If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2010-07-22 July 22, 2010 Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA ARRL Home PageARRL Letter ArchiveAudio News + Public Service : FCC Modifies Rules to Allow Limited Employee Participation in Disaster and Emergency Drills + ARRL Board of Directors Holds Second 2010 Meeting ARRL CEO Presented with "BPL Spoils" Award + FCC : Vanity Call Sign Fees to Decrease August 17 + Spotlight on Scouting : Connect with the National Scout Jamboree via Amateur Radio + Solar Update This Week on the Radio + Available on ARRL Audio News + Public Service: FCC Modifies Rules to Allow Limited Employee Participation in Disaster and Emergency Drills In a Report and Order (R&O) released Wednesday, July 14, the FCC amended Part 97.113 to allow amateurs to participate without an FCC waiver in government-sponsored disaster preparedness drills on behalf of their employers participating in the exercise. The FCC also has amended the rules to allow employees to participate in non-government drills and exercises up to one hour per week and up to two 72 hour periods during the year. The effective date of the R&O is to be determined and will be 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register. Read more here. + ARRL Board of Directors Holds Second 2010 Meeting Kay Craigie, N3KN, calls her first Board meeting to order as ARRL President last week in Windsor, Connecticut. [Steve Ford, WB8IMY, Photo] The ARRL Board of Directors held its Second Meeting of 2010 July 16-17 in Windsor, Connecticut, under the chairmanship of President Kay Craigie, N3KN. The Board considered and acted on a number of organizational, regulatory and operating issues, including the following: Approved a campaign to celebrate the 75th anniversary of ARES® that is designed to promote and increase awareness of this valuable program; allowed candidates for Division Director and Division Vice Director to submit petitions via e-mail or facsimile; clarified the VHF rules to allow monochromatic sources (such as laser or LED) to count for contest credit, as long as the laser power is less than 5 mW; voted in favor of allowing the Montenegrin Amateur Radio Pool (MARP) to join the IARU as that country's Member-Society, and acknowledged those ARRL staff members who also serve as Volunteer Examiners. The Board also received reports from committees and individuals on a wide range of subjects, and conferred several awards on deserving nominees. A more in-depth report on the Board's actions, including the official Meeting Minutes, will be posted in the coming days. ARRL CEO Presented with "BPL Spoils" Award ARRL Chief Executive Officer Dave Sumner, K1ZZ (left), receives the AMRAD "BPL Spoils" award from ARRL Chief Technology Officer Brennan Price, N4QX, at the July 2010 ARRL Board meeting. [Steve Ford, WB8IMY, Photo] During the Friday morning portion of the July 2010 ARRL Board meeting, ARRL Chief Executive Officer Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, received a surprise plaque from the Amateur Radio Research and Development Corporation (AMRAD). Titled "BPL Spoils," the plaque featured a discarded BPL modem that was rescued from surplus equipment belonging to a manufacturer that had decided to exit the BPL business. ARRL Chief Technology Officer Brennan Price, N4QX, presented the plaque to Sumner in recognition of his and the ARRL staff's tireless work against radio interference generated by BPL systems. + FCC: Vanity Call Sign Fees to Decrease August 17 On July 19, the FCC announced via the Federal Register that the cost of a 10 year Amateur Radio vanity call sign will decrease 10 cents, from $13.40 to $13.30. The new fees take effect 30 days after publication, making August 17, 2010, the first day the new fee is in effect. In FY2010, the FCC anticipates granting 14,800 vanity call signs, bringing in $196,840 from the vanity call sign program. Earlier this year, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making and Order (NPRM), seeking to lower the fee for Amateur Radio vanity call signs. The notice in the July 19, 2010 edition of the Federal Register -- entitled "Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2010; Final Rule" -- includes all FCC regulatory fees; these fees are expected to recover a total of $336,712,213 during FY2010, encompassing all the Services the FCC regulates. The FCC is authorized by the Communications Act of 1934, As Amended, to collect vanity call sign fees to recover the costs associated with that program. The vanity call sign regulatory fee is payable not only when applying for a new vanity call sign, but also upon renewing a vanity call sign for a new 10 year term. + Spotlight on Scouting: Connect with the National Scout Jamboree via Amateur Radio The National Scout Jamboree takes place July 26-August 4 at Fort AP Hill, Caroline County, Virginia. A myriad of exhibits and activities await the close to 40,000 Scouts, leaders and staff. Coming from all 50 states -- and even territories and foreign countries -- they will have the opportunity to live, work and play together in an atmosphere of Scouting fellowship. And just like the National Scout Jamborees in 1973, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2001 and 2005, the 2010 event will feature Amateur Radio. An eagle-eye view of the K2BSA site and antennas. Click here for a larger image. [Map courtesy of Bob Bruninga, WB4APR] A team of 17 Scouters and two Scouts will activate K2BSA as a demonstration station at the Jamboree. According to K2BSA Staff Member Larry Wolfgang, WR1B, they will be demonstrating various operating modes to the visiting Scouts, with activity primarily on HF, around the published Scout frequencies. Wolfgang is the ARRL Liaison to the National Scout Jamboree. Another group of 17 Scouters and one Scout will assist other Scouts in earning the Radio merit badge, while seven Scouters will be offering classes and will help administer Amateur Radio licensing exams. Read more here. 2010 Marks Ninth Year for ARRL Participation in Combined Federal Campaign For the ninth year running, the US Office of Personnel Management has designated the ARRL to participate in the 2010 Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). In the past, this campaign for federal government civilian employees, US Postal Service workers and members of the military has generated almost $140,000 for ARRL programs since it first became an option for giving by federal employees to the League. The CFC provides an easy way to support ARRL's effort to represent its members and all radio amateurs. Read more here. + QuickStats to Debut on Web and QST Member polls have returned to the ARRL Web, but with a twist. Rather than a single weekly poll, the new QuickStats page at http://www.arrl.org/quickstats offers several polls at once with new questions every 30 days. The results will be published in QST beginning with the October issue. Start by visiting the QuickStats page now. Be sure to bookmark it in your browser! Watch for poll results in the special QST QuickStats page in the rear advertising section of the magazine. Along with monthly poll results, QST QuickStats offers colorful charts and graphs that highlight interesting Amateur Radio statistics. + Solar Update The Sun, as seen on Thursday, July 22, 2010 from NASA's SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This MDI (Michelson Doppler Imager) image was taken in the continuum near the Ni I 6768 Angstrom line. The most prominent features are the sunspots. This is very much how the Sun looks in the visible range of the spectrum. Tad "The moon gazed on my midnight labours, while, with unrelaxed and breathless eagerness, I pursued nature to her hiding-places" Cook, K7RA, reports: Increasing sunspot activity has dominated the past few days. Sunspot group 1087 has been visible for 13 days, but the size has gradually decreased. Over the past seven days, in millionths of a solar hemisphere, it was 60, 50, 20,
If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2010-07-22
July 22, 2010
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home PageARRL Letter ArchiveAudio News
+ Available on ARRL Audio News
+ Public Service: FCC Modifies Rules to Allow Limited Employee Participation in Disaster and Emergency Drills
In a Report and Order (R&O) released Wednesday, July 14, the FCC amended Part 97.113 to allow amateurs to participate without an FCC waiver in government-sponsored disaster preparedness drills on behalf of their employers participating in the exercise. The FCC also has amended the rules to allow employees to participate in non-government drills and exercises up to one hour per week and up to two 72 hour periods during the year. The effective date of the R&O is to be determined and will be 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register. Read more here.
+ ARRL Board of Directors Holds Second 2010 Meeting
Kay Craigie, N3KN, calls her first Board meeting to order as ARRL President last week in Windsor, Connecticut. [Steve Ford, WB8IMY, Photo]
The ARRL Board of Directors held its Second Meeting of 2010 July 16-17 in Windsor, Connecticut, under the chairmanship of President Kay Craigie, N3KN. The Board considered and acted on a number of organizational, regulatory and operating issues, including the following: Approved a campaign to celebrate the 75th anniversary of ARES® that is designed to promote and increase awareness of this valuable program; allowed candidates for Division Director and Division Vice Director to submit petitions via e-mail or facsimile; clarified the VHF rules to allow monochromatic sources (such as laser or LED) to count for contest credit, as long as the laser power is less than 5 mW; voted in favor of allowing the Montenegrin Amateur Radio Pool (MARP) to join the IARU as that country's Member-Society, and acknowledged those ARRL staff members who also serve as Volunteer Examiners. The Board also received reports from committees and individuals on a wide range of subjects, and conferred several awards on deserving nominees. A more in-depth report on the Board's actions, including the official Meeting Minutes, will be posted in the coming days.
ARRL CEO Presented with "BPL Spoils" Award
ARRL Chief Executive Officer Dave Sumner, K1ZZ (left), receives the AMRAD "BPL Spoils" award from ARRL Chief Technology Officer Brennan Price, N4QX, at the July 2010 ARRL Board meeting. [Steve Ford, WB8IMY, Photo]
During the Friday morning portion of the July 2010 ARRL Board meeting, ARRL Chief Executive Officer Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, received a surprise plaque from the Amateur Radio Research and Development Corporation (AMRAD). Titled "BPL Spoils," the plaque featured a discarded BPL modem that was rescued from surplus equipment belonging to a manufacturer that had decided to exit the BPL business. ARRL Chief Technology Officer Brennan Price, N4QX, presented the plaque to Sumner in recognition of his and the ARRL staff's tireless work against radio interference generated by BPL systems.
+ FCC: Vanity Call Sign Fees to Decrease August 17
On July 19, the FCC announced via the Federal Register that the cost of a 10 year Amateur Radio vanity call sign will decrease 10 cents, from $13.40 to $13.30. The new fees take effect 30 days after publication, making August 17, 2010, the first day the new fee is in effect. In FY2010, the FCC anticipates granting 14,800 vanity call signs, bringing in $196,840 from the vanity call sign program. Earlier this year, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making and Order (NPRM), seeking to lower the fee for Amateur Radio vanity call signs. The notice in the July 19, 2010 edition of the Federal Register -- entitled "Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2010; Final Rule" -- includes all FCC regulatory fees; these fees are expected to recover a total of $336,712,213 during FY2010, encompassing all the Services the FCC regulates. The FCC is authorized by the Communications Act of 1934, As Amended, to collect vanity call sign fees to recover the costs associated with that program. The vanity call sign regulatory fee is payable not only when applying for a new vanity call sign, but also upon renewing a vanity call sign for a new 10 year term.
+ Spotlight on Scouting: Connect with the National Scout Jamboree via Amateur Radio
The National Scout Jamboree takes place July 26-August 4 at Fort AP Hill, Caroline County, Virginia. A myriad of exhibits and activities await the close to 40,000 Scouts, leaders and staff. Coming from all 50 states -- and even territories and foreign countries -- they will have the opportunity to live, work and play together in an atmosphere of Scouting fellowship. And just like the National Scout Jamborees in 1973, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2001 and 2005, the 2010 event will feature Amateur Radio.
An eagle-eye view of the K2BSA site and antennas. Click here for a larger image. [Map courtesy of Bob Bruninga, WB4APR]
A team of 17 Scouters and two Scouts will activate K2BSA as a demonstration station at the Jamboree. According to K2BSA Staff Member Larry Wolfgang, WR1B, they will be demonstrating various operating modes to the visiting Scouts, with activity primarily on HF, around the published Scout frequencies. Wolfgang is the ARRL Liaison to the National Scout Jamboree. Another group of 17 Scouters and one Scout will assist other Scouts in earning the Radio merit badge, while seven Scouters will be offering classes and will help administer Amateur Radio licensing exams. Read more here.
2010 Marks Ninth Year for ARRL Participation in Combined Federal Campaign
For the ninth year running, the US Office of Personnel Management has designated the ARRL to participate in the 2010 Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). In the past, this campaign for federal government civilian employees, US Postal Service workers and members of the military has generated almost $140,000 for ARRL programs since it first became an option for giving by federal employees to the League. The CFC provides an easy way to support ARRL's effort to represent its members and all radio amateurs. Read more here.
+ QuickStats to Debut on Web and QST
Member polls have returned to the ARRL Web, but with a twist. Rather than a single weekly poll, the new QuickStats page at http://www.arrl.org/quickstats offers several polls at once with new questions every 30 days. The results will be published in QST beginning with the October issue. Start by visiting the QuickStats page now. Be sure to bookmark it in your browser! Watch for poll results in the special QST QuickStats page in the rear advertising section of the magazine. Along with monthly poll results, QST QuickStats offers colorful charts and graphs that highlight interesting Amateur Radio statistics.
+ Solar Update
The Sun, as seen on Thursday, July 22, 2010 from NASA's SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This MDI (Michelson Doppler Imager) image was taken in the continuum near the Ni I 6768 Angstrom line. The most prominent features are the sunspots. This is very much how the Sun looks in the visible range of the spectrum.
Tad "The moon gazed on my midnight labours, while, with unrelaxed and breathless eagerness, I pursued nature to her hiding-places" Cook, K7RA, reports: Increasing sunspot activity has dominated the past few days. Sunspot group 1087 has been visible for 13 days, but the size has gradually decreased. Over the past seven days, in millionths of a solar hemisphere, it was 60, 50, 20,
March 24, 2010 Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE ARES E-Letter Archive ARES Home ARRL Home Page The View from Flagler County The ARES� renewal effort here is humming along. Registration for ARES� in the East Coast District, with emphasis on Flagler County is now underway with a new registration form available: It requests typical data on license and station capabilities, and Driver's License Number, which is required for inter-county deploy�ment when requested by the Florida state EOC. This is not optional if you wish to be deployed outside of your county of residence. The registration form also requests the applicant's signature, which indicates that he/she will com�ply with an ARES� Code of Conduct listed on the back side of the form. I was very pleased to submit my application for membership. Eddie Cail, KJ4LRB, a relatively new licensee, has been appointed to the position of Assistant DEC for Membership and Administration. Cail will keep member�ship and training/certification records in order. To ensure continuity and proper suc�cession planning, we will be continually forward�ing our records to the Northern Florida Section Manager and Section Emergency Coordinator. We are accepting nominations for the Emergency Coordinator (EC) position for Flagler County. A few very good nominations have already been received, and candidates will be interviewed after March 22. The ideal candidate should have thick skin and a bias to action. There is no lack of projects, communication and coordination that needs to be performed both within Flagler County and with our partners in Volusia and St. Johns counties, and surrounding areas. ARES� operators are being encouraged to complete the FEMA classes IS-100, IS-200, IS-700 and IS-800, which are now required by all county EOCs. All of these classes are available online and are FREE. Start with IS-100 at the following URL: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS100A.asp. Cer�tificates of successful completion will be forwarded to local EOCs as training confirmations. - Flagler ARES� Newsletter, March 2010 issue ___________ In This Issue: The View from Flagler County Southeastern Division to Host National Hurricane Conference March 29 - April 2 Chilean Earthquake Hawaii Mobilized for Potential Tsunami Haiti Medical Mission Supported by ARRL, Amateur Radio Chemical Stockpile Exercise Supported in Alabama RACES Revitalization Effort Underway in Nebraska; SM Seeks Input FCC Seeks Comments for Blanket Waiver to Allow Amateur Radio in Hospital Emergency Drills ARRL Requests Support for Senate Bill 1755 Reading List Letters K1CE For a Final ____________ Southeastern Division to Host National Hurricane Conference March 29 - April 2 ARRL Southeastern Division Director Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, proudly announces that the division will host the 2010 National Hurricane Conference, March 29 - April 2 at the Orlando Hilton, Orlando, Florida. This is the nation's forum for education and professional training in hurricane preparedness. The primary goal of the National Hurricane Conference is to improve hurricane preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation in order to save lives and property in the United States and the tropical islands of the Caribbean and Pacific. In addition, the conference serves as a national forum for federal, state and local officials to exchange ideas and recommend new policies to improve Emergency Management. On Tuesday, March 30, from 1:30 to 5:00 PM, all hams are invited at no cost to attend the "Amateur Radio: Disaster Communications Before, During and After Hurricanes" session in room Orange C. On Wednesday, March 31, from 8:30 to 10:00 AM there will be an Amateur Radio session designed for Emergency Managers called "Amateur Radio: The Emergency Manager's Hidden Resource." This conference will help Amateur Radio be successful in hurricane preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. For more info: 2010 National Hurricane Conference. Chilean Earthquake Radio Club de Chile (RCCH) President Dr Galdino Besomi, CE3PG, reported that the situation in Chile is "very complex" as the country suffered aftershocks registering 6.0 or higher after the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Chile on February 27. "Red Chilena Nor Austral de Servicio (RECNA) and RCCH networks worked in coordination with the Army of Chile, handling information about people localization, condition of roads and support for the emergency administration," IARU Region 2 (Area G) Emergency Coordinator Jorge Sierra, LU1AS, told the ARRL. He asked the amateur community to keep certain frequencies free from non-essential, emergency traffic. The RCCH set up an e-mail address where people could request information concerning people affected by the earthquakes. - ARRL Letter Hawaii Mobilized for Potential Tsunami Ron Hashiro, AH6RH, Hawaii State Civil Defense ARES�/RACES Coordinator, thanked the Amateur Radio community for outstanding support of a state-wide tsunami net convened in the immediate aftermath of the Chilean earthquake. The net was held on the State RACES VHF network, and on HF at 7088 kHz. "We had a combined total of 60 stations on VHF and HF checked into the net," said Hashiro. "Real-time observations from the field were passed, and tactical messages were injected directly into the State Civil Defense's information tracking and reporting systems." Hashiro added: "At the same time, amateurs in three county EOCs were able to receive the same radio reports for informational updates for their EOC operations." The location reports, time-stamping, and timeliness with the estimates of water height information demonstrated the professionalism of the Amateur Radio Service to the SCD staff operations and to the Governor. SCD Director Ed Teixeira was extremely pleased and grateful for these reports and extended his thanks to the Amateur Radio community for an outstanding job well done. Haiti Medical Mission Supported by ARRL, Amateur Radio ARRL and Amateur Radio has supported a medical mission to Haiti. Project Medishare was founded in 1994 by the University of Miami Medical School and Haiti physicians and health officials. Over the years, Medishare constructed several health clinics, all of which were destroyed in the earthquake. In the quake's aftermath, Medishare was able to rapidly deploy medical teams and assets to begin the overwhelming task of meeting medical needs. A field hospital was established within the relatively secure boundaries of the Port-au-Prince Airport. Large tents were supplied to set up makeshift operating rooms, patient treatment and recovery areas and mass sleeping quarters for the volunteers. Overall conditions were basic to primitive. An immediate need was to establish a logistics chain for supplies from cots, food, water, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals to handling the more than one hundred volunteers rotating in and out every five to seven days. Establishing reliable local and international communication was also a high priority. The University of Miami's IT group set up two broadband Vsat satellite links to handle e-mail and two channels of VoIP phone circuits, but they were unstable and not reliable. An operations director then contacted Julio Ripoll, WD4R, one of the volunteer leaders at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Ripoll in turn contacted ARRL to request help in soliciting volunteers. ARRL immediately sent an HF "Ham Aid Kit" and put Ripoll in touch with Neil Lauritsen, W4NHL/NNN0TFH, ARRL West Central Florida Section Emergency Coordinator and Navy MARS Florida State Deputy Director. Ripoll described the mission profile and that he had only two WX4NHC operators ready to go to Haiti. He requested operators to go to Haiti to provide two to three weeks of backup communications until such time as the permanent satellite system was stabilized. John McHugh, K4AG, assembled the list of equipment needed, and Medishare provided it for both ends of the circuit: Haiti and Miami. The equipment came from AES in Orlando. The WX4NHC Club built a complete station at the Haiti Command Center Building on the UM Medical Campus including erecting antennas on the roof. Dale Botwin, KR4OR, and Ivan Menendez, KB4RMB, configured the HF radio for remote control, Skype and Winlink e-mail capability. EchoLink was added later as an internal coordination system between UM Haiti and the principal coordinators stateside with the help of Rob Macedo, KD1CY, and Tony Langdon, VK3JED. Operations The original mission profile was to set up an HF station capable of providing backup voice via phone patch and backup e-mail capability via HF Winlink. Both of these objectives could be met using normal Amateur Radio frequencies, but with limitations due to propagation and stations available when needed for phone patch traffic, it was decided to increase flexibility and capability by using MARS assets to extend the number of Winlink stations available and use the Air Force MARS-dedicated phone patch circuit that was available 24/7. The volunteers were arranged in teams of two operators with at least one being a MARS operator. Equipment included an ICOM IC-718 and AH-710 supplied by ARRL. VHF operations were set up on 146.52 MHz with Ron Tomo, KE2UK/AAT2BC at the Nassau medical clinic approximately five miles from the airport. The clinic had limited medical resources, and consequently there was much traffic conducted with Miami Medical as a resource for patient consulting, patient transfers to Miami, to other medical facilities and to the US Navy ship Comfort. Once the need to establish direct communications with the Comfort was apparent, a VHF radio was modified to work on marine frequencies. When contact was made, priority and emergency traffic was passed. Communications with the Comfort were conducted seamlessly. The link with the Comfort was critical to saving a lot of lives. Twenty five phone patches were made over the AF phone patch net and the Maritime Mobile Net on 14.300 MHz. Having access to the AF phone patch net was valuable providing virtually 100% phone patch availability regardless of propagation or time of day or night. All were routine health and welfare messages that were appreciated by the Miami Medical personnel. A communications link was also established with the U.S. Joint Operations Command (JOC) to coordinate certain local security concerns. The six-meter band was used for this purpose. One of the unexpected communication needs was to maintain the GMRS radios being used by the UM personnel. They had 12 radios, most of which were not working. The volunteers worked on the radios by replacing dead batteries, battery connections, wrong frequencies, and so forth. The radios then worked within the hospital grounds, but could not work when needed over longer distances. A Yaesu FT-897 was used on Channel 21 (462.700 Mhz) and acted as a manual repeater to relay traffic between operators. A VHF/UHF MARS-modified hand-held was also put into service on 462.700 MHz when extended range was needed; for example, for daily trips to a medical supply point
March 24, 2010
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
ARES E-Letter Archive
ARES Home
ARRL Home Page
The View from Flagler County
The ARES� renewal effort here is humming along. Registration for ARES� in the East Coast District, with emphasis on Flagler County is now underway with a new registration form available: It requests typical data on license and station capabilities, and Driver's License Number, which is required for inter-county deploy�ment when requested by the Florida state EOC. This is not optional if you wish to be deployed outside of your county of residence. The registration form also requests the applicant's signature, which indicates that he/she will com�ply with an ARES� Code of Conduct listed on the back side of the form. I was very pleased to submit my application for membership.
Eddie Cail, KJ4LRB, a relatively new licensee, has been appointed to the position of Assistant DEC for Membership and Administration. Cail will keep member�ship and training/certification records in order. To ensure continuity and proper suc�cession planning, we will be continually forward�ing our records to the Northern Florida Section Manager and Section Emergency Coordinator.
We are accepting nominations for the Emergency Coordinator (EC) position for Flagler County. A few very good nominations have already been received, and candidates will be interviewed after March 22. The ideal candidate should have thick skin and a bias to action. There is no lack of projects, communication and coordination that needs to be performed both within Flagler County and with our partners in Volusia and St. Johns counties, and surrounding areas.
ARES� operators are being encouraged to complete the FEMA classes IS-100, IS-200, IS-700 and IS-800, which are now required by all county EOCs. All of these classes are available online and are FREE. Start with IS-100 at the following URL: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS100A.asp. Cer�tificates of successful completion will be forwarded to local EOCs as training confirmations. - Flagler ARES� Newsletter, March 2010 issue
___________
In This Issue:
____________
Southeastern Division to Host National Hurricane Conference March 29 - April 2
ARRL Southeastern Division Director Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, proudly announces that the division will host the 2010 National Hurricane Conference, March 29 - April 2 at the Orlando Hilton, Orlando, Florida. This is the nation's forum for education and professional training in hurricane preparedness.
The primary goal of the National Hurricane Conference is to improve hurricane preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation in order to save lives and property in the United States and the tropical islands of the Caribbean and Pacific. In addition, the conference serves as a national forum for federal, state and local officials to exchange ideas and recommend new policies to improve Emergency Management.
On Tuesday, March 30, from 1:30 to 5:00 PM, all hams are invited at no cost to attend the "Amateur Radio: Disaster Communications Before, During and After Hurricanes" session in room Orange C.
On Wednesday, March 31, from 8:30 to 10:00 AM there will be an Amateur Radio session designed for Emergency Managers called "Amateur Radio: The Emergency Manager's Hidden Resource."
This conference will help Amateur Radio be successful in hurricane preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. For more info: 2010 National Hurricane Conference.
Chilean Earthquake
Radio Club de Chile (RCCH) President Dr Galdino Besomi, CE3PG, reported that the situation in Chile is "very complex" as the country suffered aftershocks registering 6.0 or higher after the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Chile on February 27. "Red Chilena Nor Austral de Servicio (RECNA) and RCCH networks worked in coordination with the Army of Chile, handling information about people localization, condition of roads and support for the emergency administration," IARU Region 2 (Area G) Emergency Coordinator Jorge Sierra, LU1AS, told the ARRL. He asked the amateur community to keep certain frequencies free from non-essential, emergency traffic. The RCCH set up an e-mail address where people could request information concerning people affected by the earthquakes. - ARRL Letter
Hawaii Mobilized for Potential Tsunami
Ron Hashiro, AH6RH, Hawaii State Civil Defense ARES�/RACES Coordinator, thanked the Amateur Radio community for outstanding support of a state-wide tsunami net convened in the immediate aftermath of the Chilean earthquake. The net was held on the State RACES VHF network, and on HF at 7088 kHz. "We had a combined total of 60 stations on VHF and HF checked into the net," said Hashiro. "Real-time observations from the field were passed, and tactical messages were injected directly into the State Civil Defense's information tracking and reporting systems." Hashiro added: "At the same time, amateurs in three county EOCs were able to receive the same radio reports for informational updates for their EOC operations."
The location reports, time-stamping, and timeliness with the estimates of water height information demonstrated the professionalism of the Amateur Radio Service to the SCD staff operations and to the Governor. SCD Director Ed Teixeira was extremely pleased and grateful for these reports and extended his thanks to the Amateur Radio community for an outstanding job well done.
Haiti Medical Mission Supported by ARRL, Amateur Radio
ARRL and Amateur Radio has supported a medical mission to Haiti. Project Medishare was founded in 1994 by the University of Miami Medical School and Haiti physicians and health officials. Over the years, Medishare constructed several health clinics, all of which were destroyed in the earthquake. In the quake's aftermath, Medishare was able to rapidly deploy medical teams and assets to begin the overwhelming task of meeting medical needs. A field hospital was established within the relatively secure boundaries of the Port-au-Prince Airport. Large tents were supplied to set up makeshift operating rooms, patient treatment and recovery areas and mass sleeping quarters for the volunteers.
Overall conditions were basic to primitive. An immediate need was to establish a logistics chain for supplies from cots, food, water, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals to handling the more than one hundred volunteers rotating in and out every five to seven days.
Establishing reliable local and international communication was also a high priority. The University of Miami's IT group set up two broadband Vsat satellite links to handle e-mail and two channels of VoIP phone circuits, but they were unstable and not reliable. An operations director then contacted Julio Ripoll, WD4R, one of the volunteer leaders at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Ripoll in turn contacted ARRL to request help in soliciting volunteers.
ARRL immediately sent an HF "Ham Aid Kit" and put Ripoll in touch with Neil Lauritsen, W4NHL/NNN0TFH, ARRL West Central Florida Section Emergency Coordinator and Navy MARS Florida State Deputy Director. Ripoll described the mission profile and that he had only two WX4NHC operators ready to go to Haiti. He requested operators to go to Haiti to provide two to three weeks of backup communications until such time as the permanent satellite system was stabilized. John McHugh, K4AG, assembled the list of equipment needed, and Medishare provided it for both ends of the circuit: Haiti and Miami. The equipment came from AES in Orlando.
The WX4NHC Club built a complete station at the Haiti Command Center Building on the UM Medical Campus including erecting antennas on the roof. Dale Botwin, KR4OR, and Ivan Menendez, KB4RMB, configured the HF radio for remote control, Skype and Winlink e-mail capability. EchoLink was added later as an internal coordination system between UM Haiti and the principal coordinators stateside with the help of Rob Macedo, KD1CY, and Tony Langdon, VK3JED.
Operations
The original mission profile was to set up an HF station capable of providing backup voice via phone patch and backup e-mail capability via HF Winlink. Both of these objectives could be met using normal Amateur Radio frequencies, but with limitations due to propagation and stations available when needed for phone patch traffic, it was decided to increase flexibility and capability by using MARS assets to extend the number of Winlink stations available and use the Air Force MARS-dedicated phone patch circuit that was available 24/7. The volunteers were arranged in teams of two operators with at least one being a MARS operator. Equipment included an ICOM IC-718 and AH-710 supplied by ARRL.
VHF operations were set up on 146.52 MHz with Ron Tomo, KE2UK/AAT2BC at the Nassau medical clinic approximately five miles from the airport. The clinic had limited medical resources, and consequently there was much traffic conducted with Miami Medical as a resource for patient consulting, patient transfers to Miami, to other medical facilities and to the US Navy ship Comfort.
Once the need to establish direct communications with the Comfort was apparent, a VHF radio was modified to work on marine frequencies. When contact was made, priority and emergency traffic was passed. Communications with the Comfort were conducted seamlessly. The link with the Comfort was critical to saving a lot of lives.
Twenty five phone patches were made over the AF phone patch net and the Maritime Mobile Net on 14.300 MHz. Having access to the AF phone patch net was valuable providing virtually 100% phone patch availability regardless of propagation or time of day or night. All were routine health and welfare messages that were appreciated by the Miami Medical personnel.
A communications link was also established with the U.S. Joint Operations Command (JOC) to coordinate certain local security concerns. The six-meter band was used for this purpose.
One of the unexpected communication needs was to maintain the GMRS radios being used by the UM personnel. They had 12 radios, most of which were not working. The volunteers worked on the radios by replacing dead batteries, battery connections, wrong frequencies, and so forth. The radios then worked within the hospital grounds, but could not work when needed over longer distances. A Yaesu FT-897 was used on Channel 21 (462.700 Mhz) and acted as a manual repeater to relay traffic between operators.
A VHF/UHF MARS-modified hand-held was also put into service on 462.700 MHz when extended range was needed; for example, for daily trips to a medical supply point
If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2010-03-18 March 18, 2010 Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA ARRL Home PageARRL Letter ArchiveAudio News FCC News : FCC Releases National Broadband Plan Legislative Affairs : ARRL Requests Support for S.1755 Legislative Affairs : Companion Bill Introduced in US House to Provide Technical Resources to FCC Commissioners ARRL Seeks Input for New IARU Region 2 Band Plan FCC News : FCC Proposes to Eliminate Spread Spectrum APC Requirement, Reduce Spread Spectrum Power Limit; Cleans Up Portions of Part 97 ARRL Publications : ARRL Introduces Understanding Basic Electronics, second edition Solar Update This Week on the Radio Silent Key : Baby Blindness Pioneer Arnall Patz, ex-WA3EVC (SK) FCC News: FCC Releases National Broadband Plan FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski introduces the National Broadband Plan. Click here to watch the video. On Tuesday, March 16, the FCC held an Open Meeting to introduce its report Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan (NBP) that was delivered to Congress that afternoon. Calling it "an ambitious agenda for connecting all corners of the nation while transforming the economy and society with the communications network of the future -- robust, affordable Internet," the Commission found that nearly 100 million Americans lack broadband at home today and 14 million Americans do not have access to broadband. Read more here. Legislative Affairs: ARRL Requests Support for S.1755 Senate Bill 1755 -- The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009 introduced in October 2009 by Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) -- has unanimously passed the US Senate and has been sent to the US House of Representatives for consideration and now sits in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The ARRL is asking its membership to contact the leadership of the Energy and Commerce committee, requesting support and action on moving S 1755 through the committee. S 1755 accomplishes the same things as HR 2160; HR 2160 was introduced in April 2009 by Rep Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18). Since S 1755 has already been approved by the Senate, moving it forward in the House will simplify the process. Click here for more information, including instructions on how to encourage the committee's leadership to support S 1755. Legislative Affairs: Companion Bill Introduced in US House to Provide Technical Resources to FCC Commissioners Following the Senate's lead, Representatives Jerry McNerny (D-CA-11) and Tom Petri (R-WI-6), introduced HR 4809 -- the FCC Commissioners' Technical Resource Enhancement Act -- in the House of Representatives on March 10. Copying the exact language from S 2881 (a bill with the same name) introduced by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Mark Warner (D-VA) in December 2009, the bill seeks to provide greater technical resources to FCC Commissioners. Read more here. ARRL Seeks Input for New IARU Region 2 Band Plan The International Amateur Radio Region 2 conference -- to be held later this year in El Salvador -- brings together delegations from the national Amateur Radio Societies in the Western Hemisphere. One of the topics on the agenda will be the Region 2 HF band plan. This band plan is "harmonized with" -- spectrum management-speak for "very similar to" -- the IARU Region 1 and Region 3 band plans. At this year's conference, the IARU Member-Societies will consider possible changes to the Region 2 band plan. The ARRL is cooperating with this procedure by inviting input to be sent to the ARRL Board of Directors' Band Planning Committee. The committee will review the existing Region 2 band plan, consider input from the amateur community and make recommendations to the ARRL Board for submission to IARU Region 2. Read more here. FCC News: FCC Proposes to Eliminate Spread Spectrum APC Requirement, Reduce Spread Spectrum Power Limit; Cleans Up Portions of Part 97 In response to a 2006 ARRL Petition regarding spread spectrum issues, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on March 16 (WT Docket No 10-62), proposing to amend Part 97 to facilitate the use of spread spectrum communications technologies by eliminating the requirement that amateur stations use automatic power control (APC) to reduce transmitter power when the station transmits a spread spectrum (SS) emission and reducing the maximum transmitter power output when transmitting a SS emission. Through an Order attached to the NPRM, the Commission also made "certain non-substantive revisions" to the Amateur Service rules. Read more here. ARRL Publications: ARRL Introduces Understanding Basic Electronics, second edition ARRL's Understanding Basic Electronics, second edition -- your gateway into the exciting world of electricity and electronics -- is written in a friendly, easy-to-understand style that beginners and nontechnical readers will enjoy. This introductory guide is ideal for students with basic math skills, as well as radio amateurs and experimenters interested in gaining a more complete understanding of basic electronic principles -- anyone eager to unlock the mysteries of electronic circuits. Authored by Walter Banzhaf, WB1ANE, this new edition features student-friendly math made easy -- an inexpensive calculator is all you need -- and now includes digital electronics. Even if you already have a foundation in basic electronics, you will enjoy the small module format of each chapter, allowing readers to digest "bite-sized" chunks of learning material. Real-world examples and clear illustrations make the study of electronics interesting and fun! A handful of small "kitchen table" projects are included to help bring abstract concepts to life. Understanding Basic Electronics, second edition includes chapters on electronics, analog and digital electronic circuits, electrical terms, conductors, insulators and resistors, electricity and magnetism, capacitors and inductors, electrical circuits (both series and parallel), Ohm's law, techniques and tricks on how to solve circuit problems, energy and power, alternating current (ac), capacitors and inductors, transformers, impedance, resonant active device concepts, semiconductors, diodes, transistors and ICs -- and much more. For a limited time, ARRL members can purchase Understanding Basic Electronics, second edition for only $29.95 -- that's $3 off the regular price of $32.95! Solar Update The Sun, as seen on Thursday, March 18, 2010 from NASA's SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This image was taken at 304 Angstrom; the bright material is at 60,000 to 80,000 Kelvin. Tad "Doubt that the Sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love" Cook, K7RA, reports: Solar activity recovered nicely from the March 6-9 frightening absence of sunspots, reminiscent of years prior to the end of November 2009. For our reporting week -- March 11-17 -- the average daily sunspot numbers increased relative to the prior week by 17 points to 29.4; the average daily solar flux was up by 9 points to 87.6. A new sunspot group -- 1055 -- appeared on March 11, following the appearance of 1054 the day before. Group 1055 only lasted a couple of days and another new spot, 1056, emerged on March 17 and is still visible and active. On March 11-12, a solar wind met a south-pointing interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and pushed geomagnetic instability, especially pronounced at higher latitudes. Alaska's college K index at Fairbanks went to 5 during several 3-hour readings over both days. So far in March, the average daily sunspot number is 23.9. Every month of March since the end of the last century, the average (1999-2009) was 100.5, 203.6, 166.7, 154.3, 119.7, 81, 41, 21.3, 9.8, 15.9 and 0.77. Sobering, isn't it? And no, that isn't an error for 2009. March of last year had sunspots on only two days -- March 6-7 -- pushing the average for the month to less than one. This Saturday, March 20, is the vernal equinox, the first day of spring, which begins at 1732 UTC. Both the southern and northern hemispheres are bathed in an equal amount of sunlight; the time around the spring and fall equinox is great for HF propagation. Look for more information on the ARRL Web site on Friday, March 18. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page. This week's "Tad Cookism" brought to you by William Shakespeare's Hamlet
If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2010-03-18
March 18, 2010
FCC News: FCC Releases National Broadband Plan
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski introduces the National Broadband Plan. Click here to watch the video.
On Tuesday, March 16, the FCC held an Open Meeting to introduce its report Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan (NBP) that was delivered to Congress that afternoon. Calling it "an ambitious agenda for connecting all corners of the nation while transforming the economy and society with the communications network of the future -- robust, affordable Internet," the Commission found that nearly 100 million Americans lack broadband at home today and 14 million Americans do not have access to broadband. Read more here.
Legislative Affairs: ARRL Requests Support for S.1755
Senate Bill 1755 -- The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009 introduced in October 2009 by Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) -- has unanimously passed the US Senate and has been sent to the US House of Representatives for consideration and now sits in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The ARRL is asking its membership to contact the leadership of the Energy and Commerce committee, requesting support and action on moving S 1755 through the committee. S 1755 accomplishes the same things as HR 2160; HR 2160 was introduced in April 2009 by Rep Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18). Since S 1755 has already been approved by the Senate, moving it forward in the House will simplify the process. Click here for more information, including instructions on how to encourage the committee's leadership to support S 1755.
Legislative Affairs: Companion Bill Introduced in US House to Provide Technical Resources to FCC Commissioners
Following the Senate's lead, Representatives Jerry McNerny (D-CA-11) and Tom Petri (R-WI-6), introduced HR 4809 -- the FCC Commissioners' Technical Resource Enhancement Act -- in the House of Representatives on March 10. Copying the exact language from S 2881 (a bill with the same name) introduced by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Mark Warner (D-VA) in December 2009, the bill seeks to provide greater technical resources to FCC Commissioners. Read more here.
ARRL Seeks Input for New IARU Region 2 Band Plan
The International Amateur Radio Region 2 conference -- to be held later this year in El Salvador -- brings together delegations from the national Amateur Radio Societies in the Western Hemisphere. One of the topics on the agenda will be the Region 2 HF band plan. This band plan is "harmonized with" -- spectrum management-speak for "very similar to" -- the IARU Region 1 and Region 3 band plans. At this year's conference, the IARU Member-Societies will consider possible changes to the Region 2 band plan. The ARRL is cooperating with this procedure by inviting input to be sent to the ARRL Board of Directors' Band Planning Committee. The committee will review the existing Region 2 band plan, consider input from the amateur community and make recommendations to the ARRL Board for submission to IARU Region 2. Read more here.
FCC News: FCC Proposes to Eliminate Spread Spectrum APC Requirement, Reduce Spread Spectrum Power Limit; Cleans Up Portions of Part 97
In response to a 2006 ARRL Petition regarding spread spectrum issues, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on March 16 (WT Docket No 10-62), proposing to amend Part 97 to facilitate the use of spread spectrum communications technologies by eliminating the requirement that amateur stations use automatic power control (APC) to reduce transmitter power when the station transmits a spread spectrum (SS) emission and reducing the maximum transmitter power output when transmitting a SS emission. Through an Order attached to the NPRM, the Commission also made "certain non-substantive revisions" to the Amateur Service rules. Read more here.
ARRL Publications: ARRL Introduces Understanding Basic Electronics, second edition
ARRL's Understanding Basic Electronics, second edition -- your gateway into the exciting world of electricity and electronics -- is written in a friendly, easy-to-understand style that beginners and nontechnical readers will enjoy. This introductory guide is ideal for students with basic math skills, as well as radio amateurs and experimenters interested in gaining a more complete understanding of basic electronic principles -- anyone eager to unlock the mysteries of electronic circuits.
Authored by Walter Banzhaf, WB1ANE, this new edition features student-friendly math made easy -- an inexpensive calculator is all you need -- and now includes digital electronics. Even if you already have a foundation in basic electronics, you will enjoy the small module format of each chapter, allowing readers to digest "bite-sized" chunks of learning material. Real-world examples and clear illustrations make the study of electronics interesting and fun! A handful of small "kitchen table" projects are included to help bring abstract concepts to life.
Understanding Basic Electronics, second edition includes chapters on electronics, analog and digital electronic circuits, electrical terms, conductors, insulators and resistors, electricity and magnetism, capacitors and inductors, electrical circuits (both series and parallel), Ohm's law, techniques and tricks on how to solve circuit problems, energy and power, alternating current (ac), capacitors and inductors, transformers, impedance, resonant active device concepts, semiconductors, diodes, transistors and ICs -- and much more.
For a limited time, ARRL members can purchase Understanding Basic Electronics, second edition for only $29.95 -- that's $3 off the regular price of $32.95!
Solar Update
The Sun, as seen on Thursday, March 18, 2010 from NASA's SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This image was taken at 304 Angstrom; the bright material is at 60,000 to 80,000 Kelvin.
Tad "Doubt that the Sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love" Cook, K7RA, reports: Solar activity recovered nicely from the March 6-9 frightening absence of sunspots, reminiscent of years prior to the end of November 2009. For our reporting week -- March 11-17 -- the average daily sunspot numbers increased relative to the prior week by 17 points to 29.4; the average daily solar flux was up by 9 points to 87.6. A new sunspot group -- 1055 -- appeared on March 11, following the appearance of 1054 the day before. Group 1055 only lasted a couple of days and another new spot, 1056, emerged on March 17 and is still visible and active. On March 11-12, a solar wind met a south-pointing interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and pushed geomagnetic instability, especially pronounced at higher latitudes. Alaska's college K index at Fairbanks went to 5 during several 3-hour readings over both days. So far in March, the average daily sunspot number is 23.9. Every month of March since the end of the last century, the average (1999-2009) was 100.5, 203.6, 166.7, 154.3, 119.7, 81, 41, 21.3, 9.8, 15.9 and 0.77. Sobering, isn't it? And no, that isn't an error for 2009. March of last year had sunspots on only two days -- March 6-7 -- pushing the average for the month to less than one. This Saturday, March 20, is the vernal equinox, the first day of spring, which begins at 1732 UTC. Both the southern and northern hemispheres are bathed in an equal amount of sunlight; the time around the spring and fall equinox is great for HF propagation. Look for more information on the ARRL Web site on Friday, March 18. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page. This week's "Tad Cookism" brought to you by William Shakespeare's Hamlet
March 17, 2010 Editor: Ward Silver, NØAX Contest Update Archive Contest Calendar ARRL Home Page IN THIS ISSUE Dance Of the Digits - CQ WPX SSB VANDOK QSO Party (VA, ND, OK) Rookie Roundup FAQ and Blog CQ WPX "How To" Webinar by K5ZD ARRL DX CW at PJ2T CQ WPX RTTY Records Database Loop-Fed Yagis for VHF+ by GØKSC Good Things Come in Sixes NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO You just can't not have fun in a contest where the multipliers are prefixes! After two solid weekends of great DXing in the ARRL International DX contest (I hope you stuck a toe in the water and gave it a try!) it's now time for the CQ WPX SSB everybody-works-everybody free-for-all. Do you have a new KB1 or KF7 or KJ4 or KF5 call sign? Tag - you're it! Have fun and get in some great operating practice. BULLETINS There are no bulletins in this issue. BUSTED QSOS Caffeine levels must have been low in the Contest Update Editorial brewmaster last time - numerous grammatical solecisms were in evidence. I've changed to French Roast in response to the evident langour. CONTEST SUMMARY Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section March 20-21 EU EME Contest 10-10 Mobile QSO Party BARTG HF RTTY Contest OK1WC Memorial Contest Russian DX Contest 9KCC Contest Oklahoma QSO Party North Dakota QSO Party Virginia QSO Party March 27-28 EU EME Contest CQ WPX SSB Contest WSJT Sprint NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST The new ARRL Rookie Roundup contest is attracting the attention of clubs and new hams. While the new ARRL Web site is being completed, the Contest Branch Manager's usual ability to post information and answer questions is unavailable, unfortunately. In the meantime, Sean KX9X has created an off-site contest blog just for the Rookie Roundup. He will be adding material regularly to help get a newcomer started or to answer questions about the contest. It is quite possible that there will be modifications to the published procedures as we come up to speed, so please watch the blog for important updates about the contest. Attending the recent Contest University - Italian style, here's Saaid CN8WW. (Photo by K3LR) Here's an opportunity to become an expert on the upcoming CQ WPX Contest. The Potomac Valley Radio Club's webinar, "Inside the CQ WPX Contest" with the contest's Director, Randy Thompson K5ZD. Randy covers topics including rule changes, log checking, results reporting, participant surveys, and winning strategies for the contest. This is your chance to get a peek behind the log submission robot before 0000Z rolls around on March 27th! The Webinar is available from the "Recorded Webinars" link. (Thanks, Ken K4ZW) North Coast Contesters are pleased to announce that Joel Harrison, W5ZN will be the main speaker at the 2010 Dayton Contest Dinner. An active contest operator, Joel just finished a four year term as President of the ARRL in January of this year. (Thanks, Tim K3LR) Art KZ5D writes in with news of the new monthly Mini-CWT Tests sponsored by CWops. Each event is an hour long and held on the second Wednesday of each month. Only 3 bands are to be used - 20, 40, and 80 -- from 18 to 28 kHz above band edges. There are three separate events organized by location, so check the Web site for complete details and how to report your score. The next event takes place on 14-15 April. Oh dear - and just when you thought contesting was a safe activity! Doug K1DG relays a Snopes.com article about malware activated by prompting Internet Explorer users to press the F1 key. As if it wasn't hard enough to find a clear CQ-ing frequency! This is a GcmWin great-circle map with overlaid propagation prediction information. The animated version of this map on the GcmWin Web site is spectacular! From issue ANS-073 of the AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins we learn of Roger SM3GSJ's terrific great-circle map program, GcmWin. Recent enhancements make it very useful for the VHF+ contester chasing grid squares. The program supports overlays for confirmed and worked grids and some interesting propagation features for the HF contester. (Thanks also, John K8YSE) Killer electrons? Not an unwanted arc in the shack, but high-energy electrons posing a hazard to astronauts and satellites during magnetic storms! This IEEE Spectrum story describes the processes by which killer electrons are accelerated to lethal levels using ultra-low frequency (ULF) waves in the Earth's magnetosphere. George VE3ERP reports that he has just released HAMCALC version 118. This popular package of simple calculators now includes a Filter Tutor, a Filter Impedance Matching utility, a calculator on the Cark Y Airfoil, and upgrades the Stripline-Bandpass Filter, Humidex, and Wind Chill calculators. Time to go comb the antenna? This story from Science Daily describes the development of water-repellent coatings that consist of tiny hairs, similar to those found on spiders. The coating works on both hot and cold water, reportedly. Not only does the ultra-repellent surface shed water, but the water carries away dirt, too - a self-cleaning antenna element at last! Web Site of the Week - Twenty-five years ago, domain names began to be registered for the Internet. Who were these pioneers? How many are still around? You can find out on the 100 Oldest Internet Domain Names Web page. Scan the list and you'll see some old friends. You won't be able to resist the urge to see who's still active! WORD TO THE WISE 3830 - The popular score-posting Web service created by Bruce WA7BNM and from which Dink N7WA creates score summaries after each contest. Dink writes, "Yes, you can (and should) go back to the 3830 Score Submission page and resubmit your score with corrections. You only need to re-enter the items shown in RED. When you click on Submit, you'll be given a choice of reposting or just updating the summary database. Then, when you are done, shoot me a quick email (contest, call, and what needs fixing). Why? The correction you submitted requires manual review before incorporation (you can thank a few pranksters for that)." The name 3830 refers to the frequency of 3830 kHz on which contesters used to meet after the contest to exchange scores. SIGHTS AND SOUNDS The PJ2T log summary, hour by hour breakdown, team photo, and photo album for ARRL DX CW at PJ2T are posted online. Big 10 meter openings were reported for the first time in quite a while and the team "may have had more fun than the law allows", so the operation was a big success! (Thanks, Geoff WØCG/PJ2DX) No, it's not W1AW after a rebuilding project! It's the Maine shortwave broadcasting station WVHA during it's heyday. We can dream, can't we? (Thanks, George K5TR and Tim K3LR) Who says Short-Wave Listening is going the way of the Branly Coherer? Bertrand F5PL used his 3.5-meter dish near Castelnaudary, France to listen to the signal from Mars Express during the recent Phobos Flyby. It might not be that much longer before the Elther-Mathes Cup is within the amateur's grasp! (Thanks, Brent W5WW and others) Popular Science magazine has placed its entire 137-year history online with the cooperation and assistance of Google. All of those fantastic articles about future technology are now just a click away! Remember the flying car? It's in there! Occasionally, the question arises of whether anyone has ever operated from all 40 CQ zones. The answer is, yes, N6AA and N6ZZ have accomplished that feat and others are hot on their trail. Here's a great PDF slide show about Phil's excellent adventures. You'll be surprised at what his last zone turned out to be! RESULTS AND RECORDS Randy, K5ZD, doesn't have enough to do with his fine management of the CQ WPX CW/SSB contests, so he teamed up with Don, AA5AU, to bring up a searchable database of the entire history of CQ WPX RTTY contests. The entire 15-year history of the CQ WPX RTTY contest is included in the database. (Thanks, CQ RTTY Contest Director, Ed WØYK) Some of the faces in the D4C team were also at CTU-Italy. Left to right are Erica, Fabio I4UFH, Stefano IW2MJQ, and Max IZ4DPV. (Photo by K3LR) The results for the 2009 Ohio QSO Party have been posted at the OhQP Web site. A printer friendly version of the results and some additional statistical breakdowns will be available soon. (Thanks, Mad River Radio Club President, Jim K8MR) Krasimir LZ1GL reports, "We are glad to announce that the results of the LZ Open Contest 2010 are ready and published.
March 17, 2010
Editor: Ward Silver, NØAX
Contest Update Archive
Contest Calendar
IN THIS ISSUE
NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO
You just can't not have fun in a contest where the multipliers are prefixes! After two solid weekends of great DXing in the ARRL International DX contest (I hope you stuck a toe in the water and gave it a try!) it's now time for the CQ WPX SSB everybody-works-everybody free-for-all. Do you have a new KB1 or KF7 or KJ4 or KF5 call sign? Tag - you're it! Have fun and get in some great operating practice.
BULLETINS
There are no bulletins in this issue.
BUSTED QSOS
Caffeine levels must have been low in the Contest Update Editorial brewmaster last time - numerous grammatical solecisms were in evidence. I've changed to French Roast in response to the evident langour.
CONTEST SUMMARY
Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section
March 20-21
March 27-28
NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST
The new ARRL Rookie Roundup contest is attracting the attention of clubs and new hams. While the new ARRL Web site is being completed, the Contest Branch Manager's usual ability to post information and answer questions is unavailable, unfortunately. In the meantime, Sean KX9X has created an off-site contest blog just for the Rookie Roundup. He will be adding material regularly to help get a newcomer started or to answer questions about the contest. It is quite possible that there will be modifications to the published procedures as we come up to speed, so please watch the blog for important updates about the contest.
Attending the recent Contest University - Italian style, here's Saaid CN8WW. (Photo by K3LR)
Here's an opportunity to become an expert on the upcoming CQ WPX Contest. The Potomac Valley Radio Club's webinar, "Inside the CQ WPX Contest" with the contest's Director, Randy Thompson K5ZD. Randy covers topics including rule changes, log checking, results reporting, participant surveys, and winning strategies for the contest. This is your chance to get a peek behind the log submission robot before 0000Z rolls around on March 27th! The Webinar is available from the "Recorded Webinars" link. (Thanks, Ken K4ZW)
North Coast Contesters are pleased to announce that Joel Harrison, W5ZN will be the main speaker at the 2010 Dayton Contest Dinner. An active contest operator, Joel just finished a four year term as President of the ARRL in January of this year. (Thanks, Tim K3LR)
Art KZ5D writes in with news of the new monthly Mini-CWT Tests sponsored by CWops. Each event is an hour long and held on the second Wednesday of each month. Only 3 bands are to be used - 20, 40, and 80 -- from 18 to 28 kHz above band edges. There are three separate events organized by location, so check the Web site for complete details and how to report your score. The next event takes place on 14-15 April.
Oh dear - and just when you thought contesting was a safe activity! Doug K1DG relays a Snopes.com article about malware activated by prompting Internet Explorer users to press the F1 key. As if it wasn't hard enough to find a clear CQ-ing frequency!
This is a GcmWin great-circle map with overlaid propagation prediction information. The animated version of this map on the GcmWin Web site is spectacular!
From issue ANS-073 of the AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins we learn of Roger SM3GSJ's terrific great-circle map program, GcmWin. Recent enhancements make it very useful for the VHF+ contester chasing grid squares. The program supports overlays for confirmed and worked grids and some interesting propagation features for the HF contester. (Thanks also, John K8YSE)
Killer electrons? Not an unwanted arc in the shack, but high-energy electrons posing a hazard to astronauts and satellites during magnetic storms! This IEEE Spectrum story describes the processes by which killer electrons are accelerated to lethal levels using ultra-low frequency (ULF) waves in the Earth's magnetosphere.
George VE3ERP reports that he has just released HAMCALC version 118. This popular package of simple calculators now includes a Filter Tutor, a Filter Impedance Matching utility, a calculator on the Cark Y Airfoil, and upgrades the Stripline-Bandpass Filter, Humidex, and Wind Chill calculators.
Time to go comb the antenna? This story from Science Daily describes the development of water-repellent coatings that consist of tiny hairs, similar to those found on spiders. The coating works on both hot and cold water, reportedly. Not only does the ultra-repellent surface shed water, but the water carries away dirt, too - a self-cleaning antenna element at last!
Web Site of the Week - Twenty-five years ago, domain names began to be registered for the Internet. Who were these pioneers? How many are still around? You can find out on the 100 Oldest Internet Domain Names Web page. Scan the list and you'll see some old friends. You won't be able to resist the urge to see who's still active!
WORD TO THE WISE
3830 - The popular score-posting Web service created by Bruce WA7BNM and from which Dink N7WA creates score summaries after each contest. Dink writes, "Yes, you can (and should) go back to the 3830 Score Submission page and resubmit your score with corrections. You only need to re-enter the items shown in RED. When you click on Submit, you'll be given a choice of reposting or just updating the summary database. Then, when you are done, shoot me a quick email (contest, call, and what needs fixing). Why? The correction you submitted requires manual review before incorporation (you can thank a few pranksters for that)." The name 3830 refers to the frequency of 3830 kHz on which contesters used to meet after the contest to exchange scores.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
The PJ2T log summary, hour by hour breakdown, team photo, and photo album for ARRL DX CW at PJ2T are posted online. Big 10 meter openings were reported for the first time in quite a while and the team "may have had more fun than the law allows", so the operation was a big success! (Thanks, Geoff WØCG/PJ2DX)
No, it's not W1AW after a rebuilding project! It's the Maine shortwave broadcasting station WVHA during it's heyday. We can dream, can't we? (Thanks, George K5TR and Tim K3LR)
Who says Short-Wave Listening is going the way of the Branly Coherer? Bertrand F5PL used his 3.5-meter dish near Castelnaudary, France to listen to the signal from Mars Express during the recent Phobos Flyby. It might not be that much longer before the Elther-Mathes Cup is within the amateur's grasp! (Thanks, Brent W5WW and others)
Popular Science magazine has placed its entire 137-year history online with the cooperation and assistance of Google. All of those fantastic articles about future technology are now just a click away! Remember the flying car? It's in there!
Occasionally, the question arises of whether anyone has ever operated from all 40 CQ zones. The answer is, yes, N6AA and N6ZZ have accomplished that feat and others are hot on their trail. Here's a great PDF slide show about Phil's excellent adventures. You'll be surprised at what his last zone turned out to be!
RESULTS AND RECORDS
Randy, K5ZD, doesn't have enough to do with his fine management of the CQ WPX CW/SSB contests, so he teamed up with Don, AA5AU, to bring up a searchable database of the entire history of CQ WPX RTTY contests. The entire 15-year history of the CQ WPX RTTY contest is included in the database. (Thanks, CQ RTTY Contest Director, Ed WØYK)
Some of the faces in the D4C team were also at CTU-Italy. Left to right are Erica, Fabio I4UFH, Stefano IW2MJQ, and Max IZ4DPV. (Photo by K3LR)
The results for the 2009 Ohio QSO Party have been posted at the OhQP Web site. A printer friendly version of the results and some additional statistical breakdowns will be available soon. (Thanks, Mad River Radio Club President, Jim K8MR)
Krasimir LZ1GL reports, "We are glad to announce that the results of the LZ Open Contest 2010 are ready and published.
March 11, 2010 Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA ARRL Home PageARRL Letter ArchiveAudio News Legislative Affairs : ARRL Requests Support for S 1755 FCC News : FCC Seeks Comments for Blanket Waiver to Allow Amateur Radio in Hospital Emergency Drills ARRL Seeks Input for New IARU Region 2 Band Plan Coming Up in QST : Look for Your April Issue to Arrive Soon! FCC News : Administrative Law Judge Says Washington State Licensee Can Keep Ham License FCC News : FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Correspondence Posted Hints and Kinks : Painting Letters Solar Update This Week on the Radio Legislative Affairs: ARRL Requests Support for S 1755 The ARRL needs your help to encourage the leadership of the House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee to back the passage of Senate Bill 1755. Click here for information on how you can show your support for this very important piece of legislation. Senate Bill 1755 -- The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009 introduced in October 2009 by Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) -- has unanimously passed the US Senate and has been sent to the US House of Representatives for consideration and now sits in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The ARRL is asking its membership to contact the leadership of the Energy and Commerce committee, requesting support and action on moving S 1755 through the committee. S 1755 accomplishes the same things as HR 2160; HR 2160 was introduced in April 2009 by Rep Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18). Since S 1755 has already been approved by the Senate, moving it forward in the House will simplify the process. Click here for more information, including instructions on how to encourage the committee's leadership to support S 1755. FCC News: FCC Seeks Comments for Blanket Waiver to Allow Amateur Radio in Hospital Emergency Drills In February 2010, the American Hospital Association (AHA) filed a request with the FCC for a blanket waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3) of the Commission's Rules "to permit hospitals seeking accreditation to use Amateur Radio operators who are hospital employees to transmit communications on behalf of the hospital as part of emergency preparedness drills." On March 3, the FCC issued a Public Notice -- WP Docket 10-54 -- seeking comments if the Commission "should grant AHA's request for a blanket waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3) to permit amateur operators who are hospital employees to participate in emergency drills that are conducted by hospitals for accreditation purposes and that are not government-sponsored." Section 97.113(a)(3) specifically prohibits amateur stations from transmitting communications "in which the station licensee or control operator has a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of an employer." Instructions on how to paper file or file electronically are listed in the Public Notice. Read more here. ARRL Recognizes: Bob Schroeder, N2HX, Awarded 2009 Bill Orr, W6SAI, Technical Writing Award Bob Schoeder, N2HX, is the recipient of the ARRL's 2009 Bill Orr, W6SAI, Technical Writing Award for his article "Electromagnetic Pulse and Its Implications for EmComm" that appeared in November 2009 issue of QST. Click here to read the article. H. Robert "Bob" Schroeder, N2HX, of Ewing, New Jersey, has been named the winner of the ARRL Foundation's 2009 Bill Orr, W6SAI, Technical Writing Award for his article "Electromagnetic Pulse and Its Implications for EmComm" that appeared in November 2009 issue of QST. The editorial staff commented on Schroeder's article, saying that "the topic of nuclear EMP is somewhat esoteric by itself, let alone discussing its impact on Amateur Radio, yet the author did an outstanding job of making the subject matter understandable even to the relatively non-technical ham. His writing is clear and to the point, offering practical advice not only for EMP mitigation as it applies to the unlikely event of a nuclear burst, but also extending the same principles to mitigation for lightning damage." Read more here. ARRL Seeks Input for New IARU Region 2 Band Plan The International Amateur Radio Region 2 conference -- held later this year in El Salvador -- brings together delegations from the national Amateur Radio Societies in the Western Hemisphere. One of the topics on the agenda will be the Region 2 HF band plan. This band plan is "harmonized with" -- spectrum management-speak for "very similar to" -- the IARU Region 1 and Region 3 band plans. At this year's conference, the IARU Member-Societies will consider possible changes to the Region 2 band plan. The ARRL is cooperating with this procedure by inviting input to be sent to the ARRL Board of Directors' Band Planning Committee. The committee will review the existing Region 2 band plan, consider input from the amateur community and make recommendations to the ARRL Board for submission to IARU Region 2. Read more here. Coming Up in QST : Look for Your April Issue to Arrive Soon! The April issue of QST is jam-packed with all sorts of things today's Amateur Radio operator needs. From product reviews to experiments to contesting -- including the official ARRL Rookie Roundup announcement and a report on how hams responded to the crisis in Haiti -- the upcoming issue of QST has something for just about everyone. You'll find an abundance of technical and general interest articles, as well as monthly columns such as Happenings, How's DX, Hamspeak, Vintage Radio and more. Click here to discover what's in store for you in the April issue of QST, the official journal of the ARRL. FCC News : Administrative Law Judge Says Washington State Licensee Can Keep Ham License In January 2007, the FCC issued an Order to Show Cause to David L. Titus, KB7ILD, of Seattle, Washington, to justify why his General class Amateur Radio license should not be revoked and initiated a hearing process to determine whether Titus "is qualified to remain a Commission licensee" in light of a 1993 felony conviction at the age of 18 for "communicating with a minor for immoral purposes." According to the FCC order, Titus received a 25-month prison sentence for this act, and the Seattle Police Department has identified him as a registered sex offender. On March 9, Administrative Law Judge Richard L. Sippel issued his Initial Decision -- saying that Titus " has been a law-abiding member of his community for many years" and ordered that Titus' license should not be revoked based on the evidence presented by the defendant and witnesses on his behalf, as well as the FCC's Enforcement Bureau failure to meet the burden of proof necessary for revocation. The FCC has said that The Communications Act of 1934, as amended provides that the Commission may revoke any license if conditions come to its attention that would warrant a denial of the licensee's original application. In the past, the Commission has said that felony convictions, "especially those involving sexual offenses involving children," raise questions regarding a licensee's character qualifications. Sippel's Initial Decision shall become effective "and this proceeding shall be terminated 50 days after its release if exceptions are not filed within 30 days thereafter, unless the Commission elects to review the case on its own motion." FCC News : FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Correspondence Posted The FCC has posted new Amateur Radio enforcement correspondence on its "Amateur Radio Service Enforcement Actions" Web page. Laura Smith, Special Counsel in the FCC's Enforcement Bureau, sent a letters to the Sacramento (California) Municipal Utility District and to Northwestern Energy of Helena, Montana; Northwestern Energy also received letters voicing these same matters in March and September 2009. These letters concerned received complaints that equipment operated by these utilities may be causing harmful interference to Amateur Radio operators. Direct all questions about the Amateur Radio Service Enforcement Actions Web postings via e-mail only to the FCC Enforcement Bureau. Hints and Kinks: Painting Letters This idea comes to us from Dave Price, K4KDP, of Goldsboro, North Carolina. As I get older, I find it is harder to read some of the smaller print on my radios. The ICOM 706 is a good example. The radio connectors are marked ANT 1, ANT 2, MIC and DC 13.8V, just to name
March 11, 2010
Legislative Affairs: ARRL Requests Support for S 1755
The ARRL needs your help to encourage the leadership of the House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee to back the passage of Senate Bill 1755. Click here for information on how you can show your support for this very important piece of legislation.
FCC News: FCC Seeks Comments for Blanket Waiver to Allow Amateur Radio in Hospital Emergency Drills
In February 2010, the American Hospital Association (AHA) filed a request with the FCC for a blanket waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3) of the Commission's Rules "to permit hospitals seeking accreditation to use Amateur Radio operators who are hospital employees to transmit communications on behalf of the hospital as part of emergency preparedness drills." On March 3, the FCC issued a Public Notice -- WP Docket 10-54 -- seeking comments if the Commission "should grant AHA's request for a blanket waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3) to permit amateur operators who are hospital employees to participate in emergency drills that are conducted by hospitals for accreditation purposes and that are not government-sponsored." Section 97.113(a)(3) specifically prohibits amateur stations from transmitting communications "in which the station licensee or control operator has a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of an employer." Instructions on how to paper file or file electronically are listed in the Public Notice. Read more here.
ARRL Recognizes: Bob Schroeder, N2HX, Awarded 2009 Bill Orr, W6SAI, Technical Writing Award
Bob Schoeder, N2HX, is the recipient of the ARRL's 2009 Bill Orr, W6SAI, Technical Writing Award for his article "Electromagnetic Pulse and Its Implications for EmComm" that appeared in November 2009 issue of QST. Click here to read the article.
H. Robert "Bob" Schroeder, N2HX, of Ewing, New Jersey, has been named the winner of the ARRL Foundation's 2009 Bill Orr, W6SAI, Technical Writing Award for his article "Electromagnetic Pulse and Its Implications for EmComm" that appeared in November 2009 issue of QST. The editorial staff commented on Schroeder's article, saying that "the topic of nuclear EMP is somewhat esoteric by itself, let alone discussing its impact on Amateur Radio, yet the author did an outstanding job of making the subject matter understandable even to the relatively non-technical ham. His writing is clear and to the point, offering practical advice not only for EMP mitigation as it applies to the unlikely event of a nuclear burst, but also extending the same principles to mitigation for lightning damage." Read more here.
The International Amateur Radio Region 2 conference -- held later this year in El Salvador -- brings together delegations from the national Amateur Radio Societies in the Western Hemisphere. One of the topics on the agenda will be the Region 2 HF band plan. This band plan is "harmonized with" -- spectrum management-speak for "very similar to" -- the IARU Region 1 and Region 3 band plans. At this year's conference, the IARU Member-Societies will consider possible changes to the Region 2 band plan. The ARRL is cooperating with this procedure by inviting input to be sent to the ARRL Board of Directors' Band Planning Committee. The committee will review the existing Region 2 band plan, consider input from the amateur community and make recommendations to the ARRL Board for submission to IARU Region 2. Read more here.
Coming Up in QST : Look for Your April Issue to Arrive Soon!
The April issue of QST is jam-packed with all sorts of things today's Amateur Radio operator needs. From product reviews to experiments to contesting -- including the official ARRL Rookie Roundup announcement and a report on how hams responded to the crisis in Haiti -- the upcoming issue of QST has something for just about everyone. You'll find an abundance of technical and general interest articles, as well as monthly columns such as Happenings, How's DX, Hamspeak, Vintage Radio and more. Click here to discover what's in store for you in the April issue of QST, the official journal of the ARRL.
FCC News : Administrative Law Judge Says Washington State Licensee Can Keep Ham License
In January 2007, the FCC issued an Order to Show Cause to David L. Titus, KB7ILD, of Seattle, Washington, to justify why his General class Amateur Radio license should not be revoked and initiated a hearing process to determine whether Titus "is qualified to remain a Commission licensee" in light of a 1993 felony conviction at the age of 18 for "communicating with a minor for immoral purposes." According to the FCC order, Titus received a 25-month prison sentence for this act, and the Seattle Police Department has identified him as a registered sex offender. On March 9, Administrative Law Judge Richard L. Sippel issued his Initial Decision -- saying that Titus " has been a law-abiding member of his community for many years" and ordered that Titus' license should not be revoked based on the evidence presented by the defendant and witnesses on his behalf, as well as the FCC's Enforcement Bureau failure to meet the burden of proof necessary for revocation. The FCC has said that The Communications Act of 1934, as amended provides that the Commission may revoke any license if conditions come to its attention that would warrant a denial of the licensee's original application. In the past, the Commission has said that felony convictions, "especially those involving sexual offenses involving children," raise questions regarding a licensee's character qualifications. Sippel's Initial Decision shall become effective "and this proceeding shall be terminated 50 days after its release if exceptions are not filed within 30 days thereafter, unless the Commission elects to review the case on its own motion."
FCC News : FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Correspondence Posted
The FCC has posted new Amateur Radio enforcement correspondence on its "Amateur Radio Service Enforcement Actions" Web page. Laura Smith, Special Counsel in the FCC's Enforcement Bureau, sent a letters to the Sacramento (California) Municipal Utility District and to Northwestern Energy of Helena, Montana; Northwestern Energy also received letters voicing these same matters in March and September 2009. These letters concerned received complaints that equipment operated by these utilities may be causing harmful interference to Amateur Radio operators. Direct all questions about the Amateur Radio Service Enforcement Actions Web postings via e-mail only to the FCC Enforcement Bureau.
Hints and Kinks: Painting Letters
This idea comes to us from Dave Price, K4KDP, of Goldsboro, North Carolina.
As I get older, I find it is harder to read some of the smaller print on my radios. The ICOM 706 is a good example. The radio connectors are marked ANT 1, ANT 2, MIC and DC 13.8V, just to name