IN THIS UPDATE . . ..

• FCC prepares for WRC-97
• Scarborough Reef update
• FCC affirms 219-220 MHz for ham radio
• WRTC-96 update
• "Raincoat Charlie" takes FCC installment plan
• Major fox hunt set in New York
• SETI search to expand
• Nick Marshall, W6OLO, SK
• Help in researching old call signs
• FCC on the move

AT DEADLINE . . .

• The FCC kicks off preparations for WRC-97 on February 6 at a meeting of the WRC-97 advisory committee in Washington, DC. Cecily C. Holiday will head the WRC-97 preparatory team. She was FCC vice chair of the US WRC-95 delegation. In addition to continuing work on issues left over from WRC-95, including non-geostationary satellite network issues and simplifying international radio regulations, the 1997 conference will consider issues involving broadcast satellites as well as HF broadcasting and the space, maritime and aeronautical services.--FCC

• The ARRL DXCC Desk says the start date for Scarborough Reef-recently approved as a DXCC country-is January 1, 1995. The first accredited operation was in April 1995. A 1994 DXpedition to Scarborough Reef did not qualify as a "land-based operation." Scarborough Reef, BS7, is a possession of the People's Republic of China. The DXCC Desk will begin accepting QSL cards starting April 1, 1996, and will return cards received before that.

FCC AFFIRMS SECONDARY ALLOCATION FOR HAMS AT 219-220 MHz

The FCC has affirmed the secondary allocation of 219-220 MHz for Amateur Radio. The action, for the most part, denied a Petition for Reconsideration filed by Orion Telecom, an Automated Maritime Telecommunications System licensee. Orion had argued to rescind the decision to allocate the 219-220 MHz to ham radio because the 50-mile exclusion distance between AMTS and amateur operations was insufficient to protect primary AMTS operations from harmful interference. Orion asserted 575-mile exclusion distance was necessary, which would have precluded Amateur Radio operation in many areas.

The FCC did agree with Orion's concern that the amateur rules do not adequately specify the frequency range of AMTS operations. The FCC amended its rules to indicate that AMTS operations specifically use the 217-218 MHz and 219-220 MHz bands. AMTS coast stations use 219-220 MHz for receiving, and 217-218 MHz for transmitting.

ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, says the League is pleased that the FCC has reaffirmed its commitment to provide some relief to the Amateur Service at 219-220 MHz "to offset our loss of access to 220-222 MHz." He says the ARRL has an effective procedure in place to ensure that amateurs planning to use the band "are well aware of their obligations to avoid harmful interference to other services." Sumner said the small change that the FCC has made-calling attention to the fact that one must look at 217-218 MHz assignments to know what AMTS coast stations are operating in a given area-is something that ARRL already takes into account in its procedures.

WORLD RADIOSPORT TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP COMPETITORS LINE UP

Several well-known contesters are among the competitors lining up for the World Radiosport Team Championship WRTC-96 event, to be held in the San Francisco, California, area July 10-16, 1996, in conjunction with the IARU HF World Championship Contest. The two-person WRTC-96 teams will work under a slightly different set of additional rules, however.

Among the complete US teams (team leader and partner) signed up for the invitational event are defending champions K1AR and K1DG, who competed at the last WRTC in Seattle, Washington. Also on the roster are K6LL and N2IC; K3LR and WA8YVR; W2GD and W0UA; K4BAI and KM9P; WX3N and K5ZD; N6TV and K7SS; and K8CC and K5GO. K1KI, KF3P, and WQ5W still seek partners for WRTC-96. The selection committee will announce team leaders for last-minute, wild-card applicants by February 15. Teams are to be in place by March 1.

Several DX countries also will send teams, including four teams from Japan and two from Russia. During the event, teams will operate from comparable 100-W stations as a two-person, multi-single entry. No packet spotting will be allowed, and WRTC-96 teams may operate 18 of the 24 hours. Teams will use only 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters. Chief judge for the event is Lew Gordon, K4VX.

For more information, contact Rusty Epps, W6OAT, via e-mail at epps@netcom.com, or write him at 651 Handley Trail, Redwood City, CA 94062.

"RAINCOAT CHARLIE" TO PAY $500 FINE

The Federal Communications Commission has denied a Petition for Reconsideration filed by William P. Irwin, K3CQR, of De Bary, Florida, who was fined $500 for willful and repeated interference in the Amateur Radio service and with failure to properly identify himself on the air. The case stems from interference on 14,315 kHz that occurred "on a regular basis" from late 1992 until mid-1993, when FCC agents determined the interfering transmissions came from Irwin's home. During the interfering transmissions, Irwin identified himself as "Raincoat Charlie" (see QST, October 1993, p 83), and he admitted to FCC agents to using his ham gear to broadcast them.

The Vero Beach (Florida) Field Office originally fined Irwin $2000, but later reduced the penalty to $500 after Irwin, 53, claimed inability to pay. He then requested a review of the $500 fine, which the FCC denied January 19, 1996. The FCC said Irwin could pay off the fine in installments.

Irwin also asked to inspect FCC records pertaining to his case. The commission says such materials "are not routinely available for public inspection" and that Irwin would have to file a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain the materials.

MAJOR FOX HUNT PART OF PLAN TO COMBAT MALICIOUS INTERFERENCE

Supporters of the Northeast Connection repeater network have set Saturday, April 13, 1996, as the date for a "major" fox hunt in the Orange County, New York, area. The first three hunters to locate the fox will get a "valuable prize."

Northeast Connection says the event is part of the repeater group's efforts to train hams in the art and science of radio direction finding "to combat the rise in malicious interference incidents that have been plaguing many repeater systems in our area." Dan Tierney, N2DBD, and other Northeast Connection supporters have held monthly fox hunt training sessions for the past year. The group says it takes seriously the hobby's obligation to police itself and is counting on amateurs to participate and also to locate and report those responsible for malicious interference.

Northeast Connection operates four VHF and three UHF repeaters that cover from Long Island to Binghampton and as far north as Lake George, New York, and includes parts of northern New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont.

For details on the fox hunt or Northeast Connection, call Sid Ghaly, KB2RNQ, 718-591-8800, or write PO Box 551, Central Valley, NY 10917.

BLIZZARD RESCUE

The great blizzard of 1996 during the weekend of January 6-7 that wreaked havoc from the Carolinas to Massachusetts also caused problems in the Midwest, including Indiana, where ham radio was called on to provide community support.

The biggest snowstorm of 1996 to date forced local hams into an all-night rescue operation in Franklin, Indiana. Nine inches of snow and strong, gusty winds closed many rural roads and Interstates. Several motorists found themselves stranded as Route 44 between Franklin and Shelbyville drifted shut. Joe Vergara, KA9ZPA, and Vernie Parton, AA9LR, got a call shortly before 11 PM from Johnson County Red Cross Director Pat Behorn. Because of poor road conditions, Vernie used his four-wheel-drive vehicle to ferry people from the Interstate to the Red Cross shelter at the Franklin Fire Station.

The stranded motorists were given food, shelter and a place to sleep until late the next morning. Paul Easley, KA9KAI, also assisted in the shelter operations. While the snow did not fall as hard in the Midwest as it did along the Eastern Seaboard, hams throughout the area remained on alert and ready to lend a hand.--Amateur Radio Newsline

SETI GROUP TO EXPAND SEARCH

The nonprofit SETI League Inc plans to upgrade its scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence, thanks to a donation of microwave test equipment from Merrimac Industries of West Caldwell, New Jersey. The equipment will enable the SETI League to set up a microwave design lab in conjunction with its search for radio signals of possibly intelligent, extraterrestrial origin.

"There's no doubt in my mind that there's someone out there," Merrimac's president and CEO, Eugene W. Niemiec, K2KJI, said in making the donation to SETI League President Richard Factor, WA2IKL. "When SETI succeeds in finding other civilizations in the cosmos, it will change our world forever," Niemiec added.

The SETI League Lab will develop hardware and software for Project Argus, which has been called the most ambitious space research project ever attempted without government funds. The real-time microwave survey of the entire galaxy ultimately will involve 5000 amateur radiotelescopes around the world.

H. Paul Shuch, N6TX, is the group's executive director. For more information, e-mail n6tx@setileague.org, or write PO Box 555, Little Ferry, NJ 07643; tel 800-828-7384 (TAU-SETI) or 201-641-1770.

NICHOLAS K. "NICK" MARSHALL, W6OLO, SK

Nick Marshall, W6OLO, a pioneer in the amateur satellite world and one of the founders of Project OSCAR 35 years ago has died. He was 81. At the time of his death, Marshall was serving as the president of Project OSCAR. Services were held January 28 in Sebastapol, California, where Nick lived.

AMSAT President Bill Tynan, W3XO, who had known Nick for almost 30 years, called him an inspiration to early AMSAT enthusiasts. Bill added that if Nick's dream of an Amateur Radio transponder on the Moon could ever be realized, it should carry the call sign W6OLO.--AMSAT News Service

• Amateurs who want proof under the still-pending vanity call sign program that they once held a particular call sign may be able to get help--for a price--from International Transcription Service, the FCC's contractor for research. ITS reports it has "spotty records on tape" from the years 1946 until 1964, "history cards" for 1964 until 1979 and microfiche copies for everything after that. Charges are 30 cents per page and $15 per hour, in 15-minute increments. However, to avail yourself of ITS services, you must pay up front. A spokeswoman at ITS said the average time to research a call sign is one hour, and that $15 should be sufficient to cover the cost. ITS can provide the actual date when a license was first issued. The company is at 1270 Fairfield Rd, Gettysburg, PA 17325 (right next door to the FCC Licensing Division in Gettysburg); tel 717-337-1433.

• The FCC is moving, but not anytime soon. A January 24 Washington Post article reports that the FCC finally has agreed to move to a new building at 455 12th St, SW in a project known as The Portals. The move follows a protracted court battle and lots of foot dragging by the agency, first slated to move to The Portals in 1991. Construction of the FCC's new digs is set to begin March 1. The article does not say how long construction is expected to take, but construction projects of this magnitude (450,000 square feet) usually take a couple of years. Congress has yet to appropriate money for the move.

Editorial, Rick Lindquist, KX4V, Assistant Technical Editor, e-mail: rlindquist@arrl.org.

Electronic edition circulation, Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO, e-mail: kcapodicasa@arrl.org.

The purpose of The ARRL Letter is to provide the essential news of interest to active, organizationally minded radio amateurs faster than it can be disseminated by our official journal, QST. We strive to be fast, accurate and readable in our reporting.

Material from The ARRL Letter may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form, including photoreproduction and electronic databanks, provided that credit is given to The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League.