SBARC-list December 2017

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9 participants
18 discussions

Facts regarding ARRL situation
by Jay Hennigan 06 Jan '18

06 Jan '18

On 12/22/17 10:03 PM, Walt Harasty wrote: > Jay: > > As a former corporate attorney, and an Adjunct Professor of Corporation > Law, who has formed over 30 non-profit corporations I have no clear > understanding of this matter because of the lack of FACTS. > > I suggest a special meeting of SBARC be called ASAP where the FACTS > should be presented, and based on such FACTS, a determination of what > action, if any, SBARC should take. The underlying problem is that ARRL is deliberately suppressing the ability of ARRL members to know any facts and prohibiting their elected representatives from discussing the facts with the membership. FACT: At the January ARRL board meeting, the board adopted a "Code of Conduct" for Directors and Vice-Directors. This code prohibits Directors and Vice-Directors from disclosing how the Board members voted on an issue, including their own vote. See 6c of linked document. Furthermore, a board member is required to publicly support board decisions even if that member or his constituents are opposed. See section 8 and 8b of linked document. This means that Dick Norton is now required to publicly support his own censure by the ARRL Board. It also prevents the membership from making informed decisions regarding re-election of sitting board members. We can't see how they voted on issues. Because the no-public-criticism code is a Board action, it prevents public criticism of the no-public-criticism code. Link: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/ODV/ARRL%20Code%20of%20Conduct.pdf FACT: Dick Norton voted against adopting this code of conduct. See page 6 of link below. Link: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/About%20ARRL/Board%20Meetings/2017/January20… FACT: At the Visalia DX Conclave, Dick Norton spoke at the ARRL Forum. He stated that he fully supported the Board's decision (as he is now required to do) and mentioned (correctly) that the new code would impact his interaction with the membership. Several members of the audience expressed opposition to the new code. Link: https://sites.google.com/site/hamsforabetterarrl/ FACT: On November 14, the ARRL board voted to censure Dick Norton for violating the code of conduct, apparently because he mentioned the code of conduct. Four ARRL members wrote to ARRL in support of Dick Norton. The ARRL article does not mention that any ARRL members wrote in opposition to Dick. Link: http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-board-of-directors-publicly-censures-southwes… FACT: A well-respected SBARC member wrote to ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher for an explanation of the Dick Norton situation. The request was at first ignored and when repeated was met with a stonewall response and he was essentially told to go away. (Private email correspondence with me, details provided if permitted by author.) FACT: Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco N2YBB has introduced a motion to modify ARRL bylaws to dilute the elected representation of ARRL members by adding the President and three Vice-Presidents who are not elected by the membership as voting members. Link: http://www.kkn.net/~n6tv/N2YBB_Motions_To_Change_ARRL_ByLaws.pdf FACT: Sitting Director Doug Rehman K4AC was prevented from running for re-election to ARRL Southeastern Director in 2016 after the ballots had been mailed despite his being previously ruled eligible. K4AC has been a supporter of more transparency in ARRL actions. His opponent was declared elected without a vote. Link: https://arrlse.org/ > I recommend that Dick Norton be present at that meeting. If he were to attend, he's stuck in the catch-22. He is required to publicly support all Board actions, including his own censure. > If a meeting is called, I recommend that the Bylaws of ARRL and any > proposed amendments be made available to the attendees. Bylaws: http://www.arrl.org/arrl-by-laws Proposed amendment: http://www.kkn.net/~n6tv/N2YBB_Motions_To_Change_ARRL_ByLaws.pdf -- Jay Hennigan - CCIE #7880 - Network Engineering - jay(a)impulse.net Impulse Internet Service - http://www.impulse.net/ Your local telephone and internet company - 805 884-6323 - WB6RDV

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What can be done to correct the ARRL edict?
by K6QD 25 Dec '17

25 Dec '17

What can we as HAMs, not just those who are members of ARRL or SBARC, do to correct/reject the new ARRL Board changes in policy. As can be observed, the ARRL Board has become quite political, contrary to one of the basic guidelines of what Amateur Radio is about. The direction of the ARRL leadership is not only sad but sick!

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Fwd: Major Change to ARRL By Laws proposed by HudsonDiv. Director N2YBB
by Jay Hennigan 23 Dec '17

23 Dec '17

Forwarded from ARRL section mailing list. TL;DR: The same group of ARRL directors that invoked the present secrecy rules and censured Dick Norton for bringing them to light is now proposing to further reduce membership representation by changing the ARRL Bylaws to dilute the voting power of Directors. K6IYK writes: I have shared with many of you my thoughts on how the ARRL Board of Directors is no longer representative of the membership. Identification of this issue is just one of the background reasons the ruling class of the Board censured Director Norton last month. Members in several Divisions of the League, including the Southwestern Division, have not had equal representation in many years. Based upon the information included in the last email in this message, the ruling class intends to now lock in their authority and leave the membership with little control of what was supposed to be a membership organization. You message to Director Norton [ N6AA(a)ARRL.org ] letting him know your opinion is important, but this is not a regional issue and the only way to resolve the issue is if national attention is brought to bear. Be sure to share your opinions with Amateurs in other Divisions when you are on the air and posting to Amateur forums. As noted below, this is an awkward time to be sharing such significant news, but along with our message I want to wish everyone Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and may all have a Happy New Year. - JimF K6IYK [Being written as a concerned ARRL member and not in any official capacity.] -------- Forwarded Message -------- > Subject: Major Change to ARRL By Laws proposed by HudsonDiv. Director N2YBB > Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2017 15:36:33 -0500 > From: EC Luzerne County ARES <ec(a)w3luz.org> > > > Disclaimer - I have cleaned up this message by removing the Yahoo Advertising and some of the extraneous email headers. The remainder of the content is how I received it. > > I would really rather be wishing you Glad Tidings of Joy but this arrived in my inbox from the Traffic Handlers forum. Seems to me that it is time we start letting our Directors know how they should vote. If the members want it then Fiduciary Responsibility be damned. Last time I checked the ARRL was an organization for its members and not for financial profit. > > Summary - below is a notification that came from the Traffic Handlers forum. It is about a proposed change to the ARRL Articles of Association and Bylaws. As stated by Mr. Lisenco in his comments it is to give voting privileges to ARRL President and Vice Presidents. Note that the ARRL President and Vice Presidents are not elected by the members. They are Directors who are elected to their offices by the Board of Directors. Currently, the President, and 3 Vice-Presidents do NOT have voting privileges. Mr. Lisenco, in his motions, desires to give "Directorships" to the holders of these positions. > > As detailed below this unbalances the representation of the ARRL Board of Directors among the Divisions. > > In my opinion - the motions by Mr. Lisenco are nothing more than an effort to move the control of the ARRL away from the members and more into the hands of those who have too much control already. I urge you to contact your Division Director, indicate that you want him as your elected representative to vote no on these motions and that you want a recorded vote on the motions so that you know how your Director voted. > > And personally, I think that Mr. Lisenco's doing this in the December time frame when we are all focused on the Holiday smacks of the political maneuvering that we abhor in Washington. It is about time he stops writing these motions that will do nothing more than power consolidation and start writing a motion to rescind the Board's Standards of Governance and have a version written that will respect the members. > > And one more 'and'. We got this way because of the apathy of the membership about what goes on in Newington. Either we change now or forget the ARRL ever being a membership organization again. > > And a very Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Seasons Greetings, and a Happy Holidays to all of you. > > > 73, > WT Jones > WN3LIF > ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency ServiceÂ® > Section Emergency Coordinator - Eastern PA ARRL Section > District Emergency Coordinator - EPA District 3 > Emergency Coordinator - Luzerne County, Pennsylvania > http://www.w3luz.org > business card > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Bob Wilson, N6TV via Chat <chat(a)ncdxc.org> > Date: Thu, Dec 21, 2017 at 9:17 PM > Subject: [NCDXC Chat] Major Change to ARRL By Laws proposed by Hudson Div. Director N2YBB > To: NCCC Reflector <nccc(a)contesting.com>, NCCC BoD Plus <nccc-bod-plus(a)nccc.cc>, MLDXCC Reflector <mldxcc(a)contesting.com>, NCDXC Reflector <chat(a)ncdxc.org>, Jim Tiemstra <k6jat(a)arrl.net> > > "ARRL is a representative democracy — its members control its pollicies through the power of the ballot." > > Source: http://www.arrl.org/organization-structure > > This could change quickly. > > ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, the same Director who negotiated the flawed Amateur Radio Parity Act, is now proposing a major change to the longstanding voting rules of the ARRL Board of Directors. Instead of 15 Directors having sole voting privileges, one per ARRL Division, he is proposing to give additional voting privileges to the ARRL President (K5UR) and the three (3) ARRL Vice Presidents (K0GW, N5ZGT, K0QB), none of whom are elected directly by the membership. Effectively, the Dakota Division (ND, SD, and MN) would get 15.8% of the voting power (3 out of 19 votes) even though they represent less than 3% of the ARRL membership. It also means that even if all five Directors up for election this summer are replaced, instead of a potential 8 to 7 majority in favor of more BoD openness, they would now represent an 8 to 11 minority. > > To review, these five directors (including N2YBB) all supported the revised Amateur Radio Parity Act, they all voted in favor of the flawed Code of Conduct, and they all voted in favor of the censuring of N6AA. > > I've published N2YBB's proposed changes to the ARRL By-Laws as a single PDF file here: > > https://bit.ly/N2YBBmotions > > I hereby urge our Director, W6RGG, and all ARRL Directors, to vote AGAINST this proposal. It's an obvious move to put more power into the hands of those who already have it, instead of into the hands the ARRL membership where it belongs. > > Feel free to forward these messages > > 73, > > Bob, N6TV > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > > Here are some proposed changes to the ARRL Articles of Association and By-Laws that have been submitted by the Hudson Division Director. Note that he has given permission to talk to anyone about it as shown in the note now at the top. > > ---------------------------------------------------Â > > From:Â Mike Lisenco <n2ybb(a)arrl.org>As far as I know you can talk about it to anyone. Also, why would you think the cover text is confidential. I also have no problem attaching my name especially since I wrote the damn thing. > > Mike > > ----------------------------------------------------- > > The Secretary has received the attached seven changes to the Articles of Association and By-Laws than Director Lisenco will be making at the January board meeting.Â They have been received and circulated more than 30-days before the January 19th meeting. > > Mike has asked that we include his brief statement (below) as part of this notification. > > I am introducing a number of amendments to the Articles of Association and the By-Laws that are designed to grant voting privileges to the President and the three Vice-Presidents.Â They would have voting equality with the Directors on all matters with one notable exception.Â They would not be able to vote in elections for the officer positions. > > I believe that this is long overdue.Â We look to elect from the Board those who we feel would be the best leaders of the Board, yet we take their vote away as the price of admission.Â That diminishes their authority and their ability to lead.Â It also makes the potential officer talent pool smaller as, perhaps, the best person for the job wonâ€™t run for an officer position because they lose their vote. > > It doesnâ€™t make sense to me to continue this practice.Â Letâ€™s get away from the â€œthatâ€™s how we always have done itâ€ mentality. > > It make sense that we allow the officers the right to vote.Â Yes, it does change the political landscape but I think itâ€™s for the better and it will make the Board stronger. > > Iâ€™d be interested in what you think on the matter.Â We have over a month to come to a consensus. > > Thank you. > > 73 de Mike N2YBB

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Thomas Fire Updates from @K6TZ on Twitter
by Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM 18 Dec '17

18 Dec '17

If you aren’t already, you might consider following SBARC on Twitter. I have been trying to keep the Club Twitter feed updated with current information on the Thomas Fire from official sources as well as local reports as they are available. You don’t need a Twitter account to read the updates. You will find them embedded on the front page of sbarc.org or directly on twitter.com/k6tz LCM Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM www.levi.maaia.com +1.805.604.5384

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Updated Thomas Fire Frequencies
by Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM 18 Dec '17

18 Dec '17

For those interested, there is a new frequency plan for Thomas Fire firefighting operations. See attached. Thanks to Ben, AI6YR for this information. From Ben: The first page is for AIR OPERATIONS, which is now split between Ventura and Santa Barbara. Air Attack operations ordering is now on 154.415 Air/Gound is 154.405 – this is the comms between ground units and ai. Page 2 is the *VENTURA* zone only – does not include SB. Page 3 is the *SANTA BARBARA* zone. Command is on 167.100, 169.5375, 170.6875, 163.1500, and 167.1500 – all linked repeaters Tactical channels (need to look at division map, but each one is in a different part of SB/Montecito/Carp) below. You can hear the firefighters talking to one another on very specific streets and what piece of the fire they are working on. Air to Ground is 159.4050 and 159.225 – air support (will hear, for example “please air drop on XYZ street”) LCM Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM www.levi.maaia.com +1.805.604.5384

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Monday Thomas Fire Update: SBARC Repeaters Under Normal Operations
by Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM 18 Dec '17

18 Dec '17

Information current as of 18 December @ 08:33 AM PST: The wind has died down but the threat from The Thomas Fire to the populated areas of Montecito and Santa Barbara remains as another strong wind event is predicted for midweek. See the evacuation map below for more details. At the present time, the linked SBARC repeaters are under “Normal Operation” as indicated by the single courtesy tone. However, given the heightened alertness of the situation, please keep in mind that stations may be making calls with important traffic from difficult areas and only have a brief period of time where they can reach the repeater. Please allow for plenty of breaks in transmissions for emergency traffic. The following repeaters are linked: K6TZ 2m 146.79- PL 131.8 K6TZ 6m 51.820- PL 82.5 K6TZ 1.25m 224.08- PL 131.8 EchoLink (4376/K6TZ-R) and AllStar Link (43763) nodes are connected to the linked repeaters in listen-only mode. Note that AllStar Link and EchoLink connections to the linked repeaters have been disabled. We encourage listeners outside of radio coverage to stream the repeater audio online. This is the perfect time to practice our emergency communications skills. It is also the perfect time to practice courtesy and civility on the air. Please treat your fellow hams with patience and respect. LCM Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM Director at Large | Co-Chair, Telecommunications Services Committee Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club, Inc. www.levi.maaia.com +1.805.604.5384

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SBARC Christmas Party Cancelled
by Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM 16 Dec '17

16 Dec '17

The annual SBARC/WB6OBB Christmas Party originally scheduled for Sunday December 17, 2017, has been cancelled. LCM Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM Director at Large | Co-Chair, Telecommunications Services Committee Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club, Inc. www.levi.maaia.com +1.805.604.5384

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SBARC Fire Update - Dec. 16
by Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM 16 Dec '17

16 Dec '17

*** THOMAS FIRE UPDATE *** In light of this morning’s developments regarding the Thomas Fire in Santa Barbara, local radio amateurs are are conducting an intensive net on the K6TZ repeaters to collect and disseminate fire information including information about aerial firefighting operations, weather conditions, evacuation orders and traffic and road conditions. Anyone may listen to the K6TZ repeaters over the air or to the streaming audio online (when internet is available). All licensed radio amateurs are encouraged to check in and report relevant information, inquire about current conditions, and of course ask for radio checks as necessary. Please adhere to the following operating procedures: Listen for 30 seconds or so and yield to other priority traffic in progress Announce your call sign and ask if there is any pending traffic before proceeding Please keep your traffic brief and go to another repeater if you can. Here are some alternatives: WB6OBB Repeater: 147.000 PL 131.8 plus KD6OVS Repeater: 147.700 PL 131.8 minus K6TZ and PAPA DMR Repeaters At the present time, the following SBARC repeaters are linked K6TZ 146.79 K6TZ 70cm 446.400 K6TZ 6m 51.820 PL 82.5 K6TZ 1.25m 224.08 may be linked when required All repeaters are standard offset and PL 131.8 (except where noted) Visit www.sbarc.org for more information including scanner frequencies, ICS radio comm plans, aerial firefighting support tracking live map, and links to official updates and evacuation maps. LCM Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM Director at Large | Co-Chair, Telecommunications Services Committee Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club, Inc. www.levi.maaia.com +1.805.604.5384

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Radio help for local firefighting crew
by Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM 16 Dec '17

16 Dec '17

SBARC Members, We received a call Friday on the club’s voicemail from William. He is in town as part of the firefighting effort. He contacted us because he is having a couple issues with his VHF fire radios and was hoping we might be able to help him. I offered to put out a call to SBARC membership via email to see if anyone would be able to help him and his crew to get two of their radios working again. Issue #1: His Bendix King Digital P25 KNG-P150S VHF HT stopped working suddenly. Changing battery packs does not bring it back. Issue #2: His mobile VHF NMO antenna disappeared and he is looking to source one locally. This is for public safety/commerical 148-174 MHz not amateur bands so an NMO antenna tuned for that upper range would be ideal but a 2m NMO ham antenna would probably work in a pinch. I recommended to William that he come down to the Club Station on Saturday, so I expect he will be there sometime between 9-10am. But if you might be able to help, email me back and let me know. See photos attached for context. LCM Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM Director at Large | Co-Chair, Telecommunications Services Committee Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club, Inc. www.levi.maaia.com +1.805.604.5384

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SBARC Fire Resources
by Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM 15 Dec '17

15 Dec '17

I have posted resources for keeping updated on firefighting efforts during the Thomas Fire including a link to live tracking of many firefighting aircraft provided by the K6TZ ADS-B monitoring sites as well as streaming audio from the K6TZ repeaters. You will find these links along with updated information from the Club on the front page of www.sbarc.org. LCM Levi C. Maaia, K6LCM www.levi.maaia.com +1.805.604.5384

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SBARC-list December 2017