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

Thu Mar 18 15:34:12 EDT 2010

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            The  ARRL Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League
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March 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

- FCC News: FCC Releases National Broadband Plan
- Legislative Affairs: ARRL Requests Support for S.1755
- Legislative Affairs: Companion Bill Introduced in US House to Provide
Technical Resources to FCC Commissioners
- ARRL Seeks Input for New IARU Region 2 Band Plan
- FCC News: FCC Proposes to Eliminate Spread Spectrum APC Requirement,
Reduce Spread Spectrum Power Limit; Cleans Up Portions of Part 97
- ARRL Publications: ARRL Introduces Understanding Basic Electronics,
second edition
- Solar Update
- This Week on the Radio
- Silent Key: Baby Blindness Pioneer Arnall Patz, ex-WA3EVC (SK)

==> FCC NEWS: FCC RELEASES NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN

 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYf2AVCdzZw>	On Tuesday, March 16,
the FCC held an Open Meeting to introduce its report Connecting
America: The National Broadband Plan (NBP) that was delivered to
Congress that afternoon. Calling it "an ambitious agenda for connecting
all corners of the nation while transforming the economy and society
with the communications network of the future -- robust, affordable
Internet," the Commission found that nearly 100 million Americans lack
broadband at home today and 14 million Americans do not have access to
broadband. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/16/11393/?nc=1>.

==> LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS: ARRL REQUESTS SUPPORT FOR S.1755

   Senate Bill 1755 -- The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications
Enhancement Act of 2009 introduced in October 2009 by Senators Joe
Lieberman (ID-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) -- has unanimously passed
the US Senate and has been sent to the US House of Representatives for
consideration and now sits in the House Committee on Energy and
Commerce. The ARRL is asking its membership to contact the leadership
of the Energy and Commerce committee, requesting support and action on
moving S 1755 through the committee. S 1755 accomplishes the same
things as HR 2160; HR 2160 was introduced in April 2009 by Rep Sheila
Jackson Lee (D-TX-18). Since S 1755 has already been approved by the
Senate, moving it forward in the House will simplify the process. Click
here <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/10/11385/?nc=1> for more
information, including instructions on how to encourage the committee's
leadership to support S 1755.

==> LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS: COMPANION BILL INTRODUCED IN US HOUSE TO
PROVIDE TECHNICAL RESOURCES TO FCC COMMISSIONERS

   Following the Senate's lead, Representatives Jerry McNerny (D-CA-11)
and Tom Petri (R-WI-6), introduced HR 4809 -- the FCC Commissioners'
Technical Resource Enhancement Act -- in the House of Representatives
on March 10. Copying the exact language from S 2881 (a bill with the
same name) introduced by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Mark Warner
(D-VA) in December 2009, the bill seeks to provide greater technical
resources to FCC Commissioners. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/16/11392/?nc=1>.

==> ARRL SEEKS INPUT FOR NEW IARU REGION 2 BAND PLAN

   The International Amateur Radio Region 2 conference -- to be held
later this year in El Salvador -- brings together delegations from the
national Amateur Radio Societies in the Western Hemisphere. One of the
topics on the agenda will be the Region 2 HF band plan. This band plan
is "harmonized with" -- spectrum management-speak for "very similar to"
-- the IARU Region 1 and Region 3 band plans. At this year's
conference, the IARU Member-Societies will consider possible changes to
the Region 2 band plan. The ARRL is cooperating with this procedure by
inviting input to be sent to the ARRL Board of Directors' Band Planning
Committee. The committee will review the existing Region 2 band plan,
consider input from the amateur community and make recommendations to
the ARRL Board for submission to IARU Region 2. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/04/11374/?nc=1>.

==> FCC NEWS: FCC PROPOSES TO ELIMINATE SPREAD SPECTRUM APC
REQUIREMENT, REDUCE SPREAD SPECTRUM POWER LIMIT; CLEANS UP PORTIONS OF
PART 97

   In response to a 2006 ARRL Petition regarding spread spectrum
issues, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on
March 16 (WT Docket No 10-62), proposing to amend Part 97 to facilitate
the use of spread spectrum communications technologies by eliminating
the requirement that amateur stations use automatic power control (APC)
to reduce transmitter power when the station transmits a spread
spectrum (SS) emission and reducing the maximum transmitter power
output when transmitting a SS emission. Through an Order attached to
the NPRM, the Commission also made "certain non-substantive revisions"
to the Amateur Service rules. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/18/11396/?nc=1>.

==> ARRL PUBLICATIONS: ARRL INTRODUCES UNDERSTANDING BASIC ELECTRONICS,
SECOND EDITION

ARRL's Understanding Basic Electronics, second edition
<http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=0823> -- your gateway into the
exciting world of electricity and electronics -- is written in a
friendly, easy-to-understand style that beginners and nontechnical
readers will enjoy. This introductory guide is ideal for students with
basic math skills, as well as radio amateurs and experimenters
interested in gaining a more complete understanding of basic electronic
principles -- anyone eager to unlock the mysteries of electronic
circuits.

   Authored by Walter Banzhaf, WB1ANE, this new edition features
student-friendly math made easy -- an inexpensive calculator is all you
need -- and now includes digital electronics. Even if you already have
a foundation in basic electronics, you will enjoy the small module
format of each chapter, allowing readers to digest "bite-sized" chunks
of learning material. Real-world examples and clear illustrations make
the study of electronics interesting and fun! A handful of small
"kitchen table" projects are included to help bring abstract concepts
to life.

Understanding Basic Electronics, second edition includes chapters on
electronics, analog and digital electronic circuits, electrical terms,
conductors, insulators and resistors, electricity and magnetism,
capacitors and inductors, electrical circuits (both series and
parallel), Ohm's law, techniques and tricks on how to solve circuit
problems, energy and power, alternating current (ac), capacitors and
inductors, transformers, impedance, resonant active device concepts,
semiconductors, diodes, transistors and ICs -- and much more.

For a limited time, ARRL members can purchase Understanding Basic
Electronics, second edition for only $29.95
<http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=0823> -- that's $3 off the regular
price of $32.95!

==> SOLAR UPDATE

   Tad "Doubt that the Sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar, but
never doubt I love
<http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=hamlet&Act=2&Scene=2&Scope=scene>"
Cook, K7RA, reports: Solar activity recovered nicely from the March 6-9
frightening absence of sunspots, reminiscent of years prior to the end
of November 2009. For our reporting week -- March 11-17 -- the average
daily sunspot numbers increased relative to the prior week by 17 points
to 29.4; the average daily solar flux was up by 9 points to 87.6. A new
sunspot group -- 1055 -- appeared on March 11, following the appearance
of 1054 the day before. Group 1055 only lasted a couple of days and
another new spot, 1056, emerged on March 17 and is still visible and
active. On March 11-12, a solar wind met a south-pointing
interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and pushed geomagnetic instability,
especially pronounced at higher latitudes. Alaska's college K index at
Fairbanks went to 5 during several 3-hour readings over both days. So
far in March, the average daily sunspot number is 23.9. Every month of
March since the end of the last century, the average (1999-2009) was
100.5, 203.6, 166.7, 154.3, 119.7, 81, 41, 21.3, 9.8, 15.9 and 0.77.
Sobering, isn't it? And no, that isn't an error for 2009. March of last
year had sunspots on only two days -- March 6-7 -- pushing the average
for the month to less than one. This Saturday, March 20, is the vernal
equinox, the first day of spring, which begins at 1732 UTC. Both the
southern and northern hemispheres are bathed in an equal amount of
sunlight; the time around the spring and fall equinox is great for HF
propagation. Look for more information on the ARRL Web site on Friday,
March 18. 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 William Shakespeare's Hamlet (Act II, Scene
2)
<http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=hamlet&Act=2&Scene=2&Scope=scene>.

==> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO

This week, the 10-10 International Mobile Contest is March 20. The
Russian DX Contest, the Oklahoma QSO Party and the North Dakota QSO
Party are March 20-21. The Virginia QSO Party and the BARTG HF RTTY
Contest are March 20-22. The Run for the Bacon QRP Contest is March 22
and the SKCC Sprint is March 24. Next week, the CQ WW WPX Contest (SSB)
is March 27- 28. 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>.

==> SILENT KEY: BABY BLINDNESS PIONEER ARNALL PATZ, EX-WA3EVC (SK)

   Dr Arnall Patz, ex-WA3EVC -- an ophthalmologist who discovered and
eliminated a major cause of blindness in premature infants -- passed
away from heart disease on March 11. He was 89. In 1954, Patz proved
that treating premature babies with pure oxygen could destroy their
eyesight. At the time, this was the most common cause of blindness in
premature infants. Although the new understanding came too late for
thousands of people who were made blind by oxygen -- including the
singer Stevie Wonder, ARRL Connecticut Section Manager Betsey Doane,
K1EIC, and her twin sister Barbara Lombardi, K1EIR -- it undoubtedly
saved many more from a similar fate. "Barb and I are thrilled to learn
that the doctor who discovered the effect of too much oxygen at birth
was a ham. We only wish we had met him or worked him on the air. How
exciting that would have been!" Doane told the ARRL. Patz operated a
ham radio from his home on behalf of the Maryland Eye Bank. According
to his nephew Sam, Patz erected an 80 foot tower at his home and became
known to amateurs across the country for putting out the word on the
airwaves whenever corneas were needed for transplant. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/17/11395/?nc=1>.

==> ARRL CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSE REGISTRATION

   Registration remains open through Sunday, April 25, 2010, for these
online course sessions <http://www.arrl.org/cep/student/> 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/cep/student> or contact the Continuing Education
Program Coordinator <cce at arrl.org>.

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