From bmarx at bellsouth.net Tue Jan 2 15:32:26 2018 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill M) Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2018 15:32:26 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] A Message from Jeff References: <20180102172450.6E875204CA5C@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: <276EC11D-7632-4F62-9E55-D6D112E1F2B6@bellsouth.net> > New Year greetings to all, > > Looking forward to a great 2018 in the SFL Section. With the holidays > behind us, we can get back in the swing of ham radio activity. Some New > Year resolutions for your consideration: > > 1. Get on the air with your favorite bands or try a new one ! > 2. Mentor a new ham, especially a young ham ! > 3. Support your local club and ARES group > 4. Try your hand at some contesting and DXing > 5. Help out at your local VE exam session > 6. Participate in your club?s Field Day > 7. Try a new mode: CW, AM, Digital, Satellite, Weak signal, DMR, etc. > 8. Check in on a net. > 9. Attend a hamfest > 10. And most of all, have fun with ham radio. > > I attended the West Central Florida Section Convention at Plant City on > Dec. 8 & 9. Nice to see many SFL members in attendance. At the ARRL > booth, I joined with WCF SM Darrell Davis, KT4WX, Mike Corey, KI1U, ARRL > Emergency Preparedness Manager and SE Division Director Greg Sarratt, > W4OZK. > > > Myra and I celebrated with members of the Fort Pierce Amateur Radio Club > at their annual Holiday Social. A great time was had by all ! > > > After serving for over 20 years as Okeechobee County EC, Al Berryman, > AD4RZ, has decided to retire. > Thanks for your service, Al and enjoy your retirement. > > > Hope to see you at one of these upcoming events around the SFL Section > and SE Division: > > 01/06/2018 Kid?s Day Operating Event Info: > http://www.arrl.org/kids-day > > Southwest Florida Hamfest > > Start Date: 01/19/2018 > End Date: 01/20/2018 > > Location: Riverside Church of Fort Myers > 8660 Daniels Parkway > Fort Myers, FL 33901 > > Website: http://swflhamfest.info > Sponsor: Fort Myers Amateur Radio Club > > Talk-In: 147.345 (PL 136.5) > Public Contact: Harold A Drew , KM4WNF > 12407 Davis Blvd. Fort Myers, FL 33905 > > Phone: 239-309-3660 > Email: dfoy50 at gmail.com > > Winter Field Day Saturday, January 27 at 2 PM thru Sunday, January 28 > at 2 PM > > Miami Marathon Sunday January 28, 2018 > > Once again we are ready to begin preparations for the upcoming Miami > Marathon on Sunday January 28, 2018, and once again I ask for your help. > This will be the 16thrunning of the Miami Marathon, and we have all > played a critical role in providing communications since year one. We > are expecting close to 25,000 participants this year, and the need for > our communications is even greater than last year. The marathon has > become a truly world class event, a big asset to our community, a major > boost to child fitness programs in our schools, and a real opportunity > for us to help by doing what we do best. Miami Marathon runners raise > millions of dollars for more than a dozen charities working to fight > cancer, diabetes, and many other worthwhile causes. As always, returning > volunteers have priority in selecting post assignments. Please let me > know if you prefer your previous post or a different location. > Although the Venetian Causeway has re-opened, the race route may be > different from prior years. > > Please let me know if you would like to participate, and please pass > along this information to any other hams you think may be interested. > Also, if you have changed your email, mailing address, callsign, or > phone number in the past year, please be sure to advise me of your > current contact information. > > Now that the Venetian Causeway has reopened, parts of the race course > and some of the aid station locations will be different this year. You > can find more information about the marathon on > http://www.themiamimarathon.com/. I Look forward to seeing all of you on > Sunday January 29th > > Best regards and 73 > Ben Nemser WA4DZS > bnemser at nemal.com > > > Florida State Convention (Orlando HamCation) > > Start Date: 02/09/2018 > End Date: 02/11/2018 > > Location: Central Florida Fairgrounds > 4603 West Colonial Drive > Orlando, FL 32801 > > Website: http://www.hamcation.com > Sponsor: Orlando Amateur Radio Club > > Talk-In: 146.76 (no PL tone during hamfest) > Public Contact: John Knott , N4JTK > PO Box 574962 Orlando, FL 32857 > Phone: 407-841-0874 > Email: info at hamcation.com > > > Congrats to the ARISS team of the Fort Myers ARC working with the Allen > Park Elementary School in making the first cut with the selection > process for contacts in 2018. > > > More Room to be Available for Hamvention? at Greene County Fairgrounds > and Expo Center > > Hamvention? reports that the Greene County Commissioners and the Greene > County Fair Board have approved the construction of a new building at > the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center, the new Hamvention venue > in Xenia, Ohio. > ?Greene County officials have decided to move forward with > construction of a new building, as it will continue to expand their > presence in the region as a world-class Exposition Center,? Hamvention > Spokesperson Michael Kalter, W8CI, said in a news release. ?Hamvention > certainly benefits from the decision to expand the Expo Center > footprint. Construction is planned to be complete ahead of Hamvention > 2018, and [the new building] will be used for the event.? > > In addition to the new structure, another building on the property, > previously known as Fairgrounds Furniture, is being vacated and will be > available for use by Hamvention in May 2018. Additional details are > forthcoming. Kalter said Hamvention has been told that the additional > floor space will cover an area larger than the tents Hamvention used for > some activities in 2017. > ?Although this decision was made to expand opportunities at the Expo > Center, Hamvention is grateful for the support Greene County, Xenia > Township, and the city of Xenia,? Kalter added. > > US Schools, Groups Move Into Phase 2 of ARISS Selections > > Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has announced > that 13 schools or organizations will advance to the next phase of > planning to host Amateur Radio contacts with the ISS during the second > half of 2018. The new ARISS-US Education Committee selected the 13 > applicants from a field of 25. ARISS anticipates that NASA will be able > to provide scheduling opportunities from July to December of next year. > These schools and organizations now must submit > > Amateur Radio equipment plans to host a scheduled contact with a member > of the ISS crew. > The 13 candidates must now complete an equipment plan that demonstrates > their ability to execute a ham radio contact with the ISS. Once the > ARISS technical team approves their equipment plans, the finalists will > be scheduled as their availability and flexibility match up with the > scheduling opportunities. The schools and organizations are: > > ? Allen Park Elementary School, Lee County School District Fort > Myers, Florida > ? Ashford School > Ashford, Connecticut > ? Bishop O?Connell High School > Arlington, Virginia > ? Delcastle Technical High School > Wilmington, Delaware > ? Hudson Memorial School > Hudson, New Hampshire > ? Kopernik Observatory & Science Center > Vestal, New York > ? Mendez Fundamental Intermediate School > Santa Ana, California > ? Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School Palmer, > Massachusetts > ? Pearl Technology STEM Academy > Peoria Heights, Illinois > ? Pell Elementary School > Newport, Rhode Island > ? St. Catherine of Bologna School > Ringwood, New Jersey > ? Tallmadge Community Learning Center > Lancaster, Ohio > ? Valley High School > Albuquerque, New Mexico > > ARISS?s primary goal is to engage young people in science, technology, > engineering, and math (STEM) activities, and to involve them in > activities related to space exploration, Amateur Radio, communications, > and areas of associated study and career possibilities. > ARISS is a cooperative venture of international Amateur Radio societies > and the space agencies that support the International Space Station > (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are ARRL, AMSAT, the Center for > the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), and NASA. > > World Wide Radio Operators Foundation Announces KP4 Generator Project > > The recovery efforts in Puerto Rico have largely cycled out of the news > media, but residents are still struggling in the wake of this fall's > devastating hurricane damage. In order to help radio amateurs and > radiosport enthusiasts in Puerto Rico get back on the air, the World > Wide Radio Operators Foundation (WWROF) has announced the KP4 Generator > Project, which will raise funds to purchase Honda eu2000i generators for > the radio amateurs of Puerto Rico. > Well-known contester Angel Vazquez, WP3R, will distribute these > generators to active radio amateurs on the island for use in > emergency-related communication and other applications, based on local > need. > > The WWROF will match the first $5,000 in donations from clubs and > individuals to the KP4 Generator Project. WWROF is an IRS 501(c)(3) > organization, and donations are tax-deductible for US taxpayers to the > extent allowed by law. > Puerto Rico suffered extreme damage from hurricanes Irma and Maria, and > while recovery efforts are proceeding, a lot of work remains to be done > that will take significant time, WWROF Chairman, John Dorr, K1AR, said > in an announcement over the weekend. > > ?Amateur Radio has filled a vital need for communications, since the > storm destroyed most of the island?s wired and wireless > infrastructure,? Dorr noted. ?Many of our fellow Amateur Radio > operators and contesters are among the people who suffered significant > damage.? The WWROF said the contesting community in Puerto Rico has > expressed a continued need for generators to stay on the air and to > power their homes for ongoing communication needs. > Currently electric power has been restored to roughly two-thirds of the > island, but full power may not be back until early next year, according > to some estimates. Generators remain in high demand and in very short > supply on the island. > > Silent Keys- It is with deep regret that we report the passing of the > following SFL members: > > Richard E. ?Dick? Pettijohn, W0MIA of Naples passed away on November > 7th. Richard was a member of the Amateur Radio Association of SW > Florida and the Royal Palm Chapter of QCWA. > > Well, I guess that?s about it for now. My thanks for all that you do > for Amateur Radio. Have a happy and healthy New Year and see you at a > club meeting, hamfest or on the air. > > Vy 73, > > Jeff, WA4AW > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > ARRL Southern Florida Section > Section Manager: Jeff Beals, WA4AW > wa4aw at arrl.org > -------------------------------------------------------------------- From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Jan 4 17:37:21 2018 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill M) Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2018 17:37:21 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] The ARRL Letter for January 4, 2018 References: <20180104215833.950E920177A4@bmail.arrl.org> Message-ID: > > If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at: > http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2018-01-04 > > > > January 4, 2018Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME > ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive Audio News > > > > Thousands Getting Their Grids On! > ARRL Life Member Receives Patent for "Cloaking" Technology > The Doctor Will See You Now! > Large Donations Making Bouvet 3Y0Z DXpedition a Reality; Team Eager to Get Under Way > "Creepy and Surreal" Urban Explorers' Video Reveals Largely Unseen Side of Hara Arena > Second Annual AM Rally Special Event Set for February 2-4 Weekend > Philippine Radio Amateurs Activate for Weather Emergencies > Alabama Governor Kay Ivey Makes Ham Radio Debut with State's Bicentennial Call Sign > In Brief... > Just Ahead in Radiosport > Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions > Thousands Getting Their Grids On! > And they're off! New Year's Day January 1 (UTC) marked the opening day for the ARRL International Grid Chase 2018 (IGC). Among those hitting their grids running was newly minted General-class operator Katie Thompsen, KI7HCX, of Mt. Vernon, Washington, who used the occasion to embark on the Chase and to get on HF for the first time using her own call sign. The 11-year-old comes from a ham radio family. Her dad, Todd, is W7TAO, while her older brothers are Mason, K7MWT, 15 -- who upgraded to Amateur Extra at the examination session where his sister upgraded to General -- and Tanner, K7TMT, 13. > > > Katie Thompsen, KI7HCX. [Todd Thompsen, W7TAO, photo] > > "She called CQ Grid Square Chase on 20 meters and very quickly made 44 contacts," her dad told ARRL. "She was very excited to work her first pileup and even had two Japanese stations QSO with her. She's anxious to continue participating in the grid square chase." Todd Thompsen said all three young radio amateurs are looking forward to participating in Rookie Roundup in April. > > The IGC is off to a rousing start, with some 6,400 participants from around the globe already showing up on the Leader Board as of the morning of January 4. Point totals for the International Grid Chase are shown for confirmed contacts only, and, while the leader boards are not based on real-time data, they are updated several times a day. All contacts on all bands except 60 meters are valid for Grid Chase credit, provided both stations upload their logs to Logbook of The World (LoTW) and get a match. > > The objective of the year-long event is to work stations in as many different Maidenhead grid squares as possible, and then upload your logs to LoTW. > > Each new grid square contact confirmed through LoTW will count toward your monthly total. Stations do not have to exchange grid squares for a valid contact, although it's anticipated that many operators will do so. Some rare grid squares will be in demand. How about yours? Get on the air, and get behind your grid! If you can, get out there, and activate the scarce ones. > > Members of the Marconi Cape Cod Radio Club KM1CC at the Cape Cod National Seashore will activate rare grid square FN51 January 18-19 for the International Grid Chase. > > Complete details of the ARRL International Grid Chase 2018 appeared in the December 2017 issue of QST. For more information, contact the ARRL Contest Branch. > > ARRL Life Member Receives Patent for "Cloaking" Technology > Nathan "Chip" Cohen, W1YW, of Belmont, Massachusetts -- the founder of Fractal Antenna Systems Inc and inventor of the fractal antenna -- has been granted a patent for deflective electromagnetic shielding -- essentially "cloaking" technology to defend against detection by radar and similar technologies. > > "Ham radio experimentation can lead to some pretty cool innovations!" Cohen said in response to a recent QRZ forum post about the patent. "Let's keep that spirit alive in 2018." > > > Chip Cohen, W1YW, makes use of a Sputnik 1 satellite model during a demonstration. > > The patent covers electromagnetic cloaking/deflection of, among other things, satellites, rockets, towers, antennas, vehicles, body coverings, ships, spacecraft, and even people. > > "Much time and effort has been devoted to the quest for so-called invisibility machines," the patent's background information states. "Beyond science fiction, however, there has been little, if any, real progress toward this goal." > > According to the detailed description, the technology "provides one or more surfaces that act or function as shielding and/or cloaking surfaces for which at least a portion of the surface includes or is composed of 'fractal cells' (small fractal shapes, functioning as antennas or resonators) placed sufficiently close to one another, so that current present in one fractal cell is replicated or reproduced to an extent in an adjacent fractal cell. Without being limited by any theoretical explanation, surface plasmonic waves are believed to cause such replication in conjunction with evanescent waves." The resulting surface would deflect around an object. > > In terms of backscatter, upon which radar systems depend, Cohen has explained it this way: "The incoming wave reflects off a boundary condition at the object. Its reflection is out of phase and phase-cancels with the incoming wave. Bye-bye, backscatter." > > Fractal Antenna Systems first publicly demonstrated "person invisibility" in 2012 for a Radio Club of America audience. He also has demonstrated invisibility cloaks at Hamvention? and at the ARRL New England Division Convention. According to the company's BusinessWire release, "Uses of the newly patented technology extend to commercial needs such as towers, antennas, people, and shielding, but it may also be used in defense and intelligence arenas." > > > Not invisible: Chip Cohen, W1YW, holds his 5BDXCC plaque at ARRL Headquarters. > > The BusinessWire release said the technology "produces the desired effects without any requirements on special orientation, composition, or shape of the object. The cloak/deflector can be very thin, and the effect can happen over a wide bandwidth." > > The company noted that cloaking applications concentrate on microwave and infrared wavelengths, but the technology and patents also apply to visible light. > > "Cloaking at visible light has limited needs," Cohen has said. "Camouflage and projection methods are easier and cheaper at making something disappear to the eye. But at radio and heat wavelengths, the cloaking technology is an important enabler." > > Cohen, 62, applied for the patent in 2012. An ARRL Life Member and active DXer, he has been a radio amateur for more than 50 years. > > > The Doctor Will See You Now! > "Keeping Cool -- the importance of maintaining proper equipment temperature" is the topic of the latest (January 4) episode of the "ARRL The Doctor is In" podcast. Listen...and learn! > > Sponsored by DX Engineering, "ARRL The Doctor is In" is an informative discussion of all things technical. Listen on your computer, tablet, or smartphone -- whenever and wherever you like! > > Every 2 weeks, your host, QST Editor-in-Chief Steve Ford, WB8IMY, and the Doctor himself, Joel Hallas, W1ZR, will discuss a broad range of technical topics. You can also e-mail your questions to doctor at arrl.org, and the Doctor may answer them in a future podcast. > > Enjoy "ARRL The Doctor is In" on Apple iTunes, or by using your iPhone or iPad podcast app (just search for "ARRL The Doctor is In"). You can also listen online at Blubrry, or at Stitcher (free registration required, or browse the site as a guest) and through the free Stitcher app for iOS, Kindle, or Android devices. If you've never listened to a podcast before, download our beginner's guide. > > Large Donations Making Bouvet 3Y0Z DXpedition a Reality; Team Eager to Get Under Way > The 3Y0Z Bouvet Island DXpedition team announced in late December that it had reached "yet another milestone" in its quest to activate Bouvet Island, the second most-wanted DXCC entity (behind the Democratic Republic of North Korea), in January and February. A dependency of Norway, Bouvet is a subantarctic island in the South Atlantic. > > This major DXpedition could get under way as early as January 23 or 24, and the crack team of operators hopes to spend 14 to 16 days on Bouvet, depending on weather and other factors. Bouvet has not been activated for about a decade. The DXpedition said it would transfer nearly $500,000 to DAP, the Chilean company that owns and operates the M/V Betanzos and the helicopters that will provide transportation. That single outlay points up the extraordinary expense of mounting a DXpedition such as this. > > In August, the Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF) announced its largest contribution ever -- $100,000 -- to the 3Y0Z Bouvet Island DXpedition. The ARRL has granted a Colvin Award to help support the DXpedition to the second most-wanted DXCC entity. The DXpedition has benefited from many other club and individual donations and continues to invite contributions to defray its significant costs. > > The 3Y0Z team, which consists of 20 highly experienced radio amateurs, said it's on schedule for a January 13 departure to Bouvet Island, "the most remote island on Earth." > > Team members will gather in Punta Arenas, Chile, by January 10, attend a day-and-a-half marine safety course, purchase last-minute supplies, and then fly across the Drake Passage to King George Island in the South Shetlands, where they will board the newly refurbished Betanzos for an approximately 10-day voyage to Bouvet. "Sea ice has been reported along a direct route to Bouvet, and that may dictate we take a more northerly course, before turning east to approach Bouvet. That may add day or two to our transit time," the December news release said. > > > The newly refurbished Betanzos will transport the 3Y0Z team from the South Shetlands to Bouvet Island. > > Two helicopters will transport the team and gear to and from Bouvet. "There has been a thorough review of landing procedures and shelter and antenna layouts," the news release said. "We have three alternative anchoring systems to secure the shelters and antennas to the ice on the surface of Bouvet. So, the plan remains unchanged." > > 3Y0Z anticipates "a propagation-driven operation," with two high-power stations on every open band using gain and directional antennas. Primary modes will be CW, SSB, and RTTY. FT8 will be utilized if it is the only productive mode. The Bouvet team advises FT8 enthusiasts to read the 3Y0Z FT8 protocol on the Band Plan page. The website includes complete information on band plans and frequencies, propagation predictions, and QSL procedures. > > The 3Y0Z team leaders are Bob Allphin, K4UEE; Ralph Fedor, K0IR, and Erling Wiig, LA6VM. Among them, the Bouvet DXpedition leaders hold 11 DXpedition of the Year awards, have activated a dozen Top 10 DXCC entities. > > > "Creepy and Surreal" Urban Explorers' Video Reveals Largely Unseen Side of Hara Arena > Reminiscent of underwater footage from a TV documentary about the discovery of a long-lost vessel, a recently posted YouTube video that takes a deep dive into the innards of former Hamvention? venue Hara Arena has been attracting notice within the Amateur Radio community. The narrated video probe was posted on December 22 by Once Occupied, an urban exploration group that originated in Dayton, Ohio. It's not the first video of the derelict Hara Arena since it closed -- and since anything thought to be of value inside was auctioned off. The IRS put the Hara Arena complex itself on the auction block last August to satisfy a tax lien, but there were no successful bidders. > > > The Hara Arena complex was closed in August 2016. > > It's not clear whether the three-person Once Occupied expedition had permission to be inside Hara Arena nor how the individuals, who do not identify themselves, gained entry to the building complex. Among the more fascinating revelations was how much equipment, event paraphernalia, and just plain debris remain inside the 165,000-square foot Hara complex, which included an apartment. > > "This is creepy and surreal, but I couldn't turn it off and had to watch the whole thing," allowed Pete Varounis, NL7XM, the QCWA's official call sign historian, who shared the video with his colleagues on the QCWA board of directors. "You will recognize entire areas that teemed with activity during every Hamvention," he continued. "It looks like raw footage from Chernobyl after the Russian nuclear disaster." > > The urban explorers were a bit more mundane. "The facilities include a bar pub, ballroom, conference center, ice rink, and four exhibition halls. This place is huge!" the narrative posted with the more than 20-minute video clip related. As the Once Occupied team noted, Hara Arena over the years played host to sports teams and top entertainers -- including Elton John and the Rolling Stones -- as well as to Hamvention, which relocated to the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia last year after Hara closed in 2016. > > Much of this particular video covers parts of Hara Arena never seen by Hamventioneers -- including catwalks, tunnels, and behind-the-scenes rooms and facilities such as offices, kitchen areas, and storerooms, some of which still contained unopened goods and supplies. File cabinets still store paper files, and abandoned computer and other equipment is scattered about. At least one box the group encountered contained new T shirts for a sports team that once made its home at Hara Arena. Some areas of the building's interior seem to have been hit by a tornado. The explorers do not appear to take anything from Hara Arena or disturb what remained behind. > > "Our passion is exploring abandoned places. We explore because we love adventure and the thrill of the hunt," Once Occupied says on its Facebook page. "Documenting our journeys through digital media allows us to share the stories of the past." The group warns that such urban exploration is not without risk and "not for everyone." > > Hara Arena's future remains in limbo. An IRS staff member who was involved in the 2017 auction told ARRL that the agency will not put Hara Arena up for auction again but said there is "a lot of interest in the property." She said other lien holders, including a mortgage holder and the Town of Trotwood, eventually could get the opportunity to put the building on auction in an effort to satisfy their liens on the property. > > Second Annual AM Rally Special Event Set for February 2-4 Weekend > The second-annual AM Rally is inviting operators to explore the original phone mode over the February 2-4 weekend. Co-sponsor Clark Burgard, N1BCG, said the event "is intended to be both fun and educational." It encourages all radio amateurs to get on AM, possibly for the first time. > > "Because of resurgent interest in AM, the event is also an opportunity for amateurs new to AM to learn about proper settings and get the most performance out of their station, whether it's modern, vintage, tube, transistor, software-defined, military, boat anchor, broadcast, home brewed, or commercially made," Burgard said. > > The AM Rally website includes tips and suggestions for various transmitter types as well as links to additional information. Certificates will be awarded for most states contacted and most contacts overall made by stations in five power-output classes. Some "special recognitions" will be made on an ad hoc basis, Burgard said. > > The AM Rally gets under way at 0000 UTC on Saturday, February 3, and concludes at 0700 UTC on Monday, February 5. Band include 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, and 6 meters. > > The 2017 AM Rally, which was held in April, was deemed a huge success, with nearly 1,500 contacts reported on the 72 logs submitted. > > > Philippine Radio Amateurs Activate for Weather Emergencies > Philippines Amateur Radio Association's (PARA) Ham Emergency Radio Operations (HERO) volunteers assisted with emergency communication support in the wake of two severe weather events. Tropical Storm Kai-tak -- known locally as Urduja -- hit first in the central Philippines on December 16, leaving nearly dozens dead and forcing others to evacuate. It was followed on December 22 by the more-severe Tropical Storm Tembin -- known locally as Vinta -- which caused significant damage and claimed some 200 lives in the southern Philippines. Hundreds more are reported missing. > > Roberto "JoJo" Vicencio, DU1VHY, said HERO volunteers provided HF coordination through a national emergency net at 7.095 MHz. In addition, local clubs embedded with government responders used designated channels and club frequencies. According to Vicencio, TS Kai-Tak ravaged the Central Visayas area, holding in place for nearly 3 days. > > "Much rain was dumped in the Samar and Tacloban areas of the Central Visayas region," he said. "In situations like this, most radio amateurs in the affected areas fold into the government's regional/provincial disaster risk-reduction management offices to consolidate the actions of the amateur and civic groups as well as the military and police forces." > > Just two days later, TS Tembin threatened the southern island of Mindanao. HERO reported that it was ready for the storm and able to mobilize the assets of radio amateurs and civic communications group as well as of police and armed forces. > > > NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over Tropical Storm Kai-Tak moving through the central Philippines. [NASA/NOAA image] > > Vicencio reported that the wind strength and volume of rains inundated Mindanao, taking a direct east-to-west path. Residential areas were hit by flooding, and many lost their lives after being trapped indoors by the fast-rising waters. The flooding also took out bridges and roads and devastated farm fields, > > "There was a shortage of communications too," Vicencio reported. "Many major transportation arteries were affected, further stranding others who tried to escape." > > This is just the start of the annual adverse weather season in the Philippines. Vicencio said the HERO Network is ready. -- Thanks to Jim Linton, VK3PC, Chair, IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee > > Alabama Governor Kay Ivey Makes Ham Radio Debut with State's Bicentennial Call Sign > Alabama Governor Kay Ivey made her Amateur Radio debut on December 14 -- the state's 198th birthday -- at the same time becoming the first person to use the state's bicentennial call sign, AL2C. Alabama will celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2019, and AL2C will be on the air for 2 years as part of the statewide celebration. > > > On the Air: Alabama Governor Kay Ivey inaugurates Alabama Bicentennial Special Event call sign AL2C. > > "I'm very excited to see the hard work that has been in the works for some time now to promote Amateur Radio in concert with the Alabama Bicentennial celebration," said ARRL Alabama Section Manager JVann Martin, W4JVM, who was at the State Capitol for the event. "It was great to activate the brand-new call sign AL2C on Alabama's 198th birthday, and we look forward to many more activities to come as we build up to Alabama's 200th birthday." > > The Alabama Bicentennial Amateur Radio Club set up a D-Star VHF station in the Old House Chamber at the Alabama State Capitol in Birmingham. After announcing the Alabama Bicentennial Schools Initiative, Governor Ivey proceeded to the radio station, initiating contact with the Lee County Emergency Management Agency. The governor discussed the Alabama Bicentennial over the air, with Otto Arnoscht, N4UZZ, the AL2C Call Sign Trustee, serving as the control operator. > > On the other end of the conversation at Lee County Emergency Management Agency was Mike Watkins, WX4AL, the District Delta ARES Emergency Coordinator and Lee County ARES Emergency Coordinator. Read more. > > > In Brief... > The deadline is January 31, 2018 to submit ARRL Foundation Scholarship applications. All applicants must be FCC-licensed radio amateurs, and many scholarships have other specific requirements, such as intended area of study, ARRL Division, Section or state, and license class. Applicants should review the scholarships and check off the ones for which they are eligible. More information is on the ARRL Foundation Scholarship Program page. This year, the Foundation Board of Directors is offering several new scholarships. These include The Old Man International Sideband Society Scholarship; The K6GO Gale Olson and NA6MB Mike Bender Scholarship; The Harry A. Hodges, W6YOO, Scholarship; the Homer V. Thompson, W4CWV, and Annette P. Thompson, W4LKM, Memorial Scholarship; the Shenandoah Valley Amateur Radio Club Scholarship; the Medical Amateur Radio Council (MARCO) Scholarship, and The Ladies Amateur Radio Association of Orange County Scholarship. > > The 37th annual ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC) will take place September 14-16 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Reservations are now open. The Digital Communications Conference schedule includes technical and introductory forums, demonstrations, a Saturday evening banquet, and an in-depth Sunday seminar. This conference is for anyone with an interest in digital communications, from beginners to experts. The TAPR website has more information. The conference invites technical papers for presentation at the conference and for publication in the Conference Proceedings. Presentation at the conference is not required for publication. Papers are due by July 31, 2018, to Maty Weinberg, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 or via e-mail to maty at arrl.org. The Conference website has full details and submission guidelines. > > Nancy Yoshida, KG0YL, has been appointed as ARRL North Dakota Section Manager, effective on January 1. Yoshida, an ARRL Life Member who resides in Thompson, took over the North Dakota Field Organization leadership reins from Lynn Nelson, W0ND, elected in November as ARRL Dakota Division Vice Director. Nelson had served as North Dakota Section Manager since 2008. Yoshida, who was North Dakota Section Emergency Coordinator since 2011, will complete Nelson's term of office, which continues through September. Yoshida, 67, has raced sled dogs since 2002, and in 2009 she ran the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Alaska. She became interested in Amateur Radio after volunteering for Iditarod communications in 2006, and continues to be involved. > > Hamvention? 2018 tickets are now available online. "Both Inside Exhibits and Flea Market committees are working hard to have space sales open as soon as possible," said Hamvention spokesperson Henry Ruminski, W8HJR. Hamvention 2018 will take place May 18-20 at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia, Ohio. Tickets are $22 in advance, and $27 at the gate and good for all 3 days. In addition to Hamvention admission, tickets cover parking, all testing sessions, all forums and speakers, and prize drawings. > > The Dayton Dinner Bell is Ringing! It's reservation time for two major banquets held in conjunction with Dayton Hamvention -- the Contest Dinner and the Top Band Dinner. The North Coast Contesters will sponsor the 26th Annual Dayton Contest Dinner on Saturday, May 19, at 6:30 PM (social hour starts at 5:30 PM) at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Dayton, home of the Contest Super Suite and Contest University (CTU). Contest Dinner tickets are on sale exclusively via the Contest Dinner website. The 2018 Contest Hall of Fame inductees will be announced during the Contest Dinner. No tickets will be for sale at the door. Tickets also are available for the 29th annual Dayton Top Band Dinner (scroll down for reservations). The dinner is Friday, May 18, at 7 PM (social hour at 6 PM). Read more. -- Thanks to Tim Duffy, K3LR, Dayton Contest Dinner Chair, President, North Coast Contesters > > Just Ahead in Radiosport > January 6 -- Kids Day (Phone) > > January 6 -- PODXS 070 Club PSKFest > > January 6-7 -- WW PMC Contest (CW, phone) > > January 6-7 -- ARRL RTTY Roundup > > January 6-7 -- EUCW 160-Meter Contest (CW) > > See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. For in-depth reporting on Amateur Radio contesting, subscribe to The ARRL Contest Update via your ARRL member profile e-mail preferences. > > > Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions > January 6 -- New York City-Long Island Section Convention, Brookville, New York > > January 13 -- Georgia ARES Convention, Forsyth, Georgia > > January 19-20 -- North Texas Section Convention, Forest Hill, Texas > > January 20 -- GARS TECHFEST Convention, Lawrenceville, Georgia > > January 21-27 -- Quartzfest Convention, Quartzsite, Arizona > > January 26-27 -- Delta Division Convention, Jackson, Mississippi > > February 3 -- South Carolina State Convention, North Charleston, South Carolina > > February 3 -- Virginia State Convention (Frostfest), Richmond, Virginia > > February 9-11 -- Florida State Convention (HamCation), Orlando, Florida > > February 16-17 -- Southwestern Division Convention, Yuma, Arizona > > February 24 -- TECHCON Conference, Winter Haven, Florida > > February 24 -- New Mexico TechFest, Albuquerque, New Mexico > > February 24 -- 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 bimonthly, features articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint, and QSO Parties. > 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 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, Snapchat @ARRLHQ, and Instagram! > > > > > > > > > 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 ? 2018 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated. Use and distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is permitted for non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution. All other purposes require written permission. > From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sun Jan 7 11:46:58 2018 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill M) Date: Sun, 7 Jan 2018 11:46:58 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Second Annual AM Rally Special Event Set for... References: <8ff8060ef39011e783af000af7a2d5ee-94ffa038@1f65d326c5bc14ea6a63cb75e3be56c7a0acd3cbde15193c051fea5c9bb5f71d> Message-ID: <252AD642-353D-4C0F-9872-D230ADF92C07@bellsouth.net> > > > https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10211347094859430&set=gm.1543599632344380&type=3&_rdr > > Second Annual AM Rally Special Event Set for February 2-4 Weekend > > The second-annual AM Rally is inviting operators to explore the original phone mode over the February 2-4 weekend. Co-sponsor Clark Burgard, N1BCG, said the event "is intended to be both fun and educational." It encourages all radio amateurs to get on AM, possibly for the first time. > > "Because of resurgent interest in AM, the event is also an opportunity for amateurs new to AM to learn about proper settings and get the most performance out of their station, whether it's modern, vintage, tube, transistor, software-defined, military, boat anchor, broadcast, home brewed, or commercially made," Burgard said. > > The AM Rally website includes tips and suggestions for various transmitter types as well as links to additional information. Certificates will be awarded for most states contacted and most contacts overall made by stations in five power-output classes. Some "special recognitions" will be made on an ad hoc basis, Burgard said. > > The AM Rally gets under way at 0000 UTC on Saturday, February 3, and concludes at 0700 UTC on Monday, February 5. Band include 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, and 6 meters. > > The 2017 AM Rally, which was held in April, was deemed a huge success, with nearly 1,500 contacts reported on the 72 logs submitted. > From n8pr at bellsouth.net Tue Jan 9 11:03:52 2018 From: n8pr at bellsouth.net (Pete Rimmel N8PR) Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2018 11:03:52 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] QCWA POT LUCK LUNCH this Saturday, Jan. 13th Message-ID: <4972527A3C8B4ED8AA5A6D7ECBABC786@PeteRGateway> Don?t forget the POT LUCK LUNCH at the QTH of N8PR This is our Christmas party in January for the QCWA. Please bring a dish to share ? main course, sides, deserts. I will be cooking Chili and have soft drinks and some beer available. Yes, Tom I have Mich. Ultra... We will start about NOON and go until ??? See you Saturday, 73, PeteR N8PR 3710 NW 94th Avenue Cooper City, FL 954-632-9399 147.33/93 PL 103.5 From bmarx at bellsouth.net Tue Jan 9 18:22:27 2018 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2018 18:22:27 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Boat Anchor Receiver Tests In-Reply-To: <158D6A24-88B6-4869-A008-7A2B593516DD@bellsouth.net> References: <158D6A24-88B6-4869-A008-7A2B593516DD@bellsouth.net> Message-ID: <08430b5f-2aaf-45ed-4bfa-dc45bc3cf32e@bellsouth.net> For those who like to see comparison figures on older ham radios. Sherwood has a great list, but this has some new ones...err... new old ones. Bill W2CQ http://www.w1vd.com/BAreceivertest.html From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sat Jan 13 12:29:55 2018 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill M) Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2018 12:29:55 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Winter 2018 CW Classic Exchange References: Message-ID: [Drake List] Winter 2018 CW Classic Exchange > > The CW CX will run from 1300 UTC January 21 to 0800 UTC January 22, 2018 > (9 AM Eastern Time on Sunday to 3 AM Eastern Time Monday) > AND > from 1300 UTC January 23, to 0800 UTC January 24, 2018 > (9 AM Eastern Time on Tuesday to 3 AM Eastern Time Wednesday) > > Suggested Frequencies -- plus/minus QRM > Listen up and down 5 to 10 Kc for crystal controlled stations > CW 1.810 mc. 3.545 mc. 7.045 mc. 14.045 mc. 21.045 mc. 28.045 mc. 50.100 mc. 144.100 mc. > > The CX is a no-pressure contest celebrating the older commercial and homebrew equipment that was the pride and joy of ham shacks many decades ago. The object is > to encourage restoration, operation and enjoyment of this older Classic equipment. > > However, you need not operate a Classic rig to participate in the CX. YOU MAY USE ANY RIG in the contest although new gear is a distinct scoring disadvantage. > You can still work the "great ones" with modern equipment. > > BONUSES > Up to 2,000 point bonus will be awarded to every CX participant who operates the same model rig as their Novice station. > Three QSOs are required. > One receiver and one transmitter may be counted and are worth 1,000 points each. Multiple version of the same piece of gear will not increase the bonus. > > Up to 2,000 point bonus will be awarded to every CX participant who operates a transmitter with 4 tubes and/or less or a receiver with 6 tubes or less. > Three QSOs (each) are required. > > Awards will be given in two classes: 1. Three or fewer receiver-transmitter pairs 2. Four or more receiver-transmitter pairs. > > Send logs, comments, anecdotes, pictures, etc. to > > e-mail: Ron K2RP k2rp at arrl.net > > E-MAIL IS (REALLY) PREFERRED BUT NOT ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY > > Or by mail to: > K2RP > 659 Shanas Lane > Encinitas, CA 92024 > > Full details at: http://classicexchange.org/sep17/sep17ann.html > > Questions? email me! > > CU on the air for CX! > > 73, Howie WB2AWQ/7 > ______________________________________________________________ > Drake mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/drake > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Drake at mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html From bmarx at bellsouth.net Tue Jan 16 06:09:24 2018 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2018 06:09:24 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] ARRL - A Note to Members from ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR Message-ID: <30cb7b81-2e95-3d28-9736-df32d0aa67bf@bellsouth.net> A Note to Members from ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR 01/15/2018 In the last few weeks, the ARRL?s Board of Directors has been the subject of an organized misinformation campaign. It is being orchestrated by a group of hams, some of whom are well-intentioned but have been misled. This effort, which consists of a series of mischaracterizations, initially dealt with (1) the ARRL Board?s censure of an ARRL Director, and (2) some proposed revisions to ARRL?s */Articles of Association /* and */Bylaws /* that are likely to be considered at the upcoming ARRL Board meeting and which were circulated by a member of the Board. None of the proposed /Article/ and /Bylaw/ changes has yet been addressed by the Board of Directors. More recently, other equally erroneous and false statements have been made with respect to completely unrelated issues, in an effort to draw into question ARRL?s decision-making processes. The principal suggestion is that ARRL operates under some ?cloak of secrecy.? The criticism is unfair and undeserved. ARRL?s representative system of governance, which has worked exceptionally well in the advocacy and promotion of Amateur Radio and the interests of ARRL members for more than 100 years, is unchanged. And the legislative and other advocacy positions currently being pursued are critical to the long-term survivability of the Amateur Radio Service. The ARRL Board does seek thoughtful, informed input on policy issues concerning Amateur Radio from its roughly 150,000 members. ARRL?s governance structure provides that regionally elected, volunteer directors will represent the interests of the members in their respective Divisions, working collectively and collegially within our Board to make policy and to advocate their constituents? interests. ARRL?s Board members hold cabinet meetings and forums at hamfests and conventions, and they staff ARRL booths at hamfests and conventions in order to find out what interests and concerns you have as ARRL members. They take this feedback from you, and they come to Board meetings twice a year to make policy for the organization. They work together collegially to develop the best policy decisions. This structure presumes that the Board?s collective wisdom is far greater than that of any one Board member, and each Board member is obligated by our /Articles/ and /Bylaws/ to come to meetings with a good idea of what the members need and what is best for Amateur Radio as a whole. As is the case with most large, national non-profit associations, ARRL Board meetings are not open to the public. It has always been that way, as a matter of necessity. That is because, at all such meetings, confidential issues such as spectrum protection, employee compensation, financial information, and FCC submissions are candidly discussed, and the members? interests at those meetings are advocated by the Directors on a representative basis. Unfortunately, it was necessary for the Board to take the highly unusual action of publicly censuring one of its members recently. The Board heard the allegations made by an ARRL member of what transpired at an Amateur Radio event; it heard reports from other amateurs who were there, and it heard all the information that the Director involved chose to present. Everyone had a chance to speak and to evaluate the presentations. The Board, in an 11 to 3 vote with one abstention, took action to protect the organization?s integrity based on the information presented. This process and procedure are what nonprofit associations have to be prepared to employ, and do employ, to maintain order within their organizations and to ensure that the interests of the affected Director are protected as well. This is not a procedure that any nonprofit organization would conduct publicly. The ARRL */Policy on Board Governance and Conduct of Members of the Board of Directors and Vice Directors/* has been drawn into question, probably as the result of the fact that the Board?s censure decision was based upon aviolation of that policy by the Director involved. The Policy is intended to protect the democratic decision-making processes by which ARRL has operated effectively for so long, and to set forth principles to guide an organization?s decision making and the behavior of individual board members when acting on behalf of ARRL. When it was adopted by the Board a year ago, it was posted for ARRL members to read. The policy calls for honesty, integrity, transparency, confidentiality, and equity. The purpose of adopting such a statement formally is to provide employees, volunteers, and board members with guidelines for making ethical choices and to ensure that there is accountability for those choices. When board members of a nonprofit adopt a code of ethics, they are expressing their commitment to ethical behavior. It is intended to protect the Board?s deliberations and to protect the staff from inappropriate actions by Board members. It seeks to preclude precisely the type of selective disclosures and unilateral and subjective characterizations of proposed Board actions that have happened recently. There is nothing at all insidious about the policy, which is subject to regular review and modification, as are all other ARRL organizational documents. As to the criticism of the proposed /Articles/ and /Bylaws/ changes, the Board has not yet considered them. It may or may not adopt some or all of the changes recommended by its Executive Committee or by an individual Director. Any responsible Board of Directors regularly reviews, amends and updates its /Articles/ and /Bylaws/. And ARRL member input is welcome on all such subjects. Indeed, the recommended /Article/ /and Bylaw/ changes were not considered to be Board confidential. The problem, however, is that it is not fair to members, or to the representative Directors who have yet to evaluate them collectively, to have the proposals mischaracterized or misrepresented. ARRL Directors are volunteers. They are smart, dedicated radio amateurs who each devote thousands of hours per year of their own time to representing you as best they can. To those who try to suggest that the Board has abandoned its obligation to the members in favor of the organization ? you draw a distinction that doesn?t exist.?The Board absolutely understands that the members are the organization. The members of ARRL are always best served by an informed Board that works together to make policy that is in the best interests of the organization. The divisive tactics that are being used now, commenced through disinformation and a lack of candor, are harmful not only to the organization, but to Amateur Radio operators everywhere, the good work of the ARRL staff, and the Service that we love so much. *Rick Roderick, K5UR, President* *ARRL ? the national association for Amateur Radio* From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Jan 18 09:22:40 2018 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2018 09:22:40 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] REMARKS OF DON MILLER, AE6IY (EX-W9WNV)THE DX FORUM DAYTON HAMVENTION 2003, Message-ID: <8bcf6d44-53bb-8c78-4ecb-4a0acd02c839@bellsouth.net> I found this in deep my archives, and thought some of you who remember Don Miller, might enjoy reading the speech he made in 2003. Bill W2CQ DAYTON HAMVENTION 2003 THE DX FORUM REMARKS OF DON MILLER, AE6IY (EX-W9WNV) ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Good morning.? I think the first thing I should say up here is QRZ.? (Laughs.) ?? ??? ?But, I want to tell you just how grateful I feel and how blessed I feel to have so many hundreds of DXers, mainly, who have given me so much encouragement and so much support. ?? ??? ?I want to thank hundreds and hundreds of DXers who have supported me.? They're the most -- I think, of all the friendships in the world, those with DXers are the most enduring, at least I've found it that way, and the most forgiving, and the most loyal, and I am so grateful today to have so many friends, and I'm so thankful to be here to talk to you. ?? ??? ?I have a couple of thousand color slides all laid out.? I went through some of them.? I left them all at home because, basically, I just want to talk to you this morning.? And, I'll try to make it short. ?? ??? ?I'm going to talk about a couple of controversial things and get those out of the way.? I think I have somebody I need to apologize to.? And, then, I want to tell you just a little bit about some things about our DXpeditions that maybe you don't know, even you oldtimers. ?? ??? ?I had the pleasure of operating from 58 different countries, or DX entities, of which about 10 were quite common, such as Australia, Kenya and so on.? So, there were about 48 countries that were either brand new or extremely rare or scarce, I would say about three-quarters of? million QSL cards, not the computer variety. ?? ??? ?Of these operations, of the 48 or so, I believe seven of them were disqualified, and most of those should have been disqualified.? There's one I want to talk to you about that caused a great deal of controversy toward the end of the three-year expedition, and that is St. Peter and St. Paul's Rocks, which I operated along with a friend of mine -- it wasn't his fault -- where we weren't at the location. ?? ??? ?That always was -- that was a new country and everybody needed it, and while we were planning to be there, a young German ham showed up there for about an hour and worked, maybe, 50 or so DXers, most of them from a particular club, and I didn't think much about it at the time because I was in the process of obtaining a license from the Brazilian government to operate there. ?? ??? ?And, when I did, I found out that we were the first station that was licensed to operate from there, that the first one truly wasn't licensed, and may not actually have been there. So, when it came to where we couldn't find any ship to take us there, we found five or six very seaworthy vessels but it was a very difficult landing and none of the captains, nobody, would take us there. ?? ??? ?I figured, in my warped reasoning at the time, that, "Well, if the League was going to count an operation which it knew was not licensed and may not have been there, certainly it would give me the chance to give everybody else in the DX fraternity a chance to talk to the same place with a DXpedition that wasn't there also, but which was at least licensed. ?? ??? ?So, that's what turned out to be the biggest controversy. It infuriated some people and caused a lot of political doings and so on. ?? ??? ?Now, the one operation that should not have been disqualified, which was a hundred percent legitimate, was one of the most difficult, and that was Navassa Island, which virtually everybody needed as well. ?? ??? ?There were hostilities in the area, there was some trouble with Cuba at the time, and I had heard that somebody in the Air Force or the Navy didn't want anybody on the island.? But, when I checked, I found that it was more or less -- their attitude was, "Well, you go there at your own risk," which is the case with many of the places that we visited on the expedition. ?? ??? ?So, I planned to go there.? And, on the way there, we stopped at the Coast Guard station and stayed overnight in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on the south coast, and they gave us a clearance, an official port clearance, to go there. ?? ??? ?So, it was a very difficult operation.? We had to climb up -- there may be some here that went on subsequent expeditions there.? But, we had to climb up some very steep cliffs.? There was a ladder to help us part of the way. ?? ??? ?We had to use a pulley, a makeshift rope, to bring the equipment up on the rock piece by piece, and we had a small, 16-foot, fishing boat, which had to be careful not to be dashed on the rocks below, due to the enormous swell.? It was scorching hot.? We had a limited amount of water that had to be rationed. ?? ??? ?And, there were some fighter planes that came over from time to time from, probably, Cuba, but didn't bother us other than that. ?? ??? ?It was a difficult, hard-fought, DXpedition, and we took great pains, as with all of them, to try to work everybody, and it was very difficult to work JAs from there because it was a strictly north polar route and the propagation wasn't good.? But, we did.? And, we were very happy. ?? ??? ?And, then, it was disqualified, allegedly because the Coast Guard didn't want us there, or the Navy didn't want us there.? But, I have never been able to find any regulation, or ordinance, or law that prohibited it.? So, I'm going to ask the League if it would reconsider that one place, because it was so difficult and so hard-fought and a hundred percent legitimate. ?? ??? ?We painted our callsigns all over the rocks and there was no question about being licensed or about being there.? I just wanted to get that off my chest. ?? ??? ?One good thing about the controversy that occurred is that the League made some changes and DXCC is extremely fair, extremely well organized now, and there were some really wonderful changes made. ?? ??? ?Our expedition, we conducted it and it cost us $30 a day, total.? That includes the ship, the fuel, the food, the equipment, everything.? And, when my money ran out, Ack, W4ECI, who had helped to sponsor Gus, prior to me, pitched in, and when that ran out a lot of you DXers would send checks with your QSL cards. And, we made an effort to send a direct QSL card from the island, or from the next place where there was a post office, to anybody who had done that for us.? We did QSL a hundred percent. ?? ??? ?We were lucky, somedays, to make 50 miles, depending on the wind and the current.? If you can imagine that you need at least a gallon or two of water, per day, per person, and you have three people on a little, 30-foot, boat, and you're going to be gone for 60 days, and you figure out the weight at eight pounds per gallon, and add that to the weight of the generators, and the equipment, and the antennas, and the food and a little bit of clothing, and a 55-gallon drum of petrol, you wind up with three to four times what the capacity, the cargo capacity, of a little ship like that is. ?? ??? ?So, it was quite dangerous.? And, as you probably know, we lost our ship in 1966, in the Pacific, in a tropical cyclone, in a hurricane.? My best friend, Chuck, who organized the expedition with me, another ham, Ted Thorpe, from New Zealand, who was in radio and television down there, a Fijian lad who was the mate on ship, and a doctor who was not a ham but owned the boat, and his wife, who was pregnant, and she was a former Miss Hawaii, they perished. ?? ??? ?They were on Wallis Island.? I was in North and South America talking at some DX clubs, trying to raise some funds so that the expedition could continue.? And, I heard that they never made it back, and then I heard about the hurricane.? We searched. ?? ??? ?As you probably know, any place in the world that a vessel, a plane, or a ship is lost, there is some country that's responsible for searching in that area.? And, in this area, it was New Zealand, and New Zealand sent a great, big, flying boat.? And, my friends at Hickham -- I'm formerly from the Air Force -- Hickham Air Force Base -- sent, also, a search and rescue team, and we searched for about five days, oh, every square inch of sea that you can imagine.? We had volunteers on the search team.? And, we didn't find anything. ?? ??? ?I went down to Wellington, New Zealand and talked to Ted's wife, Colleen Thorpe, and we managed to get the New Zealand authorities to make a second search, because in calculating the drift rates, we thought that they may have washed ashore somewhere, and we searched a different area.? And, we found one piece of the hull of our ship -- and I know it was our ship because of the color and the canvas and so on -- and that's all we ever found. ?? ??? ?So, I had visited the families of those involved.? That was about it.? But, the DXers seemed to want to continue, and I know that Ted and Chuck would have wanted to.? So, I met up with a fellow named Jack Astley who had a 30-foot trimaran, and we spent the next year or so going to the remaining places that we had wanted to go to begin with. ?? ??? ?I'm proud that during that time we did accomplish something.? First of all -- and, I say "we" because I wasn't the only operator at time; there were others -- and, we wrote the first DX handbook that came out.? We set records in contests.? I think we held them from four continents at the same time. ?? ??? ?I think we set some operating standards which didn't exist before that, such as one contact per band per mode.? I handled the pileups myself.? We didn't leave until we had just about everybody worked who was calling us.? Sometimes it took longer than others. At least we tried to.? We QSLed everybody, tried to be on the air during the contests, which always caused quite a stir.? So, there are some things I'm proud of. ?? ??? ?But, there are some things I'm not so proud of as well. So, first of all, I'd like to apologize to anybody that was disillusioned or upset that -- especially about the PY0 operation.? I've told you the reason for it.? I don't think anything justified it, but that's what happened.? It's in the past. ?? ??? ?And, there's another group of DXers I'd also like to apologize to, and I hope there are at least some here today. During the course of the operation, sometimes you're the only person there.? Our expedition wasn't like some of these that you saw.? Very often, I would be the only person on the island or there would be one or two helping me.? The landings were difficult.? We had been at sea, sometimes, for a long time, and I reached the island, sometimes, really exhausted. ?? ??? ?Sometimes the island was very difficult to find.? We had a sextant, we had WWV, and we had a chart, and that's how we found the island.? There was no navigational system. ?? ??? ?But, on reaching the island, I had to set up the antennas by myself, usually the tent, the generators, get the fuel ashore, and usually, if everything was working or when everything was working, I was too excited, as tired as I was, to just turn it off and get a few hours' rest.? So, it was usually a nonstop type of thing for several days, with maybe a couple hours of sleep here and there.? So, I was in kind of an irritable frame of mind. ?? ??? ?And, when some people would call me for the second or third time on a band, I'd scold 'em.? And, finally, I started forming this list of DXers, or people that I wouldn't work.? It wasn't on paper; it was just up here in my head.? And, the list grew, and I know there are hams on there that did absolutely nothing wrong, it's just my fault, and I wouldn't work 'em. ?? ??? ?And, I didn't realize at the time -- I didn't stop and think -- you know, there was a time when I was back here trying to work DX, and what it would do to somebody who needed a country, on top of the list.? And nobody, I think, should put themselves in that position to judge or to exercise that kind of power, so I think it was wrong.? And, I've apologized to a few people involved. ?? ??? ?But, here today, one of the things I wanted to do is offer a heartfelt, deep, apology to anybody whom I frustrated and angered by my conduct at the time, because I think it was completely wrong.? And, there are a couple of oldtimers, unfortunately, who passed away here recently, whom I wanted to personally apologize to.? So, if you can accept my apology, I'm very grateful for that, and if not I understand.? And, if you're here, I'd like to talk to you afterwards or sometime in the future. ?? ??? ?Now, DX has been, and ham radio has been, wonderful to me.? I first got involved in the fifties.? I was awed at the thought of -- and, that was during the Cold War -- talking to Russian amateurs, talking to those behind the Iron Curtain, even just to exchange a name or a callsign.? And, in my travels during the three years of the DXpedition, I met the most wonderful people, and all through my ordeal the last 20 years, many of them have supported me, come and visited me, and encouraged me, none more so than a group of Japanese amateurs whom I originally met when I started out in Korea as HL9KH, the first of the 58 or so foreign callsigns, back in 1960. ?? ??? ?I used to go over to Japan, I met some Japanese DXers, and any place I would go -- in those days, most of the Japanese DXers were running 25 watts and a dipole.? The technology wasn't what it is today and it wasn't available. ?? ??? ?So, in certain places of the world, it was very difficult for them to communicate, due to the paths, the communications paths, propagation paths.? So, I made an effort to work all the JAs I could and we've remained friends, and during the last couple of years a group of them, literally, came to my rescue, and helped me spiritually, economically, and in every way possible.? So, I want to thank that group of hams, in particular. ?? ??? ?There's one here that's representative of the group that I would like to stand up, and if you would just give him an acknowledgement.? His name is Izumi Soma.? He is now KH6JA. Soma-san, if you're here, would you just raise your hand or stand up, so people can see who you are? ?? ??? ?(Applause.) ?? ??? ?MILLER:? I think this is typical of DXers, and I've just run into, probably, a couple hundred of you here in the last day or two and, I'm telling you, I'm so grateful that you feel the way you do.? And, one of the reasons for that is that I had planned to leave on another expedition this fall.? I'm not able to.? But, I will.? It may be a year.? I've got a very, very excellent ship, one that'll make four times the speed of anything I've been on before, at my disposal.? It has, also, twin diesels that will give it another 1,500 or 1,600 or maybe 1,800 miles range, if needed. I've got a pledge of some equipment and some funding. ?? ??? ?And, there is one new country out there.? There is one. And, what's coming up in the horizon politically, there may be one or two more. ?? ??? ?And, people have asked me, when I've said this over the last few years, "Well, where is it?"? And, I haven't said anything, but I met somebody here yesterday who knows about it as well. ?? ??? ?So, I listened to Wayne Mills speak earlier, and I listened to him mention that there are still revisions going on in DXCC.? And, I would like to recommend just one revision.? If somebody goes to a place and operates and it qualifies as a new country in all ways, and the League committee looks at it and approves it, it should count.? You shouldn't have to get it qualified first, because I think that creates a little mischief. And, I've seen a couple of instances here in the last year when there's actually been some rather cutthroat competition to get somewhere first, and the one with the most money and the most facilities seem to prevail. ?? ??? ?I think that, if a person goes somewhere and if it's not on the list, he goes at his own risk, or her own risk, as the case may be.? And, that's the way it should be.? If it turns out to be a country, it should be validated on the basis of whether it qualifies, not when the person was there.? So, I hope the DXCC committee looks at that and just lets people know that if they go and it's not on the list, that they're going at their own risk. ?? ??? ?And, if I go somewhere and if it's not on the list, I just think you'd better work it. ?? ??? ?(Laughter.) ?? ??? ?MILLER:? I want to thank you all.? I don't want to take a lot of time.? I have a lot of stories I could tell you.? I'm organizing my slides.? I hope to get around to some of the clubs and show them.? And, I want to leave the rest of the time for any questions and answers that you have.? I know you've had a lot of questions for me when I've met you in the hallways.? I want to thank you again for being such good friends, being so kind and so supportive and so forgiving. ?? ??? ?The DXers are the greatest guys in the world and I just want to say thank you and answer any questions you might have, with whatever time we may have left on the program, if you have any questions at all. ?? ??? ?(Applause.) ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Any questions at all?? Okay.? Oh, we have one up here. ?? ??? ?QUESTION:? I was a teenager when I think I worked you on a location called Minerva Reef.? I don't know if there's anything more you can say about it, but I'm curious if you have any recollections of Minerva Reef. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Yes, Minerva Reef is one of those countries that did not count.? But, it's not true that the reef is completely underwater.? There are times when, certain times when, it surfaces.? And, we went there.? But, we couldn't find it.? So, that card is no good and it shouldn't be any good. ?? ??? ?You say you were a teenager at the time? ?? ??? ?QUESTION:? Yes. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Okay.? All right. ?? ??? ?QUESTION:? Do you still have the logs? ?? ??? ?MILLER:? The question is about the logs.? There is one place where there may be a majority of the logs and I haven't been able to reach this person yet.? He's passed away and I'm trying to locate some family.? But, the majority of the logs were in one place. ?? ??? ?What I did, before I left, I designed a new form of log, which in its time was quite unique.? It was on NCR paper and we would -- to preserve the logs, we would distribute them in a certain way in case one set got lost.? We didn't have the type of communications we have now.? So, one complete set ought to still be somewhere around St. Louis, Missouri, and I'm trying to locate them.? And, if we can, and if there's somebody that still needs a QSL card, we'll try to accommodate you.? All right? ?? ??? ?Are there any other questions? ?? ??? ?Okay, guys, it's time for lunch.? Thank you so much. Happy DXing. ?? ??? ?(Applause.) ?? ??? ?(Pause.) [While taking my microphone off the podium, I realized there was a large crowd of DXers gathered around Don, so I grabbed my microphone and got in there with it "just like a real reporter." I had missed a little bit of the after-presentation talking, but most of it was just informal well-wishing, "Welcome back," that sort of thing I believe.? I did get a little bit of it to give you the flavor.? I was especially pleased to see OH2BH waiting in the crowd for a word with Don and I made sure to keep the tape rolling for that!? Though they had met before, it was a special moment when one of the top DXpeditioners of his day again met the top DXpeditioner of today.? Those talking to Don fell into several categories:? well-wishers who had worked him "back when," well-wishers who got into DXing after Don's DXpedition career ended (until now), and those wanting Don to speak to their DX club -- and with interest in his future operations.? Here is a bit of it.] ?? ?*** ?? ??? ?K8MG:? I never got a chance to work you, but I heard a lot about you and enjoyed your presentation. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Well, we hope to work you in the future. ?? ??? ?K9IR:? K9IR, Paula. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Were you active back in those days? ?? ??? ?K9IR:? Unfortunately, I wasn't.? I wish I was.? I'd love to invite you back to join the rest of us in the Midwest for W9DXCC. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? I still have a reel-to-reel tape I prepared in Korea with all the W9s that I arranged in order of signal strength. ?? ??? ?K9IR:? Well, that's wonderful. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Then I sent a copy back to our club meeting one time, but I have another copy. ?? ??? ?K9IR:? Can we get you to come out to talk with us in September? ?? ??? ?MILLER:? In September, I don't know. ?? ??? ?K9IR:? W9DXCC, "your convention," from what I'm told. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Oh, just remind me, just remind me, I'll try. ?? ??? ?K9IR:? What's the best way to get hold of you? ?? ??? ?MILLER:? E-mail. ?? ??? ?K9IR:? Okay, let me give you my card.? What I'll do is this:? We put together a history for the 50th, last year. ?? ??? ?KE3Q:? Don, you know Martti Laine, don't you? ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Marty who? ?? ??? ?(Laughter.) ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Yes, I want to introduce him to DXpeditions. ?? ??? ?MAN:? You're the only man in the world who can get away with that one! ?? ??? ?KE3Q:? Are you going to show him how it's done? ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Oh, he knows how it's done. ?? ??? ?K9IR:? But, I'll send you the history that we did last year.? Hopefully, that'll help entice you to come out and see us. We'd love to see you. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? I'll try.? That's all I can tell you. ?? ??? ?K9IR:? All right.? I appreciate it.? Thanks again.? Good meeting you. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Yes, nice meeting you too.? Are you in Chicago or a suburb? ?? ??? ?K9IR:? Yes, in the Chicago area. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? I'm going to be there Sunday for a couple days, with my son. ?? ??? ?K9IR:? Oh, whereabouts? ?? ??? ?MILLER:? I don't know.? We're staying on the northside. Around Diversey.? Maybe two or three days. ?? ??? ?Martti? ?? ??? ?OH2BH:? This had to be done, Don, this speech.? You did it very well. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Oh, you think it was all right? ?? ??? ?OH2BH:? You haven't lost anything during these years. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Oh, you're a good man. ?? ??? ?OH2BH:? And, I'd like to remember the meeting that we had 10 years ago. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Oh, that was wonderful.? I enjoyed meeting your son, too. ?? ??? ?OH2BH:? Yes.? Petri was 10 years old and we had a wonderful day in San Luis Obispo and I thank you very much. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Yes, it was like a breath of fresh air. ?? ??? ?OH2BH:? I felt so sorry for you because, on that day, you said that I was the first out of state visitor for so many years to come to see you. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Yes, you were, you were. ?? ??? ?OH2BH:? So, there were so many of these people who should have kept in contact with you. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Well, they did, in their own way, many of them, and then especially -- a few before that time, but many after that time. ?? ??? ?OH2BH:? Well, thanks.? Welcome back. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Well, we'll be talking, because I need to talk to you for some advice.? All right? ?? ??? ?OH2BH:? Advice!? ?? ??? ?MILLER:? I need advice. ?? ??? ?KE3Q:? On that new country you've found? ?? ??? ?MILLER:? No, not that! ?? ??? ?(Laughter.) ?? ??? ?MILLER:? I need some help. ?? ??? ?W6OSP:? Bruce, W6OSP, up in Napa.? And, I'm the Treasurer of the Northern California DX Foundation. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Oh!? That's great! ?? ??? ?W6OSP:? My e-mail address is on there. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Okay, I was going to try to make the Northern and Southern [Visalia] but I wasn't able to make it this year. ?? ??? ?W6OSP:? Well, if you find out that you're going to be up our way, let me know. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Well, thank you very much. ?? ??? ?W6OSP:? You're welcome. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? All right, Bruce.? Is Dave still around, W6WX? ?? ??? ?W6OSP:? Yes, he is.? He is.? Good seeing you. ?? ??? ?MAN:? Would you autograph some cards for me? ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Sure. ?? ??? ?MAN:? Why didn't you take your old call? ?? ??? ?MILLER:? W9VNE has it.? It's now called the Don Miller Club or something, and they promised it back to me. ?? ??? ?KE3Q:? Do you want it back, when you can arrange it? ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Yes, sir!? But, it's in good hands. ?? ??? ?MAN:? It was a pleasure to work you 35 years ago. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? I enjoyed it myself. ?? ??? ?MAN:? I want to say it's an honor to finally meet you, sir. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? Oh, did we work in the old days? ?? ??? ?MAN:? No, I was a novice in 1972. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? But, you're a DXer now? ?? ??? ?MAN:? I try to be. ?? ??? ?MILLER:? That's great.? Maybe we'll have a chance to talk. ?? ??? ?MAN:? I look forward to it. ?? ?END From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Jan 18 11:29:52 2018 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2018 11:29:52 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, to Retire In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <84ba5247-2ea4-097b-a324-a7b167ea44da@bellsouth.net> ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, to Retire Is there a 2 year Golden Parachute? From bmarx at bellsouth.net Thu Jan 18 11:12:22 2018 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2018 11:12:22 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, to Retire Message-ID: ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, to Retire 01/18/2018 ARRL?s chief executive officer for the past 2 years, Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, announced his retirement as CEO, as the ARRL Board of Directors prepares to meet January 19-20. He will step down on March 2. Gallagher, who had earlier advised ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, of his intention to resign, expressed his gratitude to Roderick and the ARRL Board for giving him the opportunity to help guide the organization. ?It has been my great privilege to serve in this capacity for 2 years, and I am deeply grateful to the Board and President Rick Roderick, K5UR, for their support and encouragement,? Gallagher said. President Roderick expressed appreciation for Gallagher?s contributions to ARRL. ?The ARRL is in a transition to a new generation for Amateur Radio. Change doesn?t come easy,? Roderick said. ?Tom helped us in taking that step forward, and for that we are very grateful for his service to the League and to Amateur Radio,? he said. Gallagher, 69, cited recent changes included in the new federal tax law that made it unattractive for him to continue working in Connecticut, where ARRL is headquartered. The Board will evaluate and determine the next steps to take in a search for his replacement when it meets this week. Among Gallagher?s chief accomplishments during his tenure as CEO were creating an enhanced level of professionalism and efficiency in the organization that represents more than 150,000 US Amateur Radio operators. Gallagher also oversaw a significant turnaround in the organization?s financial performance. Licensed in Pennsylvania in 1966 as WA3GRF (later N4GRF in North Carolina), Gallagher is a member of the West Palm Beach Amateur Radio Group. He has described himself as ?an incurable HF DXer and inveterate tinkerer? and credits his first visit to the Franklin Institute?s Amateur Radio station W3TKQ in 1963 for inspiring his interest in ham radio. Amateur Radio led to an early career in broadcasting. He was a cameraman and technician with WGBH-TV in Boston, the CBS Television Network, and Metromedia?s WIP Radio in Philadelphia. Gallagher joined ARRL following 3 decades as an international investment banker and financial services executive. His career has included senior leadership positions with JP Morgan Chase & Co and CIBC Oppenheimer & Co in New York, and with Wachovia Capital Markets in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has also served as an adjunct professor at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and as CEO of the Secondary School Admission Test Board in Princeton, New Jersey. He has served on boards, both public and non-profit, including two NYSE companies; the NPR affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina; the Executive Board of The PENN Fund at the University of Pennsylvania, and The International Center of Photography. From bmarx at bellsouth.net Sat Jan 27 07:33:05 2018 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2018 07:33:05 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Sherwood has updated the Receiver Comparison Message-ID: <94ef00b7-0dbe-9bb4-7341-0aca4cbd6180@bellsouth.net> Sherwood has updated the Receiver Comparison list to include the IC-7610 and others. http://www.sherweng.com/table.html From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Jan 31 08:57:56 2018 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2018 08:57:56 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] ARLP004 Propagation de K7RA Message-ID: <6c914328-12a4-e5cd-2810-3a5d95d9218d@bellsouth.net> SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP004 ARLP004 Propagation de K7RA ZCZC AP04 QST de W1AW Propagation Forecast Bulletin 4 ARLP004 >From Tad Cook, K7RA Seattle, WA January 26, 2018 To all radio amateurs SB PROP ARL ARLP004 ARLP004 Propagation de K7RA Low solar activity continued over the past reporting week (January 18-24) with zero sunspots visible after January 19. Average daily sunspot number changed from 7 over the previous seven days to 3.3 this week. Average daily solar flux was down slightly from 70.7 to 70. Geomagnetic indicators were also quiet. Predicted solar flux is 70 on January 26 through February 16, 68 on February 17, 69 on February 18-19, 68 on February 20-26, and 70 on February 27 through March 11. Predicted planetary A index is 8 on January 26-27, then 5, 8, 10 and 8 on January 28-31, 5 on February 1-3, 8 on February 4-5, 5 on February 6-8, then 8, 12 and 8 on February 9-11, 5 on February 12-14, then 8, 12, 8, 10, 10 and 8 on February 15-20, 5 on February 21-23, 10 on February 24, 5 on February 25 through March 2, 8 on March 3-4, 5 on March 5-7, then 8, 12, 8 and 5 on March 8-11. The OK1HH Geomagnetic activity forecast for the period January 26 to February 21, 2018. "Geomagnetic field will be: Quiet on January 31, February 3, 6-8, 13-14 Mostly quiet on February 2, 9, 15, 19 Quiet to unsettled on January 26-27, 30, February 1, 12 Quiet to active on January 28-29, February 4-5, 11, 16-18, 20 Active to disturbed on February 10, 21 "Amplifications of the solar wind from coronal holes are expected on January 28-31, February 5-6, (7, 9,) 10-12, 16-18 "Remark: - Parenthesis means lower probability of activity enhancement. - Current forecasts are continuing to be less reliable. "F. K. Janda, OK1HH Czech Propagation Interest Group Compiling this geomagnetic activity weekly forecasts since 1978." Here is a graph of mode usage during 2017 compiled by ClubLog.org: http://bit.ly/2DCPw2e https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ2CpsQUNEofeature=em-subsdigest 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 numbers used in this bulletin, see http://arrl.org/the-sun-the-earth-the-ionosphere. An archive of past propagation bulletins is at http://arrl.org/w1aw-bulletins-archive-propagation. More good information and tutorials on propagation are at http://k9la.us/. Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve overseas locations are at http://arrl.org/propagation. Instructions for starting or ending email distribution of ARRL bulletins are at http://arrl.org/bulletins. Sunspot numbers for January 18-24, 2018 were 12, 11, 0, 0, 0, 0, and 0, with a mean of 3.3. 10.7 cm flux was 71.1, 70.8, 69.6, 68.3, 70.1, 70.5, and 69.9, with a mean of 70. Estimated planetary A indices were 2, 8, 8, 10, 12, 4, and 9, with a mean of 7.6. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 1, 6, 5, 8, 8, 3, and 6, with a mean of 5.3. NNNN /EX From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Jan 31 09:11:58 2018 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2018 09:11:58 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Dayton: We are in the process of solving the mud issue in the Flea Market area Message-ID: *From As The World Turns - Anticipated New Building Won?t Be Ready for Hamvention 2018, but Flea Market Could Expand* Due to circumstances beyond their control, Hamvention? 2018 organizers reluctantly are walking back an earlier announcement that a new building would be available for this year?s event at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia, Ohio. ?Despite all of the best efforts and intentions by Greene County, the Greene County Agricultural Society, and Hamvention, we have learned the anticipated new building will not be constructed in time for Hamvention 2018,? Hamvention General Chair Ron Cramer, KD8ENJ, said. ?The prefab sections bid on and architecturally required are currently backlogged. We expect construction to be delayed until after our show and the Greene County Fair.? Cramer said construction should be completed this year in time for Hamvention 2019. ?We regret this; however it is well out of our control,? Cramer said. On the plus side, he continued, Hamvention 2018 will have more room for inside exhibits, with the addition of the vacated Furniture Building, and the Flea Market may gain new space as well. ?After consultation with professionals, we are in the process of solving the mud issue in the Flea Market area,? Cramer said. ?We anticipate work to start as soon as weather allows. We are rearranging the soccer field parking to eliminate use of the low areas where we had problems last year.? A revised exit plan and additional off-site parking also are in the works, along with easy-to-use maps to help visitors to navigate. Parking and shuttles will be free. Talk-in also has new equipment and a taller tower to extend its reach. ?There are many new ideas we are working on to make your stay with us more enjoyable,? Cramer added. ?Keep watching our website for updates.? ? Thanks to Hamvention General Chair Ron Cramer KD8ENJ http://myrockport.com/ From bmarx at bellsouth.net Wed Jan 31 08:27:45 2018 From: bmarx at bellsouth.net (Bill) Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2018 08:27:45 -0500 Subject: [QCWA Everglades Chapter #69] Bouvet Group Has Arrived! Message-ID: <72079261-07ef-f1f5-a24c-03f04c4e96d4@bellsouth.net> My emails seem stuck somewhere: They are there, but say they are QRX. Signals have been reported but may be Pirates. WFWL...I am sure the bands will explode when they have begun operations fully. Bill W2CQ