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| The award-winning monthly publication of The Baltimore Radio Amateur Television Society P.O.Box 5915 Baltimore, MD 21282-5915 |
September, 2008
FCC to Raise Vanity Call Sign Fees
On August 11, the FCC announced that the cost of an Amateur Radio vanity call sign will increase 60 cents, from $11.70 to $12.30. The fee will increase 30 days after notice of the increase is published in the Federal Register; no date has yet been set for publication. The FCC is authorized by the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, to collect vanity call sign fees to recover the costs associated with that program. The vanity call sign regulatory fee is payable not only when applying for a new vanity call sign, but also upon renewing a vanity call sign for a new 10 year term.
FCC Vanity Call Sign Fees to Increase September 25
On August 11, the FCC announced that the cost of an Amateur Radio vanity call sign will increase 60 cents, from $11.70 to $12.30. Now that notice of the increase has been published in the Federal Register, the increase will take effect in 30 days, September 25, 2008.
New Tower, Antenna Modifications for W1HQ
On August 13, Matt Strelow, KC1XX, and Andrew Toth of XX Towers installed a new 40 foot tower on top of the ARRL Headquarters building for use at W1HQ, the Laird Campbell Memorial HQ Operators Club. This new tower supports the 3 element SteppIR 20-6 meter Yagi antenna that was moved from the old tower; the antenna was placed on the old tower in November 2007. The antenna also received modifications, allowing operations on 30 and 40 meters. Both the antenna and the 30-40 meter modification kit were donated by Mike Mertel, K7IR, of SteppIR.
According to ARRL Test Engineer Bob Allison, WB1GCM, XX Towers visits the League twice a year to inspect both the W1AW and W1HQ antenna systems: "This past May, Matt's inspection found the tower was approaching poor condition due to its age and harsh environment. The new tower supports our 3 element SteppIR Yagi with a newly installed 40-30 meter Dipole Kit, recently donated by SteppIR Antenna Systems. HQ staff can now enjoy these additional bands and have peace of mind with the new tower."
Prolific Author Tom Kneitel, W4XAA SK
Tom Kneitel, W4XAA, better known to hams by his previous call sign K2AES, died August 22 at age 75. He lived in DeLand, Florida, where he and his wife Judy had moved in 2004
| September, 2008 |  |
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