| NARTE News Selected On-line Articles Volume 20 Number 1 Spring 2002 |
Mr. Kudo will be visiting NARTE headquarters at 2:00 p.m. (EST)Friday, May 3 for a routine progress review. This year ’s visit will set a new milestone in that Mr. Kudo will delay his departure specifically to sit in on the Board of Directors meeting. He plans to attend the social session on Friday evening and participate in the Board meeting on Saturday May 4, between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. Mr. R. Sasaki, technical support, and an interpreter, Ms. K. Nakashima, will accompany him.
Membership Survey Results
NARTE has begun distributing a series of surveys and questionnaires. These are included with renewal invoices, as well as
when individuals request information packages on-line. They are
also available at the NARTE web site.
For example, on February 19, we asked the question, "Why did you (or would you)join NARTE?" So far, the responses have indicated:
Personal achievement (52%)
To receive higher compensation (21%)
Required for employment (14%)
Networking with others in the profession (6%)
iNARTE’s employment services (4%)
To receive the NARTE News (3%)
iNARTE member benefits (0%)
In looking at the results, it is clear that NARTE needs to enhance member benefits to make membership more desirable. Some people join technical societies for access to their insurance and, by becoming members, get drawn in to participation in the group ’s technical activities. iNARTE is currently studying a benefit package that could do just that.
It also seems that if the most significant reason for joining is personal achievement, we need to enhance awareness of the personal effort expended in becoming certified. Just as the Marine Corps was recognized for wanting "only a few good men", we need to elevate the standing of those who were up to the challenge of NARTE credential certification.
The survey will continue indefinitely. We will analyze the results periodically to determine if and how new initiatives impact the survey results. If you are interested in participating, the survey is located on the www.narte.org homepage.
Review a Book And Keep It!!
NARTE has an agreement with ARRL for actions of mutual
benefit. ARRL publishes a large number of highly respected
professional references.ARRL is looking for NARTE members
interested in reviewing volumes in their inventory.
ARRL will make review copies available to select NARTE members who have an interest or expertise in the subject matter. Reviewers read the book, and if they think it would have value for NARTE members, they write a short review (perhaps 600-800 words)about the book and why it would be of interest. The reviewer gets to keep the book!The following titles are possible candidates:
ARRL Handbook: The Radio Amateur ’s Satellite Handbook
ARRL Antenna Book: Introduction to Radio Frequency Design
The ARRL RFI Book: Digital Signal Processing Technology
ARRL Handbook: Understanding Basic Electronics:The ARRL UHF/ Microwave Experimenter ’s Handbook
ARRL would be glad to consider other titles of interest. (Note that while ARRL resells a number of books from other publishers as well as their own, they are principally interested in reviews of books that ARRL publishes). Contact iNARTE Headquarters for more information.
Who Pays For Long Distance?
NARTE recently ran a web site mini-survey on the concept of Internet voice conversations that avoid paying for long distance
telephone calls. The question was, "Who should pay to maintain the long distance infrastructure?" The following options were
presented and the responses are as follows:
Government 25%
All users 35 %
Long distance users 20%
Internet Service providers 15 %
Do Not Change 5%
It seemed that not only did people respond, but about half had a strong opinion. Some of the responses received included:
"Don’t change it at all. It is working fine, don ’t try to fix what is not broken!"
"Telephone and the Internet have become part of the U.S. infrastructure and should be maintained and regulated by the governing authorities."
"You are asking the question wrong. "Long distance" will cease to exist as cable, ISDN, DSL, and satellite extend their reach to most homes and businesses. Phone charges in general result from the fact that phone conversations over legacy lines require dedicated connections. As packet switching takes over, distances will become meaningless. Charges will be made by the packet to the local company or a flat rate will be charged like Internet ISPs charge. Long distance companies will cease to exist. (If any government takes over, innovation will slow to a crawl)."
Congratulations to the March 2002 Heptode Award Receipients!
For years of outstanding participation in the FCC program: John Conforti