SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, INC.

==> BULLETIN - IARU Region 2 and the Red Chilena Nor Austral de Servicio (RECNA) request that hams monitor the following emergency communications frequencies for traffic pertaining to the Chilean earthquake and tsunami: 3.738, 3.750, 7.050, 7.100, 14.200, 14.350, 21.200, 21.350, 28.300 and 28.500 MHz. As ARRL DX Phone is coming up, please take extra care for calling or answering CQ's on those frequencies.

==> FCC Seeks Comments for Blanket Waiver to Allow Amateur Radio in Hospital Emergency Drills - In February 2010, the American Hospital Association (AHA) filed a request with the FCC for a blanket waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3) of the Commission's Rules "to permit hospitals seeking accreditation to use Amateur Radio operators who are hospital employees to transmit communications on behalf of the hospital as part of emergency preparedness drills." On March 3, the FCC issued a Public Notice -- WP Docket 10-54 -- seeking comments. Not only are comments in favor of or against the issue of amateur operators -- who are hospital employees -- to participate in emergency drills conducted by hospitals for accreditation purposes that are not government-sponsored welcomed, the Commission is also seeking comments addressing "whether, if blanket relief were to be granted, there would be some benefit from requiring hospitals to provide notice to the Commission concerning emergency drills they perform, and what such notice should entail." Comments are due by Friday, April 2; reply comments are due no later than Monday, April 19.

==> More Cosponsors On Board for HR 2160 - Last month, another Congressional Representative -- Jo Bonner (R-AL-1) -- pledged his support for HR 2160, The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009, bringing the total number of cosponsors to 34, including original sponsor Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX-18). HR 2160 is also sponsored by W. Todd Akin (R-MO-2), Michael Arcuri (D-NY-24), Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD-6), John Boozman (R-AR-3), Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), Andre Carson (D-IN-7), Geoff Davis (R-KY-4), Bob Filner (D-CA-51), Scott Garrett (R-NJ-5), Bart Gordon (D-TN-6), Brett Guthrie (R-KY-02), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY-22), Michael Honda (D-CA-15), Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH-15), Tom Latham (R-IA-4), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-16), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO-9), Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI-11), Charlie Melancon (D-LA-3), Candice Miller (R-MI-10), Dennis Moore (D-KS-3), John Olver (D-MA-1), Bill Posey (R-FL-15), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA-46), Bennie Thompson (D-MS-2), Michael Turner (R-OH-3), Peter Welch (D-VT), David Wu (D-OR-1), C.W. Bill Young (R-FL-10) and Don Young (R-AK).

==> LORAN-C shut down - On February 8 the U.S Coast Guard shut down the Loran-C a navigation system that has been in use since World War II.  LORAN (LOng RAnge Navigation) made use of a network of Low Frequency (LF) radio transmitters and the receivers used these multiple signals to determine the location and speed of the vessel. It has served mariners and aviators well for over 60 years. President Obama has called the system obsolete, saying it is no longer needed in an age in which Global Positioning System devices are nearly ubiquitous in cars, planes and boats. Running Loran-C is claimed to cost the Federal Government about $38 million a year but shutting it down means there is no longer a back-up system for GPS.

.==> FCC Allows Robotic Device in Amateur Band - In January 2008, a company called ReconRobotics filed a request with the FCC for a waiver of Part 90 of the Commission's Rules with respect to the Recon Scout -- a remote-controlled, maneuverable surveillance robot designed for use in areas that may be too hazardous for human entry. The device operates in the 430-448 MHz band, which is allocated to the Federal Government Radiolocation service on a primary basis, as well as the Amateur Radio Service and certain non-federal radiolocation systems on a secondary basis. More than two years later, the FCC granted the waiver request in the form of an Order (WP Docket No 08-63), subject to certain conditions.

==> Iceland Amateurs Receive New Privileges - As of Friday, February 19, Iceland's Post and Telecom Administration (PTA) granted temporary experimental access to the 4 and 600 meter bands at least through the end of 2010, according to Islenzkir Radioamatorar (IRA) President Jonas Bjarnason. After obtaining a special license from the PTA, Bjarnason said that TF stations with "N" or "G" class licenses may now operate between 493-510 kHz and 70.000-70.200 MHz running 100 W. Amateur operations on both bands are granted on a secondary basis.

==> W1AW Announces New Schedule for Digital Bulletin Transmissions - Beginning Monday, March 15, W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, will alternate the digital modes used for its digital bulletin transmissions. While Baudot, PSK31 and MFSK16 still make up the digital mode complement, W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, says that the schedule will be altered to give more exposure to PSK31 and MFSK16. With the new schedule, amateurs preferring either PSK31 or MFSK16 will no longer find these modes secondary.

==>IN BRIEF:

* Coming events on the radio: High Speed CW Contest, Open Ukraine RTTY Championship and ARRL International DX Contest (SSB) on March 6-7. The Wake-Up QRP Sprint and Katy, TX KT5TX 30th Anniversary event are March 6. DARC 10 Meter Digital Contest is March 7. The CLARA HF Contest is March 9-10 (continuing on March 13-14) and the CWops Mini-CWT Test is March 10-11. W4OT Vero Beach, FL 107th Anniversary "Pelican Island NWR", RSGB Commonwealth ContestQRP, ARCI HF Grid Square Sprint and Idaho QSO Party are March 13. Macon (GA) ARC W4BKM 28th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival, Mohawk (MA) ARC 25th Anniversary W1W, Russian DX Contest, Oklahoma QSO Party, North Dakota QSO Party and Istanbul, Turkey TC2010PSG are March 20-21. EU EME Contest and CQ WPX SSB Contest are Marcy 27-28. All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC.

 --The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League