[FPARC] The ARRL Letter Vol. 25, No. 06

[W4kkw at aol.com]

***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 25, No. 06
February 10,  2006
***************

IN THIS EDITION:

* +SuitSat-1 a success,  ARISS says
* +Radio amateurs hailed as "true heroes" on US House floor
*  +USMA cadets, Florida high schoolers enjoy successful QSOs with NA1SS
*  +Telecoms attorney poised to be fifth FCC member
* +ARRL EXPO will return at  Dayton Hamvention 2006
* +ARRL Field Day 2006 info now available
* +AD5X  captures Bill Orr Award
*  Solar Update
*  IN BRIEF:
This weekend on the radio: The North American Sprint  (CW)!
ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course  registration
3Y0X Peter I Island DXpedition is on the  air!
+ARRL announces DeSoto Cup winners, DXCC Challenge Top  10
ARRL advisory committees to consider contesting, DXCC  changes
ARRL teams named for WRTC-2006
DXCC Desk approves operation for DXCC credit
Correction

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

===========================================================
==>Delivery  problems (ARRL member direct delivery  only!):
letter-dlvy at arrl.org
==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick  Lindquist, N1RL,  n1rl at arrl.org
===========================================================

==>"SUITSAT-1"  DESIGNATED AO-54, SPONSORS CALL IT "TREMENDOUSLY SUCCESSFUL"

Released  into Earth orbit February 3, the novel SuitSat-1 Amateur Radio
transmit-only  spacesuit turned satellite has been heard around the globe,
but those hoping  to hear it using a hand-held transceiver or scanner have
been disappointed.  From the start, SuitSat-1 has been quite weak, and
reports this week indicate  its already-puny 145.99 MHz FM signal may be
getting even weaker. Amateur  Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS), the project's sponsor,  remains very interested in obtaining any
valid voice telemetry reports (post  to SAREX at amsat.org).

"The telemetry is transmitted about 30 seconds after  the SSTV image stops,"
explains ARISS Ham Radio Project Engineer Kenneth  Ransom, N5VHO. Ransom says
the transmission order is SSTV image, 30 seconds  of silence, voice
identification, mission time, temperature and battery  voltage. "The battery
voltage is of most importance," he added.

At  week's end, SuitSat-1 was reporting a battery voltage of 26.7 V. Based  on
that figure, Lou McFadin, W5DID, of ARISS and AMSAT, has calculated  that
SuitSat-1 is likely to last a little more than nine days total. That  means
it could stop transmitting as early as February 12. ARISS Secretary  Rosalie
White, K1STO, says the ARISS team is especially interested in  telemetry
reports "near what we think may be the end, to help us track  battery power
and how the suit will finish up life."

Consisting of a  discarded Russian Orlan spacesuit equipped with ham radio
gear, SuitSat-1 was  released by International Space Station (ISS) Expedition
12 Flight Engineer  Valery Tokarev as he and Expedition 12 Commander Bill
McArthur, KC5ACR, began  a spacewalk. The crew had stuffed some of its
laundry into the spacesuit to  help it to keep its form as it orbits Earth.
AMSAT-NA has designated  SuitSat-1 as AMSAT OSCAR 54 (AO-54).

"Seldom has an Amateur Radio event  captured the public's imagination and
evoked so much positive news media  coverage as SuitSat has," said AMSAT-NA's
Bill Tynan in announcing the AO-54  designation.

Several reception reports on the SuitSat Web site  <http://www.suitsat.org/>
indicate SuitSat-1 audio has been  retransmitted via the NA1SS crossband
repeater aboard the ISS. While the  NA1SS Phase 2 station has been configured
to retransmit SuitSat's 145.99 MHz  signal on 437.800 MHz, Ransom says he
tends to discount the validity of the  signals heard via the UHF repeater.
"Since it hears everything, people are  reporting every little squeak and
whistle," he said, adding that any reports  posted are "very hard to verify"
at this stage. Several reports mention  hearing packet signals, but SuitSat-1
carries no packet gear. All telemetry  transmissions are by digital voice.

Ransom urged all Earth stations not  to transmit on SuitSat-1's 145.99 MHz
frequency--which is also the normal  packet uplink channel--until the
SuitSat-1 experiment ends.

ISS  Commander McArthur remained upbeat about a future SuitSat mission.
"Where  there's a will there's a way," he philosophized during a
post-spacewalk  contact recorded by Scott Avery, WA6LIE. "We've got more
suits that need to  be jettisoned."

ARISS International Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO,  proclaimed SuitSat-1
"tremendously successful," its weak signal  notwithstanding. "We have
captured the imagination of students and the  general public worldwide
through this unique experiment," he said, adding  that the media attention
alone has been some of the best ever for Amateur  Radio.

Bauer further notes that SuitSat-1 has successfully carried  student artwork,
signatures and voices into space, and "the students are now  space travelers
as the suit rotates and orbits the earth." SuitSat-1 also has  shown that a
spacesuit could be deployed and orbited from the ISS,  "demonstrating to the
space agencies that this can be safely done," Bauer  noted.

"Pioneering efforts are challenging. Risk is high. But the future  payoff is
tremendous," Bauer concluded. He was able to hear one overhead pass  that
included at least part of the English-language ID, recorded by his  daughter,
Michelle. "Keep your spirits up, and let's continue to be  optimistic," he
urged later in an official SuitSat-1 status report. "And  please keep
monitoring!"

More information on the SuitSat-1 project,  including QSL information, is
available on the AMSAT Web site  <http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/index.php>.

==>HAM RADIO  OPERATORS "TRUE HEROES," REP MIKE ROSS, WD5DVR, SAYS IN
"SALUTE"

US  Rep Mike Ross, WD5DVR (D-AR), this week offered "A Salute to Ham  Radio
Operators" on the floor of the US House. Ross, one of two Amateur  Radio
licensees in the House of Representatives (the other is Rep Greg  Walden,
W7EQI, R-OR), addressed his colleagues February 8 to recognize  the
contributions of the Amateur Radio community in the wake of last  year's
devastating hurricane season.

"Citizens throughout America  dedicated to this hobby--a hobby that some
people consider old fashioned or  obsolete--were true heroes in the aftermath
of Hurricane Katrina as they were  often the only line of communication
available into the storm ravaged areas,"  Ross said.

He noted that while ham radio is often overlooked "in favor of  flashier
means of communication," Gulf Coast communities learned after the  2005
hurricanes that technology can be "highly vulnerable" to storm damage.  "Ham
radios, entirely self- contained transmitters, require no cell towers  or
satellites, simply a battery and a strip of wire as an antenna,"  Ross
explained.

Because of the "critical intervention" of radio  amateurs across the US, Ross
said, many lives were saved following Hurricane  Katrina.

"The dedication displayed by ham radio operators in the  aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina sets a tremendous example for us all," Ross  concluded,
noting that "now more than ever" he's proud to be an Amateur Radio  operator.
"The people whose lives were rescued as a result of the tireless  dedication
of ham radio operators will forever be grateful to these selfless  public
servants."

==>VERY FULL SCHEDULE KEEPS SPACE STATION CREW  HOPPING, CADETS TOLD

International Space Station Expedition 12 Commander  Bill McArthur, KC5ACR,
spoke recently via ham radio with cadets at his alma  mater, the US Military
Academy at West Point, New York, and with high  schoolers in Orlando,
Florida. The Amateur Radio on the International Space  Station (ARISS)
program arranged both on-the-air events. During a January 26  direct VHF
contact between NA1SS and W2KGY at West Point, one cadet asked  McArthur's
opinion regarding the most important design factors for a future  lunar base.
McArthur responded by expressing his frustration with the ISS  crew's lack of
control over its work schedule.

"We have a daily list  of tasks that we're scheduled out for," McArthur told
the cadets. "The bottom  line is the schedule is very full, and you really
need to maintain the  timeline." Unfortunately, he went on, various factors
come into play that  cause the crew to under-schedule the time needed for
each task.

"So, I  think the most important thing to do," McArthur concluded, "is to
give a crew  on the lunar base more time to actually plan out their own
activities, and  give them adequate time to execute them."

Answering another question,  McArthur told the West Pointers that the crew
sometimes finds itself wasting  time on non-productive activities.

"The things that waste most of our  time on orbit are all related to
stowage," he said. "We have limited stowage  volume up here. Over time things
migrate from place to place, and even though  we have a fairly sophisticated
inventory-management system, it's very  frustrating--it takes a lot of
time--to find the tools and supplies that you  need."

On a more mundane subject, McArthur discussed the art of shaving  in space.
He said he uses a safety razor and shaving gel, but since he cannot  rinse
off the razor, blades have to be replaced more frequently. He said  he
sometimes uses an electric razor but doesn't believe he gets as smooth  a
shave.

Audio of the approximately six and one-half minute contact  between NA1SS and
W2KGY was fed via closed circuit to the academy's 4000  cadets could listen
in. Seven cadets participated in the event. ARISS mentor  Steve McFarlane,
VE3BTD, provided equipment and antennas for the club station  to undertake
the contact, which McArthur had requested.

On February 2,  McArthur took questions via ham radio from students attending
Timber Creek  High School, located some 30 miles from Cape Canaveral--close
enough to see  shuttle launches. A number of the students have parents who
work in the space  industry. On hand for the occasion was Florida's
Commissioner of Education  John Winn.

During the direct VHF contact between NA1SS and KC4IYO,  McArthur told the
students that crew members "launch healthy" as part of an  overall effort to
avoid problems with illness in space. He pointed out that  bones need
physical stress to maintain their density. Because there is hardly  any
physical stress in the microgravity environment of the ISS, the crew  must
exercise vigorously every day and take vitamins to fend off the risk of  bone
loss.

Most of the students taking part in the interview were  sophomores taking
advanced placement biology, and many of their questions had  to do with
biology, physiology and botany. Some students from other classes  also
participated.

McArthur said that since living and working in  space is considered
stressful, the body needs more energy to deal with it.  So, crew members are
provided with a high-calorie diet, whether they'll  consume it or not.

"We are provided more calories on orbit," McArthur  explained. "At some
point, though, I've found that I simply can't eat all the  food that is
provided for me. I just get too full."

Fielding a  question about getting ready for a space walk--something the crew
was doing  the week of the contact--McArthur said the crew spends the better
part of a  week preparing their spacesuits and equipment. "The thing we have
to do is  gather all the equipment, which may be stored in different
locations of the  space station," McArthur explained, "then actually install
things such as the  carbon dioxide scrubbing canisters, humidity
separators--things like that in  a spacesuit because they can't be installed
for a long period of  time."

In terms of science aboard the ISS, McArthur said the crew is  trying to
learn how to do research in space. "We're actually maybe two  generations
away from things that have direct application," he  added.

As the Timber Creek contact got under way, McArthur took the  opportunity to
greet Coordinating Teacher Sarah Longino. "It's a delight to  hear your
voice," McArthur said, noting that he and Longino have been friends  for more
than four decades.

John Rothert, KC4IYO, served as the Earth  station control op for the contact
between the ISS and the suburban high  school, which boasts a student
population of approximately 4000. Coordinating  the radio contact was Joe
Singer, N4IPV, and members of the Lake Monroe  Amateur Radio Society assisted
in setting up equipment for the contact. The  ARISS mentor was Keith Pugh,
W5IU.

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

==>WHITE  HOUSE TO TAP VIRGINIAN AS FIFTH FCC MEMBER

President George W. Bush has  announced his intention to nominate Republican
Robert M. McDowell of Virginia  to serve on the FCC for the remainder of a
five-year term expiring June 30,  2009. If confirmed by the US Senate,
McDowell--a telecommunications  attorney--would bring the Commission back to
its statutory five-member  complement. FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin applauded
the president's  announcement.

"If confirmed, Rob McDowell will be a great asset to the  Commission," Martin
said. "He has a wealth of knowledge in the communications  arena, and we will
rely on his insight when evaluating the issues before  us."

When Martin took over as FCC chairman last year, the political  balance on
the Commission was split evenly between two Republicans and two  Democrats.
Republican Kathleen Abernathy departed in December, while  Republican Deborah
T. Tate officially came aboard January 3. Democrat Michael  J. Copps was
sworn in for another term the same day. The other Democrat is  Jonathan
Adelstein.

McDowell currently serves as senior vice president  and assistant general
counsel for the Competitive Telecommunications  Association (CompTel). Prior
to that he served as executive vice president  and general counsel for the
America's Carriers Telecommunications  Association. A cum laude graduate of
Duke University, McDowell received his  law degree from the College of
William and Mary's Marshall-Wythe School of  Law.

==>ARRL EXPO RETURNS AT DAYTON HAMVENTION 2006!

With  thanks to Dayton Hamvention and owing to its popularity among  2005
Hamventioneers, ARRL EXPO will return to Dayton this year. Hamvention  takes
place Friday through Sunday, May 19-21, at Hara Arena near Dayton,  Ohio.

"Dayton Hamvention has generously agreed to partner again with ARRL  to
accommodate ARRL EXPO 2006," ARRL Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen,  NQ1R,
announced. "As we did during last year's National Convention, ARRL  will
organize its primary Hamvention exhibit in the Ballarena, which  allows
plenty of room to showcase a broad variety of ARRL programs and  services.
Our hope is to reprise the best elements of last year's very  successful
event."

Inderbitzen notes that while some details remain in  the development stages,
current plans call for ARRL EXPO 2006 to feature a  huge--and readily
accessible--ARRL bookstore and retail products center.  Those renewing their
League memberships or joining for the first time will  receive a gift.

Individual exhibits and booths will highlight the  League's various
activities or focus on more specialized Amateur Radio  interests. Also held
over from last year's ARRL National Convention EXPO will  be live, on-stage
presentations and mini-forums by ARRL staff members and  volunteers. DXCC
card checking will be available on site.

So will the  Internet Café, which last year provided not only free access  to
Internet-ready computers to catch up on e-mail or surf the Web, but  an
open-access Wi-Fi "hot spot" for the laptop/notebook crowd.

Also  back this year: "ARRL Passport," the ultimate scavenger hunt. Collect
ARRL  Passport numbers at booths and concessions throughout Dayton Hamvention
2006  and win terrific prizes.

Of course, ARRL EXPO will offer an opportunity  for Hamvention visitors to
meet ARRL staff members and authors and to learn  more about the League's
various activities and initiatives--from advocacy and  development to
technical and regulatory support and operating  activities.

Inderbitzen says various ARRL forums will be coordinated with  the Dayton
Hamvention program. Hamvention sponsor, the Dayton Amateur  Radio
Association, will sponsor Amateur Radio license  examinations.

Dayton Hamvention itself will offer some 500 indoor  exhibit/concession
spaces throughout Hara Arena, where visitors can feast  their eyes on the
latest Amateur Radio gear or touch bases with their  favorite ham radio
organizations and activity groups.

The outdoor flea  market--a huge favorite--will again have more than 2500
spaces available.  It's the largest of its kind and a great place to meet old
friends or make  new ones. And remember: "If you can't find it at Dayton,
you'll never find  it!"

Watch this space <http://www.arrl.org/announce/nc/2006/> for  ARRL EXPO 2006
updates!

==>ARRL FIELD DAY 2006 PACKAGES, RULES NOW  AVAILABLE

The 2006 ARRL Field Day  package
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/forms/06-fd-packet.pdf> and rules  (HTML
version  <http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2006/rules-fd-2006.html>)  (PDF
version <http://www.arrl.org/contests/forms/06-fd-rules.pdf>) now  are
available on the ARRL Web site.

"The only rule change in 2006  involves the GOTA ('Get On The Air') station
bonus-point structure," says  ARRL Contest Branch Manager Dan Henderson,
N1ND. "An individual operator may  earn a 50-point bonus for completing 50
QSOs at the GOTA station. They may  earn an additional 50 bonus points when
they reach 100  QSOs."

Henderson notes there's a 100-QSO cap for bonus points per  individual GOTA
operator, but additional GOTA operators may earn the bonuses  for the club,
up to a maximum of 500 GOTA bonus points.

"Additionally,  Field Day operations can double their GOTA bonus points by
having a  designated GOTA Coach/Mentor supervise the station whenever it's on
the air,"  Henderson notes. "The GOTA Coach/Mentor may talk the participants
through the  QSOs and serve as control operator, but GOTA participants must
make and log  all QSOs themselves."

This means that if a Field Day group has a GOTA  Coach/Mentor, the 50 and
100-point bonuses GOTA operators earn will double to  100 and 200 points
respectively, while the maximum GOTA bonus increases to  1000 points.

ARRL Field Day 2006 will be Saturday and Sunday, June  24-25.

==>PHIL SALAS, AD5X, NAMED 2005 ORR AWARD WINNER

Acting  on a recommendation from the QST editorial staff, the ARRL Foundation
Board  of Directors has voted unanimously to give the 2005 Bill Orr,  W6SAI,
Technical Writing Award to Phil Salas, AD5X. An ARRL Life Member  from
Richardson, Texas, Salas was recognized for "his excellence at  making
technical concepts understandable," said QST Editor Steve Ford,  WB8IMY. The
award is based on articles published in QST during  2005.

"I've admired Bill Orr's technical writings over the years, so I am  very
pleased and honored to receive this award," said Salas. "I've  enjoyed
sharing my ideas with the ham community through my articles and plan  on
continuing to do so."

Salas' oeuvre in QST during 2005 included "A  Compact Battery Pack for the
SG-2020" in the March "Workbench" section,  "Input Voltage Conditioner--and
More--for the FT-817" in the June  "Workbench," and "Tuning Switch with Limit
Indication for Screwdriver  Antennas" in the December "Workbench." Salas also
authored the article "The  Ultimate Portable HF Vertical Antenna" in the July
issue, and he contributed  to "Hints & Kinks" and "Technical Correspondence."

Salas is a past  winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award, given to the author or
authors of the  best article in each issue as determined by a vote of ARRL
members on the QST  Cover Plaque Poll Web page. He captured a cover plaque in
2000 for his  article "A Simple HF-Portable Antenna," which appeared in that
year's  December issue.

The Orr Award pays tribute to the winning author's  ability to explain
technical topics in a manner that is easy for relatively  non-technical
people to understand. Bill Orr, W6SAI, the award's namesake,  was best known
for his voluminous publications for radio amateurs. From the  1940s through
the 1980s, Orr was a frequent contributor to QST. In addition,  he
constructed some of the amplifiers once used at ARRL Maxim Memorial  Station
W1AW. Orr died in 2001.

ARRL West Gulf Division Director Coy  Day, N5OK, will present Salas with the
2005 Bill Orr Award plaque at HamCom  this June in Dallas, Texas.

==>SOLAR UPDATE

Propagation  prognosticator Tad "When I Needed Sunspots, I Got None" Cook,
K7RA, Seattle,  Washington, reports: Our sun is very quiet. The daily sunspot
reading was  zero each day from January 29 through February 7! The last time
we saw 10  consecutive days with a sunspot number of zero was way back on the
other side  of the solar cycle, from December 24, 1996 to January 3, 1997.
Prior to that,  from September 13, 1996 through October 20 1996 were 38 days
with a sunspot  number of zero. Perhaps a year from now we'll again see a
whole month with no  sunspots.

Compared with last week, the average sunspot number declined by  more than 7
points to 1.7. Average daily solar flux was down more than 4  points to 76.

Sunspot numbers and solar flux should rise over the next  few days, but not
by much. Geomagnetic conditions also look quiet, with the  next period of
high geomagnetic activity set for February 22. This is based  upon the
previous rotation of the sun.

Sunspot numbers for February 2  through 8 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 and 12, with
a mean of 1.7. The 10.7 cm flux  was 77.3, 78.7, 77, 76.3, 74.9, 74, and 74,
with a mean of 76. Estimated  planetary A indices were 3, 4, 4, 3, 12, 4 and
3, with a mean of 4.7.  Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 1, 3, 3, 3, 11,
4 and 2, with a mean of  3.9.

__________________________________

==>IN BRIEF:

*  This weekend on the radio: The North American Sprint (CW), the YLRL  YL-OM
Contest (SSB), the CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest, the Louisiana and New  Hampshire
QSO parties, the SARL Field Day Contest, the Asia-Pacific Spring  Sprint
(CW), the Dutch PACC Contest, the OMISS QSO Party 1500Z, the FISTS  Winter
Sprint, the British Columbia QSO Challenge and the RSGB First 1.8  MHz
Contest (CW) are the weekend of February 11-12. The ARRL School Club  Roundup
runs from February 13 to February 17, and the AGCW Semi-Automatic  Key
Evening is February 15. JUST AHEAD: The ARRL International DX Contest  (CW)
is the weekend of February 18-19. The Run for the Bacon QRP Contest  is
February 20. 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, February 20, for  these ARRL
Certification and Continuing Education (CCE) Program on-line  courses:
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 1 (EC-001), Radio  Frequency
Interference (EC-006), Antenna Design and Construction (EC-009),  Technician
License Course (EC-010), Analog Electronics (EC-012) and Digital  Electronics
(EC-013). Classes begin Friday, March 3. To learn more, visit the  CCE Course
Listing page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or  contact the CCE
Department <cce at arrl.org>.

* 3Y0X Peter I Island  DXpedition is on the air! The Peter I Island 3Y0X
DXpedition took to the air  this week, despite a delay due to persistent
heavy fog. Most, if not all, of  the 22-member DXpedition team now are on the
tiny island in the Bellinghausen  Sea near Antarctica. On most bands, the
operators will be listening up, but  pay attention to the operator's
instructions, and do NOT transmit on the  DXpedition's frequency! The
DXpedition expects to update its on-line log  search once or twice a day.
After waiting on the ship for fog to lift, the  first helicopter load landed
on Peter I Island February 7. As of February 10,  the 3Y0X team was active on
all bands from 160 through 15 meters. The Peter I  Island DXpedition was the
recipient of a $7500 ARRL Colvin Award grant to  help finance the team's
visit. The Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF)  has been a premier
contributor to the major undertaking, estimated to cost  upward of $500,000,
making it the most costly DXpedition ever undertaken. Bob  Allphin, K4UEE,
and Ralph Fedor, K0IR, are the co-leaders of the 3Y0X effort.  More
information is on the 3Y0X Web site  <http://www.peterone.com/>.

* ARRL announces DeSoto Cup winners,  DXCC Challenge Top 10: For the sixth
straight year, Bob Eshleman, W4DR, has  won the Clinton B. DeSoto Cup gold
medal with 3095 points. The ARRL DXCC Desk  announced the winners of the 2005
DeSoto Cup/DXCC Challenge competition this  week, with top honors once again
going to Eshleman, an ARRL Life Member from  Midlothian, Virginia. Capturing
the silver and bronze medals for second and  third place respectively are Ken
Bolin, W1NG, (3082) and Fausto Minardi,  I4EAT (3077). Rounding out the Top
Ten: (4) Ryszard Tymkiewicz, SP5EWY, 3072;  (5) Leif Ottosen, OZ1LO, 3070;
(6) Rick Roderick, K5UR, 3066; (7) Randy  Schaaf, W9ZR, 3053; (8) Klaus
Heintzenberg, DJ6RX, 3042; (9) Donald Karvonen,  K8MFO, 3041; (10) Joseph
Reisert Jr, W1JR, 3041. This list details the DXCC  Challenge Top Ten as of
September 30, 2005. Current DXCC Challenge standings  are available on the
ARRL DXCC page <http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/>.  Starting this year, the
DeSoto Cup winners will be based on DXCC Challenge  standings at the end of
the calendar year. The DeSoto Cup honors the memory  of Clinton B. DeSoto,
W1CBD, who wrote the definitive 1935 QST article that  inspired the original
DXCC program.

* ARRL advisory committees to  consider contesting, DXCC changes: The ARRL
Programs and Services Committee  (PSC) has asked its Contest Advisory
Committee (CAC) to consider whether the  current method of scoring ARRL
Affiliated Club competition is adequate or  whether is should be revised to
better "reward a combination of activity,  effort and achievement." The PSC
also wants the CAC to determine whether a  return to the policy of assessing
a three QSO per error penalty for  electronic logs--as is currently assessed
for hard-copy logs--is in the best  interest of the ARRL contesting program.
Both CAC assignments followed  presentations to the PSC on both topics by
ARRL Southwestern Division  Director Dick Norton, N6AA. The PSC also has
asked the DX Advisory Committee  (DXAC) to study the impact of amending the
DXCC "political entities" rule.  The change under consideration would revise
Section II, "DXCC List Criteria,"  under "1. Political Entities," to add a
Paragraph c) reading, "The Entity  contains a permanent population, is
administered by a local government and is  located at least 800 km from its
parent." The CAC will seek public input in  completing work on its tasks, and
a progress report is due June 19. The PSC  has asked the DXAC to report back
by March 15.

* ARRL teams named for  WRTC-2006: Members have been named to the two-person
teams that will  represent ARRL in World Radiosport Team Championship 2006
(WRTC-2006) this  summer in Brazil. To honor the organizing committees of
previous WRTCs, the  WRTC-2006 selection criteria call on the organizing
committees of the five  WRTC events to select five team leaders, with teams
chosen by the  International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) member-societies in
the host  countries. Since two WRTCs have been held in the US, the ARRL was
asked to  select two teams. The League, in turn, asked the organizers of the
first and  second WRTCs to chose team captains and teammates. The Western
Washington DX  Club, sponsor of the first WRTC, held in 1990 in Seattle, has
announced the  selection of ARRL Contributing Editor Ward Silver, N0AX, as
team captain.  Silver has picked Chris Hurlbut, KL9A, as his teammate. The
host of WRTC-96  in the San Francisco Bay area, the Northern California
Contest Club, has  selected ARRL Senior Assistant Technical Editor Dean
Straw, N6BV, as team  captain. His teammate will be Mark Obermann, AG9A.
"Congratulations to these  fine contesters," said ARRL CEO David Sumner,
K1ZZ. "We look forward to a  strong competition!" Held in conjunction with
the International Amateur Radio  Union (IARU) HF World Championship,
WRTC-2006 takes place July 7-10 in and  around Florianopolis, Brazil. There's
more information on the WRTC-2006 Web  site
<http://www.wrtc2006.com/html/web/>.

* DXCC Desk approves  operation for DXCC credit: The ARRL DXCC Desk has
approved this operation for  DXCC credit: K7C (Kure Island), September
25-October 5, 2005. For more  information, visit the DXCC Web  page
<http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/>. "DXCC Frequently Asked  Questions" can
answer most questions about the DXCC program. ARRL DX  bulletins are
available on the W1AW DX Bulletins page  <http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/dx/>.

* Correction: In The ARRL Letter,  Vol 25, No 05, Feb 3, 2006, the story
"NASA, International Partners Tap Two  Hams as Next Space Station Crew"
contained an incorrect call sign for  Expedition 13 back-up crew member Mike
Fincke, KE5AIT.--noted by Hans  Schwarz,  AA0RM/DK5JI

===========================================================
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