Thought Patterns

The main page for the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) has a poll that is changed every other week or so, sometimes sooner.

This was the poll, and its results, from one in March:

Are they "happy" with their current version or are they just not eager to upgrade just yet? That'd be my vote. I guess ARRL with its prestige couldn't put anything negative about M$ such as "Are you freakin' nuts?" as a poll option.

As a ham radio operator, and as the curious entity that I am, I follow the progress/news about the International Space Station (ISS). Amateur radio clubs regular host on-the-air conversations between school kids and the astronauts on board the ISS.

Recently, a few such conversations took place and recordings of them are available. I think that's awesome! Imagine being a kid in elementary school and getting to talk to someone out in space! Way freakin' cool.

ARRL article about the contacts

CLICK HERE to listen to the ARISS contact between ISS Flight Engineer Suni Williams, KD5PLB, and youngsters at Boulder Hill Elementary School. [10:02, MP3] ARRL thanks the Fox River Radio League for making this audio clip available.

CLICK HERE to listen to the ARISS contact between ISS Expedition 14 Commander Mike Alegria, KE5GTK, and students at Mission Viejo High School. [8:15, MP3] ARRL thanks the University of California — Irvine Amateur Radio Club for making this audio clip available.

ARISS - Amateur Radio on the International Space Station

• ARRL info page w/ links to prev. articles
• NASA's info page
• ARISS-EU (Europe)
• AMSAT's info page

While on the subject of the ISS, I'd like to point you to another set of articles. These are about the need for funds for the Columbus Module that, hopefully, will be attached to the ISS later this year.

ARISS-EU info page
ARRL news article

At 12:01 am EST, an important part of radio communications came to a close. The FCC decided earlier to eliminate the Morse Code requirement for higher levels of licensing. The test was already so low as to be ridiculous - 5WPM. In 2000, the FCC did away with the other Morse code tests which were 13wpm for General and 20wpm for Extra.

The prevailing argument was that the vast majority of people didn't bother to further their license abilities because of the Morse code requirement. Technician class license, the first one, allows limited use of the HF bands. General and Extra class access could only be gained after passing the Morse code test. Now with the requirement no longer there, "they" expect a deluge of people taking the tests for General.

I believe that if there is an increase, it will be short lived. The increase will be more due to the publicity than to the actual hindrance being removed. And while there may be a lot of people upgrading to General, I doubt the rush to upgrade to Extra after that will not happen. The General test is difficult, much harder than the very simple Technician test. The Extra test is a LOT of math and a LOT of theory.

It is sad that Morse code is no longer a vital part of becoming a ham. It was an initiation rite, one that was such a part of history that the pain, what little there was, was worth it.

I hold a General ticket which means I took the Tech test and then the Morse code test. A month later, I took and passed the General test. I feel proud of the fact that I know Morse code (aka CW). When I get my HF rig some day, I hope to do a lot of CW communication.

ARRL article
ARRL information page on the FCC ruling

From ARRL:

End of an Era: FCC to Drop Morse Testing for All Amateur License Classes

NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 15, 2006 — In an historic move, the FCC has acted to drop the Morse code requirement for all Amateur Radio license classes. The Commission adopted, but hasn't yet released, the long-awaited Report and Order (R&O) in WT Docket 05-235, the "Morse code" proceeding. The FCC also has adopted an Order on Reconsideration in WT Docket 04-140 — the "omnibus" proceeding — modifying the Amateur Radio rules in response to an ARRL request to accommodate automatically controlled narrowband digital stations on 80 meters in the wake of rule changes that became effective December 15. The Commission designated the 3585 to 3600 kHz frequency segment for such operations, although the segment will remain available for CW, RTTY and data as it has been. So far, the FCC has only issued a public notice and not the actual orders detailing the rule changes. The effective date of both orders is not yet known, but it appears likely at this point that it will be sometime in February. Currently, Amateur Radio applicants must pass a 5 WPM Morse code test to operate on HF. The FCC's action will eliminate that requirement all around.

"This change eliminates an unnecessary regulatory burden that may discourage current Amateur Radio operators from advancing their skills and participating more fully in the benefits of Amateur Radio," the FCC said. The ARRL had asked the FCC to retain the 5 WPM for Amateur Extra class applicants only. The FCC proposed earlier to drop the requirement across the board, however, and it held to that decision.

full article

'..eliminates an unnecessary regulatory burden…from advancing their skills..'??? That is akin to saying firefighters no longer need to be physically fit since it prevents people from becoming one. Or saying anyone can play basketball; being able to make baskets isn't as important anymore.

Hell yeah, I'm bitter. The test is FIVE freakin' words per minute. That means "See Jack and Jane run." is stretched out over a full minute. Each words come at you 12 seconds long. That's not including spaces between words. Twelve seconds per word. Come on! Do it with me now: one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, three-one-thousand… that's how slow it is. I know 'cause I did it. I took the Technician test then the Morse code test the same day. Passed 'em both. A month later, I took the General test and passed that too. I haven't gotten around to studying for the Extra test due to the mathematics involved.

You want to become a scientist, you need to learn math and science. You want to be a truck driver, you gotta know how to drive a stick shift. You want to be a ham radio operator, you gotta learn Morse code.

And, after passing the Morse code test, you never have to use it. Never. You can learn it just long enough to pass the (slow) test, then forget about it. There is no requirement that you have to use it. You don't have to even come near it ever again. Once you passed the test, you're done with it.

Undue burden, my ass.

From ARRL News:

Emergency Communications Bill Includes Amateur Radio as Interoperability Agent

NEWINGTON, CT, Jul 27, 2006–A bill to enhance emergency communication at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) includes Amateur Radio operators as part of an overall effort to provide interoperability among responders. The 21st Century Emergency Communications Act of 2006 (HR 5852), an amendment to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, passed the US House this week on a 414-2 vote and has gone to the Senate. Its sponsor, Rep David G. Reichert (R-WA) — who chairs the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science and Technology — says his legislation is designed "to improve the ability of emergency responders to communicate with each other" — interoperability.

(snipped)

His measure also would require the DHS to strengthen its efforts to improve emergency communications. HR 5852 calls for Amateur Radio operators to be part of a "Regional Emergency Communications Coordination Working Group" (RECC Working Group) that would be attached to each regional Department of Homeland Security office. The RECC Working Groups would advise federal and state homeland security officials.

Membership in the RECC Working Groups would include state and local officials; law enforcement, first responders such as fire departments; 911 centers; hospitals; ambulance services; communications equipment vendors, telephone, wireless satellite, broadband and cable service providers; public utilities; broadcasters; emergency evacuation transit services; state emergency managers, homeland security directors or representatives of state administrative agencies; local emergency managers or homeland security directors, and "other emergency response providers or emergency support providers as deemed appropriate."

(snipped)

According to the bill, the RECC Working Groups would function to assess the survivability, sustainability, and interoperability of local emergency communications systems to meet the goals of the National Emergency Communications Report. That report would be developed by the Assistant Secretary for Emergency Communications "to provide recommendations regarding how the United States can accelerate the deployment of interoperable emergency communications nationwide."

full article

So in other words, this will make it so FEMA can't stop hams from doing what they were trained to do.

Hurricane Watch Net Anticipates Activation for First Storm of 2006 Season

NEWINGTON, CT, Jun 12, 2006–With Tropical Storm Alberto expected to be reach hurricane strength, the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) has announced that it anticipates activating later today. The net works in cooperation with WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) to gather real-time, ground-level weather data during storms. NHC forecasters use the reports to help fine-tune their predictions of a storm's behavior.

"Tropical Storm Alberto will be upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane with forecast landfall in northwestern Florida sometime tomorrow," HWN Manager Mike Pilgrim, K5MP, said in a midday announcement. "While it may be premature at this hour to declare a definite plan, let it suffice to say that we tentatively plan to open HWN net operations on 14.325 MHz late this evening, pending advisory guidance between now and 5 PM Eastern Daylight Time."

full article

If, at any time during a hurricane, you need to find out how someone is or where they are, you can contact your local amateur radio club and ask if they can gather any information for you. "Health and Welfare" traffic is lower on the priority list but they will follow through. Almost every shelter set up by the Red Cross and the Salvation Army has an amateur radio operator working to provide such information after the emergency information is finished. During Katrina, Rita, and all the other hurricanes last year, amateur radio operators were far too often the only source of communication during and after the emergency. Our motto, "When All Else Fails…", exists for a reason.

Linkage:
National Hurricane Center
KG4VPY (my ham radio site)
How to Become a Ham
Amateur Radio Relay League

Many of you, my invisible readers, are aware that I am an amateur radio operator. One of my daily RSS feed reads is from ARRL. I went to their site today to read an article on BPL. Being at their site reminded me I've not done their survey in a while. I looked over the ones I missed and the one below is interesting.

(source: ARRL website)

The current HAM population seems to be fluxating between the geek and the OMs (old men). Ham radio is a field that is can be quite geeky. We were using GPS before it became popular. We can set up a working station in the front seat of a pickup truck and be the vital link during emergencies. During hurricane season, often HAMs are the only working source of communication in many disaster areas.

So the idea that HAMs would prefer printed material over an e-pub is interesting. Well, at least to me. Reckon I'll not plan on my ham-related books being e-books then.