[MCARC] [Fwd: The ARRL Letter for July 14, 2016]

Nate Bargmann n0nb at n0nb.us
Sat Jul 16 07:59:32 EDT 2016


Forwarding as plain text as it seems as though changes to QTH.net's spma
bot are blocking me from sending it as an attachment.

73, Nate

----- Forwarded message from ARRL Web site <memberlist at www.arrl.org> -----

Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2016 18:23:38 -0400 (EDT)
From: ARRL Web site <memberlist at www.arrl.org>
To: n0nb at n0nb.us
Subject: The ARRL Letter for July 14, 2016

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

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

July 14, 2016

Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME <ww1me 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

- Amateur Radio Parity Act Receives Favorable House Energy and Commerce
Committee Report
- FCC Finds a Fix for Amateur Radio Application Batch Processing
Problem
- Ham Radio Outlet to Acquire Some AES Employees, Re-Open Milwaukee
Location as HRO Branch
- ARRL CEO, Emergency Preparedness Manager Visit FEMA Headquarters
- ARRL Board of Directors to Meet in Connecticut
- The Doctor Will See You Now!
- National Parks on the Air Update
- Attendance at Dayton Hamvention® Tops 25,000 for Second Year in a Row
- ARRL Training Webinar, "Contesting as Training for Public Service,"
Set for July 24
- International Tribunal Rules Against China's Claims Regarding South
China Sea Reefs
- New ISS Crew Increment with Two Radio Amateurs Arrives on Station
- CQ Contest Hall of Famer, WRTC Competitor, DXer Walter Skudlarek,
DJ6QT, SK
- In Brief...
- The K7RA Solar Update
- This Week in Radiosport
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions

==> AMATEUR RADIO PARITY ACT RECEIVES FAVORABLE HOUSE ENERGY AND
COMMERCE COMMITTEE REPORT

An amended version
<http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/ParityAct-SubstituteBill-Official-2016.pdf>
of the Amateur Radio Parity Act, H.R. 1301
<https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/1301/text>,
received a unanimous favorable report on July 13 from members of the US
House Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill now will go to the full
House for consideration. Before reporting the bill out of committee,
the panel first voted to accept the amended language, "in the nature of
a substitute." Rep Greg Walden, W7EQI (R-OR), who chairs the Energy and
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology,
said the substitute bill represented "a good balance" that came in the
wake of months of meetings, hard work, and compromise, and he
recommended the measure to his colleagues.

"The amendment guarantees that even in deed-restricted communities,
Amateur Radio operators are able to use an effective outdoor antenna,"
Walden said. "Without an effective antenna Amateur Radio operators are
severely limited, so this amendment ensures that amateurs are free to
pursue their passion wherever they live."

At the same time, he continued, the measure protects the rights of
those "who have chosen to live in deed-restricted communities and to
set their own aesthetic and other rules."

In early June, the ARRL and the Community Associations Institute (CAI
<https://www.caionline.org/>) -- the national association of homeowners
associations (HOAs) -- announced that they had reached consensus on
substitute language for HR 1301 in an effort to move it through
committee and to overcome objections to the companion US Senate bill, S
1685
<https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1685/text>.
The offices of US Representatives Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), the bill's
sponsor, Anna Eshoo (D-CA), and Walden mediated and offered assistance.

   "While it's rare to have two groups with opposing viewpoints walk
away from legislation happy, by golly, I think we've done it here,"
Walden concluded. He said the substitute bill represented "the best of
what our committee can do when we work together in bipartisan
compromise that meets the needs of all parties involved."

In her remarks, Eshoo said she was glad that an agreement had been
reached on the bill's language, which she initially feared would
violate the rights of homeowners associations. "We found a balance that
works for all stakeholders," she said, calling the ARRL and CAI "the
bookends of the effort."

Kinzinger called the amended bill "a good amendment that strikes the
right balance."

==> FCC FINDS A FIX FOR AMATEUR RADIO APPLICATION BATCH PROCESSING
PROBLEM

It's taken a couple of weeks, but the FCC has resolved a computer
programming problem that had affected its ability to accept and process
batch-filed Amateur Radio applications, resulting in a backlog for the
Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC
<http://www.arrl.org/volunteer-examiners>) and others taking advantage
of automated processing. The FCC information technology staff had been
attempting to fix the glitch that had affected the Universal Licensing
System (ULS <http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/index.htm?job=home>)
Electronic Batch Filing (EBF) system since it first cropped up on June
28. At first the problem had affected the processing of all Amateur
Radio and commercial license applications, said ARRL VEC Manager Maria
Somma, AB1FM, who alerted the FCC IT Department.

By June 30, it appeared that the FCC had corrected the broader problem,
but the EBF remained unable to process ARRL VEC's automated,
batch-filed applications and exam sessions. VECs that were manually
logging in to upload their files were unaffected. ARRL and FCC IT
staffers put their heads together to solve the problem of the blockage.

"The FCC IT staff was astutely attentive to the problem every step of
the way, as they worked with our IT department to find a solution,"
Somma said. "We appreciate the specialized service we received."

ARRL's IT Department and the ARRL VEC confirmed on July 14 that the
problem had been fixed, the backlog of more than 1200 applications and
300 exam sessions cleared, and the flow of automated, batch-filed
applications and exam sessions able to resume.

==> HAM RADIO OUTLET TO ACQUIRE SOME AES EMPLOYEES, RE-OPEN MILWAUKEE
LOCATION AS HRO BRANCH

Ham Radio Outlet (HRO <http://www.hamradio.com/>) has announced plans
to hire an unspecified number of Amateur Electronic Supply (AES
<http://www.aesham.com>) employees when AES shuts down its four
locations in late July. In addition, the current AES Headquarters store
in Milwaukee will become HRO's newest location later this summer,
following renovation. On July 1, AES announced that it was going out of
business and ending retail operations at its Milwaukee, Las Vegas,
Cleveland, and Orlando locations. With the approval of AES management,
HRO senior managers visited each AES location to interview staffers in
hopes of "acquiring some of the Amateur Radio retail employee talent in
each of the current AES locations," an HRO news release said.

"Together with this interview process, HRO examined what it would take
to perhaps acquire one or more of the AES store locations. At the time
of these interviews, many opportunities were explored with current AES
senior management," the release continued. "We are very excited to
announce that HRO was successful in providing offers of employment to a
number of soon-to-be-former AES employees, and that to some, we have
offered positions that involve HRO-sponsored and funded relocation."

HRO announced that once AES shutters its Milwaukee location at 5710 W
Good Hope Road on July 28, Ham Radio Outlet will undertake an extensive
remodeling project to create a new HRO Milwaukee store at the same
site, which will open at the end of August.

   "It is with great pleasure that we are able to continue Terry
Sterman's and Phil Majerus' legacy of providing a fantastic Amateur
Radio store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin," said HRO President Robert
Ferrero, W6KR. "It is our immediate goal to have the largest, most
well-stocked Amateur Radio retail store in North America and perhaps
even the world."

After AES closes on July 28, all former AES locations' direct and
toll-free telephone numbers will be redirected to the closest HRO
location, and the AES website will be directed to HRO's website.

A family-owned business, HRO is the world's largest Amateur Radio
dealership, with locations from New England to the West Coast.

==> ARRL CEO, EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS MANAGER VISIT FEMA HEADQUARTERS

ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, and Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike
Corey, KI1U, recently visited Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA
<http://www.fema.gov/>) headquarters in Washington, DC, to further
explore areas of cooperation and partnership, in line with the
Memorandum of Agreement
<http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public%20Service/FEMA/FEMA-ARRL-2014.pdf>
that ARRL and FEMA signed in 2014.

   During the June 29 visit, Gallagher and Corey met with FEMA
Administrator Craig Fugate, KK4INZ. FEMA Chief Technology Officer Ted
Okada, K4HNL, also attended the meeting.

"Administrator Fugate's detailed knowledge of Amateur Radio is
impressive, and his support for the amateur community is very
encouraging," Gallagher said afterward. He went on to say that he was
most impressed by Fugate's observation that "any mode of RF that will
connect across the continent is valuable; we don't have enough backups
to the public switched network."

==> ARRL BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO MEET IN CONNECTICUT

The ARRL Board of Directors will meet July 15-16 in Windsor,
Connecticut, for its second meeting of 2016. The session will mark

   the first Board meeting for ARRL's new CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, who
joined the Headquarters staff on February 29 and became CEO on April 18
upon the retirement of David Sumner, K1ZZ. Gallagher also serves as
secretary to the Board.

Among other business, the Board will hear reports from League officers,
including a status report on regulatory, legal, and legislative issues.
Reports from various committees, including the standing Executive,
Administrative and Finance, and Programs and Services committees, also
will be aired.

ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, who was elected at the January
meeting of the Board, will preside.

==> THE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU NOW!

"Propagation" is the topic of the latest (July 14) episode of the "ARRL
The Doctor is In <http://www.arrl.org/doctor>" podcast. Listen...and
learn!

Sponsored by DX Engineering <http://www.dxengineering.com/>, "ARRL The
Doctor is In" is an informative discussion of all things technical.
Listen on your computer, tablet, or smartphone -- whenever and wherever
you like!

Every 2 weeks, your host, QST Editor in Chief Steve Ford, WB8IMY, and
the Doctor himself, Joel Hallas, W1ZR, will discuss a broad range of
technical topics. You can also e-mail your questions to doctor at arrl.org
<doctor at arrl.org>, and the Doctor may answer them in a future podcast.

Enjoy "ARRL The Doctor is In" on Apple iTunes
<https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/arrl-the-doctor-is-in/id1096749595?mt=2>,
or by using your iPhone or iPad podcast app (just search for "ARRL The
Doctor is In"). You can also listen online at Blubrry
<https://www.blubrry.com/arrl_the_doctor_is_in/>, or at Stitcher
<https://www.stitcher.com/> (free registration required, or browse the
site as a guest) and through the free Stitcher app for iOS, Kindle, or
Android devices.

If you've never listened to a podcast before, download our beginner's
guide <http://www.arrl.org/doctor>.

Just ahead on July 28, the subject will be "Magnetic Loops."

==> NATIONAL PARKS ON THE AIR UPDATE

July represents the halfway mark for the ARRL National Parks on the Air
(NPOTA <https://npota.arrl.org/>) program. With just under 6 months to
go, slightly more than 490,000 contacts have been made from 431 of the
485 eligible NPS units, in 8250 separate activations.

There's plenty of time left to get involved! With the summer vacation
season in full swing, many NPS units would enjoy seeing a new NPOTA
face. You can start collecting NPOTA units any time; Activators are
always looking for new stations to log. With band conditions being less
than spectacular lately, NPOTA offers a way to enjoy Amateur Radio as
either Chaser or Activator, with plenty of domestic QSO opportunities
and portable operating adventures free for the taking. Help NPOTA reach
more than 1 million QSOs in 2016!

A record 68 activations are scheduled for the week of July 13-20,
including Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah, and the Nez Perce
National Historical Park in Idaho.

Details <https://npota.arrl.org/nps-events.php> about these and other
upcoming activations can be found on the NPOTA Activations calendar.

Keep up with the latest NPOTA news on Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/NPOTA/>. Follow NPOTA on Twitter
<http://www.twitter.com/> (@ARRL_NPOTA).

==> ATTENDANCE AT DAYTON HAMVENTION® TOPS 25,000 FOR SECOND YEAR IN A
ROW

Given the level of enthusiasm at the 2016 running of Dayton Hamvention
<http://www.hamvention.org>® in mid-May, attendance may have seemed up,
but for all intents and purposes, it held steady at 25,364 visitors.
That figure was down only slightly from the 25,621 attendees reported
for 2015, but above the 25,000 mark for the second year in a row. For
those keeping track, in 2014 the official count was 24,873 visitors,
and attendance in 2013 was 24,542.

Hamvention attendance peaked in 1993 at 33,669, before the 1996 change
in date from April to May. While attendance has fluctuated over the
years, Hamvention has grown to international proportions, attracting
members of the worldwide Amateur Radio community each spring.

The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA <http://www.w8bi.org/>) has
sponsored Hamvention since 1952. Originally called the Southwestern
Ohio Ham-vention, the inaugural event, held in March in downtown
Dayton, attracted 600 attendees -- twice as many as had been predicted.
Today it is the world's largest Amateur Radio gathering.

DARA now is counting down the days to the next Hamvention on May 19-21,
2017. Hamvention's new General Chairman is Ron Cramer, KD8ENJ, who
succeeded Jim Tiderman, N8IDS. Tiderman reported an "overall good mood"
and "a positive attitude" at this year's event and said the Hamvention
staff received many upbeat comments.

Hamvention's post-show Satisfaction Survey
<http://hamvention.org/contact-us/surveys/> is soliciting comments and
observations from those who attended this year's big show. -- Thanks to
Henry Ruminski, W8HJR

==> ARRL TRAINING WEBINAR, "CONTESTING AS TRAINING FOR PUBLIC SERVICE,"
SET FOR JULY 24

A free ARRL Training Webinar
<https://global.gotowebinar.com/pjoin/2868835119951912708/850903628518141188>,
"Contesting as Training for Public Service," hosted by Ward Silver,
N0AX, will take place on Sunday, July 24, 8 until 10 PM EDT (0000-0200
UTC on July 25). All are invited to join the audio-slide presentation
online or via telephone.

   "Think of contests as a ham radio fitness center," Silver said.
"Public service teams are always looking for enjoyable activities to
improve operator skills. Just as sports provide good physical exercise,
contests are great at developing radio skills, and both are a lot of
fun." Silver pointed out that contests originated as a way to hone
traffic-handling skills and develop an effective station.

Registration
<http://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2868835119951912708> is
required.

In addition, ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U, is
seeking anecdotes from radio amateurs who have activated an emergency
operations center (EOC) for a bona fide contest, such as ARRL November
Sweepstakes or a state QSO party -- but not ARRL Field Day, a SET, or
SKYWARN Recognition Day.

"Just a brief overview of the event, the results, the number of
participants, and any interesting outcomes," Corey said, in describing
what he's looking for. Contact <mcorey at arrl.org> Corey via e-mail.

The presentation will be available via YouTube following the webinar.

==> INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL RULES AGAINST CHINA'S CLAIMS REGARDING SOUTH
CHINA SEA REEFS

An international tribunal ruling discounting China's claims with
respect to Scarborough Reef and the Spratlys could complicate efforts
to mount another DXpedition to the rare and remote South China Sea DXCC
entities. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled this
week in favor of the Philippines in a dispute with China over
Scarborough Reef -- also known as Scarborough Shoal. The last
DXpedition to Scarborough was the 2007 BS7H operation. A 2016
DXpedition has been reported to be in the works.

   The tribunal said that although navigators and fishermen from China
and other states have historically made use of South China Sea islands,
there was no evidence that China had historically exercised exclusive
control over the waters or resources. According to the tribunal, China
had violated the Philippines' sovereign rights and has caused "severe
harm to the coral reef environment" by building artificial islands and
an air strip. China, which refused to take part in the arbitration,
said it would not be bound by the tribunal's ruling. China claims
almost all of the South China Sea, including reefs and islands also
claimed by other countries, but the tribunal made clear that its ruling
did not address issues of territorial sovereignty.

   "This arbitration concerned the role of historic rights and the
source of maritime entitlements in the South China Sea, the status of
certain maritime features and the maritime entitlements they are
capable of generating, and the lawfulness of certain actions by China
that were alleged by the Philippines to violate the Convention," the
Permanent Court of Arbitration explained in a lengthy news release
<https://pca-cpa.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/175/2016/07/PH-CN-20160712-Press-Release-No-11-English.pdf>
on July 12. "In light of limitations on compulsory dispute settlement
under the Convention [on the Law of the Sea], the Tribunal has
emphasized that it does not rule on any question of sovereignty over
land territory and does not delimit any boundary between the parties."
Scarborough Reef is claimed by China, the Philippines, and Taiwan.

In recent years, China has been actively expanding the land area of the
unpopulated reefs such as Scarborough and establishing a burgeoning
military presence, which it has deployed to keep away any visitors on
land or by sea. The tribunal said this activity, since the arbitration
began, has unlawfully aggravated and extended the dispute. Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/international-tribunal-rules-against-china-s-claims-regarding-south-china-sea-reefs>.

==> NEW ISS CREW INCREMENT WITH TWO RADIO AMATEURS ARRIVES ON STATION

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, KG5FYJ, astronaut Takuya Onishi, KF5LKS, of
the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and cosmonaut Anatoly
Ivanishin of Roscosmos officially joined their Expedition 48
International Space Station (ISS) crew members on July 9, when the
hatches opened between their Soyuz MS-01 and the space station. Four
radio amateurs now are on board the ISS.

   Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, of NASA, and Flight
Engineers Oleg Skripochka, RN3FU, and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos
greeted the newcomers. Rubins, Onishi, and cosmonaut Ivanishin replaced
Expedition 47 Commander Tim Kopra, KE5UDN; Flight Engineer Tim Peake,
KG5BVI/GB1SS, and Yuri Malenchenko, RK3DUP, who returned to Earth in
mid-June after a little more than 6 months in space.

Later this summer, Williams and Rubins are scheduled to install the
first of two international docking adapters, soon to launch to the ISS.
The adapters will allow commercial spacecraft to dock to the station in
the near future when transporting astronauts as part of NASA's
Commercial Crew Program.

Rubins, Ivanishin, and Onishi are scheduled to remain on station until
late October. The trio launched early on July 7 from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome, traveling to the ISS onboard an upgraded Soyuz MS-01
spacecraft on its maiden voyage. Williams, Skripochka, and Ovchinin
will return to Earth in September.

==> CQ CONTEST HALL OF FAMER, WRTC COMPETITOR, DXER WALTER SKUDLAREK,
DJ6QT, SK

Well-known contester and World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC)
competitor, official, and supporter Walter Skudlarek, DJ6QT, of
Hirzenhain, Germany, died on July 5. He was 77 and had been a radio
amateur since 1958.

   Skudlarek was a member of the CQ Contest Hall of Fame as well as a
founding member of the Rhein-Ruhr DX Association and active member for
more than 50 years, serving at various times as president. He was a
member of the RRDXA Hall of Fame.

Skudlarek was a competitor at the very first WRTC in 1990 in Seattle,
as well as in 1996 in San Francisco, and 2002 in Helsinki. He served as
a referee at the WRTCs in 2000 (Slovenia) and in 2006 (Brazil) and was
looking forward to WRTC 2018 in Germany.

His history of DXpedition operations dates from 1979, and he operated
frequently from Madeira. He was one of the first single-op
DXpeditioners to include RTTY as an operating mode. A frequent Dayton
Hamvention® visitor, Skudlarek also was an honorary member of the
Frankfort Radio Club, the North Jersey DX Association, and the
Araucaria DX Group.

==> IN BRIEF...

Solar Car Challenge W1N Traveling Special Event Operation Set: Special
event station W1N will travel from the Texas Motor Speedway to
Minneapolis between July 15 and July 24 to highlight the 2016 Solar Car
Challenge <http://www.solarcarchallenge.org/>®. Several teams include
students and adult advisors who are radio amateurs who wanted to
operate a special event station during the Solar Car Challenge.
Activity will be limited on July 15-16 but will ramp up July 16-24,
0500 to 2359 UTC. W1N will be on the air with a portable operation from
the Texas Motor Speedway before the vehicles set off on the road.
During the on-the-road event, W1N will have a mobile station and
portable stations active as the cars move north toward Minneapolis.
Mobile activity will be on 20 meters, centering around 14.343 MHz.
Operation from portable sites will take place on 6, 10, and 15 meters.
The calendar
<http://www.solarcarchallenge.org/challenge/calendar2016.shtml>
provides the event schedule and itinerary. QSL to Steve McDermott
<https://www.qrz.com/lookup/kf5rvr>, KF5RVR. For more information,
contact <fvarian at sbcglobal.net> Fred Varian, WD5ERD.

Special Event Stations to Mark Pope's Visit to Poland: Several special
event stations are poised to mark the visit of Pope Francis to Poland.
The Pope will be in Poland July 27-31 to once again take part in World
Youth Days <http://www.krakow2016.com/en/> in Kraków. This is Pope
Francis' first visit to Poland, where he will also make stops at the
national shrine in Czestochowa to honor 1050 years of Christianity in
Poland and pay respects to the victims of the former Auschwitz Nazi
concentration camp. World Youth Days is a biannual event initiated by
Pope John Paul II, the first Polish Pope (Karol Wojtyla). Some 2
million young Catholics are expected. Special event call signs will
include HF0F in Kraków, as well as HF31WYD, HF2SDM, and HF7SDM.

Decades of Satellite Contacts Net Satellite WAS for Ohio Radio Amateur:
It took Bob Liddy, K8BL, of Mentor, Ohio, nearly 4 decades to achieve
Worked All States <http://www.arrl.org/was> via satellite and earn WAS
Satellite Award #341, although he wasn't really gunning for the award
for all that time. The contacts spanned 38 years, and he submitted QSL
cards to claim the award. His oldest satellite QSL card was from W7LSV
in Oregon, for an Oscar 8 Mode A CW contact in 1978. Liddy did not
realize until he started going through his QSL cards to submit for
awards at Dayton Hamvention® that he might have completed WAS on
satellite. An AMSAT member since 1979, Liddy said he was "not in the
hunt very seriously," but he determined that had, indeed, worked all 50
states and was only lacking a card from Vermont. "Happily, it was Nick,
KB1RVT, who I knew was always good for a confirmation, which he quickly
returned, confirming our contact via SO-50 FM on January 4, 2016," he
said. -- Thanks to AMSAT News Service

Fox-1C and Fox-1D Launch Window Shifted: AMSAT reports that the launch
period for Fox-1C (Cliff) and Fox-1D has been moved. The new launch
window will be between September 1 and November 30. Fox-1Cliff and
Fox-1D will be integrated onto the Spaceflight SHERPA platform for its
maiden flight aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launching into a sun-synchronous
orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D carry
university experiments from Pennsylvania State-Erie, Vanderbilt,
University of Iowa, cameras provided by Virginia Tech, as well as
Amateur Radio voice repeaters capable of U/V or L/V operation. The
Nayif-1 CubeSat, developed by Emirati students from the American
University of Sharjah, is expected to be put into orbit on the same
launch. Nayif-1 carries an inverting 435/145 MHz transponder
(FUNcube-5) for SSB/CW. -- Thanks to AMSAT News Service, Southgate
Amateur Radio News

==> THE K7RA SOLAR UPDATE

Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: As this solar cycle declines, we will
occasionally see periods, such as this past week, when activity perks
up, and it seems that happy days are here again. Enjoy them while they
last. Any recovery is unpredictable and temporary.

Over the reporting week of July 7-13, the average daily sunspot number
was 52.6, up 47.7 points from 4.9 in the previous week. Dominating the
previous week's activity were 5 out of 7 days with no sunspots. Over
the same periods, the average daily solar flux rose from 73.1 to 91.6,
a healthy advance.

Geomagnetic indices were also active, with planetary A index advancing
by 9 points, from 6.7 to 15.7 and the mid-latitude A index rising from
8.3 to 14.1 over the same 2 weeks.

Predicted solar flux is 94 on July 14-15; 92 on July 16-18; 87, 84, and
80 on July 19-21; 77 on July 22-23; 75, 73, 74, 73, and 72 on July
24-28; 71, 72, 74, 72, and 77 on July 29-August 2; then 83, 87, 92, 94,
and 92 on August 3-7; 90 on August 8-13; 85 on August 14, and 78 on
August 14-15.

Predicted planetary A index is 15, 10, and 8 on July 14-16; 5 on July
17-20; 10, 7, 11, 10, and 6 on July 21-25; 4, 6, 7, 9, 8, and 7 on July
26-31; 4 and 5 on August 1-2; 23 on August 3-4; 14, 10, 20, 12, 8, 15,
and 10 on August 5-11, and 5 on August 12-13.

Sunspot numbers for July 7 through 13 were 25, 55, 63, 46, 62, 63, and
54, with a mean of 52.6. The 10.7 centimeter flux was 83.3, 87.1, 92.2,
94.4, 94.7, 92.4, and 96.8, with a mean of 91.6. Estimated planetary A
indices were 23, 23, 14, 10, 11, 21, and 8, with a mean of 15.7.
Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 19, 18, 15, 11, 11, 18, and 7
with a mean of 14.1.

Send <k7ra at arrl.net> me your reports and observations.

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==> THIS WEEK IN RADIOSPORT

- July 16 -- Russian Radio Team Championship (CW, phone

- July 16 -- Trans-Tasman Low-Bands Challenge (CW, phone, digital)

- July 16 -- Feld Hell Sprint

- July 16-17 -- North American QSO Party (RTTY)
<http://www.ncjweb.com/NAQP-Rules.pdf>

- July 16-17 -- CQ World Wide VHF Contest (CW, phone, digital)

- July 16-17 -- DMC RTTY Contest

- July 17 -- RSGB Low Power Contest (CW)

- July 18 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest (CW)

- July 21 -- NAQCC CW Sprint

- July 21 -- RSGB 80 Meter Club Championship (Digital)

See the ARRL Contest Calendar <http://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar>
for more information. For in-depth reporting on Amateur Radio
contesting, subscribe to The ARRL Contest Update
<http://www.arrl.org/contest-update-issues> via your ARRL member
profile e-mail preferences.

==> UPCOMING ARRL SECTION, STATE, AND DIVISION CONVENTIONS

- July 15-17 -- Montana State Convention <http://gwhamfest.org>, East
Glacier, Montana

- July 22-23 -- Oklahoma Section Convention
<http://www.hamholiday.com/>, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

- July 29-31 -- Central States VHF Conference
<http://2016.csvhfs.org/>, Rochester, Minnesota

- August 5-6 -- Texas State Convention
<http://www.austinsummerfest.org/>, Austin, Texas

- August 5-7 -- Pacific Northwest DX Convention
<http://pacificnwdxconvention.com/>, Portland, Oregon

- August 12-14 -- New Mexico State Convention
<http://dukecityhamfest.org/>, Albuquerque, New Mexico

- August 19-21 -- West Virginia State Convention
<http://www.qsl.net/wvsarc/>, Weston, West Virginia

- August 20-21 -- Southeastern Division Convention
<http://hamfest.org/>, Huntsville, Alabama

- August 21 -- Kansas State Convention <http://www.w0cy.org/>, Salina,
Kansas

- September 3-4 -- North Carolina State Convention
<http://shelbyhamfest.org/>, Shelby, North Carolina

- September 9-11 -- New England Division Convention
<http://boxboro.org/>, Boxborough, Massachusetts

- September 10 -- Kentucky State Convention
<http://louisvillehamfest.com/>, Shepherdsville, Kentucky

- September 10 -- Virginia Section Convention <http://vbhamfest.com>,
Virginia Beach, Virginia

- September 16-17 -- W9DXCC Convention <http://w9dxcc.com/>,
Schaumburg, Illinois

- September 16-18 -- ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference
<http://www.tapr.org/dcc.html>, St Petersburg, Florida

- September 17-18 -- Illinois State Convention <http://www.w9uvi.org/>,
Peoria, Illinois

- September 24 -- North Dakota State Convention <http://www.rrra.org/>,
West Fargo, North Dakota

- September 24 -- Washington State Convention <http://kbara.org/>,
Spokane Valley, Washington

Find conventions and hamfests in your area
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests>.

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Amateur Radio News and Information.

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----- End forwarded message -----

-- 

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all
possible worlds.  The pessimist fears this is true."

Ham radio, Linux, bikes, and more: http://www.n0nb.us


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