[CVRC] The ARRL Letter for February 11, 2010

Thu Feb 11 18:36:02 EST 2010

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February 11, 2010
Editor: <mailto:k1sfa at arrl.org>S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
<http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Home 
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    * On-the-Air : Get Ready for the ARRL DX CW Contest
    * Eye on Awards : The IARU Region 2 Award
    * Hints and Kinks : Unistrut Antenna Support
    * Legislative Happenings : More Cosponsors On Board for HR 2160
    * ITU News: ITU Digitizes Historical Archives
    * Silent Key : Herbert "Pete" Hoover III, W6ZH (SK)
    * Silent Key : Chris Walters, N0HVK, Killed in Connecticut Explosion
    * Solar Update
    * This Week on the Radio
On-the-Air : Get Ready for the ARRL DX CW Contest

The weekend of February 20-21 will be a busy one 
for CW operators as the 2010 ARRL DX CW Contest 
takes center stage. First started in 1929 as the 
ARRL International Relay Party, the ARRL DX CW 
contest lays claim to the longest running contest 
in Amateur Radio. Stations from all around the 
world -- from Australia to Zimbabwe -- should be 
active for this great event that takes place on 
160-10 meters (contest QSOs are not permitted on 
60, 30, 17 or 12 meters). Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/02/09/11334/?nc=1>here.
ARRL Field Day : 2010 Field Day Packets Now Available

It's never too early to start planning for Field Day!

It's that time of year again -- time to start 
gearing up for ARRL Field Day, June 26-27, 2010! 
ARRL's flagship operating event -- always held 
the fourth full weekend in June -- brings 
together new and experienced hams for 24 hours of 
operating fun. Field Day packets are now 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/forms/fd-2010-packet.pdf>available 
for download and include the complete rules 
(including changes for 2010), as well as other 
reference items such as forms, ARRL Section 
abbreviation list, entry submission instructions, 
a Frequently Asked Questions section, guidelines 
for getting bonus points, instructions for GOTA 
stations, a kit to publicize your event with the local press and more.
Eye on Awards : The IARU Region 2 Award

In October 2009, <http://www.iaru.org/>IARU 
<http://www.iaru-r2.org/wp-content/uploads/r2-award.pdf>Region 
2 announced a new award -- the 
<http://www.iaru-r2.org/wp-content/uploads/r2-award.pdf#pdf>IARU 
Region 2 Award -- available to amateurs and 
shortwave listeners who submit confirmed QSLs 
with 20 Region 2 countries or entities. To be 
considered for the award, contacts must have been 
made after April 16, 1964 -- the date when IARU 
Region 2 was founded. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/02/11/11335/?nc=1>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2010-02-11&p=0>
Hints and Kinks: Unistrut Antenna Support

This idea comes to us from Louis Kobet, WB3DZD, of Camas, Washington.

When considering a center support for the 
installation of an inverted V antenna I decided 
on the following requirements: a strong material, 
easy assembly, corrosion resistant and with 
tilt-over capability. The initial design was to 
use several 10-12 foot sections of antenna mast 
or 2 inch galvanized pipe coupled together. Due 
to the cost of antenna mast and galvanized pipe 
being more than anticipated, an alternative, 10 
foot sections of 1-5/8 inch Unistrut channel was selected.
Figure 1: The PVC pipe and hoist pulley device 
mounted to the top of the Unistrut for hoisting the antenna.

Unistrut is a ham's Tinkertoy. It is available in 
13/16, 1 1/4 and 1-5/8 inch widths, 10 and 20 
foot lengths and in 12, 14 and 16 gauge sizes. It 
is made with dipped surface protective treatments 
from electro-deposition acrylic green to "hot 
dipped" galvanized coatings and multiple channel 
designs (including telescoping sections). A vast 
selection of brackets and fasteners is available 
and it is continuously slotted for easy guying. 
The design and choices for project use are 
limited only by the creativity of the user.

The tilt over base support consisted of a treated 
4×4 inch landscape post anchored in concrete. 
(The wooden post was moisture sealed at the top 
using the dipped coating used for hand tools and 
along the length with several coats of wood 
sealer.) The Unistrut mast pivot point on the 
support base was a 3 inch lag bolt about 50 
inches above ground. In retrospect, a section of 
Unistrut could have been set in the concrete as the antenna base support.

The Unistrut mast preparation consisted of black 
paint (except for areas where the sections were 
bolted together) and the addition of a hoisting 
pulley mounted at the end of a 2 foot PVC pipe 
(see Figure 1). One problem encountered was in 
bolting the Unistrut together. Bolting 
back-to-back against the base of the "U" was not 
possible because I couldn't get a socket on the 
bolt head inside the Unistrut channel. To get 
around this the Unistrut was bolted with the open 
"U" ends face to face. Square Unistrut channel 
would have eliminated this issue. The three 
Unistrut sections were bolted together with about a 12 inch overlap.

Figure 2: The center of the inverted V raised 
into position at the top of the Unistrut support.

An antenna hoisting line was fed through the 
pulley and mast section carried to the base 
support for mounting. After attaching the mast to 
the pivot point it was tilted up into position, 
plumbed and secured in place with three additional lag bolts.

The V antenna was spread out, transmission cable 
attached and hoisted to the top of the mast. The 
ends of the V antenna were attached to a 12 foot 
landscape treated 4×4 that was secured to the property fence.

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 
in QST, 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 
Street, Newington, CT 06111. Please include your 
name, call sign, complete mailing address, 
daytime telephone number and e-mail address.
Legislative Happenings: More Cosponsors On Board for HR 2160

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.

Last month, another Congressional Representative 
-- Jo Bonner (R-AL-1) -- pledged his 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 34, 
<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), Andre Carson (D-IN-7), 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), C.W. Bill Young (R-FL-10) and 
Don Young (R-AK). 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.
PIO News : The February Issue of CONTACT! Now Online

Every month, the ARRL publishes an online 
newsletter for PIOs, PICs and anyone interested 
in Amateur Radio public or media relations 
activities. Click 
<http://www.arrl.org/pio/contact/2010/02/>here for the latest issue.

The ARRL is committed to public relations and has 
built a national PR program designed to represent 
Amateur Radio to government, the media and the 
public. The Newington Headquarters' national 
effort is supported -- and greatly enhanced -- by 
ARRL public information appointees and other 
interested volunteers who work to promote Amateur 
Radio on the local level. One of the tools to 
help these volunteers is 
<http://www.arrl.org/pio/contact/2010/02/>CONTACT, 
the monthly online newsletter designed to be a 
resource for ARRL Public Information Coordinators 
(<http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/pic.html>PIC), 
Public Information Officers 
(<http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/pio.html>PIO) 
and anyone with an interest in Amateur Radio 
public or media relations activities. Each issue 
contains helpful articles and tips to help spread 
the good word about Amateur Radio.

The February issue of CONTACT was released 
earlier this week and is full of information that 
you can use. With Field Day approaching, how are 
you going to publicize your club's participation 
in the largest operating event in the world? Find 
out what some hams will be doing combine Field 
Day with other events happening in their 
communities. Speaking of Field Day, find out how 
your club can earn 500 bonus points. Learn how a 
club in New Zealand got people who had no 
electronics experience excited about Amateur 
Radio. There's more information in the February 
issue of CONTACT. You can read it -- as well as 
other materials prepared specifically to promote 
Amateur Radio -- on the 
<http://www.arrl.org/pio/>PIO Web 
page<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2010-02-11&p=1>.
New ARRL Web Site Coming Soon

After more than two years of planning, designing 
and writing, we here at the ARRL are eagerly 
anticipating the launch of the new ARRL Web site. 
We've been able to make the online experience 
easier for our members -- from the online store, 
to registering for a class, to finding a club -- 
plus we've created a new, enhanced member profile 
with many more options available. We've made 
improvements with you in mind, making sure that 
we've created the easiest, most enjoyable online 
experience possible. The new Web site will be available at the end of February.
ITU News: ITU Digitizes Historical Archives

The International Telecommunication Union 
(<http://www.itu.int/>ITU) 
<http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2010/CM02.html>announced 
on February 11 that they have launched the 
<http://www.itu.int/history>History of ITU 
portal. This program -- the digitizing of the 
ITU's archive of historical documents -- aims to 
improve access to information on the ITU and 
chart its evolution since its establishment in 
1865, while ensuring the long-term preservation 
of historic documents. The archives will be 
freely accessible. ITU's Historical Documents 
Digitization Program is an ongoing project to 
catalogue and scan key ITU documents and outcomes 
of major conferences and make them available on 
the web. Optical character recognition 
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_character_recognition>OCR) 
allows the documents to be fully searchable. 
Documents generated from ITU Plenipotentiary 
Conferences -- as well as from early radio, 
telegraph and telephone conferences -- are now 
available on the portal. The portal provides 
background information, key data and links to the 
documents and other materials for each 
conference. The digitization program will 
continue to make available documents of historic 
significance, including those related to 
Radiocommunication Conferences since 1903.
Silent Key: Herbert "Pete" Hoover III, W6ZH (SK)

Pete Hoover, W6ZH, and his wife Meredith on a 
visit to ARRL HQ in 1978. This photo appeared in the October 1978 issue of QST.

Herbert "Pete" Hoover III, W6ZH (ex-W6APW) -- the 
grandson of Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of 
the United States, and the son of former IARU and 
ARRL President Herbert Hoover Jr, W6ZH (SK) -- 
<http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=herbert-hoover-pete&pid=139549574>passed 
away February 4, 2010. He was 82. A resident of 
San Marino, California, Hoover was active in ARRL 
activities, serving as a Director of the 
<http://www.arrlf.org/>ARRL Foundation in 1976 
and as a member of the ARRL Long Range Planning 
Committee from 1978-1981. In the 1970s, Hoover, 
along with EIMAC's Bill Eitel, W6UF (SK), 
established a matching fund to encourage 
contributions to the amateur satellite program. 
Hoover served as Vice President and Trustee of 
the Pasadena (California) Radio Club and was also 
a member and former President of the Southern 
California DX Club. In 1978, he was elected to 
the National Red Cross (later the American Red 
Cross) Board of Governors. A memorial service is 
being planned. Donations may be made to Doheney 
Eye Institute, 1490 San Pablo St, Los Angeles, CA 
90033; Hoover Institution, 434 Galvez Mall, 
Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6010; 
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association, 
302 Parkside Dr, West Branch, IA 52358 or the 
House Ear Institute, 2100 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, 
CA 90057.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2010-02-11&p=2>
Silent Key: Chris Walters, N0HVK, Killed in Connecticut Explosion

Chris Walters, N0HVK (SK)

Chris Walters, N0HVK, of Florissant, Missouri, 
was 
<http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/Widow-Mourns-Husband-Killed-in-Plant-Blast-83855942.html>killed 
in an explosion on Sunday, February 7. He was 48. 
Walters -- who was employed as a safety manager 
for an electrical subcontractor at the Kleen 
Energy Plant in Middletown, Connecticut -- was 
one of five men killed in the explosion; at least 
a dozen were injured. The accident received 
national news coverage. According to officials, 
the plant was in the process of doing a "blow 
down" -- clearing the natural gas lines -- when 
the explosion occurred, but investigators are 
still determining the cause of the explosion. 
According to his wife, Fran, Walters was 
unemployed in Missouri and had been in 
Connecticut for two months working a temporary 
job. While in Connecticut, Walters found time to 
enjoy Amateur Radio activities. He was a member 
of the Shore Point Amateur Radio Club 
(<http://sparc.us/sparc.htm>SPARC), volunteering 
for community events and fundraisers with the 
club; he was also part of SPARC's first ARRL 
Field Day. Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell 
requested that flags fly at half-staff on 
February 10 in honor and memory of the five men 
who perished in the explosion. -- Some information provided by WVIT and SPARC
Solar Update

No, you don't need to clean your monitor -- those 
are sunspots! The Sun, as seen on Thursday, 
February 11, 2010 from 
<http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/realtime-update.html>NASA's 
SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope.

Tad 
"<http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/light-breaks-where-no-sun-shines/>Light 
breaks where no Sun shines" Cook, K7RA, reports: 
The increasing sunspot activity continues, and 
images from <http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/>NASA's 
STEREO mission show a string of active regions in 
the Sun's northern hemisphere -- both visible and 
over the horizon on the far side. The high 
sunspot number for the week was 71 on February 8; 
the average for the week was 43.3. We haven't 
reported a weekly average that high since the 
week of March 27-April 4 in 2008 when it was 
43.6. The daily sunspot number hasn't been as 
high as 71 since May 28, 2006 when it was 78. The 
earlier reading that reached that level or more 
was 105 on April 6, 2006. On February 8 -- when 
the daily sunspot number was 71 -- the total area 
covered by sunspot activity was 460 millionths of 
a solar hemisphere. That number hasn't been as 
high since the same earlier week in 2008 that had 
a high sunspot number average. The dates were 
March 26-27 when the area of sunspots was 520 and 
510. Look for more information on the ARRL Web 
site on Friday, February 12. 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 Dylan 
Thomas' 
<http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/light-breaks-where-no-sun-shines/>Light 
Breaks Where No Sun Shines.
This Week on the Radio

This week, the NCCC Sprint Ladder is February 12. 
The YLRL YL-OM Contest is February 12-14 and the 
FISTS Winter Sprint is February 13. On February 
13-14, be sure to check out the CQWW RTTY WPX 
Contest, the KCJ Topband Contest, the Louisiana 
QSO Party and the OMISS QSO Party. The North 
American Sprint (SSB) and the SKCC Weekend Sprint 
are both February 14. The Classic Exchange 
(Phone) is February 15 and the AGCW 
Semi-Automatic Key Evening is February 17. Next 
week, the 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2010/intldx.html>ARRL 
International DX Contest (CW) is February 20-21. 
There is another NCCC Sprint Ladder on February 
19. The Feld Hell Sprint is February 20, the Run 
for the Bacon QRP Contest is February 22 and the 
SKCC Sprint is February 24. 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, 
February 21, 2010, for these 
<http://www.arrl.org/cep/student/>online course 
sessions beginning on Friday, March 5, 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=2010-02-11&t=r&p=0>.

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