SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, INC.

The new Delta Division Worked All Grids (WAG) Award is available for anyone presenting proof of contact with each of the 40 grids making up the Delta Division. Each station worked in these 40 grids must be located within one of the four Sections (AR, LA, MS, and TN) that constitute the Delta Division. The starting date for these 40 QSOs is January 1, 2010. Any combination of bands and modes may be used to qualify for the award; there will be no band or mode endorsements. You may send your QSLs, along with $6.00 to cover the cost of the award, to Howard Runions W4HLR (Delta Division Assistant Director) starting April 1. More details of this new award will be posted soon on the Delta Division website. You can also contact Howard via email at hireddux@yahoo.com if you have comments or questions.

Ron Brown AB5WF and Alan Levine WA5LQZ have both been recognized for their many years of dedicated service with the Delta Division Distinguished Service Award. It was my pleasure to present Ron his plaque during the ARRL Forum at the Delta Division Convention this past Saturday in Jackson, MS, and I hope to have the opportunity to present Alan's plaque in person in the near future.

The ARRL Board of Directors has presented the 2010 Bill Leonard W2SKE Professional Media Award to Ted Randall WB8PUM for audio excellence in Amateur Radio topics. Last year the Board presented Ted the Leonard Award for his weekly QSO Show via shortwave radio. In recognizing Ted a second time, the Board stated that his QSO Show "has become even more effective as a downloaded podcast of consistently high quality treating issues within Amateur Radio week after week as an MP3 file."

I'm happy to report that Jim Coleman AI5B has agreed to serve as the Delta Division representative on the new Emergency Communications Advisory Committee (ECAC) that was recently created by the ARRL Board. In addition to being a ham for over 40 years and currently serving as the LA Section Emergency Coordinator, Jim's professional background makes him an excellent choice to represent us on the ECAC.

Rather than kicking off on February 3 as reported earlier on the Delta Division website, the new ARRL website will debut on February 25.

Also much to my surprise, the Board ultimately decided to inform the FCC that some flexibility is needed in 97.113(a)(3) to accommodate hams participating in emergency drills on behalf of employers. Although I tried to have the Board include some reasonable time limits on these drills, the Board declined to include any time limits. (Along with almost all of the other Directors, I did support the final decision to adopt the motion without time limits.)

K1ZZ does a good job in his March 2010 QST editorial of describing the recent actions taken by the Board of Directors on this issue. I would also encourage you to read the editorial by W2VU on page 8 in the February 2010 issue of CQ.

Mickey Cox K5MC
Delta Division Director
Delta Division Website: www.arrldelta.org/

==> NHC To Provide Greater Lead Time for Watches, Warnings - Beginning with the 2010 hurricane season, NOAA's National Hurricane Center in Miami will issue watches and warnings for tropical storms and hurricanes along threatened coastal areas 12 hours earlier than in previous years. According to NHC experts, advancements in track forecasts are making it possible for forecasters to provide greater lead time. Tropical storm watches will be issued when tropical storm conditions are possible along the coast within 48 hours. Tropical storm warnings will be issued when those conditions are expected within 36 hours. This is an increase of 12 hours from those issued in previous years.  Similar increases in lead-time will apply to hurricane watches and warnings. The hurricane watches and warnings will generally be timed to provide 48 and 36 hours notice, respectively, before the onset of tropical storm force winds. That additional time will also allow people preparing for the storm -- securing oil rig platforms, getting food and water stockpiled, boarding windows and such -- enough time to finish preparations and get to safe shelter.

==> FCC Proposes to Revise Vanity Call Sign Rules - Late last year, the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) -- WT Docket 09-209 -- seeking to amend the Commission's Amateur Radio Service rules to clarify certain rules and codify existing procedures governing the vanity call sign system, as well as revise certain rules applicable to club stations. Interested parties may make comments on the NPRM in the following ways: via the Federal eRulemaking Portal or via the FCC's Web site. Comments must be submitted by March 26, 2010; reply comments are due no later than April 12, 2010.

==> NCVEC Releases Second Technician  (Element 2) Question Pool - The previously released pool dated January 4, 2010 is invalid for use. Upon review of the pool, members of the QPC found and corrected more than 50 minor typographical errors and clarified the questions and answers, making them easier to understand. These adopted changes are now incorporated in a revised question pool. The errata list, as well as the revised Technician question pool, is available on the NCVEC Web site at, http://www.ncvec.org/.  The newly revised Technician question pool will become effective for all examinations administered on or after July 1, 2010; it will remain valid until June 30, 2014. The current Technician question pool that became effective July 1, 2006 will expire June 30, 2010. The new Technician pool contains approximately 400 questions, from which 35 are selected for an Element 2 examination; it will contain graphics and diagrams, something new for this element.

==> FCC Seeks Public's Help in Reform Effort - According to its chairman, the Federal Communications Commission wants to change the way it is seen by the American public. In order to further that effort, on January 7, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced that the Commission had launched a new Web site -- Reboot.FCC.gov-- saying it is the first-ever Web site dedicated to soliciting public input on ways to improve citizen interaction with the FCC, "creating a forum where the public can participate in improving the FCC."