IARU REGION 2 MF/HF BAND PLAN, effective 01 JA 2008, would limit AM operation.

[k4kyv]

You will notice this bandplan contains specific limitations on occupied bandwidth, with 6 KHz maximum for DSB A.M., denoted by (*), listed for two small segments in the 80m band at 3600-3625 and 3875-3900.  No AM segments are listed in 160 or 40, or in any other band except 10m.

Bandwidths
The number in the bandwidth column always refers to maximum allowed bandwidth.

I suspect ARRL will soon begin to promote compliance in the US, and possibly even petition the FCC to incorporate the bandwidth limitations into Part 97.  Remember, they mentioned "revisiting" the defunct bandwidth issue at a later time, and ARRL is the U.S. "member society" of IARU, so it would appear that the League was involved the formulation of this bandplan.  Note the prominent ARRL personalities listed on the IARU website. I have seen nothing in QST about this, nor has there been any solicitation for input from the US amateur community. I couldn't find any mention of this new bandplan on the ARRL website.

Click here to view the Bandplan:
http://www.iaru-regionii.org/Region_2_MF__HF_Bandplan_Annex__1_2008.pdf

What is the IARU?
http://www.iaru.org/

PURPOSE OF THE IARU BANDPLANS

The IARU bandplans have been compiled and modified over the years to reflect changes in operating requirements and are to be used as a guideline by the individual societies of each country. Unique situations in certain countries may require slight modification to that individual country's own bandplan but the impact of any changes must take into consideration their effect on other countries.

These bandplans are voluntary and as such cannot legally be enforced, except in some countries in which the bandplans are written into the national regulations. The vast majority of amateurs in all countries do conform to the IARU bandplans and it is in our own interest that it should continue to be this way. The plans are prepared in a democratic way with input from any country's member society. The plans are discussed, modified and voted upon at IARU Regional General Assemblies with each country (large or small) having only one vote. If an individual or group is not satisfied with the bandplans as they are and has a suggestion for improvement then he should submit it, with as much documentation as possible, to his IARU member society.

(emphasis mine)

[AB5S]

Re: The new IARU band plan recommendations, restricting AM
operation to a small window on 75 meters and 29 MC-
windows which already get no respect from the SSB thugs.

Unless the FCC- the only legitimate law enforcement agency
by whom I am bound, officially and formally says otherwise,
 I have no intention of restricting my AM operation
in accordance with the demands of *any* organization
which I have not joined and by which I am not represented.
I try not to interfere with anyone, even the thousands of SSB ops
who haven' t the common decency to return the courtesy to me
and who go out of their way to interfere with my AM operation,
even in the "AM Ghetto."
But I will not be subject to make-believe "rules"
produced by SSB bigots.
If we AM operators tuck our meek little heads,
if we give in to the "oh let's not make a fuss" sheep,
if we pretend conflict will go away by itself *again,*
then we deserve exactly what we're going to get.

Dave AB5S

[KA8WTK]

  You tend to wonder what idiot typed this plan up. As Don says, there is no plan for AM operation on 40 meters, but there is an AM calling frequency (?) and 7290 is listed as an "emergency" frequency.
  This appears, on the surface, even more ridiculous than the previous ARRL proposals. The FCC agreed at that time that these types of limitations were not in the best interest of Amatuer Radio. Nothing has changed since then.
  I did a search of the ARRL page and could not, searching on IARU, find any mention of this bandplan. Maybe I did not look deep enough. Thank the powers that be that the IARU is not a regulatory agency.
  If this does come up, the fur will fly! Screw their ************ band plan. Talk to me at Nearfest and I can really tell you how I feel about such nonsense!

[k4kyv]

  I did a search of the ARRL page and could not, searching on IARU, find any mention of this bandplan.

The web page may be a little confusing, since it displays two versions of the Region II band plan, the current one and the one going into effect at the beginning of the year.

Click on the IARU website at http://www.iaru.org/

At the top of the page click on "Region II".  That will open a new page titled INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR RADIO  UNION Region 2.  At the top of the page, click on the link titled New HF Band Plan Adopted at Region 2 General Assembly, Brazil, September, 2007.  That opens the new band plan.

There is also a link at the left side of the page.  It opens the current band plan that went into effect in 1998.  It would be out of  date, since it  doesn't reflect the expansion of US phone privileges, but it makes no mention of bandwidth.

[WA3VJB]

It "would limit AM operation" only if we let it.

Probably time for someone to put together a complaint to the IARU asking that the ARRL be de-certified as the representative club for the United States.

The IARU charter provides for a process of ejecting such a representative if it can be shown the group has acted against the interests of licensees.

That shouldn't be too hard to do.

Go for it.

[Tom WA3KLR]

The last time I researched the IARU Region 2 staff, which was a couple of years ago, I came up with some fellow by the name of Dave Sumner as it's secretary.  Ever hear of him?

[W3SLK]

To echo what I posted on the AM reflector: Having looked at the 'bandplan', I will not be adhering to these guidelines! Even SSB at 2700 Hz sounds like highly percolated fecal matter!

[Tom WA3KLR]

The new bandplan is essentially the ARRL's latest attempt to get their regulation by bandwidth agenda instituted by now going around the FCC to the IARU.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

The new bandplan is essentially the ARRL's latest attempt to get their regulation by bandwidth agenda instituted by now going around the FCC to the IARU.

Ah yes, another ARRL conspiracy!  Do you seriously believe the ARRL has the power over all these countries that are also members of Region 2? Remember, each country has only one vote. One might also wonder how many of these voting countries actually have any active AM operators as fodder for input.

The Countries of Region 2
Anguilla | Antigua-Barbuda |  Argentina | Aruba | Bahamas | Barbados | Belize | Bermuda | Bolivia | Brazil | British Virgin Islands | Canada  Cayman Islands | Chile | Colombia | Costa Rica | Cuba | Dominica | Dominican Republic | Ecuador | El Salvador | Grenada | Guadeloupe  Guatemala | Guyana | Haiti | Honduras | Jamaica | Martinique | Mexico | Montserrat | Netherlands Antilles | Nicaragua | Panama  Paraguay | Peru | St. Kitts and Nevis | St. Lucia | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | Suriname | Trinidad and Tobago | Turks and Caicos  United States of America | Uruguay | Venezuela

And, here are the Officers and Directors for Region 2:
http://www.iaru-regionii.org/Officers_and_Directors.html

It's great to see that the existence of the "ARRL black robe-black hat gangsters" are still tweaking some in the amateur radio community.

[W3SLK]

Pete said:

Ah yes, another ARRL conspiracy!   Do you seriously believe the ARRL has the power over all these countries that are also members of Region 2?

Then why even bring it up, Pete??  Sumner is a jackass!

[WA3VJB]

I have exchanged emails with the titular head of the IARU "region 2" which this suggested band plan would affect.

Rod Stafford says there was a working group that spent two years preparing the proposal that the full IARU has now approved.

He has not responded to my question as to whether the working group and the full IARU were informed of the League's failed bandwidth proposal to U.S. regulators.

I have telephoned him, got his answering machine, and now have emailed him requesting a schedule to discuss the problems the IARU Region 2 plan now creates.

I urge others with an interest in quashing this plan to do the same.

The chief problem this IARU plan creates comes with its advocacy that it be promoted to regulatory agencies. This instantly creates a conflict with the overwhelming opposition already expressed against the similar plan proposed and consequently withdrawn by the club in Newington.

The same club (ARRL) happens to be the representative group at the IARU, and the IARU's administration, as Tom points out, is itself populated by current and former League managers.

This can work to the advantage of those opposed, by underscoring the prior knowledge ARRL types unquestionably had about lack of support among licensees in the affected region about a similar bandwidth-based system of coordination.

[k4kyv]

The latest draft of the Canadian band plan may be of interest regarding this matter.

RAC Draft HF Band Plan (July 8, 2007)

You will note that the "SSB" designation in the original draft was changed to "Phone", apparently as a result of correspondence generated by discussion on this Forum.

But we should be aware that this is not necessarily the final document:

No plan can remain static as International regulations and technology advances. At this time the IARU Region 2 HF BP Committee is also revising their plan. Since Canada is in region 2, our plan must be congruent with the overall plan for North and South America. This Canadian plan uses some of the information from an early Region 2 draft but will have to be updated when the final version of the Region 2 plan is released.

[WA3VJB]

It is risky to leave unchallenged a defective proposal or "plan" from any group whose influence could affect our interests.

The more influential the group, the more risk presented.

Unfortunately, the IARU carries just enough historic credibility that any plans it puts forth could be rubber-stamped by other groups and regulatory agencies.

That's why it is worth pushing back on this idea from the IARU, and documenting very early the problems it would create if implemented.

Fortunately, by so doing, we have a chance to curtail any assumptions that such a plan is acceptable simply because no one has said to the contrary.

[Tom WA3KLR]

Paul,
I think that your approach is a very good one.  It is interesting that when the failed ARRL petition to the FCC was asking for 9 kHz. for AM that the change proposed now is asking for 6 kHz.
- - - - - - - -
bio of Rod Stafford W6ROD:
Rod Stafford, W6ROD, is International Affairs Vice President of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national association for Amateur Radio. The ARRL Board of Directors reelected him to his third term in January 2004. He is very involved with Amateur Radio issues within the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 2 organization, and has held the position of Region 2 Secretary since 2001.
An Amateur Extra class licensee, Stafford first obtained his Amateur Radio license in the mid-70s, and held previous call signs WD6AKS and KB6ZV.
He is a former Section Manager for the Santa Clara Valley Section, and a former Pacific Division Director. He has held the position of Second Vice President, First Vice
President, and then was President of the League from 1995 to 2000. Stafford served as a Director of IARU Region 2 (1998-2001), and has attended numerous IARU regional conferences and IARU Administrative Council meetings.
His interests in Amateur Radio extend to HF operation and VHF/UHF operation.
- - - - - - - - - - - -

IARU Region 2 Conference Completes Its Work in Brasilia:
from The ARRL Letter, Vol 26, No 38
Website: http://www.arrl.org/ on September 21, 2007

IARU Region 2 Conference Completes Its Work in Brasilia:
2 excerpts:

1. Completing a week that included lengthy committee meetings and a half-day tour of Brazil's capital city, the delegates to the 16th IARU Region 2 General Assembly in Brasilia met in Plenary assembly on Friday, September 14 to complete their work. Members of the ARRL's delegation included President Joel Harrison, W5ZN; Vice President Kay Craigie, N3KN, and husband Carter, N3AO; CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ; Southeastern Division Director Frank Butler, W4RH; Chief Technology Officer Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, and Technical Relations Specialist Jon Siverling, WB3ERA.

2. The Conference next received the report of Committee B/C, a combined technical and operational committee dealing with both HF and VHF/UHF matters. This committee was chaired by Ramon Santoyo, XE1KK, of Mexico City, Mexico; the ARRL's Rinaldo, served as secretary. The Plenary adopted all of the Committee's recommendations, including: A new Region 2 band plan for 160-10 meters was adopted, effective January 1, 2008. The new plan is modeled on one adopted previously by IARU Region 1, with regional differences taken into account; steps were taken to try to reduce interference to national emergency Nets, including establishing an inventory of such Nets and calling their importance to the attention of the radio amateur community; and an IARU Region 2 Diploma was approved, with some details remaining to be worked out by the Executive Committee.

- - - - - -

[k4kyv]

Here is the Region I bandplan, which covers Europe, Africa, Middle East and Northern Asia:

IARU REGION 1 HF BAND PLAN – Effective 1st January 2006

The charts list "MAX BANDWIDTH" for phone frequencies as 2700 Hz.  But there is also a footnote that reads as follows:

Amplitude modulation (AM) may be used in the telephony sub-bands providing consideration is given to adjacent channel users. (NRRL Davos 05).

AM is not "restricted" to any specific segments within the phone allocations.

I was told that Germany's government regulations impose a strict bandwidth limit that precludes AM operation.  However, it appears that AM (A3E) is permitted on all bands except 160m:

http://www.amateurradio.uni-halle.de/law/dvafug.de.html
http://www.amateurradio.uni-halle.de/law/vfg1990132.de.html

 

[WA3VJB]

eham.net quotes the club in Newington as acknowledging a role by the sneaky, intransigent, special interest lobbyist PAUL RINALDO, 75, who is the same misguided person who pushed the bandwidth petition through the ARRL's Board of Directors.
~~~~~~
The Conference next received the report of Committee B/C, a combined technical and operational committee dealing with both HF and VHF/UHF matters. This committee was chaired by Ramon Santoyo, XE1KK, of Mexico City, Mexico; the ARRL's Rinaldo, served as secretary. The Plenary adopted all of the Committee's recommendations, including: A new Region 2 band plan for 160-10 meters was adopted, effective January 1, 2008. The new plan is modeled on one adopted previously by IARU Region 1, with regional differences taken into account; steps were taken to try to reduce interference to national emergency Nets, including establishing an inventory of such Nets and calling their importance to the attention of the radio amateur community; and an IARU Region 2 Diploma was approved, with some details remaining to be worked out by the Executive Committee.

[WA3VJB]

Even though Industry Canada already imposes a bandwidth limitation on full-carrier DSB AM, the other facets of the IARU plan risk allowing an unsavory mix of digital and analog signals. The IARU plan would cause problems.
IARU Region 2 update

Paul Courson Mon, Oct 8, 2007 at 8:14 AM
To: VE3IAY, Richard Ferch, VP, RAC

Hi Richard,

I corresponded with you a while ago discussing updates to Canada's
voluntary band plan, and the idea of making voice activities the
category of "phone" rather than SSB. Thank you for helping see to it
AM was not unwittingly constrained in your terminology.

Today I write to caution the RAC against any early adoption of the
IARU Region 2 band plan that has recently been approved by the full
IARU to take effect in January.

There are several people from the ARRL who, for unknown reasons, have
pushed through some elements of their group's failed bandwidth
petition that had been presented earlier to the Federal Communications
Commission. This petition drew overwhelming opposition and was
consequently withdrawn by their group.

The suspicion is that the League proponents of that plan have now
pushed it through the IARU as a Region 2 band plan.

There is likely to again be an opposition response to this move that
hopefully will delay or forestall a bandwidth-based specification as
it now sits at the IARU.

Kindly delay any early moves to align Canada's band plan with the IARU
Region 2 scheme since it may not end up the way it now looks.

Thanks,

Paul Courson
WA3VJB

[k4kyv]

The IARU Band Plan has no force of law or regulation, and does not take any precedence over FCC regulations.  IARU is a voluntary international amateur radio organisation, sort of a "super ARRL".  It is supposed to look out for the interests of amateur radio wordwide, particularly regarding the periodic WARC conferences. It is a loose international confederation of ARRL and the national amateur radio societies of other participating nations.  So why should we be overly concerned?

The problem is, the band plan sets the stage for regulatory agencies in the various countries to adopt part or all the band plan as "law" in their own countries.  ARRL and other mainstream amateur radio groups may begin to exert pressure on US hams to "follow the Plan".  Various individuals and groups may follow suit and formally petition the FCC to adopt some or all of its provisions into Part 97. 

Even if ARRL goes public with the notion that the band plan is merely a suggestion to be followed at one's own discretion on a voluntary basis, we will undoubtedly have the constant annoyance of self-righteous "radio cops" attempting to break into our QSO's to "remind" us that we "out of band", or that our signals are "too wide", according to provisions in the band plan.  Or at minimum, they will noisily proclaim us to be "lids" because we choose to operate outside the plan.

Many radio-cop types will simply fail to understand that the band plan is voluntary and not mandatory under the FCC rules. 

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Hmmmmm, does this mean that the "AM exception" and "9kc AM bandwidth" in the ARRL petition to the FCC is starting to look better to you guys now!?

I couldn't resist that!

Mack

Low Blow Mack Don't get them all excited!

I seem to recall the current ARRL band plan doesn't agree with the current IARU Region 2 band plan either.

In looking at some of the countries that have a vote, Bermuda already has it in their regulations that AM cannot exceed 3 KHz bandwidth; Aruba requires a written approval to even operate AM there. Seems to me I remember reading somewhere, and my Spanish isn't that great to confirm, but some countries in South, and maybe even in Central America, have regulations that don't permit, or greatly restrict, any AM operations. If you already restrict it, or don't permit it, preserving it isn't high on your list in regards to band plans. The bottom line is that each country in this region has one vote, whether you have 600,000 hams or 6 hams in your country.

Given that the original bandwidth proposal was started several years ago, and its been stated that discussions for this Revised Region 2 band plan was also started several years ago, it could be that various voting members of Region 2 found portions of the ARRL plan attractive enough to incorporate them, or "sell the idea", into this revised plan. One would have to be a "fly on the wall" to hear who gave the best sales pitch.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

you guys

Who are "you guys"?

[k4kyv]

Hmmmmm, does this mean that the "AM exception" and "9kc AM bandwidth" in the ARRL petition to the FCC is starting to look better to you guys now!?

Nope!  It still doesn't make the ARRL plan look any better than it originally was.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Amfone.net as a group.

Do you actually think all forum members have the same opinion on this?

That would include you, so it should be "us" and not you guys.

[Tom WA3KLR]

I have e-mailed the following to most hams in my address book:

Subject: ARRL via IARU Does It To The AM'ers Again (Please Pass Along.)

Hi Mark and others,

The new IARU Region 2 Band Plan .pdf file is attached.

Have you heard of this late development:

IARU REGION 2 MF/HF BAND PLAN, effective 01 JAN 2008, would limit AM operation.

160 meters – no AM.

 80 meters – AM in 3600 – 3625 and 3875 - 3900 segments only, 6 kHz. occupied    BW.

 40 meters – no AM.

 30 meters – no AM. (AM not allowed now.)

 20 meters – no AM.

 17 meters – no AM.

 15 meters – no AM.

 12 meters – no AM.

 10 meters – AM allowed 29000 – 29300, 6 kHz. occupied BW.

- - - - - - - - -
De Don K4KYV:

You will notice this bandplan contains specific limitations on occupied bandwidth, with 6 KHz maximum for DSB A.M., denoted by (*), listed for two small segments in the 80m band at 3600-3625 and 3875-3900.  No AM segments are listed in 160 or 40, or in any other band except 10m.

Bandwidths
The number in the bandwidth column always refers to maximum allowed bandwidth.

PURPOSE OF THE IARU BANDPLANS

The IARU bandplans have been compiled and modified over the years to reflect changes in operating requirements and are to be used as a guideline by the individual societies of each country. Unique situations in certain countries may require slight modification to that individual country's own bandplan but the impact of any changes must take into consideration their effect on other countries.

These bandplans are voluntary and as such cannot legally be enforced, except in some countries in which the bandplans are written into the national regulations. The vast majority of amateurs in all countries do conform to the IARU bandplans and it is in our own interest that it should continue to be this way. The plans are prepared in a democratic way with input from any country's member society.  The plans are discussed, modified and voted upon at IARU Regional General Assemblies with each country (large or small) having only one vote. If an individual or group is not satisfied with the bandplans as they are and has a suggestion for improvement then he should submit it, with as much documentation as possible, to his IARU member society.
----

I suspect ARRL will soon begin to promote compliance in the US, and possibly even petition the FCC to incorporate the bandwidth limitations into Part 97.  Remember, they mentioned "revisiting" the defunct bandwidth issue at a later time, and ARRL is the U.S. "member society" of IARU, so it would appear that the League was involved the formulation of this bandplan.  Note the prominent ARRL personalities listed on the IARU website. I have seen nothing in QST about this, nor has there been any solicitation for input from the US amateur community. I couldn't find any mention of this new bandplan on the ARRL website.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

De Tom WA3KLR:

The new bandplan is essentially the ARRL's latest attempt to get their regulation by bandwidth agenda instituted by now going around the FCC to the IARU.

Besides curtailing AM on most HF bands, where AM would be allowed is rather tenuous due to a subtle technicality.

I don’t see how AM operation can comply with the 6 kHz. occupied bandwidth rule.  Even AM generated in rigs where the AM signal passes through a crystal filter will be wider than 6 kHz. occupied bandwidth (as measured with my IC-706).  I guess most of us see this rule as a sly attempt to end AM altogether in practice, by going over the heads of the naïve “rulemakers” who don’t appreciate technically the impracticality of the 6 kHz. BW rule.

- - - - - - - - - -

De Mack N4VGB:

IARU is just like the ARRL, no real legal authority. Now if the IARU brings this to the ITU and gets them to adopt it, big problem. Since the U.S. is a member nation of the ITU and their regulations pretty much automatically become U.S. regulations in most cases. Sumner is secretary of the whole IARU, not just region 2, could be a political 'end around' move on his part.

Mack

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Countries of Region 2

Anguilla | Antigua-Barbuda |  Argentina | Aruba | Bahamas | Barbados | Belize | Bermuda | Bolivia | Brazil | British Virgin Islands | Canada  Cayman Islands | Chile | Colombia | Costa Rica | Cuba | Dominica | Dominican Republic | Ecuador | El Salvador | Grenada | Guadeloupe  Guatemala | Guyana | Haiti | Honduras | Jamaica | Martinique | Mexico | Montserrat | Netherlands Antilles | Nicaragua | Panama  Paraguay | Peru | St. Kitts and Nevis | St. Lucia | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | Suriname | Trinidad and Tobago | Turks and Caicos  United States of America | Uruguay | Venezuela

And, here are the Officers and Directors for Region 2:

OFFICERS:

President:
Rod Stafford W6ROD
5155 Shadow Estates
San Jose, CA 95135 USA
Email:  w6rod@iaru.org
Phone::+1 408 238-4671

Vice-President:
Dario Jurado HP1DJ
P.O. Box 55-0812 Paitilla
Panama, Rep. of Panama
Email:hp1dj@sinfo.net
Phone:+507 221-3157
Cell Phone:+507 637-9326
Fax:+507 221-4685

Secretary:
Reinaldo Leandro YV5AMH
c/o Radio Club Venezolano
PO Box 2285
Caracas 1010-A, VENEZUELA
Email:leandror@bellsouth.net
Phone:+58 212 239-3192

Treasurer:
Noel Donawa 9Y4NED
98 Sapphire Drive
Diamond Vale, Trinidad
Email: 9y4ned@tstt.net.tt
Phone:868 637-4773
Fax:868 632-8255
Cell Phone:868 680-2004

DIRECTORS:

Area A:
Daniel Lamoureux VE2KA
2080 St. Jacques App 4
Montreal, QC H3J 2S1
CANADA
Email:  ve2ka@iaru.org
Phone: +1 514 939-6456

Area B:
Rod Stafford W6ROD
5155 Shadow Estates
San Jose, CA  95135
USA
Email:w6rod@arrl.org
Phone/Fax:+1 408 363-1360

Area C:
Pedro Rodriguez CO2RP
P.O. Box 6060
Havana 6, Cuba
Email:co2rp@jovenclub.cu
Phone:+53 7 730-2223

Area D:
Marco Tulio Gudiel TG9AGD
P.O. Box 115
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Email:gudiel@comtelsa.com
Phone:+502 2431-5914

Area E:
Noel Donawa 9Y4NED
98 Sapphire Drive
Diamond Vale, Trinidad
Email :9y4ned@tstt.net.tt

Phone:868 637-4773

Area F:
Gustavo de Faria Franco PT2ADM
SQS 210 Bl "E" apt 501
Brasilia DF
Cep 70273 050 Brazil
Email:pt2adm@pobox.com
Pt2adm@arrl.net
Phone:+55 61 443-8030
+55 61 443-1154
Work:+55 61 234-7456
Cell Phone:+55 61 7811-1121
Fax:+55 61 234-7456


Area G:
Reinaldo Szama LU2AH
Gorostiaga 2320 P.15 "A"
1426 Buenos Aires
Argentina
Email:lu2ah@szama.com
Phone:+54 11 4776-2503
Fax:+54 11 4613-3004

(29 January 2005)

- - - - - - - - - -
Biography of the President of the IARU Region 2:

Rod Stafford, W6ROD

Rod Stafford, W6ROD, is International Affairs Vice President of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national association for Amateur Radio. The ARRL Board of Directors reelected him to his third term in January 2004. He is very involved with Amateur Radio issues within the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 2 organization, and has held the position of Region 2 Secretary since 2001.

An Amateur Extra class licensee, Stafford first obtained his Amateur Radio license in the mid-70s, and held previous call signs WD6AKS and KB6ZV.

He is a former Section Manager for the Santa Clara Valley Section, and a former Pacific Division Director. He has held the position of Second Vice President, First Vice President, and then was President of the League from 1995 to 2000. Stafford served as a Director of IARU Region 2 (1998-2001), and has attended numerous IARU regional conferences and IARU Administrative Council meetings.

His interests in Amateur Radio extend to HF operation and VHF/UHF operation.

Stafford serves the League as a volunteer. He is a Superior Court Judge in Santa Clara County, California, currently sitting on a trial assignment hearing Felony and Misdemeanor jury trials. He has been on the bench since December 1990. Stafford is a graduate of San Diego State University and University of Santa Clara School of Law.

In addition to Amateur Radio, Stafford enjoys photography and golf. His wife Pat is licensed as N1PAT.

- - - - - -
IARU Region 2 Conference Completes Its Work in Brasilia:

from The ARRL Letter, Vol 26, No 38

Website: http://www.arrl.org/ on September 21, 2007

Add a comment about this article!

IARU Region 2 Conference Completes Its Work in Brasilia:

Completing a week that included lengthy committee meetings and a half-day tour of Brazil's capital city, the delegates to the 16th IARU Region 2 General Assembly in Brasilia met in Plenary assembly on Friday, September 14 to complete their work. Members of the ARRL's delegation included President Joel Harrison, W5ZN; Vice President Kay Craigie, N3KN, and husband Carter, N3AO; CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ; Southeastern Division Director Frank Butler, W4RH; Chief Technology Officer Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, and Technical Relations Specialist Jon Siverling, WB3ERA.

Committee A, which deals with administrative matters, was chaired by Norma Leiva, HR2NL, of Honduras; the ARRL's Siverling served as secretary and interpreter. This committee presented the first report of the Conference and made a number of recommendations for Conference action, all of which were adopted. They include:

The establishment of a Region 2 Relief Fund with an initial transfer of $5000 from the general reserve of Region 2; additional contributions will be solicited. The Fund will be administered by the Executive Committee and will be available solely to assist Region 2 Member-Societies whose club stations and buildings, including antenna systems, are damaged by natural disaster.

The Executive Committee will develop a conference call process for Region 2 that includes objectives, action plans, due dates and score cards in order to improve communication among the Member-Societies and the Executive Committee

An offer by Radio Club Argentino to be responsible for the Spanish translation of the IARU Region 2 electronic bulletin was accepted.

Terms of reference for the Amateur Radio in Education Project that was adopted by the 15th General Assembly in 2004 were revised slightly to simplify the grant application process and encourage applications.

The Conference recognized Wolf Baron, TI2BY, of San Jose, Costa Rica, for his outstanding service to Amateur Radio by conducting on-the-air training on Sunday mornings for more than five years.

Several recommendations from the Region 2 Working Group on Emergency Communications were adopted. These include establishing an Emergency Communications Committee that will be responsible to the Executive Committee for carrying out planning, training and the maintenance of equipment and personnel inventories for emergency assistance deployment.

The Conference next received the report of Committee B/C, a combined technical and operational committee dealing with both HF and VHF/UHF matters. This committee was chaired by Ramon Santoyo, XE1KK, of Mexico City, Mexico; the ARRL's Rinaldo, served as secretary. The Plenary adopted all of the Committee's recommendations, including: A new Region 2 band plan for 160-10 meters was adopted, effective January 1, 2008. The new plan is modeled on one adopted previously by IARU Region 1, with regional differences taken into account; steps were taken to try to reduce interference to national emergency Nets, including establishing an inventory of such Nets and calling their importance to the attention of the radio amateur community; and an IARU Region 2 Diploma was approved, with some details remaining to be worked out by the Executive Committee.

The next report was from the Finance Committee, Committee D, chaired by Treasurer Noel Donawa, 9Y4NED, of Trinidad and Tobago. The Plenary accepted two recommendations from Committee D. The first is an effort to reach out to Member-Societies that have fallen behind in meeting their dues obligations to Region 2; they will be offered the opportunity to pay their back dues through 2006 at a 25 percent discount if they do so by January 15, 2008. The Plenary also directed the Executive Committee to study the existing dues structure, along with options and alternatives, and to report to the next General Assembly.

The Conference accepted the offer of the Club de Radio Aficionados de El Salvador (CRAS) to host the 17th General Assembly in 2010.

The Conference's last order of business was the election of officers and other Executive Committee members for the next three years. Rod Stafford, W6ROD, declined to stand for re-election as President but will remain a Director. Moving to the office of President is Secretary Reinaldo Leandro, YV5AMH, of Venezuela. Dario Jurado, HP1DJ, of Panama was re-elected Vice President, and Donawa was re-elected Treasurer and Director. Santoyo was newly elected as Secretary and joins the Executive Committee for the first time. The other Directors were re-elected: Daniel A. Lamoureux, VE2KA, of Canada; Pedro Rodriguez, CO2RP, of Cuba; Marco Tulio Gudiel, TG9AGD, of Guatemala; Gustavo de Faria Franco, PT2ADM, of Brazil, and Ron Szama, LU2AH, of Argentina. A provision of the Bylaws was amended to permit the Executive Committee to consist of 10 members rather than the customary nine.

The conferees expressed their deep appreciation to LABRE, host of the 16th General Assembly, for its outstanding hospitality. Forty delegates and observers representing 18 countries in the Americas -- 11 in person, seven via proxy -- attended the Conference.

Source:

The ARRL Letter Vol. 26, No. 38 September 21, 2000

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Please pass along.

[Tom WA3KLR]

Interesting.  I just looked the IARU page for Resolutions and Policies:

http://www.iaru.org/ac-respol.html

The IARU Resolutions – goes up to 2004 only.
 
Latest resolution on the Resolution page is:
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RESOLUTION 04-1
concerning the potential interference to radio services from BPL systems
 
The IARU Administrative Council, Port of Spain, October 2004
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Page last modified: 02:02 PM, 29 Dec 2005 ET
Page author: k1zz@arrl.org
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The Page author is k1zz, hasn't been updated in almost 2 years.

It sure is nice of them to not be current. 

I'm sure it's just an accident - Dave's a busy guy.

[KF1Z]

Funny they have an AM calling frequency listed of 7.275mhz....
At 2700hz BW?

Clearly these folks are ONLY favoring contesters an DXers.....

Really sad.....


And, if I'm thinking straight.....

Didn't most older (older than 5 years) radios come with 2.8khz SSB filters?


That mean those would be "unacceptable"?