[FPARC] The ARRL Letter Vol. 25, No. 21 May 26, 2006

[W4kkw at aol.com]

***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 25, No. 21
May 26,  2006
***************

IN THIS EDITION:

* +ARRL President  Harrison says ham radio has not lost its magic
* +Access to BPL database now  unfettered
* +DARA grant will rejuvenate League's Community Education  Project
* +"Lighten up," FCC's Riley Hollingsworth tells Dayton forum
*  +Three ARRL sections choose new Section Managers
* +New England  ARES/RACES/SKYWARN volunteers stand down after rough weather
* +Guess when  SuitSat-1 deorbits and win!
* +National Hurricane Center's WX4NHC announces  annual station test
*  Solar Update

*  IN BRIEF:
This weekend on the radio
ARRL Certification  and Continuing Education course registration
ARRL EXPO  2006 Passport prize winners announced
Handihams volunteer  Rex Kiser, W0GLU, SK
DXCC Desk approves operations for  DXCC credit
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 at arrl.org>
==>Editorial questions or comments  only: Rick Lindquist,  N1RL,
<n1rl at arrl.org>
===========================================================
NOTE:  ARRL Headquarters will be closed Monday, May 29, for the Memorial  Day
holiday. There will be no W1AW code practice or bulletin transmissions  that
day. ARRL Headquarters will reopen Tuesday, May 30, at 8 AM EDT. We  wish
everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday  weekend!
===========================================================

==>THE  MAGIC OF AMATEUR RADIO IS STILL THERE, LEAGUE PRESIDENT SAYS

Amateur  Radio has not lost its magic, says ARRL President Joel Harrison,
W5ZN.  Addressing the "ARRL: Main Street USA" forum at Dayton Hamvention,
Harrison  said the Amateur Radio community needs to recognize and acknowledge
that  "Main Street USA" has changed, and with it the pool of potential  radio
amateurs.

"We have to keep that in mind as we're going out and  recruiting people,"
Harrison suggested. During the ARRL forum, Harrison  asserted that the
"Average Joe" today has far less time to pursue avocational  interests such
as ham radio than 30 or 40 years ago, when many older Amateur  Radio
operators got their first tickets. As workers' productivity has  increased,
so has the number of hours one spends on the job. Youngsters today  already
have heavy activity schedules, he said.

"We have a more  competitive market for people's time," Harrison said. He
conceded that while  Amateur Radio might not possess the "gee whiz" factor it
did decades ago, the  "magic" is still there for today's hams. "I don't care
how advanced we get,  it all boils down to getting a signal from Point A to
Point B magically," the  League President told the audience. Even with
today's plug-and-play  transceivers, "people still have to put up an
antenna." As an avid VHF/UHF  and microwave operator, Harrison has
considerable experience in that  area.

Attracting young people into Amateur Radio is a harder sell,  Harrison
allowed. "The more we integrate computer technology into Amateur  Radio, it
helps to attract [younger people,]" he said. Promoting Amateur  Radio
contesting to the younger generation could be another route, he  suggested,
given the increased interest in competitive sports.

"How  many times can a kid compete in an international tournament from home?"
he  asked rhetorically. "Every weekend," someone in the audience piped  up.

Harrison also pointed out that the current Technician ticket doesn't  give
newcomers the means to sample the HF spectrum. At the same time, the FCC  has
so far turned away proposals to create a new entry-level Amateur  Radio
license for the likely no-code environment of the future. But,  Harrison
maintained, giving new licensees "a little taste" of HF is important  to
attracting newcomers and maintaining their interest.

He also  predicted that the FCC would "take the path of least resistance"  and
eliminate the current 5 WPM Morse code requirement for HF  access.

Harrison's "Main Street USA" comments generated a lively  discussion among
forum participants who offered their own suggestions on how  to ensure a
bright future for Amateur Radio. One Virginia radio amateur  suggested that
public service has become a big draw for newcomers in his  rural community.
Val Rose, N8EXV, of Michigan said rude on-the-air behavior  is a deterrent to
attracting new hams.

Deed covenants, conditions and  restrictions (CC&Rs) are another issue that
more and more hams--newcomers  and veterans alike--are facing, another radio
amateur noted. "That's a  serious, serious matter affecting Amateur Radio
now," Harrison  agreed.

Bill Klykylo, WA8FOZ, of Cincinnati, agreed with Harrison's view  of Main
Street USA. He suggested that one answer to piquing interest in ham  radio is
to piggyback on other hobby activities and interests. Be he also  stressed
the need to follow up with newcomers once they're  licensed.

Harrison concurred on the importance of mentoring or "Elmering"  newcomers.
"We've stopped Elmering," he said. "Let's face it. We've stopped  Elmering."

Harrison said the League's interest is in getting Amateur  Radio promoted.
"I'll take ham radio operators from any age group," he  said.

"There are hundreds and hundreds of things we can do in ham  radio."

==>PUBLIC BPL DATABASE ACCESS RESTRICTIONS  REMOVED

United Telecom Council (UTC) has removed all restrictions on  access to the
BPL Interference Resolution Web site. In cooperation with the  United Power
Line Council (UPLC), UTC administers the database, which FCC  Part 15 rules
mandate be "publicly available." Ever since the database  debuted last
October, the ARRL has taken strong exception to access  constraints UTC had
imposed. These included limiting searches solely on the  basis of ZIP code
and rationing the number of allowable searches. In  February, the League
filed a formal complaint with the FCC, demanding the  Commission order UTC to
"cease its arbitrary limits" on access to the  database. ARRL Chief Executive
Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, said the League  was happy to hear that UTC now
has eliminated search limits and posted all  BPL system information.

"We are pleased that UTC finally has seen the  merit of our arguments in
favor of making the database truly accessible,"  Sumner commented. "This
can't possibly hurt, and can only help everyone focus  on the real issue: the
avoidance and prompt correction of harmful  interference to
radiocommunications from BPL."

The UTC BPL database  still offers the ability to search by ZIP code.
Somewhat less prominent is a  link to the entire database in ZIP-code order.

The League also has  complained to the FCC that the BPL Interference
Resolution Web Site database  contains inaccuracies and is incomplete,
although UTC has made some  improvements since the ARRL raised the issues.
That complaint is still  pending.

The UTC's decision to modify its BPL database came two days  after its
representatives and a representative from Duke Power met May 17  with FCC
Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) staff to address "changes  to the
database concerning the search limits." ARRL representatives  recently
further discussed the League's perspective on the same subject with  OET
staff.

UTC Director of Regulatory Services/Associate Counsel Brett  Kilbourne on May
19 informed Acting OET Chief Julius Knapp that it was  revising the BPL
database "in the interests of resolving the complaint  without further
dispute." UTC asked the FCC to dismiss the League's complaint  "without
further action."

==>ARRL TO REJUVENATE COMMUNITY EDUCATION  PROJECT, THANKS TO DAYTON ARA GIFT

A generous $15,000 grant from the  Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA)
will enable the ARRL to rejuvenate  its Community Education Project (CEP).
The program, which ran for 12 months  during 2004 and 2005, aims to educate
community leaders about Amateur Radio  as a public service and emergency
communication resource. DARA President  Michael Kalter, W8CI, presented a
check to ARRL President Joel Harrison,  W5ZN, during ARRL EXPO 2006 at Dayton
Hamvention?, which DARA originated and  sponsors. Kalter says DARA is
concerned that word of Amateur Radio's  commitment to public service in
disasters and emergencies, the joy of  experimentation and the development of
new means of radiocommunication is not  effectively reaching the general
public.

"In today's climate of  possible terror attacks and natural disasters, DARA
feels it is urgent to  educate the public on the importance and relevance of
the Amateur Radio  Service," Kalter commented. "As Amateur Radio operators we
not only need to  educate others about Amateur Radio, we must set a high
standard--operating  with integrity and courtesy. We can draw talent to the
service through  example and education."

DARA worries that today's younger generation  views Amateur Radio as "an old
person's hobby," Kalter said. "If we do not  educate the general public and
our youth, Amateur Radio will surely die, and  this great national treasure
will be gone forever."

ARRL Chief  Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH, says the program
resurrected by  DARA's support will address sectors of the community that are
generally  unaware of Amateur Radio's value. These could include local
government and  business leaders as well as such entities as food banks,
homeless shelters,  utility companies, faith-based groups, schools and the
media.

"In this  renewed CEP effort, we want to further spread the word to the
non-ham  community that Amateur Radio can strengthen a community's ability to
respond  in an emergency or a disaster," Hobart said. "Many community
resources remain  unaware of what Amateur Radio can provide, and we hope the
CEP can rectify  that."

Hobart says the new CEP plans to work through the ARRL Field  Organization of
volunteers to propagate its message. The League will refresh  and supplement
materials shown to be effective during the earlier CEP. Those  for the new
program will bear DARA's logo.

A Power Point presentation  plus print and CD-ROM "leave-behind" materials
will cover the basics of  Amateur Radio and its role during emergencies and
disasters. The program also  will provide resource information for local use.
The CD-ROM will include  recent Amateur Radio public service announcements
targeting broadcast outlets  as well as the Amateur Radio Today video
narrated by Walter Cronkite, KB2GSD.  ARRL will organize downloadable Amateur
Radio video and other materials on a  single area on the ARRL Web site
bearing the DARA logo.

Kalter says  DARA views its contribution as "a first step" in getting out the
word on  Amateur Radio's value. "It's our opinion that the ARRL is best
suited to lead  this effort," he said, noting the enormity of the task ahead.
"DARA is  pleased to support the ARRL in this effort, and we hope that others
will join  in and assist," he said.

Hobart expressed appreciation for DARA's vote of  confidence. "Thanks to
DARA, we hope to bolster the League's ability to  support the ARRL Field
Organization that's so crucial to disaster response,"  she said. A grant from
the Corporation for National and Community Service  (CNCS) funded the initial
CEP.

==>RILEY HOLLINGSWORTH TO AMATEUR  RADIO COMMUNITY: "LIGHTEN UP!"

FCC Special Counsel for Enforcement Riley  Hollingsworth advised those
attending the FCC forum at Dayton Hamvention 2006  to try kindness instead of
confrontation when problems arise on the bands.  Hollingsworth spoke May 20
to a nearly full house at Hara Arena, and for the  most part he praised the
behavior of the majority of Amateur Radio operators,  especially those who
volunteered in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina last  year. But, he noted,
radio amateurs still could be more courteous and less  inclined to fly off
the handle at some perceived on-the-air  offense.

"You need to lighten up and not embarrass the Amateur Radio  Service,"
Hollingsworth advised. "All of us make mistakes, especially with  the new
features you have on radios today. It's very easy to make a mistake,  to be
on the wrong frequency or be operating split and not know it--there's  a
hundred ways to make mistakes." Hollingsworth said experience has shown  him
that at least 75 percent of the interference complained about is  absolutely
unintentional.

In Hollingsworth's view, radio amateurs all  too often are hypersensitive and
rude. "We have a radar going to detect  offenses at all times, we assume the
worst in people, we rarely give people  the benefit of the doubt," he said.
He joked that if there were three  amateurs in a town, there would be two
Amateur Radio clubs.

"And  there'll be two hamfests with 20 people each, because they wouldn't
dare  consolidate them," he added.

Hollingsworth acknowledged that "certain  problem operators" remain, but the
real troublemakers are rarely the  newcomers to Amateur Radio. "If there's a
downfall in Amateur Radio, it won't  be caused by no-code Technicians or
codeless anything else," he said. "It'll  be caused by the microphone--no
doubt in my mind." He advised his audience to  ignore the troublesome
operators and not give them the attention they crave  by engaging them on the
air.

"Now, think about it: If what you're  hearing annoys you, or angers you or is
stupid, use the 'stupid filter,'  which is that big knob--that VFO that will
take you somewhere else," he  quipped. "It's the largest knob on the radio."
He recommended moving to  another frequency or even another band altogether.

Hollingsworth praised  the Volunteer Examiner program as "outstanding" and
noted there had not been  a single complaint in the past year stemming from
an examination session. He  also said the Amateur Radio community should have
a greater appreciation for  what the ARRL is doing on its behalf.

"Most of you have no idea how much  work is done in Newington for you and the
Amateur Radio Service generally,"  he said. "I see it every day, but I think
you have no idea of the hard work  and dedication that comes out of that
office up there, and I don't think we  would be there if it weren't for [the
League]."

"This country's  communications infrastructure needs Amateur Radio,"
Hollingsworth emphasized,  praising Amateur Radio's overall performance
following Hurricane Katrina.  "You have a tremendous amount to be proud of."

He also suggested that  radio amateurs have an obligation to stay informed
about what's going on in  Amateur Radio that might affect their activities.
"You have to not only keep  up, you have to lead the way, because it's in
your charter," he said,  pointing to §97.1 of the Amateur Service rules.

Hollingsworth noted at  the start of his talk that he could not address any
questions dealing with  the FCC's long-awaited decision on the Morse code
requirement (Element 1),  because he works in the Commission's Enforcement
Bureau. "We don't meddle in  rule making," he explained, but added that he
didn't expect CW to decline if  the FCC does drop the 5 WPM Morse requirement
for all Amateur Radio license  classes as it's proposed to do.

The FCC Wireless Telecommunications  Bureau (WTB) handles Amateur Radio rule
makings, Hollingsworth noted,  including the "Morse code" proceeding, WT
Docket 05-235, and the so-called  "omnibus" proceeding, WT Docket 04-140. The
WTB has said it will rule first  on the omnibus proceeding, then tackle the
Morse code proceeding, but it has  not indicated when to expect either Report
and Order.

No  representative from the WTB was at Dayton Hamvention this year.

==>NEW  SECTION MANAGERS ELECTED IN THREE ARRL SECTIONS

The votes are in, and  three ARRL sections will have new Section Managers
starting in July. Ballots  were counted May 23 at ARRL Headquarters in four
contested races. Incumbent  SMs in four other sections were re-elected
without opposition.

In the  Illinois Section, Thomas Ciciora, KA9QPN, topped Ronald Morgan,
KB9NW, 902 to  726 to succeed incumbent Sharon Harlan, N9SH, who did not run
for another  term. Ciciora, who resides in the Lake Holiday community near
Sandwich, has  been a radio amateur for nearly 25 years. He's spent more than
30 years in  emergency management, the last four as director of his local
emergency  management agency.

One of his stated goals during his campaign was to  help lead the Amateur
Radio community to become "an integral part of every  emergency operations
plan for every jurisdiction" in the Section.

In  the Northern Florida Section, incumbent SM Rudy Hubbard, WA4PUP, won
another  new term, outpolling challenger Dale Sewell, N4SGQ, 630 to 541. A
resident of  Milton, Hubbard has been SM since 1990.

"The long success of Northern  Florida Section objectives is primarily due to
the excellent team effort,"  Hubbard says. "Our recent accomplishments
include the administration of the  State of Florida Tracker System to manage
and deploy our operators for the  hurricanes in 2004 and 2005."

In the Oregon Section, ARRL members elected  a new SM in a three-way race
that included the current SM. Bonnie Altus,  AB7ZQ, topped the field with 398
votes. She'll succeed incumbent SM Randy  Stimson, KZ7T, who got 346 votes. A
third candidate, Kevin Hunt, WA7VTD,  picked up 315 votes.

Licensed since 1997, Altus, of Sheridan, has been  active in ARES and the
National Traffic System and served as president of the  McMinnville Amateur
Radio Club in 2000 and 2001. She has professional  management experience in
the fields of information systems,  telecommunications and medical records.

In the Santa Clara Valley  Section, ARRL members chose challenger Bill Dale,
N2RHV, over incumbent Kit  Blanke, WA6PWW. The tally was 353 to 302. Dale,
who lives in Milpitas, has  been an Amateur Radio operator since 1993 and is
active in emergency  communication. He's served as the ARES Emergency
Coordinator and RACES Radio  Officer for Milpitas, and in 2001 helped form
the Milpitas Amateur Radio and  Electronics Society.

Incumbent SMs in four other ARRL sections faced no  opposition this election
cycle and were declared elected for new terms: Jim  Sellers, K9ZBM, Indiana;
Bill Woodhead, N1KAT, Maine; Paul Gayet, AA1SU,  Vermont, and Don Michalski,
W9IXG, Wisconsin.

Two-year terms for all  successful candidates begin on July 1.

==>NEW ENGLAND AMATEUR RADIO  VOLUNTEERS WRAP UP AFTER FLOODING

Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)  volunteers this week began wrapping
up response-phase operations in the wake  of major flooding earlier this
month in New England. They also assisted with  damage assessment. The
flooding in southeastern New Hampshire and  northeastern Massachusetts has
been called the region's worst in 70  years.

On May 18 and 19, the Massachusetts Bay Red Cross Chapter  requested Amateur
Radio communication support for damage assessment, and on  May 20, the
Northeast Massachusetts Red Cross Chapter requested ARES support  for
vehicle-to-vehicle communication to help facilitate distribution of  clean-up
and care kits to coastal communities north of Boston.

Amateur  Radio volunteers utilized repeaters in Gloucester and Danvers. Some
20 ham  radio volunteers took part, under the leadership of North Shore ARES
District  Emergency Coordinator Eric Horwitz, KA1NCF, and North Shore ARES
Emergency  Coordinator Jim Palmer, KB1KQW. For portions of the operation, net
control  was established at the Bridgewater EOC.

"We are lucky to have a strong  relationship with the Bridgewater EMA and to
have the EOC as a hub for  Eastern Massachusetts ARES Emergency
Communications when required," said Carl  Aveni, N1FY, ARRL Eastern
Massachusetts Assistant Section Manager and South  Shore ARES District
Emergency Coordinator Aveni said. Herb Lemon, KC1ZW, is  Bridgewater's
emergency management director.

Just as flood operations  began winding down, the first widespread severe
weather outbreak of 2006  began the evening of May 21. Recounted Eastern
Massachusetts Section  Emergency Coordinator Rob Macedo, KD1CY: "The incident
happened so quickly,  we self-activated our nets and fed reports of damaging
winds and large hail  via the spotter line and the Web." Once things started
happening, Macedo,  who's also SKYWARN coordinator, said there wasn't time to
activate the ham  station at the National Weather Service (NWS) office in
Taunton,  Massachusetts. SKYWARN nets took to the airwaves on almost a dozen
repeaters  in the region.

Reports of downed trees and wires, including some that had  fallen on cars
and houses, were received in eastern and central  Massachusetts. Penny to
quarter-sized hail was reported in communities in  northern Connecticut,
Rhode Island and central and eastern Massachusetts  along with scattered
power outages. Waterspout were reported off Portsmouth,  Rhode Island, and a
over a lake in Hardwick, Massachusetts. A brief but  intense F2 tornado was
reported in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire.

Four  injuries were reported in the NWS Taunton warning area as a result of
the  severe weather May 21.

==>SUITSAT-1: ROUND AND ROUND IT GOES, WHEN  IT'LL DROP, NOBODY KNOWS

The sky is falling! Well, not really, Chicken  Little, but the now-silent
SuitSat-1--the Russian Orlan spacesuit cum Amateur  Radio satellite--is
likely to fall into Earth's atmosphere and burn up in a  few weeks. Launched
February 3 from the International Space Station,  SuitSat-1 was a project of
the Amateur Radio on the International Space  Station (ARISS) program.
Identifying as RS0RS and transmitting voice  greetings and an SSTV picture,
SuitSat-1 remained operational for more than  two weeks, easily outlasting
initial predictions that it would transmit for  about one week. The only rub
was that its signal was far less robust than its  sponsors had expected.

"The orbit life is dependent on the atmospheric  drag that the satellite
experiences," ARISS International Chairman Frank  Bauer, KA3HDO, explained
when SuitSat-1 was launched. An analysis done prior  to its deployment
predicted a 70 to 120-day orbital life for SuitSat-1,  meaning the end should
come sometime in early June on the outside.

The  mission continues to capture imaginations around the world as well  as
attention in the popular press. To keep the momentum going a bit  longer
ARISS and AMSAT are sponsoring 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.

The winner will be the individual who picks the date  closest to SuitSat-1's
actual re-entry. Enter by filling out the online entry  form on the AMSAT Web
site  <http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/ariss/contestEntry.php>.

The  SuitSat-1 "Chicken Little Contest" has three entry categories:
Kindergarten  through grade 8; high school (grades 9-12), and adult. Contest
rules permit  one entry per person. Certificates will go to winners of  each
group.

==>WX4NHC HURRICANE SEASON 2006 STATION TEST  SET

The National Hurricane Center's WX4NHC <http://www.wx4nhc.org/>  will conduct
its "Hurricane Season 2006 On-the-Air Station Test" Saturday,  June 3, from
1300 until 2200 UTC.

The annual station test provides an  opportunity for WX4NHC to check out all
of its radio equipment, computers and  antennas using as many modes and
frequencies as possible. It's also a chance  for RFI monitoring of NHC
equipment and to conduct some operator training. It  is not a contest or
simulated hurricane exercise.

WX4NHC will operate  on HF, VHF and UHF. Phone frequencies will be 7.268,
14.325, 21.325 and  28.525 MHz. CW frequencies will be 14.035, 21.035 and
28.035 MHz. PSK31 will  be on 14.070 MHz. Look for WX4NHC on the DX spotting
networks as well. WX4NHC  also will be on the VoIP Hurricane Net
<http://www.voipwx.net/> (IRLP  node 9219; EchoLink WX-TALK Conference) from
1700 until 1900UTC. WX4NHC also  will operate on South Florida area VHF and
UHF repeaters and on FM  simplex.

When working WX4NHC, report your call sign, signal report,  location, name
and a brief description of current weather conditions (eg,  "sunny," "rainy,"
"windy"). Nonhams may participate by submitting their  actual weather
conditions using the On-Line Hurricane Report  Form
<http://www.wx4nhc.org/WX-form1.html>.

QSL cards are  available for an SASE to WX4NHC Assistant Amateur Radio
Volunteer Coordinator  Julio Ripoll, WD4R, 14855 SW 67 Ln, Miami, FL
33193-2027. Do not QSL directly  to the National Hurricane Center. Due to
security measures, no visitors will  be allowed at NHC during this test.

==>SOLAR UPDATE

Substitute  solar sage Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA, Ft Wayne, Indiana, reports:
The past  week has been relatively quiet. Solar activity was very low, and
geomagnetic  field activity was quiet to unsettled, with the planetary A
index staying  below 10. There were some sunspots this week, but they weren't
very  active.

The forecast for the next several days (Memorial Day weekend) is  for
continued low solar activity and quiet-to-unsettled geomagnetic  field
conditions. The probability of major flares or significantly elevated  K
indices is low. As a result, there shouldn't be any major  propagation
surprises.

This weekend is the CQ World Wide WPX Contest  (CW). The format for this
contest is everyone works everyone, with prefixes  as multipliers. Although
the QSO point structure favors DX contacts, the fact  that prefixes are
multipliers means domestic contacts--and propagation--can  play an important
role. At this time of year, the probability of sporadic E  on 10 and maybe
even on 15 meters for domestic contacts is quite high. We've  already had
some good sporadic E propagation on 10 and 6 meters in the past  week or two.
Look for sporadic E openings around the late morning hours and  early evening
hours.

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 May 18 through 24 were 0, 15, 29, 30, 32, 48 and 44,
with a mean of 28.3.  10.7 cm flux was 73.3, 75.3, 76.2, 77.5, 83.1, 84.2,
and 83.7, with a mean of  79. Estimated planetary A indices were 16, 8, 7, 7,
8, 7 and 4, with a mean  of 8.1. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 11, 7,
5, 4, 6, 4 and 3, with a  mean of 5.7.

__________________________________

==>IN  BRIEF:

* This weekend on the radio: The CQ World Wide WPX Contest (CW),  the
VK/Trans-Tasman 80-Meter Contest (CW), the ARCI Hoot Owl Sprint and  the
Michigan QRP Memorial Day CW Sprint are the weekend of May 27-28.  The
Thursday NCCC Sprint Ladder is June 2. JUST AHEAD: The SEANET Contest,  RSGB
National Field Day, IARU Region 1 Field Day (CW) and the QRP TAC Sprint  are
the weekend of June 3-4. The RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (Data) is  June
5, the ARS Spartan Sprint is June 6, and the Thursday NCCC Sprint Ladder  is
Jun 9. 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, June 4, for these  ARRL
Certification and Continuing Education (CCE) Program on-line  courses:
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). Classes begin  Friday,
June 16. 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>.

* ARRL EXPO 2006 Passport prize  winners announced: Congratulations to the
six ARRL EXPO 2006 Passport prize  winners! ARRL President Joel Harrison,
W5ZN, drew the lucky tickets from more  than 1000 entries during Dayton
Hamvention. John Hudson, KO4XJ, won the "big  prize," an Icom IC-7000
HF/VHF/UHF all-mode transceiver, while Ward Kuhn,  N8WK, took home an Icom
IC-PCR1500 PC-controlled receiver. George Brown,  N3IKO, is enjoying a new
Kenwood TH-F6A 144/220/440 MHz handheld transceiver.  Randy Love, WF5X, and
Bonnie Viele, N8MCX, each picked up an AOR DS3000A  wideband discone antenna,
and Tony Fanska, KC0SJU, has a new Alinco DJ-C7T  144/440 MHz
micro-transceiver to stick in his pocket. Dubbed "the ultimate  convention
scavenger hunt," Passport players had to record numbers from 15 of  the 23
participating Hamvention exhibits and activities. ARRL thanks Icom  America,
Kenwood, AOR USA and Alinco for generously providing this years ARRL  EXPO
Passport prizes. Contact ARRL Membership Manager Katie Breen,  W1KRB
<w1krb at arrl.org>, for prize redemption; tel  860-594-0297.

* Handihams volunteer Rex Kiser, W0GLU, SK: Rex Kiser,  W0GLU, of Edina,
Minnesota, died April 1. He was 82. A World War II veteran  paralyzed as the
result of a combat-related injury in 1944, Kiser became a  Courage Handihams
<http://www.handiham.org/> volunteer in 1972.  Unwilling to let his injury
keep him from enjoying life and helping others,  he contributed nearly 14,000
hours of his time over more than 30 years in the  Handihams workshop
repairing and adapting radios and related equipment for  people with
disabilities. An ARRL member, Kiser also served as net control  station on
the Wednesday PICONET and was active in the Disabled American  Veterans and
the Minneapolis Radio Club. Survivors include his wife Miriam  and two
daughters. A memorial service was held April 6. The family invites  memorial
donations to Courage Handihams or Disabled American Veterans  Minneapolis
Chapter #1.

* DXCC Desk approves operations for DXCC  credit: The ARRL DXCC Desk has
approved these operations for DXCC credit:  4W6AAB – Timor-Leste, current
operation effective May 22, 2006; ZV0F –  Fernando de Noronha, operation
March 30-April 4, 2006; 6O0M – Somalia,  operation from April 7-24, 2006;
S01R – Western Sahara, operation April  11-21, 2006; YI9NS – Iraq, operation
January 5-March 28, 2006; YI9HU – Iraq,  operation May 18-June 5, 2005; HN0Z
– Iraq, operation March 27-28 and May  29-30, 2004; A6/OD5TX – United Arab
Emirates, operation October 5-November 5,  2005; TT8WL – Chad, November 19,
1996-March 8, 1997; J5DOT Guinea-Bissau,  operation April 25-May 5, 2006. 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.

*  Correction: The story "ISS Astronaut Fields Questions from  Elementary
Schoolers In Japan" in The ARRL Letter, Vol 20, No 20 (May 19,  2006)
contained an incorrect name for the control operator for the ARISS  school
contact. The control operator was Yoshio Maekawa,  JG3RWX.
===========================================================
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