[CVRC] The ARRL Letter for April 1, 2010

Thu Apr 1 16:27:10 EDT 2010

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The ARRL Letter

April 1, 2010
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA <mailto:k1sfa at arrl.org>
ARRL Home Page <http://www.arrl.org/> 	
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    * /Public Service/ : ARRL Signs /Memorandum of Understanding/ with
      American Red Cross <#toc01>
    * /Public Service/ : Amateur Radio Assists with Rescue in Great
      Smoky Mountains <#toc02>
    * / Amateur Radio in the Classroom/ : 2010 ARRL Teachers Institute
      Begins with a Bang in Tucson <#toc03>
    * /ARRL in Action/ : What Have We Been Up to Lately? <#toc04>
    * Solar Update <#toc05>
    * This Week on the Radio <#toc06>
    * ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration <#toc07>

/Public Service/: ARRL Signs /Memorandum of Understanding/ with American 
Red Cross

ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, signs the new /Memorandum of 
Understanding/ with the American Red Cross as American Red Cross 
President and CEO Gail McGovern looks on. [Michael Halston, ARC, Photo]

On Thursday, March 25 ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, signed a new 
/Memorandum of Understanding/ (/MoU 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/files/ARRL-ARC_MoU.pdf>/) with the American 
Red Cross (ARC <http://www.redcross.org/>) at ARC National Headquarters 
in Washington, DC. The /MoU/, which replaces an earlier /Statement of 
Understanding/ that expired in 2007, provides a "broad framework for 
cooperation" between the ARRL and the ARC "in preparing for and 
responding to disaster relief situations at all levels in rendering 
assistance and service to victims of disaster, as well as other services 
for which cooperation may be mutually beneficial." Read more here 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/30/11412/?nc=1>.

/Public Service/: Amateur Radio Assists with Rescue in Great Smoky Mountains

The Alum Cave Bluffs Trail begins as a wooden bridge crossing Walker 
Camp Prong. [Photo courtesy of Scott Basford]

On Sunday, March 28 -- a day with a lot of rain, wind, sleet and, fog -- 
John Oakberg, NK4N, of Sevierville, Tennessee, went out hiking in the 
Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Mt LeConte. When he was about 1 
mile up from Alum Cave Bluff, he came across Judy Potter, 57, of Atlanta 
who had broken her ankle while on the trail. Oakberg reached for his 
cell phone to call 911, but there was no coverage available. He then 
reached for his handheld transceiver and put out a call to any Amateur 
Radio operators who may be listening via some nearby VHF 2 meter 
repeaters. Read more here 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/30/11411/?nc=1>.

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New ARRL Web Site Undergoes Further Testing Before Launch

According to ARRL Chief Operating Officer, Harold Kramer, WJ1B, we are 
currently finishing the final pre-launch adjustments and testing the new 
ARRL Web site and plan to launch it by April 12. "This launch has been a 
longer than anticipated process for all of us," Kramer said, "but we 
have learned a lot during the past two years as we conducted research 
about what people want from the ARRL Web site. We created a new 
architecture and navigation scheme to meet those needs and we 
implemented a contemporary new design. After that, we updated our 
current Web content and created lots of brand new content, including 
multimedia. We then began integrating the incredibly complicated 
functionality, e-commerce, advertising and database connections from the 
current Web to the new Web site. It has been a lot of work, and while it 
is disappointing that we are not out the door quite yet, we are now in 
the home stretch. When the new ARRL Web site debuts, we just want to be 
sure that it looks great, works well in meeting the needs of our members 
and that it is something that we can all be proud of."

/ Amateur Radio in the Classroom/ : 2010 ARRL Teachers Institute Begins 
with a Bang in Tucson

More than 20 educators and five Elmers participated in the first 
Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology, held over five Saturdays in 
February and March at Jefferson Park School in Tucson, Arizona.

The ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology (TI) began its 2010 
sessions in February with a TI course designed specifically for teachers 
in the Tucson (Arizona) Unified School District (TUSD). Taught at 
Jefferson Park Elementary School, 21 educators -- including the school 
principal, school counselor and three resource personnel -- took part in 
five Saturday sessions, working through an expanded 45 hour Teachers 
Institute (TIs usually are done in about 32 hours). The teachers 
completed homework assignments that included building the clock kit, 
building a flashing LED Santa and reading the first two chapters of 
/What's a Microcontroller?/ In addition, five parents attended the TI as 
observers. The course was taught by TI Instructor Miguel Enriquez, 
KD7RPP, who teaches in the TUSD. Read more here 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/31/11413/?nc=1>.

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/ARRL in Action/: What Have We Been Up to Lately?

This feature -- including convenient Web links to useful information -- 
is a concise monthly update of some of the things ARRL is doing on 
behalf of its members, including signing a new Memorandum of 
Understanding with the American Red Cross, preparing for WRC-12, 
legislative actions, holding workshops to help teachers introduce 
wireless technology in their classrooms, promoting on-the-air events, 
investigating power line noise and more. This installment covers the 
month of March. Read more here 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2010/04/01/11415/?nc=1>.

ARRL Seeks Input for New IARU Region 2 Band Plan

One of the major items on the IARU Region 2 conference in El Salvador 
will be the discussion of a new HF band plan for the region.

The International Amateur Radio Region 2 conference -- to be held later 
this year in El Salvador -- brings together delegations from the 
national Amateur Radio Societies in the Western Hemisphere. One of the 
topics on the agenda will be the Region 2 HF band plan. This band plan 
is "harmonized with" -- spectrum management-speak for "very similar to" 
-- the IARU Region 1 and Region 3 band plans. At this year's conference, 
the IARU Member-Societies will consider possible changes to the Region 2 
band plan. The ARRL is cooperating with this procedure by inviting input 
to be sent to the ARRL Board of Directors' Band Planning Committee. The 
committee will review the existing Region 2 band plan, consider input 
from the amateur community and make recommendations to the ARRL Board 
for submission to IARU Region 2. */Be sure to get your comments in by 
Monday, April 5/*. Read more here 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/04/11374/?nc=1>.

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Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, April 1, 2010 from NASA's SOHO Extreme 
Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope 
<http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/realtime-update.html>. 
This MDI <http://soi.stanford.edu/> (Michelson Doppler Imager) image was 
taken in the continuum near the Ni I 6768 Angstrom line. The most 
prominent features are the sunspots. This is very much how the Sun looks 
in the visible range of the spectrum.

Tad "The uncertain glory of an April day, which now shows all the beauty 
of the Sun 
<http://shakespeare.mit.edu/two_gentlemen/two_gentlemen.1.3.html>" Cook, 
K7RA, reports: Last week's bulletin 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/26/11408/?nc=1> said new 
sunspot group 1057 appeared March 23, but it was actually short-lived 
group 1056 according to summaries 
<http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpmenu/forecasts/SRS.html>. Group 1057 
emerged on March 24, and on March 25 1056 became a plage 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plage_29> without spots. Sunspot group 
1058 arrived March 26, but was gone two days later when 1059 emerged. 
Group 1059 has not become as large as 1057. From March 28-April 1, the 
size in millionths of the Sun's surface was 120, 100, 150, 130 and 70. 
But the size of 1057 from March 24-April 1 was 5, 240, 400, 320, 380, 
410, 290, 260 and 250. Group 1059 is surely fading, but 1057 may be 
holding steady, even though it is down from peaks of 400 and 410 on 
March 26 and 29. The average daily sunspot numbers for the week were up 
more than 4 points to 28.9, and the average daily solar flux changed 
from 84.2 to 84.9. The renewed sunspot activity seems constant and 
steady. We have new 3-month moving averages of daily sunspot numbers 
through the end of March, which is centered on February, and the number 
has increased a few points from last time. The 3-month moving average of 
daily sunspot numbers centered on July 2009-February 2010 was 4, 4, 4.6, 
7.1, 10.2, 15.2, 22.4 and 25.7. The rate of increase has slackened, but 
it steadily moves higher. Look for more information on the ARRL Web site 
on Friday, April 2, where Tad will have a bit more about the numbers, a 
visit to NWRA -- the home of the Effective Sunspot Numbers -- and 
reports on recent conditions. For more information concerning radio 
propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation 
page <http://www.arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals>. This week's "Tad 
Cookism" brought to you by William Shakespeare's /Two Gentlemen of 
Verona <http://shakespeare.mit.edu/two_gentlemen/two_gentlemen.1.3.html> 
/(Act I, Scene 3)/./

This Week on the Radio

This week, the Lighthouse Spring Lites QSO Party is April 1-11. The QRP 
ARCI Spring QSO Party, the SP DX Contest and the EA RTTY Contest are 
April 3-4. The Missouri QSO Party is April 3-5 and the Low Power Spring 
Sprint is April 5. Next week, look for the Montana QSO Party on April 
9-11. The Japan International DX Contest, the QCWA Spring QSO and the 
Georgia QSO Party are April 10-11. All dates, unless otherwise stated, 
are UTC. See the ARRL Contest Branch page 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests>, the /ARRL Contest Update 
<http://www.arrl.org/The-ARRL-Contest-Update>/ and the WA7BNM Contest 
Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more 
info. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the ARRL 
Special Event Station Web page <http://www.arrl.org/special-events>.

/ARRL Recognizes/: Rudy Severns, N6LF, Wins March /QST / Cover Plaque Award

The winner of the /QST// / Cover Plaque Award for March is Rudy Severns, 
N6LF, for his article "An Experimental Look at Ground Systems for HF 
Verticals." /Congratulations Rudy!/// 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 /QST// 
/Cover Plaque Poll Web page 
<http://www.arrl.org/members-only/qstvote.html>. Cast a ballot for your 
favorite article in the April issue by Friday, April 30.

ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration

Registration remains open through *Sunday, April 25, 2010*, for these 
online course sessions <http://www.arrl.org/courses-training> beginning 
on *Friday, May 7, 2010*: Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 
1; Antenna Modeling; Radio Frequency Interference; Antenna Design and 
Construction; Propagation; Analog Electronics, and Digital Electronics. 
To learn more, visit the CEP Course Listing page 
<http://www.arrl.org/online-courses> or contact the Continuing Education 
Program Coordinator <mailto:cce at arrl.org>.

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