From bmarx at bellsouth.net Tue Jul 1 13:48:53 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 13:48:53 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] WRTC2014 Announces Live Scoreboard to Track Team Standings Message-ID: <53B2F485.5040002@bellsouth.net> WRTC2014 Announces Live Scoreboard to Track Team Standings July 1, 2014 WINDHAM, NH Issued July 1, 2014...WRTC 2014, Inc., host of the 2014 World Radiosport Team Championship competition, announced today that there will be a live scoreboard for tracking the team standings during the event July 12-13, 2014. The Live Scoreboard will be directly accessible on the web at http://sb.wrtc2014.org or from a link on the WRTC2014 web site (wrtc2014.org ). The scoreboard uses an innovative data collection method developed by Dave Pascoe KM3T and Bob Raymond WA1Z. Each WRTC2014 team will be using networked computers to log the contest. The score collection system will "sniff" the network traffic to obtain the latest score and QSO breakdown information. This data will be transmitted by cellular modem every 5 minutes back to the score processing web site. Previous WRTC events used manual score submissions on an hourly basis. This will be the first to use automation to present scores in near real-time. The web site will show the scores of all teams ordered by score. Clicking on a team will reveal the team's band breakdown, hourly rate sheet, and position for each hour of the contest. A leader board page will list the top 5 teams by CW contacts, SSB contacts, multipliers, and points per QSO. Another innovation is the ability to select multiple teams and compare their scores on a graph vs time. This will reveal how the fortunes of teams change over the 24 hours as they follow their various strategies for building their score. "We have spent a lot of time confirming the cell signal levels for all sites and are confident that we will have real-time scoring from all 59 teams," said WRTC2014 Director Dave Pascoe, KM3T. "Bob Raymond has done a great job on the scoreboard web site design and we expect it will be very exciting for friends and family, as well as for hams worldwide, to follow the competitors as they move through the 24 hours." Teams will be shown by the calls of the team members rather than their over-the-air callsign. This is done to maintain fairness by keeping the team identity behind each callsign a secret. The teams are not allowed to identify themselves over the air except by their competition callsign. The site uses responsive design principles to provide maximum usability on desktop, tablet, and mobile platforms. The scoreboard site is live before the contest for testing purposes. All scores will be reset to zero before the contest begins at 1200 UTC on July 12, 2014. *About WRTC2014* The World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) is held every four years and consists of 50+ two-person teams of amateur radio operators from around the world competing in a test of operating skill. Unlike most on-the-air competitions, all stations are required to use identical antennas from the same geographic region, eliminating all variables except operating ability. Previous WRTCs have been held in Seattle (1990), San Francisco (1996), Slovenia (2000), Finland (2002), Brazil (2006), and Russia (2010). More information is available at www.wrtc2014.org or contact WRTC Chairman Doug Grant, K1DG, via e-mail at k1dg at wrtc2014.org . http://www.wrtc2014.org/wrtc2014-announces-live-scoreboard-to-track-team-standings/ From bmarx at bellsouth.net Tue Jul 1 18:25:53 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 18:25:53 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] BBSO Solar Activity Warning 01-JUL-2014 22:01:56 UT In-Reply-To: <201407012204.s61M40p7028080@noisy.bbso.njit.edu> References: <201407012204.s61M40p7028080@noisy.bbso.njit.edu> Message-ID: <53B33571.9080800@bellsouth.net> Solar activity is high. Region NOAA 12104 is growing rapidly and has potential for major flares. The region has a complex beta-gamma-delta magnetic configuration. An X-class event is possible from this region and M-class flares are likely. NOAA 12104, S11 E39 (X=-584,Y=-217) JV From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Jul 2 09:36:06 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 02 Jul 2014 09:36:06 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The ARRL Contest Update for July 2, 2014 In-Reply-To: <20140702044741.5FFB324885@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20140702044741.5FFB324885@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <53B40AC6.2070006@bellsouth.net> Preview If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at: http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/?issue=2014-07-02 The ARRL Contest Update July 2, 2014 Editor: Ward Silver, N?AX /Contest Update/ Archive Contest Calendar ARRL Home Page Ad IN THIS ISSUE * World Radiosport Team Championship 2014 - At Last! <#Contests> * Digital auf Deutsch - DL DX RTTY <#Contests> * WRTC2014 - Real-Time Scoreboard Online <#News> * ERTC2014 - A Virtual WRTC from Europe <#Newsweek> * WRTC Webinar <#Sights> * RTTY Roundup Results Released <#Results> * Small But Mighty Coax <#Tech> * Ten Free Software Tools <#Techweek> * WRTC2014 - It's For You, Too! <#Conversation> NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO The biggest event out there for you is, of course, WRTC2014 which runs in parallel with the IARU HF Championship. The upcoming two-week period also has a large number of short CW and digital "sprints" lasting from 30 minutes to 6 hours. Find one to fit your schedule and give it a try! BULLETINS The RTTY NS Sprint Contest will continue including 15 meter operation into September. (Thanks, N6RO) BUSTED QSOS Nothing out-of-line in the previous issue was reported. CONTEST SUMMARY Complete information <#Contests> for all contests follows the Conversation <#Conversation> section *July 5-6* * CWops Weekly Mini-CWT Tests (Jul 3) * MI QRP July 4th Sprint--CW (Jul 4) * 070 Club 40 Meter Firecracker PSK31 Sprint * DL DX RTTY Contest * DARC 10 Meter Digital Corona * OK1WC Memorial Contest * QRP ARCI Summer Homebrew--CW *July 12-13* * */IARU HF World Championship/* * ARS Spartan Sprint--CW (Jul 8) * NS Weekly Sprint--CW (Jul 11) * FISTS Summer Sprint--CW (Jul 11) * Straight Key Weekend Sprintathon * CQC Great Colorado Gold Rush--CW NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST After four years of preparation, it's time for the teams to go head to head! Don't miss the fun as WRTC returns to the United States. Organizers of the 2014 World Radiosport Team Championship have announced that there will be a live scoreboard for tracking the team standings during the event on July 12-13. The Live Scoreboard will be directly accessible online or from a link on the WRTC2014 website . The site uses responsive design principles to provide maximum usability on desktop, tablet, and mobile platforms. The scoreboard uses an innovative data collection method developed by Dave Pascoe, KM3T and Bob Raymond, WA1Z. Each WRTC2014 team will be using networked computers to log the contest. The score collection system will "sniff" the network traffic to obtain the latest score and QSO breakdown information. This data will be transmitted by cellular modem every five minutes back to the score processing web site. Previous WRTC events used manual score submissions on an hourly basis. This will be the first to use automation to present scores in near real-time. The web site will show the scores of all teams ordered by score. The team's band breakdown, hourly rate sheet, and position for each hour of the contest will also be available. A leader board page will list the top five teams by CW contacts, SSB contacts, multipliers, and points per QSO. Another innovation is the ability to select multiple teams and compare their scores on a graph vs time. This will reveal how the fortunes of teams change over the 24 hours as they follow their various strategies for building their score. Here's a call from the Wayback Machine - Rob Ford was a famous British operator who was assigned to Lhasa, Tibet after WWII. This fine story from the Western Washington DX Club's /Totem Tabloid/ newsletter by Robert KD7H tells the tale. Teams will be shown by the calls of the team members rather than their over-the-air call sign. This is done to maintain fairness by keeping the team identity behind each call sign a secret. The teams are not allowed to identify themselves over the air except by their competition call sign. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ While you're at WRTC or maybe visiting New England in the future there is "lots of other radio/electro-geek history in the area, " such as the Marconi and Maritime Center in Chatham, although the original Marconi station is nearly lost to erosion. * Reginald Fessenden's tower base in Brant Rock from which the first voice transmission was made. * Location in Boston where Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call * Birthplace of Ted McElroy , world's fastest telegrapher) * MIT Radiation Labs site of so much radio and microwave innovation during WWII * And in Connecticut, the 1BCG site at which the Radio Club of America assembled an all-star station and team, becoming the first to conduct a two-way trans-Atlantic QSO. (Thanks, Doug K1DG) Force 12 / InnovAntennas America reports doing land-office business during the first part of this year with 198 orders equaling the Force 12 bookings from all of 2013. Bill AA7XT acknowledges the surge in orders took them by surprise. As much as he regrets anyone having to wait for their antenna, however, the backlog is steadily being eliminated, having filled 82% of all orders as of June 30. The new XR Series of Yagis designed by Justin G?KSC are doing quite well and the goal is to build up inventory to support same-day shipping of XR-3, XR5-T, and XR6 antennas. To that end, two new permanent factory staff are on the job in Grand Junction, CO under the supervision of factory manager, David McKay. The public preview period for the CQ WW DX Contest rules for 2014 ended on July 1 but you can see the proposed rule changes on the CQ WW blog of CQ WW Director, Randy K5ZD For those of you who remember the legendary W3CRA site, Bill W4ZV once created a model for the site and evaluated it using HFTA. His discussion includes some interesting anecdotes and photos as well as the HFTA results. Ever wonder where the phrase "The Deserving" came from or perhaps who invented the Big Bass Bongo? Wonder no more because /The West Coast DX Bulletin /is back! Written by the legendary Hugh Cassidy WA6AUD, the bulletins are now available for everyone to enjoy online including very issue from Volume 1 number 1 up to and including the very last issue from 1979. Made available by the Northern California DX Club , the collection will be moved to its permanent home in the W6CF Memorial Library at the California Historical Radio Society in Alameda, CA. (Thanks, Rusty W6OAT) After a bit more than four years, the NCDXF-IARU Beacon 4U1UN has resumed transmitting. The beacon was deactivated during the UN HQ Building renovation and was put back on the air Wednesday, June 18 by James K2QI, the 4U1UN station manager and President of the UN Amateur Radio Club. If you are not near a radio, you can see NCDXF Beacon System activity on the Reverse Beacon Net system. (Thanks, Steve K6UM) Louis Frenzel W5LEF's /Electronic Design/ blog, Communiqu? , discusses the booming business of Do It Yourself electronics and its effect on encouraging students to take an interest in STEM careers. Sounds a lot like ham radio, doesn't it? Larger than Mt Everest? These giant sprites are found above thunderstorms - I'll bet hams can bounce a signal off of them, don't you? (Photo courtesy of NOAA) Recently, backyard photographers have been observing gigantic red sprites flickering over the USA. These electrical discharges, which occur high above thunderclouds, resemble enormous jellyfish and their glow can often be seen hundreds of miles away. One specimen highlighted recently on the Space Weather website would dwarf Mt. Everest, reports the photographer, Thomas Ashcraft. It would be interesting to see whether sprites sometimes masquerade as sporadic E clouds and if meteor scatter communication via sprites has any identifiable characteristics distinguishable from true Es. Barry W6YE discovered this Dutch website called the Cryptomuseum . The site includes a lot of information on old radios, spy sets, and you can even order a kit to build your own Enigma machine! *Web Site of the Week* - In parallel with WRTC, a European team has created an online "virtual" competition, the European Radiosport Team Championship (ERTC). 100 young operators will be traveling to Finland to take part in Youngsters On the Air (YOTA) on July 19-20. A new gateway to ham radio for people accustomed to the online environment, the event is held under the auspices of the European Union and IARU Region 1 during the weekend immediately following WRTC 2014. Amanda WH6DUB kept her cool while operating at the spectacular ocean-side site of the Maui Amateur Radio Club, KH6RS. (Photo by N?DQD) For the ERTC event, teams of young hams from fifteen European countries will get together to compete under WRTC-like rules. The only difference is that equipment and technology will be harmonized to an even greater extent than at the present-day WRTC as the games take place locally but in Virtual Reality within a framework which is exactly the same for all teams and which allows participants to concentrate fully on the secrets of operating prowess. But how about understanding the behavior of radio propagation on various bands? Not to worry since the ERTC platform simulates existing VOACAP-based propagation profiles on a real-time basis. This knowledge remains real even in Virtual Reality. A virtual WRTC will make it easier to deal with logistical requirements; you only need to have access to sufficient Internet bandwidth. In a virtual environment, it is possible to set up e.g. qualifying races with no need to establish 50 radio stations for the purpose of singling out the teams that will ultimately enter the actual serious race. This kind of "ERTC radio game" is also in line with the need to reach out to young people comfortable in their own element as a potential source of newcomers to the wonderful world of Amateur Radio. The Finnish team at Radio Arcala (OH8X) has drafted a roadmap for the revitalization of Amateur Radio based on the concept of linking the past with the present and the future. (Thanks, Martti OH2BH) WORD TO THE WISE */AC/* - who or what are the AC stations you might work during the IARU HF Championship contest? They are the IARU Administrative Council stations that count as multipliers along with the HQ stations. You'll also find stations handing out the R1, R2, and R3 multipliers from all three ITU regions. Ad SIGHTS AND SOUNDS Mike K7ULS enjoyed operating under these spectacular blue skies above his 9000-foot elevation Powder Mountain Field Day site in Utah. (Photo by K7ULS) Randy Thompson, K5ZD, one of the organizers of WRTC2014, will provide a WRTC 2014 Preview in an online webinar. It's an opportunity to look behind the scenes at the work that has been going on to prepare for this Olympiad of Amateur Radio. Randy will preview the week's schedule, the teams, the competition, and what you can do from home to join in the fun. A few competitors and other organizers may drop in as well. (Thanks, Ken K4ZW) Check out K1DG's (operating WR1TC) historic QSO with Princess Elettra Marconi (operating KM1CC) a few days ago! But will she QSL? (Thanks, Randy K5ZD) RESULTS AND RECORDS Several new items are available from the ARRL Contest Branch: Jeff WK6I's writeup of the RTTY Roundup results are online. 10 Meter Contest line scores have been created by writeup author, Scott K7ZO. And Bob K3PH has contributed updated records for both modes of the ARRL International DX Contest. Thanks to these volunteers who support the ARRL contest program. PDFs of /QST /writeups are also being uploaded to the ARRL's Contest Results Articles web page. Which was hotter - the bands or the 108? F temperature? WD9EWK kept his cool and had a great time operating Field Day last weekend, even with the heat. (Photo by WD9EWK) Answering several recent inquiries about availability of results from the 2014 GA QSO Party, complete results and a list of plaque winners are available on the GQP website . Any questions should be sent to the GA QSO Party Manager, Norm, WA4ZXV. (Thanks, John K4BAI) The Oceania DX (OCDX) contest committee is pleased to announce that the results of the 2013 OCDX contest are now available. The organizers report a notable increase in the number of logs from Australia in the CW section, and from Indonesia, New Zealand and other countries in Oceania in both the Phone and CW sections. Certificates are now downloadable, as well, and the full list of records since new scoring rules were implemented in 2001 has also been published. (Thanks to the Oceania DX Contest committee of VK3MI/ZL1AZE, VK3TZ, ZL3GA, VK7GN, VK2HN, and VK6DXI) OPERATING TIP */Don't/* - in this case meaning "Don't log it!" One mark of a seasoned operator is knowing when /not/ to log a QSO. When unsure of the call or exchange, ask for a repeat or ask the station to call later, but don't put a questionable QSO in your log and risk a penalty, no matter how juicy the multiplier might be! Ad TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION Larry W?QE recommends RG-400/U for coaxial cable connections inside amplifiers where larger cable might not fit. It's about .200" diameter, PTFE dielectric, stranded (silver plated copper) center conductor, braid (silver plated copper) outer conductor, reasonably flexible, takes extreme heat and no problem with legal limit power even at 10:1 VSWR. Another option is RG-142 which is the same size as RG-58 and is rated at 30MHz and 1:1 SWR to handle 3.1 kW of average power. In many areas, it is not a good idea to use aluminum wire to expand your ground system due to corrosion loss of the aluminum metal in direct contact with the soil. Aluminum is very electronegative compared to most other metals and will become sacrificial as a buried component in your ground system. In fact, aluminum is sometimes intentionally used as a buried sacrificial anode for cathodic corrosion protections systems. (Thanks, Matt KM5VI) Sometimes the tool boxes have to come out at Field Day. Your editor and Bob AD?GF were put to work making a switchable Field Day Stub - see Hands-On Radio Experiment #22 for complete details. (Photo by W?KAH) As more and more of us take our operating to the highways and byways, the automotive environment just gets more and more complex for electronics. This /EDN article / on the subject makes for some thought-provoking reading. Larry W?QE recommends RG-400/U for coaxial cable connections inside amplifiers where larger cable might not fit. It's about .200" diameter, PTFE dielectric, stranded (silver plated copper) center conductor, braid (silver plated copper) outer conductor, reasonably flexible, takes extreme heat and no problem with legal limit power even at 10:1 VSWR. Another option is RG-142 which is the same size as RG-58 and is rated at 30MHz and 1:1 SWR to handle 3.1 kW of average power. Wow - an amplifier with one of these 3400 F (not ?F, but F) supercapacitors in the filter section would sure have a pure dc supply. But the bleeder resistors would take /forever /to discharge it! (Point of order - it's only rated at 2.85 V.) From the /Electronic Design /magazine website, here's a handy function generator circuit that does triple duty: square, triangle, and sine waves. Just about the time we think vacuum tubes might finally be on their way out, another application of "field emission technology" (aka - "steam radio") makes its appearance. In this case, as a high-speed transistor operating in the THz region! Ham radio operators - devices for turning coffee into contacts, of course! And what do we do with the coffee cans? Put stuff in them, of course! This project from Instructables shows a new way to put all those empties to work. Get ready to trim those dipoles because the speed of light is not quite what we thought! The WRTC committee reports that Stu, K6TU, has created hourly propagation forecast maps for the WRTC2014 teams. These are computed for July, SSN 80, and the WRTC2014 antennas and heights in central MA. And they work in reverse, too! Stu's propagation prediction service is also available to home stations. *Technical Web Site of the Week* - More free tools for the technically minded are listed in the /EDN/ online article "10 Free Math Analysis and Design Tools for Engineers ." CONVERSATION WRTC2014 - It's For You, Too! Four years after WRTC2010 in Moscow, WRTC2014 is almost here. A week before the event, as this newsletter hits the Internet, competitors and visitors are already on their way to Boston. The WRTC2014 team, consisting of nearly 500 volunteers, is hard at work putting into place what has been carefully planned and rehearsed. The Opening Ceremony is one week away on July 10^th . Up goes the 6 meter beam at the KO?A Field Day for the St Charles Amateur Radio Club. That's teamwork! (Photo by W?KAH) Even though most of the /Contest Update/ readership will be at home when the starting gun fires at 1200 UTC on July 12^th , WRTC is for everybody. In this international competition, you can do much, much more than just cheer. Like all radiosport, the success of these events /depends/ on there being as much widespread participation as possible from stations just like yours. Let's get this party started! Begin with these easy ways to get up to speed: * Watch the 5 minute WRTC2014 intro video . * Watch the "pregame" webinar on Sunday, July 6, at 1800 UTC. * Read the profiles of the WRTC2014 participants - have you worked them before? * Ham Nation visits with WRTC2014 on Wednesday evening, July 9, at 9 PM EDST. * Watch the Opening Ceremony and other social events. Feeling that WRTC spirit, yet? Ready to get on the air and have some fun? Get on the air and work the teams during the IARU HF Championship ! * Each contact with a WRTC2014 team earns 5 points for the ARRL Centennial QSO. * Join the "WRTC2014 Chase " to work all 59 teams or the most band modes. * Keep an eye on the live scoreboard <#News> during the contest. * Quick! Send your Cabrillo-formatted log to iaruhf at arrl.org within six hours - become an Assistant Judge! Finally, after you've cleaned up the shack and gotten back to regular life, you can watch the video of the Closing Ceremony to see who won. This is the most-connected WRTC yet. We've followed the event as it grew from the 22 teams visiting Seattle in 1990, to the West Coast six years later in San Francisco, sailed over the Atlantic to Slovenia in 2000 and Finland in 2002, across the Equator in 2006 to Brazil, and in 2010 to the plains of Moscow. After 18 years, as it returns to the United States, you, too, can be a member of the WRTC family. We'll be listening for you - don't miss the chance to be part of it! 73, Ward N?AX Ad CONTESTS *July 2 through July 15* An expanded, downloadable version of QST's Contest Corral in PDF format is available. Check the sponsor's Web site for information on operating time restrictions and other instructions. *HF CONTESTS* */IARU HF World Championship--Phone,CW, from Jul 12, 1200Z to Jul 13, 1200Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RST and IARU zone. Logs due: 30 days. Rules /* CWops Weekly Mini-CWT Tests--CW, from Jul 3, 1300Z - See website. Multiple time periods. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Weekly on Wednesday, 28 to 38 kHz above band edge. Exchange: Name and member number or S/P/C. Logs due: 2 days. Rules MI QRP July 4th Sprint--CW, from Jul 4, 2300Z to Jul 5, 0300Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, and QRPMI number or power. Logs due: 30 days. Rules 070 Club 40 Meter Firecracker PSK31 Sprint--Digital, from Jul 5, 8 PM to Jul 6, 2 AM. Bands (MHz): 7. Exchange: RST and S/P/C. Logs due: Jul 19. Rules DL DX RTTY Contest--Digital, from Jul 5, 1100Z to Jul 6, 1059Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST and serial. Logs due: Aug 9. Rules DARC 10 Meter Digital Corona--Digital, from Jul 6, 1100Z to Jul 6, 1700Z. Bands (MHz): 28. Exchange: RST, serial. Logs due: 14 days. Rules OK1WC Memorial Contest--Phone,CW, from Jul 6, 1630Z - See website. Multiple time periods. Bands (MHz): 3.5, 7. Weekly on Monday, see website for bands. Exchange: RS(T) and serial. Logs due: 5 days. Rules QRP ARCI Summer Homebrew--CW, from Jul 6, 2000Z to Jul 6, 2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, QRP number or power. Logs due: 14 days. Rules ARS Spartan Sprint--CW, from Jul 8, 0200Z to Jul 8, 0400Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Monthly on the first Monday evening. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, and power. Logs due: 2 days. Rules NS Weekly Sprint--CW, from Jul 11, 0230Z to Jul 11, 0300Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-14. Exchange: Serial, name, and S/P/C. Logs due: 2 days. Rules FISTS Summer Sprint--CW, from Jul 11, 2000 EDT to Jul 11, 2400 EDT. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, name, FISTS number or pwr. Logs due: 30 days. Rules Straight Key Weekend Sprintathon--CW, from Jul 12, 1200Z to Jul 13, 2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50. Exchange: RST, QTH, name, member nr if member. Logs due: 5 days. Rules CQC Great Colorado Gold Rush--CW, from Jul 13, 2000Z to Jul 13, 2159Z. Bands (MHz): 14. Exchange: RST, serial, category, CQC member nr. Logs due: 30 days. Rules *VHF+ CONTESTS* MI QRP July 4th Sprint--CW, from Jul 4, 2300Z to Jul 5, 0300Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, and QRPMI number or power. Logs due: 30 days. Rules Straight Key Weekend Sprintathon--CW, from Jul 12, 1200Z to Jul 13, 2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50. Exchange: RST, QTH, name, member nr if member. Logs due: 5 days. Rules LOG DUE DATES *July 2 through July 15* * July 5 - CWops Mini-CWT Test * July 7 - AGCW VHF/UHF Contest * July 7 - Alabama QSO Party * July 7 - Stew Perry Topband Challenge * July 7 - Ukrainian DX Classic RTTY Contest * July 10 - ARS Spartan Sprint * July 11 - Marconi Memorial HF Contest * July 13 - WAB 50 MHz Phone * July 14 - His Maj. King of Spain Contest, SSB * July 14 - RSGB 80m Club Championship, CW * July 15 - REF DDFM 6m Contest ARRL Information Click here to advertise in this newsletter, space subject to availability. Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information *Join or Renew Today!* ** ARRL membership includes /QST/ , Amateur Radio's most popular and informative journal, delivered to your mailbox each month. Subscribe to /NCJ/ - the National Contest Journal . Published bimonthly, features articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint and QSO Parties. Subscribe to /QEX/ - A Forum for Communications Experimenters . Published bimonthly, features technical articles, construction projects, columns and other items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals. /Free of charge to ARRL members:/ Subscribe to The ARRL Letter (weekly digest of news and information), the ARES E-Letter (monthly public service and emergency communications news), Division and Section news -- and much more! /ARRL offers a wide array of //products/ //to enhance your enjoyment of Amateur Radio. Visit the site often for new publications, specials and sales. Donate to the fund of your choice -- /support programs not funded by member dues!/ Reprint permission can be obtained by sending email to permission at arrl.org with a description of the material and the reprint publication. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ARRL Contest Update wishes to acknowledge information from WA7BNM's Contest Calendar and SM3CER's Contest Calendar . Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The ARRL Contest Update is published every other Wednesday (26 times each year). ARRL members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data Page as described at http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/. Copyright ? 2014 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved www.arrl.org From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Jul 2 15:00:44 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 02 Jul 2014 15:00:44 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] ARRL Convention Week Kicks Off with WRTC2014 In-Reply-To: <20140702170534.EAE3D27291@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20140702170534.EAE3D27291@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <53B456DC.50405@bellsouth.net> ARRL 2014 Centennial Convention *Don't miss this ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME EVENT!* *ARRL National Centennial Convention* July 17-19, 2014 . Connecticut Convention Center . Hartford, CT ***Register Now *ARRL2014.org ** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ To: All Radio Amateurs The ARRL National Centennial Convention week kicks off in high gear with the World Radiosport Team Championship 2014 (WRTC2014) happening July 12-14 in Westborough, Massachusetts. WRTC2014 pits fifty-nine two-operator all-star amateur radio teams, representing 32 countries, in a battle of operating skill and strategy from identical locations and using identical antenna systems. WRTC is held every four years, like the Olympics and the soccer World Cup. Previous WRTCs have been held in Seattle (1990), San Francisco (1996), Slovenia (2000), Finland (2002), Brazil (2006), and Russia (2010). WRTC2014 Competing teams were selected from 29 qualifying regions around the world based on scores in a series of 55 qualifying events over a 3-year period. Just earning a spot at WRTC2014 was a prestigious accomplishment for every competitor. The team with the best score during the 24 hour competition will claim the gold medal and earn the distinction of being "the best in the world." WRTC2014 volunteers will assemble 65 complete "Field-Day-style" stations consisting of a 40 foot tower, triband Yagi, tent, and generator, all within 72 hours! The teams will have Friday afternoon to set up their equipment and the race will begin at 1200 UTC on Saturday morning July 12. *Eleven ways you can join the fun and participate in WRTC2014:* 1. Watch the 5 minute WRTC2014 intro video - www.wrtc2014.org/promo-video 2. Watch the "pregame" webinar on Sunday, July 6, at 1800 UTC. Register to attend at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/718400050 3. Visit the WRTC2014 web site and read the profiles of the participants. You have probably worked many of them before! - www.wrtc2014.org/participants 4. Ham Nation visits with WRTC2014 on Wednesday evening, July 9, at 9pm EDST (Thursday 0100 UTC)- twit.tv/hn 5. Catch the live video streaming from the WRTC2014 headquarters hotel during social events and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. See the video and schedule - www.wrtc2014.org/video-streaming 6. Get on the air and work the teams! The WRTC2014 competition runs in parallel with the IARU HF Championship from 1200 UTC July 12 to 1200 UTC July 13. If you enjoyed a taste of HF contest operation during Field Day, here is a chance for more! 7. Each contact with a WRTC2014 team earns 5 points for the ARRL Centennial QSO. The teams will all be using 1x1 call signs (see www.wrtc2014.org/competition-callsigns for the list) Print out the checklist and mark them off as you go. 8. Join the "WRTC2014 Chase" to see if you can work all 59 teams or the most band modes. Details at www.wrtc2014.org/competition/participation-awards . What's the best time? Check out the propagation forecast focused on WRTC2014 at www.wrtc2014.org/resources/propagation-forecasts 9. Watch the live scoreboard. The scores of all teams will be visible in real time during the contest at sb.wrtc2014.org 10. Send your log in Cabrillo format to iaruhf at arrl.org within 6 hours after the contest to become an Assistant Judge! 11. Watch the video streaming of the Closing Ceremony to see who won. www.wrtc2014.org/video-streaming If that's not enough WRTC for you, attend the WRTC2014 wrap up presentation at 2pm on Saturday, July 19, at the ARRL National Centennial Convention! Visit the web site at www.wrtc2014.org and look for the teams on the air. WRTC2014 will be a great start to your ARRL Centennial Convention week experience! Randy Thompson, K5ZD Co-Chairman WRTC2014 k5zd at wrtc2014.org **ARRL 2014 Convention: Register Now! *** ABOUT THIS E-MAIL* Participation in ARRL News from your Division Director and Section Manager is voluntary. If you have an ARRL Web site user account, you can manage all of your e-mail preferences at www.arrl.org/myarrl. *ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio?* 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111-1494 USA www.arrl.org* * From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Jul 2 15:05:35 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 02 Jul 2014 15:05:35 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] =?windows-1252?q?FCC_Invokes_=93Red?= =?windows-1252?q?_Light_Rule=94_in_Denying_K1MAN_License_Renewal_Applicat?= =?windows-1252?q?ion?= Message-ID: <53B457FF.4030103@bellsouth.net> FCC Invokes ?Red Light Rule? in Denying K1MAN License Renewal Application 07/02/2014 The curious Amateur Radio enforcement case of Glenn Baxter, now ex-K1MAN, of Belgrade Lakes, Maine, appears to winding down and may be at an end. The FCC dismissed Baxter?s long-standing license renewal application on June 23, invoking its ?Red Light Rule,? which gives the Commission authority to turn down a pending application if the applicant has an unpaid fine on the books. Baxter was liable for a $10,000 FCC forfeiture stemming from violations over a period extending back several years. ?Anyone filing an application [who] is found to be delinquent in debt owed to the FCC and who fails to pay the debt in full or make other satisfactory arrangements in a timely manner will have their application dismissed,? said the */Notice of Dismissal/* appended to Baxter?s Universal Licensing System (ULS) file. ?Because you have failed to resolve this matter timely, your application is hereby dismissed.? The FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau dismissed Baxter?s 2005 renewal application ?without prejudice,? which means that if Baxter wants to be licensed again, he must file a new application ? and the FCC could again invoke its Red Light Rule. Baxter?s license expired in October of 2005, but FCC rules gave him the authority to continue operating while his renewal application was pending. He lost that privilege effective on June 23. ?If you are currently operating under authority provided by the Commission?s rules based on your submission of [a renewal] application, you must immediately cease operation until such time as you come into compliance with the rules,? the dismissal letter said. The legal history in the case is extensive. In 2011, the FCC issued a */Hearing Designation Order/* to determine, among other things, if Baxter?s Amateur Radio license should be renewed. According to the /Order/, ?Baxter has apparently willfully and repeatedly engaged in unlawful Commission-related activities, including causing interference to ongoing communications of other amateur stations, transmitting communications in which he had a pecuniary interest, failing to file requested information pursuant to an Enforcement Bureau directive, engaging in broadcasting without communicating with any particular station, and failing to exercise control of his station.? In 2012, On January 10, the US District Court for the State of Maine issued a ruling in the FCC?s lawsuit to collect Baxter?s fine, initially $21,000. In writing for the Court, Chief US District Judge John A. Woodcock Jr agreed with the FCC on the first two counts ? willful or repeated failure to respond to FCC requests for information, and willful or malicious interference ? and granted summary judgments to the FCC in the amounts of $3000 and $7000, respectively. The Court declined to rule on the third issue ?communications in which an amateur station licensee or control operator has a pecuniary interest ? asserting that issues of material fact remained to be litigated in the Court. Earlier this month, in a seeming game of ?hot potato,? FCC Chief Administrative Law Judge Richard L. Sippel turned down an FCC Enforcement Bureau request that he dismiss Baxter?s renewal application with prejudice. The Enforcement Bureau filed a /Request for Dismissal of Application and Termination of Proceeding/ in March of this year. ?Mr Baxter did not submit a substantive opposition to the /Request,/? Sippel wrote in his June 20 */Order/* . While Sippel said the Bureau made a ?convincing? case for him to drop the other regulatory shoe in the Baxter case and end the matter, he said he did not have that broad authority and turned the matter back to the Enforcement Bureau, which dismissed Baxter?s application 4 days later. Sippel said that upon dismissal of Baxter?s application ?by appropriate authority,? he would terminate the proceeding upon the Enforcement Bureau?s motion. http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-invokes-red-light-rule-in-denying-k1man-license-renewal-application From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Jul 3 14:52:35 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 14:52:35 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Broward Amateur License Report for June In-Reply-To: <20140703022324.49654C420B@enyu.cylzae.com> References: <20140703022324.49654C420B@enyu.cylzae.com> Message-ID: <53B5A673.40706@bellsouth.net> This is from the BARC List: Bill W2CQ ACTIVE LICENSE COUNT AS OF 2014-07-01 Technician 1323 Novice 79 General 655 Advanced 252 Amateur Extra 474 Club 29 TOTAL 3257 MOST RECENT SEQUENTIAL 2X3 ISSUED IN REGION: KM4CUJ MOST RECENT SEQUENTIAL 2X2 ISSUED IN REGION: KV4ZI LICENSES UPDATED IN JUNE: ANZ, JOSEPHINE M N4KLR (G) 2014-06-10 License Renewed 4165 SW 24 ST FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33317 Allen, Ian D AD7KY (E) 2014-06-11 License Status Set to Expired 3640 N FEDERAL HWY Ste. B3 #213 Lighthouse Point, FL 33064 Barral, Guillermo KG4TXR (T) 2014-06-21 License Status Set to Expired 1215 N Ocean Dr 223 Hollywood Beach, FL 33019 CARPENTER, THEODORE H KS4WQ (A) 2014-06-10 License Status Set to Expired 7810 NW 21 CT SUNRISE, FL 333223927 CUNNINGHAM, WILLIAM C KK4EWD (E) 2014-06-17 Issued new systematic call sign. 9071 SW 49TH STREET 2014-06-17 License Canceled COOPER CITY, FL 33328 CUNNINGHAM, WILLIAM C KV4YU (E) 2014-06-17 License Issued 9071 SW 49TH STREET 2014-06-17 New Systematic Call Sign Assigned COOPER CITY, FL 33328 Capovilla, Mario KM4CHG (G) 2014-06-17 License Issued 2643 Center Court Dr Apt 1-6 2014-06-17 New Systematic Call Sign Assigned Weston, FL 33332 Carby, Richard H KD4UWD (G) 2014-06-03 License Modified 540 SW 167 AVE WESTON, FL 33326 Chung, Hye K KM4CHB (T) 2014-06-17 License Issued 1000 SW 12th St 306 2014-06-17 New Systematic Call Sign Assigned Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315 Dagenais, Carl KG4TVF (T) 2014-06-18 License Status Set to Expired 142 W Lake Shore Dr Hallandale, FL 33009 De Pinillos, Michael E KM4CHE (G) 2014-06-17 License Issued 1501 NW 99th Ave 2014-06-17 New Systematic Call Sign Assigned Plantation, FL 33322 Diaz, Enrique L KM4CHD (T) 2014-06-17 License Issued 19020 Park Ridge St 2014-06-17 New Systematic Call Sign Assigned Weston, FL 33332 Ekblad, John KK4SIT (T) 2014-06-24 Administrative Update Applied 9375 NW 18TH DR Plantation, FL 333225660 FABRE, KEVIN M N4LBC (G) 2014-06-20 License Renewed 8955 SW 53RD STREET COOPER CITY, FL 333285135 FERNANDES, JOSE V K4JBF (G) 2014-06-17 License Renewed 1528 NW 11 AVE FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33311 GRAYSON, GARY D KE4NNC (T) 2014-06-10 License Renewed 347 N New River Dr E Apt 2106 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 HERSCHLEIN, THOMAS M KD7DAW (G) 2014-06-10 License Renewed 853 Harbor Inn Dr. Coral Springs, FL 33071 HIBBERT, KEMETRIUS K KM4BUD (T) 2014-06-02 License Issued 7950 NW 27TH ST 2014-06-02 New Systematic Call Sign Assigned SUNRISE, FL 33322 HOLLYWOOD AMATEUR RADIO CLUB WB4TON (None)2014-06-27 License Status Set to Expired Robert A Young 720 N 71 Ave Hollywood, FL 33024 JACKSON, JESSE H B K4FAC (E) 2014-06-04 License Renewed 3011 OLD ORCHARD RD DAVIE, FL 33328 Jackson, Robert T KB8UFP (G) 2014-06-12 License Renewed ROBERT JACKSON 191 SW 73rd Terrace Margate, FL 33068 Jones, Ray B KG4TPB (T) 2014-06-03 License Status Set to Expired 2507 Cleveland St Hollywood, FL 33020 KAROL, GEORGE J WD4PBO (G) 2014-06-07 License Renewed 3861 NW 4 CT COCONUT CREEK, FL 330661803 KLUG JR, CHET N4HLW (G) 2014-06-03 License Renewed Chester Klug 14618 71 Place North Loxahatchee, FL 33351 Krause, Karlheinz KM4CGZ (G) 2014-06-17 License Issued C/o Anita Int Corp 3540 NW 56th St 2014-06-17 New Systematic Call Sign Assigned Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 LAMBERT, JACK WA2PDF (T) 2014-06-17 License Status Set to Expired 10324 NW 71ST PL TAMARAC, FL 33321 LONDON, MICHELE E KB4RPL (N) 2014-06-10 License Status Set to Expired Michele E Corry 10800 Santafe Drive COOPER CITY, FL 33026 Lester, David P AI4FA (E) 2014-06-04 License Renewed 8535 NW 26th Dr Coral Springs, FL 33065 MAYBERRY, JOEL M KD4GHU (T) 2014-06-07 License Status Set to Expired 2010 N. 47TH AVE HOLLYWOOD, FL 33021 MONTREUIL, ROBERT G KE4CQP (T) 2014-06-06 License Renewed 481 SW 53 Ave Plantation, FL 33317 MOORE, GREGG C KD4AAK (T) 2014-06-21 License Status Set to Expired 11800 NW 30TH PL SUNRISE, FL 33323 MURI, DAVID L WA3MOL (A) 2014-06-03 Administrative Update Applied 10913 NW 17th Pl Coral Springs, FL 330716325 McCook, Jeremy K KM4BXQ (T) 2014-06-03 License Issued 1400 NW 45 St Apt B-3 2014-06-03 New Systematic Call Sign Assigned Pompano Beach, FL 33064 Ormond, Joseph S AA2JW (E) 2014-06-17 License Status Set to Expired 8880 Sunrise Lks Blvd Sunrise, FL 33322 Palmetto Amateur Radio Club, Inc K4PAL (None)2014-06-04 License Renewed ROBERT P BRODERICK JR 823 SW 29 Street -1 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315 RANDALL, LOREN W N8BEZ (G) 2014-06-10 License Renewed 3344 E ATLANTIC BLVD POMPANO BEACH, FL 33062 RANSLEM, COREY D KB0EHU (T) 2014-06-19 Administrative Update Applied 22341 Ft Lauderdale, FL 33335 RETHEMEYER, MARK A KA0SYG (T) 2014-06-13 License Renewed mark rethemeyer 5641 SW 8TH COURT PLANTATION, FL 33317 RICHMOND, KENNY R KE4NNY (E) 2014-06-03 Administrative Update Applied Kenny Richmond 2401 West Cypress Creek Road Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 RODRIGUEZ JR, PABLO KF4MPG (T) 2014-06-17 Administrative Update Applied 9540 SUNRISE LAKES BLVD APT 112 SUNRISE, FL 33322 ROTH, STEVEN M WD4FEC (T) 2014-06-23 License Renewed 1151 NW 87 WAY PEMBROKE PINES, FL 33024 Rachman, Peter H KM4BXP (T) 2014-06-03 License Issued 2731 NE 20th Ct 2014-06-03 New Systematic Call Sign Assigned Fort Lauderdale, FL 33305 SAMPSON, DAVID E AC6S (E) 2014-06-17 License Status Set to Expired 10231 NW 20TH CT CORAL SPRINGS, FL 330715846 SCHAINBERG, DAVID J KC4FDT (G) 2014-06-03 License Modified 100 RONALD RD HOLLYWOOD, FL 330235253 SCHMITT, LARRY KD4PLO (T) 2014-06-17 License Status Set to Expired 6421 SW 25TH ST MIRAMAR, FL 330232829 SCHONFELD, WAYNE B WA4YDJ (E) 2014-06-17 License Modified 943 N SOUTHLAKE DR HOLLYWOOD, FL 33019 SHIRLEY, WILLIAM R N4QV (E) 2014-06-25 Administrative Update Applied Randy Shirley 1920 NE 51st Court, #107 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 SIWIAK, DIANA J KE4QXL (T) 2014-06-23 License Renewed 10988 NW 14 ST CORAL SPRINGS, FL 33071 SPAIZER, IZOLD KD4OYQ (N) 2014-06-03 License Status Set to Expired 2803 VICTORIA WAY H1 COCONUT CREEK, FL 33066 Scott, Andrew L KG4TPD (T) 2014-06-03 License Status Set to Expired 6410 Brae Burn North Lauderdale, FL 33068 TULL, ROBERT N2LAO (A) 2014-06-24 License Status Set to Expired 804 CYPRESS GROVE LANE 307 POMPANO BEACH, FL 33069 Varela Jr, Jose A WD2N (E) 2014-06-04 Internal Correction Applied 4100 N 58 Ave 109 2014-06-04 Licensee deceased 6/14/13.rrw Hollywood, FL 33021 Viola, Robert J KE4OCD (G) 2014-06-10 License Renewed Robert J. Viola 2979 NW 110 Ave Sunrise, FL 33322 WILK, RONALD L KE4PTL (G) 2014-06-04 License Renewed 7291 Lemon Grass Dr Parkland, FL 33076 From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Jul 3 21:16:37 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 21:16:37 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The ARRL Letter for July 3, 2014 In-Reply-To: <20140703215334.901902456C@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20140703215334.901902456C@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <53B60075.7090402@bellsouth.net> Preview If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2014-07-03 The ARRL Letter July 3, 2014 Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME ARRL Home Page /ARRL Letter/ Archive Audio News Ad * Convention Anticipation Peaking, Thousands Expected to Help Celebrate League's Centennial <#toc01> * FCC Seeks to Raise Vanity Call Sign Fee to $21.60 <#toc02> * ISS Contacts Put Smiles on Field Day Faces <#toc03> * FCC Invokes "Red Light Rule" in Denying K1MAN License Renewal Application <#toc04> * WRTC-2014 Receives ARRL Foundation Grant, Gets Marconi Boost <#toc05> * W1AW Centennial Operations Now in Wisconsin, Utah <#toc06> * WRTC-2014 Will Offer Online Scoreboard to Track Team Standings <#toc07> * FM Transponder Active as LituanicaSAT-1 CubeSat Enters its Final Few Weeks in Space <#toc08> * ARRL-Sponsored 600 Meter Experiment Approaches 170,000 Hours of Operation <#toc09> * Voice of America Makes More Cuts to International Shortwave Broadcast Schedule <#toc10> * MARS Teams Remember D-Day With a Present-Day Purpose <#toc11> * A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL <#toc12> * In Brief... <#toc13> * The K7RA Solar Update <#toc14> * Just Ahead in Radiosport <#toc15> * Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events <#toc16> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *ARRL Headquarters is Closed on Independence Day, July 4* ARRL Headquarters will be closed on Independence Day, Friday, July 4, and there will be no /ARRL Audio News /, W1AW bulletins or code practice on those days. /ARRL Audio News/ will return July 11. We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July holiday! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Convention Anticipation Peaking, Thousands Expected to Help Celebrate League's Centennial Some 4000 visitors are expected to be on hand when the ARRL National Centennial Convention kicks off in in a couple of weeks. The convention theme, marking the 100th anniversary of the League's founding, is "Advancing the Art and Science of radio -- Since 1914." ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, will preside at the official opening ceremony and ribbon cutting on Friday morning at 8:30. The ARRL National Centennial Convention will take place July 17-19 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, KK4INZ, will be a featured speaker at the July 17-19 event at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. FEMA Chief Technology Officer Ted Okada, K4HNL, also will be attending the convention. Visitor have registered from all 50 US states and more than 30 countries. Among the attendees will be official delegations from Japan, England, Germany, Australia, and elsewhere. In addition, more than 100 vendors and exhibitors will be in the main Convention Center exhibit hall. Transportation will be available to shuttle convention registrants to Newington for tours of ARRL Headquarters and W1AW. The Centennial Banquet will take place Friday evening at 6:30. A Wouff Hong Society induction ceremony will follow at 10 PM in the ballroom of the downtown Hartford Marriott Hotel, which is attached to the Convention Center. The Wouff Hong is a legendary implement that League co-founder Hiram Percy Maxim -- writing under his pseudonym as "The Old Man" -- devised to "punish" poor operators. By tradition the ceremony is secret. President Craigie will host a Presidents Breakfast at 7:30 on Saturday morning in the Convention Center ballroom. Several past ARRL presidents are expected to attend. Other notable visitors to the convention include Nobel Laureate Joe Taylor, K1JT, who will speak at noon on Saturday. The convention wraps up Saturday at 4 PM. ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, will officiate at the closing ceremony. Convention registration remains open! The deadline for all banquet and meal reservations is Sunday, July 6. FCC Seeks to Raise Vanity Call Sign Fee to $21.60 The FCC is requesting to raise the Amateur Service vanity call sign regulatory fee from its current $16.10 to $21.60 for the 10-year license term. The $5.50 increase would be the largest vanity fee hike in many years. The proposal is contained in a /Notice of Proposed Rule Making/ (/NPRM /), "Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2014; Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2013; and Procedures for Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees," which appeared in /The Federal Register/ on July 3. The FCC reported there were 11,500 "payment units" in FY 2014. The Commission said the vanity program generated $230,000 in FY 2013 revenue, and it estimated that it would collect nearly $248,000 in FY 2014. Interested parties have 30 days to comment on the /NPRM/. Changes in the vanity call sign fee typically take effect in late August or early September. ISS Contacts Put Smiles on Field Day Faces Some lucky -- and happy -- ARRL Field Day participants managed to snag a contact with NASA Astronaut Reid Wiseman, KF5LKT, operating from NA1SS on board the International Space Station. Wiseman, who just came aboard the space station this spring, seemed to have fun working the pileup. "Enjoyed ARRL FD 14," Wiseman Tweeted . "I operated from the ESA /Columbus/ module. So many calls!" Wiseman used NA1SS on the standard VHF frequencies of 144.49 MHz up and 145.80 MHz down. It's not yet known how many stations he was able to contact. NASA Astronauts Reid Wiseman, KF5LKT (above), and Steve Swanson shaved their heads last week after losing a World Cup bet. [Courtesy of Reid Wiseman via Twitter] Bob McCown, N3IYI, reported that the Goddard Amateur Radio Club's WA3NAN Field Day station in Greenbelt, Maryland, was among those that succeeded in contacting NA1SS during Field Day on Saturday afternoon. "The pass was almost over, way to the east over the Atlantic, so things were no doubt quieting down up there," McCown told ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and others in a post-Field Day e-mail. "When I mentioned Goddard, he came back with 'Goddard! That's just down the road from where I grew up! Good to hear from you.'" Wiseman is from Baltimore. Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK, in Arizona also reported working Wiseman on June 28. "I worked NA1SS as it passed over the western USA at 1818 UTC for my first ARRL (and AMSAT) Field Day QSO," he said in an ISS Fan Club forum post. "First time working NA1SS during Field Day!" "Me too!!" rejoined Umesh Ghodke, K6VUG, who operated Field Day from the South Bay Amateur Radio Association (SBARA ) KU6S site, He reported that NA1SS was full quieting in Fremont, California on the space station's first Field Day pass over the Pacific and the Midwest Saturday morning. "It was such an out-of-the-world experience having a voice contact with Wiseman, surrounded by many club members," Ghodke posted. "Due to the uncertainty of his possible on-the-air operation, we were set up for both voice as well as the usual packet. And we were scanning both frequencies every few seconds. When we started 'hearing voices,' we were so excited that it never occurred us to make a voice recording. This is a once-in-a-lifetime contact." Stoddard said Wiseman was having occasional difficulty copying call signs. "With so many stations calling, and being on FM, that is understandable," he added. "I could hear times during the two North American passes where he was picking up a different call each time he was transmitting. He was going very quickly, knowing the limited time he had over the continent on each pass." Stoddard said he heard nothing on the ISS's 70 centimeter frequency, 437.55 MHz. In Elko, Nevada, Shane Wiggins, NV7SW, was operating as W7V for Elko Amateur Radio Club's 2014 Field Day operation. He managed to work NA1SS on one of the less-than-ideal passes. "Late into that pass I heard Reid come back to my call," Wiggins told ARRL. "There were many people huddled around my satellite station listening, and we all went crazy when we heard him come back to me. In particular, there was a young father and son visiting our Field Day location, [and] the little boy was jumping around." Wiggins said his only regret was that he had worked NA1SS with the Field Day station's W7V call sign and not his own. He said he'd dreamed of working NA1SS ever since seeing the ISS pass overhead one evening in 2009. Another Field Day group that was fortunate enough to connect with the ISS were the Boy Scouts of Raymore, Missouri, Troop 32. "I bet the boys could be heard up in orbit even without a radio when Reid answered our call!" Scout Leader Jim Reicher, W0HV, said afterward. "Thanks to Reid Wiseman, NASA, and ARISS for encouraging him to try the ham station in the ISS /Columbus/ module during Field Day!" Stoddard said. Read more . FCC Invokes "Red Light Rule" in Denying K1MAN License Renewal Application The curious Amateur Radio enforcement case of Glenn Baxter, now ex-K1MAN, of Belgrade Lakes, Maine, may be at an end. The FCC dismissed Baxter's long-standing license renewal application on June 23, invoking its "Red Light Rule," which gives the Commission authority to turn down a pending application if the applicant has an unpaid fine on the books. His Amateur Extra class license is now shown as "canceled" in the FCC's Universal Licensing System (ULS ). Baxter was liable for a $10,000 FCC forfeiture stemming from violations over a period extending back several years. "Anyone filing an application [who] is found to be delinquent in debt owed to the FCC and who fails to pay the debt in full or make other satisfactory arrangements in a timely manner will have their application dismissed," said the /Notice of Dismissal/ appended to Baxter's ULS file. "Because you have failed to resolve this matter timely, your application is hereby dismissed." The FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau dismissed Baxter's 2005 renewal application "without prejudice," which means that if Baxter wants to be licensed again, he must file a new application -- and the FCC could again invoke its Red Light Rule. Baxter's license expired in October 2005, but FCC rules gave him the authority to continue operating while his renewal application was pending. He lost that privilege, effective June 23. "If you are currently operating under authority provided by the Commission's rules based on your submission of [a renewal] application, you must immediately cease operation until such time as you come into compliance with the rules," the dismissal letter said. The legal history in the case is extensive. In 2011, the FCC issued a /Hearing Designation Order/ to determine, among other things, if Baxter's Amateur Radio license should be renewed. According to the /Order/, "Baxter has apparently willfully and repeatedly engaged in unlawful Commission-related activities, including causing interference to ongoing communications of other amateur stations, transmitting communications in which he had a pecuniary interest, failing to file requested information pursuant to an Enforcement Bureau directive, engaging in broadcasting without communicating with any particular station, and failing to exercise control of his station." Read more . Ad WRTC-2014 Receives ARRL Foundation Grant, Gets Marconi Boost World Radiosport Team Championship 2014 (WRTC-2014 ) will benefit from an ARRL Foundation grant. WRTC-2014 announced what it called "a significant financial grant" on June 22. The grant will help to support WRTC-2014's public relations effort to use the event to promote Amateur Radio to the general public. An international competition involving 59 teams of radio contesters, WRTC-2014 will take place July 8-14, with on-the-air activity taking place July 12-13, concurrent with the IARU HF Championship . "With competitors coming from around the world, this is the perfect opportunity to showcase the radiosport aspect of Amateur Radio to the public," said WRTC-2014 Co-Chair Randy Thompson, K5ZD. Thompson said the ARRL Foundation grant has enabled WRTC-2014 to retain a media relations expert to help introduce the event to the media and to issue news releases in the home markets of US competitors. The ARRL Foundation was created in 1973 to provide grants supporting Amateur Radio activities and programs, and currently awards upward of 80 scholarships per year to young radio amateurs pursuing higher education. In another public relations coup, WRTC-2014 Co-Chair Doug Grant, K1DG, made a historical connection the weekend of June 21-22, when Princess Elettra Marconi at KM1CC. [Photo courtesy of Doug Grant, K1DG] he spoke via ham radio with Princess Elettra Marconi, radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi's youngest daughter. She was at the Marconi Wireless site at Cape Cod National Seashore, where club station KM1CC had set up a station. During the 40 meter SSB contact, Princess Elettra told Grant that her father would have been proud to see that radio amateurs were continuing to advance his work in wireless communication. She went on to praise the WRTC-2014 event and its ability to promote international goodwill and operating skill. "What an honor, and a thrilling QSO," Grant said afterward. "It was exciting to bridge history from the very beginning of Amateur Radio to the many aspects of Amateur Radio that we enjoy today." Grant said Princess Elettra's acknowledgement that WRTC-2014 was helping to carry on the Marconi legacy added to the thrill. Grant was using the World Radiosport Team Championship club call sign, WR1TC. Assisting with the contact was Barbara Dougan, N1NS, the trustee of the Marconi Cape Cod Radio Club station KM1CC. A visit to the Marconi Wireless Station Site and Chatham Marconi Maritime Museum is among the tours available to WRTC-2014 participants and visitors. Read more . *Elettra Marconi Makes Contact Between Historic Radio Sites* Princess Elettra also was at the microphone on June 20 for an contact between KM1CC at the Marconi Cape Cod station in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, and the former Marconi Belmar Receiving Station and "Project Diana" moonbounce site in New Jersey. The contact between KM1CC and WA2GM, the club station of the Marconi Chapter 128 of the Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA ) took place on 40 meter SSB. The Ocean-Monmouth Amateur Radio Club (OMARC ) hosted the New Jersey station from its facility at the InfoAge Science History Museum Learning Center. /-- Thanks to Jeff Harshman, N2LXM/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ W1AW Centennial Operations Now in Wisconsin, Utah The ARRL Centennial W1AW WAS operations taking place throughout 2014 from each of the 50 states are now in Wisconsin and Utah. There will be no W1AW Centennial operations from July 9 until July 16. W1AW will relocate at 0000 UTC on Wednesday, July 16 (the evening of July 15 in US time zones), to South Carolina (W1AW/4). Only one state will be active that week. World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC-2014 ) takes place July 12-13, concurrent with the IARU HF Championship , and contacts with competitor teams will be worth 5 points in the ARRL Centennial QSO Party . Contacts may be made with the teams on SSB and CW on 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters. WRTC-2014 will take place in New England, and teams will be using 1 ? 1 call signs from US first district. The ARRL Centennial QSO Party is a year-long operating event in which participants can accumulate points and win awards. The event is open to all, although only ARRL members and appointees, elected officials, HQ staff and W1AW are worth ARRL Centennial QSO Party points . During 2014, W1AW will be on the air from every state (at least twice) and most US territories, and it will be easy to work all states solely by contacting W1AW portable operations. Working W1AW/x from each state is worth 5 points per mode/contact, even when working the same state during its second week of activity. To earn the "Worked all States with W1AW Award," work W1AW operating portable from all 50 states. (Working W1AW or W100AW in Connecticut does /not/ count for Connecticut, however. For award credit, participants must work W1AW/1 in Connecticut.) A W1AW WAS certificate and plaque will be available. The ARRL has posted an ARRL Centennial QSO Party leader board that participants can use to determine how many points they have accumulated in the Centennial QSO Party and in the W1AW WAS operations. Log in using your Logbook of The World (LoTW ) user name and password, and your position will appear at the top of the leader boards. Results are updated daily, based on contacts entered into LoTW. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WRTC-2014 Will Offer Online Scoreboard to Track Team Standings A live, near-real time scoreboard to track World Radiosport Team Championship 2014 (WRTC-2014 ) team standings will be available during the July 12-13 event. The scoreboard will be accessible directly or from a link on the WRTC-2014 website. The scoreboard uses an innovative data-collection method developed by WRTC-2014 Director (IT infrastructure and scoreboard) Dave Pascoe, KM3T, and Bob Raymond, WA1Z. Pascoe is a past WRTC referee and competitor. Each of the 59 WRTC-2014 teams will use networked computers for logging during the contest. The score collection system will monitor network traffic to obtain the latest score and QSO-breakdown information. Here's how the WRTC-2014 live scoreboard will appear online. This screen shot was taken during testing. [Courtesy of Dave Pasco, KM3T] "Real-time -- or near real-time -- score reporting has been a tradition at WRTC events since 2002," Pascoe and Raymond wrote in the July/August issue of /NCJ /, which is dedicated to WRTC-2014. "Each WRTC organizer has used -- or attempted -- various approaches to report scores from the field. The most common approach involve[d] having referees send SMS (text) messages from a cell phone." According to the /NCJ/ article, past near-real time scoreboard attempts have been plagued by real-world challenges that included connectivity issues and reliance on referees to report scores on schedule. The WRTC-2014 system will transmit score data via cellular modem every 5 minutes to a score-processing website that Raymond designed. The website will display team scores in order. Clicking on a team will reveal its band breakdown, hourly rate sheet, and position for each hour of the contest. A leader board page will list the top five teams by CW contacts, SSB contacts, multipliers, and points per contact. WRTC-2014 said another innovation is the ability to compare the scores of multiple teams on a graph over time. "This will reveal how the fortunes of teams change over the 24 hours, as they follow their various strategies for building their score," the event's organizers said in a July 1 news release . Pascoe said his team has confirmed cell signal levels at all sites and is confident that WRTC-2014 will have real-time scoring from all 59 teams. The scoreboard site is now live for testing purposes, but all scores will be reset to zero before WRTC-2014 begins at 1200 UTC on July 12, 2014. The international team competition takes place concurrent with the IARU HF Championship event. Read more . FM Transponder Active as LituanicaSAT-1 CubeSat Enters its Final Few Weeks in Space The LituanicaSAT-1 OSCAR-78/LO-78 Amateur Radio FM transponder has been activated, perhaps for the last time. The CubeSat, which has the call sign LY5N, will deorbit and burn up in Earth's atmosphere, possibly around August 5. Laurynas Maciulis, LY1LM, of the LituanicaSAT-1 team said the transponder's duty cycle will depend on the state of the batteries. He said all telemetry has been disabled to save power. "We hope the signal should be even better now, as the satellite is descending steadily to 300 km and wish you all good QSOs!" he said. The FM transponder frequencies are 435.1755 MHz up (?10 kHz Doppler shift), and 145.950 MHz up, with a 67 Hz CTCSS tone. The beacon frequency is 437.275 MHz; if the beacon is /off/, the transponder is operational. The tiny 10 ? 10 ? 10 cm satellite weighs slightly more than 1 kg and also carries a VGA camera. The satellite sports four monopole antennas, three for UHF and one for VHF, all made of spring-steel measurement tape. LituanicaSAT-1 was launched to the International Space Station on January 9 and deployed into orbit with other Amateur Radio satellites on February 28. On March 22, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite transmitted a greeting "to all Lithuanians around the world" via LituanicaSAT-1 -- her country's first satellite. She may be the first head of state to send a message via an Amateur Radio satellite. LituanicaSAT-1 was designed and built by students at Vilnius University. The LituanicaSAT-1 team invites reception reports, including small audio files or any other data online. Ad ARRL-Sponsored 600 Meter Experiment Approaches 170,000 Hours of Operation According to the most recent report on the ARRL WD2XSH experimental operation on 600 meters, participants have logged 168,472 hours on the air. Things are not perceptibly closer in terms of obtaining an Amateur Radio allocation in that part of the spectrum, however. So far, 522 contacts have been made between participating stations on 472 to 479 kHz since the experiment got underway in late 2006. "Activity has continued strong into the spring, in spite of the increasing noise level and decreasing amount of night time," Experiment Coordinator Fritz Raab, W1FR, reported in his Spring 2014 summary of operations, released June 23. "Many transmissions used digital modes and other experimental licensees were quite active." The FCC has remained silent regarding the ARRL's November 2012 /Petition for Rulemaking / that asked the Commission to make 472-479 kHz available to radio amateurs in the US. Delegates to the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference approved a 7 kHz-wide secondary allocation for the Amateur Radio Service, with a power limit of 5 W EIRP (or 1 W EIRP, depending on location). The FCC has indicated that it will address the issue within the context of its /Notice of Proposed Rule Making/ in ET Docket No. 12-338 , to formally reflect the /Final Acts of WRC 2007/ in its rules. Some regular ARRL MW experiment participants, including Raab, now are off the air temporarily. Raab is moving to the Midwest, and Dean Gagnon, KK1K, will take over his site in Burlington, Vermont and operate as WD2XSH/47. Pat Hamel, W5THT, operating as WD2XSH/6, also is off the air for the time being. In addition, after one season, Neil Klagge, W0YSE, in Utah, who had been operating as WG2XSV, has shut down because he is relocating. Michael Reid, WE0H, in Minnesota, who had been participating as WD2XSH/16, is off the air but will return under his own Part 5 Experimental license WD2XGI, which was modified to add 460 to 490 kHz. Proponents of the MW allocation, which is variously called "600 meters" and "630 meters," have been spreading the word at ham radio gatherings. Raab reported that Rudy Severns, N6LF, gave a presentation on the 600 meter band at the SeaPac earlier this month, while John Langridge, KB5NJD/WG2XIQ, spoke at Ham-Com in June and reported strong interest a new band at 472-479 kHz. A few countries, including Canada, France, Germany, the Philippines, and Vietnam, have approved Amateur Radio bands in the vicinity of 500 kHz. Canada's band is 472-479 kHz. Raab reported that three new experimental licenses have been issued, and one existing license was modified to include frequencies in the 472-479 kHz range. They are WD2XGI in Minnesota, WH2XAR in Arizona, WH2XCR in Hawaii, and WH2XES in Texas. Voice of America Makes More Cuts to International Shortwave Broadcast Schedule With no public announcement or fanfare, the Voice of America has phased out some 14 hours per day of international shortwave broadcast transmissions and will cease broadcasting on some of its customary frequencies, effective July 1. Another 10 hours of daily cuts have been made to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) broadcasts. The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG ) oversees the VOA, RFE/RL and RFA. Tom Witherspoon, K4SWL, who maintains The SWLing Post Internet site, said he contacted BBG spokesperson Letitia King for details on the cuts, which he learned about from a leaked memorandum, "Farewell to Shortwave," from recently retired VOA staff member Dan Robinson. Information King provided to Witherspoon said the cuts, okayed by Congress, will save taxpayers some $1.6 million annually. "US international media must optimize program delivery by market," said the statement King provided. "We are ending some shortwave transmissions. We continue shortwave to those countries where these transmissions are still reaching significant audiences or where there are no reasonable alternative platforms at a lower cost to the BBG." King's statement, "Facts and Figures on Shortwave Broadcast Reductions," said the cuts were to "transmission platforms only," and that there would be no staff reductions. "Programming continues to be available through other media," her statement pointed out. The cuts include essentially all shortwave broadcasts in English to Asia -- some 6.5 hours a day in all. "Outside of sub-Saharan Africa, English speakers are rarely users of shortwave radio," the BBG explanation said. The VOA also will end 5.5 hours per day of "Special/Learning English" transmissions on shortwave, although learning English programs will continue on shortwave to Africa. Read more . MARS Teams Remember D-Day With a Present-Day Purpose For the second year in a row, hams in the Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) have reached overseas to demonstrate interoperability in cross-border emergencies. The June 6-7 exercise also had a historical aspect -- to commemorate the role of HF radio in the D-Day landings of 1944. Joining MARS stations in the US and Europe in the drill were the Canadian Forces Affiliate Radio System (CFARS) and units of the British Defence Ministry's Combined Cadet Force. Replicating beachhead communications on D-Day, the operation called for using minimal power and simple wire antennas in a friendly competition to make the most contacts. Army MARS Headquarters Operations Officer David McGinnis, K7UXO, who created the drill scenario, dubbed it "Operation QRPX" -- the "X" for "exercise." The drill reflected earlier barrier-breaking during the Normandy invasion 70 years ago. Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force deployed three "Joint Assault Signal Companies" (JASCOs) that pooled front-line ground, sea, and air communicators to support the three US landings. "In the spirit of the JASCOs, this is a global, low-power exercise, using field equipment and antennas, open to military stations of each US military department, Allied military stations, and their respective military communications auxiliaries," said the exercise order issued by Army MARS Headquarters in Arizona. Army MARS Headquarters invited Allied military stations to join in two categories. One consisted of 20 W operation within North America and Europe; the other of stations running up to 100 W across the Atlantic. Participants were scored according to the number of contacts plus a bonus for making automatic link establishment (ALE) contacts. In the field: T/Sgt Nathan Belanger of Pennsylvania Air National Guard joins the D-Day interoperability competition from Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. A preliminary tabulation of 82 entries gave first place to Army MARS member David Bly, K7DTB, of Sierra Vista, Arizona, with 43.05 points. He was followed by T/Sgt Nathan Belanger of the Air National Guard's 148th Air Support Operations Squadron, Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, with 35.7 points. "I train our operations troops on HF comms, so I saw it as a great way to reinforce my knowledge and see what we could accomplish," Belanger explained. "The exercise also served as great radio operations and communications etiquette training for the airman assisting me. Exercises like this really give practical training and understanding of how far HF can go." Although Army MARS Region 2 Director Dick Corp, W2WC, placed third with 33 points, one of his hits was a home run -- a contact with military contractor Tim McFadden, KB2RLB/T6TM, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Corp was running 50 W and had used a bow and arrow to launch an inverted V into an 80 foot tree near Albany, New York. McFadden, in turn, bagged the American Embassy in Kuwait and one cadet station in the UK. Read more . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL Looking further at the early 1950s, we see that amateur incentive licensing (an on-again/off-again thing with the FCC) ended on February 18, 1953. That same month, a /QST/ article by W1GXJ introduced a new gadget to hams -- ferrite cores. K2AH authored a /QST/ article in March 1953 telling of what appears to be the first use of a transistor in a ham transmitter, running 50 ?W output on 2 meters to make contacts of up to 25 miles away. In the same issue, an article reported the success of W4AO and W3GKP in receiving a 2 meter ham signal bounced off the Moon! W6QYT and W6POH were exploring another new frontier -- meteor-scatter communication on 20 and 15 meters. CW still reigned as king in the 1950s, which saw many articles published in /QST/ about electronic keyers. Those ran the gamut from W3FQB's tubeless "Corkey" to W6SRY's "Ultimatic Keyer" with three dual triodes and /seven/ relays. In the May 1953 issue of /QST/ W6DSR described building a 40 meter CW transceiver around a BC-453 command receiver; as you tuned it, the transmitter frequency moved in sync. Effective March 28, 1953, phone operation was allowed on 15 meters. During the early years of the Novice license, theory and code classes sprang up all over. Most were taught through radio clubs, but even ham employees of Allied Radio started a class, as a volunteer effort. This 1958 photo shows father and son Ed Bachner, Jr, and seventh grader Ed III, at one of the classes. Father Ed, now SK, became KN9OIS, and son Ed became KN9OBZ. One facet of the Amateur Extra exam during the 1950 was amusing: The transistor, invented in 1948, was in its infancy. The FCC, wanting to keep up with the latest, formulated /one/ question about transistors, which found its way into various study guides and appeared in /every/ Extra class exam for a couple of years. The May 1953 issue of /QST/ published an article by W3FQB that remains, to this day, one of my favorite /QST/ offerings -- "The Man Who Broke the Bank." Although written as a humor piece, it had the ring of futuristic hamming about it. It tells the tale of a radio club with a new member whose day job was working with those newfangled electronic calculators. Sweepstakes rolled around, and the new ham turned in an unbelievably large score. There was much heated discussion over the entry's validity, but the club finally agreed to submit it to ARRL, which didn't believe it, either. After cross-checking every single contact, they admitted that it was accurate and correct. Two weeks later, Ed Handy, W1BDI, visited to tour the new member's station to get to the bottom of the story. That's all the room I have for this week, so visit the ARRL website, search for the article, and read the whole thing. Enjoy! -- /Al Brogdon, W1AB/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ad In Brief... *Last Call for Digital Communications Conference Papers:* July 14 is the deadline to submit papers for the proceedings of 2014 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference , September 5 - 7, in Austin, Texas. You do not have to attend the conference to have your paper included in the proceedings. Your paper on any technical topic relevant to amateur digital communications will be published as submitted and you will retain all rights. E-mail submissions no later than July 14 to Maty Weinberg, KB1EIB. Send text files and images separately, and do /not/ attach Zip files. Total attachments cannot exceed 5 MB per message.** *World Wide Radio Operators Foundation Sponsoring WRTC-2014 Preview Webinar:* A World Radiosport Team Championship 2014 (WRTC-2014 ) webinar is set for July 6 at 1800 UTC. WRTC-2014 Co-Chair Randy Thompson, K5ZD, will provide a preview of the upcoming international competition. He will review the week's schedule, the teams, and the competitors, and suggest how you can join in the fun. A few competitors and other organizers may drop in as well. Register online. *Volunteer Examiner Recognized by Governor of Tennessee:* ARRL VEC Volunteer Examiner Butch Smith, N4TK, has received a /Certificate of Appreciation/ from the Governor of Tennessee, on behalf of the Nashville VE Team. Smith is one of the founding members of the team, which has been continuously offering Amateur Radio exams since 1986. Smith maintains the VE team website and delivers the "official opening remarks" at test sessions/. -- Thanks to Jiro Oi, KW6A / *NU1AW, W100AW Will Be on the Air for IARU HF Championship/WRTC-2014 Events: *IARU club station NU1AW will be on the air for the IARU HF Championship contest July 12-13. The World Radiosport Team Championship 2014 (WRTC-2014) takes place within the IARU event. NU1AW will operate in the vicinity of the WRTC events. W100AW will be on the air from Newington. The W1AW call sign will /not/ be used that weekend. *Defect Discovered in Latest /QST/ iOS App:* The /QST/ iOS app was recently updated, but the ARRL has been notified by the app vendor that a serious defect has been discovered that may cause the app to stop functioning. ARRL is in discussions with the vendor to alleviate the problem. Until a solution has been found, however, members are urged to avoid updating their /QST/ iOS apps. This issue does /not/ impact /QST/ Android app users. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The K7RA Solar Update Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: The Earth-facing side of the Sun is suddenly crowded with clusters of sunspots, so this sunspot cycle definitely is not over. Over the past week average daily sunspot numbers rose 43.3 points to 115.6, while average daily solar flux was up 30.7 points to 129.5. The 45-day outlook has also improved markedly. On July 2, the predicted average daily solar flux for July 3-9 rose to 177.9. The latest short-term prediction shows solar flux at 175 on July 3, 180 on July 4-7, 175 on July 8-9, 170, 165 and 150 on July 10-12, 130 on July 13-15, 110 on July 16-17, 115 on July 18, then declining to 90 on July 23-24, rising to 165 on August 7, and declining to 100 on August 15-16. Predicted planetary A index is 5 on July 3-5, 8 on July 6-7, 5 on July 8-10, 8 on July 11, 5 on July 12-13, then 8, 12, 8, and 8, on July 14-17, and 5 on July 18-28, before rising to 8 again. The latest bulletin and an archive of past propagation bulletins is on the ARRL website. This week's bulletin was released 1 day early because of the July 4 holiday. Send me /your/ reports and observations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Just Ahead in Radiosport * July 4-5 -- MI QRP July 4th Sprint (CW) * July 5-6 -- 070 Club 40 Meter Firecracker PSK31 Sprint * July 5-6 -- DL DX RTTY Contest * July 6 -- DARC 10 Meter Digital Corona * July 6 -- OK1WC Memorial Contest (SSB, CW) * July 6 -- QRP ARCI Summer Homebrew (CW) * July 8 -- ARS Spartan Sprint (CW) * July 11 -- NS Weekly Sprint (CW) * July 11 -- FISTS Summer Sprint (CW) * July 12-13 -- IARU HF World Championship/WRTC-2014 (CW, SSB) * July 12-13 -- Straight Key Weekend Sprintathon (CW) * July 13 -- CQC Great Colorado Gold Rush (CW) * July 17 -- NAQCC Monthly QRP Sprint (CW) See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events * July 5 -- Eastern Pennsylvania Section Convention , Harrisburg, Pennsylvania * July 9-12 -- Mobile Amateur Radio Awards National Convention , Visalia, California * *July 17-19 --****ARRL National Centennial Convention* *, Hartford, Connecticut* * July 18-19 -- Arizona State Convention , Williams, Arizona * July 18-20 -- Montana State Convention , East Glacier, Montana * July 24-27 -- Central States VHF Society Conference , Austin, Texas * July 25-26 -- Oklahoma State Convention , Oklahoma City, Oklahoma * August 1-2 --Texas State Convention , Austin, Texas * August 7-9 -- Young Ladies Radio League Convention , Vancouver, Washington * August 8-10 -- Rocky Mountain Division Convention , Albuquerque, New Mexico * *August 16-17 -- **Southeastern Division Convention,* *Regional ARRL Centennial Event, Huntsville, Alabama* * August 17 -- Kansas State Convention , Salina, Kansas * August 23 -- West Virginia State Convention , Weston, West Virginia * August 23-24 -- JARL Ham Fair , Tokyo, Japan * August 24 -- Western Pennsylvania Section Convention , New Kensington, Pennsylvania * August 30-31 -- North Carolina State Convention (Shelby Hamfest), Shelby, North Carolina * September 5-7 -- ARRL-TAPR Digital Communications Conference (Austin, Texas) * September 6 -- Kentucky State Convention (Shepherdsville, Kentucky) * September 6 -- Virginia Section Convention (Virginia Beach, Virginia) * September 12-14 -- Southwestern Division Convention (San Diego, California) * September 19-20 -- W9DXCC Convention (Schaumburg, Illinois) Find conventions and hamfests in your area . * ------------------------------------------------------------------------ * **** *ARRL *-- *Your One-Stop Resource for * *Amateur Radio News and Information * * Join or Renew Today! ARRL membership includes /QST/ , Amateur Radio's most popular and informative journal, delivered to your mailbox each month. * Listen to /ARRL Audio News/ , available every Friday. Subscribe to... * /NCJ / /-- National Contest Journal/ . Published bi-monthly, features articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint and QSO Parties. * /QEX/ *//*/-- A Forum for Communications Experimenters/ . Published bi-monthly, features technical articles, construction projects, columns and other items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals. Free of charge to ARRL members... * Subscribe to the /ARES E-Letter/ (monthly public service and emergency communications news), the /ARRL Contest Update/ (bi-weekly contest newsletter), Division and Section news alerts -- and much more! Find us on Facebook . Follow us on Twitter . Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 50 times each year. ARRL members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data Page as described at http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/. Copyright ? 2014 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved www.arrl.org From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Jul 3 21:25:28 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 21:25:28 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Baofeng list of non-authorized sellers In-Reply-To: <1672D061-5CBF-4D04-AEC9-29546316ABFF@aol.com> References: <1672D061-5CBF-4D04-AEC9-29546316ABFF@aol.com> Message-ID: <53B60288.9040407@bellsouth.net> From Chuck W4ROA Baofeng posted a "consumer alert" with a list of non-authorized eBay sellers on their corporate web site. Consumer Alert http://www.baofengradio.com/en/shownews.asp?id=29 From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Jul 3 21:49:33 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 21:49:33 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Deadline for ARRL Convention Registration In-Reply-To: <20140704012243.5F275273B9@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20140704012243.5F275273B9@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <53B6082D.9040604@bellsouth.net> ARRL 2014 Centennial Convention *Don't miss this ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME EVENT!* *ARRL National Centennial Convention* July 17-19, 2014 . Connecticut Convention Center . Hartford, CT ***Register Now *ARRL2014.org ** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The deadline for *ARRL National Centennial Convention* advance ticket registration is Sunday, July 6, 2014. After Sunday, only onsite registrations will be accepted. Save time and money...and register now! No convention meal reservations will be taken after Sunday, July 6: * Thursday, July 17, 2014 -- All-Day Training Tracks with Lunch * Friday, July 18, 2014 -- ARRL Centennial Banquet Dinner * Saturday, July 19, 2014 -- ARRL Presidents Breakfast For a complete convention agenda, programs and activities, please visit http://ARRL2014.org. *Register Today! See you in Hartford!** ****ARRL2014.org * **ARRL 2014 Convention: Register Now! ***ABOUT THIS E-MAIL* Participation in ARRL publication announcements and special offers is voluntary. If you have an ARRL Web site user account, you can manage your e-mail preferences at www.arrl.org/myarrl . *ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio*? 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111-1494 USA www.arrl.org * * From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sat Jul 5 16:19:44 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 16:19:44 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Section Manager Election - Southern Florida Message-ID: <53B85DE0.7020905@bellsouth.net> I received my Ballot for Southern Florida Section Manager today. I encourage all to vote for Jeff Beals WA4AW. He has been a friend and partner with the SFDXA in many many ventures over the years and has spoken at our Club Meetings. He has been instrumental in aiding us in many ARRL Activities and is always looking out for us. He is a tireless activist for ALL Hams and Amateur Radio interests. I support him as a fan of his personally, and look forward to his efforts in assisting Ham Radio in South Florida for many years to come. 73, Bill Marx W2CQ From k2au at hotmail.com Sat Jul 5 16:45:33 2014 From: k2au at hotmail.com (Mark Horowitz) Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2014 16:45:33 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Section Manager Election - Southern Florida In-Reply-To: <53B85DE0.7020905@bellsouth.net> References: <53B85DE0.7020905@bellsouth.net> Message-ID: Jeff has also been a great help with the QCWA Everglades Chapter 69 here in Broward. He always keeps us informed. Yes a vote for Jeff is recommend Mark. K2au Sent from my iPhone On Jul 5, 2014, at 4:20 PM, "Bill" wrote: > I received my Ballot for Southern Florida Section Manager today. > > I encourage all to vote for Jeff Beals WA4AW. He has been a friend and partner with the SFDXA in many many ventures over the years and has spoken at our Club Meetings. He has been instrumental in aiding us in many ARRL Activities and is always looking out for us. He is a tireless activist for ALL Hams and Amateur Radio interests. > > I support him as a fan of his personally, and look forward to his efforts in assisting Ham Radio in South Florida for many years to come. > 73, > Bill Marx W2CQ > ______________________________________________________________ > QCWA69 mailing list > SubScribe UNSubscribe or Info: > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/qcwa69 > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:QCWA69 at mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sun Jul 6 08:16:56 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 08:16:56 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] SFDXA Meeting July 9th This Wednesday In-Reply-To: <53B02B80.5070300@bellsouth.net> References: <53B02B80.5070300@bellsouth.net> Message-ID: <53B93E38.8080807@bellsouth.net> A terrific meeting is in store with a picture Presentation of N8PR's DXPedition. Where did Pete and friends go this time? The Main Speaker will beTom Kneisel, K4GFG, Who will recall his experiments "Bouncing Signals off Satellites Orbiting the Earth". Tom, is a friend of Kai KE4PT and he kindly agreed to share his experiences. The SFDXA Meetingis held at the Florida Medical Center on Oakland Park Blvd and the Fl Turnpike. There is no exit on the Turnpike at Oakland Park, So come west from I-95 on Oakland Park past 441 to the Hospital, about 4 traffic lights west after 441 on the left before the Turnpike Bridge. Come through the front door and tell the Guard you are there for the Radio Club Meeting. For those using a GPS the hospital address is Florida Medical Center, 5000 Oakland Park Blvd. Join us at 6:00 to 6:45, and have dinner from the cafeteria for a $7.00 Donation to the Club. Walk across the hall with your tray to the auditorium and meet friends, and discuss and brag about your activities, new contacts and W1AW totals. Meeting begins at 7:33. _Come and being a friend_. Everyone is welcome. Bill Marx W2CQ __ From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sun Jul 6 10:44:01 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 10:44:01 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] SFDXA Meeting July 9th This Wednesday In-Reply-To: <53B93E38.8080807@bellsouth.net> References: <53B93E38.8080807@bellsouth.net> Message-ID: <53B960B1.6060108@bellsouth.net> A note to all: Pete N8PR is on his way top the 100th Anniversary ARRL Centennial and will not be able to make the presentation so we will have that in the future. We have plenty of things to do including a vote on 2 Full New Members so see you there. Bill W2CQ A terrific meeting is in store with a picture Presentation of N8PR's DXPedition. Where did Pete and friends go this time? The Main Speaker will beTom Kneisel, K4GFG, Who will recall his experiments "Bouncing Signals off Satellites Orbiting the Earth". Tom, is a friend of Kai KE4PT and he kindly agreed to share his experiences. The SFDXA Meetingis held at the Florida Medical Center on Oakland Park Blvd and the Fl Turnpike. There is no exit on the Turnpike at Oakland Park, So come west from I-95 on Oakland Park past 441 to the Hospital, about 4 traffic lights west after 441 on the left before the Turnpike Bridge. Come through the front door and tell the Guard you are there for the Radio Club Meeting. For those using a GPS the hospital address is Florida Medical Center, 5000 Oakland Park Blvd. Join us at 6:00 to 6:45, and have dinner from the cafeteria for a $7.00 Donation to the Club. Walk across the hall with your tray to the auditorium and meet friends, and discuss and brag about your activities, new contacts and W1AW totals. Meeting begins at 7:33. _Come and being a friend_. Everyone is welcome. Bill Marx W2CQ __ ______________________________________________________________ QCWA69 mailing list SubScribe UNSubscribe or Info: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/qcwa69 Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:QCWA69 at mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html From wa8vsj at gmail.com Sun Jul 6 11:26:53 2014 From: wa8vsj at gmail.com (Arthur Lewis) Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2014 11:26:53 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] [SFDXA] Section Manager Election - Southern Florida In-Reply-To: References: <53B85DE0.7020905@bellsouth.net> Message-ID: *I agree with a vote for Jeff Beals WA4AW. He has always been looking out for us and the three other amateur radio clubs I belong to. His activity at all ARRL events and any other radio activity should be appreciated with a vote for Jeff.* *Art Lewis WA8VSJ* On Sat, Jul 5, 2014 at 4:45 PM, Mark Horowitz wrote: > Jeff has also been a great help with the QCWA Everglades Chapter 69 here > in Broward. He always keeps us informed. Yes a vote for Jeff is recommend > Mark. K2au > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Jul 5, 2014, at 4:20 PM, "Bill" wrote: > > > I received my Ballot for Southern Florida Section Manager today. > > > > I encourage all to vote for Jeff Beals WA4AW. He has been a friend and > partner with the SFDXA in many many ventures over the years and has spoken > at our Club Meetings. He has been instrumental in aiding us in many ARRL > Activities and is always looking out for us. He is a tireless activist for > ALL Hams and Amateur Radio interests. > > > > I support him as a fan of his personally, and look forward to his > efforts in assisting Ham Radio in South Florida for many years to come. > > 73, > > Bill Marx W2CQ > > ______________________________________________________________ > > QCWA69 mailing list > > SubScribe UNSubscribe or Info: > > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/qcwa69 > > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > > Post: mailto:QCWA69 at mailman.qth.net > > > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > ______________________________________________________________ > South Florida DX Assoc. "SINCE 1974" > "OUR 40th ANNIVERSARY!" > SFDXA WebSite: http://www.SFDXA.com > SFDXA Repeater 147.33+ 103.5 Tone > To Post: mailto:SFDXA at mailman.qth.net > To UNSUBSCRIBE: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/sfdxa > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sun Jul 6 20:11:49 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 20:11:49 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Latest on the ILLW 2014 fun-event Message-ID: <53B9E5C5.2080708@bellsouth.net> *From QRZ:* Latest on the ILLW 2014 fun-event *A friendly tussle between three countries for the leaderboard is being fought out in the 17^th International Lighthouses and Lightship Weekend, held on August 16-17. * *The USA on 55 registrations is followed closely by Germany 54 and Australia 53. Organisers have the fun-event well ahead of this time last year. The three have about 50% of all 330 registrations. * *With such proud coastline shipping navigation histories, last year saw Germany having 72 registrations outstripping Australia with 69, and the USA on 66. These three try to grab supremacy each year.* *In the USA there are a staggering 14 new or virgin lighthouses. These include South East Light on Block Island Rhode Island K1L. Among the many other new ones is Chatham Lighthouse in Massachusetts, with the Barnstable Amateur Radio Club K1KBO.* *In the Americas this year there's also Barbados, Canada, Chile, Curacao, Falkland Islands, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Uruguay.* *Australia has four virgin lighthouses. The Whaler's Bluff Lighthouse at Portland Harbour in Western Victoria with Johnno VK3FMPB, up the coast from Griffiths Island Lighthouse, Port Fairy and Peter VK3ZPF. The Fingal Head Lighthouse on one of Australia's eastern points is activated by Grant VK2GEL. And at Cape Tourville Lighthouse Eastern Tasmania will be Ken VK7HKN and wife Lyn VK7FROG. * *In Spain is the Faro de Cabo de Silleiro Lighthouse, this year's 200^th entry, to be put on air by Hans EA1/DK6EA and *Heike DC2CT*. And another first-timer is the Eckwarden Oberfeuer Lighthouse in Germany on the North Sea, registered by Sebastian DM1SW. * *Out of 38 countries already registered this year, England is doing well with 24. Also in greater Europe there's Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales.* *The Asian region has registrations so far this year from Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand. *In 2013 the final total of 526 was a record. The last 200-odd registrations are due in a few weeks. Maybe the event will again break through the 500 barrier? Who will score the prestigious 400 registration?** *Already a dozen have registered for the 2015 annual event that helps increase the public awareness of historic marine navigation, their preservation and promotes portable Amateur Radio activity. * *To read the simple guidelines, see reports from others having at this event that began two decades ago, or to register for the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend on August the 16th and 17^th , see the dedicated website www.illw.net * Jim Linton VK3PC http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?442200-Latest-on-the-ILLW-2014-fun-event From bmarx at bellsouth.net Mon Jul 7 14:51:44 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 14:51:44 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] A Message from Jeff Beals WA4AW In-Reply-To: <20140707170530.B75782086C@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20140707170530.B75782086C@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <53BAEC40.2030409@bellsouth.net> Hope everyone had a safe and pleasant July 4th holiday. Field Day 2014 is now history. SFL SEC David, K4DLF and I traveled almost 500 miles during the weekend in our annual SFL FD Tour. We visited 16 FD sites in 6 counties. As our section contains 3 of the largest counties (in area) in the state, it is physically impossible to cover all of the sites during the FD weekend. If we missed you this year, we?ll see you on the next trip. The WX seemed to hold out for most of our tour, however, it would not be FD in SFL without some rain on someone?s parade. Murphy struck at some of the sites; however, everyone took it in stride as that is a part of an emergency preparedness exercise. A great time was had by all! Thanks to Broward EC Carol, KJ4AWB for touring the FD sites in the county. In conjunction with FD, Gov. Rick Scott has proclaimed the week of June 23-29 as Amateur Radio Week in Florida. Our thanks to Gov. Scott for recognizing the contributions made by Florida amateurs providing communications support to the citizens of our state. You can view the proclamation on our SFL Section page on the ARRL website http://www.arrl.org/sections/view/southern-florida My other travels consisted of a visit with members of the Martin County ARA who were operating special event station N4V at the Road to Victory Museum in downtown Stuart commemorating the 70th anniversary of D-Day. David and I visited with the FL East Coast DX Club at their quarterly luncheon in Fellsmere and with members of the ARA of SW FL in Naples, Fort Myers ARC and the ECs serving Hendry, Glades and Lee counties at the Hendry County EOC in LaBelle. Member contact is very important to me and between our regional ASMs, section staff and myself; we will get to visit with everyone during the year. If your club is sponsoring a special event or needs a speaker for a club meeting, just let us know. SFL Section staff appointments were conferred upon former SFL SM Sherri Brower, W4STB as our new State Government Liaison. Sherri will also be working with PIC Dan, AI4GK with our PR program as Assistant PIC. Sherri?s email is w4stb at arrl.org Lee County EC Larry Zimmer, W4LWZ will represent the Gulf Coast District as regional Assistant Section Manager. The district consists of Collier, Lee, Hendry and Glades counties. Larry can be contacted via email at w4lwz at arrl.net Welcome Sherri and Larry to our SFL Section management team! For info on Field Organization volunteer opportunities, visit http://www.arrl.org/field-organization. I welcome your interest in joining the SFL team. Please contact me or any of my staff with any questions. Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2014 " A bill with bipartisan support has been introduced in the US House of Representatives that calls on the FCC to apply the ?reasonable accommodation? three-part test of the PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy to private land-use restrictions. HR.4969, the ?Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2014? was introduced on June 25 at the request of the ARRL, which worked with House staffers to draft the proposed legislation. The bill?s sponsor is Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL). It has initial co-sponsorship from Rep Joe Courtney (D-CT). If the measure passes the 113th Congress, it would require the FCC, within 120 days of the Bill?s passage, to amend the Part 97 Amateur Service rules to apply PRB-1 coverage to include homeowners? association regulations and deed restrictions, often referred to as ?covenants, conditions, and restrictions? (CC&Rs). Presently, PRB-1 only applies to state and local zoning laws and ordinances. ?There is a strong federal interest in the effective performance of Amateur Radio stations established at the residences of licensees,? the bill states. ?Such stations have been shown to be frequently and increasingly precluded by unreasonable private land-use restrictions, including restrictive covenants.? The 11-page PRB-1 FCC Memorandum Opinion and Order is codified at ?97.15(b) in the FCC Amateur Service rules, giving the regulation the same effect as a federal statute. In short, PRB-1 states that local governments cannot preclude Amateur Radio communications; they must ?reasonably accommodate? amateur operations, and the state and local regulations must be the minimum practicable regulation to accomplish a legitimate governmental interest. Subject to those guidelines, municipalities may still establish regulations with respect to height, safety, and aesthetic concerns. For 28 years, FCC regulations have ?prohibited the application to Amateur Radio stations of state and local regulations that preclude or fail to reasonably accommodate Amateur Service communications,? the bill points out, ?or that do not constitute the minimum practicable regulation to accomplish a legitimate state or local purpose.? Since PRB-1 was enacted, the FCC has said several times that it would prefer to have some guidance from Congress before extending the policy to private land-use regulations. HR.4969 has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Rep Greg Walden, W7EQI (R-OR), chairs that panel?s Communications and Technology Subcommittee, which will consider the measure. ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, is a principal advocate for the current legislative initiative to gain PRB-1 recognition for CC&Rs. Lisenco said the most urgent task now is to get additional co-sponsors to sign onto HR.4969." In South Florida, CC and R restrictions have been a major impediment to our enjoyment of amateur radio as well as the ability to provide effective public service communications. SFL SGL Sherri, W4STB offers the following additional info to assist us in support of HR 4969. Please support the passage of HR 4969 by contacting your representative in Congress. HR 4969 has been introduced in the U.S. House as "The Amateur Radio Parity Act" In reads, in part: "To direct the Federal Communications Commission to extend to private land use restrictions its rule relating to reasonable accommodation of amateur service communications." If the measure passes the 113th Congress, it would require the FCC, within 120 days of the Bill passage, to amend the Part 97 Amateur Service rules to apply PRB-1 coverage to include homeowners association regulations and deed restrictions, often referred to as covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs). Presently, PRB-1 only applies to state and local zoning laws and ordinances. The most urgent task now is to get additional co-sponsors to sign onto HR.4969. Everyone should send an e-mail, visit or phone their local Representative. Include your street address so the staff knows you are a voter in that district. To find your Representative and the preferred means of contact visit the website: house.gov and enter your zip code, click on the name of your Representative and you will connected to his/her site. If you would like some talking points and tips for visiting a Congressional office email Sherri Brower at W4STB at arrl.net (Please put HR 4969 in the subject line so the messages can be found easily. Thanks). Our congratulations to Pete Rimmel, N8PR who won the June QST Cover Plaque Award for his article ? A Portable Two-Element 6 Meter Quad Antenna ? Pete will receive his award at the ARRL Centennial Convention in Hartford, CT Karen Anderson, KK4ENM, a member of the Jupiter Lighthouse Radio Group, has penned an interesting article entitled ? Florida Scouts Make ( Radio ) Waves ? which has been published on the ARRL website. A good read ! You can find it at http://www.arrl.org/florida-scouts-make-radio-waves Congratulations, Karen! In mid July, I will be traveling to Hartford, CT to attend the ARRL Centennial Convention. There is still time for you to join me and 4000 other attendees in Hartford for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate the 100th birthday of ARRL. I?m sad to report the passing of long time SFL Technical Specialist Joe Mitchell, K4AW. Joe was active in south Brevard County and a member of the Platinum Coast ARC and Harris Intersil ARC. He always had a friendly smile and warm handshake when we met at the Melbourne Hamfest over the years. Joe will be missed by his many ham friends around the world. Well, I guess that?s about it for now. My thanks for all that you do for Amateur Radio. Get on the air, Elmer a new ham, support your local club and ARES group but most of all, have fun. Vy 73, Jeff, WA4AW -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARRL Southern Florida Section Section Manager: Jeff Beals, WA4AW wa4aw at arrl.org -------------------------------------------------------------------- From bmarx at bellsouth.net Mon Jul 7 15:05:01 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 15:05:01 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Florida Scouts Make (Radio) Waves Message-ID: <53BAEF5D.2020704@bellsouth.net> Sent By Jeff Beals WA4AW: I copied it and am resending it complete. Bill W2CQ http://www.arrl.org/florida-scouts-make-radio-waves Florida Scouts Make (Radio) Waves Karen Anderson, KK4ENM Whether having fun camping or engaged in a serious SAR operation, Troop 721 is ham radio ready. How it All Started Late one night back in the '70s, an 8 year old boy living in a small town in south Mississippi sat in his bed hiding under the covers listening to an old transistor radio that his great-grandmother had given to him. While tuning between stations he picked up a program that was being broadcast from Cuba. It was the first time he had heard a foreign accent. That experience played in the back of his mind for the rest of his life, surfacing now and again as a passing interest in CB radios, police scanners, and shortwave receivers until he was in his forties. In 2010, that little boy formed Troop 721 of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It was a high adventure troop that took monthly scouting adventures backpacking, canoeing and kayaking the remote areas of South Florida. One of the concerns the adult leadership had with these outings to remote areas, was the lack of cell phone coverage in the event of an emergency. To solve this dilemma, Scoutmaster Chris Anderson, KK4ENJ, finally turned his lifelong radio interest into a serious hobby and earned his Technician class license, along with the rest of his family. Two months later he took his gear camping with the troop and introduced them to Amateur Radio by allowing the boys to talk to another radio operator in England using EchoLink, a software application which connects repeaters throughout the world by the Internet. (Repeaters are receiver/transmitter pairs that operate on coordinated frequencies and are typically installed at a commercial facility that permits high-gain, omnidirectional antennas mounted at heights not usually feasible or legally possible at a residence.) The boys were hooked and started talking about getting their licenses. "I thought it was really cool that you could talk to anyone in the world who has a radio and a license" said First Class Scout Thomas Wilson, KK4HPC. For some of the adult leaders, it had also been a lifelong interest, as Assistant Scoutmaster Mike Wilson, KK4HPB, said, "It's something that I always wanted to learn but never had the resources." For others, it is another hobby that they can participate in with their sons. A Growing Group In March of 2012, eight kids and eight adults enrolled in a class sponsored by the Jupiter Tequesta Radio Group (JTRG) and earned their Technician class licenses. JTRG holds three class sessions per year --- two Technician and one General. Since 2001, they have helped 425 individuals pass their Technician license exam. The most exciting aspect of these classes is when young hams can be brought into the hobby. "The introduction of Amateur Radio to the young men of Troop 721 has been the largest presence of youth in any of our classes. In addition to having an interest in Amateur Radio, they had a genuine need to communicate. No surprise, but where there's a need, there's usually a will and we presented the way," commented JTRG President Kevin Jackson, W4JKJ. At the same time, the scoutmaster upgraded his license to General class, trying to keep a step ahead of the kids to better help and train them. They quickly familiarized themselves with the radios, talking to each other and participating in the club's ragchew nets, holding special meetings, and building their own antennas. By May, four boys and three more adults had upgraded their license to General class. The boys even took their radios with them to summer camp in Tennessee, where they learned just how much more reliable the radios could be than cell phones in some situations. The camp was in the Tennessee mountains, which made the cell phone coverage spotty. However, the scouts were able to talk to Mr Anderson, who was in Florida, with their 2 meter handhelds through a local EchoLink repeater with no problems. "The ability to communicate when out in the woods or when the troop is split into two groups" is what Assistant Scoutmaster Hal Avallone, KK4HPJ, enjoys most about the hobby. This point was well proven on the troop's camping trip in February 2013 when the troop split into two groups. The trip had originally been planned as a backpacking trip, but after completing a 20 mile hike in January, several of the boys decided they just wanted to "car camp." The rest of the group still wanted to backpack. Both the adult and senior leadership decided it was not a problem. One group completed a 10 mile hiking trip while staying in touch with the rest of the troop in base camp using their handheld radios operating on simplex. Incoming Scoutmaster Ron Totz commented on the idea, "It definitely gives us the ability to work with both groups of scouts, the high adventure group and those who wish to just go and camp for the weekend." Now that the boys have some experience operating the radios, they are looking to set a direction for the troop. They have permission from JTRG to use the repeater and run their own weekly ragchew net. By using a repeater, communications are supported over greater distances than normally possible for the same frequency. Even with all of these activities, the boy's long-term plans are much more community service oriented. The boys have been approached to provide communications for some local events such as a Christmas parade, marathon races, and a trail rider's club horseback competition. In August, Troop 721 had the opportunity to put their communications training and licensing to practical use when JTRG participated in a field event called, the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend (ILLW). Portable transceivers and temporary high frequency antennas were erected on-sight at the Jupiter Lighthouse to provide international communications to hams everywhere as they reached out to lighthouses around the globe. Both JTRG and the troop worked together again in October 2012 for the Boy Scout Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) as part of the troop's recruiting plan. JOTA is a worldwide event where scouts get on the air and contact each other through Amateur Radio. Unlike the typical ham radio competitions, where contacts are made, recorded, and you move on to the next contact; the scouts are encouraged to actually talk to the other scouts. JTRG helped the troop by setting up operating stations and antennas for use during the 2 day weekend event. With the help from the club, the boys were able to make contacts with scouts in Australia and Japan as well as many domestic contacts including the Boy Scouts of America headquarters. They also mentored the scouts on site preparation and educated them on the principles of antenna construction by building working antennas that the boys could take home. The event was a success for both groups and they are currently putting plans in place for JOTA 2014. Looking Ahead In July 2012, the troop participated in a Palm Beach County Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES?) exercise, "Operation Hard Luck II." They got to see how different agencies would work together after a natural disaster and were allowed to discuss different scenarios presented by the training program, all of this reinforcing and expanding their emergency preparedness merit badge training. As a result of participation in this exercise, the troop now has nine ARES members, as well as 18 SKYWARN trained operators who assist the National Weather Service by reporting severe weather events happening in their neighborhoods. These boys are all discussing the possibility of forming a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). "The ability to communicate and help conduct search and rescue" is how Scout Tyler Callaghan, KK4MAT, sees the troop using their skills in the future. In May he got his chance to experience public service communications when he and several other boys and leaders from the troop volunteered to help several local CERT teams conduct a search and rescue training session by providing mobile radio communications. As the troop moves forward, it will investigate how to turn these ideas into reality. The scouts are realizing that there are many factors to be taken into consideration, such as, who should be eligible to participate or what criteria, if any, should be established. Eagle Scout William Anderson, KK4ENL, states, "There is a certain maturity level that is needed to do some of these things, so I think scouts should be at least first class or higher to be even considered for the amateur licensing." The troop is planning on earning the Search and Rescue Merit Badge during the 2013-2014 scouting year, if not sooner. The boys are also evaluating equipment needs. Two radios have already been donated to the troop but they still need antennas and power systems, and they would like to have a good HF radio. Star Scout Mason Turner is currently learning how to hook up solar panels to battery packs so that the troop's trailer can be used for mobile communications if an emergency should arise. These solar panels would allow the boys to recharge battery systems as well as power the lights inside the trailer while it's parked in camp. "We should have everything we need in the trailer. I believe we should be able to pull up to a location and set up camp wherever we can park the trailer." The boys are planning to build what they are calling "go boxes." These are battery systems that will supply power for the radio equipment in locations where standard power is not available. Construction of these boxes involves the boys learning how to solder, and understand basic electronics and power management. The boys are learning budgetary constraints and priorities as well. Because the troop is only 3 years old, they are still in the process of fundraising for essential gear such as field kitchens, dining flies, lanterns, and other items necessary for a troop to function. While they are waiting for that to happen, they continue to use their 5 W handheld transceivers. For Troop 721, ham radio has opened up not only new windows to the many different people in the world but also new opportunities to support their communities. Karen Anderson, KK4ENM, is a middle school medical science and reading teacher and has been an assistant scoutmaster for about 10 years. In addition to teaching and scouting she runs Life's Pilgrims, an adventure blog website with her husband. Karen became involved with ham radio together with her husband and two sons when they all earned their Technician's class licenses 2 years ago. A year later she moved up to General. Karen is a SKYWARN operator and volunteer with the local ARES? groups. She is a member of the Jupiter Tequesta Repeater Group and the Jupiter Lighthouse Radio Group. You can contact Karen at karen at lifespilgrims.com. From bmarx at bellsouth.net Tue Jul 8 15:31:17 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 15:31:17 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Night of Nights operation this Friday. Last commercial use of Morse In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <53BC4705.3010701@bellsouth.net> *From Tony N2MFT: Bill W2CQ * *USCG Stations* **NOTICE! **This may very well be the last time ever that USCG stations can be heard on the air using A1A (Morse) emission. As new equipment is installed the hardware and wiring for Morse has been progressively removed. And the personnel who knowledgeable in the art retire or are reassigned. So be sure to listen for these stations. ** Many USCG personnel at all levels are responsible for bringing these stations back on the air for Night of Nights 2104. We want to particularly thank ET1 Mike Leska for taking the lead for this year's project. *> NMC*(Transmit Bolinas, Receive Pt. Reyes) Frequency Transmitter Antenna 448.0 Nautel ND2500TT/6 173' monopole tower 472.0 Nautel ND2500TT/6 173' monopole tower 500.0 Nautel ND2500TT/6 173' monopole tower 6383.0 Rockwell-Collins RT-2200 Omni-directional 8574.0 Rockwell-Collins RT-2200 Omni-directional 17220.5 Rockwell-Collins RT-2200 Omni-directional NOTE regarding NMC/NMQ/NMW MF transmissions. Only one MF transmitter will be in service at each station. Morse transmissions will be made on an as-available basis from each station as USCG operators must also accommodate scheduled NAVTEX transmissions. http://radiomarine.org/gallery/show?keyword=nonxi&panel=pab1_5#pab1_5 From bmarx at bellsouth.net Tue Jul 8 16:26:01 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 16:26:01 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Solar flare erupts from unexpected source In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <53BC53D9.9000008@bellsouth.net> Space Weather News for July 8, 2014 http://spaceweather.com M6-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: On July 8th, Earth-orbiting satellites detected a strong M6-class solar flare. The flare itself came as little surprise because there is a phalanx of large sunspots crossing the solar disk. However, the source of the flare was unexpected. Check http://spaceweather.com for more information about the blast site and prospects for additional eruptions in the days ahead. From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Jul 9 14:52:24 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 14:52:24 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] W1AW/XXX Message-ID: <53BD8F68.5060805@bellsouth.net> There are no W1AW Portable Operations this week... From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Jul 9 17:06:41 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 17:06:41 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The IARU HF Championship and WRTC-2014! Message-ID: <53BDAEE1.7040804@bellsouth.net> A Contesting Confluence this Weekend: The IARU HF Championship and WRTC-2014! *TAGS:* annual event , ARRL Headquarters station , IARU Administrative Council , IARU event , IARU HF Championship , IARU International Secretariat , IARU regional executive , IARU website , itu zone , member societies , multi-channel decoders , new england , Radiosport Team Championship , signal report , WRTC teams , WRTC-2014 stations 07/08/2014 This weekend, July 12-13, will present the sort of operating opportunity that comes along only about as often as leap year --- the *IARU HF Championship* and World Radiosport Team Championship 2014 (*WRTC-2014* ). It's essentially two sides of the same coin, though, since these events occur concurrently. While the IARU HF Championship is an annual event, WRTCs typically take place every 4 years and use the IARU event as a framework for their international team competition. Everyone works everyone in these events, which run 24 hours (1200 UTC on Saturday until 1200 UTC on Sunday). In the IARU, both single and multioperator stations are welcome, but single operators may not take advantage of any spotting nets, packet, or multi-channel decoders (such as /CW Skimmer/). Stations may elect to operate CW only, SSB only, or both modes.In general stations exchange signal report and *ITU zone* . For WRTC-2014, 59 international two-operator teams will gather in New England to determine the world's top contesters. Competing teams will deploy to essentially equivalent stations that run 100 W to a wire antenna for the low bands and a Yagi for the high bands. Stations taking part in the IARU event can win WRTC-2014 *awards* , such as for working all 59 teams, which will be sporting 1 ?1 US first district call signs. Operators in both events will be seeking out "HQ stations" representing various IARU member societies; these count as multipliers. Many will include the letters "HQ" in their call sign suffix, and some will include the organization's abbreviation, and it might be helpful to review these beforehand. Member societies are listed by region on the *IARU website* . IARU International Secretariat club station NU1AW will be on the air from New England and counts as a HQ station. Member-society HQ stations will send signal report and their organization's initials, eg, 599 IARU, for working NU1AW. W100AW, operating from Newington, will be the ARRL headquarters station (W1AW will not be active). Members of the IARU Administrative Council and the three IARU regional Executive committees send "AC," "R1," "R2," and "R3" as appropriate, following the signal report. There are some differences in the rules between the IARU HF Championship and the WRTC-2014 events. For instance, WRTC-2014 stations will not use 160 meters, and all WRTC teams will use both CW and SSB. While WRTC-2014 competitors are restricted to 100 W, IARU HF Championship participants may opt to run high power, low power or QRP; there are entry categories for each. The IARU HF Championship and WRTC-2014 offer a lot of operating enjoyment and a chance to check out your station and antennas well in advance of the 2014 "contest season" this fall and winter. http://www.arrl.org/news/a-contesting-confluence-this-weekend-the-iaru-hf-championship-and-wrtc-2014 From w2cq73 at gmail.com Thu Jul 10 14:55:20 2014 From: w2cq73 at gmail.com (Bill) Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 14:55:20 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] It Is TELSTAR DAY!!!!! July 10, 1962. This date marks the launch of Telstar In-Reply-To: <79583.53b79e96.40f024a4@aol.com> References: <79583.53b79e96.40f024a4@aol.com> Message-ID: <53BEE198.3040902@gmail.com> From The Collins List: It Is TELSTAR DAY!!!!! (see links to SMECC stories) July 10, 1962. This date marks the launch of Telstar 1, the first communications satellite capable of relaying television signals from Europe to North America! Yes on this VERY day long ago our childhood TELSTAR I was launched.... and so was my fascination with Sat Com- This is sure to be a memory though ... and a great song by Joe Meek of UK but a hit indeed for the VENTURES (60s music buddies can add to this ) John R. Pierce of Bell Labs fame was the father of TELSTAR, and later in my life to become a great friend and of mine and a friend to the SMECC museum project. In addition A.C. Dickieson, the project manager for TELSTAR, ended up retiring in Sun City here and I got to know him as well. Add to that James Early who did device development for the Telstar Project another great mind and a great friend...Unfortunately all have passed on many years ago.....add to that Eugene O'Neill and other... and look below in comments and you will see some other articles about TELSTAR by some people I was happy to call my friends... I miss them all but thankful to have had the time I did with them. ok lets listen to the TELSTAR song by the Ventures.... Enjoy the walk down memory lane.... Ed Sharpe archivist for SMECC http://youtu.be/D6DmtPQv7V8 also goto - - http://www.smecc.org/telstar_photo_album.htm read all these authors and articles at SMECC [ _John Pierce / Telstar_ (http://www.smecc.org/john_pierce1.htm) ] [ _A. C. Dickieson_ (http://www.smecc.org/a__c__dickieson.htm) ] [ _James Early / TELSTAR_ (http://www.smecc.org/james_early___telstar.htm) ] [ _Memorabilia / TELSTAR_ (http://www.smecc.org/memorabilia___telstar.htm) ] [ _Telstar Broadcasts_ (http://www.smecc.org/telstar_broadcasts.htm) ][ _W.J.Bray - UK_ (http://www.smecc.org/w_j_bray_-_uk.htm) ] [ _K.D. Smith Bell Solar Batteries TELSTAR_ (http://www.smecc.org/k_d__smith__bell_solar_batteries_telstar.htm) ] [ _TELSTAR - Joe Meek_ (http://www.smecc.org/telstar_-_joe_meek.htm) ] [ _Eugene O'Neill - TELSTAR_ (http://www.smecc.org/eugene_o'niell_-_telstar.htm) ][ _UK First TELSTAR Transatlantic Color Transmission_ (http://www.smecc.org/uk_first_telstar_transatlantic_color_transmission.htm) ] From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Jul 10 17:45:52 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 17:45:52 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The ARRL Letter for July 10, 2014 In-Reply-To: <20140710212640.228D424E9A@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20140710212640.228D424E9A@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <53BF0990.5080600@bellsouth.net> Preview If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2014-07-10 The ARRL Letter July 10, 2014 Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME ARRL Home Page /ARRL Letter/ Archive Audio News Ad * ARRL, FEMA to Sign /Memorandum of Agreement/ at National Centennial Convention <#toc01> * Grassroots Campaign Underway to Promote Co-Sponsorship of "Amateur Radio Parity Act" <#toc02> * ARRL Great Lakes Division Leadership Changes <#toc03> * FCC Alleges Oregon Radio Amateur Interfered with Others, Aired Music, and Failed to Identify <#toc04> * FCC Turns Away Petition to Allow Hams to Operate Non-Certificated Transmitters on GMRS <#toc05> * Passengers Now Must Be Able to Power Up Some Electronics During TSA Screenings <#toc06> * Hurricane Watch Net Shuts Down after 21 Hours of Activation for First 2014 Atlantic Hurricane <#toc07> * A Contesting Confluence this Weekend: The IARU HF Championship /and/ WRTC-2014! <#toc08> * W1AW Centennial Operations in Bye Week <#toc09> * First Signals Heard from UKube-1 <#toc10> * AMSAT-NA Announces 2014 Board of Directors Candidates <#toc11> * "Brendan Quest" Team's 2 Meter Signal Copied in the UK <#toc12> * "Night of Nights" 2014 Marks 15th Anniversary of Last US Commercial Morse Operation <#toc13> * ARDF Enthusiasts Win Medals at 14th Annual USA National Championships <#toc14> * A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL <#toc15> * WARC-79 US Delegate, ARRL Consultant Charles Dorian, W3JPT, SK <#toc16> * The K7RA Solar Update <#toc17> * Just Ahead in Radiosport <#toc18> * Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events <#toc19> ARRL, FEMA to Sign /Memorandum of Agreement/ at National Centennial Convention The ARRL and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA ) will sign a /Memorandum of Agreement/ (/MOA/) at the ARRL National Centennial Convention , taking place July 17-19 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, will join FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, KK4INZ, on Friday, July 18, at 4:15 PM, in signing the /MOA/, which is aimed at fostering greater cooperation between the League and FEMA in the area of disaster communication and support. Fugate will speak at the Centennial Banquet later that evening, and more than 850 are expected to attend. All-day workshops and a Thursday lunch at the Convention Center will kick off the Centennial Convention (advance online registration required). Keynoting the Thursday lunch will be ARRL First Vice President Rick Roderick, K5UR. ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Director Brian Mileshosky, N5ZGT, will serve as the MC. Later in the day, a reception will be held to welcome international guests. Delegations from several countries are expected to attend the convention, along with individual visitors. The League is anticipating some 4000 visitors, with registrations received from all 50 US states and more than 30 countries. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, KK4INZ, will be the Convention Banquet speaker on Friday, July 18. The official opening ceremony and ribbon cutting take place Friday morning at 8:30, with President Craigie and Convention Co-Chairs ARRL Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B, and New England Division Vice Director Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF, welcoming attendees. The theme for the ARRL National Centennial Convention is "Advancing the Art and Science of Radio -- Since 1914." On Friday and Saturday, more than 100 vendors and exhibitors will be in the main Convention Center exhibit hall, and dozens of presenters will lead nearly 70 hours of forums. Transportation to Newingtwon will be available to shuttle convention registrants for tours of ARRL Headquarters and W1AW. President Craigie will host a Presidents Breakfast on Saturday morning, and Nobel Laureate Joe Taylor, K1JT, will speak at noon. The closing ceremony and prize drawing will take place Saturday at 4 PM in the Convention Center Ballroom. Online registration is now limited to 2-day adult and youth tickets ($25), good on Friday and Saturday. Online registration ends on Tuesday, July 15. Two-day tickets will be available at the Convention Center for $30. Grassroots Campaign Underway to Promote Co-Sponsorship of "Amateur Radio Parity Act" A grassroots effort is underway to encourage radio amateurs to promote co-sponsorship of HR.4969 , the Amateur Radio Parity Act. The measure, introduced in the US House with bipartisan support on June 25, calls on the FCC to apply the "reasonable accommodation" three-part test of the PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy to private land-use restrictions regarding antennas. The bill's primary sponsor is Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), and it has initial co-sponsorship from Rep Joe Courtney (D-CT). With Congress going on its August recess in a few weeks, the campaign is focusing on contacting Members of Congress or their staffers at or through their district offices during the break. Getting additional lawmakers to sign on as HR.4969 co-sponsors is considered essential to the bill's success. "This is the ideal time for you to develop small teams of constituents to approach members of Congress in their district offices," said ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, a principal proponent of HR.4969. "Ideally, you'd want no more than three members to go to a meeting with a Member of Congress or top staff members. These need to be active, articulate individuals who present themselves well." Individual radio amateurs or clubs also may wish to e-mail or write their representatives to urge them to cosponsor the bill. The primary point to convey is that the greatest threat to Amateur Radio volunteer emergency and public service communication is restrictions that prohibit the installation of outdoor antenna systems. Nearly 30 years ago the FCC, in adopting its PRB-1 policy, acknowledged a "strong federal interest" in supporting effective Amateur Radio communication. In the intervening years, PRB-1 has helped many amateurs to overcome zoning ordinances that unreasonably restricted Amateur Radio antennas in residential areas. The 11-page PRB-1 FCC /Memorandum Opinion and Order/ is codified at ? 97.15(b) in the FCC Amateur Service rules, giving the regulation the same effect as a federal statute. After the Telecommunications Act of 1996 ordered the FCC to enact regulations preempting municipal /and/ private land-use regulation over small satellite dishes and broadcast TV antennas, the FCC further acknowledged that it has jurisdiction to preempt private land-use regulations that conflict with federal policy. At this point, PRB-1 only applies to state and local zoning laws and ordinances. The Commission has indicated that it won't extend the policy to private land-use regulation unless Congress instructs it to do so. If HR.4969 passes the 113th Congress, it would compel the FCC, within 120 days of the Bill's passage, to amend the Part 97 Amateur Service rules to apply PRB-1 coverage to include homeowners' association regulations and deed restrictions, often referred to as "covenants, conditions, and restrictions" (CC&Rs). HR.4969 has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Rep Greg Walden, W7EQI (R-OR), chairs that panel's Communications and Technology Subcommittee, which will consider the measure. Among other tips, Lisenco advises groups setting up in-person visits with representatives to pick a leader, listen carefully, and leave behind information [see below] that supports your primary points, plus a business card. "Business cards are a big thing in DC," he pointed out. "Make certain to take them when going to DC or a district office." "This isn't rocket science, but it does take planning and the ability to state your case succinctly in no more than 15 minutes," Lisenco advised. He said delegations should follow up with a thank you note within a day and a telephone call a week later. An information sheet on HR.4969, a list of "talking points," and a sample constituent letter to a Member of Congress will be available soon. ARRL Great Lakes Division Leadership Changes The leadership of the ARRL Great Lakes Division has changed. Director Jim Weaver, K8JE, announced his retirement from the ARRL Board of Directors, effective on July 7. Vice Director Dale Williams , WA8EFK, of Dundee, Michigan, has succeeded him as Director. The Great Lakes Division is made up of Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky. ARRL Great Lakes Division Director Dale Williams, WA8EFK ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, appointed W. Thomas "Tom" Delaney, W8WTD, of Cincinnati, Ohio, to fill the resulting Vice Director vacancy. Both Williams and Delaney will attend the ARRL National Centennial Convention and the July ARRL Board of Directors' meeting following the convention in Hartford, Connecticut. Weaver, of Mason, Ohio, had served as the League's Great Lakes Division Director since January 2003. He was a member of the Programs & Services and CEO Candidate Screening committees. He continues to hold several Field Organization appointments in Ohio. Williams had been Great Lakes Division Vice Director since January 2012. He previously served as ARRL Michigan Section Manager -- from 1992 until 1997, and from 2003 until 2011. Vice Director Delaney was a Public Information Officer for about a decade. He is active with the Queen City Emergency Net and belongs to several clubs in Cincinnati. Delaney also is the volunteer chairman of the Communications Committee for Disaster Services at the Cincinnati Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. FCC Alleges Oregon Radio Amateur Interfered with Others, Aired Music, and Failed to Identify In a /Notice of Violation/ (NoV ) released June 5, the FCC has alleged that Thomas Ryan Price, W7WL, of Sweet Home, Oregon, caused malicious interference to other radio communications on 3908 kHz, transmitted music on the same frequency, and failed to properly identify. The FCC said agents from its Portland, Oregon, office on May 13, 2014, used radio direction-finding techniques to pinpoint the source of the interfering signal to Price's residence and further observed that Price was transmitting music and did not identify at the end of each communication, as required. The FCC has called on Price to submit within 20 days a written statement explaining each violation, stating specific actions taken to correct each violation and preclude their recurrence, and include a time line to complete any pending corrective actions. The FCC said issuance of the /NoV/ "does not preclude the Enforcement Bureau from further action if warranted, including issuing a /Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture/ for the violations cited." Ad FCC Turns Away Petition to Allow Hams to Operate Non-Certificated Transmitters on GMRS The FCC has denied a /Petition for Rule Making/ (PRM ) filed by a Florida radio amateur that sought to permit hams who also hold General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) licenses to operate on GMRS channels with transmitters that have not been certificated for GMRS use, provided the transmitter meets GMRS technical standards. Mark Friedlander, KV4I, of New Smyrna Beach had asserted in his May 29 filing that the proposed rule change would facilitate interoperability in emergency situations, since many emergency response groups utilize both radio services. Transmitters used in the Part 95 GMRS must have FCC certification prior to sale and marketing; in general, Part 97 Amateur Radio transmitters do not. In a June 20 letter to Friedlander, the FCC pointed out that GMRS transmitters that also can be used on Amateur Radio frequencies will not be certificated. The FCC said it adopted that rule "to prevent the possible proliferation of GMRS equipment that is also capable of operating on frequencies for which the GMRS licensee is not authorized." Friedlander argued that Amateur Radio operators who are authorized to design, build, and operate transmitters without equipment certification in the 420-450 MHz amateur band should be allowed to do so on the 462/467 MHz GMRS channels, the FCC said. "We conclude that the proposed rule change would undermine the prohibition on GMRS equipment with Amateur Radio frequency capability," the FCC said. "An exception to [the rule] would allow for the proliferation of home-built, non-standardized transmitters in the GMRS, with no practicable way for the Commission to monitor and enforce regulatory compliance for these devices." Passengers Now Must Be Able to Power Up Some Electronics During TSA Screenings Airline passengers boarding direct flights to the US from overseas may be asked to power up certain electronic devices being carried aboard, including cell phones. The announcement did not single out any other electronics. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has directed Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners at certain overseas airports with direct flights to the US to "implement enhanced security measures." All electronics typically undergo screening during pre-boarding TSA inspections. "DHS continually assesses the global threat environment and reevaluates the measures we take to promote aviation security," DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said on July 2. "As part of this ongoing process, I have directed TSA to implement enhanced security measures in the coming days at certain overseas airports with direct flights to the United States. We will work to ensure these necessary steps pose as few disruptions to travelers as possible." During security inspections, TSA officers may ask passengers to power up some devices, including cell phones. Devices that are unable to be turned on "will not be permitted onboard the aircraft," DHS said, adding, "The traveler may also undergo additional screening." While the TSA generally permits Amateur Radio equipment aboard aircraft, including that packed in carry-on baggage, such items, according to existing TSA policy, "may be subject to additional screening or not allowed through the checkpoint, if it triggers an alarm during the screening process, appears to have been tampered with, or poses other security concerns. The final decision rests with TSA on whether to allow any items on the plane." DHS said that the TSA "will continue to adjust security measures to ensure that travelers are guaranteed the highest levels of aviation security conducted as conveniently as possible." Hurricane Watch Net Shuts Down after 21 Hours of Activation for First 2014 Atlantic Hurricane The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN ) wrapped up operations around midday on July 5 for Hurricane Arthur -- by then a tropical cyclone -- headed out over the Canadian Maritimes. The HWN initially activated for Arthur on Thursday, July 3, as the storm threatened to make landfall along North Carolina's Outer Banks. The net moved to 40 meters (7.268 MHz), after propagation was lost on its primary 14.325 MHz frequency. The first activation lasted 18 hours. The HWN activated again on Saturday, July 5, at 1100 UTC, as Hurricane Arthur, still a Category 1 storm, worked its way up the Eastern Seaboard headed for Canada. "This storm seemed to be mainly a heavy rain and strong wind event, unlike the Category 1 landfall of Sandy in 2012. Thankfully, Arthur weakened to a tropical storm a few hours prior to [our] activating and was downgraded further to a post-tropical cyclone at 1200 UTC," said HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV. "Reports from CANWARN indicated nearly 84,000 lost power in Nova Scotia and nearly 59,000 in New Brunswick." CANWARN -- the (CANadian Weather Amateur Radio Network -- is Canada's equivalent of the SKYWARN program in the US. The storm also generated heavy rain and high wind in Down East Maine, blowing down trees and limbs leaving thousands of homes in the dark. The net stood down at 1400 UTC. "We were able to link the National Hurricane Center and the Canadian Hurricane Center together by means of our Internet back channel," Graves noted. "This link not only allows direct communication between forecasters at each center but also the forecasters with our net control operators." Although the number of reporting stations was low for this initial activation of the 2014 Hurricane Season, Graves said the HWN was "grateful for all reports that came in." Read more . A Contesting Confluence this Weekend: The IARU HF Championship /and/ WRTC-2014! This weekend, July 12-13, will present the sort of operating opportunity that comes along only about as often as leap year -- the IARU HF Championship /and/ World Radiosport Team Championship 2014 (WRTC-2014 ). It's essentially two sides of the same coin, though, since these events occur concurrently. While the IARU HF Championship is an annual event, WRTCs typically take place every 4 years and use the IARU event as a framework for their international team competition. Everyone works everyone in these events, which run 24 hours (1200 UTC on Saturday until 1200 UTC on Sunday). In the IARU, both single and multioperator stations are welcome, but single operators may not take advantage of any spotting nets, packet, or multi-channel decoders (such as /CW Skimmer/). Stations may elect to operate CW only, SSB only, or both modes. In general, stations exchange signal report and ITU zone . For WRTC-2014, 59 international two-operator teams are gathered in New England to determine the world's top contesters. Competing teams will deploy to essentially equivalent stations that run 100 W to a wire antenna for the low bands and a Yagi for the high bands. Stations taking part in the IARU event can win WRTC-2014 awards , including one for working all 59 teams, which will be sporting 1 ? 1 US first district call signs. Operators in both events will be seeking out "HQ stations" representing various IARU member societies; these count as multipliers. Many will include the letters "HQ" in their call sign suffix. Some will include the organization's abbreviation, and it might be helpful to review these beforehand. Member societies are listed by region on the IARU website . IARU International Secretariat club station NU1AW will be on the air from New England and counts as a HQ station. W100AW, operating from Newington, will be the ARRL headquarters station (W1AW will not be active). Member-society HQ stations will send a signal report and their organization's initials, eg, "599 IARU" for working NU1AW. Members of the IARU Administrative Council and the three IARU regional Executive committees will send "AC," "R1," "R2," and "R3" as appropriate, following the signal report. There are some differences in the rules between the IARU HF Championship and the WRTC-2014 events. For instance, WRTC-2014 stations will not use 160 meters, and all WRTC teams will use both CW and SSB. While WRTC-2014 competitors are restricted to 100 W, IARU HF Championship participants may opt to run high power, low power or QRP; there are entry categories for each. The IARU HF Championship and WRTC-2014 offer a lot of operating enjoyment and a chance to check out your station and antennas well in advance of the 2014 "contest season" this fall and winter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ad W1AW Centennial Operations in Bye Week The ARRL Centennial W1AW WAS operations taking place throughout 2014 from each of the 50 states are on hiatus from July 9 until July 16, during which the 2014 World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC-2014 ) and the IARU HF Championship take place. W1AW Centennial Operations will resume at 0000 UTC on Wednesday, July 16 (the evening of July 15 in US time zones), from South Carolina (W1AW/4). There will be only one state that week. During 2014 W1AW will be on the air from every state (at least twice) and most US territories, and it will be easy to work all states solely by contacting W1AW portable operations. The ARRL Centennial QSO Party kicked off January 1 for a year-long operating event in which participants can accumulate points and win awards. The event is open to all, although only ARRL members and appointees, elected officials, HQ staff and W1AW are worth ARRL Centennial QSO Party points . Working W1AW/x from each state is worth 5 points per mode/contact, even when working the same state during its second week of activity. WRTC-2014 competitor stations with 1 x 1 call signs are also worth 5 points. To earn the "Worked all States with W1AW Award," work W1AW operating portable from all 50 states. (Working W1AW or W100AW in Connecticut does /not/ count for Connecticut, however. For award credit, participants must work W1AW/1 in Connecticut.) A W1AW WAS certificate and plaque will be available. The ARRL has posted an ARRL Centennial QSO Party leader board that participants can use to determine how many points they have accumulated in the Centennial QSO Party and in the W1AW WAS operations. Log in using your Logbook of The World (LoTW ) user name and password, and your position will appear at the top of the leader boards. Results are updated daily, based on contacts entered into LoTW. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ First Signals Heard from UKube-1 Following its July 8 launch from Kazakhstan, UKube-1 -- the UK Space Agency's first CubeSat -- has been heard around the world. "AMSAT-UK has congratulated the UKube-1 team on the successful launch and deployment of the spacecraft," Graham Shirville, G3VZV, said Tuesday in an AMSAT-BB post. "Signals have already been heard from both transmitters in many countries." UKube-1 "hosts" FUNcube-2 -- actually a set of FUNcube boards flying as a sub-system of the 3U UKube-1 CubeSat. FUNcube-2 will include a 400 mW inverting SSB/CW transponder (435.080-435.060 MHz up/145.930-145.950 MHz down), with a CW beacon on 145.840 MHz. The transponder is not yet active. Built by Clyde Space in Glasgow, Scotland, UKube-1 is the first satellite built in Scotland. The FUNcube project is aimed at supporting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) initiatives now underway in the US, the UK, and elsewhere. The target audience is primary and secondary school students. The UKube team asks stations to continue monitoring the downlinks and, if possible, to forward reports to the FUNcube team. Send CW beacon reports (145.840 MHz) to operations at funcube.org.uk and steve.greenland at clyde-space.com . Read more . AMSAT-NA Announces 2014 Board of Directors Candidates AMSAT-NA has announced the 2014 candidates for its Board of Directors. In alphabetical order by last name, they are Jerry Buxton, N0JY; Tom Clark, K3IO; Steve Coy, K8UD; Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA; Frank Griffin, K4FEG; Bryan Klofas, KF6ZEO; Lou McFadin, W5DID, and JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM. In addition to the three Board seats to be filled this year, plus two alternates, there will be an additional Board seat to fill the remainder of the term of Tony Monteiro, AA2TX, who died earlier this year. The top three recipients of votes will have 2-year terms, the fourth highest vote recipient will serve for 1 year, and the fifth and sixth highest vote recipients will serve as first and second alternates, respectively. Ballots will be mailed to the AMSAT-NA membership by July 15, 2014, and must be received at the AMSAT office by September 15, 2014, to be counted. There are approximately 3000 AMSAT members. /-- AMSAT/ /-- AMSAT News Service/ "Brendan Quest" Team's 2 Meter Signal Copied in the UK A group of Amateur Radio operators from Atlantic Canada is operating from Pouch Cove, Newfoundland, until July 12 in a bid to complete a 2 meter transatlantic contact and claim the Brendan Quest trophy . VC1T is on the air from grid GN37os on 144.155 MHz. The group activated on July 4, and a couple of days later, on July 6 at 1341 UTC, G4SWX was able to completely decode an FSK441 transmission from VC1T. Roger Sturtevant, VE1SKY, at VC1T. "They attempted to complete the QSO for 4 hours, but were not successful," the team reported. "However, this reception should qualify for the Brendan Plate." The team said a station in Ireland was able to copy parts of three transmissions. Because of the initial success, the group now will use FSK441 exclusively in its Brendan bid. VC1T had been concentrating its efforts on JT65B, but it has CW and SSB capability, which the team will try if it is able to achieve an FSK441 two-way. Part of the /WSJT/ software package developed by Joe Taylor, K1JT, FSK441 was primarily designed to detect very brief "pings" from meteor trails. VC1T is running 750 W into a rope-supported 43 element, 100 foot long Yagi The rope-supported Yagi aimed at Europe. directed at Europe. It has a gain of more than 23 dBd. When driven with 750 W, the effective radiated power (ERP) in the center of the major lobe should be about 150 kW, the group estimated. The Brendan Trophy is a series of awards offered by the Irish Radio Transmitters Society (IRTS) to the first Amateur Radio operators to complete a 2 meter transatlantic contact. According to the IRTS, the Brendan Trophy is awarded for the first "traditional mode" two-way contact -- ie, SSB or CW capable of being copied without machine assistance. The Brendan Shield is awared for the first "nontraditional mode" two-way contact, ie, digital modes and high-speed CW. The Brendan Plate is given for the first verified reception of a transatlantic signal in any mode. The group has a Facebook page , where it is posting updates. Read more ./-- Thanks to AMSAT News Service, Brendan Quest 2 Meter Transatlantic Attempt/ Ad "Night of Nights" 2014 Marks 15th Anniversary of Last US Commercial Morse Operation This weekend marks the 15th anniversary of the last US commercial Morse operation -- commemorated each year in a "Night of Nights" event in which historic coast stations KPH and KSM in California and others across the US reopen briefly and again take to the MF and HF airwaves. The Maritime Radio Historical Society (MRHS ) sponsors the event, which will take place Sunday, July 13, from 0001 UTC until 0700 (Saturday, July 12, from 1701 until midnight PDT). What is believed to have been the last commercial Morse transmission in the US took place from KPH in 1999. MRHS member Richard Dillman, W6KWO, a veteran coast station operator, has called July 12, 1999, "a sad day" for him and his colleagues. Former KPH operator Rick Wahl at the key during an earlier Night of Nights observance. [Courtesy of MRHS] We knew it was coming, but when the end finally arrived, it was a shock," he said. "It was the supposed last day of Morse code. The final sign off took place at a remote station on the Pacific Coast. Women attending the event were dressed as if at a funeral. Grizzled, hard-bitten old men -- the kind you wouldn't mess with in a barroom -- had tears in their eyes as the last message was keyed out to the world at 0000 GMT. And then there was silence." "It was just beeps in the air. But that's how much Morse code means to the men and women who made the profession of radiotelegrapher one of honor and skill," Dillman added. The MRHS has posted a schedule of participating stations and operating frequencies. The MRHS also operates Amateur Radio station K6KPH, run by veteran Morse hands, including former KPH staff members with years of experience "sitting the circuit." K6KPH will monitor 3550, 7050, 14,050, 18,097.5, and 21,050 kHz. Read more . ARDF Enthusiasts Win Medals at 14th Annual USA National Championships Newcomers and long-time enthusiasts turned out in early June to take part in the 14th USA National Championships of Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF). The events took place June 5-8 in New England, near Boston. The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU ) sets the rules for ARDF competitions. The object of ARDF -- also called foxtailing and radio-orienteering -- is to find as many of the required hidden transmitters as possible within the shortest time, and then navigate to the finish line, using only direction-finding equipment, a compass, and Sixteen-year-old Addison Bosley, KJ4VCV, of Florence, Kentucky, as he completes the 2 meter competition for a gold medal. He has been competing since age 11. [Marvin Johnston, KE6HTS, photo] the provided map. Classic competitions on 2 meters and 80 meters take place on separate days, with up to five hidden transmitters deployed in an area of about 1000 acres. Each transmitter is on the air for 60 seconds at a time in rotating sequence. There are also two new events, both on 80 meters. The sprint is a shortened course with 10 transmitters and a faster transmitter cycle. Foxoring is a combination of orienteering and foxhunting, in which competitors receive maps marked with the approximate locations of 1 dozen very low power transmitters to find. Competitors for all events are divided into age categories , six for men, five for women, with medals awarded to the winners in each category. The top US finishers in each age/gender category were Leszek Lechowicz, NI1L (M40, 2 meters, 80 meters, sprint, foxor); Nicolai Mejevoi (M50, 2 meters, 80 meters, sprint, foxor); Bill Noyce, AB1AV (M60 sprint); Bob Cooley, KF6VSE (M70, 2 meters, 80 meters, sprint); Alla Mezhevaya (W35, 2 meters, sprint); Addison Bosley, KJ4VCV (M21, 2 meters, 80 meters, foxor); Joseph Huberman, K5JGH (M60, 2 meters, 80 meters, foxor); Jen Harker, W5JEN (W35, 80 meters, foxor), and Marji Garrett, KJ4ZKC (W50, 80 meters). Complete results of all championship events are available online on the Homing In website. Read more . /-- //Joe Moell/ /, K0OV, ARRL Amateur Radio Direction Finding Coordinator/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL In the early 1950s, television interference -- TVI -- became a major problem for hams. The ARRL took two important steps toward educating hams /and/ the public about TVI, and how TVI was often the fault of the TV set, not the ham. Talk about a hard sell! Lew McCoy, W1ICP, went on the road with a live TVI-education show, complete with "fixed" and "unfixed" TV sets, ham transmitters, etc. His show was a success but it couldn't reach everyone. The ARRL also scripted and supplied photographs for a 15-minute slide presentation that could be shown on local TV stations or to live audiences. As more hams started using 50 MHz, TVI problems frequently showed up there, especially in areas that had a TV station on channel 2, which was immediately above 6 meters. The League also began a strong effort to get more hams on 220 MHz, to show the FCC the band was being used and to help fight off other services' efforts to take over the shared band. The CK722 germanium transistor was introduced in late 1952. As more hams became seriously interested in 2 meters for long-haul communication, beams became enormous. Articles and photos in /QST/ showed rotatable arrays with as many as 104 elements. Long-haul 2 meter tests were pursued by W4HHK, W4AO, W2UK, W1HDQ, and others, pushing the 2 meter DX envelope. In 1954, the first successful coast-to-coast message relay on 2 meters occurred. With such efforts underway, it was no surprise that the 1954 ARRL VHF Sweepstakes broke /all/ records. Modern-day DXpeditions started being staged. A notable one was the 1954 effort to put much-wanted Clipperton Island on the air. The FO8AJ DXpedition was organized and executed by W0NWX and a large supporting cast. Multiband tank circuits became quite popular, used in projects such as W1JEQ's three-control, six-band, 500 W transmitter, described in /QST/. New 10 GHz DX records were set and reset by W7JIP and W7OKV, out in the land of tall mountains. The 813 beam-power tube, developed during World War II and available on the surplus market, became a very popular final tube. The popular CK722 germanium transistor showed up in various small projects in /QST/, such as W6CHB's tiny code-practice oscillator. Herbert Hoover Jr, W6ZH, was appointed Undersecretary of State. And, effective June 10, 1954, Novice and Technician license exams would be sent by mail and administered by a qualified local radio amateur, rather than making applicants appear in person./-- Al Brogdon, W1AB/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WARC-79 US Delegate, ARRL Consultant Charles Dorian, W3JPT, SK Charles "Chuck" Dorian, W3JPT, of Issaquah, Washington, died June 20. He was 92. Dorian had a long and distinguished history of support to Amateur Radio and the Amateur-Satellite Service. A veteran member of the Potomac Valley Radio Club (PVRC), Dorian served on the US Amateur Radio FCC Advisory Committee for World Administrative Radio Conference 1979 (WARC-79), in which Amateur Radio gained the so-called "WARC bands" -- 30, 17, and 12 meters. His primary focus, however, was the Amateur-Satellite Service. Dorian and AMSAT's Perry Klein, W3PK, developed the US Amateur-Satellite positions for WARC-79, and Dorian was on the US delegation to the international conference. He also served as a member of the ARRL Long-Range Planning Committee in the 1970s. Charles "Chuck" Dorian, W3JPT. [Courtesy of Charlie Dorian] A Massachusetts native, Dorian was first licensed in 1939 as W1LXO. He graduated from the US Coast Guard Academy with a BS in engineering and completed post-graduate work in communications at the US Naval Academy. Dorian spent 30 years in the US Coast Guard in various communication roles, rising to the rank of captain. During World War II, he served on vessels in the North Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Great Lakes, and in the Pacific. Dorian served from 1964 until 1967 as Chief of Coast Guard Communications, retiring in 1972 as Deputy Director of the Office of Telecommunications for the US Department of Transportation. According to his /Seattle Times/ obituary , Dorian received the US Armed Forces Legion of Merit in 1967 for exceptional meritorious achievement to improve maritime safety via radiocommunications, stressing the benefits of satellites dedicated to maritime emergencies. After retiring from the DOT, he worked for the Communications Satellite Corporation as Director of International Relations, dealing with mobile satellite communications. For more than 20 years, he served on US Department of State delegations to International Telecommunication Union (ITU) conferences in Geneva, and was considered one of the "fathers" of the maritime satellite communication system now in use. Dorian was a past member of the AMSAT Board of Directors and served as the Board's secretary. He was a past president of the Washington, DC, Chapter of QCWA and of the Foundation for Amateur Radio. For 8 years, he served as the ARRL's representative in Washington. Dorian was interred at Arlington National Cemetery. Donations in his memory may be made to the Washington Talking Books Library . The K7RA Solar Update Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: Solar activity has strengthened recently, with average daily sunspot numbers for the 7 days ending June 25 at 72.3, rising 43.3 points to 115.6 for the 7 days ending July 2, then rising 89.5 to an average of 205.1 for the period ending July 9. Average daily solar flux for the 7 days ending on June 25 was 98.8. That rose 30.7 points to 129.5 on July 2, and then by another 64.4 points to 193.9 on July 9. We don't have predictions for daily sunspot numbers, but the predicted average solar flux for the 7 days following July 9 is 157.9, a decline of 36 points from the previous 7 days. Predicted solar flux for the near term is 190, 180, 170, 155, and 140 for July 10-14, 135 for July 15-16, 125, 110 and 105 for July 17-19, 100 for July 20-21, 95 for July 22-23, then 100, 110, 125 and 135 for July 24-27, respectively. Solar flux then peaks at 205 on August 3-5, and declines to 95 on August 18-19, before rising again in the following days. Predicted planetary A index is 7 for July 10-11, 8 for July 12-13, then 7 and 12 for July 14-15, 8 for July 16-17, 5 for July 18-25, and 8 on July 26. This weekly "Solar Update" in /The ARRL Letter/ is a preview of the "Propagation Bulletin" issued each Friday. The latest bulletin and an archive of past propagation bulletins is on the ARRL website. In tomorrow's bulletin look for an updated forecast and reports from readers. Send me /your/ reports and observations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Just Ahead in Radiosport * July 11 -- NS Weekly Sprint (CW) * July 11 -- FISTS Summer Sprint (CW) * *July 12-13 -- IARU HF World Championship/WRTC-2014 (CW, SSB)* * July 12-13 -- Straight Key Weekend Sprintathon (CW) * July 13 -- CQC Great Colorado Gold Rush (CW) * July 17 -- NAQCC Monthly QRP Sprint (CW) * July 19 -- Feld-Hell High Road Sprint * July 19-20 -- 144 MHz Digital EME Championship * July 19-20 -- DMC RTTY Contest * July 19-20 -- CQ World Wide VHF Contest * *July 19-20 -- North American QSO Party RTTY* * July 20 -- RSBG Low Power Contest (CW) * July 21 -- Run For the Bacon See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events * *July 17-19 --****ARRL National Centennial Convention* *, Hartford, Connecticut* * July 18-19 -- Arizona State Convention , Williams, Arizona * July 18-20 -- Montana State Convention , East Glacier, Montana * July 24-27 -- Central States VHF Society Conference , Austin, Texas * July 25-26 -- Oklahoma State Convention , Oklahoma City, Oklahoma * August 1-2 --Texas State Convention , Austin, Texas * August 7-9 -- Young Ladies Radio League Convention , Vancouver, Washington * August 8-10 -- Rocky Mountain Division Convention , Albuquerque, New Mexico * *August 16-17 -- **Southeastern Division Convention,* *Regional ARRL Centennial Event, Huntsville, Alabama* * August 17 -- Kansas State Convention , Salina, Kansas * August 23 -- West Virginia State Convention , Weston, West Virginia * August 23-24 -- JARL Ham Fair , Tokyo, Japan * August 24 -- Western Pennsylvania Section Convention , New Kensington, Pennsylvania * August 30-31 -- North Carolina State Convention (Shelby Hamfest), Shelby, North Carolina * September 5-7 -- ARRL-TAPR Digital Communications Conference (Austin, Texas) * September 6 -- Kentucky State Convention (Shepherdsville, Kentucky) * September 6 -- Virginia Section Convention (Virginia Beach, Virginia) * September 12-14 -- Southwestern Division Convention (San Diego, California) * September 19-20 -- W9DXCC Convention (Schaumburg, Illinois) Find conventions and hamfests in your area . * ------------------------------------------------------------------------ * **** *ARRL *-- *Your One-Stop Resource for * *Amateur Radio News and Information * * Join or Renew Today! ARRL membership includes /QST/ , Amateur Radio's most popular and informative journal, delivered to your mailbox each month. * Listen to /ARRL Audio News/ , available every Friday. Subscribe to... * /NCJ / /-- National Contest Journal/ . Published bi-monthly, features articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint and QSO Parties. * /QEX/ *//*/-- A Forum for Communications Experimenters/ . Published bi-monthly, features technical articles, construction projects, columns and other items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals. Free of charge to ARRL members... * Subscribe to the /ARES E-Letter/ (monthly public service and emergency communications news), the /ARRL Contest Update/ (bi-weekly contest newsletter), Division and Section news alerts -- and much more! Find us on Facebook . Follow us on Twitter . Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 50 times each year. ARRL members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data Page as described at http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/. Copyright ? 2014 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved www.arrl.org From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sat Jul 12 17:47:31 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 17:47:31 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] WRTC Live Scoreboard Message-ID: <53C1ACF3.8090801@bellsouth.net> http://sb.wrtc2014.org/ From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sun Jul 13 07:52:25 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 07:52:25 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Peak of Solar Cycle 24? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <53C272F9.6070409@bellsouth.net> From Tony N2MFT From Another Board: Solar Cycle Question /comments Fri Jul 11, 2014 11:40 am (PDT) . Posted by: "Forest (Gene) Summers" kyn4fz Howard, Looks very probable that we are at the peak of 24 based on the conditions. HF bands are noisy and unstable. Gene ----- Original Message ----- Sent: Friday, July 11, 2014 1:32:17 PM Subject: Solar Cycle Question /comments I went through 1999 -2001 cycle. The 6 meter band is acting like 1999 -2001 , My knowledge and am no expert says we are peaking now in the cycle that was supposed to have peaked last year. For 6 week its been dx on 6 from morning till midnight just like the cycle before. I am interested in comments Food for thought , Thanks Howard Howard L. Runions W4HLR email hireddux at yahoo.com From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sat Jul 19 23:02:04 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 23:02:04 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] [The Daily DX] NC1L - Bill Moore References: Message-ID: <38482E82-D5B5-4C8E-994D-029DA495306A@bellsouth.net> > The following news is from K5FUV, Bill Kennamer. Feel free to pass this on to your DX friends and clubs. > > "DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, was seriously injured in an automobile accident about two weeks ago. His neck was broken, leaving him paralyzed from his upper body down, with limited movement of his arms. Recovery will be difficult and slow, and is not expected to be total. Bill would like to hear from his friends. He is currently in the Mount Sinai Rehab Hospital in Hartford, but cards and well wishes should be sent to 92 Reservoir Rd, Newington, CT 06111?. > > Friday K5FUV, Bill Kennamer, and I visited Bill at the rehab hospital. We spent a few minutes with NC1L, Bill, who was extremely glad to see us. I gave him one of the ARRL Centennial Convention coins and told him how successful the event was going. He was very happy to hear the news and the greetings from his friends. Bill?s sister-in-law Gina was there in the hospital and asked us to tell Bill?s friends that he would love to hear from them. So if possible let?s all show Bill our love and concern for our dear friend by sending him our QSL with good wishes. I know Bill and the family would greatly appreciate your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. > > Bill Moore > 92 Reservoir Road > Newington, CT 06111 > > 73 > Bernie, W3UR/1 > Hartford, CT > > Bernie McClenny, W3UR > Editor of The Daily DX, The Weekly DX and How's DX? > Two week trial - http://www.dailydx.com/trial.html > https://twitter.com/dailydx > 410-489-6518 > > > _______________________________________________ > DailyDX mailing list > DailyDX at kkn.net > http://www.kkn.net/mailman/listinfo/dailydx From bmarx at bellsouth.net Mon Jul 21 08:45:27 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 08:45:27 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] FACEBOOK SAYS OK TO HAM CALLS AS NAME Message-ID: <376751B3-AA19-427E-AA49-DF2F81D55AB5@bellsouth.net> From CWops list: July 20, 2014 2:55 PM To: PVRC Reflector Subject: Re: [PVRC] FACEBOOK SAYS OK TO HAM CALLS AS NAME On Fri, Jul 18, 2014 at 9:49 AM, Pat wrote: > HAM HAPPENINGS: FACEBOOK SAYS OK TO HAM CALLS AS ALTERNATE NAME > > Officially licensed amateur radio operators may now use their call > sign as their alternate name, or nickname, on their individual Facebook profiles. > This thanks to Richard Bobbitt, NW7OR, who recently organized a > petition drive on the social media site in the hope of achieving this goal. > > It turned out that Jeff Ferland, KB1PNB, who works at the Facebook > Headquarters in Menlo Park, California found the petition on an > amateur radio Facebook Group to which he belongs. After doing a bit of > research Ferland wrote the necessary code, then got it reviewed and approved. > > To add your call Bobitt says to go to go to ?Settings?, then click on > ?Edit Your Name.? In the middle of the page you will see the words > ?Alternate Name.? That?s where you can add your callsign. > > Bobbitt says that the petition was originally the idea of Richard > Allcorn, KW7PTL, without whom, this may not have happened so easily and quickly. > Over 1000 hams on Facebook signed the petition within the first week > or so after it was posted on the various Facebook ham radio pages. > (NW7OR From wa4aw at juno.com Mon Jul 28 02:47:24 2014 From: wa4aw at juno.com (wa4aw) Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 06:47:24 GMT Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] QCWA Chapter 111 MEETING INVITATION Message-ID: <20140728.024724.7772.0@webmail06.vgs.untd.com> QCWA Palm Beach Chapter # 111 Hello, This is friendly reminder that our Palm Beach Chapter meeting is the last Tuesday of each month. We will be meeting at the Golden Corral Buffet, 10100 Fox Trail Rd., on the service road behind the SW corner of Okeechobee Blvd. and State Road 7 in Royal Palm Beach at 11:30 AM. This month our meeting date is July 29th. Hope you can join us for fellowship, rag chews & information. I encourage everyone who has not been to the Golden Corral to call for info on either the Palms West repeater 147.045 or the AREC repeater on 146.670. Both repeaters have a 110.9 PL. Everyone is welcome to join us. We meet in the private dining room in the back of the restaurant. QCWA Chapter 111 webpage link: www.qcwa.org/chapter111.htm Chapter YahooGroup website: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/qcwa111 We have created a Yahoo Groups mailing list for our Chapter members. Meeting announcements, QCWA activities& QCWA HQ info can be quickly disseminated to the Chapter membership. Let me know if you want to beadded to the Chapter mailing list. 73, Jeff WA4AW, Secretary QCWAQuarter Century Wireless AssociationJeff Beals, WA4AWNational Director &QCWA Historian QCWA Palm Beach Chapter 111Secretary-TreasurerPO Box 1584Loxahatchee, FL 33470-1584561-252-6707 wa4aw at qcwa.org www.qcwa.org ____________________________________________________________ The #1 Worst Carb Ever? Click to Learn #1 Carb that Kills Your Blood Sugar (Don't Eat This!) http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/53d5f24c28a3b724b423fst02vuc