[GVARC] March 2002 newsletter
Tony
[email protected]
Sun, 24 Mar 2002 13:50:03 -0800
************************* Garlic Valley ******************************
Volume 17 Mar 2002
******************* Amateur Radio Club Newsletter ********************
GVARC OFFICERS
President Frank Fahrlander, N7FF
Vice President Ed Vines, KG6WU
Secretary Mark Deger, KG6IFQ
Treasurer Tony Armendariz, AD6ID
Newsletter Editor Tony Armendariz, AD6ID
WEBster Claud Furnare, NA6W
Web Site http://www.qsl.net/gvarc
Welcome to our new Secretary, Mark Deger, KG6IFQ.
FEATURES IN THIS ISSUE:
NEXT CLUB MEETING
GVARC MEMBERSHIP
FREE WORLD RADIO SUBSCRIPTIONS
POWER LINE RFI TROUBLESHOOTING
DXCC QUICK TURNAROUND
ARRL ASKS FCC TO "REFARM" NOVICE CW BANDS
WORLD HAM DAY - CELEBRATE TECH
LOGBOOK OF THE WORLD COMPLEMENTS QSL
APRIL 2002 CONTESTS
COMING EVENTS
***NEXT CLUB MEETING - Saturday, 30-Mar-02
--------------------
GVARC usually meets on the LAST Saturday of each month, at the Little
House Restaurant in Gilroy on Monterey Avenue (near the car dealers in
front of Motel 6). From the North or South, take the Monterey St. exit
from highway 101 (south end of Gilroy) and head north. We trickle in
about 8 a.m. and eat at 8:30ish. The South County ARES net is held
each Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. on K6THR/R (147.825 -.600, no PL).
***GVARC MEMBERSHIP
-------------------
Dues for all members become payable each January. The annual cost is
only $20 per person and $10 for each family member in the same
household. Membership dues helps such things as the K6THR/R repeater,
this newsletter, emergency readiness, etc. Membership, not required for
general use of the repeater, adds autopatch and autodial privileges.
GVARC is a non-profit organization per IRS section 501(c)(4) - we
don't make any money, do service for the community, but are not a
charity.
To join or for more information, please contact the treasurer:
Tony Armendariz, AD6ID
11950 New Avenue
Gilroy, CA 95020
408-683-2025 home
Internet: [email protected]
***FREE WORLD RADIO SUBSCRIPTIONS
---------------------------------
We have eight 1 year subscriptions to World Radio to hand out to
club members. Since I have them, I thought I'd offer one to each member
who contributes a story to this newsletter.
The write ups don't have to be polished; I will do that (Editor,
right?). The best kind is something local and personal; something from
your own experience.
More about World Radio at http://www.wr6wr.com/.
***POWER LINE RFI TROUBLESHOOTING
---------------------------------
>From RadioFest 2002. I got a handbook for troubleshooting and correcting RF
interference. This is a scientific, pragmatic (real measurements) study
done for the the U.S. Navy and is declared public information. Both I
and Wayne Rhoten, KD6HMJ, have bound copies. The authors mentioned that
the complete report will soon be available on the ARRL web site.
So if you want to fix some power line RFI problems (or _engourage_ and
_help_ PG&E to do so), please ask to use this guide.
-- de AD6ID
***DXCC QUICK TURNAROUND
------------------------
ARRL's DXCC Desk now is down to days in terms of application
turnaround time. It was not long ago that DXCC hopefuls waited in line
for more than two months to get their certificates or updates
processed. Now, applications are taking approximately one week.
"At one time this past year, we were up to nearly a quarter million
cards and about 2500 applications," said ARRL Membership Services
Manager Wayne Mills, N7NG. "This is a good time to send in your
cards!" He chalked up a lot of the earlier activity to the popularity
of the DXCC Challenge
<http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/listings/index.html#challenge>.
According to Mills, the DXCC workload shot up during 2001 by 60% or
more over the previous year.
The basic ARRL DXCC is awarded to amateurs who submit confirmation for
contacts with 100 or more "entities" (formerly called "countries") on
the DXCC List <http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/list_1a0.html>. The
DXCC Challenge evolved from the work of the DXCC 2000 Committee, which
reviewed the DXCC program and recommended some changes. The revised
rules that went into effect in 1998 included additional single-band
DXCC awards, which have proven very popular in themselves. The DXCC
Challenge grew out of that initiative as an overall competitive award
for DXCC.
At one point, DXCC awards trailed applications by nearly 12 weeks.
Mills attributes the much shorter DXCC wait now primarily to the fact
that additional staff members were brought aboard last summer. It also
has helped that the DXCC Challenge application bulge for 2001 passed
through the pipeline as the DXCC "season" ended last September. "We've
been able to catch up," Mills said, despite the fact that application
volume remains at about the same level as it was during the first
quarter of 2001.
* K8OCL to chair ARRL's High-Speed Digital and Multimedia Working
Group: Dr John Champa, K8OCL, has been named to chair the ARRL
High-Speed Digital and Multimedia Working Group. An ARRL Life Member,
Champa is a senior telecommunications engineer with Unisys. Working
under the direction of the League's Technology Task Force, the
High-Speed Digital and Multimedia Working Group will review existing
amateur digital networks--including packet systems and DX spotting
networks and, in particular, high-speed systems--to gain an
understanding of the current status. In addition, the Working Group
will study amateur experimentation at higher speeds; consider higher
speed digital and multimedia systems developed by industry; prepare a
vision statement for amateur high-speed digital and multimedia
systems; promote experimentation involving digital and microwave
experimenters; and develop standards. For more information, contact
John Champa via e-mail, [email protected].
-- ARRL
***ARRL ASKS FCC TO "REFARM" NOVICE CW BANDS
--------------------------------------------
The ARRL has asked the FCC to eliminate the 80, 40 and 15-meter
Novice/Technician Plus CW subbands as such and reuse that spectrum in
part to expand the phone allocations on 80 and 40 meters. In a
Petition for Rule Making filed March 22, the League requests that the
FCC revise its Amateur Service rules in accordance with the modified
Novice band "refarming" scheme the ARRL Board of Directors okayed in
January. The Petition has not yet been put on public notice for
comment.
"The opportunity to eliminate the Novice and Technician-Plus
telegraphy subbands and the reapportionment of those inefficiently
deployed segments will allow alleviation of significant, sometimes
critical, overcrowding in the popular Amateur HF allocations," the
ARRL said in its Petition.
The ARRL also cited "substantial advancements in the use of digital
techniques" in the HF bands--such as PSK31--to bolster its assertion
that a refarming plan for the underutilized Novice HF subbands "cannot
wait longer and must proceed now." The refarming plan adopted was
based on the recommendations of the ARRL Novice Spectrum Study
Committee following a survey of the amateur community last year. Under
the proposal, no operator class would lose privileges, and most would
gain.
If the FCC approves the plan, current Novice and Technician Plus (ie,
Technician with Element 1 credit) licensees would be permitted to
operate on the 80, 40, 15 and 10-meter General-class CW allocations at
up to 200-W output. For General and higher class operators, the ARRL
wants the FCC to implement changes in the 80, 40 and 15-meter "phone"
bands.
On 80 meters (3500-4000 kHz), phone privileges would begin at 3725 kHz
for Extra, at 3750 kHz for Advanced and at 3800 kHz for
General--another 25 kHz for Extra and Advanced operators and another
50 kHz for Generals. On 40 meters (7000-7300 kHz), phone privileges
would begin at 7125 kHz for Advanced and Extra and at 7175 kHz for
General--25 kHz more for Extra and Advanced operators and another 50
kHz for Generals. On 15 meters (21,000-21,450 kHz), phone privileges
would begin at 21,200 kHz for Extra, at 21,225 kHz for Advanced and at
21,275 kHz for General--no change for Extra and Advanced but 25 kHz
more for General. On 10 meters, the ARRL has recommended no changes
other than to accommodate CW, RTTY and data by Novice and Tech Plus
licensees at 28.0 to 28.3 MHz.
The ARRL suggested that its proposed configurations strike the right
balance between the need for additional phone spectrum and the
important goal of encouraging further development of narrowband data
modes in the CW segments.
The ARRL's "omnibus" petition also asks the FCC to permit amateurs to
use spread spectrum on the 222-225 MHz band; expand the pool of
special event call signs beyond the 1x1 format to include identifiers
for US territories and possessions that do not provide for mailing
addresses; clarify its rules to indicate that modulated CW (MCW) is
permitted for repeater station identification; and to incorporate into
its rules a 1990 FCC waiver authorizing amateurs in certain areas of
Colorado and Wyoming to operate on certain segments of the 33-cm band.
The League invited the FCC to consolidate its omnibus petition with
other pending Amateur Radio-related petitions now before the FCC.
A copy of the ARRL's complete Petition for Rulemaking is available on
the ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/refarm/>.
-- ARRL
***WORLD HAM DAY - CELEBRATE TECH
---------------------------------
World Amateur Radio Day this year will provide an opportunity to reflect on radio
amateurs as an important source of innovation in communication
technology. Observed each year on April 18, World Amateur Radio Day
commemorates the founding of the International Amateur Radio Union in
Paris on that date in 1925. The IARU is the worldwide federation of
national Amateur Radio organizations representing amateurs in 153
countries.
A century has passed since Marconi spanned the Atlantic and excited
the imaginations of the first generation of amateur wireless
experimenters. Amateurs were the first to discover and to exploit the
remarkable properties of the ionosphere, the IARU noted.
Amateurs also were the first to make widespread use of single-sideband
voice communication to conserve power and precious radio spectrum.
Amateurs applied microprocessors to data communication, popularizing
packet radio and developing protocols that are now in widespread use
in public safety and other services.
As we enter radio's second century, amateurs continue to lead the way
in numerous areas. Radio amateurs are the leading developers of new
digital techniques for high-frequency (HF) data and text
communication, such as PacTOR. Disaster relief agencies have adopted
it for use from remote locations where no telecommunications
infrastructure is available.
PSK31, another amateur innovation, is a user-friendly mode that
provides live keyboard-to-keyboard communication at low power levels.
PSK31 has become the most popular amateur digital mode in less than
two years. Other amateur developers, building on the success of PSK31,
are using sound cards to explore a wide range of other digital modes
tailored for the challenging HF environment.
Amateurs also are contributing in the arena of software defined radios
(SDRs). An outstanding example of a DSP radio designed for
experimental use is the DSP-10, a transceiver for the 144-MHz amateur
band designed by Bob Larkin, W7PUA, of Corvallis, Oregon. Working with
Larkin, a team of amateur software developers is refining a family of
programs tailored to explore a wide range of VHF, UHF, and microwave
propagation media, including moonbounce and extended-range
tropospheric scatter.
The IARU cites these as but a few examples of what is happening in
Amateur Service of the 21st century.
The IARU is a sector member of the International Telecommunication
Union and is the recognized representative of the Amateur and
Amateur-Satellite Services at the ITU.
-- IARU
***LOGBOOK OF THE WORLD COMPLEMENTS QSL
---------------------------------------
ARRL's "Logbook of the World" (LOTW) electronic contact-verification program will
spark "a culture change" when it's introduced later this year,
predicts Project Manager Wayne Mills, N7NG. Once LOTW is operational,
participants will be able to qualify for awards such as DXCC or WAS
without having to first secure verification in the form of hard-copy
QSL cards. But Mills--who heads ARRL's Membership Services
Department--is quick to add that LOTW will complement the conventional
exchange of QSL cards, not replace it.
"We will not do away with accepting QSL cards in the traditional
manner," Mills says. "We're not replacing the whole paper QSL scheme
with Logbook of the World." Neither will Logbook of the World provide
a means to get QSLs--electronic or otherwise. Mills said amateurs will
still be able to solicit QSLs--even electronic cards--although e-QSLs
still may not be used to apply for ARRL awards. Mills this week issued
a separate ARRL e-QSL policy statement to clarify what is and what is
not acceptable <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2002/03/07/100/>.
Logbook of the World "is really a system to offer credits for
awards--and not just our awards," Mills explained. He hopes to enlist
the participation of other organizations that grant operating awards,
such as CQ and RSGB. Central to the LOTW concept is a huge repository
of constantly updated log data provided by individual DXers,
contesters and DXpeditions and maintained by ARRL. Once it's up and
running, Logbook of the World will be able to provide quick contact
credit. Mills adds that the system will be open to all--ARRL members
and nonmembers.
Registering and uploading electronic log data to LOTW will be free.
The only time users will incur charges is when they wish to apply
contact credits toward a particular award, such as DXCC, WAS or VUCC.
Software development for The Logbook of the World continues. "We're
well into the software implementation phase for the logbook server,"
said ARRL Web/Software Development Department Manager Jon Bloom, KE3Z,
who expects to begin full system testing this spring.
"The security part is the linchpin of the system," Bloom said. Both he
and Mills emphasize that every effort will be made to ensure the
integrity of LOTW log data. Registrants will have to positively
identify themselves via off-line, hard-copy means before being issued
a secure--and free--digital signature and granted password access.
In simple terms, when a participant logs on, the Logbook system would
determine if its database contains any contact "matches" with log data
submitted. If so, a user could apply any credits generated to
particular awards at a per-credit fee. Mills said the cost would be in
line with current ARRL award fees.
In situations where an operator disputes a failure to match, Mills
said, the operators involved would have to resolve the situation
off-line.
Bloom and Mills believe that Logbook of the World will improve the
integrity of the confirmation process. "It will remove some of the
human factors that lead to errors," Bloom said. And, Mills added,
Logbook will minimize opportunities to purposely "game the system" or
to outright cheat--something that's not always possible to detect even
with paper QSL submittals.
Mills said he hopes to announce an inauguration date for Logbook of
the World within a few months.
-- ARRL
***APRIL 2002 CONTESTS
-----------------------
Date Time (UTC) Mode Contest Rules
----- --------- ------ --------------
01 1500-2000 CW Low Power Spring Sprint
04-06 1400-0200 CW DX YL to NA YL Contest
06-07 1300-1300 CW/SSB Italian YLRC Elettra Marconi
06-07 1500-1500 CW/SSB SP DX Contest
06-07 1600-1600 RTTY EA RTTY Contest Rules
06-07 Missouri QSO Party
07 0700-1100 CW UBA Spring Contest
12-14 2300-2300 CW Japan Int'l DX Contest, High Bands
13 0000-2400 SSTV Russian SSTV Contest
13-14 Periods CW DIG QSO Party
13 0000-2400 CW/SSB Australian Post Code Contest
13 1500-1859 SSB EU SPRINT Spring
18-20 1400-0200 SSB DX YL to NA YL Contest
20 0500-0859 CW/SSB ES Open Championship
20-22 2 periods CW/SSB Michigan QSO Party
20-21 1200-1200 CW/SSB YU DX Contest
20 1500-1859 CW EU SPRINT Spring
20 1600-2400 CW QRP to the Field
20-21 1800-1800 SSB/CW Ontario QSO Party
20 0000-2359 CW/SSB Holyland DX Contest
27-28 1200-1200 RTTY SP DX RTTY Contest
27-28 1300-1300 SSB/CW Helvetia Contest
27-28 2 periods SSB/CW Florida QSO Party
27-28 1700-1659 CW/SSB Nebraska QSO Party
-- http://home.online.no/~janalme/hammain.html
***COMING EVENTS
----------------
- Livermore Swap Meet - 1st Sunday of each month at Las Positas
College in Livermore, 7:00 AM to noon, all year. Talk in 147.045 from
the west, 145.35 from the east. Contact Noel Anklam, KC6QZK, (510)
447-3857 eves.
- Foothill Flea Market - not until next spring
***GVARC EMAIL LIST SUMMARY
---------------------------
[email protected] is the official list of GVARC members with e-mail
addresses. This is a closed list; Joining GVARC gets you on the list.
Anyone on the list can send to the list; no one else can.
[email protected] is a list of those interested in gvarc. Anyone
can join (with confirmation message) and any member may unsubscribe
freely. Members of the gvarc_cc list can send to the list. No one else
can send to the list. List administrators, Tony, AD6ID, and Frank,
N7FF. The list's web site is http://www.qth.net.
______________________________________
To leave GVARC list, Contact Tony Armendariz, [email protected]. If you're
a GVARC member with email, you must be on the list.