American Radio Relay League
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The American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national association for Amateur Radio, was founded in May, 1914 by Hiram Percy Maxim.
The ARRL serves as the primary representative of Amateur Radio operators (hams) to the US government. It performs this function by lobbying the US Congress and Federal Communications Commission or FCC.
ARRL is run by an elected board of directors who are responsible for setting League Policy. Each director serves a 3-year term and represents the members within their particular region of the US. There is also a field organization of volunteers which are supported by professional league staff.
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League Field Organization
The Field Organization of the ARRL is organized into 71 "sections" with each section having a "Section Manager." The Section Manager is elected by the members living within his section for a two year term. The Section Manager has several different volunteers which serve as his local cabinet. The Section Emergency Coordinator, Official Observer Coordinator, Technical Coordinator, Section Traffic Manager are some of these cabinet members.
The Section Emergency Coordinator is responsible for the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, or ARES operation within the section. This is the largest single part of the field organization consisting of any volunteer who wishes to help with emergency and Public Service communications. (Participation is not restricted to league members.)
The Technical Coordinator is responsible for assisting local amateurs with technical problems.
The Official Observer Coordinator runs the Amateur Auxiliary program within a section.
The Section Traffic Manager organizes the National Traffic System operations within the section.
League Services
The ARRL provides several services to its members including the publishing of QST, the official journal of the ARRL, incoming and out-going QSL bureaus, publishing of technical and training books, sponsoring various contests, and support of the field organization. Other league publications include QEX and NCJ magazines, as well as various technical books and online courses. Members also have access to a special Members Only section of the ARRL website that includes technical documents, expanded contesting information, and a searchable database of all league publications.
In addition the ARRL operates station W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, as a living memorial to the "Father of Organized Amateur Radio". W1AW is located at the ARRL headquarters in Newington, Connecticut. Licensed Amateurs are welcome to operate the station while visiting ARRL HQ. Among its many services, W1AW transmits Morse code for those wishing to learn.
The ARRL/VEC (Volunteer Examination Coordinator) sponsors Amateur Radio licensing exams for the three classes of Amateur Operators. License classes and examinations are held in various locations throughout the year.
The ARRL's symbol consists of a vertical parallelogram with the initials ARRL arranged in a clockwise fashion around the symbols for antenna, inductor (coil) and ground to earth, the schematic diagram of the fundamental radio circuit.
Sponsored Contests
The ARRL sponsors a multiplicity of amateur radio contests through-out the year with the biggest of these being Field Day. Other contests include Straight Key Night, VHF Sweepstakes, International DX Contest, UHF Contest, and 10 GHz and Up Contest.
Recently, the ARRL has opposed BPL, or Broadband over Power Lines, making the case that the power lines will radiate interfering radio energy, impeding Amateur Radio activities. The League has filed several interference reports with the FCC.
In 2005, the ARRL provided key communications assistance to officials coordinating Hurricane Katrina disaster relief.