[Letter-List] The ARRL Letter for November 19, 2009

[ARRL Web site]

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            The  ARRL Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League
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November 19, 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

- + Advocacy: End in Sight for "Third Battle of Bull Run"?
- + Operating: NCVEC to Release New Technician Question Pool in January
- + Operating: SKYWARN Recognition Day Set for December 5
-  Hints & Kinks : PL-259 Connector Tool for Coax Cables
- + Public Service: GAREC Returns to Region 2 for 2010
- The 2009 ARRL Spectrum Defense Campaign Needs Your Support
- Now You Know!: It's All Greek to Me
- Solar Update
- This Week on the Radio

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

==> + ADVOCACY: END IN SIGHT FOR "THIRD BATTLE OF BULL RUN"?

ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, once termed the battle
of Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) in Manassas, Virginia as the "Third
Battle of Bull Run." While the war against harmful interference to
Amateur Radio via BPL is not yet over, the battle in Manassas might
soon be coming to an end.

In a Special Meeting on Monday, November 16 of the Manassas City
Council, the Council voted "To allow the [City of Manassas] Utility
Commission to make a recommendation to the [Manassas] City Manager as
part of the FY 2011 Budget regarding the decision to continue offering
Internet service; additionally, staff was instructed to discontinue all
marketing and advertising of Internet service." This motion passed 4-2.

At the meeting, Manassas Director of Utilities Michael Moon told the
Council that "it is not cost-effective to continue the internet service
on the Main.net BPL communication system as a stand-alone cost center"
and that the City "need[s] to make the decision for internet service in
the context of what communication system will be used for the City's
AMI [Advanced Metering Infrastructure]." Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/19/11206/?nc=1>.

==> + OPERATING: NCVEC TO RELEASE NEW TECHNICIAN QUESTION POOL IN
JANUARY

The Question Pool Committee (QPC) of the National Conference of
Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) is due to release the new
Technician class (Element 2) question pool to the 14 VECs on December
1, 2009; it will be released to the public in January 2010. Each
question pool for the three Amateur Radio license classes --
Technician, General and Amateur Extra -- is reviewed on a four-year
rotation. This new Technician class pool will become effective on July
1, 2010. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/19/11203/?nc=1>.

==> + OPERATING: SKYWARN RECOGNITION DAY SET FOR DECEMBER 5

The 11th Annual SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) Special Event will take
place Saturday, December 5, 2009. SRD is co-sponsored by the ARRL and
the National Weather Service (NWS) as a way to recognize the commitment
made by Amateur Radio operators in helping to keep their communities
safe. According to SRD Coordinator David Floyd, N5DBZ, Amateur Radio
operators can visit their local participating NWS office to contact
other hams across the world throughout the 24 hour event. Read more
here <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/17/11199/?nc=1>.

==>  HINTS & KINKS : PL-259 CONNECTOR TOOL FOR COAX CABLES

   Tired of using pliers to screw on the PL-259 connectors when you are
preparing cables? Pliers always seem to do some damage by the amount of
force this task requires. I use an inexpensive 1/2 inch PVC female to
male coupler. Simply use a step drill and ream out the female end (see
the arrow in the photo). This works for most half inch coaxial cables.
PL-259s do vary in diameter. Be sure to measure yours before you ream
out the PVC adapter. It will not take a lot of reaming for the
connector to fit snugly. The outer part of the PL-259 that fits into
the connector is 0.55 inch diameter. This makes a secure fit. If you
wear out the adapter, purchase another, as they are inexpensive. This
works for me. -- 73, Paul Marsha, K4AVU, 200 Garden Trail Ln,
Lexington, SC 29072-7341

==> + ARRL RECOGNIZES: DEADLINE LOOMING FOR NOMINATIONS FOR THE BILL
LEONARD PROFESSIONAL MEDIA AWARD AND ARRL INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN
AWARD

   Did you see an article or news segment on Amateur Radio this past
year in the papers, on TV, radio or a professional Web site? ARRL Media
and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, reminds you that you
can recognize the professional reporter's work by nominating them for
the Bill Leonard Professional Media Award
<http://www.arrl.org/pio/pro_media_award.html>. "Time is running out,"
he warns. "Nominations for this prestigious award -- which conveys an
engraved plaque and a donation of $250 to be made in their names to the
charity of their choice -- must be sent in to the League no later than
December 11." Find out more about the Bill Leonard Professional Media
Award here <http://www.arrl.org/pio/pro_media_award.html>.

   Nominations are also open for the 2009 ARRL International
Humanitarian Award
<http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/awards/humanitarian.html>. The award
is conferred upon an amateur or amateurs who demonstrate devotion to
human welfare, peace and international understanding through Amateur
Radio. The League established the annual prize to recognize Amateur
Radio operators who have used ham radio to provide extraordinary
service to others in times of crisis or disaster. All nominations and
supporting materials for the 2009 ARRL International Humanitarian Award
must be submitted in writing no later than December 31, 2009. Read more
about the ARRL International Humanitarian Award here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/09/28/11098/?nc=1>.

==> + PUBLIC SERVICE: GAREC RETURNS TO REGION 2 FOR 2010

The 2010 Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference (
GAREC <http://www.rientola.fi/oh3ag/garec/>) will take place October
11-12 on the Dutch island of Curacao in the Caribbean. The theme of the
conference will be Learning through Practicing.

According to GAREC 2010 Organizing Committee Chairman Seppo Sisatto,
PhD, OH1VR, GAREC's mission is two-fold: To help Amateur Radio
operators be better prepared for emergency communications and to create
emergency communications exercises at both the national and
international levels. Exchanging information and experiences among all
Amateur Radio operators and groups that are interested in emergency
communications helps to promote GAREC's vision of having regular
worldwide cooperation and understanding between governments and the
Amateur Radio Service in the field of emergency communications.

GAREC 2010 is organized in cooperation with the Dutch Amateur Radio
Emergency Service (DARES <http://www.dares.nl/>) and Club for
Experimental Radio Examination Netherland Antilles (VERONA
<http://www.muurkrant.nl/verona/uk/index.html>). Sisatto said that
details on the upcoming conference will be announced as they become
available.

==> THE 2009 ARRL SPECTRUM DEFENSE CAMPAIGN NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT

 <https://www.arrl.org/forms/fdefense/>   ARRL Chief Development
Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH, reports that the ARRL has raised $126,828
toward the goal $310,000 for the 2009 Spectrum Defense Fund
<http://www.arrl.org/defense>. "The messages I receive from the ARRL
members and hams who contribute to this much needed fund are
heartening," she said, "expressing appreciation for all the work ARRL
does for the Amateur Radio community to protect our frequencies. And we
can all be proud of the successes that have come from the work of ARRL
leadership -- the Board and staff here at HQ. But there is always more
to do." Hobart said that year after year, ARRL members tell her that
the League's representation of radio operators -- both in Washington
and on the international stage -- is one of, if not the most important
activities that the ARRL does. "The cost of that representation at
meetings in Washington, at IARU gatherings and working party meetings
to prepare for world telecommunications conferences is the key to the
continued success of our defense efforts," she said. "Spectrum Defense
is one of those areas that is not covered completely by member dues. So
we ask ARRL members to do what they can to help cover those expenses."
Amateurs wishing to make a contribution may do so easily online
<http://www.arrl.org/defense>, via postal mail or by calling the ARRL
Development Office at (860) 594-0397.

==> NOW YOU KNOW!: IT'S ALL GREEK TO ME

Ask any high school physics student and they'll tell you that electrons
govern pretty much everything we do. We call electrons in motion an
electrical current, and those radio waves that we hams are so fond of
are the result of high frequency electrons traveling in our antenna
conductors. Think of a 40 meter wave as an accidental tourist who wants
to go somewhere (somewhere nice and warm, maybe a rare DX station). But
how to get there? It needs some mode of transport -- think of electrons
as the transport providers.

We use our transmitters to move the electrons in our antennas
to-and-fro to produce radio waves, hopefully to that rare DX
destination. When the radio waves get there, they set electrons in
another antenna in motion. That current -- electrons in motion -- is
amplified and detected at the receiving location and a QSO is made.

But why do we call them electrons? The ancient Greeks noticed that
amber attracted small objects when rubbed with fur; apart from
lightning, this phenomenon is thought to be man's earliest known
experience of electricity. Back in the year 1600, the English physician
William Gilbert -- in his treatise  De Magnete
<http://rack1.ul.cs.cmu.edu/is/gilbert/> -- coined the New Latin
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Latin> term  electricus to refer to
this property of attracting small objects after being rubbed. Both
electric and electricity are derived from the Latin ēlectrum, which
came from the Greek word ήλεκτρον (ēlektron) for amber. Now
you know!

==> SOLAR UPDATE

   Tad "Flutters in sun-beams
<http://englishhistory.net/keats/poetry/shell.html>" Cook, K7RA,
reports: Sunspot activity seems to be growing steadily of late: Daily
sunspot numbers for November 5-18 were 15, 16, 11, 0, 14, 13, 11, 11,
0, 0, 11, 12, 0 and 29. Sunspot 1029 made its trip around the Sun and
has re-emerged as sunspot 1032. A new sunspot -- number 1033 -- has
come over the eastern limb of the Sun. This steady appearance of
sunspots has raised the MUF over many paths, and 15 meters is beginning
to open regularly. In the southern hemisphere -- which gets more solar
radiation this time of year -- you can see a pronounced effect on the
f0F2 reading around mid-day
<http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/lists/iono_day/Cocos_Is_iono.txt>.
This is a measurement taken with an ionospheric sounder on
Cocos-Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean, 12.5 degrees South latitude
and 96.8 degrees East longitude. The instrument sweeps a radio signal
across the spectrum, beams straight up to the ionosphere overhead and
measures the strength of the signal bouncing back to determine optimum
frequency. You can see during mid-day f0F2 is going above 10 MHz.
Another interesting tool to see varying MUF around the world updated
every five minutes is here <http://www.spacew.com/www/realtime.php>.
The contour lines show the MUF over that particular area. During the
day recently, some areas over Africa were going above 30 MHz. Of
course, this weekend is the ARRL SSB Sweepstakes Contest
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/12/11194/?nc=1>, and
conditions are expected to be good for this domestic contest. There is
a possibility of some disturbance from unsettled geomagnetic
conditions, possibly peaking on Saturday. Predicted planetary A index
for November 19-23 is 7, 10, 15, 9 and 6. Look for more information in
the Solar Update, available on the ARRL Web site on Friday, November
19. 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' On Receiving a Curious Shell,
and a Copy of Verses, by the Same Ladies
<http://englishhistory.net/keats/poetry/shell.html>.

==> SILENT KEYS

+  Prolific Amateur Radio and SWL Author Harry Helms, W5HLH (ex-AA6FW)
(SK)

   After a long bout with cancer, Harry Helms, W5HLH (ex-AA6FW), passed
away Sunday, November 15. He was 57. Notorious for his witticisms and
geniality, Helms was known for his many books -- such as Shortwave
Listening Guidebook: The Complete Guide to Hearing the World, All About
Ham Radio, How to Tune the Secret Short Wave Spectrum and Handbook of
Radio Communications Servicing and Maintenance -- and his monthly
column "You Should Know: Interesting Thoughts and Ideas for Enjoying
the Hobby" in Popular Communications. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/11/18/11201/?nc=1>.

QST Author George Badger, W6TC (SK)

   George Badger, W6TC, of Portola Valley, California, passed away on
Sunday, November 15. He was 84. Originally licensed in 1939 as W6RXW
when he was 14, Badger was a member of the ARRL for 67 of his 69 year
amateur career. After World War II service with the 89th Infantry
Signal Company in Europe, he graduated from the University of
California with a degree in electrical engineering. Badger held seven
patents on microwave tube and circuit design and was Marketing Director
for EIMAC <http://www.cpii.com/division.cfm/9>, was President of
Svetlana <http://www.svetlana-tubes.com/svetlana_main.swf> and
consulted for CPII Econco <http://www.cpii.com/division.cfm/9>. Badger
published many technical articles professionally and in the amateur
press. First published in QST in 1981, Badger's most recent article,
"The Pileup Buster," was published in October 2008; his next article,
"Easy to Make Four-to-One Coreless Baluns," is scheduled to be
published in a spring 2010 issue. Badger was a Fellow
<http://radioclubofamerica.org/doc/Fellow%20Nomination%20form.pdf> in
the Radio Club of America <http://www.radioclubofamerica.org/>. His
Amateur Radio interests included building equipment, antennas and
working DX. Badger held DXCC Top of Honor Roll (Mixed), DXCC Honor Roll
(both Phone and CW), 5BDXCC (with endorsements on 160, 30, 17 and 12
meters), DXCC on all bands (160-10) and 5BWAZ. He also exceeded 2500
points on the DXCC Challenge. Contributions in memory of Badger can be
made to the Stanford University Medical Center, Department of
Immunology, 2700 Sand Hill Rd, Menlo Park, CA 94025. Funeral
arrangements are pending.

==> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO

 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGvRnqII0j8>	This week, the ARRL
Sweepstakes Contest (SSB)
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2009/novss.html> is November 21-23.
The Feld Hell Sprint is November 21. The LZ DX Contest is November
21-22 and the NA Collegiate ARC Championship (SSB) is November 21-23.
The EU PSK63 QSO Party is November 22. Next week, look for an NCCC
Sprint on November 27. The CQ Worldwide DX Contest (CW) is November
28-29. 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>.

==> ARRL CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSE REGISTRATION

Registration remains open through Sunday, December 27, 2009, for these
online course sessions <http://www.arrl.org/cep/student/> beginning on
Friday, January 8, 2010: 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
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