[CVRC] The ARRL Letter for April 11, 2013

Thu Apr 11 13:56:14 EDT 2013

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            The  ARRL Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League
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April 11, 2013

Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA <k1sfa at arrl.org>

ARRL Home Page <http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Letter Archive
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>Audio News
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> IN THIS ISSUE

- + New Legislation in Idaho Clarifies Exemption for Guyed Amateur
Radio Towers
- + Julie N. Zoller, KJ4EMJ, Named to Senior State Department Telecom
Post
- + Amateur Radio in the Classroom: Applications for Teachers
Institute, ETP Grants Due in May
- + On the Air: The 2013 SSB Rookie Roundup Is Here!
- + Dayton Hamvention® Awards Committee Withdraws 2013 Amateur of the
Year Award
- Solar Update
- + ARRL Recognizes: ARRL Announces Winners of 2013 Video Contest
- This Week in Radiosport

+ Available on ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrl-audio-news>.

==> + NEW LEGISLATION IN IDAHO CLARIFIES EXEMPTION FOR GUYED AMATEUR
RADIO TOWERS

   On April 1, Idaho Governor C. L. "Butch" Otter (R) signed Senate
Bill 1065 into law. This new law is an amendment to a current Idaho law
regarding guyed towers, which states that guyed towers "shall be
lighted, marked and painted or otherwise constructed to be visible in
clear air during daylight hours from a distance of not less than 2000
feet." With the passage of SB 1065, both guyed Amateur Radio and CB
antenna support structures are exempt from these regulations.

According to ARRL Idaho Section Manager Ed Stuckey, AI7H, Governor
Otter signed the original legislation into law in 2012, but there was
an exemption for telecommunications towers. "This year, we went back
[to the legislature] to specifically define Amateur Radio towers as one
of the types of telecommunications towers," he said, "ARRL Idaho
Section Government Liaison Rex Green, K7DMV, put a huge amount of
effort into firming up the groundwork behind the legislation. We also
had the good fortune to have Idaho State Senator Lee Heider, KE7GAG,
take an interest in the legislation, and he acted as the Senate sponsor
for the bill." Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/guyed-tower-legislation-in-idaho-to-exclude-amateur-radio-towers>.

==> + JULIE N. ZOLLER, KJ4EMJ, NAMED TO SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT TELECOM
POST

   Julie N. Zoller, KJ4EMJ, has succeeded Richard C. Beaird at the
Department of State as Senior Deputy Coordinator of the Office of
Multilateral Affairs, Communications and Information Policy
Directorate, Economics and Business Affairs Bureau. In this position,
she will serve as principal advisor to the United States Coordinator
for International Communications and Information Policy. Beaird retired
at the end of January after a distinguished career in government
service. Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/julie-n-zoller-kj4emj-named-to-senior-state-department-telecom-post>.

==> + AMATEUR RADIO IN THE CLASSROOM: APPLICATIONS FOR TEACHERS
INSTITUTE, ETP GRANTS DUE IN MAY

   Attention, teachers who are thinking about using Amateur Radio and
wireless technology in their classrooms to help facilitate hands-on
learning opportunities. The ARRL's Education & Technology Program
offers two programs that can help make this happen, but the application
deadlines are fast approaching: The deadline for the 2013 Teachers
Institute on Wireless Technology is May 15, while the deadline for
equipment and resource grants is May 1. Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/applications-for-teachers-institute-etp-grants-due-in-may>.

==> + ON THE AIR: THE 2013 SSB ROOKIE ROUNDUP IS HERE!

   The weather's getting warmer and that means the bands will be hot
for the ARRL SSB Rookie Roundup, Sunday, April 21, 1800-2359 UTC.
Created to give the budding operator a place to learn about contesting
at an easier pace, the ARRL Rookie Roundup is a six hour contest open
to all amateurs who first got their ticket in 2011, 2012 or 2013. Even
if you were licensed prior to 2011, you can still get on the air and
work Rookies, help a Rookie get on the air or help your club members
put together a team of Rookies. The contest exchange is easy: send both
call signs, your first name and your location, either your US state,
Canadian province or Mexican call area. If you're not in one of those
areas, send "DX" for your location. Remember: Rookies can work anybody,
but non-Rookies can only work Rookies. Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/the-2013-ssb-rookie-roundup-is-here>.

==> + DAYTON HAMVENTION® AWARDS COMMITTEE WITHDRAWS 2013 AMATEUR OF THE
YEAR AWARD

   The Dayton Hamvention Awards Committee announced on April 7 that it
would be withdrawing its Amateur of the Year Award for 2013. According
to Dayton Hamvention General Chairman Charles Kaiser, KD8JZR, the
committee had received "conflicting information from credible sources
regarding the accuracy of the winning nomination." After verifying
these reports, Kaiser made the decision to withdraw the award for 2013.
"Unfortunately, this changes the way we score for the Amateur of the
Year Award," Kaiser said in a statement
<http://www.hamvention.org/awards.php> on the Hamvention website.
"Since the competition was close with other nominees, the outcome would
have been different." Kaiser then made the decision to not award the
Amateur of the Year Award for 2013 to any of the other nominees. The
other awards for 2013 -- the Technical Excellence Award, the Special
Achievement Award and the Club of the Year Award -- are not affected by
Kaiser's decision.

==> SOLAR UPDATE

   Tad Cook, K7RA, reports: Both the average daily sunspot numbers and
the solar flux were up this week, with the sunspot numbers rising
nearly 57 points to 138.1, and the average daily solar flux up more
than 25 points to 138.8. Paired with the average daily planetary A
index dropping from 9.4 to 4.1, this is great news for HF propagation.
On April 8, the daily sunspot number reached 162; two days later, it
was at 163. This is the highest level since January 11 when it was 166.
The solar flux prediction from the USAF and NOAA sees flux values of
150, 145, 140 and 130 on April 11-14, 125 on April 15-16, 120 on April
17, 100 on April 18-19, 95 on April 20-23, and then rising to a peak of
138 through May 5. The predicted planetary A index is 5 on April 11-22,
then 12, 8, 18 and 15 on April 23-26, 5 on April 27-May 4, and rising
to 8 on May 5. Look for more information on the ARRL website on Friday,
April 12. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the
ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page
<http://www.arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals>.

==> + ARRL RECOGNIZES: ARRL ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 2013 VIDEO CONTEST

   In November, the ARRL invited members to shoot and submit a ham
radio-related video in its third annual video contest. After much
deliberation, we are pleased to announce the first, second and third
place winners. Levi Maaia, K6LCM, took first place and $500 for his
outstanding video that highlighted the activities of the Near Space
Exploration Club at the Anacapa School in Santa Barbara, California.
Second place (and a prize of $250) goes to Kevin Thornton, K5KVN, for
his video of the 2012 first-time "activation" of Horseshoe Island,
located on Beaver Lake in Northwest Arkansas as part of the US Islands
Awards program. David Fugleberg, W0ZF, won third place and $100 for his
video showcasing the techniques and excitement of VHF contest "roving"
in the Midwest. Watch the winning videos on the ARRL's channel on
YouTube <http://www.youtube.com/user/ARRLHQ> or on the ARRL website
<http://www.arrl.org/winners>.

==> THIS WEEK IN RADIOSPORT

This week:

- April 12 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- April 13 -- EU Spring Sprint (CW)
- April 13-14 -- Georgia QSO Party; Montana QSO Party; New Mexico QSO
Party; JIDX CW Contest; SKCC Weekend Sprintathon
- April 14 -- Hungarian Straight Key Contest
- April 15 -- NAQCC-EU Monthly Sprint

Next week:

- April 19 -- Holyland DX Contest
- April 20 -- TARA Skirmish Digital Prefix Contest; ES Open HF
Championship; EU Spring Sprint (SSB); Feld Hell Sprint
- April 20-221 -- Michigan QSO Party; North Dakota QSO Party; Ontario
QSO Party; CQ Manchester Mineira DX Contest; YU DX Contest
- April 21 -- ARRL Rookie Roundup (SSB)
<http://www.arrl.org/rookie-roundup>
- April 22 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest
- April 24 -- SKCC Sprint; 432 MHz Spring Sprint (local time)
- April 24-25 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test

All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest
Branch page <http://www.arrl.org/contests>, the ARRL Contest Update
<http://www.arrl.org/The-ARRL-Contest-Update> and the WA7BNM Contest
Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more
information. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out
the ARRL Special Event Stations web page
<http://www.arrl.org/special-event-stations>.

Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events

- April 13-14 -- Communications Academy
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/communications-academy-2013>, Seattle,
Washington
- April 19-20 -- Southeastern VHF Society Conference
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/svhfs-conference>, Cocoa Beach, Florida
- April 19-21 -- International DX Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/international-dx-convention-2>, Visalia,
California
- April 20 -- ARRL Louisiana State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/louisiana-state-convention-northeast-louisiana-regional-ham-radiofest>,
Monroe, Louisiana
- April 26-28 -- ARRL Idaho State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/idaho-state-convention-3>, Boise, Idaho;
Eastern VHF/UHF Conference
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/eastern-vhf-uhf-conference>, Manchester,
Connecticut
- May 4 -- ARRL South Carolina Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/south-carolina-section-convention-upstate-hamfest-1>,
Spartanburg, South Carolina
- May 17-19 -- Dayton Hamvention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/dayton-hamvention-4>, Trotwood, Ohio
- June 1 -- ARRL Georgia State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/georgia-state-convention-atlanta-hamfest-1>,
Marietta, Georgia
- May 31-June 2 -- ARRL Northwestern Division Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/northwestern-division-convention-seapac-4>,
Seaside, Oregon
- June 7-8 -- ARRL West Gulf Division Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/west-gulf-division-convention-35th-anniversary-ham-com>,
Plano, Texas
- June 8 -- ARRL Delta Division Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/delta-division-convention-2>, Rogers,
Arkansas; ARRL Tennessee State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/tennessee-state-convention-knoxville-hamfest-electronics-convention>,
Knoxville, Tennessee
- June 28-30 -- ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/rocky-mountain-division-convention-hamcon-colorado-2013>,
Estes Park, Colorado
- July 6 -- ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/eastern-pennsylvania-section-convention-firecracker-hamfest-electronics-expo>,
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- July 25-27 -- Central States VHF Society Conference
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/central-states-vhf-society-2013-conference>,
Elk Grove Village, Illinois
- July 26-27 -- ARRL Oklahoma State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/oklahoma-state-convention-ham-holiday-1>,
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- August 2-3 -- ARRL Texas State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/texas-state-convention-austin-summerfest-2013>,
Austin, Texas
- August 2-4 -- Pacific Northwest DX Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/pacific-northwest-dx-convention-2>,
Spokane Valley, Washington
- August 17 -- ARRL West Virginia State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/west-virginia-state-convention-3>,
Weston, West Virginia
- August 17-18 -- ARRL Alabama State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/alabama-state-convention-huntsville-hamfest-1>,
Huntsville, Alabama
- August 18 -- ARRL Kansas State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/kansas-state-convention-3>, Salina,
Kansas
- August 25 -- ARRL Western Pennsylvania Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/western-pennsylvania-section-convention-3>,
New Kensington, Pennsylvania

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

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