[Letter-List] The ARRL Letter for February 18, 2010

Thu Feb 18 14:52:21 EST 2010

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            The  ARRL Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League
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February 18, 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

-  On-the-Air : Calling All Rookies -- and Non-Rookies, Too! Get On the
Air for the ARRL Rookie Roundup
-  ARRL Leadership : Rod Blocksome, K0DAS, Appointed Midwest Division
Vice Director
-  ARRL Leadership : Grant Hopper, KB7WSD, Appointed Northwestern
Division Vice Director
-  Eye on Awards : More on the IARU Region 2 Award
- ARRL Publications: Check Out the March/April 2010 NCJ
- ARRL Publications:  QEX -- the March/April 2010 Issue
- W1AW News: W1AW Announces New Schedule for Digital Bulletin
Transmissions
- Solar Update
- W1AW News: March W1AW/West Coast Qualifying Run Schedule
- This Week on the Radio

==>  ON-THE-AIR : CALLING ALL ROOKIES -- AND NON-ROOKIES, TOO! GET ON
THE AIR FOR THE ARRL ROOKIE ROUNDUP

   The ARRL Rookie Roundup is designed to help newly licensed amateurs
build their operating skills on HF. It is a contest specifically for
those new to Amateur Radio, similar to the ARRL Novice Roundup that ran
from 1952 until 1995. The Rookie Roundup brings the fun and Elmering of
the old Novice Roundup into the 21st century. Three Rookie Roundups
will be held each calendar year: SSB in April, RTTY in August and CW in
December. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/02/18/11349/?nc=1>.

==>  ARRL LEADERSHIP : ROD BLOCKSOME, K0DAS, APPOINTED MIDWEST DIVISION
VICE DIRECTOR

   ARRL President, Kay Craigie, N3KN, has appointed Rod Blocksome,
K0DAS, of Robins, Iowa, as the new Vice Director in the Midwest
Division. The position became vacant when Midwest Division Director
Bruce Frahm, K0BJ, was elected ARRL Vice President at the 2010 ARRL
Board of Directors Annual Meeting and Vice Director Cliff Ahrens, K0CA,
moved into the Director position. "I'm honored to be selected as the
Vice-Director of the ARRL Midwest Division and am looking forward to
serving the division hams to the best of my ability," Blocksome told
the ARRL. "I grew up in Kansas, lived in Iowa and have traveled to more
than 50 different countries, so I hope to bring my Midwestern roots -
as well as a multi-cultural/international perspective - to this
position." Read more about Blocksome here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/02/16/11344/?nc=1>.

==>  ARRL LEADERSHIP : GRANT HOPPER, KB7WSD, APPOINTED NORTHWESTERN
DIVISION VICE DIRECTOR

   ARRL President, Kay Craigie, N3KN, has appointed Grant Hopper,
KB7WSD, of Everett, Washington, as the new Northwestern Division Vice
Director. The position became vacant when no one submitted the
necessary election materials needed to run for the Vice Director
position. Hopper is an attorney and serves as an ARRL Volunteer Counsel
(VC). "I'm excited to serve the Northwest Division," Hopper said. "We
have a phenomenal number of talented, innovative, committed, and
generous hams here in the Northwestern Division. I look forward to not
only doing what I can to support their efforts and the activities
within the division, but also representing their interests up at the
national level. From my community and volunteer activities -- as well
as my law practice -- I tend to think of myself as a 'behind the
scenes' sort of person, bringing people together, examining issues and
solving problems. I think those skills will serve me well as a Vice
Director and I'm glad I can share them for the benefit of Amateur
Radio." Read more about Hopper here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/02/17/11346/?nc=1>.

==>  EYE ON AWARDS : MORE ON THE IARU REGION 2 AWARD

   Since the announcement
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/02/11/11335/?nc=1> on the ARRL
Web site of the IARU Region 2 Award
<http://www.iaru-r2.org/wp-content/uploads/r2-award.pdf#pdf> last week,
Region 2 officials have been busy answering question from amateurs all
over the world about this award, first introduced in October 2007.
According to IARU Region 2 Secretary RamÃ³n Santoyo, XE1KK, officials
have analyzed the questions and have now clarified the rules, making
them easier to understand. You can access the newly rewritten rules
<http://www.iaru-r2.org/wp-content/uploads/r2-award.pdf#pdf> on the
IARU Region 2 Web site <http://www.iaru-r2.org/>.

==> ARRL PUBLICATIONS: CHECK OUT THE MARCH/APRIL 2010 NCJ

   The March/April issue of NCJ, The National Contest Journal, is
filled with the latest news from the contesting world. Whether you are
new to contesting or are a seasoned pro -- or somewhere in the middle
-- you will find something in NCJ just for you. In addition to all of
the exciting articles in the March/April issue, you will find all of
the regular columns and features that you expect from NCJ: "Workshop
Chronicles," by Don Daso, K4ZA; "Contest Tips, Tricks and Techniques,"
by Gary Sutcliffe, W9XT; "VHF-UHF Contesting," by Jon Jones, N0JK;
"RTTY Contesting," by Don Hill, AA5AU; "Propagation," by Carl
Luetzelschwab, K9LA; "Contesting on a Budget," by Ralph Bellas, K9ZO;
"Software for Contesters" by Pete Smith, N4ZR, and "Contesting 101," by
Kirk Pickering, K4RO. NCJ is published six times a year by the ARRL; it
is edited by Al Dewey, K0AD. NCJ is what every contester needs in his
or her shack -- subscribe today <http://www.arrl.org/ncj/>! Read more
here <QEX%20--%20the%20March/April%202010%20Issue>.

==> ARRL PUBLICATIONS:	QEX -- THE MARCH/APRIL 2010 ISSUE

   The March/April issue of QEX <http://www.arrl.org/qex> is coming
soon, and it is full of theoretical and practical technical articles
that you won't want to miss. QEX is the ARRL's "Forum for
Communications Experimenters." Published bimonthly, it features
technical articles, columns and other items of interest to radio
amateurs and communications professionals. The mission of QEX is
threefold: To provide a medium for the exchange of ideas and
information among Amateur Radio experimenters; to document advanced
technical work in the Amateur Radio field, and to support efforts to
advance the state of the Amateur Radio art. QEX is edited by Larry
Wolfgang, WR1B <lwolfgang at arrl.org>. Subscribe to QEX today
<http://www.arrl.org/qex>. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/02/16/11345/?nc=1>.

==> W1AW NEWS: W1AW ANNOUNCES NEW SCHEDULE FOR DIGITAL BULLETIN
TRANSMISSIONS

   Beginning Monday, March 15, W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial
Station, will alternate the digital modes used for its digital bulletin
transmissions. While Baudot, PSK31 and MFSK16 still make up the digital
mode complement, W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, says that the
schedule will be altered to give more exposure to PSK31 and MFSK16.
"Because of time constraints and the varying lengths of digital
bulletins, there were many instances where only Baudot was used," he
said. "With the new schedule, amateurs preferring either PSK31 or
MFSK16 will no longer find these modes secondary." Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/02/16/11343/?nc=1>.

==> SOLAR UPDATE

   Tad "The Sun did not shine, it was too wet to play
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cat_in_the_Hat>" Cook, K7RA, reports:
We have been seeing improved conditions with moderate sunspot activity,
and we should keep seeing these good conditions this weekend for the
ARRL International DX Contest (CW)
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2010/intldx.html>. The average
daily sunspot number for the past week was 38.7, down 4.6 points from
the prior week, but the average daily solar flux rose 4 points to 90.6.
The predicted solar flux for February 18-22 is 88, 88, 86, 85 and 84.
The planetary A index for the same period is predicted at 10, 10, 5, 5
and 5. Look for more information on the ARRL Web site on Friday,
February 19, including a look at some new resources for grabbing
up-to-the-minute data from ionospheric sounders. These are very useful
for studying HF propagation paths and understanding phenomena that we
recently discussed on 75 meter short-skip propagation. 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 Dr Seuss' The Cat in the Hat
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cat_in_the_Hat>.

==>  ARRL FIELD DAY : 2010 FIELD DAY PACKETS NOW AVAILABLE

   It's that time of year again -- time to start gearing up for ARRL
Field Day, June 26-27, 2010! ARRL's flagship operating event -- always
held the fourth full weekend in June -- brings together new and
experienced hams for 24 hours of operating fun. Field Day packets are
now available for download
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/forms/fd-2010-packet.pdf> and include the
complete rules (including changes for 2010), as well as other reference
items such as forms, ARRL Section abbreviation list, entry submission
instructions, a Frequently Asked Questions section, guidelines for
getting bonus points, instructions for GOTA stations, a kit to
publicize your event with the local press and more.

==> W1AW NEWS: MARCH W1AW/WEST COAST QUALIFYING RUN SCHEDULE

   The March schedules for the W1AW and West Coast Qualifying Runs were
inadvertently left out of the March issue of QST. The March schedules
for W1AW are as follows: Friday, March 5 at 10 PM EST (Saturday, March
6 at 0300 UTC) for 10-25 WPM and Tuesday, March 16 at 7 PM EDT (2300
UTC) for 10-40 WPM. The West Coast Qualifying run will be transmitted
by station K6KPH on Saturday, March 13 at 2 PM PDT (2200 UTC) for 10-35
WPM. The run will be transmitted simultaneously on 3581.5, 7047.5,
14047.5, 18097.5 and 21067.5 kHz.

==> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO

This week, the ARRL International DX Contest (CW)
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2010/intldx.html> is February
20-21. There is another NCCC Sprint Ladder on February 19. The Feld
Hell Sprint is February 20, the Run for the Bacon QRP Contest is
February 22 and the SKCC Sprint is February 24. Next week, look for an
NCCC Sprint Ladder on February 26. The Russian PSK WW Contest and the
CQ 160 Meter Contest (SSB) are on February 26-27. The REF Contest
(SSB), the EPC WW DX Contest, the UBA DX Contest (CW), the Mississippi
QSO Party and the North American QSO Party (RTTY) are all on February
27-28. The High Speed Club CW Contest is February 28. The North
Carolina QSO Party is February 28-March 1. The ARS Spartan Sprint and
the AGCW YL-CW Party are both on March 2. 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>.

==> NEW ARRL WEB SITE COMING SOON

   After more than two years of planning, designing and writing, we
here at the ARRL are eagerly anticipating the launch of the new ARRL
Web site. We've been able to make the online experience easier for our
members -- from the online store, to registering for a class, to
finding a club -- plus we've created a new, enhanced member profile
with many more options available. We've made improvements with you in
mind, making sure that we've created the easiest, most enjoyable online
experience possible. The new Web site will be available at the end of
February.

==> ARRL CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSE REGISTRATION

   Registration remains open through Sunday, February 21, 2010, for
these online course sessions <http://www.arrl.org/cep/student/>
beginning on Friday, March 5, 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>.

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