The ARRL Letter 
Vol. 13, No. 1 
January 10, 1994

Lifetime operator license sought

     The ARRL on January 6, 1994, petitioned the FCC to make 
Amateur Radio operator licenses valid for a lifetime.  
     The League said in its petition that there is nothing in the 
Communications Act of 1934 that would prevent such a license term 
for amateurs, and that a lifetime operator's license would allow 
inactive amateurs to return to the Service at the same class of 
license without the necessity for retesting.
     The League believes that the number of amateurs who would 
benefit from such a lifetime license would be "relatively 
substantial."
     The League said that under the current 10-year license term, 
with a two-year grace period, it already is possible for 
relatively inactive amateurs to remain licensed for long periods 
of inactivity. There is no practical difference, the League said, 
between such a person and one who allows his or her license to 
expire and later wants to again become involved in Amateur Radio.
     This proposal would apply only to operator licenses; station 
licenses would still, by law, be limited to 10-year terms. A 
person with a lifetime operator license but no station license 
would not be permitted to operate a station of his own (but would 
be permitted to operate from the station of another amateur).
     The League said that nothing in this proposal should have 
any effect on the call sign issuance program either as it 
currently exists or as proposed (the "vanity" call sign program).
     The League also said it was not proposing to make this rule 
change retroactive at this time, but, rather, to extend currently 
held operator licenses from 10 years to lifetime.

Call sign committee named, input sought on FCC proposal

     In response to an FCC proposal to create a "vanity" call 
sign program for radio amateurs, ARRL President George Wilson, 
W4OYI, has appointed an ad-hoc committee to develop a recommended 
position for the entire board to consider. Members of the 
committee are Directors Steve Mendelsohn, WA2DHF (chairman); 
Frank Butler, W4RH; Tom Comstock, N5TC; John Kanode, N4MM; and 
Brad Wyatt, K6WR. 
     On December 28, 1993, the FCC released its Notice of 
Proposed Rule Making, in PR Docket 93-305, to permit amateurs to 
choose a "vanity" call sign. Individuals as well as trustees of 
club stations would be eligible to request an available call sign 
from the block assigned to their license class or a lower license 
class. 
     A fee would be required. The Communications Act specifies a 
fee of $7 per year for amateur service "vanity" call signs, and 
allows the Commission to require payment of small fees in advance 
for a number of years not to exceed the relevant license term, so 
an initial cost of $70 is possible. Fee issues would be resolved 
under a separate FCC rule making proceeding, and a "vanity" call 
sign system would not be started until then, the FCC said. 
     The applicant would provide a list of up to 10 total call 
signs desired. The FCC would assign the first available requested 
call sign from the applicant's list, and if none of the desired 
call signs was available, the applicant's current call sign would 
be reassigned.  
     Call signs of lapsed or deceased licensees would not be 
available for reassignment for two years, but a call sign given 
up under the vanity call sign program would be available for 
reassignment immediately. 
     The FCC said that even with its new automated licensing 
process it did not expect to be able to offer amateurs on-line 
access in order to check for call sign availability, and asked 
for comments on how such a service could be provided. The FCC 
said its eventual goal is to accept license applications 
electronically.     
     A possible catch is that no one can estimate the number of 
US amateurs, out of a pool of more than 600,000 of Technician 
class and above, who will want to apply for a new call sign. 
     February QST covers this subject and alerts ARRL members 
that since the timetable is short, the ad-hoc committee needs 
their input quickly. February QST also reprints the FCC's NPRM in 
its entirety. It also is available on the ARRL BBS (203-666-
0578).
     The comment deadline for this NPRM is March 7, 1994.  Reply 
comment deadline is April 7, 1994. 

League backs electronic license filing; cites snags in "instant 
license" plan

     The ARRL has filed comments opposing an FCC proposal to 
grant immediate on-the-air privileges to amateur examinees before 
a license is issued by the Commission, prefering the early 
implementation of electronic filing as a better way to address 
the problem of excessive delays.  
     The League said it stood by its comments already made, on a 
petition for rule making that resulted in the FCC's proposal, in 
PR Docket 93-267.  The ARRL told the FCC that its Notice of 
Proposed Rule Making, issued November 4, did not seem to consider 
the League's comments made last summer.
     At that time, the ARRL said in response to a petition by the 
Western Carolina Amateur Radio Society-VEC that such a system was 
both unlawful and would be detrimental to enforcement.  The 
League said  that the FCC had, as recently as 1987, denied such a 
concept and that the absence of an up-to-date database of such 
temporary call signs would make both self-regulation by amateurs 
themselves and rules enforcement by the Commission more 
difficult.
     The League now has added that suggestions in the NPRM that 
precedents for such a plan exist in other services are incorrect; 
has reiterated its opinion that such a plan is inconsistent with 
the international radio regulations; and has emphasized that 
electronic filing of applications with the FCC would accomplish 
the same goal, that of reducing the wait to get on the air, while 
maintaining total FCC oversight of licensing.
     The reply comment date for this proposal is February 10, 
1994.

New Jersey seeks to regulate RF sources; ARRL to represent 
amateurs at hearing

     Several ARRL officials will represent amateurs at a New 
Jersey public hearing on the subject of regulation of radio 
frequency radiation sources. 
        In late December the New Jersey Department of 
Environmental Protection and Energy (DEPE) issued a proposal to 
register and assess fees for sources of nonionizing radio 
frequency radiation. Although Amateur Radio stations are exempted 
from the proposal, the possibility of future regulation was left 
open. 
        In 1984, New Jersey adopted rules intended to protect the 
public from exposure to nonionizing radiation from RF sources 
from 300 kHz to 100 GHz. The guidelines were based on standards 
then set by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), 
standards which recently have been tightened. 
        In its new proposal, the NJ DEPE said that its 1984 rules 
(NJAC 7:28-42) have not been actively pursued for lack of funds, 
and that the DEPE has turned down requests for inspections from 
the general public, local governments, and schools. 
        The new rule (NJAC 7:28-48), if adopted, would permit the 
state DEPE to pay for services it provides through fees assessed 
for RF sources ranging from communications (such as satellite 
earth stations), navigation, and radar sources to commercial 
microwave heaters, sealers, and industrial ovens. 
        The New Jersey proposal said "A group of sources for 
which fees will not be assessed under the proposed rules at this 
time is amateur radio antennas. Although the Department is aware 
that some amateur radio antennas may expose members of the 
general public to levels of radio frequency radiation in excess 
of the limits specified in NJAC 7:28-42 [the 1984 rule], there is 
not enough information currently available to predict accurately 
the intensity and the pattern of radiation emitted by these 
sources. 
        "The Department welcomes comments concerning the 
regulation of amateur radio antennas. At some point in the 
future, the Department may study the feasibility of requiring the 
registration of amateur radio sources." 
        A public hearing on the proposal was scheduled for 
January 11, 1994, and written comments also were invited, through 
January 20, 1994.        
        ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, N3AKD, said "This goes 
beyond simply allowing states to establish their own standards 
for RF exposure, which up to now the FCC has permitted. 
        "This is a registration and fee schedule, and that 
amounts to a state licensing and taxation program. 
        "Section 301 of the Communications Act assigns the FCC 
exclusive jurisdiction in the licensing of radio transmitters; 
that leaves no room by law for a state licensing program of 
amateurs," Imlay said. 
        "What New Jersey state regulators are proposing," said 
ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, "is nothing 
less than state licensing of RF emitters for which federal 
licenses already are required. 
        "Put succinctly, they can't do that," Sumner said. 

LLOYD COLVIN, W6KG, DIES; DXer VISITED 223 COUNTRIES

     Lloyd Colvin, W6KG, died December 14, 1993, in Istanbul, 
Turkey. He was 78 years old, born April 24, 1915, in Spokane, 
Washington. His wife of 55 years and DXpedition partner Iris 
Colvin, W6QL, survives him. 
     At the time of his death both Lloyd and Iris had received 
permission to operate from Turkey. Lloyd did not operate but Iris 
did, briefly, as TA1/W6QL. Lloyd suffered an apparent stroke, was 
hospitalized, and died shortly thereafter. 
     Lloyd Colvin was first licensed in 1929 and his early 
interest in radio led to an Army career in the Signal Corps. He 
served 30 years, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1961.     
     In the 1950s and '60s he was a general contractor and 
president of Drake builders, building houses, apartments and 
hospitals in the San Francisco Bay area. 
     In 1965 the Colvins began traveling the world, and in the 
nearly three decades that followed they visited 223 countries, 
operating from more than half of them. Their reputations as 
ambassadors preceded them, enabling them to obtain permission to 
operate when most others couldn't (although a few stone walls 
stood, in countries such as Burma and Bhutan). 
        The ARRL Board of Directors recognized the Colvins' 
contributions to international good will by naming them Amateur 
Radio Ambassadors of the Decade 1980-90. 
     The Colvins' last major trip was to Southeast Asia in 1992.     
     Over the years the Colvins made more than a million contacts 
and had more than half a million QSLs on file. 
     Lloyd Colvin was an ARRL Charter Life Member (as is Iris), a 
life member of the Northern California DX Club, and an honorary 
member of countless DX clubs and groups. 
     W6KG had been an ARRL member continuously since 1930 and was 
an ardent League supporter. 
        The ARRL Board of Directors recognized the Colvins' 
contributions to enhancing international goodwill by naming them 
Amateur Radio Ambassadors of the Decade 1980-1990.
     In addition to his wife Iris, Lloyd Colvin leaves a 
daughter, Joy Gilcrease, and two granddaughters, Justine and 
Vanessa Gilcrease. 
     There was no public service, and his remains were to be 
scattered at sea.     

CALL SIGN ADMINISTRATOR PLAN LAID TO REST

     The FCC on December 29, 1993, withdrew an order issued in 
May 1993 establishing a club and military recreation station call 
sign administrator program.  
     The FCC said that its newly proposed vanity call sign 
program, in PR Docket 93-305, and to be administered by the 
Commission itself, would make the administrator plan unnecessary.  
     The FCC said that while its administrator plan would have 
allowed clubs and military club stations to obtain call signs 
"without an undue burden on the Commission... A new automated 
licensing system is being activated that will enable the 
Commission to perform with minimal additional burden the function 
that administrators in the private sector were going to provide 
without reimbursement." 
     The FCC also said that a Petition for Reconsideration of the 
administrator program, filed in June 1993 by David Popkin, W2CC, 
had merit. Popkin said that contrary to the FCC's Order, 
establishing a call sign administrator program in the amateur 
service is controversial, and should have been subject to a 
notice and comment rule making proceeding. The FCC granted 
Popkin's petition. 
     The FCC said it would return applications to be call sign 
program administrators to the parties concerned, without action.     

BOARD NAMES QST COVER PLAQUE WINNERS

     * Here are the 1993 QST Cover Plaque winners as selected by 
the ARRL Board of Directors:
     January: "Slow Scan TV: It Isn't Expensive Anymore" by John 
Langner, WB2OSZ. 
     February: "W1AW at the Flick of a Switch" by Lee Richey, 
WA3FIY.
     March: "Automatic RF Power Control for AMTOR Operation" by 
Carl Gregory, K8CG.
     April: "An Introduction to Amateur Television -- Part I" by 
Ralph Taggart, WB8DQT.
     May: "A Disguised Flagpole Antenna" by Albert Parker, N4AQ.
     June:  "Roving for VHF Gold in the Colorado Rockies" by Paul 
Nerger, KF9EY.
     July: "10,500 Miles of Mobile CW -- On a Motorcycle" by Al 
Brogdon, K3KMO.
     August: "The Effects of Continuous Conductive Guy Wires on 
Antenna Performance" by Lew Gordon, K4VX.
     September: "The Joy of Building" by Jeff Gold, AC4HF.
     October: "Schematics at Your Fingertips" by Ken Schofield, 
W1RIL.
     November: "An Accurate Dip Meter Using the MFJ-249 SWR 
Analyzer" by David Barton, AF6S.
     December: "An Automated Mobile Radio-Direction-Finding 
System" by Robert H. Flanagan, KA1RBH, and Louis A. Calabrese, 
N1LZD.
     
BRIEFS

     * February 1 is the opening date for enhanced privileges for 
Novice class licensees on the 222 MHz band, as well as the day a 
weak-signal segment goes into effect at the bottom of 222 MHz 
(222.0 to 222.15 MHz). Details were on page 83 of January QST. 
     * Still one more reminder: Check your amateur license! 
Renewals begin again this year after a 5-year hiatus. FCC Form 
610s are available for an SASE from ARRL HQ. Do you know someone 
who lost his valued call sign for failing to renew his license? 
     * The next space shuttle SAREX flight, STS-60, is now 
scheduled for launch February 3, 1994. Commander Charles Bolden 
and Mission Specialist Ronald Sega passed amateur exams in 
November and at presstime awaited their licenses. They will be 
joined on the flight by Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, a veteran of the 
Russian space station MIR. For more information on SAREX, send an 
SASE to the ARRL Educational Activities Department and ask for 
the 1994 SAREX Bulletin. 
     * Congress is back in session and your support is needed to 
give Amateur Radio national policy status. Please write to your 
US representative and senators to ask their support for The 
Amateur Radio Service Joint Resolution; details are in January 
QST, page 54. 
     At year's end, 23 US senators were cosponsors of S.J. Res. 
90, and 133 representatives had signed on as cosponsors of the 
companion H.J. Res. 199. New since the list in January QST were: 
     Reps. Vic Fazio (D-CA); Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY); Norman 
Sisisky (D-VA); Bill Brewster (D-OK); Al Swift (D-WA); John Lewis 
(D-GA); Mike Synar (D-OK); Jay Dickey (R-AR); and Glen Browder 
(D-AL). 
     Also, Senator Thomas A. Daschle (D-SD) has been added to the 
January QST list. 
     * Know a bright, young (under 21) amateur with leadership 
qualities?  Nominate him or her for the 1993 Hiram Percy Maxim 
Award, which carries a $1000 prize. Nominations are made through 
your ARRL Section Manager and are due by March 31, 1994. Last 
year's winner was 17-year-old Chris Anziano, KD1OX, of Bethel, 
Connecticut, who is now a high school senior, plans a career in 
chemical engineering, and awaits word on his applications to 
several universities. 
     * Richard S. O'Brien, NJ2J, has won an Emmy Award.  O'Brien, 
now retired from CBS Television as its director of engineering, 
received the third Charles F. Jenkins Lifetime Achievement Award 
for his pioneering work in the design of television studios over 
a 40-year career. The award was presented in September.       

10 Years Ago in The ARRL Letter

     Times change. 10 years ago an "obituary" for a no-code 
amateur license was written when the FCC abandoned two 
alternative proposals for such a license (PR Docket 83-28). An 
outpouring of opposition to either plan from ARRL members led the 
ARRL board of directors to reflect that sentiment.     
     ARRL President Carl Smith, W0BWJ, thanked the Commission for 
"putting the no-code issue to rest once and for all." 
     The FCC began promoting a code-free license for 50 MHz and 
above in the mid-1970s, culminating in a Notice of Proposed Rule 
Making in January 1983. 
     An ARRL study committee immediately went to work, in order 
to report to the board of directors before their October meeting. 
But an ARRL request to the FCC for an 18-month extension was 
denied, so the board was forced to act when they met in April, 
based on the overwhelmingly negative (to a code-free license of 
any kind) input from ARRL members. 
     At the end of 1983 the FCC changed its mind, rejecting the 
idea of a no-code amateur license, attributing the decision in 
large part to the outpouring of comments from amateurs. 
     In late 1988 the issue surfaced again, and the board voted 
to propose a codeless entry-level amateur license. In February, 
1991, the code-free Technician class license became a reality. 
     Also in early 1984 the FCC released its Report and Order 
amending its domestic Table of Frequency Allocations to comply 
with results of the 1979 World Administrative Radio Conference. 
These changes set the stage for new  US amateur bands at 17 and 
12 meters to open as soon as transfer of fixed service 
assignments was completed; the 30 meter band had been open to 
amateurs on a secondary basis since 1982. 
     The FCC began issuing 10-year amateur licenses in early 
1984; the first of those are just now expiring. 

Profile: Dakota Division Director Tod Olson, K0TO 

     He's baaaaaaaack! 
     Tod Olson is a new ARRL director but not a new new director. 
Tod served as Dakota Division director from 1982 to 1986 and has 
just been elected for another term of office. 
     Tod's one of several DXers and contest operators to be 
elected this past November, most of them sporting "vanity call 
signs" from the 1976-78 era (when Tod gave up W0IYP). His 
favorite activities have always been Field Day and the November 
Sweepstakes. In 1972 he was a founder of the National  Contest 
Journal, now published by ARRL. 
     Tod, just turned 61 years old, retired from General Mills in 
1991, and now serves in consulting capacities for a couple of 
businesses. For 11 years he was with Control Data Corp., dealing 
with product and business planning. 
     Tod Olson has lived in Long Lake, Minnesota, for 28 years; 
in 1993 he was elected its mayor. 
     His service to ARRL has been extensive; in addition to his 
two terms as a director, he was Minnesota section manager in 
1974-75, Dakota Division vice director from 1976 to 1982, and 
International Affairs Vice President from 1986 to 1990. 
     Welcome back, Tod. The way Connecticut's weather is shaping 
up you should feel right at home here for the board meeting later 
this month! -- K1TN.

ARRL's newest publication: The DXCC Yearbook

     It's out ... almost. The 1993 DXCC Yearbook. 
     Active DXCC participants (how many? About 7500) will receive 
their free copy of this new publication in a few weeks. Among 
other good news, the Annual List therein is in a typesize big 
enough that we aging DXers can read it! 
     This was our first shot at a separate publication containing 
the Annual List, the objective being to free up QST pages for 
material of wider appeal, while providing DXCC'ers with 
additional useful material. 
     And, as DXCC Specialist Bill Kennamer, K5FUV, points out in 
his introduction to the Yearbook, because the publication of the 
Annual List in QST coincided with many DXer's "upgrades" (to the 
Honor Roll, Top of the Honor Roll, and so on), they were not 
getting the recognition they would have got in QST at other times 
of the year.     
     We are sure that DXers will let us know what they like, and 
don't like, about this first Yearbook, and the second may look 
different. 
     Incidentally, staff contributors to the Yearbook included 
K5FUV (former editor, QRZ DX); K1TN (former editor, The DX 
Bulletin and Honor Roll member); and KR1S (author, The DXCC 
Companion). 

*eof
