January 2009
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BRATS Holiday Party Success, All Re-elected!

December 16 saw all the officers and board members re-elected during our fabulous holiday party.
Half of the Board will continue through December, 2009, while the rest of the board will be extended through December, 2010. (See lists of Board members and officers on page 2.)

Congressional Committee Members Release Report Lambasting FCC Chairman

On Tuesday, December 9, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce — the congressional committee that oversees the Federal Communications Commission — released its majority staff report “on the bipartisan investigation of the FCC’s regulatory processes and management practices.” The report — Deception and Distrust: The Federal Communications Commission under Chairman Kevin J. Martin — stated that the investigation was prompted “by allegations to the effect that [FCC] Chairman Kevin J. Martin has abused FCC procedures by manipulating or suppressing reports, data and information.”

Full Story: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/12/12/10505/?nc=1

RadioShack to sell $100 netbook

[USA Today]

We’ve seen a recent wave of the new small and light laptops known as netbooks, produced by the likes of HP, Asus and others.

Starting Sunday, RadioShack will sell the 2.44-pound Acer Aspire, one mini-laptop at the awfully aggressive price of $100, provided you also sign up for a two-year AT&T DataConnect mobile broadband plan. The lightweight machine includes integrated 3G wireless. The Acer also has an 8.9-inch screen, built-in Web cam and 160 GB hard drive. It uses Intel’s energy-efficient Atom processor.

One recent indication of netbook popularity comes out of the UK. According to Hitwise Client Intelligence, the netbook category accounts for 1 out of every 7 computer searches over there.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/technologylive/2008/12/radioshack-to-s.html

ARRL HQ Welcomes New Membership Manager

The ARRL is pleased to welcome Membership Manager Diane Petrilli, KB1RNF, to the Headquarters staff in Newington. Petrilli’s key areas of responsibility include programs and activities that directly affect membership growth, engagement and retention. Petrilli is taking over the position from Katie Breen, W1KRB. Breen left in October.

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/12/04/10491/?nc=1

New Online Practice Tests

Hamilton, KD0FNR, has developed online practice tests for the Tech, General, and Extra exams.

“Within the practice tests, online study resources, (Wikipedia, NASA, ARRL, etc…), are provided for many of the questions. The list of resources available for each question is constantly growing because users can add their own favorite links to the study materials. Users can also track their test scores over time and see which subelements are giving them the most trouble.”

FCC Calls on Amateur Radio Service for Assistance with Digital TV Conversion

Earlier this week, the ARRL received a request from the FCC asking that ARRL members to provide technical educational assistance to their communities concerning the FCC-mandated digital television (DTV) conversion scheduled for February 17, 2009.

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/12/10/10499/?nc=1

BRATS ELECTIONS TO BE HELD IN DECEMBER

Because the by-laws require elections during the October-November-December quarter, we will hold our elections at the December meeting, as required. Up for election will be the 4 officers and 3 of the 6 directors. If you would like to run for office or Board member, please let Mayer, W3GXK know in advance of the meeting.

WorldRadio to Cease Print Publication

In a joint statement, WorldRadio Publisher Armond Noble, N6WR, and CQ Publisher Dick Ross, K2MGA, announced that WorldRadio magazine will no longer be published as a print magazine. According to the announcement, CQ Communications Inc has acquired WorldRadio and plans to continue it as an online publication on CQ’s Web site. WorldRadio subscribers will have their subscriptions transferred to CQ magazine. Readers will be notified of details as plans are finalized.

http://www.arrl.org/?artid=8601

Hamfest: Odenton, MD, 1/25/2009

Sunday, January 25: Odenton, MD
MMARC Hamfest. Odenton Vol. Fire Dept
Hall; 1425 Annapolis Blvd ( Rte 175);
Frank, N3SEO, n3seo@aol.com;
(146.805/R) 410-647-3335

Hamfest: Timonium, MD, 1/21/2009

Wednesday, January 21 Timonium, MD
BARC Mini-Fest, at the Fairgrounds,
5-10 PM, but you clean up (146.67/R)