[CVRC] The ARRL Letter for August 19, 2010

Thu Aug 19 17:49:15 EDT 2010

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August 19, 2010
Editor: <mailto:k1sfa at arrl.org>S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
<http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Home 
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    * + Amateur Radio and Scouting : K2BSA -- 
Amateur Radio Fun in the Warm Virginia Sun
    * + FCC : ARRL Amends Petition to Deny to 
Include 16 Additional Recon Scout Applications
    * + On the Air : 2010 Field Day Logs Posted
    * + Hints and Kinks : Loop and Hook Skyhook
    * + On the Air : Expanded Results for ARRL 
International DX SSB Contest Now Online
    * + Technology : ARRL, TAPR Announce 29th 
Annual Digital Communications Conference
    * + Solar Update
    * This Week on the Radio

+ Available on <http://www.arrl.org/arrl-audio-news>ARRL Audio News
+ Amateur Radio and Scouting: K2BSA -- Amateur 
Radio Fun in the Warm Virginia Sun

Thousands of Scouts and Scouters got to 
experience the thrill of Amateur Radio firsthand 
at the BSA National Jamboree -- including a QSO 
with the International Space Station. Click 
<http://drsamgray.smugmug.com/Hobbies/k2bsa-video-tour/13114388_jqU7z#952964270_SurNs>here 
for a video tour of K2BSA, taken by Sam Gray, KG4WRM.

The 2010 National Scout Jamboree -- celebrating 
the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of 
America -- was held July 26-August 4 at Fort AP 
Hill in Virginia. According to ARRL Rocky 
Mountain Division Director and K2BSA Station 
Coordinator/Manager Brian Mileshosky, N5ZGT, ham 
radio was a big part of the event that attracted 
more than 43,000 participants from across the 
nation and around the world. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/k2bsa-amateur-radio-fun-in-the-warm-virginia-sun>here.
+ FCC: ARRL Amends Petition to Deny to Include 16 
Additional Recon Scout Applications

The Recon Scout -- manufactured and marketed by 
ReconRobotics -- is a remote-controlled, 
maneuverable surveillance robot designed for use 
in areas that may be too hazardous for human 
entry. ReconRobotics was recently granted a 
waiver by the FCC for the device to operate 
between 430-448 MHz, a portion of spectrum 
available to the Amateur Radio Service on a secondary basis.

On August 16, ReconRobotics -- in response to the 
ARRL's Petition to Deny Applications , filed with 
the FCC on August 4 -- filed an Opposition to 
Petition to Deny with the FCC, arguing that the 
ARRL's Petition is "frivolous." The ARRL's 
Petition asked the FCC to deny 68 pending Public 
Safety Pool license applications associated with 
the ReconRobotics Video and Audio Surveillance 
System, specifically the Recon Scout device. The 
Salina (Kansas) Police Department had asked the 
FCC for a waiver to operate the Recon Scout in 
the band 433-445 MHz. The FCC returned the waiver 
request to Salina, noting that the frequency band 
requested was not consistent with the waiver 
Order that requires that the first unit licensed 
to an eligible entity operate in the 436-442 MHz 
band. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-amends-em-petition-to-deny-em-to-include-16-additional-recon-scout-applications>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2010-08-19&p=0>
+ On the Air: 2010 Field Day Logs Posted

The 2010 Field Day logs received list 
<http://www.arrl.org/logs-received>has been 
posted. It includes all logs received -- applet, 
non-applet e-mail and paper. Any 
changes/corrections/missing inquires should be 
sent to ARRL Field Day Manager Dan Henderson, 
N1ND, via <mailto:fdinfo at arrl.org>e-mail.
+ Hints and Kinks: Loop and Hook Skyhook

Randy Quinton, WQ7Q, of Sammamish, Washington, 
sent us this idea for a quick emergency antenna. 
Contact Randy via <mailto:quinton.rhq at comcast.net>e-mail for more information

An emergency flexible antenna can greatly extend 
the performance of a handheld transceiver. The 
best attachment point to hang the antenna always 
seems just out of reach. This simple wire hook 
made from a coat hanger makes it easy to hang and retrieve the antenna.

Figure 1: A wire coat hanger bent into this hook 
and loop shape makes raising that EmComm or Field Day antenna much easier.

Using about 18 inches of wire, bend a hook to 
match the attachment point. Below the hook, form 
a loop to which the antenna line is tied. Below 
the loop, bend a downward pointing V-shaped pin 
with a little elbow on the side to prevent the 
pin from slipping completely inside the lifting 
tube (see Figure 1). The hook is lifted by a tube 
or tube section attached to a pole. Tension on 
the antenna wire keeps the pin in the tube until 
the antenna has been placed. The antenna is 
retrieved by reversing the process (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Keeping tension on the support rope holds the hook in place.

Quinton said he keeps a loop and a short section 
of PVC pipe with tape around in his emergency 
kit, using it to turn a broom or branch into a 
lifting pole. As always, don't hang an antenna on 
electrical wires or anyplace in the vicinity of power lines.

Do you have an idea or a simple project that has 
improved your operating? Maybe you've taken 
something commonly found around the home and 
developed a ham radio use for it? Why not share 
your hints with fellow hams in "Hints and Kinks," 
a monthly column in QST. If we publish your hint, 
you will receive $20. Send your hints via 
<mailto:h&k at arrl.org>e-mail or to ARRL 
Headquarters, Attn: "Hints and Kinks," 225 Main 
St, Newington, CT 06111. Please include your 
name, call sign, complete mailing address, 
daytime telephone number and e-mail address.
+ On the Air: Expanded Results for ARRL International DX SSB Contest Now Online

Expended results for the ARRL International DX 
SSB Contest are now 
<http://www.arrl.org/contest-results-articles>available 
on the ARRL Web site. Find close to 100 pages 
packed with results from around the world and 
your ARRL Division, including line scores and 
lots of photos, graphs and charts. You can also 
read all of the interesting Soapbox comments from 
the participants and review the Top 10 in every 
category, tracked since the top of Solar Cycle 
23. There were lots of new records set in this 
contest -- come see how an active Sun affects an all-band DX contest!
+ Technology: ARRL, TAPR Announce 29th Annual Digital Communications Conference

Aficionados of digital communications are gearing 
up for the 29th annual ARRL/TAPR Digital 
Communications Conference, September 24-26 near 
Portland, Oregon. The ARRL/TAPR DCC is an 
international forum for radio amateurs to meet, 
publish their work and present new ideas and 
techniques. Presenters and attendees will have 
the opportunity to exchange ideas and learn about 
recent hardware and software advances, theories, 
experimental results, and practical applications. 
Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-tapr-announce-29th-annual-digital-communications-conference>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2010-08-19&p=2>
+ Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, August 19, 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.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/thoreau/thoreaupoems.html#rain>For 
shame the Sun will never show himself" Cook, 
K7RA, reports: Sunspot numbers and solar flux 
declined this week, with the average daily 
sunspot numbers down nearly 17 points to 36.1, 
and the average daily solar flux down nearly 1 
point to 83.6. In the previous week, average 
daily sunspot numbers had risen nearly 33 points 
to 53. New sunspot groups appeared on August 11, 
13 and 16, but on Tuesday and Wednesday (August 
17-18), total sunspot area was one-fifth what it 
was on August 16, less than one-seventh the area 
on August 14, and less than one-fourteenth the 
area of August 12. On August 12, 14, 16 and 18, 
the daily sunspot number was 50, 31, 39 and 23. 
Projections for solar flux over the next 10 days 
-- August 19-28 -- are 81, 80, 80, 80, 81, 82, 
82, 85, 84 and 82. Predictions for planetary A 
index over those same days are 5 on August 19-23, 
12 on August 24, 8 on August 25 and 5 on August 
26-28. Geophysical Institute Prague predicts 
quiet conditions for August 20-22, quiet to 
unsettled August 23 and unsettled August 24-26. 
Look for more information -- including a look at 
some mail from readers and an article suggesting 
a theory on what may be responsible for this long 
solar minimum -- on the ARRL Web site on Friday, 
August 20. 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" is brought to you by 
Henry David Thoreau's 
<http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/thoreau/thoreaupoems.html#rain>The 
Summer Rain.
This Week on the Radio

This week:
    * August 20 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
    * August 21-22 (local time) -- 
<http://www.arrl.org/10-ghz-up>ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest
    * August 21-22 -- SARTG WW RTTY Contest; North American QSO Party (SSB)
    * August 21-23 -- New Jersey QSO Party
    * August 25 -- SKCC Sprint; QRP Fox Hunt

Next week:
    * August 27 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
    * August 28-29 -- Hawaii QSO Party; Kansas 
QSO Party; Ohio QSO Party; YO DX HF Contest; SCC RTTY Championship
    * September 1 -- QRP Fox Hunt

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 
Events Station Web 
page<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&i=2010-08-19&t=r&p=0>.

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