IN THIS UPDATE . . .

GATE 2 IS LIKE A CALL SIGN LOTTERY

September 23, 1996, was a momentous day for the thousands of FCC Extra class licensees who decided to enter what amounts to a call sign lottery--otherwise known as Gate 2 of the FCC's vanity call sign program. To paraphrase the old saw, "you pays your $30 and takes your chances!" But, have patience! Don't be surprised if that license bearing your new call sign doesn't show up for two to three weeks or longer, even if your Form 610V was among the first to arrive at the FCC bank contractor's doorstep.

Some applicants--perhaps many--labored under the misconception that the earlier they got their Form 610V in to the Pittsburgh drop box (for Mellon Bank, the FCC's fiscal agent), the better their chances of getting their first choice. T'ain't so! According to ARRL/VEC Manager Bart Jahnke, KB9NM, the FCC says it won't grant any applications until all first-day applications (electronic or hard-copy) have been received. "What this means is all applications first will be entered into one big queue in no particular order in the FCC's computer," he said. Electronic filers using the system that the FCC inaugurated on September 23 stand the same chances as paper filers in the call sign assignment process, Jahnke emphasized. The FCC's on-line filing system does not yet permit on-line payment, so electronic filers still had to physically send their payments to the FCC's drop box in Pittsburgh, although the box was a different one than for paper applications with payment attached.

Jahnke explains that no application will carry a time of receipt, and everything that showed up in the correct Post Office box between 12:01 AM on Saturday, September 21, and 11:59 PM on Monday, September 23, will be considered day-one receipts and will go into the computer as such. The FCC says it won't start to grant new call signs until all applications for a given day are entered--whether they were filed on paper or electronically. When the FCC starts granting new call sign requests, they will be done in random order, so it could be a few weeks before your application is granted.

"Think of it as a lottery drawing," Jahnke said. "The (FCC computer) 'arm' will reach in and grab applications until the queue is empty."

Late information indicates more than 4500 vanity applications now have made their way from Pittsburgh to Gettysburg for processing, but more are expected. The FCC got 339 electronically filed applications on day one. Just how many Gate 2 applications the FCC ultimately will receive is a matter of speculation. Original FCC plans called for running off 25,000 Form 610V copies for the entire vanity program. Later, the Commission upped the tally by nearly a factor of 10. Jahnke said the ARRL alone has distributed up to 20,000 vanity call sign application packages, including direct replies to SASEs, electronic requests and distributions at hamfests and conventions. One unconfirmed report said a single courier hand-delivered 5000 Form 610V applications on behalf of first-day filers.

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SAREX MISSION

The three hams aboard space shuttle Atlantis--Jay Apt, N5QWL; Carl Walz, KC5TIE; and John Blaha, KC5TZQ--spoke with students at two schools in the Midwest and a third in England during their mission, which ended Thursday, September 26. Blaha replaced Shannon Lucid aboard the space station Mir, where he'll spend 120 days. Lucid had been living on Mir for the last six months. The shuttle had docked with the station last week to make the exchange and to drop off food, water, equipment and supplies at Mir.

STS-79 carried the Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment (SAREX) payload in configuration M (voice-only operations).

While still docked with Mir, the Atlantis crew successfully completed three prearranged SAREX contacts. The first was on Friday, September 20, with Immaculate Conception Elementary School in Celina, Ohio. Pupils there made a very successful SAREX contact with astronaut Carl Walz, KC5TIE. Eleven-year-old Steven Eizensmits, KC8ENC, of Mendon, Ohio, initiated the 6 1/2-minute contact, and pupils got answers to nine questions as some 400 of their classmates and media representatives looked on (nine TV and cable stations, two radio stations and one newspaper sent reporters). Also among the crowd were the mayor of Celina and a couple of members of the Ohio legislature. After the contact, the pupils got a congratulatory telephone call from retired astronaut and US Senator John H. Glenn Jr--the first American to orbit the Earth.

Crew members spoke with two schools on Sunday, September 22. Students at the Royal School For Girls in Haslemere, Surrey, England, got answers to four questions during the QSO. Audio quality was reported as "somewhat poor," but students thought the event was "pretty keen." Some 150 people showed up for the occasion, including representatives from the BBC and local television.

The last SAREX contact was with Andover Middle School in Andover, Kansas. Students and administrators at the school called the contact a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity. Audio quality was adequate, and students asked a couple of dozen questions, most of them fielded by Jay Apt, N5QWL. At the school itself, some 200 people and media representatives turned out.

After the Kansas contact, the crew members turned their attention to personal contacts. The ARRL has received dozens of reports from amateurs who made successful contact with the crew throughout the mission. We even got reports from hams in Canada and Finland. After Atlantis and Mir separated, John Blaha, KC5TZQ, was heard working ground stations on the East Coast on 145.55 MHz. "Good strong signal as Mir passed over Knoxville," reported Greg Williams, KE4HSM.

Send STS-79 QSL cards and reports to: ARRL EAD, STS-79 QSL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111-1494. Include the following information in your QSL or report: STS-79, date, time in UTC, frequency and mode. Include a stamped, self-addressed business-size envelope if you wish to receive a card (non-US stations should include one IRC). The Bergen Amateur Radio Association in New Jersey has graciously volunteered to manage the mailing for this mission.

Space shuttle Columbia will carry the next SAREX payload, during mission STS-83 in March, 1997.

FCC PLAN WOULD EASE INTERNATIONAL OPERATING

The FCC has proposed amending the Amateur Radio rules to make it easier for hams holding a European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) radio-amateur license or an International Amateur Radio Permit (IARP) from certain countries in Europe and the Americas to operate during short visits to the US. If finally approved, hams would be able to operate for short periods in participating countries without first obtaining another license or permit from the host country.

The FCC says the arrangement is intended to make it easier for US hams to operate stations temporarily in several countries in Europe, Central and South America. Likewise, hams from those countries would be allowed to operate in stations in places where the FCC regulates ham radio. "We believe that US participation in both the CEPT agreement and the CITEL/Amateur Convention would benefit US amateur operators who travel to Europe and to the Americas," the FCC said in its discussion of WT Docket 96-188.

Operating authority by CEPT or IARP holders in the US would be for "up to 180 days within the preceding five years." The two classes of CEPT licenses would correspond either to Amateur Extra or Technician class. Resident aliens or US citizens could not operate in the US under a CEPT license or IARP.

Last year, ARRL petitioned the FCC to implement the CITEL/Amateur Convention. The League also asked the Commission to acknowledge arrangements to be made between the ARRL and the Department of State to issue IARP documents to US citizens for use in other CITEL countries. The FCC has asked the State Department to apply for participation in the CEPT Agreement as a non-CEPT country and expects the agreement to be concluded this year.

Comments on the proposal are due December 13, 1996, and reply comments by January 13, 1997. E-mail comments should mention "WT Docket No 96-188" on the subject line and should be addressed to mdepont@fcc.gov. Include your full name and Postal Service mailing address in the message text. Mail written comments to: Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC 20554.--FCC

ARVID H. ANDERSON, W1RRS, SK

Arvid Anderson, W1RRS, of New Britain, Connecticut, died September 2, 1996. He was 96. Anderson, a retired employee of the Connecticut Light and Power Company, was among those who--decades ago--helped to install the power poles used to support a large rhombic antenna for W1AW on the site now occupied by the ARRL HQ building. (An aerial view of the rhombic is on display in the W1AW lobby.)

In Brief . . .
  • W5V authorized: The FCC has issued Special Temporary Authority to the Albuquerque Amateur Radio Club to use the call sign W5V for its annual Veterans Day event, November 11, 1996. The station will be located at the VA Medical Center in Albuquerque. W5V will honor veterans with operations on HF and 2 meters.

  • AMSAT-NA board election results: Keith Baker, KB1SF; Tom Clark, W3IWI; and Andy MacAllister, WA5ZIB all were returned to the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors. All were incumbents running for re-election. Joe Holman, KA7LDN, continues as the alternate. A total of 1645 ballots were cast.--AMSAT News Service

  • SETI-Net set: Hams with an interest in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence may wish to check into the recently organized SETI-Net. The net meets Sundays at 1000 UTC on 14,204 kHz (which is exactly 1% of the popular hydrogen line radio astronomy frequency). Net control is Peter, DJ0BI. The net is sponsored by The SETI League Inc. Paul Shuch, N6TX, is the SETI League's executive director. See the group's Web site at http://www.setileague.org/ for more information.--SETI League

  • New RAC QTH: Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) will move its administrative offices to Ottawa, Ontario, next month. The RAC administrative office will be closed for business from October 7 until October 18, for the move and while the telephone services and computer systems are transferred from Kingston to Ottawa. Starting October 18, 1996, the new RAC address will be 720 Belfast Rd, Suite 217, Ottawa, ON K1G 0Z5; tel 613-244-4367; fax 613-244-4369; e-mail rachq@king.igs.net.--Jacques d'Avignon, VE3VIA

  • Picosat talk set: A talk on the Picosat system will be given at this year's AMSAT conference in Tucson, Arizona, November 8-10. The Picosat system is one view of the future of Amateur Radio satellites. It includes easy-to-use access, cellular telephone-like features and much more, contained in a network cluster of pico satellites (15 cm-per-side cubes with extendible solar panels). For more information, set your Web browser to http://www.cordis.lu/esprit/src/picosat.htm.--Peter Vekinis, KC1QF

  • New satellite Web site: The Southeast Michigan Area AMSAT Net's Web site has a new page dedicated to the band plans and modes of FO-29 (JAS-2). It's part of the Web site dedicated to both analog and digital Amateur Radio satellite operation. The URL is http://www.wwnet.com/~jsmyth/index.html.--AMSAT News Service

  • New AMSAT-SA head: Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS5AKV, has been elected president of South African AMSAT. He takes over from Gerald Klatzko, ZS6BTD, who has headed up AMSAT-SA for the past two years. During his tenure, ZS6BTD has been directing most of his activities toward the completion of the Phase 3D 10-meter bulletin transmitter, expected to be delivered to the integration team in the next few weeks. Klatzko will continue to serve on AMSAT-SA's committee for another year and remain responsible for the Phase 3D project. Meanwhile, the launch of SUNSAT, South Africa's first satellite carrying an Amateur Radio and experimental commercial payload has been delayed until August 1997.--AMSAT News Service

The ARRL Letter

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