Ham Radio News

…because we don’t live in a vacuum

New ARRL CEO addresses Ham Radio

University

On January 5, 2019, Howard Michel, WB2ITX, the new ARRL CEO was the keynote speaker at Ham Radio University. I’d urge you to watch the whole video. I think you’ll see why I support our new CEO. If you can’t watch the whole thing, here is the TL;DW (too lazy, didn’t watch) version. Right off the bat, he says, “I’m here to start a conversation,” and then went on to say that he, …wants to move the hobby into its second century in a way that makes sense for everyone.” Note that this is quite a bit different from the way the ARRL has operated in the past. He then went on to share his vision of the ARRL as a balance between being a membership association, a 501c3 public charity, and a business organization. Striking that balance is tricky, but it must if the ARRL is going to succeed. ARRL as a business In discussing the ARRL as a business, the first thing he did is to identify the corporation’s revenue streams: awards, membership, publishing, advertising, and VEC. He then went on to note that revenue from all these streams is down! Why is revenue down? The simple explanation is that the ARRL is not creating enough value for amateur radio operators. For the ARRL to succeed, it’s going to find out what its customers want and then figure out how to give it to them. One way Michel plans to do this is to reorganize the staff and its functions. Another way is to be innovative in what they are currently doing. For example, Michel noted, the ARRL is the dominant player in providing information about amateur radio. But, they need to be innovative in how they provide that information. As he noted, QST is derided for being both too technical and not technical enough. A more innovative approach would be to find a way to deliver the information that each individaul member is looking for at the level that they’re looking for. ARRL as a membership organization Next, Michel tackled the problem of declining membership. He noted that there are approximately 30,000 new licensees, but only 17-18% join ARRL (a little more than 5,000), and of those 5,000, nearly 40% fail to renew their memberships the second year. This not only does not bade well for membership in the long term. One of the consequences—one that I’ve pointed out many times—is that fewer members means less clout. Michel could have been reading from one of my blog posts when he said, “How can we claim to the FCC that we represent amateur radio when fewer and fewer are ARRL members?” To show what the ARRL is up against, he showed two charts: On the left is the current makeup of the ARRL membership. The proportion of members holding an Extra Class license is shown in yellow, General Class in blue, and Technician Class in red. On the right is the makeup of the entire universe of U.S. amateur radio operators. The takeaway here is that while the ARRL may be serving the needs of its members, that’s not necessarily the right strategy to increase membership. So, the question, then, is what do Techs want? To answer that question, he showed the following slide, which include the results of a recent study. The ARRL has started working on this, but I’m afraid that their effort is going to be too little, too late. Ham spectrum Next, there was kind of an abstract discussion of the “ham spectrum.” This was an attempt to classify hams into various classifications with the idea that different types of hams have different membership needs. I don’t know that I’m really big on these types of exercises. They’re simplifications of the real world, and while they do have some value, they only have value when those using them are cognizant of the model’s shortcomings. I was disappointed that this talk didn’t discuss the role of volunteers in the ARRL. Michel had said he was going to talk about this, but apparently ran out of time. As I’ve said before, the ARRL could be so much more successful if it could harness the brainpower of the membership. Getting priorities straight, and reorganizing the staff to work towards those priorities is important, but getting the volunteers on board will make a huge difference. -Dan, KB6NU

Bong…tick…tick…tick continues

WWV Centennial Special Event Will Use WW0WWV

With its funding secure for another year, WWV, the world's oldest continuously operating radio station, will have extra reason to celebrate its centennial this fall. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Northern Colorado Amateur Radio Club (NCARC) have teamed up to organize 100th anniversary events. A memorandum of understanding is pending. The WWV Committee has announced that the call sign WW0WWV was granted on February 23 to the WWV Amateur Radio Club for use during the Amateur Radio special event, planned to run September 28 - October 2, with operators on the air around the clock. NCARC predicts the effort will require "hundreds" of volunteer operators. - ARRL Letter

Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, to Oversee

Volunteer Monitors Development and

Implementation

Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, will oversee the development and implementation phases of ARRL's new Volunteer Monitors (VM) program, which will replace the Official Observers (OO) program. Hollingsworth, who once handled Amateur Radio enforcement for the FCC, has stepped down as ARRL Atlantic Division Vice Director to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest. The development phase of the program is already under way. ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, said that Hollingsworth was the ideal person to lead ARRL's efforts in the development and implementation of this joint program with the FCC. "I support Riley's decision to concentrate his efforts on this very valuable project on behalf of the ARRL," Roderick said. Approved by the ARRL Board of Directors last July, the Volunteer Monitors will work in cooperation with the FCC. Volunteers trained and vetted by ARRL will monitor the amateur bands for possible instances of misconduct or to recognize exemplary on-air operation. Cases of flagrant violations or noncompliance will be directed to the FCC for action, in accordance with FCC guidelines. The program, which aims to re-energize Amateur Radio enforcement efforts, was proposed by the FCC following the closure of several FCC regional offices and reductions in field staff. Hollingsworth has identified three phases to the program -- development, solicitation and training, and implementation. The development phase will include drafting a mission statement, clearly defining ARRL's and the FCC's requirements and needs as part of the program, drafting a Volunteer Manager job description, and developing a training manual for volunteers. - ARRL Letter

US Amateur Radio Population Grows

Slightly in 2018

The US Amateur Radio population once again grew by about 1%, based upon 2017 and 2018 year-end FCC database statistics provided by Joe Speroni, AH0A. The 755,430 total licensees represent nearly 7,300 more license holders than those that were in the database at the end of 2017. Nearly 51% of the Amateur Radio population in the US -- 384,145 -- hold a Technician license. Generals are second with 175,949, and Amateur Extras number 147,369. Advanced and Novice licensee populations continue to decline, with 39,607 Advanced and 8,360 Novices, as the FCC no longer issues Advanced or Novice licenses. A more significant statistic is 31,576 new FCC licenses last year, although that's 620 fewer than came aboard in 2017. "New amateur licenses granted by FCC are down 2% over last year," noted ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, "but this is the fifth year in a row the total has been greater than 31,000. I predict that the number of new licensees will be more than 30,000 at the end of this year as well, and I'm optimistic this trend will continue." Upgrades also are down slightly, compared to last year -- 9,456 in 2018 versus 9,576 in 2017, she added. "For the fifth year in a row, we have conducted more than 7,000 Amateur Radio exam sessions in a year -- an important milestone for the ARRL VEC," Somma recounted. "Our program continues to provide outstanding service to the ARRL, its members, and the entire Amateur Radio community." -ARRL Letter

Jumbo MMDVM Hotspot

Over the last few years, several hotspot interfaces have appeared on the market such as DV Mega with Raspberry Pi, DVMega with Bluestack, Shark RF OpenSpot, and DV4Mini. All hovered around the $200+ range, making them a bit pricey for all but the most dedicated digital radio users. Much like the Baofeng invasion, a new wave of digital hot spots manufactured in China is appearing on eBay, Amazon, and other online sites. These Multi Mode Digital Voice Modem (MMDVM) boards are intended to be an inexpensive open-source solution. They utilize the power of an ARM processor and a simple interface board. Combined with Pi-Star software, it will handle most popular amateur digital voice modes. If you’re not familiar with hotspots, they are an inter- face that allows you to connect to a digital network directly, letting you explore digital radio without having a local digital repeater. There are several types of hotspots available. Some may require your PC or Raspberry Pi interface, others are standalone IP gateways that connect to your Internet router via an Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection. Hotspots were not developed to replace repeaters, but rather to supplement them. In areas where there is no repeater, a hotspot lets a user connect directly to a digital network via the Internet. In areas of heavy repeater use, a hotspot allows the user to access the digital network without competing for an available time slot. Generic Solution Most reviews cover a specific brand or model. In this case, there are dozens of sellers offering this MMDVM hotspot, otherwise known as the Jumbo Spot or China Spot. They’re all based on the same open-source hardware and software and virtually identical down to the aluminum case design. You may find some minor variations in the Pi hat and Raspberry Pi used, but the setup and functions are very similar. This ready-to-use multimode Hotspot supports D-STAR/P25/DMR/ NXDN/POCSAG and Yaesu System Fusion. You can buy them inexpensively from Alibaba, provided that you don’t mind waiting a few weeks for it to arrive from China. The one shown in this article is sold by Shenzhen HKCNMA Co., Ltd. on Amazon. I purposely bought it from Amazon because they’re a US-based merchant—in the event there’s a problem, it’s easy to return. Before you buy, determine if the seller offers support, a plus if you have questions or something goes wrong. This is especially helpful if you’re new to digital operation. This package came with a Raspberry Pi Zero, MMD- VM hotspot board with OLED display, aluminum case, Pi Star software on microSD card, and 433 MHz antenna—assembled and ready to set up. You can also purchase the components in ready-to-assemble kits, including all boards and a case. One item not included is a 5-volt DC power supply. A quality mobile phone charger or a USB cable connected to your desktop computer or laptop works well. Mine came with a standard USB to mini USB cable which I plugged into the computer to provide power. Impressions One of the shortcomings of this and other “new” hotspot offerings from China is a lack of clear and specific instructions. The hotspot came with a half-sheet of instructions which were somewhat difficult to understand, especial- ly for a newbie. Seller support ranges from almost nonexistent to good. Fortunately, you can contact this particular seller for technical support, and they will respond. The tradeoff for the inexpensive price of most of these units is that you’ll probably need to consult some additional resources, such YouTube videos or web articles from trail- blazers who have already worked through the setup process. One time- saver on this particular hotspot is the Pi-Star software that comes preloaded on a Micro SD card from most vendors, making it all the easier to use and tweak to your own specific needs and uses. Once Pi-Star is installed, updates can be done easily through the setup menu. It is tiny–2 7/8 x 1 1/4 x 7/8-inches and weighs about two ounces. Portability is a distinct advantage, making it easy to pack and go with a digital HT. All it needs is a good 5-volt DC power supply and a Wi-Fi connection. The display is small at 1 inch, measured diagonally, but you can get a larger Next ion display with case for less than $30 and add it to the Pi hat by attaching four wires. Considering the price, size, and versatility of the Jumbo Spot, it’s a relative bargain compared to the current competition on the market. This unit worked without issues after basic setup. You can buy a completely assembled unit for around $100 or assemble from scratch for about half that amount. - Mark Haverstock W8MSH