From bmarx at bellsouth.net Mon Mar 2 07:18:54 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2015 07:18:54 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] South Florida DX Association Meeting is this Wednesday March 4th 2015 at 7:33 PM Message-ID: <54F4552E.5090606@bellsouth.net> South Florida DX Association Meeting is next Wednesday March 4th 2015 at 7:33 PM We have a Fun and Informative Meeting planned so please Join us. The 2014 SFDXA DX Hog of the Year will be awarded to one deserving DXer. Norm Alexander W4QN the Club Founder, will give a very interesting presentation on DX Lab Software and the DX Marathon. Very good tips on using Logging Software successfully and possibly some on the use of N1MM as well. No matter what software you use or are just thinking about going to digital logging and control you will want to see Norm and learn from him. The SFDXA Meeting is held at the Florida Medical Center on Oakland Park Blvd and the Fl Turnpike. There is no exit on the Turnpike at Oakland Park, So come west from I-95 on Oakland Park Blvd. past 441 to the Hospital, about 4 traffic lights west after 441 on the left before the Turnpike Bridge. Come through the front door and tell the Guard you are there for the Radio Club Meeting. For those using a GPS the hospital address is Florida Medical Center,5000 Oakland Park Blvd. Join us at 6:00 to 6:45, and have dinner in the cafeteria for a $7.00 Donation to the Club. Remember, only one entr?e. Walk across the hall with your tray to the auditorium and meet friends, and discuss and brag about your activities, new contacts recent QSLs you received and W1AW/p totals. Formal Meeting begins at 7:33 PM. Come and being a friend. Everyone is Welcome. From bmarx at bellsouth.net Mon Mar 2 08:08:42 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2015 08:08:42 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] A Message from Jeff In-Reply-To: <20150302125629.3DAEA21074EF@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20150302125629.3DAEA21074EF@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <54F460DA.9000601@bellsouth.net> Greetings to all, Hope you are enjoying our cooler temperatures here in SFL. A little too cool for our neighbors up north, however. Record frigid temps, snow, sleet and freezing rain necessitated the callout of various ARES groups in their affected areas. As has been mentioned before, ARES members need to train and be prepared to deal with any situation that comes our way. Those of you who are not ARES members, please consider joining your local group as there is a place for all regardless of your time commitment, experience and ability to deploy. Look forward to seeing you at these SFL activities during the month of March: 03/14/2015 | Palm Beach County Hamfest Location: West Palm Beach, FL Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Palms West Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.palmbeachradiofest.com/ 03/21/2015 | Southern Florida Section Convention (Stuart Hamfest - Martin County) Location: Stuart, FL Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Martin County Amateur Radio Association Website: http://www.stuarthamfest.com 3/28/15 Boca Raton ARA Clubhouse Open House 10875 W Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach @ 10 AM Website: WWW.BRARA.ORG Near as I could tell, everyone had a grand time at the Orlando Hamcation last month. The hamfest hosted the ARRL Southeastern Division Convention as well. Our Section was well represented and I had the opportunity to chat with many of you at the ARRL booth, the forums and the flea markets. Kudos to the Orlando ARC and their hamfest committee for another great show ! During the Orlando Hamcation, Florida Section leadership officials took the opportunity to meet and discuss ARES mutual aid as well as other issues with the Amateur Radio leaders from the Florida Division of Emergency Management. NFL SM Steve Szabo, WB4OMM, SFL SM Jeff Beals, WA4AW, WCF SM Darrell Davis, KT4WX, SFL SEC Larry Zimmer, W4LWZ and WCF SEC Ben Henley, KI4IGX met with Florida Division of Emergency Management Communications Branch Director Phil Royce, KE4PWE and ESF 2 Communicator Bob Little KK4OAI. This was a very productive meeting and all agreed to continue to meet on a regular basis. Those of you from Palm Beach County may recognize the name of Phil Royce, who lived in West Palm Beach for many years and was very active with the clubs and ARES. Congratulations to Phil in his new position with the Florida DEM. Congratulations to the members of the Indian River ARC, serving central Brevard County, who are celebrating 60 years of ARRL affiliation this month. An official presentation will occur at an upcoming meeting of the club. Please let me know about any events that your club or ARES group are sponsoring such as picnics, free fleas, operating events, etc. as they can be added to this newsletter to better keep the members of SFL informed of your activity. Nominations Sought for 2015 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award Amateur Radio Newsline is seeking nominations for its 2015 Young Ham of the Year (YOTY) Award. To be considered, a nominee must have used Amateur Radio in some way that has benefited his or her community or encouraged technological development directly or indirectly related to communications. Nominees must be no older than 19 and reside in the United States, Canada, or Puerto Rico. The individual must also hold a currently valid US or Canadian Amateur Radio license. Candidates considered for the Young Ham of the Year Award will be judged on their overall accomplishments and contributions ? especially in terms of public service activities or experimentation in the areas of science, technology, or electronic communication ? that may be of an outstanding nature. The decision of the judging committee is final. The deadline to submit an application is May 30, 2015. An application form also is available by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to 2015 Young Ham of the Year Award, c/o Amateur Radio Newsline, 28197 Robin Ave, Santa Clarita, CA 91350. Basic information on required documentation and how to file are included on the nominating form. Presentation of the 2015 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award will take place at the Huntsville Hamfest, August 15-16, in Huntsville Alabama. ? Thanks to Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF/Amateur Radio Newsline ARRL Seeks Member Input on Draft HF Band Plan Proposals The ARRL is asking members to comment by April 19 on possible changes to the League?s HF Band Plans suggested by the HF Band Planning Committee. The survey is part of the committee?s efforts to tweak the band plans for the RTTY/data/CW portions of 80 through 10 meters ? excepting 60 meters. The committee developed its suggested revisions to the voluntary band plans after reviewing some 400 member comments in response to a March 2014 solicitation that sought suggestions for using the spectrum more efficiently so that data modes may coexist compatibly. ?The committee concluded that most of the concerns voiced by members could be addressed by modest adjustments to the existing band plans, and mainly by confining data modes with bandwidths greater than 500 Hz to the FCC-designated segments for automatically controlled digital stations (ACDS) and to parts of the RTTY/data subbands above those segments,? ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ said. His article detailing the committee?s suggestions will appear in the April edition of QST. The proposed changes differentiate among ACDS, narrow RTTY/data modes having a bandwidth no greater than 500 Hz, and wider data modes having a bandwidth up to 2700 Hz. Band by Band Draft Recommendations The committee suggests several modifications to the 80 meter band plan. FCC action in 2006 reduced the 80 meter RTTY/data subband to 100 kHz and limited access to the 3600-3700 kHz segment to Amateur Extra class licensees. ?Unless and until the FCC Rules are modified, changes in the band plan for 3500-3600 kHz will not improve the situation,? Sumner said. The HF Band Planning Committee recommends that the League petition the FCC to move the boundary between the 80 meter RTTY/data band and the 75 meter phone/image band from 3600 to 3650 kHz and restoring that segment to General and Advanced class licensees. Members are asked to comment on this proposal, as well as on whether or not the ARRL should petition the FCC for these other changes: ? Shift the ACDS band segment from 3585-3600 to 3600-3615 kHz, consistent with the IARU Region 1 and 2 band plans. ? Extend the current Novice/Technician CW segment of 3525-3600 kHz to 3650 kHz. ? Add 80 meter RTTY/data privileges for Novices and Technicians. On 40 meters, the committee concluded that it would be unrealistic to try to bring the ARRL band plan into alignment with the rest of the world, particularly with Regions 1 and 3 where operating patterns developed when the entire band, including phone, was just 100 kHz wide and is still only 200 kHz. While 7040 kHz is a recognized RTTY/data DX frequency in the band plan, the best place for other RTTY/data activity in the US is above 7070 kHz. The committee proposes aligning the band plan with the ?Considerate Operator?s Frequency Guide,? with wide data modes ? outside of ACDS ? at 7115-7125 kHz. The ?Guide? shows 7070-7125 kHz for RTTY/data, while the ARRL band plan shows 7080-7125 kHz. The FCC mandates that ACDS be confined to the 7100-7105 kHz segment. On 30 meters, the committee recommends confining wide data modes to 10.140-10.150 MHz, separated from other RTTY/data at 10.130-10.140 MHz. On 20 meters, the committee recommends using the 1 kHz IARU/NCDXF beacon network frequency (14.0995-14.1005 MHz) as a line in the sand between wide ACDS in the 14.1005-14.112 MHz segment, and narrow ACDS in the 14.095-14.0995 MHz segment. The committee recommends 14.070-14.095 MHz for RTTY and narrowband data, noting that so-called ?weak-signal? data modes often are used between 14.070 and 14.078 MHz. On 17 meters, the committee recommends confining wide data modes to the FCC-mandated ACDS segment of 18.105-18.110 MHz, separated from narrow RTTY/data at 18.100-18.105 MHz. FCC rules do not permit RTTY/data above 18.110 MHz, limiting options for this band. On 15 meters, the committee recommends that 21.070-21.090 MHz for narrow RTTY/data modes, the FCC-mandated ACDS segment of 21.090-21.100 MHz for both narrow and wide automatically controlled data station activity, and above 21.100 MHz for any additional wide data activity. The ARRL Board also wants members to comment on the desirability of adding RTTY/data privileges for Novices and Technicians in their existing 15 meter segment, where they?re now limited to CW. On 12 meters, the committee recommends confining wide data to the FCC-mandated ACDS segment, 24.925-24.930 MHz, separated from narrow RTTY/data operation at 24.920-24.925 MHz. FCC rules do not permit RTTY/data operation above 24.930 MHz, limiting options for this band. On 10 meters, the committee recommends that wide data be confined to the FCC-mandated ACDS segment, 28.120-28.189 MHz, separated from narrow RTTY/data modes at 28.070-28.120 MHz. How to Comment The League has set up a web page to record members? preferences and comments. Those wishing to offer more detailed comments may e-mail ARRL. The comment deadline is April 19. The HF Band Planning Committee will deliver its final report at the ARRL Board of Directors? July meeting. FCC ?Paperless? Amateur Radio License Policy Now in Effect Starting today, February 17, the FCC no longer routinely issues paper license documents to Amateur Radio applicants and licensees. The Commission maintains that the official Amateur Radio license authorization is the electronic record that exists in its Universal Licensing System (ULS), although the FCC had routinely continued to print and mail hard copy licenses until this week. In mid-December, the FCC adopted final procedures to provide access to official electronic authorizations, as it had proposed in WT Docket 14-161 as part of its ?process reform? initiatives. Under the new procedures, licensees will access their current official authorization (?Active? status only) via the ULS License Manager. The FCC will continue to provide paper license documents to all licensees who notify the Commission that they prefer to receive one. Licensees will also be able to print out an official authorization ? as well as an unofficial ?reference copy? ? from the ULS License Manager. ?We find this electronic process will improve efficiency by simplifying access to official authorizations in ULS, shortening the time period between grant of an application and access to the official authorization, and reducing regulatory costs,? the FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) said. According to the WTB, the new procedures will save at least $304,000 a year, including staff expenses. The ULS License Manager now permits licensees to change the default setting so that the Bureau will print and mail a license document. ARRL Field Day 2015 Field Day Packet Now Online The complete 2015 ARRL Field Day packet is now online. There are no rule changes for 2015. Field Day 2015 takes place June 27-28. ?Following a successful Centennial QSO Party with on-the-air activity at an all-time high, we are very excited for this year?s event and hope that individuals and clubs will carry their enthusiasm over to Field Day,? said ARRL Contest Branch Manager Matt Wilhelm, W1MSW. ARRL Field Day is the most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada. On the fourth weekend of June, more than 35,000 radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups or simply with friends to operate from remote locations. Participants are encouraged to register their Field Day operations using the FD Site Locator. Field Day gear will be available by March 1. If you have questions about Field Day, e-mail, or call 860-594-0232. SEC Report for January from Larry, W4LWZ Total number of ARES members: 298 Change since last month (+, -, same): +2 Number of DECs/ECs reporting this month: 10 Number of ARES nets active: 8 Number of nets with NTS liaison: 6 DECs/ECs reporting: 9 Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 46 Person hours: 339.85 Number of public service events this month: 4 Person hours: 93 Number of emergency operations this month: 0 Person Hours: 0 Total number of ARES operations this month: 50 Total Person hours: 432.85 STM Report for January from Mike, KM2V SAR - JANUARY 2015 CALL TOTAL WA4BAM 138 W9GPI 009 K9GZT 009 KK4KAH 009 K4KFF 038 W4LWZ 010 KA3PYO 004 KD8SYP 025 NT4TS 009 KM2V 039 W4ZE 022 PSHR - JANUARY 2015 Callsign Total WA4BAM 100 KE4CB 160 KM2V 123 NETS - JANUARY 2015 NET ABB. QNI QTC QND SESS MGR All Florida CW Traffic Net QFN 364 91 544 31 WA4BAM Florida Medium Speed Net FMSN 272 70 553 31 AG4RJ/AB4XK Southeast Florida Traffic Net SEFTN 748 50 1160 31 KM2V Southwest Florida Traffic Net SWFTN 485 105 1425 31 KE4CB/N9WS Broward County Emer Prep Net BCEPN 36 4 86 4 K2MOL Jupiter-Tequesta Repeater Group W4JUP 20 0 80 8 K4VMS Jupiter Farms CERT JFCERT 16 0 40 4 AG4BV Palm Beach District ARES North PBDAN 32 0 100 8 KB2BX Silent Keys- It is with deep regret that we report the passing of the following SFL members: Stanley R. ?Stan? Cyrway, KG4UBG of Margate. Stan was a member of the Gold Coast ARA and a member of their ARRL VE team and a regular at the weekly Saturday club breakfast. Cletus W. Pirtle, Sr., KG4KYD of Royal Palm Beach. Cletus was an active member of the Wellington RC. 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 From bmarx at bellsouth.net Tue Mar 3 16:37:00 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Tue, 03 Mar 2015 16:37:00 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] ARLX005 Past IARU Region 1 Chairman Louis van de Nadort, PA0LOU (SK) In-Reply-To: <20150303211908.50E8A21E1252@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20150303211908.50E8A21E1252@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <54F6297C.3010709@bellsouth.net> SB SPCL @ ARL $ARLX005 ARLX005 Past IARU Region 1 Chairman Louis van de Nadort, PA0LOU (SK) ZCZC AX05 QST de W1AW Special Bulletin 5 ARLX005 >From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT March 3, 2015 To all radio amateurs SB SPCL ARL ARLX005 ARLX005 Past IARU Region 1 Chairman Louis van de Nadort, PA0LOU (SK) Past International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 (IARU-R1) Chairman Louis van de Nadort, PA0LOU, of Zundert, Netherlands, died February 28 after a brief illness. Van de Nadort served as the IARU Region 1 Chair from 1975 until 2002. He was a founding member of the IARU Administrative Council. "He will be sorely missed by his many colleagues and friends in IARU and around the world," said IARU Region 1 President Don Beattie, G3BJ. "On behalf of myself and the entire Executive Committee, I express our sincere condolences to his wife An and family." A member of VERON, the Dutch IARU member society, van de Nadort was licensed in 1955 after discovering ham radio during a stint in the Dutch Signal Corp, where he trained soldiers in telegraphy. He was a member of the First Class Operators Club (FOC). Van de Nadort enjoyed DXing and CW and was a regular presence on the HF bands. He was on the DXCC Honor Roll and lacked only North Korea (P5) on CW. He was well known within the international Amateur Radio community and held honorary memberships in several other Amateur Radio societies. NNNN /EX From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Mar 5 08:52:54 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2015 08:52:54 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] US Amateur Radio Numbers Reach an All-Time High Message-ID: <54F85FB6.2060609@bellsouth.net> US Amateur Radio Numbers Reach an All-Time High *http://www.arrl.org/news/us-amateur-radio-numbers-reach-an-all-time-high* 03/04/2015 Amateur Radio growth in the US continues to soar. At the end of 2014, the total number of radio amateurs in the FCC?s Universal Licensing System (*ULS* ) database reached an all-time high of 726,275. The trend has continued in the first 2 months of 2015, which saw the ham population rise to slightly more than 727,000. The figures exclude expired licenses that are within the 2-year grace period, and club station licenses. Outside of a little dithering last fall, growth in the Amateur Radio Service in 2014 was steady, according to *figures* compiled by Joe Speroni, AH0A, on his FCC Amateur Radio Statistics web pages. Over the past decade the number of Amateur Radio licenses in the ULS database grew by some 8.1 percent. But 2014 also was a banner year for the ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC). ?For the first time in the ARRL VEC program?s history, we have conducted more than 7000 Amateur Radio exam sessions in a year, an important milestone,? said ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM. ?A total of 7216 ARRL-sponsored exam sessions were administered in 2014, compared to 6823 in 2013.? Somma said the number of new licensees spiked to more than 33,000 in 2014, up by about 15 percent from the previous year. Successful license upgrades rose last year by an unprecedented 13 percent over a year earlier. At the end of 2014, there were 136,405 Amateur Extra, 169,524 General, and 357,236 Technician class licensees ? all record numbers, Somma pointed out. While the number of Amateur Extra licensees grew in each month of 2014, the number of Technicians and Generals ? and of licensees overall ? faltered a bit last July and September. Last year?s overall upward trend quickly recovered, however, during the final quarter of 2014. The General population also dipped briefly in May 2014, before rebounding. Somma believes the July and September dips may have been a result of applicants? adjusting to the new Technician question pool that went into effect last July 1. ?We always expect an adjustment period when a new question pool is introduced to the public, as VEs, teachers, and candidates must prepare new study and exam materials,? she said, calling the dips ?a normal part of the question pool cycle.? Technician licensees comprise a little less than one-half of the US Amateur Radio population. As of December 31, some 51,000 Advanced and 12,000 Novice licensees remained in the FCC database. The FCC no longer issues Advanced and Novice licenses, and their numbers continue to decline. Once again, California far and away was home to the largest number of licensees among the 50 states, with 102,806 at the end of February. Texas was a distant second, with 51,022, Florida came in third, with 40,743, Washington was fourth, with 30,511, and Ohio was fifth at 28,256. With the exception of Ohio, the licensing trend in these states has been through the roof. In Ohio, ham radio numbers have begun to flag after holding steady for about the past 4 years. The state with the fewest number of Amateur Radio licensees in 2014 was North Dakota, with 1477, but in an overall upward trajectory since around 2009. Others with small ham populations include Delaware (1715 and growing), Rhode Island (1926 and drooping), Wyoming (1868 and headed up), and Vermont (2101 and slipping after a bump in 2013 and 2014). The numbers may go a long way toward explaining why these are rare multipliers in the ARRL November Sweepstakes and other events. Club station licenses in the US number 11,501, according to Speroni?s web pages. /? Thanks to Joe Speroni, AH0A; FCC ULS licensing statistics/ From bmarx at bellsouth.net Fri Mar 6 10:20:21 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2015 10:20:21 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] PJ4V - 1990 Message-ID: <54F9C5B5.7030807@bellsouth.net> A little bit of SFDXA History: PJ4V - Saba WD4JNS(WD4R) - W4OVU(W4OV) - WS4E(W4SO) - N2AWM("Uncle Harry" SK) - AA4OV I just found this old email that Julio WD4R sent me years ago. It was about the SFDXA DXPedition to Saba. A QSL/picture of the group. At the bottom is audio from an interview done with Harry N2AWM...Thanks to Julio who converted the tape to MP3. http://www.wd4r.com/pj4vqsl.htm Bill W2CQ From n8pr1 at bellsouth.net Sun Mar 8 08:37:38 2015 From: n8pr1 at bellsouth.net (Pete Rimmel N8PR) Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2015 08:37:38 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] [SFDXA] Chuck Baer W4ROA In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: John, Thanks for the info... RIP, Chuck. -----Original Message----- From: John Sharp I am sorry to inform everyone that Chuck Baer W4ROA became a Silent Key late on Saturday evening. Details on arrangements will be posted as soon as I am notified by family. John K2SHA From wa4aw at juno.com Sun Mar 8 23:42:18 2015 From: wa4aw at juno.com (wa4aw) Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2015 03:42:18 GMT Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Chuck's bio page at QCWA website Message-ID: <20150308.234218.17862.5@webmail03.vgs.untd.com> Chuck’s SK page is on-line at http://qcwa.org/w4roa-21309-sk.htm 73, Jeff QCWA Quarter Century Wireless Association Jeff Beals, WA4AW National Director & QCWA Historian Palm Beach Chapter 111 Secretary-Treasurer PO Box 1584Loxahatchee, FL 33470-1584561-252-6707wa4aw at qcwa.org www.qcwa.org ____________________________________________________________ How Old Men Tighten Skin 63 Year Old Man Shares DIY Skin Tightening Method You Can Do From Home http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/54fd16e31d72816e2504bst02vuc From bmarx at bellsouth.net Mon Mar 9 19:53:18 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Mon, 09 Mar 2015 19:53:18 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] ARLB013 Comments Due by April 6 on 76-81 GHz Radar Sharing Proposals In-Reply-To: <20150309210522.6A3DF218CFF0@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20150309210522.6A3DF218CFF0@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <54FE326E.2070108@bellsouth.net> SB QST @ ARL $ARLB013 ARLB013 Comments Due by April 6 on 76-81 GHz Radar Sharing Proposals ZCZC AG13 QST de W1AW ARRL Bulletin 13 ARLB013 >From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT March 9, 2015 To all radio amateurs SB QST ARL ARLB013 ARLB013 Comments Due by April 6 on 76-81 GHz Radar Sharing Proposals Comments are due by April 6 on an FCC proceeding that could lead to expanded spectrum for various radar applications in the 76-81 GHz band, which Amateur Radio shares with other services. The band 77.5-78 GHz is allocated to the Amateur and Amateur Satellite services on a primary basis, and to the Radio Astronomy and Space Research services on a secondary basis. The FCC released a detailed Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Reconsideration Order (NPRM&RO) in ET Docket 15-26 on February 5. The Commission said the proposals include allocation changes as well as provisions "to ensure that new and incumbent operations can share the available frequencies in the band." The ARRL will file comments in the FCC proceeding. Reply comments (ie, comments on comments filed by the April 5 deadline) are due by April 20. The FCC NPRM&RO was in response to a 2012 Petition for Rulemaking (RM-11666) from Robert Bosch LLC and to two petitions for reconsideration of the Commission's 2012 Report and Order (R&O) addressing vehicular radar systems in the 76-77 GHz band. ET 15-26 incorporates earlier proceedings. Among many issues, the FCC seeks comment on the possibility of reallocating the Amateur Radio and Amateur Satellite services from 76-81 GHz, and it asks for suggestions on "alternative spectrum that we might make available in this general region." Bosch's 2012 Petition sought to modify the FCC's Part 15 rules to expand the operation of unlicensed vehicular radar systems from 76-77 GHz to the 76-81 GHz band to develop short-range radar (SRR) applications. Noting that it "has previously recognized evidence of potential interference conflicts" between Amateur Radio and vehicular radar systems in the 76-77 GHz band, the FCC said it believes the potential for "similar compatibility issues" could exist above 77 GHz. More than 10 years ago the FCC suspended Amateur Radio and Amateur Satellite operation in the 76-77 GHz segment and recently extended the suspension. "Our goal is to adopt rules that address amateur use, including Amateur Satellite use, within the 76-81 GHz band in a comprehensive and consistent manner," the FCC has asserted. The FCC said that to the extent commenters believe Amateur Radio can continue to use the 4 millimeter band, it seeks comments on "what additional rule modifications we would have to adopt to realize successful shared use of the entire band." One possibility the FCC raised was altering current amateur power limits in that portion of the spectrum. The Commission said it also wants to "develop a record on the types of amateur use, and the extent of such use, that is currently undertaken" at 4 millimeters. Interested parties may file comments in ET Docket 15-26 via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at, http://www.regulations.gov, or the FCC Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) at http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/, following the instructions for submitting comments. Individuals with disabilities should contact the FCC to request reasonable accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language interpreters, CART, etc) via e-mail at, FCC504 at fcc.gov, or by calling 202-418-0530 or TTY 202-418-0432. NNNN /EX From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Mar 11 08:08:10 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2015 08:08:10 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The ARRL Contest Update for March 11, 2015 In-Reply-To: <20150311095646.66181214EB83@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20150311095646.66181214EB83@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <5500302A.2020508@bellsouth.net> Preview If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at: http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/?issue=2015-03-11 The ARRL Contest Update March 11, 2015 Editor: Ward Silver, N?AX /Contest Update/ Archive Contest Calendar ARRL Home Page Ad IN THIS ISSUE * Beam North, Young Ham - Russian DX Contest <#Contests> * A Fistful of Callers - LA, ID, WI, OK, and VA QSO Parties <#Contests> * DX Contests from Africa and Asia <#News> * Antarctica Calling <#Newsweek> * DXPedition History in Videos by 9V1YC <#Sights> * ARRL 10 Meter - A Record-Breaker <#Results> * The Future Is Calling <#Tech> * Net Neutrality - A Technical Look <#Techweek> * You're Both Right! <#Conversation> NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO If you have a taste for digital modes and lively operating, try the North American RTTY Sprint or QRP ARCI Spring Digital Sprints this weekend. You'll wonder where the time went! By the way, the RSGB Commonwealth Contest is only open to amateurs in Commonwealth countries, such as our Canadian readers. BULLETINS Someone has a birthday! While I can't quite claim, "It was twenty years ago today," will thirteen do? The /Contest Update/, once known as the /Contester's Rate Sheet/, hit the 'net for the first time on March 13^th , 2002. Originally an electronic version of "Contest Corral" plus a little text, it has changed names and grown into a biweekly compendium of shiny things collected by its editor from various bit streams along with a little contest calendar material. The combination seems to work as this is the 339^th issue with upwards of 27,000 subscribers who find it invading their Inboxes from time to time. That's all very nice and the response has been great - but it really is time for a change in the editorial department. Have you ever thought you might make a good newsletter editor or reporter? If so, I'd like to hear from you. The ARRL is open for suggestions about where to take the /Contest Update/ in future issues and while you won't have the Jaguar dealer on speed-dial, it does provide some rewards for your efforts. Plus, it gives you a great excuse to do "research" - often confused with "messing around on the Internet." Drop me a note and let's talk! BUSTED QSOS Mike K2MK noticed that the CQ WPX SSB contest on March 28^th and 29th is missing from the March /QST/'s Contest Corral. The online PDF has been corrected. Dale N3BNA wrote to let us know that the 4V1JR team operated from the shack of HH2JR in the ARRL DX CW contest, not from the site of the 300-foot tower featured in the previous issue. CONTEST SUMMARY Complete information <#Contests> for all contests follows the Conversation <#Conversation> section *March 14-15* * */North American RTTY Sprint/* * RSGB Commonwealth Contest--CW * AGCW QRP Contest--CW * Louisiana QSO Party * QRP ARCI Spring Digital Sprint * EA PSK63 Contest * Tesla Memorial HF Contest--CW * QCWA Spring QSO Party * Idaho QSO Party * Wisconsin QSO Party * Run For the Bacon--CW (Mar 16) * CLARA Chatter Party (Mar 17) *March 21-22* * NAQCC Monthly QRP Sprint--CW (Mar 19) * BARTG HF RTTY Contest * Russian DX Contest * Oklahoma QSO Party * Virginia QSO Party * Feld-Hell Leprechaun Sprint--Digital NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST Two young and interesting DX contests were announced this week. The Nauryz DX Contest is the first and the only Central Asian DX contest on HF. Named for an ancient spring holiday and running on March 14 from 0800-1359Z, the contest promotes HF activity among the Central Asian hams of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and when ham radio is again authorized there, Turkmenistan. Participants from all over the world are welcome in this third running of the contest. From Africa, Roger ZS6RJ notes that the brand-new Africa All-Mode International DX Contest kicks off next weekend. The everyone-works-everyone contest is a 24-hour, CW/SSB/Digital event sponsored by the SARL starting at 1200Z on March 14^th . The 7QAA DXpedition team will be active in the contest as well.(Thanks, Mike UN8GC, and the Daily DX ) Astronaut Terry Virts bids farewell to Leonard Nimoy in his role of Star Trek's Mr. Spock. It was only logical. (Image courtesy of NASA) Speaking of contest news, the Delaware QSO Party has moved to the first weekend of May which is also home to the big 7QP seventh-district and NEQP first-district regional QSO parties along with the Indiana QSO Party. Whoa! Logging software authors, are you ready? QSO party fans will want to be sure they are ready with the additional county designators and updated programs! In fact, this link is for an online list of state QSO parties maintained by WA7BNM as part of his online contest calendar. (Thanks, Carl K?TNT) And speaking of contest logging software, prolific program purveyor, Scott N3FJP reports the release of three new free packages: * ARRL Rookie Roundup Contest Log 1.0 * Jamboree On The Air Log 1.0 * ARRL Kid's Day Log 2.0 Scott's simple user interface makes getting up to speed on contest logging very easy! Elecraft has announced an upgrade of its synthesizer boards, curing a timing issue (a.k.a. - the "QRQ issue") with the K3. Bob N6TV has prepared an article which shows the on-air improvements provided by the upgrade. Lou van de Nadort PA?LOU, who provided many US and Canadian hams with a first Dutch QSO and many a contest multiplier, died suddenly last Friday. First licensed in 1955 after his service in the Dutch Signal Corps, Lou was an active contester year-in and year-out, particularly on CW, along with holding multiple offices in support of the IARU and its activities. (Thanks, Daily DX ) One of the up-and-coming operators at 3V8SS, Ahmed Boubaker was part of the Multi-Single team during ARRL Phone. (Photo by KF5EYY/3V) As wireless electronics grows ever more exotic and the frequencies ever higher, have you ever wondered how the designers test their creations? In fact, how did the wireless pioneers do what they did with the primitive electrical instruments then available. Microwaves & RF columnist, Lou Frenzel W5LEF, muses about this conundrum in his "What Would Tesla Do " column? There are several freshman or sophomore editions of the popular Maker Faires coming up: NoVa Mini Maker Faire (VA): March 15th - /2nd annual/ Jalisco Mini Maker Faire (Mexico): March 27-29 - /first time/ Benicia Mini Maker Faire (CA): March 28 - /first time/ If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area and not planning on attending the Dayton Hamvention, check out the biggest Maker Faire of all on the Hamvention's May 16-17 weekend. While you're taking in the sights, find the ham radio booth or consider setting up one yourself at the next opportunity! *Web Site of the Week* - Bagging a contact with one of the many Antarctic bases is always a thrill during a contest - but how do you count them for multipliers? Luckily, we have two helpful Antarctic information pages to figure it all out. The Clublog Helpdesk offers the Zone Mapping for Antarctica page which even includes a downloadable spreadsheet from IV3TMM which details the many bases and settlements. K6EID has also published a colorful Antarctica Page with maps and images of QSLs received through the years. (Thanks, Daily DX ) WORD TO THE WISE */Rookie/* - an old word purportedly derived from the Civil War slang "reckie" for recruits. Various other adaptations are also claimed but in ham radio, it means someone making their first foray into a contest or mode. If you are new to something in ham radio -- and we all are new to /something/ -- look for Rookie categories in contests and award programs! Ad SIGHTS AND SOUNDS James Brooks 9V1YC has published a collection of his excellent videos of various DXpeditions, including VK?IR, A52A, VP8GEO, VP8THU, FT5XO, ZL8R, K4M, VP8ORK, BS7H, and WRTC2014. I have seen them all, with A52A being my favorite of the DX videos and his WRTC2014 documentary being the best of all WRTC videos. Any of these videos would make for a great club program and all are excellent ways to explain the excitement of DXing and contesting to new hams. (Thanks, Daily DX ) It's the same all over the world - here are Jeff K?UU/VR2UU (L) and Satish 9N1AA admiring Satish's antenna farm in Nepal. (Photo from K?UU) The popular audio program Chat With The Designers by George N2APB and Joe N2CX has returned! The most recent program featured Dave AD7JT discussing measuring a circuit's RF response and his design for a handheld Scalar Network Analyzer (SNA) test instrument. Previous episodes dating back to 2011 are archived and available online. RESULTS AND RECORDS It looks like the December 2014 running of the ARRL 10 Meter Contest broke the record set in 2011 for number of logs received with 5488 submissions! (The 2011 total was 5378.) This reflects the good conditions, increased interest in HF from the year-long ARRL Centennial QSO Party, and nine new category and power categories for ARRL HF contests. While you're busy recovering from the ARRL DX Phone contest, you might also want to check out the January VHF Contest Division records for fixed stations that have been provided by K9JK and line scores for the 10 GHz and Up Contest . The Scandinavian Activity Contest (SAC) Committee of SM5AJV, LB1GB, OH6KZP, and OZ1BII have announced the final results of the 2014 SAC including downloadable PDF awards. Over 2200 logs were submitted on CW and SSB, signifying a healthy SAC! A PDF Results Booklet will be released in the near future, including the tabulated results, soapbox comments, and longer contest stories and photographs collected from a number of SAC participants. Results for the 2014 All-Asia Contest are also available online for both the CW and Phone events. (Thanks, Atsushi JR1NKN) The K9CT team was busy going after the M2 record for W9 in the ARRL DX Phone contest. (L-R) are K9CT, KB9OWD, K9QQ, and K9ZO. (Photo by N?AX) The project to convert all scores for the complete history of the CQ WW DX Contest into an online database has been completed. In a two-year project led by John N2NC, a team of volunteers typed in all 169,679 SSB and 169,005 CW scores from the results which appeared in /CQ Magazine /results beginning in 1948. The 2014 results will be added as soon as the results are published. How about a big round of applause for the data entry team of AA4NU, AD1C, JK3GAD, K1EA, K3EST, KB9OWD, N1RR, N3RD, N5DX, NM2O, NO5W, OH6NIO, ON7SS, PD2R, and W2JU? (Thanks, CQ WW Director, Randy K5ZD) One result of having complete data online is this report by Stewart GM4AFF: "A search on Sandy GM3BCL (SK) produces a nice set of results. He never had any massive scores, but he didn't miss one SSB CQWW in 48 years!" OPERATING TIP This week's tip for phone contesting comes courtesy of Jim K9YC - "Use settings in your rig to get rid of as much low frequency (speech) content as you can. The lows burn TX power, but make no contribution to speech intelligibility. I set up my K3 TXEQ for max cut of the three lowest octave bands (50, 100, 200 Hz) and 4-6 dB cut of the 400 Hz band. When I ran FT1000MPs, I set the audio bandwidth for 400-2,600 Hz." You can reset the response for casual operating after the contest. Jim also notes that most ham microphones have a peak in their response around 3 kHz to compensate for rolloff in the SSB filter. Ad TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION A new 50 - 1000 MHz SDR /trans/ceiver has been announced by Bruce N6BP and Chris KD2BMH as described in a recent Slashdot article . As Bruce explains, "This radio is unique in that it uses your smartphone for the GUI, uses apps to provide communication modes, contains an on-board FLASH-based gate-array and a ucLinux system. We intend to go for FSF "Respects Your Freedom" certification for the device." Third-generation PC boards are in fabrication to serve as developer boards and later as full-featured transceivers that meet FCC certification requirements. Where did the bands go about 2230Z on Saturday? It might have been that M9-class flare turning all of the Absorption knobs to 11 over the Pacific for a while as shown here. (Graphic courtesy NASA) Discussions of ground radial systems almost inevitably wind up circling around to the classic 1937 paper, "Ground Systems as a Factor in Antenna Efficiency ," written by Brown, Lewis, and Epstein of RCA in support of broadcast operation. In case you ever wondered where the "120 radials" standard came from...this is it. The full paper is available online as a PDF for your reference library. (Thanks, Jeremy G3XDK) A couple of neat projects found their way to us this past couple of weeks. The first is a voltage indicator circuit from /EDN/'s "Design Ideas" column that changes the color of LED indicators at a voltage threshold. And I'm sure we all have an old PC hanging around that we haven't recycled - why not breathe a little life into it as shown in this Instructables project? Boom mikes and noise-canceling headphones are always a hot topic in early March for some reason. Probably also in late October! You can purchase the very nice A20 noise-canceling boomset from Bose. The Bose QC15 noise-cancelling 'phones have a mike jack input for mikes like this noise-canceling mike from Headset Buddy or AntLion Audio . Doug K1DG and Don JH5GHM have published online projects showing how to add a boom mike to the QC15, as well. (Thanks, Dave K3ZJ, Peter PC2A, Frank W3LPL) The column "RF Circuit Design References" by Peter Delos in the February edition of /High Frequency Electronics/ is a gold mine of pointers to RF know-how, including a nice mention of the /ARRL Handbook/. (Thanks, Jim W3KMN) Another excellent free reference was recently released by Texas Instruments - /The Analog Engineer's Pocket Reference /. Although a little large for a shirt pocket, it's still jam-packed with good information. FAR Circuits sells strips of PC material pads for use with IC sockets in Manhattan-style construction. They are very handy and save a lot of work when you are trying to prototype a circuit using this method. While you're browsing the site, take note of the many projects//from /QST/, the /ARRL Handbook,/ and other ham publications which are supported by circuit boards from Fred and his team. (Thanks, Howard K2UD) What if you could wear electronic sensors on your skin? Would a "selfie" soon refer to a special type of SDR - the Self-Deployed Radio? Dennis N6KI sent us this interesting article about new bio-sensors that would certainly be involved! *Technical Web Site of the Week* - Like most seriously technical subjects, the discussion on Net Neutrality is somewhat skewed in the popular press. While it sounds simple, nothing involving the Internet's fundamental operation is as easy as it might seem, as detailed in this /IEEE Spectrum story / on the technical challenges involved. CONVERSATION You're Both Right! "It's a dessert topping! It's a floor wax!" So goes the old Saturday Night Live spoof advertisement . A lot of the discussion about the relative merits of using DX spots during a contest or "turning the big knob" has the same aroma about it as the ad. People choose one or the other based on personal experience and preferences honed over years - or decades - of operating. Helping Ahmed at 3V8SS is Ali 3V/F4HFD (R) running the pileups during ARRL DX Phone. (Photo by 3V/KF5EYY) Recently, I had an interesting opportunity to experience both styles at top-of-the-line stations in the ARRL DX contests. I spent the CW weekend manning 15 meters with Doug K1DG at the western-Pennsylvania K3LR Multi-Multi station. Last weekend's phone edition of the contest found me in Peoria, Illinois with the K9CT team, trying for a W9-district record in Multi-Two. Both weekends were a whole lot of fun (and work)! During the CW weekend, a full complement of Reverse Beacon Network stations running VE3NEA's /CW Skimmer / software were mainlining many spots per second into the worldwide spotting network. Our stream added spots from a 6-band set of QSR-1-based "skimmers" at the K3LR station, too. Whichever operator was not CQing had the Herculean task of keeping up with the worldwide network of skimmers whose motto is surely, "We hear everything and never sleep. Ever." Let's just say it kept a person busy and put a premium on interpersonal skills to interleave running with pouncing. A couple of weeks later found the RBN offline as far as the contest goes. While certain government agencies have no doubt been using automated voice recognition monitoring systems for years, there is no amateur "Phone Skimmer" yet and the hurly-burly of a contest environment would make that a challenging exercise, to say the least. Doctoral thesis, anyone? At K9CT we still had access to spots but they were all human-entered. This dropped the amount of incoming data "considerable" and shifted the non-running operator's job back to continually prowling the waters of the Ionospheric Ocean in search of prey. We depended on others to spot DX stations - presumably /after/ working them - and spotted plenty ourselves in return. As at K3LR, there was no shortage of spots coming in, although not nearly at the volume of the CW weekend. You might expect one source or the other - RBN or human - to have the higher quality. You would be wrong and probably get a lot of log-checking penalties to boot! Both streams of information had issues to be aware of and compensate for. Skimmers are notorious for mistaking various keying artifacts for letters and generating bogus calls. For example, T2NT seemed to be the crowd-pleasing favorite bad spot during the CW contest, a mis-interpretation of N2NT by the software. There were plenty of bad spots generated by humans during ARRL Phone, too: You know, I don't think an unannounced operation from TL5A just happened to be on the same frequency as TO5A! Zoli HA1AG identified this "key technology" to act as a footswitch when the regular unit went missing. No word on whether Zoli was QLF. (Photo by HA1AG) The same cautions about quality applied to CW and phone spots - don't trust them. Nevertheless, I heard many stations jump right into a pileup after a bad spot was posted, work the station, and vanish. Their LCRs (log checking reports) ought to be fun to read! While CQing was much the same at both stations, the biggest difference was in the duties of the multiplier-hunting station. On CW, I don't think I found more than a handful of stations by tuning around and those were in band segments many skimmers aren't able to tune. The rest of the time, I was trying to wipe that band map spotless. By late Saturday afternoon, I was able to get 'er done but the pristine window never lasted long. Two weeks later, I found myself with one hand continuously dialing, listening and watching the K3's P3 panadaptor for signals, to see if I could "get there" first. After all was said (or sent) and logged, I couldn't really tell you which I found more fun or more challenging. They were different and required different approaches but you still had to be a good operator, alert to incoming information of any sort, and ready to verify all information before logging a contact. Sure, discovering a weak T8 CQing alone on 10 meter phone wouldn't have happened on CW but then, neither would have we managed to work 137 DXCC entities without the automated receivers. I enjoyed both experiences for what they were and applied all of my radio know-how as best I could. There is plenty of room for improvement for me and I'm sure there would be for most of my fellow contesters. If anybody thinks either job is so easy, let them spend a weekend at a big station during good conditions and show us. In the meantime, I think I'll complete the old comedy routine - "You're both right! It tastes terrific - and just look at that shine!" 73, Ward N?AX Ad CONTESTS *March 11-24, 2015* 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* */North American RTTY Sprint/*--Digital, from Mar 15, 0000Z to Mar 15, 0359Z . Bands (MHz): 3.5-14. Exchange: Both call signs, serial, name, and S/P/C. Logs due: 7 days._Rules _ RSGB Commonwealth Contest--CW, from Mar 14, 1000Z to Mar 15, 1000Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST and serial (Commonwealth only). Logs due: 16 days._Rules _ AGCW QRP Contest--CW, from Mar 14, 1400Z to Mar 14, 2000Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST, serial, class, AGCW number or NM. Logs due: Mar 31._Rules _ Louisiana QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 14, 1400Z to Mar 15, 0200Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144, CW 1.84,3.54,7.04,14.04,21.04,28.04; Phone 1.865, 3.865, 7.255, 14.255, 21.365, 28.465; VHF 50.095, 50.135, 144.05, 144.21 MHz. Exchange: Call sign, RS(T), LA parish or S/P/C. Logs due: 30 days._Rules _ QRP ARCI Spring Digital Sprint--Digital, from Mar 14, 1500Z to Mar 14, 1800Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. QRP calling frequencies. Exchange: RST, 4-char grid square, QRP ARCI nr or power. Logs due: 14 days._Rules _ EA PSK63 Contest--Digital, from Mar 14, 1600Z to Mar 15, 1600Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST and serial or EA province. Logs due: Mar 31._Rules _ Tesla Memorial HF Contest--CW, from Mar 14, 1800Z to Mar 15, 0800Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5. Exchange: RST, serial, and 4-char grid square. Logs due: Mar 20._Rules _ QCWA Spring QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 14, 1800Z to Mar 15, 1800Z . Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50. Exchange: Call,year lic'd,name,QCWA chap or S/P/C. Logs due: 30 days._Rules _ Idaho QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 14, 1900Z to Mar 15, 1900Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. CW 35 kHz above band edge; Phone 7.260, 14.260, 21.335, 28.470 MHz, plus 50, 144, 440 MHz. Exchange: RS(T) and ID county or S/P/C. Logs due: 30 days._Rules _ Wisconsin QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 15, 1800Z to Mar 16, 0100Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28, 50+, CW 3.550, 7.050, 14.050; Phone 3.890, 7.230, 14.290, 21.350, 28.400 MHz. Exchange: WI county or S/P/C. Logs due: Apr 15._Rules _ Run For the Bacon--CW, from Mar 16, 0200Z to Mar 16, 0400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Monthly on 3rd Sunday night (local). Exchange: RST, S/P/C, Flying Pig nr or power._Rules _ CLARA Chatter Party--Phone,CW, from Mar 17, 1700Z - See website. Multiple time periods. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. See website. Exchange: Call sign, RS(T), name, and S/P/C. Logs due: Apr 20._Rules _ NAQCC Monthly QRP Sprint--CW, from Mar 19, 0030Z to Mar 19, 0230Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-14. Monthly on 2nd Tuesday or 3rd Wednesday local time (alternating). Exchange: RST, S/P/C, and NAQCC mbr nr or power. Logs due: 4 days._Rules _ BARTG HF RTTY Contest--Digital, from Mar 21, 0200Z to Mar 22, 0200Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: 3-digit serial and 4-digit time. Logs due: May 1._Rules _ Russian DX Contest--Phone,CW, from Mar 21, 1200Z to Mar 22, 1159Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RS(T), serial or oblast abbr. Logs due: See web._Rules _ Oklahoma QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 21, 1300Z - See website. Multiple time periods. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28, 50, CW 40 kHz above band edge; Phone 3.860, 7.195, 14.260, 21.335, 28.470, 50.130 MHz. Exchange: RS(T) and OK county or S/P/"DX". Logs due: Apr 23._Rules _ Virginia QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 21, 1400Z - See website. Multiple time periods. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50-440, CW 1.805, 50 kHz+ band edge; Phone 1.845, 3.86, 7.26, 14.27, 21.37, 28.37, 50.130, clg freq 144/220/440 MHz. Exchange: Serial and VA county/city or S/P or "DX". Logs due: Apr 15._Rules _ Feld-Hell Leprechaun Sprint--Digital, from Mar 21, 1700Z to Mar 21, 1900Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50, Monthly on 3rd Saturday. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, Feld-Hell member nr. Logs due: 7 days._Rules _ *VHF+ CONTESTS* Louisiana QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 14, 1400Z to Mar 15, 0200Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144, CW 1.84,3.54,7.04,14.04,21.04,28.04; Phone 1.865, 3.865, 7.255, 14.255, 21.365, 28.465; VHF 50.095, 50.135, 144.05, 144.21 MHz. Exchange: Call sign, RS(T), LA parish or S/P/C. Logs due: 30 days._Rules _ QCWA Spring QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 14, 1800Z to Mar 15, 1800Z . Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50. Exchange: Call,year lic'd,name,QCWA chap or S/P/C. Logs due: 30 days._Rules _ Idaho QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 14, 1900Z to Mar 15, 1900Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. CW 35 kHz above band edge; Phone 7.260, 14.260, 21.335, 28.470 MHz, plus 50, 144, 440 MHz. Exchange: RS(T) and ID county or S/P/C. Logs due: 30 days._Rules _ Wisconsin QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 15, 1800Z to Mar 16, 0100Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28, 50+, CW 3.550, 7.050, 14.050; Phone 3.890, 7.230, 14.290, 21.350, 28.400 MHz. Exchange: WI county or S/P/C. Logs due: Apr 15._Rules _ Oklahoma QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 21, 1300Z - See website. Multiple time periods. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28, 50, CW 40 kHz above band edge; Phone 3.860, 7.195, 14.260, 21.335, 28.470, 50.130 MHz. Exchange: RS(T) and OK county or S/P/"DX". Logs due: Apr 23._Rules _ Virginia QSO Party--Phone,CW,Digital, from Mar 21, 1400Z - See website. Multiple time periods. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50-440, CW 1.805, 50 kHz+ band edge; Phone 1.845, 3.86, 7.26, 14.27, 21.37, 28.37, 50.130, clg freq 144/220/440 MHz. Exchange: Serial and VA county/city or S/P or "DX". Logs due: Apr 15._Rules _ Feld-Hell Leprechaun Sprint--Digital, from Mar 21, 1700Z to Mar 21, 1900Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50, Monthly on 3rd Saturday. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, Feld-Hell member nr. Logs due: 7 days._Rules _ LOG DUE DATES *March 11-24, 2015* * 12 March - _QRP Fox Hunt _ * 14 March - _Wake-Up! QRP Sprint _ * 14 March - _QRP Fox Hunt _ * 14 March - _CWops Mini-CWT Test _ * 15 March - _KCJ Topband Contest _ * 15 March - _Minnesota QSO Party _ * 15 March - _AGCW Semi-Automatic Key Evening _ * 15 March - _High Speed Club CW Contest _ * 15 March - _SKCC Weekend Sprintathon _ * 15 March - _NCCC RTTY Sprint _ * 15 March - _NCCC Sprint _ * 15 March - _UBA DX Contest, CW _ * 16 March - _North Carolina QSO Party _ * 16 March - _FISTS Winter Unlimited Sprint _ * 17 March - _ARRL School Club Roundup _ * 18 March - _RSGB 80m Club Championship, CW _ * 19 March - _NRAU 10m Activity Contest _ * 20 March - _TESLA Memorial HF CW Contest _ * 21 March - _YL-ISSB QSO Party, SSB _ * 21 March - _YL-ISSB QSO Party, CW _ * 22 March - _R__un for the Bacon QRP Contest_ * 22 March - _UBA Spring Contest, CW _ * 22 March - _North American Sprint, RTTY _ * 23 March - _DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest _ * 23 March - _Open Ukraine RTTY Championship _ 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. 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All Rights Reserved www.arrl.org From bmarx at bellsouth.net Fri Mar 13 09:12:27 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2015 09:12:27 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] =?utf-8?q?German_Radio_Amateurs_Bre?= =?utf-8?q?athe_New_Life_into_=C2=93Orphaned=C2=94_Shortwave_Channel?= In-Reply-To: <000001d05d0d$30bb6590$923230b0$@marketfriendly.com> References: <000001d05d0d$30bb6590$923230b0$@marketfriendly.com> Message-ID: <5502E23B.2000105@bellsouth.net> German Radio Amateurs Breathe New Life into ?Orphaned? Shortwave Channel - Some radio amateurs are frustrated broadcasters, and when German national broadcaster the Deutsche Welle closed down a 500 kW shortwave broadcast transmitter near Munich, an entity headed and operated by hams applied for and was granted the vacant channel of 6070 kHz in the 49 meter shortwave band. DARC Radio ? which has a business association with the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club (DARC) but is privately owned ? now has a 10 kW broadcast station, branded ?Channel 292,? up and running, and a new Amateur Radio DX program will debut next month. ?After the demolition of one of the world?s biggest shortwave facilities of the Deutsche Welle last year, we managed to get an official radio broadcast license for the German Amateur Radio Club and have built up a shortwave transmitter with some parts of the old 500 kW transmitter from there,? said DARC Radio Project Manager Rainer Englert, DF2NU, an ARRL member and president of the Munich South Section of the DARC. ?As far as we know, there is no similar ham project like this worldwide.? The Deutsche Welle used the 6070 kHz channel until mid-2013 for European transmissions. DARC Radio hopes to fund its operating expenses by leasing airtime. The DARC is a customer, and under its banner, a weekly Amateur Radio-oriented magazine of DARC news, contest schedules, DX information, interviews, DXpedition reports, market reviews, technical hints, and ?some nice old music from the 70s and 80s? will debut on Sunday, March 22, at 1000 UTC, Englert told ARRL. The program will be in German, but the RSGB [Radio Society of Great Britain) has expressed interest in contributing English-language program segments, he said. The inaugural DX magazine will be repeated on Monday, March 23, at 1600 UTC. According to the DARC, the initial March 22 broadcast will air from a 100 kW transmitter in Austria, while the repeat broadcast on March 23 will emanate from Radio DARC?s 10 kW transmitter near Ingolstadt, Germany. Rainer Ebeling, DB8QC, owns the official licensee ? Intermedicom GmbH (LLC). He repurposed parts from the driver stages as well as a few transformers from the former Deutsche Welle transmitter for DARC Radio?s 10 kW transmitter. ?The antenna is a low-hanging, simple dipole with very high radiation angle, optimized for short-range coverage,? Englert explained. The station easily covers much of Western Europe, he said, and also has been heard in Russia. ?We definitely have monitored Channel 292 via a web SDR in Toronto,? he said, adding that the best time to hear the station is when both ends of the path are in darkness. In North America, Canadian broadcaster CFRX occupies 6070 kHz, transmitting at 1 kW and beaming west; Radio Havana also uses the channel. Englert said other broadcasters, perceiving it as a vacant channel, have been encroaching on 6070 kHz at night, when the station is off the air. SWLs routinely report stations operating at very high power from China, Iran, Korea, and even the Vatican. Although its license allows full-time service, the station has mostly been on the air from 0700 until 1700 UTC. Englert said others, in addition to DARC, have been leasing airtime ? currently filling about 20 hours per week. DARC Radio?s hourly rate is rock bottom ? about $17.50 US. ?This rate really only covers expenditures like electric power and the write-off of the power amplifier,? he said. ?The transmitter sucks almost 40 kW out of the grid at 100 percent modulation.? The station airs ?The Golden Days of Offshore Radio? weekdays at 0700-0900 UTC, with offerings that evoke the era of pirate stations RNI, Radio Caroline, Radio Veronica, and others. In fact, the Channel 292 brand recalls the Channel 192 pirate station of the 1960s and 1970s. It also airs programs in Dutch and Spanish. All reception reports to Channel 292 will be answered with a QSL card. Outgoing cards will go out via the DARC QSL bureau. ?The orphaned shortwave frequencies hardly interest anyone these days,? allowed the DARC. ?Not so radio amateurs, who will take advantage of these new possibilities to also get broadcasting licenses.? From bmarx at bellsouth.net Fri Mar 13 09:18:00 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2015 09:18:00 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The ARRL Letter for March 12, 2015 In-Reply-To: <20150312224257.172942179F9B@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20150312224257.172942179F9B@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <5502E388.4060306@bellsouth.net> Preview If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2015-03-12 The ARRL Letter March 12, 2015 Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME ARRL Home Page /ARRL Letter/ Archive Audio News Ad * FCC Enforcement Bureau Field Resources Poised to Shrink <#toc01> * New Legislative Issues Advocacy Fund Will Power Capitol Hill Educational Campaign <#toc02> * League Counters Another Mimosa Move for 10 GHz Wireless Broadband Sharing <#toc03> * ITU Smart Sustainable Development Model Report Touts Amateur Radio's Advantages <#toc04> * Fox-1A Ready for Launch, Fox-1D to Carry Radiation-Mapping Experiment <#toc05> * Radio Amateurs Invited to Listen for Lambda-Sat <#toc06> * Danish Astronaut is Among Latest Group of Space-Bound Radio Amateurs <#toc07> * ARRL Honorary Vice President, Past Director Receives BirmingHAMfest Citizenship Award <#toc08> * Scientist-Radio Amateur Named to Receive Prestigious Award <#toc09> * Southeastern Division Assistant Director Charles I. "Chuck" Baer, W4ROA, SK <#toc10> * In Brief... <#toc11> * The K7RA Solar Update <#toc12> * Getting It Right! <#toc13> * Just Ahead in Radiosport <#toc14> * Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events <#toc15> FCC Enforcement Bureau Field Resources Poised to Shrink According to an internal FCC Enforcement Bureau (EB) memorandum, the Bureau plans to ask the full Commission to cut two-thirds of its field offices and eliminate nearly one-half of its field agents. At the same time, the Bureau would develop a so-called "Tiger Team" of field agents as a flexible strike force it could deploy as needed. In the March 10 memorandum to Enforcement Bureau field staff -- obtained by ARRL and others -- EB Chief Travis LeBlanc and FCC Managing Director Jon Wilkins cited the need to take "a fresh look" at the Bureau's 20-year-old operating model in light of technology changes and tighter budgets. ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, expressed dismay at the proposals. "The ARRL is concerned that there is already no sense of urgency in the FCC's enforcement activities targeting spectrum polluters, such as utilities with noisy power lines, or the few violators in our own ranks," Sumner said. "It is troubling to see recommendations for such drastic reductions in the Commission's geographic footprint and the number of field agents at a time when the Field staff is facing ever-increasing challenges." The EB and the Office of the Managing Director initiated an effort last fall to modernize the Bureau's field operations, the memorandum said. "This project sought to ensure that the Field's structure, operations, expenses, and equipment were properly aligned with the Commission's overall mission and resources," LeBlanc and Wilkins said. The Commission hired outside consultants to analyze the EB's current "operating model," gathering input from employees, outside experts, and internal and external stakeholders. Under its "Phase I" field modernization scheme, the Bureau will recommend to the full Commission that it adjust the primary focus of its reduced field office complement to RF spectrum enforcement. The EB will also recommend "adjusting" the number of field agents from 63 to 33. To compensate, part of that field staff complement would include what the EB called a "Tiger Team" of agents "flexible enough to support other high-priority initiatives." Under the plan, all field agents would have to have electrical engineering backgrounds "to support the primary focus on RF spectrum enforcement." The Bureau will also propose standardizing its investigatory and sanctioning processes. Management would not be spared. Under the recommendations, the EB field organization chart would shrink from 21 to 5 director positions, and from 10 to 3 administrative support positions. Under the proposals, the field office would reduce its "geographic footprint," from 24 sites to 8 sites and would "pre-position" equipment in several other strategic locations. Offices slated to stay under the *FCC Managing Director Jon Wilkins testifies before the US House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology on March 4.* plan would be New York City; Columbia, Maryland -- the site of the Bureau's HF Direction-Finding Center; Chicago; Atlanta; Miami; Dallas; Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The EB would deploy equipment in or near several other cities, initially to include Kansas City, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Seattle, San Juan, Anchorage, Honolulu, and Billings, Montana. Part of the plan calls for the EB to establish "beneficial partnerships between the Field and other organizations that may support increasing our effectiveness." During a March 4 US House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Committee hearing on the FCC's FY2016 budget, Rep Michael Pompeo (R-KS) pressed Wilkins on whether the FCC intended to close any field offices and eliminate any personnel. Wilkins attempted to dodge offering a direct answer, and hedged on whether any cuts were planned. He also said the Bureau had not yet received a final report from the outside consultant it had worked with. US Rep Greg Walden, W7EQI (R-OR), chairs the subcommittee. A copy of the memorandum was sent to National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) Local 209 President Ana Curtis. The NTEU represents many FCC staff members. New Legislative Issues Advocacy Fund Will Power Capitol Hill Educational Campaign Now that the ARRL's new Legislative Issues Advocacy Fund is in place, ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB -- who proposed the fund -- hopes it will fuel a heightened campaign of congressional advocacy on issues important to Amateur Radio. On behalf of the members of his Division, Lisenco earlier this year presented ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, with an inaugural $4500 Fund donation, which she matched. The primary goal of the ARRL Legislative Issues Advocacy Fund is educational, Lisenco explained. "We want to heighten Amateur Radio's visibility in Congress and to establish its brand in the minds of today's lawmakers, so we don't have to be reactive when it comes to our relationship with the federal government," Lisenco said. "It's not enough just to have a Spectrum Defense Fund . We must be recognized as effective advocates for Amateur Radio in Congress." The immediate focus of the Legislative Issues Advocacy Fund will be the recently introduced "Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015," officially known as H.R. 1301 . US Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) introduced the bill March 4 with seven Republican and five Democratic co-sponsors. Last summer Kinzinger sponsored an essentially identical piece of legislation, which died at the end of the 113th Congress. "We're going all out for this bill," Lisenco said. "Last year, we got a late start and still picked up 69 co-sponsors. This time, we're starting early and have the entire congressional session to get this done. In addition to getting as many co-sponsors as we can in the US House, we'll be trying to get a companion bill going in the US Senate. But this effort will take money." *ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB.* If Congress approves H.R. 1301, and it is signed by the president, the legislation would compel the FCC to amend the Part 97 Amateur Service rules to apply the three-part test of the PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy to include homeowners' association regulations and deed restrictions, often referred to as "covenants, conditions, and restrictions" (CC&Rs). At present, PRB-1 only applies to state and local zoning laws and ordinances. The FCC has been reluctant to extend the same legal protections to private land-use agreements without direction from Congress. Lisenco stressed that the Legislative Issues Advocacy Fund is not simply for this particular piece of legislation and that additional actions on the part of Congress or federal regulators could also affect Amateur Radio. "We have to have an ongoing relationship with members of Congress and their staff members," he said. "They need to know that Amateur Radio is alive and well, and flourishing in the 21st century." Lisenco pointed out that there are many more licensees today than during the 1950s and 1960s -- which some consider the Golden Age of Amateur Radio. "The Golden Age of Amateur Radio is today," he said. "We're experimenting with cutting-edge technology, and we provide a service to the community." But, he added, if the League does not take steps now to ensure Amateur Radio's future, "there may be no future." The Legislative Issues Advocacy Fund welcomes your support . For more information, contact Lauren Clarke , KB1YDD, tel 860-594-0348. The ARRL has an H.R. 1301 resources page on its website. League Counters Another Mimosa Move for 10 GHz Wireless Broadband Sharing The ARRL has told several US House and Senate members that the 10 GHz band, where the Amateur and Amateur-Satellite services have allocations, is not a suitable place to expand wireless broadband. Three Republican and three Democratic lawmakers wrote FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler on March 2, asking the Commission to "explore potential sharing opportunities within the 10 GHz band" to alleviate "the well-documented spectrum crunch." The primary allocation of 10.0-10.5 GHz is for federal radiolocation, with Amateur Radio secondary in the entire band and Amateur-Satellite secondary at 10.45 to 10.50 GHz. The League pointed out that plans for additional sharing are already in the works. "Based on extensive compatibility studies conducted during preparations for the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15), additional sharing for an important scientific purpose is already planned," ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, pointed out in a March 4 letter to the Congress members. Sumner explained that several years of work went into an agreed-upon US proposal at WRC-15 for a primary allocation at 9.9 to 10.5 GHz for the Earth Exploration Satellite Service (active), "subject to appropriate protections for incumbent services." Sumner said the ARRL is satisfied that the Earth Exploration Satellite Service (active) "can be accommodated in the band without causing intolerable harmful interference to the Amateur Service," while the same would not be true for wireless broadband. "Accordingly," he concluded, "the ARRL opposes the introduction of wireless broadband into the 10 GHz band." "A request by a wireless broadband equipment manufacturer to permit broadband was considered but could not be accommodated," Sumner added. That manufacturer, Mimosa Networks, filed a /Petition for Rule Making/ (RM-11715 ) in 2013 that the FCC put out for comment last year, seeking the allocation of the band for what it has called "lightly licensed fixed wireless broadband use." Mimosa's petition included a band plan for 10.0 to 10.5 GHz that would cede to Amateur Radio and Amateur-Satellite users just two small segments of the present allocation. The company claimed its proposal would protect the 10 GHz frequencies most often used by radio amateurs. The FCC has not acted on the /Petition/. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ /*The ARRL **told the FCC**that Mimosa's Petition to permit unlicensed wireless broadband services in the 10.0-10.5 GHz band was "fatally flawed" and should be dismissed. */ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sumner noted that the FCC already has initiated a proceeding to identify spectrum above 24 GHz that can be designated for mobile wireless broadband, including additional spectrum that could be authorized on an unlicensed basis. Democratic House members Doris Matsui and Anna Eshoo, both from California, and US Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, joined Republican House members Brett Guthrie of Kentucky and Robert Latta of Ohio, and US Senator Marco Rubio of Florida in signing the March 2 letter to Wheeler. "Sharing opportunities in the 10 GHz band could make more spectrum available and provide another avenue for consumers and innovators to tap into the Internet economy," the lawmakers told Wheeler. Mimosa Networks expressed support for the lawmakers' appeal in a March 3 media release . In comments to the FCC last April, the ARRL told the FCC that Mimosa's /Petition /to permit unlicensed wireless broadband services in the 10.0-10.5 GHz band was "fatally flawed" and should be dismissed. The League told the FCC that, among other things, the Mimosa /Petition/ is inconsistent with a US footnote in the domestic /Table of Allocations/, and that fact alone is sufficient reason for the Commission to quash Mimosa's request. The footnote prohibits all non-federal services in the 10-10.5 GHz band except for the Amateur and Amateur-Satellite services and the non-federal radiolocation service. The FCC "is not at liberty to ignore" the US footnote, the League said, and is obliged on that basis alone to dismiss the /Petition/, "because it hasn't the authority to grant it." Ad ITU Smart Sustainable Development Model Report Touts Amateur Radio's Advantages The use of Amateur Radio in disaster preparedness and response was among "best practices" cited in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU ) /Smart Sustainable Development Model Report / for 2015. International Amateur Radio Union (IARU ) President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA, is a member of the Smart Sustainable Development Model Advisory Board, which prepared the report, published in January. The IARU is an ITU sector member. "I strongly believe that telecommunications and [information and communication technologies] are critical to saving lives as well as integrating communities and countries into the global economy, particularly as we enter the post-2015 development era," ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau Director Brahima Sanou said in the preface to the report, which deemed Amateur Radio operators "well suited to respond in times of crisis." "The resource of the Amateur Radio Service should continue to be utilized as new technologies are developed," the report said. "However, the best asset the Amateur Radio Service brings to emergency communications transcends technology. It provides skilled people 'on the ground' who can communicate using whatever technology is available." The report cited trained volunteers and existing allocated spectrum as Amateur Radio's primary resources. "Amateur Radio services can be used in any area with an active population of radio amateurs, and is uniquely suited to situations in which other communication networks have been disrupted," the report said, noting that Amateur Radio "involves a community-driven response to disasters." Read more . Fox-1A Ready for Launch, Fox-1D to Carry Radiation-Mapping Experiment Following successful vibration and thermal/vacuum testing, AMSAT-NA 's Fox-1A CubeSat now sits in a clean environment awaiting launch, said AMSAT Vice-President-Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY. Fox-1A completed its Mission Readiness Review at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California, on February 24 before a review board of Cal Poly and NASA representatives, he said, adding that Fox-1A delivery and integration has been set for March 25. "From there, we won't see her again, but certainly look forward to hearing from her again," Buxton said. Fox-1A will include a Mode B (U/V) FM transponder and capabilities similar to the AO-51 satellite, which went dark in late 2011. The first phase of the Fox series 1-Unit CubeSats will allow simple ground stations using handheld transceivers and simple dual-band antennas to make contacts. The Fox-1 CubeSats will also be able to transmit continuous telemetry during normal transponder operation. Fox-1A is scheduled to launch in late August from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, as part of the NASA Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa ) program, which offers free launches to educational entities and encourages science missions. Fox-1A will host a Penn State student experiment with micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). Elsewhere, AMSAT and University of Iowa have agreed to include the University's High Energy Radiation CubeSat Instrument (HERCI) radiation-mapping experiment on the Fox-1D CubeSat. "HERCI is intended to provide a mapping of radiation in a low-Earth orbit," said Don Kirchner, KD0L, a University of Iowa research engineer. "This is of scientific interest for planning CubeSat test flights for low-energy X-ray detectors." *Don Kirchner, KD0L, of the University of Iowa.* The University of Iowa's history in spaceflight research dates back to the earliest satellites. As Kirchner put it, "HERCI can be considered a direct descendent of the first University of Iowa spaceflight instrument flown on Explorer I in 1958." He said the instrument is a senior design project by four UI electrical engineering students working under the supervision of the space physics engineering staff. Buxton said the partnership is a win-win arrangement. "This partnership with the University of Iowa illustrates our strategy of leveraging the new CubeSat design to assist universities that need a way to fly scientific payloads while providing a viable ongoing platform for Amateur Radio," he said. /-- Thanks to AMSAT News Service/ Radio Amateurs Invited to Listen for Lambda-Sat Lambda-Sat -- the first Greek CubeSat -- was released from the International Space Station on March 4, following its launch last summer, and its developers have invited radio amateurs around the world to listen for the Lambda-Sat signal and file reports . "You can help us to track and get the data from the Lambda-Sat while [it is] flying above areas not covered by our ground stations," the Lambda-Sat team said. The 1U CubeSat transmits AX.25-protocol UI packets at 1200 bps AFSK on 437.465 MHz. The 1 W transmitter identifies as KK6DFZ. Lambda-Sat was constructed entirely by young volunteers from Greece, who traveled to Silicon Valley to participate in this project. Members of the Lambda-Sat team contributed to the construction of the satellite system through their knowledge in robotics, electronics, software development, and telecommunications. *Lambda-Sat and another CubeSat are launched into space from the International Space Station. [NASA photo]* "I want to motivate the youth in Greece to continue to dream," said the project's initiator, Periklis Papadopoulos, an aerospace engineering professor at San Jose State University. "My goal is to demonstrate the capabilities of young people in Greece." Lambda-Sat carries an experiment that measures the radiation effects on graphene in a low-Earth orbit environment. It also carries an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver for tracking all marine vessels within its footprint around the globe, employing an Iridium Short Burst Data (SBD) modem and making use of the Iridium constellation. An article on the Lambda-Sat project by Cyprus Amateur Radio Society (CARS ) Secretary Nestor Jacovides, 5B4AHZ, has been posted on the CARS website. Ad Danish Astronaut is Among Latest Group of Space-Bound Radio Amateurs Only one radio amateur -- Samantha Cristoforetti, IZ?UDF -- is now aboard the International Space Station, but five more astronauts -- including one from Denmark -- have passed the US Technician license exam, and three of them will be among those heading to the ISS this year and next. The newest licensees are Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG; Jack Fischer, KG5FYH; David Saint-Jacques, KG5FYI; Kathleen Rubins, KG5FYJ, and Andreas Mogensen, KG5GCZ. *Newest Astronaut-Ham: Andreas Mogensen, KG5GCZ. [NASA photo]* Pesquet joined the European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut corps in 2009. Starting in November 2016 he will serve as a flight engineer on ISS Expeditions 50 and 51. Fischer was selected in 2009 as a member of the 20th NASA astronaut class, while Saint-Jacques , selected in 2009 by the Canadian Space Agency, has moved to Houston to join the 20th NASA astronaut class. Rubins , also selected in 2009 as a member of NASA's 20th astronaut class, will serve as a flight engineer for ISS Expeditions 48 and 49, which heads to the ISS in May 2016. Mogensen , who also joined the ESA astronaut corps in 2009, has been training in Texas. When he heads to the ISS this September for a 10-day mission, he will become the first Danish astronaut to go into space. Accompanying Mogensen on the /Soyuz/ spacecraft will be British soprano Sarah Brightman -- who has paid $52 million to be a "spaceflight participant" for 10 days -- and cosmonaut Sergei Volkov, RU3DIS. Later this month, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko, RN3BF, and Gennady Padalka, RN3DT, will head to the ISS, and Kelly and Kornienko will remain onboard for 1 year -- the longest space mission ever assigned to a NASA astronaut. Cristoforetti will head back to Earth in May, after Kjell Lindgren, KO5MOS; Oleg Kononenko, RN3DX, and Kimiya Yui arrive at the ISS as part of a scheduled crew rotation. Read more . ARRL Honorary Vice President, Past Director Receives BirmingHAMfest Citizenship Award ARRL Honorary Vice President and past ARRL Southeastern Division *(L-R) Dave Cisco, W4AXL; ARRL Alabama Section Manager David Drummond, W4MD, and Frank Butler, W4RH. [Photo courtesy of David Drummond, W4MD]* Director Frank Butler, W4RH, is the recipient of the Birmingham (Alabama) Amateur Radio Club's 2015 Citizenship Award , the club's highest honor. The award recognizes outstanding service, unselfish devotion, and contributions to the club, the community, and Amateur Radio. The recipient is selected by the club's president and the two past award recipients. Butler, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, retired in 2008 after 50 years of elected service to the ARRL. He served as Southeastern Division Director from 1980 until 2008. Before joining the ARRL Board, Butler served briefly as the Division's Vice Director, and he was a Section Communications Manager in Florida from 1957 until 1979. He was honored at the 2015 BirmingHAMfest . Scientist-Radio Amateur Named to Receive Prestigious Award Ajay K. Poddar? AC2KG, of Elmwood, New Jersey, has been selected by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE ) as the winner of the 2015 International Frequency Control Symposium W.G. Cady Award . Poddar, a chief scientist at Synergy Microwave Corp and an academic, was cited for "the analysis, design, and development of a host of frequency control products exhibiting state-of-the-art performance, including the development of extremely low noise crystal oscillator circuitry." The award marks the second honor for Synergy *Cady Award winner Ajay Poddar, AC2KG.* Microwave scientists this year, and the third in 3 years. Synergy Chairman Ulrich Rohde, N1UL (ex-KA2WEU), recently was named as the recipient of the IEEE's I. I. Rabi Award for 2015, and last year he won the C.B. Sawyer Memorial Award . "In the history of the IEEE, no company ever got all three possible awards in two consecutive years in this field," Rohde said. In his current position, Poddar is responsible for the design and development of a host of frequency-generating components and signal-processing modules that hold performance records. Poddar has received more than a dozen awards for his scientific contributions and technological innovations, holds several dozen patents, and has published more than 200 scientific papers. Poddar and Rohde will be honored at the 2015 Joint Conference of the IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium and European Frequency and Time Forum, held April 12-16 in Denver. Ad Southeastern Division Assistant Director Charles I. "Chuck" Baer, W4ROA, SK Longtime ARRL Southeastern Division Assistant Director Charles I. "Chuck" Baer, W4ROA, of Sunrise, Florida, died March 7 after a lengthy illness. He was 74. An ARRL member, Baer had served three ARRL Southeastern Division directors over the years. *Chuck Baer, W4ROA.* "Chuck and I have worked together for over 30 years with local ARRL affairs," said ARRL Southern Florida Section Manager Jeff Beals, WA4AW. "He was very active in the Broward County Amateur Radio community." Originally licensed KN9TVA in 1959 when he was 17, Baer worked at Allied Radio in Chicago before moving to South Florida to work for Motorola at the company's Plantation manufacturing facility. "He led the team that produced the Amateur Radio gear for the Space Shuttle program," said Beals. "Chuck was a founding member of the Motorola Amateur Radio Club W4MOT and served as repeater trustee for many years." Baer retired from Motorola after nearly 3 decades of service. Baer was a member of the South Florida DX Association, the Broward Amateur Radio Club, the Palmetto Amateur Radio Club, and the ARRL A-1 Operators Club. He served as an ARRL Official Observer for more than 50 years in Illinois and Florida. In Brief... *Yasme Foundation Elects Two Directors*: The Yasme Foundation Board of Directors has announced the election of Ken Claerbout, K4ZW, and Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T, to the Board, effective with the Foundation's upcoming Annual Meeting in Visalia, California. The action brings the number of directors to nine. The Yasme Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation organized to conduct scientific and educational projects related to Amateur Radio, including DXing and the introduction and promotion of Amateur Radio in developing countries. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The K7RA Solar Update Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: For the second week in a row, average daily sunspot numbers were down. According to ARRL Propagation Bulletins 6-11, the average sunspot numbers were 139, 81.6, 54.6, 59, and 54.1, respectively. Over the past week the number was all the way down to 32. On the other hand, for the second week in a row, average daily solar flux trended upward. Average daily solar flux numbers reported in ARRL Propagation Bulletins 6-11 were 151.1, 144.1, 121.4, 116.3, 122.9, and 127.8, respectively. These averages cover the dates from January 29 through March 11. Predicted solar flux is 125 on March 12-15, 130 on March 16-18, 125 on March 19, 120 on March 20-21, 115 on March 22-23, 110 on March 24-27, and 115 on March 28-31. Solar flux then goes to a high of 125 on April 2-15 before again dropping to a low of 110 for April 20-23. Predicted planetary A index is 18, 30, 18 and 8 on March 12-15, then 20, 18, and 12 on March 16-18, 5 on March 19-21, then 15, 20 and 8 on March 22-24, 5 on March 25-26, then 15, 30, 25, 12, and 10 on March 27-31, then 8, 10, 15, 12, 18, and 12 on April 1-6, 8 on April 7-8, and 10 on April 9-10. Looking all the way out toward the end of the 45-day forecast, planetary A index for April 24 is expected to be 30. As you can see, forecasters predict active geomagnetic conditions similar to those seen as previous solar cycles have turned down. The current sunspot cycle peaked about 1 year ago. 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 an update on our 3-month moving average of daily sunspot numbers. Send me /your/ reports and observations. /-- Tad Cook, K7RA/ Getting It Right! A photo caption in the story, "Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 Introduced in Congress," which appeared in /The ARRL Letter/ of March 5, 2015, contained incorrect information. The caption should have said: US Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) introduced "The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015" on March 4. "Just Ahead in Radiosport" in /The ARRL Letter/ of March 5, 2015, contained incorrect dates for the Africa All-Mode International DX Contest. The contest will take place over the March 14-15 weekend. ** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Just Ahead in Radiosport * March 14 -- AGCW QRP Contest (CW) * March 14 -- QRP ARCI Spring Digital Sprint * March 14-15 -- Africa All-Mode International DX Contest * March 14-15 -- RSGB Commonwealth Contest (CW) * March 14-15 -- Louisiana QSO Party * March 14-15 -- EA PSK63 Contest * March 14-15 -- Tesla Memorial HF Contest (CW) * March 14-15 -- QCWA Spring QSO Party * March 14-15 -- Idaho QSO Party * *March 15 -- **North American RTTY Sprint* * March 15-16 -- Wisconsin QSO Party * March 16 -- PODXS St Patrick's Day Contest (Digital) * March 16 -- Run For the Bacon (CW) * March 17 -- CLARA Chatter Party (SSB, CW) * March 19 -- NAQCC Monthly QRP Sprint (CW) See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events * March 13-14 -- North Carolina Section Convention , Concord, North Carolina * March 14 -- West Texas Section Convention , Midland, Texas * March 20-21 -- Louisiana State Convention , Rayne, Louisiana * March 21 -- MicroHAMS Digital Conference , Redmond, Washington * March 21 -- Nebraska State Convention , Lincoln, Nebraska * March 21 -- Southern Florida Section Convention , Stuart, Florida * March 21 -- Wisconsin State Convention , Milwaukee, Wisconsin * March 27-28 -- Maine State Convention , Lewiston, Maine * March 28 -- Texas State Convention , Rosenberg, Texas * April 4 -- West Central Florida Technical Conference , Sebring, Florida * April 4 -- North Carolina State Convention , Raleigh, North Carolina * April 4 -- Arkansas State Convention , Fort Smith, Arkansas * April 11 -- Delta Division Convention , Bartlett, Tennessee * April 11-12 -- Communications Academy , Seattle, Washington * April 17-19 -- International DX Convention , Visalia, California * April 17-19 -- Eastern VHF-UHF-Microwave Conference , Manchester, Connecticut * April 25 -- Aurora Conference , White Bear Lake, Minnesota * May 1-3 -- Nevada State Convention , Verdi, Nevada * May 2 -- South Carolina Section Convention , Spartanburg, South Carolina * May 15-17 -- Dayton Hamvention? , Dayton, Ohio Find conventions and hamfests in your area . Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 48 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 ? 2015 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved www.arrl.org From n8pr at bellsouth.net Fri Mar 13 15:14:27 2015 From: n8pr at bellsouth.net (Pete Rimmel N8PR) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2015 15:14:27 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Notes on the Navassa Operation Message-ID: <23373B78045C4C11BAA01BE8612D03EC@PeteRGateway> >From Glen W0GJ operating at K1N (as reported in the ?Gray Line Report? of the Twin Cities ARC: GOOD ADVICE FROM SOMEONE WHO WAS THERE ! Feedback and Lessons I learn a lot from every DXpedition I?ve ever been on. I?ve put together a summary of my two weeks of operation from Navassa. I?m sure all of my teammates will concur with what I?ve observed and learned. European stations complained a lot for the ?short time? we worked Europe. QUITE THE CONTRARY!!!! This is a MOST interesting point of discussion! If you look at the times in our logs, we spent MORE time working Europe than working North America. Our Club Log statistics, however, show that North America had 58% of the contacts, Europe 32% and Asia 6%. WHY, then, if MORE time was spent working Europe, was Europe about half the number of North American contacts??? Simple answer: RATE. Period. When you listened to us working North America, we could cruise right along at 300-350 Qs/hour, or more! I often saw the ?rate meter? hanging around 500-600 Qs/hour. (I heard that someone on the team was clocked at 1,200 Qs/hour?.. on 160m!!!!) When working Europe, we would be extremely lucky to see rates of 100 Qs/hour. Euro-pean signals are as strong, if not stronger than North American signals, in the Caribbean. The west coast U.S. is much harder to work than Europe. South American signals were among the strongest! Here is a note I received after I returned home. It is from a well-known DXer in Europe: ?I listened to XXX working US pile-up on 80m. Fantastic, at least 10 QSOs per minute, and when he turned to listen for Europe, the rate was only 10% of that. Same on the other bands and modes.? The problem is THROUGHPUT. Rate. Efficiency. Cooperation. Whatever you want to call it. For the time we spent working Europe, we should have MORE contacts than with North America, but that did not happen. It COULD have happened! No one more than me would like to have seen the European Qs outnumber North American Qs. For the ?next one,? I have some suggestions to help DXers, including myself, and particularly DXers in Europe, to be more successful. Here is what I see are the issues: (This applies to US hams as well for more distant DX operations ? N8PR) 1. Not listening to the DX operator. 2. LISTEN to and LEARN the rate and rhythm of the operator. 3. LISTEN to WHERE the operator is listening, and to his PATTERN of moving his VFO. You MUST KNOW where he will listen next if you expect him to hear you! How simple is that? It is part of the hunt? and the fun of DXing?. and getting rewarded! 4. Learn to use your radio (split/simplex, etc.). 5. Do NOT jump to and call on the frequency of the last station worked. The DX station will NOT hear you, because the din is total unintelligible chaos. Move UP or DOWN from that frequency, as we on our end were continuously tuning up or down after each Q. So, if one jumps onto the last-worked frequency, we will not hear you, even if you were the only one there, as we have already tuned off that frequency. 6. TURN OFF ALL SPEECH PROCESSORS AND COMPRESSION! Do NOT overdrive ALC. There is a night and day difference in listening to NA/AS and EU pileups. The horrible distortion makes it impossible to copy many, if not most European callsigns. I don?t know what it is, but I would bet that mic gain and compression controls are ?firewall forward,? all the way clockwise. There were MANY loud stations that we did not work, COULD NOT WORK, simply because we could NOT understand their terribly distorted callsign. Have you ever listened to yourself in a pileup? We gave many stations a ?19? signal report. Very loud, but extremely unintelligible! You want to have IN-TELLIGABILITY, not distortion! 7. Give your callsign ONCE and ONLY ONCE! DO NOT KEEP CALLING! Call. Listen. Call again, if needed. Listen. Listen. We would tune on by those who did not stop calling. We are looking for RATE and getting stations into the log. You should be, too!!! 8. If the DX station comes back with your call-sign, DO NOT REPEAT YOUR CALLSIGN, AS WE ALREADY KNOW IT, or we would not have answered you. Many stations (in all modes) would repeat their callsign two, three and even four times or more! This was so frustrating at times, that we would just move on to the next station. We ONLY want to hear ?5NN? or ?59? from you. Anything else is a total waste of time. Let me repeat, if we come back with YOUR callsign, DO NOT REPEAT it back to us! (Did I repeat myself?..... forgive me!) It CHEATS others out of a chance to get into the log. Only repeat your callsign if it needs correction, and then let us know it is a correction. Our propagation windows and time on the island are limited, and we need to maximize the opportunity for everyone. SPEED and EFFICIENCY ARE OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE! 9. LISTEN to the DX station come back to some-one. IF THERE IS NOTHING CLOSE TO OR RESEMBLING YOUR CALLSIGN?? SHUT UP! SHUT UP!!!!! This needless interference slows things up, and lessens YOUR chance of getting into the log! We are focused on the callsign we heard and do not hear you, only your QRM. 10. Take some time to listen to the next DXpedition working North America, and listen to the rate and rhythm of the operator. It is fast, quick and efficient, and more people get into the log! Then listen to him work Europe. The wise operator will catch on quickly to what it takes to get into the log! 11. SPREAD OUT! Our highest rates (for any continent) were working the center and far edges of the pileup, where there was less QRM. Weak stations were much easier to work than loud stations in the middle of the pileup. If we say, ?Listening 200 to 210,? 70% of the pileup sits exactly on 200 in an unintelligible din, 25% of the pileup sits on 210 and is almost as bad. 5% of the pileup will be spread out somewhere between 201 and 209, making them very quickly put into the log. S P R E A D O U T ! ! ! ! Dare to be different! Dare to be heard! 12. LOUD is NOT better! MORE AUDIO/COMPRESSION is NOT better! Finding the spot to be HEARD is the MOST important thing you can do to get into the log. My biggest thrill (and I?m sure on both ends) is finding the lone weak station and getting him into the log, quickly. 13. LISTEN to the DX operator?s INSTRUCTIONS! As we would constantly tune our VFO, if we find a clear spot, we would often say, ?33? (meaning for YOU to transmit on 14.033, 28.433, etc). A few would listen, and get into the log very quickly. You cannot hear these hints if you keep calling calling calling calling ??? Many times, I would say, ?listening 200 to 210,? and after a while, would say, ?listening 240 to 250.? Often 30 to 45 minutes, even and HOUR later, I would find MANY still calling on the original ?200 to 210??.. of course, they would never show up in our log, as I was not listening there. LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN and LISTEN SOME MORE. The less you transmit, the better chance you have of get-ting into the log. You must know where I am listening, if you really want to get into the log. 14. LISTEN to the ?good? guys who make it into the log. Study how they do it! It is not easy to find the ?good? guys, as they are quick and efficient and are in the log and gone, long before anyone can find them. They don?t transmit much. They are listening. 15. LISTEN to the ?bad? guys. It won?t take you long to find them. They keep calling and calling. They aren?t listening to find out where to transmit, or they wouldn?t be calling. How simple is that? Being LOUD helps, but not if the DX is not hearing you! If you don?t want to get into the DX log, just ignore the above suggestions, and keep calling, calling, calling?.. I wish you the best of luck. You?ll need it. From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sat Mar 14 07:43:27 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2015 07:43:27 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] NW7US Propagation Sites & More... JT-65 etc In-Reply-To: <55041C26.3050004@bellsouth.net> References: <55041C26.3050004@bellsouth.net> Message-ID: <55041EDF.9060507@bellsouth.net> *Here are a quick links to various websites and resources that are offered by Tomas*: 1. http://sunspotwatch.com/ 2. http://hfradio.org/ 3. http://cw.hfradio.org/ 4. http://digital.hfradio.org/ 5. http://swl.hfradio.org/ 6. http://forums.hfradio.org/ 7. JT65A HF Digital Mode From bmarx at bellsouth.net Mon Mar 16 15:45:04 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2015 15:45:04 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] CQmaps - Professional Maps for Ham Radio - Grand Opening Message-ID: <550732C0.8060802@bellsouth.net> *From QRZ: CQ/maps /is excited to announce the Grand Opening of www.cqmaps.com !* http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?472324-CQmaps-Professional-Maps-for-Ham-Radio-Grand-Opening CQ/maps/ has combined a solid foundation of more than a decade of Geographic Information System (GIS) and cartography experience along with being a licensed Amateur Radio operator since 1992. At CQ/maps/, you will find that all the maps offered have been drafted with the utmost care and precision gained from that decade of experience. CQ/maps/ has designed each map to deliver the most accurate and up to date Amateur Radio specific information available. Never again will you have to settle for maps with fuzzy and misplaced boundaries and incorrect names. As a fellow ham, I also understand that discerning hams want the best value for their money. We all know that Amateur Radio can be quite expensive. Not so at CQ/maps/. Costing a little more than what is currently available, you will receive a map of much higher quality that also includes personalized station information. All pricing is inclusive too! The price you see is the price you pay. No waiting until checkout to see what shipping and taxes will be. At this time, you will enjoy a selection of four types of maps: Azimuthal Projection (Centered on your QTH), World Wide DX (with CQ Zones), US Call Sign Districts, and US Maidenhead. Many more maps for different countries are currently in development as well! Each map made for you by CQ/maps/ will contain your personalized station location information: Call sign, full name, Maidenhead Locator gridsquare, Latitude & Longitude, and time zone information. Your map can be purchased as a digital copy on a CD-ROM or on a selection of high quality paper printed on a production quality Canon ipf8000 printer. *CQ/maps/ is also happy to announce a Grand Opening Special: Until April 16th, you will receive a complimentary 19x13 US Call Sign Districts Map with any order. A $15.00 Value!* CQ/maps/ is owned and operated by James Viars / N4EGA. Located in Powell, in the beautiful hills of East Tennessee. From bmarx at bellsouth.net Tue Mar 17 06:23:52 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2015 06:23:52 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Noise Power Ratio (NPR) Testing of HF Receivers In-Reply-To: <1426577112.159.9633.m7@yahoogroups.com> References: <1426577112.159.9633.m7@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <550800B8.4030408@bellsouth.net> Interesting Article by Adam showing all the Receiver Comparisons at the end of the article. Noise Power Ratio (NPR) Testing of HF Receivers Using notched noise to evaluate dynamic receiver performance by Adam Farson, VA7OJ/AB4OJ http://www.ab4oj.com/test/docs/npr_test.pdf From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Mar 18 08:53:47 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2015 08:53:47 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The ANZAC Centenary In-Reply-To: <002c01d06164$0b21e920$2165bb60$@bigpond.com> References: <002c01d06164$0b21e920$2165bb60$@bigpond.com> Message-ID: <5509755B.1030602@bellsouth.net> From My Friend Dave in VK-Land...Bill W2CQ Gents, This is in the public arena and might be of interest to SFDXA members from a "kinda invited friend from down unda". Can I call myself that? 73 Dave VK3RU The ANZAC Centenary With four weeks to go the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) stepping up its ANZAC 100 program, and would appreciate all IARU societies publicising the event to their individual members. The major commemoration is on the 25th April 2015 which is when Australian and New Zealand troops landed at Gallipoli, Turkey, marking 100 years since the nation's involvement in WWI. The ANZAC Centenary is a milestone of special significance for all Australians. The WWI helped define us as people and as a nation. During the ANZAC Centenary we remember not only the original ANZACs who served at Gallipoli and the Western Front, but commemorate more than a century of service by Australian servicemen and women. The program of commemoration activities aims to give all the opportunity to honour the service and sacrifice of all those who have worn our nation's uniform, including the more than 102,000 who have made the supreme sacrifice. The commemoration encourages all radio amateurs to reflect upon and learn more about Australia's wartime involvement, the costs and its impacts on our nation. Throughout Australia there will be 8 different ANZAC-suffixed callsigns on air both days, and beyond. Additionally dozens of radio amateurs will substitute their normal VK prefixed with AX on both April 25 and 26. The WIA has been joined by IARU member-societies in New Zealand, Turkey and elsewhere. An ANZAC Century Award is also available. For full details on ANZAC 100 please visit the website www.wia.org.au (Jim Linton VK3PC) From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Mar 19 14:45:21 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2015 14:45:21 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Vibroplex acquires the Bencher product line for Amateur Radio Message-ID: <550B1941.9020801@bellsouth.net> From QRZ: http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?472794-Vibroplex-acquires-the-Bencher-product-line-for-Amateur-Radio Vibroplex acquires the Bencher product line for Amateur Radio Press Release - March 18, 2015 Bencher, Inc. of Antioch Illinois announced the sale today of the Bencher Amateur Radio product lines to Vibroplex, LLC of Knoxville, Tennessee. This sale ends Bencher?s presence in the amateur radio field, thus allowing the principals, Jere Benedict, President, and Bob Locher, (W9KNI) to move towards retirement. The product lines sold include the Bencher BY series of Iambic Paddles, (the world?s best selling iambic paddle, with over 150,000 sold) as well as the ST series of single lever paddles, the Bencher Hex Paddle, the N2DAN Mercury Paddle, and the Bencher RJ series Hand Keys. Also included in the sale are the HK-1 Universal Hook-up kit and the YA-1 Low Pass Filter. Vibroplex has agreed to honor the manufacturer?s warranties of all covered products, and to offer parts and support for these products as well. Vibroplex will continue to offer the Bencher products through existing marketing channels. Vibroplex may be contacted at http://www.vibroplex.com , or at (865) 309-5073. Jere Benedict and Bob Locher wish to express their gratitude to the amateur radio community for its interest and support since the sale of the first Bencher amateur radio products in the early 1970?s. Scott Robbins, W4PA Owner, Vibroplex www.vibroplex.com From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Mar 19 15:24:37 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2015 15:24:37 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] "Wave of popularity" - From American Legion Magazine by N4KC Message-ID: <550B2275.2040402@bellsouth.net> From American Legion Magazine March 2015. http://www.legion.org/magazine/226238/wave-popularity Terrific well written article. Spot on...Bill W2CQ Wave of popularity In a digital world, ham radio endures, as a hobby and means of emergency communication. By Don Keith - March 1, 2015 Featured in The American Legion Magazine What comes to mind when you hear the term ?ham radio?? Maybe, when you were a kid, it was the fellow with the tall tower in his backyard that was blamed for causing squiggly lines on neighborhood TV screens. Or the guy at work with antennas bristling from his car who spends his lunch hour eating a sandwich and talking on a radio. Or maybe you?ve read a news story about ?ham? operators helping in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Whatever your impression of the hobby, you may have no idea how dynamic and fun ham radio is, or just how crucial it can be when other forms of communication fail. And it?s a perfect fit ? both nationally and at local posts ? with many American Legion missions, including civil defense. Every time you send a text on your phone, watch a TV show or use Wi-Fi at a coffee shop, you use technology developed in part by early hams ? an old railroad telegraphers? term for ?inexperienced operator? ? experimenting with newly invented radio in their basements and attics. And throughout amateur radio?s 100-year history, these cellar alchemists have helped create and refine innovations in the field. Meanwhile, others have helped save lives and ease human suffering during catastrophic events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Along the way, they?ve formed a tight-knit community that has a heck of a good time. In the early 1900s, with radio in its infancy, its possibilities appealed to a group of early adopters. They took the work of scientists and pioneered the first practical uses of wireless technology. Meanwhile, world governments saw the need to formalize regulation of this new communication medium to prevent on-air chaos. In the United States, the Federal Radio Commission was created for that purpose. Most regulatory agencies recognized the contributions of those early hams and saw them as a willing and valuable resource. They designated portions of the radio spectrum for amateurs to continue to experiment and provide backup communications as a public service. Fast forward a century, and the hobby is still as vibrant as ever. This surprises some people, who assume that smartphones, Facebook, online chat rooms and texting have made a pastime like ham radio obsolete. Yes, communicating with others is the ultimate goal of amateur radio enthusiasts, and there are plenty of ways to do that these days. But there is so much more to the hobby than simply talking to another person. It can be difficult to convey the attraction to others, but there is a certain magic in connecting with another person using a radio station that you put together yourself, possibly one you designed and built from scratch. There?s a thrill that comes from bouncing a signal off the atmosphere ? maybe even off a satellite, the surface of the moon or the tail of a comet ? using newly developed digital modes of communicating, and conversing with someone who shares that passion, whether he?s down the street or on the far side of the globe. Amateur radio is not for everyone. But for those who are interested and want to join in, it can be an almost perfect avocation, offering opportunities for learning, experimenting or combining the pastime with other interests. Campers, whether in RVs or tents, take radios with them for companionship and emergency situations when other means of communication are unavailable. Some hams hike to mountaintops or venture to remote islands with tiny, low-power transceivers and portable antennas, putting those locations on the air for others around the world to contact. Many use radio to control model aircraft, boats or robots, or as payloads in weather balloon launches. A wide range of special-interest groups meets regularly on the amateur radio bands in what are called ?nets,? discussing such subjects as antique cars or gardening. There are nets, too, for veterans to connect on the air and talk about their experiences. Those with technical flair learn, design, build and try out new ideas. Right now, satellites designed and built by amateurs are orbiting the earth and can be accessed by other hams using relatively simple gear. Computer technology is a big part of amateur radio today, and the latest advances in combining digital content with radio frequency waves put today?s hobbyists on the cutting edge just like their predecessors a century ago. Others pay homage to their forerunners by restoring and repairing antique radio gear and returning it to the airwaves. For many, amateur radio has been the gateway to careers in engineering, electronics and communications. However, technical aptitude is not required to join the fun. The hobby offers plenty for those not electronically inclined. For example, many enjoy what they term ?radiosport,? using their radios and the airwaves for spirited competition and contacting as many other stations as they can in a set period of time. ?Fox hunting? ? searching for a hidden transmitter ? is a popular activity. Others work toward awards for contacting as many fellow hams as they can in countries around the world. Of course, many amateur radio enthusiasts simply enjoy having conversations with a group of friends or someone new each time they fire up their stations. You never know who you might encounter on the ham bands. That leisurely chat might be with a music or TV star, a member of Congress, the king of a European country, an ice fisherman on a lake in Manitoba, a Nobel Prize winner, a missionary on a South Pacific island, a group operating from an isolated chunk of glacier in the Antarctic or even an astronaut in outer space. Most crewmembers aboard the International Space Station are licensed hams and frequently converse with school groups and other individuals back on Earth. *Ready to serve***With all this fun, competition and camaraderie, it is important to note that amateur radio has a serious purpose, too. When the Federal Radio Commission ? now the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ? created the amateur radio service, it made it clear why hams deserved vast slices of the radio spectrum. One, as mentioned, was to allow them to continue experimenting and contributing to the field. The other was to provide a pool of trained operators with working radio stations to assist in providing emergency communications. But have cellular technology, satellites and the like negated the need for amateur radio operators in emergencies? We only have to consider recent events ? wildfires in the West, a volcanic eruption in Japan, Superstorm Sandy in the Northeast, the terrorist bombing at the Boston Marathon ? for examples of normal communication infrastructure becoming overwhelmed or failing completely. In each case, hams were called upon, and they were ready to serve. When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, the first structures to topple were cellphone towers. When tornadoes ripped through Alabama in 2011, hams were on the ground, first as trained ?storm spotters? helping track the storms for the National Weather Service. Then they operated around the clock for weeks afterward, assisting relief operations. From the American Red Cross to The Salvation Army to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), numerous organizations rely heavily on amateur radio groups. The American Legion has been closely aligned with the hobby since the 1930s and signed a statement of affiliation with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2006. That agreement was reaffirmed last year in ?Disaster Preparedness and Response for American Legion Posts,? a handbook published by the Legion. Also, at the 92nd National Convention in Milwaukee in 2010, the Legion adopted Resolution No. 134, which urges posts and departments to assist DHS efforts in local communities ? including disaster preparedness, which dovetails perfectly with amateur radio and its purpose. But it doesn?t take a major disaster to demonstrate the value of amateur radio. Hams regularly provide communications for bicycle races, charitable running events and civic festivals. Operators are often involved in rescues of injured hikers or climbers, boats in jeopardy at sea or groups endangered by sudden weather. As we know, cellphones do not always work. Hams have plenty of experience in communicating under marginal conditions and regularly employ those skills to help others. *How to get started *A good first stop to learn more about amateur radio is the website of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) at *www.arrl.org *. ARRL publishes books, study guides and other materials to help beginners get started and gain the most from the hobby. A license is a prerequisite, and that requires passing an examination. You only need a basic knowledge of radio theory, operating practices and FCC rules. Many study guides and online teaching programs are available. While the material requires some study, it is not daunting. Children younger than 10 have passed the test and received their licenses. At one time, would-be amateur radio licensees were also required to pass a Morse-code proficiency examination. That is no longer the case. Morse code is still used by ham radio operators alongside 21st-century modes of communication, but it is no longer necessary to know the dots and dashes to obtain a license. The test is administered by volunteer examiners. The ARRL website can be used to find nearby amateur radio clubs and exam sessions. A Google search for ?amateur radio club? plus your city or state can also be a good guide to locate active clubs or groups near you. Many clubs offer free or inexpensive license-exam preparation classes. When you receive your license ? and your own unique radio call sign ? clubs can also help you put together a station and get on the air, so that you can start helping in public service and emergency communications. If there?s already a club or a station at your American Legion post, the active amateurs there can tell you more about the hobby and how it can further the Legion?s mission. If you know a post member who is already a licensed ham, suggest that he or she contact The American Legion Amateur Radio Club (TALARC) and join if not already a member. The club can offer ideas for how each post can participate, from conducting exam preparation classes to starting a ham radio station at the post for use by licensed Legionnaires. The hobby of amateur radio continues to evolve, providing unique opportunities for education, experimentation, fellowship and public service. It fits well with other interests. It is also an enjoyable pastime that can be pursued no matter a person?s age or health. Most of all, amateur radio is simply a lot of fun while offering the chance to give back to your community and country. That is why so many hams, particularly veterans, consider their hobby to be just about perfect. /Don Keith is a former award-winning broadcaster and the best-selling author of more than a dozen books, including ?Riding the Shortwaves: Exploring the Magic of Amateur Radio.? He has been an active amateur radio operator since he was 13. His call sign is N4KC. Visit his website at /*/www.donkeith.com /*/./ From bmarx at bellsouth.net Fri Mar 20 07:23:23 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2015 07:23:23 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] he ARRL Letter for March 19, 2015 In-Reply-To: <20150319221738.E6DE42176BEA@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20150319221738.E6DE42176BEA@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <550C032B.60600@bellsouth.net> Preview If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2015-03-19 The ARRL Letter March 19, 2015 Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME ARRL Home Page /ARRL Letter/ Archive Audio News Ad * ARRL President: H.R. 1301 is All About Fairness <#toc01> * FCC, Regulatory Issues Dominate ARRL Executive Committee Meeting Agenda <#toc02> * Colorado Governor Signs Amateur Radio Antenna Bill into Law <#toc03> * Emergency Communication Lacking in Vanuatu Cyclone Recovery Effort <#toc04> * National Hurricane Conference Will Include Amateur Radio Sessions <#toc05> * Dayton Hamvention^? Names 2015 Award Winners <#toc06> * IARU Emergency Telecommunications Guide Available Online <#toc07> * Deadline Extended to Apply for Foundation for Amateur Radio (FAR) Scholarships <#toc08> * ITU Symposium Endorses Small Satellite Regulation and Communication Systems Declaration <#toc09> * LoTW, Other ARRL Web Services to be Out on March 23-24 (UTC) <#toc10> * In Brief... <#toc11> * The K7RA Solar Update <#toc12> * Just Ahead in Radiosport <#toc13> * Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events <#toc14> ARRL President: H.R. 1301 is All About Fairness The push is on to convince Congress to pass The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 -- H.R. 1301 , which was introduced in the US House early this month with bipartisan support and now has 22 cosponsors. The full text of the bill now is available. If approved and signed by President Obama, the measure would direct the FCC to extend its rules relating to reasonable accommodation of Amateur Service communications to private land use restrictions -- also known collectively as "deed covenants, conditions, and restrictions" or CC&Rs. In the March issue of the /ARRL Legislative Update /, ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, said the bill is "simple and sensible," and she urged all radio amateurs -- whether or not they are affected by CC&Rs -- to join the effort to gain cosponsors for the measure. A regularly updated H.R. 1301 page on the ARRL website includes key "talking points" and other information for Amateur Radio delegations or individuals to use when approaching US House members for their support. *ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN.* "Private land use restrictions that prohibit antennas are growing at an alarming rate all over the country," President Craigie said in stressing the urgency of the current campaign. "This is not just a problem in cities, suburbs, and gated communities. It is everywhere." Part of the problem, she explained, is the uneven application of Amateur Radio antenna regulation from the public to the private sphere. While President Craigie's Virginia county has what she called "a very satisfactory antenna ordinance," similar accommodations do not extend to developments where homeowners associations and private land-use regulations hold sway. "In our rural and small-town county, every new development must have a homeowners association, and they all prohibit antennas with cookie-cutter language," she said. As President Craigie sees it, H.R. 1301 is all about fairness. "H.R. 1301 seeks regulatory parity -- not a blank check, not the heavy hand of the federal government, but simply the opportunity to negotiate reasonable accommodation," she said. "It seeks a level playing field." President Craigie said she successfully reached out to her Member of Congress to support H.R. 1301, and she encouraged other radio amateurs to do the same. "If private land-use restrictions do not affect you, please stand up for your fellow amateurs," she urged. "Please stand up for the youth we all want to attract into Amateur Radio. What is the point of helping youth get their licenses if they cannot go on to develop the skills of Amateur Radio because they cannot have antennas in their neighborhoods?" At present, PRB-1 only applies to state and local zoning laws and ordinances. The FCC has been reluctant to extend the same legal protections to private land-use agreements without direction from Congress. H.R. 1301 has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Rep Greg Walden, W7EQI (R-OR), chairs that panel's Communications and Technology Subcommittee, which will consider the measure. FCC, Regulatory Issues Dominate ARRL Executive Committee Meeting Agenda When the ARRL Executive Committee (EC) meets on March 21 in Dulles, Virginia -- in the shadow of the nation's capital -- it will confront a raft of FCC-related and regulatory issues. The continued evaluation of strategies for improving the FCC Amateur Radio enforcement program heads the list. The ARRL learned recently that the FCC Enforcement Bureau will recommend to the full Commission significant cutbacks in Field Office sites and personnel, due to tighter budgets. Other topics include a February FCC /Notice of Proposed Rule Making and Reconsideration Order /(/NPRM&RO/ ) in ET Docket 15-26 that could lead to expanded spectrum for various radar applications in the 76-81 GHz band, which Amateur Radio shares with other services. The ARRL plans to file comments in the proceeding. Other matters include a Part 5 Experimental license issued to a Massachusetts company, MITRE Corporation, which plans to conduct experimental transmissions over wide portions of the HF spectrum. The ARRL asked the company in February either to avoid Amateur Radio allocations or to announce the times and frequencies of their transmissions in advance. So far, MITRE has not responded. Among other matters, the EC will discuss strategies to address HF Experimental licenses and Special Temporary Authority (STAs) going forward. The EC will hear an updated status report on the FCC planned adjudication of the 2013 ARRL /Petition for Rule Making/ (RM-11708 ), asking the FCC to delete the symbol rate limit in ?97.307(f) of its Amateur Service rules and to replace it with a maximum data emission occupied bandwidth of 2.8 kHz on frequencies below 29.7 MHz. The committee also will be briefed on the progress of the ARRL's /Petition for Rule Making/ to create a new Amateur Service allocation at 472-479 kHz, as well as other allocation issues, including a possible 135.7-137.8 kHz band and upgrading 1900-200 kHz to primary. Topping the list of legislative matters is the status of congressional advocacy on behalf of the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 (H.R. 1301 ) and efforts to obtain a companion bill in the US Senate. The EC will also consider strategies to raise lawmakers' awareness of Amateur Radio during the 114th Congress. Colorado Governor Signs Amateur Radio Antenna Bill into Law Friday the 13th turned out to be a lucky day for Colorado hams, as Gov John Hickenlooper signed into law an Amateur Radio antenna bill that mirrors the PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy. The signing brings the number of states that have similar Amateur Radio antenna laws in place to 32. The Colorado General Assembly, without amendment, passed Senate Bill 15-041 , sponsored by Sen Chris Holbert and Rep Kevin Van Winkle. The new legislation, introduced in early January, specifies that no local government "shall enact or enforce an ordinance or resolution regulating Amateur Radio antennas that fails to conform" with PRB-1's "reasonable accommodation" provisions. *Colorado Gov John Hickenlooper (seated) signs the PRB-1 bill. Looking on were (L-R) Sen Chris Holbert; Colorado State Government Liaison Robert Wareham, N0ESQ; Colorado Section Manager Jack Ciaccia, WM0G; Colorado ARES member Richard Anderson, W9BNO, and Rep Kevin Van Winkle. [John Maxwell, W0VG, photo]* "There was absolutely /no/ opposition from anyone at any time for this bill," ARRL Colorado Section Manager Jack Ciaccia, WM0G, enthused. "This was truly a bi-partisan bill, and we had terrific support from both sides of the aisle in both chambers. For junior House member Kevin Van Winkle, this was his /first/ bill ever presented, supported, and passed. He was thrilled to get his first bill-signing pen." The three-part PRB-1 federal policy states that local regulation of Amateur Radio antenna installations be based on health, safety, or aesthetic considerations; be crafted to reasonably accommodate Amateur Radio communications, and represent the minimum practicable regulation to accomplish the legitimate purpose of the local government. Ciaccia said that the testimony of Colorado State Government Liaison Robert Wareham, N0ESQ, offered "an excellent opportunity to sell Amateur Radio and ARES" to the lawmakers. *ARRL Colorado Section Manager Jack Ciaccia, WM0G, during a visit to ARRL Headquarters.* "[T]he politicians had lots of glowing remarks, because Colorado hams have been very much involved with emergency communications in many of their communities for many years now, during just about every wildfire," Ciaccia said. He pointed out that hams had also impressed Colorado's lawmakers by providing emergency communication during the 2013 flood evacuations in isolated areas. Following the bill signing, Ciaccia recounted, Gov Hickenlooper took another 15 minutes out of a busy day to meet with the ham contingent on hand and to personally thank the Amateur Radio community for its public service role. Wareham aided in getting the legislation drafted and introduced by Sen Holbert and Rep Van Winkle, and he also testified on behalf of the measure while it was being heard in committee. ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, provided legal expertise and case precedents and consulted directly with Wareham, also an attorney, as the bill made its way through the General Assembly. Ciaccia thanked all Colorado ARRL members and radio amateurs "who provided grassroots support for this legislation." Ad Emergency Communication Lacking in Vanuatu Cyclone Recovery Effort With the telecommunications and electrical power infrastructure in Vanuatu knocked out by the Category 5 Cyclone (hurricane) Pam, which struck the Pacific archipelago over the weekend, no organized emergency communication system has stepped in to fill the gap. Many locations have not been heard from since the storm hit. The extreme storm, with winds in excess of 155 MPH, caused severe damage throughout Vanuatu's 60 islands, devastating many communities, including the capital of Port Vila. The number of deaths is unclear, but the storm displaced thousands of residents, and recovery is expected to take a very long time. There are few Amateur Radio operators in Vanuatu, which has a population of approximately 250,000. Rod Newell, YJ8RN, who lives on Efate Island and is a member of the IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee, has not been heard from since the storm struck. Over the years the idyllic location has been a haven for tourists and DXpeditioners (Vanuatu is number 102 on ClubLog's /Most Wanted DXCC List/). No communication has been heard from many of Vanuatu's islands, but relief teams and supplies have begun arriving from Australia and elsewhere. Ironically, Vanuatu President Baldwin Lonsdale was in Japan at the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction when the cyclone struck his country. He made an emotional plea for humanitarian assistance and has since returned to Vanuatu. The BBC has reported that residents of some stricken regions have taken to drinking seawater, since no fresh water is available, and people have been scavenging for food. Drinking salt water can lead to dehydration and death. Formerly known as the New Hebrides, Vanuatu is one of the region's poorest nations. */Conference Addresses Preparedness, Ham Radio Role in Disasters/* During the UN conference, held in Sendai, International Amateur Radio Union Region 3 (IARU R3) was represented on a panel organized by the International Telecommunication Union Development (ITU-D) Sector. The panel also included delegates from Japan, the Philippines, and Uganda. IARU Region 3 Secretary Ken Yamamoto JA1CJP, explained how Amateur Radio can contribute to Disaster Risk Reduction. He stated that radio amateurs can convey warnings and/or rescue requests in the early phase of a disaster and can provide grassroots communication between evacuation shelters and disaster relief organizations. He said Amateur Radio was a good resource of trained communicators. Nicolas D. Ojeda Jr, the Philippines' Deputy Executive Director, Information and Communications Technology Office, Department of Science and Technology, told the panel that Amateur Radio was very helpful in maintaining communication between communities and disaster relief organizations following Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013. Japan's Vice Minister for Policy Coordination, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Yasuo Sakamoto expressed appreciation for the international cooperation in the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami and for mobile phones that provided voice/data communication. Vanuatu's remote location and lack of aircraft landing sites has made relief efforts difficult. Port Vila is more than 1100 miles northeast of Brisbane, Australia, and some 1400 miles north of Auckland, New Zealand./-- Thanks to Jim Linton, VK3PC, Chairman, IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee; news media accounts/ National Hurricane Conference Will Include Amateur Radio Sessions Amateur Radio will again be represented at the 2015 National Hurricane Conference, March 30-April 2 in Austin, Texas. The conference theme is improving hurricane preparedness. All Amateur Radio sessions are free and will take place Tuesday, March 31. The primary goal of the National Hurricane Conference is to improve hurricane preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation in order to save lives and property in the US and in the tropical islands of the Caribbean and the Pacific. The conference also serves as a national forum for federal, state, and local officials to exchange ideas and recommend new policies to improve emergency management. There will be two Amateur Radio-oriented sessions. In the first, from 1:30 until 3:10 PM, National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb will discuss the importance of Amateur Radio weather spotter surface reports during severe weather events, Rob Macedo, KD1CY, will explain WX4NHC operations at the National Hurricane Center on behalf of the WX4NHC team, and Bob Robichaud, VE1MBR, will talk about Canadian Hurricane Centre operations. Macedo is Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net and ARRL ARES Eastern Massachusetts Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator. In the second session, from 3:30 until 5 PM, Hurricane Watch Net Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, will discuss the Hurricane Watch Net, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Macedo will discuss the VoIP Hurricane Net and Hurricane Sandy Operations, followed by a presentation on SKYWARN, an update by ARRL representatives, and a question-and-answer session. All Amateur Radio presentations will be recorded and streamed live (voipwx.net ) (nsradio.org ). The Austin Amateur Radio Club will host National Hurricane Conference Amateur Radio presenters that evening, to review the afternoon presentations. South Texas Section Manager Lee Cooper, W5LHC, is coordinating the meeting. The National Hurricane Conference is the nation's forum for education and professional training in hurricane preparedness. Averaging 2000 attendees from around the country, the conference covers all major aspects of hurricane preparedness, response, and recovery. Visit the 2015 National Hurricane Conference website to register and for the complete schedule . Dayton Hamvention^? Names 2015 Award Winners Dayton Hamvention ^? has named its 2015 award winners. Three radio amateurs and a club will be honored during the annual ham radio gathering, which takes place May 15-17. Named as Amateur of the Year was elite contester and ARRL Western Pennsylvania Section *Dayton Hamvention 2015 Amateur of the Year Tim Duffy, K3LR.* Manager Tim Duffy, K3LR. Hamvention's Special Achievement Award will go to webcaster Tom Medlin, W5KUB, and QRP icon and author The Rev George Dobbs, G3RJV, will receive the Technical Excellence Award. Hamvention will pay tribute to the Orlando Amateur Radio Club (OARC) as Club of the Year. The club sponsors the annual Orlando HamCation^? , the second-largest ham radio gathering in the US. "On behalf of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) and Hamvention^? 2015, I would like to congratulate this year's award winners," Hamvention^? Chairman Jim Tiderman, N8IDS, said. "Their outstanding contributions and many years of devotion to the Amateur Radio Service are recognized and appreciated." The world's largest Amateur Radio gathering, Hamvention is expected to attract more than 25,000 visitors to the greater Dayton area this year. More information is on the Dayton Hamvention website. Read more . Ad IARU Emergency Telecommunications Guide Available Online The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) /Emergency Telecommunications Guide / is now available for download from the IARU website. The guide was developed to provide the IARU member-societies with materials suitable for training radio amateurs to participate in emergencies. It also was designed to provide guidance to individual Amateur Radio operators with little or no experience in handling emergency communications but desire to enhance their ability to participate in such events or to simply have a better understanding of the process. The IARU Administrative Council meeting approved the /Guide/ at its 2014 meeting. "IARU member-societies are encouraged to distribute this guide among its membership and, if necessary, to provide a translation into a language used within their own country," an IARU media release said. "This guide can also be used in conjunction with other training materials by leaders within the emergency communication community to train radio operators in the basic theory and practice of handling emergency communications traffic." The IARU International Secretariat has invited feedback, comments, or suggestions regarding the /Guide/. Deadline Extended to Apply for Foundation for Amateur Radio (FAR) Scholarships The non-profit Foundation for Amateur Radio (FAR ) has given individuals another couple of weeks to apply for the 2015-2016 academic year scholarships it administers. The application deadline has been extended to April 15. Individuals and Amateur Radio clubs across the US sponsor these academic awards, and the FAR scholarship application process is open to Amateur Radio licensees worldwide. Applicants must hold a valid Amateur Radio license and be enrolled or accepted for enrollment at an accredited university, college, or technical school. FAR's scholarship program is one of the largest for Amateur Radio licensees in the US. The organization's purpose is to further Amateur Radio in all of its various facets. For the 2015-16 academic year, FAR will administer 67 scholarships worth $125,500 in all. The list includes 36 Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA) scholarships worth a total of $77,000 for 2015 (these require a recommendation from a QCWA member). Individual awards range from $500 to $5000. The preferred application method is the electronic form on the FAR website. Information entered on the form goes directly into an encrypted, password-protected PDF file that is available only to the review committee. Raw data are not stored online. Applicants will have an opportunity to print their applications and to edit them. The application cannot be downloaded and completed offline, however. Applicants who are unable or unwilling to use the online application should contact Dave Prestel , W8AJR. FAR may be able to provide an alternate application form. Official or unofficial transcripts may be submitted but are not required; it is preferred that these documents be scanned into PDF files, if they are to be submitted via e-mail. Schools that prefer to mail paper copies should send them to FAR Scholarships, PO Box 911, Columbia, MD 21044. Visit the FAR Scholarship Information page or contact FAR, if you have questions about the 2015 scholarship application process. ITU Symposium Endorses Small Satellite Regulation and Communication Systems Declaration International Amateur Radio Union (IARU ) representatives were in Prague earlier this month to join discussions on the regulatory aspects of orbits and spectrum usage for nanosatellites and picosatellites. On hand for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU ) Symposium and Workshop March 2-4 were IARU Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, and former IARU Region 1 President Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T. In particular, discussions centered on the application of the ITU Radio Regulations . The symposium concluded with the unanimous endorsement of the "Prague Declaration on Small Satellite Regulation and Communication Systems ." *ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao.* "The symposium provided a unique opportunity for experts to examine the procedures for notifying space networks and consider possible modifications to enable the deployment and operation of small satellites," said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. "'The Prague Declaration' represents an important step in this direction." The Declaration urges the the small satellite community "to comply with the applicable international and national laws, regulations and procedures, indispensable to guarantee the long-term sustainability of small satellite projects, the avoidance of harmful interference, and proper management of space debris." More than 160 participants from some 40 countries attended the symposium. The gathering is being considered an important step in preparing for the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) in Geneva on November 2-27. *IARU Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, attended the ITU small satellite symposium in Prague. [Rick Lindquist, WW1ME, photo]* Delegates discussed challenges facing small satellite development, including aspects related to national and international legal and regulatory issues, frequency management, and radiocommunication standardization. Participants stressed the importance of implementing national regulatory frameworks that clearly define the rights and obligations of all stakeholders, in conformance with international laws, regulations, and procedures established by the UN General Assembly, the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, and the ITU. These regulatory issues relate to the registration of objects launched into outer space, frequency coordination, and the registration of satellite networks, as well as compliance with the space debris mitigation guidelines. ITU Radiocommunication Bureau Director Fran?ois Rancy, said the ITU, in partnership with key players, including academe, is addressing newly emerging requirements by various industry sectors to place small communication satellite systems in orbit. "We are examining the regulatory aspects of the use of radio frequency spectrum and satellite orbits to facilitate the launch and operation of a new generation of small satellites," he said. Ad LoTW, Other ARRL Web Services to be Out on March 23-24 (UTC) The ARRL Logbook of The World (LoTW ) service will be down briefly for maintenance from Monday, March 23 at 2300 UTC until Tuesday, March 24 at 0200 UTC. Also offline during that period will be the Online DXCC Application , the Centennial QSO Party Awards page, and the ARRL E-Store. E-mail to *@arrl.org* addresses at League Headquarters will be queued for later delivery. The remainder of the ARRL website will not be affected. We apologize for any inconvenience. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In Brief... *E30FB Eritrea DXpedition Wraps Up on March 17*: The E30FB DXpedition to Eritrea shut down on March 17 at 0900 UTC after logging some 62,500 contacts and providing many DXers with an all-time new one. "The E30FB team really enjoyed bringing you this rare activation of Eritrea," a team announcement said. "Murphy was a constant companion on this DXpedition and impacted our antennas and computers. We beat Murphy back each time with skill and determination. You will be surprised to know that almost all CW was sent by hand keys." The QSL manager for E30FB is M0URX. /-- Thanks to /The Daily DX /via the E30FB DXpedition team/ // *Vibroplex Purchases Bencher Amateur Radio Product Line*: Bencher Inc has announced the sale of its Amateur Radio product line to Vibroplex LLC of Knoxville, Tennessee, owned by Scott Robbins, W4PA. "This sale ends Bencher's presence in the Amateur Radio field, thus allowing the principals, Jere Benedict, President, and Bob Locher, W9KNI, to move towards retirement," the announcement said. Product lines included in the sale include the Bencher BY series of iambic paddles as well as the ST series of single-lever paddles, the Bencher Hex Paddle, the N2DAN Mercury Paddle, and the Bencher RJ series hand keys. The sale also includes the HK-1 Universal Hook-up kit and the YA-1 Low Pass Filter. Vibroplex has agreed to honor the manufacturer's warranties and to provide parts and support, and it will continue offering Bencher products through existing marketing channels. Benedict and Locher expressed "gratitude to the Amateur Radio community for its interest and support since the sale of the first Bencher Amateur Radio products in the early 1970s." *Irish Radio Transmitters Society Seeks Award Nominees*: The Irish Radio Transmitters Society (IRTS) Awards Committee is seeking nominations for its "Awards for Services to the Society or to Amateur Radio" and "Awards to IRTS members for Other Achievements." Details are available on the IRTS website under the "Awards" section. Nominations should be sent to Awards Manager Jim Holohan EI4HH . *Austin Amateur Radio Supply Closes its Doors*: Austin Amateur Radio Supply has closed its doors. Started by Johnny Paul, WA5BGO, SK, more than 45 years ago, Austin Amateur Radio Supply had continued to advertise in major Amateur Radio publications. Following Paul's death in late 2013, his family took over the operation of Austin Amateur Radio Supply. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The K7RA Solar Update Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: On Tuesday, March 17, a coronal mass ejection (CME) struck Earth, producing the largest geomagnetic storm of the current solar cycle. Aurora borealis was visible all the way down to the central US. The planetary A index for the day was 117, an incredibly high number. It looks like the greatest impact was in the second half of the day (UTC), when the planetary K index in the four 3-hour periods was 8, 8, 7, and 8. The average daily sunspot number for this week rose from 32 to 59.1, and average daily solar flux declined from 127.8 to 114.8. The latest prediction has solar flux at 115 on March 19, 110 for March 20-21, 105 and 100 for March 22-23, 95 for March 24-25, 105 on March 26, and 110 for March 27-28. Flux values are expected to peak at 120 -- which is not very high -- for April 3-5, and a bottom out at 95 for April 17-18. Predicted planetary A index is expected at 25, 18, and 8 for March 19-21, 20 for March 22-23, 10 on March 24, 5 for March 25-26, then 15, 30, and 25 for March 27-29, then 12, 10, and 8 for March 30 through April 1. 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. For Friday's bulletin, look for an updated forecast and reports from readers. Send me /your/ reports and observations. /-- Tad Cook, K7RA/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Just Ahead in Radiosport * March 21 -- Oklahoma QSO Party * March 21 -- Virginia QSO Party * March 21 -- Feld-Hell Leprechaun Sprint * March 21-22 -- BARTG HF RTTY Contest * March 21-22 -- Russian DX Contest (CW, SSB) * March 28-29 -- FOC QSO Party * March 28-29 -- CQ WPX SSB Contest * March 28-29 -- Worldwide EME Contest See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events * March 20-21 -- Louisiana State Convention , Rayne, Louisiana * March 21 -- MicroHAMS Digital Conference , Redmond, Washington * March 21 -- Nebraska State Convention , Lincoln, Nebraska * March 21 -- Southern Florida Section Convention , Stuart, Florida * March 21 -- Wisconsin State Convention , Milwaukee, Wisconsin * March 27-28 -- Maine State Convention , Lewiston, Maine * March 28 -- Texas State Convention , Rosenberg, Texas * April 4 -- West Central Florida Technical Conference , Sebring, Florida * April 4 -- North Carolina State Convention , Raleigh, North Carolina * April 4 -- Arkansas State Convention , Fort Smith, Arkansas * April 11 -- Delta Division Convention , Bartlett, Tennessee * April 11-12 -- Communications Academy , Seattle, Washington * April 17-19 -- International DX Convention , Visalia, California * April 17-19 -- Eastern VHF-UHF-Microwave Conference , Manchester, Connecticut * April 24-25 -- Southeastern VHF Society Conference , Morehead, Kentucky * April 25 -- Aurora Conference , White Bear Lake, Minnesota * May 1-3 -- Nevada State Convention , Verdi, Nevada * May 2 -- South Carolina Section Convention , Spartanburg, South Carolina * May 15-17 -- Dayton Hamvention? , Dayton, Ohio 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 ARRL on Facebook ! Follow us on Twitter ! Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 48 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 ? 2015 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved www.arrl.org From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sat Mar 21 21:23:37 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2015 21:23:37 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Great Commercial using Ham radio... Message-ID: <550E1999.4060103@bellsouth.net> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxU1ZhINaHk From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sat Mar 28 21:57:56 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2015 21:57:56 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] HRD Spring Update; New Release. 6.2.9.354 Message-ID: <55175C24.7080708@bellsouth.net> From QRZ: *W4PC* HRD Spring Update; New Release. 6.2.9.354 HRD Software, LLC announces the release of Version 6.2.9.354 today. This is a maintenance release for HRD that addresses a variety of bug fixes in Logbook as well as enhancement additions. Users that have purchased HRD 6.0 and later will get the bug fixes at no charge, even those who have not yet renewed their license. ?This release is a very important Ham Radio Deluxe release. Users will be pleased with many of the most common fixes and enhancements being completed? says managing partner and lead development officer Rick Ruhl, W4PC. Testing by HRD?s QA and its fine beta team confirms that HRD is a stable platform. In the latest release, developers addressed various issues including a fix for the Icom IC-7600 split button; auto-update of the country list has been repaired; label printing has been improved, including support for various label printers, and ADIF uploads to ClubLog were also restored. Several additional enhancements within Logbook improve functionality of the Add Log Entry window. Details of all updates are available as release notes on the download page of our website. Enhancements are only available to those who have renewed their subscription license, conveniently done at the HRD Website: _http://www.hrdsoftwarellc.com/cgi-bi...erce.cgi?pid=8 _. Those who wish to purchase the full version of Ham Radio Deluxe can do so at http://www.hrdsoftwarellc.com/cgi-bi...erce.cgi?pid=1 . You can also call HRD at 813-434-4650 for both sales and support. As always, HRD is available to ?try before you buy,? with a FREE 30-day trial that includes live technical support. Now is the best time ever to try out HRD or renew your support package! Purchase and download Ham Radio Deluxe 6.2 at http://www.ham-radio-deluxe.com . HRD Paid support: http://tickets.hrdsoftwarellc.com HRD Peer Support Forum: http://forums.hrdsoftwarellc.com HRD YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/hrdsoftware From bmarx at bellsouth.net Mon Mar 30 06:02:03 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2015 06:02:03 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The Yuri Gagarin International DX Contest 2015 - GC-2015 rules In-Reply-To: <002d01d06ac9$a41a4460$ec4ecd20$@bigpond.com> References: <002d01d06ac9$a41a4460$ec4ecd20$@bigpond.com> Message-ID: <55191F1B.5090401@bellsouth.net> The Yuri Gagarin International DX Contest 2015 The contest is dedicated to the memory of Yuri Gaga rin, who realized the first human flight to space, on April 12, 1961. RULES 1. Date: from 21.00 UTC on April 11th till 21.00 UTC on April 11th, 2015. Stations of categories A, B, D, E and F may operate 20 of the 24 hours. Off times must be a minimum of 60 minutes during which no QSO is logged. 2. Bands: 1.8, 3.5, 7.0, 14, 21, 28 MHz and radio amateur satellites. 3. Modes: CW only. 4. Contest Call: (CQ Gagarin Cup). 5. Categories: A Single operator - Single band. Satellite QSOs are set off as on a separate band. B Single operator - Multi bands. C Multi operators - Multi bands, single transmitter. D SWL - Multi bands. E. Single operator - Multi bands, Low power. F. Single operator - Single band, Low power. S. Special stations: R3K, RG61PP, RS3A, RT3F, UN1ZZZ, RM3V. During the contest: All multi-band categories may also utilize radio amateur satellites. These QSOs are counted as an additional band. Category C must remain on the same HF band for at least 5 minutes after the first QSO has been made. The simultaneous satellite QSOs is authorized. Categories A, B, C, E, F and S can make only one QSO with the same station on that band and only one QSO with the same station on an orbit of the satellite. Only one signal on a band is allowed at any time. 6. Exchange: RST and ITU zone number. 7. QSO points: QSO with own country count 2 points. QSO with a different country in the same continent - 3 points. QSO with a different continent - 4 points. Satellite QSO - 100 points. QSO points on: 1.8 MHz and 3.5MHz multiplied by 3; 7 MHz - 2; 14, 21 and 28 MHz - 1. For SWL: Complete logging of one station only the callsign of the second station count 1 point. Complete logging of both sides of a QSO - 3 points. The same callsign may be logged only 1 time on each band. 8. Multipliers: each different ITU zone, QSO with radioamateurs stations: R3K, RG61PP, RS3A, RT3F, RM3V and UN1ZZZ worked on each band gives 1 point for multiplier. SWLs have no multipliers. 9. Final score: The total number of QSO points on all bands times the total number of multipliers worked on all bands. 10. Awards: The Special trophy will be awarded to the winner in the B, C & E categories. Different kind of medals will be awarded to the world's top three scoring stations in the A, B, C, E and S categories. Certificates will be awarded to top three and each country's winner in each category. Certificates will be awarded to all the Contest participants who log not less than 250 QSOs or 250 SWLs. 11. Logs: Electronic logs are to be sent via e-mail as the enclosure to the letter. File format - text of the operator's contest program but Cabrillo format will be much appreciated. In the field "subject" of your e-mail letter it is necessary to mention your callsign and category (for example - ra3aaa B). In the text of the letter it is necessary to show your final score calculation, rig and antennas data, as well as your comments and wishes. For example: OFFTIME: 2015-04-11 2100 2015-04-11 2159 OFFTIME: 2015-04-12 1800 2015-04-12 2059 E-mail address: gc_15(at)bk(dot)ru And: http://ua9qcq.com/en/submit_log.php?lang=en The final date of logs sending - May 12, 2015. The results of are to the http://gc.qst.ru and http://www.qrz.ru/contest From bmarx at bellsouth.net Tue Mar 31 18:14:43 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2015 18:14:43 -0400 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The women who helped crack the Nazi Codes at Bletchley Park In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <551B1C53.3090104@bellsouth.net> http://www.techrepublic.com/article/the-women-who-helped-crack-nazi-codes-at-bletchley-park/?tag=nl.e001&s_cid=e001&ttag=e001&ftag=TRE20d3f17