[QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The ARRL Letter for September 20, 2012

Fri Sep 21 08:26:34 EDT 2012

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The ARRL Letter

September 20, 2012
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA <mailto: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/>

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  * *+* /ARRL National Convention/: Find Out What's In Store at the 2012
    ARRL National Convention <#toc01>
  * *+* Looking Ahead to WRC-15 <#toc02>
  * *+* /Silent Key/: Sean Smith, KG4WSS, Killed in Consulate Attack
    <#toc03>
  * *+* /ARDF Update/: A Baker's Dozen of Medals for ARDF Team USA <#toc04>
  * Federal Employees Can Help Support ARRL through the 2012 Combined
    Federal Campaign <#toc05>
  * *+* /On the Air/: /Last Man Standing/ Plans Special Event Station
    <#toc06>
  * Solar Update <#toc07>
  * *+* /DXCC News/: ARRL DXCC Desk Approves 11 Operations for DXCC
    Credit <#toc08>
  * This Week in Radiosport <#toc09>
  * Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
    <#toc10>

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

*+* /ARRL National Convention/: Find Out What's In Store at the 2012 
ARRL National Convention

On October 12-14, the ARRL will welcome members and friends to the 2012 
ARRL National Convention in Santa Clara, California. Hosted by Pacificon 
and sponsored by members of the Mount Diablo Amateur Radio Club, this 
three-day event is sure to be jam-packed with excitement, exhibits and, 
of course, the ever-popular ARRL EXPO. Use this handy guide to find 
ARRL-sponsored activities and exhibits throughout the event. Read more 
here 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/find-out-what-s-in-store-at-the-2012-arrl-national-convention>.

*+* Looking Ahead to WRC-15

>From an Amateur Radio perspective, the 2012 World Radiocommunication 
Conference (WRC-12) was very successful. According to IARU Secretary Rod 
Stafford, W6ROD, the IARU Administrative Council will meet in the next 
45 days and will address the agenda items for the 2015 World 
Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) with an eye to building the best 
strategy for dealing with those items in a way that is most favorable to 
the Amateur Radio Service. While the IARU will be watching all agenda 
items in 2015, there is one agenda item that focuses on the Amateur 
Radio Service, and another four that may have an effect the Amateur 
Radio Service. Read more here 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/looking-ahead-to-wrc-15>.

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*+* /Silent Key/: Sean Smith, KG4WSS, Killed in Consulate Attack

Sean Smith, KG4WSS -- shown here in his Facebook photo -- was killed on 
September 11 in an attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Sean P. Smith, KG4WSS, of Falls Church, Virginia, was killed when the US 
Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked on September 11. He was 34. 
Smith was one of four Americans, including Chris Stevens -- the US 
Ambassador to Libya -- who was killed in the attack. Smith, a native of 
San Diego, enlisted in the Air Force in 1995 at age 17. He served six 
years as a ground radio maintenance specialist, including a deployment 
to Oman, before leaving the service in 2002 as a staff sergeant. He was 
awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal. Smith, who had worked at the 
State Department for 10 years, was in Libya on a temporary assignment 
when he was killed. Prior to his temporary assignment to Benghazi, Smith 
served for the State Department in Brussels, Baghdad, Pretoria, Montreal 
and The Hague. Read more here 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/sean-smith-kg4wss-killed-in-consulate-attack>.

*+* /ARDF Update/: A Baker's Dozen of Medals for ARDF Team USA

/By ARRL Amateur Radio Direction Finding Coordinator Joe Moell, K0OV/

As they packed their suitcases in preparation for the World 
Championships of Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF), the members of 
Team USA were eager, but they had no idea that they would return home 
with 13 medals. Team USA has participated in these biennial 
championships since 1998, and the most medals they had won any time so 
far had been two, with no golds. This year, however, would be different; 
their practice sessions and training camps would make them better 
prepared than ever.

The sport of ARDF -- also called foxtailing, foxhunting and 
radio-orienteering -- has undergone many changes since the first World 
Championships in 1980, but the basics remain unchanged. A championship 
course has five transmitters in a mapped area of rural and wooded 
terrain, typically 1000 acres or more. When Fox #1 comes on the air, 
contestants set out from the start as and try to be the fastest to 
"punch in" at all required transmitters and then make it to the finish 
line in another part of the forest. Read more here 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/ardf-update-a-baker-s-dozen-of-medals-for-ardf-team-usa>.

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Federal Employees Can Help Support ARRL through the 2012 Combined 
Federal Campaign

For the past 11 years, the US Office of Personnel Management has 
designated the ARRL as a participant in the Combined Federal Campaign 
(CFC). This campaign for federal government civilian employees, US 
Postal Service workers and members of the military has generated almost 
$192,000 for ARRL programs since it first became an option for federal 
employees to donate to the League. The CFC provides an easy way to 
support the ARRL's effort to represent its members and all radio 
amateurs. Read more here 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/federal-employees-can-help-support-arrl-through-the-2012-combined-federal-campaign>.

*+* /On the Air/: /Last Man Standing/ Plans Special Event Station

The crew of the hit ABC comedy /Last Man Standing 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/em-ham-radio-in-hollywood-em-amateur-radio-makes-its-debut-on-em-last-man-standing-em>/ 
is planning a radio event on Sunday, October 28 to kick off the show's 
second season. /Last Man Standing/ features Tim Allen as Mike Baxter, 
KA0XTT. According to /Last Man Standing/ Producer John Amodeo, NN6JA, 
Mike's station is back this year with even more gear. In addition, all 
the antennas that were in the catwalk last year have been relocated to 
the studio's roof.

Using special event call sign K6T, the show's crew will operate on HF, 
VHF, UHF, D-STAR, EchoLink and IRLP to communicate with fans of the 
show; 12 members of the /Last Man Standing/ crew are licensed amateurs. 
Members of the Los Angeles-based PAPA System <http://www.papasys.com/> 
will assist the crew with running the event. The crew will use several 
PAPA System repeaters to run analog VHF, UHF and D-STAR communications. 
They will also be monitoring the Disney Amateur Radio Interconnect 
repeater system, which has repeaters in New York City (W2ABC 
<http://w2abc.org/index2.php>), Florida (WD4WDW <http://www.wd4wdw.org/> 
and WD4WDW-B/D-STAR <https://dstargw.wd4wdw.org/>) and California 
(KB6AJE <http://www.qrz.com/db/wb6aje>), as well as EchoLink capability. 
A list of frequencies and an operating schedule will be posted on the 
KA0XTT Facebook page <https://www.facebook.com/KA0XTT?ref=ts> and on 
Amodeo's Twitter feed <https://twitter.com/nn6ja> in the next few weeks. 
A special QSL card will be sent to all hams who contact K6T; hams do not 
need to send a self-addressed, stamped envelope, nor do they need to 
send postage or "green stamps."

/Last Man Standing <http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/last-man-standing>/ 
begins its second season on Friday, November 2 at 8/7 Central.

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Solar Update

he Sun, as seen on Thursday, September 20, 2012 from NASA's SOHO Extreme 
Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope 
<http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/realtime-update.html>. 
This MDI <http://soi.stanford.edu/> (Michelson Doppler Imager) image was 
taken in the continuum near the Ni I 6768 Angstrom line. The most 
prominent features are the sunspots. This is very much how the Sun looks 
in the visible range of the spectrum.

Tad "The summer Sun knows me by name 
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaCCG7QkM_c>" Cook, K7RA, reports: The 
average daily sunspot numbers dropped this week, from 83.1 to 56, while 
the average daily solar flux declined from 118.9 to 101.4. The latest 
forecast shows the predicted solar flux at 115 on September 20-22, 120 
on September 23-25, then 125 and 130 on September 26-27, and rising to 
140 on September 28-October 1. On October 2, it drops to 135, 130 on 
October 3-5, and back down to 125 on October 6-7. The flux values then 
dip below 100 on October 14-16, and peak again around 140 on October 
25-28. The predicted planetary A index is 10 on September 20, 12 on 
September 21-22, 10 on September 23 and 5 on September 24-28, 10 again 
on September 29, and 5 on September 30-October 2. Look for more on the 
ARRL website on Friday, September 21. 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 The Brady Bunch's /It's a 
Sunshine Day <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Sunshine_Day>/.

*+* /DXCC News/: ARRL DXCC Desk Approves 11 Operations for DXCC Credit

On September 19, the ARRL DXCC Desk approved the following 2012 
operations for DXCC credit: 3B8/IW5ELA (Mauritius); E40VB (Palestine); 
JY8VB (Jordan); 9A8VB (Croatia); E7/UA4WHX (Bosnia-Herzegovina); 4O7VB 
(Montenegro); Z38VB (Macedonia); ZA/UA4WHX (Albania); YU9VB (Serbia); 
EY8/UA4WHX (Tajikistan), and UN/UA4WHX (Kazakhstan).

This Week in Radiosport

/This week:/

  * September 21 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
  * September 22 -- FOC QSO Party; AGCW VHF/UHF Contest
  * September 23 -- BARTG Sprint 75
  * September 24 -- QRP Homebrewer Sprint
  * September 25 -- 222 MHz Fall Sprint (local time)
  * September 26 -- SKCC Sprint
  * September 26-27 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test

/Next week:/

  * September 29 -- Microwave Fall Sprint (local time)
  * September 29-30 -- Texas QSO Party; CQ WW RTTY Contest
  * October 2 -- ARS Spartan Sprint
  * October 3 -- German Telegraphy Contest
  * October 3 -- 432 MHz Fall Sprint (local time)

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 
information. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out 
the ARRL Special Event Stations web page 
<http://www.arrl.org/special-event-stations>.

Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events

  * September 22 -- ARRL Washington State Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/washington-state-convention-36th-annual-spokane-hamfest>,
    Spokane Valley, Washington
  * September 22-23 -- ARRL Illinois State Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/illinois-state-convention-peoria-superfest-2012>,
    Peoria, Illinois
  * September 28-29 -- SEDCO/W4DXCC VIII Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/sedco-w4dxcc-viii-convention>, Pigeon
    Forge, Tennessee
  * October 7 -- ARRL Connecticut State Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/connecticut-state-convention-nutmeg-hamfest>,
    Meriden, Connecticut
  * *October 12-14 -- ARRL National Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/arrl-national-convention-pacificon-2012>,
    Santa Clara, California *
  * October 13 -- ARRL Iowa State Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/iowa-state-convention-hamboree-2012>,
    Sergeant Bluff, Iowa
  * October 13-14 -- ARRL Florida State Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/florida-state-convention-melbourne-hamfest-1>,
    Melbourne, Florida
  * November 3-4 -- ARRL Georgia State Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/georgia-state-convention-stone-mountain-hamfest-computer-expo-1>,
    Lawrenceville, Georgia
  * November 4 -- ARRL Iowa Section Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/iowa-section-convention-41st-annual-drac-hamfest-computer-show%27>,
    Davenport, Iowa
  * November 10 -- ARRL Alabama State Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/alabama-state-convention-1>,
    Montgomery, Alabama
  * November 17-18 -- ARRL Indiana State Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/indiana-state-convention-fort-wayne-hamfest-computer-expo-1>,
    Fort Wayne, Indiana
  * December 1-2 -- ARRL West Central Florida Section Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/west-central-florida-section-convention-tampa-bay-hamfest-2>,
    Palmetto, Florida
  * January 18-19 -- ARRL North Texas Section Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/north-texas-section-convention-cowtown-hamfest-1>,
    Fort Worth, Texas
  * January 19 -- ARRL Southern Florida Section Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/southern-florida-section-convention-3>, Fort
    Myers, Florida
  * January 25-26 -- ARRL Mississippi State Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/mississippi-state-convention-capital-city-hamfest>,
    Jackson, Mississippi
  * January 26-27 -- ARRL Puerto Rico State Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/puerto-rico-state-convention>,
    Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  * February 2 -- ARRL South Carolina State Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/south-carolina-state-convention-2>,
    North Charleston, South Carolina
  * February 8-10 -- ARRL Southeastern Division Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/southeastern-division-convention-orlando-hamcation-1>,
    Orlando, Florida
  * February 15-16 -- ARRL Arizona State Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/arizona-state-convention-yuma-hamfest-1>,
    Yuma, Arizona

To find a convention or hamfest near you, click here 
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests>.

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