[CVRC] The ARRL Letter for February 14, 2013

Thu Feb 14 14:30:47 EST 2013

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            The  ARRL Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League
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February 14, 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

- + Ham Radio in Hollywood: Last Man Standing to Feature Ham Radio in
Upcoming Episode
- + FCC Adopts Sweeping Changes to Experimental Radio Service
- + Field Day: 2013 Field Day Packet Now Available
- + On the Air: IARU Region 2 Seeks Input on HF Band Plan
- + Ham Innovations: Oklahoma Ham Helps Develop New Winter Weather App
for NOAA
- Three New "How To" Videos on the ARRL Website
- + Harbach Electronics to Discontinue Dahl Transformers
- MicroHAMS Digital Conference Set for March 23
- Solar Update
- + ARRL Headquarters to Close in Observance of Presidents Day
- This Week in Radiosport
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events

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

==> + HAM RADIO IN HOLLYWOOD: LAST MAN STANDING TO FEATURE HAM RADIO IN
UPCOMING EPISODE

   In an episode to air in mid-March, the hit ABC comedy Last Man
Standing -- starring Tim Allen as Mike Baxter, KA0XTT -- will
prominently feature scenes with cast members using Amateur Radio. This
episode will be the first episode to feature Amateur Radio since the
middle of the show's first season. According to Last Man Standing
Producer John Amodeo, NN6JA, the episode called "The Fight" will
feature several of the regular cast members talking on the radios. "I
can't say much about the episode right now," Amodeo told the ARRL, "But
this episode has the most significant use of Amateur Radio in a TV
comedy since Herman Munster, W6XRL4, got his ham license." Fans of
1960s television will remember the episode of The Munsters (originally
aired January 21, 1965) when Herman, on his ham radio, overheard
children using walkie-talkies who were pretending to be Martians. Read
more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/em-ham-radio-in-hollywood-em-last-man-standing-to-feature-ham-radio-in-upcoming-episode>.

==> + FCC ADOPTS SWEEPING CHANGES TO EXPERIMENTAL RADIO SERVICE

In a Report & Order (R&O) -- FCC 13-15 -- released February 4, the FCC
adopted numerous changes to its Experimental Radio Service (Part 5),
revising and streamlining its rules. With the new rules, the FCC states
that the Experimental Radio Service will have "a more flexible
framework to keep pace with the speed of modern technological change,
while continuing to provide an environment where creativity can
thrive." The new rules will become effective 30 days after being
published in the Federal Register. No date has yet been set for
publication.

   The FCC's rules contain numerous provisions for experimentation and
development of new radio equipment and techniques. The R&O noted that
the Experimental Radio Service rules "prescribe the manner in which the
radio spectrum may be made available to manufacturers, inventors,
entrepreneurs and students to experiment with new radio technologies,
equipment designs, characteristics of radio wave propagation, or
service concepts related to the use of the radio spectrum. To encourage
innovation, the Part 5 rules provide flexibility regarding allowable
frequency range, power and emissions. In exchange for this flexibility,
experimental operations are not protected from harmful interference
from allocated services, and Experimental Radio Service licensees must
not cause harmful interference to stations of authorized services,
including secondary services."

To accomplish this transition, the FCC -- through the R&O -- is
creating three new types of Experimental Radio Service licenses: the
Program License, the Medical Testing License and the Compliance Testing
License. According to the FCC, this new license structure will "benefit
the development of new technologies, expedite their introduction to the
marketplace and unleash the full power of innovators to keep the United
States at the forefront of the communications industry. Our actions
also modify the market trial rules to eliminate confusion and more
clearly articulate our policies with respect to marketing products
prior to equipment certification. We believe that these actions will
remove regulatory barriers to experimentation, thereby permitting
institutions to move from concept to experimentation to finished
product more rapidly and to more quickly implement creative
problem-solving methodologies." Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-adopts-sweeping-changes-to-experimental-radio-service>.

==> + FIELD DAY: 2013 FIELD DAY PACKET NOW AVAILABLE

It's that time of year again -- time to start gearing up for ARRL Field
Day, June 22-23, 2013! 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 available for download
<http://www.arrl.org/fieldday> and include the complete rules, 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 Get-On-The-Air
(GOTA) stations and a kit for publicizing your event with the local
press. New for 2013: Stations operating as Class A or B may begin
setting up at 0000 UTC on Friday (which will be Thursday 8 PM EDT, 7 PM
CDT, 6 PM MDT and 5 PM PDT). The groups may start and stop their
set-up, resuming the set-up later, but may spend only a maximum of 24
hours cumulative time for setting up their sites.

An informational flier entitled "What Is Field Day" has also been
included in this year's Field Day packet. Amateur Radio clubs and
individuals are encouraged to reproduce this flier as a handout for
information tables. Find it and more on the ARRL's Field Day web page
<http://www.arrl.org/fieldday>.

==> + ON THE AIR: IARU REGION 2 SEEKS INPUT ON HF BAND PLAN

   The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 2 conference
will be held later this year in Mexico. The Region 2 conference -- held
every three years -- is attended by delegations from the national
Amateur Radio societies in the western hemisphere that are members of
the IARU. The ARRL is the IARU Member Society for the US. One of the
topics on the conference agenda will be the Region 2 HF band plan. This
band plan is "harmonized" with -- spectrum management-speak for "very
similar to" -- the IARU Region 1 and Region 3 band plans. Many hams in
the US may not know there is such a thing as a Region 2 band plan.
Other American hams have heard of it but may not know how -- if at all
-- this band plan affects them. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/iaru-region-2-seeks-input-on-hf-band-plan>.

==> + HAM INNOVATIONS: OKLAHOMA HAM HELPS DEVELOP NEW WINTER WEATHER
APP FOR NOAA

   The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA)
National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL <http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/>),
in partnership with the University of Oklahoma (OU), has launched a
free app -- mPING (mobile Precipitation Identification Near the Ground)
-- with which users can anonymously report precipitation from their
Apple or Android mobile device. Simply select the type of precipitation
that is falling at your location and press Submit -- your location and
the time of the observation are automatically included in the report.

"mPING gives the public a unique opportunity to act as citizen
scientists, allowing them to report their observations of precipitation
-- such as snow, rain, ice pellets or a mix -- in real time," said
Principal Investigator Dr Kim Elmore, N5OP. Elmore, an ARRL Life
Member, is a Research Meteorologist with the NOAA Cooperative Institute
for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies at the University of Oklahoma.
Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/oklahoma-ham-helps-develop-new-winter-weather-app-for-noaa>.

==> THREE NEW "HOW TO" VIDEOS ON THE ARRL WEBSITE

Three new "how to" videos have been posted
<http://www.arrl.org/multimedia> on the ARRL website. All three videos
are hosted by W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q.

- How to attach a PL259 connector to coaxial cable.
- How to use CTCSS in a typical FM transceiver.
- How to enjoy split-frequency operating.

To view these videos your web browser must support Flash
<http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/> technology. Also, some Internet
Explorer browsers may have compatibility issues when attempting to view
Flash video within Windows 7 and 8. If you do not see the individual
video player screens on the Multimedia page, click your Internet
Explorer "Compatibility View" icon located in the right-hand section of
the Internet Explorer address entry window.

==> + HARBACH ELECTRONICS TO DISCONTINUE DAHL TRANSFORMERS

   Effective February 14, Harbach Electronics will discontinue
producing and selling the Peter W. Dahl line of transformers. In 2007
after more than 40 years in business, Peter Dahl, K0BIT, retired and
sold his company -- the Peter W. Dahl Company -- to Harbach
Electronics. According to an announcement on the Harbach Electronics
website <http://harbachelectronics.com/>, the company is in
negotiations with other manufacturers to take over the Dahl product
line of transformers and magnetics.

==> MICROHAMS DIGITAL CONFERENCE SET FOR MARCH 23

   The MicroHAMS Digital Conference will be held Saturday, March 23 at
the Microsoft Studios West Campus in Redmond, Washington. The
conference, which focuses on digital networking, will feature two local
efforts that are leveraging off-the-shelf wireless networking
technology for Amateur Radio: NW-MESH -- a local HSMM MESH
<http://www.arrl.org/wedothat-page3> program -- and the HamWAN project
<http://www.hamwan.org/> that is attempting to provide a high speed
wireless backbone for the Greater Seattle area. In addition,
representatives from NW Digital Radio <http://nwdigitalradio.com/> will
give an update on the UDK56K digital transceiver (as seen in the
December 2012 issue of QST
<http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/arrl/qst_201212/index.php#/54>). Due
to space limitations, pre-registration is strongly encouraged. The
MicroHAMS Digital Conference is an ARRL-sanctioned convention. Find out
more about the conference on the MicroHAMS website
<http://www.microhams.com/softcontent.aspx?scId=58>.

==> SOLAR UPDATE

   Tad Cook, K7RA, reports: Solar activity continues at the low levels
that we have seen in the past few weeks. The sunspot numbers have been
remarkably consistent, with the average daily numbers for the weeks
since January 17 at 56.4, 55.7, 50.7 and finally 51.3 for this past
week. As you can see, the average daily sunspot number rose less than 1
point from the previous week to the past week, while the average daily
solar flux receded 2.4 points to 104. Geomagnetic conditions remain
calm. This weekend is the CW portion
<http://www.arrl.org/news/ride-the-wave-in-the-2013-arrl-international-dx-cw-contest>
of the ARRL DX International Contest <http://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx>.
Conditions will probably be about the same as last year, because solar
activity is about the same as it was in 2012. The latest prediction for
solar flux shows values of 105 for February 14-15, 110 and 115 on
February 16-17, 110 on February 18-21, 105 on February 22, 115 on
February 23-24, 110 and 105 on February 25-26, 100 on February 27-March
3, and back down to 95 on March 4-9. The predicted planetary A index is
5 on February 14-16, 8 on February 17, 5 on February 18-21, then 12 and
8 on February 22-23, 5 on February 24-28, then 10 and 8 on March 1-2,
and back down to 5 on March 3-17. Look for more on the ARRL website on
Friday, February 15. For more information concerning radio propagation,
visit the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page
<http://www.arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals>.

==> + ARRL HEADQUARTERS TO CLOSE IN OBSERVANCE OF PRESIDENTS DAY

   ARRL Headquarters will be closed in observance of Presidents Day on
Monday, February 18. There will be no W1AW bulletin or code practice
transmissions <http://www.arrl.org/w1aw-operating-schedule> that day.
ARRL Headquarters will reopen Tuesday, February 19 at 8 AM Eastern
Standard Time. We wish everyone a safe Presidents Day holiday.

==> THIS WEEK IN RADIOSPORT

This week:

- February 15 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- February 16 -- Feld Hell Sprint
- February 16-17 -- ARRL International DX Contest (CW)
<http://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx>
- February 17-18 -- Russian PSK Worldwide Contest
- February 20 -- AGCW Semi-Automatic Key Evening

Next week:

- February 22 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- February 22-23 -- CQ 160-Meter Contest (SSB)
- February 23-24 -- Mississippi QSO Party; North American QSO Party
(RTTY); REF Contest (SSB); UBA DX Contest (CW)
- February 24 -- High Speed Club CW Contest
- February 24-25 -- North Carolina QSO Party
- February 25-27 -- CQC Winter QSO Sprint
- February 27-28 -- 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

- February 15-16 -- ARRL Arizona State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/arizona-state-convention-yuma-hamfest-1>,
Yuma, Arizona
- February 16 -- ARRL Arkansas State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/arkansas-state-convention-winterfest>,
Hoxie, Arkansas
- February 23 -- ARRL Vermont State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/vermont-state-convention-ham-con-3>,
South Burlington, Vermont
- March 8-9 -- ARRL Oklahoma Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/oklahoma-section-convention-green-country-hamfest-1>,
Claremore, Oklahoma; ARRL Louisiana Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/louisiana-section-convention-acadiana-53rd-annual-hamfest>,
Rayne, Louisiana
- March 16 -- ARRL Nebraska State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/nebraska-state-convention-2>, Lincoln,
Nebraska; ARRL West Texas State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/west-texas-section-convention-58th-annual-st-patrick-s-day-hamfest>,
Midland, Texas
- March 23 -- ARRL South Texas State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/south-texas-section-convention-greater-houston-hamfest-3>,
Rosenberg, Texas
- March 29-30 -- ARRL Maine State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/maine-state-convention-3>, Lewiston,
Maine
- March 30 -- ARRL North Carolina State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/north-carolina-state-convention-raleigh-hamfest-2>,
Raleigh, North Carolina
- 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
- May 31-June 2 -- ARRL Northwestern Division Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/northwestern-division-convention-seapac-4>,
Seaside, Oregon

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

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