ENTERPRISE AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY PO BOX 310034 ENTERPRISE, AL 36331-0034 Pres - Mike - N4WIG ironmike@snowhill.com VPres - Randy - KF4JTF kf4jtf@wd4roj.ampr.org Sec/Treas - Rick - N4JAG rickpal@snowhill.com PIO - Sonny - KD4IDG hargett@snowhill.com News Editor - Jerry - N4RYC geleam@snowhill.com NOVEMBER 1998 NEWSLETTER ELECTRONIC EDITION The November meeting will be held 7 PM, this Thursday, 19 November, at the Enterprise City Hall. DUES REMINDER The following members annual dues of $20 ($5 Associate) are due. September - W4FOS, KL0LN/KB4OXW. October - K4PKD, WB4ZPS, WA4YQT, K4HKR, KB4EFX (Assoc). November - KF4EHL, KU4BF, KF4EHM, KF4DZR/KF4QFK. 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 The current club roster will be mailed to you. EVENT CALENDAR EARS Meeting - 19 November Hamfest - Dothan - 5 December EARS Christmas Dinner - 11 December Have a Happy Holiday Season EARS Meeting - 21 January 1999 Hamfest - Greenville - 30 January 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. CHRISTMAS DINNER This year the EARS Christmas Dinner will be held on Friday 11 December 1998. The location will be at the Gazebo Restaurant in the Ramada Inn on Glover Ave in Enterprise. Starting time will be 6:30 PM for socializing with dinner at 7 PM. Cost will be $14.54 per person and includes all taxes and gratuity. The menu is as follows served as a buffet; Turkey with dressing and gravy, Ham with scalloped potatoes, veggies of peas, carrots and corn. Desert is strawberry shortcake. Included is salad w/dressing, rolls, coffee and tea. There will also be entertainment. We request that you make reservations with one of the officers listed in the letterhead. You should make payment to EARS by 1 Dec to insure enough participation. Remember, this dinner is open to any HAMS in the area, not just EARS members. Talk it up with friends and join us for a fun evening. de N4RYC ARRL Bulletin 90 ARLB090 From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT October 26, 1998 To all radio amateurs ARLB090 ARRL Board reaffirms, modifies its restructuring proposal In a special meeting October 24, the ARRL Board of Directors unanimously reaffirmed the bulk of its July 1998 Amateur Radio License Restructuring plan with some modifications. Among other things, the Board's July plan would eliminate the Novice and Tech Plus license classes. To provide a logical entry path to HF for Technicians, the Board now has suggested offering CW privileges to Technicians in the current General CW allocations on 80 through 10 meters. Technicians would be permitted up to 200 W PEP. The Board also agreed to replace the A, B, C, and D license class designations proposed in its July restructuring plan with the names Extra, Advanced, General, and Technician. "The July plan eliminated the HF door by eliminating the Novice license," observed ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ. "This is, in effect, a replacement for the Novice, but without an additional license class." Under the July plan--and under the FCC's proposed streamlining--the entry-level HF license would be the General, which under the ARRL plan would require passing two written examinations plus a 5 WPM code test. Board members at the October 24 meeting near St Louis expressed concern that the leap to HF privileges under the July plan could prove too daunting, especially for younger newcomers. Some also were troubled about the growing gulf between the "traditional" HF operator and the newer VHF-only amateurs. Addressing the Morse code requirement in the International Radio Regulations, Sumner summed up the Board's position by saying that the new privileges would amount to self-testing. "By their very nature, you can't use the privileges until you know the code," he said. "We're not expecting the CW bands to be overrun with people taking advantage of this, but as any CW operator knows, the best way to become proficient in the code is to use it on the air." The special ARRL Board meeting was called to consider the League's comments on the FCC's amateur licensing "streamlining" proposals in WT Docket 98-143, released in August. Comments are due on the FCC's rulemaking proposal on December 1. During the daylong session, the Board also proposed that the FCC rules ban multiple-choice Morse code tests and establish that a passing grade for a code test be either 70 per cent correct answers to 10 fill-in-the-blank questions or one minute out of five of solid copy. The Board affirmed its proposals in RM-9196 to improve the procedures for granting Morse code exam credit on the basis of a physician's certification of a disability. It also affirmed "its strong desire" that written exams be modified as necessary "to demonstrate better the depth of the applicant's current radio technical knowledge and operating skill." The Board also supported retention of the topic definitions to be included in written exams, as contained in Section 97.503 of the rules, with some modification to accommodate the new four-class structure. Under the proposed testing regime, the Technician exam would include 35 questions. Technician applicants must now pass both the 35-question Novice examination plus the current 30-question Technician test. Applicants for General would have to pass a 35-question test--up from the current 30 questions to include additional questions on operating practices. The Advanced exam would go from 50 questions to 40 under the proposal, while the Extra exam would go from 40 to 50 questions, including more highly technical subject matter. The Board also reaffirmed its desire that Advanced class volunteer examiners be permitted to administer General class exams, and it renewed its request in RM-9115 for several rules changes involving RACES stations. The Board noted that it had "heard and considered the views of thousands of ARRL members" on the amateur licensing issues raised in both the ARRL and FCC proposals. ----------------------------------------- ELECTRONIC EDITION If you plan to attend the EARS Christmas dinner, and I hope you do, I'm sure no-one will mind if you make the check out for either $14 or $15 instead of $14.54 each. Either the club can afford the 54 cents, or will be happy to accept it as a donation. Either way, make your plans and let a club officer know if you'll be attending as soon as possible. If you RSVP, I'll even accept your check (or cash) the night of the dinner. Just got back from the Montgomery hamfest. I waited to send this e-mail so that I could tell you about the great prize I won. So much for that idea! Make a change to your address book showing the following new e-mail addresses: Rob Devlin: kc4gd@prodigy.net George Kerrigan (N1GK): georgek@snowhill.com Don't forget to check out the EARS web page at http://www.snowhill.com/~rickpal/ears.htm 73 - CU on the Radio - N4JAG -- Rick -- The complete lack of evidence is the surest sign that the conspiracy is working. Home page & PGP Public Key at: http://www.snowhill.com/~rickpal