From GBUNTING at stlucieco.gov  Wed Aug  2 17:00:00 2006
From: GBUNTING at stlucieco.gov (Greg  Bunting)
Date: Thu Aug  3 08:12:45 2006
Subject: [FPARC] Net tonight
Message-ID: <44D0DA100200008C00001DDD@gwdm.stlucieco.gov>

Ares / Races / Comm. Response Team net tonight at 2000 (8 PM) on
147.240.
Greg KB4VVE
From W4kkw at aol.com  Fri Aug  4 22:29:06 2006
From: W4kkw at aol.com (W4kkw@aol.com)
Date: Fri Aug  4 22:41:10 2006
Subject: [FPARC] The ARRL Letter Vol. 25, No. 31 August 4, 2006
Message-ID: <bfc.66d93d.32055c72@aol.com>

***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 25, No. 31
August 4,  2006
***************

IN THIS EDITION:

* +FCC tweaks BPL rules,  denies reconsideration petitions
* +BPL interference report "flawed" and  "misleading," ARRL says
* +ARRL Board boosts support for legislative action  volunteers
* +Vanity call sign fee falls to $20.80 in September
* +League  announces Hiram Percy Maxim, W1FB memorial award winners
*  Solar  Update
*  IN BRIEF: 
This weekend on the  radio
ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course  registration
WRTC 2006 announces prize winners
+Montenegro operations continue apace
+IARU Region 3  Conference special event on air
Irish radio amateurs seek  500 kHz allocation
Jack W. Herbstreit, ex-W0DW,  SK

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

===========================================================
==>Delivery  problems: First see  FAQ
<http://www.arrl.org/members-only/faq.html#nodelivery>, then  e-mail
<letter-dlvy@arrl.org>
==>Editorial questions or comments  only: Rick Lindquist,  N1RL,
<n1rl@arrl.org>
===========================================================

==>FCC  DENIES RECONSIDERATION PETITIONS, ADOPTS MINOR CHANGES TO BPL RULES

An  FCC that's still optimistic and enthusiastic about BPL met August 3  to
consider and unanimously adopt a Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O)  in
response to several petitions for reconsideration of its BPL rules  -
including one from ARRL. But one commissioner stressed that the FCC has  an
obligation to protect Amateur Radio operators from BPL interference and  to
respond promptly to interference complaints. ARRL President Joel  Harrison,
W5ZN, and General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, were on hand for this  week's
meeting, during which the FCC suggested it was attempting to strike  a
balance between interference to licensed services and the BPL  industry's
needs.

"This rule making proceeding was initiated to  provide regulatory certainty
that will encourage investments in BPL,  particularly so that consumers can
reap the benefits," the FCC Office of  Engineering and Technology (OET) told
the commissioners. "Equally important,  the Commission sought to ensure that
licensed radio services are protected  against harmful interference." The OET
said the Commission also wanted to  provide guidance so compliance
measurements "are made in a consistent manner  with repeatable results."

The FCC adopted its current BPL rules - under a  new Subpart G of its Part 15
rules governing unlicensed devices - in October  2004. 

Commenting after the OET's presentation of the MO&O,  Commissioner Michael J.
Copps reiterated that the FCC must also ensure that  BPL providers protect
existing spectrum users from interference.  

"This applies with special force to Amateur Radio operators whose skills  and
dedication once again proved so valuable in the aftermath of  Hurricane
Katrina," Copps remarked. "Amateur radio serves the public interest  in so
many ways that we must be always mindful of its needs."

Copps  said he believes the FCC's MO&O "strikes an acceptable balance,"  but
added that the Commission "must be available and positioned to respond  to
interference complaints with alacrity. Amateur operators shouldn't have  to
wait for months to get complaints resolved - they deserve  better."

The FCC denied a BPL industry request to extend the effective  date to meet
equipment certification requirements, but it did create a  limited exception,
the OET's Anh Wride said. BPL systems now will have  another year to continue
installing or replacing equipment "that otherwise  meets the Part 15 rules"
in their present coverage areas. "This relief is a  reasonable accommodation
that will limit the proliferation of non-compliant  equipment," Wride said.

In addition, the Commission rebuffed the BPL  industry's request to drop the
30-day advance notification requirement for  the public BPL database. Wride
said the advance notification provision  ensures that licensed users are
aware of new BPL deployments in advance of  their startup..

The Order also turned down requests by the ARRL and  individual Amateur Radio
operators to exclude the use of the HF ham bands for  BPL operations. The
Commission also denied petitions from the ARRL and others  to prohibit BPL
deployment "pending the adoption of a definition for 'harmful  interference,'
the completion of all ongoing studies of BPL and the  initiation of further
studies of BPL interference characteristics," Wride  said.

The FCC further denied requests to keep BPL signals off  overhead
medium-voltage power lines and to impose more stringent  technical
restrictions and measurement requirements on BPL  operations.

Wride said the OET believes the requirements the FCC adopted  in 2004
regarding emission levels and notching "are adequate to fully  protect
amateur operations." She said going along with ARRL's request to  reconsider,
rescind and re-study the BPL rules in further proceedings could  leave radio
amateurs with less protection than they now have.

The FCC  did grant a request from the National Telecommunications and
Information  Administration (NTIA) to expand BPL exclusion zones in the
vicinity of  certain radio astronomy systems.

"We continue to believe that the  interference concerns associated with the
operation of these systems are  adequately addressed through the adoption of
Access BPL rules in Part 15,  particularly as a new generation of BPL
equipment that complies with our  rules becomes available," Wride concluded.

The FCC released a public  notice to report its August 3 BPL-related  actions
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-266773A1.pdf>.  The
MO&O it adopted is not expected to become available to the public for  a few
weeks.

==>LEAGUE CALLS MANASSAS BPL INTERFERENCE REPORT  "FLAWED," "MISLEADING"

The ARRL has told the FCC it has found a radio  interference report filed on
behalf of the Manassas, Virginia, BPL system  "flawed in numerous respects."
The League responded this week to a July 17  letter and BPL interference
study the FCC mandated following repeated  complaints from local radio
amateurs.

"ARRL objects to the report  because it is based on improper engineering
practice and contrary to the  instructions provided by your office in your
letter dated June 16, 2006,"  ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, wrote
FCC Spectrum Enforcement  Division Chief Joseph Casey on August 2. In June,
Casey had ordered the City  of Manassas and BPL provider COMTek to
investigate complaints from several  Manassas radio amateurs of BPL
interference to their mobile operations and  report back to the Commission on
their findings. The League, and local  amateurs, contend the BPL system is
still causing harmful interference to  Amateur Radio operations, despite the
clean bill of health the engineering  report purports to present.

"It did so both before and after the tests  conducted by COMTek; and there is
no doubt at all that the interference is  from the COMTek BPL system operated
in the City of Manassas and not from any  other source." The League
reiterated its demand that the system be shut down  immediately.

"Unless the Enforcement Bureau is willing to do that, you  are going to have
to send Commission staff to observe this interference and  conduct their own
measurements in the presence of both COMTek and the local  Amateur Radio
operators who are receiving the interference," Imlay asserted.  Manassas
radio amateurs who have complained to the FCC about the BPL  interference
also have suggested that the FCC must investigate the problem  firsthand.

The League maintained that COMTek "has filed incorrect and  misleading
reports" and has "manipulated the BPL system to show false  readings." In
particular, the ARRL -- and local radio amateurs -- suggest  that the BPL
system was not operating at peak user loading during the  testing, as the FCC
had ordered. Either that or COMTek and BPL equipment  manufacturer Main.net
adjusted system power levels downward for the testing,  Imlay told the FCC. 

"The Commission is going to have to investigate this  matter itself, without
advance notice to COMTek or the City, so that the  system is not powered down
or otherwise manipulated to show other than peak  loading characteristics at
the power levels typically used in Manassas," the  ARRL stated. The League
said it's clear that the FCC can't rely on reports  from consultants hired by
the system's operators while excluding the victims  of the interference. 

In its dealings with the Manassas BPL system, the  League concluded, the FCC
has "completely ignored" Part 15 rules requiring a  BPL operator, upon
learning of harmful interference, to investigate and  resolve it successfully
within a reasonable time. "The recent submission of  COMTek and the City have
produced no resolution of the interference at all,"  ARRL said. "Rather,
COMTek and the City have shown a complete inability, and  now, by their
denials, the unwillingness, to resolve the  interference."

==>BOARD OKAYS SUPPORT FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION  VOLUNTEERS, HONES ETHICS
POLICY

Meeting in Windsor, Connecticut, July  21 and 22, the ARRL Board of Directors
agreed to make $5000 already budgeted  to the Grassroots Legislative Action
Committee available to cover volunteers'  travel and administrative costs
and, on a trial basis, to recruit and train  volunteers in several ARRL
divisions. The Grassroots Legislative Action  Program is aimed at encouraging
ARRL members to contact their members of  Congress to urge their
co-sponsorship and support of Amateur Radio-related  legislation. It also
supports the efforts of legislative action volunteers to  contact members of
Congress directly on behalf of their Amateur Radio  constituents.

"Authorizing the committee to use funds currently budgeted  to it as seed
money to support development of the project throughout several  test
divisions will enable the committee to develop the basis for  requesting
appropriate funding levels for the future," explained Grassroots  Legislative
Action Committee Chair and Great Lakes Director Jim Weaver, K8JE,  in
offering the motion.

The resolution said the Grassroots Legislative  Action Program "offers great
potential to increase the effectiveness of the  ARRL to influence legislative
efforts." It pointed out, however, that travel  and administrative expenses
are often required to recruit and train ARRL  volunteers to make the program
work.

In its most complex action of the  weekend, the Board agreed to amend the
League's Articles of Association and  By-Laws, to clarify conflict of
interest criteria as they apply to ARRL  directors and vice directors (or
candidates) as well as to the League's  president, vice presidents and
treasurer. Dakota Division Director Jay  Bellows, K0QB, offered the motions
needed to put the changes into  effect.

"This is really an attempt to open up candidate eligibility and  to make sure
our members are aware of any conflicts that might arise,"  Bellows said
afterwards. "These changes clearly define conflicts of interest,  establish
an affirmative obligation on the part of covered individuals to  disclose
conflicts of interest -- actual and potential -- and now provide a  mechanism
to address them as they arise."

Bellows' amendments noted  that present policy and rules could effectively
exclude otherwise eligible  candidates, don't distinguish between present and
potential conflicts of  interest and don't provide a means to review
conflicts that might occur  during a director's or officer's term. 

Board members or prospective  candidates having a financial interest in an
entity "engaged in an ongoing  business or activity that directly competes
with" League business or activity  would be "deemed to have a pervasive and
continuing conflict that would  render him or her ineligible to be a Board
member."

The new policy  provides that Board members must promptly disclose any
conflicts and recuse  themselves from being present for discussion or from
voting in any matter in  which they have a material financial interest. In
that event, the division's  vice director would act in the director's stead
during any discussion and  vote on the matter in question.

Board members also accepted an invitation  to hold the next ARRL National
Convention at the 2007 Huntsville Hamfest in  Alabama. The event will take
place August 18-19 at the all-air-conditioned  Von Braun Center.

On Saturday, the Board focused on a review and revision  of the ARRL
Strategic Plan and the consideration selection of strategies for  2007. The
review process included "breakout sessions" to develop possible  strategies
to address each of five goals to guide the League over the next  three to
five years.

The ARRL Executive Committee will complete  refinement of the strategy
document when it meets October 7 and recommend it  for approval at the
Board's January 2007 meeting.

==>VANITY CALL  SIGN FEE TO DROP SEPTEMBER 6

The regulatory fee to obtain or renew an  Amateur Radio vanity call sign will
drop slightly starting with applications  received by the FCC on or after
Wednesday, September 6, the FCC's Wireless  Telecommunications Bureau (WTB)
said this week. The new fee will be $20.80  for the 10-year license term.
This year promises to be a big one for vanity  call sign renewals, since the
initial round of vanity grants under the  current system occurred in 1996.
Licensees who want to retain vanity call  signs issued under the current
(post-1995) system must pay the regulatory fee  when renewing.

"Consistent with our established practice, we plan to  collect these
regulatory fees in the August-September 2006 time frame in  order to collect
the required amount by the end of the fiscal year," the FCC  explained in a
July 17 Report and Order (R&O), "Assessment and Collection  of Regulatory
Fees for Fiscal Year 2006," in MD Docket 06-68. The FY 2006  vanity fee is a
bit higher than the $20.10 for the license term that the  Commission had
proposed in a Notice of Proposed Rule Making last March. The  current vanity
call sign fee of $21.90 remains in effect for applications  received by the
FCC before September 6.

Amateur Radio licensees may  file renewal applications no sooner than 90 days
of their license expiration  date. While the regulatory fee payment is
required from licensees wishing to  keep their current vanity call signs
after renewal, vanity holders can opt to  get a sequential call sign and
avoid paying any fee when they  renew.

ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, says the FCC has been  handling vanity
call sign license renewals from June without any delay or  problems. "I'm
sure Gate 2 will go just as smoothly if you use one of the  automated methods
of filing, such as via the ARRL or using the Universal  Licensing System
(ULS)," she predicted. "Paper filings to the FCC can be  confusing and
difficult." The FCC renewed nearly 3000 vanity call sign  licenses during
June and July.

Amateur Radio licensees holding vanity  call signs granted prior to 1996 do
not have to pay a regulatory fee when  renewing. This is because Congress did
not begin requiring the FCC to  annually recover its regulatory costs until
1993. Additionally, such  licensees are not specifically tagged as vanity
call sign holders in the  ULS.

The ARRL VEC will process license renewals for vanity call sign  holders for
a modest fee. The service is available to ARRL members and  nonmembers,
although League members pay less. Routine, non-vanity renewals  continue to
be free for ARRL members. Trustees of club stations with vanity  call signs
may renew either via the ULS or through a Club Station Call  Sign
Administrator, such as ARRL VEC.

Somma says the ARRL's new  license renewal/modification Web  pages
<http://www.arrl.org/fcc/memberlicenseinstructions.html> contain  complete
information on license-filing procedures, including  step-by-step
instructions on how to renew or update a license using the  ULS
<http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/>.

==>ARRL BOARD DESIGNATES  AWARD WINNERS 

A 13-year-old ARRL member and Amateur Extra class  licensee, Jimmy Carter,
KG4SGP, of Burke, Virginia, is the winner of the 2005  Hiram Percy Maxim
Memorial Award. Jimmy is a student at Lake Braddock  Secondary School, where
he organized the Lake Braddock Secondary School  Amateur Radio Club, which he
serves as president. He says he got interested  in ham radio from his
parents, both of whom are licensed. He envisions an  engineering career.

"I don't know if it's ham radio becoming my career or  my career becoming ham
radio," said Jimmy, reflecting how his interest in  electronics has prompted
him toward further self-study as well as trying to  enjoy as many different
facets of ham radio as he can. "I just get interested  in a lot of different
things in ham radio," he said. That included a recent  foray into 6 meters as
well as improving his Morse code speed, chasing DX and  even building some of
his own gear.

"I just really like everything  about ham radio," he said.

The HPM Memorial Award goes each year to a  radio amateur under the age of 21
whose accomplishments and contributions are  of the most exemplary nature
within the framework of Amateur Radio  activities. The award was established
in 1936, and formal nominations come  from ARRL section managers. 

After organizing his schools ham radio club,  Jimmy found a teacher to
sponsor it and several classmates to join. The club  now boasts 15 members, 6
of whom are licensed. Jimmy also was instrumental in  his school's successful
application for an ARRL Education and Technology  Program grant.

Aside from his club activities, Jimmy participates in  weekly nets of the
Alexandria Radio Club and is a volunteer responder for  disaster relief. He
is in several honor classes and is a varsity athlete.  Jimmy recently took
third place in the Virginia regional science fair with  his project, "How Q
Affects Bandwidth and Signal Strength." 

The  winner of the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award receives a cash award  of
$1500, an engraved plaque, and travel and accommodations to the site of  a
formal presentation. 

Roger Hayward, KA7EXM, of Beaverton, Oregon,  is the recipient of the 2005
Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Technical Excellence Award.  Created to honor the late Doug
DeMaw, W1FB -- one of the most widely  published technical authors in Amateur
Radio history -- the award is bestowed  upon the author or authors of the
best QST or QEX technical article during  the prior year, as judged by the
ARRL Technical Advisor group. DeMaw served  as ARRL Technical Department
Manager and Senior Technical Editor from 1970 to  1983. Hayward's article, "A
PIC-Based HF/VHF Power Meter," appeared in the  May/June 2005 issue of QEX.
Hayward says he's honored to have his work  recognized through the DeMaw
Award. 

"What excites me further is to  see so many hams continuing to design, build
and experiment on their own  workbenches at home," he said. "It has been
great to correspond with so many  hams using the meter for SA construction,
QRP projects and receiver design.  The project was just as much fun to write
about as it was to  design."

An ARRL Life Member, Hayward was first licensed in 1979. He is  active in
portable VHF hilltopping as well as experimenting in the shack. His  first
QST article, "The 'Ugly Weekender,'" appeared in the August 1981  issue.

The DeMaw Award consists of an engraved nine-inch pewter  cup.

SOLAR UPDATE

Solar Seer Tad "(The mornin' sun is shining like  a) Red Rubber Ball" Cook,
K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: Last Friday,  July 28, a high speed solar
wind stream hit earth, and created a geomagnetic  disturbance that drove the
planetary and mid-latitude A index up to 29 and  26, respectively.  This
actually began in the early hours of Friday UTC,  which was Thursday
afternoon and early evening in North America.  Both  mid-latitude and
planetary K index rose to six.  If you noticed some  periods of high
absorption, or when the only propagation seemed to occur  north to south,
that would be why.

Now we are moving slowly toward the  fall equinox, and HF radio conditions
tend to get better when the hours of  light and darkness are equal between
the northern and southern  hemispheres.

This week we saw the average daily sunspot number rise over  five points to
20.  We will see little variations like this as the solar  cycle declines
toward its minimum next year.  Solar activity still seems  too high to be at
the bottom though.  A glance at graphs of smoothed  sunspot numbers shows we
are still experiencing more sunspots than the  minimum back in 1996. The
prediction for the smoothed sunspot number for  August 2006 is the same as
for August of next year, and the minimum is  somewhere in between. a year
from now the new solar cycle will be bouncing  back from the minimum, and
rising past the point where we are now.  The  smoothed numbers are averaged
over many months to help us see past the  "noise" of daily variations. July
is over, so we can look at some monthly  averages of sunspot numbers and
solar flux.

For more information  concerning radio propagation, see the ARRL Technical
Information Service  Propagation page  at
<http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html>.

The average  daily sunspot numbers for the months July 2005 through July 2006
were 68.7,  65.6, 39.2, 13, 32.2, 62.6, 26.7, 5.3, 21.3, 55.2, 39.6, 24.4 and
22.6.   Average daily solar flux for the same months was 96.5, 92.4 , 91.9,
76.6,  86.3, 90.8, 83.4, 76.5, 75.5, 88.9, 80.9, 76.5 and  75.8.

__________________________________

==>IN BRIEF:

*  This weekend on the radio: The North American QSO Party (CW), the ARRL  UHF
Contest, the TARA Grid Dip Shindig, the 10-10 International Summer  Contest
(SSB), the European HF Championship, the RSGB RoPoCo 2 and the SARL  HF Phone
Contest are the weekend of August 5-6. The NAQCC Straight Key/Bug  Sprint is
August 9. JUST AHEAD: The WAE DX Contest (CW) and the Maryland-DC  QSO Party
are the weekend of August 12-13. The ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest,  the North
American QSO Party (SSB), the SARTG World Wide RTTY Contest, and  the New
Jersey QSO Party are the weekend of August 19-20. The Run for the  Bacon QRP
Contest is August 21, See the ARRL Contest Branch  page
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/> and the WA7BNM Contest  Calendar
<http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more  info.

* ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course  registration:
Registration remains open through Sunday, August 13, for these  ARRL
Certification and Continuing Education (CCE) online courses: Amateur  Radio
Emergency Communications Level 1 (EC-001), Radio Frequency  Interference
(EC-006), Antenna Design and Construction (EC-009), Analog  Electronics
(EC-012) and Digital Electronics (EC-013). Classes begin Friday,  September
1. These courses will also open for registration Friday, August 11,  for
classes beginning Friday, October 6. To learn more, visit the CCE  Course
Listing page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or contact  the CCE
Department <cce@arrl.org>.

* WRTC 2006 announces prize  winners: World Radiosport Team Championship 2006
(WRTC 2006) in Brazil has  announced its various post-event prize  winners
<http://www.wrtc2006.com/release64.html>. Winners of the WRTC  2006
"lottery," picked at random from among operators who sent in their IARU  HF
World Championship logs before the deadline -- 1322 in all, were  Michal
Tomec, OK7MT, and Charlie Hansen, W0HW. Each wins a visit for two of  up to
four days at one of the WRTC 2006 contest stations in Southern Brazil.  The
prize includes accommodations, meals, transport to and from the airport  plus
tours of the area. The 72 stations working all of the WRTC 2006  stations
will receive certificates and T-shirts. The two stations working all  46
competing stations on SSB and CW -- KA9FOX and PY0FF -- will get plaques  as
well. The 212 stations working at least 25 WRTC 2006 stations will  get
certificates. Recipients were based on the logs of WRTC 2006  participants.
The WRTC 2006 Committee will contact stations at the addresses  given in
their log files. Direct questions to Thomas Carlsson,  PY2ZXU/SM0CXU
<thomascarl@gmail.com>.

* Montenegro operations  continue apace: As of late July, the Montenegro
International DX Festival  4O3T  operation
<http://www.yu6scg.cg.yu/international-dx-festival-montenegro-2006/>  already
had put 50,000 QSOs in the log with a couple of more weeks to go. An  online
searchable log is available on the SRACG Web  site
<http://www.yu6scg.cg.yu/log-book-search.html>. Martti Laine,  OH2BH, said
the first wave of operators from various parts of the continent  and the US
did "a mammoth job." They also contended with setting up camp  in
temperatures well in excess of 100 degrees F. "They have not seen clouds  or
rain during the entire week," he said. During a dinner cruise for  home-bound
operators July 27 on the Bay of Kotor, International Amateur Radio  Union
(IARU) Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ, announced that he was looking  forward
to circulating a proposal on behalf of Montenegro to become an  IARU
member-society. DXpedition leader Ranko Boca, YT6A, indicates  that
everything is on track for the next 50,000 contacts with the fresh fleet  of
operators that came aboard over the July 29-30 weekend. The 4O3T  stations,
operating from sites in Obosnik and Klinci, have been putting loud  signals
into North America. Meanwhile, the unrelated YU6AO Montenegro  DXpedition
team <http://www.yu6ao.info/> also has been making the new  DXCC entity
available on several bands and modes. There is a log search  engine for YU6AO
too <http://www.yu6ao.info/log.html>.

* IARU  Region 3 Conference special event on air: India telecommunication
authorities  have authorized the operation of a special event station in
conjunction with  the 13th International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 3
Conference. Using  the call sign VU13IARU, the station commenced operation
August 3 and will  remain active until August 11 on HF and VHF from the
conference venue, Hotel  Hari International in Bangalore. Amateur Radio
Society of India (ARSI)  Governing Council member A.R. Prathap Kumar, VU2POP,
will manage the special  event station.--ARSI

* Irish radio amateurs seek 500 kHz allocation:  According to the Radio
Society of Great Britain (RSGB), the Irish Radio  Transmitters Society has
applied to Irish communications regulator ComReg for  a small allocation in
the region of 500 kHz for Amateur Radio  experimentation. The move follows a
similar proposal made by the RSGB to UK  regulator Ofcom in 2004. Ofcom has
not yet made a decision on the RSGB  proposal, but the society is hopeful of
an allocation between 501 and 504  kHz. There is also a possibility that
Ofcom might designate the spot  frequency of 500 kHz as a maritime memorial
frequency. In recent years, there  has been little traffic on the band 415 to
526.6 kHz, after most countries  stopped using it as a Morse emergency
maritime frequency in the  1990s.

* Jack W. Herbstreit, ex-W0DW, SK: Jack W. Herbstreit, ex-W0DW, of  Boulder
Colorado, died May 1. He was 88. Among the pioneers in radio  propagation
research, Herbstreit was a radio engineer with the Central Radio  Propagation
Laboratory of the National Bureau of Standards (now National  Institute of
Standards and Technology) from 1946 to 1965. An ARRL member, he  was director
of the International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR), a  predecessor of
the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication  Standardization
Sector (ITU-T) in Geneva from 1966 to 1974. He served briefly  as consultant
to the director of the Institute of Telecommunication Sciences  (a CRPL
successor organization) until retirement in 1975. Following  graduation from
the University of Cincinnati, Herbstreit briefly worked for  WLW and the FCC.
During World War II, he and Kenneth A. Norton conducted  radio communication
studies in Panama and the South Pacific for the military  and participated in
the development and evaluation of a wartime LORAN (Long  Range Aid to
Navigation) system. At the CRPL following the war, Herbstreit  participated
in a wide range of radio wave propagation and noise studies,  including
investigations of air-to-ground propagation for the military. One  study for
the US Air Force resulted in his winning a Department of Commerce  Gold
Medal. Herbstreit became an internationally known telecommunication  expert
by participating on the US delegation at the HF broadcasting  conferences in
Mexico City (1948-1949) and in Rappolo, Italy (1950) and in  CCIR plenary
assemblies in the 1950s and 1960s. He became a fellow of the IRE  (now IEEE)
in 1958 and received the IEEE Harry Diamond Award in 1959. His  son-in-law,
Bruce Miller, now holds W0DW.-Based on information compiled by C.  Gordon
Little and Ernest K. Smith  

=========================================================== 
The ARRL  Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American
Radio Relay  League: ARRL--the National Association For Amateur Radio, 225
Main St,  Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax  860-594-0259;
<http://www.arrl.org>. Joel Harrison, W5ZN,  President.

The ARRL Letter offers a weekly e-mail digest of essential and  general news
of interest to active radio amateurs. Visit the ARRL Web  site
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From KD4SPW at aol.com  Tue Aug  8 18:25:07 2006
From: KD4SPW at aol.com (KD4SPW@aol.com)
Date: Tue Aug  8 18:37:33 2006
Subject: [FPARC] minutes of July meeting
Message-ID: <495.6f808b9.320a6943@aol.com>

             FORT PIERCE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB - MINUTES -  7/12/2006

      The regular monthly meeting of the Fort Pierce Amateur Radio Club was 
chaired by 
President Art Lindell, W4ZEF. Attendance was 11. There were no visitors this 
meeting.

      MINUTES: The minutes of the June meeting were approved as distributed, 
after motion 
by Paul, KG4MCE, seconded by Bob, KC0KAC.

      TREASURY: Treasurer Carl, KF4KCI was absent this meeting, so no report.

      President Art, W4ZEF, asked Mel, W4DAQ, about our club HF radio. Mel 
said that the synthesizer was out of lock, so he took it to International Radio 
in Fort Pierce. Mel said they promised to have it ready for Field Day. Mel 
said we didn't get it in time for Field Day. The repair price is $158.88. It is 
now ready. Ernie, KF4IHX, will pick up the radio. Pete, 
KD4SPW, will give Ernie   a personal check to pay the repair. 

      REPEATER: Kevin, W4KKW, is absent tonight. 

      IRLP: Kevin, W4KKW, absent.

      SKYWARN CLASS: No news.

      Art, W4ZEF, said that the club bought Bill, N4XEO's flatbed trailer for 
$200. He said the club will decide about purchasing Bill's GAP HF vertical 
antenna that we used at Field Day. Reports are it worked very well. We are 
unsure about buying the GAP because just before Field Day 2 hams donated a bunch of 
gear to the club, including a few Cushcraft HF vertical antennas.

      Ron Knaggs, N1GYX, donated, along with other items, a rotor, 2 
antennas, a HF tuner, PK232 TNCs, and a beam.

      Bill, Loviska, N4RN, donated, along with other items, 2 HF vertical 
antennas, a rotor, and a push up pole. 
     
      Art, W4ZEF, began a discussion about the club?s remaining 2 aluminum 
crank up towers that Jess Porter, W4DNS, donated several months ago. He said we 
might install one on the trailer we just bought. He discussed some other 
options for one of the towers. Art said we really need another gear box, for the 
new trailer.  

      Art, W4ZEF, said the club will decide whether to buy Bill, N4XEO?s, 
YAESU FT-847. He said we will have to decide by next meeting, before the Hamfest.

      Art, W4ZEF, said we will have a work day at Bill?s house this Saturday 
about 9am. Meet at CLOCK RESTAURANT at 8am for breakfast.

      Art, W4ZEF, told about a request that Joe, KD4BTD, received for the 
club to participate 
in a Veteran?s Day event this fall at the UDT/SEAL museum in Fort Pierce.

      ATTENDANCE:      KD4SPW, W4RPE, W4DAQ, W1QPD, BOBBIE ELLMERS,    
KF4NUR, KC0KAC, KG4MCE, KF4IHX, KB4VVE, W4ZEF.

      Art, W4ZEF, closed the meeting early to continue with a Hamfest meeting.

                                                          Submitted by 
Secretary Peter Amar, KD4SPW.
From W4kkw at aol.com  Fri Aug 11 22:18:19 2006
From: W4kkw at aol.com (W4kkw@aol.com)
Date: Fri Aug 11 22:31:03 2006
Subject: [FPARC] The ARRL Letter Vol. 25, No. 32 August 11, 2006
Message-ID: <564.41e6ec6.320e946b@aol.com>

***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 25, No. 32
August 11,  2006
***************

IN THIS EDITION:

* IARU Region 3 elects  new leadership
* Amateur Radio license of convicted felon in jeopardy;  hearing pending
* MARS to support US Transportation Security Administration  in emergencies
* Greek space campers converse via ham radio with German  astronaut
* ISS ham radio "go-to" guy earns NASA's Silver Snoopy Award
*  ARRL on-line auction gearing up
* ARRL HQ volunteer tour guides on the  job
*  Solar Update
*  IN BRIEF: 
This  weekend on the radio
ARRL Certification and Continuing  Education course registration
ARRL HQ phone system to be  disrupted August 16
New CQ WPX Award manager  announced
Thirtieth Annual Tokyo Ham Fair August  19-20
Donald R. Newcomb, W0DN, SK
Robert M. Richardson, W4UCH, SK
Cliff Buttschardt, K7RR,  SK


===========================================================
==>Delivery  problems: First see  FAQ
<http://www.arrl.org/members-only/faq.html#nodelivery>, then  e-mail
<letter-dlvy@arrl.org>
==>Editorial questions or comments  only: Rick Lindquist,  N1RL,
<n1rl@arrl.org>
===========================================================

==>IARU  REGION 3 ELECTS NEW LEADERSHIP 

The 13th Conference of IARU Region 3 was  held in Bangalore, India August
7-11. IARU Region 3  <http://www.jarl.or.jp/iaru-r3/> consists of the
member-societies of  the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) in the
Asia-Pacific area. There  were 13 IARU member-societies represented in person
with another five  represented by proxy. Representing the ARRL, which has
Full members in Guam,  the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa, were
International Affairs  Vice President Rod Stafford, W6ROD, Chief Executive
Officer and Secretary  David Sumner, K1ZZ, and Chief Technology Officer Paul
Rinaldo, W4RI. The IARU  International Secretariat was represented by Vice
President Tim Ellam, VE6SH.  All four also will attend a meeting of the IARU
Administrative Council in  Bangalore on August 12-14.

Conference arrangements were made by an  outstanding team of volunteers of
the Amateur Radio Society of India (ARSI),  the IARU member-society for
India. 

The conference considered more  than 60 input documents containing reports
and proposals from Region 3  member-societies, coordinators and committee
chairmen, as well as from IARU  Regions 1 and 2. The conference documents are
available on the Web  <http://www.jarl.or.jp/iaru-r3/13r3c/docs/docs.htm>.

Two Working  Groups dealing with policy and operational issues met in
parallel. A third  Working Group to consider constitutional issues met when
the other two  Working Groups were not in session. Proposals to amend the
Constitution that  had been proposed in advance by member-societies were
considered, and modest  amendments were adopted. Recommendations were adopted
addressing a wide range  of Amateur Radio issues, including the 2007 World
Radiocommunication  Conference, BPL/PLC interference, international
licensing, development of  Amateur Radio in the Pacific Islands, interference
from unauthorized  non-amateur stations operating in the amateur bands,
emergency communications  preparedness, and signal reporting for digital
modes. 

A new slate of  Directors was elected to manage the affairs of the Region
between  conferences. They are Michael Owen, VK3KI, who also was elected
Chairman of  Directors; Shizuo Endo, JE1MUI; Gopal Madhavan, VU2GMN; Peter B.
Lake, ZL2AZ;  and Prof. Rhee-Joong Guen, HL1AQQ. The contributions of
retiring Directors Y.  S. Park, HL1IFM, Chandru Ramchandra, VU2RCR, Yoshiji
Sekido, JJ1OEY, and K.  C. Selvadurai, 9V1UV were noted with great
appreciation. Keigo Komuro,  JA1KAB, continues as Secretary of the Region.

The 14th Region 3  Conference is planned for Christchurch, New Zealand in
2009. -- David Sumner,  K1ZZ

==>AMATEUR RADIO LICENSE OF CONVICTED FELON IN JEOPARDY; HEARING  PENDING

The FCC has initiated a hearing proceeding against Robert D.  Landis, N6FRV,
of Atascadero, California, who was convicted on two felony  counts in 1991,
fined $10,000 and sentenced to 11 years in prison. The  hearing will
determine whether Landis will be allowed to continue to hold his  Advanced
class license, which is due to expire on November 1. The Order to  Show  Cause
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1570A1.pdf>
released  August 1 was in response to a complaint pointing out Landis's
conviction for  lewd behavior involving a minor. For several years now, the
FCC has applied  character standards once reserved for broadcast licensees to
Amateur Radio  licensing and renewal cases. 

"Thus, felony convictions, especially those  involving sexual assault on
children, raise questions regarding an amateur  licensee's qualifications,"
the FCC said in this week's Order. Section  312(a)(2) of the Communications
Act provides that the Commission may revoke  any license if conditions come
to its attention that would warrant refusal to  grant a license on the
original application, the FCC noted.

"The  foregoing makes plain that Mr Landis's felony convictions raise  serious
questions as to whether he possesses the requisite character  qualifications
to be and to remain a Commission licensee and whether his  captioned license
should be revoked."

The FCC ordered Landis to show  cause why his authorization for an Amateur
Radio license should not be  revoked, although the Enforcement Bureau will
bear the burden of proof with  respect to the issues raised. An
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) presides at  such hearings, at which evidence
and witnesses may be presented and heard.  

If Landis fails to respond to the Order within 30 days or otherwise  waives
his right to a hearing, the ALJ will issue an order terminating the  hearing
proceeding and certifying the case to the FCC.

The FCC served  notice July 14 on two other Amateur Radio licensees that
their respective  applications would be designated for hearing. Both cases
involve apparent  misrepresentations to the Commission. Special Counsel in
the FCC Spectrum  Enforcement Division Riley Hollingsworth told Gordon D.
Young, WB6NKJ, that  his Amateur Extra upgrade application would be
designated for hearing to  "determine whether you are qualified to remain a
Commission licensee, and, if  so, whether your Extra class application should
be granted."

The FCC  alleges that Young made misrepresentations to the Commission
regarding  repairs to his transmitter after he received a Warning Notice for
allegedly  operating on a frequency not allowed to Advanced class licensees.

The  Commission plans to designate the Amateur Radio Technician class
application  of Frank C. Richards of Mooers, New York, for hearing because of
unresolved  circumstances surrounding his 2004 filing of applications to
change the  address and call sign on a license that apparently belonged to a
man of the  same name in Florida.

After Richards submitted the license for KG2IJ for  cancellation in June
2004, the FCC said it contemplated no further  enforcement action. The
Commission said, however, that it would review the  circumstances of the
applications should Richards ever apply for an Amateur  Radio license in the
future.

Richards passed the Technician exam last  March and applied for a license in
late June.

==>MARS TO SUPPORT US  TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION IN EMERGENCIES

Amateur Radio  operators who are members of the Military Affiliate Radio
System (MARS) will  provide back-up communication for the US Transportation
Security  Administration (TSA) under a formal agreement announced in July by
Army MARS  Chief Kathy Harrison, AAA9A. Protecting airports during the
hurricane season  will be the immediate focus, she said, adding that the new
MARS-TSA  collaboration "is likely to expand to other Department of Homeland
Security  (DHS) areas" in the future.

"This is an extensive area and will require  member support across the
continental United States," Harrison said in a  broadcast announcement to
Army MARS participants. "We will need many  volunteers to man teams assigned
to specific geographical areas, starting  with airports throughout the
hurricane corridor." She called for "physically  capable" Amateur Radio
operators to volunteer for the assignment.

The  first airport emergency support teams will be located at four airports
in the  Florida hurricane belt: Miami, Ft Myers, Jacksonville and Pensacola,
Harrison  said. She added that recruiting will immediately follow for nine
additional  potential hurricane targets from Washington, DC to Houston. In a
later phase  - but as soon as possible - additional teams will be recruited
for other  hurricane locations including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands,
and after  that, the remainder of the continental US.

The emergency support teams -  each consisting of four members of MARS - are
being assembled under joint  sponsorship of MARS and the TSA, with deployment
assignments determined by  the TSA when and if the government's communication
systems fail. "Volunteers  should be within a reasonable traveling distance
to the airport. It will be  their responsibility to get to the site when
activated," said  Harrison.

The Memorandum of Understanding, which is already in place,  calls for using
MARS networks, personnel and equipment to maintain  communication during the
first 72 hours of incidents involving aircraft, mass  transit and pipelines.
Seventy-two hours is considered the maximum time  needed for federal response
organizations to deploy internal emergency  communication systems.

The MoU spells out the most extensive MARS support  mission since the
development of the Essential Elements of Information (EEI),  which date to
the 1994 Northridge earthquake that devastated parts of  California's San
Fernando Valley. EEIs are alerts to the Pentagon of a  natural disaster or
other incident that might require a federal  response.

In a memo to MARS personnel, Harrison included the following  points:

.  The Navy-Marine Corps and Air Force MARS organizations  are included in
the call for volunteers, via their separate chains of  command.

.  Army MARS state directors will be responsible for  formation of the joint
teams.

.  All deployments will be by team,  each with a combination of equipment and
operator capabilities and members  ready to work 12-hour shifts. Some
locations may ultimately require more than  one team.

.  Required equipment for each team will include HF and  VHF radios with
voice and digital capability, Pactor/Airmail digital  messaging, phone
patching and emergency power.

.  Some locations  may have TSA radio gear and emergency power supply to
augment the hams'  personal equipment.

A particular MARS responsibility will be to provide  communication
interoperability with local, state and national networks, such  as the Radio
Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) and Shared Resources  (SHARES). A
separate web of national and regional HF radio networks, SHARES  links
federal agencies under the DHS's National Communications System (NCS),  of
which MARS already is a primary participant.

The pact calls for a  reliable back-up solution "to ensure the continuity of
TSA's command and  control function during the first 72 hours following any
incident interfering  with normal communications channels and to provide
local, regional and  nationwide TSA communications during that time." The
existing Army MARS  emergency communication network offers such a solution
immediately and at no  additional cost to the TSA, the MoU points out.

Under the MoU, the TSA  agrees to provide MARS volunteers with access to its
facilities and space for  radio equipment. It further agrees to integrate
MARS capabilities into its  emergency planning and exercises. The Army's
commitment includes providing  "volunteer MARS radio operators, equipment,
and use of the MARS radio  networks" and developing "alert procedures and a
communications support plan"  that "will identify specific frequencies, call
signs, and radio operator  level duties." Harrison stressed that the decision
to volunteer rests with  the individual. "The Army has no liability over a
member who reports to a  disaster site; members will be responsible to TSA
personnel."

Harrison  told the Army MARS membership that she's "very excited" about the
new  agreement. "This will be a fast-moving recruitment/development action,
and I  request your support in filling these teams."

The chiefs of Air Force and  Navy-Marine Corps MARS also are onboard with the
new agreement and have  messaged their respective memberships to signify
their participation and  cooperation with Army MARS. Air Force MARS Chief Don
Poquette, AGA3C/KE9XB,  has pledged his members' support. "AF MARS will
assist to accomplish this  mission," he said, pending working out logistical
details.

Harrison  says she and her headquarters staff met recently with TSA and  DHS
representatives to formalize the details of the cooperative arrangement.  She
said MARS area coordinators will provide specific requirements to state  MARS
directors to recruit members and equipment capabilities to support  TSA.

Signing the MoU on behalf of the Army was Col Mary Beth Shively,  chief of
staff, Network Enterprise Technology Command/Ninth Army Signal  Command.
James Schear, General Manager, Operational Plans and Programs,  endorsed it
for the TSA. Headquartered at Ft Huachuca, Arizona, the Ninth  Army Signal
Command oversees the Army MARS mission. -- Bill Sexton, N1IN  

==>GREEK SPACE CAMPERS CONVERSE VIA HAM RADIO WITH GERMAN  ASTRONAUT

It was a truly international event July 29, when a Greek  official and two
youngsters attending a European Space Agency (ESA) space  camp in Patras,
Greece, spoke with German astronaut Thomas Reiter, DF4TR,  aboard the
International Space Station. 

The radio contact was  performed by an ARISS ground station at Sacred Heart
Academy, Honolulu,  Hawaii, operated by Nancy Rocheleau, WH6PN. Signals were
relayed to Greece by  telebridge courtesy of Verizon Teleconferencing. 

Participating in this  ESA-organized event was Mrs Marietta Giannakou,
Minister of National  Education and Religious Affairs, who asked the first
questions, inviting  Reiter to address a message to the youth and to comment
on experiments that  are being conducted onboard the International Space
Station. 

Thomas  said there is so much we can gain for the benefit of mankind by going
to  space and exploring other planets. He encouraged young people to engage
in  careers related to space flight. One of his experiments is to study  the
behavior of fluids of different densities in microgravity.  

Answering students' questions, Thomas insisted on the importance  for
candidate astronauts to first study hard and acquire a solid background  in
sciences such as biology, physics or medical science. About future  space
exploration, he predicted that we will go back to the Moon within a  few
years and possibly to Mars 25 years from now. 

The Patras event  was highlighted on Greek national TV evening news and
publicized widely in  several newspapers. 

The ARISS school contact was also distributed on  EchoLink and IRLP. 

ARISS is an educational outreach with US  participation by ARRL, AMSAT and
NASA. -- tnx Gaston Bertels,  ON4WF

==>ISS HAM RADIO "GO-TO" GUY EARNS NASA'S SILVER SNOOPY  AWARD

NASA has honored ISS Ham Radio Project Engineer Kenneth Ransom,  N5VHO, with
its prestigious "Silver Snoopy"  Award
<http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/sfa/snoopy.html>. Ransom was tapped  to receive
the award for his role in helping International Space Station  Expedition 12
Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, complete and confirm Worked  All States
(WAS) and Worked All Continents (WAC), including Antarctica, from  NA1SS, as
well as logging some 130 DXCC entities. McArthur's duty tour ended  in April.

"I am honored to have received the award and honored again by  Bill
McArthur's thoughtfulness at selecting such an Amateur  Radio-appropriate
Silver Snoopy," Ransom told ARRL. He explained that every  Silver Snoopy has
flown on a space mission. "The one that was awarded to me  was flown on
STS-58, which was Bill's first shuttle flight." The STS-58  mission, he said,
not only was a SAREX (Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment)  flight but
McArthur's introduction to Amateur Radio from space. SAREX was  the
predecessor to the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station  (ARISS)
program <http://www.rac.ca/ariss>.

In his role as ISS  Ham Radio Project Engineer, Ransom helps ARISS arrange
opportunities for  students to speak via Amateur Radio with the space station
crew at NA1SS. He  also coordinates with the ISS crew on the configuration
and operation of the  two ham radio stations aboard the space station.

At some point during  Expedition 12, Ransom realized that McArthur had
already logged 25 states,  and he figured, "Why stop there?" Pretty soon, he
was lining up contacts for  McArthur in the other 25.

"It was an, 'I know a friend who knows a friend  who knows a friend' sort of
thing," Ransom explained. "There are a lot of  folks eager to talk to an
astronaut."

And the feeling was  mutual.

"Different crews do different things as pastimes," Ransom said.  "Bill
enjoyed talking on the radio. It gave him someone else to talk to  besides
CAPCOM, the voice of mission control."

By the end of the  mission, McArthur not only became the first astronaut to
earn WAS from space  but put lots of DX -- routine and exotic -- in the NA1SS
log on both VHF and  UHF. Overall, he made more than 1800 contacts during his
approximately six  months in space. He also established a new ARISS milestone
by completing 37  school group contacts.

"None of that would have been possible without the  work Kenneth did,"
McArthur said. "He alerted radio operators in some pretty  obscure places --
places that rarely have contact with the space  program."

To show his gratitude, McArthur recently presented Ransom with  the Silver
Snoopy Award -- a silver lapel pin featuring the famous "Peanuts"  comic
strip character Snoopy in a spacesuit. NASA's Astronaut Office presents  the
award to those who have significantly enhanced the space agency's goals  for
human exploration and development of space. Fewer than one percent of  the
space program's workforce receives it annually.

McArthur is still  working to confirm DXCC from space. So far, he has
approximately one-third of  the necessary contacts confirmed.--NASA provided
some information for this  report

==>ARRL ON-LINE AUCTION GEARING UP

A big "Thank You"  goes to the hundreds of ARRL members who have already
contacted us about the  first ARRL On-Line Auction, expressing their support
for and interest in this  exciting event. We have already begun receiving
some very generous donations  that will surely make the first ARRL On-Line
Auction an event to remember.  

The auction will run from Monday, October 23 through Friday, November  3.
Individuals who wish to participate will need to register  on-line
approximately one week prior to the event. An update announcement  will
appear on the ARRL Web site when the ARRL On-Line Auction site "goes  live." 

==>ARRL HQ TOUR GUIDES ON THE JOB

Now when you arrive  at the ARRL for a tour, your host will be one of our new
Volunteer Tour  Guides. It might be Bob, or it could be Bob -- depending on
the day, you  might just luck out and get Bob! 

No, we're not re-creating The Newhart  Show; our first three Volunteer Tour
Guides, while not brothers, are all  named Bob! 

On July 28, ARRL Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B,  along with
Membership Manager Katie Breen, W1KRB, and Sales and Marketing  Coordinator
Jackie Cornell, presented framed certificates recognizing their  volunteerism
to the three new Volunteer Tour Guides: Bob Allison, WB1GCM, Bob  Burke,
KA1KOV, and Bob Stanwood, KB1EYZ. 

"We are very thankful and  appreciative of your enthusiasm for Amateur Radio
and the League. I know our  guests will enjoy their visit to Headquarters
even more now because of you --  thank you!" said Breen. 

And just who is the "Trio Bob"? Bob Allison,  WB1GCM, has been a ham for 32
years; he holds an Amateur Extra class license.  His Amateur Radio hobby led
directly to an education in electronics and a 27  year career in broadcast
television and radio. "Ham Radio opens many doors in  life, and I've had the
opportunity to help people through this wonderful  hobby," he said. Bob and
his wife, ARRL staffer Kathy, KA1RWY, reside in  Coventry, Connecticut. Bob
also enjoys sailing and working on Model A Fords.  "It's a privilege to be
able to volunteer here at ARRL HQ," he said. "I am  pleased to be your tour
guide!" 

Bob Burke, KA1KOV, got into Amateur  Radio, as he says, "by accident." When
he was Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop  29 in the early 1980s, another Scout
leader had heard of a Novice class  starting at the Newington Amateur Radio
League (NARL). Since the Scouters had  to travel to New York for their
license upgrades, it was a long time between  Tech and General, but Bob now
holds an Amateur Extra class license, is a  Volunteer Examiner, as well as a
past president of NARL. 

Bob  Stanwood, KB1EYZ, has been involved with Amateur Radio since building  a
crystal set when he was 10 years old; it led to his discovery of short  wave
radio and experimenting with TV antennas in high school. After earning  two
degrees in electrical engineering from Cornell University and four years  of
piloting C-130s for the US Air Force, Bob was hired by Pratt &  Whitney,
eventually in program management. He retired 13 years ago and worked  another
four years as a consultant, and in full retirement, turned to Amateur  Radio.
Since earning his Technician license in 2000, he has progressed to  Amateur
Extra, continuing to build antennas and participating in public  service
events. He and his wife Peggy have been married 42 years, and have  two adult
children and two wonderful granddaughters, aged four and seven. In  addition
to his family and Amateur Radio, Bob also volunteers at the New  England Air
Museum. 

Tours are given every day the ARRL HQ is open, at  9, 10 and 11 AM, and 1, 2
and 3 PM. Part of the tour includes W1AW, so be  sure to bring a copy of your
license, as you are encouraged to operate. While  tour reservations are not
necessary, large groups should notify Jackie  Cornell at 860-594-0292.

==>SOLAR UPDATE

Heliophile Tad "Don't  Let The Sun Catch You Crying" Cook, K7RA, Seattle,
Washington, reports: On  four days this week the sun was spotless, so the
average daily sunspot number  for the week dropped over 11 points to 8.6.
Sunspot numbers are now  recovering and climbing, from zero on Monday to 12,
25 and 37 on Tuesday  through Thursday. Sunspot numbers and solar flux should
continue a modest  recovery through next week. When the sunspots were zero,
the solar flux (a  measurement of 10.7 GHz energy from the sun, observed at a
station in British  Columbia) was below 70. Now solar flux is expected to
rise in the short term  to 85 or more. Rising sunspot numbers and solar flux
mean higher MUF (Maximum  Usable Frequency), although not a lot higher.

Sunspot numbers for August  3 through 9 were 23, 0, 0, 0, 0, 12 and 25 with a
mean of 8.6. 10.7 cm flux  was 71.3, 69.6, 69.5, 69.5, 69.8, 71.4, and 74.1,
with a mean of 70.7.  Estimated planetary A indices were 6, 3, 4, 4, 32, 12
and 9 with a mean of  10. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 5, 2, 2, 2,
19, 10 and 9, with a  mean of 7.

For more information concerning radio propagation, see the  ARRL Technical
Information Service at  http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html. For a
detailed explanation of  the numbers used in this bulletin,  see
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/k9la-prop.html. An archive of past  propagation
bulletins is at  http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/.

__________________________________

==>IN  BRIEF:

* This weekend on the radio: The WAE DX Contest (CW) and the  Maryland-DC QSO
Party are the weekend of August 12-13. The ARRL 10 GHz and Up  Contest, the
North American QSO Party (SSB), the SARTG World Wide RTTY  Contest, and the
New Jersey QSO Party, as well as the International  Lighthouse/Lightship
Weekend are the weekend of August 19-20. The Run for the  Bacon QRP Contest
is August 21. See the ARRL Contest Branch  page
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/> and the WA7BNM Contest  Calendar
<http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more  info.

* ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course  registration:
Registration begins Friday, August 11 for these ARRL  Certification and
Continuing Education (CCE) online courses: Amateur Radio  Emergency
Communications Level 1 (EC-001), Radio Frequency Interference  (EC-006),
Antenna Design and Construction (EC-009), Analog Electronics  (EC-012) and
Digital Electronics (EC-013). Classes begin Friday, October 6.  To learn
more, visit the CCE Course Listing  page
<http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or contact the CCE  Department
<cce@arrl.org>.

* HQ telephone service to be  disrupted August 16: On Wednesday, August 16,
after the close of business (5  PM EDT), the ARRL HQ phone system will be
taken off-line for up to a couple  of hours so critical upgrades to the
software running the system can be  installed. During that time, anyone
calling an ARRL HQ number will hear a  ring tone, but the call will not be
answered. We regret any inconvenience  this may cause to our members. 

* N8BJQ is new CQ WPX Award manager:  Steve Bolia, N8BJQ, has been named to
succeed Norm Koch, WN5N (ex-K6ZDL), as  manager of the CQ WPX Award program,
CQ Publisher and President Dick Ross,  K2MGA, has announced. The WPX awards
are issued for confirmed contacts with  stations having different call sign
prefixes. Koch is retiring after 25 years  in the position. "We thank Norm
for his many years of devoted service to the  WPX program, to CQ and to
Amateur Radio," said Ross, "We wish him all the  best in the future." A CQ
Contesting Hall of Famer and Contest Committee  member, Bolia was CQ WPX
Contest director from 1982 until 2003. He holds CW,  SSB and mixed Worked All
Zones awards, is on the DXCC Honor Roll (mixed and  CW), and holds 5-Band
DXCC, RTTY DXCC and 160-Meter DXCC. He's also made  several DXpeditions. The
September issue of CQ will include updated address  information to submit
award applications.

* Donald R. Newcomb, W0DN,  SK: Don Newcomb, W0DN, of Henderson, Nevada, died
July 27. He was 71. Newcomb  founded the Butternut Company, manufacturer of a
series of highly regarded  antennas, and he held several patents in antenna
design. A bit of a  renaissance man, Newcomb also was an accomplished
musician, held a doctorate  in French and was a university professor in
Minnesota before he started  Butternut in the late 1970s. In 1994, Newcomb
sold Butternut to Bencher, Inc  and retired to Nevada. -- tnx Bob Locher,
W9KNI

* Robert M.  Richardson, W4UCH, SK: Robert M. "Bob" Richardson, W4UCH, of Ft
Lauderdale,  Florida, died June 29. He was 79. An aviation executive, fighter
pilot and  inventor, Richardson contributed several articles to QST and to
Ham Radio  magazine between 1959 and 1986. He also authored The Gunnplexer
Cookbook,  published in 1981 by Ham Radio Publishing. Following World War II
service as  a fighter pilot, he was assigned to work on "Operation Ivy"
hydrogen bomb  test in the Marshall Islands. He holds several patents
including one for a  "battery-free remote radio transmitter," a precursor to
today's RF  identification tags used in retail security and inventory
control. He also  holds a patent for the first bacteria-powered radio
transmitter, an  accomplishment featured by Life magazine in a 1961 article,
"Will Bugs  Generate Our Future Power?" In 1962, Richardson's contribution
"First  Biological Cell Application Powers Six-Meter Transmitter" appeared in
QST's  "Technical Correspondence." The family invites memorial donations to
the  Robert Merz Richardson Memorial, Chautauqua Foundation, PO Box  28,
Chautauqua, NY 14722.

* Cliff Buttschardt, K7RR, SK: Long-time  Project OSCAR and AMSAT member
Cliff Buttschardt, K7RR, of Morro Bay,  California, died July 30. An ARRL
Life Member, he was 75. Just days before  Buttschardt's death, the Project
OSCAR Board of Directors awarded him its  Lifetime Achievement Award - its
highest honor -- for contributions to  Amateur Satellite Radio. "In March of
2006 the Board of Project OSCAR voted  to recognize Cliff with an award for
his achievements and his lifetime of  contributions to amateur satellite
programs," said Project OSCAR Vice  President Emily Clarke, N1DID. "Over the
years Cliff contributed much to  Project OSCAR and AMSAT, and was one of the
guiding forces behind the CubeSat  program at Cal Poly, where he has been
working quietly behind the scenes as  an advisor." Unfortunately, a
much-heralded attempt to launch 14 university  CubeSats -- one renamed in
Buttschardt's honor -- failed July 26. It is  requested that in lieu of
flowers a contribution to AMSAT or the ARRL be made  in Cliff's  name.

=========================================================== 
The  ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American
Radio  Relay League: ARRL--the National Association For Amateur Radio, 225
Main St,  Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax  860-594-0259;
<http://www.arrl.org>. Joel Harrison, W5ZN,  President.

The ARRL Letter offers a weekly e-mail digest of essential and  general news
of interest to active radio amateurs. Visit the ARRL Web  site
<http://www.arrl.org> for the latest Amateur Radio news and news  updates.
The ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/> also offers  informative features
and columns. ARRL Audio News  <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> is a
weekly "ham radio  newscast" compiled and edited from The ARRL Letter. It's
also available as a  podcast from our Web site.

Material from The ARRL Letter may be  republished or reproduced in whole or
in part in any form without additional  permission. Credit must be given to
The ARRL Letter/American Radio Relay  League.

==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery  only!):
letter-dlvy@arrl.org
==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick  Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl@arrl.org
==>ARRL News on the Web:  <http://www.arrl.org>
==>ARRL Audio News:  <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> or  call
860-594-0384

==>How to Get The ARRL Letter

The ARRL  Letter is available to ARRL members free of charge directly from
ARRL HQ. To  subscribe, unsubscribe or change your address for e-mail
delivery: 
ARRL  members first must register on the Members Only Web  Site
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bulletins, and other material. To change these  selections--including
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* The  QTH.net listserver, thanks to volunteers from the Boston Amateur Radio
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cannot assist subscribers who receive The ARRL Letter via  this listserver.) 

From w4zef at bellsouth.net  Sun Aug 13 14:57:56 2006
From: w4zef at bellsouth.net (Arthur Lindell)
Date: Sun Aug 13 15:10:45 2006
Subject: [FPARC] Hamfeest
Message-ID: <44DF7634.000003.02756@RADIOROOMSONY>

 Everyone
    Good job and well done on the Hamfest another good year!  Now we will
start thinking about next year and how we can even improve more each year we
ll continual to get better & better.
 
If you can read this, thank a teacher.... If
you are reading it in
English thank a Veteran.
Thanks for reading this & have a great day!
73 Art W4ZEF
 

From w4zef at bellsouth.net  Fri Aug 25 22:18:04 2006
From: w4zef at bellsouth.net (Arthur Lindell)
Date: Fri Aug 25 22:32:05 2006
Subject: [FPARC] Fw: Operations from W1AW
Message-ID: <44EFAF5C.000001.01764@RADIOROOMSONY>

 
 
If you can read this, thank a teacher.... If
you are reading it in
English thank a Veteran.
Thanks for reading this & have a great day!
73 Art W4ZEF
 
-------Original Message-------
 
From: ka1vrf@bellsouth.net
Date: 08/25/06 14:34:33
To: w4zef@bellsouth.net
Cc: ai4ho@comcast.net
Subject: Operations from W1AW
 
Art and Mark,
Myself, Rachel, Chuck (N4QEP) and Cookie (N4QEP) are planning to operate the
ARRL station W1AW on Monday afternoon 8-28 from 1300 to 1545 hrs.
If all goes well we will begin ops on 14.260 or there abouts and we should
also have
infromation as to what other frequecies we will be operating on. I am
planning on starting
off by favoring Florida if band conditiond permit. The bands have been
really ruff from up here
this past week. If you would, pass the word and we will try to contact as
many of the hams
back home as possible.
73 de Wayne
 
 

From W4kkw at aol.com  Sat Aug 26 07:17:13 2006
From: W4kkw at aol.com (W4kkw@aol.com)
Date: Sat Aug 26 07:31:23 2006
Subject: [FPARC] The ARRL Letter Vol. 25, No. 34 August 25, 2006 
Message-ID: <4d4.76063100.322187b9@aol.com>

***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 25, No. 34
August 25,  2006
***************

IN THIS EDITION:

* +US businesswoman will  be first female civilian space traveler
* +Roanoke Division Vice Director  seat is only one contested
* +Tasmanian high schoolers experience ham radio  contact with ISS
* +SSTV system in space undergoing troubleshooting
*  +Ohio, Idaho section managers retain seats in contested elections
* +Silent  SuitSat-1 still in orbit
*  Solar Update
*  IN BRIEF: 
This weekend on the radio
ARRL Certification  and Continuing Education course registration
+Two radio  amateurs to be aboard shuttle Atlantis
+Interoperability called  vital to public safety first-responder missions
Katrina  documentary to air
Smithsonian's NN3SI to QRT during  museum renovations
Jerry Seligman, W7BUN, SK
DXCC says some ZL7/KH0PR cards rejected in error
SEWFERS Wisconsin Hamfest canceled
Correction

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

===========================================================
==>Delivery  problems: First see  FAQ
<http://www.arrl.org/members-only/faq.html#nodelivery>, then  e-mail
<letter-dlvy@arrl.org>
==>Editorial questions or comments  only: Rick Lindquist,  N1RL,
<n1rl@arrl.org>
===========================================================

==>ANOUSHEH  ANSARI IS A "GO" AS FIRST FEMALE CIVILIAN SPACE TRAVELER

It's official!  Iranian-American businesswoman Anousheh Ansari, 39, will
travel to the  International Space Station next month as part of the Russian
Soyuz TMA-9  "taxi mission," Space Adventures Ltd
<http://www.spaceadventures.com/>  announced today. An eleventh-hour stand-in
for Daisuke "Dice-K" Enomoto as  the fourth civilian to fly to the ISS,
Ansari would be the first female  civilian "spaceflight participant."
Enomoto, 34, was removed from the Soyuz  flight roster for medical reasons.
Although Ansari has had at least some  training in using the Amateur Radio on
the International Space Station  (ARISS) <http://www.rac.ca/ariss> gear, it's
not yet known whether  she'll make ham radio contacts with Earth during her
approximately 10-day  stay in space.

"By reaching this dream I've had since childhood, I hope  to tangibly
demonstrate to young people all over the world that there is no  limit to
what they can accomplish," said Ansari, co-founder and chairman of  Prodea
Systems Inc, a digital home technology company that is sponsoring  her
efforts. "I'm thankful to both Space Adventures and Dice-K Enomoto  for
providing me this opportunity."

Ansari will join ISS Expedition 14  crew members NASA astronaut Michael
Lopez-Alegria, KE5GTK, and Russian  cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT, when
Soyuz TMA-9 launches September 14 from  Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Lopez-Alegria and Tyurin - a member of the  ISS Expedition 3 crew - will stay
aboard the ISS for about six  months.

Space Adventures says Ansari began her cosmonaut training earlier  this year
in preparation for a future orbital spaceflight.

"We are  pleased to announce this historic event, the world's first female
space  tourist, and are overjoyed that Anousheh is ready for flight,"  Space
Adventures President and CEO Eric Anderson said in a statement. "She  has
been training diligently for several months now and has been certified  for
flight. We celebrate Anousheh's dedication in her spaceflight  preparations
and wish her a successful and awe-inspiring  mission."

Space Adventures already has arranged for three civilians to  visit the ISS.
Previous private space explorers have included Dennis Tito,  KG6FZX, in 2001,
South Africa's Mark Shuttleworth in 2003 and Greg Olsen,  KC2ONX, in 2005.
ARISS arranged for all three space travelers to make  contacts with students
on Earth during their respective stays in  space.

Ansari was the winner of the 2000 National Entrepreneurial  Excellence Award
sponsored by Working Woman magazine. Her family made a major  contribution to
the X Prize - now known as the Ansari X Prize - which offered  a $10 million
prize for the first successful private reusable space vehicle.  The prize was
won in 2004 by a team headed by aerospace designer Burt Rutan.  

Comments Enomoto posted on his Web site this week suggest he views  his
grounding as a temporary setback in his goal of visiting space. He said  that
while the Russian medical board has left open the possibility that  the
problem can be remedied and he'll be able to return to training in  the
future, that wouldn't happen in time to permit him take part in  the
September mission. Dice-K reportedly was already trained and authorized  by
Russia to operate the ARISS equipment aboard the ISS using the RS0ISS  call
sign and was to have made some school group contacts. 

In  addition to Ansari, the return Soyuz flight will carry ISS Expedition 13
crew  members Pavel Vinogradov, RV3BS, and Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, back to
Earth.  Vinogradov and Williams have been aboard the ISS since last  April.

==>VICE DIRECTOR ELECTION SET IN ROANOKE DIVISION

The  only contest in the current election cycle for ARRL Director and  Vice
Director seats is in the Roanoke Division. Former South Carolina  Section
Manager Patricia Hensley, N4ROS, and the incumbent, the Rev Leslie  Shattuck,
K4NK, have filed petitions for the vice director seat. The ARRL  Ethics and
Elections Committee has declared Hensley and Shattuck eligible to  run.

No challengers stepped forward to face Roanoke Division Director  Dennis
Bodson, W4PWF, or incumbent directors or vice directors in four other  ARRL
divisions. Ballots will go out by October 1 to all full ARRL  Roanoke
Division members in good standing as of September 10. Votes will be  tallied
at ARRL Headquarters and the winner announced on November  17.

Current office holders in the five affected divisions filed valid  petitions
by the August 18 deadline to run for new three-year terms. In  addition to
Bodson, the Ethics and Elections Committee has declared these  unopposed
candidates elected: In the Central Division, Director Dick Isely,  W9GIG, and
Vice Director Howard Huntington, K9KM; in the Hudson Division,  Director
Frank Fallon, N2FF, and Vice Director Joyce Birmingham, KA2ANF; in  the New
England Division, Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI, and Vice Director  Mike
Raisbeck, K1TWF, and in the Northwestern Division, Director  Jim
Fenstermaker, K9JF, and Vice Director Bill Sawders, K7ZM.

In 2000  Hensley topped a field of three candidates to become South Carolina
SM. She  lost her bid for a second term to Jim Boehner, N2ZZ.

Shattuck, who chairs  the ARRL Board of Directors' Historical Committee, was
tapped to fill the  Vice Director's seat in 2000 after then-Roanoke Division
Director John  Kanode, N4MM, was elected as a vice president and Bodson moved
into the  director's seat. Shattuck, who also served as South Carolina
Section Manager  (1997-2000), was elected Roanoke Division Vice Director in
his own right  later that year.

Successful candidates for the 2007-2009 term take office  January 1.

==>ASTRONAUT, TASMANIAN STUDENTS WORK THROUGH ISS HAM RADIO  CONTACT GLITCHES

Although apparent technical problems plagued an August  18 Amateur Radio on
the International Amateur Station (ARISS) contact between  NA1SS and students
in Tasmania, US astronaut Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, was able  to hear and
respond to a few questions. Then, after repeatedly experiencing  difficulty
copying questions posed by students gathered at Reece High School,  in
Devonport, Williams opened the NA1SS microphone and ad-libbed for a  few
minutes, running down what amounted to a short list of frequently  asked
questions he's heard during past ARISS school QSOs.

"Sometimes  we're asked about exercise in space and the adaptation of our
bodies,"  Williams told the students, who represented both Reece and
Devonport high  schools. "In weightlessness, our muscles and bones will
atrophy, so we  exercise every day by running on a treadmill, and we also
have a  weight-lifting machine -- we get into a harness to do those
exercises. And we  also have a bicycle ergometer."

Williams went on to say that food aboard  the ISS is "very good, overall" and
similar to what the crew might eat on  Earth -- split evenly between Russian
and American cuisine. Some meal items  come in cans or need hydration, while
others are packaged for easy reheating  in the ISS galley's oven.

"It's just a little bit more difficult to  manage the food, of course,
because it will float off if you let go of it,"  he pointed out. To avoid
that problem with beverages, the crew consumes  liquids via a straw from
closed containers, he said.

At times during  the approximately nine-minute contact, Williams was able to
understand and  respond to some students' questions, and when he couldn't,
W6SRJ Earth  station control op Tim Bosma, W6ISS, attempted to relay the
questions.  Replying to one, Williams told the students that ISS crew members
don't  usually feel claustrophobic during their duty tours. "I think they
screen us  out before they ever select us to do this, to make sure we don't
get  claustrophobic," he said.

Verizon Conferencing donated a teleconferencing  link to provide two-way
audio between Australia and W6SRJ in Santa Rosa,  California. Will Marchant,
KC6ROL, moderated the contact for those listening  via the teleconference.
ARISS volunteers were unable to immediately determine  why Williams had
trouble copying W6SRJ at NA1SS.

After the ISS had  gone over the horizon, ARISS Mentor Tony Hutchison,
VK5ZAI, volunteered to  field any additional student questions. One student
wanted to know about the  ARISS school contact schedule. ARISS Volunteer
School Coordinator John  Nickel, WD5EEV, responded.

"We try to do at least one school a week, and  we try to do it all over the
world," he explained. "It's an international  operation, so we try to cover
all the continents at least for those schools  that do apply." Nickel added
that there's about a three-week transition  period during ISS crew
changeovers when no ARISS school contacts are  scheduled.

The technical glitches did cause a few long faces at the  school, said Tony
Bedelph VK7AX, of the NorthWest Tasmania Amateur Radio  Interest Group, which
helped set up for the contact in the Reece auditorium.  Despite the
difficulties, Bedelph called the QSO "a great experience for us  all."
Approximately 100 people were on hand for the event, he noted, and  the
contact attracted the attention of local news media.

ARISS  <http://www.rac.ca/ariss> is an international educational  outreach,
with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.

==>ISS  CREW, ARISS TEAM TROUBLESHOOTING SLOW-SCAN TV SYSTEM

The Amateur Radio on  the International Space Station (ARISS)
<http://www.rac.ca/ariss> team  is coordinating with Expedition 13 Commander
Pavel Vinogradov, RV3BS, and  ARISS-Russia's Sergei Samburov, RV3DR, to
troubleshoot the slow-scan  television (SSTV) system onboard the ISS. The
SSTV system remains off the  air.

"Photos of the current SSTV configuration that were downlinked to  Earth
showed several unanticipated results from the initial tests," ISS Ham  Radio
Project Engineer Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, told ARRL. "More  extensive
troubleshooting is being developed and could further delay  permanent
activation of the radio." He pointed out that Vinogradov is only  able to
work on the system in his free time; he's also due to return to Earth  in
September.

During the early stages of SSTV testing in late July,  Vinogradov thrilled
Earth station operators by manually transmitting several  pictures on 2
meters (the system has been using 144.490 and 145.800 MHz)  using the RS0ISS
call sign. Ransom says initial tests were run over Moscow,  and then the
system was left on for a few orbits.

Plans call for  Vinogradov to continue checking out the SSTV software,
configure and optimize  the radio and perform integration checks necessary.
So far, the SSTV system  has been unable to function properly in the
autonomous "slide show" mode,  Ransom said.

Miles Mann, WF1F, who developed the SSTV system as an ARISS  project,
explains that slide-show mode will permit the crew to preload a  directory of
images that then will automatically be transmitted to Earth.  "The crew will
not need to keep pushing a button to send images," he said in  a recent news
release. "In theory, the system can run for weeks at a time  without crew
involvement."

The SSTV system is not yet configured to  receive SSTV transmissions from
Earth stations, and no uplink frequency will  be made public until testing is
done. Earthbound radio amateurs are advised  not to attempt to transmit SSTV
images to the ISS. Mann has posted detailed  information about the SSTV
project on his MAREX-NA Web site  <http://www.marexmg.org./>.

==>INCUMBENT SECTION MANAGERS  OVERCOME RE-ELECTION CHALLENGES IN OHIO, IDAHO

Incumbent ARRL Section  Managers in Ohio and Idaho won re-election in the
only two contested races of  the current SM election cycle. ARRL Field and
Educational Services staffers  counted and verified election ballots August
22 at ARRL Headquarters. Sitting  SMs were re-elected without opposition in
seven other League  sections.

In the Ohio Section, veteran SM Joe Phillips, K8QOE, outpolled  challenger
Mark Erbaugh, N8ME, 1235 to 747. The nearly 2000 ballots cast by  Ohio
Section ARRL members were testament to the high interest in this  race.
Phillips's win makes him the first Ohio SM elected to five terms. He's  been
in office since October 1998.

"I want to thank all Ohio Section  voters for giving me the privilege of
heading the ARRL's best section,"  Phillips said after the votes were in.
"Mark, N8ME, ran a thoughtful and  issue-oriented campaign, which made this
election a model for election  campaigning."

In the Idaho Section, incumbent SM Doug Rich, W7DVR, topped  a field of three
candidates. Rich received 154 votes to 118 for John Wilson,  K0IP, and 83 for
past three-term Idaho SM Don Clower, KA7T. Rich has been SM  since September,
2003, when he was appointed to fill the year remaining in  the previous SM's
term. He was elected in his own right in October  2004.

During the campaign, Rich expressed his belief that an SM should  focus on
disaster readiness and communications. He has completed all three  levels of
the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications courses as well as  the
Federal Emergency Management Agency Incident Command System  courses.

Incumbent SMs in seven other ARRL sections were elected without  opposition.
They are: Betsey Doane, K1EIC, Connecticut; Skip Jackson, KS0J,  Minnesota;
Kent Olson, KA0LDG, North Dakota; John Thomason, WB5SYT, Oklahoma;  Sherri
Brower, W4STB, Southern Florida; John Ellis, NP2B, Virgin Islands and  Scott
Bauer, W2LC, Western New York.

New two-year terms for successful  candidates begin October 1.

The ARRL will re-solicit nominations for the  position of Puerto Rico SM
starting in the October 2006 QST. In the meantime,  incumbent Puerto Rico SM
Victor Madera, KP4PQ, will continue in  office.

==>LONG-SILENT SUITSAT-1 KEEPS GOING AND GOING

When  SuitSat-1 -- the novel satellite built in a surplus Russian Orlan
spacesuit  -- was launched during a spacewalk from the International Space
Station last  February 3, those familiar with orbital mechanics predicted it
would stay in  orbit for 120 days at best. As of August 25, some 203 days
(nearly seven  months) later -- largely forgotten and its ham radio voice
long since silent  -- SuitSat-1 has defied the odds and remains in orbit some
155 miles above  Earth.

A project of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station  (ARISS)
program, SuitSat-1, identifying as RS0RS, transmitted its voice  greetings on
2 meters plus an SSTV picture thousands of times. Although its  signal was
far weaker than it was supposed to be for reasons never determined  with any
certainty, SuitSat-1 remained operational for more than two  weeks.

ARISS International Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, had  credited
ARISS-Russia's Sergei Samburov, RV3DR, and his colleagues with  coming up
with the SuitSat concept, called Radioskaf or Radio Sputnik in  Russian.

The SuitSat-1 mission proved to be an Amateur Radio public  relations
bonanza. In addition to prompting dozens of news items on Web sites  and in
journals around the world, Reader's Digest judged SuitSat-1 "Best  Empty
Suit" in its "America's 100 Best: The 2006 List" Popular Science ran  an
article about SuitSat-1 in its June issue called "Tossed in  Space."

To keep the SuitSat-1 momentum going a bit longer ARISS and AMSAT  in May
announced a "Chicken Little  Contest"
<http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/ariss/suitsatContest.php>, in  which
participants pick the date on which they believe SuitSat-1 will drop  out of
orbit and burn up in Earth's atmosphere. Entrants are only allowed  one
guess, and the winner will be the individual who picks the date closest  to
SuitSat-1's actual demise. Those who have not already entered may do so  by
filling out the online entry form on the AMSAT Web site. The odds could  be
in their favor.

Certificates will go to winners in each of three  age groups. Winners not
only earn bragging rights, but the fame and notoriety  associated with
successful satellite re-entry prognostication. 

Even  before SuitSat-1 went silent, ARISS and AMSAT already were discussing
the  possibility of a SuitSat-2 with contacts in Russia, although plans
remain  tentative at this stage. ARRL ARISS Liaison Rosalie White, K1STO, is
among  those named to the SuitSat-2 team, which will meet prior to the  ARISS
International Meeting/AMSAT Space Symposium October 5-10. Among  other
things, the team will look into the possibility of equipping SuitSat-2  with
solar panels instead of just batteries, to extend its usable life. No  formal
announcements about SuitSat-2 are expected until around  mid-October.

Meanwhile, the time grows nigh when Suit-Sat-1 will pick up  enough
additional drag from Earth's atmosphere that friction-generated heat  will
cause it to burn up and vaporize. Just when that will happen is  still
anyone's guess.

==>SOLAR UPDATE

Solar sage Tad "Who  Let the Dogs Out!" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington,
reports: The average  daily sunspot number was 12 points lower this week than
last, but the  geomagnetic indices were higher. Active geomagnetic conditions
on August  19-22 were the result of an August 19 change in the Interplanetary
Magnetic  Field (IMF) opening toward the south. This allowed a solar wind to
affect  Earth.

Geophysical Institute Prague predicts quiet to unsettled  conditions for
August 25, unsettled August 26-28, quiet to unsettled on  August 29 and quiet
August 30-31. "Quiet" and "unsettled" refer to  geomagnetic activity. Low
geomagnetic activity is considered good for HF  communications.

NOAA predicts the geomagnetic planetary A index for  August 25 through
September 3 at 5, 8, 12, 12, 10, 8, 5, 5, 10 and  20.

For more information concerning propagation and an explanation of  the
numbers used in this bulletin see the ARRL Technical Information  Service
Propagation page  <http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html>.

Sunspot numbers  for August 17 through 23 were 26, 29, 21, 15, 24, 14 and 22,
with a mean of  21.6. 10.7 cm flux was 85.8, 88.5, 88.8, 88.1, 87.8, 80.8,
and 78.3, with a  mean of 85.4. Estimated planetary A indices were 5, 12, 38,
24, 13, 17 and 7,  with a mean of 16.6. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were
4, 9, 21, 14, 10,  17 and 4, with a mean of  11.3.

__________________________________

==>IN BRIEF:

*  This weekend on the radio: The Ohio and Hawaii QSO parties, the  ALARA
Contest, the Keyman's Club of Japan Contest, the YO DX HF Contest, the  SCC
RTTY Championship, the SARL HF CW Contest and the CQC Summer VHF/UHF  QSO
Party are the weekend of August 26-27. JUST AHEAD: The All Asian DX  Contest
(SSB), the Russian RTTY World Wide Contest, the Wake-Up! QRP Sprint,  RSGB
SSB Field Day, IARU Region 1 Field Day (SSB) AGCW Straight Key Party and  the
DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest are the weekend of September 2-3. the  Michigan
QRP Labor Day CW Sprint is September 4-5. The ARS Spartan Sprint  is
September 5. See the ARRL Contest Branch  page
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/> and the WA7BNM Contest  Calendar
<http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more  info.

* ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course  registration:
Registration remains open through Sunday, September 3, for  these ARRL
Certification and Continuing Education (CCE) online courses.  Classes begin
Friday September 15. Amateur Radio Emergency Communications  Level 2
(EC-002), Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 3 (EC-003),  Antenna
Modeling (EC-004), HF Digital Communications (EC-005), VHF/UHF --  Life
Beyond the Repeater (EC-008) and Radio Frequency Propagation (EC-011).  These
courses also will open for registration Friday, September 1, for  classes
beginning Friday, October 20. To learn more, visit the CCE Course  Listing
page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or contact the CCE  Department
<cce@arrl.org>.

* Two radio amateurs to be aboard  shuttle Atlantis: Mission Specialist Heide
Stefanyshyn-Piper, KD5TVR, and Dan  Burbank, KC5ZSX, will be the only US
Amateur Radio licensees aboard the  shuttle Atlantis, scheduled to head for
the International Space Station  Sunday, August 27, at 2030 UTC. The only
woman on Mission STS-115,  Stefanyshyn-Piper will be making first trip into
space since becoming an  astronaut 10 years ago. Burbank previously flew on
Mission STS-106. In  addition to Stefanyshyn-Piper and Burbank, the STS-115
crew consists of  Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Chris Ferguson and mission
specialists Joe Tanner  and Steve MacLean, who represents the Canadian Space
Agency. This mission  will mark the first time in nearly four years that a
space station component  will be added to the orbiting outpost, which is home
to NA1SS. During three  spacewalks, Atlantis crew members will install a
second set of solar arrays  on the space station -- doubling the station's
ability to generate power from  sunlight -- and the P3/P4 truss to support
the arrays. No Amateur Radio  operation from Atlantis is planned. The ISS
recently did an orbital "reboost"  to place the station at the correct
altitude to support the rendezvous with  Atlantis as well as September's
Soyuz launch of the Expedition 14  crew.

* Interoperability called vital to public safety first-responder  missions:
California Department of General Services Senior Telecommunications  Engineer
Glen Nash, K6GSN, told a Radio Club of America (RCA) breakfast  meeting
August 9, that wireless communication among public safety first  responders
is a critical tool to satisfying their mission requirements. The  meeting was
held during a national convention of the Association of  Public-Safety
Communications Officials-International (APCO) in Orlando,  Florida. An APCO
past president, Nash chairs the Technology Committee of the  National Public
Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC). ARRL has a  relationship with both
organizations. Nash explained that the need for  interoperability comes into
play during police chases crossing jurisdictional  lines and mutual
assistance among neighboring fire departments to  multi-agency drug
enforcement and major emergencies involving multiple -- and  sometimes
distant -- agencies. Nash believes interoperability is not simply  a
technology problem. In addition to technical barriers to  wireless
interoperability, he cited cultural, social and language or  terminology
differences. "There are many areas where we need to approach the  problem,
and many factors to resolve to make it happen," he concluded. More  than 100
attended the breakfast meeting, one of a series held every year by  the Radio
Club of America at conventions. Founded in 1909, the Radio Club of  America
is the world's oldest radio communications society. It promotes  cooperation
among those interested in the advancement and scientific study of  radio
communication.

* Katrina documentary to air: The documentary  "Postmark: Katrina" will air
on The Weather Channel  <http://www.weather.com/> Sunday and Monday, August
27 and 28, at 8 PM  Eastern and Pacific Time as part of the cable network's
Storm Stories series.  The hour-long program, produced by ARRL Member Les
Rayburn, N1LF, focuses on  the restoration of mail service to the US Gulf
Coast in the wake of the  devastating storm and mentions Amateur Radio's role
in the storm response and  recovery effort. Rayburn and his crew were
embedded for six weeks with US  Postal Inspection Service officers within
hours of Katrina's landfall. "In  our documentary, there is some brief
Amateur Radio voice traffic depicted,  along with a graphic explaining how
repeaters work, and even some Morse  code," Rayburn told ARRL. "Our missions
took us to Waveland, Biloxi, New  Orleans, Bay St Louis and on to Houston.
When not on duty filming, I also  conducted mobile HF missions for the
National Communications System SHARES  program, keeping in contact with their
watch desk on 20 meters." In addition  to the August 27-28 airings, Rayburn
expects the program to air at other  times in the coming weeks. "We were
proud to tell the story of how the US  Postal Service worked tirelessly to
restore mail to the affected area, and  also to aid in the recovery using our
amateur HF station," he says.

*  Smithsonian's NN3SI to QRT during museum renovations: NN3SI, the  Amateur
Radio station exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum  of
American History in Washington, DC, will QRT in late August while the  museum
undergoes renovations that will include the ham station. The museum  is
scheduled to reopen by the summer of 2008. Inaugurated in 1976 and  supported
by a volunteer staff, NN3SI occupies a corner in the "Information  Age"
exhibit on the first floor of the National Museum of American History,  and
it's been open daily for visiting radio amateurs to operate. -- submitted  by
Murray Green, K3BEQ 

* Jerry Seligman, W7BUN, SK: Jerry Seligman,  W7BUN, of E South Hill,
Washington, died August 13. He was 72. An ARRL Life  Member, Seligman was
well known in the Pacific Northwest as an Amateur Radio  "institution,"
mentor and promoter. "Jerry was keenly interested in the  advancement of
Amateur Radio and particularly with the recruitment of new  hams and the
pursuit of their advancement to higher classes of licenses,"  said Chip
Margelli, K7JA, a longtime friend. "Jerry always pushed his  students to
learn just a little bit more, arousing their curiosity in the  areas of
technical ability and operating skill, and he always, above all, led  by
setting a good example of proper operating procedure on the air."  Seligman
served as a Radio Club of Tacoma (W7DK) officer, including as  president and
board member. "Jerry was active in virtually every area of club  operations
over 40 years, perhaps serving best as the club's conscience,"  said an
announcement on the club's Web site. "For many years Jerry taught an  amateur
radio class at Bates Vocational Technical School, and many local  amateurs
owe their original licenses to Jerry's efforts." More recently he  conducted
the club's General and Extra class training sessions with great  success. He
also was an active net control station and contester. A memorial  service is
planned.

* DXCC says some ZL7/KH0PR cards rejected in  error: The ARRL DXCC Desk has
announced that it inadvertently rejected  several ZL7/KH0PR QSL cards for the
May 2-5, 2005, Chatham Island operation.  This operation has been accredited
by DXCC. If your ZL7/KH0PR QSL was turned  down, you can claim credit by
contacting DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L  <dxcc@arrl.org>. The DXCC Desk also
notes that the DXCC computer has  assigned Country Code 514 to Montenegro and
Country Code 515 to Swain's  Island. Some logging programs and databases use
these numbers, but they have  no particular significance. There are now 337
current entities on the DXCC  List.

* SEWFERS Wisconsin Hamfest canceled: The Southeastern Wisconsin  Wisconsin
FM Amateur Repeater Society has announced the cancellation of its  SWAPFEST,
scheduled for September 10 in Hubertus, Wisconsin. Contact  SEWFARS
<sewfars@hotmail.com> for more information.

*  Correction: The obituary for Jack W. Herbstreit, ex-W0DW, in The ARRL
Letter,  Vol 25, No 32 (August 4, 2006) contained some incorrect information.
The  International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR), which Herbstreit
directed  from 1966 to 1974, was a predecessor of the International
Telecommunication  Union Radiocommunication Sector  (ITU-R).

===========================================================  
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From GBUNTING at stlucieco.gov  Mon Aug 28 13:03:03 2006
From: GBUNTING at stlucieco.gov (Greg  Bunting)
Date: Mon Aug 28 15:44:51 2006
Subject: [FPARC] Fwd: ACTIVATION
Message-ID: <44F2E9870200008C0000212D@gwdm.stlucieco.gov>



>>> Greg  Bunting 08/28/06 12:59 PM >>>
The Communications response Team is activated effective 1700 (5PM),
August 29 (tomorrow) for the EOC, Special Needs Shelters (N & S) and
both Hospitals.
Take your radios.
More as it develops.
Greg Bunting
462-1902
