A couple of days ago, the ARRL released the minutes of the September 29, 2012 executive committee meeting. Here are some notable items:
- 4.1.5. Mr. Imlay informed the committee that the FCC is expected soon to release a Notice of Proposed Rule Making dealing with examination element credit for expired licensees, remote proctoring of examinations, and the ARRL petition (RM-11625) to allow amateur use of Time Domain Multiple Access (TDMA) emissions. The NPRM is expected to raise significant policy questions that will require consideration by the full Board of Directors. It was agreed that the Executive Committee will prepare an outline of the pros and cons of each item for circulation to the Board as a basis for discussion.
- 4.2.5. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) include provisions mandated by Congress that place US satellite manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage and also prevent amateurs in the US from collaborating on satellite designs with their colleagues in other countries. The ARRL is monitoring developments that may point toward a resolution of the problem.
- 4.2.7. The FCC’s RF exposure regulations have not been reviewed in many years, in part because the FCC does not consider itself to be the expert agency on health effects. The current regulations are based on studies conducted 20 years ago. There is a proceeding, ET Docket No. 03-137, that has been open and pending without action for almost a decade. A document to advance the proceeding reportedly is on circulation at the FCC and may be released soon.
- 8.1. Mr. Sumner reported that the first ARRL elections to be conducted by electronic voting would begin on Monday, October 1 in the Hudson and Northwestern Divisions. Full Members in the two divisions with valid email addresses in the ARRL membership records will receive an email instructing them how to vote on a website. The other Full Members will receive a paper ballot but will have the option of voting via the website if they wish to do so. He noted that preparations for the elections have gone smoothly.
I wonder if the two elections that I participated in would have turned out differently if there had been electronic voting, especially the one that I lost by only 12 votes. Reading the minutes can be pretty dry, but you should download and read them if you’re at all interested in what the ARRL is doing.
Ned WB4BKO says
For topic 4.1.5: Expired Licensees? Since when have silent keys desired to renew their tickets?. I know we are attempting to increase the number of hams, but this sounds desperate. Veeeerrry Interresting!
Arne Carlsson says
Our civilization is being slowly strangled to death one regulation at a time