[CVRC] The ARRL Letter for October 28, 2010

Thu Oct 28 18:34:38 EDT 2010

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October 28, 2010
Editor: <mailto:k1sfa at arrl.org>S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
<http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Home 
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Archive<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>Audio 
News<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&i=2010-10-28&t=t>

    * + Amateur Radio in Space : ARISSat-1 "Suits Up" for February 2011 Launch
    * + On the Air : No "Maybes" About It -- ARRL Sweepstakes is Fun!
    * + Public Service : The 2010 Global Amateur 
Radio Emergency Communications Conference
    * In the Shack : Two New ARRL Kits Coming Soon
    * + International Spotlight : ARRL Visits 
British Hams, RSGB at National Hamfest
    * Solar Update
    * + DX News : ARRL DXCC Desk Approves Six 2010 Operations
    * This Week on the Radio

+ Available on <http://www.arrl.org/arrl-audio-news>ARRL Audio News
+ Amateur Radio in Space: ARISSat-1 "Suits Up" for February 2011 Launch

ARISSat-1/RadioSkaf-V is a six-sided, cube-shaped 
satellite with solar panels on all six sides. A 
70 cm quarter-wave whip will be mounted on the 
bottom and a 2 meter quarter wave whip on the 
top. All of the hardware and software will go 
inside, with the cameras on the outside. [Photo courtesy of the ARISSat Team]

Earlier this year, astronauts living on the 
International Space Station had to discard two 
surplus Orlan space suits. With the loss of the 
suits, those involved with AMSAT and Amateur 
Radio on the International Space Station were at 
a loss. One of these suits was to be used to 
house the electronics for the upcoming SuitSat-2 
mission: the batteries were to be mounted inside 
the suit, solar panels attached to the 
extremities with the electronics, with video 
cameras and an antenna mounted on the helmet. But 
even though the removal of the space suits took 
away the "Suit" component of the deployment, 
AMSAT and ARISS forged ahead, changing the 
configuration of the satellite and Amateur Radio 
experiment and giving it a new name: 
ARISSat-1/RadioSkaf-V. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/arissat-1-suits-up-for-february-2011-launch>here.
+ On the Air: No "Maybes" About It -- ARRL Sweepstakes is Fun!

Yvette Cendes, KB3HTS, single op'd the 2009 ARRL 
Phone Sweepstakes from Case Western Reserve 
University's club station W8EDU. In only 20 hours 
on the air, she made 780 QSOs -- and a Clean 
Sweep! She said it was great to hear a lot of 
femal ops on the air, as well as so many other 
school stations. [James Galm, W8WTS, Photo]

ARRL Sweepstakes has been part of Amateur Radio 
in the US and Canada for more than 75 years. In 
2010, the tradition continues with the 77th 
running of the best domestic contest in all of 
Amateur Radio: CW will be the weekend of November 
6, while the Phone portion of the contest runs 
the weekend of November 20. The 2010 ARRL 
November CW Sweepstakes runs from 2100 UTC 
Saturday, November 6 through 0300 UTC Monday, 
November 8. The SSB portion of Sweepstakes runs 
from 2100 UTC Saturday, November 20 through 0300 
UTC Monday, November 22. Why not make plans now 
to join thousands of other radio amateurs across 
the continent and get in on this year's fun in 
the ARRL November Sweepstakes! Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/no-maybes-about-it-arrl-sweepstakes-is-fun>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2010-10-28&p=0>
+ Public Service: The 2010 Global Amateur Radio 
Emergency Communications Conference

The 2010 Global Amateur Radio Emergency 
Communications (GAREC) Conference was held 
October 10-12 in CuraÃ§ao (PJ2). At the time most 
conference attendees arrived in CuraÃ§ao, it was 
a part of the Netherlands Antilles along with 
Bonaire, St Maarten, Saba, and St Eustatius. By 
the time the attendees headed home, independence 
had been declared and CuraÃ§ao was its own nation 
within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/the-2010-global-amateur-radio-emergency-communications-conference>here.
In the Shack: Two New ARRL Kits Coming Soon
<http://www.arrl.org/shop/ARRL-Morse-Code-Oscillator-Kit/>
Two new ARRL kits are in the final throes of 
production. The first is a Morse code oscillator, 
produced for ARRL by MFJ Enterprises. The project 
is a good "beginners" electronics kit. We expect 
the kit will be popular with members, 
particularly newcomers, and with clubs, 
instructors and teachers seeking a classroom 
kit-building experience. A supplementary resource 
guide for students and educators will be made 
available by the ARRL Education and Technology 
Program. The guide helps cover the fundamentals 
of the working circuit and its components.

The 
<http://www.arrl.org/shop/ARRL-Morse-Code-Oscillator-Kit/>ARRL 
Morse code oscillator kit -- produced by MFJ -- 
is a great way to introduce kit building and CW skills to hams.

A second kit is a PIC programming lab and 
project, produced for ARRL by Cana Kit (Canada). 
This more substantial kit is intended to be used 
with 
<http://www.arrl.org/shop/ARRL-s-PIC-Programming-for-Beginners/>ARRL's 
PIC Programming for Beginners book (revised first 
edition). The kit includes all the necessary 
components, parts and boards, and follows the 
book's step-by-step exercises and tutorial. The 
kit also includes all the necessary parts to 
build a microprocessor-controlled CW keyer, which 
is the book's culminating project.

"We're excited about these new projects, which 
help emphasize kit construction, basic 
electronics, and the extraordinary potential of 
microcontrollers," said ARRL Marketing Manager 
Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R. "There's no better way to 
advance the radio art than by introducing more 
hams to project building and homebrewing." Order 
your 
<http://www.arrl.org/shop/ARRL-Morse-Code-Oscillator-Kit/>ARRL 
Morse Code Oscillator and 
<http://www.arrl.org/shop/ARRL-s-PIC-Programming-Kit/>ARRL 
PIC Programming Kit today in the 
<http://www.arrl.org/shop>ARRL Online 
Store.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2010-10-28&p=1>
+ International Spotlight: ARRL Visits British Hams, RSGB at National Hamfest

The organizers of the National Hamfest posted 
this world map, inviting international visitors 
to place a pushpin in their home QTH. ARRL 
Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R -- who 
represented the ARRL at the event -- tagged ARRL Headquarters.

Earlier this month, ARRL Marketing Manager Bob 
Inderbitzen, NQ1R, represented the League at the 
National Hamfest in the United Kingdom. Billed as 
the biggest convention in the UK, the National 
Hamfest "kicked off" Ham Week UK, October 1-10. 
Now in its second year, the hamfest is sponsored 
by both the Lincoln Short Wave Club and the Radio 
Society of Great Britain. Ham Week concluded with 
the RSGB Convention -- formerly the HF Convention 
-- held October 8-10. According to Inderbitzen, 
the RSGB Convention is a smaller event than the 
National Hamfest, and includes lectures and 
presentations for HF and VHF interests, but no 
exhibits. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-visits-british-hams-rsgb-at-national-hamfest>here.
Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, October 28, 2010 
from 
<http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/realtime-update.html>NASA's 
SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This 
<http://soi.stanford.edu/>MDI (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 
"<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM6auGQ2VGo>The 
rain exploded with a mighty crash as we fell into 
the Sun" Cook, K7RA, reports: Although this week 
saw a high daily sunspot number of 74 on October 
26, the average sunspot number for the week 
dropped more than five points to 50.3. One new 
sunspot group, numbered 1119, emerged this week, 
but 1117 -- which has been visible since October 
19 -- has become huge. On Wednesday, October 27, 
it measured 450 millionths of a solar hemisphere, 
larger than any single sunspot group this year. 
Look for more information -- including some 
information from Stu Phillips, K6TU, on how to 
calculate signal strengths for SSB and CW signals 
over the same paths shown in WSPR data -- on the 
ARRL Web site on Friday, October 29. 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 
Paul McCartney's 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band_on_the_Run_%28song%29>Band 
on the Run.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2010-10-28&p=2>
+ DX News: ARRL DXCC Desk Approves Six 2010 Operations

ARRL DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, reports that 
six 2010 operations -- Afghanistan (T6MB), Bhutan 
(A51A) and Burundi (9U1RSI, 9U4T, 9U1KI and 
9U1VO) have been approved for DXCC credit. "If 
you had cards that were recently rejected for 
this operation, please send an 
<mailto:dxcc at arrl.org>e-mail to the ARRL DXCC 
Desk," Moore said. "Results will appear in 
Logbook of The World 
(<https://p1k.arrl.org/lotwuser/default>LoTW) 
accounts, as well as online on the <http://www.arrl.org/dxcc>daily listings."
This Week on the Radio

This week:
    * October 30-31 -- 
<http://www.arrl.org/eme-contest>ARRL EME 
Contest; CQ Worldwide DX Contest (SSB); 10-10 
International Fall Contest (Digital); 50 MHz Fall Sprint
    * November 2 -- ARS Spartan Sprint

Next week:
    * November 5 -- QRP Fox Hunt
    * November 6-7 -- Ukrainian DX Contest
    * November 6-8 -- <http://www.arrl.org/sweepstakes>ARRL CW Sweepstakes
    * November 7 -- High Speed Club CW Contest
    * November 10 -- QRP Fox Hunt
    * November 10-11 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test

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.

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