Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1574 - October 12, 2007
The following is a special announcement. Last
weeks report on the decision to disqualify a
candidate for the ARRL Directors position in the
Southwestern Division brought some very mixed
reaction. While most hams in the division and a
few activists elsewhere were interested, the
majority outside the Southwestern Division were
not. As there is more information on this
situation this week, we are presenting it in a
separate program that follows the regular
newscast. Those interested can stay on-line to
hear it. Others can pull away at the end of the
normal newscast. We hope this satisfies most of
you. Now to this weeks news anchor, Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF..
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1574 with a
release date of Friday, October 12, 2007 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a Q-S-T. Two new low noise
digital modes are unveiled for ham radio and
cross border interference to a repeater brings a
Washington state ham a proposed $7000
fine. Find out the details on Amateur Radio
Newsline(tm) report number 1574 coming your way right now.
(Billboard Cart Here)
**
EMERGING HAM RADIO TECHNOLOGY: NEW JT2 & JT4 DIGITAL MODES ANNOUNCED
Two new digital modes JT2 and JT4 are being
supported by an experimental version of the
popular WSJT weak signal software. Both are both
designed for making QSOs under extremely
weak-signal conditions while using the same
message structure and source encoding as that
used in J T 65. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has mo
--
The new mode called JT2 has a bandwidth of just
8.75 Hz enabling dozens of contacts to take place
in the 2.4 kHz SSB stock filter bandwidth found
in most of today's transceivers. The system uses
2-tone Frequency Shift Keying modulation for
synchronization and differential BPSK for the
encoded user information. In this way both a
sync bit and a data bit can be transmitted with
each channel symbol. Symbols are sent at a rate
of 4.375 baud, and tone separation for the 2 tone FSK modulation is 4.375
Hz.
The performance of JT2 may eventually be as good
as JT65, or slightly better at 144 MHz and
below. If it can be made to work up to its
potential, JT2 could be a great boon to random
digital E-M-E operation on 2 meters, especially
for those without panoramic wideband receivers
and software like MAP 65. JT2 may also be
attractive for use on the Very Low Frequency,
Medium Frequency and High Frequency bands under weak-signal conditions.
JT4 is similar to JT2 except that it uses 4-tone
Frequency Shift Keying . This, so it can also
include both a sync bit and a data bit in each
symbol. Again the keying rate is 4.375 baud, and
a number of different tone spacings are offered
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill
Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the studio in Los Angeles. Jim.
--
WSJT version 5.9.8, r558 is the experimental
release that contains both of the new operating
modes. Further information on JT2 and JT4 is on
line
at
http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/JT2_JT4.TXT.
More about WSJT is at
http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT (Southgate)
**
RADIO HAPPENINGS: THE ITU AT 60
Tuesday September 25th marked the 60th
Anniversary of the conclusion of a conference of
the International Telecommunications Union held
in Atlantic City, New Jersey. A conference that
was very beneficial to the Amateur Radio community worldwide.
At that gathering a new High Frequency band was
obtained at 21MHz. The 15 meter band as it became known.
Also, above 30 MHz the basic structure of the
amateur bands up to 10 GHz was established. This
included the VHF 2 meter band and the UHF 70 cm
band along with microwave bands at 2.4 GHz. Much
of this original infrastructure still remains in place today. (WIA News)
**
RESCUE RADIO: THIRD EMCOM PARTY ON THE AIR
If you are into public service work, mark Sunday,
November 11th, from 11.00 to 15.00 UTC on your
contest calendar. This, as International Amateur
Radio Union Region 1 invites the headquarters
stations of IARU member societies and stations of
emergency communications groups to participate in
the Third EmCom party on the Air.
Operations take place on and near the emergency
Center-of-Activity frequencies on 80, 40, 20, 17
and 15 meters. The objective of the party is to
increase the common interest among member
societies in emergency communications while
testing the usability of these Center of Activity
frequencies perform across the various
International Telecommunications Union regions.
This is the first time that all IARU regions are
invited to participate the EmCom Party. This
years exercise will be limited to SSB operation
only, but plans do call for the introduction of
digital modes in 2008. (Via E-Mail)
**
ENFORCEMENT: CROSS BORDER INTERFERENCE TO REPEATER BRINGS A $7000 FINE
In the first case of its kind that we know of,
the FCC has issued a $7000 Notice of Apparent
Liability for Forfeiture to a United States ham
for interfering with a Canadian repeater.
--
That's right Jim.
The FCC says that James J. Grinton, K7VNI, of
Bellingham, Washington apparently, willfully and
repeatedly violated Section 97.113(b) and Section
97.119(a) of the Commission's Rules. This, by
transmitting one-way communications and by
failing to transmit his assigned call sign in the
Amateur Radio Service. The one way transmissions
interfered with the VE7RPT repeater in British
Columbia, Canada. That system sits atop Mt.
Seymour and operates on the popular 146.34 in and 146.94 MHz out channel
pair.
Back on December 7, 2006, in response to a
complaint alleging intentional interference to
communications on the VE7RPT repeater, an agent
from the FCC's Seattle Enforcement Bureau used
mobile direction finding to locate the source of
the signal. His efforts lead him to the
residence of amateur radio operator James
Grinton, K7VNI, in Bellingham. As a follow-up,
during the period of December 9, 2006 to January
1, 2007, the Seattle agent monitored the repeater
input frequency of 146.340 MHz. He observed 59
transmissions of varying lengths from Grinton's residence.
On January 19, 2007, the Seattle Field Office
issued a Warning of Interference to
Communications Letter to K7VNI. It informed
Grinton that his station may be the source of
willful or malicious interference to Amateur
communications. Also, that if the transmissions
continue, he would be investigated during ongoing
FCC enforcement efforts. And if such an
investigation indicated that he has violated the
Communications Act or any FCC Rules, that he
could be subject to severe penalties.
On February 27, 2007, in response to continued
complaints, a Seattle agent again located the
source of a signal on 146.340 MHz to coming from
Grinton's residence. This time the agent
recorded 17 minutes of a continuous transmission
of one-way communications of music alleged to be
transmitted by Grinton on 146.340
MHz. And during the period of January 19th to
June 23rd the agent monitored 146.340 MHz and
observed 163 transmissions by Grinton in which he
failed to transmit his assigned call.
Now, based on the Commission's Forfeiture Policy
Statement the FCC has fined Grinton $4000 for
unauthorized emissions. It also tacked on
another $3000 for Grinton's alleged multiple failures to properly I-D.
Jim-
--
The Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture
to Grinton was issued on September 25th. He was
given the usual 30 days to pay the $7000 fine or to file an appeal. (FCC)
**
BREAK 1
From the United States of America, We are the
Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin
stations around the world including the Reading
Club station W3BN serving Reading Pennsylvania.
(5 sec pause here)
**
HAM RADIO AND SCOUTING: JOTA 2007 OCT 20 - 21
The 50th anniversary of Scouting's Jamboree on
the Air is scheduled for October 20th and 21st
.. JOTA at it is known is the largest official
scouting event in the world, with an expected
500,000 participants this year. Amateur Radio
Newsline's Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, is himself a
big supporter of the scouting movement and has this preview of JOTA 2007;
--
The event is sponsored by the World Scout Bureau
of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
Radio amateurs bridge the continents and the
miles using their radios to help young people
gathered at their QTH connect with young people
in another community, another state or another country.
Typically, in the United States, ham operators
hook up with their local Boy and Girl Scout
councils to set up stations at camping events, camporees, or Scout camps.
In other cases, hams open their shacks to groups to come in to take part.
That's right, this is an event open to boys and
girls in the Scouting movement and Girl Guides, too.
Here in the United States, the K2BSA call sign of
the national Boy Scouts of America will be heard in a number of call areas.
You'll also hear other variations of the BSA call
held by Scout groups as you tune up and down the band.
There are also activities at the HB9S, the
headquarters of the World Scout Bureau in Geneva,
and GB2GP, from Gilwell Park in the United Kingdom.
It's a special year for the Boy Scouts of the
world as well as this is the 100th anniversary of
the founding of the movement by Lord Robert Baden Powell.
The thing to remember is this isn't a contest;
it's not designed to work as many stations as
possible. It's really aimed at introducing young
people to the capabilities of amateur radio
whether it be SSB or even the digital modes such as PSK-31.
The bottom line: We as amateurs need to make it a fun experience.
You'd be amazed at how many youngsters are "mike
shy" and need some prompting when they're offered a chance to get on the
air.
Have a sheet of paper prepared at the camporee or
in the shack which asks the guest operator to
write their first name, their rank in Scouting,
their home town, and their hobbies, maybe their pets.
You'll need to act as control operator to make sure the QSO goes smoothly.
Also, it's important for U.S. operators to brush
on third-party agreements among the countries.
You'll find more about them in the JOTA section
of the American Radio Relay League website.
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/reg.../3rdparty.html
JOTA can be a rewarding experience for the operator, too.
And, it can spark interest in the next generation of amateur radio
operators.
From eastern Pennsylvania, listen for KC3BSA -
the call sign of Venture Crew 59 from the Hawk
Mountain Council at the Hawk Mountain Scout Reservation.
We'll be operating from the Cub Scout Tiger Day event.
Hope to hear you and your Scouts on the air!
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in Philadelphia.
--
For more information on your nearest station take
your web browser to
www.scout.org/jota (ARNewsline(tm))
**
RESCUE RADIO: W4WYT INJURED IN GYROCOPTER CRASH
A Blacksburg, Virginia, ham is in critical
condition after the gyroplane ne was piloting
crashed, killing his passenger. On Saturday,
October 6th, Ranson Pelt Jr, W4WYT, was flying
the ultra-light aircraft on what witnesses say
was a sightseeing trip when it fell to the ground
and caught fire in a residential neighborhood.
According to the Roanoke Times on-line, neighbors
described seeing the gyroplane or gyrocopter -- a
two-seat aircraft similar to a helicopter --
circle above the neighborhood about 1 p.m. before
dropping to the ground behind a house and
bursting into flames. Some who rushed to the
scene found the Pelt reaching into the flames to
free the passenger from the wreckage. According
to a witness identified as Kirk Cowser, helpers
had to restrain Pelt as he begged the them to get
the woman out of the wreck. The unidentified passenger died in the blaze.
Pelt was eventually airlifted first to Carilion
Roanoke Memorial Hospital and then transferred to
the University of Virginia Medical Center. He
was last reported in critical but stable condition.
Pelt's crash was the 14th aircraft accident in
Blacksburg since 1962, but the first fatal one.
The Federal Aviation Administration has been
called in to investigate. (Roanoke Times On-Line, eHam.net)
**
ENFORCEMENT: APPLE I PHONE UPDATE THWARTS CELL CARRIER HACKS
If you own an Apple I Phone that's been hacked to
operate on any cell carrier than ATT, you likely
now own a very expensive door stop. One that
will no longer let you make phone calls.
PC on-line says that the I Phone 1.1.1 update,
released on Thursday, September 27th, disabled
phones that had been hacked so to work with
providers other than AT&T. AT&T is the only U.S.
cellular provider Apple has allowed to carry its
mobile phones and users of hacked units are
reporting that the new update is making
previously unlocked I Phones unusable. .
In recent weeks, a number of software tools have
been developed to allow I Phone users to break
away from Apple's AT&T-only restriction, but
Apple has said that it would fight any attempts
to unlock the iPhone. Several weeks ago the
company released a warning that unlocking the
unit would likely result in the modified I Phone
becoming permanently inoperable when a future
Apple-supplied automatic software updates
are installed. This has now happened and
modified phone will not operate even if a
legitimate AT&T SIM card is re-installed.
SIM is an acronym for Subscriber Identity
Module. That's the memory chip that contains
account information and are used to authenticate
devices on certain types of mobile
networks. Unlocked I Phones had been able to use
SIM cards from non-AT&T networks. (Science OnLine)
**
RADIO LAW: SOME IN CONGRESS FEAR DISASTROUS OUTCOME OF DTV CUTOVER
Some United States lawmakers are worried that too
few Americans know that the analog television
sets they have been using for years could become
big cathode-ray paperweights after February 18,
2009. That's when broadcasters are mandated to
shut off their analog signals and transmit only digital.
During a recent Senate Commerce Committee hearing
examining the government-mandated transition to
digital TV, lawmakers aired their views that too
little was being done to get the message to
Americans. They cite a poll released in January
by the Association for Public Television Stations
that indicates 61% of respondents had no idea the
digital transition was going to take place. Of
those that did know, most were not aware of a $40
per unit government subsidy that will be offered
on the purchase of converter boxes that will
permit current analog sets to display digitally transmitted pictures.
An even bigger problem is where to buy a set top
digital converter box. While there are several
companies including Philips and Motorola making
them, they seem to be scarcer than hens teeth in
the current consumer electronics
marketplace. Few of the on-line sellers have
them and we have yet to have a reporter walk into
a brick and mortar establishment and find one on
the shelf. And if you ask a salesman for help,
he will likely try to sell you a new T-V rather
than finding you the converter box you want.
Good luck on February 18, 2009 if you receive
your television for free over the air.
**
CHANGING TECHNOLOGY: THE END OF TIME IN SOCAL
It's the end of time in southern California. At
least as far as AT&T is concerned.
A brief note in customers' bills declared that
"Effective September 2007, Time of Day
information service will be discontinued."
What this means is that people throughout
southern California will no longer be able to
call 853-1212 to hear a woman's recorded voice
stating that, "At the tone, Pacific Daylight Time
will be...." Check for details
http://tinyurl.com/ytsjkd (CGC)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: VE7DXD ELECTED NEW BC SECTION MANAGER
Mike Hale, VE7DXD, has been elected British
Columbia Section Manager for a two-year term of
office that begins November 1st. Hale was
elected through mail-in ballot by a two-vote
margin. He replaces out-going Section Manager
Drew Watson, VA7DR. A spokesman for Radio
Amateurs of Canada says that the very close
election results indicate that both men enjoy
wide recognition and support in British Columbia Section. (RAC)
**
THE SOCIAL SCENE: AMSAT NA SPACE SYMPOSIUM - OCT 26 - 28 IN PA
The 2007 AMSAT Space Symposium will be held at
the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott Hotel on Friday,
October 26th through Sunday, October 28th. Among
the events planned will be technical forums
focusing on the latest planning and technology of
Amateur Radio in space along with technical
demonstrations of prototype flight hardware and
software for the upcoming AMSAT Eagle ham
satellite. Also planned are discussions and
demonstrations of SuitSat-2, ARISS and AO-51.
This year AMSAT is also focusing efforts to
attract local middle and high school students to
the Saturday sessions. To accomplish this some
special programs were put on the agenda and
invitations were made to local Pittsburgh area science teachers.
Also taking place will be the annual AMSAT-North
America Annual General Meeting and the
AMSAT-North America Board of Directors
Meeting. This means that AMSAT Directors and
Officers will be available to answer attendee questions
More information on this years AMSAT North
America Space Symposium is in cyberspace at
www.amsat.org (ANS)
**
BREAK 2
This is ham radio news for today's radio
amateur. From the Auckland New Zealand and the
United States of America, we are the Amateur
Radio Newsline with links to the world from our
only official website at
www.arnewsline.org and
being relayed by the volunteer services of the following radio amateur:
(5 sec pause here)
**
RADIO IN SPACE: CELEBRATING THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF SPUTNIK 1
Its been a half century since the race to the
final frontier began. That was in October of
1957 with the launch of Sputnik 1. Jim Linton, VK3PC, takes us back in
time:
--
Confirmation that the Soviet Union had launched
the first man-made earth orbiting satellite came
with a radio signal that was heard half a century
ago last Thursday, October the 4th. Around the
world amateur radio enthusiasts picked up the
satellite's beacon signal on a frequency of 20.007MHz.
Now let's listen to how Sputnik 1's weak signal
was heard in October 1957 as it orbited once every 96 minutes.
--
Actual Sputnik 1 Audio
--
Its history making orbit of earth had a permanent
impact on many of today's baby-boomers, whose
interest in space and technology was awakened by
Sputnik 1, the true beginning of man's space exploration.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline' I'm Jim Linton, VK3PC
--
A number of radio amateurs had their five minutes
of fame through media reports of their claims of
hearing the satellite. Others had a house full
of friends and neighbors drop by at the oddest
hours to hear the radio signal from the first man made object in space.
But it does not end there. One day shy of a month
after Sputnik 1 made history as the world's first
man-made satellite, the Soviet Union launched
Sputnik 2. This time, in addition to radio
transmitters like that of its predecessor, the
satellite carried the first animal into orbit. A dog named Laika (WIA
News)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: A NEW SCHOOL CONTACT RECORD
At 1832 UTC, on Wednesday October 10th students
at the Isummasaqvik School in Quaqtag, Canada
successfully contacted Clay Anderson on the
International Space Station. Anderson answered
all 20 questions prepared plus 2 more before the
ISS went out of range of the ARISS volunteer ground station ON4ISS in
Belgium.
This marked the 39th school contact for a member of the Expedition 15 crew
and surpasses the previous record of 38 set by
Expedition 12. Contributors to the Exp. 15
record include Astronauts and Cosmonauts Sunita
Williams, Fyodor Yurchikhin and Clay Anderson. (ANS)
**
RADIO IN SPACE: AEGIS - MAPPING THE SKY
Radio is part of a massive project to map a
distant region of the Universe in multiple
wavelengths. AEGIS, an acronym for the
All-wavelength Extended Groth Strip International
Survey combines the efforts of nearly 100
researchers from around the world observing the
same small region of sky in all available
wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The target area, called the Extended Groth Strip,
covers an area the width of four full moons just
past the end of the Big Dipper's handle. The
AEGIS region has now been surveyed more
intensively from visible light through x-rays and
the radio spectrum using more telescopes and
radio telescopes than any other region of the sky.
The first information derived from this
experiment is now bring released to the public
using the capabilities of Google Sky. This is
a new feature of Google Earth. (Science Daily)
**
WORLDBEAT - SOUTH AFRICA: SARL PRESIDENT ADDRESSES COLLEGE TEACHERS
In news from around the world, the president of
the South Africa Radio League has told his
nations educators that ham radio can be an
important teaching tool. Addressing a group of
teachers who attended a training course for
Further Education and Training arranged by the
Department of Communications, Graham Hartlett,
ZS6GJH, cited amateur radio not just as a fun
pastime, but as an activity that has a positive
outcome on the further training of young people
in the disciplines of science, engineering and technology.
Hartlett said that Amateur Radio can make a
valuable contribution in a students career
choice. It also has the ability to teach basic
technical and communication skills that will
equip young people to render services to their
community such as disaster communication and
communication during large sporting events.
The objective of the course where Hartlett spoke
is to train teachers to take amateur radio into
their colleges and universities. (SARL)
**
WORLDBEAT - UK: A COLOSSUS CODE BREAKING EVENT
To celebrate the completion of the British-built
World War 2 decrypting machine called the
Colossus Mark 2, there will be an on the air ham
radio operating event on November 15th and
16th. And in this one the challenge is truly complex. Here's how it goes.
A series of messages will be enciphered on a
World War 2 Lorenz cipher machine. They will
then be transmitted using six tone RTTY from the
Heinz Nixdorf Computer Museum in Paderborn,
Germany. The challenge is for anyone to break
the cipher settings and decipher these messages
before the rebuilt Colossus Mark 2 at Bletchley
Park in the United Kingdom does it.
The Milton Keynes Amateur Radio Society which is
based at Bletchley Park has already been involved
in making test transmissions with the Heinz
Nixdorf Computer Museum. The actual frequencies,
tones for Mark are 900, 1620 and 2340
hertz. For Space they are 540, 1260 and 1980
hertz. At airtime the operating frequencies for
the event have not been announced.
Bletchley Park is the historic site of secret
British code breaking activities during World War
Two and the birthplace of the modern
computer. More is on-line at
http://www.codesandciphers.org.uk/cevent.ht (Southgate, GB2RS)
**
DX
In D-X, DL2AH, will be on the air from the Juan
Fernandez Islands from March 18th to April 7th,
2008 operating portable C-E-Zero-Z. Activity
will be holiday style on 40 through 10 meters
mainly on SSB and RTTY using a FT-897. QSL via DL2AH, direct or by the
Bureau.
Also, listen out for hams in Syria to use the
special prefix 6C60 during the period from
October 15th to November 15th. This, to
celebrate the 60th anniversary of Amateur Radio
in Syria. Operations will be on all of the High
Frequency bands. QSL as directed on the air.
And W2GB, will be active from Jamaica as 6Y0B
from October 23rd to the 30th. He states that he
will be active before and after the CQ World Wide
DX SSB Contest not jut during it. QSL direct to W2GB.
Lastly, G0UIH, will be active as VK2IAY/4 from
Great Keppel Island from December 16th to the
2nd. As with his previous DXpeditions the main
operation will be centered around 14 point 260
MHz, but with some possibility of time spent on
17 and 15 meters as well. QSL either direct or via the bureau.
(Above from various DX Newsletters and other sources)
**
THAT FINAL ITEMS: SHOES THAT SIGN APRS IN THE NIGHT
And finally this week the story of some
shoes. Not your ordinary footwear. These are
women's platform shoes that are equipped with
A-P-R-S technology. But even the developer of
says that these shoes are not for
everybody. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce
Tennant, K6PZW, reports on the latest electronic footwear walking the
streets:
--
The Aphrodite Project bills itself as a series of
new media artworks inspired by the cult of
Aphrodite. Its website notes that the Aphrodite
Project consists of three multi-media artworks
called Sanctuary, Platforms, and Kestos
Imas. And it's the Platforms or platform shoes
that have hit home at ham radio.
Website advertising for the shoes says that
safety is one of the main concerns of
contemporary urban sex workers. To help protect
those wearing them, each sandal will have an
audible alarm system, which emits a piercing
noise to scare off attackers. The shoes are also
outfitted with a built in GPS receiver and an
emergency button that relays both location and a
silent alarm signal to public emergency services
using the Automatic Position Reporting System.
The Aphrodite Project website says that use of
position awareness and transmission systems to
aid communities was inspired by the Automatic
Position Reporting System. It says that APRS
uses Amateur Radio to transmit position reports,
weather reports, and messages between users. It
also claims that APRS is free and open to the public.
To be clear, the website does not say where in
the RF spectrum these shoes will operate. At the
same time it does not say that they will not
appears on bands like 2 meters, 220 or 70 cm
where hams have established APRS networks. It
just says that the technology is borrowed from ham radio.
So will these shoes with their APRS transponders
soon start showing up on ham radio
frequencies? We have tried to compact the
Aphrodite Project to find out. As of airtime
there has been no response from the group.
For the Amateur radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles.
--
More about these APRS equipped shoes and whom
they were designed for is on-line
at
http://theaphroditeproject.tv/ (CGC, Science
OnLine, The Aphrodite Project)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the
CGC Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio
Penn DX Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the
RSGB, the Southgate News and Australia's WIA
News, that's all from the Amateur Radio
Newsline(tm). Our e-mail address is
. More information is
available at Amateur Radio Newsline's(tm) only
official website located at
www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or
support us at Amateur Radio Newsline(tm), P.O. Box
660937, Arcadia, California 91066.
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the
editors desk, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF saying 73
from Auckland, New Zealand and we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
---
SPECIAL REPORT ON THE DISPUTED ARRL SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION ELECTION
This is a special report on the disputed ARRL
Southwestern Division Election. Hers Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF:
--
The American Radio Relay League's Executive
Committee has issued an in-depth explanation as
to why it decided to uphold the Ethics and
Election Committee's decision to disqualify Carl
Gardenias, WU6D, as a candidate for Director of
the organization's Southwestern
Division. Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Carlson,
KQ6FM, has seen it and has the key points:
--
As previously reported, in late September the
League's Ethics and Elections Committee declared
Carl Gardenias, WU6D, disqualified to stand for
election in the Southwestern Division race. Over
the weekend of October 6th and 7th, the ARRL
Executive Committee met in Little Rock,
Arkansas. One item on their agenda was the
appeal filed by Gardenias concerning his
disqualification. What follows are the key points
the ARRL's Executive Committee's summary of the
decision affirming the decision of the Ethics and Elections Committee.
The Executive Committee release states that a
series of subsequent actions and inactions, by
and on behalf of Carl Gardenias, WU6D, is what
led the Ethics and Elections Committee to
disqualify him as a candidate and to declare the
one remaining eligible candidate, Dick Norton, N6AA, re-elected.
WU6D subsequently appealed this decision to the
ARRL Executive Committee. After conducting its
own rather in-depth investigation the Executive
Committee found that the series of events began
on August 30th. That's when Carl Gardenias'
wife Cathy, K6VC, identifying herself as
Assistant Section Manager responsible for the
Orange Section newsletter, asked ARRL Secretary
Dave Sumner, K1ZZ to review an article about the
division election for the section
newsletter. Sumner responded, pointing out
several changes that should be made.
On September 3rd, Dave Sumner received an inquiry
from Dick Norton forwarding a copy of an e-mail
signed by Cathy Gardenias that had been sent on
September 1st using an an e-mail address that is
used by both Carl and Cathy Gardenias. That
e-mail had gone to 22 addressees in the Orange
as well as other Southwestern Division
Sections. The e-mail contained the article with
the requested changes made. But says the
Executive Committee, material not reviewed by
Dave Sumner had been added along with the
unauthorized and inaccurate statement,
quote: "Approved by the ARRL k1ZZ." The
Executive Committee says that this additional
material, having to do with candidates' Web
sites, was incomplete and in any case was not
appropriate for inclusion in an official ARRL
communication. This, because of restrictions on
the distribution of campaign material via official channels.
Early on September 4th, Director Norton filed a
complaint with the Ethics and Elections Committee
on the basis of the September 1st message and
sent copies to both Carl and Cathy
Gardenias. Norton proposed several remedies,
none of which included disqualification.
Later that day, Cathy Gardenias purportedly sent
e-mails to a number of addressees with -- quote
-- "Corrections to information sent out on
August 28, 2007 regarding up coming elections."
The ARRL says that the reference to August 28th
was erroneous and caused some confusion. The
Executive Committee says that WU6D later
confirmed that the message had been sent to some
other addressees on August 30th and 31st, it had
not been sent as early as August 28th. Neither
did the September 4th message correct everything
that was wrong with the original message.
The Ethics and Elections Committee met by
teleconference on Tuesday evening, September 4th,
to discuss several matters including Dick
Norton's complaint. Under ARRL election rules, a
standard of truth applies to all mailings by
candidates. The committee concluded that the
appropriate remedy in this case was to require
Carl Gardenias to distribute specific text of a
correction and apology to everyone who had
received the original message, including
addressees who were not known to the committee.
On September 5th Dave Sumner communicated
specific instructions to Carl Gardenias. WU6D
acknowledged. He also said -- and we
quote: "Thank you. Cathy has already made the
corrections to Los Angeles, Orange and Arizona
and will finish San Diego and Santa Barbara
tomorrow." At that point it appeared that the
matter was well on its way to a resolution.
Unfortunately, no evidence appeared over the next
two days that the correction ordered by the
committee actually had been distributed. On
Friday, September 7th, Dave Sumner sent a
follow-up message to Carl Gardenias requesting
copies of the corrective e-mails, showing the
addressees. An unsigned e-mail from came back
almost immediately saying -- and again we quote:
"Okay on Monday we are at the convention."
Dave Sumner replied, "Carl, I hope this means
that on Monday you will send me a copy of the
message that was sent soon after the Ethics and
Elections Committee ordered that it be sent, last
Wednesday. You acknowledged that instruction on
the same day it was sent. A delay of several
days in complying would not be acceptable to the committee."
The ARRL ays that nothing more was received from
Gardenias over the next several days.
Having received no evidence that its instructions
had been complied with, the Ethics and Elections
Committee voted unanimously to disqualify Carl
Gardenias. It also asked Dave Sumner to convey
its decision to Gardenias. He did so by e-mail on September 13th.
The decision was announced on the ARRL Web site
on September 14th. Also on that day, two
messages of protest from Carl Gardenias were received by Dave Sumner.
On Monday, September 17th , Carl Gardenias filed
an appeal with the ARRL Executive Committee. The
appeal included a copy of the message forwarded
to Dave Sumner on the previous Friday except that
the date line read "Sent: Friday, September 07,
2007 10:30 PM." The Executive Committee then
requested that Sumner try to determine whether
any of the addressees had actually received the
message that Carl Gardenias claimed had been sent
on or about September 7th. K1ZZ sent separate
messages to each of the other 22 addressees,
except for two that clearly were bad. Of the
remaining 20, 11 responded that they definitely
had not received the message. Two others
recalled seeing messages related to the election
but could not say that they had seen the specific
message in question. The others did not respond.
Some addressees did provide copies of a different
"correction" message from Cathy Gardenias dated
September 11th. The text of this message was
inconsistent with the instructions that were
given by the Ethics and Elections Committee on
September 5th and that Carl Gardenias claimed on
September 14th had been complied with on
September 5th or 6th and later changed to September 7th.
On September 26, ARRL President Joel Harrison,
W5ZN, and General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD,
contacted Carl Gardenias by telephone to seek
clarification of the apparent
discrepancies. Gardenias reportedly said that
the first time he understood exactly what the
Ethics and Elections Committee had instructed him
to do was when Arizona Section Manager Tom Fagan,
WB7NXH, explained it to him at the
convention. Gardenias claimed that he used
Fagan's laptop to send the corrective message
from the convention. In a separate conversation,
Fagan said that he observed Carl and Cathy
Gardenias prepare the corrective e-mail using his
laptop. The discrepancy in dates and the fact
that none of the addressees appears to have
received the message have not been explained.
The Committee report goes on to state that while
Carl Gardenias has acknowledged the instruction
to send the specific corrective message to
everyone who received the original message, he
has not produced evidence nor has he claimed that
the correction was sent to anyone other than the
22 addressees on the September 1st message.
On September 27th the Executive Committee met by
teleconference and voted unanimously, based on
its own independent review, to affirm the
decision of the Ethics and Elections Committee to
disqualify Carl Gardenias as a candidate for
Director of the ARRL Southwestern Division. This
decision was communicated to WU6D on October 1st,
along with detailed "Findings of Fact and Conclusions" of the committee.
In summary, the Executive Committee says that had
the instructions of the Ethics and Elections
Committee been followed on September 5th or
reasonably soon thereafter -- as Gardenias said
at the time would be done -- the Southwestern
Division Director election would have proceeded
normally. It says that the responsibility for
failure to do so rests with the candidate.
The Executive Committee also states that it was
not necessary for it to decide whether the
failure was intentional or merely the result of
negligence in order to affirm the decision of the
Ethics and Elections Committee. However, the
committee also concludes that the discrepancies
in the Gardenias' various claims and explanations
are troubling and might well provide a separate
and independent basis for disqualification.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Don Carlson, KQ6FM, in Reno.
--
Meantime, Cathy Gardenias, K6VC, the wife of
disqualified candidate Carl Gardenias, WU6D, has
responded to the ARRL Executive Committee
findings. In a posting on the QRZ.com website,
Mr. Gardenias expresses her belief -- and we
quote -- "that evidence was presented to Mr.
Sumner as secretary for the Election and Ethics
committee and Executive Committee via his e-mail
address and some of the evidence appears to have
not been received by the Executive Committee."
Mrs. Gardenias also addresses several unanswered
questions. This includes asking why the League
keeps insisting that the Gardenias's used the
ARRL server and website when they say that they
did not do so. K6VC claims the ARRL report is
presented that way to make it appear as if they
did something dishonest or misleading using their
positions in the League's Orange Section which
she says is defiantly not the case.
K6VC also expresses her view that the ARRL does
not mean anything to her anymore. That she no
longer believes in it and find that it cannot be
trusted to represent the Amateur Radio
community. She says that it only represents an
organization of what she describes as "Good Ole
Boys." This she says is sad because we will be the losers.
Her complete statement and the comments of others
both pro and con are at:
http://www.qrz.com/ib-bin/ikonboard.cgi?s{31e2b3b41709267de508588be912a9
;act=ST;f=3;t0569;st%
--
This has been a special report on the disputed
election in the ARRL Southwestern Division.
This newscast is copyright 2007.
All rights are reserved.