N7XYO encourages preparedness

The following article was from PoliceOne.com and the intended audience was law enforcement officers.  However - much of the information could apply to ARES volunteers responding to assist served agencies during an emergency.



73

Mark Conklin N7XYO SEC

ARES Oklahoma

918-232-8346



*********************************************************************




As reports of the crisis in Japan continue to dominate the news, we're reminded that mass disasters of various types can happen anywhere, anytime. Obviously, it's critical that you and your agency candidly evaluate your level of preparedness for such an event from a professional perspective, but perhaps just as important is evaluating your family's level of preparedness.

If a mass disaster hits, you'll be called away for who knows how long and you'll need to stay focused in order to perform safely and effectively. Your attention will need to be on your job, not on concerns about your family and whether they know what to do. In the event of a crisis, do you and they feel confident that they're ready to self sufficiently function without your direction and involvement? Have you discussed things like evacuation plans and routes, emergency survival tactics, things to expect and avoid in a mass emergency involving public panic, things to do and not do in the event of water, power and/or communications loss, who best to call for help when you can't be there, discussion of the roles each family member would play in the event of an emergency (for example, that the older kids will take responsibility for the younger kids while mom or dad does whatever needs to be done).

I live in earthquake country and need to be prepared for the unexpected natural disaster at any moment in time. It just so happens that twice a year when we change the clocks for daylight savings  not only do I change the batteries in my smoke alarms, but I also tear apart and put back together again my family's earthquake kit. I make sure the clothes set aside for my son will still fit him six months from now, and the cans of food have expiration dates more than six months out. I also review with my wife our out-of-state emergency phone numbers, our primary rally points and action plans, as well as contingencies for the safety and welfare of our son at his school.

You may live in Tornado Alley, or along the coastal areas of the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico (where hurricane season runs from June through November). Or you may live near the many thousands of miles of underground natural gas pipelines that, when they go they really go. Wherever you are, let the disaster in Japan serve as an impetus to speak with your family about this stuff, because when a mass disaster event happens in your area, you're almost certainly going to be serving in your role as a public safety officer, not a dad, a mom, a son, or a daughter.

You'll rest much easier knowing that they'll know what to do.

Green Country Hamfest

West Gulf Division Director Dr. David Woolweaver, K5RAV was at Green Country Hamfest.

Oklahoma Section Emergency Manager N0IRW was at the ARRL booth.

N0IRW, left, presents the Assistant Emergency Coordinator, KC5UEG, with his certificate.

Oklahoma Section Manager Kevin O'dell, left, awards Mark Conklin, N7XYO with his new appointment as the Section Emergency Coordinator at the Green Country Hamfest.

Here's a fine example of the floor space at the Green Country Hamfest.

Thanks to Nathan Huffstetler, AE5NK, Tulsa County ARES PIO, for these photos.

Oklahoma Section News - March 2011

Upcoming Hamfests

April 2nd – Durant Tailgate Fest


April 2nd – Hanging Judge Hamfest, Ft. Smith, Ark.


April 2nd – Ham Expo, Belton, Tex.


May 20-22 – Dayton Hamvention


June 10-11 – Ham-Com, Plano, TX (ARRL National Convention)


June 25 & 26 – Tailgate Swap, Shawnee, OK


July 29-30 – Oklahoma City Ham Holiday


October 21-22 – Texhoma Hamarama, Ardmore, OK (ARRL West Gulf Convention)


November 5 – Enid Hamfest





Hi Everyone in the Oklahoma Section!!





First of all, lets talk about hamfests……





WOW! Roland Stolfa KC5UNL and I had a great time out at the Elk City hamfest. As, always, there were lots of great folks and wonderful fellowship. The League forum was very well attended with a good exchange of information….we even gave away a number of goodies, if you weren’t there, you missed out. I would like to say thank you to those guys and gals that work so hard to put that fest on….and from what I heard the noon lunch was GREAT!





On to Green Country…….again WOW! What a great event, as usual. Lots of vendors, both commercial and flea market. I even picked up a new dual band antenna and a memory keyer kit. Dr. David Woolweaver, K5RAV our Division Director was in attendance and even though I didn’t let him talk during the forum (lot’s of stuff to cover) he got to connect with a lot of hams on a one on one basis. Stacy Rogers, KK5SAR, Assistant Director was also in attendance taking care of a lot of duties at the booth. I had a great time meeting new folks and getting reacquainted with others. (Pictures for both Elk City and Green Country are on the Section News page on the League website)





http://www.arrl.org/Groups/view/oklahoma





The forum had a great turnout with a lot of stuff to discuss. First we announced that Charles Goodson, KC5UEG has stepped down from the SEC position to ASEC. I have appointed Mark Conklin, N7XYO the new SEC. Mark has a lot of experience in EMCOMM and will do a great job.





We discussed HR 607 and how we need to respond. You can go the League website and find out the current status and how to write your congressman to protest the bill in it’s current form.





We also discussed some ARES information. There will be 2 levels of ARES membership in Oklahoma. Associate Member and Full Member. The Associate Member only needs to have a license and a willingness to help. They need to sign up on the League website and the ARES Oklahoma site as volunteers.





We are going to start issuing ARES credentials. Only Full Members of ARES will be eligible to receive these credentials. In order to qualify as a Full member, you must send us confirmation of your having completed ICS 100, 200, 700 & 800, have a DPS Amateur Radio Identification number and approval of your EC or DEC. We are still working out the details on how this will work operationally and will let you know very soon how it will all work.





These credentials will be readable by OHP and recognized by pretty much all of the state agencies.





More to come later!!!





As far as upcoming hamfests……….Durant is always fun with some GREAT Jambalaya made by Joe White’s lovely wife.





Ham-Com will be the ARRL National Convention. There will be a large contingent from HQ there, so come meet some of the folks that work for you everyday. The guest speaker at Ham-Com will be Riley Hollingsworth.





Oklahoma City Ham Holiday is always a good fest and this year I understand they are having a Friday evening Banquet!! (I’m always up for food)





Texhoma Hamarama will be the West Gulf Division Convention with Mike Corey, Emergency Communications and Preparedness Director from HQ scheduled to be here.





Then Enid is the traditional end of the hamfest season the first weekend in November.





Other Stuff……..





The Viking Radio Club in Lawton is staying busy with a lot of events including Radio in the Park. If you get a chance, check them out.


http://www.w5ks.org/blog/





Anyone interested in becoming a Public Information Officer for their club or ARES, contact Lloyd Colston, KC5FM, kc5fm@aol.com to join the PIO ranks, you do have to be a current ARRL member and you have to complete the PR 101 course which is now on-line for free. Even if you aren’t interested in becoming a PIO, the course has a lot of great stuff to help you get the word out on your local amateur radio doin’s.





If you are into Twitter and Facebook, Lloyd also has Twitter and Facebook sites for the Oklahoma Section…….check them out as well.





Here is the information on the Oklahoma QSO Party March 19-20, 2011





2011 Oklahoma QSO Party (OKQP)


Sponsored by the Oklahoma DX Association


For those of you wondering what happened to 2010, regrettably, due to unforeseen circumstances, namely serious health issues with the person who handled the logs, there are no scores to post for 2010, due to unavailability of logs. Please do not let this discourage you from participating this year. Connie, K5CM, and Pam, N5KW have taken on the responsibilites of OKQP Manager. As a safeguard this year, Gene, W5LE, will be also be provided a copy of all logs submitted. Please review the 2011 rules carefully.


Rover Routes


Oklahoma Counties Map


OK County Abbreviations





19 March - 0800 to 2100 CDT (1300 to 0200 UTC)* 20 March - 0800 to 1400 CDT (1300 to 1900 UTC) *May only operate a total of 12 of the 13 hours. Off times must be a minimum of 30 minutes.





Suggested operating frequencies: SSB: 1860 - 3860 - 7260 - 14260 - 21360 - 28360 - 6 meters CW : 1825 - 3545 - 7045 - 14045 - 21045 - 28045 - 6 meters





OBJECT:


Stations outside of Oklahoma work as many Oklahoma stations in as many Oklahoma counties as possible. Stations in Oklahoma work anyone.


EXCHANGE:


Stations outside of Oklahoma send signal report and State, Canadian Province, or DX. Oklahoma stations send signal report and county. Oklahoma stations working other Oklahoma stations will be logging the other station's county, and that station's county counts as a multiplier. Entries with incomplete or improperly logged QSOs will be subject to penalties or disqualification.


QSO POINTS:


Each complete non-duplicate Phone contact is worth 2 points. Each complete non-duplicate Digital/CW contact is worth 3 points. No partial contact credit.


MULTIPLIERS:


All non-Oklahoma stations use Oklahoma counties for a maximum of 77. Oklahoma stations count U.S. states (50), Canadian Provinces/Territories (9), and Oklahoma Counties (77) for a possible total of 136 multipliers.


SCORE:


The total score is the total number of QSO points multiplied by the total number of multipliers.


FREQUENCIES:


160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6 meters WARC band contacts do not count.


CLASS ENTRIES:


Oklahoma Classes: SOHP - Single Op High Power (over 100 watts) SOLP - Single Op Low Power (up to 100 watts) QRP - 5 watts or less Multi/Single - Multi operator single transmitter Rover - Assisted (2nd operator and/or driver)* Rover - Unassisted (Person does his own driving and solo operating)* Rover - Multi-Transmitter (more than one transmitter on the air simultaneously)* Rover - High Power*


*Rovers are allowed to sit on multiple county lines but they must make separate QSO's and separate log entries for each county. In other words, W5LE 599 GAR/GNT/KAY/NOB is NOT allowed as a contest exchange even if you put four separate contacts in your log. You MUST make four separate contacts. Rovers that sit on county lines must have the means to determine that they are really on the line. Close is not good enough. If the county line is in the middle of an intersection, and it is not safe to sit in the middle of the intersection, then please operate the counties separately. example qso between K5CM and W5LE W5LE is in OKM K5CM is on DEL/ADA county line cq cq de k5cm/m w5le w5le 599 del r 599 okm r es 599 ada r 599 okm tu k5cm qrz oqp Obviously "es" could be replaced with "and", or "now", or "also"


Non-Oklahoma Classes: SOHP - Single Op High Power (over 100 watts) SOLP - Single Op Low Power (up to 100 watts) QRP - 5 watts or less DX VE Multi/Single








Keep the info coming……the more stuff I get, the more fun this is!!





73,





Kevin O’Dell N0IRW


Oklahoma Section Manager

West Gulf Division's March Newsletter

    Kevin O'Dell, N0IRW remains on PRC
    ARRL and WGD Volunteers Needed at HamCom
    Spectrum Attack – How you can help!
    Texoma Hamarama to host the WGD Convention
    CC&R Relief Legislation Filed
    Recent Hamfest Reports
    Planned ARRL events for K5RAV and N5AUS
    Upcoming Hamfests

    News from David Woolweaver, K5RAV West Gulf Division Director

-----Kevin O'Dell, N0IRW, remains on PRC
OK Section Manager Kevin O'Dell, N0IRW, has accepted the
re-appointment by ARRL President Kay Craigie N3KN as a member of the
Public Relations Committee (PRC).  As one of the longest serving
committee members, Kevin has graciously volunteered his time in
assisting the League's Media Relations Manager, Allan Pitts W1AGP
with his PRC efforts over the past five years.  Kevin forecasts that
there is a lot of great material on the horizon for Public Relations!
An experienced, diverse and active group of people, the PRC's work is
done via email, conference calls, and webinars. There are no in-person
meetings. To learn more about the PRC you may visit
http://www.arrl.org/public-relations-committee. ARRL members, who are
interested in serving in the Public Relations field on behalf of the
ARRL, should contact their Section Manager.

-----ARRL and WGD Volunteers Needed at HamCom

The ARRL and the West Gulf Division are looking for volunteers to
assist at the National Convention during HamCom in June. If you are
interested in volunteering a few hours during the convention, contact
Director Woolweaver at k5rav@arrl.org immediately. Special benefits
will be given to ARRL and WGD volunteers for their participation!

-----Spectrum Attack – How you can help!

You may have already heard that our 440 MHz band is being threatened by
a bill introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives.  In its
current form, HR 607 provides for the creation and maintenance of a
nationwide Public Safety broadband network.  As a part of that network,
the bill proposes to allocate the so-called "D-Block" of frequencies
in the 700 MHz range.  The "D-Block" consists of two, 5 MHz wide
segments of spectrum (758-763 MHz and 788-793 MHz) that became
available when the FCC ended analog television broadcasts in June 2009.
 It was initially expected that the "D-Block" would be auctioned for
 commercial use.

HR 607 provides for the reallocation of other spectrum for auction to
commercial users in order to offset the loss of revenue that will occur
as the result of the allocation of the "D-Block" to Public Safety
instead of commercial auction.  Among the bands to be reallocated for
commercial auction within ten years of passage of HR 607 are the paired
bands of 420-440 MHz and 450-470 MHz.

The concept for this proposed network has merit.  Everyone wants first
responders to have the radio systems they need in order to protect
themselves and us.  However, there is absolutely no need to reallocate
for auction the 440 MHz band to make it happen.  We must let our U.S.
Representatives know we oppose the current wording of HR 607.

First, watch the ARRL video on this topic at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAwDhb6i-fI.

Second, a web site to automatically prepare a letter opposing HR 607
has been created to assist you.  Go to
http://www.kd4pyr.net/hamletter.htm.
Insert your call sign where indicated and follow the simple
instructions. The name and address of your U.S. Representative will
automatically be inserted into the letter along with your name and
address (as found in the FCC database).  The letter will then be
displayed ready to be printed and signed.

IMPORTANT: Please be certain to observe the following once you have
printed your letter:
- Be sure to sign it.  Letters without a handwritten signature are not
effective.
- Signed letters can be sent by fax or postal mail to -
John Chwat
Chwat & Co.
Suite 103, 625 Slaters Lane, Alexandria, VA 22314
Fax number: (703) 684-7594
- The letter can also be signed and scanned into .pdf format and then
E-Mailed as a file attachment to: john.chwat@chwatco.com.  Chwat and
Co. is the ARRL's legislative relations firm in Washington, D.C.

Share the web site information with your amateur radio friends.  It is
not necessary to be an ARRL member to use the site.  The more letters
sent to Representatives the better.

This is your opportunity to make a stand against this legislation.
Help save the 70cm band by completing and mailing the opposition letter
as requested.

-----Texoma Hamarama to host the WGD Convention

The West Gulf Division Convention will be hosted by Texoma Hamarama,
October 21 and 22nd.  Held at the beautiful Ardmore Convention Center,
the venue will allow for a wealth of forum presentations and vendor
participation.  The Hamarama Team is currently seeking presenters that
wish to participate in the Convention.  Please contact Henry Allen,
W5TYD, if you would like to volunteer your expertise.
Henry's E-Mail address is w5tyd@arrl.net.

Hamarama is one of the longest running Hamfests in the Division.
Proceeds from this event fund the Texoma Hamarama Scholarships which
are awarded each year.  Make your plans now to attend!

-----CC&R Relief Legislation Filed

Rep. Warren Chisum has filed the West Gulf Division's CC&R Relief
legislation in the Texas legislature.  The bill number is HB 3038.  If
you are in Rep. Chisum's district, District 88, please send him an
E-Mail or FAX thanking him for supporting amateur radio.  Details about
this bill and the West Gulf legislative agenda will be provided in a
"Special Legislative Addition Newsletter" coming soon.  If you live
in Oklahoma, you have not been forgotten.  Last year in consultation
with Kevin O'Dell, N0IRW, OK SM, it was decided to delay filing CC&R
Relief legislation in Oklahoma until experience was gained in Texas.

-----Recent Hamfest Reports

March 4 and 5th – The Greater Houston Hamfest held in Rosenberg, TX
was greater than ever this year.  At the ARRL forum, Harold Kramer,
WJ1B, ARRL COO presented an informative power point tour of ARRL HQ.
K5RAV discussed the importance of opposing HR607 and N5AUS updated the
group on the WGD's legislative agenda.  Many thanks go to Rick, W5RH
and John, K5IZO and the entire Brazos Valley ARC for a great event.
March 9 and 10th – The Green Country Hamfest in Claremore was a huge
success with approximately 1100 people attending the Oklahoma Section
Convention!  Good weather and awesome hospitality promoted folks young
and old to sell out all of the hotels in Claremore!  Many old friends
stopped by the ARRL booth to say hello and to renew their memberships.

K5RAV and N0IRW had the chance to reacquaint with several folks who are
now retesting and returning to the Amateur community!  The ARRL forum
was standing room only as was the venue for most of the weekend!  Check
out the pictures on our Facebook page (ARRL – West Gulf Division) and
put this event on your 2012 calendar!

-----Planned ARRL Events for K5RAV and N5AUS

Director Woolweaver and Vice Director Stratton are planning to attend
the following upcoming events:

K5RAV – Executive Committee meeting March 19th.
N5AUS – 56th Annual St. Patrick's Day Hamfest, WTX Section
Convention, sponsored by the Midland ARC, March 19th
N5AUS – HamEXPO, sponsored by the Temple ARC, April 2nd , Belton, TX
ARRL events are a great place to visit with the Division and Section
Leadership.  Most events will include an ARRL forum where you can
obtain insight to Division and Section matters.
Of course, at anytime that you have a concern or just want to say hello
you may contact Director Woolweaver at K5RAV@arrl.org or Vice Director
John Stratton at N5AUS@arrl.org.

-----Upcoming hamfests
03/19/2011 | West Texas Section Convention (56th Annual St. Patrick's
Day Hamfest)
Location: Midland, TX
Type: ARRL Convention
Sponsor: Midland Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://hamfest.w5qgg.org
03/26/2011 | Weatherford TX Hamfest
Location: Weatherford, TX
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Amateur Radio Club of Parker County
Website: http://www.w5pc.org
04/02/2011 | HamEXPO
Location: Belton, TX
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Temple Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.beltonhamexpo.org/
05/14/2011 | Panhandle ARC's 11th Annual Picnic/Swapfest
Location: Amarillo, TX
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Panhandle Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.w5wx.org
06/10/2011 | ARRL National Convention (Ham-Com 2011)
Location: Plano, TX
Type: ARRL Convention
Sponsor: Ham-Com, Inc. & supporting clubs
Website: http://www.hamcom.org/
07/09/2011 | TARS Hamfest
Location: Texas City, TX
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Tidelands Amateur Radio Society
Website: http://www.tidelands.org
07/29/2011 | Central States VHF Conference
Location: Irving, TX
Type: ARRL Convention
Sponsor: Central States VHF Society
Website: http://www.csvhfs.org/
07/29/2011 | Oklahoma State Convention (Ham Holiday 2011)
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Type: ARRL Convention pending Executive Committee approval
Sponsor: Central Oklahoma Radio Amateurs
Website: http://www.hamholiday.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL West Gulf Division
Director: David A Woolweaver, K5RAV
k5rav@arrl.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Field Day logo animated

Many of you liked the animated FD logo work in past years.  Well,
we've done it again.

Kevin O'Dell, N0IRW, Section Manager for Oklahoma did this one.  (Thanks!)

Allen Pitts, W1AGP
Media & PR Manager
ARRL - the national association for Amateur Radio
225 Main St.  Newington, CT 06111
(860) 594-0328
www.ARRL.org

New SEC writes

With my recent appointment to Section Emergency Coordinator that brought on another changes with in ARES-OK.

Ben Joplin WB5VST will be stepping up to the ZEC position for Zone 4&5.

Ben is a long time amateur operator and very good hand in the field. Ben has worked many hours in both trainning and on deployments during communications emergencies. He was on site at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma when evacuees came up for the gulf area during hurricane Kartina. He is proficent in may diffrent operating modes and is not affraid to jump in there and try something new.

Ben has been a long time member of the Tulsa Repeater Org. and has serves as a club officer several times. With in the last few years Ben retires from the IT and communications dept of AEP/PSO.


Plus - Jay Eimer AD5PE is steping up and has accepted appointment to the EC for Rogers County in Zone 5, District 1. Jay is another long time amateur with lots of experience with emergencey communications to bring to the table.

Thank you for both Ben and Jay... with our good amateurs volunteering to help lead, and build ARES Oklahoma we can not make it happen.

Thank you,

73 Mark Conklin N7XYO
SEC
ARES Oklahoma
918-232-8346

N7XYO appointed Section Emergency Coordinator

We have a change in the section cabinet.

Charles Goodson, KC5UEG has decided to take a step back from the duties as the Section Emergency Coordinator. Charles will become an Assistant SEC working with some folks in the North Texas Section on some FEMA contacts.

I am pleased to announce that Mark Conklin, N7XYO will be replacing Charles as the SEC. Mark has a lot of experience as a Zone EC for the Tulsa and Northeastern portion of the state. I look forward to working with Mark in his new position. I would also like to say a big thank you to Charles for 3 years of service to the section as the SEC.

So, again, as of now Mark Conklin, N7XYO is the new Oklahoma SEC. Congratulations Mark and thank you as well.

73,

Kevin O'Dell N0IRW
Oklahoma Section Manager

Forum at Elk City

Oklahoma Section Manager Kevin O'Dell, N0IRW lead the League Forum at the Elk City Hamfest.

Attendees at the League Forum in Elk City.

Oklahoma Section Officials in attendance at Elk City included Kevin O'Dell  N0IRW  SM, Roland Stolfa KC5UNL, Eddie Manley K5EMS, and Steve Grayson KE5BPL

 Remember that the Oklahoma Section Convention is March 11 and 12 in Claremore.  Come see your League membership and leadership there.

Elk City Hamfest

David White WN5Y of Pampa, TX explains the Electroluminescent Receiver Kit
to L-R   Jacob, Andrew, Brandy and Jade Johnston.

David White WN5Y of Pampa, TX showing how the Electroluminecent Receiver Kit works.
L-R  Top Row  Brandy and Jade Johnston, David White WN5Y
L-R Bottom Row   Andrew and Jacob Johnston

Steve Grayson  KE5BPL
Public Information Officer
ARRL-Oklahoma Section

Skywarn and Amateur Radio

Mike Corey, W5MPC, the Emergency Preparedness Manager for the American Radio Relay League,  spoke at the National Severe Weather Workshop in Norman.

This annual event brings amateur radio enthusiasts, emergency managers, weather professionals and amateurs to learn new skills, tips, and information related to severe weather.

During his talk, he described the League, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service and the League's Field Organization.

"The ARRL supports the Skywarn program", said Corey and cited the Memorandum of Understanding between the League and the National Weather Service.

Storm Spotting and Amateur Radio is a new book from the League.

"We look out for ALL amateur radio operators, whether they are a member or not," he said.

The Field Operations helps gather reports and helps with after action reports.

"Look at the ARRL as a resource," said Corey, who mentioned the number of ways the League can help, including QST.

Corey encourages all amateur radio operators to register for ARES, get trained and stay trained, get connected with your Section leadership, and get involved.

Corey fielded a Twitter question about changes in the ARES program.

"Major changes don't come easy," he replied.

Smaller changes will happen from time to time.  "We are aware of the interest in modernizing ARES," he said.

Corey fielded a question about reallocation and mentioned the need to comment on HR-607.

March FLASH Newsletter

Attention all Radio Amateurs!

A FLASH message from the West Gulf Division Director, David Woolweaver,
K5RAV

Your assistance to defend one of our amateur bands is urgently
requested.  Please read and follow through on the requested action
described below.  This is an important issue for every Amateur Radio
Operator in the nation.

You may have already heard that our 440 MHz band is being threatened by
a bill introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives.  In its
current form, HR 607 provides for the creation and maintenance of a
nationwide Public Safety broadband network.  As a part of that network,
the bill proposes to allocate the so-called "D-Block" of frequencies
in the 700 MHz range.  The "D-Block" consists of two, 5 MHz wide
segments of spectrum (758-763 MHz and 788-793 MHz) that became
available when the FCC ended analog television broadcasts in June 2009.
It was initially expected that the "D-Block" would be auctioned for
commercial use.

HR 607 provides for the reallocation of other spectrum for auction to
commercial users in order to offset the loss of revenue that will occur
as the result of the allocation of the "D-Block" to Public Safety
instead of commercial auction.  Among the bands to be reallocated for
commercial auction within ten years of passage of HR 607 are the paired
bands of 420-440 MHz and 450-470 MHz.

The concept for this proposed network has merit.  Everyone wants first
responders to have the radio systems they need in order to protect
themselves and us.  However, there is absolutely no need to reallocate
for auction the 440 MHz band to make it happen.  We must let our U.S.
Representatives know we oppose the current wording of HR 607.
What can I do?  A web site to automatically prepare a letter opposing
HR 607 has been created to assist you.  Go to
http://www.kd4pyr.net/hamletter.htm.

Insert your call sign where indicated and follow the simple
instructions. The name and address of your U.S. Representative will
automatically be inserted into the letter along with your name and
address.  The letter will then be displayed ready to be printed and
signed.

IMPORTANT: Please be certain to observe the following once you have
printed your letter:
- Be sure to sign it.  Letters without a handwritten signature are not
effective.
- Signed letters can be sent by fax or postal mail to -
John Chwat
Chwat & Co.,
Suite 103, 625 Slaters Lane, Alexandria, VA 22314
Fax number: (703) 684-7594
- The letter can also be signed and scanned into .pdf format and then
E-Mailed as a file attachment to: john.chwat@chwatco.com.  Chwat and
Co. is the ARRL's legislative relations firm in Washington, D.C.
- Do not send this letter or any letter about HR 607 to your U.S.
Senators at this time. The bill has only been filed in the U.S. House
of Representatives.  .
-WHY should the letter be mailed to John Chwat and NOT your
Representative?  There are two reasons.  First, all postal mail
addressed to members of the U.S. Congress is delayed 6 to 8 weeks to
search for the inclusion of hazardous materials.  Remember the Anthrax
incident?  Second, Mr. Chwat will increase the value of your individual
letter by combining it with others.  He will then hand carry the stack
of letters directly to your Representative's office. This manner of
delivery makes a particular impact on members of Congress.

Share the web site information with your amateur radio friends.  It is
not necessary to be an ARRL member to use the site.  The more letters
sent to Representatives the better.

This is your opportunity to make a stand against this legislation.
Help save the 70cm band by completing and mailing the opposition letter
as requested.

Thank you for your help and support in this important effort. Please
let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL West Gulf Division
Director: David A Woolweaver, K5RAV
k5rav@arrl.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------