What's New At The
TARA BOOKSTORE

If you're worried about how to comply with the FCC's new RF exposure requirements, then you'll want a copy of the new ARRL book RF Exposure and You by ARRL Lab Supervisor Ed Hare, W1RFI. RF Exposure and You became available just this week.

As ARRL Executive Vice President Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, put it: "The new RF exposure rules are now a part of the regulatory landscape and are likely to remain so. RF Exposure and You is the best way available to ease the transition," Sumner said.

This book communicates one simple message: For the vast majority of Amateur Radio operators, the RF exposure rules are not difficult to understand and follow. At 320 pages, RF Exposure and You contains all the background information, suggestions and worksheets you'll need to help you comply with the new RF exposure rules and to operate your station legally and safely.

Hare said that preparing the book was "a real challenge and a real collective effort." The result is a book that's probably the first of its kind. "I have never seen this information pulled together in one place before," he said. ARRL Headquarters staff and volunteers (including the ARRL RF Safety Committee) participated fully with the FCC as the Commission determined the best advice to give amateurs on how to meet the new requirements. The League was able to persuade the FCC to reconsider its rules, and to rewrite them so that amateurs would be less affected. Hare says it took a lot of teamwork between Headquarters staff and outside volunteers to have the book printed and available in just three months.

A. J. Kruger, K7CMM, of Arizona, placed the first advance order for RF Exposure and You early this year. This week, Hare personally autographed the first copy out of the box--indicating it was the first copy purchased from ARRL Headquarters. The order went out this week. RF Exposure and You is $15 (plus shipping and handling).

New Satellite Handbook available: The ARRL's new Radio Amateur's Satellite Handbook by Martin Davidoff, K2UBC is off the press. This brand-new edition contains valuable information on satellite operating, types of antennas (including how-to articles on building your own), software, satellite Internet sites, profiles of all the current active satellites and much more. This new edition includes 376 pages of information, such as getting ready for the new Phase 3D satellite and information about Amateur Radio operation from the US space shuttles (SAREX) and the Russian Mir space station. It contains thorough appendices covering profiles of computer programs, Internet sites, FCC Rules, and a complete history of amateur satellite and space operations.

The new Radio Amateur's Satellite Handbook is available from ARRL Publications. Order Item #6583. It's $22 (plus shipping and handling). To order these new publications or any of the many fine ARRL publication call TARA's Bookstore at 518-273-9248.

Special Note: Within the next few months we hope to have the complete TARA BOOKSTORE available on TARA's Web site for your added convenience. We'll let you know just as soon as it happens!

N2TY BBS/NODE
Experiences Problems

Sometime during the early morning hours of February 27, TARA's BBS (N2TY) suffered a major radio failure, leaving VHF users without access to the BBS from our TARA7 node. Upon close inspection it was determined that the final amplifier bit the dust in our UHF radio used for linking the BBS to our node site in North Greenbush.

As of March 8 this radio is being repaired by Robert Isby, N2LUD, and will be returned to service as soon as possible. All of the expenses for repairing this radio are being picked up by Jim McKnight, WA2UMH, in return for services that TARA performed earlier in the year.

In addition we're shooting for sometime in early April to have our node (TARA7 - 144.91 MHz) site in North Greenbush up and running with a full node stack. What does this mean for our users? It means that users of TARA7 will be able to see a full list of other node sites right from our node. No longer will you have to use the BBS "Gateway" to get out to other node sites throughout the Northeast.

We'd like to thank Jim, WA2UMH, and our close friends from Saratoga County RACES for their continued assistance with our packet system. This is just another example of how clubs can and should support one another's projects whenever possible.

Editor's Note: Please take a few minutes of your time to try out TARA's BBS/NODE system on 144.910 MHz. A lot of hours has gone into this very complex system and we're all quite proud of this system. Keep in mind that sometime over the next 2 months that you will see a few call sign changes on this system. Most notably you'll see TARA7 be renamed to TROY. We'll keep you posted as these changes occur.