Ed Note. We are either awfully healthy or have had our ailments for so long that we don't want to talk about them!

The FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order (NPRM) on May 14 seeking to raise fees for Amateur Radio vanity call signs
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-126A1.pdf. Currently, a vanity call sign costs $12.30 and is good for 10 years; the
new fee, if the FCC plan goes through, will go up to $13.40 for 10 years, an increase of $1.10. 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 term. Instructions on how to
comment on this NPRM are available on the FCC Web site  http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/howtocomment.html>.

Those holding vanity call signs issued prior to 1996 are exempt from having to pay the vanity call sign regulatory fee at renewal, however.
That's because Congress did not authorize the FCC to collect regulatory fees until 1993. Such "heritage" vanity call sign holders do not appear
as vanity licensees in the FCC Amateur Radio database.

Amateur Radio licensees may file for renewal only within 90 days of their license expiration date. All radio amateurs must have an FCC
Registration Number (FRN) before filing any application with the Commission. Applicants can obtain an FRN by going to the ULS
<http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/> and clicking on the "New Users Register" link. You must supply your Social Security Number to obtain an FRN.

MINUTES : CHAPTER 21
FEBRUARY MEETING CHAPTER 21

QCWA Chapter 21 held their 1st Quarter Meeting on February 21 at the HomeTown Buffet of Canton, OH.  We had 6 members and 4 guests in attendance.  Missing were the snowbirds and those who took the weather forecast of a bad snow storm to heart!  After introductions and a wide selection of food from the buffet, President Ed Clinger WA8DRT opened the meeting. Judy McCune N8AIM presented the Treasurer's report.

A motion was made by Perry Ballinger W8AU and seconded by Stan Smith WA8NZE to donate $75.00 to the QCWA Scholarship Fund in memory of our silent keys of 2008;  Myron Koyle W8FNM, Myron Kiefaber W8BML, and James Foltz K8SWE.  The motion passed unanimously.  There were no reports of recent hospitalizations. 

Ed introduced our program, which was to be an informal talk by each of us about how we became hams.  Phil Gizzi W8IIV, Ed Clinger WA8DRT, Stan Smith WA8NZE, Perry Ballinger W8AU, Julius Erdos KD8XD, and Judy McCune N8AIM all reminisced about becoming hams.

Due to eqipment problems, the slide presentation  by Julius Erdos KD8XD was postponed until the Spring Meeting .

Respectfully submitted,

* ARRL's 500 kHz Station, WD2XSH, Wants to Hear from You: Fritz Raab,W1FR, coordinator for ARRL's 500 kHz Experimental Station, WD2XSHhttp://www.500kc.com/>, reports that fall has brought lower static and good propagation, making excellent conditions for the 500 kHz
experimenters. The experimental license, issued in September 2006 <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/09/15/104/>, has more than 20
active stations. Raab said that last year, a second US experimental license -- WE2XGR, with five participants -- joined the project, as well
as experimenters in the UK, Germany, Sweden and the Czech Republic. These stations' operating modes include CW, QRSS, PSK-31 and others.
Contacts have been achieved at distances up to 1234 miles, with signals received from all over North America, Alaska and Hawaii; trans-Atlantic reports are not uncommon. "The 500 kHz experimenters are experiencing excellent propagation conditions," Raab said. "The best time to listen is between sunset and sunrise." The operating frequencies are: WD2XSH -- 505.2-510 kHz; WE2XGR -- 505-515 kHz; UK -- 501-504 kHz, and SM, DL, OK -- 505.0-505.2 kHz. Raab requests that listeners file reception reports at the experiment's Web site so that they become part of the station's data base <http://www.500kc.com/>.

Additional information can be found at the experiment's Web site and also in the July/August 2007 issue of QEX <http://www.arrl.org/qex/2007/07/raab.pdf>.

The ARRL Letter
Vol. 27, No. 42
October 24, 200

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