[CVRC] The ARRL Letter for March 10, 2011

Fri Mar 11 20:57:41 EST 2011

If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:
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March 10, 2011
Editor: <mailto:k1sfa at arrl.org>S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
<http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Home 
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    * + HR 607: NPSTC Says HR 607 "Needs to Be Amended"
    * + FCC News: FCC Adopts Spread Spectrum Rules Changes
    * + FCC News: FCC Issues California Man $7000 
Forfeiture Order for Refusing FCC Inspection
    * + Amateur Radio in the Classroom: Middle 
School Students to Launch Near-Space Balloon
    * + Propagation: Respected Journal Publishes Explanation for Low Sunspots
    * + ARES® E-Letter Now Available in Audio Form
    * Hints & Kinks : Weatherproofing Your Automatic Antenna Tuner
    * ARRL Field Day: 2011 Field Day Packets Available
    * Solar Update
    * Amateur Radio Fun: New QuickStats Poll Now Available on ARRL Website
    * This Week on the Radio
    * Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ HR 607: NPSTC Says HR 607 "Needs to Be Amended"

Read NPSTC's letter to the ARRL, opposing HR 607 
as it is currently written, 
<http://www.arrl.org/attachments/view/News/57518>here.

The National Public Safety Telecommunications 
Council (NPSTC) -- a federation of more than a 
dozen public safety communications organizations 
-- has gone on record as sharing the ARRL's 
concerns regarding HR 607, the Broadband for 
First Responders' Act of 2011. The ARRL is 
actively opposing the legislation in its current 
form because Section 207(d) of the bill -- 
introduced in the US House of Representatives by 
Representative Peter King (R-NY-3) -- calls for 
the reallocation of 420-440 MHz for commercial 
auction. The ARRL, which is a member of the NPSTC 
Governing Board, has assured NPSTC members that 
its opposition is limited to Section 207(d) and 
that it supports the underlying objective of the 
legislation, which is to provide spectrum near 
700 MHz for a nationwide interoperable public 
safety broadband network. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/npstc-says-hr-607-needs-to-be-amended>here.
+ FCC News: FCC Adopts Spread Spectrum Rules Changes

In a Report and Order adopted February 22 and 
released March 4, 2011, the FCC eliminated the 
requirement that amateur stations transmitting 
Spread Spectrum use Automatic Power Control (APC) 
to reduce transmitter power. At the same time, 
the Commission has reduced the maximum power of a 
Spread Spectrum emission from 100 to 10 W PEP. In 
March 2006, the ARRL filed a Petition for 
Rulemaking, asking that the APC requirement be eliminated.

The R&O explains the Commission's actions this 
way: "We believe that these rules changes will 
(1) encourage individuals who can contribute to 
the advancement of the radio art to more fully 
utilize SS technologies in experimentation, and 
(2) balance the interests of all users in 
mixed-mode and mixed-service frequency bands 
until sharing protocols are sufficiently 
developed to avoid interference." Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-adopts-spread-spectrum-rules-changes>here.
+ FCC News: FCC Issues California Man $7000 
Forfeiture Order for Refusing FCC Inspection

After a Merced, California man refused to let FCC 
investigators inspect his Citizens Band (CB) 
radio station, the FCC issued a Notice of 
Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) for 
$7000. The Commission found that Ira Jones 
"apparently willfully and repeatedly" violated 
Section 303(n) of the Communications Act of 1934, 
as amended, and Section 95.426(a) of the 
Commission's rules by failing to permit the 
inspection. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-issues-california-man-7000-forfeiture-order-for-refusing-fcc-inspection>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2011-03-10&p=0>
+ Amateur Radio in the Classroom: Middle School 
Students to Launch Near-Space Balloon

Students from Olde Towne Middle School will 
attempt to launch a near-space balloon later this 
month. [Photo courtesy of Bill Richardson, N5VEI]

A group of students from Olde Towne Middle School 
( OTMS) in Ridgeland, Mississippi is preparing 
for a trip to space -- or as close as they can 
get. The OTMS RadioN5VEI] and Technology Club, 
along with the school's Science Team, are 
planning a near-space balloon launch at 9 AM 
(CDT) on March 26 (the date and time are subject 
to change depending on weather). The balloon -- 
nicknamed Titans in Space -- will use the call 
sign KC5NXD and is expected to reach an altitude 
of 94,825 feet. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/middle-school-students-to-launch-near-space-balloon>here.
+ Propagation: Respected Journal Publishes Explanation for Low Sunspots

An article in the March 3 issue of the journal 
Nature purports to explain the extended sunspot 
minimum from 2008-2010. According to one of the 
authors, Piet Martens, the last time a sunspot 
minimum lasted twice as long as usual was around 
1913 and before that, 1810. Although solar 
activity has increased recently, scientists have 
been puzzled by the lack of sunspots from 
2008-2010. This quiet period had prevented the 
ionosphere from supporting much of the long-range 
higher frequency HF Amateur Radio communication 
that had been expected during the past few years. 
Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/respected-journal-publishes-explanation-for-low-sunspots>here.
+ ARESÂ® E-Letter Now Available in Audio Form

The 
<http://www.arrl.org/ares-e-letter-audio-version>ARESÂ® 
E-Letter<http://www.arrl.org/ares-e-letter-audio-version> 
is now available in audio format. There are three 
editions currently available, including the most 
recent recording of the February 16 ARESÂ® 
E-Letter. Edited for audio by Al Brown, KZ3AB, 
the ARESÂ® E-Letter is voiced by Tony Riggs, 
W1FHN. Brown was licensed in 1966. He was a 
member of the White House Press Corps before 
retiring from the International Broadcasting 
Bureau/Voice of America (IBB/VOA). Licensed since 
1955, Riggs has worked in both the commercial and 
public broadcasting venues. He retired after 21 
years as a staff announcer and news anchor with 
the VOA. With more than 35,000 subscribers, the 
ARESÂ® E-Letter is written by Rick Palm, K1CE and 
is published each month. Click 
<http://www.arrl.org/ares-e-letter-audio-version>here 
to subscribe to the ARESÂ® 
E-Letter.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2011-03-10&p=1>
Hints & Kinks : Weatherproofing Your Automatic Antenna Tuner

Geoff Haines, N1GY, of Bradenton, Florida, sent 
us this idea for waterproofing your automatic 
antenna tuner. Contact Geoff via 
<mailto:n1gy at arrl.net>e-mail for more information.

As an avid Amateur Radio operator, I sometimes 
use an automatic antenna tuner to operate more 
than one band with the same antenna. My mobile 
unit uses an LDG RT-11 autotuner to feed a pair 
of "Hamstick" style antennas on several different 
bands. One antenna covers the lower bands and 
another antenna covers the higher ones. An 
excursion into operating "fixed portable" with a 
telescopic vertical had me looking for another solution.

Figure 1

In order to minimize the coax losses when feeding 
a vertical monopole away from its resonant band 
it is necessary to reduce the distance between 
the tuner and the antenna to a minimum. The use 
of ladder line is not feasible when the antenna 
is fed almost at ground level. In order to do 
this, it is necessary to place the tuner almost 
directly at the base of the antenna and thus 
reduce the coax run from the tuner to the antenna 
to nearly nothing. The coax from the tuner to the 
transmitter can then be any appropriate length 
since the mismatch has already been corrected.

Owning an LDG Z-100 automatic tuner already, I 
looked for a way to mount it at the base of the 
antenna and yet protect it from the elements. A 
phone call to LDG gave me the necessary 
specifications for a 50 foot extension of the 
control cable so the only thing left was to find 
a workable enclosure for the tuner itself. I 
discussed the requirements for such an enclosure 
with my spouse, Audrey. Without a word, she 
rummaged through a kitchen cabinet and produced a 
semi flexible plastic container that had a 
snap-on lid and fit my Z-100 and its cables to a T.

I drilled four small holes in one end of the 
container into which I fitted two short coax 
jumpers, one for the antenna and one for the 
radio. I also made up and installed a short 
4-conductor cable to connect the stock control 
harness to the 50 foot extension. The fourth 
opening was used for a similarly short insulated 
wire to connect the grounding stud on the Z-100 
to the radial system of the antenna. Once these 
four cables were in place, I sealed the drilled 
openings with hot glue. Silicone caulk could be 
used just as easily, provided it will stick to 
the container. I did not try that because the hot 
glue was at hand so you are on your own there (see Figure 1).

With the jumpers connected to the tuner, the 
extension cable and coax were run to the 
transceiver and the antenna erected. Now, testing 
was in order. The pressing of the TUNE button on 
my IC-706MKIIG did exactly what it was supposed 
to do. The Z-100 ran through its paces and 
signaled a good match. Now if the afternoon 
showers come while I am operating "fixed 
portable," the only thing I have to worry about 
is keeping me and the radio dry. The tuner is 
cozy in its own little raincoat (see Figure 2).

Figure 2

Total cost, even if you had to buy the container 
new at the discount store, would probably not 
exceed $10. That does not include the extension 
control cable of course. The container was 
already here and I had enough UHF connectors, 
coax, wire and weatherproofing on hand for the 
project. The only thing I had to buy was the 
4-conductor cable and Molex connectors to build the 50 foot extension cable.

This project has enabled me to comfortably 
operate "fixed portable" from the beach, at Field 
Day and many other events where a vertical was 
the only feasible antenna. As long as the 
container can handle the physical size of the 
tuner with room for the connecting cables, any 
automatic tuner could be protected in this way.

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 e-mail 
to h&k(at)arrl(dot)org 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.
ARRL Field Day: 2011 Field Day Packets Available

It's that time of year again -- time to start 
gearing up for ARRL Field Day, June 25-26, 2011! 
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/files/file/Field-Day/2011/2011_FD_Packet.pdf>available 
for download and include the complete rules 
(including a change for 2011), 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 and a kit to publicize your event with 
the local press. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/2011-field-day-packet-now-available>here.
Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, March 10, 2011 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=-ZFLKXINNns>Fun, 
fun, fun in the Sun, Sun, Sun" Cook, K7RA, 
reports: Solar Cycle 24 continues to ramp up at a 
quickening pace. The average daily sunspot number 
this week was more than double the value of the 
week before, rising from 50.9 to 114. The average 
daily solar flux rose 44 percent, from 96.8 to 
139.4. All this week through Tuesday, the sunspot 
numbers and solar flux kept rising and beating 
old numbers, and we had to look further and 
further back into Solar Cycle 23 to find 
comparable conditions. On Tuesday, March 8, the 
daily sunspot number was 137. The last time the 
daily sunspot number was higher than this was 
July 7, 2005 when it was 149. Twice this week, 
the 10.7 cm receiver at Penticton was overloaded, 
swamped by energy from a solar flare and the 
daily solar flux value had to be estimated. On 
March 7 and 8, the noon solar flux readings were 
938.6 and 166.7, and they were corrected by NOAA 
to estimated values of 153 and 155. The estimated 
flux level of 155 was the highest since July 23, 
2004, when the solar flux was 165. Predicted 
solar flux for March 10-17 is 150, 145, 140, 140, 
135, 130, 125, 105 and then 100 on March 18-21, 
then going below 100 until April 2. The predicted 
planetary A index for March 10-11 is 22 and 18, 
then 5 on March 12-21, 7 on March 22-23, 5 on 
March 24-26, then 7, 7, 19 and 7 on March 27-30. 
Note the high predicted planetary A index on 
March 10-11 of 22 and 18. This is because of 
recent solar flares, and the disturbance will 
probably affect signals traversing a polar route. 
Look for more information -- including 
propagation reports, as well as a critical look 
at last week's report of a 2 meter FM signal from 
South America, reportedly monitored in North 
Carolina, more than 4700 miles away -- on the 
ARRL website on Friday, March 11. 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 
the British television series 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Dwarf>Red 
Dwarf.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2011-03-10&p=2>
Amateur Radio Fun: New QuickStats Poll Now Available on ARRL Website

Four new poll questions have just been published 
on the <http://www.arrl.org/quickstats>QuickStats 
page on the ARRL website. Let your voice be heard!

Questions in this month's QuickStats poll:
    * How did you sign up for ARESÂ®?
    * When was the last time you built a transceiver from a kit?
    * Are your station antennas supported by a tower?
    * Do you regularly operate HF mobile?

Visit the 
<http://www.arrl.org/quickstats>QuickStats page 
and be sure to bookmark it in your browser. 
Results from this QuickStats poll will be 
published in the June 2011 issue of QST on the 
QuickStats page, located in the rear advertising 
section of the magazine. Along with monthly poll 
results, QST QuickStats offers colorful charts 
and graphs that highlight interesting Amateur Radio statistics.
This Week on the Radio

This week:
    * March 12 -- AGCW QRP Contest; ARCI HF Grid Square Sprint
    * March 12-13 -- Idaho QSO Party
    * March 13 -- North American Sprint (RTTY); 
SKCC Weekend Sprint; UBA Spring Contest (CW)
    * March 13-14 -- Wisconsin QSO Party; EA PSK31 Contest
    * March 15-16 -- CLARA HF Contest

Next week:
    * March 19 -- 10-10 International Mobile 
Contest; AGCW VHF/UHF Contest; Feld Hell Sprint (local time)
    * March 19-20 -- Oklahoma QSO Party; North 
Dakota QSO Party; Russian DX Contest
    * March 19-21 -- Virginia QSO Party; BARTG HF RTTY Contest
    * March 21 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest
    * March 23 -- SKCC Sprint

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-event-stations>ARRL 
Special Event Stations Web page.
Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
    * March 11-12 -- 
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/oklahoma-section-convention-green-country-hamfest>ARRL 
Oklahoma Section Convention, Claremore, Oklahoma
    * March 12-13 -- 
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/north-carolina-section-convention-charlotte-hamfest>ARRL 
North Carolina Section Convention, Concord, North Carolina
    * March 19 -- 
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/west-texas-section-convention-56th-annual-st-patrick-s-day-hamfest>ARRL 
West Texas Section Convention, Midland, Texas; 
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/nebraska-state-convention-1>ARRL 
Nebraska State Convention, Lincoln, Nebraska
    * March 25 -- 
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/maine-state-convention-1>ARRL 
Maine State Convention, Lewiston, Maine
    * March 26 -- 
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/maryland-state-convention-greater-baltimore-hamboree-computerfest>ARRL 
Maryland State Convention, Timonium, Maryland
    * April 2 -- 
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/new-jersey-state-convention-1>ARRL 
New Jersey State Convention, Ewing, New Jersey
    * April 21 -- 
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/idaho-state-convention-1>ARRL 
Idaho State Convention, Boise, Idaho
    * April 23 -- 
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/louisiana-state-convention-twin-city-ham-radio-fest>ARRL 
Louisiana State Convention, Monroe, Louisiana; 
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/north-carolina-state-convention-raleigh-hamfest>ARRL 
North Carolina State Convention, Raleigh, North Carolina

To find a convention or hamfest near you, click 
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests>here.

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