[CVRC] The ARRL Letter, Vol 28, No 15 (Friday, April 17, 2009)
ARRL Letter Mailing List
letter-dlvy at arrl.org
Fri Apr 17 17:46:52 EDT 2009
***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 28, No. 15
April 17, 2009
***************
IN THIS EDITION:
* + When Vandals Strike Infrastructure, Hams Provide Communications Support
* + ARRL Comments on Broadband Provisions in Recovery Act
* + Look for the May Issue of QST in Your Mailbox
* + California Teen Is 2009 Goldfarb Scholarship Recipient
* + Hams in Southeastern US Provide Spotting Assistance to NWS
* + Forum Schedule Announced for 2009 Dayton Hamvention
* Solar Update
* IN BRIEF:
This Week on the Radio
ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration
+ No ARRL Audio News April 24
+ Italy Discontinues HF Earthquake Net
+Available on ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>
===========================================================
==>Delivery problems: First see FAQ
<http://www.arrl.org/members-only/faq.html#nodelivery>,
then e-mail <letter-dlvy at arrl.org>
==>Editorial questions or comments only: S.
Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA <k1sfa at arrl.org>
===========================================================
==> WHEN VANDALS STRIKE INFRASTRUCTURE, HAMS PROVIDE COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT
Just after midnight on April 9, someone climbed
down four manholes in the San Jose, California
area and cut underground fiber optic cables. The
sabotage led to widespread disruption of phone
service -- including tens of thousands of land
lines, an undetermined number of cell phones,
Internet access and 911 emergency service -- in
southern Santa Clara County, as well as in Santa
Cruz and San Benito counties. San Jose is the
county seat of Santa Clara County. With the
infrastructure disabled, local Emergency
Management officials called on ham radio
operators in their communities to provide back-up
communications. According to the "San Jose
Mercury News," Santa Clara County called a local
state of emergency, "but worst-case scenarios
were successfully avoided through use of ham
radios, door-to-door checks and extra-vigilant
patrols" <http://www.mercurynews.com/centralcoast/ci_12121118?nclick_check=1>.
In Santa Cruz County, just over the Santa Cruz
Mountains from San Jose, Santa Cruz County
District Emergency Coordinator Cap Pennell,
KE6AFE, was awoken just after 5 AM on April 9 by
uniformed police at his door. Sent by Dominican
Hospital President Nanette Mickiewicz, the police
officers escorted Pennell to the hospital for a
brief on this situation: The fiber optic lines
that had been cut in San Jose had affected the
Santa Cruz hospital's communications
infrastructure, cutting off communications from
the hospital to the outside world. Santa Cruz is
located on the northern edge of the Monterey Bay,
about 70 miles south of San Francisco.
"While I was meeting with hospital department
heads, Bob Wolbert, K6XX, had started our ARES
Resource Net on the W6WLS/W6MOW linked
repeaters," Pennell told the ARRL. "During the
briefing, the hospital determined to implement
HICS/SEMS for this emergency. There hadn't been
telephones or Internet anywhere since about 2:30
AM. The hospital's phone system did work, but
only within the hospital. Their internal computer
local area network wasn't working either, so they
were instantly on a 'paper system.'"
By 6:15, Pennell said they had established
tactical radio links on the K6BJ/KI6EH linked
repeaters between the Dominican Hospital
Emergency Operations Center in Santa Cruz and the
Watsonville Community Hospital emergency room;
Watsonville is about 15 miles south of Santa Cruz
via the Pacific Coast Highway. "We established
HEARNET 155.385 simplex between both hospital ERs
and County 911; HEARNET is the Hospital Emergency
Administrative Radio Network. Once HEARNET (ER
staff) and K6BJ repeater (hams) were staffed and
operating at both hospitals, I left the hospital
to become our initial ham operator at the County
Emergency Operations Center and operated as
ARES/ACS shift supervisor from there for the rest
of the day," Pennell reported.
Throughout the day, Pennell said that hams --
including some in Monterey County who had been
working telephones -- helped dispatch ambulances,
conferred with the Poison Center on a children's
poisoning case, ordered replacement blood
supplies for two hospitals from San Jose Red
Cross, relayed a complex major "whole hospital"
day's food order to the supplier out of county,
tracked down various doctors for emergency
consultations and shared status updates from our
area. "We did all this while in unity with the
County government, public safety agencies and
California Emergency Management Agency's Coastal
Region," he said. "Greg Smith of Cal-EMA
<http://www.calema.ca.gov/> spent the day in the
Santa Cruz EOC with us." All service was restored
by 12:15 AM on Friday, April 10.
NETCOM, the dispatch center for most police and
fire agencies in Santa Cruz County, was able to
receive 911 calls placed from land lines, but
could not receive calls placed from cell phones,
said Santa Cruz County Senior Dispatcher
Stephanie Zube. "Because the only phone number
many land line phone owners could call was 911,"
she said the center received "countless calls"
regarding the blackout: "At least several people
attempted to call 911 before driving themselves
to the emergency room. A lady in Gilroy fled her
home when a robber broke in, and couldn't call
911 before fleeing to a nearby firehouse."
Vandalism Takes Out System
San Jose and San Carlos police are joined in
their investigation of the cut fiber optic cables
-- now considered by authorities to be a
coordinated act of sabotage -- by the Santa Clara
County Sheriff's Office and the FBI. The
investigation also includes members of AT&T's
security force, a handful of trained
investigators working for the company.
Authorities said on April 10 that evidence
collection was complete, but would not elaborate
on what exactly what they are examining or
whether new security measures are in place to
prevent similar acts of destruction.
San Jose police reported receiving about 10 tips
concerning the sabotage; San Carlos police told
the "Mercury News" that they were examining video
surveillance of a major intersection near one of
the four locations where AT&T's underground
fiber-optic cables were sliced early Thursday morning.
On April 11, AT&T issued a $100,000 reward for
information, but bumped up the reward to $250,000
the next day when it discovered that the damage
was more serious than originally thought.
According to the Daily Tech, some banks in the
area were forced to close temporarily, while all
service was disabled and hand-written receipts
were offered to customers. Many businesses also
were forced to either accept cash or close for a
few hours, since credit card and ATM transactions
were unavailable
<http://www.dailytech.com/Vandals+Cut+Phone+Cables+Drop+Service+for+50K+People+911+Services/article14821.htm>.
Authorities say the communications sabotage
occurred in two separate incidents, one at 1:30
AM in south San Jose and the other two hours
later in San Carlos. Several companies, such as
Verizon, "piggy back" on the AT&T-owned cables.
AT&T spokesman John Britton told the "Mercury
News"
<http://www.mercurynews.com/centralcoast/ci_12115324?nclick>
that it appears vandals opened a manhole and
climbed down at least 8 feet to cut four or five
fiber optic cables along Monterey Road just north
of the Blossom Hill Road exit. The second
vandalism was along Old County Road near Bing
Street in San Carlos. San Jose police spokesman
Sergeant Ronnie Lopez said the manhole covers are
heavy and would take quite an effort to lift,
perhaps even requiring a tool. Investigators do
not have a suspect yet, he said, but have learned
"to expect the unexpected. We have some obvious
clues and can assume some things," but a motive
remains elusive <http://www.mercurynews.com/valley/ci_12142268>.
Community Leaders Praise Hams
Gilroy, the southernmost city in Santa Clara
County, was also affected. City
Administrator/Director of Emergency Services
Thomas J. Haglund expressed his thanks to the
Amateur Radio operators who assisted with
communications support, saying, "This particular
emergency situation underscores that our reliance
on technology should be balanced with maintaining
the very types of capabilities that you provided
to us. Communication is an obvious key to
adequately responding to any emergency and the
efforts of the Mutual Aid Communicators and the
Gilroy Police VIP's provided the necessary
communication and public visibility in this
instance and demonstrated just how important your
training and skill is to our community. Thank you
very much for your dedication and expertise."
Gilroy Police Chief Denise Turner echoed
Haglund's comments: "We truly appreciated all of
your help during this challenging event! Each of
you played a key role in a successful operation.
I feel better knowing we have dedicated
volunteers like you that will come to our aid in
time of need! Thank you!" -- Some information
provided by "The San Jose Mercury News" and "The Daily Tech"
==> ARRL COMMENTS ON BROADBAND PROVISIONS IN RECOVERY ACT
On March 24, 2009, the FCC invited comments from
interested parties concerning the Commission's
consultative role in the broadband provisions of
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (Recovery Act)
<http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2009/db0324/DA-09-668A1.pdf>.
In the Recovery Act, Congress assigned grant and
loanmaking responsibilities to the Department of
Commerce's National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA) and the
Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities
Service (RUS). On April 13, the ARRL, through
General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, submitted
comments
<http://www.arrl.org/news/files/BroadbandDefinitionDocket09-40.pdf>
that expressed concern as "the threshold for what
constitutes 'broadband' is a critical
determination that will inevitably determine the
success or failure of the [Broadband Technologies
Opportunities Program] BTOP
<http://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandgrants/> program going forward."
In the League's comments to the FCC, the ARRL
asked the Commission to adopt as the definition
of broadband "those technologies capable of the
minimum threshold bidirectional speeds [as
recommended in the ARRL's comments], without
variation among the type of broadband technology
under consideration, as a minimum threshold in
order to be considered for grants or loans of public funds."
While the FCC has no funds under the Recovery Act
for grant or loanmaking, it does, however, have
what the Commission describes as "an important
role to play in providing expert, technical
advice to the NTIA" as it establishes the BTOP,
"and the Commission may also provide expert,
technical advice to RUS as it proceeds with its own programs."
Imlay pointed out to the Commission that the ARRL
actively participates in the Committee for
Communications Policy of the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers-USA
(IEEE-USA CCP), "which has engaged in
considerable discussion of universal access to
high-speed broadband networks, and in particular,
broadband definitions and target goals for
broadband deployment" <http://www.ieeeusa.org/volunteers/committees/ccp/>.
He told the Commission that the ARRL
"wholeheartedly concurs" with that organization's
views on broadband technologies, as detailed in
its position statement, 'Nationwide High Speed
Broadband Data Services,' that says "The most
important short-term goal is broadening
ubiquitous availability [of broadband]. Data
rates should be sufficient to provide the
equivalent of several channels of bidirectional,
high resolution video, achievable by expanding
the capabilities of current technologies"
<http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/positions/broadband.pdf>.
The IEEE also says that it "initially advocates"
the achievement of at least 20 Mb/s bidirectional
speed with 90 percent availability throughout the
nation within five years. "The wide penetration
of such speeds will achieve most of the expected
benefits and accommodate numerous simultaneous
applications per household or small business. Of
course, greater speeds can be had by those with
greater needs. We further advocate the
achievement of at least 100 Mb/s bidirectional
speed with availability to all businesses and
households within 10 years. The technology
necessary to meet this goal is scalable to almost
any future need at inexpensive upgrade costs."
Imlay said that IEEE-USA's position statement
concludes that there are "two overarching goals
for nationwide high-speed broadband networks:
widespread availability and high performance." In
providing public funds to achieve widespread
availability, Imlay stated that the FCC, NTIA and
the RUS should ensure that high performance
should not be set aside to achieve that goal.
"This," he told the Commission, "to ARRL, means
the establishment of a floor for throughput of at
least 20 Mb/s bidirectional speed for funding of
broadband systems to be developed between now and
2014, and 100 Mb/s bidirectional speed for those
systems to be implemented between 2014 and 2019.
Expenditure of public funds should be limited to
the technologies that can meet these goals."
The IEEE-USA statement also notes, Imlay
explained to the Commission, that the FCC's
recently adopted definition of broadband speed
"is a series of tiers, starting as low as 768
kb/s. As noted in the statement, this is woefully
inadequate to perform even current computing
applications." Imlay called for an elimination of
tiers "at least for purposes of determining what
broadband technologies should be funded with public funds."
Imlay, in his comments, said that the "most
urgent" of the FCC's "consultative issues with
the NTIA" involve defining just what broadband
is. "The Commission is obligated pursuant to the
Recovery Act to consult with NTIA on the
establishment of a national broadband service
deployment and expansion program, and the NTIA is
obligated, through the BTOP program, to provide
access to broadband service to consumers residing
in unserved areas," he said. "It is not useful in
the expenditure of large sums of Recovery Act
funds to promote broadband technologies that do
not include the capabilities needed by
individuals and businesses located in rural or
underserved areas. Therefore, the threshold for
what constitutes 'broadband' is a critical
determination that will inevitably determine the
success or failure of the BTOP program going forward."
The ARRL recognizes that the FCC has struggled
with this definition for some time, Imlay wrote:
"Indeed, in the Notice of Inquiry in Docket
09-51, FCC 09-31, released April 8, 2009 (at
¶15-16), the Commission stated that 'Broadband
can be defined in myriad ways. In order to ensure
that all people of the United States have access
to broadband capability, we must make sure that
the Commission appropriately identifies goals and
benchmarks in this regard...In addition, to the
extent that broadband is defined by 'speed,'
should the Commission consider raising the speeds
that define broadband? Should we distinguish
among the various broadband technologies?"
<http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2009/db0408/FCC-09-31A1.pdf>
Imlay said that it is the ARRL's position that
the definition of "broadband" should include an
"absolute lower threshold, minimum bidirectional
speed. It should not be a variable concept
determined by technology. To do otherwise is to
provide grants and loans of public funds to
technologies whose benefits are, in the medium
term, inadequate and which might, for example,
render businesses in rural areas less competitive
than those located in urban areas. It is, in
other words, not useful to fund the creation of
infrastructure that will be obsolete in the near
term or less useful than other technologies which
provide greater speeds. That simply perpetuates
the status quo, where there will still, going
forward, be adequately served and underserved
areas. The status quo is quite obviously
unacceptable to Congress, and it should be.
==> LOOK FOR THE MAY ISSUE OF QST IN YOUR MAILBOX
The May issue of QST has left for the printer and
is speeding toward your mailbox. This issue --
with its cover featuring the 2009 ARRL National
Convention and the Dayton Hamvention -- is
jam-packed with all sorts of things that today's
Amateur Radio operator needs. From product
reviews to experiments to contesting, the
upcoming issue of QST has something for just about everyone.
In the May issue, Dwight Merkley, N7KBC, shows a
way to see what's happening at night on your
mobile radio in his article "See Your Mobile
Controls at Night with Superbright LEDs."
Discover another way to talk on your radio in "A
Cell Phone Headset Adapter for Amateur Radio" by
Geoff Haines, N1GY. Is your antenna beam pointed
at the best possible elevation for the contacts
you want to make? Find out in the article "What's
the Best Height for My HF Beam?" by Steve Hunt, G3TXQ.
If you're excited about the 2009 ARRL National
Convention and the Dayton Hamvention, you're
definitely not alone! Catch up on all the latest
happenings at these events in S. Khrystyne
Keane's, K1SFA, article, "Something for Everyone
at the 2009 ARRL National Convention." ARRL ARISS
Program Manager Rosalie White, K1STO, gives
readers a glimpse into the life of Richard
Garriott, W5KWQ, son of US astronaut Owen
Garriott, W5LFL. Find out in the May QST how you
can meet Richard in Dayton at the ARRL EXPO.
If you like the competitive spirit of radiosport,
but you have a hankering for the big outdoors,
why not try ARDF, or Amateur Radio Direction
Finding? ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko,
KX9X, explores the world of ARDF in "This Month
in Contesting." According to Kutzko, all you need
to get started in competitive ARDF is "your
running shows, a set of headphones attached to a
receiver, a map or compass and a small handheld
directional receiver. Now run through a course in
a forest or on a trail, and try to find several
hidden transmitters as fast as possible." Kelly
Taylor, VE4XT, reports on the results of the 2008
ARRL CW Sweepstakes in this issue.
ARRL Contributing Author Gary Pearce, KN4AQ,
reviews Kenwood's RC-D710 Control Head/TNC.
According to Pearce, the RC-D710 "upgrades the
TM-V71A transceiver to add packet radio and APRS
capabilities identical to Kenwood's TM-D710A
transceiver, and it can be used with other radios
as a stand-alone TNC." Be sure to also check out
the reviews by ARRL Technical Advisor Bruce
Prior, N7RR, on portable dual-lever keyer paddles, also in the May issue.
Of course, there are the usual columns you know
and love in the May QST: Hints & Kinks, The
Doctor Is IN, How's DX, Vintage Radio, Hamspeak
and more. Look for your May issue of QST in your
mailbox. QST is the official journal of ARRL, the
national association for Amateur Radio. QST is
just one of the many benefits of ARRL membership.
To join or renew your ARRL membership, please see
the ARRL Web page <http://www.arrl.org/join>.
==> CALIFORNIA TEEN IS 2009 GOLDFARB SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT
In April, the ARRL Foundation Board of Directors
<http://www.arrlf.org> voted unanimously to award
the prestigious William R. Goldfarb Memorial
Scholarship to Dean LaBarba, KI6CUX, of Long
Beach, California. LaBarba will graduate from
Woodrow Wilson High School this year with a GPA
of 4.0. According to ARRL Chief Development
Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH, upon graduation,
LaBarba will more than meet the course
requirements with 50 hours of honors and Advanced Placement credits.
LaBarba holds a Technician class license that in
2005 led him to participation in the Amateur
Radio Emergency Communication (AREC) team at his
high school; since 2007, he has served as
president. The mobile Amateur Radio station at
Wilson High School is the only high school
emergency team in Long Beach. Hobart said that
LaBarba took the "extra initiative" to display
and demonstrate the mobile radio station at the
district science fair, explaining to the public
the role that Amateur Radio plays in community
safety. LaBarba also spends considerable time
coordinating Amateur Radio activities, including
Field Day, with the local community.
In addition to his Amateur Radio activities,
LaBarba is active in the Symphony and Symphonic
Orchestra where he is seated as principal
trombone. He also participates in the school
speech and debate team. From an early age,
LaBarba -- who will be attending Westmont College
<http://www.westmont.edu/> in Santa Barbara,
California -- has had a keen interest in medicine
and intends to pursue a career in neurology.
The Goldfarb Scholarship is the result of a
generous endowment from the late William
Goldfarb, N2ITP. Before his death in 1997,
Goldfarb set up a scholarship endowment of close
to $1 million in memory of his parents, Albert
and Dorothy Goldfarb. Awarded to one high school
senior each year, the Goldfarb Scholarship
assists the recipient to receive a four-year
undergraduate degree in engineering or science or
in the medical or business-related fields. The
terms of reference of the generous Goldfarb
scholarship award require that recipients
demonstrate financial need and significant
involvement with Amateur Radio, in addition to
high academic performance. The seventh Goldfarb
Scholarship winner, LaBarba continues the
tradition of prior recipients, demonstrating
superior academic performance, outstanding
leadership and extraordinary Amateur Radio and community service.
More information on the Goldfarb Scholarship is
available on the ARRL Web site
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlf/>. Applications for
the Goldfarb Scholarship and other ARRL
Foundation Scholarships are accepted each year
beginning October 1 and ending February 1 for the
academic year that starts the following August/September.
==> HAMS IN SOUTHEASTERN US PROVIDE SPOTTING ASSISTANCE TO NWS
As tornados swept through the southeastern part
of the country on April 10, hams in Alabama,
Tennessee, Arkansas and Georgia were on the air
providing assistance to the National Weather
Service (NWS) <http://www.nws.noaa.gov/>.
In Alabama, hams in Madison, Shelby and Calhoun
Counties activated SKYWARN Nets. According to
Madison County Emergency Coordinator Rolf
Goedhart, K4RGG storm spotters in that county
were quite active on their Net. "At 12:37, at the
request of the Madison County Emergency
Operations Center and in response to a tornado
watch, we formally activated the Madison County
Emergency Net," Goedhart told the ARRL. "For
about an hour and a half, there was virtually no
dead air, either on the SKYWARN net or the
Madison County Emergency Net. In fact, reports
were flowing fast enough to make one pause,
deciding when or even whether to call NCS with a
report." Goedhart said that Hilton, at the
Huntsville NWS amateur station, estimated
handling more than 200 reports from the northern
counties of the state in the nine hours that the Net was open.
In Tennessee, members of the Heart of Tennessee
(HOT) ARES <http://www.hotares.com/> started an
NWS SKYWARN Net at 12:18 PM as the storms
approached. "Amateur operators relayed storm
damage information to NWS for evaluation in
determining tornado strength in the area,"
Rutherford County Emergency Coordinator Keith
Miller, N9DGK, told the ARRL. "ARES members were
monitoring the developing line of storms as
watches and warnings were issued in the adjacent
counties in the Middle Tennessee area."
Miller said that since primary communications for
police departments, fire departments, Emergency
Medical Service, County Sheriff or County
Emergency Management Agency were not lost, backup
communication was not required per the County EMA
Director. His ARES group did not receive any
requests to staff emergency shelters.
ARRL Georgia Section Emergency Coordinator Gene
Clark, W4AYK, told the ARRL that hams in Gwinnett
County activated a SKYWARN Net at 4:30 PM on
April 10. "According to plan, a de-centralized
Net Control function was used, with the Net
Manager coordinating weather spotter reports to
the NWS office in Peachtree City," he said.
"Forty-one amateurs reported seven different
reportable weather situations to the NWS."
In Newton County, Emergency Coordinator Charles
Davis, WA4UJC, activated a weather Net at 8 PM.
Ten operators from different areas of the county,
as well as from adjacent counties, participated
in the Net, reporting golf ball-sized hail and
heavy rain. "When power went out for three hours
due to a broken power pole on the west side of
the county, the Net continued with hams using
mobile transceivers and backup power," Clark
explained. "The power outage caused us to lose
repeater capabilities, so the hams relied on
simplex. Using backup power, they contacted a
linked repeater system and maintained
communication with the NWS until securing at 11:15 that night."
Arkansas hams were busy with the storm, too. At
7:24 PM CDT, the NWS issued a tornado warning for
areas north of the Arkansas town of Mena in Polk
County; at 8:01 PM CDT, the warning was extended
into Mena. Nine minutes later, an EF-3 tornado
struck the city, killing three people.
According to ARRL Arkansas Section Emergency
Coordinator John Nordlund, AD5FU, members of the
Central Arkansas UHF Group (CAUHF)
<http://www.cauhf.org/weather/> provided
real-time reports to the National Weather Service
office in North Little Rock and to media outlets
around the state. "The Group used the AR-Links
SKYWARN net and the WarnIM system," Nordlund
said. WarnIM is a SKYWARN instant messenger
system serving to give those with or without ham
radio access, or those who are in remote areas an
additional means of communication in times of
emergencies or severe weather events. Its
features include live chat and access to updated
radar data directly from the NWS.
"When the net closed at the end of the severe
weather outbreak, NWS Warning Coordination
Meteorologist John Robinson stated on the WarnIM
system that the North Little Rock NWS office had
never had so much timely storm report information before," Nordlund said.
Nordlund visited Mena on April 11 and noted that
the local ham operators are participating in any
emergency tasks that are assigned to them --
based on their training and certifications -- and
are using simplex ham radio frequencies primarily
to avoid additional loading of public safety
frequencies as they carry out those assignments.
"The damage path [of the tornado] is a striking
example of the power of nature," he said. "The
recovery effort of community volunteers is
inspiring. This is another fine example of a
local ham group that has their ducks lined up and
on parade when it really counts."
==> FORUM SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED FOR 2009 DAYTON HAMVENTION
One of the many highlights at Dayton Hamvention
is the myriad of educational and fun forums that
take place the entire weekend at Hara Arena. The
Dayton Amateur Radio Association has coordinated
45 unique programs that encompass nearly 80 hours
of programs and activities for the thousands of
people expected to attend these programs.
Hamvention, the largest event of its kind, will
be May 15-17 at Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio.
Please keep in mind that the schedule may change before Hamvention.
Friday, May 15
9:15-11:15 -- TAPR Digital Forum (Room 1)
9:15-10:15 -- Engineering Manuals (Room 2)
9:15-10:15 -- Kit Building (Room 3)
9:15-10:15 -- QRP (Room 5)
10:30-12 -- Drake Forum (Room 2)
10:30-12 - Teachers Workshop (Room 3)
10:30-11:30 -- ARRL Field Day (Room 5)
11:30-12:30 -- APRS Forum (Room 1)
11:45-12:45 -- QSL Cards (Room 5)
12:15-1:15 -- ARRL, The Doctor Is IN (Room 2)
12:15-2 -- Ham Radio and the Law (Room 3)
12:45-2:15 -- D-STAR Forum (Room 1)
1-2:15 -- Alternative Energy Forum (Room 5)
1:30-2:30 -- ARRL, Public Relations (Room 2)
2:15-3:30 -- Gordon West (Room 3)
2:30-5 -- Antenna Forum (Room 1)
2:30-5 -- Software defined Radio (Room 5)
2:45-3:45 -- Foxhunting Forum (Room 2)
3:45-5 -- Techniques of the Best Operators (Room 3)
4-5 -- County Hunting Forum (Room 2)
Saturday, May 16
9:15-11:15 -- Contesting Forum (Room 1)
9:15-10:15 -- SATERN Forum (Room 2)
9:15-10:15 - Lightning Grounding Forum (Room 3)
9:15-11:00 - VHF/UHF/Microwave Forum (Room 5)
10:30-11:30 -- ARRL Members Forum (Room 2)
10:30-11:45 -- Heil Sound (Room 3)
11:15-1:30 -- AMSAT Forum (Room 5)
11:30-1:15 -- Youth Forum (Room 1)
11:45-2 -- Newsline Town Meeting (Room 2)
12-1 -- RTTY Forum (Room 3)
1:15-2:15 -- ARRL, Digital Contesting (Room 3)
1:30-2:30 - ARRL Presents Richard Garriott, W5KWQ (Room 1)
1:45-3 -- SSTV Forum (Room 5)
2:15-3:15 -- FCC Forum (Room 2)
2:30-3:30 -- ARES Forum (Room 3)
2:45-5 -- DX Forum (Room 1)
3:15-5 -- MARS Forum (Room 5)
3:30-5 -- ATV Forum (Room 2)
3:45-5 -- Collins Forum (Room 3)
Sunday, May 17
9:15-10:15 -- Red Cross Forum (Room 1)
9:15-11 -- QCWA Forum (Room 2)
9:15-10:15 -- Volunteers and EmComm Forum (Room 3)
9:30-11:15 - Bicycle Mobile Forum (Room 5)
10:30-11:30 - When All Else Fails, South Carolina Is Ready (Room 1)
For more information on forums at the 2009 Dayton
Hamvention, please visit the Dayton Hamvention
Web site <http://hamvention.org/forums.php>.
==>SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "The Sun is hot on my neck as I observe"
Cook, K7RA, this week reports: Still no sunspots,
and again we saw a prediction for slightly higher
solar flux slip away. Sunspot numbers for April
9-15 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 and 0 with a mean of
0. The 10.7 cm flux was 70.1, 69.4, 69.3, 69.3,
68.4, 69.4 and 69.4 with a mean of 69.3. The
estimated planetary A indices were 12, 8, 9, 8,
4, 2 and 3 with a mean of 6.6. The estimated
mid-latitude A indices were 9, 6, 7, 4, 3, 1 and
2 with a mean of 4.6. For more information
concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL
Technical Information Service Propagation page
<http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html>.
To read this week's Solar Report in its entirety,
check out the W1AW Propagation Bulletin page
<http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/>. This week's
"Tad Cookism" brought to you by Edna St Vincent
Millay's "Spring"
<http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=173994>.
__________________________________
==>IN BRIEF:
* This Week on the Radio: This week, the NCCC
Sprint Ladder is on April 17. Be sure to check
out the Holyland DX Contest, the TARA Skirmish
Digital Prefix Contest, the ES Open HF
Championship and the Feld Hell Sprint on April
18. The Michigan QSO Party, the Ontario QSO Party
and the YU DX Contest are April 18-19. The Run
for the Bacon QRP Contest is April 20. The SKCC
Sprint and the 432 MHz Spring Sprint are April 22
(the 432 MHz Sprint is local time). Look for
another NCCC Sprint Ladder next week on April 24.
The Florida QSO Party, the Nebraska QSO Party and
the SP DX RTTY Contest are all on April 25-26.
All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See
the ARRL Contest Branch page
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/>, the ARRL Contest
Update <http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/> and
the WA7BNM Contest Calendar
<http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html>
for more info. Looking for a Special Event
station? Be sure to check out the ARRL Special Event Station Web page <http://
www.arrl.org/contests/spev.html>.
* ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration:
Registration remains open through Sunday, May 3,
2009 for these online course sessions beginning
on Friday, May 15, 2009: Antenna Modeling and
Radio Frequency Propagation. Each online course
has been developed in segments -- learning units
with objectives, informative text, student
activities and quizzes. Courses are interactive,
and some include direct communications with a
Mentor/Instructor. Students register for a
particular session that may be 8, 12 or 16 weeks
(depending on the course) and they may access the
course at any time of day during the course
period, completing lessons and activities at
times convenient for their personal schedule.
Mentors assist students by answering questions,
reviewing assignments and activities, as well as
providing helpful feedback. Interaction with
mentors is conducted through e-mail; there is no
appointed time the student must be present --
allowing complete flexibility for the student to
work when and where it is convenient. To learn
more, visit the CCE Course Listing page
<http://www.arrl.org/cep/student> or contact the
Continuing Education Program Coordinator <cce at arrl.org>.
* No ARRL Audio News April 24: There will be no
ARRL Audio News on Friday, April 24. The ARRL
Letter will be distributed that day. The ARRL
Audio News will return for May 1 and 8, but will
be on hiatus on May 15 due to the Dayton
Hamvention. The Audio News will resume regular distribution on May 22.
* Italy Discontinues HF Earthquake Net: On April
10, Italy's Dipartimento della Protezione Civile
announced they had closed down all organized
emergency communications support on HF
frequencies that had been set up after the April
6 earthquake that struck the town of L'Aquila.
The ARRL reported that two HF frequencies -- 7045
and 3640 kHz -- were being kept clear of regular
traffic so that they could be utilized for any
communications support needed in the aftermath of
the quake
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/04/06/10757/?nc=1>.
"There do not appear to be any other emergency
groups using [7045 kHz]," said IARU Region 1
Emergency Communications Coordinator Greg Mossop,
G0DUB, "so it is appropriate to return it to
normal use and let normal amateur procedures
apply: Listen before transmitting, and if you
hear any station passing emergency traffic, leave
the frequency clear and avoid causing
interference." Mossop said that a large number of
Amateur Radio responders are st
ill present from the different emergency
communications groups in the country.
===========================================================
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