[CVRC] The ARRL Letter for June 27, 2013

Thu Jun 27 13:58:03 EDT 2013

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

Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************

June 27, 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

- Emergency Radio: Radio Amateurs Commended Following Flooding
Activation
- International: ARRL Will Be Represented at Europe's Premier Ham Radio
Gathering
- International: RSGB Marks Its Centenary On and Off the Air
- International: Intruder Watch Documents Odd Bursts, Beeps and Buzzes
on the Bands
- FCC: Reply Comment Deadline Extended in 5 GHz Proceeding
- FCC: Location Service Deployment May Constrain 902-928 MHz Amateur
Use
- Operating: New Logbook of The World Software Eases Uploading
- On the Air: 13 Colonies Special Event Set
- On the Air: California Amateurs Claim New World Distance Record on
3.7 Millimeter Band
- Grant L. "Don" Carlson, KQ6FM, SK
- AMSAT Area Coordinator Kevin Smith, N3HKQ, SK
- The End of the Commercial Telegraph? Please QRS
- This Week in Radiosport
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events

==> EMERGENCY RADIO: RADIO AMATEURS COMMENDED FOLLOWING FLOODING
ACTIVATION

Canadian Amateur Radio Emergency Service volunteers supporting
emergency communication in the aftermath of flooding in the Province of
Alberta stood down June 24. Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC
<http://www.rac.ca/>) Alberta Section Emergency Coordinator Curtis
Bidulock, VE6AEW,

   said ARES would remain on standby during the recovery process in the
event of a communication failure.

Bidulock thanked all operators who "provided countless volunteer hours
to support the served agencies with priority and emergency traffic. It
has been expressed by AEMA <http://www.aema.alberta.ca/> [Alberta
Emergency Management Agency] that without our capability to deploy and
adapt it would have made this disaster much more difficult to manage."

RAC Alberta Director J.T. "Mitch" Mitchell, VE6OH, told ARRL that for a
time the emergency operations center in Medicine Hat could only
communicate with the Provincial Operations Centre in Edmonton via ham
radio. Mitchell told ARRL Sunday that hams had established a cross-band
link between Medicine Hat and the provincial UHF link to provide an
additional path that did not rely on the Internet, in case HF was
unstable. Bidulock said the temporary link would remain in place
through recovery.

Over the weekend, the RAC had asked operators to keep 3.675 MHz and
7.135 MHz clear for emergency traffic, a daunting task given the
presence of thousands of Field Day stations on both bands. Saskatchewan
was bracing for high water levels, Mitchell said, and the Amateur Radio
Emergency Service there may activate and use 3.735 MHz and 7.055 MHz.
-- RAC <http://www.rac.ca/>

==> INTERNATIONAL: ARRL WILL BE REPRESENTED AT EUROPE'S PREMIER HAM
RADIO GATHERING

ARRL Headquarters staffers are among those journeying to Germany to
represent the League at HAM RADIO 2013
<http://www.hamradio-friedrichshafen.de/ham-en/index.php> -- the
International Exhibition for Radio Amateurs, June 28-30, commonly known
simply by its location, Friedrichshafen. Some 200 exhibitors are
expected at HAM RADIO 2013 along with upward of 15,000 visitors. This
year's HAM RADIO theme is "The Amateur Radio Adventure: DXpedition,"
and representatives of several DXpeditions will explain for visitors
the thrill of operating from remote areas of the world.

This is the 38th HAM RADIO event, which is billed as Europe's biggest
Amateur Radio convention -- and sometimes as "Europe's Dayton." The
ARRL contingent will be on hand to greet international visitors and to
network with representatives of other national ham radio societies.

   The League also offers DXCC card checking at its booth. In its role
as International Secretariat for the International Amateur Radio Union
(IARU <http://www.iaru.org>), the ARRL will host a meeting area for
IARU officials and friends at the convention.

Attending on the behalf of the League will be ARRL International
Affairs Vice President Jay Bellows, K0QB, and HQ staff members Norm
Fusaro, W3IZ; Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, and Dave Patton, NN1N.
Representing the IARU will be President Timothy Ellam, VE6SH, Vice
President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, and Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD. ARRL
will post photos of the event to its Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151542482817408.1073741834.20069212407&type=1&l=e6ea4ceaef>
page. -- Thanks to Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R; some information provided by
the Messe, Friedrichshafen

==> INTERNATIONAL: RSGB MARKS ITS CENTENARY ON AND OFF THE AIR

The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB <http://www.rsgb.org.uk>)
turns 100 this year. The IARU <http://www.iaru.org/> member-society
represents Amateur Radio in the UK. The big day is July 5, Centenary
Day, the anniversary of the Society's founding, when a commemorative
plaque will be unveiled at Bletchley

   Park -- famous for its secret World War II code-breaking activities.
A Centenary dinner will follow. ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, says
the ARRL appreciates the importance of having strong national Amateur
Radio societies around the world.

"No single Amateur Radio society can mount the kind of advocacy effort
necessary at the international level to protect and advance the
interests of Amateur Radio," she said. "However, working together under
the auspices of the International Amateur Radio Union, the ARRL, the
RSGB, and other national societies have been able to achieve positive
outcomes for Amateur Radio worldwide. This has been true in the first
century of the ARRL and the RSGB and will continue as our two
organizations begin a second century of service to Amateur Radio and
our members."

Special event call sign Gx100RSGB, where the x is replaced by the
appropriate secondary station locator -- M, W, I, D, U and J, for
example -- has been on the air since January 1. The UK's regulatory
agency Ofcom <http://www.ofcom.org.uk> has approved special prefixes
GV, MV and 2V from July 5 through July 31. Individual licensees must
apply
<http://rsgb.org/main/operating/licensing-novs-visitors/online-nov-application/rsgb-centenary-nov/>
to Ofcom for permission to use them.

The RSGB's Centenary Convention takes place October 11-13, preceded by
a national hamfest in late September. The RSGB began as the London
Wireless Club, established in 1913, a year before the ARRL got its
start. By the end of its first year the club boasted more than 150
members. Today the RSGB has some 20,000 members. Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/rsgb-marks-its-centenary-on-and-off-the-air>.

==> INTERNATIONAL: INTRUDER WATCH DOCUMENTS ODD BURSTS, BEEPS AND
BUZZES ON THE BANDS

The International Amateur Radio Union <http://www.iaru.org> Monitoring
System (IARUMS) continues to observe and log suspect and apparently
unauthorized operations that intrude on Amateur Radio allocations. For
example, the

   May 2013 IARUMS Region 1 <http://www.iarums-r1.org> (Europe)
Newsletter <http://www.iarums-r1.org/iarums/news2013/news1305.pdf>
reports an over-the-horizon (OTH) radar operating in Iran daily on 10
meters (26 to 30 MHz), transmitting bursts with 307 and 870 sweeps per
second, 60 kHz wide and often jumping, covering 700 kHz and more.
IARUMS Region 3 <http://www.iaru-r3.org/ms/> (Oceania) volunteers also
have reported hearing the OTH interference from Iran. Regulatory
agencies in Switzerland and Germany have filed complaints without
effect.

IARUMS volunteers in Region 1 also report BPSK daily military traffic
from Ukraine on 15 meters. German authorities have formally complained.
DG0JBJ reports having observed 11 OTH radars on 20 meters, 65 OTH
radars on 15 meters and 30 OTH radars on 10 meters -- not including the
OTH radars from Iran. IARUMS Region 3 volunteers further report ongoing
"illegal use of 10 meters for local short-range communications in a
number of Asian countries." Radio Amateurs in IARU Region 2 (the
Americas) may report suspected intruders on exclusive Amateur Radio
allocations to the ARRL <cskolaut at arrl.org>.

==> FCC: REPLY COMMENT DEADLINE EXTENDED IN 5 GHZ PROCEEDING

The FCC has extended until July 24 the deadline to file reply comments
in its proceeding to allow unlicensed National Information
Infrastructure (U-NII) devices at 5 GHz. The FCC in February sought
comment on making available an additional 195 megahertz of spectrum in
the 5.35-5.47 GHz and 5.85-5.925 GHz bands for U-NII

   use. Reply comments are responses to comments already filed in the
proceeding, ET Docket 13-49
<http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022123531>. In comments
filed in May on the FCC Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), the ARRL
told the FCC that a near-term decision with respect to adding U-NII
devices to the 5.85-5.925 GHz band "would be premature," since no
compatibility analysis has been completed.

U-NII devices use "wideband digital modulation techniques to provide a
wide array of high data rate mobile and fixed communications for
individuals, businesses, and institutions," the FCC explained in its
NPRM.

The FCC extended the reply comment deadline in response to requests
from two industry groups, IEEE 802 and the Wi-Fi Alliance. Amateur
Radio has a longstanding secondary allocation of 5.65-5.925 GHz, with
an amateur-satellite uplink band at 5.65-5.67 GHz and a downlink at
5.83-5.85 GHz.

==> FCC: LOCATION SERVICE DEPLOYMENT MAY CONSTRAIN 902-928 MHZ AMATEUR
USE

A portion of the 902-928 MHz (33 centimeter) band may become less
useful to radio amateurs in urban areas as a result of an FCC Order
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-13-78A1.pdf>.
The FCC has given Progeny LMS, LLC the okay to begin commercial
operation of its multilateration location and monitoring service
(M-LMS) on approximately 4 megahertz of the M-LMS portions of the band
between 919.750 and 927.750 MHz where it holds licenses.

"Progeny is deploying a wide-area positioning system to provide more
precise location services in areas where Global Positioning System
(GPS) and other existing services may not work effectively,
particularly indoors and in urban canyons," the FCC said in its Order,
released June 6.

The FCC opened 33 centimeters to hams on a secondary basis (Amateur
Radio is secondary on all bands above 420 MHz) in 1985, provided hams
did not interfere with the automatic vehicle monitoring (AVM) service,
subsequently expanded into the M-LMS. While M-LMS operations at least
on paper have a higher priority than unlicensed Part 15 devices on the
band, Progeny had to demonstrate through field testing that its network
would not cause "unacceptable levels of interference" to such Part 15
devices as cordless telephones and baby monitors. The FCC said this was
a result of its policy to promote "co-existence" in the band, while not
elevating Part 15 devices to co-equal status with M-LMS systems.

In his "It Seems to Us
<http://www.arrl.org/files/file/QST/This%20Month%20in%20QST/June%202012/It%20Seems%20to%20Us.pdf>"
editorial in the June 2012 issue of QST, ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ,
pointed out that effectively setting unlicensed services such as Part
15 at a higher priority than licensed services "is the reverse of the
usual situation in which Part 15 devices are at the bottom of the
pecking order." Federal (military) radiolocation and ISM Part 18
devices are at the top of the 902-928 MHz food chain. Sumner predicted
in his editorial that operations such as Progeny's "will pose some new
challenges for amateurs in a band that is already impacted by other
users." On the other hand, he said, sharing bands with the military has
helped Amateur Radio to stave off spectrum grabs from commercial
interests.

==> OPERATING: NEW LOGBOOK OF THE WORLD SOFTWARE EASES UPLOADING

The recently released version of Trusted QSL (TQSL) software for

   Logbook of The World (LoTW
<http://www.arrl.org/logbook-of-the-world>) makes it much easier for
users to upload logs to the worldwide contact repository. TQSL v.
1.14.1 may be downloaded from the LoTW page.

The new software lets users upload log files to LoTW directly from
Trusted QSL, saving steps. It also will automatically check for
updates, prompting users to download and install. Among other new
features, any QSOs that have been successfully uploaded to LoTW or
saved to a file are registered in a database, and exact duplicates are
automatically stripped from future logs (this feature may be disabled).

More than a half-billion contact records have been posted in LoTW since
it began operation in 2003, resulting in some 72 million contact
confirmations. Upgrading to version 1.14 is not mandatory. Full
information
<http://www.arrl.org/files/file/LoTW%20Instructions/Upgrading%20to%20TQSL%201_14_1.pdf>
on the advantages of upgrading is available on the LoTW website.

==> ON THE AIR: 13 COLONIES SPECIAL EVENT SET

The annual 13 Colonies Special Event will take place during the first
week of July, with participating 13 colonies' stations on the air from
1300 UTC July 1 until 0400 UTC July 6. Event sponsors say at least two
special event stations will operate from each colony state. The theme
for 2014 is "Banners of the Revolution," and the certificate --
available to all participants regardless of the number of stations
worked -- will reflect that theme.

   Those working all 13 colonies qualify for a "Clean Sweep"
certificate designation, and a special endorsement will be attached for
stations working WM3PEN in Philadelphia. The suggested exchange is call
sign, name, signal report and state/province/country. The event's
sponsors report that more than 62,000 contacts were logged in last
year's 13 Colonies Special Event. More information
<http://www.13colonies.info/> is available on the web.

==> ON THE AIR: CALIFORNIA AMATEURS CLAIM NEW WORLD DISTANCE RECORD ON
3.7 MILLIMETER BAND

Mountain-topping radio amateurs in California are claiming a new world
distance record on the 77 to 81 GHz band -- also known as "E band" -- a
band many hams likely are unaware of and whose future is unclear. The
claimed record was set June 13 between KF6KVG on a peak just east of
San Jose and AD6IW in Kings Canyon National Park to the east-southeast.

"We achieved a distance of 252.49 km from Mt Hamilton (CM97di) to Kings
Canyon National Park (DM06ms)," Goran Popovic, AD6IW, announced on the
50 MHz & Up Group <http://www.50mhzandup.org> reflector. "We made
two-way contact on FM and SSB with strong signals at both ends."
Popovic was on the Kings Canyon end of the contact. The current E band
record is 228 km, set in Germany between DL2AM and DL2GWZ.

According to ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, this amateur band was first
allocated internationally in 1979 as 75.5-81 GHz, with 75.5-76 GHz
primary and the remainder secondary. When allocations below 76 GHz were
realigned at WRC 2000, 75.5-76 GHz was deleted, 81-81.5 GHz was added
as secondary, and the primary allocation was shifted to 77.5-78 GHz
although only 77-81 GHz is available currently to amateurs in the US.
Sumner says the band 77.5-78 GHz is under consideration at WRC 2015 for
an allocation for automotive short-range radar, leaving the fate of the
amateur primary allocation uncertain.

==> GRANT L. "DON" CARLSON, KQ6FM, SK

ARRL Life Member and Public Relations Committee Member Don Carlson,
KQ6FM, of Sparks, Nevada, died June 21, of complications related to
pancreatic cancer. He was 60.

Carlson was an active radio amateur and commercial radio broadcaster,
known as "Don Murray" during his days at Nevada and

   California radio stations, where he usually hosted oldies and jazz
shows. He also did commercial voice-over work for radio and television,
including for ARRL national radio and TV public service announcements.
His voice occasionally was heard on Amateur Radio Newsline
<http://www.arnewsline.org/>, the weekly ham radio news webcast.

Carlson served as District Emergency Coordinator for Nevada's Northwest
District, as well as Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator, Section
Emergency Coordinator, Public Information Coordinator and Assistant
Section Manager. In California he had served as Santa Clara Valley SEC
and as an Assistant Section Manager, and as District Emergency
Coordinator for Monterey County.

In 2010 the ARRL Pacific Division recognized his contributions to
Amateur Radio by naming him "Ham of the Year" at Pacificon. Carlson
also served on the board of directors for EMCOMMWEST
<http://www.emcommwest.org/>, an annual ARRL specialty convention held
in Reno.

A celebration of life for Don Carlson will be held June 29, 10 AM, at
Sierra Bible Church, 3195 Everett Dr, Reno. The family requests that
cards be mailed to Sierra Bible Church <http://www.sierrabible.org/>
and memorial donations made to a church or other charitable donation
"to help someone less fortunate than yourself."

==> AMSAT AREA COORDINATOR KEVIN SMITH, N3HKQ, SK

Longtime AMSAT Area Coordinator Kevin Smith, N3HKQ, of Monongahela,
Pennsylvania, died June 10. AMSAT Area Coordinators are volunteers who
serve as AMSAT's ambassadors to the Amateur Radio community. Smith also
co-chaired the team that hosted the 2007

   AMSAT Symposium in Pittsburgh, and he was a key player in executing
an earlier ARISS contact from Upper St Clair (Pennsylvania) High
School. He was a member of the Wireless Association of the South Hills
and active on VHF and UHF. Survivors include his wife Peg, a son and a
daughter. The family suggests memorial donations to the Leukemia and
Lymphoma Society <http://www.lls.org/>, the MDS Foundation
<http://www.mds-foundation.org/> or to Be the Match
<http://bethematch.org/Home.aspx>. -- AMSAT News Service
<http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/news/>

==> THE END OF THE COMMERCIAL TELEGRAPH? PLEASE QRS

Worldwide news media for several days have been proclaiming the
impending demise of the telegram in India next month. Unfortunately
various reporters and news outlets seem to have conflated the words
"telegram" and "telegraph," with the result that many Morse code
enthusiasts in the ham radio community have begun lamenting the
occasion as the end of an era and perhaps even as another nail in CW's
coffin. Here's what's really happening. Citing mounting financial
losses, India's state-owned telecommunications outfit, Bharat Sanchar
Nigam Limited
<http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Bharat+Sanchar+Nigam+Ltd.> (BSNL),
is ending its telegram service in mid-July, but other telegram services
in India will continue. Just the state-run service is calling it quits.

It's been many years since telegraphy was used to convey the content of
a telegram in India. Today, telegrams at BSNL are routed to their
destinations via the web using computer software -- essentially as

   e-mail. Apparently for nostalgia's sake, however, when the last BSNL
telegram in India is sent on July 15, the service will employ
technology similar to that first used by the service when it began
operation in 1850. British inventor and physician William O'Shaughnessy
introduced telegram service in India that year, but he used a
telegraphy code different from Morse's to send the message.

==> THIS WEEK IN RADIOSPORT

- July 1  -- RAC Canada Day Contest
- July 5  -- MI QRP July 4th CW Sprint
- July 7  -- Venezuelan Ind. Day Contest
- July 7  -- DL-DX RTTY Contest
- July 7  -- DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest
- Jul 11  -- 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

-  June 28-30  -- Rocky Mountain Division Convention
<http://www.hamconcolorado.org/wordpress/>, Estes Park, Colorado
-  July 6  -- Eastern Pennsylvania Section Convention
<http://hrac.tripod.com/HAMFEST_FLYER2013.pdf>, Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania
-  July 19-21  -- Montana State Convention <http://www.gwhamfest.org/>,
East Glacier
-  July 25-27  -- Central States VHF Society Conference
<http://www.csvhfs.org/2013conference/>, Elk Grove Village, Ilinois
- 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>.

==>

ARRL  --  Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information

Join or Renew Today! <http://www.arrl.org/join> ARRL membership
includes QST <http://www.arrl.org/qst>, Amateur Radio's most popular
and informative journal, delivered to your mailbox each month.

Subscribe to...

NCJ  <http://www.ncjweb.com/> -- National Contest Journal
<http://www.ncjweb.com/>. Published bi-monthly, features articles by
top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint and QSO
Parties.

QEX <http://www.arrl.org/qex>  -- A Forum for Communications
Experimenters <http://www.arrl.org/qex>. 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: Subscribe
<http://www.arrl.org/myarrl-account-management#%21/edit-info-email_subscriptions>
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 Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/ARRL.org>. Follow us on
Twitter <http://twitter.com/arrl>.

The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 50 times each year. ARRL
members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member
Data Page as described at http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/.

 <http://www.arrl.org/>