From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Mon Nov  2 12:49:59 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:49:59 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLP044 Propagation de G0KYA
Message-ID: <200911021750.nA2HnxrD017066@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP044
ARLP044 Propagation de G0KYA

ZCZC AP44
QST de W1AW
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 44  ARLP044
 From Steve Nichols, G0KYA
Wymondham, England October 30, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB PROP ARL ARLP044
ARLP044 Propagation de G0KYA

The propagation bulletin this week is written by Steve Nichols,
G0KYA, of the RSGB's Propagation Studies Committee in the English
county of Norfolk.  K7RA is out of town and will return next week
for the November 6 Propagation Forecast Bulletin ARLP045.

Well, what a week it has been. The solar flux hit 82.3 on Tuesday,
the highest recording yet since the first observed "new cycle
sunspot" in January 2008, which was the "official" visual start of
Sunspot Cycle 24.

Even as I write this, the flux is still at 80, thanks to sunspot
region 1029, so let's hope that it is a sign of better things to
come.

The region (1029) produced several B-class solar flare events and a
single C2.2 class flare on the 28th, but luckily CQ World Wide SSB
was unaffected for the most part.

NASA's STEREO "behind" spacecraft is not showing any new spots
coming around the solar rim, but we live in hope. I was lucky enough
to record a Podcast with Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA at the RSGB's
Convention in the UK where he talked about Solar Cycle 24 and the
possible effect of galactic cosmic rays on Top Band propagation. You
can hear the Podcast at, http://www.g0kya.blogspot.com.

In the UK a combination of sporadic-E and F2 layer propagation made
10 meters a "must have" band for contesters last weekend. The 28 MHz
band was full of European stations and I personally worked more than
25 countries in two hours of casual operation. Longer DX included 4X
(Israel) and ZS9 (South Africa) with signal strengths peaking at 59
with very simple antennas. I can't remember the last time 10 meters
was so active, although it was interesting to note that on Monday
the band was completely clear. It just shows that you should call CQ
once in a while.

Tim, K6GEP reports that he and other Southern California amateurs
worked YO4ATW on 10 meters around 1930z on October 25 during CQ
World Wide SSB.  No other European countries were heard on the band
at that time.  Only 100 watts and modest tri-band yagis were used at
both ends.

Marcel, YO4ATW was a single band entry on 10 meters, and made over
340 contacts, including some in South America.  On another day this
week, he worked some Brazilians around 1800z. Multi-hop Es or F
layer? Let's hope it is a pointer towards better things to come.

Al, AB2ZY also found 21 MHz wide open. From the Adirondacks in upper
New York state with a single ground-mounted Butternut HF6V vertical
with lots of radials, an ICOM 756 Pro III transceiver and an old
Yaesu FL-2100B amplifier, he was hearing Western European stations
well after their sundown.

At the other end of the spectrum 80 meters was also a great band
with many US and Canadian stations giving novice European operators
their first trans-Atlantic QS0s around 3.8 MHz. K3LR in PA was still
audible more than one hour after sunrise in the UK.

Let's hope we get similar conditions for CQ World Wide CW in
November.

K7RA--and normality--will be back next week.

73 de Steve G0KYA

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 October 22 through 28 were 0, 30, 21, 28, 29,
29, and 26 with a mean of 23.3.  10.7 cm flux was 71.6, 72.9, 75.6,
75.5, 81.3, 81.5, and 79.9 with a mean of 76.9.  Estimated planetary
A indices were 14, 8, 8, 5, 3, 3 and 2 with a mean of 6.1.
Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 12, 7, 5, 3, 3, 2 and 3 with a
mean of 5.
NNNN
/EX



From dick at k7vc.com  Tue Nov  3 15:52:30 2009
From: dick at k7vc.com (Dick Flanagan K7VC)
Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:52:30 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] EMCOMMWEST 2010 Planning Meeting
Message-ID: <200911032052.nA3KqVZ7015288@pop1.greatbasin.net>

The next EMCOMMWEST 2010 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, November 7.  The
Media Room is in the front of the REOC building.  The meeting
will be held right after the monthly ARES meeting.

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

The purpose of the meeting will be to answer any questions about
EMCOMMWEST (the organization) and ECW10 (the event).  Current
project leaders are asked to be prepared to give a brief report
on their areas and 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.

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



From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Thu Nov  5 16:16:53 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:16:53 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] The ARRL Letter for November 5, 2009
Message-ID: <200911052116.nA5LGusE008794@pop1.greatbasin.net>


If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2009-11-05>http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2009-11-05

November 5, 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=2009-11-05&t=t>



    * + Public Service : Ham Radio Operators Assist in Catalina Island Rescue
    * + ARRL Recognizes : George E. Smith, AA2EJ, Wins Nobel Prize
    * + Operating : Fall Frequency Measuring Test This Month
    * + Look for the December QST in Your Mailbox
    * Advocacy : More Cosponsors for HR 2160
    * ARRL in Action : What Have We Been Up to Lately?
    * Now You Know! : Hiram Percy Maxim and the W1AW Station
    * Solar Update
    * This Week on the Radio

+ Available on <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>ARRL Audio News

+ Public Service: Ham Radio Operators Assist in Catalina Island Rescue

Around 9:45 on the night of October 23, while 
attending an overnight event at the Boy Scouts' 
Camp Emerald Bay on Santa Catalina Island, Karl 
Tso, KI6PCW, and his wife, Deborah Ava, KJ6CRZ, 
of Topanga, California, decided to climb a hill 
to check out the view -- and to see if they could 
get into the repeater on the island with their 
handheld transceivers. As they climbed the hill, 
the two radio amateurs heard a sound; Tso turned 
his high-powered flashlight on the source, only 
to discover a man who had fallen 48 feet to the 
rocks below, bleeding and severely injured. Read 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/10/31/11174/?nc=1>here.
+ ARRL Recognizes: George E. Smith, AA2EJ, Wins Nobel Prize

Nobel Laureate George E. Smith, AA2EJ. Smith 
received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for his 
invention of the charged-couple device (CCD).

Around 5:30 on the morning of October 6, George 
E. Smith, AA2EJ, of Barnegat, New Jersey, got a 
phone call that changed his life: He had just 
found out he had won the 
<http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2009/index.html>Nobel 
Prize in Physics for 2009 "for the invention of 
an imaging semiconductor circuit -- the 
<http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/10/ccd-inventors-awarded-nobel-prize-40-years-on/>CCD 
sensor." Smith will share the prize money with 
two other recipients: Charles K. Kao, of Standard 
Telecommunication Laboratories in the United 
Kingdom and Chinese University of Hong Kong, and 
Willard S. Boyle, of Bell Laboratories. Each 
recipient will receive a 
<http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/diplomas/>diploma, 
a 
<http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medals/>medal 
and a 
<http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/amounts.html>document 
confirming their share of SEK 10 million (about 
$1.4 million); Kao will receive 50 percent, while 
Smith and Boyle will each receive 25 percent of the monetary award.

Kao was recognized by the prize committee for his 
"groundbreaking achievements concerning the 
transmission of light in fibers for optical 
communication." His discoveries paved the way for 
optical fiber technology, used for almost all 
telephony and data communication today. Boyle and 
Smith invented a digital image sensor -- the CCD 
-- that has become an electronic eye in almost all areas of photography.

"My wife Janet, AA2EI, and I sailed around the 
world for 17 years," Smith told the ARRL. "While 
we were on our boat, we used Amateur Radio, 
especially in the South Pacific. Janet was the 
principal radio operator. With our radio, we 
could keep track of other boats in the area. Over 
in the Southwest Pacific, there are shore 
stations there that provide weather forecasts 
every day on the ham radio. We would listen for 
these, as it was such a tremendous help for us as sailors."

This very first CCD prototype was pieced together 
months after Smith and Boyle laid out its working principles.

The CCD -- invented in about an hour over lunch 
when Smith and Boyle worked at New Jersey's Bell 
Labs -- was, according to 
<http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/10/ccd-inventors-awarded-nobel-prize-40-years-on/>Wired 
Magazine, the first practical way to let a 
light-sensitive silicon chip store an image and 
then digitize it. In short, it is the basis of 
today's digital camera. According to Wired, the 
"most amazing thing about the invention" is that 
Boyle and Smith came up with the design so 
quickly. With Bell Labs threatening to take the 
funds from their department and transfer the 
money to other research, Boyle had to come up 
with a competing semiconductor design. He got 
together with Smith, and within an hour, they 
came up with the idea and sketched it all out on a blackboard.

"One morning in October, 1969," 
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/cstmweb/3884295553/>Boyle 
wrote on his Web site, "I was challenged to 
create a new kind of computer memory. That 
afternoon, I got together with George Smith and 
brainstormed for an hour or so on a new kind of 
semiconductor device, drawing a few sketches and 
equations on a blackboard. We called it a 
charge-coupled device: A 'CCD.' When we had the 
shops at Bell Labs make up the device, it worked 
exactly as expected, much to the surprise of our colleagues."

When asked by the ARRL how he felt about winning 
the Nobel Prize, he exclaimed, "I feel great! 
Even though there's a lot of nonsense to go 
through with it, it's worth it and winning it 
does wonders for your ego. Aside from the initial 
shock and having to go through piles of mail, 
e-mail and returning telephone calls, I know that 
will calm down. As for the long-range future, I'm 
getting many invitations to give talks. Next 
year, I've been invited to speak at a major 
conference in Seoul, South Korea, another in 
Portland Oregon and another in Switzerland. I've 
been invited to France to give a talk, China, 
too. We need to sit down with a calendar and 
figure it all out. Having a Nobel makes a big dent in your lifestyle."

Smith told the ARRL that he knew the CCD was 
under consideration for the Nobel Prize, "but we 
didn't know exactly if, or when, it would happen. 
Research that wins the Nobel is often done many 
years beforehand. In my case, this was 40 year 
old research. The Prize Committee wants to make 
sure the research has stood the test of time.

Without CCDs, this image -- taken by the Hubble 
Space Telescope in 2002 showing "light echos" 
illuminating the dust around supergiant star V838 
Monocerotis (V838 Mon) -- would not be possible. 
V838 Mon is located 20,000 light-years away on 
the periphery of our Galaxy. In early 2002, it 
increased in brightness temporarily to become 
600,000 times brighter than our Sun.

"Amateur Radio has always attracted individuals 
who want to understand and exploit nature's 
laws," fellow Nobel Laureate Joe Taylor, K1JT, 
told the ARRL. "These are essential 
characteristics for first-rate scientists, as 
well. The 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics honors the 
invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit -- 
the CCD sensor used in digital cameras, the 
Hubble Space Telescope and many other scientific 
and consumer devices. It was no great surprise to 
learn that one of the Laureates, George Smith, is 
also a radio amateur." Taylor was 
<http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1993/>awarded 
the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1993 "for the 
discovery of a new type of pulsar, a discovery 
that has opened up new possibilities for the study of gravitation."

Next month, Smith will travel to Stockholm, 
Sweden for the award ceremony on December 10. It 
is certain that his picture will be taken scores 
of times by the international media, made 
possible through the technology that he and Boyle 
pioneered. Click 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/03/11182/?nc=1>here 
for more information, including how a CCD works.
+ Operating: Fall Frequency Measuring Test This Month

The W1AW Frequency Measuring Test (FMT) has taken 
several different formats over the past few 
years. This year, we return to the "classic" FMT 
-- measuring the frequency of an unmodulated 
carrier. Accurate frequency measurement is 
required of all hams for both regulatory 
compliance -- "stay in the band!" -- and 
operating convenience, particularly on the new 
digital modes. The W1AW FMT will run on November 
12, 2009 at 0245 UTC (this is Wednesday evening, 
November 11, 2009 at 9:45 PM EST). It will 
replace any W1AW bulletin normally scheduled for 
that time. It is recommended that participants 
listen to W1AW's transmissions prior to the event 
to get an idea of conditions to see which band 
(or bands) will be best for measurement purposes. 
Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/02/11175/?nc=1>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-11-05&p=0>
+ Look for the December QST in Your Mailbox

The December issue of 
<http://www.arrl.org/qst>QST is jam-packed with 
all sorts of news and information that today's 
Amateur Radio operator needs. From product 
reviews to experiments, from public service to 
on-the-air activities, the upcoming issue of QST 
has something for just about everyone. Click 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/04/11183/?nc=1>here 
to discover what's in store for you in the 
December issue of QST, the official journal of the ARRL.
Advocacy: More Cosponsors for HR 2160

Earlier this week, two more Congressional 
Representatives -- Andre Carson (D-IN-7), and 
C.W. Bill Young (R-FL-10) -- pledged their 
support for 
<http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h2160ih.txt.pdf>HR 
2160, The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications 
Enhancement Act of 2009, bringing the total 
number of cosponsors to 31, 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/04/30/10792/?nc=1>including 
original sponsor Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX-18). HR 
2160 is also sponsored by W. Todd Akin (R-MO-2), 
Michael Arcuri (D-NY-24), Roscoe Bartlett 
(R-MD-6), John Boozman (R-AR-3), Madeleine 
Bordallo (D-Guam), Geoff Davis (R-KY-4), Bob 
Filner (D-CA-51), Scott Garrett (R-NJ-5), Bart 
Gordon (D-TN-6), Brett Guthrie (R-KY-02), Maurice 
Hinchey (D-NY-22), Michael Honda (D-CA-15), Mary 
Jo Kilroy (D-OH-15), Tom Latham (R-IA-4), Zoe 
Lofgren (D-CA-16), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO-9), 
Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI-11), Charlie Melancon 
(D-LA-3), Candice Miller (R-MI-10), Dennis Moore 
(D-KS-3), John Olver (D-MA-1), Bill Posey 
(R-FL-15), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA-46), Bennie 
Thompson (D-MS-2), Michael Turner (R-OH-3), Peter 
Welch (D-VT), David Wu (D-OR-1) and Don Young 
(R-AK). On the Senate side of Capitol Hill, 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/10/07/11127/?nc=1>S 
1755 -- also called The Amateur Radio Emergency 
Communications Enhancement Act of 2009 -- cleared 
the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs Committee with a favorable recommendation 
by voice vote. It now proceeds to committee staff 
to prepare the report for the full Senate. Click 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/05/12/10818>here 
for information on how to encourage your 
Congressional representative to sponsor HR 2160.
ARRL Recognizes: Three Amateurs Inducted into Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame

Earlier this year, the Consumer Electronics 
Association (CEA) named 13 men -- including three 
radio amateurs -- to the Consumer Electronics 
Hall of Fame. The honorees were inducted last 
month at CEA's Industry Forum in Phoenix, 
Arizona. Former ARRL Rocky Mountain Division 
Director Walt Stinson, W0CP, of Englewood, 
Colorado; Former ARRL Vice President and Central 
Division Director R.H.G. Mathews, W9ZN (ex-9ZN) 
(SK), and Karl Hassel, W9PXW (ex-8AKG) (SK). Read 
more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/02/11177/?nc=1>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-11-05&p=1>
ARRL in Action: What Have We Been Up to Lately?

Compiled by ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA

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 a recent webinar concerning 
Amateur Radio and pecuniary interests, the Fourth 
Annual ARRL On-Line Auction, orientation for 
newly elected Section Managers and more. This 
installment covers the month of October. Read 
more <http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2009/11/02/11179/?nc=1>here.
+ MARS: MARS Cuts Ribbon on New Pentagon Station

A military institution designed to provide 
emergency communications has moved to new 
quarters in the Pentagon. On October 21, John G. 
Grimes, the former Assistant Secretary of Defense 
for Networks and Information Integration, cut the 
ribbon on the new Military Affiliate Radio System 
(MARS) station, now located on the fifth floor of 
the Pentagon. The facility -- manned by the 
Pentagon Amateur Radio Club (PARC) -- is packed 
with amateur radios, radiotelephone patches, 
computers and data links. "This is a great 
facility, manned totally by volunteers," Grimes 
told the crowd who came to see the new station. 
"It's a crucial capability for our country." Read 
more <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/03/11180/?nc=1>here.
Now You Know!: Hiram Percy Maxim and the W1AW Station

More than 1000 visitors come to see ARRL and 
operate W1AW each year. Each visitor has a chance 
to tour ARRL HQ and meet and talk with staff, and 
see all that the League does to promote the 
Amateur Radio Service. When they go over to W1AW, 
some guests want to know if the station was once 
the home of Hiram Percy Maxim, cofounder and first President of the ARRL.

The July 1920 edition of QST featured Maxim's 
house on its cover. Click 
<http://p1k.arrl.org/cgi-bin/topdf.cgi?id=3005&pub=qst>here 
to read a description of the 1AW station.

In February 1936, when Maxim died of pneumonia on 
his way back from visiting 
<http://www.ucolick.org/>Lick Observatory on Mt 
Hamilton in San Jose, California, the ARRL HQ 
station -- W1MK -- was located at 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartford-Brainard_Airport>Brainard 
Field in Hartford. In March 1936, the Connecticut 
River flooded and the building where the station 
was housed was destroyed by the flood waters. The 
League's Board of Directors decided that a new 
station be built on a more suitable site in 
memory of Maxim. In December 1936, the FCC -- in 
the first action of its kind -- assigned the call 
W1AW to ARRL in memoriam. The ARRL purchased a 7 
acre site in Newington, about 5 miles southwest 
of Brainard Field. From the flood until September 
1938, W1MK operated from ARRL Headquarters, then 
on LaSalle Road in West Hartford. On September 2, 
1938 -- what would have been Maxim's 69th 
birthday -- W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial 
Station, was dedicated, with the ceremony 
broadcast across the country by CBS Radio. So, 
no, the building where W1AW is located was never 
home to Hiram Percy Maxim; in fact, he never saw 
it. But even so, we know that his spirit lives on 
every time we sit down at a radio. Now you 
know!<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-11-05&p=2>
Solar Update

Tad 
"<http://englishhistory.net/keats/poetry/robinhood.html>You 
may go, with Sun or moon" Cook, K7RA, reports: 
The recent sunspot activity has drifted beyond 
view, but that region returns in the middle of 
November. The average daily sunspot number for 
October was 7, the highest in the past 19 months. 
Coming up this weekend is the ARRL CW Sweepstakes 
-- there is a possibility of a coronal hole 
causing unsettled geomagnetic activity, though 
the past few days have been exceptionally quiet. 
Look for more information in the Solar Update, 
available on the ARRL Web site on Friday, 
November 6. 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/robinhood.html>Robin Hood. To a Friend.
+ ARRL Recognizes: John E. Portune, W6NBC, Wins October QST Cover Plaque Award

The winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award for 
October is John E. Portune, W6NBC, for his 
article "The Quadrifilar Helix as a 2 Meter Base 
Antenna Station." Congratulations John! 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 November issue by Monday, November 30.
This Week on the Radio

Check out the view from the Canadian QTH of Jeff 
Briggs, K1ZM/VY2ZM. Ray Higgins, W2RE, took this 
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm1dTXtT5vg>video 
from atop Jeff's 170 foot 40 meter tower.Would 
you like to see yourself in The ARRL Letter? Send 
us a picture of you operating your rig -- tell us 
your name and call sign and what you're doing! 
Don't forget to tell us who took your picture; if 
they have a call sign, let us know. Send your 
pictures to ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, 
<mailto:k1sfa at arrl.org>K1SFA -- be sure to put 
"ARRL Letter Photos" in the subject line of your e-mail.

This week is the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/novss.html>ARRL 
Sweepstakes (CW) on November 7-8. There is an 
NCCC Sprint on November 6 and the Ukrainian DX 
Contest is November 7-8. The North America 
Collegiate ARC Championship (CW) is November 7-9. 
The SKCC Weekend Sprint is November 8. Next week, 
there is another NCCC Sprint on November 13. The 
Bill Windle QSO Party is November 14. The Worked 
All Europe DX Contest (RTTY), the Kentucky QSO 
Party, the JIDX Phone Contest is November 14-15 
and the OK/OM DX Contest (CW) are November 14-15. 
The CQ-WE Contest (SSB, CW and Digital) is 
November 14-16. The Run for the Bacon QRP Contest 
is November 16 and the NAQCC Straight Key/Bug 
Sprint is November 19. 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.
Do You Know?: A Trivia Answer for Our Readers

Last week, ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, 
K1SFA, told ARRL Letter readers about the 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/10/29/11170/?nc=1>long 
and proud history of the ARRL Sweepstakes, 
mentioning that at one point, The Philippines was 
a multiplier in the Sweepstakes, as was Cuba (as 
part of the West Indies Section). We wondered 
what years that The Philippines and the West 
Indies Sections ceased to be multipliers in 
Sweepstakes. Unfortunately, we didn't receive any 
correct answers. The Philippines was no longer a 
Section as of 1946 and in August 1988, two new 
Sections -- Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands -- 
replaced the West Indies Section (Cuba 
disappeared from the West Indies Section in 
1940). Thanks to everyone who sent in answers. 
Look for another trivia question in a future edition of The ARRL Letter.
ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration

Registration remains open through Sunday, 
November 22, 2009, for these online course 
sessions beginning on Friday, December 4, 2009: 
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=2009-11-05&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 Nov  5 18:03:26 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:03:26 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLD044 DX news
Message-ID: <200911052303.nA5N3RoR027039@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB DX @ ARL $ARLD044
ARLD044 DX news

ZCZC AE44
QST de W1AW
DX Bulletin 44  ARLD044
 From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  November 5, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB DX ARL ARLD044
ARLD044 DX news

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
NC1L, PS7YL, 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.

SENEGAL, 6W.  Stan, EI6DX will be QRV as 6W/home call from Somone
from November 7 to 16.  Activity will be on the low HF bands using
CW.  This includes being an entry in the upcoming Japan DX contest.
QSL via RX3RC.

EAST MALAYSIA, 9M6.  Steve, 9M6DXX and John, 9M6XRO are QRV as home
calls/p from Pulau Labuan, IOTA OC-133, until November 9.  Activity
is on 80 to 10 meters using SSB, and 160 to 10 meters using CW and
RTTY, respectively.  QSL via bureau.

EASTER ISLAND, CE0.  A group of operators are QRV as XR0Y from Rapa
Nui until November 15.  Activity is on 160 to 10 meters using CW,
SSB and RTTY.  QSL via operators' instructions.

LIBERIA, EL.  Chris, ZS6RI plans to be QRV as EL8RI for about one to
two months.  Activity will be mainly on 40, 30 and 20 meters running
QRP power.  QSL to home call.

FRANCE, F.  Members of the Havre Radio Club are QRV using special
event call TM1TJV until November 8 to celebrate the departure of
some 30 trans-Atlantic sailing ships during the ''Transat Jacques
Vabre 2009'' race between Le Havre, France and Costa-Rica's Caribbean
coast.  QSL via bureau.

CHESTERFIELD ISLAND, FK.  Tomi, HA7RY and George, AA7JV are QRV as
TX3A until December 6.  Activity is on all HF bands with an emphasis
on the low bands.  QSL via HA7RY.

ISLE OF MAN, GD.  Operators Ron, PA3EWP and Tom, GM4FDM will be QRV
as MD/PA3EWP and GD4FDM, respectively, from November 7 to 9.
Activity will be on all HF bands.  QSL MD/PA3EWP via PA7FM and
GD4FDM via GM4FDM.

LIECHTENSTEIN, HB0.  Operators Kazik, DL2SBY, Tomi, HA4DX and Laci,
HA0HW are QRV as HB0/home calls from Masessa until November 13.
Activity is on the HF bands using mostly CW with some SSB.  QSL to
home calls.

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, HC8.  Mike, DF8AN is QRV as HC8/home call until
November 7.  Activity is on the HF bands using mostly CW.  QSL
direct to home call.

THAILAND, HS.  Thailand's National Telecommunications Commission has
approved a request by the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand to
expand 40 meters.  Effective November 6, E2 and HS stations will
have primary use of 7.0 to 7.2 MHz.

ST. PIERRE AND MIQUELON, FP.  Eric, KV1J and Tom, W8TOM will be QRV
as FP/home calls from Miquelon, IOTA NA-032, from November 7 to 15.
Activity will be on 160 to 6 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK.
QSL to home calls.

US VIRGIN ISLANDS, KP2.  David, N3XF, Ed, K1ZE and Rob, W1EQ are QRV
as KP2/home calls until November 11.  Activity is on 160 to 10
meters using CW, SSB and RTTY.  This includes being active as KP2M
in the ARRL CW Sweepstakes.  QSL KP2M direct and all others to home
calls.

DENMARK, OZ.  A group of operators are QRV as 5P3WW from Moen
Island, IOTA EU-171, until November 9.  QSL via DL1YAW.

BONAIRE, CURACAO, PJ2.  After his Galapagos operation, Mike, DF8AN
will be QRV as PJ4/home call from Bonaire, IOTA SA-006, from
November 7 to 16.  Activity will be on all bands using mostly CW.
QSL direct to home call.

BRAZIL, PY.  Special event callsign PW2SIDC is QRV until November 22
from several Brazilian states, including Fernando de Noronha, to
mark an international conference for civil defense to be held in Sao
Paulo.  QSL via PS7YL.

WEST KIRIBATI, T30.  David, N1EMC and Mike, N1IW will be QRV as
T30KI and T30IW, respectively, from Abatao Islet, IOTA OC-017, on
the Tarawa atoll from November 10 to 16.  Activity will be on 60 to
6 meters using CW and SSB.  QSL both calls via N1EMC.

UKRAINE, UR.  Operators Alex, UR7IRK, Vladimir, US5ID, Valery,
UU1JN, Anatol, UU5JA, Elena, UV5ESZ and Roman, UY7IQ are QRV as home
calls/p from Crimea on Karaby Mountain until November 9.  Activity
is on 160 to 10 meters.  This includes being active as UU5JZA in the
Ukrainian DX contest.  QSL UU5JZA via UY7IQ and all others to home
calls.

SERBIA, YT.  Operators HA7JJS, HA6NL, HA7PL and HA6PS are QRV as
YU9JJS, YU9NL, YU9PL and YU9PS, respectively, until November 8.
They will also be active as YT36QRP for the annual HA QRP 80-Meter
contest.  QSL YT36QRP via YU7CM and all others to home calls.

VENEZUELA, YV.  Members of the Caracas DX Group are QRV as YW5F from
Farallon Centinela Island, IOTA SA-058, until November 9 as part of
their 20th anniversary.  Activity is on 80 to 2 meters using CW,
SSB, FM and various digital modes.  QSL via W4SO.

OPERATIONS APPROVED FOR DXCC CREDIT.  The following operations are
approved for DXCC credit:  Chagos Island, VQ9JC, current operation.
This operation was previously rejected as a shipboard operation.
DXCC exchanged correspondence with the operator and determined that
this operation was actually land-based thereby satisfying the
conditions of DXCC Rule 8; Timor-Leste, 4W6AL, 2009 operation;
Afghanistan, T6AG, current operation.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO.  The ARRL CW Sweepstakes Contest, ARRL
EME Contest, NCCC Sprint, IPARC Contest, Ukrainian DX Contest, NA
Collegiate ARC CW Championship, HA QRP 80-Meter CW Contest, SKCC
Weekend CW Sprint and the DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest will
certainly keep contesters busy this weekend.  Please see November
QST, page 86, and the ARRL and WA7BNM contest web sites for details.
NNNN
/EX



From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Fri Nov  6 18:35:00 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:35:00 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLP045 Propagation de K7RA
Message-ID: <200911062335.nA6NZ0Ar012527@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP045
ARLP045 Propagation de K7RA

ZCZC AP45
QST de W1AW
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 45  ARLP045
 From Tad Cook, K7RA
Seattle, WA  November 6, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB PROP ARL ARLP045
ARLP045 Propagation de K7RA

Thanks so much to Steve Nichols, G0KYA for writing the Propagation
Forecast Bulletin last week.  See his blog at,
http://g0kya.blogspot.com/.

In addition to the sunspot group 1029, which graced us from October
23-30, a new one (1030) just emerged on Thursday.  It is currently
in a maximally geo-effective position (in other words, in the center
longitudinal meridian as viewed from earth), and may provide some
enhancement for the ARRL CW Sweepstakes Contest this weekend.  On
Thursday the daily sunspot number was 15.  Of course, this is a new
Cycle 24 spot.

Geomagnetic indices continue to stay very quiet.  Checking numbers
at http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/indices/DGD.txt you can see that
the planetary K index and the college K index were a solid 0 for all
of November 3-4 and most of November 5.  One strange (to me) set of
numbers is on November 5, when the K index in all three zones was
exactly the same.  It was 0 all day, then for one three hour period
it was 1, then back to 0 for all three, planetary, college and
mid-latitude.  The A index is calculated using the K index data, and
the A index for that day was 0 at mid-latitude and high latitude,
but was 1 for planetary numbers.  Why was that?

Expect geomagnetic conditions to remain quiet and stable.  NOAA and
the US Air Force predict planetary A index at 5 for today, November
6, and 7 for November 7, then back to 5 for November 8-19.

Geophysical Institute Prague predicts quiet to unsettled conditions
November 6-7, and quiet conditions November 8-12.

October had some good numbers, with an average daily sunspot number
of 7.0.  That is the highest level since March 2008.  Our
three-month moving average showed 4.64 for August through October,
centered on September.  This was up from 4 centered on both July and
August.  Three month averages centered on January through September
2009 were 2.19, 2.02, 1.49, 2.01, 4.22, 5.2, 4, 4 and 4.64.

Tom Morton, CX7TT in La Paloma, Rocha, Uruguay sent a message on
October 30 concerning the CQ World Wide SSB DX Contest, and his
operation on 10 meters.  He wrote, "Around 1:00 PM local Saturday,
10 meters opened with a bang and propagation was awesome to EU then
later the US. I expected 10 to shut down on Sunday so spent a lot of
time Saturday milking the band. Even though I did foray down to 15
meters on both days, I wound up with 1000 QSOs, 93 countries and 22
zones.  What a blast!"

Jim Brown, W5ZIT of Farmersville, Texas had a question about
propagation that surprised him on 17 meters.  Jim wrote, "I thought
I would drop you a note concerning an unusual QSO I had on 10/30/09.
At 2350 UTC I worked AE5PW in Newport Arkansas on 17 meters using
the Olivia mode.  Signals were 20 over 9 for a few minutes and then
faded down to S5 before we signed.  I am located near Farmersville,
TX, about 30 miles NE Dallas.  This distance was something like 250
miles or less, and I thought this very unusual at the time.  I was
wondering what type propagation would support this short skip on 17
meters.  It would seem to be too short even for sporadic-E.  I was
using a 550 ft loop up 30 ft at the time."

I took the addresses for W5ZIT and AE5PW from FCC records, and
calculated the distance at 297 miles.  But note that for an antenna,
Jim is using a 550 foot wire strung in a loop, 30 feet above the
ground.  Perhaps there is some high angle radiation going on, and
the change in signal strength was due to some drifting patch of
ionosphere above the two stations.  This was on the last day of an 8
day run of sunspots.

Jim said he is using Olivia, which is a robust digital mode for HF.
See http://www.oliviamode.com and http://hflink.com/olivia for more
info.

I thought perhaps the 550 foot figure was a typo, but I checked out
Jim's QTH at http://tinyurl.com/yk8d95s (clicked on "Bird's eye,"
then zoomed in) and saw there is plenty of room to stretch out.

Clay Melrose, WA6LBU of Wellston, Oklahoma and Chuck Kershner, W1EMQ
of Clinton, New York were both pleased by long distance contacts on
40 meters on November 1.

W1EMQ worked UU1CC in Crimea on CW at 0050z with good signals using
an old 4BTV vertical in wet soil and a Drake TR4.  WA6LBU worked
ZS3D running 25 watts SSB with a MP-25 manpack military radio into a
G5RV at 0600z.  ZS3D was using a 40 meter hex beam.

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 October 29 through November 4 were 19, 13, 0, 0,
0, 0, and 0 with a mean of 4.6.  10.7 cm flux was 76.7, 75.2, 75.1,
72.3, 71.4, 71.5, and 71.4 with a mean of 73.4.  Estimated planetary
A indices were 7, 11, 1, 2, 2, 0 and 0 with a mean of 3.3.
Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 5, 8, 1, 2, 2, 1 and 1 with a
mean of 2.9.
NNNN
/EX



From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Thu Nov 12 18:17:52 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:17:52 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] The ARRL Letter for November 12, 2009
Message-ID: <200911122317.nACNHs4f027216@pop1.greatbasin.net>


If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2009-11-12>http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2009-11-12

November 12, 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=2009-11-12&t=t>


    * + Public Service : Late Season Tropical 
Storm Ida Comes Calling on Gulf Coast
    * + Operating : ARRL Sweepstakes Takes to the Phone Bands Next Weekend
    * + Operating : WRTC 2010 Organizers Announce Teams
    * + Amateur Radio in Space : Idaho School 
Incorporates ARISS into Curriculum
    * ARRL Says "Thank You" to Veterans
    * Now You Know! : US Call Signs Not Issued by the FCC
    * Solar Update
    * This Week on the Radio

+ Available on <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>ARRL Audio News
+ Public Service: Late Season Tropical Storm Ida Comes Calling on Gulf Coast

Category 1 Hurricane Ida, just before entering 
the Gulf of Mexico this past weekend. [Image 
courtesy of the Naval Research Lab]

With only weeks to go before the end of the 2009 
hurricane season, Tropical Storm Ida formed off 
the coast of Nicaragua, making landfall as a 
hurricane in the morning hours of November 5. The 
storm lost significant strength as it moved 
through Nicaragua and Honduras, only to reemerge 
in the Caribbean a day later, impacting El 
Salvador and Mexico. Ida gained strength, 
becoming a Category 2 storm with winds peaking at 
105 miles per hour in the Gulf of Mexico. The 
path for Ida at this point was clearly toward the 
Gulf Coast of the US, with a projected landfall 
somewhere between Louisiana and the Florida 
panhandle. As Ida's path became more focused, 
Amateur Radio operators and ARES? groups 
concentrated on increasing their level of 
readiness should there be a need to respond. Read 
more <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/12/11192/?nc=1>here.
+ Operating: ARRL Sweepstakes Takes to the Phone Bands Next Weekend

The SSB portion of the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/novss.html>ARRL 
November Sweepstakes -- the premier domestic HF 
contest -- takes place next weekend, running 2100 
UTC Saturday, November 21 to 0300 Monday, 
November 23 (or 4 PM Saturday to 10 PM Sunday 
EST). According to ARRL Contest Branch Manager 
Sean Kutzko, KX9X, the event -- first called 
"<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/10/29/11170/?nc=1>The 
January Contest" -- started back in 1929 as a 
competition for handling formal traffic messages. 
"Sweepstakes is one of the oldest traditions in 
Amateur Radio," Kutzko said. "The contest 
exchange contains more elements than usual, an 
homage to traffic-handling. If you have never 
participated in Sweepstakes, you are really 
missing out on some serious fun!" Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/12/11194/?nc=1>here.
+ Operating: WRTC 2010 Organizers Announce Teams

Last month, after a grueling selection process, 
the organizers of the 2010 World Radiosport Team 
Championships (WRTC) selected the 44 team leaders 
who will compete in the event next year. These 44 
team leaders, representing all six continents, 
have each chosen a partner. The rules state that 
while the leader's partner may be from a 
different call sign area, they must be from the 
same country as the leader. WRTC, held every few 
years, takes place during the 2010 IARU HF World 
Championships, July 10-11 and will be held just 
outside Moscow. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/11/11191/?nc=1>here<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-11-12&p=0>.
Atlantic Division to Host Webinar

Click 
<https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/333780681>here 
to register for The Emotional Go Kit: Are You Prepared?

Periodically, the ARRL's Atlantic Division hosts 
a "webinar" -- an interactive Web-based seminar, 
designed to facilitate communication between a 
small number of presenters and a large remote 
audience using the Internet. On Friday, November 
13 at 9 PM EST, Chuck Blocher, PhD, KC2IQV, will 
present a webinar entitled The Emotional Go Kit: 
Are You Prepared? "As hams serve as emergency and 
public service communicators, we prepare our Go 
Kits and necessary gear to provide essential 
communications," said webinar sponsor ARRL 
Atlantic Division Director Bill Edgar, N3LLR. 
"How prepared are you concerning your emotional 
wellness during one of these events? This webinar 
addresses the emotional well-being and 
preparedness for those Amateur Radio 
communicators who participate in emergency and 
public service situations." Please click 
<https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/333780681>here 
to register for this informative, interactive Internet meeting.
+ Amateur Radio in Space: STS 129 -- Stocking the International Space Station

Besides taking spare parts to the International 
Space Station (ISS) this coming Monday, the space 
shuttle Atlantis (STS-129) will deliver the 
module antennas for Columbus -- the laboratory 
built by the European Space Agency (ESA) and host 
of two Amateur Radio on the International Space 
Station (ARISS) antennas. "Lou McFadin, W5DID, a 
member of the AMSAT Board of Directors and a key 
volunteer for ARISS, showed the astronauts the 
best ways for them to safely unpack and assemble 
the antennas and associated cables once they and 
the hardware reach the ISS," said ARRL ARISS 
Program Manager Rosalie White, K1STO. "They 
reviewed how to maneuver and install the antennas 
during the spacewalk. Lou also oversaw the 
re-packing of the antennas and the onboard flight 
kit that accompanies shipments going to the ISS." 
Read more <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/12/11195/?nc=1>here.
+ Amateur Radio in Space: Idaho School Incorporates ARISS into Curriculum

Three students at Garfield Elementary School in 
Boise, Idaho play "Where's the Remote?" in 
preparation for a QSO with the International Space Station.

With more than 500 Amateur Radio on the 
International Space Station (ARISS) contacts 
conducted, thousands of students have experienced 
intriguing science and technology lessons -- plus 
the thrill of speaking with an astronaut who was 
on the International Space Station (ISS). 
According to ARRL ARISS Program Manager Rosalie 
White, K1STO, each school uses the ARISS events 
in different ways. From school to school, ARISS 
volunteers see a great range in the types of 
activities around the event, including 
integrating the activities into each grade 
level's curriculum. The lesson in common to all 
schools includes discussions on what Amateur 
Radio is, what ARISS is and how the worldwide 
ARISS Team works together. Click 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/05/11185/?nc=1>here 
to read about how one elementary school in Idaho 
integrated Amateur Radio, space -- and more -- 
into their 
curriculum.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-11-12&p=1>
ARRL Says "Thank You" to Veterans

On Wednesday, November 11, Veterans Day -- called 
Remembrance Day or Armistice Day outside the US 
-- was celebrated all over the world. Originally 
a holiday that marked the end of World War I -- 
the "War to End All Wars" -- has been set aside 
to honor all who have served their country. It 
was on November 11, 1918, on the 11th hour of the 
11th day of the 11th month, that Germany signed 
the Armistice, formally ending the hostilities 
that had been ongoing since 1914.

The ARRL would like to take this opportunity to 
thank our service veterans. Whether they served 
on active duty or reserve, during peace time or 
time of conflict, they served their county with 
honor. We also would be remiss if we did not 
remember the families of those veterans who kept 
the homefires burning bright; without their love 
and support, our veterans would have indeed been alone.

ARRL Headquarters has its share of service 
veterans: Contributing Editor Al Brogdon, W1AB 
(Army); Publications Sales Associate Mark Dzamba, 
KB1FMY (Air Force); Assistant VEC Manager Perry 
Green, WY1O (Army); Volunteer Archivist Charles 
Griffen, W1GYR (Air Force); Technical Editor Joel 
Hallas, W1ZR (Army); News Editor S. Khrystyne 
Keane, K1SFA (Coast Guard); DXCC Manager Bill 
Moore, NC1L (Army); Reprints Specialist Tony 
Nesta, AA1RZ (Navy); Membership and Volunteer 
Programs Manager Dave Patton, NN1N (Navy); 
Technical Relations Specialist Jon Siverling, 
WB3ERA (Army); Field and Regulatory Correspondent 
Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG (Air Force); Education & 
Technology Program Coordinator Mark Spencer, 
WA8SME (Air Force), and Archivist Perry Williams, W1UED (Air Force).

Thank you for your service -- your sacrifice and 
the sacrifice of your fellow service members is not forgotten.
Now You Know!: US Call Signs Not Issued by the FCC

The Amateur Radio station at Gitmo. [Photo 
courtesy of Chuck Harding, N8CH/KG4NW]

If you're an American ham, chances are that your 
call sign was issued by the Federal 
Communications Commission. A "no brainer," right? 
Well, if you're an American ham who happens to be 
stationed at Guantanamo Bay or at one of the US 
bases in the Antarctic, your call sign is not 
issued by the FCC -- it's issued by the base 
commander. Guantanamo Bay (or Gitmo as it's 
commonly called) uses the KG4 prefix, followed by 
a two-letter suffix; this block is reserved 
exclusively for American hams at Gitmo. As for 
Antarctica, the 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic_Treaty_System>Antarctic 
Treaty, signed on December 1, 1959 (and entered 
into force on June 23, 1961), established the 
legal framework for the management of Antarctica, 
including allocation of amateur call signs; the 
National Science Foundation received their block 
on July 1, 1959. US military hams in Japan and 
Korea are also issued special call signs:
    * KA2AA-KA9ZZ -- reserved for US 
Army-authorized amateur stations in Japan.
    * 
<http://antarcticsun.usap.gov/features/contentHandler.cfm?id=1701>KC4AAA-KC4AAF 
-- reserved for the National Science Foundation's use at the South Pole.
    * KC4USA-KC4USZ -- reserved for US 
Navy-authorized amateur stations at their Antarctic bases.
    * 
<http://members.visi.net/%7Everb/index.html>KG4AA-KG4ZZ 
-- reserved for US Navy-authorized amateur stations at Guantanamo Bay).
    * KL9KAA -- KL9KHZ -- reserved for assignment 
to US personnel stationed in Korea.
    * The 40 call signs having the first two 
letters AF, KF, NF or WF and the letters "EMA" 
following a numeral are available to the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The FCC once issued call signs to hams who lived 
in the Caroline Islands and the Marshall Islands. 
Even though these entities -- former United 
Nations Trust Territories -- now have their own 
sovereignty (and DXCC prefixes), the FCC will not 
issue call signs in the following blocks:
    * KC6AA-KC6ZZ -- KC6 was two DXCC entities: 
The Eastern Caroline Islands and the Western 
Caroline Islands. The Eastern Carolines became 
the Federated States of Micronesia (V6) and the 
Western Carolines became the Republic of Palau (T8).
    * KX6AA-KX6ZZ -- the former Marshall Islands, 
now the Republic of the Marshall Islands (V73).

You can 
<http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/index.htm?job=call_signs_3&id=amateur&page=1#2&ref=>find 
out more on the FCC's Web site. Now you know!
Solar Update

In for Tad 
"<http://englishhistory.net/keats/poetry/tosomeladies.html>While 
the wonders of nature exploring" Cook, K7RA, 
reports: Sunspot region 1029 disappeared after 
October 30, as it began transiting the Sun's back 
side. Six days after it was gone, a new region -- 
region 1030 -- appeared for several days. By 
November 8, region 1030 had faded away and looked 
like other weak spots we've seen over the past 
couple of years, except they appeared for one day 
with a sunspot number of 11. Sunspot region 1030 
ran for three days with sunspot numbers of 15, 16 
and 11. Then on November 9, the sunspot region 
re-emerged, with sunspot numbers of 14, 13 and 11 
through November 11. While 1030 passes over the 
Sun's western limb, we can still see sunspot 
region 1029 transiting the far side of our local 
star, now approaching the eastern horizon. None 
of this observation would be possible but for the 
<http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/>STEREO mission. Old 
region 1029 appears as a bright area of magnetic 
disturbance, and we can't actually determine what 
the sunspot number or the total area of the 
region might be, but it still appears to have a 
large and robust magnetic signature. The 45 day 
Air Force and NOAA Ap and flux forecast gives us 
some clue about the dates it will emerge into 
view, and when it is most directly facing Earth. 
Predicted solar flux is 72 for November 12-13, 73 
on November 14-15, 74 on November 16-17, 75 on 
November 18-21 and 80 for November 22-24. After 
that, the forecast shows it declining to 75, 72 
and 70. This suggests it might reach the most 
geoeffective position, that is, the position 
where it is near the Sun's central meridian 
relative to the Earth, around November 22-24. 
Conditions have been good, with continued weak or 
missing solar wind, and very quiet geomagnetic 
indicators. Look for more information in the 
Solar Update, available on the ARRL Web site on 
Friday, November 13. 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/tosomeladies.html>To 
Some Ladies<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-11-12&p=2>.
+ International: Norwegian Amateurs Receive New Privileges

On November 6, radio amateurs in Norway were 
<http://www.lovdata.no/ltavd1/filer/sf-20091105-1340.html>granted 
privileges on three new bands, as well as primary 
status on the extended 40 meter band and a 
frequency extension on 12 meters. According to 
IARU Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, 
Norwegian amateurs received new secondary user 
privileges on 60 meters (5.260-5.410 MHz), the 
600 meter band (493-510 kHz) and in five blocks 
in the 4 meter (70 MHz) band. Amateur Radio 
operators in Norway will also enjoy upgraded 
privileges on 40 meters, moving from secondary to 
primary users between 7.100-7.200 MHz and 1000 W 
output. They have also received a new secondary 
allocation from 24.740-24.890 MHz in the 12 meter 
band, expanding upon Norway's existing primary 
allocation of 24.890-24.990 MHz. Garpestad said 
that "minor adjustments" were also made in the 
SHF (3-30 GHz) and EHF (30-300 GHz) portions of 
the band. "Congratulations to our Norwegian 
colleagues," said ARRL Chief Executive Officer 
David Sumner, K1ZZ. "The new domestic allocations 
in Norway are consistent with the present and 
future spectrum requirements for the Amateur 
Service as determined by the IARU Administrative 
Council. We hope that other administrations will 
consider taking similar steps."
This Week on the Radio

Angel Santana, WP3GW, activates Special Event 
call sign KP4AO from inside the control room at 
Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico earlier this 
month. Would you like to see yourself in The ARRL 
Letter? Send us a picture of you operating your 
rig -- tell us your name and call sign and what 
you're doing! Don't forget to tell us who took 
your picture; if they have a call sign, let us 
know. Send your pictures to ARRL News Editor S. 
Khrystyne Keane, <mailto:k1sfa at arrl.org>K1SFA -- 
be sure to put "ARRL Letter Photos" in the subject line of your e-mail.

This week, look for an NCCC Sprint on November 
13. The Bill Windle QSO Party is November 14. The 
Worked All Europe DX Contest (RTTY), the Kentucky 
QSO Party, the JIDX Phone Contest is November 
14-15 and the OK/OM DX Contest (CW) are November 
14-15. The CQ-WE Contest (SSB, CW and Digital) is 
November 14-16. The Run for the Bacon QRP Contest 
is November 16 and the NAQCC Straight Key/Bug 
Sprint is November 19. Next week, the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/novss.html>ARRL 
Sweepstakes Contest (SSB) is November 21-23. The 
Feld Hell Sprint is November 21. The LZ DX 
Contest is November 21-22 and the NA Collegiate 
ARC Championship (SSB) is November 21-23. The EU 
PSK63 QSO Party is November 22. 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, 
November 22, 2009, for these online course 
sessions beginning on Friday, December 4, 2009: 
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=2009-11-12&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 Nov 12 19:04:40 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:04:40 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLD045 DX news
Message-ID: <200911130004.nAD04e31014241@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB DX @ ARL $ARLD045
ARLD045 DX news

ZCZC AE45
QST de W1AW
DX Bulletin 45  ARLD045
 From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  November 12, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB DX ARL ARLD045
ARLD045 DX news

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
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.

TUNISIA, 3V.  Alex, GM0DHZ will be here beginning November 16 for
five weeks.  He plans to operate using CW from the 3V8SS club
station during the weekends.  QSL via operator's instructions.

MADAGASCAR, 5R.  Eric, F6ICX will be QRV as 5R8IC from St. Marie
Island, IOTA AF-090, from November 17 to December 15.  Activity will
be on 80 to 10 meters.  QSL to home call.

SAMOA, 5W.  A group of operators are QRV as 5W0AP, 5W0CF, 5W0WL,
5W0IW and 5W0JC from Upolu, IOTA OC-097, until November 18.
Activity is on 160 to 17 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK.  QSL
via operators' instructions.

GHANA, 9G.  A group of operators are QRV as 9G5TT from Busua Beach
in western Ghana until November 27.  This includes activity as 9G5XX
from Abokwa Island, IOTA AF-084.  Activity is on 80 to 10 meters,
with 20 meters only on Abokwa Island.  QSL direct via I2YSB.

ANGOLA, D2.  Paulo, CT1ITZ is QRV as D2CQ from Porto Amboimi until
November 29.  Activity is on 80 to 10 meters using SSB.  QSL via
CT1IUA.

COMORO ISLANDS, D6.  Sam, F6AML, will be QRV as D68F from November
13 to 23.  Activity will be on 160 to 10 meters using CW and SSB.
QSL to home call.

SOUTH COOK ISLANDS, E5.  Henrik, OZ6TL is QSL as E51TLA from
Rarotonga, IOTA OC-013, until November 24.  Activity is holiday
style on the HF bands.  Of late he has been active on 20 meters
using RTTY.  QSL to home call.

CANARY ISLANDS, EA8.  Members of the Teide DX Group will be QRV as
EF8BFH on Tenerife Island, IOTA AF-004, from the Punta del Hidalgo
Lighthouse, ARLHS CAI-035, on November 14 and 15 in celebration of
the lighthouse's 15 years of operation.  Activity will be on the HF
bands, including 6 and 2 meters and 70 cm, using CW, SSB and various
digital modes.  QSL via EA8NQ.

MOLDOVA, ER.  In celebration of 650 years since Moldova became an
independent principality in 1359,  special event stations ER650M and
ER650MD are QRV until the end of November.  QSL ER650M via ER1DA and
ER650MD via ER4DX.

ITALY, I.  Special event station II0TRM is active in commemoration
of the 70th anniversary of the Morse Code receiving speed record of
Theodore R. McElroy, W1JYN.  QSL via bureau.

ANTARCTICA.  Bill, K7MT will be QRV as KC4USV from McMurdo Base,
IOTA AN-011, from November 15 to February 20.  Activity is mainly on
20 meters using CW, SSB and PSK31.  QSL via K1IED.

NETHERLANDS, PA.  Special event station PC60TROLLEY will be QRV from
November 17 to December 15 in celebration of the 60th anniversary of
trolley buses in Arnhem.  Activity will be on the HF bands using CW,
SSB and digital modes.  QSL via PA0FAW.

BRAZIL, PY.  A group of operators are QRV as PW6C from Coroa
Vermelha, IOTA SA-062, until November 16.  QSL via K9AJ.

PALAU, T8.  Jun, JJ1BMB is QRV as T88AA until November 22.  Activity
is on 80 to 10 meters using CW and SSB in his spare time.  QSL to
home call.

BRUNEI, V8.  Hans, SM3TLG will be QRV as V88/home call from November
16 to 20.  Activity will be on all HF bands using CW and SSB.  QSL
to home call.

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS, VP2V.  Gerd, DL7VOG will be QRV as VP2V/home
call from Anegada Island, IOTA NA-023, from November 15 to December
2.  Activity is on all bands using mostly CW and RTTY.  QSL to home
call.

FALKLAND ISLANDS.  Members of the Uruguay DX Group will be QRV from
Port Stanley from November 14 to 21.  They will be active as VP8BUG
using CW and digital modes and VP8BUH using SSB, respectively.
Activity will be on all HF bands.  QSL via EB7DX.

SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND, VP8.  Lars is QRV as VP8DIF until November 16.
Lately he has been active on 30 meters using CW and RTTY.  QSL via
DJ9ZB.

VIET NAM, XV.  Retu, OH4MDY and Henry, OH3JR are QRV as XV2RZ and
XV2JR, respectively, until December 7.  Activity is on all HF bands
using CW, SSB and RTTY.  QSL both calls direct via OH4MDY.

OPERATION APPROVED FOR DXCC CREDIT.  The following operation is
approved for DXCC credit:  Iraq, YI9TM, current operation.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO.  The Worked All Europe RTTY DX Contest,
Japan International DX Phone Contest, NCCC Sprint, Bill Windle CW
QSO Party, OK/OM DX CW Contest, North American Summits On The Air,
Kentucky QSO Party and the CQ-WE Contest will certainly keep
contesters busy this weekend.  The Run for the Bacon QRP CW Contest
is scheduled for November 16.  Please see November QST, page 86, and
the ARRL and WA7BNM contest web sites for details.
NNNN
/EX



From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Fri Nov 13 12:04:16 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:04:16 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLP046 Propagation de K7RA
Message-ID: <200911131704.nADH4GMm013040@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP046
ARLP046 Propagation de K7RA

ZCZC AP46
QST de W1AW
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 46  ARLP046
 From Tad Cook, K7RA
Seattle, WA  November 13, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB PROP ARL ARLP046
ARLP046 Propagation de K7RA

Sunspot region 1029 disappeared after October 30, but not because it
faded away.  It was transiting over our Sun's western horizon on its
trip around the back side.  Six days after it was gone a new region
1030 appeared for several days, November 5-7.  On November 8 region
1030 had faded away and seemed like other weak spots we've seen over
the past couple of years, except they appeared for one day with a
sunspot number of 11.  Sunspot region 1030 ran for three days with
sunspot numbers of 15, 16 and 11.  But then on November 9 the
sunspot region re-emerged, with sunspot numbers of 14, 13, 11 and 11
through November 12.

While 1030 is passing over the western limb, we can still see
sunspot region 1029 transiting the far side of our local star, and
now it is approaching the eastern horizon.  A short time ago this
observation would have been impossible, but with the STEREO mission
(see http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/) our total vision of the Sun now
approaches 85%.

Old region 1029 appears as a bright area of magnetic disturbance,
and we can't actually determine what the sunspot number or the total
area of the region might be, but it still appears to have a large
and robust magnetic signature.

The 45-day Air Force and NOAA Ap and flux forecast gives us some
clue about the dates it may emerge into view, and when it is most
directly facing Earth.

Predicted solar flux is 73 for November 13, 74 on November 14, 75 on
November 15-21, and 80 for November 22-24.  After that the forecast
shows it declining to 75, 72 and 70.  This suggests it might reach
the most geoeffective position, that is, the position where it is
near the Sun's central meridian relative to the Earth, around
November 22-24.

Conditions have been good, with continued weak or missing solar
wind, and very quiet geomagnetic indicators.  As noted in previous
weeks, a check of geomagnetic data at
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/indices/DGD.txt shows day after day
with K index values at 0, which is as low as it can go.  During past
times and previous cycles, it was common to see a constant K index
of 3, and A index of 12-15 for mid-latitudes. Note at the bottom of
our bulletin that the average daily mid-latitude A index for the
past week was less than 1!

That same NOAA and Air Force prediction shows a low planetary A
index of only 5 for November 13-18, 8 on November 19-20, 6 on
November 21, and back to 5 again for November 22 and onward.
Geophysical Institute Prague for November 13-19 predicts quiet
November 13-14, quiet to unsettled November 15, and quiet again
November 16-19.

Bernie Mitchell, KD8KEO of Wayne, Michigan says he is a new amateur
radio operator (about 9 months) and had good luck on 40 meters with
the Nightwatch Net in the evening, but around the end of October
after 0000 UTC he noted signals seemed weak.

He didn't say where the other stations are, but running some numbers
through a propagation program -- such as W6ELprop -- shows quite a
seasonal variation between the end of October and two months
earlier, when using targets such as the center of the continental
United States, or Atlanta, for example.  But looking west, the
propagation is better on 40 meters.  Using California as a target,
about 2000 miles away, propagation seems to be good day and night in
August or October, whether we have sunspot activity or not.

Atlanta is only about 600 miles from Bernie, and 40 meters seems to
need a longer path at this time of year, and also note that signals
to the west have sunlight over the path much later in the day.

Willis Cooke, K5EWJ wrote in with a comment about backscatter.  He
writes, "I read with interest about the QSO between W5ZIT and AE5PW
on 10/30/09."

He continues, "On 11/02/09 I found HL3ERJ at 5x7 on 17 meters SSB at
2311 UTC. I gave him a quick call in the pile and received a prompt
answer with a 4x4 report. Many others across the western US were
calling but he could not hear them. W5/VK2ACM came on and announced
that he was in Louisiana and was the only other station to work Choi
(HL3ERJ) while I was listening. A California station asked Clint
(W5/VK2ACM) to QSY up and I followed. I found that Clint was 5x9
with my beam pointed toward Korea, but disappeared when I pointed it
at about 17 degrees toward Shreveport (where Clint was), 229 miles
to the North. After the California station finished, I called Clint
and we talked for about 5 minutes before he disappeared during one
of my short transmissions. An email to Clint confirmed that he had
not moved his beam from the NW and I had dropped out suddenly."

He goes on to say, "This is what I think is an E layer Ion Cloud
lying over the NW US and back scatter. W5ZIT with a fixed pattern
antenna would not be able to detect his path. We see this fairly
often on ten meters where it is often the only mode of propagation
available. It is also present on lower frequencies, but is sometimes
masked by F layer propagation so the only clues are shorter than
normal propagation to nearby stations. Actually, I think it is not
really short when the signal bounces off a cloud 1 or 2 thousand
miles away to return to Earth 1 or 2 hundred miles away. Usually
back scatter signals are not so strong, but sometimes they are."

Thanks, Willis!

Jon Jones, N0JK of Wichita, Kansas dropped a short line about 10
meters in the CQ Worldwide SSB DX Contest.  On Saturday afternoon,
October 24, HT2N in Nicaragua and several Brazilian stations were
very loud.  Using 10 watts on 10 meter SSB into a shortened
mag-mount CB whip on the roof of his car, he worked HT2N and PY5KD
around 2100 UTC while driving around and listening.

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 5 through 11 were 15, 16, 11, 0, 14,
13, and 11 with a mean of 11.4.  10.7 cm flux was 70.5, 70.9, 70.6,
70.9, 72.1, 72.8, and 72.4 with a mean of 71.5.  Estimated planetary
A indices were 1, 0, 1, 6, 4, 1 and 1 with a mean of 2.  Estimated
mid-latitude A indices were 0, 0, 0, 4, 2, 0 and 0 with a mean of
0.86.
NNNN
/EX



From dick at k7vc.com  Wed Nov 18 16:01:20 2009
From: dick at k7vc.com (Dick Flanagan)
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:01:20 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] High Wind Watch for Carson City, NV
Message-ID: <200911182101.nAIL1KKo023343@pop1.greatbasin.net>

High Wind Watch
Statement as of 12:44 PM PST on November 18, 2009

...High wind watch in effect from Friday morning through Friday
evening...

The National Weather Service in Reno has issued a high wind
watch...which is in effect from Friday morning through Friday
evening.

* Timing: wind speeds increase on foothill locations early Friday
   morning...with windy conditions expected in all locations by
   late Friday morning. The strongest winds occur late Friday
   afternoon just ahead of the cold front.

* Winds: south to southwest winds of 25 to 40 mph should be common
   with gusts of 60 to 70 mph possible. It is possible for foothill
   locations to see even higher wind gusts Friday afternoon...
   especially along the Sierra front from Susanville south. Winds
   over the Sierra ridges will be as high as 125 mph.

* Impacts: winds of this magnitude may be damaging if precautions
   are not taken beforehand. Strong Crosswinds will make travel
   hazardous...especially in high profile vehicles. Winds may also
   create areas of blowing dust with visibilities below one mile
   downwind of Dry Lake beds.

Precautionary/preparedness actions...

A high wind watch means there is potential for strong damaging
winds to affect the area. Move trashcans...patio furniture...and
other loose items indoors or secure them. Motorists should
prepare for difficult driving conditions. Continue to monitor the
latest forecasts at weather.Gov/Reno.


Jordan

Http://weather.Gov/Reno
--
Dick Flanagan K7VC
dick at k7vc.com



From dick at k7vc.com  Thu Nov 19 16:35:47 2009
From: dick at k7vc.com (Dick Flanagan)
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:35:47 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] High Wind WARNING for Carson City, NV
Message-ID: <200911192135.nAJLZlnf004736@pop1.greatbasin.net>

High Wind Warning
Statement as of 11:35 AM PST on November 19, 2009

...High Wind WARNING in effect from 7 am to 4 PM PST Friday...

The National Weather Service in Reno has issued a High Wind
Warning...which is in effect from 7 am to 4 PM PST Friday.


* Timing: wind speeds will increase over foothill locations early
   Friday morning...with windy conditions expected down to the
   valleys by mid Friday morning. The strongest winds are expected
   to occur Friday afternoon just ahead of the cold front.

* Winds: south to southwest winds of 25 to 40 mph will be common
   with gusts of 60 to 70 mph. Locally stronger gusts may occur in
   wind prone areas and foothill areas near Reno and Carson City.

* Impacts: winds of this magnitude may cause damage to
   property...trees and power lines. Strong Crosswinds will make
   travel hazardous...especially in high profile vehicles.
   Localized blowing dust will also occur...with the most dust
   expected along Highway 447 in Washoe County.


Precautionary/preparedness actions...

A High Wind Warning means strong winds are expected to affect the
area and could cause local damage. Move trash cans...patio
furniture...and other loose items indoors or secure them. Driving
will become hazardous due to strong cross winds. Continue to
monitor the latest forecasts at weather.Gov/Reno.

--
Dick Flanagan K7VC
dick at k7vc.com



From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Thu Nov 19 17:39:37 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:39:37 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLD046 DX news
Message-ID: <200911192239.nAJMdbcn028687@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB DX @ ARL $ARLD046
ARLD046 DX news

ZCZC AE46
QST de W1AW
DX Bulletin 46  ARLD046
 From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  November 19, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB DX ARL ARLD046
ARLD046 DX news

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
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.

TUNISIA, 3V.  A group of operators will be QRV as 3V3S from November
23 to December 2.  Activity will be on all bands and modes.  QSL via
DL9USA.

GHANA, 9G.  Alan, G3XAQ is QRV as 9G5XA from Accra until December 4.
Activity is on 160 to 10 meters using CW.  QSL via G3SWH.

BOTSWANA, A2.  Mike, K9NW will be QRV as A25NW from November 23 to
December 1.  This includes being an entry in the upcoming CQ WW DX
CW contest.  QSL to home call.

OMAN, A4.  In celebration of the Oman National Holiday, members of
the Royal Omani Amateur Radio Society are QRV as A43ND until
November 25.  Activity is on all bands.  QSL via A47RS.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, A6.  A group of operators will be QRV as
A65DLH from Dubai from November 23 to 30.  This includes being an
entry in the upcoming CQ WW DX CW contest.  Activity will be on 160
to 10 meters using CW, SSB and various digital modes.  QSL via
DO7ZZ.

PORTUGAL, CT.  Members of the Algarve STAR DX Team will be QRV as
CR6A from the Fuzeta-Barra Lighthouse, ARLHS POR-116, on Armona
Island on November 22.  Activity will be from 0700 to 1300 on 40 to
15 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY.  QSL via CT1GFK.

CANARY ISLANDS, EA8.  Jean, ON5JV and Georgette, ON6AK are QRV as
EA8/home calls from Tijoco Bajo on Tenerife, IOTA AF-004, until
February 10.  Activity is on 40 to 10 meters mainly during their
evening hours.  QSL to home calls.

NEW CALEDONIA, FK.  Akira, JA1NLX is QRV as FK/home call from the
Ouvea Islands, IOTA OC-033, until November 23.  Activity is on 80 to
10 meters using CW and RTTY.  QSL to home call.

BONAIRE, CURACAO, PJ2.  John, K4BAI and Don, W4OC will be QRV as
PJ4/home calls from Bonaire, IOTA SA-006, from November 24 to
December 1.  This includes being an entry as PJ4A in the upcoming CQ
WW DX CW contest.  QSL all calls via K4BAI.

PALAU, T8.  Pista, HA5AO will be QRV as T88CI from Koror Island,
IOTA OC-009, from November 25 to December 10.  Activity will be
holiday style on 80 to 10 meters, and possibly 160 meters, using
mainly CW.  He may also try SSB and RTTY.  This includes being an
entry in the upcoming CQ WW CW contest.  QSL to home call.

CHAD, TT.  Jovica, E78A is QRV as TT8JT from Abeche for about three
weeks.  Activity is on the HF bands using mainly CW.  QSL via E73Y.

BELIZE, V3.  Pete, K8PT will be QRV as V31PT from Ambergris Cay,
IOTA NA-073, from November 24 to December 5.  Activity is on 40 to
10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY.  QSL to home call.

NAMIBIA, V5.  Klaus, DJ4SO will be QRV as V5/home call from November
23 to December 15.  Activity will be on 160 to 10 meters using CW,
RTTY or PSK31.  QSL to home call.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND, VK9X.  Harry, DM5TI, Rene, DL2JRM, Thomas, DL2RMC
and Sid, DM2AYO will be QRV as VK9XX from November 21 to December 5.
Activity will be on 160 to 10 meters using CW, SSB and various
digital modes.  They will be QRV as VK9XW in the upcoming CQ WW DX
CW contest.  QSL both calls via DL1RTL.

INDIA, VU.  Amateur Radio operators in India have recently been
authorized to transmit between 7100 and 7200 kHz, now giving them
use from 7000 to 7200 kHz.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO.  The ARRL Sweepstakes SSB Contest, NCCC
Sprint, YO International PSK31 Contest, Mongolian DX Contest, SARL
Field Day Contest, Feld Hell Sprint, LZ DX Contest, All Austrian
160-Meter Contest, RSGB 2nd 1.8 MHz CW Contest, North American
Collegiate ARC SSB Championship and the EU PSK63 QSO Party will
certainly keep contesters busy this upcoming weekend.  The RSGB
80-Meter Club CW Sprint and SKCC CW Sprint are scheduled for
November 25.  Please see November QST, page 86, and the ARRL and
WA7BNM contest web sites for details.
NNNN
/EX



From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Thu Nov 19 17:48:19 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:48:19 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] The ARRL Letter for November 19, 2009
Message-ID: <200911192248.nAJMmL6D013200@pop1.greatbasin.net>


If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2009-11-19>http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2009-11-19

November 19, 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=2009-11-19&t=t>


    * + Advocacy : End in Sight for "Third Battle of Bull Run"?
    * + Operating : NCVEC to Release New Technician Question Pool in January
    * + Operating : SKYWARN Recognition Day Set for December 5
    * Hints & Kinks : PL-259 Connector Tool for Coax Cables
    * + Public Service : GAREC Returns to Region 2 for 2010
    * The 2009 ARRL Spectrum Defense Campaign Needs Your Support
    * Now You Know! : It's All Greek to Me
    * Solar Update
    * This Week on the Radio

+ Available on <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>ARRL Audio News
+ Advocacy: End in Sight for "Third Battle of Bull Run"?

ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, 
once termed the battle of Broadband over Power 
Lines (BPL) in Manassas, Virginia as the "Third 
Battle of Bull Run." While the war against 
harmful interference to Amateur Radio via BPL is 
not yet over, the battle in Manassas might soon be coming to an end.

In a Special Meeting on Monday, November 16 of 
the Manassas City Council, the Council voted "To 
allow the [City of Manassas] Utility Commission 
to make a recommendation to the [Manassas] City 
Manager as part of the FY 2011 Budget regarding 
the decision to continue offering Internet 
service; additionally, staff was instructed to 
discontinue all marketing and advertising of 
Internet service." This motion passed 4-2.

At the meeting, Manassas Director of Utilities 
Michael Moon told the Council that "it is not 
cost-effective to continue the internet service 
on the Main.net BPL communication system as a 
stand-alone cost center" and that the City 
"need[s] to make the decision for internet 
service in the context of what communication 
system will be used for the City's AMI [Advanced 
Metering Infrastructure]." Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/19/11206/?nc=1>here.
+ Operating: NCVEC to Release New Technician Question Pool in January

The Question Pool Committee (QPC) of the National 
Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators 
(NCVEC) is due to release the new Technician 
class (Element 2) question pool to the 14 VECs on 
December 1, 2009; it will be released to the 
public in January 2010. Each question pool for 
the three Amateur Radio license classes -- 
Technician, General and Amateur Extra -- is 
reviewed on a four-year rotation. This new 
Technician class pool will become effective on 
July 1, 2010. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/19/11203/?nc=1>here.
+ Operating: SKYWARN Recognition Day Set for December 5

The 11th Annual SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) 
Special Event will take place Saturday, December 
5, 2009. SRD is co-sponsored by the ARRL and the 
National Weather Service (NWS) as a way to 
recognize the commitment made by Amateur Radio 
operators in helping to keep their communities 
safe. According to SRD Coordinator David Floyd, 
N5DBZ, Amateur Radio operators can visit their 
local participating NWS office to contact other 
hams across the world throughout the 24 hour 
event. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/17/11199/?nc=1>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-11-19&p=0>
Hints & Kinks : PL-259 Connector Tool for Coax Cables

Use a step drill and ream out the female end.

Tired of using pliers to screw on the PL-259 
connectors when you are preparing cables? Pliers 
always seem to do some damage by the amount of 
force this task requires. I use an inexpensive 
1/2 inch PVC female to male coupler. Simply use a 
step drill and ream out the female end (see the 
arrow in the photo). This works for most half 
inch coaxial cables. PL-259s do vary in diameter. 
Be sure to measure yours before you ream out the 
PVC adapter. It will not take a lot of reaming 
for the connector to fit snugly. The outer part 
of the PL-259 that fits into the connector is 
0.55 inch diameter. This makes a secure fit. If 
you wear out the adapter, purchase another, as 
they are inexpensive. This works for me. -- 73, 
Paul Marsha, K4AVU, 200 Garden Trail Ln, Lexington, SC 29072-7341
+ ARRL Recognizes: Deadline Looming for 
Nominations for the Bill Leonard Professional 
Media Award and ARRL International Humanitarian Award

Bill Leonard, W2SKE (SK)

Did you see an article or news segment on Amateur 
Radio this past year in the papers, on TV, radio 
or a professional Web site? ARRL Media and Public 
Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, reminds you 
that you can recognize the professional 
reporter's work by nominating them for the 
<http://www.arrl.org/pio/pro_media_award.html>Bill 
Leonard Professional Media Award. "Time is 
running out," he warns. "Nominations for this 
prestigious award -- which conveys an engraved 
plaque and a donation of $250 to be made in their 
names to the charity of their choice -- must be 
sent in to the League no later than December 11." 
Find out more about the Bill Leonard Professional 
Media Award <http://www.arrl.org/pio/pro_media_award.html>here.

The ARRL International Humanitarian Award

Nominations are also open for the 
<http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/awards/humanitarian.html>2009 
ARRL International Humanitarian Award. The award 
is conferred upon an amateur or amateurs who 
demonstrate devotion to human welfare, peace and 
international understanding through Amateur 
Radio. The League established the annual prize to 
recognize Amateur Radio operators who have used 
ham radio to provide extraordinary service to 
others in times of crisis or disaster. All 
nominations and supporting materials for the 2009 
ARRL International Humanitarian Award must be 
submitted in writing no later than December 31, 
2009. Read more about the ARRL International 
Humanitarian Award 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/09/28/11098/?nc=1>here.
+ Public Service: GAREC Returns to Region 2 for 2010

The 2010 Global Amateur Radio Emergency 
Communications Conference 
(<http://www.rientola.fi/oh3ag/garec/> GAREC) 
will take place October 11-12 on the Dutch island 
of Curacao in the Caribbean. The theme of the 
conference will be Learning through Practicing.

According to GAREC 2010 Organizing Committee 
Chairman Seppo Sisatto, PhD, OH1VR, GAREC's 
mission is two-fold: To help Amateur Radio 
operators be better prepared for emergency 
communications and to create emergency 
communications exercises at both the national and 
international levels. Exchanging information and 
experiences among all Amateur Radio operators and 
groups that are interested in emergency 
communications helps to promote GAREC's vision of 
having regular worldwide cooperation and 
understanding between governments and the Amateur 
Radio Service in the field of emergency communications.

GAREC 2010 is organized in cooperation with the 
Dutch Amateur Radio Emergency Service 
(<http://www.dares.nl/>DARES) and Club for 
Experimental Radio Examination Netherland 
Antilles 
(<http://www.muurkrant.nl/verona/uk/index.html>VERONA). 
Sisatto said that details on the upcoming 
conference will be announced as they become 
available.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-11-19&p=1>
The 2009 ARRL Spectrum Defense Campaign Needs Your Support

It's easy to donate to the ARRL Spectrum Defense 
Fund <https://www.arrl.org/forms/fdefense/>online.

ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, 
K1MMH, reports that the ARRL has raised $126,828 
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 IARU 
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.
Now You Know!: It's All Greek to Me

Ask any high school physics student and they'll 
tell you that electrons govern pretty much 
everything we do. We call electrons in motion an 
electrical current, and those radio waves that we 
hams are so fond of are the result of high 
frequency electrons traveling in our antenna 
conductors. Think of a 40 meter wave as an 
accidental tourist who wants to go somewhere 
(somewhere nice and warm, maybe a rare DX 
station). But how to get there? It needs some 
mode of transport -- think of electrons as the transport providers.

We use our transmitters to move the electrons in 
our antennas to-and-fro to produce radio waves, 
hopefully to that rare DX destination. When the 
radio waves get there, they set electrons in 
another antenna in motion. That current -- 
electrons in motion -- is amplified and detected 
at the receiving location and a QSO is made.

But why do we call them electrons? The ancient 
Greeks noticed that amber attracted small objects 
when rubbed with fur; apart from lightning, this 
phenomenon is thought to be man's earliest known 
experience of electricity. Back in the year 1600, 
the English physician William Gilbert -- in his 
treatise 
<http://rack1.ul.cs.cmu.edu/is/gilbert/>De 
Magnete -- coined the 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Latin>New Latin 
term electricus to refer to this property of 
attracting small objects after being rubbed. Both 
electric and electricity are derived from the 
Latin ??lectrum, which came from the Greek word 
???????????????? (??lektron) for amber. Now you know!
Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, November 18, 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/shell.html>Flutters 
in sun-beams" Cook, K7RA, reports: Sunspot 
activity seems to be growing steadily of late: 
Daily sunspot numbers for November 5-18 were 15, 
16, 11, 0, 14, 13, 11, 11, 0, 0, 11, 12, 0 and 
29. Sunspot 1029 made its trip around the Sun and 
has re-emerged as sunspot 1032. A new sunspot -- 
number 1033 -- has come over the eastern limb of 
the Sun. This steady appearance of sunspots has 
raised the MUF over many paths, and 15 meters is 
beginning to open regularly. In the southern 
hemisphere -- which gets more solar radiation 
this time of year -- you can see a 
<http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/lists/iono_day/Cocos_Is_iono.txt>pronounced 
effect on the 
f0F2<http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/lists/iono_day/Cocos_Is_iono.txt> 
reading around mid-day. This is a measurement 
taken with an ionospheric sounder on 
Cocos-Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean, 12.5 
degrees South latitude and 96.8 degrees East 
longitude. The instrument sweeps a radio signal 
across the spectrum, beams straight up to the 
ionosphere overhead and measures the strength of 
the signal bouncing back to determine optimum 
frequency. You can see during mid-day f0F2 is 
going above 10 MHz. Another interesting tool to 
see varying MUF around the world updated every 
five minutes is 
<http://www.spacew.com/www/realtime.php>here. The 
contour lines show the MUF over that particular 
area. During the day recently, some areas over 
Africa were going above 30 MHz. Of course, this 
weekend is the 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/12/11194/?nc=1>ARRL 
SSB Sweepstakes Contest, and conditions are 
expected to be good for this domestic contest. 
There is a possibility of some disturbance from 
unsettled geomagnetic conditions, possibly 
peaking on Saturday. Predicted planetary A index 
for November 19-23 is 7, 10, 15, 9 and 6. Look 
for more information in the Solar Update, 
available on the ARRL Web site on Friday, 
November 19. 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/shell.html>On 
Receiving a Curious Shell, and a Copy of Verses, 
by the Same 
Ladies<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-11-19&p=2>.
Silent Keys

+ Prolific Amateur Radio and SWL Author Harry Helms, W5HLH (ex-AA6FW) (SK)

Harry Helms, W5HLH (ex-AA6FW), and his wife Di. 
Helms passed away from cancer on November 15, 2009.

After a long bout with cancer, Harry Helms, W5HLH 
(ex-AA6FW), passed away Sunday, November 15. He 
was 57. Notorious for his witticisms and 
geniality, Helms was known for his many books -- 
such as Shortwave Listening Guidebook: The 
Complete Guide to Hearing the World, All About 
Ham Radio, How to Tune the Secret Short Wave 
Spectrum and Handbook of Radio Communications 
Servicing and Maintenance -- and his monthly 
column "You Should Know: Interesting Thoughts and 
Ideas for Enjoying the Hobby" in Popular 
Communications. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/18/11201/?nc=1>here.

QST Author George Badger, W6TC (SK)

George Badger, W6TC (SK)

George Badger, W6TC, of Portola Valley, 
California, passed away on Sunday, November 15. 
He was 84. Originally licensed in 1939 as W6RXW 
when he was 14, Badger was a member of the ARRL 
for 67 of his 69 year amateur career. After World 
War II service with the 89th Infantry Signal 
Company in Europe, he graduated from the 
University of California with a degree in 
electrical engineering. Badger held seven patents 
on microwave tube and circuit design and was 
Marketing Director for 
<http://www.cpii.com/division.cfm/9>EIMAC, was 
President of 
<http://www.svetlana-tubes.com/svetlana_main.swf>Svetlana 
and consulted for 
<http://www.cpii.com/division.cfm/9>CPII Econco. 
Badger published many technical articles 
professionally and in the amateur press. First 
published in QST in 1981, Badger's most recent 
article, "The Pileup Buster," was published in 
October 2008; his next article, "Easy to Make 
Four-to-One Coreless Baluns," is scheduled to be 
published in a spring 2010 issue. Badger was a 
<http://radioclubofamerica.org/doc/Fellow%20Nomination%20form.pdf>Fellow 
in the <http://www.radioclubofamerica.org/>Radio 
Club of America. His Amateur Radio interests 
included building equipment, antennas and working 
DX. Badger held DXCC Top of Honor Roll (Mixed), 
DXCC Honor Roll (both Phone and CW), 5BDXCC (with 
endorsements on 160, 30, 17 and 12 meters), DXCC 
on all bands (160-10) and 5BWAZ. He also exceeded 
2500 points on the DXCC Challenge. Contributions 
in memory of Badger can be made to the Stanford 
University Medical Center, Department of 
Immunology, 2700 Sand Hill Rd, Menlo Park, CA 
94025. Funeral arrangements are pending.
This Week on the Radio

This 
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGvRnqII0j8>5 
minute video by 
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGvRnqII0j8>Henk 
Hamoen, PA3GUO, shows how amateurs have assisted 
in capturing data from the Atmospheric Neutral 
Density Experiment - 2 (ANDE-2) microsatellites 
that were deployed by the Space Shutte this year. 
The two satellites, Castor and Pollux, measure 
the density and composition of the Low Earth 
Orbit (LEO) atmosphere while being tracked from 
the ground. Data will be used to better predict 
the movement and decay of objects in orbit.

This week, the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/novss.html>ARRL 
Sweepstakes Contest (SSB) is November 21-23. The 
Feld Hell Sprint is November 21. The LZ DX 
Contest is November 21-22 and the NA Collegiate 
ARC Championship (SSB) is November 21-23. The EU 
PSK63 QSO Party is November 22. Next week, look 
for an NCCC Sprint on November 27. The CQ 
Worldwide DX Contest (CW) is November 28-29. 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=2009-11-19&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 Nov 20 16:06:05 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:06:05 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLP047 Propagation de K7RA
Message-ID: <200911202106.nAKL659W012166@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP047
ARLP047 Propagation de K7RA

ZCZC AP47
QST de W1AW
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 47  ARLP047
 From Tad Cook, K7RA
Seattle, WA  November 20, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB PROP ARL ARLP047
ARLP047 Propagation de K7RA

Sunspot activity seems to be increasing steadily of late. Daily
sunspot numbers for November 5-19 were 15, 16, 11, 0, 14, 13, 11,
11, 0, 0, 11, 12, 0, 29 and 30.

Sunspot 1029 made its trip around the Sun and has re-emerged as
sunspot 1032, and a new sunspot 1033 has come over the eastern limb.
This steady appearance of sunspots has raised the MUF over many
paths, and 15 meters is beginning to open regularly.

In the Southern Hemisphere, which gets more solar radiation this
time of year, you can see a pronounced effect on the foF2 reading in
the afternoon (local time is UTC+6.5 hours) on the web site
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/lists/iono_day/Cocos_Is_iono.txt.

This is a measurement taken with an ionospheric sounder on
Cocos-Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean, 12.5 degrees South
latitude and 96.8 degrees East longitude. The instrument sweeps a
radio signal across the HF spectrum, beamed straight up to the
ionosphere overhead, and it measures the strength of the signal
bouncing back to determine optimum frequency. You can see during
mid-day foF2 is going above 10 MHz.

Of course, your results may vary. The effect was pronounced from
0600-1400z on November 19, and not quite as enhanced on November 20,
0700-1000z. Unfortunately, these ionosonde records don't go back but
a day or two. You will see less effect this time of year in the
Northern Hemisphere, as seen at a record of ionosonde data in Italy
on the http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/lists/iono_day/Rome_iono.txt
site.  On the
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/lists/iono_day/Chilton_iono.txt site
see similar data taken in the UK.

At http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/lists/iono_day you can check a
list of links for 68 different locations, but some of them seem
inactive. For instance, after months of checking, I have never seen
a bit of ionosonde data from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, in the
file "Eglin_iono.txt."

Another interesting tool to see varying MUF around the world,
updated every five minutes, is at,
http://www.spacew.com/www/realtime.php. The contour lines show the
MUF over that particular area. During the day recently some areas
over Africa are going above 30 MHz.

This weekend is the ARRL SSB Sweepstakes Contest, and conditions are
expected to be good for this popular domestic operating event. There
is a possibility of some disturbance from unsettled geomagnetic
conditions, possibly peaking on Saturday. Predicted planetary A
index for November 20-24 is 10, 15, 10, 6 and 5. Possible mild
disturbance on Saturday would be from a wind stream from a coronal
hole that currently faces Earth.

Predicted solar flux for the near term is 78 for November 20-21, 80
for November 22-26, and 70 on into early December.

Evan Rolek, K9SQG of Beavercreek, Ohio has been noting stateside and
short skip 40 meter conditions this year. Back on April 20, he wrote
"Over the past month, 40 meters has been dismal for daytime net
activities. In addition to storm-related static, signals range from
"normal" to 20-30 dB below normal. Interestingly, I'm experiencing
one-way skip with certain stations, but not all. For example, a
station that I share net control with on the Georgia 40 Meter
Traders' Net on Sunday morning is down something like 15-20 dB on my
S-meter. Still solid copy but he is unable to copy me at all."

But recently Evan notes an improvement. On November 16, he wrote
observations "based upon some 40 meter swap and technical net
participation. Recent weeks have shown an improvement in signal
strength and areas of coverage in the 1400-1500z and 2000-2100z time
frames (morning and afternoon on North America's East Coast).
Signals are up 10-30 dB (yes, ten to thirty decibels) and the areas
of coverage have improved. Close-in regions under 200 miles that
were almost uncopyable for the past several months now have signals
that are 10-35 dB over S9. Talking with stations in Minnesota,
Louisiana, New Hampshire, Florida, Mississippi, etc. are becoming
more frequent. I hope this is the sign of improvements for a long
term basis."

Check out http://www.physorg.com/news177872248.html to read an
interesting article about a solar tsunami, and how STEREO gives a
3-dimensional view to better judge the height of solar disturbances.

Larry Godek, W0OGH of Gilbert, Arizona says conditions are
improving.

Larry writes, "First of all, I run only 100 watts here and all
antennas except for the 20 meter beam at 30 feet are dipoles. DX has
been quite good of recent.

"For me to work anything on 20 meter SSB which is normally KW Alley,
is something that hasn't happened for years and years around here.
However as I've worked ZB2EO, 6W/EI6DX, T30KI, ZS6JPY (40 meter SSB)
and TL0A which is not impressive to some but it sure gets my
attention.

"Surprisingly the African contacts have been in the morning hours,
who I normally can't work, much less hear, until after 2100Z. Just
too much RF blocking going on to the east of me.

"This morning on the ZB2 station, I had called him a few minutes
earlier but again the east coast was doing all the talking. Shortly
thereafter I heard him calling CQ DX with no answers. While signals
were only about 5-5 both ways, it was a clear path with no other
stations heard on the frequency. Quite a surprise.

"Last night, November 13 (0346z) ZS6JPY was heard calling CQ on 40
SSB. No one appeared to be returning his calls so I gave him a
shout. Again using 100 watts and a weird 40 meter dipole antenna
configuration I was able to work him.

"Kind of reminds me of the days back in the late 50s when you could
load up the bedspring and work the world. WOW! Things are improving!

"Lots of DX on the 30 meter band from Europe as well as the
Caribbean region and Pacific. The CW bands have been much better.
I've even been able to work DX on 17 meters with the 20 meter beam,
greatly reduced power of course, but never the less, propagation was
good enough for it to happen."

Vic Woodling, WB4SLM of Centerville, Georgia (EM82dp) experienced
some interesting tropospheric propagation earlier this week. Vic
wrote, "Tropo last night (14-15 Nov) early this morning across the
southeast to the southwest. Couple examples: worked our old friend
Pat WA5IYX (San Antonio, Texas EL09ql) on 2 meter CW, 909 miles.
Also made a "sweep" from 6 meters, 2 meters, 222, 432, 902, 1296,
and 2304 MHz with OM Bill W3XO/5 (Kerrville, Texas EM00kd), 925
miles. I 'think' but really can't remember if this was my personal
best on 6 meter tropo, but should be. I know it was (my best) on
2304  902 MHz. In chatting with Bill W3XO and Drew KO4MA (New Port
Richey, Florida EL88pg) early this AM they said they had a 997 mile
contact on 222 MHz."

After this weekend, when we have the ARRL SSB Sweepstakes Contest,
the following weekend (November 28-29) is the CQ Worldwide CW DX
Contest, followed by the ARRL 160 Meter Contest December 4-6, then
the ARRL 10 Meter Contest, December 12-13.

This weekend we should see some propagation on 15 meters over the
domestic paths for the contest. For instance, Dallas to Seattle
should be good on 15 meters 1630-2130z, 10 meters possibly
1800-2000z. California to Ohio on 15 meters should work 1600-2130z,
and possibly 1630-2030z. Dallas to Boston looks good for 15 meters
1600-1930z, and Dallas to Vancouver looks good on 15 meters
1630-2130z. Atlanta to Edmonton, Alberta also looks good for 15
meters 1630-2030z, with 10 meter possible 1730-1900z.

James French, W8ISS sent in a comment in response to the info about
backscatter in last week's bulletin.

He writes, "We had this exact thing happen on ten meters Just before
the November Sweepstakes started November 7th.

"Gave a call out asking if the frequency was in use, then started
calling CQ. With the newly installed tri-band beam pointed west, a
local station about ten miles away answered back. He said we were
weak so we swung the beam East (his direction) and lost him totally.
Swung the beam back West again and there he was. We were in Ann
Arbor, MI and the other gent was in Belleville, MI. Was using W8ISS
from the Red Cross station.

"I was wondering if we had installed the beam backwards as we had
just gotten it up on the 65' tower about two weeks ago and was
getting ready for Sweepstakes that weekend. Jay, WB8TKL, told me
about how it was probably backscatter. I wouldn't have thought it
possible that close, but there it had happened in front of me."

Finally, Chris Kelly, K0PF tells a story about operating mobile
recently, and experiencing some of that old shortwave magic.

"My note regards an interesting contact I had the other night.

"I was driving to Colorado State University about 9 PM to pick up my
son (K0PFJ) who had a late exam, and I decided to switch on the
IC-706MK2G in the pickup and see if there was anything happening in
this lowest of sunspot days. I heard and worked a station on
Vancouver Island, who was very kind and turned his 20 Meters beam my
way because he heard a mobile.

"He was working a lot of JAs who were barely audible to me. I tuned
around a bit and heard an interesting accent and called, receiving a
5/7 report from ZL1BOS. I thought this was quite a feat from a 100
watt mobile (he must have a good antenna and receiver).

"A few minutes later and all the JAs had faded out and 20 seemed
dead. I dropped to 40 meters, and promptly heard a ZS1, about 5/5.
By the way, the antenna on the truck was a Hustler whip using a 20
meter resonator, tuned with a SGC antenna coupler. Not even the
right resonator for 40.

"I have been a ham for almost 3 sunspot cycles, and while I am not
very active right now (obviously busy raising a family), I am still
amazed at the propagation that opens up even at the bottom of the
cycle. Hearing the opposite side of the Earth via two paths on the
same night from a mobile station. Wow!"

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 12 through 18 were 11, 0, 0, 11, 12, 0,
and 29 with a mean of 9. 10.7 cm flux was 73.2, 74.1, 74.8, 75.1,
76.2, 77.2, and 76.1 with a mean of 75.2. Estimated planetary A
indices were 1, 2, 5, 4, 1, 1 and 2 with a mean of 2.3. Estimated
mid-latitude A indices were 0, 2, 3, 3, 0, 0 and 2 with a mean of
1.4.
NNNN
/EX



From dick at k7vc.com  Wed Nov 25 00:33:48 2009
From: dick at k7vc.com (Dick Flanagan)
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:33:48 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] Blood Clots & Stroke - Worth the seconds to read
Message-ID: <200911250645.nAP6jpPM004698@pop1.greatbasin.net>

From: "Kent Johnson" <w7aor at narri.org>

This may save a life or prevent a helpless, hopeless condition 
associated with a stroke.

STROKE: Remember the 1st Three Letters....S.T.R.

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

Story related to me: "During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a 
little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to 
call paramedics). She said she had just tripped over a brick because 
of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of 
food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying 
herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later 
telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 
6:00 pm Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. 
Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid 
would be with us today. Some don't die. they end up in a helpless, 
hopeless condition instead."

It only takes a minute to read this...

"A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 
hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He 
said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then 
getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. 
Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke 
victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to 
recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Remember the '3' steps, STR Now doctors say a bystander can recognize 
a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S *Ask the individual to SMILE.
T *Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)
(i.e. It is sunny out today.)
R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency 
number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

New Sign of a Stroke -------- "Stick out Your Tongue".
Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', 
if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.
--
Dick Flanagan K7VC
dick at k7vc.com



From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Wed Nov 25 15:34:38 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:34:38 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLP048 Propagation de K7RA
Message-ID: <200911252034.nAPKYcEF032140@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP048
ARLP048 Propagation de K7RA

ZCZC AP48
QST de W1AW
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 48  ARLP048
 From Tad Cook, K7RA
Seattle, WA  November 25, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB PROP ARL ARLP048
ARLP048 Propagation de K7RA

This is a brief Propagation Bulletin preceding the Thanksgiving
holiday.  ARRL headquarters is closed on Thanksgiving Day and the
day after, Friday, November 27.  Part of the reason for the brevity
is because of limited internet access at the moment.  I hope to have
another bulletin out Monday morning to catch up with the sunspot,
solar flux and geomagnetic data normally at the bottom of this
bulletin.

Last Friday's Propagation Forecast Bulletin ARLP047 reported sunspot
numbers for November 12-18 as 11, 0, 0, 11, 12, 0, and 29, and since
then, November 19-24 they were 30, 31, 14, 13, 0 and 0.  Nice
conditions for the ARRL SSB Sweepstakes last weekend.

This weekend, November 28-29 is the CQ Worldwide CW DX Contest.
Although recent activity seems a good trend, we have no indications
when sunspots will return.

With increasing sunspot activity have come reports of openings on 15
meters.

Jack Emerson, W4TJE of Fancy Gap, Virginia says a friend in North
Carolina copied the VR2B beacon (Hong Kong) at 21.15 MHz some
mornings via long path.

Jack said he began listening, and most of the time the signal is
barely copyable.  But on November 23 at 1210z via long path Jack
said he was able to hear the signal, although with S1 signal
strength, 519.  He was about to leave for work but decided to tune
up the band, and on 21.255 MHz at 1212z found special event station
VR2009EAG coming in very well at 5x5.  Jack worked him with 100
watts, and swung another antenna around to the short path direction
to make sure he was actually receiving the signal via long path
propagation.

The evening before (November 22, local time) Jack heard more JA
stations on 15 meters than he has ever heard during the new solar
cycle.  Jack worked UA0CM just after local sunset, with a 599 signal
report.

Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA reports recent openings on 12 meters.

Jon Jones, N0JK operated casually on a Sunday afternoon outing in
the ARRL SSB Sweepstakes, and took along a 5 watt transceiver and a
CB mag-mount whip.  He was on a trap clay shoot outing at a friend's
farm.  Jack added some wire to the whip to get it to load on 15
meters, and reports "Figured it might be good enough to make a Q or
two. To my surprise, it really got out! Over the next hour and a
half I made 43 QSOs on 15 Meters, including some real DX like WP3R,
AL1G and KH7XS. A number of stations commented 'great QRP signal!'
Even some short E-skip to NM, TX and CO. But the comments that
impressed me the most were: "thank you for getting on and helping
out."

In Sweepstakes, weary contesters on Sunday afternoon digging for new
calls really appreciate the casual operators getting on to give out
some needed contacts.  Jon's 43 contacts were with 20 sections.

Aki Akai, JQ2UOZ of Nagoya, Japan has also had good luck on 15
meters recently, running 500 milliwatts into a dipole on his
apartment balcony.  You can watch a video at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvCsl327k5w showing his station and
some contacts he made on November 22. He wrote to us last year (see
2008 Propagation Forecast Bulletin ARLP035 at
http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/2008-arlp035.html) about a personal
challenge to earn DXCC during the solar cycle minimum using only
one-half watt.  On November 15 he made 19 contacts with Czech and
Slovak stations on 15 meters during the OK/OM DX Contest, and you
can see his log of these contacts at,
http://www.k4.dion.ne.jp/~jq2uoz/GoodEarsList.html.

Look for the data normally at the bottom of this bulletin in a
dispatch early next week.

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.
NNNN
/EX



From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Wed Nov 25 16:56:34 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:56:34 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] The ARRL Letter for November 25, 2009
Message-ID: <200911252156.nAPLuaK0027604@pop1.greatbasin.net>


If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2009-11-25>http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2009-11-25

November 25, 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=2009-11-25&t=t>


    * ARRL Leadership : New Vice Directors in Central, Roanoke Divisions
    * ARRL Field Organization : Incumbent Section 
Managers Win New Terms of Office
    * Regulatory : FCC Looks to Revise, Clarify Vanity Call Sign Rules
    * Silent Key : ARRL Sweepstakes Manager Ken Adams, K5KA (SK)
    * Now You Know! : The ARRL Lab
    * Solar Update
    * Amateur Radio in Space : New Antennas Installed on ISS
    * This Week on the Radio
ARRL Headquarters Closed for Thanksgiving Holidays

ARRL Headquarters will be closed November 26 and 
27 in observance of Thanksgiving. There will be 
no <http://www.arrl.org/w1aw.html#w1awsked>W1AW 
bulletins or code practice transmissions those 
days. This edition of The ARRL Letter is being 
published a day early on Wednesday, November 25, 
but there will be no 
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>ARRL Audio 
News on Thursday, November 26. ARRL Headquarters 
will reopen Monday, November 30 at 8 AM Eastern 
Standard Time. We wish everyone a safe and bountiful Thanksgiving holiday.
ARRL Leadership: New Vice Directors in Central, Roanoke Divisions

Kermit Carlson, W9XA

On Friday, November 20, ARRL staff members 
started opening ballots for the Vice Director 
races in the Central and Roanoke Divisions. After 
all the ballots were counted, both the Central 
and Roanoke Divisions gained new Vice Directors, 
with their three-year terms beginning at noon on January 1, 2010.

In the Central Division, challenger Kermit 
Carlson, W9XA, of Batavia, Illinois, edged out 
incumbent Howard S. Huntington, K9KM, of Hawthorn 
Woods, Illinois; Huntington has served as the 
Central Division's second-in-command since 1983. 
Carlson received 1808 votes, while Huntington received 1466 votes.

Jim Boehner, N2ZZ

Roanoke Division Vice Director Patricia Hensley, 
N4ROS, decided not to seek another term. South 
Carolina Section Manager Jim Boehner, N2ZZ, of 
Aiken, and former West Virginia Section Manager 
Hal Turley, W8HC, of Huntington, were both 
nominated to succeed her. Boehner won the 
election with 1692 votes; Turley received 1496 
votes. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/20/11212/?nc=1>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-11-25&p=0>
ARRL Field Organization: Incumbent Section Managers Win New Terms of Office

Three incumbent Section Managers were re-elected 
in races that concluded on Tuesday, November 24. 
In Alabama, Jay Isbell, KA4KUN, received 513 
votes; challenger Les Rayburn, N1LF, received 167 
votes. Isbell, of Bessemer, will begin his second 
term as Section Manager on January 1, 2010. In 
the Alaska Section Manager election, Jim Larsen, 
AL7FS, of Anchorage, won his second two-year term 
of office when he received 176 votes; challenger 
David Stevens, KL7EB, received 65 votes. Ron 
Cowan, KB0DTI, of LaCygne, Kansas, will continue 
as Section Manager; he received 382 votes while 
challenger Joseph Plankinton, WD0DMV, received 
175 votes. Cowan has been the Kansas Section 
Manager since 2003. The following incumbent ARRL 
Section Managers did not face opposition and were 
declared elected for their next terms of office 
beginning January 1, 2010: Jim Latham, AF6AQ 
(East Bay); Frank Filipkowski, AD3M (Delaware); 
Dale Williams, WA8EFK (Michigan); Don Wood, W5FHA 
(New Mexico); Glen Clayton, W4BDB (Tennessee); 
Robert Griffin, K6YR (Santa Barbara), and Ed 
Emco, W1KT (Western Massachusetts).
Regulatory: FCC Looks to Revise, Clarify Vanity Call Sign Rules

In the NPRM, the FCC proposes to amend their 
rules to reflect existing procedures to the 
vanity call sign program. In addition, Amateur 
Radio clubs would be limited to only one vanity 
call sign; clubs that currently hold more than 
one call sign will not be able to obtain any more 
call signs, but will be able to renew or modify their existing station grants.

On Wednesday, November 25, the FCC issued a 
Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) -- WT 
Docket No. 09-209 -- seeking to amend the 
Commission's Amateur Radio Service rules to 
clarify certain rules and codify existing 
procedures governing the vanity call sign system, 
as well as revise certain rules applicable to club stations.

According to the FCC, almost 80,000 licensees 
have replaced their sequentially issued Amateur 
Radio call signs with a vanity call sign since 
the program began in 1996. When the program 
began, the Commission established what they 
called "the broad outlines" of the vanity call 
sign system, concluding that call signs generally 
should not be available for reassignment for two 
years following the death of a licensee, or 
expiration or termination of the license for that 
call sign. In doing so, the Commission made 
exceptions for former holders of the call sign, 
close relatives of a deceased former holder and 
club stations of which a deceased former holder was a member.

The Commission did not, however, specify all of 
the procedures governing the vanity call sign 
system, but indicated that the procedures "would 
be set out in the Public Notices announcing 
'starting gates' for the groups receiving initial 
priority and that the procedures would be 
adjusted from gate to gate as experience 
dictated." The procedures announced in the Public 
Notices announcing the gates are still in effect, 
but they are not set forth in the Commission's 
Rules. The NPRM states that the FCC "now 
believe[s] that certain provisions should be 
codified in our rules, and others added, so that 
the vanity call sign system will be fair, 
equitable and transparent to all amateur service 
licensees. The Commission also decided in the 
Vanity Report and Order [issued in 1996] to 
resume issuing new club station licenses. We 
believe that certain rule changes to the club 
station licensing rules may be appropriate."

The comment period for WT Docket No. 09-209 will 
extend for 60 days after it is published in the 
Federal Register. Historically, items appear in 
the Federal Register approximately 7-10 days 
after they appear on the FCC Web site. Reply 
comments can be made up to 75 days after 
publication in the Federal Register. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/25/11220/?nc=1>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-11-25&p=1>
Silent Key: ARRL Sweepstakes Manager Ken Adams, K5KA (SK)

Ken Adams, K5KA (SK)

Ken Adams, K5KA, succumbed to cancer and passed 
away on Sunday, November 22. He was 64. Adams -- 
an ARRL Life Member -- served as the first-ever 
Contest Manager for the ARRL Sweepstakes, coming 
on board in 2005. "Ken was a 'get it done' kinda 
guy," recalled ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean 
Kutzko, KX9X. "He took on the task of Sweepstakes 
Manager with great enthusiasm, rolled up his 
sleeves and championed the event like nobody else 
I've ever seen." Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/23/11213/?nc=1>here.
Amateur Radio and Technology : ARRL, McSnyder 
Software Team Up to Provide iTunes Apps

This screen shot shows the ARRL General Exam prep 
software, published by McSnyder. All three 
versions -- Technician, General and Extra -- are 
available for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch and can be purchased on iTunes.

ARRL is pleased to announce the availability of a 
new suite of Amateur Radio mobile software -- 
designed specifically for use with the Apple's 
iPhone and iPod Touch. The applications -- or 
"apps" -- are named 
<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=304482342&mt=8>ARRL 
Technician, 
<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=306443425&mt=8>ARRL 
General and 
<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=306931606&mt=8>ARRL 
Extra and function as an electronic version of 
practice exam flash cards. Amateur Radio exam 
candidates can use the applications as a study 
companion to the 
<http://www.arrl.org/catalog/lm/>ARRL license 
manuals and classroom instruction. The apps 
include all the possible questions and answers 
that will be on each of the license tests. Users 
can flag questions that need more review, segment 
questions for study by sub-element, or even study 
the questions in a random order. The ARRL apps 
are produced and sold by McSnyder Software who 
has partnered with ARRL to provide the iPhone app 
series. McSnyder has also produced study 
applications for other organizations -- including 
exam preparation software for standardized 
educational testing in Texas, as well as US 
Citizenship immigration testing. "We are excited 
to introduce Amateur Radio and ARRL into the 
rapidly expanding mobile and portable technology 
arena," said ARRL Marketing Manager Bob 
Inderbitzen, NQ1R. "Not only do these 
applications demonstrate ARRL's commitment to 
users of these popular devices, the software 
helps promote Amateur Radio outside of our 
traditional publication channels." The ARRL apps 
are available for $1.99 each on Apple's iTunes 
"App Store."<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2009-11-25&p=2>
Now You Know!: The ARRL Lab

By ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA

The hams who work in the ARRL Lab -- Ed Hare, 
W1RFI; Mike Gruber, W1MG; Zack Lau, W1VT, and Bob 
Allison, WB1GCM -- receive more than 100 calls 
each week, requesting assistance. I know that 
whenever I venture into the Lab, rife with deep, 
dark secrets of the Amateur Radio world, one, if 
not all four of these guys are either on the 
phone or on the computer, answering questions posed to them by members.

Zack Lau, W1VT, Bob Allison, WB1GCM, and Mike 
Gruber, W1MG, in the ARRL Lab's screen room. [S. 
Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, Photo]

One afternoon, I wandered down to the Lab, and 
asked Zack, Mike and Bob, "What is the most 
common question you guys receive from our 
members?" Zack quickly answered: "They want to 
know what kind of radio to buy." Now, no one here 
at League Headquarters can tell you which radio 
to buy, but Zack explained to me how he walks 
through a question set with the caller: What do 
you want to do with the radio? Do you want to get 
on HF, or are you interested in emergency 
communications or just ragchewing on your local 
repeater? How much room do you have to set up a 
station? How much money is in your budget for a 
new rig? Once the caller answers these questions, 
Zack guides them toward certain classes of 
radios, giving the caller a narrower field to 
look at. He also suggests that they take a look 
at the ARRL online publication, 
<http://www.arrl.org/members-only/choosingaradio/>Choosing 
a Ham Radio, as well as the Technical Information 
Service (<http://www.arrl.org/tis/>TIS) section on the ARRL Web site.

The next most popular questions (in order) are:
    * What kind of antenna should I get?
    * When are the sunspots coming back?
    * Why can't I get on HF?

So, even if you're an experienced ham who has 
seen just about everything, or if you just got 
your Technician license in the mail (or, like me, 
you're somewhere in between), and you have a 
technical question that you just can't seem to 
figure out the answer to, try calling on the ARRL 
Lab -- they just might be able to help you figure it out. Now you know!
Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Wednesday, November 25, 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/woman.htmlhttp:/englishhistory.net/keats/poetry/woman.html>That 
its mild light creates to heal again" Cook, K7RA, 
reports: This edition of the Solar Update will be 
brief. Since ARRL Headquarters is closed on 
Thanksgiving Day and the day after, I hope to 
have another bulletin out Monday morning to catch 
up with the sunspot, solar flux and geomagnetic 
data information. In 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/20/11208/?nc=1>last 
Friday's Solar Update, we reported sunspot 
numbers for November 12-18 as 11, 0, 0, 11, 12, 0 
and 29. Since then, from November 19-24, they 
were 30, 31, 14, 13, 0 and 0 -- definitely nice 
conditions for the ARRL SSB Sweepstakes last 
weekend. This weekend, November 28-29, is the CQ 
Worldwide CW DX Contest. Although recent activity 
seems a good trend, we have no indications when 
sunspots will return. Look for more information 
in the Solar Update, available on the ARRL Web 
site on Monday, November 30. 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/woman.html>Woman! 
When I Behold Thee Flippant, Vain...
Amateur Radio in Space: New Antennas Installed on ISS

Watch astronaut Mike Foreman install the 2 
meter/70 cm ARISS antenna in this 
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjWqN3fVQ0w>NASA 
video that highlights the second EVA of STS-129. 
The antenna installation begins at marker 9:46 
and goes until 15:14. [Video courtesy of NASA]

On Saturday, November 21, astronauts Mike Foreman 
and Randy Bresnik completed the second EVA 
(extra-vehicular activity) -- NASA's term for a 
spacewalk -- of their mission. While on the 6 
hour, 8 minute EVA, Foreman installed the Amateur 
Radio on the International Space Station 
(<http://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm>ARISS) 
antennas for 2 meters and 70 cm on the Columbus 
module. NASA ISS Ham Radio Project Engineer 
Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, told the ARRL that this 
new antenna -- along with another VHF antenna -- 
was developed by ARISS in cooperation with the 
European Space Agency 
(<http://www.esa.int/esaCP/index.html>ESA) to 
support an experiment involving the maritime 
Automatic Identification System 
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_Identification_System>AIS). 
"Both antennas were installed on the Earth-facing 
starboard edge of the Columbus module," he 
explained. "The AIS antenna is forward and the 
ARISS antenna is aft. The ARISS team is planning 
to migrate some stowed Amateur Radio gear to take 
advantage of the new antenna." Frequencies 
available for transmission to and from Columbus 
will be 2 meters, 70 centimeters and 13 cm. To 
start, two radios for 2 meters and 70 cm that 
don't see much use on the ISS will be moved and 
installed in Columbus . The space shuttle 
Discovery is expected to return to Earth on 
Friday, November 27 and will bring Nicole Stott, 
KE5GJN, back from her stay on the ISS.
This Week on the Radio

This week, look for an NCCC Sprint on November 
27. The CQ Worldwide DX Contest (CW) is November 
28-29. Next 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. 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=2009-11-25&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  Wed Nov 25 22:28:33 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:28:33 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLD047 DX news
Message-ID: <200911260328.nAQ3SXFW015321@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB DX @ ARL $ARLD047
ARLD047 DX news

ZCZC AE47
QST de W1AW
DX Bulletin 47  ARLD047
 From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  November 25, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB DX ARL ARLD047
ARLD047 DX news

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
HB9ERK, IK1QBT, K9WZB, 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.

CYPRUS, 5B.  Marios, 5B4WN will be QRV as C4W as a Single Op/All
Band entry in the CQ WW DX CW contest.  QSL via bureau.

SIERRA LEONE, 9L.   Members of the VooDoo Contest Group will be QRV
as 9L5A in the CQ WW DX CW contest.  Before and after the contest,
they are active as 9L1NH and 9L7NS on the newer bands.  QSL 9L5A via
G3SXW, 9L1NH via G3RWF and 9L7NS via AA7A.

BOTSWANA, A2.  Mike, K9NW is QRV as A25NW until December 1.  This
includes an entry in the CQ WW DX CW contest.  QSL to home call.

QATAR, A7.  Operators Ali, A71BX, Juma, A71EM and David, K5GN will
be QRV as A73A in the CQ WW DX CW contest as a Multi Op/All
Band/Single Transmitter entry.  QSL via EA7FTR.

EASTER ISLAND, CE0.  Lars, SM6CUK is QRV as CE0Y/SM6CUK until
December 6.  He is active using only CW.  This includes an entry in
the CQ WW DX CW contest as a Single Op/All Band entry.  QSL to home
call.

MOROCCO, CN.  Stefano, IK2QEI will be QRV as CN3A from Safi in the
CQ WW DX CW contest possibly as a Single Op/All Band entry.  QSL via
I2WIJ.

CUBA, CO.  Look for CO8LY, CM8CAD and CO8TW to be Single Op/Low
Power entries on 15, 40 and 160 meters, respectively, in the CQ WW
DX CW contest.  QSL via operators' instructions.

TAJIKISTAN, EY.  Nodir, EY8MM is QRV from Dushanbe and will be a
Single Op/Single Band entry on 160 meters in the CQ WW DX CW
contest.  QSL via K1BV.

JERSEY, GJ.  Mat, F5SHQ will be QRV as MJ0ASP as a Single Op/Single
Band entry on 80 meters in the CQ WW DX CW contest.  QSL to home
call.

SWITZERLAND, HB.  Look for special event station 4U1AIDS to be QRV
from UNAIDS HQ in Geneva from December 1 to 7 as part of World AIDS
Day.  QSL via operators' instructions.

REPUBLIC OF KOREA, HL.  A group of operators will be QRV as 6M0HZ/2
from Kanghwa Island, IOTA AS-105, in the CQ WW DX CW contest.  QSL
via DS2AGH.

ITALY, I.  Tony, IK1QBT, Claudio, I1NVU and Emilio, IZ1GAR are QRV
as IG9/home calls from Lampedusa, IOTA AF-019, until December 1.
They will be active as IG9X in the CQ WW DX CW contest.  QSL via
IK1QBT.

GUAM, KH2.  Members of the Guam Contest Club will be QRV as AH2R
from Tumon, IOTA OC-026, as a Multi/Single entry in the CQ WW DX CW
contest.  QSL via JH7QXJ.

WAKE ISLAND, KH9.  Colin, KH9/WA2YUN is usually QRV on the ANZA Net
around 0600z.  QSL via K2PF.

VIRGIN ISLANDS, KP2.  Sharon, K7WZB and Garry, K9WZB will be QRV as
K2V from Saint Croix Island, IOTA NA 106, from December 2 to 14.
Activity will be on 160 to 6 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK31.
They will monitor 6 meters most of the time for any band openings.
QSL direct via K9WZB.

SUDAN, ST.  Robert, S53R will be QRV as ST2KSS from Khartoum as a
Single Op/Single Band entry on 15 meters in the CQ WW DX CW contest.
QSL via operator's instructions.

CAMBODIA, XU.  Peter, NO2R is QRV as XU7ACY from Sihanoukville and
is here for another year.  Activity is on all bands using CW and
SSB.  He will also be active as a Single Op/All Band/Low Power entry
in the CQ WW DX CW contest.  QSL via W2EN.

GIBRALTAR, ZB.  Jorma, OH2KI will be QRV as ZB2X as a Single
Op/Single Band entry on 10 meters in the CQ WW DX CW contest.  QSL
to home call.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO.  The CQ World Wide DX CW Contest and the
NCCC Sprint will certainly keep contesters busy this weekend.
Please see November QST, page 86, and the ARRL and WA7BNM contest
web sites for details.
NNNN
/EX



From memberlist at www.arrl.org  Mon Nov 30 21:28:21 2009
From: memberlist at www.arrl.org (ARRL Web site)
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:28:21 -0800
Subject: [CVRC] ARLP049 Propagation de K7RA
Message-ID: <200912010228.nB12SL1O017885@pop1.greatbasin.net>

SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP049
ARLP049 Propagation de K7RA

ZCZC AP49
QST de W1AW
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 49  ARLP049
 From Tad Cook, K7RA
Seattle, WA  November 30, 2009
To all radio amateurs

SB PROP ARL ARLP049
ARLP049 Propagation de K7RA

This is a follow-up to last Wednesday's pre-Thanksgiving Propagation
Forecast Bulletin ARLP048.  It was a little early to provide the
complete Thursday through Wednesday sunspot, solar flux, and A index
that normally appears in Friday's bulletin, so we are including it
here at the bottom of this bulletin.  The next bulletin will be out
four days from now.

Our exciting period of nearly daily sunspot activity ended with the
first spotless day on November 23, and the Sun has been blank since
then.  A look at the STEREO image at http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/
shows a bright active area perhaps five days over the eastern
horizon, but we don't know if that will give us sunspots or not.

As the two STEREO craft move further from earth, the visual gap on
the Sun's far side is gradually closing, and we look forward to the
time in 2011 when all of the Sun will be visible from STEREO and
earth.  Currently the gap is about 14.3%.

You can calculate the approximate percentage of the Sun in that dark
spot by using the "Where is STEREO?" link on the STEREO home page,
which takes you to http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/where.shtml.
Check the "Separation angle A with B" stat at the bottom, subtract
that number from 180, divide the result by 360, then multiple that
result by 100 to get a percentage figure.

You can check future dates by clicking on the "STEREO Orbit Tool"
link, taking you to http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/where/.

When you check February 1, 2010 at 0000 UTC it yields a separation
angle of 135.197 degrees.  Subtracted from 180 degrees, this yields
44.803, divide that by 360, then multiply by 100, and you get
approximately 12.45% remaining on the dark side.  October 1, 2010
yields 5.58%, and January 1, 2011 just 1.26% in the dark.  Check the
arithmetic!

WorldRadio Online posts a new issue on the twentieth of each month,
and each has a column on propagation by Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA.
You can download it at,
http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/WorldRadio.html and read Carl's
article on "The Impact of Deep Solar Minimum on 160m Propagation."
Carl's column begins on page 28 of the current December issue.  The
January 2010 issue should appear online on December 20.

Past bulletins mentioned the incredible WSPR mode for weak signal
communication.  Doug Hawkins, W3HH of Ocala, Florida was using WSPR
mode on November 18 on 30 meters, and copied AA1A in Marshfield,
Massachusetts -- 1,105 miles away.  Not unusual, except that AA1A
was running only 10 microwatts!  Doug points out that this signal is
20 dB below 1 mW.  Doug says that several other stations have copied
AA1A, but so far this is the longest distance record.

Doug thought the distance was about 900 miles, but I looked up the
address for each station at the top of the ARRL web page at
http://www.arrl.org/, then plugged the addresses into a computer
atlas to find the exact latitude and longitude coordinates, then
used W6ELprop to calculate the distance, which turned out to be over
20 percent further than Doug's estimate.

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 19 through 25 were 30, 31, 14, 13, 0,
0, and 0 with a mean of 12.6.  10.7 cm flux was 76.7, 76.2, 75.8,
76.3, 75.7, 74.7, and 74.2 with a mean of 75.7.  Estimated planetary
A indices were 2, 1, 8, 4, 0, 6 and 5 with a mean of 3.7.  Estimated
mid-latitude A indices were 0, 2, 6, 2, 0, 3 and 4 with a mean of
2.4.
NNNN
/EX



