From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sun Nov 1 13:12:21 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sun, 01 Nov 2015 13:12:21 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] KB6NU Column for October 2015 In-Reply-To: <874951D6D7754B0AB07EDB3B6C15F585@danromanchik.com> References: <874951D6D7754B0AB07EDB3B6C15F585@danromanchik.com> Message-ID: <56365605.10606@bellsouth.net> /Heathkit? Time will tell.../ Here's my column for October 2015. Sorry for it being a little late. 73, Dan KB6NU A new Heathkit! So, why am I not excited? By Dan Romanchik, KB6NU A couple of weeks ago I got an e-mail from Heathkit. Yes, the NEW Heathkit. you might remember that a couple of years ago, there was all this hype about a ?new? Heathkit and how they were going to start designing new kits as well as revive popular old designs. Then, nothing. They went completely quiet-?until a couple of weeks ago. In an e-mail sent to their ?insiders,? they say: "Dear Heathkit Insider, 'What I really hope Heathkit will produce,' a Silicon Valley colleague recently told me, 'is a new radio kit with a beautiful finish, maybe in rosewood.' Something great to enjoy building and learn from, and also visually stunning, so he could put it in his living room and keep it forever. "Today, my friend gets his wish. They then go on to explain all of the work they?ve been doing in relocating Heathkit to Santa Cruz, CA, acquiring a second company, and securing all the intellectual property rights to the old Heathkit manuals and logos (meaning no more bootleg copies on the Internet). The e-mail continues: "That?s a lot, but there?s more. We?ve designed and developed a wide range of entirely new kit products. We authored the manuals for these kits, complete with the beautiful line art you rely on, preserving and respecting our iconic historic Heathkit style. We developed many new inventions and filed patents on them??We built the back office infrastructure, vendor and supply chain relationships, systems, procedures, operations methods, and well-thought-out corporate structure that a manufacturing company needs to support its customers, to allow us to scale instantly the day we resume major kit sales. All this effort enables us to introduce a fleet of new kits and helps ensure Heathkit can grow, prosper, and continue to bring you great new products for a very long time." So, what?s the exciting news? A new QRP transceiver? Maybe a shortwave radio? A new 100-in-1 experimenter kit for Makers? Uh-uh. Sorry. The "exciting" news is a tuned radio frequency (TRF) AM band (yes, I said AM band) radio kit that costs $150 (https://shop.heathkit.com/shop/product/explorer-jr-trf-am-radio-receiver-kit-black-case-gr-150-bk-16). Not only is that crazy expensive for an AM radio, it doesn?t even come with a speaker. On top of that, there?s no soldering. You screw all of the components to the board. I?m speechless (well, figuratively, not literally). I?m not sure what the target market is for this product. It?s certainly not amateur radio operators, who expect a lot more (in terms of both functionality and ?fun?) for their money. Nor is it the "Maker" folks, who want something more challenging than an AM radio. I think that if I took this to show off at the local Ann Arbor Maker group, they?d laugh me out of the place. I really hope that they have something better up their sleeves. A strong Heathkit would be good for the Maker movement and for ham radio. When not thinking about what kit to build next, Dan, KB6NU, operates CW on the HF bands (mostly 40m and 30m). His #1-rated amateur radio blog can be found at KB6NU.Com, and you can e-mail questions, comments, or complaints to cwgeek at kb6nu.com. From bmarx at bellsouth.net Mon Nov 2 17:09:00 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2015 17:09:00 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Interesting 6m AM net!! Message-ID: <5637DEFC.3040302@bellsouth.net> It's worth a try from South Florida... There is an interesting Net, new to the bands, that started about 6 months ago. This net meets @ 7PM CST Sundays on 50.400 and operates only in the AM mode. Yes I said AM, isn't that great? A place to use those old boatanchors such as Gonset. Lafayette, Ameco, and even homemade transmitters and receivers. There are some attempts to get a WRL Globe Scout on. Either crystal or VFO either will work, we will even listen up or down to 'find you.The net control is W4ICU and is located in Marianna, Fl. This past Sunday night there were 22 check-ins ranging from North Georgia, Jacksonville,Pensacola and many towns between. He does rotate his beam all around to different areas to give every direction a listen, be patient! Try it next Sunday night, you might be surprised to see just what you can do on AM. Drag out those old 6 meter boatanchors. We even have a few Heathkit Sixers. If you don't have a boatanchor, a Flex, Kenwood Icom Yaesu are anything that will modulate with AM is welcome. We just want to keep the AM mode alive. Thanks and 73 Jimmy K4KHV From bmarx at bellsouth.net Tue Nov 3 05:53:45 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2015 05:53:45 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Fwd: Interesting 6m AM net!! In-Reply-To: <5637DEFC.3040302@bellsouth.net> References: <5637DEFC.3040302@bellsouth.net> Message-ID: <56389239.5080301@bellsouth.net> I just got this note from Tony N2MFT: Bill W2CQ "Also Brandon ARC holds a 6M net every Tuesday night at 8:00 PM local time." It's worth a try from South Florida... There is an interesting Net, new to the bands, that started about 6 months ago. This net meets @ 7PM CST Sundays on 50.400 and operates only in the AM mode. Yes I said AM, isn't that great? A place to use those old boatanchors such as Gonset. Lafayette, Ameco, and even homemade transmitters and receivers. There are some attempts to get a WRL Globe Scout on. Either crystal or VFO either will work, we will even listen up or down to 'find you.The net control is W4ICU and is located in Marianna, Fl. This past Sunday night there were 22 check-ins ranging from North Georgia, Jacksonville,Pensacola and many towns between. He does rotate his beam all around to different areas to give every direction a listen, be patient! Try it next Sunday night, you might be surprised to see just what you can do on AM. Drag out those old 6 meter boatanchors. We even have a few Heathkit Sixers. If you don't have a boatanchor, a Flex, Kenwood Icom Yaesu are anything that will modulate with AM is welcome. We just want to keep the AM mode alive. Thanks and 73 Jimmy K4KHV From bmarx at bellsouth.net Tue Nov 3 14:30:39 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2015 14:30:39 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] A Message from Jeff In-Reply-To: <20151103191843.2A1662014741@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20151103191843.2A1662014741@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <56390B5F.107@bellsouth.net> Greetings to all, As you read this, daylight savings time has ended and we lose an hour of afternoon outdoor activity. Not my favorite time of the year. However, we still have plenty of daytime events in the SFL Section during the month of November. Please support the clubs sponsoring these events by your attendance and participation. 11/07/2015 | Link McGarity WV4I Memorial Free Flea Location: West Palm Beach, FL Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Palms West Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.palmswestradio.org 11/14/2015 | Cy Harris W4MAQ Memorial Free Flea Location: Oakland Park, FL Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Broward Amateur Radio Club Website: http://browardarc.net 11/21/2015 | Flamingo Net / UMARC Free Flea Location: Coral Gables, FL Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Flamingo Net ARC & University of Miami ARC Website: http://flamingonet.8m.net 11/28/2015 | Okeechobee Hamfest in the Woods Location: Okeechobee, FL Type: ARRL Hamfest Sponsor: Okeechobee Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.k4oke.com 02/12/2016 | ARRL National Convention (Orlando HamCation?) Location: Orlando, FL Type: ARRL Convention Sponsor: Orlando Amateur Radio Club Website: http://hamcation.com The ARRL Florida State Convention at Melbourne last month was well attended on both Friday and Saturday. Many Florida hamfests are going to this Friday-Saturday schedule. The ARRL Forum featured ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U from ARRL HQ , SE Division Director Doug Rehman, K4AC and yours truly. Section staff spoke about their respective programs. WCF Section Manager Darrell Davis, KT4WX spoke about activities in his section and we had a discussion about the upcoming ARRL National Convention in Orlando this February. 2015 Field Day Results in SFL Congrats to all for good scores and participation. # Call Score Category QSOs Power Mult GOTA Call Section Participants Club 1 W4OX 9,736 4A 2,752 2 SFL 18 2 W4MLB 6,634 2F 1,967 2 AF4Z SFL 22 Platinum Coast ARS 3 K4HRS 6,164 2A 1,589 2 SFL 15 Harris-Intersil ARC 4 N4BP 5,474 1D 1,331 2 SFL 1 5 W4SLC 4,678 2A 1,134 2 SFL 20 St. Lucie Cty ARES /Ft. Pierce ARC/Port St. Lucie ARR 6 N4BRF 4,272 3A 1,208 2 SFL 10 Boca Raton ARS 7 W4SS 4,200 2A 1,161 2 SFL 20 Palms West ARC 8 W4F 3,544 5F 1,095 2 SFL 18 ARASWF 9 W4J 3,208 2A 1,024 2 SFL 55 Jupiter Tequesta Rep Group 10 W4LX 3,166 6A 702 2 SFL 22 Fort Myers ARC 11 K4ZK 3,070 2A 735 2 WX4MC SFL 20 MCARA 12 W4OT 2,890 3A 520 2 SFL 32 Vero Beach ARC 13 W4NVU 2,634 4A 475 2 W1HQL SFL 32 DRC/EARC 14 W4AB 2,616 2A 543 2 K4FK SFL 42 Broward ARC /& Davie-Cooper City ARC 15 N4FL 2,532 2A 745 2 SFL 42 Gold Coast ARA 16 AF4RK 2,362 3A 535 2 SFL 3 North Dade Contesters 17 W4DUX 2,348 3A 551 2 WB2YKY SFL 10 Peace River RA 18 N4J 2,122 3A 351 2 SFL 12 Jupiter Lighthouse RG 19 AD4Z 1,850 1B1B 170 5 SFL 1 20 AJ4IR 1,474 3F 464 2 W4NLX SFL 24 21 K4RUM 743 1D 350 1 SFL 1 22 W4ARM 626 1D 144 2 SFL 1 23 K5EEE 512 1D 181 2 SFL 1 24 W4FMY 468 1D 117 2 SFL 1 25 KG4EOC 260 2F 5 2 SFL 10 Osceola County ARES >From the reports I?ve received so far, it seems that a very successful Simulated Emergency Test (SET) was held in the SFL Section on October 3rd. As some SFL ARES teams are holding their drills this month, all the results are not in. Different scenarios and modes of communication were practiced in a coordinated effort simulating an actual activation. My thanks to all that participated in this essential training activity. On the October 17th weekend, the annual Jamboree on the Air (JOTA), a nationwide campout and training activity of the Boy Scouts was held. Our Section Youth team was on hand participating with the JOTA group at the Tanah Keeta scout camp in southern Martin County. During Halloween weekend, the Martin County ARA held a special event station at the annual Stuart Air Show at Witham Field. Right across the street from the fairgrounds where the club will hold their hamfest in March 2016. Parity Act House Cosponsors Now in Triple Digits! The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 bill in the US House (H.R. 1301) now has 106 cosponsors! ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, credited ARRL members ?who understand the importance of the legislation? with making it possible to reach that milestone. ?They have signed letters at hamfests and conventions all over the country, at booths staffed by Directors, Vice Directors, Section Managers, and other ARRL officials,? President Craigie said. Backing up those efforts have been recent personal visits to Capitol Hill by ARRL Directors Dick Isely, W9GIG, and Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, as well as by General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD. The 100th cosponsor of H.R. 1301 was Rep Larry Bucshon [R-IN], who signed aboard on October 16. Six more cosponsors added their names on October 20 and 21. They are Reps Steve Chabot, [R-OH], Mike Bost [R-IL], and Frank LoBiondo [R-NJ]; Katherine Clark [D-MA]; Thomas MacArthur [R-NJ], and Sheila Jackson Lee [D-TX]. The Amateur Radio Parity Act would direct the FCC to extend its Part 97 Amateur Radio Service rules relating to ?reasonable accommodation? of Amateur Service communications to include private land use restrictions. There are two bills, one in the US House and one in the US Senate. US Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) introduced H.R. 1301 on March 4 with 12 original cosponsors from both sides of the aisle. US Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced S. 1685 into the US Senate on June 25, with Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) as the original cosponsor. ?We are not done by any means,? President Craigie added. ?Let?s push the numbers up and keep our representatives and senators aware of how much we care about this issue.? She noted that Scouting?s Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) over the October 17-18 weekend introduced thousands of youngsters to Amateur Radio. ?Let?s make sure their interest can blossom, even if their parents have chosen to live in communities that don?t allow antennas at this time,? President Craigie urged. ?These young people need what Amateur Radio has to offer, and Amateur Radio certainly needs them. Please help them be the future.? The ARRL recently introduced a ?Clarity on Parity? video, and not only has it been made available on Capitol Hill, it would make an informative Amateur Radio club meeting program. A ?Clarity on Amateur Radio Parity? document stresses many of the same points. The ARRL Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 page provides more information on the legislation and explains how members can become involved. September STM Report from Mike, KM2V SAR - September 2015 CALL TOTAL WA4BAM 151 W9GPI 008 K9GZT 007 K4KFF 170 KA3PYO 007 KR4ST 085 NT4TS 007 KM2V 170 W4ZE 008 PSHR - September 2015 Callsign Total WA4BAM 120 K4KFF 110 KM2V 130 NETS - September 2015 NET ABB. QNI QTC QND SESS MGR All Florida CW Traffic Net QFN 217 55 351 30 WA4BAM Florida Medium Speed Net FMSN 192 42 406 30 AG4RJ/AB4XK Southeast Florida Traffic Net SEFTN 598 79 1019 30 KM2V Southwest Florida Traffic Net SWFTN 426 87 1093 30 KE4CB/N9WS Broward County Emer Prep Net BCEPN 45 1 188 5 K2MOL Jupiter-Tequesta Repeater Group W4JUP 34 0 110 5 K4VMS September SEC Report from Larry, W4LWZ Total number of ARES members: 380 Change since last month (+, -, same): +4 Number of DECs/ECs reporting this month: 7 Number of ARES nets active: 7 Number of nets with NTS liaison: 2 Calls of DECs/ECs reporting: WA4PAM, KK4ENJ, N4ZIQ, N4LEM, W9GPI, KB1PA, AD4RZ Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 24 Person hours: 230 Number of public service events this month: 1 Person hours: 32 Number of emergency operations this month: 0 Person Hours: 0 Total number of ARES operations this month: 25 Total Person hours: 262 Silent Keys- It is with deep regret that we report the passing of the following SFL members: Francis "Frank" DeVito, W4OZ of Cape Coral passed away on October 7, 2015. He was a member of the Fort Myers ARC. Maurice M. Steiner, KI4HEV of Naples passed away Monday, October 5, 2015. He was a volunteer for the Red Cross, Collier County Emergency Management and a member of the ARA of SW FL. Well, I guess that's about it for now. Hope you and your family have a pleasant Thanksgiving. 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 Wed Nov 4 09:44:45 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2015 09:44:45 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The ARRL Contest Update for November 4, 2015 In-Reply-To: <20151104110140.0785A200A5A4@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20151104110140.0785A200A5A4@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <563A19DD.6060909@bellsouth.net> Preview If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at: http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/?issue=2015-11-04 The ARRL Contest Update November 4, 2015 Editor: Brian Moran, N9ADG /Contest Update/ Archive Contest Calendar ARRL Home Page Ad IN THIS ISSUE * Sweepstakes CW <#Contests> * Observation is Influence <#News> * Interactive Display of Animal-cause Utility Outages <#Newsweek> * Lightning From The Beginning <#Sights> * ARRL FD, ARRL VHF, TBDC Results <#Results> * You may already have a TDR <#Tech> * Build that Perfect Something for the Ham Shack! <#Techweek> * MOperatindle <#Conversation> NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO The weekend of November 7, you should be in Sweepstakes! See the Bulletin section for more details. The weekend of November 14, try "being the DX" in the JIDX Phone (if you're closer to the west coast of the US), or the OK-OM CW contest (if you're closer to the east coast). The JIDX contest has 16 entry categories, so there's likely a choice that fits your operating style. Awards in each category for US entries are by US call area. There's even a category for /MM! The OK-OM contest has a cornucopia of operating choices, including QRP (5 W or less) and SWL categories. A single op station can enter multiple different categories with their log(s). Check the rules for the list of multipliers and their abbreviations. BULLETINS Kirk, K4RO (CHECK 76) took top honors in the Low Power [A] category of the CW Sweepstakes in 2014. (Photo courtesy of Kirk Pickering, K4RO.) The 82nd ARRL Sweepstakes CW contest is here! The first full weekend of November means ARRL Sweepstakes CW. Your station and antennas are all set, but did you CHECK everything? * CHECK your system clock. Daylight Savings Time went away last weekend for a lot of us, and some computers set to local time don't automatically make the adjustment. * CHECK the ARRL Sweepstakes web page one more time for a final glance at the rules and any late-breaking news. * CHECK in with a friend or two and encourage them to join in the Sweepstakes fun. The more, the merrier! If they are new to contesting or have been away for a while, suggest that they read 'An Enticement for Contest Newbies' for some good tips. - Larry, K5OT ARRL Sweepstakes Contest Manager (CHECK 65) Summary: 146.52 MHz is now just another frequency to use in ARRL contests. "At its July 16 meeting, the Programs and Services Committee unanimously accepted and approved a recommendation from its VHF and Above Revitalization Committee to remove the prohibition of making contest contacts on 146.52 MHz simplex. This rule, as we understand it, originated back to when 2-meter radios were mostly rock-bound and the use of 146.52 MHz was commonplace. The VHF and Above Revitalization Committee's research concluded that the 146.52-exclusive restriction is unnecessary today. It was also reviewed by the ARRL Executive Committee at its October 2015 meeting. Permitting the use of 146.52 MHz would allow new/curious contesters possessing only FM mode radios to stumble on more contacts, increasing the chances that they will be drawn further into VHF+ contesting, which is the primary aim of the Revitalization committee. Word of the Revitalization committee's recommendation and PSC's subsequent approval was floated at last July's Central States VHF Conference and met with great enthusiasm. This rule change eliminates Rule 1.8 in the "General Rules for ARRL Contests Above 50 MHz", with the subsequent sections of Rule 1 being renumbered accordingly. It becomes effective with the 2016 ARRL January VHF Contest and subsequent ARRL VHF Contests. It also will be incorporated into the ARRL Field Day rules." -- Dan Henderson, N1ND, Regulatory Information Manager / Acting Contest Manager From Ken K4ZW: "The World Wide Radio Operators Foundation (www.wwrof.org ) is pleased to sponsor the following Webinar - "Design Issues for a VHF-UHF Solid State Power Amplifier," with Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA Carl, K9LA, will deviate from his usual presentations on propagation and solar topics to discuss design issues for a 50 Watt VHF-UHF solid state RF power amplifier. This is not a construction project, but rather a presentation of notes gathered from his 41-year career as an RF design engineer for Motorola and Raytheon. Date: Thursday, November 19 Time: 9 PM EST (when you register for the event, you have the option of showing the confirmation in your local time) To Register: http://wwrof.org/webinars/ " BUSTED QSOS In the last issue, a number of the weekly contests had incorrect log due dates, due to an technological oversight by your editor. Remember to always verify the rules and other information by visiting the contest sponsor's web site. CONTEST SUMMARY Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section *November 5* * CWops Mini-CWT Test * NRAU 10m Activity Contest *November 6* * QRP Fox Hunt * NCCC RTTY Sprint * NCCC Sprint *November 7* * IPARC Contest, CW * SKCC Weekend Sprintathon * Ukrainian DX Contest * NA Collegiate ARC Championship, CW * *ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, CW* *November 8* * IPARC Contest, SSB * EANET Sprint * DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest *November 11* * QRP Fox Hunt * Phone Fray * CWops Mini-CWT Test * RSGB 80m Club Sprint, SSB *November 12* * CWops Mini-CWT Test *November 13* * NCCC RTTY Sprint * QRP Fox Hunt * NCCC Sprint *November 14* * WAE DX Contest, RTTY * 10-10 Int. Fall Contest, Digital * JIDX Phone Contest * OK/OM DX Contest, CW * Kentucky QSO Party * CQ-WE Contest *November 15* * CQ-WE Contest * Homebrew and Oldtime Equipment Party *November 16* * CQ-WE Contest * Run for the Bacon QRP Contest *November 18* * QRP Fox Hunt * Phone Fray * CWops Mini-CWT Test NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST Quantum theory has been around for decades, but it's only in the last few years that researchers have been able to verify some of its more strange and counter-intuitive (to classical mechanics) phenomena. Last week, researchers believe they verified what has been called the "Zeno Effect" - the state of a system can be 'frozen' by measuring it frequently enough in its known initial state. Electronics has been using aspects of the effect for a long time without fully understanding how it works, in such items as commonplace as LCD displays. The Pacific Northwest VHF Society announced a Microwave Challenge , combining SOTA (Summits on the Air) activities with communications above 902 MHz from summits in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia. While the Microwave Challenge awards are limited to PNWVHFS members, your radio club could do something similar to increase activity on the higher frequencies. My wife always comments on how there's really a conservation of wires with 'wireless' communications - my operating desk is covered with all sorts of equipment connected by more wires than anyone would think possible. Here's an idea for a transforming workbench that can be applied to a ham shack to be able to neaten things up, or perhaps allow a room to not be devoted to lots of visible equipment. The Arkansas QSO Party has been moved to the 2^nd Saturday in May, effective immediately, after a vote of the ARKAN AQP Event Committee. The next Arkansas QSO Party will be held Saturday, May 14, 2016. (Cord, KD5J) Typical mid-1970s personal computers; just add everything. You can tell which PCB was drawn out by hand. For some, awareness of 'personal computers' started with the MITS Altair 8800, for others, perhaps an Apple product. There are many more obscure computers, like the Scelbi, based on the 8008 processor. An earlier and even more obscure maker, Kenbak, made approximately 40 computers, and one survivor is going to auction next month . Auctioneers estimate it could fetch over $40,000! (K3HX) It's not roughing it if you have one of these amazing vehicles on a DXpedition, or should we say "Deluxpedition?" A 240 foot long, 3.5 ton military blimp went AWOL for a number of hours last week . Breaking free from its tethered aerostat system at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, the blimp rose to and drifted at 16,000 feet for tens of miles. According to reports, fighter jets were scrambled to track it until it eventually landed and started to deflate in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Local coverage reveals some interesting pictures. The 6700 foot long tether attached to the airship wreaked havoc with electrical utilities during its descent, causing outages affecting up to 30,000 customers. After it reached the ground, and after the electronics payload had been removed, police used shotguns to accelerate the deflation of the airship . (K3HX) Dennis, N6KI, imagines a future where posthumous contest participation may become a possibility: " 3D Holograms could make it possible to interact with someone after they are gone ! You could record contest exchanges and contest from the great beyond: Take those live streaming contest efforts seriously now! Participate as a Silent Key team member! Your WORST NIGHTMARE - The Team or Single Op that beats you every contest now beats you FOREVER!" (N6KI) MIT researchers have found that WiFi RF signals can be used to act as a radar to visualize, track, and identify people . The source article on the MIT site will eventually contain code and data, and currently has links to other research papers involving using RF for imaging. Recently, NPR presented the story of the history of the light dimmer . Joel Spira invented it, and also started a company, Lutron, to develop and market this electronic device. It was remarkable at the time for being an industrial product marketed directly to consumers by suggesting its romantic possibilities... Inexpensive wireless technology is being used to provide Internet to underserved areas . Some of the techniques and tradeoffs mentioned in this article may be helpful when planning temporary or emergency communications networks, or if you're trying to link a very remote contesting site to the rest of the world. Neighbors on Orcas Island, Washington put together their own Internet Service Provider (ISP) using unlicensed wireless technology when their previous Internet provider became unreliable. The National Weather Service transmissions from the Memphis office were not working in certain parts of the mid-South recently (and may not still be working at the time you receive this). If you have storm alerting based on receiving those transmissions, you may want to verify operation. The cause of the outage appears to be a damaged transmitter. *Web Site of the Week* - http://cybersquirrel1.com/ In the contest of animals vs. reliable public utilities, it's good to know there's an interactive web site to keep the scores tallied and provide the appropriate soapbox information. Click on the markers on the map near your location to get the details on animal-induced utility outages, along with occasionally pithy commentary. WORD TO THE WISE - NTS *N*ational *T*raffic *S*ystem - From the ARRL NTS Web Page : "The National Traffic System (NTS) is a structure that allows for rapid movement of traffic from origin to destination and training amateur operators to handle written traffic and participate in directed nets." From a contesting perspective, it's what gives the ARRL Sweepstakes its unique contest exchange. The Sweepstakes exchange is "based on the ARRL Radiogram Header and has five parts... serial number, precedence, your call sign, check, and ARRL section." Ad SIGHTS AND SOUNDS Be careful running those beverage antennas! Hitchhikers like these can negatively affect your contest scores in the long run. Your editor picked this one up during a hike in Vermont. The beginning of a lightning strike has been caught on a camera shooting 11000 frames per second . It appears to show that the lighting 'bolt' can start from both positively or negatively charged areas at the same time. In additional wildlife-related news, here's an interesting technique of wildlife management that could likely not be replicated today . RESULTS AND RECORDS The complete set of results for the *ARRL June VHF QSO Party * are now online including the Full Write-up , Printable Line Scores ,Log Checking Reports , and Searchable Database . Records will be updated soon. (N0AX). The *2015 ARRL Field Day* Results, including searchable database ,QST Article (PDF) , and soapbox comments are also available for your reading pleasure. Lots of Stew Perry action: The previously unpublished full results for the December 2013 Stew Perry contest have been published, as have results and write-up for the 2014 Stew Perry contest . If you participated in the Pre-Stew back in October, send in those logs! Preliminary results of the 2015 Pre-Stew are available and updated daily. Don't forget that the "Big Stew " (The Stew Perry Top Band Distance Challenge, aka "SP", aka "TBDC") is on December 26/27^th . WRTC2018 qualification standings are available , and include results of additional contests . OPERATING TIP Let's hope your log doesn't need this much help. Always read the rules for the contest in which you are going to participate, even if you've entered this contest a few times before. Rules can change, as can the exchange format or abbreviations used (especially for QSO parties). There may be new categories you'd like to enter. Just reading the rules may jog loose something that you wanted to remember from last year's participation, but didn't. Ad TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION Using your signal generator and an oscilloscope, you can also create your own Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR) . The article has a great background on the theory and practice. F5OEO was able to construct a proof-of-concept using a Raspberry Pi Single board computer to generate FM, AM, SSB, SSTV, and FSQ signals between 130 KHz and 750 MHz . While it's not suitable to be on the air as-is as the signal is rich in harmonics, those could be cleaned up with some outboard filtering. Maybe this will spur a slew of interesting projects using the Pi. "Cabrillo Statistics Program (CBS) users: Please use the updated CBS-specific CTY.DAT file included in the CBS software for Windows and Mac. The growing CTY.DAT files distributed by AD1C are too large to be used with the CBS program. Send any questions or comments to me." - Bob, N6TV (via his *ARRL.NET* email address) Using passwords that we must write down because we can't remember them is not a "best practice." Researchers think they have found a way to make great passwords from easy to remember poems. You may want to take a pass on their additional offer to email you a password-poem from information you mail to them - Though they promise that the information they used to generate your poem, and your poem, is deleted... how do you really know? Dupont is shipping conductive ink to be used for part molding , enabling electrical conductors to be molded right into plastic parts. The benefit is to increase reliability and the possibility of eliminating separate printed circuit boards. Here's a tractor beam Bones could use! Ultrasonic waves can be combined and shaped to manipulate small objects, with the intent to be able to precisely place objects or deliver drugs in the human body. Small devices slow down and talk less to communicate reliably: here's a good overview on recent technical innovations to utilize license-free RF spectrum to link small devices . *Technical Web Site of the Week* - RemoteQTH.com Perhaps better known outside the US, this web site has a number of interesting station automation and station accessory oriented projects, which may provide inspiration or a foundation for your own. Schematics are available for nearly everything on the site, as part of the Open Source Hardware philosophy. If you need a PCB or parts, links are provided. CONVERSATION Operating Skills are Operating Skills Be a scout for new radio contesting talent! In the October 22 issue of the ARRL ARES E-Letter , Ward, N0AX, suggests that participating in contests may be a good way for public services team members to keep skills sharp, and keep operating interesting. Thinking about it another way, we as contesters may find public service teams a good place to find new contest operators! Every club could use a few more points in inter-club competitions, yet at the same time, for some clubs, phone contests have less participation than CW contests. Viewing a phone contest as a recruiting and elmering event could be a win-win - under-utilized stations get utilized, the club gets more points, and there are more potential contesters. Finding hams involved in public service doesn't have to be difficult. Perhaps your own radio club has a public services team -- talk with those hams. Or, volunteer to share your enthusiasm for contesting by presenting at /other/ local radio clubs which have public services teams. Ward spells out some relevant synergies between contesting and public service operating, which could be the basis of a presentation. Another possibility is to listen to local VHF and UHF nets, or public service exercises, to hear who you'd like to recruit (after the event). You already know that they're active, so they're great potential candidates. 73, Brian N9ADG Ad CONTESTS *5 Nov - 18 Nov 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* CWops Mini-CWT Test , Nov 5, 0300z to Nov 5, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: November 7. NRAU 10m Activity Contest , Nov 5, 1800z to Nov 5, 1900z (CW), Nov 5, 1900z to Nov 5, 2000z (SSB), Nov 5, 2000z to Nov 5, 2100z (FM), Nov 5, 2100z to Nov 5, 2200z (Dig); CW, SSB, FM, Digital; Bands: 10m Only; RS(T) + 6-character grid square; Logs due: November 19. QRP Fox Hunt , Nov 6, 0100z to Nov 6, 0230z; CW; Bands: 80m Only; RST + (state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: November 7. NCCC RTTY Sprint , Nov 6, 0145z to Nov 6, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: November 8. NCCC Sprint , Nov 6, 0230z to Nov 6, 0300z; (see rules); Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: November 8. IPARC Contest, CW , Nov 7, 0600z to Nov 7, 1000z, Nov 7, 1400z to Nov 7, 1800z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; USA IPA Members: RST + Serial No. + "IPA" + State, non-USA IPA Members: RST + Serial No. + "IPA", non-IPA Members: RST + Serial No.; Logs due: December 31. SKCC Weekend Sprintathon , Nov 7, 1200z to Nov 9, 0000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6m; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./"NONE"); Logs due: November 14. Ukrainian DX Contest , Nov 7, 1200z to Nov 8, 1200z; CW, SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Ukraine: RS(T) + 2-letter oblast, non-Ukraine: RS(T) + Serial No.; Logs due: December 8. NA Collegiate ARC Championship, CW , Nov 7, 2100z to Nov 9, 0300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Serial No. + Precedence (Q/A/B/U/M/S) + [your call sign] + Check + ARRL/RAC Section; Logs due: November 24. ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, CW , Nov 7, 2100z to Nov 9, 0300z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Serial No. + Precedence (Q/A/B/U/M/S) + [your call sign] + Check + ARRL/RAC Section; Logs due: November 24. IPARC Contest, SSB , Nov 8, 0600z to Nov 8, 1000z, Nov 8, 1400z to Nov 8, 1800z; SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; USA IPA Members: RS + Serial No. + "IPA" + State, non-USA IPA Members: RS + Serial No. + "IPA", non-IPA Members: RS + Serial No.; Logs due: December 31. EANET Sprint , Nov 8, 0800z to Nov 8, 1200z; Any; Bands: Any; RS(T); Logs due: November 22. DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest , Nov 8, 1100z to Nov 8, 1700z; RTTY, Amtor, Clover, PSK31, Pactor; Bands: 10m Only; RST + Serial No.; Logs due: November 23. QRP Fox Hunt , Nov 11, 0100z to Nov 11, 0230z; CW; Bands: 80m Only; RST + (state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: November 12. Phone Fray , Nov 11, 0230z to Nov 11, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15m; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: November 13. CWops Mini-CWT Test , Nov 11, 1300z to Nov 11, 1400z, Nov 11, 1900z to Nov 11, 2000z, Nov 12, 0300z to Nov 12, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: November 14. RSGB 80m Club Sprint, SSB , Nov 11, 2000z to Nov 11, 2100z; SSB; Bands: 80m Only; [other station's call] + [your call] + [serial no.] + [your name]; Logs due: November 18. NCCC RTTY Sprint , Nov 13, 0145z to Nov 13, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: November 10. QRP Fox Hunt , Nov 13, 0200z to Nov 13, 0330z; CW; Bands: 80m Only; RST + (state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: November 14. NCCC Sprint , Nov 13, 0230z to Nov 13, 0300z; (see rules); Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: November 15. WAE DX Contest, RTTY , Nov 14, 0000z to Nov 15, 2359z; RTTY; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RS + Serial No.; Logs due: November 30. 10-10 Int. Fall Contest, Digital , Nov 14, 0001z to Nov 15, 2359z; Digital; Bands: 10m Only; 10-10 Member: Name + 10-10 number + (state/province/country), Non-Member: Name + 0 + (state/province/country); Logs due: November 30. JIDX Phone Contest , Nov 14, 0700z to Nov 15, 1300z; SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; JA: RST + Prefecture No., non-JA: RST + CQ Zone No.; Logs due: December 11. OK/OM DX Contest, CW , Nov 14, 1200z to Nov 15, 1200z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; OK/OM: RST + 3-letter district code, non-OK/OM: RST + Serial No.; Logs due: November 29. Kentucky QSO Party , Nov 14, 1400z to Nov 15, 0200z; CW, SSB, Digital; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6m; KY: RS(T) + county, non-KY: RS(T) + (state/province/country); Logs due: December 31. CQ-WE Contest , Nov 14, 1900z to Nov 14, 2300z (CW/Digital), Nov 15, 0100z to Nov 15, 0500z (Phone), Nov 15, 1900z to Nov 15, 2300z (Phone), Nov 16, 0100z to Nov 16, 0500z (CW/Digital); CW, Phone, Digital; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, 2, 432 MHz; Name + Location Code (see rules) + Years of Service (see rules); Logs due: December 1. Homebrew and Oldtime Equipment Party , Nov 15, 1300z to Nov 15, 1500z (40m), Nov 15, 1500z to Nov 15, 1700z (80m); CW; Bands: 80, 40m; RST + Serial No. + "/" + class; Logs due: December 21. Run for the Bacon QRP Contest , Nov 16, 0200z to Nov 16, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RST + (state/province/country) + (Member No./power); Logs due: November 22. QRP Fox Hunt , Nov 18, 0100z to Nov 18, 0230z; CW; Bands: 80m Only; RST + (state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: November 5. Phone Fray , Nov 18, 0230z to Nov 18, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15m; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: November 20. CWops Mini-CWT Test , Nov 18, 1300z to Nov 18, 1400z, Nov 18, 1900z to Nov 18, 2000z, Nov 19, 0300z to Nov 19, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: November 21. * * LOG DUE DATES 5 Nov - 18 Nov 2015 ** *November 5, 2015* * RSGB 80m Club Sprint, SSB * ARS Spartan Sprint * QRP Fox Hunt *November 6, 2015* * Phone Fray *November 7, 2015* * *ARRL School Club Roundup* * Feld Hell Sprint * QRP Fox Hunt * CWops Mini-CWT Test *November 8, 2015* * NCCC Sprint * UBA ON Contest, 2m * NCCC RTTY Sprint *November 9, 2015* * FISTS Fall Unlimited Sprint *November 14, 2015* * South Dakota QSO Party * SKCC Weekend Sprintathon *November 15, 2015* * Pennsylvania QSO Party * Makrothen RTTY Contest * Iowa QSO Party * Russian WW MultiMode Contest *November 18, 2015* * Illinois QSO Party ARRL Information Click here to advertise in this newsletter, space subject to availability. Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information *Join or Renew Today!* ** ARRL membership includes /QST/ , Amateur Radio's most popular and informative journal, delivered to your mailbox each month. Subscribe to /NCJ/ - the National Contest Journal . Published bimonthly, features articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint and QSO Parties. Subscribe to /QEX/ - A Forum for Communications Experimenters . Published bimonthly, features technical articles, construction projects, columns and other items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals. /Free of charge to ARRL members:/ Subscribe to The ARRL Letter (weekly digest of news and information), the ARES E-Letter (monthly public service and emergency communications news), Division and Section news -- and much more! /ARRL offers a wide array of / /products/ // to enhance your enjoyment of Amateur Radio. Visit the site often for new publications, specials and sales. Donate to the fund of your choice -- /support programs not funded by member dues!/ Reprint permission can be obtained by sending email to permission at arrl.org with a description of the material and the reprint publication. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ARRL Contest Update wishes to acknowledge information from WA7BNM's Contest Calendar and SM3CER's Contest Calendar . Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The ARRL Contest Update is published every other Wednesday (26 times each year). ARRL members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data Page as described at http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/. Copyright ? 2015 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved www.arrl.org From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Nov 4 10:11:06 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2015 10:11:06 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Build Something For Your Station You Might Really Need. Message-ID: <563A200A.7030308@bellsouth.net> Here's a neat site from the ARRL Contest Update you may have missed... Lots of projects both simple and complex. Some very good station accessories. http://remoteqth.com/ From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Nov 5 06:44:43 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 05 Nov 2015 06:44:43 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Small Yagi Tri-Bander Wanted Message-ID: <563B412B.8040400@bellsouth.net> A friend is looking for a small yagi beam for his Field Day plans. Anything will do almost. So if you have an old TA-33jr or A-3 laying on the side of the house, or on the tower you no longer use send me a note please. Bill Marx W2CQ From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Nov 5 17:51:16 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 05 Nov 2015 17:51:16 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The ARRL Letter for November 5, 2015 In-Reply-To: <20151105162611.A313A200D436@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20151105162611.A313A200D436@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <563BDD64.2080604@bellsouth.net> Preview If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2015-11-05 The ARRL Letter November 5, 2015 Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME ARRL Home Page /ARRL Letter/ Archive Audio News Ad * Amateur Radio Parity Act Continues to Gain Traction in US House <#toc01> * World Radiocommunication Conference 2015: The Deliberations Have Begun <#toc02> * ARRL 10^th Anniversary On-Line Auction Attracts Nearly 300 Bidders <#toc03> * Applications for ARRL CEO Position are Due by November 15 <#toc04> * Hawaii Launch of Satellites Carrying Amateur Radio Payloads Fails <#toc05> * Microwave Theory and Techniques Society Hopes to Motivate Youth in India via Amateur Radio <#toc06> * January VP8 DXpedition to Incorporate "Youth and Community Participation" <#toc07> * SKYWARN Recognition Day is Saturday, December 5 <#toc08> * Putting Contesting to Work for Your Public Service Team <#toc09> * In Brief... <#toc10> * The K7RA Solar Update <#toc11> * Just Ahead in Radiosport <#toc12> * Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events <#toc13> Amateur Radio Parity Act Continues to Gain Traction in US House It's full steam ahead for the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015, as the House version of the bill, H.R. 1301 , now has 112 cosponsors and counting. The House bill and its identical US Senate measure, S. 1685 , call on the FCC to amend its regulations to extend the limited PRB-1 federal preemption regarding Amateur Radio antennas to include private land-use restrictions such as deed covenant, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs). Homeowners associations would need to apply the minimum practicable restriction to accommodate Amateur Radio communication. ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, said the League is continuing to receive and forward stacks of letters generated at hamfests and conventions and destined for members of the US House and Senate. "All members are encouraged to go ahead and write their own letters to be sent via ARRL Headquarters," President Craigie said. "They don't have to wait for a hamfest or convention. Get the letters done now, before the holidays take over everyone's time and attention. Members' letters are absolutely /essential/ to the success of this legislation. Everything you can do to drum up letters from your local area is an important part of the overall advocacy program. As I've said before, this is a full-team effort, and every member's action makes a difference." ARRL Regulatory Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, said the League has delivered another 3000 member letters urging lawmakers to support the bills to its team in Washington, bringing the total to nearly 14,000. "We have delivered letters to all 100 members of the Senate and 430 of the 441 members and non-voting delegates in the House," Henderson said. And those letters matter. "Our DC team walked into a congresswoman's office a couple of weeks ago with our strong arguments and 30 letters from constituents," he said "She signed on to the bill last week. They do care about what their constituents say is important to them." *ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, recently visited more than 3 dozen lawmakers' offices on Capitol Hill.* ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, said he and ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, visited about 40 lawmakers' offices on Capitol Hill during 4 days in October, and he's very confident in how the grassroots campaign is going. "The response we've been getting overall is very positive across the board," Lisenco said. "We feel very good about it." Henderson explained that the next stage would be to schedule the draft legislation for "markup," during which various committee members will have an opportunity to "fine tune" the bill into the form that will be actually considered for a vote. There is still only the original cosponsor on the US Senate bill, but Henderson said the Senate operates a bit differently from the House with respect to cosponsors. Lisenco said he anticipates at least one Senate member to sign on to the bill soon. President Craigie stressed that it's important for members to write their US Senators as well as their US Representatives, to gain support from members of the upper chamber. "Letters have been received by every Senator, but we would like to see offices on that side of the Hill stacked high so high with letters that the workers can scarcely find their desks," President Craigie said. She suggested a "Senate letter-writing party" at the next club meeting. Lisenco said that in addition to writing a letter, ARRL members should consider e-mailing or even calling their US House and Senate lawmakers to urge their support. If the Member of Congress already has signed on to the bill, he said, members should contact their lawmakers to express their thanks. Visit the Amateur Radio Parity Act page for more information and to learn how you can help. World Radiocommunication Conference 2015: The Deliberations Have Begun The more than 3000 delegates and observers attending World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15 ) have gathered in a huge hall at ITU Headquarters in Geneva for the nearly month-long event. WRC-15 officially got under way on November 2. It will close on November 27. Chairing the conference is Festus Daudu of Nigeria, the first African elected to chair a WRC. An Amateur Radio contact on November 3 between students at the ITU Headquarters club station and two crew members of the International Space Station helped to kick off WRC-15. ITU Amateur Radio club station 4U1ITU is using the call sign 4U1WRC for the duration of the conference. Students from Institut Florimont spoke with astronauts Kjell Lindgren, KO5MOS, and Kimiya Yui, KG5BPH, who were using the Amateur Radio station in the ISS /Columbus/ module, OR4ISS. Delegations at WRC-15 are considering several issues of importance to the Amateur and Amateur Satellite services. International Amateur Radio Union (IARU ) President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA, and Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, are heading the organization's 18-member team. The ITU has acknowledged its close cooperation with the IARU, which was founded in Paris in 1925, and it recognizes that IARU speaks for the Amateur Radio community. Other radio amateurs are parts of national delegations or in observer roles. ARRL Chief Technology Officer Brennan Price, N4QX, is part of the US delegation to WRC-15. Of prime Amateur Radio interest is Agenda Item 1.4, which calls for allocating an appropriate amount of spectrum to the Amateur Service on a secondary basis within the band 5250-5450 kHz. The IARU has called the new band as "a high priority for the Amateur Service" but is not overly confident of getting the new secondary allocation. Ellam said the IARU team will put forth its best effort toward gaining a possible allocation near 5 MHz and will follow other developments that may impinge on the Amateur and Amateur Satellite services. Deliberations on agenda item 1.4 are taking place in a sub-working group chaired by Dale Hughes, VK1DSH, of Australia. While more administrations than not have expressed support for some sort of allocation, the methods proposed vary greatly, the opposition to any allocation is spirited, and a number of uncommitted administrations could still sway the prevailing consensus. Last week's Radiocommunication Assembly at ITU Headquarters approved a new resolution calling on the ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) to develop appropriate educational materials on the regulatory aspects of small satellites. *A student asks her question of the ISS crew during an ARISS contact between 4U1WRC at ITU Headquarters in Geneva and OR4ISS on the space station. On the left is Attila Matas, OM1AM, the 4U1ITU station manager, and on the right is Nick Sinanis, SV3SJ, the 4U1ITU station engineer.* Some already are looking ahead to the next WRC in 2018 or 2019. IARU Region 1 is hoping for further worldwide harmonization of bands allocated to the Amateur and Amateur Satellite services. These would include a 160 meter allocation at 1800-2000 kHz to align with the Region 1 and 2 allocations, and an allocation of 50-52 MHz to the Amateur and Amateur satellite services in Regions 1 and 3. IARU Region 1 also wants to further harmonize the Amateur Radio microwave sub-bands, especially 3400-3410 MHz in Region 1 with the allocations in Regions 2 and 3. It is proposing a secondary allocation to the Amateur and Amateur Satellite services. The IARU will host a function on November 10 for all attending WRC-15. On display will be an emergency communications mobile unit, which will be available for viewing November 8-14, with IARU International Coordinator for Emergency Communications, Hans Zimmermann, HB9AQS, attending. The trailer-mounted display will have equipment showing the voice, text and image mode capabilities for emergency communications, plus a mobile antenna. Emergency Radio Germany supplied the mobile unit for the exhibit. ARRL 10^th Anniversary On-Line Auction Attracts Nearly 300 Bidders The 10^th Annual ARRL On-Line Auction went off without a hitch October 22-27. In addition to hundreds of browsers, the auction saw 284 individual bidders vying for product review equipment, vintage books, one-of-a-kind finds, and even "mystery junque boxes" from the ARRL Lab. ARRL Sales Manager Deb Jahnke, K1DAJ, said 1383 bids were recorded. "A number of items dramatically finished in overtime bidding," she said. "After all was tallied, this year's auction grossed more than $41,000." Proceeds from the yearly On-Line Auction benefit ARRL education programs. These include activities to license new hams, strengthen Amateur Radio Emergency Service training, offer continuing technical and operating education, and create instructional materials. Jahnke said the /QST/ "Product Review" equipment, always the most popular items, were in great demand. The premier item was a FlexRadio Systems Flex-6700 transceiver, which fetched a winning bid of $6953. In a distant second-place was the Beko-Elektronik HLV-1100 70 centimeter amplifier, which brought $3900. These were followed in order *This copy of the vintage Henley's Workable Radio Receivers from 1924 went for $625.* by an ACOM 600S 160-6 meter linear amplifier at $2649; an Apache Labs ANAN-100D SDR HF/6 meter transceiver at $2500, and a FlexRadio Systems Flex-6300 transceiver at $2310. "But our vintage books category was not to be left behind," Jahnke said. "We had a substantial number of titles from ARRL and also many contributed by anonymous donors. Picking up the top-dollar bid in this category was a copy of /Henley's Workable Radio Receivers/ from 1924. It garnered $625. A copy of /Modern Radio Operation/ by J.O. Smith, published in 1922, brought $410. "As always, we would like to express our appreciation to the donors who provided such a diverse mix of items, and we look forward to our 11th auction in 2016," Jahnke said. Ad Applications for ARRL CEO Position are Due by November 15 The League is accepting applications for the position of ARRL Chief Executive Officer. The deadline to submit an application is November 15. The complete position description is available on the ARRL website. The position is at ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut. The CEO ensures the day-to-day management of the League and its fiscal operation. An undergraduate degree and 10 years of management and supervisory experience are required. A candidate who is an active radio amateur is preferred. To apply submit a cover letter and resume via e-mail to Monique Levesque at ARRL Headquarters. Hawaii Launch of Satellites Carrying Amateur Radio Payloads Fails The November 4 inaugural launch of an experimental US military vehicle carrying several satellites with Amateur Radio payloads into orbit failed in mid-flight shortly after taking off at 0345 UTC from Hawaii. The experimental Super Strypi launch vehicle, carrying a collection of small satellites into orbit as part of the ORS-4 mission for the Department of Defense, was fired from a truss-mounted rail system from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, off Barking Sands on Kauai. According to Spaceflightnow.com, the Super Strypi rocket is designed for low-cost, quick-reaction satellite launches. Destroyed in the demonstration flight were 13 small research spacecraft clustered on the mission for NASA researchers and university students. *The Super Strypi launch from Kauai on November 4.* None of the satellites carried Amateur Radio transponders, but several were equipped to transmit beacon signals and telemetry on 2 meter, 70 centimeter, and 13 centimeter amateur frequencies. The satellites lost included Argus, EDSN, HawaiiSat-1, ORS-Squared, PrintSat, STACEM, STU-1, and Supernova-Beta. PrintSat carried a 3D printed structure and was designed to measure the performance of the material over the course of its 3 year mission. Spaceflightnow.com said the experimental launcher apparently lost control and broke up downrange from the launch site. The November 4 maiden flight took place following several delays. The test flight was one of two planned demonstrations of the launcher. Microwave Theory and Techniques Society Hopes to Motivate Youth in India via Amateur Radio The IEEE's Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S ) will take advantage of its flagship conference, being held this year in India, to demonstrate Amateur Radio and its role in disaster communication, and to motivate students there to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) fields. The IEEE-sponsored International Microwave and RF Conference (IMaRC ) in Hyderabad, India, will focus on RF and offer considerable exposure to Amateur Radio. Hams at IMaRC also will mount a special event station leading up to and continuing through the conference. MTT-S member Jim Rautio, AJ3K, says the IEEE in general and the MTT Society in particular have taken an active role in the Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology (SIGHT ), with an emphasis on Amateur Radio as a motivating tool. SIGHT aims to motivate high school students, young engineers, and professionals to apply low-cost, innovative microwave technology to address disaster readiness and humanitarian need. "Back when I was in college, getting a job was the big motivator," Rautio -- a software entrepreneur (Sonnet Software) -- told ARRL. "That is still important, but from what I have seen, other things, especially like doing good for humanity, are now as big or even bigger motivators. And the side-effect is that a strong STEM base is absolutely needed for any society to develop a strong economy and a strong middle class." Given the opportunity the December 10-12 conference provides, the MTT-S has decided to concentrate on India for much of its efforts, Rautio said. "Most of the conference is intended for RF and microwave professionals," he said, "but a portion of the conference is dedicated to SIGHT." *Jim Rautio, AJ3K, serves on the MTT-S Administrative Committee and chairs its Image and Visibility Committee.* SIGHT will sponsor a 2 hour Amateur Radio conference session, attended by area university students, to promote interest in ham radio in general and in disaster communication in particular. Chairing the session will be G.L. Rao, VU2GL, of the Engineering Staff College of India. Rautio said he will work in collaboration with some US colleagues to help "get the ball rolling." "The National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR ) and Bharathi Prasad, VU2RBI, have taken the lead, and things are proceeding well." Prasad was the leader of the 2004 Andamans Island DXpedition that quickly turned into a disaster response after a disastrous Indian Ocean tsunami. Special event station AU2MTT will be operating for 2 weeks in conjunction with the conference. "The special event is intended to draw attention to ham radio, STEM, and MTT, both from conference participants and any and all active hams in India," Rautio said. Students also can take part in various competitions during the conference. MTT-S is a technical society comprised of more than 11,000 members worldwide. Its core purpose is to foster the advancement and application of RF and microwave theory and techniques. Ad January VP8 DXpedition to Incorporate "Youth and Community Participation" When a team from The Intrepid DX Group embarks on its South Sandwich/South Georgia VP8SGI/VP8STI DXpedition in January, it will incorporate a youth and community participation aspect into the adventure, as it has done since the 1990s. During the South Sandwich/South Georgia Island DXpedition, the team's honorary school will be one it's worked with since 2011 -- Dorothy Grant Elementary School in Fontana, California. VP8SGI/VP8STI team co-leader Paul Ewing, N6PSE, said the 4th grade class of Bev Matheson, WA6BK, has prepared a school flag that will travel to the islands and back to the US. "In addition, the students have prepared a small weather-tracking experiment for the DXpedition to participate," Ewing said. "We hope to continue to ignite the interest of these students in Amateur Radio." Matheson, an elementary school teacher since 1997, was licensed in 2011, inspired by her participation in the W3AO Field Day outing in Maryland earlier that year. She has also attended an ARRL Teachers Institute session. Dorothy Grant Elementary has an Amateur Radio club, K6DGE , with nearly 40 after-school participants, and the students have been active working DX as well as domestic contests. VP8 DXpedition co-leader David Collingham, K3LP, is the K6DGE club license trustee and an alumnus of the school. *Dorothy Grant Elementary School teacher Bev Matheson, WA6BK (center), demonstrates Amateur Radio to some of her students in this 2013 photo.* Ewing has said the team will depart the Falkland Islands on January 9, arriving on South Georgia about 5 days later, where it will take part in a safety and biodiversity briefing with government officials. The DXpeditioners then will sail another 3 days to Southern Thule Island in the South Sandwich Islands, arriving on January 17, weather and sea conditions permitting. The team will spend 10 days on South Sandwich, operating as VP8STI before sailing to South Georgia Island to start operations as VP8SGI about February 1. "Our main priority is to make a great impact to the need for South Sandwich contacts, and we will sacrifice our time at South Georgia to ensure that we make that impact from South Sandwich," Ewing said. South Sandwich Islands is No 3 on ClubLog's Most Wanted DXCC List ; South Georgia is No 8. /-- Thanks to VP8 Team Co-Leader Paul Ewing, N6PSE/ SKYWARN Recognition Day is Saturday, December 5 The 17th annual SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD ) on-the-air event is set for Saturday, December 5, from 0000 UTC to 2400 UTC. Cosponsored by ARRL and the National Weather Service, SKYWARN Recognition Day pays tribute to Amateur Radio operators for the vital public service they perform. Registration is now open for stations planning to participate from a National Weather Service (NW) Forecast Office; a list of NWS participating offices is on the NWS SKYWARN Recognition Day web page. During the 24 hour event, Amateur Radio operators set up at NWS offices contact other hams across the country. This event is also aimed at strengthening the bond between Amateur Radio operators and local NWS offices. SKYWARN Recognition Day is not a contest. During SKYWARN Recognition Day amateur stations exchange contact information with as many National Weather Service-based stations as possible on SSB, FM, CW, RTTY, and AM on 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, and 2 meter bands plus 70 centimeters. Repeater contacts are permitted. Stations exchange call signs, signal reports, location, and a one or two-word description of the weather (eg, sunny, partly cloudy, windy, rainy). Procedures are detailed on the NOAA SRD web page. The volunteer SKYWARN program comprises nearly 290,000 trained severe weather spotters -- many of them radio amateurs -- who identify severe storms and provide NWS forecasters with reports of local weather conditions during severe weather events. To learn more , visit the SKYWARN Recognition Day website. Putting Contesting to Work for Your Public Service Team ARRL November Sweepstakes is just ahead, and the ARRL 10 Meter Contest isn't far behind. All are ideal opportunities to gain or hone Amateur Radio operating skills that can be put to use during an emergency response or a public service event. In short, contesting isn't just for contesters anymore, and you don't have to wait for Field Day to get -- or stay -- up to speed. *Contesting at K3CR in 2014.* "Operating skill is not something that can be tested on a license exam or learned from a book," said ARRL Contributing Editor Ward Silver, N0AX, an active contester as well as a member of his local ARES team. "Emergency managers know that practice -- lots of it -- is required for operators to be sharp when they are really needed." Silver pointed to an article on the topic by ARRL Southwestern Division Vice Director Marty Woll, N6VI, that appeared recently on the Southern California Contest Club (SCCC) website. "[C]ontesting helps prepare us for demanding communication tasks, such as might be encountered during a major disaster," Woll said in his article. "You don't have to be in it to win it; just take part, and have fun while you're learning to enhance your and your station's performance." Silver says that repetitive emergency drills are fine but can get old. Contesting offers an enjoyable way to give your equipment a good shakedown and build on-the-air knowhow. "Just as sports keep you physically fit, 'radiosport' -- or contesting -- can serve as a training ground while having fun at the same time," he said. Silver points out that a huge, multi-tower station isn't necessary to participate. Even a low dipole will let you work lots of stations -- and in SS, all of the stations are in the US. Sweepstakes (SS) was conceived as a traffic-handling event that uses traffic-handling terms. Participants share their "precedence" (operating category) and "check" (the last two digits of the operator's birth year) as part of the exchange. Local events are another option. "You can start simple with any of a number of regional FM simplex contests that encourage the use of mobile and handheld FM radios for an afternoon or evening," Silver suggests. "This is a great way to learn about squelch management, copying weak signals, using phonetics, and the effectiveness of good locations and antennas." ARES and RACES groups can participate as teams, and a contest can be a terrific opportunity to dust off that communications van or even to get some practical experience in an emergency communications center (EOC). "If you have enough interest, divide your group into two or three-person teams that operate in shifts with an experienced operator to mentor," Silver said. "Better yet, put the teams at different stations and let them go head-to-head in a short challenge. No one says you have to operate the entire contest, either. Pick times that work -- maybe about as long as your regular drills -- and get together afterward for a little socializing over pizza." *Ward Silver, N0AX, is an enthusiastic contester and an ARRL contributing editor.* Silver said a contesting Elmer can help those new to contesting with scripts that guide the newbies through a QSO as well as some instruction on how to take best advantage of your equipment. Start each team of operators with a period of listening. "Once your team gets up to speed," Silver said, "emphasize the reasons why we have contests in the first place: To reinforce accurate, effective operating practices. Place a special emphasis on copying call signs and exchanges 100 percent correctly." "The hours will fly by, and when it's over, you'll have some operators eager to do it again," Silver said. "Regardless of how many contacts you make, when interspersed with regular drills and exercises, contesting offers a great change of pace while advancing everyone's abilities at little or no cost."/-- Thanks to ARRL Contributing Editor Ward Silver, N0AX/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ad In Brief... *ARRL Seeking Contest Branch Manager:* The ARRL is accepting applications for the position of Contest Branch Manager at League Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut. This is a full-time position, and salary is commensurate with experience. This individual is responsible for all aspects of the ARRL's Contest program, including the receipt and processing of contest entries, quality of results, awards fulfillment, public outreach, program development, and volunteer coordination and management. Among primary duties, the Contest Branch Manager ensures the accurate reporting of ARRL contest results while meeting web and print publishing deadlines. The Contest Branch Manager will oversee a team of approximately 20 volunteer log adjudicators, results authors, and data entry assistants, inside and outside of ARRL Headquarters. An undergraduate degree is preferred. The successful candidate will have at least 5 years as an active Amateur Radio contester, and be highly proficient in Microsoft Office applications. Full details are on the ARRL Employment Opportunities page. Submit an application , resume, and cover letter via e-mail to Monique Levesque at ARRL Headquarters. *It's "K" for Kernow Starting in 2016:* UK telecoms regulator *Ofcom***has announced that starting in 2016, radio amateurs in Cornwall will be able to use the Regional Secondary Locator (RSL) of K (for "Kernow," the Cornish word for Cornwall) to identify their location. This is similar to the use of "M" by stations in Scotland, "W" by stations in Wales, and "I" by stations in Northern Ireland. The prefixes GK, MK, and 2K during 2016 will indicate a station operating from Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Representatives of Radio Amateurs in Cornwall approached Ofcom to request temporary use of the K locator following recognition of the Cornish people under the /Framework Convention on National Minorities/. Ofcom agreed to the request and will permit hams having a main station address in Cornwall to incorporate the letter K into their call sign prefix through 2016. It will be available for all classes of Amateur Radio licensees, including stations participating in contests. Licensees must apply for a Notice of Variation (NoV) to use the K locator via the RSGB website starting in December. Variations will all expire on December 31, 2016. The RSL may therefore not be used beyond these dates. *FOC Presents Awards:* The First Class CW Operators Club (FOC ) presented its Al Slater, G3FXB, Memorial Award on October 31 to Bob Allphin, K4UEE, as "a superb practitioner of the art of Morse Code and an enormously influential and proactive member of world-renowned Amateur Radio organizations," and for "amazing feats leading major DXpeditions to many of the rarest and most inhospitable locations on the Earth." A second Al Slater, G3FXB, Award went to the CW Academy, citing its 600 graduates to date. The FOC's "Unsung Hero Award" this year went to Puck Motley, W4PM, for administering the Windle Memorial Award for many years. He received an engraved Begali paddle. *ARU Society VERON Expresses Concern over News of BPL Trials:* The Dutch IARU member society VERON has expressed concern to telecommunications regulators over reports that energy network operator Enexis is planning to start trials in Stadskanaal of powerline communcations technology (PLT or BPL) for fast Internet access. "VERON is concerned about these tests, because of their impact on radio communications," the IARU member society said, adding that the power grid "is not suitable" for such applications. "The PLC adapter, in combination with house wiring acting as an antenna, is a persistent jammer," VERON said. -- /Thanks to Southgate ARC/ /./ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The K7RA Solar Update Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Solar activity increased over last week, with the average daily sunspot number rising from 77.6 to 90.3, and average daily solar flux from 110.9 to 118.3. A high speed solar wind caused aurora on November 3-4 and the high planetary A index of 32 and 33 on those days. Predicted planetary A index is 18, 12, and 8 on November 5-7; 18 on November 8-10; 8 on November 11-12; then 12, 20, 5, 8, and 12 on November 13-17; 5 on November 18-21; 10, 5, 8, and 12 on November 22-25, and 10 on November 26-27. Planetary A index then jumps to 50 and 40 on November 30 and December 1, when the same region causing aurora the past few days rotates back into view. Predicted solar flux is 115 on November 5; 110 on November 6-9; 105 on November 10; 100 on November 11-12; 105 and 110 on November 13-14; 115 on November 15-16; then 120, 115, and 110 on November 17-19, and 105 on November 20-24. Flux values dip below 100 on November 27 through December 8, reaching a low of 85 on November 30 through December 5. Sunspot numbers for October 29 through November 4 were 101, 88, 73, 88, 94, 95, and 93, with a mean of 90.3. The 10.7 cm flux was 112.9, 112.1, 118.5, 124.3, 122, 124.2, and 113.8, with a mean of 118.3. Estimated planetary A indices were 5, 9, 6, 11, 7, 32, and 33, with a mean of 14.7. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 4, 6, 6, 9, 5, 23, and 31, with a mean of 12. In the Friday bulletin look for an updated forecast, reports from readers, a look ahead to this weekend's ARRL November Sweepstakes CW, plus a look at our moving averages of daily sunspot numbers. Send me your reports and observations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Just Ahead in Radiosport * November 7 -- IPARC Contest (CW) * November 7-8 -- SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (CW) * November 7-8 -- Ukrainian DX Contest (CW) * November 7-9 -- ARRL November Sweepstakes (CW) * November 7-9 -- NA Collegiate ARC Championship (CW) * November 8 -- IPARC Contest (SSB) * November 8 -- EANET Sprint (CW, SSB, digital) * November 8 -- DARC 10 Meter Digital Contest * November 11 -- RSGB 80 Meter Club Sprint (SSB) See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events * November 7 -- Fall TechFest , Lakewood, Colorado * November 7-8 -- Georgia Section Convention , Lawrenceville, Georgia * November 14 -- HamJam Convention , Alpharetta, Georgia * November 14-15 -- Indiana State Convention , Fort Wayne, Indiana * December 11-12 -- West Central Florida Section Convention , Plant City, Florida * January 9 -- TECHFEST , Lawrenceville, Georgia * January 10 -- New York City-Long Island Section Convention , Bethpage, New York * January 15-16, Southern Florida Section Convention , Fort Myers, Florida * January 15-16, North Texas Section Convention , Forest Hill, Texas * January 17-23, Quartzfest , Quartzsite, Arizona * January 29-30, Mississippi State Convention , Jackson, Mississippi * January 29-31, Puerto Rico State Convention , Hatillo, Puerto Rico 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 Mon Nov 9 14:27:32 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2015 14:27:32 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Plan to Survive a Solar Disaster... Message-ID: <5640F3A4.9050806@bellsouth.net> The White House is prepping for a single weather event that could cost $2 trillion in damage Jessica Orwig Nov. 6, 2015, 10:44 AM 132,403 27 To our electronic way of life, the sun is a formidable foe, and the White House is taking protective action against it. On October 29, the White House's National Science and Technology Council released its strategic plan to prepare for an extreme weather event in space that could destroy satellites, spacecraft, and vital telecommunications systems. Many of these electrical systems depend on one another, which is a recipe for disaster. "These critical infrastructures make up a diverse, complex, interdependent system of systems in which a failure of one could cascade to another," the NSTC reported in its plan. A $2 trillion gamble Every second, the sun shoots bursts of charged subatomic particles, in the form of solar wind, into space at speeds of 1 million mph. The solar wind typically is weak enough that Earth's magnetic field deflects most of it, as in the NASA illustration below: popsciseNASA If an especially powerful barrage heads our way, however, it could easily penetrate our magnetic field, fry our electric power systems, and kick us back into the dark ages ? all within a matter of hours. Canada got a minor taste of this back in 1989 when a powerful surge caused the collapse of Hydro-Qu?bec's electricity-transmission system for nine hours. If the storm had been stronger, it might have wiped out a lot more than just Qu?bec's electrical transmission. Though a doomsday scenario like this hasn't happened yet, experts estimated in 2008 that a single monster solar surge could cause up to $2 trillion in economic damage. That's almost 10 times the cost of any single natural disaster in recorded history. And NASA predicts there is a 12% chance we'll get hit in the next decade. The White House isn't about to gamble with those odds. Countdown: 12 to 15 hours' warning While there's not much we can do to prevent a surge of powerful solar radiation from striking Earth, there are steps that we can take to mitigate the damage. sunNASA/SDO The first step is predicting when one might hit. Right now, the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center has 24/7 surveillance on the sun for this specific purpose. "You can think of the sun as kind of like a volcano," Thomas Berger, the center's director, told Business Insider. "It's difficult to predict precisely when it's going to erupt, but you can see the signs building up." Once such a flare occurs, NOAA can give the proper agencies ? including airlines, space-satellite operators, and power companies ? a 12- to 15-hour warning before it strikes Earth, Berger said. "That's not as much as we'd like to give, and it would be better if we can give more, but right now that's about the best we can do," Berger said, adding that continued solar research by NASA would almost certainly improve future warning systems. But simply knowing a storm is headed your way isn't enough. You also need to predict how strong it is ? and that information doesn't come until much later, Berger said. Countdown: 15 to 60 minutes to act To determine storm intensity, NOAA has what Berger calls a space "tsunami buoy," which is floating about 932,000 miles from Earth between our planet and the sun at a point in space called L1, shown below: 681577main1_lagrange points ace 670NASA/H. Zell The buoy is called the Advanced Composition Explorer, or ACE. When a storm hits ACE, it gives NOAA a better handle on what exactly we're in for: "ACE relays that information back at the speed of light, so we have about 15 to 60 minutes before the storm hits the Earth after it hits that buoy satellite," Berger said. "And using that we can say ... 'OK we know exactly how big this thing is and how bad it's going to be.'" ACE is 17 years old and will soon be replaced by the Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite, or DSCOVR, which will serve as America's primary warning system for solar storms. Rallying help in America and beyond In its report, the White House calls upon two dozen national departments, agencies, and service branches to reach a number of benchmarks in the next one to two years. Electric pylons are seen after sunset near the town of Slutsk, south of Minsk July 18, 2014. REUTERS/Vasily FedosenkoThomson Reuters These benchmarks are designed to address actions like "creating engineering standards, developing vulnerability assessments, establishing decision points and thresholds for action, understanding risk, developing more effective mitigation procedures and practices, and enhancing response and recovery planning," according to the report. For example, the Department of Homeland Security, in partnership with the Department of Energy, has been given 120 days (from the strategy plan's publication date) to develop an "all-hazard Power Outage Incident Annex" that will include steps to respond and recover from an extreme solar surge, if one strikes. America isn't the only one taking steps. An extreme solar event could affect the entire globe, which is why the European Space Agency (ESA) is now working with scientists across 14 European countries on developing a warning network, it reported on Thursday. "The development of space-weather precursor services in Europe is a growing success, and also promises commercial opportunities that we could not foresee just a few years ago," Juha-Pekka Luntama, ESA's space weather manager, said in an ESA press release. All of these efforts are great news because Earth is the only home we've got. Full Article and Pictures: http://www.businessinsider.com/national-space-weather-action-plan-warns-of-extreme-solar-event-2015-11?amp&& From bmarx at bellsouth.net Mon Nov 9 20:08:37 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2015 20:08:37 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Cy Harris W4MAQ Memorial *FREE FLEA* - This Saturday In-Reply-To: <5624E411.3090901@bellsouth.net> References: <5624E411.3090901@bellsouth.net> Message-ID: <56414395.2070609@bellsouth.net> /Cy Harris W4MAQ Memorial *FREE FLEA* - This Saturday /Sponsored by the Broward Amateur Radio Club Cy Harris Memorial//*FREE FLEA* Broward Amateur Radio Club SATURDAY Nov 14, 2015 Starting at 7:00,AM Free To Buy and Sell 7AM until noon (Vendor set up at 6 AM) Collins Community Center 3900 NE 3rd Avenue Oakland Park, FL 33334 (East of I-95 between Oakland Park and Commercial Blvd. Andrews to NE 38th St. * ARRL VEC Testing 10AM, $15, Bring ID! * Talk-in: 146.91, -600, PL 110.9 * DXCC QSL Card Checking * ARRL Booth Website:http://browardarc.net Sponsor: Broward Amateur Radio Club For More info: Tony Becker KK4GUU-Tony Becker KK4GUU tony at mcrsys.com 954 612-9303 9303 From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Nov 11 11:44:33 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2015 11:44:33 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Immediate Action Needed: S. 1685, the Amateur Radio Parity Act In-Reply-To: <20151111163710.2D02E206E857@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20151111163710.2D02E206E857@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <56437071.6090304@bellsouth.net> It appears that the Bill will come up in committee for a vote next week. Both of our Florida Senators are on the committee and we need to have as many emails or phone calls made to them requesting their support for the Bill as possible. Please contact Senator Nelson and Senator Rubio today by telephone or e-mail with the following simple message: "I'm a constituent and an amateur radio operator. I am calling to urge the Senator to support S. 1685, the Amateur Radio Parity Act, when it comes up for a vote in committee on November 18th. Thank you." Senator Nelson: https://www.billnelson.senate.gov/contact-bill (Select "Telecommunications" for the issue and type "S. 1685, the Amateur Radio Parity Act" for the subject) Phone Number if you prefer to call: 202-224-5274 Senator Rubio: http://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact (Select "Telecommunications" for the topic and type "S. 1685, the Amateur Radio Parity Act" for the subject) Phone Number if you prefer to call: 202-224-3041 ***Please forward this to ALL Florida amateurs ASAP, including club reflectors*** Let me know if you send an email or call by emailing me at congress at arrlse.org. Copying your comments to the Senators on the form and pasting them into the email to congress at arrlse.org would be especially appreciated. 73, Doug K4AC -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARRL Southeastern Division Director: Doug Rehman, K4AC k4ac at arrl.org From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Nov 12 13:59:10 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2015 13:59:10 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Fwd: Please Call Senator Bill Nelson ASAP! References: <20151112181710.C784920674ED@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <373A2D27-83DD-47C5-A405-D9C0F74B11AF@bellsouth.net> > Our people in Washington, D.C. just left Senator Nelson's office and > reported that he is on the fence about whether to support Senate Bill > 1685, the Amateur Radio Parity Act (ARPA), or not. > > Senator Nelson is the ranking minority party member on the committee > and carries a good deal of influence. > > It is URGENT that we barrage the Senator's Washington office with phone > calls asking for his support of Senate Bill 1685. > > The number to call for Senator Nelson's office is: 202-224-5274 > > I just made the call and it will only take a minute or two. When the > staffer answers, tell them that you would like to ask for Senator > Nelson's support of Senate Bill 1685, the Amateur Radio Parity Act. > They will ask you for your zip code, record your support of S. 1685, > and thank you for contacting them. > > More information on the ARPA can be found at: > http://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-parity-act > > Even if you have already sent an email to Senator Nelson, PLEASE make a > phone call. If you haven't contacted the Florida Senators (both are on > the committee) as asked for in my email yesterday, please take a couple > of minutes and do so. If you have already done so?Thank You! > > As always, please send a short email to congress at arrlse.org to let me > know you made the phone call. That lets us have an idea of the number > of contacts made. I'll apologize in advance that I won't be able to > personally respond to the emails, but I will read every single one. > > Please spread this message far and wide to amateurs within Florida. > > Thanks & 73, > Doug > K4AC > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > ARRL Southeastern Division > Director: Doug Rehman, K4AC > k4ac at arrl.org > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > > From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Nov 12 18:45:24 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2015 18:45:24 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The ARRL Letter for November 12, 2015 In-Reply-To: <20151112230411.9A36920771A2@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20151112230411.9A36920771A2@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <56452494.7020002@bellsouth.net> Preview If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2015-11-12 The ARRL Letter November 12, 2015 Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME ARRL Home Page /ARRL Letter/ Archive Audio News Ad * ARRL President Urges "Blast of Support" for Senate Version of Amateur Radio Parity Act <#toc01> * Fragile Agreement for 5 MHz Amateur Allocation Clears First Hurdles at WRC-15 <#toc02> * Manhattan Project Sites Now Eligible for National Parks on the Air Event <#toc03> * December 2015 Digital /QST/ Now Available -- Celebrating our 100th Anniversary! <#toc04> * Hams Support Air Force Marathon <#toc05> * ARRL Midwest Division Contest Advisory Committee Representative Jim Cochran, K0RH, SK <#toc06> * In Brief... <#toc07> * The K7RA Solar Update <#toc08> * Just Ahead in Radiosport <#toc09> * Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events <#toc10> ARRL President Urges "Blast of Support" for Senate Version of Amateur Radio Parity Act ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, has issued an urgent call for League Members to contact Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation members representing their states to urge their support of S. 1685, the US Senate version of the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015. President Craigie said the bill could be scheduled for mark-up in the committee as early as next week, and that opponents to S. 1685 have been rallying their supporters. She said the ARRL and its legislative consultants on Capitol Hill "are hard at work" to ensure that the mark-up goes favorably. President Craigie called for "a blast of support for the bill" from ARRL members living in states that committee members represent. "We learned this morning that opponents of the legislation have asked their people to contact Senators on the committee to communicate what can only be called bald-faced lies about the legislation's intent and effects," President Craigie said on November 11. "They are the same lies addressed in our video ." The ARRL also has written the committee to reiterate the reasons the legislation is needed and to contradict negative misinformation about its effects. President Craigie said the message -- by telephone or e-mail -- is simple: "I'm a constituent and an Amateur Radio operator. I urge Senator __________ to support S. 1685, the Amateur Radio Parity Act, when it comes up for a vote in committee. Thank you." Visit Contacting Your Congressional Representatives on the ARRL website for contact information or see the list in the website version of this story. "Whether ARRL members use e-mail or telephone, the essential thing is to do it now and to urge other hams in their states to do it now," President Craigie said. S. 1685 and its US House twin, H.R. 1301, call on the FCC to extend the limited federal pre-emption of PRB-1 to cover private land-use restrictions such as deed covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs). If the legislation becomes law, radio amateurs living in antenna-restricted communities would have the opportunity to negotiate with homeowners associations to install antennas that reasonably accommodate Amateur Radio communication. Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 Picks Up US Senator Al Franken as a Cosponsor US Sen Al Franken (D-MN) has signed on as a cosponsor of the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015, S. 1685. He is the second US Senate cosponsor since the bill was introduced in the upper chamber by Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS) on June 25 with the initial cosponsorship of Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). Franken signed on to S. 1685 on November 5. *US Sen Al Franken (D-MN).* "The culture of the US Senate is different than that of the House, and Senators do not sign on to cosponsor legislation as readily as House members do, so we're especially pleased that Sen Franken has agreed to become the second cosponsor of this legislation," said ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN. She said the ARRL team in Washington has visited the offices of many US Senators and Representatives on Capitol Hill, and that their reception has been "cordial and interested." S. 1685 and its US House twin, H.R. 1301, call on the FCC to extend the limited federal pre-emption of PRB-1 to cover private land-use restrictions such as deed covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs). If the legislation becomes law, radio amateurs living in antenna-restricted communities would have the opportunity to negotiate with homeowners associations to install an antenna that reasonably accommodates Amateur Radio communication. US Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) introduced H.R. 1301 on March 4 with 12 original cosponsors. The House measure now boasts 113 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle. ARRL Dakota Division Director and Minnesota resident Greg Widin, K0GW, said hams in his state are pleased that Sen Franken has chosen to lead his colleagues in cosponsoring S. 1685. "Amateurs in Minnesota frequently serve the state in times of emergency and in all sorts of public service events," he said. "The act will ensure that the many amateurs in CC&R communities are able to participate in drills, exercises, and everyday amateur communications via their home stations. These routine communications are the training ground for real-life events, where amateurs may be needed to supplement infrastructure-based communication services." President Craigie said the League appreciates the efforts of ARRL members in Minnesota who wrote Sen Franken to encourage him to cosponsor S. 1685, and she hopes that those who wrote will follow up to thank him for agreeing to sign on to the bill. Amateurs in Minnesota can thank the Senator via his website . Click on "Contact Al" on the upper right. Visit the ARRL Amateur Radio Parity Act web page for more information on this legislation and how you can get involved. Fragile Agreement for 5 MHz Amateur Allocation Clears First Hurdles at WRC-15 At World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15 ), in Geneva, consensus continues to shape up around a new 15 kHz-wide global secondary 60 meter Amateur Radio allocation at 5351.5-5366.5 kHz. On November 12, Conference Working Group 4B agreed to the global secondary allocation, with power limits designed to protect primary services from harmful interference. Sub Working Group (SWG) 4B1, chaired by Dale Hughes, VK1DSH, had presented its output document with two options, the other being no change -- a position many administrations favored going into the conference. The current compromise making the allocation possible still must clear two more levels at the conference. This won't happen until next week, and the issue is not final until it does. ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, who attended the conference briefly on behalf of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), congratulated the IARU team and the national delegates who advocated for the Amateur Service. "Assuming that the fragile agreement continues to hold, this will be the first entirely new HF allocation since 1979," he said. "While we would have preferred more, anyone who understands what our proponents were up against will appreciate what they have accomplished." SWG 4B1 held 15 meetings over the first 10 days of WRC-15. During week 1, the discussion focused on whether there would be an allocation at all. A number of administrations and the regional telecommunications organization (RTO) representing Russia and 10 of its neighboring countries (RCC) were bitterly opposed. As week 1 closed, it became clear that the widest achievable allocation was 15 kHz and that a power limit in the neighborhood of 15 W effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) would have to be part of the package. Early in week 2, band edges of 5351.5 and 5366.5 kHz were agreed upon as part of a compromise proposed by one of the "no change" countries. Resolving the power limit proved to be more difficult. CITEL, the RTO encompassing the Americas, argued strenuously for slightly more power in South America and the Caribbean. The US, which went into the conference with a "no change" stance, joined the compromise once the band edges were set and argued in favor of a higher power limit, although several other countries opposed this. The last "no change" holdout was Japan, which reluctantly agreed to accept the allocation on November 12, after reiterating its opposition and its intention to insist that any harmful interference to its primary services be avoided. "Decisions at WRCs are now made by consensus, which means that any administration with strong opposing views can block an agreement," Sumner explained. He contrasted the current process with that followed at the 1979 World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC-79), where Amateur Radio gained the so-called "WARC Bands" -- 10, 18, and 24 MHz -- among others. "At WARC-79 a proposal needed more than simple majority support to go forward, but decisions could be made over the objections of a minority," he said. "That is not possible today, so the result is almost a 'lowest common denominator' outcome for any proposal that does not have near-universal support." "An allocation is always a win, and we have a very good chance of a win," said ARRL Chief Technology Officer Brennan Price, N4QX, who is a member of the US delegation. ARRL Technical Relations Specialist Jon Siverling, WB3ERA, is also part of the US delegation to WRC-15. In other WRC-15 developments, a possible agenda item at the next WRC for an amateur allocation at 50 MHz in Region 1 cleared its first hurdle. A proposed agenda item to align the 160 meter allocation in Region 1 with the rest of the world was not likely to be accepted, however. Ad Manhattan Project Sites Now Eligible for National Parks on the Air Event The US departments of Energy (DOE) and the Interior have signed an agreement making the three sites of the Manhattan Project a National Historical Site -- and the 409th official unit of the National Park Service. The Manhattan Project was the name given to the secret World War II effort to develop an atomic weapon. The agreement makes the new NPS unit eligible for the ARRL 2016 National Parks on the Air (NPOTA ) event, celebrating the centennial of the National Park Service. The National Parks Conservation Association reported the agreement on November 10. The three sites comprising the Manhattan Project National Historical Park now will be added -- with a caveat -- to the list of eligible NPOTA sites. They are in Hanford, Washington; Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. "A visit to the Manhattan Project National Historical Park will be different from a visit to many other national parks," the National Park Service has pointed out. "Many of the properties included in the park are located in areas that are still part of the active DOE mission. Because of safety and security issues some facilities may not be immediately open to the public, and others may only be visited on organized bus tours. The National Park Service and the Department of Energy are working together to safely expand access to the facilities included in the park." As a result, the new unit will be flagged as "extremely sensitive" on the NPOTA list, which is the official list of NPS Administrative Units and Affiliated Areas as defined and maintained by NPS. NPOTA will run throughout 2016, with activity promoted and encouraged from each of the official NPS administrative units and affiliated areas across the US. This includes all National Parks as well as many National Battlefields, Historic Sites, Memorials, Preserves, Reserves, Rivers, Seashores, National Scenic Trails, and other units. The NPOTA program will have two participation tracks -- Chasers and Activators. Chasers will simply attempt to make contact with operators in as many of the NPS units as possible. Activators will attempt to activate as many of the units as possible. NPOTA participants may serve in both roles. Only one contact with any given NPS unit will be required, and no tally will be kept of NPS units based on bands or modes. NPOTA will be administered entirely through Logbook of The World (LoTW). Award certificates will be available. Complete details on National Parks on the Air are available on the ARRL website. December 2015 Digital /QST/ Now Available -- Celebrating our 100th Anniversary! The December 2015 digital edition of /QST/ is now available, and the print edition will be showing up soon in the mail. The year 2015 is /QST/'s centennial, and, as a special bonus, the very first issue of /QST/ -- from December 1915 -- also is available in digital format. Printed copies of the Commemorative Reissue of the December 1915 /QST/ are available from the ARRL Store. Each 2015 issue of /QST/ has contained articles and columns republished from vintage issues, and the December 2015 issue of /QST/ reproduces the first technical article ever published in /QST -- /"Pictured Electro-Magnetic Waves" by Clarence Tuska, from the journal's inaugural issue. The December issue also contains an article about one of the greatest oddities in Amateur Radio history: The Elser-Mathes Cup, which is to be awarded to the hams who complete the first Earth/Mars contact. "Author and ARRL Managing Editor Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY, researched the history of the cup and provides never-before-published details, along with a nice color photo," said ARRL Publications Manager Steve Ford, WB8IMY. The December issue of /QST/ also contains an article to kick off the 2016 ARRL National Parks on the Air (NPOTA ) event. "We anticipate this will be a popular on-air activity throughout the coming year, comparable with the ARRL Centennial operations," Ford said. Just for the December issue, the "75, 50, 25 Years Ago" column will become "100, 75, 50, and 25 Years Ago." "It is a unique opportunity to showcase /QST/ at several key points in its history," Ford said. "Starting with the January issue, the column will become '100, 50, and 25 Years Ago.'" To help celebrate /QST/'s centennial, the Green Valley (Arizona) Amateur Radio Club (GVARC ) will operate a special event station November 14, 1600 to 2000 UTC, using the call sign WE7GV. Frequencies are 14.246, 14.244, or 14.242 MHz. The club is offering a certificate and a QSL card. *The Elser-Mathes Cup is the subject of an article in the December 2015 issue of /QST/.* In addition to reprising the rich, 100-year history of /QST/, the magazine, in a more contemporary vein, includes an article on building a medium-wavelength receiving system. The 2015 ARRL Field Day results also appear in the December issue. Content you won't find in the print edition of the December 2015 issue of /QST/ includes a video demonstration of the MFJ-226 antenna analyzer. The League kicked off its celebration of the 100th anniversary of /QST/ with a photo contest, announced in the January issue as well as online. "We had winning photos gracing the February, March, April, May, July, August, September, and November covers," Ford said. "Each winner received $250." /QST /is the not only the official membership journal of the ARRL, it is also the most widely read Amateur Radio magazine in the world, with a monthly circulation of more than 165,000. Ad Hams Support Air Force Marathon When the 15,000 plus runners sprang from the starting line at the recent 2015 Air Force Marathon and related races, 65 ham radio operators were on duty to make sure their September 19 competition was as safe as possible. Held each year at Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, the Marathon uses base roadways as well as streets in Fairborn and Riverside. Hams are positioned at critical points throughout the courses, not only to provide communication, but to serve as additional eyes and ears, watching for any signs of problems. Hams have been a part of the race since the first official marathon was held in 1997. "This race would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish without their support and dedication," USAF Marathon Director Robert Aguiar said of the Amateur Radio volunteers. He said hearing the ham radio net on the morning of the race makes his stress level go down. *Logistics Net 2 Control Jeff DeVoe, K8JTD, in the Ham Radio Command Center.* Assigned by Amateur Radio lead volunteer Dave Crawford, KF4KWW, ham volunteers provided emergency logistic and medical communications between the race director, his staff, Wright-Patterson AFB incident command, and hydration and medical stations along the course. Amateur Radio communicates information on runners' locations and status, heat index, severe weather, medical issues, and logistics, and the volunteers use APRS to track lead, "tail-end charlies," and selected runners. This allows race officials and emergency services to have a more accurate picture. Many medical issues were reported, but most involved blisters, dehydration, and cramps; only two runners required transport to a medical facility. Both the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) communication van and the Xenia Weather Amateur Radio Network (XWARN) communication trailer were put into service for the race. Hams this year were part of a test on a developing medical and race security management system that used a large command and control trailer linked by microwave to other trailers along the course. Those testing the system took Amateur Radio's APRS information from the internet and displayed it on their command and control maps. The outlying trailers had remote-controlled cameras that could survey most of the course. Crawford reported that Amateur Radio was still faster in passing messages in most instances. The base fire department also requested ham radio support in their station control center. That included APRS tracking, monitoring of all *USAF Marathon Race Director Robert Aguiar (left) at a pre-race meeting with amateur operators. Mike Crawford, KC8GLE (right), was Aguiar's shadow during the event. [Bill Telzerow, KC8LQX, photo]* nets, and installation of antennas, cabling, and radios. Permanent installation of Amateur Radio equipment is under consideration. After the race, Crawford and Aguiar both said they felt Amateur Radio had proved its worth in providing skilled operators trained in handling communication under pressure. Crawford praised the efforts of his team, some coming from as far away as Michigan and Wisconsin. "Their support was instrumental in ensuring that another US Air Force Marathon occurred safely, and runners' needs were all met," he said. "Thank you to all that participated." /-- Thanks to Henry Ruminski, W8HJR/ ARRL Midwest Division Contest Advisory Committee Representative Jim Cochran, K0RH, SK ARRL Midwest Division Contest Advisory Committee Representative Jim Cochran, K0RH, of Valley Center, Kansas, died on November 1. He was 72 and an ARRL Life Member. Cochran was a well-known and award-winning contester and DXer, who enjoyed operating from St Maarten and was part of the 2010 PJ7E operation. He also was involved in the annual "Route 66 On the Air" special event. Among his honors, in 2011 Cochran won the plaque as the top-scoring QRP station in the ARRL November Sweepstakes phone event. He also placed fifth in North America. *Jim Cochran, K0RH.* Licensed in 1959, Cochran previously held the call signs K0WUI and KK0SS. He was a long-time member of the Valley Center Amateur Radio Club. During his working years, Cochran was employed at the Wichita Recreation Department and as a Wichita police officer before entering the real estate and bingo businesses. Survivors include his wife Janice. A memorial has been established with the World Wide Ham Radio Operators Foundations. Ad In Brief... *Pennsylvania National Fire Museum Celebrates 20th Anniversary on the Air:* As part of its 20th anniversary celebration, the Pennsylvania National Fire Museum -- in conjunction with the Harrisburg Radio Amateurs' Club (HRAC ) -- will sponsor a special event over the November 14-15 weekend, at the museum in Harrisburg. The Pennsylvania National Fire Museum opened on November 17, 1995. Housed in an 1899 Victorian firehouse of the former Reily Hose Company No. 10, the all-volunteer museum features a collection of firefighting artifacts, from hand-drawn equipment to the equipment of today. For more information, contact Richard Lenker , KB3YRC. *IARU Consolidating EMC Advisor, EMC Coordinator Positions:* The IARU has announced that it will consolidate into one position the responsibilities for IARU's relationship on Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) matters with CISPR , the international special committee on radio interference. IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA, said October 22 that the IARU Administrative Council had decided to merge the EMC Advisor and an EMC Coordinator posts. As a result, EMC Advisor Christian Verholt, OZ8CY, will be standing down from his role, with the Administrative Council's appreciation for his work over some 20 years. All EMC matters relating to CISPR and associated issues will now be handled by EMC Coordinator Thilo Kootz, DL9KCE. He chairs the Region 1 EMC Committee, but in his CISPR role, he reports to the Administrative Council. . . .. . . . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The K7RA Solar Update Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: At 2240 UTC on November 11, the Australian Space Forecast Centre issued a geomagnetic disturbance warning. "Combined CME and coronal hole effects are expected to become geo-effective on 12-Nov, resulting in active to minor storm conditions," the Centre said. It predicted quiet to minor storm conditions on November 12, and unsettled to active conditions on November 13. A few days ago, /The Washington Post/ ran a story about a possible geomagnetic storm. The /Post/ also shared a NASA video of the recent solar flare eruption. Over the November 5-11 reporting week, the average daily sunspot number declined from 90.3 to 72.3, and average daily solar flux went from 118.3 to 109.4, compared to the previous 7 days. Geomagnetic activity increased, with the average daily planetary A index going from 14.7 to 25 and the mid-latitude A index from 12 to 19. The latest forecast from USAF/NOAA has solar flux at 105 on November 12-13; 110 on November 14-15; 105 on November 16-17; 100 on November 18; 105 on November 19-22; 110 on November 23-25, and 115 on November 26-27. Solar flux peaks at 120 on November 28-30 before dropping to a low of 100 on December 14-15. Solar flux is expected to rise to 120 again about 10 days later. Predicted planetary A index on November 12-15 is 27, 15, 25, and 12; 8 on November 16-17; 5 on November 18-25; 8 on November 26; 5 on November 27; 8 on November 28-29; 25 on November 30 and December 1; then 15, 8, 5, 12, 25, 18, and 12 on December 2-8, and 8 on December 9-13. Sunspot numbers for November 5 through 11 were 75, 86, 79, 70, 67, 65, and 64, with a mean of 72.3. The 10.7 centimeter flux was 109.9, 115.2, 115, 107.7, 107.6, 105.4, and 105, with a mean of 109.4. Estimated planetary A indices were 16, 15, 43, 14, 26, 38, and 23, with a mean of 25. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 11, 11, 29, 11, 22, 32, and 17, with a mean of 19. Send me your reports and observations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Just Ahead in Radiosport * November 14-15 -- WAE DX Contest * November 14-15 --10-10 International Fall Contest (Digital) * November 14-15 -- JIDX Phone Contest * November 14-15 -- OK/OM DX Contest (CW) * November 14-15 --Kentucky QSO Party (CW, phone, digital) * November 14-16 -- CQ-WE Contest (CW) * November 15 -- Homebrew/Oldtime Equipment Party (CW) * November 16 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest (CW) See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events * November 14 -- HamJam Convention , Alpharetta, Georgia * November 14-15 -- Indiana State Convention , Fort Wayne, Indiana * December 11-12 -- West Central Florida Section Convention , Plant City, Florida * January 9 -- TECHFEST , Lawrenceville, Georgia * January 10 -- New York City-Long Island Section Convention , Bethpage, New York * January 15-16 -- Southern Florida Section Convention , Fort Myers, Florida * January 15-16 -- North Texas Section Convention , Forest Hill, Texas * January 17-23 -- Quartzfest , Quartzsite, Arizona * January 29-30 -- Mississippi State Convention , Jackson, Mississippi * January 29-31 -- Puerto Rico State Convention , Hatillo, Puerto Rico * February 6 -- South Carolina State Convention , N. Charleston, South Carolina * February 12-14 -- ARRL National Convention , Orlando, Florida * February 19-20 -- Southwestern Division Convention , Yuma, Arizona * February 27 WCF Section Technical Conference , Tampa, Florida * February 27 New Mexico TechFest , Albuquerque, New Mexico * February 27 Vermont State Convention , S. Burlington, Vermont 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 Thu Nov 12 19:36:50 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2015 19:36:50 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Ham Radio Accessory Dealer, Publisher Idiom Press Changing Hands Message-ID: <564530A2.7070904@bellsouth.net> From ARRL News: *Ham Radio Accessory Dealer, Publisher Idiom Press Changing Hands* /11/09/2015/ Idiom Press of Merlin, Oregon, has announced the sale of its assets to Ham Supply of Elizabeth, Colorado. Owned by Wayne Ordakowski, N0UN, Ham Supply is a new business formed to manufacture and distribute the products previously offered by Idiom Press, as well as other new Amateur Radio products. Ham Supply will honor warranties for existing Idiom Press products, and once production is resumed, Ham Supply will honor all existing orders placed with Idiom Press after reconfirming them with the customer. Ordakowski has said he intends to have the new business in full operation by the first week of January 2016, although some previously placed orders may ship earlier. HamSupply.com Idiom Pressed published The Complete DXer by Bob Locher, W9KNI, who started the business before turning it over to his son Rob, W7GH, who is returning to the computer programming field. From bmarx at bellsouth.net Fri Nov 13 15:43:50 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2015 15:43:50 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Yasme Foundation Announces Yasme Excellence Award to Logging Software Development Team Message-ID: <56464B86.8010208@bellsouth.net> Yasme Foundation Announces Yasme Excellence Award to Logging Software Development Team 11/13/2015 The *Yasme Foundation* Board of Directors has named the */N1MM Logger+ /*//free logging software development team to receive its Yasme Excellence Award. Team members include Tom Wagner, N1MM; Rick Ellison, N2AMG; Steve London, N2IC; John Bednar, K3CT; Nikolay Safronov, NA3M; Pete Smith, N4ZR; Andreas Hofman, KU7T; Larry Gauthier, K8UT, and Richard Ferch, VE3KI. /N1MM+/ represents a major revision to the original /N1MM Logger. /Its development involved a significant volunteer effort to rewrite and test more than more than 250,000 lines of code. The program continues to be available at no cost and is updated and supported on a regular basis. The Yasme Excellence Award recognizes an individual or individuals who, through their own service, creativity, effort, and dedication, have made a significant contribution to Amateur Radio. ?The contribution may be in recognition of technical, operating, or organizational achievement, as all three are necessary for Amateur Radio to grow and prosper,? the Yasme Foundation announcement said. 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. From bmarx at bellsouth.net Fri Nov 13 15:45:30 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2015 15:45:30 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Effort Under Way in Puerto Rico to Reclaim Desecheo Island (KP5) - From ARRL Message-ID: <56464BEA.8010506@bellsouth.net> Effort Under Way in Puerto Rico to Reclaim Desecheo Island (KP5) 11/13/2015 A legislative effort is under way in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to reclaim *Desecheo Island* (KP5) and to include it within the municipality of Mayag?ez. According to a *report* in /El Nuevo D?a/, the Puerto Rico House of Representatives of Puerto Rico approved two bills on October 26 that call on the US government to return ownership of Desecheo Island to Puerto Rico. The island was the site of the KP1-5 Project?s *K5D DXpedition* in early 2009 that logged nearly 116,000 contacts. KP5 was added to the ARRL DXCC list in 1979 under the ?separate administration? rule. While this was subsequently removed, Desecheo and other entities were grandfathered. Desecheo currently is under the administration of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) within the US Department of the Interior. It is about 16 miles west of Puerto Rico, in the Mona Channel between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The legislative effort is headed by Popular Democratic Party Rep Charlie Hern?ndez, who would like to see Desecheo become a tourist attraction. The legislation now heads to the Senate in Puerto Rico. One of the House bills approved would repeal the legislation authorizing transfer of Desecheo to the US government for defense purposes during World War II and was used as a bombing and gunnery range until 1952. A second bill would alter the territorial limits of Mayag?ez to add the nearly 5 square mile Desecheo. ?This refuge is close due to the presence of unexploded military ordnance, the USFWS says on its Desecheo Island web page, which also says that travel to the small island is ?not applicable.? Desecheo became a US Wildlife Refuge in 1976. Currently Amateur Radio groups wishing to operate from Desecheo Island, a separate DXCC entity, must first obtain permission from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. In the wake of the 2009 DXpedition to the island, Desecheo dropped from the top 10 to number 43 on ClubLog?s *DXCC Most Wanted List* . From bmarx at bellsouth.net Fri Nov 13 19:35:43 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2015 19:35:43 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Tomorrow! Cy Harris W4MAQ Memorial *FREE FLEA In-Reply-To: <56414395.2070609@bellsouth.net> References: <56414395.2070609@bellsouth.net> Message-ID: <564681DF.5070000@bellsouth.net> /Cy Harris W4MAQ Memorial *FREE FLEA* - This Saturday /Sponsored by the Broward Amateur Radio Club Cy Harris Memorial//*FREE FLEA* Broward Amateur Radio Club SATURDAY Nov 14, 2015 Starting at 7:00,AM Free To Buy and Sell 7AM until noon (Vendor set up at 6 AM) Collins Community Center 3900 NE 3rd Avenue Oakland Park, FL 33334 (East of I-95 between Oakland Park and Commercial Blvd. Andrews to NE 38th St. * ARRL VEC Testing 10AM, $15, Bring ID! * Talk-in: 146.91, -600, PL 110.9 * DXCC QSL Card Checking * ARRL Booth Website:http://browardarc.net Sponsor: Broward Amateur Radio Club For More info: Tony Becker KK4GUU-Tony Becker KK4GUU tony at mcrsys.com 954 612-9303 9303 From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sun Nov 15 09:03:29 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2015 09:03:29 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] 'Solar storm' grounds Swedish air traffic - From QRZ Message-ID: <564890B1.6000007@bellsouth.net> *Planes were grounded at some of Sweden's busiest airports on Wednesday afternoon because of a "solar storm" interfering with air traffic control radar systems, authorities said. Planes "disappeared from radar". http://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/solar-storm-grounds-swedish-air-traffic.500414/ * From bmarx at bellsouth.net Mon Nov 16 13:22:04 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2015 13:22:04 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Broward County ARES/RACES - Meeting Reminder In-Reply-To: <316101d12098$78e3d510$6aab7f30$@comcast.net> References: <316101d12098$78e3d510$6aab7f30$@comcast.net> Message-ID: <564A1ECC.2070806@bellsouth.net> *Just a reminder, the Broward County ARES/RACES meeting will be held Tuesday, November 17^th at 7:30 pm in the Oak Room at Broward Health Hospital, 1600 South Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale. *** ** *This month?s topic will be the importance of documentation and forms amateur radio operators use when activated Presented by Barry Porter / KB1PA Please plan on attending this meeting. Starts at 7:30 PM.* *Hope to see you there!* ** *Carol Sjursen, KJ4AWB* *Robin Terrill, N4HHP* From bmarx at bellsouth.net Mon Nov 16 13:22:30 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2015 13:22:30 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Broward County ARES/RACES - Meeting Reminder In-Reply-To: <316101d12098$78e3d510$6aab7f30$@comcast.net> References: <316101d12098$78e3d510$6aab7f30$@comcast.net> Message-ID: <564A1EE6.60501@bellsouth.net> ** Just a reminder, the Broward County ARES/RACES meeting will be held Tuesday, November 17th at 7:30 pm in the Oak Room at Broward Health Hospital, 1600 South Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale. This month?s topic will be the importance of documentation and forms amateur radio operators use when activated Presented by Barry Porter / KB1PA Please plan on attending this meeting. Starts at 7:30 PM. Hope to see you there! Carol Sjursen, KJ4AWB Robin Terrill, N4HHP From bmarx at bellsouth.net Mon Nov 16 16:53:43 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2015 16:53:43 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] W6SFM Bug Roundup Event Reminder In-Reply-To: <564A2F07.30204@w6sfm.com> References: <564A2F07.30204@w6sfm.com> Message-ID: <564A5067.6090205@bellsouth.net> VINTAGE RADIO REFLECTOR This is a general announcement to remind those interested that the W6SFM Samuel F Morse Amateur Radio Club will be holding its Semi Annual Bug Roundup event NEXT SATURDAY!, November 21st starting from 1500 UTC though Sunday 1500 UTC. This 24-hour event is not a contest; rather it is a time dedicated to celebrating our CW and Bug key heritage. Participants are encouraged to get on the air and simply make enjoyable, conversational CW QSOs using a Bug style key as the sending instrument. For more information including frequencies and where to optionally send your logs, or other event related pictures and emails after the event, please visit our Bug Roundup web page located at: http://www.w6sfm.com/Bug_Roundup.html Be sure to mark this event on your calendar, we hope to hear you on the air this coming Saturday! 73 W6SFM ______________________________________________________________ Vintage-Radio mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/vintage-radio From bmarx at bellsouth.net Mon Nov 16 17:04:51 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2015 17:04:51 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Mike's Electronics - Closed for Thanksgiving NOV. 23-28 Message-ID: <564A5303.9060200@bellsouth.net> Closed for Thanksgiving NOV. 23-28 HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Mike Spivak mspivak at bellsouth.net Mike's Electronics 1069 NW 53RD STREET FT LAUDERDALE, FL 33309 PH 954-491-7110 FX 954-491-7011 800-427-3066 Regular Hours: MON 9-2 TUES 9-2 WED 9-NOON THURS 9-2 FRI 9-2 SAT 9-NOON From bmarx at bellsouth.net Tue Nov 17 14:05:06 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2015 14:05:06 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] ARES/RACES Meeting cancelled Tonight In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <564B7A62.7060104@bellsouth.net> *Please pass this onto your nets.* Due to a problem coming up at the last minute, we are cancelling our ARES/RACES meeting. Please remember that we are not meeting in December also due to the holiday season. We do want to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season and hope to see you all at our January meeting. Carol Sjursen KJ4AWB Robin Terrill N4HHP From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Nov 18 09:35:52 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 09:35:52 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] =?utf-8?q?DX_MAGAZINE=E2=80=99S_Mos?= =?utf-8?q?t_Wanted_Survey_comes_to_an_end?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <564C8CC8.9020209@bellsouth.net> DX MAGAZINE?S Most Wanted Survey comes to an end Carl Smith, N4AA, editor of QRZ DX and the DX Magazine, announced this past week... ?For the past few years I have been comparing the DX Magazine survey results with the one available from Michael Wells, G7VJR, on his ClubLog Web site https://secure.clublog.org . I should note here that Michael was inducted into the CQ DX Hall of Fame in May 2015 honoring him for his service to the DX community. The two results have consistently closely paralleled each other. After serious consideration, it seemed to me that the ClubLog?s Most Wanted information would adequately serve the DX community. The one conducted by The DX Magazine would not offer enough difference to justify the cost in time, or money, for it to continue. I want to thank the thousands of DXers, world-wide, who have supported The DX Magazine survey for the past 25 years. You have provided your fellow DXers with a valuable tool and I believe I can speak for at least most of them in saying THANK YOU. The DX Magazine will continue to provide DXers with the stories of DXpeditioners traveling to the far reaches of the earth to provide you with those cherished contacts from rare and exotic places. I want to encourage the organizers/leaders of those DXpeditions to continue offering their stories. By telling others, who, what, where, when and how you made that operation possible, the story can be the final chapter of the DXpedition. It might also inspire others to make the effort to organize their own DXpedition, or to at least make a donation to the next major DXpedition.? http://www.dxcoffee.com/eng/2015/11/17/dx-magazines-most-wanted-survey-come-to-an-end/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dxcoffee%2Feng+%28DxCoffee+-+Hamradio+Magazine%29 From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Nov 18 09:49:28 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2015 09:49:28 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The ARRL Contest Update for November 18, 2015 In-Reply-To: <20151118110605.CEBB7200FA74@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20151118110605.CEBB7200FA74@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <564C8FF8.90408@bellsouth.net> Preview If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at: http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/?issue=2015-11-18 The ARRL Contest Update November 18, 2015 Editor: Brian Moran, N9ADG /Contest Update/ Archive Contest Calendar ARRL Home Page Ad IN THIS ISSUE * ARRL Phone Sweepstakes <#Contests> * CQWW CW <#Contests> * Alfa Spid authorizes US Service <#News> * Intel 4004 turns 44 <#Sights> * ARRL SCR and FMT, CQWW SSB <#Results> * Electronic References <#Tech> * Tech Website of the week <#TechWebsiteOfTheWeek> * Old and New Frontiers <#Conversation> NEW HF OPERATORS - THINGS TO DO Kirby KD0YJN had fun in his first Phone SS last year at N0AX. (Photo courtesy of Ward, N0AX) "The ARRL Sweepstakes Phone contest will be underway this weekend. If you are new to Sweepstakes (SS), you will quickly discover it is a terrific opportunity to work stations all over the US and Canada (including territories and possessions.) It doesn't require a huge station either - 100 watts and simple antennas will do a great job. Check out the ARRL November Sweepstakes webpage for the rules and some operating tips. Work at least 100 stations and you can get one of the popular Participation Pins for 2015. An even bigger challenge: Make contact with each of the 83 section multipliers and qualify for a 2015 Clean Sweep Mug. Try to get 'in the rhythm' with the lengthy Sweeps exchange. Write out the format on a card to help you remember the correct order of information. Don't forget that your callsign should be included as part of the exchange - and please use standard phonetics. Take a breath, then say it clearly and smoothly - once is usually enough - no need for "please copy" or "you are", just give the exchange. So jump in, make some QSOs, and share in the fun of the oldest domestic contests." -- Larry, K5OT, Sweepstakes contest manager BULLETINS Another new contest! In the new UK/EI DX Contest , United Kingdom and Ireland Amateurs are "home" while the rest of the world is "DX." The SSB side of the event occurs on December 5-6, 2015, and CW is January 23-24, 2016. /Just for 2015 and 2016/, /all contest entrants work all other entrants for QSO points and multipliers/. This should be a fun contest! Logs are due just *TWO HOURS* after the contest end! CONTEST SUMMARY Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section *November 19* * CWops Mini-CWT Test * NAQCC CW Sprint *November 20* * NCCC RTTY Sprint * QRP Fox Hunt * NCCC Sprint * YO International PSK31 Contest *November 21* * *ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB * * SARL Field Day Contest * LZ DX Contest * All Austrian 160-Meter Contest * Feld Hell Sprint * NA Collegiate ARC Championship, SSB * RSGB 2nd 1.8 MHz Contest, CW *November 25* * SKCC Sprint * Phone Fray * CWops Mini-CWT Test * UKEICC 80m Contest *November 26* * CWops Mini-CWT Test * RSGB 80m Club Sprint, CW *November 27* * NCCC RTTY Sprint * NCCC Sprint *November 28* * *ARRL EME Contest * * CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW *December 2* * QRP Fox Hunt * CWops Mini-CWT Test NEWS, PRESS RELEASES, AND GENERAL INTEREST Alfa Radio , makers of the AlfaSpid antenna rotator line, has appointed Hector Garcia authorized AlfaSpid service representative for the USA, effective immediately. APRS uses 2-meter frequencies to report location information. Transmissions are opportunistically received by listening stations, and can be combined with data from other receivers or information sources to provide maps showing autos, boats, etc. Whales are tracked via satellite when they are wintering off the west coast of the US . The transmitters are constructed to stay attached to a whale for a few months and provide location information by uplink of data through weather satellites. (AD7DR via PNWVHFS mailing list) There is more evidence that the "impossible" EmDrive spacecraft propulsion system actually works . Microwaves generated in a EmDrive motor's cavity are somehow generating very small accelerations in careful experiments. One theory on how it works involves a quantum plasma effect. The FCC continues to aggressively investigate cases of WiFi blocking , this time with a focus on convention centers. In the FCC's own media release , it cites violations of Section 333 of the Communications Act by causing malicious interference to lawful WiFi hotspots. Various laboratory and production facilities used for the Manhattan Project will be given a National Historic Park designation. These will qualify for the ARRL NPOTA activity (see #79 on the list)! Steve VE7SL uses this transmitter on 630 Meters. (Photo courtesy of VE7SL) Something old, something new: 630 Meters (472 - 479 kHz) was alive with activity last weekend , as some amateurs in Canada used their relatively new privileges on the band to make cross-band contacts with US amateurs, and US experimental stations were providing MWL (Medium Wave Listener) opportunities. In a typical instance, a VE would transmit on 630 meters, and listen on 80 meters; the US ham would listen on 630 meters, and transmit on 80 meters. Some US amateurs have been operating under an experimental authorization , however that authorization does not strictly permit cross-band contacts. VE7SL described some of the activity on his blog , and notes that operation on these bands could be within the reach of most amateurs. In the early days of radio, 500 kHz could be used by 'amateurs' (and everyone else), but in 1912 non-commercial users of radio waves were restricted to frequencies at 200 meters and above. Over a dozen countries have approved Amateur Radio activity on 630 meters. US hams await the FCC's finalization of rules for operation on this band . Stay tuned for announcements of another 630-meter operating event in January or February 2016. Some rigs already have 630 meter receive capability; some may even have transmit capability with a new firmware load, and perhaps additional filtering. If you want to listen on 630 meters now, Eric, NO3M, listed a number of upconverters in a message to the TopBand mailing list . WORD TO THE WISE - "Octopus" Synonym for lockout, an octopus is a device that enforces a contest rule pertinent to multi-transmitter operation, usually to prevent two or more transmitters from transmitting simultaneously. It usually involves wires running to the transmitters involved, and so appears to have tentacles into each operating position. Ad SIGHTS AND SOUNDS The Intel 4004 processor was released 44 years ago last week : November 15, 1971. As the first commercially available microprocessor, it wasn't clear to the marketing folks at the time that it was a viable product. With over 2000 transistors, it was the first chip to incorporate on one die everything needed to be a general purpose CPU (Central Processing Unit). Boston's Computer History Museum recorded a number of lectures by computing industry pioneers, starting in 1979. It's now releasing them via their web site and YouTube. Some of these describe very early computing work - akin to how we as radio amateurs might view dynamos and spark gaps as they apply to modern communications techniques. RESULTS AND RECORDS Preliminary results for the ARRL October School Club Roundup have been posted. The November ARRL Frequency Measuring Test results are now available . Top-billing goes to twenty-six stations which were able to determine each of three frequencies on 40m, 80m, and 160m with less than a single-Hertz of error. "Special thanks to WA7BNM for developing and hosting both web sites on behalf of the ARRL, FMT management team led by K5CM, and LIMARC (SCR sponsor). " - Ward, N0AX Randy, K5ZD, Director of the CQ WW DX Contest: "Just 8.5 days after the end of the 2015 CQ WW DX Contest Phone, I am happy to report that the raw scores for all entries received by 3Nov2015 1830z are available on the web site . The raw scores are the calculated score before any log checking or other adjustments are made. These scores may not match what you submitted exactly as our country file may be different than yours and you may have some QSOs where the call/country could not be determined. These are NOT the final results. Scores may change by 5-10% (or more) depending on the log checking. Final results will appear in the March 2016 issue of CQ Magazine . " The complete results for the PreStew (Preliminary Stew Perry) Contest are available . Top spots went to KV4FZ, NO3M, K9JWV, LY7M, PA0O, and OL1A in their respective entry categories. As usual, the results announcement is humorous and informative . The Stew Perry Top Band Distance Challenge is December 26-27, 2015. Results for DX entries to the 2015 ARI International DX Contest have been published. The contest period was May 2-3, 2015. OPERATING TIP Work Duplicates. It's less disruptive to the rhythm of your run. It could be faster and less confusing than sending "WRK B4". In this era of computer logging, the caller must not have you in their log, so it's in your interest to have the Q, too. This operating tip was given earlier this year, so it itself is a duplicate. Or is it? Ad TECHNICAL TOPICS AND INFORMATION This is a /portable/ crank-up tower and base. Faced with a challenge of not being able to dig deeply into the soil at the Boeing Employees Amateur Radio Society site south of Seattle, the engineers modeled and constructed an above-ground tower base. It's movable -- notice the yellow hoist points. When I was getting some equipment ready for Sweepstakes, I needed to use the handshaking lines on nine-pin serial connector. Web sites like www.hardwarebook.info , pinouts.ru , allpinouts.org , and others provide a ready reference for all sorts of connectors and signals that you might encounter. Steve, N2IC submits: "I noticed your link to a DIY TDR article. One thing not included in the article is how to make your own pulse generator. I have been using the circuit from this article for many years. (It's) simple and inexpensive to build. It doesn't generate the most perfect square pulse, but it lets me quickly look for faults, such as coax cable damage. Sadly, I have learned how easy it is to damage 1/2" Heliax!" "This Instructables includes a very useful collection of Color Codes for Resistors, Capacitors, ... ICs . Handy reference. " - Frank K5HS A troubleshooting tip from Doug, K1DG: "Since we are entering low-band season in the Northern Hemisphere, lots of new boxes are being installed for specialized receiving antennas. I was trying to find the break in the coax to the feedpoint box for my two-wire reversible Beverage system using some resistors and an antenna analyzer in the "Distance to Fault" mode. After a few connector replacements, I found that the system worked in one direction but would not switch directions (the relay voltage is sent down the same feedline). It turned out that the braid on the RG6 had corroded at the point where I had installed a new connector and the resulting voltage drop was sufficient to prevent the relay from switching. Cutting off a foot or so of coax and installing another new connector fixed that problem. The system switched direction as expected. It was possible on the AM broadcast band to switch between two stations on the same frequency and copy either one. However, when I tested the feedline from the shack end to make future troubleshooting easier, the resistance read open-circuit. How could that be? The system was working perfectly! It turned out that there is apparently a diode in series with the relay coil in the box, and reversing the ohmmeter leads produced the expected reading. Lesson: when measuring resistance of cables to remote boxes, try swapping the meter leads in case there is a diode in the box!" Researchers find that an electrically driven shock wave can be used to desalinate water . A gradient of salinity can be induced across a cross-section of flowing water, and then a simple mechanical divider can be used to separate the streams. "Using FM to Improve WiFi Networks:" Researchers demonstrated the use of non-WiFi frequencies to coordinate between geographically adjacent access points to maximize throughput . Check that connector before forcing it in! Learn from my recent experience that if a connector isn't connecting easily, make sure that the male and female are of the same type. While building a cable to interface a bandpass filter to a Yaesu rig, I encountered an 8-pin socket connector that didn't match the 8-pin plug, despite being visually similar. Too much enthusiasm on my part could have damaged a very expensive radio. *Technical Web Site of the Week* - http://amasci.com/amateur/transis.html This article explains P-N transistor operation by focusing on depletion regions. If you'd like to do a little experimenting with constructing your own transistors, towards the end of this article on how transistors work, suggestions are made on possible fabrication methods using a galena crystal and "cat whiskers", germanium diodes, or the (larger) dies of older audio power transistors. CONVERSATION Old and New Frontiers Licensed amateurs in the US may shortly have access to the 630-meter and 2200-meter bands. While it will be "new" to today's hams, these frequencies are closer to where radio started at the beginning of the last century. We'll be re-acquainting ourselves with the physical and propagation phenomena that the pioneers of radio encountered, though we'll have the benefit of modern measurement techniques, off-the-shelf parts, over 100 years of technical expertise to draw upon to generate and detect radio signals, and a global network to support real-time experimentation. It may still be difficult to make trans-oceanic contacts on these bands, which should make the communication achievements of the early experimenters and inventors all the more impressive. When today's researchers are able to entangle photons and demonstrate action-at-a-distance quantum effects, it doesn't seem related to what we enjoy as our radio hobby, but fundamentally, it's still communication. A better understanding of how matter and energy really interact, or perhaps statistically interact, may lead to new electronic devices, to new ways we can convey information and transform energy. Today's researchers use lasers, optics, precise manipulation of particle and wave properties, and so on; "unconventional kit" to us today, but in how many years will we radio experimenters and hobbyists be able to experiment with new electronic devices that take advantage of some of the 'stranger' quantum effects to help us play radio better? In a decade or ten, perhaps we'll be talking about the new Mars multipliers, or how some of our superposed packets just won't resolve. Looking back on today's practices, hams of the future may well consider how odd it was that radio contests had fixed durations, that log data wasn't entirely checked against all other entries, that it could take a few months before contest results were determined, that you were generally only in one contest at a time, and how many of technologies that they use in the casual pursuit of their hobby weren't considered 'radio' in 2015. 73, Brian N9ADG Ad CONTESTS *19 Nov - 2 Dec 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* CWops Mini-CWT Test , Nov 18, 1300z to Nov 18, 1400z, Nov 18, 1900z to Nov 18, 2000z, Nov 19, 0300z to Nov 19, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: November 21. NAQCC CW Sprint , Nov 19, 0130z to Nov 19, 0330z; CW; Bands: 80, 40, 20m; RST + (state/province/country) + (NAQCC No./power); Logs due: November 22. NCCC RTTY Sprint , Nov 20, 0145z to Nov 20, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: November 22. QRP Fox Hunt , Nov 20, 0200z to Nov 20, 0330z; CW; Bands: 80m Only; RST + (state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: November 19. NCCC Sprint , Nov 20, 0230z to Nov 20, 0300z; (see rules); Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: November 22. YO International PSK31 Contest , Nov 20, 1600z to Nov 20, 2200z; PSK31; Bands: 80m Only; YO: RST + Serial No. + County, non-YO: RST + Serial No. + Country; Logs due: December 5. SARL Field Day Contest , Nov 21, 1000z to Nov 22, 1000z; CW, SSB, Digital; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RS(T) + Number of transmitters + Category (see rules) + Province (or "DX"); Logs due: see rules. LZ DX Contest , Nov 21, 1200z to Nov 22, 1200z; CW, SSB; Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; LZ: RS(T) + 2-letter district, non-LZ: RS(T) + ITU Zone No.; Logs due: December 22. All Austrian 160-Meter Contest , Nov 21, 1600z to Nov 22, 0700z; CW; Bands: 160m Only; OE: RST + Serial No. + District Code, non-OE: RST + Serial No.; Logs due: December 31. Feld Hell Sprint , Nov 21, 1700z to Nov 21, 1859z; Feld Hell; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; (see rules); Logs due: November 28. NA Collegiate ARC Championship, SSB , Nov 21, 2100z to Nov 23, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Serial No. + Precedence (Q/A/B/U/M/S) + [your call sign] + Check + ARRL/RAC Section; Logs due: December 8. RSGB 2nd 1.8 MHz Contest, CW , Nov 21, 2100z to Nov 22, 0100z; CW; Bands: 160m Only; UK: RST + Serial No. + District Code, non-UK: RST + Serial No.; Logs due: December 8. *ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB , Nov 21, 2100z to Nov 23, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Serial No. + Precedence (Q/A/B/U/M/S) + [your call sign] + Check + ARRL/RAC Section; Logs due: December 8. * SKCC Sprint , Nov 25, 0000z to Nov 25, 0200z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RST + (state/province/country) + Name + (SKCC No./power); Logs due: November 27. Phone Fray , Nov 25, 0230z to Nov 25, 0300z; SSB; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15m; NA: Name + (state/province/country), non-NA: Name; Logs due: November 27. CWops Mini-CWT Test , Nov 25, 1300z to Nov 25, 1400z, Nov 25, 1900z to Nov 25, 2000z, Nov 26, 0300z to Nov 26, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: November 28. UKEICC 80m Contest , Nov 25, 2000z to Nov 25, 2100z; CW; Bands: 80m Only; 4-Character grid square; Logs due: November 25. RSGB 80m Club Sprint, CW , Nov 26, 2000z to Nov 26, 2100z; CW; Bands: 80m Only; [other station's call] + [your call] + [serial no.] + [your name]; Logs due: December 3. NCCC RTTY Sprint , Nov 27, 0145z to Nov 27, 0215z; RTTY; Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: November 29. NCCC Sprint , Nov 27, 0230z to Nov 27, 0300z; (see rules); Bands: (see rules); Serial No. + Name + QTH; Logs due: November 29. CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW , Nov 28, 0000z to Nov 30, 0000z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; RST + CQ Zone No.; Logs due: December 4. QRP Fox Hunt , Dec 2, 0200z to Dec 2, 0330z; CW; Bands: 80m Only; RST + (state/province/country) + name + power output; Logs due: December 3. CWops Mini-CWT Test , Dec 2, 1300z to Dec 2, 1400z, Dec 2, 1900z to Dec 2, 2000z, Dec 3, 0300z to Dec 3, 0400z; CW; Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m; Member: Name + Member No., non-Member: Name + (state/province/country); Logs due: December 5. *VHF+ CONTESTS* ** *ARRL EME Contest , Nov 28, 0000z to Nov 29, 2359z; CW, Phone, Digital; Bands: 50-1296 MHz; Signal report; Logs due: January 1. * LOG DUE DATES *19 Nov - 2 Dec 2015* ** *November 19, 2015* * NRAU 10m Activity Contest * QRP Fox Hunt *November 20, 2015* * Phone Fray *November 21, 2015* * QRP Fox Hunt * CWops Mini-CWT Test *November 22, 2015* * High Speed Club CW Contest * NCCC Sprint * NCCC RTTY Sprint * EANET Sprint * Run for the Bacon QRP Contest * NAQCC CW Sprint *November 23, 2015* * DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest *November 24, 2015* * ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, CW * NA Collegiate ARC Championship, CW *November 28, 2015* * Feld Hell Sprint *November 29, 2015* * OK/OM DX Contest, CW *November 30, 2015* * WAE DX Contest, RTTY * 10-10 Int. Fall Contest, Digital * Classic Exchange, CW * Classic Exchange, Phone *December 1, 2015* * CQ-WE Contest ARRL Information Click here to advertise in this newsletter, space subject to availability. Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information *Join or Renew Today!* ** ARRL membership includes /QST/ , Amateur Radio's most popular and informative journal, delivered to your mailbox each month. Subscribe to /NCJ/ - the National Contest Journal . Published bimonthly, features articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint and QSO Parties. Subscribe to /QEX/ - A Forum for Communications Experimenters . Published bimonthly, features technical articles, construction projects, columns and other items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals. /Free of charge to ARRL members:/ Subscribe to The ARRL Letter (weekly digest of news and information), the ARES E-Letter (monthly public service and emergency communications news), Division and Section news -- and much more! /ARRL offers a wide array of / /products/ // to enhance your enjoyment of Amateur Radio. Visit the site often for new publications, specials and sales. Donate to the fund of your choice -- /support programs not funded by member dues!/ Reprint permission can be obtained by sending email to permission at arrl.org with a description of the material and the reprint publication. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ARRL Contest Update wishes to acknowledge information from WA7BNM's Contest Calendar and SM3CER's Contest Calendar . Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The ARRL Contest Update is published every other Wednesday (26 times each year). ARRL members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data Page as described at http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/. Copyright ? 2015 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved www.arrl.org From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Nov 19 13:46:45 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2015 13:46:45 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Periscope: Space Weather Daily & Appreciation! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <564E1915.3090305@bellsouth.net> TamithaSkov has uploadedPeriscope: Space Weather Daily & Appreciation! By popular demand, I have been asked to post this Periscope broadcast I did on 11-17-15 in which I talk about the launch of the solar storm that is hitting us right now as I post this. This is a special video because I explain how my friend passed recently and I respond to all of your overwhelming love and support. Thank you all for everything. You have helped to give me strength when I have none and even if I cant reply to you all as much as I would like, please know I cherish you all and this Space Weather community we have built together far more than words can say. For daily and often hourly updates (during active times) visit me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TamithaSkov For a more in-depth look at the data and images highlighted in this video see these links below. Solar Imaging and Analysis: SDO:sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/ Helioviewer:helioviewer.org/ STEREO-EUVI + SDO-AIA 360? Heliographic Maps:tcrb.nrl.navy.mil/~iuu/maps360. .. Flare Analysis:lmsal.com/solarsoft/l. .. (More ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrbl4YjIgoU&feature=em-uploademail From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Nov 19 15:04:23 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2015 15:04:23 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] ARLB034 World Radiocommunication Conference Approves Global 60 Meter Allocation! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <564E2B47.7080607@bellsouth.net> SB QST @ ARL $ARLB034 ARLB034 World Radiocommunication Conference Approves Global 60 Meter Allocation! ZCZC AG34 QST de W1AW ARRL Bulletin 34 ARLB034 >From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT November 19, 2015 To all radio amateurs SB QST ARL ARLB034 ARLB034 World Radiocommunication Conference Approves Global 60 Meter Allocation! The Plenary Meeting of the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) in Geneva has approved an allocation of 5351.5-5366.5 kHz to the Amateur Service on a secondary basis with a power limit of 15 W effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP). The November 18 decision on Agenda Item 1.4 was adopted on two back-to-back readings. Some Region 2 countries, but not the US, will be permitted up to 25 W EIRP. With this action, and despite conditions that are more restrictive than had been hoped at the start of the Conference, the Amateur Service has obtained its first new global HF allocation since 1979. The new band will not become available until and unless the FCC adopts the Acts of the Conference and establishes operating rules. Until then, the five discrete channels will remain in place. The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) team in Geneva is now focusing its efforts on tweaking the agenda for WRC-19. It is likely, but not certain, that the agenda will include an effort to harmonize the Amateur Radio allocation at 50 MHz. A proposed agenda item to align the 160 meter allocation in Region 1 with the rest of the world is no longer under active consideration. The WRC-19 agenda will also likely pose spectrum defense challenges, including the possible consideration of the 144 MHz and 430 MHz Amateur Radio allocations for sharing with the space operations service, and the possible consideration of one or more bands above 10 GHz for 5G smartphone use. The bounds of these potential defensive items, however, are still under discussion. The IARU team continues to monitor several other WRC-15 items that appear to be headed toward acceptable conclusions. WRC-15 continues through the signing of the Final Acts onNovember 27. NNNN /EX From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Nov 19 23:13:33 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2015 23:13:33 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The ARRL Letter for November 19, 2015 In-Reply-To: <20151119224541.C66CA207B3B5@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20151119224541.C66CA207B3B5@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <564E9DED.9020707@bellsouth.net> Preview If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2015-11-19 The ARRL Letter November 19, 2015 Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME ARRL Home Page /ARRL Letter/ Archive Audio News Ad * Amateur Radio Parity Act Passes Senate Committee, Gains Cosponsors <#toc01> * World Radiocommunication Conference Approves Global 60 Meter Allocation! <#toc02> * FCC Not Processing License and Exam Session Files Again <#toc03> * ARRL Reiterates Call for FCC to Make Historical Licensee Data Available <#toc04> * VY1AAA Hopes for Better Conditions in Phone Sweepstakes <#toc05> * National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) Map Now Available <#toc06> * AO-85 Commissioned and Turned Over to AMSAT-NA Operations <#toc07> * New UK/EI DX Contest to Launch in December <#toc08> * Support ARRL as You Shop this Holiday Season! <#toc09> * Willis Island VK9WA DXpedition Going Smoothly <#toc10> * Oregon SM Pledges Continued Cooperation with Office of Emergency Management After Rift <#toc11> * Ham Radio Accessory Dealer, Publisher Idiom Press Changing Hands <#toc12> * Past Pacific Division Director Bradley W. "Brad" Wyatt, K6WR, SK <#toc13> * In Brief... <#toc14> * The K7RA Solar Update <#toc15> * Just Ahead in Radiosport <#toc16> * Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events <#toc17> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *ARRL Headquarters Will Be Closed on November 26-27:* ARRL Headquarters will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and Friday, November 26-27. /The ARRL Letter/ will not be published on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26, and there will be no edition of /ARRL Audio News/ on Friday, November 27. In addition, there will be no W1AW bulletins or code practice on those days. We wish all our members a safe and enjoyable holiday! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Amateur Radio Parity Act Passes Senate Committee, Gains Cosponsors The Amateur Radio Parity Act S. 1685 took an essential step forward on November 18, when the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation voted to report the bill favorably and without amendment. It was one of a half-dozen bills that were approved by the committee in a brief markup session. S. 1685 was approved on a voice vote, with two Senators -- Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) -- asked to be recorded as voting "no." "Our work is not finished on the Senate side of Capitol Hill, although this is a huge step forward," said ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN. She urged ARRL members to continue to write, call and e-mail their Senators about S. 1685 to build up its support for the future, saying, "We know that members' response to the call for a communications blast last week made all the difference for some Senators on the committee." S. 1685 picked up another Senate cosponsor on November 18, when Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), who sits on the Commerce Committee, signed aboard the bill. "ARRL members in Kansas should contact his office to say thanks," President Craigie said. "Having an additional cosponsor who's on the Committee is especially good news." On hand to observe the Committee mark-up session were ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB; ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, and ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD. President Craigie encouraged ARRL members in Florida and Hawaii to keep contacting Senators Schatz and Nelson, urging them to change their minds about the legislation. "Don't be harsh or angry," she advised. "Keep it factual and courteous, and don't give up." *(L-R) ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD; Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, and ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, were on hand to observe the Senate committee markup session on November 18.* On November 5, US Senator Al Franken (D-MN) signed on as the second cosponsor of S. 1685. That legislation and its US House twin, H.R. 1301, call on the FCC to extend the limited federal pre-emption of PRB-1 to cover private land-use restrictions such as deed covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs). H.R. 1301 has 114 cosponsors as of November 18. President Craigie said ARRL members should continue to urge their Representatives to cosponsor H.R. 1301 and to thank those who already have signed on. The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 page on the ARRL website has more information on how you can become involved. Read more . World Radiocommunication Conference Approves Global 60 Meter Allocation! The Plenary Meeting of the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15 ) in Geneva has approved an allocation of 5351.5-5366.5 kHz to the Amateur Service on a secondary basis, with a power limit of 15 W effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP). The November 18 decision on Agenda Item 1.4 was adopted on two back-to-back readings. Some Region 2 countries -- but not the US -- will be permitted up to 25 W EIRP. With this action, and despite conditions that are more restrictive than had been hoped at the start of the Conference, the Amateur Service has obtained its first new global HF allocation since 1979. While the Final Acts of the conference are expected to take effect on January 1, 2017, the new band will not become available to amateurs until their national telecommunications administration amends its rules and licensing conditions. Those administrations that already permit amateurs to operate in the 5 MHz range under certain conditions and on a not-to-interfere basis, including the FCC, will be considering whether, how, and when to modify those arrangements in light of the international allocation. The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU ) team is doing what it can to influence the agenda for WRC-19. The agenda could include addressing amateur spectrum requirements in the 50-54 MHz band in Region 1, which could lead to at least partial harmonization of the 6 meter band worldwide. A proposed agenda item to align the 160 meter allocation in Region 1 with the rest of the world is no longer under active consideration. The WRC-19 agenda will also likely pose spectrum defense challenges, including possible consideration of the 420-450 MHz band to accommodate a new allocation to the space operations service for satellites in non-geostationary orbit that are described as "small satellites" or "satellites with short duration missions." One or more bands above 10 GHz may be up for consideration for 5G smartphone use. The bounds of these potential defensive items, however, are still under discussion by the conference and will not be settled until its final week. The IARU team continues to monitor several other WRC-15 items that appear to be headed toward acceptable conclusions. WRC-15 continues through the signing of the Final Acts on November 27. FCC Not Processing License and Exam Session Files Again The FCC Universal Licensing System (*ULS* ) electronic batch filing (*EBF* ) system was working for a brief window of time yesterday after being down since Friday November 13. Some files were processed through the system Wednesday, but the FCC is having a problem processing all VEC license and examination session files today. ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, said her office again had to alert the FCC IT staff, which are said to be looking into the issue but did not estimate how long the system would be down. Somma said it was the third time the EBF system has gone down since late September, when the FCC said a process had stopped running on an FCC server. The FCC doesn't have a long term fix in place yet and it appears the same issue is happening again with more frequency. The amateur community should expect delays in exam license processing until the FCC can get this resolved. The FCC apologies for the continued inconvenience this is causing the community. "We transmit the exam sessions to FCC as soon as possible, which is usually 24 to 48 hours from the day received in our office," Somma said. "We make every effort to process each session quickly and efficiently while following FCC rules. Unless there is missing candidate information or paperwork, we normally aim to send the session to the FCC within a few days, because most of the VEC staff understands what it feels like to wait for your call sign to be issued." Somma expressed the hope that applicants and VEs will be understanding and patient while the FCC resolves the problem. ARRL Reiterates Call for FCC to Make Historical Licensee Data Available At the request of the FCC, the ARRL on November 13 filed supplemental comments urging the Commission to continue to make available via the Universal Licensing System (ULS ) historical Amateur Radio license information not associated with a current licensee or a pending application. The League filed its initial comments in the proceeding, WT Docket 15-81, last June. In its earlier comments, the ARRL argued that historical license data not associated with a current license is a primary means for volunteer examiner coordinators (VECs) to research the validity of exam credit on the basis of a license once held by the candidate. ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, who filed the supplemental comments on November 13, said the Commission now wanted to know how many applicants were taking advantage of lifetime examination credit, which went into effect in the summer of 2014. ARRL told the FCC that its VEC currently transmits an average of five applications with expired license credits each week, and has handled some 300 such applications since July 2014. The W5YI VEC told ARRL that it relies heavily on historical license information too. ARRL argued that the number could grow, as word of the expanded opportunity for exam element credit continues to spread. "The Commission, having obligated VECs to validate claims of former licensee status and the data associated therewith cannot fairly take away a key resource for objectively evaluating the validity of applicants' claims and documentation," the League said in its supplemental comments. "To do so decreases substantially the ability of VECs to maintain the historically high degree of integrity of the Amateur Radio licensing process. Since the Commission clearly has no intention of assuming any of the burden of the validation process -- and is ill equipped to do so in any case -- the proposal is both unfair and illogical." ARRL said that researching expired license credit is just one of several instances in which VECs might need to access historical license data. Other possibilities, the League said, could include using historical data to validate a candidate's identification, and to research exam credit for pre-1987 Technician licenses. The League concluded by again asking the FCC to continue to make available historical license data at least to VECs, if not the general public. Ad VY1AAA Hopes for Better Conditions in Phone Sweepstakes If you missed working one of the two stations handing out the super-rare Northern Territories multiplier in the CW weekend of the 2015 ARRL November Sweepstakes , you may have better luck during the phone event, November 21-23. VY1AAA logged 335 contacts in 73 ARRL/RAC sections during the CW event. Hal Offutt, W1NN, and J Allen, VY1JA, operated VY1AAA from VY1JA, near Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Offutt operated remotely from within the US, while Allen operated locally. VY1AAA spent 18 hours battling rough conditions during the CW weekend in the multioperator, high-power category, logging the lion's share of its contacts on 20 meters. "Knowing how popular and needed the NT mult is, I hoped to put at least 1000 contacts in the log and enjoy some fun pileups all weekend," Offutt said in a post on 3830scores.com . "I was not counting on something called a coronal mass ejection (CME)." The CME threw the proverbial monkey wrench into the plans of many operators in the US and Canada, although a lot of other stations reported favorable conditions. "Friday night J sent some pictures of the aurora that was visible from his QTH in Whitehorse, and it began to sink in that I might not have those pileups I had been hoping for," Offutt said. He reported missing the NH, RI, SFL, PR, QC, ONE, GTA, MB, AB, and NL multipliers. *Hal Offutt, W1NN, has operated VY1AAA from the US and Japan.* VY1AAA is the call sign of the Yukon CanAm Contest Club (YCACC), established by Allen and Gerry Hull, W1VE. Its primary purpose is to support Allen in making the Yukon Territory multiplier available in major contests. Hull will helm VY1AAA for the SSB event, hanging out near band edges and following the MUF during the day. At his gray line, he'll shift to 40 meters, and will be on 40 early in the morning for the US East Coast too. John Boudreau, VE8EV, in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, was planning an all-out effort this year, but yielded to poor conditions and to the VY1AAA operation, and only spent an hour on the air. "When conditions picked up a bit Sunday afternoon, I ran for an hour just to prove I could do it," he said in a 3830 post. "I'm expecting much better conditions...for SS Phone. See you then!" At the other end of Canada, Gus Samuelson, VO1MP, in the also-rare NL multiplier, said, "Conditions [were] about as poor as I have ever heard for Sweeps." He missed NNY, ID, NE, WY, NT, and PAC. Roughly one-half of his contacts were on 15 meters. The phone weekend of the 2015 ARRL November Sweepstakes gets under way at 2100 UTC on Saturday, November 21, and runs through 0259 UTC on Monday, November 23. The 2015 ARRL November Sweepstakes operating guide is available on the ARRL website. National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) Map Now Available In cooperation with ARRL, CQmaps has introduced a 2016 National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) map . The full-color map includes all NPOTA units within the US, including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam, Saipan, and American Samoa. All sites are clearly labeled and include the park name along with the ARRL park designator. Each 24 ? 36 inch map is offered in either a laminated heavyweight paper or DuPont Tyvek. The NPOTA laminated map is well suited for using a dry-erase marker to check off your progress in chasing the parks. The map is personalized with your Amateur Radio call sign. The price is $25, including US shipping. Add $10 for international orders. AO-85 Commissioned and Turned Over to AMSAT-NA Operations Fox-1A (AO-85) has been formally commissioned and turned over to AMSAT Operations, which is now responsible for the scheduling and modes. Fox-1A is AMSAT-NA's first CubeSat. Many new techniques are incorporated, and lessons will be learned, as with any new 'product,'" said AMSAT Vice President-Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY. "We will incorporate changes from what we learn in each launch, to the extent possible, in subsequent Fox-1 CubeSats. To our members, we want to say that the Fox Team is very proud and pleased that our first CubeSat is very successful and hopefully will be for some time." The Fox-1 Project is a series of CubeSats. A total of five will be built and flown. Launches already have been scheduled for three more, and a new NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative proposal will be submitted for the fifth launch. The Fox Team noted that an apparent lack of receiver sensitivity and difficulty in turning or holding on the repeater with the 67 Hz CTCSS tone are probably the most notable observations about AO-85. "We have determined a probable cause for the sensitivity issue, and while that can't be fixed on AO-85, we are taking steps to prevent similar issues on the rest of the Fox-1 CubeSats," Buxton assured. The November/December edition of /AMSAT Journal/ will include full details on these technical issues. Read more . -- /Thanks to AMSAT News Service via Jerry Buxton, N0JY/ New UK/EI DX Contest to Launch in December A new contest to promote activity between stations in the UK and in Ireland (UK/EI) and the rest of the world debuts with an SSB event in December 5-6 and a CW event January 23-24. Both get under way at 1200 on Saturday and end 24 hours later. The United Kingdom and Ireland Contest Club (UKEICC ) is sponsoring the new contest. "All UK and EI contesters, including those with modest stations and antennas, will experience the fun of being a multiplier in a worldwide contest," the announcement said. While the eventual goal is to have UK/EI stations work the rest of the world, all entrants may work all other entrants for points and multipliers. "For the first year or two we have to take into account that UK/EI participation may take time to build up and that there are long periods when DX stations cannot work UK/EI stations, because there is no propagation," the announcement pointed out. "Accordingly, we are initially allowing DX-to-DX contacts, which will make the contest more interesting for DX stations." Full information is on the UK/EI DX Contest web page. Read more .** Ad Support ARRL as You Shop this Holiday Season! As you browse for great deals online this Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we invite you to shop at AmazonSmile , choosing the ARRL as your charity of choice. With every qualifying purchase you make through AmazonSmile, Amazon will make a contribution to ARRL. When you shop at AmazonSmile, you will be helping the League to extend its reach in public service, advocacy, education, technology, and membership. Bookmark the link and support ARRL every time you shop. ARRL wishes you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and hopes you'll remember us when you shop on Amazon this season. AmazonSmile allows shoppers to enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. When customers shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5 percent of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations selected by customers. As a 501(c)(3) organization, ARRL -- the national association for Amateur Radio^? is a registered charity of AmazonSmile. Willis Island VK9WA DXpedition Going Smoothly The eight-member international team now activating VK9WA from Willis Island November 14-23 reports the DXpedition is going smoothly for the most part. VK9WA has generated substantial pileups over the past week and had logged some 24,000 contacts as of November 18. The 160 meter receiving antenna has been repaired, and the team said that its new frequency on that band will be 1827 kHz. The team is operating from the 4-acre Middle Cay, some 280 miles off the eastern coast of Australia. Operation is on all bands, 160-10 meters, SSB, CW, and RTTY. The team has begun running RTTY on 10.142 MHz. "Our primary focus will be providing new contacts with this highly demanded, rarely activated entity with an emphasis on difficult paths -- primarily US East Coast, Europe, and Africa," the DXpedition website states. The DXpedition team will be on the island until November 22 and plans to tear down all but two stations the afternoon prior to leaving. Two stations will run overnight before departure. VK9WA has been arriving via long path to the US on 17 and 20 and via short path on 15, 12, and 10. They are using verticals plus one two-element Yagi. Signals into South America and southern Africa "have not been good," the team reported this week. Willis Island, which has not had a significant activation since 2008, is number #32 on the ClubLog Most Wanted DXCC list. The weather there, where it is spring, is reported to be "extremely hot." ClubLog statistics show fairly even contact percentages for Asia, Europe, and North America. A reminder to those hoping to work VK9WA (or any other major DXpedition): Do /not/ call the DX station on its frequency; you /must/ operate split. Pay attention to the operator's instructions. Oregon SM Pledges Continued Cooperation with Office of Emergency Management After Rift ARRL Oregon Section Manager Everett Curry, W6ABM, has told the Section's Amateur Radio Emergency Service Emergency Coordinators that Oregon ARES/RACES will continue to work with the Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OOEM). Curry's statement comes nearly a week after the OOEM severed its working relationship with Oregon Section Emergency Coordinator Vince Van Der Hyde, K7VV. Van Der Hyde remains as SEC. "Nothing that OOEM has done alters your commitment to your served agency -- in most cases your county -- and the commitments of Oregon ARES/RACES to work with you in meeting the commitments made to your county," Curry told the ECs. "I will work with OOEM for the present." State Communications officer and Oregon RACES Officer Terry Pietras, W7JOC, wrote Van Der Hyde on November 9, informing him that OOEM had decided to sever the relationship between Van Der Hyde and the OEM Amateur Radio (ARES) Unit. Pietras cited Van Der Hyde's decision not to participate in a November 12 OOEM drill to test RACES emergency communications capabilities and operations. In a November 16 joint OOEM/ARRL Oregon Section statement, the OOEM stressed that its relationship with Oregon ARES/RACES continues. "We...are committed to work with and develop this relationship to enhance emergency communications capabilities throughout Oregon," said the statement, signed by Curry and OOEM Manager, Operations and Preparedness Section Matthew T. Marheine. Curry was scheduled to meet with Marheine this week. "It is my expectation that we will achieve the mutual and respectful working relationship that we desire," he said. He said he hopes to appoint an Emergency Coordinator for the OOEM Amateur Radio Unit soon. Ham Radio Accessory Dealer, Publisher Idiom Press Changing Hands Idiom Press of Merlin, Oregon, has announced the sale of its assets to Ham Supply of Elizabeth, Colorado. Owned by Wayne Ordakowski, N0UN, Ham Supply is a new business formed to manufacture and distribute the products previously offered by Idiom Press, as well as other new Amateur Radio products. Ham Supply will honor warranties for existing Idiom Press products, and once production is resumed, Ham Supply will honor all existing orders placed with Idiom Press after reconfirming them with the customer. Ordakowski has said he intends to have the new business in full operation by the first week of January 2016, although some previously placed orders may ship earlier. Idiom Press published /The Complete DXer/ by Bob Locher, W9KNI, who started the business before turning it over to his son Rob, W7GH, who is returning to the computer programming field. Ad Past Pacific Division Director Bradley W. "Brad" Wyatt, K6WR, SK Past ARRL Pacific Division Director Brad Wyatt, K6WR, of Los Gatos, California, died on November 10 after an illness. He was 86. An ARRL *Past Pacific Division Director Brad Wyatt, K6WR.* Life Member, Wyatt served as the Pacific Division Director from 1994 until 2000, when he decided not to run for another term. He previously served as Vice Director of the Pacific Division from 1992 until 1994. Wyatt retired from IBM in 1984. He received bachelor's and master's (MBA) degrees from Stanford University. Wyatt was a past president of the Los Gatos Kiwanis Club. In November 2001, Wyatt's article, "Remote Controlled HF Operation over the Internet," appeared in /QST/. A year later, Wyatt and co-authors Stan Schretter, W4MQ, and Keith Lamonica, W7DXX, won the /QST/ Cover Plaque Award for their collaboration on the article, "A Ham Radio Public Utility HF Station." In Brief... *Special Event W1Q will Mark /QST/ Centennial:* Special Event station W1Q will be on the air December 1-15 to celebrate /QST/'s 100th anniversary. The first issue of /QST/ was published in December 1915. ARRL COO Harold Kramer, WJ1B, and volunteer operators will be on the air. This is /not/ an official ARRL operation, and Kramer will handle all details, QSL cards, and LoTW entries. He will post additional information on his WJ1B *QRZ.com* page. /-- Thanks to Harold Kramer, WJ1B/ *Astronaut Kjell Lindgren, KO5MOS, Tweets Anniversary Greetings to ARISS:* Astronaut Kjell Lindgren, KO5MOS, has tweeted greetings to the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS ) program on the 15th anniversary of the first Amateur Radio contacts between the ISS and Earth. "First QSOs conducted from the ISS ham radio station 15 years this weekend. Happy Anniversary ARISS! 73!" Lindgren tweeted on November 15. ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, noted the auspicious occasion on November 13, in a post to the AMSAT-BB. "15 years ago today the ARISS team inaugurated the ham station on ISS with the first set of QSOs with the crew," Bauer recounted. "These contacts were conducted on this date in Moscow, Russia; Greenbelt, Maryland, and Houston, Texas. Lou McFadin, W5DID, and I were on the mic at the Greenbelt, Maryland location." That occasion marked the first use of the NA1SS call sign from space. Lindgren, who arrived at the ISS in July, will return to Earth in late December. During his duty tour, he has participated in several ARISS school contacts. *Fall 2015 Issue of Radio Waves is Now Available:* The fall 2015 edition of /Radio Waves/ is now available via the ARRL website. This issue includes such articles as "Using Sensors to Explore Terraforming," "STEM School and Academy ARC Builds Repeater," and "Community College's DIY Spirit Shines for ARISS Contact." Published quarterly by ARRL Education Services, the fall 2015 edition also looks at how ham radio can help Boy Scouts to earn the Radio merit badge; news, ideas, and support for instructors; ham radio instruction for people with disabilities, and the evolution of a licensing class. Current and back issues of /Radio Waves/ are available on the ARRL website. /Radio Waves/ is available free as a PDF. . . .. . . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The K7RA Solar Update Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Solar activity declined again this week, with average daily sunspot numbers for the November 12-18 reporting week at 43.3, down from 72.3 during the previous seven days. Average daily solar flux was 105.5, down from 109.4. Geomagnetic A indices were down, which is generally a good thing for HF propagation. The average daily planetary A index slipped from 25 to 11 and average daily mid-latitude A index from 19 to 9. All four of these average A indexes being whole integers is an odd occurrence. Predicted solar flux is 108, 106, 104, and 105 on November 19-22, 103 on November 23-24, then 100, 105, and 110 on November 25-27, 115 on November 28-29, 120 on November 30 and December 1, 115 on December 2, 110 on December 3-4, and 105 on December 5-14. Flux values then drop to a low of 95 on December 17-18, then rise back to 120 on December 27-28. Predicted planetary A index is 18 and 10 on November 19-20, 8 on November 21-22, 5 on November 23-25, 8 and 5 on November 26-27, 8 on November 28-29, 25 in November 30 and December 1, then 15, 8, 5, 12, 20, and 25 on December 2-7. Sunspot numbers for November 12 through 18 were 29, 50, 48, 63, 44, 33, and 36, with a mean of 43.3. 10.7 cm flux was 103.5, 102.9, 106.3, 105.8, 105.6, 107.1, and 107.6, with a mean of 105.5. Estimated planetary A indices were 5, 14, 10, 9, 14, 8, and 17, with a mean of 11. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 4, 12, 10, 7, 9, 7, and 14, with a mean of 9. Please send your reports and observations to k7ra at arrl.net . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Just Ahead in Radiosport * November 20 -- YO International PSK31 Contest * November 21-22 -- 1.8 All Austrian 160 Meter Contest (CW) * *November 21-22 -- **ARRL November Sweepstakes (SSB)* * November 21-22 -- NA Collegiate ARC Championship (SSB) * November 25 -- SKCC Sprint CW * November 25 -- UKEICC 80 Meter Contest (CW) * November 26 -- RSGB 80 Meter Club Sprint (CW) * November 28-29 -- ARRL EME Contest (CW, phone, digital) * November 28-29 -- CQ World Wide DX Contest (CW) See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events * December 11-12 -- West Central Florida Section Convention , Plant City, Florida * January 9 -- TECHFEST , Lawrenceville, Georgia * January 10 -- New York City-Long Island Section Convention , Bethpage, New York * January 15-16 -- Southern Florida Section Convention , Fort Myers, Florida * January 15-16 -- North Texas Section Convention , Forest Hill, Texas * January 17-23 -- Quartzfest , Quartzsite, Arizona * January 29-30 -- Mississippi State Convention , Jackson, Mississippi * January 29-31 -- Puerto Rico State Convention , Hatillo, Puerto Rico * February 6 -- South Carolina State Convention , N. Charleston, South Carolina * February 12-14 -- ARRL National Convention , Orlando, Florida * February 19-20 -- Southwestern Division Convention , Yuma, Arizona * February 27 WCF Section Technical Conference , Tampa, Florida * February 27 New Mexico TechFest , Albuquerque, New Mexico * February 27 Vermont State Convention , S. Burlington, Vermont 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 Thu Nov 19 23:35:57 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2015 23:35:57 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Support ARRL as You Shop this Holiday Season! In-Reply-To: <564EA30A.80308@bellsouth.net> References: <564EA30A.80308@bellsouth.net> Message-ID: <564EA32D.8040602@bellsouth.net> From The ARRL Letter: Support ARRL as You Shop this Holiday Season! As you browse for great deals online this Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we invite you to shop at AmazonSmile , choosing the ARRL as your charity of choice. With every qualifying purchase you make through AmazonSmile, Amazon will make a contribution to ARRL. When you shop at AmazonSmile, you will be helping the League to extend its reach in public service, advocacy, education, technology, and membership. Bookmark the link and support ARRL every time you shop. ARRL wishes you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and hopes you'll remember us when you shop on Amazon this season. AmazonSmile allows shoppers to enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. When customers shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5 percent of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations selected by customers. As a 501(c)(3) organization, ARRL -- the national association for Amateur Radio^? is a registered charity of AmazonSmile. From bmarx at bellsouth.net Fri Nov 20 17:20:23 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2015 17:20:23 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] ARLP047 Propagation de K7RA In-Reply-To: <20151120215228.4F9122015309@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20151120215228.4F9122015309@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <564F9CA7.3050106@bellsouth.net> SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP047 ARLP047 Propagation de K7RA ZCZC AP47 QST de W1AW Propagation Forecast Bulletin 47 ARLP047 >From Tad Cook, K7RA Seattle, WA November 20, 2015 To all radio amateurs SB PROP ARL ARLP047 ARLP047 Propagation de K7RA At 2347 UTC on November 17 the Australian Space Forecast Centre issued a Geomagnetic Disturbance Warning. "Geomagnetic conditions are expected to rise from quiet to minor storm levels on 18 November due to the expected effect of a high speed solar wind stream from a coronal hole and possible glancing blow from the CMEs observed late on 15 and early on 16 November. This coronal hole effect may keep the conditions enhanced to unsettled to minor storm levels on 19 November. "Increased geomagnetic activity expected due to coronal hole high speed wind stream from 18-19 November, 2015" Solar activity declined again this week, with average daily sunspot numbers for the November 12-18 reporting week at 43.3, down from 72.3 during the previous seven days. Average daily solar flux was 105.5, down from 109.4. Geomagnetic A indices were down, which is generally a good thing for HF propagation. The average daily planetary A index slipped from 25 to 11 and average daily mid-latitude A index from 19 to 9. All four of these average A indexes being whole integers is an odd occurrence. Predicted solar flux is 108 on November 20-21, 110 on November 22-23, 108 on November 24, 100 on November 25-26, 110 on November 27, 115 on November 28-29, 120 on November 30 and December 1, 115 on December 2, 110 on December 3-4, and 105 on December 5-14. Flux values then drop to a low of 95 on December 17-18, then rise back to 120 on December 27-28. Predicted planetary A index is 10 on November 20, 8 on November 21-24, then 15, 10 and 5 on November 25-27, 8 on November 28-29, 25 on November 30 and December 1, then 15, 8, 5, 12, 20 and 25 on December 2-7 and 18, 8, 12, 10, 8, 10 and 8 on December 8-14. Another period of high geomagnetic activity is December 27-28, when a planetary A index of 25 is forecast. The planetary A index is a metric related to geomagnetic conditions, and OK1HH of the Czech Propagation Interest Group has his own geomagnetic forecast, related here. He expects the geomagnetic field will be mostly quiet November 20, quiet on November 21-25, quiet to unsettled November 26, quiet conditions again no November 27-28, quiet to unsettled November 29, active to disturbed November 30 through December 3, quiet to active December 4-6, active to disturbed December 7-8, quiet on December 9, quiet to unsettled December 10, mostly quiet December 11, quiet to unsettled December 12-13, quiet December 14 and quiet to active December 15. OK1HH also predicts increased solar wind on November 20-22, 29-30, December 1-2, 5-12, and 16-20. Now here it gets a bit complicated. He sees a lower probability of enhanced solar wind on November 20-22, December 1, 5-7, 11-12 and 16-20. Got that? These numbers look pretty good for the ARRL Phone Sweepstakes this weekend. ARRL Sweepstakes is a great domestic contest with a long history, and if you want to have some fun with a casual effort, getting on as a new participant in the last few hours of the contest is always a good idea. There will be hundreds of weary operators trying to squeeze out a few more contacts, and you will be a fresh new one who they will all want to work. Because ARRL Sections constitute multipliers, your desirability will be enhanced if you are in a rare or obscure location. The Canadian province of Ontario is divided into four sections, each one a multiplier, is often a desired contact. In recent years (it changes from year to year) some of most sought after ARRL Sections were Newfoundland, Labrador, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, South Florida, North Dakota, Northern New York, Ontario North, Northern Territories, and Manitoba. See http://www.arrl.org/sweepstakes for rules and details. Note you can only operate 24 hours out of the 30 hour contest period. In a message about current 10 meter propagation, Carl Zellich, AA4MI wrote, "It's been a L O N G time since 10 meters really opened up. On Friday, Nov 14, (did he mean Saturday?) it really rocked. "From 10:30 EST (1530 UTC) it was opened to both Eastern and Western Europe with a few from North Africa until 11:00 EST (1600 UTC). Then it closed. "But during that 30 minutes (after all these solar ejections let up), I worked 25 stations on CW at 30 wpm with very little QSB! Maybe the arrival of the Fall season had something to do with it too." David Moore sent this article about magnetic loops on the Sun revealed in ultraviolet light: https://shar.es/1c0xgm . This message came from Jeff Hartley, N8II in Shepherdstown, West Virginia last week: "Even when the K index dropped to 1 after the major storm this week, it seemed that 10 meters was relatively poor. "Today (November 13) from 1440 UTC until around 1530 UTC, I had a pipeline into the Netherlands and Belgium. The first few 10 meter SSB QSOs were good signals from England, then there was a parade of PA, PD, and ON stations many peaking over S-9 with 25-100 W and very simple random wires and even one with an indoor dipole. "The last few QSOs were with Germany with good signals and mostly non-gain antennas. The K index had climbed to 3 at 1500 UTC after a 1 at 0900 UTC. "It seems to me that quite often even some northerly paths are not closed when the K index is 3 and may even be temporarily enhanced a bit. But overall, a K of 0 or 1 is best. "CW Sweepstakes last weekend was enhanced somewhat in the lower 48 on 20 meters in particular. I made over 420 20 meter QSOs using my 80 meter dipole fed with ladder line including many on backscatter who were good copy. The North territories (missed here) and Alaska were much weaker than normal and at times especially Saturday evening western Canada seemed surprised despite loud signals (QRM) from Minnesota." Thanks, Jeff. Great report! Julio Medina, NP3CW (FK68xk) in San Juan, Puerto Rico sent a list of stations he heard and worked on 6 meters: "Today November 13 I heard PP1CZ/B on 50.085 MHz, 549 at 2253 UTC. CX1AA/B 50.083 MHz, 339-549 at 2255 UTC. "Worked LU1WI on 50.090, 559 at 2318 UTC FE77 LU8EHR on 50.090, 559 at 2320 UTC LU1YT on 50.090, 559 at 2324 UTC in FE49." Jon Jones, N0JK from Kansas wrote on November 13: "There was a long lasting and strong sporadic-E opening on 50 MHz the morning of November 11. Stations from W8 worked west to Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska stations worked east to W4 and W8 and west to Arizona and New Mexico. I worked W7DXW DM42mg (Tucson, Arizona) near the end of the opening at 1749z from EM28 on 50.125 MHz." If you would like to make a comment or have a tip for our readers, email the author at, k7ra at arrl.net. For more information concerning radio propagation, see the ARRL Technical Information Service web page at, http://arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals. For an explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin, see http://arrl.org/the-sun-the-earth-the-ionosphere. An archive of past propagation bulletins is at http://arrl.org/w1aw-bulletins-archive-propagation. More good information and tutorials on propagation are at http://k9la.us/. My own archives of the NOAA/USAF daily 45 day forecast for solar flux and planetary A index are in downloadable spreadsheet format at http://bit.ly/1VOqf9B and http://bit.ly/1DcpaC5 . Click on "Download this file" to download the archive, and ignore the security warning about file format. Pop-up blockers may suppress the download. Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve overseas locations are at http://arrl.org/propagation. Instructions for starting or ending email distribution of ARRL bulletins are at http://arrl.org/bulletins. Sunspot numbers for November 12 through 18 were 29, 50, 48, 63, 44, 33, and 36, with a mean of 43.3. 10.7 cm flux was 103.5, 102.9, 106.3, 105.8, 105.6, 107.1, and 107.6, with a mean of 105.5. Estimated planetary A indices were 5, 14, 10, 9, 14, 8, and 17, with a mean of 11. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 4, 12, 10, 7, 9, 7, and 14, with a mean of 9. NNNN /EX From wa4aw at juno.com Sat Nov 21 12:09:39 2015 From: wa4aw at juno.com (wa4aw) Date: Sat, 21 Nov 2015 17:09:39 GMT Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] QCWA Chapter 111 LUNCHEON MEETING November 24th Message-ID: <20151121.120939.17368.0@webmail04.vgs.untd.com> QCWA Palm Beach Chapter # 111 Hello, This is friendly reminder that our Palm Beach Chapter meeting is the last Tuesday of each month. We will be meeting at the Golden Corral Buffet, 10100 Fox Trail Rd., on the service road behind the SW corner of Okeechobee Blvd. and State Road 7 in Royal Palm Beach at 11:30 AM. This month our meeting date is November 24th. Hope you can join us for fellowship, rag chews & information. I encourage everyone who has not been to the Golden Corral to call for info on either the Palms West repeater 147.045 or the AREC repeater on 146.670. Both repeaters have a 110.9 PL. Everyone is welcome to join us. We meet in the private dining room in the back of the restaurant. QCWA Chapter 111 webpage link: www.qcwa.org/chapter111.htm Chapter YahooGroup website: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/qcwa111 47, Jeff WA4AW, Secretary QCWAQuarter Century Wireless AssociationJeff Beals, WA4AWNational Director &QCWA Historian QCWA Palm Beach Chapter 111Secretary-TreasurerPO Box 1584Loxahatchee, FL 33470-1584561-252-6707 wa4aw at qcwa.org www.qcwa.org ____________________________________________________________ If You Have Gas, Bloating, Constipation or Upset ... Our support staff is available 7 days a week to answer any questions you ... http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/5650a5901c2c7258f5430st04vuc From n8pr at bellsouth.net Sat Nov 21 23:19:30 2015 From: n8pr at bellsouth.net (Pete Rimmel N8PR) Date: Sat, 21 Nov 2015 23:19:30 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] KL7RA- Silent Key In-Reply-To: <2c5f8.37901d87.438230aa@aol.com> References: <2c5f8.37901d87.438230aa@aol.com> Message-ID: <5FF6FF8769C04147BC75AD87588ACA62@PeteRGateway> So Sad, He was a very FB operator ! From: "Mike Wetzel" _mjwetzel at comcast.net_ (mailto:mjwetzel at comcast.net) I just learned that Rich, KL7RA passed away about an hour ago. Knowing Rich I am numb right now. No other info. Mike W9RE _______________________________________________ From bmarx at bellsouth.net Mon Nov 23 07:38:27 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2015 07:38:27 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Droid Ham Apps In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <565308C3.3000709@bellsouth.net> From Tony N2MFT: While working on some projects for the Dry Tortugas trip I cam across these Android Apps. WeFAX https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wolphi.wefax RTTY https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wolphi.droidrtty NAVTEX http://www.wolphi.com/marine-apps/droidnavtex/ Interface for smart phone http://www.wolphi.com/interface/ KX3 http://kx3companion.com/2014/07/06/mic-headset-splitter-for-smartphones-and-tablets/ Panadapter http://817companion.com/817-panadapter-installation/ From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Nov 25 13:52:37 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 25 Nov 2015 13:52:37 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] ARLB035 Revamped FCC Website Expected to Debut on December 10 In-Reply-To: <20151125182559.71CFD2022D5A@bmail.arrl.org> References: <20151125182559.71CFD2022D5A@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <56560375.5040400@bellsouth.net> SB QST @ ARL $ARLB035 ARLB035 Revamped FCC Website Expected to Debut on December 10 ZCZC AG35 QST de W1AW ARRL Bulletin 35 ARLB035 >From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT November 25, 2015 To all radio amateurs SB QST ARL ARLB035 ARLB035 Revamped FCC Website Expected to Debut on December 10 The FCC has announced that its large-scale website redesign will be completed by December 10. The switch to the new site is set to begin on December 10 at 0100 UTC and will be completed about 4 hours later. "While the transition to the revamped site is expected to be completed almost instantaneously, there will be an ongoing process following this transition that will continue to involve user feedback, fixes by the FCC's Information Technology team, and content updates by policy bureaus and offices," the FCC said in a November 24 Public Notice. The FCC said the new website has been designed to provide "better functionality, an improved design, and better searchability and navigability." Earlier this year the Commission's IT Department opened a beta-test version of the site, located at https://prototype.fcc.gov/, and has been gathering user comments at, https://prototype.fcc.gov/eform/submit/feedback . "Extensive user research revealed how the FCC could improve the website's information architecture to make content easier to find," the Public Notice said. The FCC said its new website has been designed to operate on tablet and mobile device browsers with the display optimization based upon the device. The site utilizes a "toggle" navigation that allows visitors to browse either by "Category" or "Bureau and Office." When the new site comes online, the familiar current FCC website will no longer be available. The FCC said web pages and files on transition.fcc.gov that have not already migrated to the new site will remain available, and existing bookmarks will be redirected to the appropriate content on the new site. While the Commission has already upgraded some of its interactive systems, including the Consumer Help Center, and is working toward improvements on similar systems, including the Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), these systems will not be directly impacted by the December 10 migration. "This migration will impact the look and functionality of web pages that are coded in HTML and managed through a content management system, such as the homepage and individual bureau pages," the FCC Public Notice said. The FCC said the change to a new website design was, in part, driven by a need to start using a more modern, open-source content management system to upgrade the site's look and architecture, and to transition to a system that is compatible with the latest website innovations. FCC Chief Information Officer David Bray has written blog posts about the website development process, and the beta site has been publically available and soliciting feedback since April. Two additional public outreach sessions will be held before the December 10 changeover to explain the new site and its functionality to interested stakeholders. NNNN /EX From bmarx at bellsouth.net Fri Nov 27 20:28:54 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Fri, 27 Nov 2015 20:28:54 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Icom IC-7300 Message-ID: <56590356.9010605@bellsouth.net> http://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/amateur/hf/7300/default.aspx From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sat Nov 28 07:52:13 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sat, 28 Nov 2015 07:52:13 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Beware of fake Diamond antennas on-line! Message-ID: <5659A37D.2040903@bellsouth.net> *From QRZ: http://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/beware-of-fake-diamond-antennas-on-line.502258/ Beware of fake Diamond antennas on-line!* There are seemingly many bargain price *Diamond* antennas on various online stores and auction sites. As the UK?s only official importer and distributor, we know how much these antennas cost and when they appear online cheaper than the cost price, you have to ask questions. *Waters & Stanton* (W&S) purchased several models from suppliers online (that do not purchase Diamond products from us) and one such example is shown in our blog posts. Not only does the packaging not look the same, the element section lengths are completely wrong and therefore, performance will NOT be as it should be. BEWARE of these grey imports, some of the biggest names in Ham Radio retailing in the UK do not source their Diamond products from us and therefore, what you purchase may be suspect. If the UK distributor was Waters & Stanton, you know you have a genuine product, if not, it could be the case your cheap purchase may not deliver the goods. http://blog.wsplc.com/ /*The W&S Team*/ From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sun Nov 29 19:49:02 2015 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sun, 29 Nov 2015 19:49:02 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Ham Radio Deluxe - 50% off On Cyber Monday Message-ID: <565B9CFE.2090100@bellsouth.net> Ham Radio Deluxe - Rig Control And Logging Software... 50% off On Cyber Monday - One Day Only! New Purchases and also One Year Additional Support... Lots of Free Programs around, but this is a nice deal for those who were thinking about HRD. http://www.hrdsoftwarellc.com/purchase.html