[CVRC] The ARRL Letter for August 8, 2013

Thu Aug 8 15:47:00 EDT 2013

********************************************
            The  ARRL Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League
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August 8, 2013

Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME <ww1me 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

- Ham Radio in Space: AO-7 "Zombie" Satellite Again Enjoying Its Time
in the Sun
- Ham Radio in Space: ARISS Logs Several Successful Ham Radio Contacts
with ISS Crew
- Education: Hands-On Technology Training, Robots, Ham Radio -- What
More Could Teachers Want?
- FCC: President Nominates O'Rielly to Vacant Republican FCC Seat
- Public Service: Hawaii Hams Muster to Help Forecasters Track Tropical
Storm Flossie
- Your League: Michael Sigelman, K0BUD, Receives ARRL President's Award
- Your League: ARRL Introduces Centennial Membership Certificate
- Your League: Past ARRL President Haynie Among West Gulf Division
Honorees
- Your League: Delta Division Vice Director Resigns
- Your League: ARRL Board of Directors July Meeting Minutes Posted
- DX: Swaziland DXpedition Looking for Ops, Opinions
- DX: Operations Approved for DXCC Credit
- DX: Yasme Foundation Funds Transceivers for New Ethiopian Hams
- Safety First! Harness Saves Canadian Ham After Fall from Tower
- Vintage Radio: Antique Wireless Association Combines Convention, New
Museum Opening
- Getting It Right
- Solar Update
- This Week in Radiosport
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events

==> HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AO-7 "ZOMBIE" SATELLITE AGAIN ENJOYING ITS TIME
IN THE SUN

   It's baaaaack! Launched November 15, 1974 as the second AMSAT Phase
2 ham satellite, AO-7
<http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/sat_summary/ao7.php> may be
the zombie of the Amateur Radio satellite world, having returned from
the dead more than a decade ago, then periodically re-emerging. Next
year, it will be 40 years old, ancient in satellite years. After its
batteries succumbed to old age, AO-7 went silent in 1981, only to
spring back to life in 2002, although some believe it may have
resurrected itself as much as a year earlier. AMSAT describes the Mode
A/B bird as "semi-operational" and "almost certainly" running solely
from its solar panels. The ham satellite organization theorizes that
AO-7's batteries shorted when they failed, but the short circuit
subsequently opened, allowing the satellite to return to life. This
means AO-7 only works when it's receiving direct sunlight and shuts
down when in eclipse. Since the satellite became undead, terrestrial
users have enjoyed numerous contacts via AO-7.

"AO-7 is alive and doing okay," satellite observer Frank Griffin,
K4FEG, reported this week. "This season's eclipse cycle has ended."
Griffin explained that the eclipse period, during which AO-7 falls
silent, lasts about 9 weeks, from mid-spring to mid-summer. According
to its operating plan <http://ka9q.net/AMSAT-Newsletter-1974.pdf>, AO-7
switches to Mode B (70 centimeters up/2 meters down) at 0000 UTC.

"The satellite has started its mode switches, but it has not quite
settled back down yet," Griffin told ARRL. For example, he said, AO-7
was in Mode A at 1230 UTC on August 5, but had been reported in Mode B
earlier. He suspects that even though the satellite is now in sunlight,
its orientation to the sun may still affect electrical power onboard
the satellite "until it gets a little further into the full
illumination." This, in turn, could degrade the transponder
performance.

AO-7 has beacons on 29.502 MHz (used in conjunction with Mode A) and
145.972 MHz (used in conjunction with Mode B and Mode C -- low power
Mode B). The 435.100 MHz beacon has an intermittent problem, switching
between 400 mW and 10 mW.

Potential AO-7 users are advised that due to changes in Amateur Service
and Amateur Satellite Service rules, the legality of transmitting to
AO-7 on its Mode B uplink is questionable, since that frequency no
longer falls within an Amateur Satellite Service allocation.
§97.207(c)(2) and §97.209(b)(2) of the FCC rules authorize space
station and earth station operation only in the 435-438 MHz segment,
and it's unclear whether a 1974 FCC waiver might still cover operation
on the original Mode B uplink frequency. -- Thanks to Frank Griffin,
K4FEG; AMSAT News Service; AMSAT

==> HAM RADIO IN SPACE: ARISS LOGS SEVERAL SUCCESSFUL HAM RADIO
CONTACTS WITH ISS CREW

   The International Space Station crew has been answering a lot of
questions lately -- all as part of the Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS <http://ariss.rac.ca>) educational
outreach. European Space Agency <http://www.esa.int/ESA> astronaut Luca
Parmitano, KF5KDP, of Italy, was at the helm of NA1SS aboard the ISS
for a successful contact July 30 with students at the Italian Bilingual
School in New South Wales, Australia. The contact via VK4KHZ lasted
just under 10 minutes. After English, Italian is the most widely spoken
language in Australia, with more than 500,000 speakers there using the
language on a daily basis.

Parmitano continued his roll of successful ham radio contacts with
Earth on August 1, when he was interviewed by budding pilots and
aircraft enthusiasts attending the Experimental Aircraft Association's
AirVenture <http://www.airventure.org/> air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Contact was established between NA1SS and AH6NM in Hawaii, with audio
telebridged to the AirVenture site. (Telebridges make contacts possible
when the ISS is not in a favorable orbit for a direct contact.)

Welcoming some 500,000 AirVenture visitors each year and with a student
membership of more than 20,000, the Experimental Aircraft Association
(EEA <http://www.eaa.org/>) "is a gateway to aerospace for many young
people," the association says. "The young people present for the
contact with the space station were very diverse and reflect the range
of people who are active in our organization." That included some 125
young women and their mentors who are part of WomenSoar
<http://www.airventure.org/attractions/women_soar.html>, a program to
promote aerospace opportunities for women. Also on hand were groups
from aviation high schools in Florida and California.

   Parmitano's colleague in space, NASA Astronaut Christopher Cassidy,
KF5KDR, concluded yet another successful contact August 3 with students
attending Space Jam 7 <http://spacejamboree.com/> at the Octave Chanute
Aerospace Museum, Rantoul, Illinois. The contact was between NA1SS and
LU8YY, with audio telebridged to the museum.

Space Jam 7 is a Scouting activity aimed at completing the requirements
of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) merit
badges well as promoting the skills required by aspiring astronauts.
The event included a ham radio licensing class. Space Jam 7 was
attending by some 2000 Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and leaders from 20
states.

The ISS crew also enjoyed a successful contact August 6 with students
attending the Escuela Provincial de Educación Técnica No. 2 (Provincial
School of Technical Education No. 2) in General Pico la Pampa,
Argentina. The contact was between NA1SS and LU8YY, with audio
telebridged to the school. In addition the crew spoke August 7 with
youngsters at Ecole Primaire Pasteur (Pasteur Elementary School),
Fleurance, France, via an audio telebridge with LU1CGB. Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/ariss-logs-several-successful-ham-radio-contacts-with-iss-crew>.
-- ARISS, AMSAT News Service

==> EDUCATION: HANDS-ON TECHNOLOGY TRAINING, ROBOTS, HAM RADIO -- WHAT
MORE COULD TEACHERS WANT?

Educators from across the US who attend the ARRL's Teachers Institutes
on Wireless Technology
<http://www.arrl.org/teachers-institute-on-wireless-technology> enjoy
the challenge and

   camaraderie of these professional development workshops. More
important, they acquire knowledge and skills to help their students
grasp the essentials of radio science, basic electronics, robotics,
space and satellite communication technology and, of course, Amateur
Radio. Funded through the generosity of donors
<https://www.arrl.org/arrl-donation-form>, the ARRL Education &
Technology Program (ETP
<http://www.arrl.org/education-technology-program>) created the
Teachers Institutes to offer educators hands-on training and experience
with wireless technology fundamentals that will enable them to
integrate wireless technology instruction into their classrooms.
According to the teachers attending, they did just that.

"I have never come away from a professional development feeling like
the course was designed to actually get us to use what was taught,"
said recent workshop participant Glen Hanneman, KJ6BQK. "The amount of
training, resources, and networking opportunities the TI workshop
afforded me is astounding! Having vertical integration with colleagues
from fifth grade to junior college gave me a great perspective on how
the technology instructional progression runs."

   ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut, and Parallax Inc
<http://www.parallax.com/> in Rocklin, California hosted "Introduction
to Wireless Technology" sessions this year, and two dozen teachers from
14 states took advantage of the opportunity.

"Educators from around the nation seem to have the same challenges
getting [technology] into the classroom as I have, no matter the grade
level," said Hanneman, who took part in the California workshop. Nine
participants at that session already had Amateur Radio licenses, but a
ham ticket is not a requirement for enrollment.

Tommy Gober, N5DUX, an instructional technologist at LeTourneau
University <http://www.letu.edu/> in Longview, Texas, taught the
California workshop, held July 15-18. He demonstrated a ham radio "fox
hunt" and a successful ham radio contact with the SaudiSat-1C
<http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/sat_summary/so50.php>
(SO-50) satellite. Workshop participants also got a bird's eye view of
Earth via the NOAA-19
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NOAA-N-Prime/main/index.html>
(NOAA-N Prime) satellite. "Several [teachers] were instantly hooked as
soon as you could make out the peninsula in the Baja Mexico and the
Gulf of California," Gober recounted.

   ARRL Education & Technology Program Director Mark Spencer, WA8SME,
instructed the TI session at ARRL Headquarters July 8-11. Eight
participants were hams. In the workshops' robotics section teachers
build and program a Parallax Boe-Bot
<http://www.parallax.com/go/boebot>®. On the floor of ARRL
Headquarters' main hallway, Spencer created a black electrical tape
maze in the shape of the letter "E." Teachers practiced programming the
Boe-Bots to stay within the line <http://youtu.be/xNMPnJqjTX8>s, in the
process learning the fundamentals of BASIC
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASIC> programming.

Teacher Elizabeth Frank, attended the workshop at Parallax. "Attending
the TI has been one of the best experiences of my life," she said. "I
signed up in order to learn more about the science behind wireless
communications and to gain confidence in introducing ham radio into my
classroom. The Institute has surpassed my expectations for both of
these goals."

Gordon Romney, AG2G, said he was grateful to have been selected to
participate in a TI. "I learned new concepts in so many areas. Please
thank the donors, ARRL and Parallax for making this program possible."

Your support <http://www.arrl.org/education-technology-program> of the
ARRL Education & Technology Program will help ARRL to continue this
important educational initiative. Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/hands-on-technology-training-robots-ham-radio-what-more-could-teachers-want>.

==> FCC: PRESIDENT NOMINATES O'RIELLY TO VACANT REPUBLICAN FCC SEAT

   President Barack Obama has nominated Republican Mike O'Rielly to
fill a vacant seat on the Federal Communications Commission.
Telecommunications industry insider and Democrat Tom Wheeler, the White
House nominee to succeed Julius Genachowski as the Commission's
chairman, this week received the approval of the Senate Commerce
Committee. Senate Republicans would prefer pairing Wheeler's and
O'Rielly's nominations before they go before the full Senate for
confirmation, something that won't happen until after Congress returns
from its August recess.

O'Rielly, a New Yorker who is on the staff of Texas Republican Senator
John Cornyn, would fill one of two vacant Commission seats -- the
remainder of the term expiring June 30, 2014, that had been held by
Robert M. McDowell, who resigned. Because of resignations, the
five-member FCC is down to one Republican and two Democratic members,
including acting chairwoman Mignon Clyburn, who said she is "excited
about working with Mike on the many important issues facing the
Commission." -- News reports; FCC; The White House

==> PUBLIC SERVICE: HAWAII HAMS MUSTER TO HELP FORECASTERS TRACK
TROPICAL STORM FLOSSIE

   Amateur Radio operators in Hawaii kept National Weather Service
(NWS) meteorologists and local emergency operations centers up to date
on changing conditions and power outages, as Tropical Storm Flossie
pounded parts of Hawaii and Maui counties July 29-30 with heavy rain
and lightning. Radio amateurs organized a joint SKYWARN
<http://skywarn.org>/ARES <http://www.arrl.org/ares>/RACES
<http://www.arrl.org/chapter-4-ares-and-races> operation using eight
VoIP and microwave-linked VHF and UHF repeaters from state and county
RACES to serve the NWS, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC
<http://www.prh.noaa.gov/cphc/>) and state and county officials.

Clem Jung, KH7HO, opened a SKYWARN <http://skywarn.org> net from the
NWS Honolulu <http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/> office ham station the
evening of July 29 to establish an operational plan. The net reconvened
the next morning on the AllStar Link
<https://allstarlink.org/about.html> repeater system and on 7.088 MHz.
ARES and RACES members also participated.

   Over its 12 hours of activation, the net recorded 67 check-ins and
reports from hams in all four Hawaii counties. Net control stations
received reports from throughout the state via Amateur Radio as well as
by cell phones and even social media. All reports were shared with CPHC
meteorologists. Harvey Monomura, AH6JA, and others on East Hawaii
provided ground observations of rain and lightning conditions to
supplement what forecasters were seeing via radar and infrared
satellite imaging. The state EOC and the county EOCs also monitored the
SKYWARN reports. As the storm moved west, stations on Maui reported
considerable lightning and rain, and even small hail, coupled with
power outages. As the storm diminished, the CPHC gave the okay to close
the SKYWARN NET late on July 30.

 "This cooperation between the SKYWARN net control stations and the NWS
was fantastic," said Jung. "This success was possible because emergency
coordinators had worked previously with the Amateur Radio community
that participated in this net." Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/hawaii-hams-muster-to-help-forecasters-track-tropical-storm-flossie>.

==> YOUR LEAGUE: MICHAEL SIGELMAN, K0BUD, RECEIVES ARRL PRESIDENT'S
AWARD

ARRL Dakota Division Director Greg Widin, K0GW, on July 31 invited his
Division to join him in honoring Michael Sigelman, K0BUD, of Golden
Valley, Minnesota, recipient of the ARRL President's Award. The award
cites Sigelman for "decades of service as an ARRL volunteer, club
president, hamfest founder and organizer, and irrepressible ambassador
and promoter of Amateur Radio in the finest traditions of the Founding
President of the ARRL, Hiram Percy Maxim."

   As ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, explained in a letter
accompanying the award, "The award is presented to ARRL members who
have shown long-term dedication to the goals and objectives of ARRL and
Amateur Radio, and whose support of individual programs and/or goals
has been above and beyond the normal efforts of ARRL members. It is
presented only to those whose truly outstanding efforts have benefited
ARRL and/or Amateur Radio operators in the state, the region, or the
nation."

The presentation took place following the Twin Cities FM Club's summer
picnic. Among those on hand to honor the recipient were former Dakota
Division Directors Jay Bellows, K0QB; Tod Olson, K0TO, and Howard Mark,
K3HM, as well as other prominent members of the Twin Cities ham radio
community.

==> YOUR LEAGUE: ARRL INTRODUCES CENTENNIAL MEMBERSHIP CERTIFICATE

   ARRL membership certificates commemorating the League's 100th
anniversary in 2014 now are available. Members logged onto the League's
website <http://www.arrl.org/> can generate their own certificates or
cards online <http://www.arrl.org/membership-certificate> for printing.
"We want each ARRL member to know that he or she is a part of next
year's big ARRL Centennial," says Membership Manager Diane Petrilli,
KB1RNF. The certificate maker also produces a replacement membership
card. The ARRL thanks past McGan Award
<http://www.arrl.org/phil-mcgan-award> winner Angel Luis Santana,
WP3GW, for suggesting the 2014 ARRL Centennial Membership Certificate,
which was designed by ARRL Graphic Artist Diane Szlachetka.

==> YOUR LEAGUE: PAST ARRL PRESIDENT HAYNIE AMONG WEST GULF DIVISION
HONOREES

   At its First Annual West Gulf Division Awards presentation
<http://arrlwgd.org/2013/07/28/1st-annual-wgd-awards-presented-at-hamcom/>
at HamCom <http://www.hamcom.org/> in early June, ARRL President
Emeritus Jim Haynie, W5JBP, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement
Award. Haynie, who once served as West Gulf Division Director, was the
League's president from 2000 until 2006. Named as Ham of the Year was
Bill Supulveda, K5LN, while Luke Leel, KC5LSL, was designated Young Ham
of the Year. The Excellence Award (EmComm) went to Stuart Rohre II,
K5KVH.

"I have always believed that we hams should spend more time recognizing
the efforts of our volunteers at all levels -- local, Section and
Division," said West Gulf Division Director Dr David Woolweaver, K5RAV,
who called volunteers "the crucial element of any organization."
Woolweaver said that as Director, he identifies and congratulates ARRL
volunteers at the start of every ARRL forum and reminds members to
recognize their club officers. "This year that philosophy was expanded
by creating the West Gulf Division Awards of Ham of the Year, Young Ham
of Year and the Award for Excellence. Volunteers deserve the attention
and our gratitude."

Woolweaver <k5rav at arrl.org> is accepting nominations for the 2014 WGD
awards
<http://arrlwgd.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/West-Gulf-Division-Awards-Full-Package.pdf>.
The submission deadline is April 15, 2014.

==> YOUR LEAGUE: DELTA DIVISION VICE DIRECTOR RESIGNS

ARRL Delta Division Vice Director Glen D. Clayton, W4BDB, of Cleveland,
Tennessee has resigned, effective August 1, due to some ongoing health
issues. The process of filling the vacancy by appointment is underway.
"Glen has been a tremendous help to us in his capacity as Vice Director
since January 2012 and will continue as part of the Delta Division
Leadership in a more localized role," said Delta Division Director
David Norris, K5UZ. Clayton previously was Tennessee Section Manager.

==> YOUR LEAGUE: ARRL BOARD OF DIRECTORS JULY MEETING MINUTES POSTED

The official minutes <http://www.arrl.org/board-meetings> of the July
2013 meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors
<http://www.arrl.org/divisions> now are available on the ARRL website.
The meeting took place July 19-20 in Windsor, Connecticut.

==> DX: SWAZILAND DXPEDITION LOOKING FOR OPS, OPINIONS

Here's your chance to join a DXpedition! The 3DA0ET DXpedition to
Swaziland is expected to take place November 18-27 and will include the
CQ World Wide DX CW. The team includes members from the 2012 7P8D
DXpedition to Lesotho and is looking for additional operators,
especially for RTTY.

   Plans call for the team to meet in Johannesburg, South Africa,
November 15, and then drive to Piggs Peak, Swaziland. Takedown will be
November 28, and the team will return to Johannesburg the next day. The
team hopes to visit Kruger National Park. If interested, contact Roger
Jones, ZS6RJ <roger.jones at vodamail.com>, or Charles "Frosty" Frost,
K5LBU <3da0cf at gmail.com>. The team's website <http://swazidx.org/> has
more details.

The team has posted a survey <http://www.swazidx.org> to determine
which bands and modes DXers most desire (there are other questions as
well). Once the research is complete, the 3DA0ET team will post the
results. -- The Daily DX <http://www.dailydx.com>

==> DX: OPERATIONS APPROVED FOR DXCC CREDIT

   The ARRL DXCC Desk has approved the 2012 operation of XW2CW, Laos,
and the 2013 operation of T5TC, Somalia, for DXCC credit. If your
request for DXCC credit for these entities was rejected in a prior
application, contact ARRL Awards Branch Manager Bill Moore
<bmoore at arrl.org>, NC1L, to be placed on the list for an update to your
record. Note the submission date and/or reference number of your
application in order to expedite the search for any rejected contacts.
-- ARRL Awards Branch Manager Bill Moore, NC1L

==> DX: YASME FOUNDATION FUNDS TRANSCEIVERS FOR NEW ETHIOPIAN HAMS

The Yasme Foundation <http://www.yasme.org/> has provided a grant that
will permit three members of the Ethiopian Amateur Radio Society
<http://et3aa.com/> to become licensed and get on the air. When
Ethiopia came back on the air in the spring of 2011 with the reopening
of the EARS station ET3AA, the Yasme Foundation provided a grant to pay
license examination fees for 25 club members. Many were successful, but
Ethiopian radio regulations require that they demonstrate proof of
ownership of an Amateur Radio station to receive a license.

   The Foundation's additional grant will go toward the purchase of
transceivers for three club members, so they can satisfy the
requirements of the Ethiopian licensing process. The Board expressed
its appreciation for "the substantial efforts" of Ken Claerbout, K4ZW,
who facilitated the acquisition of equipment and mentored EARS members.

The Yasme Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation organized to
conduct scientific and educational projects related to Amateur Radio,
including DXing and the introduction and promotion of Amateur Radio in
developing countries.

==> SAFETY FIRST! HARNESS SAVES CANADIAN HAM AFTER FALL FROM TOWER

An unidentified ham in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, avoided serious
injury or worse after falling July 16 from a ham radio tower he was
disassembling. The man, whom media reports called "a certified tower
expert" fell backward from the tower and became trapped about 35 feet
in the air. The Edmonton Journal quoted District Fire Chief Lorne
Corbett.

"He had on the proper harness, that's what saved him," Corbett said.
"He also had his legs entangled in the tower itself."

When the rescue team showed up, the man was upside down, and
firefighters went up the tower to stabilize him and orient him upright.
Firefighters got the man down using a bucket on a fire ladder. Although
bruised, he was able to walk to the ambulance.

The ARRL offers antenna and tower safety tips
<http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/tis/info/pdf/0106091rev1AntennaandTowerSafety.pdf>
on its website. Universal Radio also has posted a list of general
recommendations
<http://www.universal-radio.com/CATALOG/tower/safetow.html> for
installing outdoor antennas. -- The Edmonton Journal; The Edmonton Sun

==> VINTAGE RADIO: ANTIQUE WIRELESS ASSOCIATION COMBINES CONVENTION,
NEW MUSEUM OPENING

   The 52nd Antique Wireless Association (AWA
<http://www.antiquewireless.org/index.html>) World Convention
<http://www.antiquewireless.org/annual-convention.html> August 20-24 in
Rochester, New York, will have a dual theme -- the grand opening of the
new AWA Museum (on August 20), and Heathkit history and equipment (the
keynote speaker will be Dick Goslee, K2GI, the former manager of the
Rochester Heathkit store).

The new AWA Museum is at 6925 Route 5 and 20, Bloomfield, New York.
Held at the Rochester Institute of Technology Inn and Conference
Center, the AWA convention promises "five day of total immersion in
radio lore, artifacts and equipment." The annual event -- essentially
the "Dayton" of the vintage radio collecting community -- includes a
huge flea market, an expanded old equipment contest, forums and
presentations, a banquet, and special event station W2AN.

Register online <http://awamuseum.org/?page_id=848>. The AWA also is
debuting a new website design
<http://www.antiquewireless.org/old-is-new.html>, still a work in
progress. Contact
<http://www.antiquewireless.org/annual-convention.html> Roy Widermuth
via the AWA Convention web page with questions or comments.

==> GETTING IT RIGHT

The news item "Lynn Jelinski, AG4IU, Wins July QST Cover Plaque Award,"
should have read, "The winner of the July QST Cover plaque award is
Lynn Jelinski, AG4IU, for her article 'A Broadband Ham Network Crosses
the Finish Line
<http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/arrl/qst_201307/index.php#/72>.'" We
apologize for this error.

==> SOLAR UPDATE

   Propagation Predictor Tad "Sol Man" Cook, K7RA, in Seattle, reports:
Solar indicators barely moved this week, with average daily sunspot
numbers up 5.8 points to 85.4, and average daily solar flux down 2.4
points to 107.3. Predicted solar flux for the next week is also
unchanged, with the predicted average for Thursday August 8 through
Wednesday August 14 at 107.9, hardly different from 107.3 this past
week.

Solar flux is predicted at 110 on August 8-11, 105 on August 12-14, 110
and 115 on August 15-16, 110 on August 17-18, 105 on August 19-24, 110
on August 25-28, 115 on August 29, 105 on August 30 through September
2, 110 on September 3-4, and 115 on September 5-12.

Predicted planetary A index is 8, 12, 18 and 10 on August 8-11, 5 on
August 12-13, then 12 and 8 on August 14-15, 5 on August 16-20, then
10, 15 and 10 on August 21-23, 5 on August 24-30, then 12, 17, 8, 5 and
8 on August 31 through September 4, 5 on September 5-9, and 8 on
September 10-11.

Friday's bulletin will respond to a flood of e-mail concerning our
Sun's shifting magnetic polarity, and will update the latest daily
forecast for solar flux and A index.

==> THIS WEEK IN RADIOSPORT

Aug 10 -- Maryland-DC QSO Party

Aug 10 -- Fall VHF Sprint (50 MHz)

Aug 10-11 -- Worked All Europe, CW

Aug 10-11 -- Straight Key Weekend Sprintathon,

Aug 11 -- NJQRP Skeeter Hunt, CW

Aug 14 -- CWops Monthly Mini-CWT Test

Aug 14-15 -- NAQCC Monthly QRP Sprint, CW

Aug 17 -- SARTG WW RTTY Contest

Aug 17 -- Feld-Hell Gridloc Sprint

Aug 17-18 -- ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest

Aug 17-18 -- International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend

Aug 17-18 -- Dominican Republic Contest, SSB

Aug 17-18 -- Russian District Award Contest, CW/SSB

Aug 17-18 -- Keymen's Club of Japan Contest, SSB

Aug 17-18 -- North American QSO Party, SSB

Aug 18 -- SARL Digital Contest

Aug 18 -- ARRL Rookie Roundup

==> UPCOMING ARRL SECTION, STATE AND DIVISION CONVENTIONS AND EVENTS

August 9-11 -- New Mexico State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/new-mexico-state-convention-duke-city-hamfest-2>,
Albuquerque, New Mexico

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

August 31-September 1 -- North Carolina Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/north-carolina-section-convention-shelby-hamfest>,
Shelby, North Carolina

September 6-8 -- Southwestern Division Convention (SWHAMCOM)
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/southwestern-division-convention-swhamcon>,
Buellton, California

September 14 -- Roanoke Division Convention <http://vbhamfest.com/>,
Virginia Beach, Virginia

September 20-21 -- W9DXCC Convention <http://www.w9dxcc.com/>, Elk
Grove Village, Illinois

September 27-28 -- SEDCO/W4DXCC <http://w4dxcc.com/> Convention, Pigeon
Forge, Tennessee

September 28 -- North Dakota State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/north-dakota-state-convention>, West
Fargo, North Dakota

September 28 -- Washington State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/washington-state-convention-spokane-hamfest>,
Spokane Valley, Washington

September 29 -- EmComm East Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/emcomm-east-convention-2>, Rochester, New
York

October 6 -- Maryland State Convention <http://carafest.org/>, West
Friendship, Maryland

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

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