From dick at k7vc.com  Tue Dec  1 21:11:50 2009
From: dick at k7vc.com (Dick Flanagan K7VC)
Date: Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:11:50 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] EMCOMMWEST 2010 Planning Meeting
Message-ID: <200912020212.nB22CSLD019441@pop1.greatbasin.net>

EMCOMMWEST 2010 is now only five months away.  It is time to take
the team we have put together and build the best EMCOMMWEST in our
history.

The next ECW10 planning meeting will be held in the Media (not
conference) Room at the Washoe County Regional Emergency Operations
Center (REOC) at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, December 5.  The Media Room
is in the front of the REOC building.

The REOC is located at 5195 Spectrum Blvd, Reno.  Photographs and a
map to the facility can be found at:
http://www.co.washoe.nv.us/em/reoc.html

All current project leaders are asked to attend and be prepared to
give a brief report on their areas.  Those wishing to join the team
will be welcomed and given help finding a good fit for their skills.

Please join us and help if you can.  It is time for all of us to
start planning in earnest.

Dick Flanagan K7VC
Executive Director, ECW10
dick at k7vc.com



From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Thu Dec  3 17:08:37 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:08:37 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] The ARRL Letter for December 3, 2009
Message-ID: <200912032208.nB3M8dBw003821@pop1.greatbasin.net>


If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2009-12-03>http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2009-12-03

December 3, 2009
Editor: <mailto:k1sfa at arrl.org>S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
<http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Home 
Page<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>ARRL 
Letter<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/> 
Archive<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>Audio 
News<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&i=2009-12-03&t=t>


    * + Advocacy : ARRL CEO, General Counsel 
Present ARRL's Stance on BPL to FCC Commissioners
    * + Operating : From One End of HF to the 
Other: The ARRL 160 Meter and 10 Meter Contests
    * + Operating : ARRL's Logbook of The World Reaches New Milestones
    * + The Doctor Is IN : The Fun -- and Challenges -- of Topband
    * + Now You Know! : A Brief History of Modern Day 160 Meters
    * + ARRL Recognizes : A. Robert Patzlaff, 
W9JQT , Wins November QST Cover Plaque Award
    * + Silent Key : Jerry Sevick, W2FMI (SK)
    * Solar Update
    * This Week on the Radio

+ Available on <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>ARRL Audio News
+ Advocacy: ARRL CEO, General Counsel Present 
ARRL's Stance on BPL to FCC Commissioners

ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, 
and General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, made the 
rounds of the five FCC Commissioners' offices 
during November to acquaint them with the ARRL's 
position on the regulation of interference from 
Broadband over Power Lines 
(<http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/>BPL) 
systems. The meetings were conducted in 
accordance with the rules governing ex parte 
communications in pending rulemaking proceedings, 
in this case the Further Notice of Proposed Rule 
Making (FNPRM) in ET Docket No. 04-37. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/12/03/11230/?nc=1>here.
+ Operating: From One End of HF to the Other: The 
ARRL 160 Meter and 10 Meter Contests

Get on the air and have some fun!

Both MF and HF offer a lot of breathing room for 
all interests in Amateur Radio. As the 2009-2010 
Contest Season continues, two single-band events 
in December will highlight the magic of the 
opposite ends of the shortwave spectrum: the ARRL 
160 Meter Contest (2200 UTC Friday, December 4 
through 1559 UTC Sunday, December 6) and the ARRL 
10 Meter Contest (0000 UTC Saturday, December 12 
through 2359 UTC Sunday, December 13). Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/12/01/11222/?nc=1>here.
+ Operating: ARRL's Logbook of The World Reaches New Milestones

To date, more than 30,000 hams have entered more 
than 250 million QSOs into Logbook of The World 
(LoTW), the ARRL's online logging program. At 
this time last year, 22,959 hams had made just 
more than 192 million QSOs, marking an upswing in 
both users and QSOs of about 24 percent. The LoTW 
system is a repository of log records submitted 
by amateurs from around the world. When both 
participants in a QSO submit matching QSO records 
to LoTW, the result is a QSL that can be used for 
ARRL award credit. While US amateurs do not need 
to be members of the ARRL to use LoTW, only 
members can use LoTW to apply for ARRL awards, 
such as DXCC and Worked All States (WAS). Some 
awards, like the Triple Play Award, only use LoTW 
credits instead of traditional QSL cards (foreign 
amateurs do not need to be ARRL members to apply 
for ARRL awards). Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/12/03/11229/?nc=1>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-12-03&p=0>
+ The Doctor Is IN: The Fun -- and Challenges -- of Topband

By ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA

I have been fascinated with the 160 meter band 
even before I upgraded to General back in 2007 -- 
it amazes me that amateurs can use radio waves 
that stretch out that long. I've also been 
working on getting my CW skills up to speed -- 
while I can send fairly quickly and cleanly, I 
know that my receiving skills need some work. The 
idea of combining my favorite band with a new 
(for me) mode of operating -- in a contest, no 
less -- is very titillating, to say the least. 
Can you tell I'm itching for the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/160-meters.html>ARRL 
160 Meter Contest to get here now?

So the other day, the Doctor and I got to talking 
(his clinic is right next to my office, so we 
have quite a few conversations about Amateur 
Radio during his office hours). I asked him if he 
knew why the 160 meter band has what some might 
consider "special properties" during the North 
American winter. And when I get on the air this 
weekend for the contest, is there anything I should watch out for?

The QTH of ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, 
with one of his 160 receive array short verticals in the foreground.

The Doctor -- who was in between patients at the 
time -- told me that atmospheric noise tends to 
increase with decreasing frequency -- since there 
is generally much less noise in winter, 160 
meters is much more usable in the colder months. 
Our current position in the sunspot cycle makes 
the maximum usable frequency quite low on most 
days. The combination of these factors makes 160 
a great spot -- just in time for the upcoming contest.

The key challenge, he told me -- and perhaps the 
most important factor for success on topband -- 
is antenna design and deployment. Since 
horizontal antennas need to be hundreds of feet 
high to provide useful low angle performance, the 
successful 160 meter DX operator will use 
vertical antennas. While arrays of full size 1/4 
wave (126 feet) verticals are feasible for some, 
most use shortened antennas, either as a single 
element or in multi-element arrays with 
reasonable success. Recent QST articles have 
provided a variety of designs of such elements, 
some almost invisible. Improved reception can be 
obtained using special receive antennas that 
reduce noise pickup faster than reducing signal 
reception. The resulting weak signal generally 
has a higher signal-to-noise ratio than that from the transmitting antenna.

Wow! If you haven't tried 160, a contest like the 
ARRL 160 Meter Contest provides an abundance of 
signals to let you know what your station can do. 
Do you have a question or a problem for the 
Doctor? Send your questions via 
<mailto:doctor at arrl.org>e-mail or to "The 
Doctor," ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 
(no phone calls, please). Look for "The Doctor Is 
IN" every month in <http://www.arrl.org/qst>QST, 
the official journal of the ARRL.
Coming up in QST : Look for the January Issue of QST to Arrive Soon

Click 
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZGs12TPGws>here 
to get a sneak peek of the gear in January's Product Review in QST.

The January issue of <http://www.arrl.org/qst>QST 
-- our first-ever DIY edition -- is jam-packed 
with all sorts of news and information that 
today's Amateur Radio operator needs. With a 
focus on "do it yourself" projects that you can 
build in as little as a couple of days (or even 
an afternoon!), the January issue also includes 
product reviews, experiments, public service and 
on-the-air activities -- something for just about 
everyone. Click 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/12/02/11228/?nc=1>here 
to discover what's in store for you in the 
January issue of QST, the official journal of the ARRL.
ARRL in Action: What Have We Been Up to Lately?

This feature -- including convenient Web links to 
useful information -- is a concise monthly update 
of some of the things ARRL is doing on behalf of 
its members, such as holding elections for the 
two positions on the ARRL Board of Directors and 
10 Section Managers, providing support for 
affected Sections during Tropical Storm Ida, 
conducting a frequency measuring test, sending 
out certificates and plaques for various ARRL 
contests and more. This installment covers the 
month of November. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2009/12/01/11225/?nc=1>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-12-03&p=1>
+ Now You Know!: A Brief History of Modern Day 160 Meters

By ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the ARRL 
160 Meter Contest. In 1970, the ARRL Board of 
Directors authorized this new event at their 
meeting in May. According to the 
<http://p1k.arrl.org/cgi-bin/topdf.cgi?id=63900&pub=qst>announcement 
that appeared in the October 1970 edition of 
<http://p1k.arrl.org/cgi-bin/topdf.cgi?id=63900&pub=qst>QST, 
the ARRL Contest Advisory Committee 
(<http://www.arrl.org/contests/cac.html>CAC<http://www.arrl.org/news/files/LimitationsFor160_1979.pdf>) 
and "numerous 'top banders'" provided the 
guidance for the contest; based on their 
recommendations, they created its initial format.

This chart, found on page 147 of The Radio 
Amateur's License Manual: A New and Complete 
Study Guide (published by the ARRL in 1979) shows 
each state's power limitations by 25 kHz segments 
for day and night for 160 meters. Click 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/files/LimitationsFor160_1979.pdf>here 
for a larger image.

Those licensed prior to May 1981 can surely 
remember the limitations on 160 meters due to the 
LORAN-A (Long Range Aid to Navigation) stations. 
These stations -- developed during World War II 
-- used signals that were transmitted on 
frequencies in and around our present-day 160 
meter band. The LORAN-A stations were responsible 
for reduced Amateur Radio operations -- including 
frequency and power limitations -- on 160 meters in the United States.

If you look at license manuals from this time, 
you will find a chart (Part 97.61, Authorized 
Frequencies and Emissions) that dictated how much 
power amateurs could use on topband. This was 
broken up into band segments of 25 kHz, going 
from 1800 kHz up to 2000 kHz. In band segments of 
25 kHz, it lists each US state and dictated how 
much power could be used during the day and 
during the night. For example, amateurs in 
Connecticut on 1844 kHz could use 100 W during 
the day, but had to go down to 25 W at night; 
Connecticut hams were not even allowed on during 
the day or night between 1850-1975 kHz! 
Conversely, Oklahoma hams had daytime topband 
privileges of 1000 W and could use 200 W at night on 1800-1825 kHz.

"Mr Top Band" Stew Perry, W1BB, devoted much of 
his life to demonstrating what was possible 160 
meters, receiving DXCC #1 for 160 on November 1, 
1976. Through his W1BB 160 meter bulletins -- 
which he circulated to others for free -- he 
encouraged interest in the band until his death 
in 1990. Click <http://www.k1zm.com/w1bb>here to 
read more about Stew and 160 meters. [Photo courtesy of Jeff Briggs, K1ZM]

On May 21, 1981, US amateurs got some good news 
when the FCC lifted most of the restrictions on 
1800-1900 kHz: For the first time, kilowatt 
powers were authorized for both daytime and 
nighttime use as the LORAN-A stations were being 
phased out. In 1979, the Coast Guard began 
replacing the LORAN-A stations with LORAN-C 
stations. These newer stations operate on 100 
kHz, enabling the restrictions on 160 meters due 
to LORAN functions to be dropped.

Most amateur transceivers didn't even begin to 
include 160 meters until the influx of Japanese 
imports began in the 1970s. As a result of that 
-- as well as the elimination of the HF LORAN 
system -- 160 meters has grown in popularity over 
the past couple of decades. Now in its 40th year, 
the ARRL 160 Meter Contest is still growing. From 
the first running in 1970 with 270 logs 
submitted, to 2008 with 1280 logs submitted, more 
amateurs are becoming fascinated with all that 
topband has to offer. If you've never been on 160 
before, try making a few contacts. If you're a 
topband veteran, this is the chance to strut your 
stuff. For more information on 160 meters, check 
out <6354.htm>DXing on the Edge: The Thrill of 
160 Meters by Jeff Briggs K1ZM. Now you know!
+ ARRL Recognizes: A. Robert Patzlaff, W9JQT , 
Wins November QST Cover Plaque Award

The winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award for 
October is A. Robert Patzlaff, W9JQT , for his 
article "The Rockless, a VFO Controlled Low Power 
Transceiver." Congratulations Robert! The winner 
of the QST Cover Plaque award -- given to the 
author or authors of the best article in each 
issue -- is determined by a vote of ARRL members 
on the 
<http://www.arrl.org/members-only/QSTvote.html>QST 
<http://www.arrl.org/members-only/QSTvote.html>Cover 
Plaque Poll Web page. Cast a ballot for your 
favorite article in the December issue by Thursday, December 31.
+ Silent Key: Jerry Sevick, W2FMI (SK)

Jerry Sevick, W2FMI (SK)

Jerry Sevick, W2FMI -- renowned for his research 
and publications related to short vertical 
antennas and transmission line transformers -- 
passed away on Sunday, November 29. He was 90. In 
2004, Sevick, an ARRL Technical Advisor, received 
the ARRL Hudson Division Technical Achievement 
Award; in 2005, he received the Dayton Hamvention 
Technical Excellence Award. The Hamvention Awards 
Committee noted that Sevick's April 1978 QST 
article on short ground-radial systems "now 
serves as the world's standard for earth 
conductivity measurements." Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/12/01/11226/?nc=1>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-12-03&p=2>
Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, December 3, 2009 
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 degrees Kelvin.

Tad 
"<http://englishhistory.net/keats/poetry/fancy.html>The 
snake all winter-thin cast on sunny bank its 
skin" Cook, K7RA, reports: The recent sunspot 
activity, which ended on November 22, pushed up 
the moving average we've been tracking for 
several years. Because we have all the data for 
November, we now know the 3-month average of 
daily sunspot numbers centered on October. For 
2009, the 3 month moving average (centered on 
January through October) was 2.19, 2.02, 1.49, 
2.01, 4.23, 5.2, 4.0, 4.0, 4.64 and 7.1. The 
latest value is the highest since April 2008, 
when it was 8.89. The monthly averages of daily 
sunspot numbers are also rising, although not as 
smoothly as the three month average. The monthly 
averages for March through November 2009 are 
0.77, 1.27, 3.97, 6.6, 5.07, 0.39, 6.6, 7.0 and 
7.7. The November average is the highest since 
March 2008 when it was 15.87. Geophysical 
Institute Prague predicts quiet to unsettled 
conditions December 4, unsettled December 5 and 
quiet December 6-10. Current projections show a 
steady quiet planetary A index of 5 for December 
3 and 4, then 8 for December 5-6 and back to 5 
through the end of the month. Solar flux 
predictions show December 3-7 at 71, 72 on 
December 8-10 then 75 on December 11-23. The 
predicted solar flux value of 75 seems to 
correspond to the return of an active region that 
we can see emerging from the dark spot on STEREO. 
An area that looked promising a few days ago has 
moved over the horizon and not produced any 
sunspots. Look for more information in the Solar 
Update, available on the ARRL Web site on Friday, 
December 4. For more information concerning radio 
propagation, visit the 
<http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html>ARRL 
Technical Information Service Propagation page. 
This week's "Tad Cookism" brought to you by John 
Keats' <http://englishhistory.net/keats/poetry/fancy.html>Fancy.
ARRL Publications: Two New Products -- Just in Time for the Holidays!

If you're still looking for that "just right" 
stocking stuffer for the ham in your life (or 
maybe you want to treat yourself), look no 
further than the ARRL Online Store. This holiday 
season, we are proud to present two new items: 
the ARRL holiday ornament and the Pocket Ref by 
Thomas Glover. Check them out 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/30/11223/?nc=1>here.
This Week on the Radio

Tim Duffy, K3LR, shown operating 160 meters 
during a recent contest, calls topband his 
"absolute favorite band." Duffy won the ARRL 160 
Meter Contest in 1980 as a single operator and in 
1992 as part of a multioperator team with W3YQ 
and WR3G. [Photo courtesy of Tim Duffy, K3LR]

This week, the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/160-meters.html>ARRL 
160 Meter Contest is December 4-6 and the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/eme.html>ARRL 
International EME Competition is December 5-6. 
The TARA RTTY Melee and the Wake-Up! QRP Sprint 
are December 5. The TOPS Activity Contest is 
December 5-6, the ARS Spartan Sprint is December 
8 and the NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint is 
December 9. Next week, the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/10-meters.html>ARRL 
10 Meter Contest is December 12-13. The Feld Hell 
Sprint is December 12. The MDXA PSK DeathMatch 
and the International Naval Contest are December 
12-13. The NA High Speed Meteor Scatter Winter 
Rally is December 12-16. The SKCC Weekend Sprint 
and the CQC Great Colorado Snowshoe Run are 
December 13. All dates, unless otherwise stated, 
are UTC. See the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/>ARRL Contest 
Branch page, the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/>ARRL 
Contest Update and the 
<http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html>WA7BNM 
Contest Calendar for more info. Looking for a 
Special Event station? Be sure to check out the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/spev.html>ARRL Special Event Station Web page.
ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration

Registration remains open through Sunday, 
December 27, 2009, for these 
<http://www.arrl.org/cep/student/>online course 
sessions beginning on Friday, January 8, 2010: 
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 1; 
Antenna Modeling; Radio Frequency Interference; 
Antenna Design and Construction; Ham Radio 
(Technician) License Course; Propagation; Analog 
Electronics, and Digital Electronics. To learn 
more, visit the 
<http://www.arrl.org/cep/student>CEP Course 
Listing page or contact the 
<mailto:cce at arrl.org>Continuing Education Program 
Coordinator<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&i=2009-12-03&t=r&p=0>.




----------
The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 50 times 
each year. ARRL members may subscribe at no cost 
or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data Page 
as described at 
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/.

Copyright ? 2009 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved



From dick at k7vc.com  Thu Dec  3 19:48:20 2009
From: dick at k7vc.com (Dick Flanagan)
Date: Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:48:20 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] EMCOMMWEST 2010 Planning Meeting CANCELLED
Message-ID: <200912040048.nB40mLCg012855@pop1.greatbasin.net>

The ECW10 Planning Meeting scheduled for this Saturday, December 5, 
has been CANCELLED due to holiday conflicts for a large number of attendees.

The next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, January 2 (the day after 
New Years Day).  While this might conflict with a few hangovers, 
hopefully it won't prevent a solid attendance from everyone 
interested in the event.

Those of you who are interested in keeping current with the event 
between meetings are all invited to join the ECW10 Working Group by 
going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ecw10/join or by sending an 
e-mail to ecw10-subscribe at yahoogroups.com

Sorry for the short notice of the cancellation, but that's one of the 
downsides to holding meetings this time of the year.

I want to wish everyone a joyous holiday and healthy and happy New 
Year (the older you get the more important that "healthy" part becomes  :)

Dick Flanagan K7VC
Executive Director, ECW10
dick at k7vc.com



From dick at k7vc.com  Thu Dec  3 19:48:28 2009
From: dick at k7vc.com (Dick Flanagan)
Date: Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:48:28 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] EMCOMMWEST 2010 Planning Meeting CANCELLED
Message-ID: <200912040051.nB40prUJ018384@pop1.greatbasin.net>

The ECW10 Planning Meeting scheduled for this Saturday, December 5, 
has been CANCELLED due to holiday conflicts for a large number of attendees.

The next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, January 2 (the day after 
New Years Day).  While this might conflict with a few hangovers, 
hopefully it won't prevent a solid attendance from everyone 
interested in the event.

Those of you who are interested in keeping current with the event 
between meetings are all invited to join the ECW10 Working Group by 
going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ecw10/join or by sending an 
e-mail to ecw10-subscribe at yahoogroups.com

Sorry for the short notice of the cancellation, but that's one of the 
downsides to holding meetings this time of the year.

I want to wish everyone a joyous holiday and healthy and happy New 
Year (the older you get the more important that "healthy" part becomes  :)

Dick Flanagan K7VC
Executive Director, ECW10
dick at k7vc.com



From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Thu Dec  3 19:52:37 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:52:37 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLD048 DX news
Message-ID: <200912040052.nB40qbG9019504@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB DX @ ARL $ARLD048
ARLD048 DX news

ZCZC AE48
QST de W1AW
DX Bulletin 48  ARLD048
 From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  December 3, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB DX ARL ARLD048
ARLD048 DX news

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
DS4NMJ, NC1L, QRZ DX, the OPDX Bulletin, DXNL, 425 DX News, The
Daily DX, Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and
WA7BNM web sites.  Thanks to all.

TANZANIA, 5H.  Igor, UA3DJY plans to be QRV from the 5I3A club
station until December 15.  Activity is on all bands using CW and
SSB.  QSL via RK3AOL.

SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS.  Lee, DS4NMJ will be QRV as DT8A from the
Antarctic King Sejong Station on King George Island, IOTA AN-010,
from December 5 to January 31, 2011.  Activity will be on 160 to 10
meters using mostly CW with some SSB and RTTY as well.  QSL via
HL2FDW.

PHILIPPINES, DU.  Alex, DV1UBY is QRV as 4D1N from Quezon City on
Luzon Island, IOTA OC-042, until the end of the year.  Activity is
on 40, 20 and 15 meters using QRP power.  QSL to home call.

MARTINIQUE, FM.  Fernando, EA1BT will be QRV as TO1BT from December
8 to 15.  Activity will be on all bands.  QSL to home call.

HUNGARY, HA.  A group of operators will be QRV as HG0WFF/p from a
number of Hungarian National Parks during December.  QSL via HA0HW.

HAITI, HH.  Steve, VE2TKH is QRV as HH2/homecall from Petionville
until December 15.  Activity is generally on 30, 20, 17 and 15
meters in his spare time.  QSL via M0URX.

SARDINIA, IS0.  Members of the Sardinia QRP Club will be QRV as
IQ0QP from the Capo Sant' Elia Lighthouse on December 12 and 13.
Activity will be on 80 to 20 meters using CW, SSB and digital modes.
QSL direct.

ANTARCTICA.  Karel, ON5TN is QRV as OR4TN from the Belgian Princess
Elisabeth Station until the end of January 2010.  Activity is
generally on 80, 40 and 30 meters using CW and SSB around 2100 to
2300z.  QSL to home call.

DENMARK, OZ.  Special event station 5P15COP will be QRV from Zealand
Island, IOTA EU-029, from December 7 to 18 during the Copenhagen
Climate Change Conference.  Activity will be on 160 to 6 meters
using CW, SSB and digital modes.  QSL via OZ5BAL.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA, P2.  Annas, MM0GQA is QRV as P29VAA from Port
Moresby for the next three to six months while working for a
humanitarian aid organization.  Activity is in his spare time.  QSL
via operator's instructions.

SUDAN, ST.  Robert is QRV as ST2AR and is generally active on 20 to
10 meters mostly during the weekends.  QSL via S53R.

EGYPT, SU.  Mohammed, SU1KM has been active on 30 meters using RTTY
around 1740z and then using CW around 1800 to 1900z.  QSL direct.

BELIZE, V3.  Will, EA7HEJ is QRV as V31WV from Sarteneja until
December 20.  QSL this operation via EA7HEJ.

CHRISTMAS ISLANDS, VK9X.  Station VK9XX is QRV until December 5.
Activity is on the HF bands using CW and SSB.  QSL via DL1RTL.

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS, VP2V.  Curt, W3HQ is QRV as VP2V/homecall
from Virgin Gorda, IOTA NA-023, until December 16.  Activity is
generally on 160 and 10 meters during the weekends and the newer
bands the rest of the week.  QSL to home call.

CAMBODIA, XU.  Wim, ON6TZ and Peter, NO2R plan to be QRV as XU7KOH
from Koh Island, IOTA AS-133, from December 11 to 14.  Activity will
be on 80 to 10 meters using CW, SSB and PSK near the usual IOTA and
PSK frequencies.  QSL via ON7PP.

INDONESIA, YB.  Adhi, YB3MM/p is QRV from Bawean Island, IOTA
OC-197, until December 9.  Activity is limited to 15 meters using
CW.  QSL via IZ8CCW.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO.  The ARRL 160-Meter CW Contest, ARRL EME
Contest, NCCC Sprint, TARA RTTY Melee, Wake-Up! QRP Sprint and the
TOPS Activity CW Contest are all scheduled for this weekend.  The
ARS Spartan CW Sprint is scheduled for December 8.  The NAQCC
Straight Key/Bug CW Sprint is scheduled for December 9.  Please see
December QST, page 66, and the ARRL and WA7BNM contest web sites for
details.
NNNN
/EX



From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Fri Dec  4 18:36:46 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:36:46 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLP050 Propagation de K7RA
Message-ID: <200912042336.nB4NakZo018633@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP050
ARLP050 Propagation de K7RA

ZCZC AP50
QST de W1AW
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 50  ARLP050
 From Tad Cook, K7RA
Seattle, WA  December 4, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB PROP ARL ARLP050
ARLP050 Propagation de K7RA

Recent sunspot activity--which ended on November 22--pushed up the
moving average we've been tracking for several years. Because we
have all the data for November, we now have the most recent 3-month
average of daily sunspot numbers, which centers on October. For
2009, the 3 month moving average centered on January through October
was 2.19, 2.02, 1.49, 2.01, 4.23, 5.2, 4, 4, 4.64 and 7.1. The
latest value is the highest since April 2008, when it was 8.89.

The monthly averages of daily sunspot numbers are also rising,
although not as smoothly as the three month average. The monthly
averages for March through November 2009 are 0.77, 1.27, 3.97, 6.6,
5.07, 0.39, 6.6, 7 and 7.7. The November average is the highest
since March, 2008 when it was 15.87.

Current projections show a steady quiet planetary A index of 5 for
December 4, then 8 for December 5-6, and back to 5 through the end
of the month. Solar flux predictions show December 4-6 at 72, 73 on
December 7-10, then 75 on December 11-23. The predicted solar flux
value of 75 seems to correspond to the return of an active region
that we can see emerging from the dark spot on STEREO. An area that
looked promising a few days ago has moved over the horizon and not
produced any sunspots.

Geophysical Institute Prague predicts quiet to unsettled conditions
December 4, unsettled December 5, and quiet December 6-10.

The same 45 day forecast from NOAA and US Air Force referenced above
also predicted a planetary A index of 5 for December 3, but in fact
all indices that day were zero, according to
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/indices/DGD.txt. The last time the
planetary A index was five or above was November 24-26. The
directory at http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpmenu/forecasts/45DF.html
has links to the daily forecast for the past few weeks. By sampling
the forecasts, you can see that the forecasters seem to prefer a
planetary A index of 5 for their minimum value. Five is an indicator
of very stable and quiet conditions, but in fact conditions have
been even quieter.

Low geomagnetic activity should be good for the ARRL 160-Meter CW
Contest this weekend.  And, perhaps we will see some sunspots return
for the ARRL 10-Meter Contest the following weekend.

Over the past few years we've received reports from Dave Greer, N4KZ
of Frankfort, Kentucky, usually about 6 meters. The last was in
Propagation Forecast Bulletin ARLP028 in July. How do I know?  By
pointing a search engine at the propagation bulletin archive on the
ARRL web site.

Use any search engine, such as lycos.com, bing.com, altavista.com or
google.com, enter a call sign or a word or any string of characters,
then a space, followed by site:http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/ and
hit Search. In this case, I entered N4KZ
site:http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/ and found seven bulletins since
May 19, 2005 containing that call. This will be number eight.

This time N4KZ wrote about 40 meters:

"I've been operating 40 meters for a little more than 40 years now
and the band has impressed me with its daylight DX numerous times
during the past few years. The most recent examples occurred during
the recent CQWW CW DX contest. On Sunday, November 29 at 1931 UTC I
worked 4O3A in Montenegro on the low end of 40-meter CW. That was
2:31 p.m. EST, a good two-and-a-half hours before my local sunset.
That might not be a big deal for East Coast stations but I don't
often hear Europe here that early. But just a minute later, I tuned
lower and heard an A71 station in Qatar, in Zone 21, working a
pile-up of Europeans in the contest. I didn't hear a single European
on frequency but the A71 had a decent signal into my Central
Kentucky QTH. Two or three U.S. stations were calling the A71 but I
don't think any of them ever made it through the European wall."

"But I've heard Europe even earlier in the day on 40 meters. A
couple years ago, a PA station from the Netherlands was a S5 on SSB
into Kentucky at high noon in the dead of Winter. I never heard
anything like that on 40 meters during high sunspot years."

"I've also been quite pleased at my ability to work DX from my
100-watt 40-meter SSB mobile station since the broadcast stations
signed off between 7.1 and 7.2 MHz. I have worked numerous
Europeans, Russians, three VK stations, and some Africans from my
car. I'm just running an IC-706MKIIG and a Workman helical whip
antenna."

Thanks, Dave!

Bob Elek, W3HKK of Johnstown, Ohio also commented on 40 meters this
week, but first had a lot to say about stealth antennas and
experiences with wire antennas on the low bands.

Bob was a serious DXer and contester from 1976 to 1995, but then
moved to a home with deed restrictions. He write, "He "began
experimenting with stealth antennas hidden in a small wooded area
behind my last home, adjacent to a golf course. I spent years trying
assorted home made loops, verticals, bob-tail curtains and inverted
Ls (all mired deep in the trees to keep them hidden from prying
eyes) that would fit in my situation using nothing more than
existing trees for support. I also gravitated to the WARC bands and
160-80-40m.

A few observations:

1. Upper corner, direct fed bobtail curtains only a few feet off the
ground work very well. I worked worldwide (India, Afghanistan,
Kazakhstan, JA, JT etc) on 12 and 17m with them, and highly
recommend them to anyone who has two properly spaced supports to
hang them from.

2. While the trees clearly muted performance, delta loops, and
quarter wave inverted Ls (however crudely erected) are also fine
performers on 40-80-160m. I was fortunate to have one 80 foot oak
tree which served as the support for many of my experimental, less
than ideal antennas.

3. I began putting up home made ground planes for 30 and 20m, from
cheap fiberglass telescoping fishing poles taped to a short length
of PVC piping, with 14 wire serving as the radiator (taped of
course) and radials/guy wires. These performed well despite being
surrounded by trees.

This past Summer, I moved to 3 rural acres in central Ohio. Due to
the almost complete absence of trees on my property, I decided to go
with home made ground planes for 20, 30, and 40m, plus a single feed
two band inverted L for 80 and 160 supported by a 15 foot (!) tree
in the back yard. Yes, a mere 15 feet high inverted L, at the apex!
I run 100 watts, mostly on CW, but some SSB as well.

The new QTH differs from the last one in that it is on open rolling
hills with cornfields to the east, is sloping slightly downhill for
1000'+ to the east, north and west, and slightly uphill to the
south. My antennas are lined up E-W about 50 feet apart, with 4-16
radials, both on ground and 3-4 feet above ground. SWR runs 2 to
4:1, with direct fed 52 ohm coax (cobbled together from left over
scraps that are 20-40 years old. My antenna analyzer (MFJ-259) shows
losses are acceptable for the appropriate frequencies. Those where
it was excessive, I threw out).

Point #1: On 160 meters, even a single coax direct fed pair of 15
foot vertical inverted Ls, with the remainder of their quarter
wavelength sloping down to 7 feet above ground at the ends, perform
pretty well. 150 ft of cobbled coax (soldered at the joints, then
taped) matched through a tuner in the shack allow me to work all
over the US and as far as the west coast on the 3905 Net on 1.892
MHz on a regular basis. In the November CW DX Test I worked 3
Caribbean and 2 South American stations, in limited operating. This
with 100 watts and the 15 foot vertical portion on my inverted L,
plus 8 ground laid radials, four for each band. On 80 meters I've
done less operating, but one would expect similar if not slightly
better performance there. I have worked all over the US, plus a
couple of Europeans, North Africans, and Caribbean/Latin American
stations on SSB around 3.798 MHz.

By comparison, at my last QTH, with the top of the vertical portion
of my 160 meter L at 80 feet, and 4 radials, I worked into Europe,
Africa and the Caribbean/South America about 100 times with 100
watts, with the antenna buried in trees. In one 160 meter SSB
contest I made 553 contacts with it in one weekend. Not bad for an
antenna in the woods with a handful of radials.

Point #2: And my main point. With my new 40 meter quarter wave
ground plane with 8 radials, in the open, 100 feet from the house,
direct fed by 52 ohm coax, my SWR is below 1.5:1, and I work nearly
all that I hear, even DX, even on SSB.

And in recent weeks I have heard KL7, VK6, ZLs, KH6s, ZSs, 9L5, CE,
CN2, EA9, HC8, OH0, P33, TX3A (Chesterfield Is), TFs, 6 JAs, and a
myriad of the more common countries, all on 40 meters, and I worked
them all. In addition, I heard several Chinese, Indonesian, and KH2
stations, multiple times, for long periods of time, and as late as
10 AM!

Point #3: What is going on with 40 meter propagation? While the
short skip is less frequent, about half the US is coming through
during the daytime with 59+ signals. And at night time, tuning
around 7.125-7.2 MHz SSB, the world is at our finger tips. With the
increasing wealth of Third World countries, kilowatts and 3-4
element Yagis are everywhere now, and these guys come through like
gang-busters, most any night. Look especially around their sunset
and sunrise times. Or look between 5-10 AM local time to Asia and
the Pacific. VK6s, JAs, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, are there, often
in our portion of the phone band. A few recent examples: Last week
around 6 PM I heard a guy in NYC working JAs, who were then working
the Caribbean. Then a couple of ZSs broke in to say they were
copying Japan, the US, and the Caribbean all 59+. Amazing!

Another example, around 9 PM I heard a KL7 calling CQ through S-9
QRM, and I worked him arm chair copy both ways. I have heard VK6s
(the antipodal point on the globe from central Ohio) coming through
on 40 SSB both in the morning hours and in the late afternoon
routinely during the past month. As I recall, November conditions
were usually well down from September and October, but not this
year.

Point #4: I have often tuned 7.125-7.200 MHz and heard nothing, just
noise. Of course, the shortwave broadcast stations have vacated this
spectrum, but with the long skip we have large segments of unused
frequencies, in the evening hours. As I continue tuning the silent
frequencies, all of a sudden I will hear a 5-7 to 5-9+ station from
Brazil, Argentina or Europe call CQ, and I usually work them on my
first call.

So there is plenty of DX out there to be had. And vertical/ground
plane antennas that are far short of the optimum 120 radials, will
get you through far better than most dipoles or inverted Vs. So grab
a fishing pole, a rebar, some duct tape and 14 wire and go see for
yourself! Go get your share of the DX. They're listening for you!"

Whew! Thanks, Bob. Believe it or not, that was edited down for
brevity. To read more of Bob's writing, check out his narrative on
his trip to Brazil in the July-August 2005 issue of the NODXA Rag at
http://www.papays.com/rag0805.pdf.

If you would like to make a comment or have a tip for our readers,
email the author at, k7ra at arrl.net.

For more information concerning radio propagation, see the ARRL
Technical Information Service web page at,
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html. For a detailed
explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin, see
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/k9la-prop.html. An archive of past
propagation bulletins is at http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/.

Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve
overseas locations are at http://www.arrl.org/qst/propcharts/.

Instructions for starting or ending email distribution of this
bulletin are at http://www.arrl.org/w1aw.html#email.

Sunspot numbers for November 26 through December 2 were 0, 0, 0, 0,
0, 0, and 0 with a mean of 0. 10.7 cm flux was 74.7, 73.7, 72.9,
72.1, 72.4, 72.2, and 71.4 with a mean of 72.8. Estimated planetary
A indices were 6, 2, 3, 1, 2, 0 and 1 with a mean of 2.1. Estimated
mid-latitude A indices were 3, 0, 2, 1, 1, 0 and 0 with a mean of 1.
NNNN
/EX



From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Thu Dec 10 18:28:28 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:28:28 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLD049 DX news
Message-ID: <200912102328.nBANSSlG020141@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB DX @ ARL $ARLD049
ARLD049 DX news

ZCZC AE49
QST de W1AW
DX Bulletin 49  ARLD049
 From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  December 10, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB DX ARL ARLD049
ARLD049 DX news

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
IZ0EGM, NC1L, VK4ABD, QRZ DX, the OPDX Bulletin, DXNL, 425 DX News,
The Daily DX, Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar
and WA7BNM web sites.  Thanks to all.

TUNISIA, 3V.  In celebration of its 10th anniversary members of the
Tunisian scouts club station are QRV as 3V10A until December 31 .
QSL via bureau.

CHINA, BY.  Special event station BT3WX is QRV from Taiyuan until
December 20 to celebrate the launch of amateur radio satellite XW-1.
Activity is on 160 to 10 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY, FM and PACSAT.
QSL via BA1DU.

THE GAMBIA, C5.  Eric, SM1TDE is QRV as C56SMT until January 3,
2010.  Activity is in his spare time on 160 to 10 meters using only
CW.  QSL to home call.

JUAN FERNANDEZ ISLAND, CE0.  Lars, SM6CUK is QRV as CE0Z/homecall
until December 14.  Activity is on all bands, except 160 meters,
using only CW.  QSL to home call.

ANGOLA, D2.  Paulo, CT1ITZ is QRV as D2CQ from Porto Amboim until
December 27.  Activity is on 80 to 10 meters using only SSB.  QSL
direct via CT1IUA.

GERMANY, DA.  Special event station DR09ANT will be QRV on December
14 to 30 to commemorate the ''Worldwide Antarctic Program.'' Activity
will be on all bands and modes.  QSL via bureau.

SOUTH COOK ISLANDS, E5.  A group of operators are QRV as E51PMR,
E51LEO, E51BWL, E51SNL, E51XIW and E51NAA from Rarotonga until
December 13.  Activity is on the HF bands using mostly CW and RTTY,
with some SSB, with three stations active simultaneously.  QSL via
operators' instructions.

HONDURAS, HR.  Victor, N8OO and Andrei, NP3D are QRV as
HR2/homecalls until December 20.  Activity is on all bands using CW,
SSB and RTTY.  This includes an entry in the ARRL 10-Meter contest.
This also includes a possible entry as HQ2S in the upcoming OK DX
RTTY contest.  QSL HR2/N8OO to home call and HR2/NP3D and HQ2S
direct via W3HNK.

DJIBOUTI, J2.  Olivier, J28KO has been QRV on 20 meters using RTTY
around 1500z.  QSL via F6DKI.

SAN MARINO, T7.  Aurelio, IZ0EGM will be QRV as T70A during the ARRL
10-Meter contest.  QSL to home call.

TURKEY, TA.  Members of the Turkish Special Wireless Activity team
will be QRV as TC2IYK on December 12 and 13 during the International
Naval Contest 2009.  QSL via bureau.

CANADA, VE.  John, KL7JR will be QRV as VY1RST from Destruction Bay
from December 17 to 22.  Activity will be on 80 to 10 meters using
SSB.  He may also try to activate Jacquot Island on Kluane Lake.
QSL to home call.

WILLIS ISLAND, VK9W.  Dave, VK4ABD will be QRV as VK9WBM while on
work assignment at the Bureau of Meteorology in the Australian Coral
Sea territories until July 2010.  Activity will be on 40 meters and
above during his spare time.  QSL to home call.

HONG KONG, VR.  Some members of the Hong Kong Amateur Radio
Communications Association are QRV as VR2EAG until December 13
during the 5th East Asian Games 2009.  QSL via operators'
instructions.

ANTARCTICA.  Bhagwati, VU3BPZ is QRV as AT10BP from the Indian
Maitri Base and can be found active on 20 meters SSB around 0000 to
0130z.  QSL via operator's instructions.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO.  The ARRL 10-Meter Contest, NCCC Sprint,
Feld Hell Sprint, MDXA PSK DeathMatch, International Naval Contest,
SKCC Weekend CW Sprint and the CQC Great Colorado CW Snowshoe Run
are all scheduled for this weekend.  The North America High Speed
Meteor Scatter Winter Rally runs from December 12 to 16.  Please see
December QST, page 66, and the ARRL and WA7BNM contest web sites for
details.
NNNN
/EX



From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Thu Dec 10 20:13:53 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:13:53 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] The ARRL Letter for December 10, 2009
Message-ID: <200912110113.nBB1Duqu031506@pop1.greatbasin.net>


If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2009-12-10>http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2009-12-10

December 10, 2009
Editor: <mailto:k1sfa at arrl.org>S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
<http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Home 
Page<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>ARRL 
Letter<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/> 
Archive<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>Audio 
News<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&i=2009-12-10&t=t>


    * + Public Service : Utah Hams Coordinate Rescue
    * + Spotlight on Amateur Radio : Major 
Computer Publication Devotes January 2010 Issue to Amateur Radio
    * + Scott Robbins, W4PA, to Purchase Vibroplex
    * + Organizational : Marc Tarplee, N4UFP, 
Appointed South Carolina Section Manager
    * The Doctor Is IN : Focusing on 10 Meters
    * + Regulatory : FCC Dismisses Two Petitions
    * + Now You Know! : The ARRL 10 Meter Contest and Satellites
    * + Silent Key : Ambassador William A. Wilson, K6ARO (SK)
    * Solar Update
    * This Week on the Radio

+ Available on <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>ARRL Audio News
+ Public Service: Utah Hams Coordinate Rescue

On December 2, this dairy truck crashed and 
rolled into the Logan River in Utah. Brent 
Yeates, KA7FAP, was able to help rescue the 
driver and call for help on his handheld 
transceiver. [Photo courtesy of KSL TV Channel 5]

In areas where cell phone signals just won't 
work, Amateur Radio gets through. That's what 
Brent Yeates, KA7FAP, of North Logan, Utah, found 
out just before noon on Wednesday, December 2: He 
came across a dairy truck that had crashed and 
rolled over in the Logan River as he drove on 
Route 89 through Logan Canyon. As 38,000 pounds 
of dairy products were spilling into the Logan 
River, Yeates waded through the cold river to 
help get the driver out of the truck's cab and 
then put out a call on his handheld transceiver. 
Read more <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/12/07/11235/?nc=1>here.
+ Spotlight on Amateur Radio: Major Computer 
Publication Devotes January 2010 Issue to Amateur Radio

Emergencies may get all the attention in the 
press, but lately, the technological side of 
Amateur Radio has been showing up a lot in places 
that are read by the people who make next year's 
trends. Hams indeed are technical and creative 
people, consummate MacGyvers. To kick off the new 
year, the computer magazine Linux Journal has 
come out with an entire issue dedicated to 
Amateur Radio and the creative uses of open 
source computer programs. This 80 page issue 
features Tux, the Linux mascot on its cover 
wearing a pair of headphones, holding a 
microphone -- and even sporting an Emergency 
Coordinator badge around his neck -- hooked up to 
an HF transceiver. The issue has headlines on the 
cover such as "Amateur Radio and Linux -- Open 
Source for the New Generation," and "Get Started 
with Amateur Radio," and includes articles like 
"When All Else Fails -- Amateur Radio, the 
Original Open-Source Project" by David Lane, 
KG4GIY. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2009/12/09/11239/?nc=1>here.
+ Scott Robbins, W4PA, to Purchase Vibroplex

Scott Robbins, W4PA, of Knoxville, Tennessee, 
told the ARRL that he has signed an agreement to 
purchase The Vibroplex Company, Inc from present 
owner Felton "Mitch" Mitchell, W4OA, effective 
December 21, 2009. "Vibroplex represents the 
great tradition of CW operation in Amateur Radio 
going back many, many years," Robbins told the 
ARRL. "I'm tickled to be able to continue the 
more than 100 years of history that has gone into 
this company." Robbins -- who has been employed 
with Ten-Tec Inc since 1995 (he has been Product 
Manager for Ten-Tec's Amateur Radio equipment 
line since 1997) -- will leave his position in 
mid-December to take over full-time management 
and ownership of Vibroplex. "It's a great 
opportunity to continue the more than 100 years 
of tradition that the Vibroplex name represents," 
Robbins said. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/12/07/11233/?nc=1>here<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-12-10&p=0>.
ARRL Publications: ARRL Licensing Study Guides -- 
Coming to an eBook Reader Near You

Study for your new ticket on your Kindle, iPhone or iPod touch!

ARRL is pleased to announce that owners of 
<http://www.amazon.com/Kindle>Kindle -- an 
electronic book reader sold by 
<http://www.amazon.com/>Amazon.com -- can now 
download 
<http://www.amazon.com/ARRLs-Tech-Q-A-ebook/dp/B002YNSBNE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259944328&sr=8-2-catcorr>ARRL's 
Tech Q&A directly from the online bookseller for 
use on their Kindle. Kindle is shaped much like a 
book with a paper-like screen that displays text 
and pictures. Those who have the Kindle 
application installed on their 
<http://www.apple.com/>Apple 
<http://www.apple.com/iphone/>iPhone or 
<http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/>iPod touch can 
also download the book for use on these devices. 
When you download the Tech Q&A, you can gain 
access quickly and easily, smoothing the path to 
your first ham radio license. This ideal study 
tool -- whether you're at home, in the office, 
traveling or just on the go -- lets you review 
the questions and answers from the entire 
Technician question pool so you can pass the 
35-question exam. Kindle versions of the General 
Q&A and the Amateur Extra Q&A will be available 
sometime in January. All three can be purchased from Amazon.com for $9.99 each.
+ Organizational: Marc Tarplee, N4UFP, Appointed South Carolina Section Manager

Marc Tarplee, N4UFP, of Rock Hill, has been 
appointed the new ARRL South Carolina Section 
Manager. He will complete the term of Jim 
Boehner, N2ZZ, who was elected ARRL Roanoke 
Division Vice Director last month. When Boehner 
announced that he was stepping down from the 
Section Manager post he has held since January 
2003, he recommended Tarplee, the South Carolina 
Section Technical Coordinator, for the position. 
Tarplee and Boehner both take on their new 
positions January 1, 2010. According to the Rules 
and Regulations of the ARRL Field Organization, 
when a vacancy in the office of Section Manager 
occurs between elections, the position is filled 
by appointment by the Membership and Volunteer 
Programs Manager in consultation with that 
Division's Director. MVP Manager Dave Patton, 
NN1N, consulted with Roanoke Division Director 
Dennis Bodson, W4PWF. Tarplee has been South 
Carolina's Technical Coordinator for almost seven 
years, first appointed by Boehner in January 
2003. Tarplee's term of office as Section Manager 
will continue through December 31, 2010.
The Doctor Is IN: Focusing on 10 Meters

By ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA

Now with the ARRL 160 Meter Contest come and 
gone, it's time for me to focus on the opposite 
end of the HF spectrum: 10 meters. You guessed it 
-- I'm gearing up for the 37th running of the 
ARRL 10 Meter Contest. This contest has a bit of 
a twist to it: Operators have the choice of using 
CW only, SSB only or they can mix it up and use 
both. So as I prepare this week for the 'test, I 
went to ask the Doctor what is so special about 
10 meters. Is there anything I need to be aware 
of and watch out for this weekend? Check up on 
what the Doctor has to say 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2009/12/09/11238/?nc=1>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-12-10&p=1>
+ Regulatory: FCC Dismisses Two Petitions

On Wednesday, December 9, the Federal 
Communications Commission dismissed two separate 
Petitions for Rulemaking. The first Petition was 
filed by Murray Green, K3BEQ, concerning the 
operation of repeater stations in the Amateur 
Service. The other Petition, filed by Glen Zook, 
K9STH, requested amending Section 97.119(a) to 
change how often stations must identify 
themselves. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/12/10/11241/?nc=1>here.
+ Now You Know!: The ARRL 10 Meter Contest and Satellites

By ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA

This weekend marks the 37th running of the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/10-meters.html>ARRL 
10 Meter Contest. Back in November 1973 when 
<http://p1k.arrl.org/cgi-bin/topdf.cgi?id=62388&pub=qst>the 
contest was first announced in 
<http://p1k.arrl.org/cgi-bin/topdf.cgi?id=62388&pub=qst>QST<http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/satInfo.php?satID=29&returl=satellites/history.php>, 
the rules differed slightly from how they stand 
now. This event began due to the interest that 
radio amateurs showed in the 10 meter band, 
thanks to the 5-band awards offered by the ARRL. 
"Occupancy is an important issue of the day as is 
proof that there's life in the old band yet," the 
article stated. "At a recent convention the 
matter was raised and met with enthusiastic 
response. Rather than postpone the idea for 
another year, the consensus was 'let's give it a 
try for '73,' prompting a recommendation by the Contest Advisory Committee."

AMSAT-OSCAR 6 was launched October 15, 1972 by a 
Delta 300 launcher from Vandenberg Air Force 
Base, Lompoc, California. AO-6 was launched 
piggyback with ITOS-D (NOAA 2). AO-6 was the 
first-phase 2 satellite (Phase II-A). Weight 16 
kg. Orbit 1450 x 1459 km. Inclination 101.7 
degrees. Box shaped 430 x 300 x 150 mm. 
Quarter-wave monopole antennas (144 and 435 MHz) 
and half-wave dipole antenna (29 MHz). AO-6 
Firsts: complex control system using discrete 
logic; satellite-to-satellite relay communication 
via AO-7; demonstrated Doppler-location of ground 
station for search and rescue, and demonstrated 
low-cost medical data relay from remote 
locations. Click 
<http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/satInfo.php?satID=29&returl=satellites/history.php>here 
for more information on AO-6. [Image and information from AMSAT]

In 1973, each completed two-way QSO was worth 2 
points, except QSOs with a US Novice were worth 
double that. The article pointed out that certain 
FCC-issued Novice call signs look a little 
strange: "Novices in KZ5 and KG4 have strange 
call signs -- a Canal Zone Novice has an 'N' at 
the end of the call, such as KZ5AAN. A Novice in 
Guantanamo Bay has an 'N' after the number, such 
as KG4NAA. All others replace the K with a W 
(i.e. WL7, WH6, etc.). If you work a station once 
on cw you can work him again on phone. Oscar QSOs also count."

Oscar QSOs? As in the satellite? Yes! The 1973 
rules stated that "Oscar 6 contacts may be 
counted. All cw QSOs must take place between 
28.0-28.5 MHz except those made though Oscar 6." 
The article also advised contest participants to 
stay clear of 29.45-29.55 MHz, as these were the 
Oscar downlink frequencies. Beginning in 1973 and 
continuing through 1979, QSOs made via the Oscar 
satellites counted for credit in the ARRL 10 
Meter Contest. Beginning in 1980, after 10 meters 
had seemingly come back to life, the CAC no 
longer accepted the QSOs for credit in the contest. Now you know!
+ Silent Key: Ambassador William A. Wilson, K6ARO (SK)

Bill Wilson, K6ARO (SK)

William A. "Bill" Wilson, K6ARO -- the first US 
Ambassador to the Holy See (the Vatican) -- 
passed away from cancer early on the morning of 
Saturday, December 5. He was 95. First appointed 
as presidential envoy to Rome in 1981 by 
President Ronald Reagan, Wilson was appointed the 
first full ambassador to the Holy See in 1984, 
once official relations were established, serving 
until 1986. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/12/07/11234/?nc=1>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-12-10&p=2>
Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, December 10, 2009 
from NASA's 
<http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/realtime-update.html>SOHO 
Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This image 
was taken at 171 Angstrom; the bright material is at 1 million degrees Kelvin.

Tad 
"<http://englishhistory.net/keats/poetry/whenihavefears.html>When 
I behold, upon the night's starr'd face" Cook, 
K7RA, reports: Finally! A sunspot appeared on 
Wednesday, December 9, giving us a daily sunspot 
number of 13 -- this followed 16 days of no 
sunspots. The new group is number 1034, and need 
we say it is a Solar Cycle 24 spot? Cycle 24 
spots were news at one time, but we haven't seen 
a Solar Cycle 23 spot since number 1016 on April 
29-30, 2009. Solar Cycle 23 peaked around 8-9 
years ago. Excitement builds for this weekend's 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/10-meters.html>ARRL 
10 Meter Contest. Will sunspot activity amount to 
enough to enhance 10 meter propagation? The 
latest prediction shows a rising solar flux, 74 
and 75 on December 10-11 and 77 from December 
12-16; this must correspond to the new sunspot 
swinging into view, instead of peeking over the 
horizon as it did on Wednesday. Even without 
sunspots, 
<http://meteorshowersonline.com/geminids.html>Geminids 
meteor showers have intensified with each passing 
year as Earth moves deeper into the debris stream 
from extinct comet 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3200_Phaethon>3200 
Phaethon. The predicted peak of the meteor shower 
is about five hours after the end of the contest 
and there is a good chance that ionized comet 
trails could enhance 10 meter propagation this 
weekend. Look for more information in the Solar 
Update, available on the ARRL Web site on Friday, 
December 11. For more information concerning 
radio propagation, visit the 
<http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html>ARRL 
Technical Information Service Propagation page. 
This week's "Tad Cookism" brought to you by John 
Keats' 
<http://englishhistory.net/keats/poetry/whenihavefears.html>When 
I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be.
This Week on the Radio

This week, the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/10-meters.html>ARRL 
10 Meter Contest is December 12-13. The Feld Hell 
Sprint is December 12. The MDXA PSK DeathMatch 
and the International Naval Contest are December 
12-13. The NA High Speed Meteor Scatter Winter 
Rally is December 12-16. The SKCC Weekend Sprint 
and the CQC Great Colorado Snowshoe Run are 
December 13. Next week, the Russian 160 Meter 
Contest is December 18. The OK DX RTTY Contest is 
December 19. The Croatian CW Contest is December 
19-20 and the Lighthouse Christmas Lights QSO 
Party Is December 19-January 3. The ARCI Holiday 
Spirits Homebrew Sprint is December 20, the Run 
for the Bacon QRP Contest is December 21 and the 
SKCC Sprint is December 23. All dates, unless 
otherwise stated, are UTC. See the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/>ARRL Contest 
Branch page, the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/>ARRL 
Contest Update and the 
<http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html>WA7BNM 
Contest Calendar for more info. Looking for a 
Special Event station? Be sure to check out the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/spev.html>ARRL Special Event Station Web page.
+ ARRL Headquarters Closed for Christmas, New Year's Holidays

ARRL Headquarters will be closed Friday, December 
25, 2009 and Friday, January 1, 2010 in 
observance of Christmas and New Year's Day. There 
will be no <http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/>W1AW 
bulletins or 
<http://www.arrl.org/w1aw.html#w1awsked>code 
practice transmissions those days. There will be 
no <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>ARRL Letter 
or <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>ARRL 
Audio News on Thursday, December 24 and 31. We 
wish everyone a safe and joyful holiday season and a prosperous 2010.
ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration

Registration remains open through Sunday, 
December 27, 2009, for these 
<http://www.arrl.org/cep/student/>online course 
sessions beginning on Friday, January 8, 2010: 
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 1; 
Antenna Modeling; Radio Frequency Interference; 
Antenna Design and Construction; Ham Radio 
(Technician) License Course; Propagation; Analog 
Electronics, and Digital Electronics. To learn 
more, visit the 
<http://www.arrl.org/cep/student>CEP Course 
Listing page or contact the 
<mailto:cce at arrl.org>Continuing Education Program 
Coordinator<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&i=2009-12-10&t=r&p=0>.




----------
The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 50 times 
each year. ARRL members may subscribe at no cost 
or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data Page 
as described at 
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/.

Copyright ? 2009 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved



From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Fri Dec 11 11:43:23 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:43:23 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLP051 Propagation de K7RA
Message-ID: <200912111643.nBBGhOFM003060@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP051
ARLP051 Propagation de K7RA

ZCZC AP51
QST de W1AW
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 51  ARLP051
 From Tad Cook, K7RA
Seattle, WA  December 11, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB PROP ARL ARLP051
ARLP051 Propagation de K7RA

Finally! A sunspot appeared on Wednesday, December 9, giving us a
daily sunspot number of 13.  This followed 16 days of no sunspots,
and again on December 10 the sunspot number was 13.  The new group
is number 1034, and it is a solar Cycle 24 spot, as all sunspots
have been since number 1016 on April 29-30, 2009.

This weekend is the annual ARRL 10-Meter Contest.  Will there be
enough sunspot activity to enhance 10-meter propagation?  The latest
prediction for solar flux shows it rising 75-77 on December 11-12,
and staying at 77 through December 17, which probably correlates
with the new sunspot moving toward the center of the solar disk.

To significantly raise the MUF to enhance 10 meter signals over most
paths takes more sunspot activity than we are seeing this week,
although every bit helps.  But this contest often depends on
sporadic-E skip and the effect of ionized meteor trails during the
Geminids meteor shower, which should reach a peak just a few hours
after the contest ends on Sunday.  Geminids meteor showers have
intensified with each passing year as Earth moves deeper into the
debris stream from extinct comet 3200 Phaethon.

Back in Propagation Forecast Bulletin ARLP005 earlier this year (see
http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/2009-arlp005.html) we reproduced a
letter written 34 years ago by Ed Tilton, W1HDQ, the originator of
this bulletin.  Ed talked about meteor enhanced 10 meter propagation
during this contest.

We were watching the current sunspot move toward the horizon a few
days ago, via the STEREO spacecraft (http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/)
and wished the whole Sun were visible, which should happen in 2010.
Currently STEREO sees about 86% of the Sun.  It should reach 90% on
June 29, 2010 between 0027-0040 UTC, and 95% coverage on October 12,
2010 between 1252-1259 UTC.

A view of real time MUF maps at
http://www.spacew.com/www/realtime.php shows that during daylight
over low latitudes the MUF is going above 10 meters over the past
couple of days.

A couple of 160 meter notes since the recent contest:

Randy Whiting, KC9KHG of Woodstock, Illinois says he upgraded to
General class in March 2007, and at the time told locals he was
putting up a 160 meter inverted V with a 60 foot apex.  They told
him he would work only two or three hundred miles.

The week before last he worked KC7YM in Wyoming, a distance of 1,079
miles between their stations.  Then December 3 he worked G3JMJ, a
distance of 3,971 miles.  Both were on CW.

Markus Hansen, VE7CA of North Vancouver, British Columbia writes,
"Wow, conditions were amazing during the recent ARRL 160 meter
Contest.  I was amazed how easy it was to work NH, RI, DE, MD VA, NC
and GA from my QTH here on the west coast.  I am only running 100
watts and a very weird shaped 160 meters loop strung around my city-
sized lot.  The KH6s were bending my S meter in the mornings at
sunrise and JA3YBK was pounding in at well over S9 at 1434Z Sunday
AM. Good fun!"

Hans Goldschmidt, SM5KI says he is 82 years old and has been a ham
over six decades.  He is in the center of Stockholm, and "really was
shocked when I put up in a nearby low tree an end fed half-wave
wire, the feedpoint only 1.5 meters above the ground. Right away I
was in a 50 minute long QSO with a station in North Carolina. My
signals S7-9!  There seems to be a daily window around 1300Z to the
Eastern US States on 14 MHz and I can work K8SL and others daily
with S7-9."

"In the morning on 14 MHz we have the usual winter conditions and
the band is completely dead right now until about 0700Z. Still the
same, last week I worked daily SU9HP, a Swede on holidays down
there, on 14 at 0730Z with Q5 signals every morning, when there was
almost no other signal to be heard on the band."

"I say this because despite black-outs and the present sunspot
minimum conditions, you may still find a useful path to some DX spot
on the globe.  Sometimes it is easier to find a rare DX on a dead
band. There is also less QRM as the competing stations have given up
even to try."

"Years ago I was shocked to hear on 14 MHz two stations, not too
strong, on a completely dead band during a blackout, talking, what
it seems to be locally. They were in YJ8 and we had an unexpected
QSO. Similar QSOs occurred in the past and many were near the
equator. Whatever THAT means?"

"Finally a suggestion: Do not give up using the DX-bands just
because they seem to be dead. There may be short selective openings
to some parts of the globe. Do not rely on those awful DX clusters
but LISTEN, LISTEN!"

Thanks, Hans! Good advice.

If you would like to make a comment or have a tip for our readers,
email the author at, k7ra at arrl.net.

For more information concerning radio propagation, see the ARRL
Technical Information Service web page at,
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html. For a detailed
explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin see,
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/k9la-prop.html. An archive of past
propagation bulletins is at http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/.

Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve
overseas locations are at http://www.arrl.org/qst/propcharts/.

Instructions for starting or ending email distribution of this
bulletin are at http://www.arrl.org/w1aw.html#email.

Sunspot numbers for December 3 through 9 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, and
13 with a mean of 1.9. 10.7 cm flux was 71.6, 71.5, 71.7, 71.9,
71.1, 72.2, and 73 with a mean of 71.9. Estimated planetary A
indices were 0, 0, 3, 2, 2, 1 and 0 with a mean of 1.1. Estimated
mid-latitude A indices were 0, 0, 3, 1, 2, 0 and 0 with a mean of
0.86.
NNNN
/EX



From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Thu Dec 17 14:42:53 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:42:53 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] The ARRL Letter for December 17, 2009
Message-ID: <200912171942.nBHJgtAf031552@pop1.greatbasin.net>


If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2009-12-17>http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2009-12-17

December 17, 2009
Editor: <mailto:k1sfa at arrl.org>S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
<http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Home 
Page<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>ARRL 
Letter<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/> 
Archive<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>Audio 
News<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&i=2009-12-17&t=t>


    * + Advocacy : Amateur Radio Bill Passes Senate, Moves to the House
    * + Public Service : Hams Help Out with Sea Rescue
    * + Amateur Radio in Space : First Chinese 
Amateur Radio Satellite Now in Space
    * + Amateur Radio in Space : Students and 
Teachers Invited to "Fly a File" on ARISSat-1
    * + ARRL Publications : Check Out the January/February 2010 NCJ
    * + ARRL Publications : QEX : The January/February 2010 Issue
    * + Now You Know! : Santa's a Ham!
    * ARRL Staff Vacancy
    * Solar Update
    * This Week on the Radio
    * + ARRL Headquarters Closed for Christmas, New Year's Holidays

+ Available on <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>ARRL Audio News
+ Advocacy: Amateur Radio Bill Passes Senate, Moves to the House

On Monday, December 14, S 1755 -- The Amateur 
Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 
2009 -- passed the Senate by unanimous consent; 
the bill now goes to the House of Representatives 
for consideration. Sponsored by Senator Joe 
Lieberman (ID-CT), and Senator Susan Collins 
(R-ME), S 1755, if passed, would direct the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to 
undertake a study on emergency communications. S 
1755 points out that "There is a strong Federal 
interest in the effective performance of Amateur 
Radio Service stations, and that performance must 
be given -- (A) support at all levels of 
government; and (B) protection against 
unreasonable regulation and impediments to the 
provision of the valuable communications provided 
by such stations." Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/12/15/11247/?nc=1>here.
+ Public Service: Hams Help Out with Sea Rescue

When Dave Nicholson, N2AWE, was stranded at sea 
earlier this month off the Bermuda Triangle, he 
had no fuel and his 47 foot sailboat had 
sustained severe damage in a storm. When they 
learned of his predicament, hams with the 
Maritime Mobile Service Net (MMSN) helped to 
coordinate with the US Coast Guard to bring fuel 
and a tow boat to guide Nicholson safely to port. 
Read more <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/12/16/11254/?nc=1>here.
The 2009 ARRL Spectrum Defense Campaign Needs Your Support

In the past, funds raised for the ARRL Spectrum 
Defense Fund have helped the League keep 
commercial satellites out of the 144 and 420 MHz 
bands, gain access to frequencies around 5 MHz, 
and to win our court challenge of the FCC's 
flawed Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) rules. 
Currently, the ARRL is working to ensure that new 
short-range medical devices do not impact our 
ability to use our UHF and microwave bands. Your 
donation to this valuable fund makes such work possible.

Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH, 
reports that the ARRL has raised more than 
$221,000 toward the goal $310,000 for the 
<http://www.arrl.org/defense>2009 Spectrum 
Defense Fund. "The messages I receive from the 
ARRL members and hams who contribute to this much 
needed fund are heartening," she said, 
"expressing appreciation for all the work ARRL 
does for the Amateur Radio community to protect 
our frequencies. And we can all be proud of the 
successes that have come from the work of ARRL 
leadership -- the Board and staff here at HQ. But 
there is always more to do." Hobart said that 
year after year, ARRL members tell her that the 
League's representation of radio operators -- 
both in Washington and on the international stage 
-- is one of, if not the most important 
activities that the ARRL does. "The cost of that 
representation at meetings in Washington, at ITU 
gatherings and working party meetings to prepare 
for world telecommunications conferences is the 
key to the continued success of our defense 
efforts," she said. "Spectrum Defense is one of 
those areas that is not covered completely by 
member dues. So we ask ARRL members to do what 
they can to help cover those expenses." Amateurs 
wishing to make a contribution may do so easily 
<http://www.arrl.org/defense>online, via postal 
mail or by calling the ARRL Development Office at 
860-594-0397.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-12-17&p=0>
+ Amateur Radio in Space: First Chinese Amateur Radio Satellite Now in Space

AMSAT China (<http://www.camsat.cn/>CAMSAT) 
reports that at around 0230 UTC on December 15, 
China launched its first Amateur Radio satellite 
-- named 
<http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/satInfo.php?satID=116&retURL=satellites/futures.php>XW-1 
-- into space. The microsatellite -- a secondary 
payload aboard the CZ-4C rocket launched from the 
Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center -- was launched 
into a Sun-synchronous orbit with an apogee of 
approximately 1200 kilometers. XW-1 successfully 
reached orbit at 0253 UTC. Members of the XW-1 
launch team reported they received a beacon from 
the satellite shortly after the satellite 
deployed. In the first few days, the XW-1 team 
will work on the satellite's FM and store-forward 
transponder mode and its linear transponder mode. 
Once those tests are complete, they will upload a 
new flight program to set up the payload 
schedule. The satellite's communications payload 
includes a beacon and three crossband 
transponders operating in FM, SSB/CW and digital 
modes. Uplink and downlink frequencies can be 
found on the 
<http://www.camsat.cn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56&Itemid=67>CAMSAT 
Web site. For the latest Keplerian elements for 
XW-1 and other satellites, check out the 
<http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/kep/>W1AW Keplerian Bulletins.
+ Amateur Radio in Space: Students and Teachers 
Invited to "Fly a File" on ARISSat-1

SuitSat-1 was launched into space from the ISS in February 2006. [NASA Photo]

On February 3, 2006, cosmonaut Valery Ivanovich 
Tokarev hand-launched the Amateur Radio satellite 
SuitSat-1 from the International Space Station 
during an extra vehicular activity (EVA), NASA's 
term for a spacewalk. A discarded Russian ORLAN 
spacesuit, SuitSat-1 was equipped with an Amateur 
Radio transmitter that transmitted telemetry and 
greetings from youngsters to the youth of the 
world in several languages. In 2010, an Amateur 
Radio satellite -- ARISSat-1 -- will once again 
be hand-launched from the ISS. Like its 
predecessor, ARISSat-1 will transmit messages 
recorded by students, and teachers and students 
are invited to "fly a file" aboard this Amateur 
Radio satellite. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/12/15/11251/?nc=1>here.
+ ARRL Publications: Check Out the January/February 2010 NCJ

The January/February issue of NCJ, The National 
Contest Journal, is filled with the latest news 
from the contesting world. Whether you are new to 
contesting or are a seasoned pro -- or somewhere 
in the middle -- you will find something in NCJ 
just for you. In addition to all of the exciting 
articles in this issue, there are all the regular 
columns and features you expect from NCJ: 
"Workshop Chronicles," by Don Daso, K4ZA; 
"Contest Tips, Tricks & Techniques," by Gary 
Sutcliffe, W9XT; "VHF Contesting," by Jon Jones, 
N0JK; "RTTY Contesting," by Don Hill, AA5AU; 
"Propagation," by Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA; 
"Contesting on a Budget," by Ralph Bellas, K9ZO, 
and "Contesting 101," by Kirk Pickering, K4RO. 
NCJ is published six times a year by the ARRL; it 
is edited by Al Dewey, K0AD. NCJ is what every 
contester needs in their shack -- 
<http://www.arrl.org/ncj/>subscribe today! Read 
more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/12/16/11252/?nc=1>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-12-17&p=1>
+ ARRL Publications: QEX : The January/February 2010 Issue

The January/February issue of QEX is coming soon, 
and it is full of theoretical and practical 
technical articles that you won't want to miss. 
Would you like to write for QEX? It pays 
$50/printed page. Get more information and an 
<http://www.arrl.org/qex/>Author's 
<http://www.arrl.org/qex/>Guide. If you prefer 
postal mail, send a business-size self-addressed, 
stamped envelope to QEX Author's Guide, c/o Maty 
Weinberg, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 
06111-1494. QEX is edited by 
<mailto:lwolfgang at arrl.org>Larry Wolfgang, WR1B, 
and is published bimonthly. The subscription rate 
(6 issues) for ARRL members in the US is $24. For 
First Class US delivery, it's $37; in Canada and 
internationally by airmail it's $31. Nonmembers 
add $12 to these rates. Subscribe to 
<http://www.arrl.org/qex>QEX today. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/12/17/11253/?nc=1>here.
+ Now You Know!: Santa's a Ham!

By ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA

For 37 years, Mickey Hicks, WO6T, played Santa 
Claus to hundreds of children. These children 
never sat on Santa's lap to tell him that they 
had been good boys and girls and what they wanted 
for Christmas. They did it in a much more simple 
way -- they picked up a microphone and told Santa 
on the air. Each year, Hicks, a ham for almost 50 
years and a long-time Amateur Radio instructor, 
would get on the air for 10 days each December as 
W6S (Whiskers-6-Santa). Unfortunately, Hicks 
became a Silent Key earlier this year.

Mickey Hicks, WO6T (SK), played Santa for 37 
years on the air, using call sign W6S (Whiskers-6-Santa).

Hicks said that the first year he operated as W6S 
was a hit with the operators -- and their 
children. Most children, he noted, are a bit 
apprehensive of talking over the radio, let alone 
to Santa. One of the most challenging parts of 
operating was when he heard a parent say "This 
one is shy and won't talk." That was never a 
problem for Hicks -- after a few warm-up 
questions, such as "Can you say hello to 
Rudolph?" -- he said he could strike up a 
conversation that lasted a few minutes. He had 
even heard back from parents that they weren't 
able to get the microphone away from the kids afterward!

Back in 2001, 
Hicks<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2001/12/21/3/?nc=1> 
told the ARRL that his Santa's Workshop was a 
great ham radio recruiting tool. One of his most 
memorable experiences was when a young girl he'd 
once spoken with on the air as Santa came by with 
her ham ticket in hand to thank him in person for 
getting her interested in Amateur Radio. "I had 
tears in my eyes, of course," he said. One of the 
most enjoyable moments of Hicks' Santa career 
occurred when he was speaking with a young child 
and realized he had spoken with their parents and 
grandparents when they were youngsters!

Mark Slater, WI6J, was Hicks' QSL manager. With 
the blessing of Hicks' wife, son and 
daughter-in-law, Slater will carry on the W6S 
tradition for 2010 and beyond. "Mickey's shoes 
are so much bigger than I could ever hope to 
fill," he told the ARRL, "but I know Mickey would 
have wanted Santa to keep getting on the air and 
speaking with the children." Slater said you can 
find him most evenings, as well as the weekend of 
December 19-20, on 14.270 MHz, Santa's favorite 
frequency. Santa is a ham -- now you know!
ARRL Staff Vacancy

A vacancy has developed in the position of ARRL 
Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager. 
Applications for this position will be solicited 
before the end of the year with the objective of 
filling the position early in 2010. Because this 
is the last scheduled ARRL Letter of 2009, if you 
or someone you know may be qualified for and 
interested in the position, please watch for the 
posting on the 
<http://www.arrl.org/announce/jobs/>ARRL Web 
site.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-12-17&p=2>
Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, December 17, 2009 
from NASA's 
<http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/realtime-update.html>SOHO 
Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This 
<http://soi.stanford.edu/>MDI (Michelson Doppler 
Imager) image is 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 like in the visible range of the spectrum.

Tad 
"<http://englishhistory.net/keats/poetry/odeonagrecianurn.html>A 
friend to man, to whom thou say'st, 'Beauty is 
truth, truth beauty'" Cook, K7RA, reports: Yet 
another new sunspot group -- number 1035 -- 
emerged this week, seemingly on top of group 
1034, which has been visible since December 9. 
This sunspot group is quite active, and we may 
see a rise in geomagnetic activity on Sunday, 
December 20 with a predicted planetary A index of 
15. Look for more information in the Solar 
Update, available on the ARRL Web site on Friday, 
December 18. For more information concerning 
radio propagation, visit the 
<http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html>ARRL 
Technical Information Service Propagation page. 
This week's "Tad Cookism" brought to you by John 
Keats' 
<http://englishhistory.net/keats/poetry/odeonagrecianurn.html>Ode 
on a Grecian Urn.
This Week on the Radio

This week, the Russian 160 Meter Contest is 
December 18. The OK DX RTTY Contest is December 
19. The Croatian CW Contest is December 19-20 and 
the Lighthouse Christmas Lights QSO Party is 
December 19-January 3. The ARCI Holiday Spirits 
Homebrew Sprint is December 20, the Run for the 
Bacon QRP Contest is December 21 and the SKCC 
Sprint is December 23. Next week, check out the 
South Dakota QSO Party and the Stew Perry Topband 
Challenge -- both are on December 26-27. All 
dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/>ARRL Contest 
Branch page, the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/>ARRL 
Contest Update and the 
<http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html>WA7BNM 
Contest Calendar for more info. Looking for a 
Special Event station? Be sure to check out the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/spev.html>ARRL Special Event Station Web page.
+ ARRL Headquarters Closed for Christmas, New Year's Holidays

ARRL Headquarters will be closed Friday, December 
25, 2009 and Friday, January 1, 2010 in 
observance of Christmas and New Year's Day. There 
will be no <http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/>W1AW 
bulletins or 
<http://www.arrl.org/w1aw.html#w1awsked>code 
practice transmissions those days. There will be 
no <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>ARRL Letter 
or <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>ARRL 
Audio News on Thursday, December 24 and 31. We 
wish everyone a safe and joyful holiday season and a prosperous 2010.
ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration

Registration remains open through Sunday, 
December 27, 2009, for these 
<http://www.arrl.org/cep/student/>online course 
sessions beginning on Friday, January 8, 2010: 
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 1; 
Antenna Modeling; Radio Frequency Interference; 
Antenna Design and Construction; Ham Radio 
(Technician) License Course; Propagation; Analog 
Electronics, and Digital Electronics. To learn 
more, visit the 
<http://www.arrl.org/cep/student>CEP Course 
Listing page or contact the 
<mailto:cce at arrl.org>Continuing Education Program 
Coordinator<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&i=2009-12-17&t=r&p=0>.




----------
The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 50 times 
each year. ARRL members may subscribe at no cost 
or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data Page 
as described at 
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/.

Copyright ? 2009 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved



From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Thu Dec 17 19:21:34 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:21:34 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLD050 DX news
Message-ID: <200912180021.nBI0LZlG022292@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB DX @ ARL $ARLD050
ARLD050 DX news

ZCZC AE50
QST de W1AW
DX Bulletin 50  ARLD050
 From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  December 17, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB DX ARL ARLD050
ARLD050 DX news

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
NC1L, VE8EV, the OPDX Bulletin, DXNL, 425 DX News, The Daily DX,
Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and WA7BNM web
sites.  Thanks to all.

SRI LANKA, 4S.  Peter, DC0KK is QRV as 4S7KKG from Moragalla, IOTA
AS-003, until January 7, 2010.  Activity is on 20 meters using CW,
RTTY, PSK and WSJT.  QSL to home call.

NIGERIA, 5N.  Ivan, OM3CGN is now QRV as 5N7M.  He is active on 40
to 10 meters.  QSL to home call.

MAURITANIA, 5T.  Ito, JA1PBV is QRV as 5T5BV until the end of
December.  Activity is on the HF band using mainly CW with some
digital.  QSL to home call.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, A6.  Don, N1DG is QRV from club station A61AD
in Abu Dhabi for about one week while on work assignment.  Activity
is generally on the HF bands using CW, SSB and RTTY in his free
time.  QSL via operator's instructions.

QATAR, A7.  In celebration of Qatar National Day, special event
station A71QND is QRV until December 19.  QSL via A71CO.

CUBA, CO.  Edor, CO7PH is QRV as CO7PH/p from Cayo Coco, IOTA
NA-086, until December 31.  QSL direct via W3HNK.

ANTARCTICA.  Felix is QRV as DP1POL from the German Neumayer Station
III and has been active on 20 meters using SSB between 0000 and
0100z.  QSL via DL1ZBO.

NORTHERN IRELAND, GI.  Special event station GB1HF is QRV until
January 10, 2010 to celebrate the first powered flight in Ireland by
pilot and inventor Harry Ferguson.  Activity is on 80 to 10 meters
using CW, SSB and RTTY.  QSL via bureau.

ST. LUCIA, J6.  John, VE8EV is QRV as J68/home call until December
20.  Activity is on all bands using CW and SSB.  This includes an
entry in the RAC Winter contest.  QSL to home call.

HAWAII, KH6.  Tom, N1CE is QRV as home call/KH6 from Oahu Island,
IOTA OC-019, until January 6, 2010.  QSL direct.

WAKE ISLAND, KH9.  Colin, WA2YUN is QRV as KH9/home call for about
one year while on work assignment.  He is active in his spare time.
QSL via K2PF.

GREENLAND, OX.  Fred, KB4DMQ is QRV as OX3QM from Thule for one
year.  He is currently active on 40 meters.  QSL to home call.

NETHERLANDS, PA.  Special event station PD09XMAS is QRV until
January 3, 2010 to celebrate Christmas 2009.  Activity has been on
20 meters using SSB.  QSL via PD5X.

ANTARCTICA.  Mike, RW1AI is QRV from club station R1ANP from
Progress station and is here for about a year while on work
assignment.  QSL this operation via RW1AI.

POLAND, SP.  Special event station HF150LZ is QRV until December 27
to commemorate the 150th birthday of Ludwik Zamenhof, the inventor
of the artificial language Esperanto.  QSL via SP4YPB.

SUDAN, ST.  Members of the Khartoum Sea Scouts Radio Club are QRV as
ST26ASC until January 28, 2010 to celebrate the 26th Arab Scouts
Conference under Peace and Unity.  They have been active on 20
meters using SSB.  QSL via ST2M.

MOUNT ATHOS, SV/A.  Monk Apollo, SV2ASP/A has been QRV on 20 meters
around 1330z and 40 meters around 1800 to 1900z.  QSL direct.

CANADA, VE.  Members of the Coquitlam and Surrey Amateur Radio clubs
are QRV as VG7W until December 31.  This includes an entry in the
RAC Winter contest as a Multi/Multi entry.  Activity is on 160 to 2
meters using CW, SSB and FM.  QSL via operators' instructions.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO.  The OK DX RTTY Contest, NCCC Sprint CW
Ladder, AGB-Party Contest, Russian 160-Meter Contest, RAC Winter
Contest, Croatian CW Contest and ARCI Holiday Spirits Homebrew
Sprint are all on tap for this weekend.  The Run for the Bacon QRP
CW Contest is scheduled for December 21.  The SKCC CW Sprint is
scheduled for December 23.  The Lighthouse Christmas Lights QSO
Party runs from December 19 to January 3.  Please see December QST,
page 66, and the ARRL and WA7BNM contest web sites for details.
NNNN
/EX


From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Fri Dec 18 22:34:10 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:34:10 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLP052 Propagation de K7RA
Message-ID: <200912190334.nBJ3YAVU004476@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP052
ARLP052 Propagation de K7RA

ZCZC AP52
QST de W1AW
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 52  ARLP052
 From Tad Cook, K7RA
Seattle, WA  December 18, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB PROP ARL ARLP052
ARLP052 Propagation de K7RA

Sunspot activity continued this week, with new group 1035 emerging
December 14, following 1034, which appeared December 9.  Daily
sunspot numbers since December 9, through December 17, have been 13,
13, 13, 12, 14, 28, 38, 30 and 24.  Solar flux values have been
above 80 since December 15, with the values from Tuesday through
Thursday of this week at 81.6, 83.2 and 86.9.  The 2000z (local noon
in Penticton) are the official daily number, and on December 17 at
1800z the flux value was 88.1, higher than any flux value in the
past three years.

The last time the 10.7 cm flux was higher was December 15, 2006 at
88.2.  Just three days prior to that on December 12, 2006 it was
104.2.  It wasn't long ago that flux values were in the sixties, but
we haven't seen solar flux below 70 since October 16, 2009 at 69.6.

The latest prediction from NOAA and USAF is for flux values around
88 for December 18-20, then 85, 82, 82 and 80 for December 21-25.
Predicted planetary A index for December 18-24 is 5, 6, 15, 6, 5, 5
and 5, indicating a possible disturbance on Sunday.  Geophysical
Institute Prague predicts quiet conditions December 18-19, unsettled
to active December 20, quiet to unsettled December 21-22, unsettled
December 23, and quiet December 24.

Currently at the NASA STEREO site (http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/) we
can see sunspot group 1035 at a high latitude heading toward the
western (right-hand) side of the solar image, and just passed over
the eastern horizon a bright patch of activity that could emerge as
a sunspot.  There is also some activity in the southern hemisphere
on the far side just emerging from the less than 13.7 percent of the
Sun not visible to STEREO.

At http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/indices/DSD.txt under the column
"Sunspot Area 10E-6 Hemis" you can see the area (in millionths of a
solar hemisphere) covered by sunspots steadily growing all week.

This increased sunspot activity gives us improved chances of
expanded HF propagation.  For instance, doing a projection with a
popular propagation prediction program, with zero sunspots today
from my location in Seattle to Brazil on 12 meters, there is a
chance of propagation from 1800-2000z, but for less than 25 percent
of the time.  But with an average of sunspot number for the past few
days at 30.7, the same path has excellent probability of opening
with strong signals from 1700-2100z.

Mail after the 10 meter contest last weekend indicated that
propagation was disappointing on Saturday and much better on Sunday.
You can also see comments on the Contest Soapbox at
http://www.arrl.org/contests/soapbox/.  Just select "2009 ARRL Ten
Meter Contest" from the drop-down menu.

In contrast to the 10 meter reports, there were a great many
enthusiastic reports on 160 meters propagation this week.  James
French, W8ISS of Lincoln Park, Michigan operated from the Red Cross
communications center in Ann Arbor.  He reports that the 10 meter
contest didn't get interesting until late in the event on Sunday.
He says, "Listened a few times down on 160 meters and heard non-stop
signals across the whole band."

Jan Wise, KA5PRO in Pocahontas, Arkansas was surprised on December
10 at 0407z when he contacted KH7XS in Laupahoehoe, which is on the
northeast side of the Big Island of Hawaii.  Jan was running 100
watts SSB on 1.845 MHz into a simple inverted L antenna at 50 feet.

Dick Bingham, W7WKR of Stehekin, Washington reports that last
Saturday night in the evening local (West Coast) time he was
surprised to work an SM4HCM and FM5CD on 160 meter CW with 100 watts
into a sloping half-square antenna.

Jeff Hartley, N8II of Shepherdstown, West Virginia also reports
great 160 meter conditions last weekend during the 10 meter contest.
He noted great signals from Northern Europe, and 160 was "much
better than during the 160 meter contest!"

Jon Jones, N0JK of Wichita, Kansas said 10 meters was bad Saturday,
but he had great results on Sunday.  He reports, "There was
widespread Es (E-skip) across the southern part of the country. Had
Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama stations in all
afternoon steady and loud. After 2200 UTC the Es spread west to
Arizona, New Mexico and northeast to Ontario, Maryland, Michigan,
etc."

"The Es to the Gulf of Mexico allowed an 'Es link' to form TEP
(trans-equatorial propagation), and on to South America. So despite
a low solar flux, CX, LU, PY stations were very strong around 2300
UTC Dec 13. I was able to work several PYs CXs and LU1HF while
running 5 watts and a CB mag-mount whip on the car on 10M CW. They
were an honest 599 despite a very simple antenna to Kansas. As
strong as during solar Cycle 23 peak."

Randy Shirbroun, ND0C of Worthington, Minnesota reports some great
80 meter conditions last weekend.  He wrote, "I was playing around
off and on in the 10 meter Contest and there was some great Es and
so-so TE on Saturday evening and especially Sunday afternoon.  But
for me the really exciting thing was around midnight (local) on
Friday night on 80 meters."

"I run exclusively QRP so I am definitely a slave to the whims of
the propagation gods.  There wasn't anything going on 10 when I
checked it around 0545 UTC Saturday - not very surprising but I was
hoping for maybe a little MS (meteor scatter) or Es.  So I went to
80 CW and was very pleasantly surprised.  I was able to work 6
central and eastern Europeans (HA, HB, 9A, S5, and DK) in an hour
running 5 watts to a dipole at 45 feet here in SW Minnesota.  It
wasn't easy, but the band was relatively quiet and no big pile-ups
and the guys on the other end were patient and obviously had good
ears.  It was definitely my best hour of 80 meter DXing!  I think
that was a very special opening, but I definitely need to check 80
more often.  (I'll bet it was a great night for the guys on 160 with
decent antennas and a little power.)  Hopefully it is a sign of
things to come this winter on the lower bands, especially with
non-existent sunspots.  Maybe 5BDXCC with QRP is possible!  I have
240 on 10, 270 on 15, 270 on 20, 100 on 40 and now 55 on 80 - we'll
see!"

Randy Crews, W7TJ of Spokane, Washington wrote on December 16, "We
are still in the low portion of the cycle, and I remember in years
past during this time with a quiet Sun and geomagnetic field, low
band propagation is exceptionally good. The higher solar activity
enhances 40 meters, 30 meters and even 80 meters. Last weekend I
worked three new European countries on 160 meters.  80, 40, and 30
meters offer short path European propagation starting an hour before
local sunrise, switching to long path at sunrise, and back to short
path propagation once again about 45 minutes to an hour past
sunrise. Pretty cool!"

Robert Elek, W3HKK of Johnstown, Ohio reported on December 12,
"Hark! Sunspots!  And a big bump up in 40/80/160 DX was noted on Dec
11 and 12. But prior to that, 40 had been relatively quiet for the
past week. However, on 12/6, OX3KQ sounded like a beacon on 7.153,
with signals from S7 to S9 +5 dB for a couple of hours (1900-2100z).
Mid afternoon! My average noise level was S2. OX3KQ was using a
rotary dipole at 70 feet and working pile ups into most of Europe,
plus pockets of JA and stateside stations who could penetrate his
European wall. HA, IZ4, EC, UW5, DJ2, YO, RK0, A41, Z31, UR5, RZ8
were a sample of what he was plucking off, plus a dozen or so US and
a dozen JAs. Non stop DX for him, and it sounded like he was picking
them off the top of the pile. Fascinating to see how the skip would
move around favoring first to his east, then to his west, then to
his north."

"Again, we see that on a quiet or dead band, DX is possible from
almost any point on the globe on 40 meters. Also, E51NAA (North Cook
Islands) was worked again, on both 12/11 and 12/12 between
0400-0500z, around 7.025 MHz with good signals. I've heard him
coming through for over a week now, again, on a quiet band."

"Another Magical Opening on 160: On 12/11 at 0500z I worked TF4M,
plus LA, SM, PA: all with 599 signals, with 100w cw/160m inverted L
with an average height above ground of 10 feet! It seems 1.815-1.840
is a jam packed DX segment especially on Friday and Saturday nights.
And around 1.843, a UM0 (Uzbekistan) was a solid 5x7(3 S-units above
my noise) and looking hard for takers. Amazing! You could hear
nearly all of Europe calling CQ that night, many signals in the 579
to 599 range. On an antenna you could almost jump up and touch!
Amazing.  So it doesn't take a lot to join the fun."

If you would like to make a comment or have a tip for our readers,
email the author at, k7ra at arrl.net.

For more information concerning radio propagation, see the ARRL
Technical Information Service web page at,
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html. For a detailed
explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin, see
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/k9la-prop.html. An archive of past
propagation bulletins is at http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/.

Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve
overseas locations are at http://www.arrl.org/qst/propcharts/.

Instructions for starting or ending email distribution of this
bulletin are at http://www.arrl.org/w1aw.html#email.

Sunspot numbers for December 10 through 16 were 13, 13, 12, 14, 28,
38, and 30 with a mean of 21.1. 10.7 cm flux was 73.9, 72.1, 74.5,
75.5, 78.6, 81.6, and 83.2 with a mean of 77.1. Estimated planetary
A indices were 1, 0, 1, 2, 4, 0 and 3 with a mean of 1.6. Estimated
mid-latitude A indices were 1, 0, 2, 1, 4, 0 and 2 with a mean of
1.4.
NNNN
/EX


From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Thu Dec 24 15:13:48 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:13:48 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLP053 Propagation de K7RA
Message-ID: <200912242013.nBOKDmBD029942@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP053
ARLP053 Propagation de K7RA

ZCZC AP53
QST de W1AW
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 53  ARLP053
 From Tad Cook, K7RA
Seattle, WA  December 24, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB PROP ARL ARLP053
ARLP053 Propagation de K7RA

This bulletin is coming out a day ahead of normal schedule because
of the Christmas holiday on Friday.  ARRL headquarters closes early
today for Christmas Eve at 1900 UTC.

Many of us are nearly giddy with joy over the recent steady increase
in sunspot activity, which seems long overdue. Average daily sunspot
numbers rose over 10 points this week compared to last, from 21.1 to
31.4.  The monthly average daily sunspot numbers for September,
October and November were 6.6, 7 and 7.7, so this is quite a large
jump.

Five new sunspot groups emerged since December 9, three of those
over the past week, on December 19 and 20.  These were groups 1035
and 1036 on December 19, and 1037 on December 20.  Today a new
sunspot appears to be forming, and you can see it via the Solar
Terrestrial Relations Observatory at http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
Look for that bright spot in our Sun's southern hemisphere, around
-65 to -70 degrees longitude.

If we consider there are twelve of these 30 degree segments on the
spinning Sun seen on the STEREO web site, considering a complete
solar rotation takes about 27.5 days, each thirty-degree segment
passes over the horizon in about 2.3 days, or every 55 hours. We
can't tell if every bright spot beyond the horizon is formed into a
sunspot, but we can roughly calculate how long it takes for a
particular area of interest to rotate into view.

Right now on early Thursday morning, December 24, I can see an
active area (number 1035) around +115 degrees longitude or so, about
25 degrees over the horizon.  We can roughly assume that it is about
155 degrees longitude away from its reappearance at the -90 degree
longitude horizon on the other side.  This should be about 11-12
days from now.  Of course we do not know if activity in this area
will increase or decrease in the next couple of weeks.

At http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpmenu/forecasts/45DF.html we see a
prediction for December 24 (in the December 23 forecast) showing
predicted solar flux values of 76, 74, and 72 for December 24-26,
continuing at 72 until January 4, around the time this region
reemerges, when it rises to 75, then 77 for January 5-6, then 80 on
January 7-9, and 85 for January 10-18.

We also see steady quiet geomagnetic conditions, with planetary A
index rising slightly to 7, just for December 27-28.  Or course,
this could be wrong.  Note that in the December 16-19 forecasts the
expected planetary A index for December 20 was 15. Data from the
bottom of our bulletin shows that planetary A index for that day was
only 1.

The Winter Solstice occurred on Monday, December 21 at 1747 UTC in
the Northern Hemisphere, and days are gradually growing longer.
Spring Equinox is 179 days from today.

We've had reports from Robert Elek, W3HKK of Johnstown, Ohio in two
recent bulletins, and again he comes through with some interesting
observations.

Bob reports that John, ON4BW (Jean-Michel Debroux in Braine
l'Alleud, Belgium) is running 600 watts to a 4 element 40 meter Yagi
at 70 feet, and blasting a strong signal into North America during
his mid-day, around 1100 UTC.  Braine l'Alleud is about 10 miles
south of Brussels.  You can see a nice photo of ON4BW and the big
antenna at http://www.qrz.com/hampages/w/b/on4bw/on4bw.jpg.

Bob says, "Time and time again, strong signals are heard from Europe
2-3 hours past their sunrise here in Ohio, during the so called
dog-days of winter. The combination of a broadcast-station-free
segment of 40 meters and growing global wealth have 40 meter Yagis
popping up all over the 7.125-7.200 SSB band segment, with
corresponding big sigs from around the globe. If you haven't been on
40 SSB for a few years, you WILL be surprised at how much 40 sounds
like 20 meters used to sound. And, it only takes ONE Yagi to make
the circuit, so give them a call. W3HKK is using 100 watts to a
quarter wave ground plane just off the ground, with 6 radials."

"A reminder: This is the time to hear polar stations, north and
southern latitudes. Antarctica, KC4AAC was heard just above the
noise near 7.170 SSB, around 0100 UTC on December 20. Oleg, UU9JX/MM
was worked from the Magellan Straits on 10.110 MHz at about the same
time. Strong LU stations are regulars on 40 SSB in the evening. Plus
OX, TF have been worked in recent weeks with big signals."

On December 18 Bob reported, "Another interesting Friday night on 40
SSB. At times during the evening, the band sounds pretty quiet. More
stateside signals are being heard with the recent rise in sunspots.
And a fair number of Central America and Caribbean stations come and
go. But if you poke around, the juicy DX is there loud and clear.
I2VRN is a beacon, and several EAs also 59+ are heard. Pair of A71
stations (Juma, A71EM and Jamil, A71FJ) were taking turns working DX
on 7.130 MHz with signals around 5x9 from 0400-0445 UTC. 4L4TL
joined in for a while. Juma noted they were over 2 hours past their
sunrise and still the DX kept coming. Juma and Jamil are a couple of
very nice guys looking to spread A71 contacts around to any takers.
A71 activity on 40m has been almost daily all this week, through
December 19."

"Then, tuning up into the 7.135-7.155 MHz range, at least eight ZS
stations were heard working stateside, or rag-chewing in a morning
ZS roundtable, at 0400-0430 UTC. Again it was at least one hour past
their sunrise. ZS3D has been heard in Ohio on a nightly basis with
signals between 57 and 59+10 running 500 watts to a 2 element hex
beam."

Dick Grubb, W0QM of Boulder, Colorado used to work at the NOAA Space
Weather Prediction Center.  He sent along an article he scanned from
the current issue of Space Weather, the International Journal of
Research and Applications from the American Geophysical Union.
Titled "Slow Start to Solar Cycle Tied to Sluggish Interior Stream,"
it explains there is a slow moving river of gas deep inside the sun
which may be the reason for the scarcity of sunspots and late start
to the current solar cycle.  Sonograms show it is currently moving
much slower than normal.

The currents typically take 6-8 years to move from the poles to
equator as they spiral east to west, and for this cycle it is taking
1-2 years longer.

When the stream reaches 22 degrees latitude, a new crop of sunspots
and new solar cycle appears.  The jet stream has finally reached
critical latitudes for sunspot development, and we should look
forward to a quick up-tick in activity.  Solar activity is now
expected to peak in May 2013.

The same publication announces a Space Weather Forecasting Contest.
Unfortunately, they do not allow individual entrants without
affiliation to some educational or research institution, but the
criteria (high school students, researchers, grad students, alumni,
etc) look pretty broad, so perhaps individuals may enter after all.
Probably most of us are at least alumni of some high school,
correct?  You can see details at http://swxcontest.gmu.edu/.

The new issue of WorldRadio Online is out, at
http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/WorldRadio.html.  Check pages 22-24
for Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA's excellent monthly propagation
feature, this month titled, "Is There a Most Advantageous Band and
Time?"

If you would like to make a comment or have a tip for our readers,
email the author at, k7ra at arrl.net.

For more information concerning radio propagation, see the ARRL
Technical Information Service web page at,
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html. For a detailed
explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin, see
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/k9la-prop.html. An archive of past
propagation bulletins is at http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/.

Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve
overseas locations are at http://www.arrl.org/qst/propcharts/.

Instructions for starting or ending email distribution of this
bulletin are at http://www.arrl.org/w1aw.html#email.

Sunspot numbers for December 17 through 23 were 24, 20, 43, 42, 42,
26, and 23 with a mean of 31.4. 10.7 cm flux was 86.9, 84.2, 81.7,
83.7, 82.7, 82.2, and 78.4 with a mean of 82.8. Estimated planetary
A indices were 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2 and 2 with a mean of 1.4. Estimated
mid-latitude A indices were 2, 2, 0, 2, 1, 2 and 3 with a mean of
1.7.
NNNN
/EX


From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Thu Dec 24 15:16:08 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:16:08 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLD051 DX news
Message-ID: <200912242016.nBOKG8FT032585@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB DX @ ARL $ARLD051
ARLD051 DX news

ZCZC AE51
QST de W1AW
DX Bulletin 51  ARLD051
 From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  December 24, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB DX ARL ARLD051
ARLD051 DX news

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
NC1L, the OPDX Bulletin, DXNL, 425 DX News, The Daily DX, Contest
Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and WA7BNM web sites.
Thanks to all.

MADAGASCAR, 5R.  Sat, G4OHX will be QRV as 5R8HX from December 28 to
January 3.  Activity will be on the HF bands using mainly CW.  QSL
direct to home call.

ZAMBIA, 9J.  Take is QRV as 9J2FM and has been active on 17 meters
around 1900z.  QSL via JA4ATV.

MOZAMBIQUE, C9.  John, ZS5J is currently QRV as C91J from Bilene.
Lately he has been active on 40 meters using CW.  QSL this operation
to home call.

CHILE, CE.  Al, K7CA is QRV as CE1/homecall until February 23.
Activity is on the HF bands using mostly CW.  This includes an entry
in the Stew Perry contest and the upcoming CQ 160-Meter CW contest.
QSL direct via NW7O.

MOROCCO, CN.  To celebrate the New Year 2010 special event station
CN10NY is QRV until March 18, 2010.  QSL via EA7FTR.

ANTARCTICA.  Felix, DL5XL is QRV as DP1POL from Neumayer Station
III.  He has been active on 80 meters around 2300z.  QSL via DL1ZBO.

IRAN, EP.  Mohammed, EP4MRG has been active on 20 meters using SSB
around 1100z to 1300z.  QSL direct.

THAILAND, HS.  Joerg, DL1MJF will be QRV as HS0ZGQ from December 30
to January 25.  This includes a one-week side trip to Koh Samui
Island, IOTA AS-101.  Activity will be on 40 to 10 meters using CW
and SSB.  QSL to home call.

ITALY, I.  Roger, K1DQV will be QRV as I1/homecall from Rapollo in
the Stew Perry contest.  QSL to home call.

OGASAWARA ISLAND, JD1.  Harry, JG7PSJ and Makoto will be QRV as
JD1BMH and JD1BLY, respectively, from Chichijima Island, IOTA
AS-031, from December 27 to January 1.  Activity will be on 160 to
10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY.  QSL direct to home calls.

AUSTRALIA, VK.  Jim, G6PAA is QRV as VK6/homecall from Western
Australia, IOTA OC-001, until January 13.  Activity is on 80 to 10
meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK.  QSL to home call.

MEXICO, XE.  In celebration of the 5th anniversary of the "Grupo
DXXE," some members of Grupo DXXE are QRV as 4A1DXXE from various
locations until December 31.  Activity is on 160 to 6 meters using
CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK31.  QSL direct via N7RO.

VENEZUELA, YV.  Pasquale, YV6KAJ will be QRV as YW5EID from La
Tortuga Island, IOTA SA-044, from December 26 to 29.  Activity will
be on 40 to 12 meters using SSB, RTTY, PSK and Olivia.  QSL via
EA5KB.

VANUATU, YJ.  Nao, JK1FNL will be QRV as YJ0NA from Port Vila, IOTA
OC-035, from December 28 to January 4.  Activity will be on 40 to 6
meters.  QSL to home call.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO.  The Stew Perry Topband Challenge, DARC
Christmas Contest, South Dakota QSO Party, PODXS 070 Club QRP DX
PSK31 Scramble and the RAEM CW Contest are all on tap for this
weekend.  The Lighthouse Christmas Lights QSO Party runs until
January 3.  Please see December QST, page 66, and the ARRL and
WA7BNM contest web sites for details.
NNNN
/EX


From dick at k7vc.com  Tue Dec 29 19:07:02 2009
From: dick at k7vc.com (Dick Flanagan)
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:07:02 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] Wind Advisory for Carson City, NV
Message-ID: <200912300007.nBU073eT008241@pop1.greatbasin.net>

Wind Advisory
Statement as of 3:07 PM PST on December 29, 2009

...Wind Advisory in effect from 10 PM this evening to 7 am PST
Wednesday...

The National Weather Service in Reno has issued a Wind Advisory...
which is in effect from 10 PM this evening to 7 am PST Wednesday.

* Timing: periods of snow this evening will taper off as winds
   increase and become gusty overnight.

* Winds: southwest winds increasing to 15 to 25 mph with gusts up
   to 50 mph late this evening into Wednesday morning. The
   strongest gusts will be above 5000 feet and in wind prone areas
   such as Galena and Washoe Valley.

* Impacts: sudden strong cross winds will make driving difficult for
   high profile vehicles.

Precautionary/preparedness actions...

Motorists...especially in high profile vehicles...should use
caution and remain alert for sudden gusts or cross winds.  Check
our website at weather.Gov/Reno or listen to NOAA Weather Radio
for updates on this situation.
--
Dick Flanagan K7VC
dick at k7vc.com


From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Thu Dec 31 16:07:20 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:07:20 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLP054 Propagation de K7RA
Message-ID: <200912312107.nBVL7K29019948@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP054
ARLP054 Propagation de K7RA

ZCZC AP54
QST de W1AW
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 54  ARLP054
 From Tad Cook, K7RA
Seattle, WA  December 31, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB PROP ARL ARLP054
ARLP054 Propagation de K7RA

Here we are on the last day of the year, with finally some very
positive indicators for Cycle 24. Except for Christmas day, since
December 9 sunspots have been visible every day. Average daily
sunspot numbers for the week December 24-30 were 12.9, an 18.5 point
drop from the previous week, which was a 10.3 point rise from the
previous week, December 10-16.

Average daily solar flux dropped from 82.8 to 76.2 from the December
17-23 reporting week, but the December 30 forecast from the U.S. Air
Force predicts a solar flux value of 79 from December 31 to January
3, 80 for January 4-9, and 85 for January 10-18.  They also predict
a steady and stable planetary A index of five through February 13.
Geophysical Institute Prague predicts quiet for the first week of
January.  You can get an update on the Air Force/NOAA prediction
after 2100 UTC at,
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpmenu/forecasts/45DF.html.

Since December 26 we've been blessed with new sunspot group 1039,
which is now just past the zero degree meridian, referenced to
Earth.  This is the spot in the center of the solar image.  This is
the sixth new sunspot group to emerge in December.

After today we will know the three-month moving daily sunspot
average centered on November, and it looks close to the average
centered on August, 2007, which was 10.17.  The moving average has
not been above ten since then.  The daily average for the month of
December should be close to 15.7, the highest monthly average since
March, 2008.

A number of sharp-eyed readers caught the major gaffe in the last
bulletin, when I dozed off and with my fingers on autopilot I typed
Spring Equinox when I should have said Summer Solstice.  Needless to
say, Spring is not six months off.  The Vernal (Spring) Equinox is
only 79 days from today. Thanks to (in order of notification) N5UWY,
WE5I, KW6G, KF7FIU, W3DM, N0LNO, and WA3VKG for noticing and not
having too much fun at my expense.

Joe Reisert, W1JR, an exceptional low band DXer sent some comments
about the solar minimum.  I commented that the exceptionally quiet
conditions are remarkable, and may partially make up for a lack of
solar activity.  At least we aren't bothered by large flares.

Joe responded, "I really don't think the low bands are that improved
over times when the sunspots were there. Yes, it was nice to work
TX3A and K4M on 160 meters for new ones but I still can't get JT1CO
to hear me! Sometimes JAs spot me on 160 meters but no JAs call me!
Except for early last February when one morning I worked 7 JAs (!)
in a row starting at my sunrise (!), I haven't seen any really great
Asian openings. I guess I just have to hang in there. I did land
VK9XX on 80 near our sunset for number 341 about a month ago. That
was a real thrill as he was only working Europeans and somehow I
broke the pile up."

Rod Vorndam, K9ROD of Rye, Colorado wrote last week: "The past
couple of weeks have seen openings to Europe at sunrise on 20
meters. This Gray Line Effect has made for several strong contacts.
I worked I2OHO (Italy), ON5CD (Belgium), HB9RDE (Switzerland), and
received several others including OZ1IKY (Denmark) and S51ZZZ
(Slovenia). These are my first European contacts into the Western
part of the US."

Mark Lunday, WD4ELG of Greensboro, North Carolina has a nice blog
with observations on DX from his new QTH.  Read it at
http://wd4elg.blogspot.com/.

Mark wrote, on Christmas Day: "One thing I have noticed recently
with the slight up tick in solar activity, is that 40 meters now
reminds me of 20 meters during the solar peak. Even during daylight,
there is DX open to somewhere on 40 in winter months. The exception
is high noon. But mornings and late afternoons have LOTS of activity
on 40."

"This afternoon, I copied HS0CZY/4 on 40 meters about an hour before
my sunset.  The last time I remember something like this was 1
January 2005 when I worked YB1A on 40 CW late in the afternoon."

"On Monday at 0100 local, I heard a fluttery signal RST 529, I copy
JA7DLE, call him twice, he gets my call, BAM he is in the log. I
have ONE JA QSO ALL-TIME on 80, and this is my SECOND EVER on 40.
This is with a single vertical and 100 watts.  What is neat about
this is that it happens at 0100 local while I can hear EU stations
599 AND South Cook Islands DXpedition 559. So I am copying Pacific,
JA, AND Europe at the same time.  When the Sun throws lemons, make
your own DX/lemonade."

"I heard 4S7NE on 40 CW at 2030 local, just after his sunrise.  I
have tried to hear Nelson since I worked him on 17 meters back in
2005, but I have never heard him since. Amazing!"

Thanks Mark.

Bob Doherty, K1VV of Lakeville, Massachusetts reminds us that
tonight is Straight Key Night!  Take a look at,
http://www.qrz.com/db/K1VV/1262178636 and scroll down.

Jose Nunes, CT1BOH of Lisbon, Portugal (see
http://www.qsl.net/ct1boh/index.htm) sent some fascinating material
that he posted to the cq-contest email list at contesting.com,
titled "Listen to what happens when a X4.0 Solar Flare hits your
contest operation."  He referred to K9LA's article, "Solar Flares at
ZF2RR," which you can read at,
http://mysite.verizon.net/k9la/Solar_Flares_at_ZF2RR.pdf.

Jose writes, "It just happens that while operating P40E during the
2000 CQWW CW Contest, I was recording the event. And I still
remember the black-out that followed the big X4.0 Solar Flare. I
thought it would be interesting to share the story and the audio
clip of the impact of the solar flare."

"First take a look at the Goes X-ray Flux (5 minute data) on the 25
and 26 November 2002: http://qsl.net/ct1boh/audio/20001127_xray.PNG.
I marked with an arrow the big solar X4.0 flare that occurred at
16:38 on 26 November, Sunday of the contest. P40E was QRV on 21 MHz
(21050 kHz).  In the 40 minutes before the Solar Flare impacted P40E
operation, 16:00 - 16:39, I had worked 107 QSOs at a rate of 160.5
QSOs per hour. In the 20 minutes after the Solar Flare impacted P40E
operation 16:40 - 16:59 first there was a 7 minute black-out and
then I managed to work 10 QSOs at a rate of 30 QSOs per hour."

"Very interesting is the surge of noise right after the Solar Flare
until almost total black-out of the bands and during the 7 minute
black-out. You will listen to a vanishing pile-up, to a dead band,
and then the recovery of activity."

"You can check P40E log at http://www.qsl.net/ct1boh/audio/flare.txt
to follow audio clip from 16:36z until 17:02z."

"Listen to the 26 minute audio clip at
http://www.qsl.net/ct1boh/audio/flare.wav and note this was an SO2R
operation so you should use headphones. You will listen on the left
ear to radio 1 (RUN radio) on 21 MHz and right ear to radio 2 (S&P
radio) on 28 MHz before the QSY to 10."

Fascinating!  Thanks so much, Jose.

If you would like to make a comment or have a tip for our readers,
email the author at, k7ra at arrl.net.

For more information concerning radio propagation, see the ARRL
Technical Information Service web page at,
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html. For a detailed
explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin, see
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/k9la-prop.html. An archive of past
propagation bulletins is at http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/.

Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve
overseas locations are at http://www.arrl.org/qst/propcharts/.

Instructions for starting or ending email distribution of this
bulletin are at http://www.arrl.org/w1aw.html#email.

Sunspot numbers for December 24 through 30 were 11, 0, 13, 17, 17,
17, and 15 with a mean of 12.9. 10.7 cm flux was 77.1, 76, 75.9,
76.8, 75.8, 75.1, and 76.9 with a mean of 76.2. Estimated planetary
A indices were 2, 2, 3, 2, 1, 0 and 0 with a mean of 1.4. Estimated
mid-latitude A indices were 1, 3, 2, 1, 1, 0 and 0 with a mean of
1.1.
NNNN
/EX


From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Thu Dec 31 16:29:46 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:29:46 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLD052 DX news
Message-ID: <200912312129.nBVLTkqp016902@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB DX @ ARL $ARLD052
ARLD052 DX news

ZCZC AE52
QST de W1AW
DX Bulletin 52  ARLD052
 From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  December 31, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB DX ARL ARLD052
ARLD052 DX news

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
HL1IWD, NC1L, PA0MIR, XE1EE, the OPDX Bulletin, DXNL, 425 DX News,
The Daily DX, Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar
and WA7BNM web sites.  Thanks to all.

CROATIA, 9A.  Tom, 9A2AA is QRV with special event call 9A500AA
until December 31, 2010.  QSL to home call.

CUBA, CO.  Edor, CO7PH plans to be QRV as CO7PH/p from Cayo Anclitas
Island, IOTA NA-201, from January 2 to 5.  QSL direct via W3HNK.

PHILIPPINES, DU.  Lee, HL1IWD is QRV as DU1/homecall from Manila,
IOTA OC-042, until January 3.  QSL to home call.

HAITI, HH.  Pierre, HB9AMO is QRV as HH/HB9AMO for about one month.
Activity is mainly on 30 to 17 meters using CW in his spare time.
QSL via PA7FM.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA, P2.  Peter, VY0PW is QRV as P29CS from Lihir
Island, IOTA OC-069.  QSL via operator's instructions.

NETHERLANDS, PA.  In celebration of 600 years of the city of
Purmerend, special event station PC600P is QRV until January 27.  In
addition, look for stations PA600MIR, PA601FR, PA602SWL, PA603HGP,
PD602YL and PE603HG to be active.  QSL via operators' instructions.

CANADA, VE.  Steve, N6QEK is QRV as VY1/homecall from Whitehorse in
the Yukon Territory until January 4.  This includes a possible entry
in the ARRL RTTY Roundup.  Activity is on 80 to 10 meters using SSB
and PSK31.  QSL to home call.

AUSTRALIA, VK.  Special event station VI2AJ2010 will be QRV from the
Australian Scout Jamboree in Sydney from January 4 to 14.  Activity
is on the H/VHF bands and EchoLink.  QSL via VK2FFG.  In addition,
Wally, VK6YS, Nigel, VK6NI and Bruce, KD6WW are QRV as VK6IOA from
Houtman Abrolhos Island, IOTA OC-211, until January 4.  QSL via
VK4AAR.

MEXICO, XE.  In celebration of the two hundred years of Mexican
independence and the 100th anniversary of the Mexican revolution,
members of the Radio Club Queretaro are QRV as special event station
4A1B throughout all of 2010.  QSL via LZ3HI.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO.  The ARRL RTTY Roundup, Lighthouse
Christmas Lights QSO Party, AGB New Year Snowball Contest, SARTG New
Year RTTY Contest, AGCW Happy New Year CW Contest, AGCW VHF/UHF
Contest, Original QRP CW Contest, EUCW 160-Meter CW Contest and the
Kid's Day Contest will certainly keep contesters busy this weekend.
The RSGB 80-Meter Club CW Championship is scheduled for January 4.
The ARS Spartan CW Sprint is scheduled for January 5.  Please see
January 2010 QST, page 80, and the ARRL and WA7BNM contest web sites
for details.
NNNN
/EX


