ARRL Board Minutes

[Paul L. Rinaldo]

Gang,

You should be aware of the following minutes of the ARRL Board Meeting of
July 21-22:

28. On motion of Mr. Bodson, seconded by Mr. Heyn, it was unanimously VOTED
that the ARRL Board of Directors selects Terry Fox, WB4JFI, of Falls
Church, Virginia, as the recipient of the ARRL Technical Innovation Award.
(Applause.)

42. Mr. Harrison, as Chairman, presented the report of the Technology Task
Force.  Based on input from the Technology Working Group, the Task Force
recommends the ARRL proceed to spearhead the development of digital voice
for the Amateur Service.  On motion of Mr. Frenaye, seconded by Mr.
Maxwell, it was unanimously VOTED that the ARRL proceed with the
development of digital voice for the Amateur Service.  The President shall
appoint a group of individuals knowledgeable in the field of digital voice
from the international Amateur community and industry.  The group shall
report to the Technology Task Force and shall submit an initial report at
the 2001 Annual Meeting.

62. On motion of Mr. Bodson, seconded by Mr. Race, it was VOTED that the
following resolution is adopted.
WHEREAS, the ARRL petitioned (RM-8737) the FCC to make greater use of
spread spectrum (SS) technologies, and
WHEREAS, the FCC, in response to the ARRL petition, adopted a Report and
Order (WT 97-12) that removed the restrictions in the Amateur Radio Service
that limit the SS emission types (e.g., spreading codes) that Amateurs may
transmit, and
WHEREAS, the FCC believes that the changes identified in the Report and
Order will allow Amateur Radio Service licensees to experiment with
additional SS emission types, allow Amateur Radio operators to develop
innovations and improvements to communications products and develop new
communications technologies, facilitate the ability of the Amateur Radio
Service to contribute to the development of SS communications by allowing
Amateur stations to transmit and experiment with SS technologies currently
used in consumer and commercial products, and promote more efficient use of
spectrum allocated to the Amateur Radio Service,
RESOLVED, that the ARRL Board directs the Executive Vice President and the
General Counsel to file a petition at the appropriate time with the FCC to
permit Spread Spectrum emissions in the 219-220 MHz and 222-225 MHz band.

				* * * * *

Congratulations, Terry. The award was the first one in this category and
was made on the basis of a letter of recommendation by AMRAD Vice President
George Lemaster, WB5OYP, outlining Terry's amateur radio technical
achievements,  particularly his work on developing the Metrovision ATV
repeater and AX.25 packet radio protocol. According to the terms of
reference, this award carries with it a check in the amount of $500 and a
plaque presented at an ARRL convention. Thanks to ARRL Roanoke Division
Director Dennis Bodson, W4PWF, for making the motion.

73, Paul, W4RI
AMRAD President