[Letter-List] The ARRL Letter for November 5, 2009

Thu Nov 5 16:10:07 EST 2009

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

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

November 5, 2009

Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA <k1sfa at arrl.org>

ARRL Home Page <http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Letter Archive
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>Audio News
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> IN THIS ISSUE

- + Public Service: Ham Radio Operators Assist in Catalina Island
Rescue
- + ARRL Recognizes: George E. Smith, AA2EJ, Wins Nobel Prize
- + Operating: Fall Frequency Measuring Test This Month
- + Look for the December QST in Your Mailbox
- Advocacy: More Cosponsors for HR 2160
- ARRL in Action: What Have We Been Up to Lately?
- Now You Know!: Hiram Percy Maxim and the W1AW Station
- Solar Update
- This Week on the Radio

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

==>
+ PUBLIC SERVICE: HAM RADIO OPERATORS ASSIST IN CATALINA ISLAND RESCUE

Around 9:45 on the night of October 23, while attending an overnight
event at the Boy Scouts' Camp Emerald Bay on Santa Catalina Island,
Karl Tso, KI6PCW, and his wife, Deborah Ava, KJ6CRZ, of Topanga,
California, decided to climb a hill to check out the view -- and to see
if they could get into the repeater on the island with their handheld
transceivers. As they climbed the hill, the two radio amateurs heard a
sound; Tso turned his high-powered flashlight on the source, only to
discover a man who had fallen 48 feet to the rocks below, bleeding and
severely injured. Read here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/10/31/11174/?nc=1>.

==> + ARRL RECOGNIZES: GEORGE E. SMITH, AA2EJ, WINS NOBEL PRIZE

   Around 5:30 on the morning of October 6, George E. Smith, AA2EJ, of
Barnegat, New Jersey, got a phone call that changed his life: He had
just found out he had won the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2009
<http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2009/index.html>
"for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit -- the CCD
sensor
<http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/10/ccd-inventors-awarded-nobel-prize-40-years-on/>."
Smith will share the prize money with two other recipients: Charles K.
Kao, of Standard Telecommunication Laboratories in the United Kingdom
and Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Willard S. Boyle, of Bell
Laboratories. Each recipient will receive a diploma
<http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/diplomas/>, a medal
<http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medals/> and a document confirming
their share of SEK 10 million
<http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/amounts.html> (about $1.4 million);
Kao will receive 50 percent, while Smith and Boyle will each receive 25
percent of the monetary award.

Kao was recognized by the prize committee for his "groundbreaking
achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical
communication." His discoveries paved the way for optical fiber
technology, used for almost all telephony and data communication today.
Boyle and Smith invented a digital image sensor -- the CCD -- that has
become an electronic eye in almost all areas of photography.

"My wife Janet, AA2EI, and I sailed around the world for 17 years,"
Smith told the ARRL. "While we were on our boat, we used Amateur Radio,
especially in the South Pacific. Janet was the principal radio
operator. With our radio, we could keep track of other boats in the
area. Over in the Southwest Pacific, there are shore stations there
that provide weather forecasts every day on the ham radio. We would
listen for these, as it was such a tremendous help for us as sailors."

   The CCD -- invented in about an hour over lunch when Smith and Boyle
worked at New Jersey's Bell Labs -- was, according to Wired Magazine
<http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/10/ccd-inventors-awarded-nobel-prize-40-years-on/>,
the first practical way to let a light-sensitive silicon chip store an
image and then digitize it. In short, it is the basis of today's
digital camera. According to Wired, the "most amazing thing about the
invention" is that Boyle and Smith came up with the design so quickly.
With Bell Labs threatening to take the funds from their department and
transfer the money to other research, Boyle had to come up with a
competing semiconductor design. He got together with Smith, and within
an hour, they came up with the idea and sketched it all out on a
blackboard.

"One morning in October, 1969," Boyle wrote on his Web site
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/cstmweb/3884295553/>, "I was challenged
to create a new kind of computer memory. That afternoon, I got together
with George Smith and brainstormed for an hour or so on a new kind of
semiconductor device, drawing a few sketches and equations on a
blackboard. We called it a charge-coupled device: A 'CCD.' When we had
the shops at Bell Labs make up the device, it worked exactly as
expected, much to the surprise of our colleagues."

When asked by the ARRL how he felt about winning the Nobel Prize, he
exclaimed, "I feel great! Even though there's a lot of nonsense to go
through with it, it's worth it and winning it does wonders for your
ego. Aside from the initial shock and having to go through piles of
mail, e-mail and returning telephone calls, I know that will calm down.
As for the long-range future, I'm getting many invitations to give
talks. Next year, I've been invited to speak at a major conference in
Seoul, South Korea, another in Portland Oregon and another in
Switzerland. I've been invited to France to give a talk, China, too. We
need to sit down with a calendar and figure it all out. Having a Nobel
makes a big dent in your lifestyle."

Smith told the ARRL that he knew the CCD was under consideration for
the Nobel Prize, "but we didn't know exactly if, or when, it would
happen. Research that wins the Nobel is often done many years
beforehand. In my case, this was 40 year old research. The Prize
Committee wants to make sure the research has stood the test of time.

   "Amateur Radio has always attracted individuals who want to
understand and exploit nature's laws," fellow Nobel Laureate Joe
Taylor, K1JT, told the ARRL. "These are essential characteristics for
first-rate scientists, as well. The 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics honors
the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit -- the CCD sensor
used in digital cameras, the Hubble Space Telescope and many other
scientific and consumer devices. It was no great surprise to learn that
one of the Laureates, George Smith, is also a radio amateur." Taylor
was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1993
<http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1993/> "for the
discovery of a new type of pulsar, a discovery that has opened up new
possibilities for the study of gravitation."

Next month, Smith will travel to Stockholm, Sweden for the award
ceremony on December 10. It is certain that his picture will be taken
scores of times by the international media, made possible through the
technology that he and Boyle pioneered. Click here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/03/11182/?nc=1> for more
information, including how a CCD works.

==> + OPERATING: FALL FREQUENCY MEASURING TEST THIS MONTH

The W1AW Frequency Measuring Test (FMT) has taken several different
formats over the past few years. This year, we return to the "classic"
FMT -- measuring the frequency of an unmodulated carrier. Accurate
frequency measurement is required of all hams for both regulatory
compliance -- "stay in the band!" -- and operating convenience,
particularly on the new digital modes. The W1AW FMT will run on
November 12, 2009 at 0245 UTC (this is Wednesday evening, November 11,
2009 at 9:45 PM EST). It will replace any W1AW bulletin normally
scheduled for that time. It is recommended that participants listen to
W1AW's transmissions prior to the event to get an idea of conditions to
see which band (or bands) will be best for measurement purposes. Read
more here <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/02/11175/?nc=1>.

==> + LOOK FOR THE DECEMBER QST IN YOUR MAILBOX

The December issue of QST <http://www.arrl.org/qst> is jam-packed with
all sorts of news and information that today's Amateur Radio operator
needs. From product reviews to experiments, from public service to
on-the-air activities, the upcoming issue of QST has something for just
about everyone. Click here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/04/11183/?nc=1> to discover
what's in store for you in the December issue of QST, the official
journal of the ARRL.

==> ADVOCACY: MORE COSPONSORS FOR HR 2160

Earlier this week, two more Congressional Representatives -- Andre
Carson (D-IN-7), and C.W. Bill Young (R-FL-10) -- pledged their support
for HR 2160
<http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h2160ih.txt.pdf>,
The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009,
bringing the total number of cosponsors to 31, including original
sponsor Sheila Jackson-Lee
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/04/30/10792/?nc=1> (D-TX-18). HR
2160 is also sponsored by W. Todd Akin (R-MO-2), Michael Arcuri
(D-NY-24), Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD-6), John Boozman (R-AR-3), Madeleine
Bordallo (D-Guam), Geoff Davis (R-KY-4), Bob Filner (D-CA-51), Scott
Garrett (R-NJ-5), Bart Gordon (D-TN-6), Brett Guthrie (R-KY-02),
Maurice Hinchey (D-NY-22), Michael Honda (D-CA-15), Mary Jo Kilroy
(D-OH-15), Tom Latham (R-IA-4), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-16), Blaine
Luetkemeyer (R-MO-9), Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI-11), Charlie Melancon
(D-LA-3), Candice Miller (R-MI-10), Dennis Moore (D-KS-3), John Olver
(D-MA-1), Bill Posey (R-FL-15), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA-46), Bennie
Thompson (D-MS-2), Michael Turner (R-OH-3), Peter Welch (D-VT), David
Wu (D-OR-1) and Don Young (R-AK). On the Senate side of Capitol Hill, S
1755 <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/10/07/11127/?nc=1> -- also
called The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of
2009 -- cleared the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Committee with a favorable recommendation by voice vote. It now
proceeds to committee staff to prepare the report for the full Senate.
Click here <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/05/12/10818> for
information on how to encourage your Congressional representative to
sponsor HR 2160.

==> ARRL RECOGNIZES: THREE AMATEURS INDUCTED INTO CONSUMER ELECTRONICS
HALL OF FAME

Earlier this year, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) named 13
men -- including three radio amateurs -- to the Consumer Electronics
Hall of Fame. The honorees were inducted last month at CEA's Industry
Forum in Phoenix, Arizona. Former ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Director
Walt Stinson, W0CP, of Englewood, Colorado; Former ARRL Vice President
and Central Division Director R.H.G. Mathews, W9ZN (ex-9ZN) (SK), and
Karl Hassel, W9PXW (ex-8AKG) (SK). Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/02/11177/?nc=1>.

==> ARRL IN ACTION: WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO LATELY?

Compiled by ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA

This feature -- including convenient Web links to useful information --
is a concise monthly update of some of the things ARRL is doing on
behalf of its members, such as a recent webinar concerning Amateur
Radio and pecuniary interests, the Fourth Annual ARRL On-Line Auction,
orientation for newly elected Section Managers and more. This
installment covers the month of October. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2009/11/02/11179/?nc=1>.

==> + MARS: MARS CUTS RIBBON ON NEW PENTAGON STATION

A military institution designed to provide emergency communications has
moved to new quarters in the Pentagon. On October 21, John G. Grimes,
the former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information
Integration, cut the ribbon on the new Military Affiliate Radio System
(MARS) station, now located on the fifth floor of the Pentagon. The
facility -- manned by the Pentagon Amateur Radio Club (PARC) -- is
packed with amateur radios, radiotelephone patches, computers and data
links. "This is a great facility, manned totally by volunteers," Grimes
told the crowd who came to see the new station. "It's a crucial
capability for our country." Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/03/11180/?nc=1>.

==> NOW YOU KNOW!: HIRAM PERCY MAXIM AND THE W1AW STATION

More than 1000 visitors come to see ARRL and operate W1AW each year.
Each visitor has a chance to tour ARRL HQ and meet and talk with staff,
and see all that the League does to promote the Amateur Radio Service.
When they go over to W1AW, some guests want to know if the station was
once the home of Hiram Percy Maxim, cofounder and first President of
the ARRL.

   In February 1936, when Maxim died of pneumonia on his way back from
visiting Lick Observatory <http://www.ucolick.org/> on Mt Hamilton in
San Jose, California, the ARRL HQ station -- W1MK -- was located at
Brainard Field <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartford-Brainard_Airport>
in Hartford. In March 1936, the Connecticut River flooded and the
building where the station was housed was destroyed by the flood
waters. The League's Board of Directors decided that a new station be
built on a more suitable site in memory of Maxim. In December 1936, the
FCC -- in the first action of its kind -- assigned the call W1AW to
ARRL in memoriam. The ARRL purchased a 7 acre site in Newington, about
5 miles southwest of Brainard Field. From the flood until September
1938, W1MK operated from ARRL Headquarters, then on LaSalle Road in
West Hartford. On September 2, 1938 -- what would have been Maxim's
69th birthday -- W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, was
dedicated, with the ceremony broadcast across the country by CBS Radio.
So, no, the building where W1AW is located was never home to Hiram
Percy Maxim; in fact, he never saw it. But even so, we know that his
spirit lives on every time we sit down at a radio. Now you know!

==> SOLAR UPDATE

Tad "You may go, with Sun or moon
<http://englishhistory.net/keats/poetry/robinhood.html>" Cook, K7RA,
reports: The recent sunspot activity has drifted beyond view, but that
region returns in the middle of November. The average daily sunspot
number for October was 7, the highest in the past 19 months. Coming up
this weekend is the ARRL CW Sweepstakes -- there is a possibility of a
coronal hole causing unsettled geomagnetic activity, though the past
few days have been exceptionally quiet. Look for more information in
the Solar Update, available on the ARRL Web site on Friday, November 6.
For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL
Technical Information Service Propagation page
<http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html>. This week's "Tad
Cookism" brought to you by John Keats' Robin Hood. To a Friend
<http://englishhistory.net/keats/poetry/robinhood.html>.

==> + ARRL RECOGNIZES: JOHN E. PORTUNE, W6NBC, WINS OCTOBER QST COVER
PLAQUE AWARD

The winner of the QST  Cover Plaque Award for October is John E.
Portune, W6NBC, for his article "The Quadrifilar Helix as a 2 Meter
Base Antenna Station." Congratulations John! The winner of the QST
Cover Plaque award -- given to the author or authors of the best
article in each issue -- is determined by a vote of ARRL members on the
QST Cover Plaque Poll Web page
<http://www.arrl.org/members-only/QSTvote.html>. Cast a ballot for your
favorite article in the November issue by Monday, November 30.

==> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO

 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm1dTXtT5vg>	This week is the ARRL
Sweepstakes (CW) <http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/novss.html>
on November 7-8. There is an NCCC Sprint on November 6 and the
Ukrainian DX Contest is November 7-8. The North America Collegiate ARC
Championship (CW) is November 7-9. The SKCC Weekend Sprint is November
8. Next week, there is another NCCC Sprint on November 13. The Bill
Windle QSO Party is November 14. The Worked All Europe DX Contest
(RTTY), the Kentucky QSO Party, the JIDX Phone Contest is November
14-15 and the OK/OM DX Contest (CW) are November 14-15. The CQ-WE
Contest (SSB, CW and Digital) is November 14-16. The Run for the Bacon
QRP Contest is November 16 and the NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint is
November 19. All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL
Contest Branch page <http://www.arrl.org/contests/>, the ARRL Contest
Update <http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/> and the WA7BNM Contest
Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more
info. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the
ARRL Special Event Station Web page
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/spev.html>.

==> DO YOU KNOW?: A TRIVIA ANSWER FOR OUR READERS

Last week, ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, told ARRL Letter
readers about the long and proud history of the ARRL Sweepstakes
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/10/29/11170/?nc=1>, mentioning
that at one point, The Philippines was a multiplier in the Sweepstakes,
as was Cuba (as part of the West Indies Section). We wondered what
years that The Philippines and the West Indies Sections ceased to be
multipliers in Sweepstakes. Unfortunately, we didn't receive any
correct answers. The Philippines was no longer a Section as of 1946 and
in August 1988, two new Sections -- Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands
-- replaced the West Indies Section (Cuba disappeared from the West
Indies Section in 1940). Thanks to everyone who sent in answers. Look
for another trivia question in a future edition of The ARRL Letter.

==> ARRL CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSE REGISTRATION

Registration remains open through Sunday, November 22, 2009, for these
online course sessions beginning on Friday, December 4, 2009: Amateur
Radio Emergency Communications Level 1; Antenna Modeling; Radio
Frequency Interference; Antenna Design and Construction; Ham Radio
(Technician) License Course; Propagation; Analog Electronics, and
Digital Electronics. To learn more, visit the CEP Course Listing page
<http://www.arrl.org/cep/student> or contact the Continuing Education
Program Coordinator <cce at arrl.org>.

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

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