June 1999 BAARC
Meeting
June 1999 BAARC
Meeting
Al Doree (WØRC) gave a presentation on a new kind of packet communications that links with the Internet. The Brainerd Area Amateur Radio Club could connect the current digital repeater, to the club station, and the Internet in the Mississippi Horizons School. Al will give more details at a future meeting. This could be exciting.
The main speaker of the evening was Tod Olson (KØTO) from Minneapolis. Tod is the Dakota Division Director for the American Radio Relay League. He explained that the ARRL has been looking for a new name for many years. At the June League meeting, he suggested, and the league passed, a resolution to keep the ARRL name and add the tag line, "The National Association of Amateur Radio." That information has now been added to the Brainerd Area Amateur Radio Club brochure, which is handed out at public events.
Tod went on to explain that the ARRL has proposed to the FCC that the morse code requirement for Amateur Extra Class be reduced from 20 words per minute to 12 words per minute. Code is used less nowadays in spite of the fact that there is a 17 DB advantage in using code over voice communications. That is to say the received signal can be 17 DB weaker on CW and still get the message through. The FCC is also looking at reducing the number of operator classes from five to four.
Tod said one in 400 people in the United States is a Radio Amateur. He also explained that being a "Ham" is a part of your personality. Those who have the license, but do not use it are not really "Hams."
Commercial services are petitioning the FCC to co-use the 440 MHZ (70 cm) band with hams. Above 440 MHz, he said it is likely many of the ham bands will be reallocated to commercial service. On the bright side, it is now possible to get a reciprocal ham operator license in many foreign countries which have signed the CEPT agreement.
(l-r) Club President, Mark Persons (WØMH), is shown examining QRP gear with Jay Bellows (KØQB). Jay and Tod will be using it on Field Day. Jay is Vice Director of the Dakota Division of the American Radio Relay League. Jay is also from the Metro area and spoke to the club about putting up ham towers in communities where towers are regulated by local government. Jay is a good resource of information for anyone having that problem.
Our thanks to Tod and Jay for traveling to Brainerd to speak at the meeting.
