AM and the League, lately.

[WA3VJB]

A curious couple of things to report about the group in Newington and at least two of their officials who have taken part in a friendly manner in AM-related activities.

The ham radio gathering at the recent National Associaton of Broadcasters convention in Los Vegas found the newly elected League President handing out issues of Electric Radio, sources who were there have told me.

And a publicity and promotions person is trying to put together a League sponsored AM operating event for December, with development and publishing plans underway as this is written.

Of course I'm skeptical. But I've always been open to supporting a clearly-stated, identifyable and specific overture to the AM community from the ARRL, instead of the generalized "we support all modes" line they've been feeding us.

So, let's see.

[K1JJ]

Good to hear.

I really think the guys in charge at the league think favorably of the tremendous trend in AM.  If you look at it from their point of view, what to they have to gain by fighting it? They would just as well align themselves with one of the last group of REAL hams. With the state of ham radio and the ARRL, adding a few thousand enthusiastic and ACTIVE hams to their camp is the least path of resistance.

I've had personal conversations with Ed Hare. He's always been in our camp. And I talked with Dave/K1ZZ on 6M. I thanked him for his support when the AM gang installed the vintage station. He seemed excited about it and was fully aware of the details.

This is not the 1990's anymore. Our AM group has become very vocal and powerful. Much has to do with the fine members of this site and the many good things that have been accomplished. The people in power realize who we are and what we represent. We have AM articles in QST, AM info on the ARRL website, a vintage station installed at W1AW (that I heard on the air two days ago) and an awareness at the league that we exist.  We have a wonderful and popular website!!! We have a big presence at hamfests with gatherings and special event stations. We have a man (AMer) in our corner at the FCC named Riley. That in itself is fantastic. Despite a bandwidth proposal and other threats to our existance, we are still here. We can get on the air and have fun just as any time in the last century.

All good things come in time. I say just keep doing what we are doing and over time this trend will continue. We will get everything we want. AM will remain strong as long as we do.

T


 

[Mike/W8BAC]

That is quite a statement JJ. One I couldn't add to if I wanted. Let's hope the league, and the fed,  think and react in kind. Well Done!

Mike

[W3SLK]

Please excuse me if I remain somewhat slightly skeptical. From my personal viewpoint, our little niche here, has been the only one I know of still promoting the radio 'art'. From restoration of classic rigs to embracing newer technology with efficient 'E-rigs'. The only exception is the advent of the SDR line  which seems to have taken some residency in the  AM mode also. With the amount of effort that Ed Hare put in with regards to BPL, I was almost driven to rejoin the (be)League(d). Then the shroud of back-door 'politic-ing' raised its ugly head and made me ask "What in the hell was I thinking?". There has to be a wholesale change in attitudes in how the ARRgghhL conducts business before they will get my complete 'buy-in'. Appeasing us by showing some support for our group is a good way to extend an olive branch. But there is a lot more ugliness that is still deeply seeded in Newington that has to be rooted out before they can claim they have changed their ways. Admitting their mistakes would be a giant step!

[WA3VJB]

No excuse needed Mikey, there is every reason in the world to question whether this is another crumb tossed our way, or part of a grander softening of the League's attitude of benign neglect toward AM.

Here's something to consider -- whenever anyone criticises the League, someone from the Newington Amen Chorus steps up to defend their group and point out some unrelated good deed it has accomplished.

For many of us here in the AM Community, every time someone says something construed as an olive branch, others attack it as a crazy move that sells out the cultivated opposition to Newington and all the damage they've done to us over the years.

At one end I actually resumed paying subscription money, and at the other end I cut off their funding from me because they had failed to deliver goods and services promised.

Occasionally I find myself in the middle of that range, like right now. But at all times they have to earn my support and not take it for granted.

[W1UJR]

There is goodness and justice in the world, and here is to the winds of change blowing tru' the ARRL.
Some fresh blood was needed, the fomer chiefs had labored too long.

I'm hoping that this is something to build on.
When you think about, the AM and QRP communities are the only segments of our hobby which are vital and still building.
AM is alive and kicking, and much is owed to Steve and Gary for their efforts in providing a forum for those who love this hobby.

We have seen a huge growth of AM activity here in Maine, just amazing.
SSB and plastic radios just don't appeal those with a creative and buzzardly bent.
Folks are restoring, homebrewing and operating gear in a mode that was otherwise thought dead just 5 or 10 years ago.

Thanks guys!

73 Bruce W1UJR

The Secret Buzzardly Radio Life of 1UJR

[K1JJ]

It's good we have guys in our group who are not pleased with the league. No kidding.

I've experienced a certain human pattern over and over. Whenever someone (or some company) thinks they have you in their pocket, they start to take liberties or ignore or even abuse you. Not everyone, but many. It is human nature to ignore the quiet, happy ones and then grease the squeaky wheels.  

If everyone here said they loved the league, then over the last decade I'll bet much less would have been accomplished. But because members of the AM community have voiced their displeasure, much has changed or has been adressed by the league.

But let's take it to the other extreme. Let's say that ALL of us had no use for the league and let it be known. After awhile they would simply write us off as a hopeless situation - and time to move on to other groups that have more potential. They would think of us as a bunch of complaining old ladies. We need a balance, which is what we have.

I know they are well aware that many here support them and many do not. We are a group that still has hope in their eyes, so hopefully they will continue to offer olive branches our way, as Mike says.

Personally, right now I'm on the fence too. I joined the ARRL again when the 1AW AM station was installed, but let it lapse when their bandwidth proposal came out. They can win my heart again if they try. I'm not a lost cause and will keep an open mind. It's a slow process, this progress thang.

Bottom line is, YES, it's good to have some in our group who P&M about the league. And it's good to have some who promote it. And it's good to have a majority on the fence that can be converted over through their future good will - at least as viewed through the league's eyes.

Remember that one of their current corporate goals is to go out and get new members. We fall right into their sights. It's a matter of letting them know what we need and want, and what we can do for THEM in return. It's a two way street.

73,
T
 

 

[W3SLK]

You know Tom, you point out one nugget that the (be)League(d) had discovered in order to entice the AM brotherhood/sisterhood by installing a vintage station. But its like the bit about 1000 Attaboys and 1 awshit. It this case its 1 Attaboy and a half a dozen awshits. The bandwidth proposal, the business with Carl as Atlantic director, the neglect of our group when talk started about subbands in 160m, (Paul, VJB volunteered to help out with) and other ARRgghhL activities. But they not only dis-associated us, but many loyal members who wouldn't have anything to do with AM. So I look at the organization as a whole and how it treats the membership body. I don't think we are the only ones that have issues with them.

[W1UJR]

As they like to say somewhat south of here, "Puede creerlo cuando los pollos mamen". Otherwise, let's wait and see if the people in Newington give us anything other than lip service. After tendering that obnoxious bandwidth proposal to the FCC, they'd better do something constructive!

If you're not part of the solution then......

If you're not part of the process Phil, then don't complain about the results.
It’s going to take active and vocal input from the AM community for this to develop properly.
If everyone takes a "wait and see" attitude then nothing will get done.

Over OM,
Bruce 1UJR

[W3SLK]

Bruce said:

If you're not part of the solution then ......

Sorry Bruce, I can't subscribe to that type of thinking in this case. One knows that if you hit your head against the wall, you're going to get a headache. The solution is to stop hitting your head against the wall. I can't see supporting the ARRgghhL until they, as my mother would say, "Straighten up and fly right!"

[WA3VJB]

doing everything in our power to undermine that vile organization.

The reason for such an effort is that it provides a way to pressure their group toward reform.

To that end, we both believe in an approach that dismantles what's left of the perception of Newington's traditional role in representing the hobby. In reality their standing drained away at least a decade ago. For the few loyalists who still need persuading, the League's people do quite well themselves helping us bring them down a few pegs.

A clear example is their counsel's disingenuous  Reply to the comments that ran  8/1 opposed in the RM-11306 proceeding.

The bystanders at the FCC who read your comments and those of others have no investment in the ARRL that we know of, and will take at face value any assertions made. That's why we, the general public, today enjoy equal standing in the agency's Electronic Comment Filing System.

This must frighten the bejeezus out of Rinaldo, Sumner, Imlay and the other leftovers who have been delusional as to their place with regulators. Evidence of that is their increasingly strong wording trying to keep the Emporer's clothing intact, including a name change to try to perpetuate an unfounded claim.

In a more recent regulatory Petition they filed with the FCC, they introduce themselves to the agency by asserting:

ARRL, the National Association for Amateur Radio, also known as The American Radio Relay League, Incorporated (ARRL), by counsel ...

Yet this preamble is easily shattered by federally filed magazine subscription numbers expressed as a percentage of the licensed active Amateur population.  Here's what I offered by way of contrast to their preamble. I believe it more closely reflects reality:

The Petitioner, a small non-profit publishing and magazine subscription group based in Newington, Connecticut...

Imlay, the lawyer hired by the League whose other clients include the Society of Broadcast Engineers, filed on May 18 a Reply Comment.

As with the Reply he was hired to utter in their flawed bandwidth proposal, Imlay again trivializes well-founded concerns filed in Opposition, fails to note that there were more Comments against than in favor, and ignores the fact the ARRL has not participated in the mode for which they have filed a Petition.

This will leave the FCC scratching their heads as to what planet this "League" is on, we can hope.

Source: ECFS, RM-11325, petition to relax power rules on "spread spectrum." activity.

[W3SLK]

Paul said:

This will leave the FCC scratching their heads as to what planet this "League" is on, we can hope.

Just kind of wondering if Riley (un-officially of course) has indicated that this is indeed the current thought at the FCC.

[WA3VJB]

Mikey,

Riley's comments at the Timonium (Md.) hamfest back in March were actually favorable to the "bandwidth petition," at least as far as anticipating that the FCC will eventually take action.

But remember, as an enforcer of Rules the agency comes up with, he's more like a police officer for what's on the books rather than being able to offer an opinion on the merit of the law during a traffic stop.

His job function and his public comments in that context actually helped Opposition comments against the League's bandwidth petition.  Riley had said that he had no interference complaints on the record against AM activity, which made unsupportable the League's proposed first-ever constraints on our specialty.  In other words, there is no situation in the Enforcement division to warrant such constraints.

So, in effect, he disagrees with the League's premise in seeking to impose such restrictions on us, and by extension, relegating AM as an exception in such a proposal, which in any case was widely opposed far beyond matters involving the mode of AM.

[W8EJO]

One would think that the league would be actively promoting AM via greater numbers of QST articles on AM operating (projects, gear, etc)

It could be an effective strategy in popularizing ham radio and increasing the number of licensed amateur radio operators.

There must be millions of  cheap (& not so cheap) shortwave radios across the USA, of which, I would estimate, only a small percentage can copy a SSB signal but all can copy an AM signal. If AM were in greater use, those radios would be monitoring ham QSO's & sparking interest in becoming a ham.

It worked with me back in 1958.

Terry
W8EJO

[WA3VJB]

Terry,

If you have some spare time, why not suggest this coverage to your volunteer ARRL leadership for your area, and tell them the reason why you feel it would be valuable, as you've done here.

You probably realize some of us have been beatin' our heads against the wall on your very point, but I personally would be interested in the response you get from them today.

The publisher and editor of the League's magazine, when AM-related stories are requested, invariably replies with an invitation for the person asking to write such an article.

The magazine has declined for many years to assign their paid staff to the development and crafting of such articles with a specific AM theme. The nearest they've gotten is the vague "old radio" column that John Dilks is contracted to pen. It seldom features the mode of AM as a clearly identified activity.

Paul

[k4kyv]

They would just as well align themselves with one of the last group of REAL hams. With the state of ham radio and the ARRL, adding a few thousand enthusiastic and ACTIVE hams to their camp is the least path of resistance.

I've had personal conversations with Ed Hare. He's always been in our camp. And I talked with Dave/K1ZZ on 6M. I thanked him for his support when the AM gang installed the vintage station. He seemed excited about it and was fully aware of the details.

This is not the 1990's anymore.

To their credit the League did take a stand against Johnny Johnston's AM power reduction.  And I recall a long constructive conversation on that subject with Dave Sumner at the Huntsville hamfest that year.

And, the AM community is indeed one of the last groups of REAL hams.  I work a little cw every now and again, and have noticed that VERY FEW cw ops use vintage equipment, or actually homebrew anything.  Most just operate the same little plastic radios that the SSB guys use, and most "conversations" consist of what appliance they are using, wx, and of course the routine "age hr is XX years.  Been ham since XXXX."  There are a few real hams still left on cw, but occasionally you run into one on SSB, too.

[W3SLK]

Don said:

And, the AM community is indeed one of the last groups of REAL hams.  I work a little cw every now and again, and have noticed that VERY FEW cw ops use vintage equipment, or actually homebrew anything.  Most just operate the same little plastic radios that the SSB guys use, and most "conversations" consist of what appliance they are using, wx, and of course the routine "age hr is XX years.  Been ham since XXXX."  There are a few real hams still left on cw, but occasionally you run into one on SSB, too.

I'm curious as to the ones that run CW actually copy with pen & paper and also send with an actual key. Most of the ones I've worked are using a keyboard.

[KB2WIG]

.....................".Copy with pen and paper."  who uses paper??, ... if you 'copy' in ur head, you dont need no stinkin pen and paper... (if u dont write it down, are you copying it???)     fb om cul  73    klc

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

I'm curious as to the ones that run CW actually copy with pen & paper and also send with an actual key. Most of the ones I've worked are using a keyboard.

I know of very few of the newer CW crowd who use a straight key or bug, muchless older CW-oriented gear. In fact, a good friend of mine who works a lot of CW said that many ops will ignore an op with a 'swing' (using a bug, for example) because there is no reason in today's world for anything but clean code, thanks to keyers. Sure, I guess if you like that sort of appliance approach, where the equipment has the fun for you.

Paul wrote something that reminded me of a potentially-damaging issue within AM:

"... relegating AM as an exception in such a proposal......."

To me, every time we refer to AM as a 'Legacy mode' or 'Heritage mode', or anything other than an ordinary, accepted, standard mode of operation, we are inviting trouble. If we don't want to be included as a special exception, we really shouldn't act or talk like we are. If anything, we are the best, most natural sounding voice mode available in amateur radio today. AM appeals to the average person the same whether it's coming out of an old cathedral radio or a Super Pro with push-pull audio output. And even though I prefer tube gear myself, it's comforting to know that the Class E guys are taking excellent AM audio into the future with state-of-the-art design and technology. It certainly shoots holes in the 'buncha old fart screwballs with old gear' or 'not keeping current/not state-of-the-art' arguments.

We do have a deep responsibility to preserve and present our history, but it should be another piece of the AM community, not the only reason for our existance. We don't need to paint ourselves into a corner when folks in Newington and elsewhere already have Wagner power sprayers attached to 50 gallons drums of black lacquer set up for the job. It's a buzzardly, old color, but it shouldn't define our future.