Red River Valley Amateur Radio Club

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Rick Leonhardt

Annual Armed Forces Day Cross-Band Exercise Set for May 14

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Annual Armed Forces Day Cross-Band Exercise Set for May 14

Posted date: May 12, 2022in: News

The US Department of Defense will host this year’s Armed Forces Day (AFD) Cross-Band Test on Saturday, May 14. While Armed Forces Day is May 21, the AFD cross-band military-amateur radio event traditionally takes place 1 week earlier to avoid any conflict with the Dayton Hamvention®. The event is open to all radio amateurs.

The AFD Cross-Band Test is two-way communications exercise between military and amateur radio stations, as authorized under FCC Part 97 rules (47 CFR § 97.111), and Department of Defense Instruction 4650.02 which establishes the Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS). During the exercise, radio amateurs listen for stations on military operating frequencies and transmit on frequencies in adjacent amateur bands.

ARRL  The National Association for Amateur Radio® has promoted the participation of military and amateur radio stations in the AFD event for more than 50 years. In the August 1950 issue of ARRL’s membership journal, QST, it was noted that “232 persons made perfect copy of the ‘Greeting to Amateurs’ broadcast at 25 w.p.m. over 13 military frequencies and have received a Certificate of Merit signed by the Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Louis Johnson.”

There are 24 military stations registered across the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, that will be participating in the 2022 event. Several of those stations will be using the 60-meter interoperative channels during this exercise. All operations will be on a not-to-interfere basis, in case there are real-world missions being supported during the event timeframe.

An AFD Secretary of Defense message will also be sent in CW and RTTY, and an AFD message will also be transmitted utilizing the Military Standard (MIL-STD) serial PSK waveform (M110), followed by MIL-STD Wide Shift FSK (850 Hz RTTY), as described in MIL-STD 188-110A/B.

A detailed list of modes and frequencies for military/government stations taking part in the Armed Forces Day Cross-Band Test and information on the AFD message is available at www.dodmars.org. In the upper right corner is a dropdown with all the information.

Complete the request form to obtain a QSL card at www.usarmymars.org/armed-forces-day-qsl-card-request.

 

 

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ARRL Grant Web Site (Re Posting to insure all members are aware)

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This is the post/email from Charles Penray.

Apparently there are two seperate grants available; the first one i looked at was only $1000

and not a good fit for our club (IMHO)

This one is $2500 to 25,000; there are links on the page for applications.

https://apply.mykaleidoscope.com/scholarships/arrlgrantapplication

News from ARRL for VEs

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Hi, I just rec’d this today so I thought I’d update the web site. Rick

FCC $35 Amateur Application Fee Effective Date will be April 19
Important Message from ARRL VEC

By Maria Somma, AB1FM, ARRL VEC Manager

 

The FCC released a Public Notice on March 23, 2022, stating that the amateur radio application fees, including those associated with Form 605 application filings, would become effective on April 19, 2022. The Federal Communications Commission’s authority to impose and collect fees is mandated by Congress.

 

The $35 application fee, when it becomes effective on April 19, will apply to new, renewal, and modification applications that request a new vanity call sign. The fee will be per application.

 

Administrative updates, such as a change of name, mailing or email address, and modification applications to upgrade an amateur radio licensee’s operator class*, will be exempt from fees. (*this new information was just confirmed by FCC staff on Tuesday, March 29.)

 

VECs and Volunteer Examiner (VE) teams will not have to collect the $35 fee at exam sessions.

Once the FCC application fee takes effect, new applicants will pay the $15 exam session fee to the ARRL VE team as usual and pay the $35 application fee directly to the FCC by using the CORES FRN Registration system. VEC and VE team licensing procedures will not change.

 

When the FCC receives the examination information from the VEC, it will email a link with payment instructions to each qualifying candidate. The candidate will have 10 calendar days, from the date of the application file number being issued, to pay. After the fee is paid, and the FCC has processed an application, examinees will receive a second email from the FCC with a link to their official license or, in very rare instances, an explanation for why the application was dismissed or denied. The link will be valid for 30 days.

 

Per usual procedures, examinees that pass multiple exams at one session, will have one application transmitted to the FCC reflecting the highest-level license class earned. Again, our procedures will not change. The new license candidates will have an extra step before the license is issued. VE teams can point candidates to our FCC Application Fee webpage. Our new ARRL VEC CSCEs also include information about the application fee and points candidates to the webpage. The FCC rule pertaining to CSCEs will not change. CSCE credit will continue to be valid for 365 days, starting from the date of issuance.

 

For VE teams holding exam sessions the weekend before April 19, the FCC advised that applications not received by the FCC before April 19 will be subjected to the fee. The ARRL VEC urges teams to upload sessions via our documents upload page to get your sessions to us as quickly as possible. Assuming the FCC electronic batch filing (EBF) system is functioning properly on Monday, April 18, the VEC staff will work to get these to the FCC before April 19. Email the VEC department at VEC@arrl.org for the upload instructions.

 

Additionally, the FCC stated that the fee for applications processed and dismissed will not be refundable. This includes vanity requests where the applicant does not receive the requested call sign. However, returned applications that are missing information will not require an additional fee, if the missing information is submitted to the FCC within the proper amount of time.

 

Youth Licensing Grant Program

Anticipating the implementation of the fee in 2022, the ARRL Board of Directors, approved the ARRL Youth Licensing Grant Program in July 2021. Under the program, ARRL will cover a one-time $35 application fee for license candidates younger than 18-years old for tests administered under the auspices of the ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (ARRL VEC). Qualified candidates also would pay a reduced exam session fee of $5 to the ARRL VEC. ARRL is finalizing details for administering the program.

 

Further news and instructions will follow as the FCC releases them. Details for the ARRL Youth Licensing Grant Program will be posted when available. For additional information, visit the resources below.

 

ARRL VEC Application Fees webpage:

arrl.org/fcc-application-fee

 

ARRL News Story: arrl.org/news/new-amateur-radio-license-applications-fee-to-become-effective-april-19-2022

 

FCC CORES Video Tutorials: fcc.gov/licensing-databases/fcc-registration-system-cores/commission-registration-system-video-tutorials

 

FCC Registration Help: apps.fcc.gov/cores/publicHome.do?help=true
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FCC License Fees Update

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Hi, I was a bit confused on this and today I got the needed clarification (see below)

New FCC Application Fee Will Not Apply To Amateur Radio License Upgrades

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FCC logoFrom ARRL News:
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) staff has clarified in response to an ARRL request that the new $35 application fee will not apply to most license modifications, including those to upgrade an Amateur Radio Licensee’s operator class and changes to club station trustees. The FCC staff explained that the new fees will apply only to applications for a new license, renewal, rule waiver, or a new vanity call sign. As previously announced, the new fees take effect on April 19, 2022.
“We are pleased that the FCC will not charge licensees the FCC application fee for license upgrade applications,” said ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM. “While applicants for a new license will need to pay the $35 FCC application fee, there will be no FCC charge for future upgrades and administrative updates such as a change of mailing or email address. Most current licensees therefore will not be charged the new FCC application fee until they renew their license or apply for a new vanity call sign.”
ARRL previously reported that the new $35 application fee for Amateur Radio licenses will become effective on April 19, 2022. Further information and instructions about the FCC Application Fee are available from the ARRL VEC.