[CVRC] The ARRL Letter for June 17, 2010

Thu Jun 17 22:53:03 EDT 2010

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June 17, 2010
Editor: <mailto:k1sfa at arrl.org>S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
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    * + Public Service : Amateurs in Arkansas 
Provide Support to Local Authorities after Flood Kills 20
    * Public Service : California Hams Help Coordinate Off-Road Rescue
    * + FCC News : ARRL Comments in FCC Spread Spectrum Proceeding
    * Attention Weather Satellite Users : FCC 
Seeks Information, Comments on Current Use of 1675-1710 MHz
    * + FCC News : FCC Seeks Comments on Amateur 5 MHz (60 Meters) Allocation
    * + On the Air : A Ham Radio Homecoming
    * + International Perspective : Forthcoming IARU Activities at the ITU
    * + Legislative : HR 2160 Now Counts 40 House Sponsors
    * + Solar Update
    * This Week on the Radio

+ Available on <http://www.arrl.org/arrl-audio-news>ARRL Audio News
+ Public Service: Amateurs in Arkansas Provide 
Support to Local Authorities after Flood Kills 20

ARRL Arkansas Section Manager and Section 
Emergency Coordinator J.M. Rowe, N5XFW (standing 
center with clipboard), briefs search teams on 
the status of the ongoing rescue operations. [John Luther, K5LED, Photo]

In the early hours of Friday, June 11, as many as 
300 campers were taken unawares when 6-10 inches 
of rain fell in the rugged Ouachita Mountains. 
The deluge caused the normally quiet Caddo and 
Little Missouri rivers to overflow their banks 
during the night. Around dawn, floodwaters 
barreled into the Albert Pike Recreation Area, a 
54-unit campground in the Ouachita National 
Forest, about 75 miles west of Little Rock. Cars 
were wrapped around trees and children's clothing 
could be seen scattered across several campsites. 
In all, authorities said that 20 people lost 
their lives; 18 of the 20 victims have been 
publicly identified, among them eight children 
age 7 or younger. Eight of the 18 were from 
Louisiana, seven were from Texas and three were 
from Arkansas. The Pike County Sherriff requested 
the assistance of Amateur Radio operators to 
assist with search and rescue operations, as well 
as communications support, at the site. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/amateurs-in-arkansas-provide-support-to-local-authorities-after-flood-kills-20>here.
Public Service: California Hams Help Coordinate Off-Road Rescue

On Saturday, June 12 around 1:30 PM local time, 
Jim Siemons, AF6PU, of Walnut Creek, California, 
was checking his e-mail when he received a 
message from a friend who was concerned that his 
brother -- who, along with four friends had taken 
an off-road adventure along California's famed 
Rubicon Trail -- had not come home when expected. 
Siemons' friend told him that his brother's group 
had left on Wednesday with four off-road vehicles 
in an attempt to cross the Trail. Since Siemons 
and his friend's brother were members of the same 
off-roading club, his friend thought Siemons 
might have some information. Siemons forwarded 
the e-mail to several other club members; within 
five minutes, he received a phone call from 
fellow club member Jenny Ward, KI6YBQ, suggesting 
that he try Amateur Radio to attempt to locate 
the missing group. There is no cell phone 
coverage on the Trail and very limited official 
agency radio coverage, making Amateur Radio the 
only effective means of communication in the 
area. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/california-hams-help-coordinate-off-road-rescue>here.
+ FCC News: ARRL Comments in FCC Spread Spectrum Proceeding

In response to a 2006 ARRL Petition regarding 
spread spectrum issues, the FCC released a Notice 
of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on March 16 (WT 
Docket No 10-62). The Commission is looking to 
amend Part 97 to facilitate the use of spread 
spectrum communications technologies by 
eliminating the requirement that amateur stations 
use automatic power control (APC) to reduce 
transmitter power when the station transmits a 
spread spectrum (SS) emission, as well as 
reducing the maximum transmitter power output 
when transmitting a SS emission. The ARRL filed 
comments on this matter on June 14, 2010. Read 
more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-files-comments-with-fcc-regarding-spread-spectrum-issues>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2010-06-17&p=0>
Attention Weather Satellite Users: FCC Seeks 
Information, Comments on Current Use of 1675-1710 MHz

The National Broadband Plan (NBP) recommends that 
the FCC should make 500 MHz of spectrum available 
for broadband use within the next 10 years, 
including 300 MHz between 225 MHz-3.7 GHz for 
mobile use in the next five years. The FCC's 
Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) has 
engaged in discussions with the National 
Telecommunications and Information 
Administration's (NTIA) Office of Spectrum 
Management to begin examining various frequency 
bands that may be suitable for mobile broadband 
use. NTIA has preliminarily identified the 
1675-1710 MHz band for such use and is examining 
the impact on its incumbent federal users. As 
such, the FCC issued a Public Notice (ET Docket 
No 10-123) on June 4, 2010, seeking information 
to help better comprehend the current use of the 
1675-1710 MHz band by non-federal entities and 
better understand its potential utility for 
broadband. This portion of the spectrum is 
utilized by weather satellites. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-issues-public-notice-to-seek-information-comments-on-current-use-of-1675-1710-mhz>here.
+ FCC News: FCC Seeks Comments on Amateur 5 MHz (60 Meters) Allocation

In May, the 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-proposes-additions-changes-to-amateur-5-mhz-allocation>FCC 
released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) 
-- 
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-10-76A1.pdf>ET 
Docket No 10-98 -- proposing to amend the Part 97 
rules governing the Amateur Radio Service. 
Specifically, the Commission looks to modify the 
rules pertaining to the use of five channels in 
the 5330.6-5406.4 kHz band (60 meters) to replace 
one designated channel with one that is less 
encumbered, to authorize three additional 
emission designators and to increase the maximum 
authorized power in this band. On June 15, a 
<http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-14384.pdf>summary 
of the NPRM was published in the 
<http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-14384.pdf>Federal 
Register, which started the clock on the deadline 
for comments. Comments must be filed on or before 
July 15, 2010 (30 days after publication in the 
Federal Register); reply comments must be filed 
on or before July 30, 2010 (45 days after 
publication in the Federal Register). 
Instructions on how to file comments are listed 
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-10-76A1.pdf>beginning 
on page 6 of the 
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-10-76A1.pdf>NPRM.
+ ARRL Field Day: Field Day Station Locator Service Returns for 2010

First introduced in 2008, the ARRL's 
<http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator>Field Day 
Station Locator Service has proved a popular 
addition to the Field Day toolbox. This service 
-- an interactive map that helps amateurs or 
those interested in Amateur Radio find a 
<http://www.arrl.org/field-day>Field Day site 
near them -- is free to clubs or individuals who 
will be operating public Field Day stations. 
Stations can also be listed by state or province. 
So far, hams in all 50 states and Puerto Rico 
have listed Field Day sites on the Field Day 
Locator. If your group would like to be a part of 
the Station Locator Service, it's easy to get 
started -- just go to the Field Day Station 
Locator 
<http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator>Web site 
and follow the instructions (this is a different 
link than was printed in the Field Day packets). 
ARRL Field Day is the most popular on-the-air 
operating event in Amateur Radio. On June 26-27, 
join tens of thousands of Amateur Radio operators 
as they gather for a public demonstration of the 
Amateur Service.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2010-06-17&p=1>
+ On the Air: A Ham Radio Homecoming

The MIT Radio Society, W1MX, is a regular entrant 
in the school club category of the ARRL 
Sweepstakes. W1MX is the oldest college radio 
club in the country, and celebrated their 100th year in 2009.

Beginning with the 
<http://www.arrl.org/sweepstakes>2010 ARRL 
November Sweepstakes, the prohibition against 
alumni operating at a school club station has 
been repealed. According to Ward Silver, N0AX, 
the goal of the rule change is to get more school 
clubs active for Sweepstakes and on HF. 
Sweepstakes is just a little over four months 
away -- the first and third weekends of the 
month. What are your plans? Wouldn't it be nice 
to hear the call sign of your alma mater ringing 
out in the middle of the Sweepstakes exchange? Sure it would!

Tom Fielitz, KC8YAK, and Andrew Temme, KE7ESD, 
working the 2009 ARRL Sweepstakes (Phone) from 
W8SH at Michigan State University.

"Entering Sweepstakes in the Multioperator 
category was once a staple of the fall semester's 
competitive atmosphere, but many high school and 
collegiate clubs have fallen silent or nearly so 
over the past decades," Silver explained. "Your 
school club might be interested in hosting an 
alumnus or two -- why not contact them? If the 
club station has been inactive in recent years, 
this would be a good way to help get activity 
jump-started again. To get the juices flowing, 
challenge a nearby club or try to beat a score 
from days gone by." Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/a-ham-radio-homecoming>here.
+ International Perspective: Forthcoming IARU Activities at the ITU

Working Parties 1A and 1B of the International 
Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Study Group 1 
will meet in Geneva from June 21-28. A major item 
of discussion will be protection of radio 
services from interference from Broadband over 
Powerline (BPL), called Power Line Communications 
(PLC or PLT) in Europe. The International Amateur 
Radio Union (IARU) has already contributed to the 
ITU-R report SM2158, Impact of Power Line 
Telecommunication Systems on Radiocommunication 
Systems Operating in the LF, MF, HF and VHF Bands 
Below 80 MHz. This report shows the acceptable 
criteria for degradation of the HF radio noise 
floor caused by BPL is defined as being 0.5 dB. 
Work in WP1A will concentrate on the protection 
of radio services from the effects of BPL in 
range from 80-200 MHz. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/forthcoming-iaru-activities-at-the-itu>here.
+ Legislative: HR 2160 Now Counts 40 House Sponsors

Last month, another Congressional Representatives 
-- Mike McIntyre (D-NC-7) -- 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 40, 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/houston-representative-introduces-amateur-radio-bill-in-congress>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), Jo Bonner, (R-AL-1), John Boozman 
(R-AR-3), Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), AndrÃ© 
Carson (D-IN-7), Geoff Davis (R-KY-4), Bob Filner 
(D-CA-51), Jeff Fortenberry, (R-NE-1), 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), Ron Klein, (D-FL-22), Tom Latham 
(R-IA-4), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-16), Blaine 
Luetkemeyer (R-MO-9), Thaddeus McCotter 
(R-MI-11), Michael E. McMahon, (D-NY-13), Cathy 
McMorris Rodgers, (R-WA-5), 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), Denny Rehberg, (R-MT), Dana 
Rohrabacher (R-CA-46), Aaron Schock, (R-IL-18), 
Bennie Thompson (D-MS-2), Michael Turner 
(R-OH-3), Greg Walden, W7EQI (R-OR-2), Peter 
Welch (D-VT), David Wu (D-OR-1), C.W. Bill Young 
(R-FL-10) and Don Young (R-AK). On the Senate 
side of Capitol Hill, 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/senate-introduces-companion-bill-to-hr-2160>S 
1755 -- also called The Amateur Radio Emergency 
Communications Enhancement Act of 2009 -- 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/amateur-radio-bill-passes-senate-moves-to-the-house>cleared 
the Senate by unanimous consent in December 2009 
and now sits in the House Committee on Energy and 
Commerce. Click 
<http://www.arrl.org/sample-letters>here for 
information on how to encourage your 
Congressional representative to sponsor HR 
2160.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2010-06-17&p=2>
+ Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, June 17, 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.classicreader.com/book/309/29/>The 
starred and stately nights seemed haughty dames 
in jeweled velvets, nursing at home in lonely 
pride, the memory of their absent conquering 
Earls, the golden helmeted Suns!" Cook, K7RA, 
reports: Sunspots disappeared for the past two 
days, June 15-16, which is a bit scary 
considering the weak solar cycle we've seen 
recently. In the northern hemisphere, we are just 
a few days from the summer solstice. Despite the 
lack of sunspots for the last two days of the 
June 10-16 week, the average daily sunspot 
numbers rose 2.5 points from the previous week. 
Geomagnetic activity peaked on June 16, with the 
planetary A index at 19 and high latitude College 
A index at 42. This should decline over the next 
couple of days. Look for more information, 
including a look at some reported 10 meter 
propagation from Arizona to Rarotonga, on the 
ARRL Web site on Friday, June 18. 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 
Herman Melville's 
<http://www.classicreader.com/book/309/29/>Moby 
Dick (Chapter 29, "Enter Ahab; to Him, Stubb").
This Week on the Radio

This week, a running of the NCCC Sprint Ladder 
takes place June 18. The Kids Day Contest and the 
Feld Hell Sprint are both June 19. The All Asian 
DX Contest (CW) and the West Virginia QSO Party 
are June 19-20. The Run for the Bacon QRP Contest 
is June 21 and the SKCC Sprint is June 23. Next 
week, everyone is on the air for ARRL Field Day 
on June 26-27. Look for the His Majesty King of 
Spain Contest (SSB) and the Marconi Memorial HF 
Contest, also on June 26-27. The SARL Digital 
Contest is June 27 and the RAC Canada Day Contest 
is July 1. There is another running of the NCCC 
Sprint Ladder on July 2. 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, June 
20, 2010, for these 
<http://www.arrl.org/online-course-registration>online 
course sessions beginning on Friday, July 2, 
2010: Amateur Radio Emergency Communications 
Level 1; 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:cep at arrl.org>Continuing Education Program 
Coordinator<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&i=2010-06-17&t=r&p=0>.

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