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      The ARRL Letter                                                            
      February 27, 2020                                                          
                                                                                 
        * ARRL Seeks a New Chief Executive Officer                                
        * ARRL Comments in Opposition to FCC Plan to Delete the 3.4 GHz Band      
        * AMSAT Cites Need for equate Spectrum in Opposing Deletion of 3.4      
          GHz Band                                                                
        * ARRL Podcasts Schedule                                                  
        * ARRL Announces Interruptions to Online Services                        
        * FCC Turns Down Amateur Licensee's Appeal                               
        * The K7RA Solar Update                                                  
        * Just Ahead in Radiosport                                               
        * Auxiliary Communications Training to Be Held in Conjunction with       
          Dayton Hamvention^(R)                                                  
        * It's Never Too Late to Upgrade                                         
        * In Brief...                                                            
        * Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions                 
                                                                                 
      ARRL Seeks a New Chief Executive Officer                                   
                                                                                 
      ARRL is seeking an experienced radio amateur to be Chief Executive         
      Officer (CEO) at its headquarters in Newington, Connecticut. The CEO is    
      the top compensated employee in ARRL's management structure and            
      oversees all operations in collaboration with the President and the        
      Board of Directors, in accordance with ARRL's Articles of Association,     
      Bylaws, and Board policies. The successful candidate will ensure           
      day-to-day management of ARRL, including fiscal operations and will        
      oversee and make certain that its fund-raising, marketing, human           
      resources, technology, advocacy, and governance strategies are             
      effectively implemented.                                                   
                                                                                 
      Essential CEO Functions Include:                                           
        * Leading the headquarters staff and field volunteers, in response to    
          Board policy, in the development and implementation of effective       
          programs for the promotion and growth of amateur radio and the         
          provision of services to members.                                      
        * Planning, developing, organizing, implementing, directing, and         
          evaluating ARRL's operational and fiscal performance.                  
        * Providing leadership, directing headquarters staff, and maintaining    
          performance standards in headquarters operations.                      
        * Participating, in collaboration with officers, Directors, and          
          staff, in developing ARRL's plans and programs.                        
                                                                                 
      The successful candidate will be a strategic thinker with a record of      
      significant amateur radio experience and a broad understanding of its      
      operational, technical, regulatory, and social facets. The CEO will be     
      responsible for effective financial and operational management and         
      oversight.                                                                 
                                                                                 
      CEO candidates should possess a bachelor's degree or equivalent            
      (master's degree preferred), be an active radio amateur who has            
      initiated or led a significant amateur radio activity within the past      
      10 years, and have 10 years of management and supervisory experience.      
      Candidates should be able to demonstrate ability in providing effective    
      leadership and management of business operations.                          
                                                                                 
      The position is located at ARRL Headquarters, and the successful           
      candidate will be required to establish a residence in the Hartford,       
      Connecticut, area.                                                         
                                                                                 
      For More Information                                                       
                                                                                 
      The CEO Position Announcement includes details. Interested candidates      
      should submit a cover letter and resume via e-mail to ARRL Human           
      Resources Assistant Monique Levesque.                                      
      ARRL Comments in Opposition to FCC Plan to Delete the 3.4 GHz Band         
                                                                                 
      ARRL has filed comments opposing an FCC proposal to delete the 3.3 -       
      3.5 GHz secondary amateur allocation. The comments, filed on February      
      21, are in response to an FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in      
      WT Docket 19-348 in which the FCC put forward a plan to remove             
      "existing non-federal secondary radiolocation and amateur allocations"     
      in the 3.3 - 3.55 GHz band and relocate incumbent non-federal              
      operations. The FCC's proposal was in response to the MOBILE NOW           
      [Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive      
      and Needless Obstacles to Wireless] Act, enacted in 2018 to make new       
      spectrum available for mobile and fixed wireless broadband use. ARRL       
      noted that amateur radio has a long history of successful coexistence      
      with primary users of the band.                                            
                                                                                 
      "There is no reason suggested by the Commission, or known to us, why       
      the secondary status for amateur radio operations should not be            
      continued for the indefinite future," ARRL said in its comments. "We       
      understand that secondary commercial users are less flexible than          
      amateur radio users and may desire to relocate to protect continued        
      provision of services and service quality. Radio amateurs, by contrast,    
      benefit from having technical knowledge and no customer demands for        
      continuous service quality, more flexibility to make adjustments, and      
      often have the technical abilities necessary to design and implement       
      the means to coexist compatibly with the signals of primary users."        
                                                                                 
      ARRL pointed to amateur radio's "decades-long experience observing and     
      experimenting with radiowave propagation" in the 3.3 - 3.5 GHz band        
      that includes mesh networks, amateur television networks, weak signal      
      long-distance communication, Earth-Moon-Earth (moonbounce)                 
      communication, beacons used for propagation study, and amateur             
      satellite communications. In its comments, ARRL argued that it would be    
      "premature" to remove the current secondary amateur radio allocation.      
                                                                                 
        -------------------------------------------------------------------      
                                                                                 
      Radio amateurs have established extensive infrastructure for the           
      current band and are engaged in construction and experimentation that      
      includes innovative "mesh networks" and amateur television networks        
      that can be deployed to support public service activities.                 
                                                                                 
        -------------------------------------------------------------------      
                                                                                 
      "This spectrum should not be removed from the amateur radio secondary      
      allocation and left unused," ARRL told the FCC. "Only at a later time      
      may an informed assessment of sharing opportunities be made in the         
      specific spectrum slated for re-allocation.... This depends upon the       
      Congressionally mandated NTIA studies of sharing or relocation options     
      that have yet to be completed and, if all or part of this spectrum is      
      re-allocated, the nature and location of buildout by the non-federal       
      users." The National Telecommunications and Information ministration     
      (NTIA) oversees spectrum allocated to federal government users. ARRL       
      noted that radio amateurs have established extensive infrastructure for    
      the current band and are engaged in construction and experimentation       
      that includes innovative "mesh networks" and amateur television            
      networks that can be deployed to support public service activities.        
                                                                                 
      With the NTIA report addressing the 3.1 - 3.55 GHz spectrum not            
      expected until late March, ARRL said, "we do not yet know how much         
      spectrum below and above the amateur secondary allocation may be           
      reallocated to non-federal users and what opportunities may exist or be    
      developed to share [that] spectrum" with new primary users and systems.    
                                                                                 
      "Even if suitable new spectrum could be found for the existing amateur     
      uses -- which is difficult before the spectrum musical chairs activity     
      is concluded -- the costs to radio amateurs would be significant and be    
      borne with no countervailing public benefit," ARRL told the FCC.           
                                                                                 
      "If the advent of new primary licensees forecloses some types of           
      secondary operations, the amateur community will reevaluate the            
      situation when some certainty exists," ARRL concluded.                     
                                                                               
      AMSAT Cites Need for equate Spectrum in Opposing Deletion of 3.4 GHz     
      Band                                                                       
                                                                                 
      AMSAT has commented on the FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in     
      WT Docket 19-348 that proposes to delete the 3.3 - 3.5 GHz (9              
      centimeter) amateur band and relocate incumbent non-federal operations.    
      The band includes the 3.40 - 3.41 GHz Amateur Satellite Service            
      allocation. In its remarks, AMSAT said it opposes deletion of the          
      allocation and stressed the necessity of having adequate microwave         
      spectrum available for future amateur satellite projects, including        
      AMSAT's GOLF program and the Lunar Gateway. AMSAT acknowledged that the    
      3.4 GHz Amateur Satellite Service allocation is not currently used by      
      any amateur satellites and that it is unsuitable for worldwide             
      communication because it is not available in ITU Region 1. AMSAT said a    
      number of potential future uses for the band remain, however, as           
      worldwide usage of other available allocations increases.                  
                                                                                 
      "These potential uses include a future amateur satellite in                
      geostationary orbit above the Americas," AMSAT said, explaining that       
      the segment could support uplink or downlink frequencies for such a        
      spacecraft without potential interference to worldwide activities          
      involving space stations in high-Earth or lunar orbit. The                 
      most-desirable allocations for use as uplinks are between 2.4 GHz and      
      5.67 GHz -- 80 MHz in all, AMSAT told the FCC. "As many of the proposed    
      uses include amateur television and high-speed data transmission with      
      satellites in high-Earth orbit or lunar orbit, these allocations may       
      quickly become inadequate," AMSAT said.                                    
                                                                                 
      AMSAT told the FCC the 3.40 - 3.41 GHz allocation could be utilized as     
      a command channel or secondary data downlink for AMSAT ground stations     
      in ITU Region 2 without interfering with the primary communications on     
      the other allocations or other satellites utilizing those segments.        
                                                                                 
      AMSAT said several non-amateur satellites use the broader 3.3 - 3.5 GHz    
      amateur allocation, which also sees wide use for amateur radio mesh        
      networking, EME communications, and contesting.                            
                                                                                 
      "The Amateur Satellite Service continues to provide immense value to       
      the growing field of small satellites," AMSAT concluded. "Experiments      
      conducted by amateur satellites...continue to inform the development of    
      the commercial small satellite industry. ditionally, student             
      participation in amateur satellite projects provides both inspiration      
      for young men and women to pursue careers in the commercial satellite      
      industry and practical experience for those careers.                       
                                                                                 
      "A strong and robust Amateur Satellite Service will continue to benefit    
      the public interest and inspire future developments in satellite           
      technology," AMSAT said. "Continued progress in achieving these goals      
      requires adequate spectrum, especially in suitable microwave bands." --    
      Thanks to AMSAT News Service via AMSAT Executive Vice President Paul       
      Stoetzer, N8HM                                                             
      ARRL Podcasts Schedule                                                     
                                                                                 
      The February 13 episode of the On the Air podcast focuses on building      
      the hands-free soldering tool from the article, "Extend Your Handheld's    
      Range with a Simple Ground-Plane Antenna," seen in the January/February    
      2020 issue of On the Air magazine; a discussion of open-wire feed          
      lines, and an interview with a public service volunteer. New On the Air    
      podcast episodes are available monthly.                                    
                                                                                 
      The new episode of Eclectic Tech podcast goes live February 27. Episode    
      2 touches on these topics: Most expensive home PC ever; Alexa and          
      amateur radio; solar activity's influence on whales, and a HamSCI          
      update from Ward Silver, N0AX.                                             
                                                                                 
      Both podcasts are available on iTunes (iOS) and Stitcher (Android) as      
      well as on Blubrry -- On the Air | Eclectic Tech.                          
                                                                               
      ARRL Announces Interruptions to Online Services                            
                                                                                 
      The ARRL website and other online services will be offline on Friday,      
      February 28, for up to 8 hours in order to conduct necessary               
      maintenance. The outage will begin at 0500 UTC and should end by 1300      
      UTC. It will affect the main ARRL website, the ARRL Store, and the ARRL    
      contesting-related pages, including the log submission page. Logbook of    
      The World (LoTW), email, and all ARRL Headquarters systems will not be     
      affected.                                                                  
                                                                                 
      As part of ARRL Headquarters' transition to new internet service           
      providers, an interruption of internet access at ARRL Headquarters is      
      set for Wednesday, March 4, starting at 2300 UTC. The interruption will    
      last no longer than 4 hours. During the work period, these services        
      will be unavailable: Logbook of The World (LoTW), Online DXCC,             
      International Grid Chase Archive, National Parks on the Air Archive,       
      Centennial QSO Party Archive, W1AW Echolink Conference Server, and VPN     
      access to Headquarters. Email to Headquarters will remain online, and      
      
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