[CVRC] The ARRL Letter for March 24, 2011

Thu Mar 24 23:51:21 EDT 2011

If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2011-03-24>http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2011-03-24

March 24, 2011
Editor: <mailto:k1sfa at arrl.org>S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
<http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Home 
Page<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>ARRL 
Letter<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/> 
Archive<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>Audio 
News<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&i=2011-03-24&t=t>

    * + Public Service: Radio Amateurs in Japan 
Still Providing Communications Support
    * + Public Service: Amateurs Assist with Ocean Rescue
    * + FCC News: FCC Seeking Comments on ARRL Petition Regarding TDMA
    * ARRL Recognizes: Nominations for ARRL Awards Now Open
    * + On the Air: NIST to Conduct Time and Frequency User Survey
    * Solar Update
    * + Silent Key: Thormod "Tom" BÃ¸e, LA7OF (SK)
    * + ARES® E-Letter Now Available in Audio Form
    * This Week on the Radio
    * Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Public Service: Radio Amateurs in Japan Still 
Providing Communications Support
<http://www.arrl.org/images/view/News/JP_TLL0311_CT.JPG>
Amateur Radio operators became involved in the 
rescue effort soon after the March 11 8.9 
earthquake and devastating tsunami that hit 
northern Japan, and that effort continues nearly 
two weeks later. "In the early stage following 
the earthquake and tsunami, several radio 
amateurs were able to activate their stations 
with car batteries or small engine generators, 
despite the electric power outages," IARU Region 
3 Secretary Ken Yamamoto, JA1CJP, told the ARRL. 
"They transmitted rescue requests and information 
on the disaster situation -- including refugee 
centers and their needs -- and the availability 
of basic infrastructures, such as electricity, 
water and gas supplies." After the earthquake and 
tsunami, there was no electricity, water or gas 
service in many of the affected areas.

This graphic shows the effects of the May 11 
earthquake in Japan. Click 
<http://www.arrl.org/images/view/News/JP_TLL0311_CT.JPG>here 
for a larger image.

In his report to the ARRL, Yamamoto said that the 
Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) activated JA1RL 
-- its headquarters station in Tokyo -- soon 
after the earthquake. With the help of many other 
amateurs, it also activated its regional 
headquarters station JA3RL in Osaka to 
communicate with the amateurs in the damaged 
areas, including its Tohoku headquarters station 
JA7RL in Sendai. "The communications were mostly 
on the 7 MHz band in daytime and the 3.5 MHz band 
at night," Yamamoto explained. "Short range 
communications were also made on the 144 and 430 
MHz bands. The information gathered through 
Amateur Radio communications was reported to the 
rescue and disaster relief organizations for 
their appropriate deployment. Some other amateurs 
accepted health-and-welfare inquiries from the 
[impacted] areas and they posted the information 
on the Internet." Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/radio-amateurs-in-japan-still-providing-communications-support>here.
+ Public Service: Amateurs Assist with Ocean Rescue

An elderly sailor and his dog were rescued off 
the coast of Ensenada, Mexico after a ham in 
Texas heard his distress call on 14.300 MHz. In 
this USCG photo, he is pictured safely aboard 
Coast Guard helicopter with USCG Petty Officer 
2nd Class James Johnson. [USCG Petty Officer 2nd Class Henry G. Dunphy, Photo]

At 10:04 AM PDT on March 21, Rex Weinheimer, 
KC5AGO, of Stonewall, Texas -- a member of the 
Maritime Mobile Service Net (MMSN) -- heard and 
responded to a "weak and broken MAYDAY call." The 
call was from the sailing vessel Gloria Jean, a 
30 foot sailboat that was in the Pacific Ocean 
about 120 miles west of Ensenada, Mexico. 
Weinheimer heard the distress call on 14.300 MHz, 
a frequency monitored by the MMSN.

MMSN Net Controller Lee Langford, KG4DZN, told 
the ARRL that through the combined efforts of 
several net stations, the net was able to 
ascertain the situation and the position of the 
stricken vessel. MMSN operators contacted both 
the US and Mexican Coast Guards and both services 
deployed assets to the scene. The US Coast Guard 
dispatched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from San 
Diego and a C-130 Hercules plane from Sacramento. 
According to the USCG, the Gloria Jean had no 
propulsion, food, water or safety equipment. Read 
more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/amateurs-assist-with-ocean-rescue>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2011-03-24&p=0>
+ FCC News: FCC Seeking Comments on ARRL Petition Regarding TDMA

Earlier this month, the ARRL filed a Petition for 
Rulemaking and a Request for Temporary Waiver 
with the FCC, seeking authorization of the use of 
single-time-slot Time Division Multiple Access 
(TDMA) emissions in the amateur bands at and 
above 50 MHz, wherever multiple-time-slot TDMA is 
authorized. The FCC has designated the Petition 
as RM-11625 and is soliciting comments on it. 
Comments may be filed electronically and will be 
accepted until April 22 . Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-seeking-comments-on-arrl-petition-regarding-tdma>here.
ARRL Recognizes: Nominations for ARRL Awards Now Open

Each year, the ARRL Board of Directors has the 
opportunity to select recipients for a number of 
awards in various categories that honor Amateur 
Radio operators. The nomination period is now 
open for those ARRL awards that recognize 
educational and technological pursuits in Amateur 
Radio. There are also awards to honor a young 
Amateur Radio operator and an outstanding ARRL 
Section Manager. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/nominations-for-arrl-awards-now-open>here.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2011-03-24&p=1>
+ On the Air: NIST to Conduct Time and Frequency User Survey

The National Institute of Standards and 
Technology's (NIST) Time and Frequency Division 
is conducting a survey to learn more about its 
users, seeking to determine how the agency can 
make its services more useful in the future. NIST 
services include WWV, WWVH and WWVB, which 
provide reference time and frequency signals via 
radio. The NIST also provides the Internet Time 
Service -- which provides accurate time 
synchronization to computer systems -- and 
several other services to offer accurate time 
information via telephone or web pages. Radio 
amateurs are encouraged to complete the survey. 
Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/nist-to-conduct-time-and-frequency-user-survey>here.
Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, March 24, 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=5L_wOdWD2t0>The 
Earth turns, the Sun burns, but I die without 
you" Cook, K7RA, reports: For the second week in 
a row, all solar indicators were lower. The 
average daily sunspot numbers declined more than 
28 points from the week before to 40.9, while the 
average daily solar flux was off more than 18 
points to 94.8. But looking at 
<http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/>solar images from 
the STEREO mission, we can see a great deal of 
activity about to rotate toward us over the Sun's 
eastern horizon. The whole "back" side of our Sun 
looks very busy. The NOAA forecast for March 23 
for the planetary A index and solar flux still is 
not available, but the March 22 forecast sees 
solar flux for March 24-31 at 110, 115, 120, 120, 
120, 125, 130 and 135. The planetary A index for 
the same period is predicted at 8 for March 
24-25, 5 on March 26-27 and 8 on March 28-31. 
This indicates improving HF propagation for the 
near term, with geomagnetic indicators slightly 
unsettled, compared to recent quiet conditions. 
NASA has a 
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTBgHd8exI4>video 
explaining the very low sunspot activity over the 
past few years. Look for more information on the 
ARRL website on Friday, March 25. 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 song 
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L_wOdWD2t0>Without 
You from the musical 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent_%28musical%29>Rent.<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2011-03-24&p=2>
+ Silent Key: Thormod "Tom" BÃ¸e, LA7OF (SK)

Tom BÃ¸e, LA7OF, and his wife Brit in Switzerland 
during the 2005 IARU Region 1 Conference. [David Sumner, K1ZZ, Photo]

Thormod "Tom" BÃ¸e, LA7OF, of Horten, Norway, 
passed away on Monday, March 21. He was 71. BÃ¸e 
was President of the Norsk Radio Relae Liga, 
Norway's IARU Member-Society. BÃ¸e actively 
worked for the Amateur Radio cause throughout his 
adult life in both a private and professional 
capacity. For many years, he worked on spectrum 
management matters with the Norwegian 
administration, was extremely active in CEPT and 
ITU forums and served as Director of the European 
Radiocommunications Office in Copenhagen from 1998-2006.

ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, 
remembered BÃ¸e fondly: "Tom was the spokesman 
for Norway in Committee 5, which was responsible 
for all frequency allocations -- and I do mean 
all, as the entire radio spectrum was under 
review at WARC-79. Norway was an outstanding 
supporter of Amateur Radio at the conference, and 
Tom was recognized as the 'most valuable 
delegate' by the IARU team." Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/thormod-tom-b-e-la7of-sk>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. 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.
This Week on the Radio

This week:
    * March 26-27 -- CQ WW WPX Contest (SSB)

Next week:
    * April 2-3 -- Missouri QSO Party; QCWA 
Spring QSO Party; ARCI Spring QSO Party; SP DX Contest; EA RTTY Contest
    * April 5 -- ARS Spartan 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 25-26 -- 
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/maine-state-convention-1>ARRL 
Maine State Convention, Lewiston, Maine
    * March 26-27 -- 
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/maryland-state-convention-greater-baltimore-hamboree-computerfest>ARRL 
Maryland State Convention, Timonium, Maryland
    * April 2-3 -- 
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/new-jersey-state-convention-1>ARRL 
New Jersey State Convention, Ewing, New Jersey
    * April 22-24 -- 
<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.

ARRL -- Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information
    * <http://www.arrl.org/join>Join or Renew 
Today! ARRL membership includes 
<http://www.arrl.org/qst>QST , Amateur Radio's 
most popular and informative journal, delivered to your mailbox each month.
    * Subscribe to 
<http://www.arrl.org/ncj>NCJ<http://www.arrl.org/ncj> 
-- the National Contest Journal . Published 
bi-monthly, features articles by top contesters, 
letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint and QSO Parties.
    * Subscribe to 
<http://www.arrl.org/qex>QEX<http://www.arrl.org/qex> 
-- A Forum for Communications Experimenters. 
Published bi-monthly, features technical 
articles, construction projects, columns and 
other items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals.
    * Free of charge to ARRL members: 
<http://www.arrl.org/myarrl-account-management#%21/edit-info-email_subscriptions>Subscribe 
to the ARES E-Letter (monthly public service and 
emergency communications news), the ARRL Contest 
Update (bi-weekly contest newsletter), Division 
and Section news alerts -- and much more!
    * Find us on <http://www.facebook.com/ARRL.org>Facebook!
    * ARRL offers a wide array of 
<http://www.arrl.org/arrl-store>products to 
enhance your enjoyment of Amateur Radio
    * 
<https://www.arrl.org/arrl-donation-form>Donate 
to the fund of your choice -- support programs not funded by member dues!

Click 
<mailto:ads at arrl.org>here<http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&i=2011-03-24&t=r&p=0> 
to advertise in this newsletter.

----------
The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 50 times 
each year. ARRL members and registered guests may 
subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing 
their <http://www.arrl.org/Users/edit#!/edit-info-email_subscriptions>profile.