From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Oct 1 08:17:04 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 08:17:04 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Latest Sherwood Receiver Data Message-ID: <542BF0C0.8030207@bellsouth.net> Flex 6700 and other new receivers added. http://www.sherweng.com/table.html Bill W2CQ From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Oct 1 16:20:44 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 16:20:44 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] ARLB019 ARRL Takes Issue with NTIA's WRC-15 Proposal for 5 MHz In-Reply-To: <20141001201233.9627126CE0B@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20141001201233.9627126CE0B@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <542C621C.50606@bellsouth.net> SB QST @ ARL $ARLB019 ARLB019 ARRL Takes Issue with NTIA's WRC-15 Proposal for 5 MHz ZCZC AG19 QST de W1AW ARRL Bulletin 19 ARLB019 >From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT October 1, 2014 To all radio amateurs SB QST ARL ARLB019 ARLB019 ARRL Takes Issue with NTIA's WRC-15 Proposal for 5 MHz The ARRL is taking issue with the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) stance of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) with respect to an upgraded 60 meter Amateur Radio allocation. In response to WRC-15 agenda item 1.4, the NTIA has called for no change at 5250-5450 kHz. The League said in comments filed September 24 in IB Docket 04-286 that while it concurs with the NTIA's view regarding 5250 to 5275 kHz - allocated to the radiolocation service for oceanographic applications at WRC-12 - the rest of the agency's proposal is "unsupportable in light of actual domestic and international practice and contains assertions of incompatibility that are demonstrably not correct." The US has authorized Amateur Radio secondary operation on five discrete channels in the 5275-5450 kHz range for more than a decade, the ARRL pointed out, with no instances of unresolved interference to primary users. "Against this backdrop, the stated reason for the no-change proposal - that '[e]xperience has shown that sharing is not possible between the Amateur Service and the fixed and mobile service' - fails the straight-face test," the ARRL said in its comments. The NTIA's position is at odds with the proposal for agenda item 1.4 previously adopted by the FCC's WRC-15 Advisory Committee (WAC). In January, the WAC recommended a secondary allocation to the Amateur Radio Service from 5275-5450 kHz, and the FCC indicated in a subsequent Public Notice that it could generally support this recommendation. The League called the NTIA's position "particularly puzzling" given the position of federal agencies, for which the NTIA manages spectrum, to allow what the ARRL called, "a more disruptive service (radiolocation) in the identical frequency range under consideration here less than three years ago." "Neither NTIA nor its constituent federal agencies have credibly or persuasively articulated why fixed and mobile systems in the 5250-5450 kHz range can withstand the demonstrated potential for interference from automated, wideband, HF oceanographic radars, but cannot withstand operation by trained, licensed operators using smaller bandwidths, actually monitoring the spectrum to be used before and during a transmission, and with the capability to shift frequency immediately to avoid incidents of interference with a primary service," the ARRL commented. The League asserted that the Amateur Service deserves "the same treatment" that NTIA proposed for HF radiolocation less than 3 years ago. "Proponents of a different treatment, particularly a channelized treatment or a no-change approach, have still not presented a compelling distinction between amateur operation and radiolocation that would justify a departure from the general policy followed by the United States at WRC-12," the ARRL concluded. NNNN /EX From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Oct 2 13:29:04 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 13:29:04 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] 80 Scholarships Available to Amateurs In-Reply-To: <20141002120817.E9E9726A66@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20141002120817.E9E9726A66@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <542D8B60.7060503@bellsouth.net> Starting October 1, The ARRL Foundation will begin accepting scholarship applications from eligible young radio amateurs pursuing post-secondary education. Individuals and clubs support many of the 80 scholarships, ranging from $500 to $5,000, that are awarded annually. In addition, one applicant may be selected to receive the prestigious William R. Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship, a ?gap? scholarship that assists with the cost of college throughout four academic years to earn a bachelor?s degree in a business, computer, medical, nursing, engineering, or science-related field. Applicants for all scholarships must be active radio amateurs and must complete and submit the online application, which will be available on October 1. For more information: http://www.arrl.org/news/the-arrl-foundation-invites-scholarship-applications-for-2015-16-academic-year 73 de Doug Rehman, K4AC Director & Mike Lee, AA6ML Vice Director -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARRL Southeastern Division Director: Doug Rehman, K4AC k4ac at arrl.org From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Oct 2 13:56:34 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 13:56:34 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The Proximity Fuse - Secret Weapon of World War 2 Message-ID: <542D91D2.9030105@bellsouth.net> Small Radio's at work in WW ll https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-D592VR4RU From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Oct 2 14:00:57 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 14:00:57 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] FiFi Alert In-Reply-To: <0A2D405A-4A50-4FF7-9023-034EBD2173B1@trackersoft.com> References: <0A2D405A-4A50-4FF7-9023-034EBD2173B1@trackersoft.com> Message-ID: <542D92D9.4020805@bellsouth.net> From the Collins List: According to Rod Blocksome... The guys have set up the B-29 radio station outside the plane at the WarBird show at the Dallas Executive Airport (formerly Redbird). I've run a couple of tests with them on 20m and 40m to make sure they are getting out. Today is "Press" day and tomorrow the show opens to the public. It a Fri. Sat. & Sun. event. Their call is KM4RC and typical frequencies are 7295 and 14263 all on AM - but these could vary due to other QSO's. They are using the ART-13 with dynamotor PS, BC-348 receiver, antenna tuner, to a Zepp antenna at about 35-feet. Great chance to work FiFi!!! Scott Kerr President TrackerSoft, LP skerr at trackersoft.com 214-991-2850 Tech Support 214-237-7001 From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Oct 2 14:50:05 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 14:50:05 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The ARRL Letter for October 2, 2014 In-Reply-To: <20141002184247.8F19A27C6EB@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20141002184247.8F19A27C6EB@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <542D9E5D.2050104@bellsouth.net> Preview If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2014-10-02 The ARRL Letter October 2, 2014 Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME ARRL Home Page /ARRL Letter/ Archive Audio News Ad * ARRL Again Asks FCC to Elevate Amateur Service to Primary on 2300-2305 MHz <#toc01> * ARRL Takes Issue with NTIA's WRC-15 Proposal for 5 MHz <#toc02> * The ARRL Foundation Invites Scholarship Applications for 2015-16 Academic Year <#toc03> * ARRL Executive Committee to Meet October 4 <#toc04> * Actor Tim Allen Gets His Ham Ticket For Real <#toc05> * W1AW Centennial Operations Will Be in Missouri and Virginia Starting October 8 (UTC) <#toc06> * ITU Secretary General Extends Greetings to IARU Region 1 Delegates <#toc07> * Ham Radio Saves the Day in the Yukon <#toc08> * RSGB Outlines "New" Islands on the Air (IOTA) Vision, Seeks Partnership <#toc09> * FT4TA DXpedition Team Aims to Take Tromelin Off the Top 10 Most-Wanted Lists <#toc10> * Past Sacramento Valley SCM, Santa Clara Valley SM, Pacific Vice Director Jettie B. Hill, W6RFF, SK <#toc11> * Marte Wessel, K0EPE, and Pete Wessel, W0CM, SK <#toc12> * A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL <#toc13> * The K7RA Solar Update <#toc14> * Just Ahead in Radiosport <#toc15> * Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events <#toc16> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ARRL Website To Be Offline on October 3 Starting at 2000 UTC The ARRL website is scheduled to be offline on Friday, October 3, starting at 2000 UTC. The length of the outage could run for several hours and possibly into Saturday, October 4. The ARRL IT Department will be performing maintenance in the process of switching the site to a new server. A "Down for Maintenance" message will appear for the duration of the outage whenever someone attempts to access www.arrl.org . Logbook of The World will remain accessible during the outage. All e-mail functionality will remain online -- /only/ the website will be down for testing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ARRL Again Asks FCC to Elevate Amateur Service to Primary on 2300-2305 MHz In comments filed in response to an AT&T Mobility /Petition for Rule Making/ seeking a new air-to-ground communications system on 2.3 GHz Wireless Communications Service (WCS) spectrum, the ARRL has once again asked the FCC to elevate the Amateur Service allocation at 2300 to 2305 MHz from secondary to primary. The /Petition/ (RM-11731 ) asked the Commission to authorize an LTE-based in-flight connectivity service in the WCS "C" and "D" blocks (2305-2315 MHz and 2350-2360 MHz, respectively) for airlines and airline passengers. AT&T has asserted that restrictions on out-of-band emission and power limits to protect adjacent-band users make the use of the C and D blocks problematic. The wireless provider asked the FCC for rule changes to permit deployment of its service "using currently fallow spectrum" while also "preserving adequate interference protection to users of adjacent bands." "Notwithstanding this broad and nebulous claim, there is no showing anywhere in the four corners of the /Petition/ that the proposed rule changes would permit /any/ continued Amateur Radio operations on a secondary basis in the shared A block (2305-2310 MHz)," the ARRL commented on September 22. More to the point, the League said, there is no showing in the /Petition/ that Amateur Radio operations in the adjacent 2300-2350 MHz band would be protected from increased out-of-band emissions, if the FCC were to implement the changes requested. The League asserted in its comments that the FCC has, to date, "failed to protect Amateur Radio operations at 2300-2305 MHz from WCS out-of-band emissions." The ARRL said the band is "regularly and substantially utilized by radio amateurs" for weak-signal, long-distance communication and, only by circumstances -- a lack of a primary occupant -- has it been able to enjoy that segment as a /de facto/ primary user. "The Commission's rules are quite clear that WCS licensees enjoy no entitlement to disrupt adjacent-band radio service operations," the ARRL commented. But, the League pointed out, previous FCC actions to expand mobile broadband devices left 2300-2305 MHz vulnerable to increased out-of-band interference that would be difficult or impossible to mitigate. The ARRL said amateur stations operating in the 2300-2305 MHz band would be unable to avoid interference from AT&T Mobility's proposed system, and that the FCC has refused to clarify the obligation of WCS mobile providers to avoid interference to Amateur Radio operations there. The ARRL objected to what it called the FCC's "practice of making allocation decisions which place incompatible uses in close proximity to amateur stations and then place on the amateur licensees the burden of avoiding the interference." Read more . ARRL Takes Issue with NTIA's WRC-15 Proposal for 5 MHz The ARRL is taking issue with the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) stance of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA ) with respect to an upgraded 60 meter Amateur Radio allocation. In response to WRC-15 agenda item 1.4, the NTIA has called for no change at 5250-5450 kHz. The League said in comments filed September 24 in IB Docket 04-286 that while it concurs with the NTIA's view regarding 5250 to 5275 kHz -- allocated to the radiolocation service for oceanographic applications at WRC-12 -- the rest of the agency's proposal is "unsupportable in light of actual domestic and international practice and contains assertions of incompatibility that are demonstrably not correct." The US has authorized Amateur Radio secondary operation on five discrete channels in the 5275-5450 kHz range for more than a decade, the ARRL pointed out, with no instances of unresolved interference to primary users. "Against this backdrop, the stated reason for the no-change proposal -- that '[e]xperience has shown that sharing is not possible between the Amateur Service and the fixed and mobile service' -- fails the straight-face test," the ARRL said in its comments. The NTIA's position is at odds with the proposal for agenda item 1.4 previously adopted by the FCC's WRC-15 Advisory Committee (WAC). In January, the WAC recommended a secondary allocation to the Amateur Radio Service from 5275-5450 kHz, and the FCC indicated in a subsequent /Public Notice/ that it could generally support this recommendation. The League called the NTIA's position "particularly puzzling" given the position of federal agencies, for which the NTIA manages spectrum, to allow what the ARRL called, "/a more disruptive service/ (radiolocation) in the /identical/ frequency range under consideration here /less than three years ago/." "Neither NTIA nor its constituent federal agencies have credibly or persuasively articulated why fixed and mobile systems in the 5250-5450 kHz range can withstand the demonstrated potential for interference from automated, wideband, HF oceanographic radars, but cannot withstand operation by trained, licensed operators using smaller bandwidths, actually monitoring the spectrum to be used before and during a transmission, and with the capability to shift frequency immediately to avoid incidents of interference with a primary service," the ARRL commented. The League asserted that the Amateur Service deserves "the same treatment" that NTIA proposed for HF radiolocation less than 3 years ago. "Proponents of a different treatment, particularly a channelized treatment or a no-change approach, have still not presented a compelling distinction between amateur operation and radiolocation that would justify a departure from the general policy followed by the United States at WRC-12," the ARRL concluded. The ARRL Foundation Invites Scholarship Applications for 2015-16 Academic Year The ARRL Foundation has begun accepting scholarship applications from eligible young radio amateurs pursuing post-secondary education. Individuals and clubs support many of the 80 scholarships , ranging from $500 to $5000, that are awarded annually. In addition, one applicant may be selected to receive the prestigious William R. Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship , a "gap" scholarship that assists with the cost of college throughout four academic years to earn a bachelor's degree in a business, computer, medical, nursing, engineering, or science-related field. Applicants for all scholarships must be active radio amateurs and must complete and submit the online application . "This is a tremendous opportunity for students graduating from high school or currently enrolled in college to apply for a monetary award to help with their educational expenses," says ARRL Foundation Secretary and ARRL Development Manager Lauren Clarke, KB1YDD. "All ARRL Foundation scholarships are made possible by individuals or clubs. With these awards, donors hope to encourage young people to be active in Amateur Radio and to earn their degrees." For 2014, the Foundation awarded 79 annual scholarships through 58 funds to young Amateur Radio operators, valued at $106,250. In addition, the Foundation Board selected 17-year-old Padraig Lysandrou, KC9UUS, of Bloomington, Indiana, as the 2014 recipient of the Goldfarb award. This fall, Padraig is attending Cornell University School of Applied & Engineering Physics. Students planning to apply for 2015 awards should first carefully review the eligibility requirements and scholarship descriptions . Although only one application per applicant is required, applicants may ask to be considered for as many of the scholarships for which they are eligible (some scholarships have geographic criteria or other requirements ) Check off only the scholarships for which you would like to be considered. In addition to completing the online application, applicants must submit a PDF of their academic transcript from their most recently completed school year. Goldfarb Scholarship applicants also must submit a copy of their completed /Free Application for Federal Student Aid///(/FAFSA/ /). / Applications are due January 31, 2014, by 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Awards winners typically are notified in mid-May by USPS mail and e-mail. Established in 1973 as an independent and separate IRS 501(c)(3) organization, the ARRL Foundation manages grant and scholarship programs to support the Amateur Radio community. All grants and scholarships are funded entirely by the generous contributions of radio amateurs, clubs and friends. Individuals, groups or clubs wishing to establish an ARRL Foundation Scholarship Fund should visit the ARRL Foundation website . For more information about ARRL Foundation scholarships, e-mail the ARRL Foundation or call 860-594-0348. Ad ARRL Executive Committee to Meet October 4 A raft of regulatory-related items will confront the ARRL Executive Committee when it meets Saturday, October 4, in Memphis, Tennessee. On the list are several ongoing FCC proceedings that affect Amateur Radio, as well as international and organizational matters. Among other topics, the EC will mull strategies to improve the FCC's Amateur Radio enforcement program, consider the FCC regulatory fee structure for vanity call signs going forward, and review the status of various petitions that could hinder or limit Amateur Radio access to various portions of the UHF and microwave spectrum. Committee members also will discuss the status of preparations leading up to World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 and will review a proposal to license FEMA stations with distinctive call signs, similar to Military Recreation or club stations. Also up for discussion will be the status of the ARRL's advocacy efforts on behalf of the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2014 (H.R. 4969), which would call 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 -- deed covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs). Further, the EC will consider revisions to its 2009 /Mobile Amateur Radio Operation Policy Statement/ as well as state legislative issues that might affect Amateur Radio mobile operation, such as statutes regulating cell phone use and texting while driving. Among important Amateur Radio proceedings still awaiting FCC action that will come up for discussion are the League's /Petition for Rule Making/ seeking a new allocation at 472-479 kHz and its petition to replace symbol rate limits on data emissions below 28.3 MHz with a 2.8 kHz maximum occupied bandwidth. The EC will consider a request for support from proponents of keeping open the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) facility in Gakona, Alaska. The EC will also approve convention and club affiliation requests and recognize new ARRL Life Members. Actor Tim Allen Gets His Ham Ticket For Real Actor and comedian Tim Allen now not only plays an Amateur Radio operator on television, he /is/ one! Allen got his Technician ticket on September 4, but did not release the news until this week. In his weekly ABC comedy TV show "Last Man Standing," Allen plays Mike Baxter, KA0XTT, and the show, which starts its new season October 3, Newly licensed Tim Allen in his role as Mike Baxter, KA0XTT, on the TV comedy "Last Man Standing." With him is Flynn Morrison, who plays his grandson on the show. The station on the set actually works. [Photo courtesy of John Amodeo, NN6JA] has featured ham radio in some episodes (Allen's TV wife Mandy Baxter is KF0XIE). "Last Man Standing" producer John Amodeo, NN6JA, told ARRL that the agreement with Allen was that "we would not publicize his license until he approved it." Allen subsequently revealed to Tom Medlin, W5KUB, for one of Medlin's webcasts that he had passed his Technician license test but, per Allen's request, did not mention his call sign, Amodeo said. The call sign has since been disclosed elsewhere. "The Amateur Radio operators on the crew of 'Last Man Standing' are delighted that Tim has taken and passed his Technician exam and received his own, real call sign," Amodeo said. "It took more than 3 years to make it happen, and it started with Tim's personal interest in radio technology and his request to make the Mike Baxter character an Amateur Radio operator." The ham shack on the show is a working station. Producer John Amodeo, NN6JA (left), is interviewed on the "Last Man Standing" set by Tom Medlin, W5KUB. [Photo courtesy of John Amodeo, NN6JA] More than 2 dozen members of the "Last Man Standing" crew -- and now Allen, its star -- have been inspired by the show's Amateur Radio component to get licensed. On September 28, the K6H "Hollywood Hamnado" special event station was on the air, with "Last Man Standing" crew members at the helm from the show's set. Amodeo said K6H went very well. "We had about 35 operators and guests on Stage 9 here at CBS Studio Center" he told ARRL. "All enjoyed being on the set of 'Last Man Standing.' The feeling was like a Field Day and a mini Hamvention." Amodeo said that all six K6H stations had "continuous contacts from start to finish." Most of the K6H event and several interview segments, including one with the VEs who administered Allen's test, have been posted on Medlin's website . Amodeo expressed gratitude to the ARRL for its "continued support," starting with the assistance of former ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, in the creation of the KA0XTT call sign and the more recent assistance of ARRL VEC staffers Maria Somma, AB1FM, and Amanda Grimaldi, KB1VUV. "We hope Tim will find Amateur Radio to be an enjoyable and useful hobby for many years to come," he added. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ W1AW Centennial Operations Will Be in Missouri and Virginia Starting October 8 (UTC) The ARRL Centennial W1AW portable operations taking place throughout 2014 from each of the 50 states and now in Alaska, California, and the District of Columbia, will transition at 0000 UTC on Wednesday, October 8 (the evening of October 7 in US time zones), to Missouri (W1AW/0) and Virginia (W1AW/4). W1AW has visited each of the 50 states for at least 1 week so far during 2014, and by year's end W1AW will have been on the air from every state at least twice. 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. 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. Participants must work W1AW/1 in Connecticut.) A W1AW WAS certificate and plaque will be available. An ARRL Centennial QSO Party leader board shows participants 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. ITU Secretary General Extends Greetings to IARU Region 1 Delegates In a video , International Telecommunication Union (ITU ) Secretary General Hamadoun Tour?, HB9EHT, extended his wishes for "every success" to International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 delegates during their Regional Conference September 21-26 in Albena, Bulgaria. In the nearly 4-minute greeting, Tour? said he appreciated the work of the IARU and for its support of ITU Headquarters station 4U1ITU. "I can assure you that IARU is a valuable member of the ITU family, and this relationship will be nurtured in the years to come," said Tour?, who called Amateur Radio is "a very important public service." ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Toure, HB9EHT. Tour? said that the ITU was donating an Icom IC-765 transceiver to IARU Region 1. "I am sure this transceiver will find a good use in the IARU Region 1 member societies," he said. Amateur Radio, Tour? continued, is "a means of technical self-training for young people" as well as a national resource, "particularly in developing countries, and even provides support and relief in the event of national disasters." Next year, the ITU will celebrate its 150th anniversary, and Tour? said that the ITU club station will identify as 4U0ITU to mark the occasion. He invited the Region 1 delegates to join the World Radio Day celebration next February 13, the anniversary of the first broadcast by UN Radio in 1948. "I assure you that my Amateur Radio hobby is very dear to me," concluded Tour?, a native of Mali who assumed the Secretary General's post in 2007. "I look forward to meeting with you, personally or on the Amateur Radio bands. I wish you every success in your hobby and activity. Thank you for your support to ITU. 73." Ad Ham Radio Saves the Day in the Yukon According to a Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) report , Amateur Radio bridged the gap recently for members of a search-and-rescue team attempting to locate a missing teenager in Canada's Yukon Territory. SAR team member Terry Hauff, VY1MAP, was unable to contact the team's headquarters in Whitehorse during the September 21 activation. He was out of cell phone range, and the satellite phone the team had was not working. VY1MAP was, however, able to reach a 2 meter repeater from his mobile station. Hauff reached out to Ray Fugard, VY1RF, and Ron McFadyen, VY1RM, on the 146.88 MHz repeater in Whitehorse, and they were able to relay a report on the search status from the SAR command center some 35 km north of Whitehorse at Lake Laberge. The missing teen was eventually located unharmed. According to the RAC report, this marked the second time in as many months that Amateur Radio and Yukon Amateur Radio Association members and repeater infrastructure had proved invaluable in an emergency. Vincent Charron, VE3XU, RAC's Director of Communications, commented, "Whether it's a natural disaster, major weather event, planned community event, or a missing person search, we at RAC receive numerous reports of Amateur Radio interventions when traditional communication systems fail. Ham radio is most certainly still relevant and provides a crucial communications back-up option, often in challenging/dire situations."/-- Thanks to Radio Amateurs of Canada via Mark Bowers, VY1MAB/ RSGB Outlines "New" Islands on the Air (IOTA) Vision, Seeks Partnership Changes are in store for the Radio Society of Great Britain's popular Islands on the Air (IOTA ) program, as the RSGB repositions itself to assume a less-direct role in the operating award program's management and administration going forward. The "New IOTA" will embrace the program's international scope and likely include some online means of confirming IOTA contacts and claiming contact credits. For the time being, however, everything will remain as it is. This past July, IOTA celebrated its 50th anniversary as "a premier DX program" under the guidance of the RSGB and IOTA Manager, Roger Balister, G3KMA. The program boasts some 2500 active island chasers and another 15,000 or so casual participants. In September the RSGB announced that it had asked IOTA management to enlist a group or organization from within the IOTA community to take the program into its next 50 years. "The main focus will be on the development of online island credit submission (paperless QSLing) as a new feature of the programme," Balister explained in a September 27 post on the IOTA website. "The plan is then for this group to run IOTA in partnership with the RSGB. In the meantime no immediate policy, management or personnel changes are planned." The RSGB announcement from President John Gould, G3WKL, said that a review of the program identified three primary issues. These include the program's current heavy reliance on a few key people, the need for modern, robust IT support that "will include online island credit submission akin to LoTW," and a requirement for a more friendly and accessible website. "The review accepted without question that all island and participant databases should be preserved and that any changes should be backwards-compatible," Gould's announcement said. "In addition, it was important to seek ways to rejuvenate and ensure the sustainability of the program. This vision we loosely called 'New IOTA.'" Gould explained that the RSGB is seeking a "partnership rather than a top-down approach," and that the RSGB Board has agreed that the IOTA team be invited to establish a group to develop and implement the "New IOTA" concept, with the RSGB providing seed money and "other appropriate support." "This approach acknowledges that the strength of the program lies with its national and international participants whom, we are assured, have the motivation, skills and enthusiasm to develop the program and to promote it to its full potential," Gould continued. "This way forward has the full support of the IOTA team and has been welcomed by the wider IOTA community both at home and abroad. " According to Gould's announcement, research and study to develop a plan for the "New IOTA" will take place over the next 9 months. Read more . FT4TA DXpedition Team Aims to Take Tromelin Off the Top 10 Most-Wanted Lists The FT4TA DXpedition to Tromelin Island is in its final stages of preparation, and in less than 1 month the six-man team will depart for the small French possession in the Indian Ocean. Operation is scheduled to commence on October 30 and continue until November 10. The DXpedition is the recipient of an ARRL Colvin Award grant. "I and about 10,000 of your 'best friends' will be tuned up and listening for you," Warren Croke, NW4C, quipped on the Tromelin2014 Facebook page. "Be safe and have fun." The FT4TA DXpedition said its operation is a chance to get Tromelin Island off the Top 10 most-wanted lists. Right now, it's number 8 (mixed) on the ClubLog DXCC Most Wanted List . Located some 280 miles east of Madagascar, Tromelin has not been activated on Amateur Radio since 2000, when a four-person team logged some 50,000 contacts using the somewhat unwieldy call sign of FR/F6KDF/T. No one has been authorized to operate from the island since. Tromelin Island is administered as part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (abbreviated in French as "TAAF"). The DXpedition has announced plans to be active on 160 through 10 meters on CW, SSB, and RTTY. "Openings toward the USA and Japan are short," the DXpedition has advised. "We will do our utmost to give this entity to worldwide deserving hams while openings last." The DXpedition has said that its operators will take into consideration information from their pilot stations regarding propagation and feedback from the Amateur Radio Community. One of the FT4TA team members waves good-bye in mid-June to a truck transporting the ham gear bound for Marseilles. From there it shipped to Reunion Island. [Photo courtesy of FT4TA DXpedition] Operators are expected to concentrate on "the higher-volume bands," but will give a second priority to the low bands. Logs will be updated daily to ClubLog via a satellite connection, but there will be no leader board. An as-yet-unreleased postage stamp commemorating the 60th anniversary of the first Tromelin Island Amateur Radio operation will be applied to all direct, OQRS, or donor-requested QSL cards. In June, the FT4TA team shipped three boxes of gear to R?union Island, and the DXpedition team members will fly between there and Tromelin. Read more . Past Sacramento Valley SCM, Santa Clara Valley SM, Pacific Vice Director Jettie B. Hill, W6RFF, SK Long-time ARRL Field Organization volunteer Jettie B. Hill, W6RFF, of Roseville, California, died September 21. He was 93. An ARRL Life Member, Hill served as ARRL Santa Clara Valley Section Communications Manager (later "Section Manager") from 1978 until 1982. He was the ARRL Pacific Division Vice Director in 1982 and 1983. Following his retirement in 1984, he relocated to Roseville and subsequently served as Sacramento Valley Section Manager from 1989 until 2000 and again from 2002 until 2006. Jettie Hill, W6RFF. First licensed in 1938 in Eureka, California, Hill moved to the San Francisco Bay area after graduating from high school. He served in the US Army as a radiotelegraph operator at the Presidio during World War II. Subsequently he served in the US Navy (1944-1946 and 1950-1951). Hill graduated from San Jose State University and during his career was employed by United Airlines, Itek, Stanford Research Institute, Illumitronic Engineering, National Semiconductor and other firms. He was a member of the Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club. A serious DXer and CW operator, he was on the DXCC Honor Roll with 340 DXCC entities confirmed. He also had earned WAZ and 7-Band DXCC. Ad Marte Wessel, K0EPE, and Pete Wessel, W0CM, SK A well-known Kansas Amateur Radio couple has passed on. Martha "Marte" Wessel, K0EPE, of Liberal, Kansas, died September 23. She was 89. Her husband Walter "Pete" Wessel, W0CM, died 6 days later on September 29 at age 101. Both were ARRL members. "Liberal has lost a YL legend and a lowband DX veteran," said ARRL Honorary Vice President Bruce Frahm, K0BJ, referring to the couple. Marte Wessel was on the DXCC Honor Roll. She oversaw the annual scholarship drive for the Young Ladies Radio League (YLRL ), to which she belonged for 55 years and served on the President's Advisory Committee. The scholarship campaign she headed raised nearly $4600 this year. Marte Wessel, K0EPE. "Martha was one of the cornerstones of the YLRL and of the Colorado-YLs, of which she was our last charter member," the YLRL website said in announcing her passing. An Ohio native, Marte Wessel belonged to the Ohio Ladies Amateur Radio Club (Buckeye Belles), the Quarter Century Wireless Association, Young Ladies International Single Sideband System, and the Quarter Century Wireless Women. She also was an avid bowler, a Red Cross "Grey Lady" volunteer, and a Camp Fire Girls leader. The YLRL has invited donations in memory of Marte Wessel to its scholarship fund to Linda Hynan, AC5QQ, 1312 Western Ridge Dr, Waco TX 76712. Pete Wessel, W0CM, a Nebraska native, was well-known as a low-band DXer and also was on the DXCC Honor Roll. A US Navy veteran, he was licensed in 1928 as 9EYE, and subsequently held W9EYE, W9JYW, and W0LYW. In addition to the League, Pete Wessel belonged to the Old Timers Club and was a Life Member of the Southern Plains Amateur Radio Klub. Pete and Marte Wessel had been married for 69 years. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL At the 1983 Dayton Hamvention, volunteers administered Amateur Radio examinations for the first time, under FCC supervision, demonstrating the feasibility of a volunteer examiner system. The following year, the FCC began designating Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (the first was the Anchorage, Alaska, Amateur Radio Club VEC), including the ARRL VEC, now the largest and most successful. In June 1985, ARRL co-founder Clarence D. Tuska died. He was the last surviving pioneer of early organized Amateur Radio. Tuska was still a teenager and Hiram Percy Maxim was a well-known inventor in his 40s when they first met and eventually formed the League a century ago. Tuska, who went to a career in radio manufacturing and patent law, served as the ARRL's first secretary as well as the first editor of /QST/. The fascinating story of their early association and how it came about was told in the April 1989 issue of /QST /and recounted and updated in the January 2014 /QST/ "It Seems to Us" editorial, "Present at the Creation." ARRL Co-Founder Clarence D. Tuska. On August 15, 1985, the FCC opened the 902 to 928 MHz band for amateur use. Also in 1985, the 10 MHz band (30 meters), one of the so-called "WARC bands," was opened for US amateur use. The band was one of those gained at the World Administrative Radio Conference 1979. Also in August 1985, astronaut Tony England, W0ORE, took along ham radio, including slow-scan TV, on a shuttle /Challenger/ mission. His aim was to get youngsters involved in the space program and ham radio. On March 21, 1987, "Novice enhancement" came to pass, 12 years after the ARRL had first asked the FCC to implement it. Novice privileges were expanded to allow operation on 28 MHz SSB, 220 MHz, and 1270 MHz, as well as operation using RTTY, AMTOR, and packet. This was a giant step toward getting Novices more into the mainstream of Amateur Radio. During Field Day 1987, those new privileges allowed Novices to make contact with the Goodyear blimp /Enterprise/, thanks to KA4KVI, WB4RFC, and N4ORN, who had put a ham station on board. The results of a new ARRL contest were reported photographically in the April 1987 /QST/ -- "The Messy Shack Photo Contest." Winners in each of the nine categories truly outdid themselves, making our hearts swell with admiration and pride at our fellow amateurs' efforts. The August 1987 /QST/ reported an interesting solo hike by VE3HBF, 89 days on foot from the southwestern tip of England to extreme northeastern Scotland. A solo hiker, David was never alone. He had a 2 meter handheld with him, so that other hams could keep him company along the way, and so he could call for help, if needed. As he walked, he visited historic radio sites along the way, and was visited by other hams on several occasions. In 1987, Amateur Radio in the US celebrated the bicentennial of the US Constitution with "200" call signs for club stations, a "We the People" WAS, and other radio events. On January 1, 1988, the Canadian Radio Relay League became fully autonomous, ending its long-held status as a division of the ARRL. /-- Al Brogdon, W1AB/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The K7RA Solar Update Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: We saw a rise in solar activity this week. Last Friday and Sunday, September 26 and 28, the daily sunspot number was 203 and 200, respectively. This level of activity was last seen on July 4-8, when sunspot numbers were 199, 213, 256, 197, and 209. Geomagnetic indicators were stable, but the latest 45-day forecast shows some instability ahead. Average daily sunspot numbers increased from 80.9 to 170.1, and average daily solar flux rose from 128.3 to 168.9. This compares the current September 25 through October 1 reporting week with the earlier September 18-24 period. Significantly, the GOES-15 X-ray background flux has been between C1.0 and C1.3 every day since September 25. We haven't seen this many days in a row of X-ray values at that level since last January. The latest forecast has solar flux at 150 and 145 on October 2-3, 140 on October 4-6, 135 on October 7-8, 140 on October 9-11, then 135, 130, 120, and 135 on October 12-15, then 150, 165, 170, and 165 on October 16-19, 160 on October 20-21, 165 on October 22-23, and 170 on October 24-26. Flux values are expected to rise to 180 on October 28-29, then fall below 120 after November 8. Predicted planetary A index is 8 on October 2-3, then 5 and 8 on October 4-5, 5 on October 6-14, then 8, 15 and 8 on October 15-17, and 5, 8, 10, and 20 on October 18-21, 15 on October 22-24, and 10 on October 25-27. 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 Friday's bulletin look for an updated forecast and reports from readers, including a ham in Japan who runs never more than 0.5 W into antennas hung from his balcony. Send me /your/ reports and observations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Just Ahead in Radiosport * October 3 -- NS Weekly Sprint * October 3-5 -- DX/NA YLRL Anniversary Party * October 4 -- TARA PSK Rumble * October 4-5 -- Oceania DX Phone Contest * October 4-5 -- Russian World Wide Digital Contest * October 4-5 -- Worked All Britain HF Contest * October 4 -- New Jersey QSO Party * October 4-5 -- California QSO Party * October 5 -- RSGB 21/28 MHz Contest * October 6 -- EU Autumn Phone Sprint * October 6 -- OK1WC Memorial Contest * October 7 -- ARS Spartan Sprint * October 8 -- 432 MHz Fall VHF Sprint See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events * October 4 -- Delaware State Convention , Georgetown, Delaware * October 5 -- Iowa Section Convention , West Liberty, Iowa * October 10-11 -- Florida State Convention , Melbourne, Florida * *October 10-12 -- **Pacific Division Convention* *(Pacificon), Regional ARRL Centennial Event, Santa Clara, California* * October 11 -- Iowa State Convention (Sioux City Ham Convention), Sergeant Bluff, Iowa * October 11 -- Pacific Northwest VHF Conference , Seaside, Oregon * October 12 -- Connecticut State Convention , Meriden, Connecticut * October 18 -- Arkansas State Convention , Batesville, Arkansas * October 18 -- Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference , Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin * October 24-25 -- Oklahoma Section Convention , Ardmore, Oklahoma * November 1 -- TechFest 2014 , Lakewood, Colorado * November 1-2 -- Georgia State Convention , Lawrenceville, Georgia * November 8 -- Alabama State Convention , Montgomery, Alabama * November 15-16 -- Indiana State Convention , Fort Wayne, Indiana * December 12-13 -- West Central Florida Section Convention , Plant City, Florida 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 Fri Oct 3 08:13:22 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 08:13:22 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Voice Of Victory (1944) By Hallicrafters In-Reply-To: <542E919F.2070706@bellsouth.net> References: <542E919F.2070706@bellsouth.net> Message-ID: <542E92E2.1030800@bellsouth.net> For those who like old radios... Long but fascinating with great views of old Hallicrafters radios. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jps0_2adUvo From bmarx at bellsouth.net Fri Oct 3 08:42:58 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 08:42:58 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] 2014-17 IRC for sale In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <542E99D2.5000802@bellsouth.net> From Tony N2MFT: mfdxa.n2mft at gmail.com I have been able to purchase the new 2014-17 IRC. Cost is $3.00. If you need me to mail them include a SASE. According to the UPU they should be accepted by the USPS. However, I was unable to find a product number so good luck exchanging them in the USA. From n8pr at bellsouth.net Fri Oct 3 13:42:33 2014 From: n8pr at bellsouth.net (Pete Rimmel N8PR) Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2014 13:42:33 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Fw: Fwd: [SoFlaHams] UHF repeater, coax and antenna free to a good home Message-ID: <4F0DC84BDCAE440D99E2A90BF91FB271@PeteRGateway> -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: [SoFlaHams] UHF repeater, coax and antenna free to a good home Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 11:25:48 -0400 From: John k4ag at bellsouth.net [SoFlaHams] mailto:SoFlaHams at yahoogroups.com Reply-To: SoFlaHams at yahoogroups.com To: SoFlaHams at yahoogroups.com, Repeater-Builder at yahoogroups.com Hi, I have a friend that has offered a UHF GE MastrII repeater free to a good home. The unit is currently on 460.XXX, but can be moved to the Amateur 440 Mhz band, it is in a 6 foot upright cabinet, comes with about 100 feet of 7/8 heliax and a high gain antenna (I think it is a DB product. I believe it also has the duplexer. The coax and antenna are on the ground, no climbing necessary. This is being offered free rather than sending it to the dump. It must be picked up before the end of the month and is located in Perrine in the Miami area. If anyone is interested please email me. John __._,_.___ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sun Oct 5 16:37:21 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 16:37:21 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] A Message from Jeff WA4AW In-Reply-To: <20141005201429.CFBAA2032C@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20141005201429.CFBAA2032C@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <5431AC01.40304@bellsouth.net> Greetings to all, October brings the beginning of the fall season with, hopefully, cooler weather and the return of our seasonal visitors and residents to South Florida. Hamfests and outdoor club activities are more enjoyable during this time of the year, so get out of the shack and support our various SFL club events. Upcoming SFL events include the following: 10/10/2014 | Florida State Convention (Melbourne Hamfest) Location: Melbourne Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Platinum Coast Amateur Radio Society Website: http://www.pcars.org Special Guest: Bob Allison, WB1GCM from the ARRL Lab 10/11/2014 Southeast Florida Traffic Net ( SEFTN ) Annual Picnic Location: Hillsboro Community Park, Deerfield Beach For more info, contact Mike, KM2V at km2v at arrl.net 10/18/2014 SFL ARRL Simulated Emergency Test All are invited to participate. Contact your local EC or DEC Their contact info is listed on the SFL Section website at www.sflarrl.org 11/01/2014 | Link McGarity WV4I Memorial Free Flea Location: West Palm Beach Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Palms West ARC Website: http://www.palmswestradio.org The ARRL Foundation Invites Scholarship Applications for 2015-16 Academic Year Starting October 1, The ARRL Foundation will begin accepting scholarship applications from eligible young radio amateurs pursuing post-secondary education. Individuals and clubs support many of the 80 scholarships, ranging from $500 to $5,000, that are awarded annually. In addition, one applicant may be selected to receive the prestigious William R. Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship, a ?gap? scholarship that assists with the cost of college throughout four academic years to earn a bachelor?s degree in a business, computer, medical, nursing, engineering, or science-related field. Applicants for all scholarships must be active radio amateurs and must complete and submit the online application, which will be available on October 1. For more info, please visit http://www.arrl.org/news/the-arrl-foundation-invites-scholarship-applications-for-2015-16-academic-year List of ?Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2014? Co-Sponsors Swells Before Congressional Recess An intense effort during the few days in September that Congress was in session has resulted in 47 co-sponsors for the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2014 (H.R. 4969). Another half-dozen or so US House Members have indicated that they will sign aboard when Congress returns, something they can do only while Congress is in session. Congress went into recess on September 19. ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, Central Division Director Dick Isely, W9GIG, ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, and ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, visited dozens of congressional offices this month. Elsewhere, other ARRL elected and appointed officials and members from across the US met with members of Congress and with their staffers, wrote letters, and made phone calls to urge co-sponsorship. For more info, please visit http://www.arrl.org/news/list-of-amateur-radio-parity-act-of-2014-co-sponsors-swells-before-congressional-recess Congratulations are in order to the hams in Brevard County for successfully lobbying the County Commission to change a local tower ordinance affecting amateur radio operations. Grass roots support by the clubs and their members contacting commissioners and attending meetings in force made the difference. Our thanks to the SFL section and club leaders through the county for spearheading this effort. Please join me in welcoming Larry Zimmer, W4LWZ as our new Section Emergency Coordinator. Larry, who is our ASM for the Gulf Coast District, served Lee County as EC for 5 years. Larry brings to his new position many years of amateur radio and EmComm experience. With Larry?s promotion, Assistant EC, Steve Smith, W9GPI, has been appointed Emergency Coordinator for Lee County. Steve, who previously served his home county in Wisconsin as EC, also brings many years of experience to the Lee County ARES group. Welcome Steve and we look forward to working with you and Larry. Barry Porter, KB1PA of Delray Beach has completed the ARRL Public Service and Emergency Communications Management for Radio Amateurs course ( EC-016 ) and passed the certification exam. Congratulations Barry SFL Affiliated Club Anniversaries Broward Amateur Radio Club- 65 years Ft. Myers Amateur Radio Club- 55 years South Florida DX Association- 35 years Florida Keys Amateur Radio Club- 25 years August Section Traffic Manager?s report from Mike, KM2V SAR - AUGUST 2014 CALL TOTAL WA4BAM 180 KE4CB 052 NC3F 057 KA4FZI 191 K9GZT 010 KK4KAH 009 W4LWZ 001 KA3PYO 006 NT4TS 015 KM2V 161 W4ZE 020 PSHR - AUGUST 2014 Callsign Total WA4BAM 100 KE4CB 160 NC3F 100 KA4FZI 110 NETS - AUGUST 2014 NET ABB. QNI QTC QND SESS MGR All Florida CW Traffic Net QFN 347 115 475 31 WA4BAM Florida Medium Speed Net FMSN 258 118 537 31 AG4RJ/AB4XK Southeast Florida Traffic Net SEFTN 646 138 1231 31 KM2V Southwest Florida Traffic Net SWFTN 485 105 1425 27 KE4CB/N9WS Broward County Emer Prep Net BCEPN 31 0 100 4 K2MOL Palm Beach District ARES Central PBDAC 83 4 108 5 AC4FC Silent Keys- It is with deep regret that we report the passing of the following SFL members: Richard T.?Tom? Denham, W4IOY of Boca Raton. Tom was an active member of the Boca Raton ARA for many years. Robert B. ?Bob? Lakeman, KA4NPK of Merritt Island 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 with ham radio. Vy 73, Jeff, WA4AW -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARRL Southern Florida Section Section Manager: Jeff Beals, WA4AW wa4aw at arrl.org -------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from messages, go to: http://p1k.arrl.org/oo/4af9d08f00803009fd75961964f94160 From bmarx at bellsouth.net Tue Oct 7 13:40:50 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 13:40:50 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Total Lunar Eclipse! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <543425A2.6070302@bellsouth.net> Space Weather News for Oct. 7, 2014 http://spaceweather.com TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE MOON: The Moon is about to pass through the shadow of Earth, producing a colorful lunar eclipse. Sky watchers in the Americas, Australia, Pacific islands and parts of Asia can expect to see the full Moon turn beautiful shades of red and turquoise for nearly an hour on Wednesday morning, Oct. 8th. Check http://spaceweather.com for viewing times and observing tips. LIVE WEBCAST: Got clouds? No problem. The eclipse will be broadcast live on the web by the Coca-Cola Science Center: http://www.ccssc.org/webcast.html From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Oct 8 09:25:24 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 09:25:24 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] ARRL Investigating Web Server Breach Message-ID: <54353B44.6090306@bellsouth.net> ARRL Investigating Web Server Breach 10/07/2014 Late last month, a security breach occurred, involving a web server at ARRL Headquarters. ARRL IT Manager Mike Keane, K1MK, said that League members have no reason to be concerned about sensitive personal information being leaked. Keane said that servers were taken offline and isolated from the Internet when the hack was discovered. Certain ARRL web functions --- online DXCC in particular --- have been temporarily disabled. The ARRL expects to restore service by close of business, on Wednesday, October 8. In the meantime, the "legacy" URLs (ones containing "p1k.arrl.org") have been restored, as has access to the ARRL Periodicals Archive. Keane stressed that it is highly unlikely that any sensitive information was compromised. Any information the hacker might have been able to glean from the ARRL server, he said, is already publicly available --- data such as names, addresses, and call signs that appear in the FCC database. The hacker may have been able to obtain site usernames and passwords that were established prior to April 2010, and that have not been changed since then. Members who have not changed their ARRL website passwords since early 2010 should do so at this time. Keane confirmed that it's always prudent to change passwords on a routine basis. "That's the best practice," he said. Keane said that his department is still looking into what types of information may have been vulnerable to the hack. "They were poking around, trying all the doors," he explained. "We don't keep anything of value [to a hacker] there. Hackers don't care about DXCC totals or want to read the online issue of /QST/. There's nothing of financial value there." Keane said that in addition to reporting the security breach to federal law enforcement authorities, his department is working to increase the League's Internet security posture. http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-investigating-web-server-breach From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Oct 8 11:10:23 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 11:10:23 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Mac Ham Radio, , Devoted to Amateur Radio using OS X Message-ID: <543553DF.3060302@bellsouth.net> http://www.machamradio.com/about/ From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Oct 8 22:14:22 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2014 22:14:22 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] ARRL.org Passwords References: <20141009013818.CE19D25001@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <9D704D45-1115-4035-899A-538331B679EA@bellsouth.net> > The ARRL released a news article yesterday concerning the hacking of a > server in the League's network late last month. That article can be > found here: > http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-investigating-web-server-breach > > My professional background is in digital forensic investigations and > includes teaching in the Digital Forensics and Cyber Security program > at Valencia College in Orlando so I'd like to make some cyber security > suggestions to you. > > If your password on arrl.org hasn't been changed since before early > 2010, you need to change it now. If your password is newer than early > 2010, I'd recommend that it be changed as a precautionary measure. If > you've utilized the same password on arrl.org and other websites, > especially if those other websites are banking and finance related, you > need to change the passwords on those sites as well. > > Hackers will use passwords from one compromised website to attempt to > access the person's accounts on other websites. Ideally each website > that you access should have a unique password; likewise, each email > account you have should have a unique password. > > Passwords should be made up of a combination of upper case letters, > lower case letters, numbers, and symbols including: > !@#$%^&*()_+=-.?<>,. (note: not all websites will accept all of those > symbols in a password). Passwords should not be such easily guessed > things as the names of relatives and pets. The best passwords are > random strings rather than names and words and should be 8 characters > or longer. > > Now the question that this immediately generates is how do I remember > dozens or hundreds of random passwords? The answer is that you don't; > you only need to memorize one that is a master password used by > software that secures all of the information for all of your > email/website accounts. There are many such programs available, both > paid and free, that can securely protect your passwords on your home > computer, your mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, and on a > flash drive so you can have them available wherever you are. > > Because everyone's needs are different, I won't advise using any > particular solution. I will, however, give you an example of a free > solution for PCs that has also been ported to most other platforms. The > software is named "Password Safe" and is available at no cost from: > http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/ (click on the "Download latest > version" found on that page to access the program itself). > http://pwsafe.org/relatedprojects.shtml has information on ports of > Password Safe to other platforms. Again this is not an endorsement of > this program, just an example of what is available. > > One of the Motions I prepared for the July 2014 Board Meeting was for > the creation of an IT Strategic Planning Committee. The committee would > be tasked with examining the existing Information Technology operations > of the League and creating a strategic plan for addressing current and > future needs. The committee would be composed of Directors and Vice > Directors having a current background in Information Technology. > > As I did not believe that I had enough support to directly get the > Motion passed, I altered the Motion before I submitted it. The edited > Motion directed the Administration and Finance Committee of the Board > to study establishing the IT Strategic Planning Committee and provide > recommendations to the Board at the January 2015 meeting. The Motion > was seconded by Dr. David Woolweaver, the West Gulf Division Director, > and was passed by the Board. > > The full text of the Motion can be found as item 40, beginning at the > bottom of page 13, in the Minutes of the Board Meeting: > http://www.arrl.org/files/file/About%20ARRL/Board%20Meetings/2014_July_ARRL_Board_Minutes.pdf > > I do not serve on the Administration and Finance Committee and am > unaware of any discussions by that committee on the proposal. > > I'll report back when I know more. > > 73 de K4AC > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > ARRL Southeastern Division > Director: Doug Rehman, K4AC > k4ac at arrl.org From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Oct 9 17:33:42 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 17:33:42 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The ARRL Letter for October 9, 2014 In-Reply-To: <20141009193247.B469E248C4@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20141009193247.B469E248C4@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <5436FF36.3090509@bellsouth.net> Preview If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2014-10-09 The ARRL Letter October 9, 2014 Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME ARRL Home Page /ARRL Letter/ Archive Audio News Ad * Radio Amateur is Among Nobel Prize in Chemistry Winners <#toc01> * ARRL Investigating Web Server Breach <#toc02> * ARRL Vice Director Candidate Steve Putman, N8ZR, SK <#toc03> * World Radiosport Team Championship 2018 Will Be in Germany <#toc04> * Late October Exercise to Test MARS-ARES Interoperability <#toc05> * W1AW Centennial Operations Head for Alabama and Michigan Starting October 15 (UTC) <#toc06> * Scouting's 57th Jamboree On The Air Takes Place October 18-19 <#toc07> * JOTA Founder Les Mitchell, G3BHK, SK <#toc08> * Nominations Open for the George Hart Distinguished Service Award <#toc09> * ARRL Hosts 31st USTTI Amateur Radio Administration Course <#toc10> * IARU Region 1 Announces Awards to ON4WF, Others <#toc11> * Past Western New York Section Manager, Atlantic Division Assistant Director Steve Ryan, N2ITF, SK <#toc12> * Adaptive Technology Pioneer Fred Gissoni, K4JLX, SK <#toc13> * A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL <#toc14> * The K7RA Solar Update <#toc15> * Just Ahead in Radiosport <#toc16> * Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events <#toc17> Radio Amateur is Among Nobel Prize in Chemistry Winners A California radio amateur and ARRL member was among the three winners of the Nobel Prize in chemistry. William Moerner, WN6I, of Los Altos, a chemistry professor at Stanford University, will share the prestigious award equally with two other researchers -- Eric Betzig and Stefan Hell --for their work in high-resolution microscopy, or nanoscopy. For many years scientists had believed that an optical microscope could never yield greater than 0.2 micrometer resolution. The three scientists overcame that limitation through what the Nobel panel called "the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy."// William Moerner, WN6I. [Stanford University photo by L.A. Cicero] "I was just incredibly excited and thrilled, and, of course, your heart races, and you say, 'Oh, can this be? Can this be?'" was how Moerner reacted when formally notified that he was a prize winner. "I'm incredibly happy about the recognition of the field, especially of all the workers and all the scientists at many places around the world who have contributed to the effort." In Brazil for a conference, Moerner had already heard the news from his wife, who learned of it from an Associated Press reporter who had called their home for a comment. As a Stanford University news release explained , "Optical microscopy was long limited by the presumption that it could never obtain a better resolution than half the wavelength of light. Moerner, Betzig, and Hell circumvented this limitation through the clever implementation of fluorescent molecules, which made it possible for optical microscopes to operate at the nanoscale and visualize individual molecules moving within cells." Read more . ARRL Investigating Web Server Breach Late last month, a security breach occurred, involving a web server at ARRL Headquarters. ARRL IT Manager Mike Keane, K1MK, said that League members have no reason to be concerned about sensitive personal information being leaked. Keane said that servers were taken offline and isolated from the Internet when the hack was discovered. Certain ARRL web functions -- online DXCC in particular -- were temporarily disabled. "Legacy" URLs (ones containing "p1k.arrl.org") have been restored, as has access to the ARRL Periodicals Archive. Keane stressed that it is highly unlikely that any sensitive information was compromised. Any information the hacker might have been able to glean from the ARRL server, he said, is already publicly available -- data such as names, addresses, and call signs that appear in the FCC database. The hacker may have been able to obtain site usernames and passwords that were established prior to April 2010, and that have not been changed since then. Members who have not changed their ARRL website passwords since early 2010 should do so at this time. Keane confirmed that it's always prudent to change passwords on a routine basis. "That's the best practice," he said. Keane said that his department is still looking into what types of information may have been vulnerable to the hack. "They were poking around, trying all the doors," he explained. "We don't keep anything of value [to a hacker] there. Hackers don't care about DXCC totals or want to read the online issue of /QST/. There's nothing of financial value there." Keane said that in addition to reporting the security breach to federal law enforcement authorities, his department is working to increase the League's Internet security posture. ARRL Vice Director Candidate Steve Putman, N8ZR, SK Steve Putman, N8ZR, of Fairborn, Ohio, one of the candidates for the Great Lakes Division Vice Director's chair, died unexpectedly on October 5. He was 58 and an ARRL Life Member. Balloting is already underway for the Great Lakes Vice Director position, currently held by Tom Delaney, W8WTD, the only other candidate. The ARRL Ethics and Elections Committee has determined that all votes cast by members in the Great Lakes Division will still be counted. If Putman receives the most votes, a vacancy will be declared that ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, would fill by appointment. Steve Putman, N8ZR. In declaring his candidacy, Putman, a professional engineer, said that he got into Amateur Radio "to have fun!" Born in Michigan, he was licensed as a Novice in 1972 as WN4ZRR while living in Alabama. Putman became an ARRL VEC volunteer examiner in 1985, in the early years of the volunteer examiner program, and he established a VE program for the USECA Amateur Radio Club in Utica, Michigan. Putman served as an ARRL Volunteer Consulting Engineer. In addition to the ARRL, Putman belonged to the Dayton Amateur Radio Association and was a volunteer at Dayton Hamvention^? . He also was a QCWA Life Member, and he held the Australian call sign VK2IZR. Putman founded the Antioch Shrine ARC and served as trustee of its club station, N8FEZ. In his spare time, Putman enjoyed playing the trumpet in the Antioch Shrine Band, the Fairborn Civic Band, and at his church. Putman earned a BS in mechanical engineering from The Ohio State University and master's degrees (mechanical engineering; MBA) from Bowling Green State University and the University of Dayton. He retired in 2013 as a professor of systems engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright Patterson AFB. The family invites memorial donations to the Shriners Hospitals for Children. World Radiosport Team Championship 2018 Will Be in Germany The next World Radiosport Team Championship -- WRTC 2018 -- will take place in Germany. The WRTC Sanctioning Committee announced on October 5 that it had granted the application of a group representing the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club (DARC), the Bavarian Contest Club (BCC), and the Rhein Ruhr DX Association (RRDXA) to organize what are often called "the Olympics of Amateur Radio." In July, German participants of WRTC 2014 in New England initiated a petition, urging the WRTC Sanctioning Committee to name Germany as the site of the next international competition among elite teams of Amateur Radio contesters. With initial support of the contesting community in hand, the organizing team of "about 20 contest enthusiasts" defined a basic project plan, according to the WRTC 2018 website. "During the next weeks, the team will launch an official organization to finance and conduct WRTC 2018 in Germany," the Organizing Committee said. The team is recruiting volunteers and evaluating three geographical regions within Germany as possible WRTC 2018 venues. General areas under study are Muenster/Westphalia, Maerkisch-Oderland east of Berlin, and Jessen/Wittenberg. Christian Janssen , DL1MGB, heads the WRTC 2018 Organizing Committee. In announcing the selection of Germany, WRTC Sanctioning Committee Chairman Tine Brajnik, S50A, said, "The German application was very well prepared, and, knowing their experience, we all expect another outstanding meeting and competition among the world's best contesters." The Sanctioning Committee evaluates requests to host a WRTC and selects the successful applicant. Brajnik said the committee would be making public information regarding the qualifying process. It is not known if the committee considered any other applications. Qualifying events for WRTC 2018 will start with 2015 ARRL International DX CW and end with 2016 CQ World Wide CW. Detailed rules will be published by the end of November. "The rules will follow the WRTC 2014 approach, with some marginal changes," the committee said. In accordance with feedback from WRTC 2014 competitors, the committee said it would be decreasing the number of qualifying contests and, consequently, the qualifying period. Chris Janssen, DL1MGB, is the chair of the WRTC-2018 Organizing Committee. An announcement regarding the location of WRTC 2018 had been expected at the closing ceremony for WRTC 2014, but no formal proposals had been received at that point. A World Radiosport Team Championship features between 50 and 60 two-person Amateur Radio teams competing in a test of operating skill. The event takes place concurrent with the IARU HF Championship in July, although WRTC rules vary from those of the IARU event. All stations use identical antennas and power level and operate from equivalent sites in the same geographical region in an effort to eliminate all variables except operating ability. WRTC 2014 included 59 competing teams from 29 qualifying regions around the world. The first WRTC was held in 1990 in Seattle. Read more . Ad Late October Exercise to Test MARS-ARES Interoperability US Army and Air Force Military Auxiliary Radio Service (MARS) stations will participate in a 48-hour nationwide contingency communication exercise on October 27 and 28 as part of an effort to develop greater cooperation between the Department of Defense (DoD) sponsored MARS program and the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES). MARS is encouraging its members to discuss communication interoperability in advance of the exercise with their ARES section and district or local emergency coordinators. "This communications exercise is sponsored by the DoD to provide MARS operators the opportunity to develop and train interoperability procedures with their state/local ARES emergency coordinators and their Amateur Radio colleagues," explained Army MARS Program Manager Paul English, WD8DBY. He told ARRL that the DoD/MARS exercise has "full participation" from Army and Air Force MARS, and that he anticipates that some individual Navy MARS members may participate as well. The plan calls for MARS members, using their Amateur Radio call signs and operating on amateur frequencies, to establish two-way communication with ARES leadership or members in as many US counties as possible by using VHF/UHF simplex channels or local repeaters or near vertical incidence skywave (NVIS) propagation on HF. "The contact can be with any amateur in the county, if an ARES member or leader is not available," English added. MARS Program Manager Paul English, WD8DBY (left), demonstrated a PRC-150 military backpack radio to Nicholas Wattendorf, N1NRW, at the ARRL National Centennial Convention in July 2014. "Ultimately we would like the MARS operator to join an existing ARES net, if one is operational during the exercise," English said. If no net is available, MARS members should come up on local repeaters or check into HF traffic nets to see what amateurs are available and to determine their counties. "We want to use existing net times and frequencies to the extent possible," English continued. "Any mode of operation is fine." Only one ARES/Amateur Radio contact per county is needed, but more are okay. The contact must be person to person and cannot rely on Internet-linked repeaters, Internet connectivity systems, or store-and-forward e-mail systems, such as /Winlink/ , English said. The information exchange requested from ARES for each county is the county name and the county Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS ) code, if available. There are two preferred windows of opportunity to conduct the interoperability exercise. These are from 1201 to 1800 UTC on October 27, and from 0001 to 0600 UTC on October 28. Contact Paul English, WD8DBY, for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ W1AW Centennial Operations Head for Alabama and Michigan Starting October 15 (UTC) The ARRL Centennial W1AW portable operations taking place throughout 2014 from each of the 50 states are now in Missouri and Virginia. They will transition at 0000 UTC on Wednesday, October 15 (the evening of October 14 in US time zones), to Alabama (W1AW/4) and Michigan (W1AW/8). In addition, W1AW/KH0 also will be active October 8-21 from Tinian Island in the Northern Marianas. So far during 2014, W1AW has visited each of the 50 states for at least 1 week, and by year's end W1AW will have been on the air from every state at least twice. 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. 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. Participants must work W1AW/1 in Connecticut.) A W1AW WAS certificate and plaque will be available. An ARRL Centennial QSO Party leader board shows participants 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Scouting's 57th Jamboree On The Air Takes Place October 18-19 Scouting's 2014 Jamboree On The Air (JOTA ) is set for the October 18-19 weekend. The annual event links Scouts around the world via Amateur Radio. More than a half million Scouts and Guides get together over the airwaves each third weekend of October for JOTA. According to the World Scout Bureau, JOTA is the largest Scouting event in the world, with nearly 750,000 Scouts participating from 6000 stations in 150 countries around the world. Scouts of any age can participate, from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts and Venture crew members. Not a contest, JOTA's goal is to foster Scout-to-Scout communication across borders and oceans. "The idea is to contact other Scout stations and allow as many Scouts as possible to talk to other Scouts and learn about who they are and what they are doing," the Boy Scouts of America has said in its JOTA guidelines , which offer suggested frequencies. On-the-air exchanges typically include such information as name, location, Scout rank, age, and hobbies, but the conversation can certainly go beyond that. Amateur Radio licensees should be aware that international third-party traffic agreements may prohibit direct person-to-person communication between unlicensed individuals in certain other countries. In those cases, the station control operator may serve as an intermediary. Licensed mentors often open their stations to Scouts on JOTA weekend, serving as control operators. Radio operation will be on 80 through 6 meters, all modes, and 2 meters and 70 centimeters FM simplex. Upward of 14,000 stations were on the air for JOTA 2013. A JOTA participant patch is available, as is a certificate/log sheet that can also be used to fulfill a Radio merit badge requirement. JOTA 2014 gets underway on Saturday, October 18, at 0000 local time and concludes on Sunday, October 19, at 2400 local time. The ARRL website also has information on JOTA. JOTA Founder Les Mitchell, G3BHK, SK With JOTA 2014 a little more than 1 week away comes word that its "founding father," Les Mitchell, G3BHK, died on October 6. Mitchell started JOTA in 1958, after launching the idea a year earlier at the World Scout Jamboree. That was the first year the Jamboree had an Amateur Radio station on site, and it's had one at every World Scout Jamboree since. Mitchell realized that many scout leaders also were hams, and that it would be possible to arrange a "Jamboree On The Air." JOTA Founder Les Mitchell, G3BHK. "Little did I think when I drew up the plans and rules for the first event in 1958 that its popularity would increase and spread around the world," Mitchell reminisced in 2000. "Even more astonishing is the fact that after all this time it still holds its popularity. In fact it has become the largest international Scout event ever." Mitchell said that far fewer Scouts were licensed in 1958, but over the years Scouts taking part in JOTA got so interested that they became radio amateurs themselves. "JOTA is great fun," Mitchell said, adding, "If you put nothing into the event you may get nothing out of it! JOTA is your chance to speak to Scouts and Guides over the horizon. Silence makes no friends!" Ad Nominations Open for the George Hart Distinguished Service Award The ARRL is accepting nominations for the George Hart Distinguished Service Award. The deadline to receive nominations and supporting materials is November 1. The award honors long-time ARRL Communications Manager George Hart, W1NJM (SK), the chief developer of the National Traffic System (NTS ). Hart died in 2013 at the age of 99. George Hart, W1NJM. Established by the ARRL Board of Directors in 2009, the George Hart Distinguished Service Award is given annually to an ARRL member for exemplary service to the League's Field Organization. Selection criteria include NTS operating record, Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) participation, or service to the ARRL Field Organization in terms of appointments and/or leadership positions held. Nominations should thoroughly document the nominee's lifetime activities and achievements within the ARRL Field Organization. Nominees are expected to have at least 15 years of distinguished service. The Programs and Services Committee will serve as the Review Committee, and the ARRL Board of Directors will make the final determination at its Annual Meeting in January. Submit nominations and related supporting material and letters of recommendation to ARRL Headquarters or mail nominating documents to ARRL Field Organization Team Supervisor Steve Ewald, WV1X, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. ARRL Hosts 31st USTTI Amateur Radio Administration Course Students from Thailand, Ghana, and Papua New Guinea attended the 31st United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI ) Amateur Radio Administration Course (ARAC ) September 29-October 3 at ARRL Headquarters. Two participants got their US Amateur Radio licenses as the course wrapped up. ARRL Chief Technology Officer Brennan Price, N4QX, coordinated the session and administered the course, which is designed for government officials in developing countries who regulate and manage Amateur Radio. Those taking part in the program work in their respective government's telecommunication offices, where they have responsibilities for Amateur Radio licensing and regulation as well as preparation for international conferences. "Our students -- Annop Nittaya, HS1PLO, and Virat Uansri from Thailand, Peter Djakwah, KM4EQL, of Ghana, and Oki Gari, KM4EQM, of Papua New Guinea -- were already quite knowledgeable about Amateur Radio, and are committed to the further development of Amateur Radio in their countries," Price said. "All left with a profound understanding of the unique nature and needs of the Amateur Radio Service." The ARAC curriculum covers a variety of Amateur Radio topics and concerns, including licensing, spectrum requirements, disaster communications, and antenna requirements. The curriculum also covers the International Telecommunication Union (ITU ) and its regulations, as well as the process leading to the upcoming 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15). Several ARRL staff members delivered classroom presentations within their areas of expertise. Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U, taught a unit on Amateur Radio's public service, emergency, and disaster communication capabilities. ARRL Regulatory Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, and ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, discussed licensing, examination and regulatory issues. Membership and Volunteer Programs Assistant Manager Norm Fusaro, W3IZ, talked about developing Amateur Radio capabilities through club activity. ARRL Laboratory Engineer Bob Allison, WB1GCM, assisted by ARRL Laboratory Volunteers Lori Kosior, KB1ZML, and Pete Turbide, W1PT, supervised each student's successful assembly of a 40 meter receiver kit. Each student took his assembled receiver home. ARRL Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer and Meeting Planner Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ, coordinated the League's participation with USTTI and hosted the students. The students and primary staff for the 31st USTTI Amateur Radio Administration Course at ARRL Headquarters: (L-R) ARRL Chief Technology Officer Brennan Price, N4QX; Virat Uansri; Annop Nittaya, HS1PLO; Peter Djakwah, KM4EQL; Oki Gari, KM4EQM, and ARRL Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer and Meeting Planner Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ. [Sean Kutzko, KX9X, photo] The students had a particular interest in licensing, and Djakwah and Gari took examinations for the United States Technician license during their time at ARRL Headquarters. An ARRL VEC team comprising Somma, Corey, Field Organization Supervisor Steve Ewald, WV1X, and Outgoing QSL Bureau Associate Rose-Anne Lawrence, KB1DMW, administered the test, which both passed. USTTI is a non-profit joint venture of leading US-based communications, IT corporations, and federal government officials, who collectively provide tuition-free management, policy and technical training for talented professionals from the developing world. The ARRL hosts a course on Amateur Radio to introduce or further educate regulators and other spectrum users to its needs and unique issues. The next ARAC course is planned for the fall of 2015. IARU Region 1 Announces Awards to ON4WF, Others At its recent Regional Conference in Bulgaria, International Amateur Radio Union (IARU ) Region 1 awarded the Region 1 Roy Stevens, G2BVN, Memorial Trophy to Gaston Bertels, ON4WF. IARU Region 1 ARISS-EU Chairman Gaston Bertels, ON4WF, holds the mic for a student during an Amateur Radio contact between the ISS and the International School of Brussels. recognized Bertels for his many years of serving first as chairman of the Eurocom Working Group and then of the Amateur Radio Space Exploration (ARSPEX) Working Group. Bertels, who is 87, has said that he will be stepping down as chairman of the ARSPEX working group. For many years, Bertels has chaired Amateur Radio on the International Space Station -- Europe (ARISS-EU ). Region 1 conference delegates gave Bertels a standing ovation when the award was announced. The trophy is awarded to a radio amateur who has best exemplified the work and dedication of Roy Stevens, G2BVN in international radio. Koos Fick; Mitchel Mynhardt, ZS6YH; Enrico van der Walt, and Dennis Green, ZS4BS. The IARU Region 1 Medal was awarded to several radio amateurs for their meritorious service and their valued contributions to and support of Amateur Radio. The recipients were past IARU Region 1 President Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T; Hani Raad, OD5TE; Andreas Thiemann, HB9JOE; Panayot Danev, LZ1US; Nikola Percin, 9A5W; Michael Kastelic, OE1MCU, and Martin Harrison, G3USF. In September, IARU Region 1 named Mitchel Mynhardt, ZS6YH, as the first recipient of its Outstanding Ham Youth Award. Mynhardt received the 2013 award at the Radio Technology in Action Symposium in Pretoria, South Africa. International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 is a federation of national Amateur Radio member societies in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Northern Asia. Past Western New York Section Manager, Atlantic Division Assistant Director Steve Ryan, N2ITF, SK Past ARRL Western New York Section Manager Stephen M. "Steve" Ryan, N2ITF, died on October 3. He was 62. Ryan was appointed SM in November 2010, to serve the remaining term of Scott Bauer, W2LC, Steve Ryan, N2ITF. who had resigned. Ryan lost his bid for election to the section leadership position in 2012. ARRL Atlantic Division Director Bill Edgar, N3LLR, subsequently appointed Ryan as an Assistant Director. "Steve's counsel and participation in Atlantic Division meetings and events greatly assisted me in representing the members of the Division," Edgar said. "His friendship and counsel with be sorely missed." Edgar said Ryan had been diagnosed almost 2 years ago with an aggressive form of cancer. In addition to his ARRL membership, Ryan was a member and former president of the Chautauqua County Amateur FM Association, an ARRL affiliated club. He had been a ham for about 35 years. Read more . Ad Adaptive Technology Pioneer Fred Gissoni, K4JLX, SK Fred L. Gissoni, K4JLX, of Louisville, Kentucky, died September 21. He was 84. Born blind, Gissoni was the co-developer of the Porta-Braille and Pocket-Braille note-taking devices as well as other adaptive technology. He also authored a popular instruction manual, "Using the Cranmer Abacus." Gissoni retired in 2011 after 23 years with the American Printing House (APH) for the Blind. Fred Gissoni, K4JLX. "Fred contributed 60 years of service to people who are blind and visually impaired," Deborah Kendrick wrote for /Access World/, a publication of the American Foundation for the Blind. "Fred was known across the United States and around the world for his brilliant intellect, inventiveness, and impish sense of humor." A New Jersey native, he became interested in Amateur Radio at a very young age, and his passion for technology continued through his lifetime. Gissoni and Wayne Thompson developed the Pocket-Braille and Porta-Braille in the 1980s, while both were working at the Kentucky Department for the Blind. With the Pocket-Braille, the user entered data from a Perkins-style keyboard, and the device would render it in speech. The Porta-Braille included a refreshable Braille "display." He also developed the Janus Slate, a two-sided interline Braille slate that holds a 3 ? 5 index card for brailling on both sides. Other inventions he developed for APH included a pocket Braille calendar. "I also used other ideas that Gissoni came up with or invented," said Bob Ringwald, K6YBV. "All the time I marveled at his genius, inventive mind, but never knew he was also a ham radio operator, K4JLX." Read more . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL Part of the 220 MHz band, perpetually under attack by other radio services, was snatched from the Amateur Service on August 4, 1988, by the FCC, which reallocated 220-222 MHz to the Land Mobile Service. ARRL had been fighting this battle for some time and would continue efforts have that band segment return to the Amateur Service. January 1989 /QST/ published "The Listener," a quick, but interesting, look at the efforts of pioneer radio astronomer Grote Reber, W9GFZ. On January 30, 1989, the FCC released the news that the much-awaited 17 meter ham band was open for business in the US! The editorial in the May 1989 /QST/, "Spectrum Management, or Abdication?" decried a recent FCC action to allow manufacturers of electronic equipment to radiate unlicensed signals on hams bands from 902 MHz upward. The ARRL continued its defense of amateur frequencies by preparing to go to Congress for relief, using this as the latest example of FCC out-of-control decision making. A two-part article by KO5I and N4HY in the May and June 1989 issues of /QST/ introduced the latest generation of OSCAR satellites -- microsats. In July 1988, a team of hams from Finland and the Soviet Union mounted a DXpedition to a new DXCC country, Malyj-Vysotkskij ("M-V Island"). This ended an 18-year effort to put the island on the /DXCC List/. Participant Martti Laine, OH2BH, recounted the experience in a June 1989 /QST /article. [The lease of Malyj-Vysotkskij to Finland expired in 2012, the island reverted to Russia, and MVI was deleted from the DXCC list. /-- Ed./] On May 11, 1989, a congressional oversight committee summoned the FCC's chief engineer to defend the Commission's decision to take 220 to 222 MHz away from amateurs and allocate it to another service. Following the hearing, the committee chairman wrote the FCC, asking it to reconsider alternatives. The FCC stonewalled and did nothing. The ARRL subsequently filed a federal court appeal. The 4J1FS DXpedition team on Malyj-Vysotkskij, "MV Island" in 1988. [From the K8CX QSL collection, *www.hamgallery.com*] On July 20, 1989, the newly renovated W1AW building was rededicated. Nearly 10,000 individual donors had put up almost a half million dollars to fund the renovation. In the "How's DX?" column in the September 1989 issue of /QST/, Ellen White, W1YL, noted "Pitcairn Island's Bicentenary," a fascinating read. White noted that Pitcairn was the country with the highest per capita number of hams in the world -- 6 hams out of a population of 60! The island's 200th anniversary was celebrated in part by special event station VR200PI. In 1990, a husband-and-wife team achieved DXCC on 6 meters. The wife, K5FF, was first, and her husband, W5FF, was right behind. An interesting photo in "Up Front in /QST/" in September 1990 showed Samuel F. B. Morse III, W6FZZ, operating at a special event station to celebrate his great-grandfather's 199th birthday. An article by NU1N appeared in the September and October issues of /QST/ telling how we could get on the air using lasers./-- Al Brogdon, W1AB/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The K7RA Solar Update Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: Average daily sunspot numbers from October 2-8 dropped from 170.1 in the previous 7 days to 98. Average daily solar flux also declined from 168.9 to 131.9. Predicted solar flux for the near term is 125, 120, and 115 on October 9-11, 110 on October 12-14, then 115 and 125 on October 15-16, 145 on October 17-18, 140 on October 19, 135 on October 20-21, and 140 on October 22-25. Solar flux then drops to a low of 110 on November 7-9, and rises again to 145 for November 12-14. The prediction for the planetary A index is for a more-active geomagnetic future, at least in the near term. The predicted planetary A index is 5 on October 9-10, 8 on October 11, 5 on October 12-14, then 8, 15, 8, and 5 on October 15-18, then 8, 10, and 20 on October 19-21, 15 on October 22-24, and 10 on October 25-28. 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 Friday's bulletin look for an updated forecast and reports from readers. Send me /your/ reports and observations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Just Ahead in Radiosport * October 10 -- 10-10 Sprint * October 11 -- Arizona QSO Party * October 11 -- Pennsylvania QSO Party * October 11 -- EU Autumn CW Sprint * October 11-12 -- Great Pumpkin Sprint (Digital) * October 11-12 -- ARRL EME Contest * October 11-12 -- Makrothen RTTY Contest * October 11-12 -- Oceania DX CW Contest * October 11-12 -- Scandinavian Activity Contest (SSB) * October 11-12 -- QRP ARCI Fall QSO Party (CW) * October 11-12 -- FISTS/SKCC QSO Party (CW) * October 12 -- North American RTTY Sprint * October 15 -- NAQCC Monthly QRP Sprint (CW) See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events * October 10-11 -- Florida State Convention , Melbourne, Florida * *October 10-12 -- **Pacific Division Convention* *(Pacificon), Regional ARRL Centennial Event, Santa Clara, California* * October 11 -- Iowa State Convention (Sioux City Ham Convention), Sergeant Bluff, Iowa * October 11 -- Pacific Northwest VHF Conference , Seaside, Oregon * October 12 -- Connecticut State Convention , Meriden, Connecticut * October 18 -- Arkansas State Convention , Batesville, Arkansas * October 18 -- Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference , Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin * October 24-25 -- Oklahoma Section Convention , Ardmore, Oklahoma * November 1 -- TechFest 2014 , Lakewood, Colorado * November 1-2 -- Georgia State Convention , Lawrenceville, Georgia * November 8 -- Alabama State Convention , Montgomery, Alabama * November 15-16 -- Indiana State Convention , Fort Wayne, Indiana * December 12-13 -- West Central Florida Section Convention , Plant City, Florida 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 Oct 9 18:37:43 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 18:37:43 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Digital Modes - Sight & Sound Message-ID: <54370E37.2040106@bellsouth.net> Check this site to identify and hear what various digital modes sound like... http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp-3.21/Modes/ Bill W2CQ From bmarx at bellsouth.net Fri Oct 10 09:25:55 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 09:25:55 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) Founder Les Mitchell, G3BHK, SK Message-ID: <5437DE63.9060204@bellsouth.net> ARRL News Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) Founder Les Mitchell, G3BHK, SK 10/08/2014 With *JOTA* 2014 a little more than 1 week away comes word that its "founding father," Les Mitchell, G3BHK, died on October 6. Mitchell started JOTA in 1958, after launching the idea a year earlier at the World Scout Jamboree. That was the first year the Jamboree had an Amateur Radio station on site, and it's had one every year since. "Little did I think when I drew up the plans and rules for the first event in 1958 that its popularity would increase and spread around the world," Mitchell reminisced in 2000. "Even more astonishing is the fact that after all this time it still holds its popularity. In fact it has become the largest international Scout event ever." Mitchell said that far fewer Scouts were licensed in 1958, but over the years Scouts taking part in JOTA got so interested that they became radio amateurs themselves. "JOTA is great fun," Mitchell said, adding, "If you put nothing into the event you may get nothing out of it! JOTA is your chance to speak to Scouts and Guides over the horizon. Silence makes no friends!" http://www.arrl.org/news/jamboree-on-the-air-jota-founder-les-mitchell-g3bhk-sk From bmarx at bellsouth.net Fri Oct 10 12:49:28 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 12:49:28 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] ARLP041 Propagation de K7RA In-Reply-To: <20141010154341.AA8CA27D153@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20141010154341.AA8CA27D153@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <54380E18.60107@bellsouth.net> SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP041 ARLP041 Propagation de K7RA ZCZC AP41 QST de W1AW Propagation Forecast Bulletin 41 ARLP041 >From Tad Cook, K7RA Seattle, WA October 10, 2014 To all radio amateurs SB PROP ARL ARLP041 ARLP041 Propagation de K7RA Average daily sunspot numbers from October 2-8 dropped from 170.1 in the previous seven days to 98. Average daily solar flux also declined, from 168.9 to 131.9. Predicted solar flux for the near term is 120 and 115 on October 10-11, 110 on October 12-14, then 115 and 125 on October 15-16, 145 on October 17-18, 140 on October 19, 135 on October 20-21, and 140 on October 22-25. The next day solar flux begins a decline to a low of 110 on November 7-9, and rises again to 145 on November 12-14. The prediction for the planetary A index posits a more active geomagnetic future, at least for the near term. Predicted planetary A index is 5 on October 10, 8 on October 11-12, 5 on October 13-16, then 8, 5, 8, 10 and 20 on October 17-21, 15 on October 22-24, 10 on October 25-28, 8 on October 29, 5 on October 30, and 8 on October 31 through November 3. F.K. Janda, OK1HH predicts mostly quiet conditions on October 10, quiet on October 11, mostly quiet October 12, quiet to active October 13, mostly quiet October 14, quiet to active October 15, quiet to unsettled October 16, quiet October 17-19, mostly quiet October 20, active to disturbed October 21-22, quiet to active October 23-24, quiet to unsettled October 25-27, and mostly quiet October 28-29. The GOES 15 X-Ray Background Flux, which is a better measure than 10.7 cm solar flux in terms of effects on the ionosphere was at the C level from September 25 through October 3. You can see the data in this table: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/latest/DSD.txt Looking at the data for all of last year shows that a string of consecutive days at the C level was uncommon in 2013: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/indices/old_indices/2013_DSD.txt Data for the first quarter of 2014 shows a long string of days with C level readings, from January 27 through February 14: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/indices/old_indices/2014Q1_DSD.txt Recent data at 5 minute intervals is shown here: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/rt_plots/xray_5mBL.html Note the data of interest to us is shown in the upper red graph, and on the left vertical axis you can see the strength of the radiation as detected on the GOES-15 satellite, and on the right the corresponding letter designation for the flux values in the table. Today I can see that early on October 9 the radiation was in the C range, but according to data in the previously mentioned table, the average level for the whole day was B5.4. How does this affect HF radio propagation? Consistently higher levels cause denser ionization in the ionosphere, and greater density corresponds to higher MUF (Maximum Usable Frequency) values. Higher MUF means higher frequencies are available for practical long distance communications. MUF is meaningful for particular paths between two points. So we cannot say "the MUF was 31.2 MHz today" as a general statement, but it might be that the MUF at a particular time between your location and another location of choice was 31.2 MHz, in which case the 10 meter band would be open over that path. You can take a look at how predicted MUF varies by location, season and time-of-day by using a propagation prediction program. W6ELprop is available for free from http://k9la.us/ . Click on Tutorials to find the downloadable file and instructions. This is a Windows program that works with the now retired Windows 98, Windows Xp and Vista, but I can use it in Windows 7 by running Windows Xp Mode in the Windows Virtual PC. I assume the same is true for Windows 8. It seems that between August and September there was a slight upward change in smoothed sunspot numbers, and you can see it by comparing the tables on page 16 of the August forecast and page 17 in the September table: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/weekly/pdf/prf2036.pdf http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/weekly/pdf/prf2040.pdf Smoothed sunspot numbers are averaged over a whole year, so earlier numbers within the past year are more meaningful because they use more real data than future predicted values. So for example in the August table, you can see peak smoothed sunspot numbers of 80, 82, 81 and 80 for March through June. The September table is updated with an additional month of real sunspot data, and it now shows the peak values at 81, 83, 82 and 81 over the same four months. Scott Bidstrup, TI3/W7RI in Costa Rica sent the following on October 2, but somehow I missed this for last week's bulletin. He has a fascinating observation regarding ionization from lightning strikes as a brief reflector of HF radio signals: "Here in the single-digit latitudes, band conditions have been much improved of late. The increased 304a index tells the story - up 30 points from what it has been, and that's being seen in the activity on the bands. The 20m PSK window is back to being wall-to-wall, and once again with mostly west and central Europeans in the morning and the west coast U.S. and Japan in the evenings. I typically have been seeing 3 Europeans for every Stateside on the PSK window. "Conditions on 10 meters have been much better, and the band has been producing good results during the morning hours, particularly to Europe, and W6 and W7 later in the day. 20 meters here is back to being open around the clock, and even 10 will open as soon as the Sun hits the ionosphere in the morning. But the 304a trend is flattening out, and may be headed back down. Sadly. "But I haven't been on the HF bands much lately anyway. Our Autumn 6 meter transequatorial season has finally gotten underway. It was like the propagation gods just flipped a switch (two weeks late), and 6 meters went from zero one day to wide open the next and it's been open daily since. Within two days, I'd worked nearly every country in South America. Only a couple of openings into the States, however - lots of TEP from the States into South America, but going straight over my head. Here on the ground, nothing Stateside, just the usual suspects in South America. We're still waiting for openings into the South Pacific, though. That hasn't happened yet - FK8CP has been heard here only weakly and rarely so far. "One odd thing I have noticed in all this is that when we are having a lot of lightening in the region, and there's the usual TEP opening over my head, but I'm hearing nothing here on the ground, I'll occasionally get short bursts of strong signals right after a distant lightning strike. They'll last for a second or two. I am wondering if this is signals being bent back to earth by the ionization in the sprites above the lightning strikes." Very interesting observation, Scott. It makes sense to me. If you would like to make a comment or have a tip for our readers, email the author at, k7ra at arrl.net. For more information concerning radio propagation, see the ARRL Technical Information Service web page at http://arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals. For an explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin, see http://arrl.org/the-sun-the-earth-the-ionosphere. An archive of past propagation bulletins is at http://arrl.org/w1aw-bulletins-archive-propagation. More good information and tutorials on propagation are at http://k9la.us/. Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve overseas locations are at http://arrl.org/propagation. Instructions for starting or ending email distribution of ARRL bulletins are at http://arrl.org/bulletins. Sunspot numbers for October 2 through 8 were 105, 128, 125, 106, 86, 75, and 61, with a mean of 98. 10.7 cm flux was 149, 137, 128, 128, 130, 125, and 126, with a mean of 131.9. Estimated planetary A indices were 8, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6, and 9, with a mean of 6.4. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 13, 3, 5, 5, 6, 5, and 6, with a mean of 6.1. NNNN /EX From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sun Oct 12 08:38:37 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 08:38:37 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Solar Forecast with Ham Radio mentioned In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <543A764D.6090602@bellsouth.net> From Tony N2MFT: Here is acompleteforecastof what our nearest star has been up to and what we can expect in the nearfuture.. It even includes a Ham Radio report near the end of the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_byEce9w_0&feature=youtu.be From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sun Oct 12 10:54:34 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 10:54:34 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] THE AMATEURS CODE Message-ID: <543A962A.30200@bellsouth.net> THE AMATEURS CODE by Paul M. Segal, W9EEA (1928) The Radio Amateur is: CONSIDERATE..... never knowingly operating in such a way as to lessen the pleasure of others. LOYAL..... offering loyalty, encouragement and support to other amateurs, local clubs and the American Radio Relay League, through which Amateur Radio in the United States is represented nationally and internationally. PROGRESSIVE..... with knowledge abreast of science, a well built and efficient station, and operation beyond reproach. FRIENDLY..... with slow and patient operation when requested, friendly advice and counsel to the beginner, kindly assistance, co-operation and consideration for the interests of others. These are the hallmarks of the amateur spirit. BALANCED..... Radio is an advocation, never interfering with duties owed to family, job, school or community. PATRIOTIC..... with station and skill always ready for service to country and community. From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sun Oct 12 18:00:22 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 18:00:22 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Mike's Electronics Closed Oct 14th thru 22nd - Reopen Oct 23 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <543AF9F6.7000604@bellsouth.net> From bmarx at bellsouth.net Tue Oct 14 17:02:25 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 17:02:25 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] TEN TEC FACTORY MOVING SALE, , October 30, 2014 to November 1, 2014 Message-ID: <543D8F61.2090609@bellsouth.net> http://www.tentec.com/ From n8pr1 at bellsouth.net Wed Oct 15 11:45:21 2014 From: n8pr1 at bellsouth.net (Pete Rimmel N8PR) Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 11:45:21 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Fw: [FCG] W1AW/4 Signup Page Link Message-ID: <64E1AC55250A46EBAF702AFFCEE86A6A@PeteRGateway> SFDXA, QCWA ops and others in SoFla: Here is the info for signing up for the W1AW/4 - FLorida operation in November. Please tell the FCG ops that you are with the SFDXA or QCWA or that you operated with me in February to get a "user name" and password. You only need to sign up with one of the 3 ops listed below. Once you get the password, you can sign up in any slot for any time and mode. You can then go to the web page and sign up for operating slots. If you cannot make a time slot, PLEASE delete your call from the slot so someone else can get on in that slot. Any questions... contact me on the 147.33/93 repeater or by eMail. Save your log for the entire week, and send it in as in February with: (your call)_your County {3 letters])_ (your grid square).adi (eg: N8PR_BRO_EL96.adi) DO NOT put W1AW in the file name. Send your log to: chris.plumblee at gmail.com and he will forward it to the ARRL as needed. Please DO NOT send more than one log for the week... combine all your operating slots and send only ONE log for ALL your QSOs. It is much simpler that way ! 73, PeteR N8PR PS: CHRIS - Please include the SFDXA and QCWA (Ft. L. Chapter) email addresses above in your info blurbs about logging, etc. Thanks - P -----Original Message----- From: Chris Plumblee Sent: Saturday, October 11, 2014 2:31 PM To: Florida Contest Group Subject: [FCG] W1AW/4 Signup Page Link As promised in the Melbourne forum, the signup database is active for our November week of W1AW/4. To get to the database, browse to http://floridacontestgroup.org/ and look under the W1AW/4 heading in the center of the page. Before you can sign up for operating time slots, you'll have to register with one of our mode captains. The mode captains will give you login credentials for the database and allow you to register for operating time. For SSB, contact WB4OMM (wb4omm at arrl.net For CW, contact K0LUZ (k0luz at topsusa.com For RTTY, contact K9OM (rlvz at aol.com Once you have login credentials, you can reserve a two hour operating period on any mode and band. The mode captains will be in charge of maintaining order in the signup process. Among other things, they will be in charge of making sure no op monopolizes particular bands and modes that are in demand from others. If there are disputes, the mode captain will settle them. I will provide a link with instructions for submitting your log and operating guidelines in the coming weeks. 73, Chris WF3C -- Chris Plumblee 407.494.5155 -- From n8pr1 at bellsouth.net Thu Oct 16 09:26:07 2014 From: n8pr1 at bellsouth.net (Pete Rimmel N8PR) Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 09:26:07 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] W1AW/4 in AL Being Operated in Memory of K9MUG Message-ID: <4481DB16704C45E98D812C201705ED44@PeteRGateway> To: All Alabama Amateur Radio Operators Recently, ACG member Darrell Penrod, K9MUG, suffered a fatal accident at home and passed away the morning of 14 October, 2014 . Daryl was an early member of the ACG and was very active in CW and RTTY contests. There's an interesting story from one of the Ten-Tec hamfests in Sevierville, TN: Darrell won the code copy contest and the prize. Speed was 60 WPM. All of the other ops in the contest threw their hands up in mock disgust. As a tribute to Darrell, the ACG would like to dedicate this week's operation of W1AW/4 in Alabama to his memory. All Alabama hams, and especially members of the ACG, are asked to please keep Daryl in their thoughts each time they log a W1AW/4 QSO this week. Request widest dissemination of this note. Thanks and good luck this week with all your W1AW/4 ops! 73, Tom, W4NBS Secy, Alabama Contest Group From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Oct 16 12:59:31 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 12:59:31 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] FCC Enforcement Bureau Warns Two Hams for Failing to Identify Properly Message-ID: <543FF973.6070603@bellsouth.net> http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-enforcement-bureau-warns-two-hams-for-failing-to-identify-properly From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Oct 16 13:31:38 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 13:31:38 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Crunch Time: Letters Urging House Members to Support H.R. 4969 Due at Headquarters by September 12 Message-ID: <544000FA.6090800@bellsouth.net> http://www.arrl.org/news/crunch-time-letters-urging-house-members-to-support-h-r-4969-due-at-headquarters-by-september-12 Crunch Time: Letters Urging House Members to Support H.R. 4969 Due at Headquarters by September 12 09/10/2014 Constituent letters urging members of the US House of Representatives to co-sponsor *H.R. 4969 *, the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2014, need to arrive at ARRL Headquarters by Friday, September 12, for forwarding to Congress. ARRL Regulatory Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, said the last legislative day for the fall is Friday, September 19, and Congress will not be back in session again until after the mid-term elections on November 4. "It is definitely crunch time!" Henderson said. "We need to get letters urging support to the appropriate members of the US House of Representatives by next week. Members of the ARRL team have been in Washington, DC, this week, making contact with members of Congress while they are still in session." Letters directed for forwarding to US House of Representatives members via the ARRL Headquarters will be printed beforehand. Henderson explained that this approach speeds delivery, since individual pieces of mail to members of Congress are scanned for threats. As of September 10, 31 co-sponsors had signed on to H.R. 4969. The list includes 21 Republicans and 10 Democrats. Henderson emphasized that a successful outcome requires as many co-sponsors as possible, and that's where ARRL members can help, in their role as voters and constituents. "The more noise we make, the better our chances for the bill's passage." Henderson stressed that /all/ letters must include the constituent's name and mailing address, and they must be signed. He reiterated that the current campaign in support of H.R. 4969 only targets members of the US House and /not/ the US Senate. The League's *HR.4969 page* contains information and guidance for clubs and individuals promoting efforts to gain co-sponsors for the measure by contacting their members of Congress. The web page includes a sample letter to a Member of Congress and a list of "talking points." Direct letters to H.R. 4969 Letter Campaign, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. If *e-mailing* your letter as an attachment, include the bill's number, HR.4969, in your subject line. Letters may also be faxed to 860-594-0259. While Congress was on break for the month of August, the League encouraged members to meet with their representatives while they are home on break in their districts, and urge their support for HR.4969, Henderson said. The bill, which was introduced in the US House of Representatives with bipartisan support in late June, would call 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. Its primary sponsor was Rep *Adam Kinzinger* (R-IL), and it received initial co-sponsorship from Rep *Joe Courtney* (D-CT). The limited PRB-1 pre-emption currently applies only to state and municipal land-use ordinances. The FCC has indicated its reluctance to provide the same legal protections from private land-use agreements --- often called covenants, conditions, and restrictions or CC&Rs --- without direction from Congress. HR.4969 has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Rep Greg Walden, W7EQI (R-OR), chairs that panel' From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Oct 16 15:07:21 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 15:07:21 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] ARLX013 Former ARRL Staff Member Mary Lau, N1VH (SK) In-Reply-To: <20141016184030.0731025E04@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20141016184030.0731025E04@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <54401769.5080306@bellsouth.net> SB SPCL @ ARL $ARLX013 ARLX013 Former ARRL Staff Member Mary Lau, N1VH (SK) ZCZC AX13 QST de W1AW Special Bulletin 13 ARLX013 >From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT October 16, 2014 To all radio amateurs SB SPCL ARL ARLX013 ARLX013 Former ARRL Staff Member Mary Lau, N1VH (SK) Former ARRL Headquarters staff member Mary E. Lau, N1VH (ex-N7IAL), of Newington, Connecticut, died October 15. She was 61 and had been suffering from ALS. Lau worked in several League Headquarters departments from 1985 until her retirement in 2005, including Field and Educational Services (F&ES), where she was projects supervisor and secretary of the ARRL Foundation, then a part of the FES Department, assisting young Amateur Radio operators to secure college scholarships and administering the prestigious Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship. Lau headed the Field and Educational Services support team that produced the "Leap into Amateur Radio" brochure aimed at elementary schoolers. She also contributed technical assistance in the preparation of the Active Club Primer. She edited the "At the Foundation" column for QST while she was the Foundation secretary. "Mary loved radio, was a hard worker, creative at finding solutions, would bull-dog things she believed in, was quite enthusiastic about learning new things, empathetic to anyone who came to her, super organized, happy to be at ARRL Headquarters, and was - overall a 'glass is half full' type of person," said former ARRL Field and Educational Services Manager Rosalie White, K1STO. Lau was named the 2000 Herb S. Brier, W9AD Instructor of the Year, co-sponsored by ARRL and the Lake County Amateur Radio Club. A native of Los Angeles, she also spent some time in the Pacific Northwest, where she became licensed as N7IAL. She met her husband Zack, W1VT, at ARRL Headquarters, and she enjoyed many fun operating activities over the years. "As a person with a rare, progressive neurological disorder, Mary had compassion for all those living with disabilities and human rights for all," her obituary said. "She participated in non-violent direct action and advocacy efforts with many groups at the local, state, and federal levels." In addition to her husband, survivors include three sisters. A celebration of Life Ceremony will be held Thursday, October 23, at 1 PM at Newington Memorial in the town center. For more information, contact Zack Lau at, zlau at arrl.org . NNNN /EX From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Oct 16 15:46:27 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 15:46:27 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Young Ham Recognized for Navigation Aid for Visually Impaired Message-ID: <54402093.3070400@bellsouth.net> From ARRL: Young Ham Recognized for Navigation Aid for Visually Impaired A young radio amateur from California is one of nine /Popular Mechanics/ "Future Breakthrough Award" winners. Shiloh Curtis, KK6ISM, developed a "hat-based, hands-free, haptic navigational aid for visually impaired individuals." As the publication *explained* , after a friend from her school's robotics club described going blind as losing "two eyes and one hand," Curtis determined to come up with a way to free up the hand that would be wielding the classic white cane. Robotics was the key. "A robot is blind until you put sensors on it," she told /Popular Mechanics/. "Why don't we put sensors on the blind, so they can navigate like robots?" She combined a wide-brimmed hat, vibrating motors, and a robot vacuum cleaner's laser distance sensor to come up with the wearable device that warns the wearer of obstacles through vibrations. Shiloh Curtis is a junior at Laughing Thunder Academy in Sunnyvale, California. She has been recognized as the winner of California State Fair "Project of the Year" and was an Americas Regional finalist in the Google Science Fair. She is the daughter of Dave Curtis, N6NZ./--- Thanks to Ward Silver, N0AX, and Bob Wilson, N6TV / /http://www.arrl.org/news/young-ham-recognized-for-navigation-aid-for-visually-impaired / From bmarx at bellsouth.net Fri Oct 17 08:20:21 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 08:20:21 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] FS: Hygain DX-88 New Unopened In-Reply-To: <31565577-F37A-4CDD-89C8-CCAC86DA8BA3@earthlink.net> References: <31565577-F37A-4CDD-89C8-CCAC86DA8BA3@earthlink.net> Message-ID: <54410985.8020603@bellsouth.net> Hi folks, I have a brand new, unopened Hygain DX-88 for sale. Never opened the box, plans for use changed. $325.00. Also have brand new the ground radial kit GRK-88. $75.00 Both are new and unused. Call if interested 954-547-6477. Thanks! Alan ______________________________________________________________ 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 Fri Oct 17 13:18:16 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 13:18:16 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] A Big Sunspot Emerges In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <54414F58.9040902@bellsouth.net> Space Weather News for Oct. 17, 2014 http://spaceweather.com A large and active sunspot is emerging over the sun's southeastern limb. Only two to three days ago, this active region unleashed multiple flares and hurled a massive CME over the edge of the sun. If these eruptions continue apace, solar activity could sharply increase in the days ahead as the sunspot turns to face Earth. Visit http://spaceweather.com for photos and updates. REAL-TIME SOLAR FLARE ALERTS are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice). From bmarx at bellsouth.net Fri Oct 17 13:53:18 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 13:53:18 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Why ham operators should consider 3D printing Message-ID: <5441578E.4090906@bellsouth.net> I saw an note on QRZ and found the original article - Bill W2CQ Why ham operators should consider 3D printing ByMike Grauer Jr. on Oct 15 2014 , 10:43:20Email @3Dprint_Seattle As a member of the ham radio community, I have always been fascinated by the maker mindset which has existed since the early days of radio. From making radio equipment from scratch, to kits and even modifying commercially available equipment, the maker movement and radio go hand in hand. The 3D printing community shares many traits with the ham radio movement. At the heart of it all is making, creating and inventing. And just like ham radio operators, those involved with 3D printing are constantly learning new technical skills that can be used in other areas of our lives. *[RELATED: UConn Researchers Recreate Original Saxophone and Change the Face of Music ]* Here are just a few ways ham radio operators can use 3D printing: *1. Creating custom project boxes:* In the past, if you needed a box for a ham radio project, it had to be a prefabricated, one size fits all box. Now you can create a box that fits your project's needs with custom holes for all the connectors. *2. Print custom extruders:* With the advent of paste extruders, you can print your own custom insulators. There are also 3D printing services that print in metal, making it easier to 3D print bespoke metal parts. A lot of research is being done on printing electronics. This could make it easy to not only design your own radios and radio accessories, but also print them. *3. Print replacement parts:* You could use 3D printing to print replacement parts. If you want a new dial for your radio, you can simply print it to suit your own specifications. Or perhaps, you need a new bracket for your microphone? Again, why not print it and save both money and the hassle of finding the right part. You could also recreate plastic parts for radios that are no longer being made. With 3D printing, the possibilities really are endless. *4. Cultivate a love for making things:* With both the open source 3D printing movement and ham radio, we learn how to make things. Cultivating an appreciation for 3D printing will provide you with a good basis for ham radio. You'll learn everything you need to know about making, and that's all you need to get started with ham radio. *5. Reach out to the 3D printing community:* Like ham radio, the Reprap community is extremely active and is always encouraging new hobbyists to join. From the guys who have basic skills to the most advanced people who could design new electronics in their sleep, the 3D printing community is thriving. Many of them might also be interested in 3D printing. Why not reach out to the 3D printing community? Who knows, if you combine 3D printing and ham radio you might be able to attract young blood. 3D printing can be a major resource for ham radio. Both to help build a new skillset and as a resource for teaching technical skills. In addition to getting more people interested in ham radio, this could inspire makers to invent new ham radio gadgets. It's up to ham operators to embrace this ever-evolving technology and use it to their advantage. Link To Article: http://www.inside3dp.com/ham-operators-consider-3d-printing/ From bmarx at bellsouth.net Fri Oct 17 17:24:54 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 17:24:54 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] 57th JOTA: October 17-19, 2014 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <54418926.7080809@bellsouth.net> *From **Tony N2MFT: * 57th JOTA: October 17-19, 2014 Jamboree on the Air provides the opportunity for millions of Scouts around the world to meet on The air via Amateur Radio. Get ready for the 57th year of this annual on-the-air event! What is JOTA? When Scouts want to meet young people from another country, they usually think of attending a World Jamboree. But few people realize that each year more than half a million Scouts and Guides "get together" over the airwaves for the annual Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA). The World Scout Bureau reported that the 2010 JOTA had just over 700,000 Scout participants from nearly 6,000 amateur radio stations! Modern technology offers Scouts the exciting opportunity to make friends in other countries without leaving home. JOTA is an annual event in which Boy and Girl Scouts and Guides from all over the world speak to each other by means of Amateur (ham) Radio. Scouting experiences are exchanged and ideas are shared via radio waves. Since 1958 when the first Jamboree-on-the-Air was held, millions of Scouts have met each other through this event. Many contacts made during JOTA have resulted in pen pals and links between Scout troops that have lasted many years. With no restrictions on age or on the number of participants, and at little or no expense, JOTA allows Scouts to contact each other by ham radio. The radio stations are operated by licensed amateur radio operators. Many Scouts and leaders hold licenses and have their own stations, but the majority participate in JOTA through stations operated by local radio clubs and individual radio amateurs. Some operators use television or computer-linked communications. http://www.arrl.org/jamboree-on-the-air-jota From bmarx at bellsouth.net Fri Oct 17 18:50:29 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 18:50:29 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] For Sale: Icom IC-7100 HF/VHF/UHF $1100 In-Reply-To: <54416F09.6090004@ckradio.net> References: <54416F09.6090004@ckradio.net> Message-ID: <54419D35.3020904@bellsouth.net> Like new in the box Icom IC-7100 HF/VHF/UHF $1100 firm 954 298 2666 Chris VE3NGW Fort Lauderdale From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sun Oct 19 07:39:19 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 07:39:19 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Big Sunspot Produces X-Flare In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5443A2E7.40907@bellsouth.net> Space Weather News for Oct. 19, 2014 http://spaceweather.com X-FLARE: Solar activity increased sharply on Oct. 19th when huge sunspot AR2192 unleashed an X1-class solar flare. The blast produced an HF radio blackout on the dayside of Earth and it likely hurled a CME into space. Check http://spaceweather.com for pictures of the flare and more information about possible Earth-effects. From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sun Oct 19 08:38:00 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 08:38:00 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] EU Crisis Response Commissioner: Ham Radio is 'Last Technical Miracle' In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5443B0A8.5090306@bellsouth.net> From Tony N2MFT: http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2014/10/eucrisis-response-commissioner-ham.html EU Crisis Response Commissioner: Ham Radio is 'Last Technical Miracle' The European Community's Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response says radio amateurs are "the eyes and the ears of the world in time(s) when all other information channels are silent," and that when hams work together "in a Union," they are "a communication superpower in times of total electronic darkness." According to the /ARRL Letter, /the comments of *Kristalina Georgieva (pictured left)* comments were delivered on her behalf to the general conference of International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1, held in Bulgaria in September. IARU Region 1 covers Europe, Africa and the Middle East. "In short," her statement added, "you are the last technical miracle, which is an independent, reliable information channel, which can transmit an important piece of news from any place in the world, anytime, by anyone who knows how to operate this wonderful creature, called radio." Her remarks echo the opinions of her U.S. counterpart, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, KK4INZ /*(see interview, October 2014 CQ).*/ The ARRL says Fugate's keynote address to the League's centennial convention banquet is now available on YouTube. The link is at . http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2014/10/eucrisis-response-commissioner-ham.html From bmarx at bellsouth.net Mon Oct 20 07:34:12 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 07:34:12 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Cy Harris Memorial Free Flea - November 8, Oakland Park In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5444F334.2060400@bellsouth.net> *Cy Harris Memorial* *FREE FLEA* November 8th 2014 7AM until noon Collins Community Center 3900 NE 3rd Avenue Oakland Park, FL 33334 * ARRL VEC Testing 10AM, $15, Bring ID! * Door Prizes at 11AM. * Free Buying/Selling as long as spaces last * Limited inside tables for BARC members * Talk-in: 146.91, -600, PL 110.9 * More info, email: info at w4ab.org or call 954 667-3553 Still South Florida's Largest Free Radio and Electronics Trading Event! From bmarx at bellsouth.net Tue Oct 21 16:01:31 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 16:01:31 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Real time band conditions In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5446BB9B.90105@bellsouth.net> From Tony N2MFT: Thanks to Jack K4WSB www.BANDCONDX.com www.BANDCONDITIONS.com From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Oct 22 08:02:28 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 08:02:28 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The ARRL Contest Update for October 22, 2014 In-Reply-To: <20141022042851.6603324229@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20141022042851.6603324229@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <54479CD4.3000009@bellsouth.net> Preview If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at: http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/?issue=2014-10-22 The ARRL Contest Update October 22, 2014 Editor: Ward Silver, N?AX /Contest Update/ Archive Contest Calendar ARRL Home Page Ad IN THIS ISSUE * Why Is My S-Meter Pinned? - CQ World Wide SSB <#Contests> * Check Your Check! Check? - ARRL November Sweepstakes CW <#Contests> * Clean Sweep Mugs and Pins <#News> * Engineers of Mystery and Intrigue <#Newsweek> * DXing Intro by K?IR <#Sights> * Sweepstakes Club Competition Records from K5OT <#Results> * When Distortion is a Good Thing <#Tech> * Fingering RF Connectors <#Techweek> * Only Radio Waves Need to Be Polarized <#Conversation> NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO "The most fun you can have on the radio" is often applied to one's favorite contest but you would be hard-pressed to find a more popular contest in radiosport than the CQ World Wide DX Contest. This weekend is the SSB weekend - look for stations from all over the world to be piling in loud and fast. To participate, give out a signal report ("Five nine" will do) and your CQ Worked All Zones program zone . And don't forget the School Club Roundup going on this week through Friday afternoon. BULLETINS CQ Communications has reconsidered its initial policy on stations operating in Crimea for the CQ World Wide contest. Logs will be accepted and counted for the country indicated by the call sign of the station. This aligns CQ policy with DXCC policy. See the CQ website for complete details. BUSTED QSOS Contest dates for the October EU Sprint are the first and /second/ Saturdays. The April EU Sprints are on the first and third Saturdays. (Thanks, Tom WB8ZRL) /EMC Blog/ author Ken Wyatt's call sign is WA6TTY. Thanks, Bob K?NR CONTEST SUMMARY Complete information <#Contests> for all contests follows the Conversation <#Conversation> section *October 25-26* * SKCC Straight Key Sprint * CQ World Wide SSB Contest *November 1-2* * */ARRL November Sweepstakes--CW /* * Haunted Lighthouse QSO Party * IPA Contest * Ukrainian DX Contest * Himalayan Contest * Radio Club of America QSO Party--Phone * Collegiate ARC Championship--CW * DARC 10-Meter Digital "Corona" * OK1WC Memorial Contest * ARS Spartan Sprint--CW NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST As we approach November and the ARRL Sweepstakes, don't forget the Clean Sweep mugs for working at least one station in all 83 ARRL/RAC sections. Sweepstakes Participation Pins are also available for anyone completing more than 100 contacts on CW or Phone during Sweepstakes. Each pin displays the year and mode and has become a popular tradition in the November Sweepstakes event. You can find complete ordering instructions and prices on the ARRL Sweepstakes web page. (Thanks, ARRL Contest Branch Manager, Matt W1MSW) Eric W3DQ sent this photo of Art K3KU operating W1AW/3 from Washington, DC at W3DQ. "BIG pileups, lots of fun, 13K QSOs in all from the three stations." Looks like fun, eh? Alright all you Sweepstakes veterans, here's your assignment - help anyone logging on paper get their log converted to Cabrillo format and submitted electronically! I'm sure there are new contesters in your club who are just getting started and aren't ready for contest logging software. They may use a general-purpose logging program and not be aware of how to export a Cabrillo-formatted contest log - help them out! How about others using paper logs who need a hand? You can help there, too, and WA7BNM's Cabrillo converter web service is the way to go! By getting logs submitted electronically, the quality of the log checking process is improved and the provisional results can be published more quickly. Jim AD1C reports that the country (CTY) files , used by logging software to cross-reference call signs and countries, were updated on 13 October 2014. If you are interested in a bigger CTY.DAT for everyday logging, you can download that, too. Please do that /before/ CQ WW SSB begins! The CWops group will be featuring a Very Special Slow-Speed CWops Test on 12 November. The 20 wpm-and-under event is targeted at the new and enthusiastic CW Academy graduates -- help make them feel welcome and eager to come back for more. InnovAntennas America announces North American availability of the G/T - Optimized Wideband Low-impedance High Gain Yagi Antennas, or OWL G/T for short. OWL G/T antennas are optimized for weak signal VHF applications including EME (moonbounce), meteor scatter, and other demanding modes; applications where both antenna gain and control of side and rear lobes are critical to lower the antenna's equivalent temperature by reducing received noise, hence the 'G/T' model suffix. Is this you at your rig seen in infra-red? Nope - it's a DX Heat "Band Activity" map! Browse the the DX Heat website to find out what it means! If you haven't checked out the DX Heat website lately, you might want to take a look at the various interesting displays and presentations of "what's happening now" on the bands. (Scroll down on the home page to see the information below the large photo.) The site features a simple-to-use but flexible incoming spot filter interface, a band activity map, the ability to listen to any spot on a Web-based SDR, and more. The November 2014 issue of /Popular Science / includes "Dawn of the Data Age," a thought-provoking article about visualization of data. The several examples presented are interesting and eye-catching. Perhaps one of the /Contest Update/ readers might find the techniques inspiring to try building some radiosport data visualizations. It was sixty years ago today that transistors began to play! Well, sixty years from October 18^th , the day on which Texas Instruments announced the first transistorized radio . *Web Site of the Week* - Who are these "lesser known but important engineers "? It's a good bet that at least one of the names will be familiar to many hams. You might be surprised at these tales of invention and accomplishment from /EDN/ magazine. WORD TO THE WISE /*The Golden Age of Ham Radio*/ -- the five-year period centered on when you got your license: Everything before then was a primitive wasteland and everything after that has been going to h**l in a handbasket! Ad SIGHTS AND SOUNDS Ralph Fedor K?IR has posted a very interesting video to YouTube that introduces newcomers to DXing, DXpeditions, and Amateur Radio in general. (Thanks, Daily DX ) An example of the ordeals Cubesats must go through to qualify for launch, this video (it's a 1Mb file) shows a vibration test on a power supply board. It failed before getting to the 22G requirement! The editor would probably fail at the 22G requirement, as well. (From Bob WB4APR via AMSAT bulletin ANS-292) Wow - Sunday's X-class solar flare was captured in extreme ultra-violet by the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Hope the satellite had the sunglasses on! (Image courtesy of NASA) Paul W?RW found a website for searching old radio magazines with two million pages for your browsing pleasure! Hams might appreciate this map of the WOM HF-transmit antenna farm operated by AT&T for many years in Pennsuco, Florida, west of Miami. This was one of three high-seas ship-to-shore and island telephone service stations . WOM's corresponding receive site was in Plantation, near Fort Lauderdale. When it was decommissioned the transmission facility sported 38 log-periodics, rhombics and omni verticals over a half-square-mile of Everglades, each of which could handle 10kW from any of 20 or so mostly-Collins transmitters. (Thanks, Tom Becker, ex-KN3URO) RESULTS AND RECORDS The ARRL's Sweepstakes contest manager, Larry K5OT, has just completed researching the history of the Affiliated Club competition for a comprehensive article that will be published in early 2015. Until 1978, all ARRL-affiliated clubs competed in one group and the large clubs dominated the standings. In early 1978, the ARRL Board of Directors approved a three-tiered competition to allow clubs of about the same size to compete against each other. These revised rules were first used in the 1978 Sweepstakes. For this 36-year 'modern era' from 1978-2013, the SS affiliated-club record holders are: /Unlimited Category/ (51 or more logs) * 2009 Potomac Valley Radio Club 24,356,974 points from 302 logs /Medium Category/ (11 through 50 logs) * 1992 North Texas Contest Club 6,292,620 points from 40 logs /Local Category /(3 through 10 logs) * 1991 River City Contesters 1,926,066 points from 10 logs Maybe your club would like to take a run at these records? Anyone with interesting stories about past club activities in Sweepstakes should contact K5OT . What a great shot of the K8GP rover in the June VHF Contest! Read the online results to find out how they did! (Photo by K1RA) The full-sized results writeup of the ARRL June VHF Contest by Bob K2DRH is now online - thanks, Bob! Line scores are being worked on and should be available soon. Check your mailbox because ARRL certificates and plaques for the 2013 November Sweepstakes are arriving just in time to whet your contest whistle. Plaques for the 2013 International DX contest are headed out, as well, catching up with the participation pins mailed out last month. Awards for last year's Phone Sweepstakes and IARU HF Championship are next on the list. (Thanks, ARRL Contest Branch Manager, Matt W1MSW) Official results for the 2014 EU HF Championship are now ready, verified by the SCC Contest Committee, and published on the SCC web page. All UBN reports are publicly available as usual and downloadable certificates are also ready. (Thanks, SCC Contest Manager, Robert S57AW) The results for the 2014 Summer Stew are now online. Congrats to NO3M on submitting a golden log (no errors) and just edging out KV4FZ for top high power honors. K1LT led the way for the low power scores and AC8AP led the list of six brave souls who showed up with QRP. (Thanks, Tree N6TR) Raw scores for the 2014 CQ World Wide RTTY Contest are now posted online. (Thanks, Mark N2QT) OPERATING TIP To save your voice during a 48-hour phone contest, set up your transceiver and speech processing to work at low volume levels, then discipline yourself to speak softly - even in those nasty Sunday-afternoon pileups! Also try to minimize sound levels in the shack, such as from fans or blowers, that will be picked up by a speech processor and their noise added to your voice. Ad TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION Winner of the 2014 ARRL Technical Innovation Award, Warren NR?V, has posted a presentation on Digital Predistortion he gave at Ham Radio Friedrichshafen this year. Author of the openHPSDR program's pre-distortion software, he hopes that bringing this commercial wireless ability to the ham bands will help clean up our signals. As he notes, "(It's) no problem to correct an entire amplifier chain at legal limit. No extra hardware or software is required -- one just feeds back a sample of the output from the last stage to calculate the correction." As we move beyond our purely analog, 13.8 V transceiver output amplifiers, adapting this technology provides some clear benefits at relatively little expense. Who knows - maybe someday we'll be able to hear all that receiver performance we pay for! Gary K9AY checks in with an update of his popular low-band receiving loop . "I've done a lot of analysis and experiments over the past couple years that are not yet published. Among the results is a better understanding of the role of ground. I now recommend a few radials for all installations: a minimum of (4) and preferably (8) radials that are twice as long as the loop's footprint. If you add them to an existing system, remember that the resistor should be readjusted for deepest null." Pete N6ZE found this online site that calculates Grid Locators to ten characters and also provides the distance and bearing between them. /EDN/ magazine published this collection of articles about capacitors - don't bypass it! Capacitors can be surprisingly complex and there are more types of them than ever, with each having a special set of characteristics. While you're at the /EDN/ website, read this blog entry about an engineer (re)discovering superheterodyne image response ! If you need an outdoor grease that won't attract dust and grit, Mike KD5KC recommends Super Lube . This silicone-based, Teflon-impregnated lubricant might be just the thing for tower winches, bearings, and other exposed uses. How many feet? 140 feet! That's the supporting side of N6TR atop one of N9RV's towers. This is why Pat will be nice and loud in the ARRL Sweepstakes. (Photo by N6TR) You think you're an Excel power user? While searching for an Excel spreadsheet to perform FFT calculations - without using the built-in Fourier analysis capability - Brian K1LI happened onto Excel Unusual , "A Blog for Applied Science, Engineering and Games in Excel." The list of topics applicable to ham radio is too long to repeat here, but it's a treasure trove of helpful tools. Robert Dehoney found this useful collection of downloadable graph paper images (such as Smith Charts and lin-log axes) and "cheat sheets" for algebra, trigonometry, geometry -- even calculus. Check out this cross-section of a serious cable - do you think it's rated for direct burial? (Thanks, Dennis N6KI) *Technical Web Site of the Week* - What connector *is* that, anyway? The wireless world has moved quite beyond the UHF/BNC/N world so Pasternak has prepared this connector identifier chart . Be flummoxed no more! CONVERSATION Only Radio Waves Need to Be Polarized */(Note that the following is the author's personal opinion, as are all Contest Update editorials.)/* Lots of discussion has followed CQ Communications' announcement that logs would not be accepted from stations in the Crimea for the upcoming CQ World Wide Phone Contest if they used Russian-issued call signs. As of publication time for this newsletter, the policy has been revised to align with the DXCC policy of using the call sign to determine the country for which the contact will count. While I understand the multiple layers of politics involved with the original decision, we should all reflect on the introduction of such things into Amateur Radio. In whatever form, basing our policies on political considerations is a Bad Thing and will only lead to more Bad Things, especially if it initiates a destructive tit-for-tat escalation. It is a Good Thing that CQ reconsidered and CQ World Wide will run as it always has - everybody works everybody. Ham radio organizations and contest sponsors should always do their utmost to insure that /all /amateurs are /fully /welcome to participate in ham radio events and achievement programs, regardless of political issues of the day. This is one of Amateur Radio's great strengths, the fifth pillar of our Basis and Purpose as stated in FCC Part 97.1(e) - "Continuation and extension of the amateur's unique ability to enhance international goodwill." Consider that throughout the Cold War, hams communicated across the Iron Curtain as DXers, ragchewers, contesters, and above all, friends. One of the great delights we all experienced at the first WRTC in 1990 was that of long friendships developed through Amateur Radio finally turning into face-to-face greetings, overcoming decades of political isolation. Having personally helped make those meetings possible, I hope we continue to avoid placing obstacles in the way of amateurs contacting each other. How much juice do we consume pursuing our favorite sport? At a big station like W7RN, quite a bit. And the W1AW-Nevada operation in its upcoming second week will add another bump at the right of this chart showing Tom's energy consumption throughout the year. Crimean hams will, of course, operate with whatever call sign they feel appropriate - whether it begins with U or R. Those of us outside the Crimea should work them just like any other station, neither seeking or shunning them. A QSO is a QSO is a QSO. Hams should act as we always have and ignore the politics. As long as we are licensed, and not legally prohibited from doing so, work each other enthusiastically and often. We'll worry about the point-counting and award programs later. Leave the politics at the power switch, whether it's on your VHF/UHF handheld or a full-gallon HF linear. Our radio waves may be polarized but hams don't have to be. 73, Ward N?AX Ad CONTESTS *October 22 through November 4* 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* /*ARRL November Sweepstakes*/--CW, from Nov 1, 2100Z to Nov 3, 0300Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: Serial, category, call, check, ARRL/RAC sec. Logs due: Nov 18. Rules SKCC Straight Key Sprint--CW, from Oct 22, 0000Z to Oct 22, 0200Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50, Monthly on the 4th Wednesday UTC. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, name, SKCC number. Logs due: 5 days. Rules CQ World Wide SSB Contest--Phone, from Oct 25, 0000Z to Oct 26, 2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RS and CQ zone. Logs due: 5 days. Rules Haunted Lighthouse QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Oct 31, 0000Z to Nov 2, 2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144. Exchange: Serial or ARLHS number. Rules IPA Contest--Phone,CW, from Nov 1, 0600Z - See website. Multiple time periods. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST and serial or "IPA" and state. Logs due: Dec 31. Rules Ukranian DX Contest--Phone,CW, from Nov 1, 1200Z to Nov 2, 1200Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RST and serial or Ukraine oblast. Logs due: 30 days. Rules Himalayan Contest--Phone,CW, from Nov 1, 1200Z to Nov 2, 1200Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RS(T) and Indian state or power. Logs due: Nov 30. Rules Radio Club of America QSO Party--Phone, from Nov 1, 1700Z to Nov 2, 0500Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-21. Exchange: RST, QTH, name, equipment. Rules Collegiate ARC Championship--CW, from Nov 1, 2100Z to Nov 3, 0300Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: See ARRL Sweepstakes. Rules DARC 10-Meter Digital "Corona"--Digital, from Nov 2, 1100Z to Nov 2, 1700Z. Bands (MHz): 28. Exchange: RST and serial. Logs due: 2 weeks. Rules OK1WC Memorial Contest--Phone,CW, from Nov 3, 1630Z to Nov 3, 1730Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5, 7. Weekly on Monday, see website for bands. Exchange: RS(T) and serial. Logs due: 5 days. Rules ARS Spartan Sprint--CW, from Nov 4, 0200Z to Nov 4, 0400Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Monthly on the first Monday evening local time. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, and power. Logs due: 2 days. Rules *VHF+ CONTESTS* Haunted Lighthouse QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Oct 31, 0000Z to Nov 2, 2359Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144. Exchange: Serial or ARLHS number. Rules LOG DUE DATES *October 22 through November 4* * October 22 - 432 MHz Fall Sprint * October 24 - SKCC Sprint * October 25 - New Jersey QSO Party * October 25 - 10-10 Int. 10-10 Day Sprint * October 25 - PODXS 070 Club 160m Great Pumpkin Sprint * October 25 - Feld Hell Sprint * October 25 - CWops Mini-CWT Test * October 26 - Asia-Pacific Fall Sprint, CW * October 26 - Run for the Bacon QRP Contest * October 26 - UBA ON Contest, SSB * October 26 - WAB HF Phone * October 26 - EU Autumn Sprint, CW * October 26 - NCCC Sprint * October 26 - NCCC RTTY Sprint * October 28 - QRP ARCI Fall QSO Party * October 30 - RSGB 80m Club Sprint, SSB * October 30 - GTC CW Cup * October 31 - All Asian DX Contest, Phone * October 31 - Texas QSO Party * October 31 - Arizona QSO Party * October 31 - California QSO Party * October 31 - German Telegraphy Contest * October 31 - Oceania DX Contest, Phone * October 31 - Oceania DX Contest, CW * October 31 - JARTS WW RTTY Contest * October 31 - CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB * November 1 - Microwave Fall Sprint * November 1 - TARA PSK Rumble Contest * November 1 - New York QSO Party * November 2 - UBA ON Contest, CW * November 3 - YLRL DX/NA YL Anniversary Contest * November 3 - Stew Perry Topband Challenge * November 3 - 10-10 Int. Fall Contest, CW * November 3 - Worked All Germany 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 Oct 22 08:11:29 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 08:11:29 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Monster Sunspot AR2192 Message-ID: <54479EF1.1030906@bellsouth.net> *From Tony N2MFT: MONSTER SUNSPOT: *The biggest sunspot of the current solar cycle is turning toward Earth. This morning when astronomer Karzaman Ahmad of Malaysia's Langkawi National Observatory looked through the eyepiece of his solar telescope, he declared AR2192 a "monster" and snapped this picture: http://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=103395 From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Oct 22 10:20:18 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 10:20:18 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] 2015 Miami Tropical Hamboree Mini Maker Faire In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5447BD22.7030409@bellsouth.net> Good afternoon to all, I hope your having a great and exciting day. My name is Lloyd Kurtzman and I am Your Chairman for this years New, Improved and Exciting 2015 Miami Tropical Hamboree and Mini Maker Faire. This years show will be held on January 30th and 31st and brings lots of exciting changes. New Vendors, Makers, Pricing, Location, Accessibility, Parking, Forums, Door Prizes, Food menu and even the possibility of Beer and Wine ( waiting for Approval ) and so much more. We are still located at the Miami-Dade Youth Fair Grounds, but have chosen the Coliseum hall for this years event. This choice has allowed us to make it easier for your patrons to park, access the event and move around, while allowing us to give YOU , the Vendors Prime spots with awesome visibility regardless where in the hall you are located. The cost of the tables and booths have been drastically reduced, which at the end of the day, puts more money in your pocket. You asked for it and We got it, an entirely NEW menu with a wide variety of Choices to entice any palate. This is just a few of the Awesome and Exciting changes to this years show. We are expecting a very large turnout and spaces to go quickly. Please visit our website as soon as possible, HAMBOREE.ORG to secure your spot in this years show. We look forward to seeing ALL of you in Miami and know that together, WE can make this the Best Hamboree Mini Maker Faire Ever !! If you have any questions or need anything at all, please feel free to contact me at any time via email or by Cell phone 305-332-9142 . Thanks and 73's to all. Lloyd Kurtzman - N4LJK - 2015 Hamboree Chairman -- Lloyd J. Kurtzman Cell : 305-332-9142 Fax : 786-477-7767 N4LJK Vice President : Dade Radio Club of Miami Miami Dade County R.A.C.E.S. Chairman : 2015 Miami Hamboree From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Oct 22 10:23:55 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 10:23:55 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Miami Hamboree 2015 Message-ID: <5447BDFB.8050108@bellsouth.net> Good afternoon to all, I hope your having a great and exciting day. My name is Lloyd Kurtzman and I am Your Chairman for this years New, Improved and Exciting 2015 Miami Tropical Hamboree and Mini Maker Faire. This years show will be held on January 30th and 31st and brings lots of exciting changes. New Vendors, Makers, Pricing, Location, Accessibility, Parking, Forums, Door Prizes, Food menu and even the possibility of Beer and Wine ( waiting for Approval ) and so much more. We are still located at the Miami-Dade Youth Fair Grounds, but have chosen the Coliseum hall for this years event. This choice has allowed us to make it easier for your patrons to park, access the event and move around, while allowing us to give YOU , the Vendors Prime spots with awesome visibility regardless where in the hall you are located. The cost of the tables and booths have been drastically reduced, which at the end of the day, puts more money in your pocket. You asked for it and We got it, an entirely NEW menu with a wide variety of Choices to entice any palate. This is just a few of the Awesome and Exciting changes to this years show. We are expecting a very large turnout and spaces to go quickly. Please visit our website as soon as possible, HAMBOREE.ORG to secure your spot in this years show. We look forward to seeing ALL of you in Miami and know that together, WE can make this the Best Hamboree Mini Maker Faire Ever !! If you have any questions or need anything at all, please feel free to contact me at any time via email or by Cell phone 305-332-9142. Thanks and 73's to all. Lloyd Kurtzman - N4LJK - 2015 Hamboree Chairman -- Lloyd J. Kurtzman Cell : 305-332-9142 Fax : 786-477-7767 N4LJK Vice President : Dade Radio Club of Miami Miami Dade County R.A.C.E.S. Chairman : 2015 Miami Hamboree From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Oct 23 09:43:44 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 09:43:44 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] =?windows-1252?q?=28Hollywood=2C_FL?= =?windows-1252?q?=29_Oct=2E_21=2C_2014_-_Shortwave=92s_Newest_Broadcaster?= =?windows-1252?q?_Takes_to_the_Air_at_7=3A00_pm_Eastern_on_Oct=2E_31?= Message-ID: <54490610.3070707@bellsouth.net> From QRZ: Shortwave?s Newest Broadcaster Takes to the Air at 7:00 pm Eastern on Oct. 31 (Hollywood, FL) Oct. 21, 2014 ? Global 24 Radio LLC announced today that its inaugural broadcast will go live at 7:00 p.m., Friday, Oct. 31 (0000 UTC November 1), with a line-up of new and well-known programs and around-the-clock English language programming. The broadcast can be heard 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 9395 kHz on WRMI broadcasting from Okeechobee, Florida. ?We?re very excited about launching Global 24 and the important contributions it will make to shortwave radio listening ? as both a medium worth preserving and a vital part of the modern media mix for so many listeners around the world,? said Phil Workman, general manager of Global 24. ?Our broadcast will appeal to dedicated shortwave listeners (SWL) all over the world looking for breaking news, opinion and music.? Global 24 aims to revitalize the shortwave medium by bringing general interest news and entertainment into sharper focus for listeners looking for high quality programming on a daily basis. Regular listeners will be informed, entertained and engaged in an ever more complex world. According to Jeff White, general manager of WRMI, ?Global 24 represents another step in the long overdue commercialization of shortwave radio. We are excited to be working with them on their ambitious program to engage and entertain a global audience.? Additional press releases in coming days will announce our broadcast schedule, our Listeners? Club, contests, sponsors, our web store, staff and much more. Follow us on Twitter at @Global24Radio or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/global24radio. Visit our website: http://www.global24radio.com to join our email newsletter for the most current updates. - See more at: http://about.global24radio.com/for-i....qVBdeD04.dpuf From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Oct 23 17:00:22 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 17:00:22 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The ARRL Letter for October 23, 2014 In-Reply-To: <20141023204506.346062689A@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20141023204506.346062689A@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <54496C66.2030506@bellsouth.net> Preview If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2014-10-23 The ARRL Letter October 23, 2014 Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME ARRL Home Page /ARRL Letter/ Archive Audio News Ad * Radio Amateurs Play a Role in Separate Storm Responses <#toc01> * ARRL Board May Seek Member Input on 15 Meter Novice/Tech Digital Privileges <#toc02> * IARU Administrative Council Resolution Seeks to Rein in Electromagnetic Interference <#toc03> * Ninth Annual ARRL On-Line Auction is Now Underway! <#toc04> * W1AW Centennial Operations Head Next to Wyoming, Massachusetts, and US Virgin Islands <#toc05> * ARRL Regional Centennial Conventions Wrap Up with Pacificon <#toc06> * ARRL November Sweepstakes: Another Chance at a "Clean Sweep" is Coming Up! <#toc07> * The 2015 Edition of /The ARRL Handbook for Radio Communications/ is Now Available! <#toc08> * /CQ/ Reconsiders Its Policy on Crimea for /CQ/-Sponsored Contests <#toc09> * IARU EMC Coordinator Thilo Kootz, DL9KCE, Presented with IEC 1906 Award <#toc10> * 4M Moon Orbiter Carrying Ham Radio Payload Launching October 23 <#toc11> * Edge of Space Sciences Balloon Flight Carrying Amateur Radio to Launch October 25 <#toc12> * A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL <#toc13> * Getting It Right! <#toc14> * The K7RA Solar Update <#toc15> * Just Ahead in Radiosport <#toc16> * Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events <#toc17> Radio Amateurs Play a Role in Separate Storm Responses Amateur Radio volunteers activated on opposite ends of the US late last week and over the weekend as separate hurricanes struck Bermuda and Hawaii. Both regions were prepared and fared well with no deaths, serious injuries, or major property damage reported. */Hurricane Gonzalo/* Hurricane Gonzalo, the stronger of the two storms, was a Category 3 hurricane when it made a near-direct hit on Bermuda on Friday, October 17. The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN ) and the VoIP Hurricane Net (VoIPWX ) gathered ground-level weather information from the island and funneling it to the National Hurricane Center's WX4NHC . Forecasters use these reports to better predict a storm's path or intensity. Hurricane Specialist Stacey Stewart used several Amateur Radio reports in NHC advisories, statements, and discussions, Assistant WX4NHC Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, said. The HWN opened on Thursday, October 16, and stayed up for some 41 hours. The net used a primary frequency of 14.325 MHz and switched to 7.268 MHz as conditions warranted. "It was a report from John [Stevens], VP9NI, that let us know the eye had made landfall on Bermuda," HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, reported. "His report made the 9 PM AST Tropical Cyclone Update." Graves said VP9NI's reports confirmed barometric pressure observations by Hurricane Hunter aircraft, and the NHC mentioned his call sign in its update. VP9NI's battery finally gave out just before midnight on Saturday, he added. Only a weekend earlier, Tropical Storm Fay had hit Bermuda, and Graves said he learned during the Gonzalo activation that Fay had dealt Bermuda a bigger blow than he'd first heard. "Many hams had lost their antennas," he said, while other hams' antennas were seriously damaged. Some radio amateurs on Bermuda quickly constructed makeshift antennas in preparation for Gonzalo. "Craig [Nikolai], VP9NL, was able to give us reports in the evening, as he only had a 40 meter dipole with one leg barely off the ground," Graves recounted. "John, VP9NI, gave us many reports on 20 meters until losing commercial power. With only a 20 meter NVIS antenna about 5 feet off the ground and using the battery from a computer UPS, John was able to continue feeding us reports hourly on 20 and 40 meters while running about 12 W." Other stations checking into the HWN included Glen Cuoco, VP9ID, and Ed Kelly, VP9GE. "Giving stations in the affected area advance notice of activation plans and gathering data as to what type of antenna and power output to expect really paid off," Graves added. *At WX4NHC, Julio Ripoll, WD4R, and Paul Hunt, K1MJS. [Julio Ripoll, WD4R, photo]* Nearly all of Bermuda's residents lost power, dozens of roads were blocked by downed trees and limbs, and some damage to structures was also reported. Rob Macedo, KD1CY, Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net, which also activated for Gonzalo, said that while its key Amateur Radio contact was not on Bermuda, it was able to gather many reports from storm bloggers on the Caribbean Hurricane Network , social media outlets, and Weather Underground personal weather stations. "We had constant contact with Marion Dyer in Pembroke, Hamilton, Bermuda, through the /WhatsApp/ software via cell phone, and Cell One Bermuda service did remain up throughout the hurricane," Macedo said. Macedo said the VoIP Hurricane Net also received post-hurricane reports and photos from Dyer from around Bermuda. */Hurricane Ana/* In Hawaii, the passage of Category 1 Hurricane Ana over the weekend was less dramatic, and the storm skipped the most-populated island of Oahu for the most part. ARRL Pacific Section Manager Bob Schneider, AH6J, reported that ham radio volunteers supported shelter communications as Ana passed by Hawaii, causing heavy rain, large waves, and some minor flooding. "A request came from American Red Cross to deploy to the shelter at Ka'u High School in Pahala," Schneider said. The school is in the southeastern edge of the Big Island. "Sean Fendt, KH6SF, and I drove 45 miles and set up HF and VHF communications." (Sean Fendt's wife Kimberly, WH6KIM, is the East Hawaii DEC.) *Sean Fendt, KH6SF, at the Kau High School shelter.[Photo courtesy of Bob Schneider, AH6J]* "The shelter manager was very happy to see us, because in the last [weather] event they lost power and communications and had a full house. This time it was almost a non-event with the hurricane staying offshore to the south and west. There was quite a bit of rain and one road closure due to flooding. One couple that stayed in the shelter last night had been through several typhoons in Japan and didn't want to take any chances, even though later forecasts showed tracks well offshore." Schneider said those later forecast tracks did not reveal the large amount of rain the storm brought along. The ARES volunteers primarily used HF on 40 meters, although they also made use of a VHF repeater that was linked to the Big Island Wide Area Repeater Network (BIWARN). "We sent a couple of voice messages to SKYWARN headquarters located at NWS in Honolulu," Schneider recounted. "Other weather spotters were using mostly /Fldigi / for messages to NWS. We were happy that there were no serious problems and power stayed up." Read more ./-- Thanks to the Hurricane Watch Net, the VoIP Hurricane Net, ARRL Pacific SM Bob Schneider, AH6J, and /The Daily DX . ARRL Board May Seek Member Input on 15 Meter Novice/Tech Digital Privileges A proposal aired at the July ARRL Board of Directors meeting endorsing additional HF digital privileges for Technicians and referred to the ARRL Executive Committee (EC) for study came in for considerable discussion when the EC met on October 4 in Memphis. The original motion by ARRL Southeastern Division Director Doug Rehman, K4AC, called for a /Petition for Rule Making/ to the FCC seeking digital privileges for Techs on narrow segments of 80, 40, and 15 meters. Rehman's motion had noted that Technicians already enjoy digital privileges on 10 meters, a band with highly variable propagation that will diminish as the sunspot cycle declines. After discussing the proposal's pros and cons, the EC put the ball back into the Board's court in a modified form: The EC recommended that the Board consider soliciting input from the membership on adding Novice/Technician data privileges within their existing 15 meter subband. In his original proposal, Rehman had pointed out that text messaging, a medium preferred by today's youth, bears "great similarity with amateur digital communications." "This is /not /a proposal that the Board /adopt/ data privileges for Techs and Novices on 15 meters as an objective, and it is most definitely /not/ an ARRL proposal to the FCC," stressed ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, a non-voting member of the EC. "That would come later, if at all, after the Board has had an opportunity to weigh membership input." In other matters, ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, told the EC to expect an FCC /Notice of Proposed Rule Making/ "sometime in the next few months" that will propose the elimination of the existing symbol rate limit on HF data communication. The /NPRM/, in response to an ARRL /Petition for Rule Making/ filed last November, is expected to leave open for comment the specific bandwidth limitation that should replace it, and it may address additional topics. *ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD. [Rick Lindquist, WW1ME, photo]* Imlay also briefed the committee on recent discussions with US House Telecommunications Subcommittee staff regarding "The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2014 ." The bill, H.R. 4969, had attracted 47 co-sponsors by the time Congress recessed. Another 10 representatives have committed to signing on when Congress returns next month after the elections. Imlay noted there has been no action on the League's 2012 /Petition for Rule Making/ to create an MF Amateur Service allocation at 472-479 kHz, nor on ET Docket 12-338, regarding implementation of the Final Acts of World Radiocommunication Conference 2007. There also was nothing new to report regarding other allocation issues, including an Amateur Service allocation at 135.7-137.8 kHz and upgrading 1900-2000 kHz to primary. Read more . IARU Administrative Council Resolution Seeks to Rein in Electromagnetic Interference The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU ) Administrative Council has called upon International Telecommunication Union (ITU ) signatory nations to take steps to ensure that the operation of "electrical apparatus or installations of any kind, including power and telecommunication distribution networks," does not cause harmful interference to Amateur Radio operations. The Council adopted a resolution expressing concern with the "rapid and largely uncontrolled growth" in devices that generate RF energy "as an unnecessary and undesirable consequence of their operation." It cited such devices as switching power supplies, power inverters, plasma video displays, and wireline telecommunication systems that employ such technologies as Broadband over Power Lines (BPL ). The AC said new technologies such as wireless power transfer are likely to be deployed widely in the near future, and it expressed "deep concern" that present standards, regulations, and enforcement resources are inadequate to protect radio services, including Amateur Radio, from harmful interference. The Council's action, which came during its annual meeting on September 27 and 28 in Albena, Bulgaria, followed the recommendation of IARU EMC Coordinator Thilo Kootz, DL9KCE. The resolution encourages IARU member-societies and regional organizations "to pursue implementation of the resolution as a matter of the highest priority," requests standards-setting bodies and regulators to fully support the resolution's objectives, and implores designers and manufacturers to "minimize radio spectrum pollution emanating from their products." The AC also revised and updated a 2008 resolution concerning operating practices. Noting that Amateur Radio relies on self-regulation for effective use of its allocations, and that "poor operating behavior adversely affects the enjoyment of all radio amateurs," the Council encouraged all radio amateurs to operate proficiently and with "proper consideration for others using the Amateur Radio bands." The Council urged IARU member-societies to teach and promote correct operating behavior. Council members also reviewed IARU positions on each WRC-15 agenda item relating to or affecting Amateur Radio, including Agenda Item 1.4, the addition of a new allocation within the band 5250-5450 kHz, which the AC called "a high priority for the Amateur service." WRC-15 will consider "the possibility of making an allocation of an appropriate amount of spectrum, not necessarily contiguous, to the Amateur Service on a secondary basis within the band 5250-5450 kHz." As 2015 will mark the 150th anniversary of the ITU, the Administrative Council adopted the theme "ITU & IARU: Celebrating 150 years of Advancing the Telecommunication Art" for the next World Amateur Radio Day, April 18, 2015. Read more . Ninth Annual ARRL On-Line Auction is Now Underway! Bidding for the ninth annual ARRL On-Line Auction is now underway. More than 230 items are on the block, including 24 pieces of gear that were the subject of /QST/ "Product Review" articles and road tested by the ARRL Laboratory team. In addition to other miscellaneous transceivers and accessories there are more than 100 vintage books. "We also have a number of one-of-a-kind pieces, including a hardcover 2014 Centennial edition of /The ARRL Handbook/, imprinted with 'Hiram Percy Maxim, W1AW' to honor our founding president, plus another hardcover 2014 Centennial /Handbook/ bearing the number 100," said ARRL Sales Manager Deb Jahnke, K1DAJ. "You'll also find unique items, such as an autographed script from the popular television series 'Last Man Standing' starring Tim Allen. Ham radio has been mentioned in several episodes, and now Tim Allen is licensed for real." Proceeds from the On-Line Auction benefit ARRL educational programs, including activities aimed at licensing new hams, strengthening Amateur Radio's emergency service training, offering continuing technical and operating education, and creating instructional materials. *The Yaesu FTdx1200 HF+50 MHz transceiver reviewed by /QST/ is among the 2014 On-Line Auction items.* Bidding in the 2014 auction ends at 0300 UTC on October 31 (the evening of October 30 in US time zones). Check items in which you have an interest, as bidding end times for each item are staggered. If you have participated in a previous ARRL On-Line Auction, you may use the passwords you have used on this site before. Your ARRL website user ID and password will not work on the auction site. Check your ARRL user profile to ensure that all address and credit card information remains the same. Newcomers to the ARRL On-Line Auction must first register in order to participate. Ad W1AW Centennial Operations Head Next to Wyoming, Massachusetts, and US Virgin Islands The ARRL Centennial W1AW portable operations taking place throughout 2014 from each of the 50 states are now in Nevada and West Virginia. They will transition at 0000 UTC on Wednesday, October 29 (the evening of October 28 in US time zones), to Wyoming (W1AW/7) and Massachusetts (W1AW/1). W1AW/KP2 also will be active until November 5 from the US Virgin Islands. So far during 2014, W1AW has visited each of the 50 states for at least 1 week, and by year's end W1AW will have been on the air from every state at least twice. The ARRL Centennial QSO Party kicked off on 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. 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. Participants must work W1AW/1 in Connecticut.) A W1AW WAS certificate and plaque will be available. An ARRL Centennial QSO Party leader board shows participants 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. ARRL Regional Centennial Conventions Wrap Up with Pacificon Pacificon -- the ARRL Pacific Division Convention held over the October 11-12 weekend in Santa Clara, California -- was arguably the last major Amateur Radio gathering of 2014. It also was the last of six ARRL Regional Centennial Conventions. As such, said ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, it was even more memorable. "We continued to hear from members about their enjoyment of the ARRL Centennial operating events," President Craigie said. "Several people had been to the National Convention in Hartford and were enthusiastic in their praise for the event. As the convention aspect of the Centennial year draws to a close, I am especially appreciative of the host organizations that cooperated with the ARRL on the Regional events, so we could spread the fun around the country." The first Regional Centennial Convention was the Orlando Hamcation^? in February. *ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, at Pacificon. [Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, photo]* In her Pacificon banquet keynote address President Craigie praised the ARRL Headquarters staff for "an amazing job" in organizing ARRL Centennial activities during 2014 and thanked all who "made the Centennial the fun that it is." President Craigie told her audience that the most important thing the League does is advocacy. "Think of the ARRL over the last 100 years as a strong voice speaking out for Amateur Radio," she said. She pointed out that had ARRL co-founder Hiram Percy Maxim not advocated strongly for federal authorities to permit the resumption of Amateur Radio following the World War I shutdown, "we wouldn't be here this evening talking about Amateur Radio." *Clayton Hall, NF1R, at the helm of W100AW during Pacificon.* She also expressed appreciation to the ARRL membership for the success to date of the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2014, H.R. 4969 . The bill has attracted 47 co-sponsors. "It's taken all of us," she said. A W100AW/6 special event station was on the air during Pacificon, which is sponsored by the Mount Diablo Amateur Radio Club (MDARC ). At Pacificon, John Bigley, N7UR, was named the 2014 ARRL Pacific Division "Ham of the Year." He is the editor of the Nevada Amateur Radio Newswire . Photos from Pacificon have been posted on the League's Facebook page. Read more . /-- Thanks to Randy Hall, K7AGE (video), and Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R/ // ARRL November Sweepstakes: Another Chance at a "Clean Sweep" is Coming Up! In a few short days, operators across all 83 ARRL and Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) sections will take to the airwaves to compete in the first of two ARRL November Sweepstakes events. Always a fall favorite "Sweeps" is the longest-running "domestic" contest. The CW event is November 1-3, while the SSB event is November 15-17. The action on both weekends gets underway at 2100 UTC Saturday and runs through 0259 UTC Monday (Sunday evening in continental US time zones). As veteran Sweeps hands already know, the exchange for this operating event is a bit more involved than it is for most other contests. Strange terms such as "precedence" and "check" -- while very familiar to old timers and traffic operators -- may seem confusing at first to newcomers. The exchange goes like this: Call sign of the station worked, consecutive serial number (NR) starting with 001, precedence (PREC) -- a letter that indicates your operating category; see the rules), your call sign, check (CK) -- the last two numerals of the year you were first licensed, and the two or three-letter abbreviation of your ARRL or RAC section (SEC). In your log, for example, if WW1ME works W1MSW, the log entry might look like this: Station NR CK My Call CK SEC *W1MSW 015 A WW1ME 65 ME* All popular logging programs include a template for ARRL November Sweepstakes. Be sure to use the latest version of your logger. It may seem difficult and complicated at first, but once you get into the swing of Sweeps, it will start coming naturally. That's also where it starts being fun. /The //2014 ARRL November Sweepstakes Operating Guide/ contains a collection of Sweepstakes information and links to help both newbies and old timers to understand the rules, operating techniques, and log-submission guidelines. Be sure to read the rules for all ARRL contests, too. The holy grail of Sweepstakes is to earn a "Clean Sweep" by working at least one station in all 83 sections. Attain this elite level and you qualify to purchase a highly desired Clean Sweep mug for your accomplishment! Also, the Sweepstakes certificate of every op making a Sweep will include a "Clean Sweep" sticker. Icom is the Principal Awards Sponsor for ARRL November Sweepstakes. For more information about Sweepstakes, contact ARRL Contest Branch Manager Matt Wilhelm, W1MSW. Read more . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The 2015 Edition of /The ARRL Handbook for Radio Communications/ is Now Available! The 2015*//*/ARRL Handbook for Radio Communications**/is now shipping , and, while supplies last, you can get the hardcover edition for the softcover price. /The ARRL Handbook/ provides the theory, practical information, and construction details to expand your knowledge and skill as an Amateur Radio operator and experimenter.This 92nd edition of /The ARRL Handbook/ is at the forefront of the growing field of wireless telecommunications. The book covers not only the fundamentals of radio electronics -- analog and digital -- but also offers practical circuit and antenna designs as well as information on computer-aided design, digital operating modes, equipment troubleshooting, and reducing RF interference. Many projects and construction articles are included to help enhance your station and expand your participation as an active radio experimenter. Practical applications and solutions make/The ARRL Handbook /a must-have for hobbyists and technical professionals. For years now, the Handbook has been a staple on the work bench and operating desk as well as in university libraries and classrooms. /The ARRL Handbook/ is available in hardcover and softcover from the ARRL Store or your ARRL Dealer . Hardcover , ARRL Order No. 0218, ISBN: 978-1-62595-020-8, $59.95 retail, special offer $49.95. Softcover , ARRL Order No. 1920, ISBN: 978-1-62595-019-2, $49.95 retail. Call (860) 594-0355 or, toll-free in the US, (888) 277-5289. Ad /CQ/ Reconsiders Its Policy on Crimea for /CQ/-Sponsored Contests /CQ/ has reversed its just-announced policy that it would no longer accept logs for any /CQ/-sponsored contest from stations in Crimea operating with Russian-issued call signs and is adopting a new policy that is in harmony with ARRL's DXCC policy. In announcing the shift, /CQ/ Publisher Dick Ross, K2MGA, cited concerns raised by "a large number of contesters around the world" that /CQ/ was unfairly denying Crimean radio amateurs the opportunity to fully participate in /CQ/-sponsored contests. "Since the country list for /CQ/ contests is based on a combination of the Worked All Europe (WAE) and ARRL DXCC lists, and the ARRL has already adopted a policy regarding Crimean stations in its award and contest programs, we will amend our policy to be consistent with the ARRL's DXCC policy," Ross said. Ross said that listings of Crimean stations submitting logs for /CQ/ contests will be based upon the call sign under which they operated. "If they used Russian-issued calls in the contest, they will be listed under Russia; if they used Ukrainian-issued calls in the contest, they will be listed under Ukraine," he said. Ross said the revised policy "reflects not only the desire of many contesters around the world, but also of a large majority of members of the CQ World Wide DX Contest Committee." /CQ/ sponsors several major international operating events, including the CQ World Wide DX contests. IARU EMC Coordinator Thilo Kootz, DL9KCE, Presented with IEC 1906 Award IARU EMC Coordinator Thilo Kootz, DL9KCE/AD7IY, has been presented with the IEC 1906 Award . Kootz received the award during the plenary session of CISPR (the Special International Committee on Radio Interference) held in Frankfurt on October 20. CISPR sets standards for controlling electromagnetic interference in electrical and electronic devices and is a part of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Kootz represents the IARU at CISPR, overseeing the protection of radio reception. *Thilo Kootz, DL9KCE (left) shakes hands with CISPR Chairman Donald N. Heirman.* According to CISPR, Kootz received the honor for his "significant contributions in defining the disturbance models and especially in developing the model for radiated emission limits in the frequency range below 30 MHz" for a section of a CISPR publication, /Specification for Radio Disturbance and Immunity Measuring Apparatus and Methods. / He also contributed to the development of the radio services database of the CISPR 31 publication, /Database on the Characteristics of Radio Services/, and he made several technical contributions for the disturbance model of grid-connected power converter devices and installations and actively contributed to the work of generic emission standards. Read more . 4M Moon Orbiter Carrying Ham Radio Payload Launching October 23 The Manfred Memorial Moon Mission (4M) lunar flyby experiment , which will carry an Amateur Radio payload, was scheduled to launch from China on October 23 with lunar flyby to occur, nominally, on October 28. During the lunar flyby, the spacecraft will be about nearly 248,000 miles from Earth and between 7440 and 14,480 miles from the Moon. The ham radio payload will transmit continuously on 145.990 MHz using JT65B mode, which can be decoded using a version of the free /WJST/ software that Joe Taylor, K1JT, developed especially for this mission. The 14 kg battery-powered payload known as 4M-LXS, was *A model of the 4M spacecraft superimposed on an image of the moon's surface. [LUXspace graphic]* developed at LUXspace in Luxembourg. The launch was set for approximately 1759 UTC on October 23, and the lunar flyby will take place at 0033 UTC on October 28. 4M is expected to begin transmitting on October 23 between 1917 UTC and 1927 UTC Gislain Ruy, LX2RG, of LUXspace said ground stations in the Southern Hemisphere are best situated to listen for the spacecraft's first signals. The onboard transmitter will put 1.5 W into a quarter-wave monopole antenna. Read more . /-- Thanks to LUXspace, AMSAT-UK, AMSAT News Service/ Edge of Space Sciences Balloon Flight Carrying Amateur Radio to Launch October 25 Students from Colorado and New Mexico plan to launch a balloon carrying three ham radio payloads into near-space on October 25 from Deer Trail , Colorado. The Douglas County, Colorado, STEM School and STEM Academy and Spartan Amateur Radio Club, AB0BX, are sponsoring and coordinating the next Edge of Space Sciences (EOSS ) balloon mission -- EOSS-202 . The "AB0BX Spartan Space Sciences" mission involves students from several schools and school Amateur Radio clubs. If successful, EOSS-202 will carry seven student-designed payloads to an altitude of 100,000 feet . The plan calls for recovering the parachute-equipped balloon once it descends back to Earth. Onboard ham radio payloads will help to track the balloon during flight and recovery and also transmit telemetry during the mission. "On this flight we have three ham radio signals coming down from the balloon, all related to EOSS's tracking and recovery," Flight Coordinator Jim Langsted, KC0RPS, told ARRL. These are AE0SS, the CW beacon used for direction finding, used to help locate the payload string once the balloon is back on the ground; AE0SS-11, the primary APRS beacon, which shows the balloon's position and provides a telemetry data stream that includes battery voltage, reference voltage, barometric pressure, inside temperature, and outside temperature, and AB0BX-11, the secondary APRS beacon. All payloads will transmit on 2 meters. Langsted said the AE0SS payload also can receive a signal from the ground to cut away the balloon from the payload string to terminate the flight, if necessary. "A secondary flight termination method such as this is required by FAA regulation," he explained. "The primary flight termination method is balloon burst." The plan calls for seven payloads. Many of the students involved are radio amateurs. Another 30 have expressed interest in getting licensed. Read more . Ad A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL A first took place on Space Shuttle mission STS-37. SAREX (Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment) provided live communication from the shuttle into many school classrooms to teach the students about space exploration and Amateur Radio. In July 1991, N6CA and KH6HME set a new record on 3456 MHz between California and Hawaii. Each was running 5 W to a 4-foot dish. In 1992, after 8 years as ARRL President, Larry Price, W4RA, declined to run for re-election. The League's Board of Directors subsequently chose him as the next International Affairs Vice President, which provides liaison with the IARU, which Price served as Secretary. George Wilson, W4OYI, succeeded Price as ARRL President. N7FKI and W7ZOI reported in the March 1992 /QST/ that they had built a one-transistor 10 meter CW transmitter and made contacts with it using lemon power -- essentially a cell made by inserting appropriate electrodes into a lemon. If life gives you lemons, make contacts! During the early 1990s, interest in digital communication grew, and /QST/ published many articles on the subject that helped fan the flames. Also, hams became interested in the old concept of direct-conversion receivers. KK7B presented one of the best in the August 1992 issue of /QST/. Another old receiver circuit was also revived -- the regenerative receiver. WJ1Z described one for 40 meters in the September 1992 issue of /QST/. The Atanasoff-Berry computer used racks of vacuum tubes. By the early 1990s, digital signal processing (DSP) had made its appearance, and had begun to be used by both homebrewing hams and equipment manufacturers. A September 1992 /QST/ article, "ABC: The First Electronic Digital Computer," recounted the fascinating tale of the first real computer, the Atanasoff-Berry computer -- a vacuum tube device -- designed in 1939 and 1940 by university professor John Atanasoff and built by electrical engineering student Clifford Berry, W9TIJ. /-- Al Brogdon, W1AB/ ** Getting It Right! A story, "Radio Amateurs Named to Order of Canada" in the August 14, 2014, edition of /The ARRL Letter/ contained incorrect information about the award presented to Veena Rawat, VA3ITU. It should have said, "Rawat was honored as an Officer of the Order of Canada for contributions to telecommunications engineering and for her leadership in establishing a global regulatory framework for radio spectrum management." ** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The K7RA Solar Update Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: Solar activity is making a healthy comeback, just in time for the SSB weekend of the CQ World Wide DX Contest . A series of large solar flares erupted this week. The most powerful was an X1.6 flare on October 22. The sunspot is now directly facing Earth. Average daily sunspot numbers rose from 55.1 during October 9-15 to 83.9 this week, and average daily solar flux increased from 117.4 to 174. The predicted solar flux for this weekend is 220, higher than on any day since January 7. Prior to that, we didn't see solar flux values this high since late October 2003. Accompanying the high solar flux back then was a great deal of geomagnetic activity. On October 29, 2003, the mid-latitude A index hit 199! Several 3-hour K index values were 9, the top of the scale. On the same day the daily sunspot number was 330. Predicted solar flux is 215 on October 23, 220 on October 24-27, 215 on October 28-29, 205 on October 30, 140 on October 31, 130 on November 1-3, dropping to a low of 110 on November 8, and rising to 180 on November 19-20. Along with that relatively high solar flux this weekend will be unsettled geomagnetic conditions. The predicted planetary A index is 15 on October 23-24, 10 on October 25, 12 on October 26-27, 10 on October 28-29, 8 on October 30, 5 on October 31 through November 3, 8 on November 4, 10 on November 5, 8 on November 6-7, 5 on November 8-9, 8 on November 10-11, then 5 and 8 on November 12-13, 12 on November 14-15, 15 and 12 on November 16-17, 15 on November 18-19, then 12, 10, and 8 on November 20-22, and 10 on November 23-24. 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 * October 25-26 -- CQ World Wide SSB Contest * October 31-November 2 -- Haunted Lighthouse QSO Party * November 1 -- IPA Contest * November 1-2 -- Ukranian DX Contest * November 1-2 -- Himalayan Contest * November 1-2 -- Radio Club of America QSO Party * *November 1-3 -- **ARRL November Sweepstakes (CW)* * November 1-3 -- Collegiate ARC Championship * November 2 -- DARC 10-Meter Digital "Corona" * November 3 -- OK1WC Memorial Contest * November 4 -- ARS Spartan Sprint * November 6 -- CWOps Weekly Mini-CWT Tests See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events * October 24-25 -- Oklahoma Section Convention , Ardmore, Oklahoma * November 1 -- TechFest 2014 , Lakewood, Colorado * November 1-2 -- Georgia State Convention , Lawrenceville, Georgia * November 8 -- Alabama State Convention , Montgomery, Alabama * November 15-16 -- Indiana State Convention , Fort Wayne, Indiana * December 12-13 -- West Central Florida Section Convention , Plant City, Florida 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 Fri Oct 24 20:36:27 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 20:36:27 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] DX Alert - Naturist Amateur Radio Club Message-ID: <544AF08B.8000302@bellsouth.net> The interest in Ham Radio and Naturists/Nudists seemed to start in the early 90's (maybe even earlier?). Ham Radio operations during Nude Recreation Weekend started in the early 90's as well. One of the first efforts happened from Hippie Hollow , a clothing optional county run park in Austin, TX. A long wire was run along the cliffs, just a short distance from the shoreline. The rig was run using a couple of heavy duty batteries, but contacts were few and far between, mainly due to the poor location. A vertical was also use at one point, but still limited contacts. The call sign used belonged to Bob, KF5KF (at the time). After little luck from Hippie Hollow, the decision was made to operate from Star Ranch Nudist Resort , about 40 miles from Austin in a little town called McDade, in Central Texas. Bob operated from his house during the week and on the weekend he moved his equipment from home to Star Ranch. This caused a dramatic increase in the number of contacts. Bob changed his call sign to N5KF in the fall of 1996. This call was used in July, 1997 from Star Ranch. http://www.nu5de.org/ From wa4aw at juno.com Sun Oct 26 09:39:21 2014 From: wa4aw at juno.com (wa4aw) Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 13:39:21 GMT Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] QCWA Chapter 111 MEETING INVITATION Message-ID: <20141026.093921.22464.0@webmail03.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 October 28th. Hope you can join us for fellowship, rag chews & information. Don't forget the WV4I Memorial Free Flea hamfest on Nov. 1st in West Palm Beach. More info here: http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/link-mcgarity-wv4i-memorial-free-flea 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 ____________________________________________________________ Map Your Flood Risk Find Floodplan Maps, Facts, FAQs, Your Flood Risk Profile and More! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/544cf9cf5efda79ce169cst01vuc From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Oct 29 16:24:26 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 16:24:26 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Robert Brooks NQ2U, SK In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <54514CFA.2010907@bellsouth.net> It's my sad duty to report the passing of my good friend NQ2U after an extended illness. For the past year, Robert had been living in New York and getting treatments at Sloan Kettering. You may have heard him from New York on W4AB's DStar machine. Robert was a member of the Broward Amateur Radio Club and gave time and money to developing ? W4AB's DStar repeater.? Robert, my son Matt and myself physically installed the repeater atop the 110 Tower. Robert had been a ham radio operator since he was in high school and had recently retired from his family's business in Hollywood.? A memorial service will be held this Sunday, November 2, at Temple Solel, 5100 Sheridan Street, Hollywood, FL. His amateur radio friends are welcome. -- Mickey Baker, N4MB Fort Lauderdale, FL /???Tell me, and I will listen. Show me, and I will understand. Involve me, and I will learn.??? /Teton Lakota, American Indian Saying. -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ BARC Members mailing list members at w4ab.org http://mail.w4ab.org/mailman/listinfo/members From bmarx at bellsouth.net Fri Oct 31 09:10:31 2014 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 09:10:31 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Icom IC-7850 Pre-Release Information Message-ID: <54538A47.2030606@bellsouth.net> http://www.radiocronache.com/category/icom/ic-7800/