[Letter-List] The ARRL Letter for April 15, 2010

Thu Apr 15 20:32:34 EDT 2010

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

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

April 15, 2010

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

- Come Explore the New ARRL Web Site!
- Mike Corey, W5MPC, Joins ARRL Staff as Emergency Preparedness and
Response Manager
- FCC News: FCC Looks to Lower Fees for Vanity Call Signs
- Section News: Nominations Open for Knight Distinguished Service Award
- W1AW News: Help Keep the W1AW Dream Alive
-  ARRL Field Day : ARRL Public Relations Committee to Host Field Day
Webinar
- On the Air: Moonbounce for Everyone -- Courtesy of the Arecibo Radio
Telescope!
- Solar Update
- This Week on the Radio
- ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration

==> COME EXPLORE THE NEW ARRL WEB SITE!

   We'd like to welcome you to come and delve into the new ARRL Web
site <http://www.arrl.org/>. After more than two years of work, the
staff, officers and Board of Directors are excited to show you what's
in store.

As you peruse the site, you'll notice it's set up a bit differently
than the previous site. With the new site, we chose to focus on how you
use Amateur Radio, instead of by departments here at HQ. For instance,
in the "On the Air <http://www.arrl.org/on-the-air>" section, you'll
find information on contesting, awards, Logbook of The World,
international operating, special events, the QSL Bureau (both Incoming
and Outgoing) and more. And in the "Public Service
<http://www.arrl.org/public-service>" section, you will find
information on emergency communication, as well as served agencies and
involvement opportunities. We are aware that some parts of the site are
not yet available. We ask that you be patient while we try to bring
everything over to the new site.

 <http://www.arrl.org>	 So go ahead -- take a look around! Make
yourself at home on the Web site. We invite you to go ahead and set up
your member profile while you're here. Once you log in, click on "Edit
Your Profile <http://www.arrl.org/myarrl-account-management>" -- it's
located right under the log-in area. Let us know what Amateur Radio
activities you enjoy (and once you do, you'll see information about
your chosen activities on our home page, personalized just for you).
This is also the place where members can sign up to receive The ARRL
Letter <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter> and other e-newsletters, W1AW
bulletins, license renewal notices, messages from your Section Manager
and Director and more. You can join groups, add friends and even add a
picture of yourself!

If you ever need help finding anything or if you encounter any
problems, look for the "Having Trouble? <http://www.arrl.org/support>"
link at the bottom of each page. Click it and report your problem; you
will be contacted shortly with a solution. We hope you will enjoy this
new Web site as much as we do here at ARRL Headquarters. Remember --
this is your Web site. Have some fun with it!

==> MIKE COREY, W5MPC, JOINS ARRL STAFF AS EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND
RESPONSE MANAGER

   The ARRL is pleased to welcome Emergency Preparedness and Response
Manager Mike Corey, W5MPC, to the Headquarters staff in Newington.
Corey's major responsibilities include addressing the development and
implementation of an organizational disaster response plan as well as
an operational continuity plan, complete with supporting procedures and
training. Corey also will play an integral part in the management of
ARES®, and in future negotiations with served agencies with whom ARRL
shares or creates Memoranda of Understanding. An Extra class licensee
and an ARRL Life Member, Corey comes to the ARRL with almost 20 years
of experience with emergency communications. Licensed since 1988, he
has been involved with SKYWARN since 1991 and has attended basic and
advanced SKYWARN training. He is the co-author of the ARRL Storm
Spotter's Handbook, which is due out next month. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/mike-corey-w5mpc-joins-arrl-staff-as-emergency-preparedness-and-response-manager>.

==> FCC NEWS: FCC LOOKS TO LOWER FEES FOR VANITY CALL SIGNS

   The FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order (NPRM) on
April 13 seeking to lower the fee for Amateur Radio vanity call signs.
Currently, a vanity call sign costs $13.40 and is good for 10 years;
the new fee, if the FCC plan goes through, will go down to $13.30 for
10 years, an decrease of 10 cents. The FCC is authorized by the
Communications Act of 1934 (as amended) to collect vanity call sign
fees to recover the costs associated with that program. The vanity call
sign regulatory fee is payable not only when applying for a new vanity
call sign, but also upon renewing a vanity call sign for a new term.
The vanity call sign fee has fluctuated over the 13 years of the
current program -- from a low of $11.70 in 2007 to a high of $70 (as
first proposed in the FCC's 1994 Report and Order). In 2007, the
Commission lowered the fee from $20.80 to $11.70. The FCC said it
anticipates some 14,800 Amateur Radio vanity call sign "payment units"
or applications during the next fiscal year, collecting $196,840 in
fees from the program. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-looks-to-lower-fees-for-vanity-call-signs>.

==> SECTION NEWS: NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR KNIGHT DISTINGUISHED SERVICE
AWARD

   Each year, the ARRL offers an award to recognize someone who has
served admirably as an ARRL Section Manager. The Knight Distinguished
Service Award recognizes exceptionally notable contributions by a
Section Manager to the health and vitality of the League. The first
such award was presented to Joe T. Knight, W5PDY (now SK) in 2003 --
for whom the award was named -- in recognition of his exemplary service
not only as the ARRL Section New Mexico Section Manager for more than a
quarter century, but also for his willingness to share his knowledge
and skills. For information on selection criteria and how to nominate a
deserving Section Manager, click here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/nominations-open-for-knight-distinguished-service-award>.

==> W1AW NEWS: HELP KEEP THE W1AW DREAM ALIVE

W1AW. It is the most famous call sign in the century-long history of
Amateur Radio. To hundreds of thousands of radio amateurs, W1AW is
synonymous with Hiram Percy Maxim -- the visionary who first recognized
a need for a national network of Amateur Radio operators in North
America, and who just a few years later saw a similar need for the
worldwide federation that we now know as the International Amateur
Radio Union (IARU). Amateur Radio without Hiram Percy Maxim would be
like automobiles without Henry Ford or electricity without Thomas
Edison. Without Mr Maxim, Amateur Radio probably would not exist today
-- and if it did, it would be a pale shadow of the enriching endeavor
we now enjoy.

   The W1AW Endowment was established to provide a reliable source of
funds for the operation and maintenance of the Maxim Memorial Station.
"When we begin the budget cycle every year, it is a relief to know that
some portion of the expenses related to W1AW will not have to compete
for scarce budget dollars with other important ARRL programs," said
ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ. "Thanks to generous
members and supporters, the W1AW Endowment and the income it generates
have grown." To help ensure that Hiram Percy Maxim's memory lives on to
inspire future generations of radio amateurs, please consider making a
donation to the W1AW Endowment. By doing so, you will help build a
solid financial future for W1AW so that it can continue to fulfill its
mission as Amateur Radio's flagship station. "When you visit ARRL and
tour W1AW, you will see your generosity at work," Sumner said. "And
every time you hear 'Whiskey-One-Alfa-Whiskey' on the air, you'll know
that you had a part in keeping the dream alive." For information on how
you can help keep the W1AW dream alive, click here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/help-keep-the-w1aw-dream-alive>.

==>  ARRL FIELD DAY : ARRL PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE TO HOST FIELD DAY
WEBINAR

   The ARRL Public Relations Committee -- in conjunction with the
ARRL's Atlantic Division -- will host a "webinar" -- an interactive
Web-based seminar, designed to facilitate communication between a small
number of presenters and a large remote audience using the Internet. On
Thursday, April 22 at 9 PM EDT, join ARRL Media and Public Relations
Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, along with ARRL Field Day Manager and
members of the League's Public Relations Committee as they explain how
to use ARRL Field Day to bring attention to Amateur Radio in your area.
Learn how to set up a Field Day publicity calendar, invite elected
officials and dignitaries, get proclamations issued, post your Field
Day event on local media outlets and community bulletin boards, get
audio and video PSAs on local radio and TV stations, how to use newer
social networks like Facebook and Twitter and more to draw people to
your Field Day event. Click here
<https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/932645064> to register for this
informative, interactive Internet meeting.

==> ON THE AIR: MOONBOUNCE FOR EVERYONE -- COURTESY OF THE ARECIBO
RADIO TELESCOPE!

   Sending Amateur Radio signals to the Moon and back has never been
easy. After roundtrip journeys of nearly half a million miles, even the
most powerful signals generated by hams are exquisitely weak on
arrival. Because of the equipment and expertise necessary for
successful "moonbounce" operating, this facet of Amateur Radio
generally has been confined to a small audience. But this coming
weekend, even hams with very modest stations will have the opportunity
to experience the thrill of moonbounce, thanks to the giant radio
telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/moonbounce-for-everyone-courtesy-of-the-arecibo-radio-telescope>.

==> SOLAR UPDATE

   Tad "Though the Earth was cold and wet, the sky was clear and the
Sun rose bright, placid and beautiful
<http://www.literature.org/authors/dickens-charles/two-cities/book-01/chapter-03.html>"
Cook, K7RA, reports: Weakened sunspots faded away this week and we were
buffeted with more geomagnetic instability, but without the dramatic
geomagnetic storms of the previous week. The average daily sunspot
numbers fell more than 20 points to 12.1, and the average solar flux
dropped nearly three points to 75.1. April 11 saw no sunspots -- with
group 1061 appearing April 5-10 -- and sunspot group 1062 showing April
12-14. By today, group 1062 should be gone and we may still see more
days without sunspots. The predicted solar flux for April 15-18 is 75,
77, 78 and 79, then hitting 80 on April 19-24. The predicted planetary
A index for April 15-19 is 5, 5, 12, 8 and 5. Look for more information
on the ARRL Web site on Friday, April 16. For more information
concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information
Service Propagation page
<http://www.arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals>. This week's "Tad
Cookism" brought to you by Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities
<http://www.literature.org/authors/dickens-charles/two-cities/index.html>
(Chapter 3).

==> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO

This week, the ARRL Rookie Roundup (SSB)
<http://www.arrl.org/rookie-roundup> is April 18. The TARA Skirmish
Digital Prefix Contest, the Holyland DX Contest and the EU Spring
Sprint are April 17. The Michigan QSO Party, the Ontario QSO Party and
the YU DX Contest are April 17-18. The Run for the Bacon QRP Contest is
April 19. Next week, the 10-10 International Spring Contest, the SP DX
RTTY Contest, QRP to the Field, the Florida QSO Party and the Nebraska
QSO Party are April 24-25. 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/The-ARRL-Contest-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/special-events>.

==> ARRL CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSE REGISTRATION

   Registration remains open through Sunday, April 25, 2010, for these
online course sessions <http://www.arrl.org/courses-training> beginning
on Friday, May 7, 2010: Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 1;
Antenna Modeling; Radio Frequency Interference; Antenna Design and
Construction; Propagation; Analog Electronics, and Digital Electronics.
To learn more, visit the CEP Course Listing page
<http://www.arrl.org/online-courses> 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/>