[CVRC] The ARRL Letter for April 15, 2010

Thu Apr 15 20:49:08 EDT 2010

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April 15, 2010
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=2010-04-15&t=t>

    * Come Explore the New ARRL Web Site!
    * Mike Corey, W5MPC, Joins ARRL Staff as 
Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager
    * FCC News : FCC Looks to Lower Fees for Vanity Call Signs
    * Section News : Nominations Open for Knight Distinguished Service Award
    * W1AW News : Help Keep the W1AW Dream Alive
    * ARRL Field Day : ARRL Public Relations 
Committee to Host Field Day Webinar
    * On the Air : Moonbounce for Everyone -- 
Courtesy of the Arecibo Radio Telescope!
    * Solar Update
    * This Week on the Radio
    * ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration
Come Explore the New ARRL Web Site!

We'd like to welcome you to come and delve into 
the new <http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Web site. 
After more than two years of work, the staff, 
officers and Board of Directors are excited to show you what's in store.

As you peruse the site, you'll notice it's set up 
a bit differently than the previous site. With 
the new site, we chose to focus on how you use 
Amateur Radio, instead of by departments here at 
HQ. For instance, in the 
"<http://www.arrl.org/on-the-air>On the Air" 
section, you'll find information on contesting, 
awards, Logbook of The World, international 
operating, special events, the QSL Bureau (both 
Incoming and Outgoing) and more. And in the 
"<http://www.arrl.org/public-service>Public 
Service<http://www.arrl.org>" section, you will 
find information on emergency communication, as 
well as served agencies and involvement 
opportunities. We are aware that some parts of 
the site are not yet available. We ask that you 
be patient while we try to bring everything over to the new site.

Click <http://www.arrl.org>here to visit the new ARRL Web site.

So go ahead -- take a look around! Make yourself 
at home on the Web site. We invite you to go 
ahead and set up your member profile while you're 
here. Once you log in, click on 
"<http://www.arrl.org/myarrl-account-management>Edit 
Your Profile" -- it's located right under the 
log-in area. Let us know what Amateur Radio 
activities you enjoy (and once you do, you'll see 
information about your chosen activities on our 
home page, personalized just for you). This is 
also the place where members can sign up to 
receive <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter>The ARRL 
Letter and other e-newsletters, W1AW bulletins, 
license renewal notices, messages from your 
Section Manager and Director and more. You can 
join groups, add friends and even add a picture of yourself!

If you ever need help finding anything or if you 
encounter any problems, look for the 
"<http://www.arrl.org/support>Having Trouble?" 
link at the bottom of each page. Click it and 
report your problem; you will be contacted 
shortly with a solution. We hope you will enjoy 
this new Web site as much as we do here at ARRL 
Headquarters. Remember -- this is your Web site. Have some fun with it!
Mike Corey, W5MPC, Joins ARRL Staff as Emergency 
Preparedness and Response Manager

ARRL Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager 
Mike Corey, W5MPC [S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, Photo]

The ARRL is pleased to welcome Emergency 
Preparedness and Response Manager Mike Corey, 
W5MPC, to the Headquarters staff in Newington. 
Corey's major responsibilities include addressing 
the development and implementation of an 
organizational disaster response plan as well as 
an operational continuity plan, complete with 
supporting procedures and training. Corey also 
will play an integral part in the management of 
ARES®, and in future negotiations with served 
agencies with whom ARRL shares or creates 
Memoranda of Understanding. An Extra class 
licensee and an ARRL Life Member, Corey comes to 
the ARRL with almost 20 years of experience with 
emergency communications. Licensed since 1988, he 
has been involved with SKYWARN since 1991 and has 
attended basic and advanced SKYWARN training. He 
is the co-author of the ARRL Storm Spotter's 
Handbook, which is due out next month. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/mike-corey-w5mpc-joins-arrl-staff-as-emergency-preparedness-and-response-manager>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2010-04-15&p=0>
FCC News: FCC Looks to Lower Fees for Vanity Call Signs

The FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
and Order (NPRM) on April 13 seeking to lower the 
fee for Amateur Radio vanity call signs. 
Currently, a vanity call sign costs $13.40 and is 
good for 10 years; the new fee, if the FCC plan 
goes through, will go down to $13.30 for 10 
years, an decrease of 10 cents. The FCC is 
authorized by the Communications Act of 1934 (as 
amended) to collect vanity call sign fees to 
recover the costs associated with that program. 
The vanity call sign regulatory fee is payable 
not only when applying for a new vanity call 
sign, but also upon renewing a vanity call sign 
for a new term. The vanity call sign fee has 
fluctuated over the 13 years of the current 
program -- from a low of $11.70 in 2007 to a high 
of $70 (as first proposed in the FCC's 1994 
Report and Order). In 2007, the Commission 
lowered the fee from $20.80 to $11.70. The FCC 
said it anticipates some 14,800 Amateur Radio 
vanity call sign "payment units" or applications 
during the next fiscal year, collecting $196,840 
in fees from the program. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-looks-to-lower-fees-for-vanity-call-signs>here.
Section News: Nominations Open for Knight Distinguished Service Award

Each year, the ARRL offers an award to recognize 
someone who has served admirably as an ARRL 
Section Manager. The Knight Distinguished Service 
Award recognizes exceptionally notable 
contributions by a Section Manager to the health 
and vitality of the League. The first such award 
was presented to Joe T. Knight, W5PDY (now SK) in 
2003 -- for whom the award was named -- in 
recognition of his exemplary service not only as 
the ARRL Section New Mexico Section Manager for 
more than a quarter century, but also for his 
willingness to share his knowledge and skills. 
For information on selection criteria and how to 
nominate a deserving Section Manager, click 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/nominations-open-for-knight-distinguished-service-award>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2010-04-15&p=1>
W1AW News: Help Keep the W1AW Dream Alive

W1AW. It is the most famous call sign in the 
century-long history of Amateur Radio. To 
hundreds of thousands of radio amateurs, W1AW is 
synonymous with Hiram Percy Maxim -- the 
visionary who first recognized a need for a 
national network of Amateur Radio operators in 
North America, and who just a few years later saw 
a similar need for the worldwide federation that 
we now know as the International Amateur Radio 
Union (IARU). Amateur Radio without Hiram Percy 
Maxim would be like automobiles without Henry 
Ford or electricity without Thomas Edison. 
Without Mr Maxim, Amateur Radio probably would 
not exist today -- and if it did, it would be a 
pale shadow of the enriching endeavor we now enjoy.

The W1AW Endowment was established to provide a 
reliable source of funds for the operation and 
maintenance of the Maxim Memorial Station. "When 
we begin the budget cycle every year, it is a 
relief to know that some portion of the expenses 
related to W1AW will not have to compete for 
scarce budget dollars with other important ARRL 
programs," said ARRL Chief Executive Officer 
David Sumner, K1ZZ. "Thanks to generous members 
and supporters, the W1AW Endowment and the income 
it generates have grown." To help ensure that 
Hiram Percy Maxim's memory lives on to inspire 
future generations of radio amateurs, please 
consider making a donation to the W1AW Endowment. 
By doing so, you will help build a solid 
financial future for W1AW so that it can continue 
to fulfill its mission as Amateur Radio's 
flagship station. "When you visit ARRL and tour 
W1AW, you will see your generosity at work," 
Sumner said. "And every time you hear 
'Whiskey-One-Alfa-Whiskey' on the air, you'll 
know that you had a part in keeping the dream 
alive." For information on how you can help keep 
the W1AW dream alive, click 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/help-keep-the-w1aw-dream-alive>here.
ARRL Field Day : ARRL Public Relations Committee to Host Field Day Webinar

The ARRL Public Relations Committee -- in 
conjunction with the ARRL's Atlantic Division -- 
will host 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 Thursday, 
April 22 at 9 PM EDT, join ARRL Media and Public 
Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, along with 
ARRL Field Day Manager and members of the 
League's Public Relations Committee as they 
explain how to use ARRL Field Day to bring 
attention to Amateur Radio in your area. Learn 
how to set up a Field Day publicity calendar, 
invite elected officials and dignitaries, get 
proclamations issued, post your Field Day event 
on local media outlets and community bulletin 
boards, get audio and video PSAs on local radio 
and TV stations, how to use newer social networks 
like Facebook and Twitter and more to draw people 
to your Field Day event. Click 
<https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/932645064>here 
to register for this informative, interactive 
Internet meeting.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2010-04-15&p=2>
On the Air: Moonbounce for Everyone -- Courtesy of the Arecibo Radio Telescope!

Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico will be the 
site of some major moonbounce activity later this 
month. [Photo courtesy of the NAIC-Arecibo 
Observatory, a facility of the National Science Foundation]

Sending Amateur Radio signals to the Moon and 
back has never been easy. After roundtrip 
journeys of nearly half a million miles, even the 
most powerful signals generated by hams are 
exquisitely weak on arrival. Because of the 
equipment and expertise necessary for successful 
"moonbounce" operating, this facet of Amateur 
Radio generally has been confined to a small 
audience. But this coming weekend, even hams with 
very modest stations will have the opportunity to 
experience the thrill of moonbounce, thanks to 
the giant radio telescope at the Arecibo 
Observatory in Puerto Rico. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/moonbounce-for-everyone-courtesy-of-the-arecibo-radio-telescope>here.
Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, April 15, 2010 from 
<http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/realtime-update.html>NASA's 
SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This 
image was taken at 304 Angstrom; the bright 
material is at 60,000 to 80,000 Kelvin.

Tad 
"<http://www.literature.org/authors/dickens-charles/two-cities/book-01/chapter-03.html>Though 
the Earth was cold and wet, the sky was clear and 
the Sun rose bright, placid and beautiful" Cook, 
K7RA, reports: Weakened sunspots faded away this 
week and we were buffeted with more geomagnetic 
instability, but without the dramatic geomagnetic 
storms of the previous week. The average daily 
sunspot numbers fell more than 20 points to 12.1, 
and the average solar flux dropped nearly three 
points to 75.1. April 11 saw no sunspots -- with 
group 1061 appearing April 5-10 -- and sunspot 
group 1062 showing April 12-14. By today, group 
1062 should be gone and we may still see more 
days without sunspots. The predicted solar flux 
for April 15-18 is 75, 77, 78 and 79, then 
hitting 80 on April 19-24. The predicted 
planetary A index for April 15-19 is 5, 5, 12, 8 
and 5. Look for more information on the ARRL Web 
site on Friday, April 16. For more information 
concerning radio propagation, visit the 
<http://www.arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals>ARRL 
Technical Information Service Propagation page. 
This week's "Tad Cookism" brought to you by 
Charles Dickens' 
<http://www.literature.org/authors/dickens-charles/two-cities/index.html>A 
Tale of Two Cities (Chapter 3).
This Week on the Radio

This week, the 
<http://www.arrl.org/rookie-roundup>ARRL Rookie 
Roundup (SSB) is April 18. The TARA Skirmish 
Digital Prefix Contest, the Holyland DX Contest 
and the EU Spring Sprint are April 17. The 
Michigan QSO Party, the Ontario QSO Party and the 
YU DX Contest are April 17-18. The Run for the 
Bacon QRP Contest is April 19. Next week, the 
10-10 International Spring Contest, the SP DX 
RTTY Contest, QRP to the Field, the Florida QSO 
Party and the Nebraska QSO Party are April 24-25. 
All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See 
the <http://www.arrl.org/contests>ARRL Contest 
Branch page, the 
<http://www.arrl.org/The-ARRL-Contest-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/special-events>ARRL Special Event Station Web page.
ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration

Registration remains open through Sunday, April 
25, 2010, for these 
<http://www.arrl.org/courses-training>online 
course sessions 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 
<http://www.arrl.org/online-courses>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=2010-04-15&t=r&p=0>.

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