[CVRC] The ARRL Letter for November 25, 2009

Wed Nov 25 16:56:34 EST 2009

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November 25, 2009
Editor: <mailto:k1sfa at arrl.org>S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
<http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Home 
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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>.

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