password can be from 5 to 30 alphanumeric characters and is case-sensitive. For additional security, applicants also specify a personal identifier. The FCC and ARRL recommend that applicants not use their Amateur Radio call signs as a passwords or identifiers. Registrants receive a nine-character Licensee Identification Number. Amateurs may use this number in place of a Social Security Number in future dealings with the FCC. Those filing a paper ULS Form 606 by mail will not receive an acknowledgement from the FCC. Paper filers can obtain their FCC-generated Licensee ID Number from ULS Technical Support at 202-414-1250. For now, applications for club, military recreation, and RACES licenses should be filed on the "old" FCC Form 610B. Trustees and custodians of these licenses should not use their personal Social Security Number as the TIN for these applications but should contact ULS Technical Support (202-414-1250) to obtain a FCC-generated identification number for Form 610B. Applications that do not include this number are subject to dismissal. Applications for new licenses or upgrades will continue to be filed through a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator. VECs will use a special NCVEC Form 605--a variation of Form 605--to file with the FCC for test sessions. Starting August 16, hams already registered in the ULS may file applications using the new FCC Form 605 electronically at any time of day, seven days a week. FCC Form 605 will be used for license renewals, modifications, cancellations, application withdrawals and amendments, as well as requests for a vanity call sign, duplicate license, change of address or other clerical license modification. Visit the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau ULS page, http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls and click "Connecting to ULS" for information on accessing the ULS system. Accessing the ULS database requires a telephone modem. A toll-free number, 800-844-2784, connects users to the FCC's Wide Area Network. Among other things, the ULS features a renewal reminder sent 90 days prior to a license's expiration date. The ULS also simplifies the process of submitting fees to the FCC. The FCC said it also anticipates that the ULS will be capable of accepting credit card payments on-line "in the near future." For more information, visit the FCC's ULS page, http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls. Don't forget to check out the EARS home page. CU on the radio. N4JAG -- Rick War doesn't determine who is right. War determines who is left. Personal Home Page & PGP Public Key at: http://www.snowhill.com/~rickpal Visit the Enterprise Amateur Radio Society at: http://www.snowhill.com/~rickpal/ears.htm