[Letter-List] The ARRL Letter for September 23, 2010

Thu Sep 23 16:00:41 EDT 2010

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            The  ARRL Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League
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September 23, 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: United States Supports Secondary Amateur Radio
Allocation at 461-469 and 471-478 kHz
- ARRL Awards Committee Makes Statement on Dissolution of Netherlands
Antilles
- + Public Service: 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season Proves to Be a Busy
One for Hams
- + HQ Happenings: Five New Section Managers to Meet in Newington for
Training
- + Tim Duffy, K3LR, to Receive RCA's Goldwater Award
- + Nominations Now Being Accepted for the George Hart Distinguished
Service Award
- + PBS Show Features History Mystery with an Amateur Radio Twist
- + Solar Update
- This Week on the Radio

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

==> + ON THE AIR: UNITED STATES SUPPORTS SECONDARY AMATEUR RADIO
ALLOCATION AT 461-469 AND 471-478 KHZ

   The Federal Communications Commission and the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration -- the spectrum
regulators for United States private sector and government users,
respectively -- have agreed to support a secondary MF allocation to the
Amateur Radio Service at 461-469 kHz and 471-478 kHz at the 2012 World
Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12), to be held in Geneva,
Switzerland from January 23-February 17. FCC and NTIA officials
formally presented the proposal at a meeting of the Second Permanent
Consultative Committee of the Inter-American Telecommunication
Commission, held August 30-September 3 in Fortaleza, Brazil. Read more
here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/united-states-supports-secondary-amateur-radio-allocation-at-461-469-and-471-478-khz>.

==> ARRL AWARDS COMMITTEE MAKES STATEMENT ON DISSOLUTION OF NETHERLANDS
ANTILLES

   To clarify the administrative process by which the anticipated
changes to the two existing Netherlands Antilles DXCC entities will be
made, the ARRL Awards Committee has determined that at 0400 UTC (12:00
AM local time in the islands) on October 10, 2010, the two Netherland
Antilles DXCC entities will be deleted. Commencing at 0400 UTC (12:00
AM local time) on October 10, 2010, operation from the islands of
Curacao, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Saba and St Eustatius will count for a
yet-to-be-determined number of new entities under the DXCC List
Criteria and Political Entities, Rule 1 and/or Rule 2 Geographic
Separation Entities. When the Awards Committee determines what Rule 1
or Rule 2 actions apply, it will announce the final disposition of the
entities on the DXCC list. The DXCC desk will not accept confirmations
for these new entities until after January 1, 2011.

==> + PUBLIC SERVICE: 2010 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON PROVES TO BE A
BUSY ONE FOR HAMS

   So far, with nine tropical storms and four hurricanes, the 2010
Atlantic hurricane season has indeed been a busy one. Beginning with
Hurricane Alex in June, hams at WX4NHC -- the Amateur Radio station at
the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida -- and weather spotters
around the country have kept an eye on these storms. Hurricane Earl
came in late August and early September, Hurricane Karl in September
and now Hurricane Igor is making its way across the Canadian Maritimes.
The 2010 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1 and will
continue through November 30. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/2010-atlantic-hurricane-season-proves-to-be-a-busy-one-for-hams>.

==> + HQ HAPPENINGS: FIVE NEW SECTION MANAGERS TO MEET IN NEWINGTON FOR
TRAINING

This weekend, five newly elected or appointed Section Managers are in
Newington for an orientation workshop. The primary purposes of the
workshop sessions are to share ideas and to provide basic
administrative, management, leadership and motivational training.

"The Section Manager Workshop is an orientation and training event for
new Section Managers that have come on board within the last year or
so," said ARRL Field Organization Team Supervisor Steve Ewald, WV1X.
"The ARRL has conducted this training each year at HQ for the past
several years, and it has been well received by past participants. The
Membership and Volunteer Programs Department Staff and its Field
Organization Team are the lead coordinators of the event. We also cover
the responsibilities and functions of the Section Manager position, and
the SMs are able to visit with ARRL Headquarters staff members and
learn more about the many programs that the ARRL supports. The workshop
sessions are presented by several ARRL Headquarters staff members who
are experts in their respective areas."

The following five Section Managers are attending the orientation
workshop: Nebraska Section Manager Art Zygielbaum, K0AIZ; North
Carolina Section Manager Bill Morine, N2COP; Oklahoma Section Manager
Kevin O'Dell, N0IRW; South Carolina Section Manager Marc Tarplee,
N4UPF, and Southern Florida Section Manager David Fowler, K4DLF.
Zygielbaum, Morine and Tarplee are current Section Managers; O'Dell and
Fowler begin their terms October 1.

==> + TIM DUFFY, K3LR, TO RECEIVE RCA'S GOLDWATER AWARD

   The Radio Club of America (RCA) has named Tim Duffy, K3LR, of West
Middlesex, Pennsylvania, as the recipient of its Barry Goldwater
Amateur Radio Award. The Goldwater Award is given to an RCA member who
is also a licensed amateur in recognition of a long record of service
to the public through the use of Amateur Radio. He will receive the
award at the RCA's 101st annual awards banquet held November 19 in New
York City. Duffy -- an ARRL Life Member who became an RCA member in
1999 and serves on the RCA Board of Directors, as well as chairman of
its Marketing Committee -- will also be inducted as an RCA Fellow this
year. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/tim-duffy-k3lr-to-receive-rca-s-goldwater-award>.

==> + NOMINATIONS NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE GEORGE HART DISTINGUISHED
SERVICE AWARD

   At its July 2009 meeting, the ARRL Board of Directors established
the George Hart Distinguished Service Award to be given to an ARRL
member whose service to the League's Field Organization is of the most
exemplary nature. The Distinguished Service Award is named in honor of
George Hart, W1NJM, long-time Communications Manager at ARRL
Headquarters and chief developer of the National Traffic System. Read
more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/nominations-now-being-accepted-for-the-george-hart-distinguished-service-award>.

==> ON THE WEB: HAMFESTS AND CONVENTIONS

This week, we've made several improvements to the Hamfest and
Convention pages
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests-and-conventions-calendar> on our Web
site, including quick and easy links to the Hamfest Planner,
Application <http://www.arrl.org/hamfest-convention-application> and
Sanctioning information
<http://www.arrl.org/files/file/New%20Convention%20Hamfest%20Rules.pdf>,
as well as an updated version of the Speaker's Bureau
<http://www.arrl.org/speakers-bureau>.

   Other highlights:

- Added a clearer description of the benefits of ARRL Sanctioning
- Added more call outs to Hamfest section
- Links to the Hamfest Application from the ARRL Sanctioned page, as
well as links to the Rules and Regulations.
- One other improvement of note, if you visit www.arrl.org/get-involved
<http://www.arrl.org/get-involved>, you'll see a direct link to the
Hamfest pages from the first panel of the carousel.

==> + PBS SHOW FEATURES HISTORY MYSTERY WITH AN AMATEUR RADIO TWIST

   In the PBS show History Detectives, a group of researchers helps
people to seek answers to various historical questions they have,
usually centering around a family heirloom, an old house or other
historic object or structure. So when Chuck Roedel, WA2MXR, of Beverly
Hills, Florida, had what he thought may be an artifact from the turning
point in the US space race against Soviet Russia, he called on the
detectives to help him sort it all out. The show featured Roedel and
his history mystery back in June, and his segment was just made
available to the public on the History Detectives Web site. Read more
here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/pbs-show-features-history-mystery-with-an-amateur-radio-twist>.

==> + ARRL TO WELCOME USTTI STUDENTS

   Next week -- September 27-October 1 -- the ARRL will welcome
students who want to learn how to administer and regulate Amateur Radio
programs in their home countries. This course, offered by the United
States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI) for learners from
developing countries, will help the participants create, administer and
foster an Amateur Radio Service in their countries. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-to-welcome-ustti-students-1>.

==> + SOLAR UPDATE

   Tad "There's a little black spot on the Sun today
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw1MNBgLw0w>" Cook, K7RA, reports: The
autumnal equinox occurred early today at 0309 UTC. Conditions were good
this week, with sunspots visible every day -- and with very little
geomagnetic activity. The average daily sunspot numbers rose more than
24 points to 40, and average daily solar flux was up nearly five points
to 82.9. The solar flux is expected to rise to 88 for the next few
days, September 23-27. Geomagnetic activity should be unsettled to
active for today and tomorrow, September 23-24, with the planetary A
index for September 23-30 at 18, 18, 12, 6, 6, 8, 10 and 5. Bill
Magruder, KD7KST, sent in an interesting link that allows the user to
view live aurora from Yellowknife in Canada's Northwest Territories,
which is at 62.433 degrees north latitude. Go here
<http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/astronomy/auroramax/connect.asp> to have
a look -- after dark, of course. Look for more information on the ARRL
Web site on Friday, September 24. 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" is brought to you by Gordon Sumner's  King of Pain
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Pain>.

==> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO

This week:

-  September 24 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
-  September 25-26 -- CQ Worldwide DX Contest (RTTY); Texas QSO Party
-  September 25 -- AGCW VHF/UHF Contest
-  September 27 -- QRP Homebrewer Sprint
-  September 28 -- 222 MHz Fall Sprint (local time)

Next week:

-  October 2 -- TARA PSK Rumble Contest; F9AA Cup (CW); EU Autumn
Sprint (SSB)
-  October 2-3 -- ARRL EME Contest <http://www.arrl.org/eme-contest>;
California QSO Party; EPC Russia DX Contest; Oceania DX Contest (SSB);
International HELL-Contest
-  October 3 -- F9AA Cup (SSB); UBA ON Contest (SSB); RSGB 21/28 MHz
Contest; German Telegraphy Contest
-  October 5 -- ARS Spartan Sprint
-  October 6 -- 432 MHz Fall Sprint (local time)
-  October 7 -- SARL 80 Meter QSO Party

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 Events Station Web page
<http://www.arrl.org/special-events>.

==> UPCOMING ARRL DIVISION CONVENTIONS

- October 15-17 -- ARRL Pacific Division Convention
<http://www.pacificon.org/>, San Ramon, California

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