[South Florida DX Association] The ARRL Letter, Vol 24, No 36

Sun Sep 18 13:07:38 EDT 2005

***************
> The ARRL Letter
> Vol. 24, No. 36
> September 16, 2005
> ***************
>
> IN THIS EDITION:
>
> * +ARRL President's testimony attests to Amateur Radio's value in
disasters
> * +Hams, donated radio equipment making a difference in Katrina response
> * +Astronaut hopefuls speak with ISS via ham radio
> * +"Ham Aid" reimbursement procedure for volunteers detailed
> * +Question Pool Committee shifts schedule
> *  Emergency Power Operating Event is September 17
> * +Hugh A. Cassidy, WA6AUD, SK
> * +Solar Update
> *  IN BRIEF:
>      This weekend on the radio
>      ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration
>      Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course registration
>      Correction
>     +ARRL graphic designers win national award
>      ESA announces SSETI Express telemetry download competition
>
> +Available on ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>
>
> ===========================================================
> ==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!):
> letter-dlvy at arrl.org
> ==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl at arrl.org
> ===========================================================
>
> ==>ARRL PRESIDENT SUBMITS CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY ON HAMS' KATRINA
RESPONSE
>
> ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, has provided written testimony on
Amateur
> Radio's response in the Hurricane Katrina disaster to the US House
> Government Reform Committee. Haynie submitted the testimony to the
> congressional panel September 15 "on the successful efforts of Amateur
Radio
> operators providing communications for first responders, disaster relief
> agencies and countless individuals in connection with the Hurricane
Katrina
> relief effort" on behalf of the League.
>
> "As has been proven consistently and repeatedly in the past, when
> communications systems fail due to a wide-area or localized natural
> disaster, Amateur Radio works, right away, all the time," Haynie's
statement
> said. "This report is not, therefore, a statement of concern about what
must
> be changed or improved. It is, rather, a report on what is going right,
and
> what works, in emergency communications in the Gulf Coast and what can be
> depended on to work the next time there is a natural disaster, and the
times
> after that."
>
> The congressional committee, chaired by Virginia Republican Tom Davis, is
> holding hearings on the Hurricane Katrina response. Haynie told the panel
> that upward of 1000 Amateur Radio volunteers were or have been serving in
> the stricken area to provide communication for served agencies such as the
> American Red Cross and The Salvation Army and to facilitate
interoperability
> among agencies.
>
> "Trained volunteer Amateur Radio operators are also providing
> health-and-welfare communications from within the affected area to the
rest
> of the United States and the world," Haynie said. "In the past week, the
> Coast Guard, the Red Cross, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency
all
> put out calls for volunteer Amateur Radio operators to provide
> communications, because phone lines and cell sites were inoperative, and
> public safety communications facilities were overwhelmed due to loss of
> repeater towers and the large number of first responders in the area."
>
> Haynie pointed out that the main reason Amateur Radio works when other
> communication systems fail during natural disasters is that it's not
> infrastructure-dependent and is decentralized. "Amateurs are trained in
> emergency communications. They are disciplined operators, and their
stations
> are, in general, portable and reliable," he told the panel.
>
> The ARRL President also put in a good word for the FCC's Enforcement
Bureau
> for what he called "its efficient and successful efforts" during the
> hurricane response in monitoring HF nets to minimize incidents of
> interference.
>
> "The Committee should be aware that this vast volunteer resource is always
> at the disposal of the federal government," Haynie concluded. "The United
> States absolutely can rely on the Amateur Radio Service. Amateur Radio
> provides immediate, high-quality communications that work every time, when
> all else fails."
>
> Haynie's complete testimony is available on the ARRL Web site
> <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/09/15/100/#statement>
>
> ==>AMATEUR RADIO EARNING PRAISE, RESPECT IN HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF
>
> Amateur Radio is continuing to earn praise and respect as the Hurricane
> Katrina relief effort moves forward. Donated Amateur Radio equipment and
> supplies arriving at the American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina relief
staging
> area in Montgomery, Alabama, have been turned around as quickly as
possible
> to accompany volunteers into the field. A team headed by Alabama ARRL
> Section Manager Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, now has been on duty for some three
> weeks, overseeing Amateur Radio volunteer intake and registration and
trying
> to satisfy the ever-changing requirements of the Red Cross and other
served
> agencies.
>
> "The American Red Cross and other served agencies are very thankful and
> appreciative that we are helping them out," Sarratt said this week. "I
have
> talked with several ARC folks who said they could not operate without us!"
>
> ARES and MARS member Matt Hackman, KB1FUP, was among a Rhode Island
> contingent processed through the Montgomery marshaling center. The New
> England volunteers were able to take advantage of the newly donated
handheld
> transceivers, HF transceivers and antennas for use in and around Ocean
> Springs, Mississippi. Hackman said Red Cross personnel were using VHF
> simplex to keep in contact with each shelter.
>
> "We still have no potable public water and no land-line telephones,"
Hackman
> said this week, adding that cell phone service was intermittent. "I hope I
> am helping in some small way," he went on to say. "People further west
still
> have no power, no water--even for flushing toilets--and the emergency
> workers are in tents with no washing facilities, living on MREs. I have it
> good."
>
> Sarratt said his staging area has been slowing down the pipeline of
> available Amateur Radio volunteers because the need for operators is
> decreasing. He reports the Montgomery marshaling center has registered
more
> than 100 Amateur Radio volunteers. Those still in the pipeline will
replace
> operators already on the ground in affected areas when they rotate out, he
> said. Sarratt rescinded an urgent call for operators put out over the
> September 10-11 weekend.
>
> The best estimate is that some 1000 Amateur Radio volunteers have helped
out
> or are still serving in hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast communities and at
> evacuee centers there and in other states. While prospective volunteers
have
> been told to stand by for now, that situation could change as restricted
> areas are reopened and as replacement operators are needed.
>
> Amateur Radio has been the primary means of contact with the outside world
> for shelters that still lack reliable communication. An HF station at the
> Montgomery Red Cross staging area, N4AP, has been frequenting 3.965 and
> 7.280 MHz to keep in touch with other Red Cross shelters and kitchens
> throughout the region.
>
> "We have deployed many great Amateur Radio operators to the field,"
Sarratt
> remarked. "Guys have traveled from all over the USA on their own dime to
do
> the right thing and help others. I'm very proud of them." Sarratt said
> several "shining stars" in the field have made the volunteer effort work
> well and "kept Amateur Radio looking great."
>
> ARRL Louisiana Acting Section Emergency Coordinator Al Oubre, K5DPG,
reports
> that telephone and cell service around the state is slowly being restored,
> and Louisiana does not need additional help at this time. A Red Cross
> marshaling center remains open in Covington. Oubre said when St Bernard
and
> Jefferson parishes dry out sufficiently, the Red Cross will then be able
to
> move into that area and set up support services. At that point, he
> anticipates that more Amateur Radio volunteers may be needed.
>
> Radio amateurs from Florida have been helping at the temporary Hancock
> County, Mississippi, emergency operations center at Stennis Airport. The
> county lost its EOC in the hurricane. Randy Pierce, AG4UU, said radio
> amateurs are serving as communicators and dispatchers for all the services
> at the EOC--including the fire department and emergency medical services.
> County officials and agencies have been very complimentary about Amateur
> Radio, he said.
>
> South Texas Section Emergency Coordinator Jerry Reimer, KK5CA, reports
> Amateur Radio is continuing to support sheltering operations at the
Houston
> Astrodome, but other shelters in Houston have closed or been consolidated.
>
> In Rains County, Texas, some 60 miles east of Dallas, ARES/RACES member
T.W.
> Ivey, K5IJT, reported his team has been keeping in contact with the county
> EOC via VHF repeater.
>
> In Tullahoma, Tennessee, Jimmy Floyd, NQ4U, has been among a group of
> operators helping to staff a communications/command center for an
operation
> housing 170 evacuees. "We have also been active in communicating with
other
> shelters on HF and attempting to locate family and friends of the
evacuees,"
> Floyd said.
>
> Amateur Radio operators concluded a shelter support operation at
Oklahoma's
> Camp Gruber. "We were the communications backbone between responding
> agencies," said Mark Conklin, N7XYO. "We also passed tons of traffic,
> ranging from requests for water and food, supplies and bedding. In fact,
> Amateur Radio was the 911 system on Camp Gruber for many days."
>
> Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) Liaison Officer Jeff
> Schneller, N2HPO, says TSA canteens are holding with their present
> complement of ham radio volunteers and may not rotate them out of service.
> "As operators need to leave, we may just scale down," he told ARRL. "We
> thank all those who are assisting and were willing to assist." He also
> thanked the American Red Cross for referring radio operators to SATERN.
>
> SATERN volunteers Steve Hicks, N5AC, and John Beadles, N5OOM, are
supporting
> a canteen operation in Waveland. "We drove up and down several streets,
and
> everyone we talked to said they had not had a hot meal in a while," Hicks
> said in a PACTOR dispatch to Schneller. Hicks said they continue to ask
> about H&W traffic, "but based on what we have seen, I think it unlikely
that
> we will have any traffic to run."
>
> SATERN has continued monitoring 7.288 MHz and 3.965 MHz each half hour
> throughout the day and evening. In addition, the SATERN Net activates
daily
> at 1400 UTC on 14.265 MHz.
>
> Jim Aylward, KC8PD, just returned to Ohio this week from volunteering in
> Ocean Springs, Mississippi. "Even though we all prepare for events we hope
> never occur, the hams I worked with from all over the country demonstrated
> that 'When all else fails, Amateur Radio is there' is a lot more than a
> slogan," he said. "It was the reality for thousands of people who needed
> effective emergency communication. When my shelter manager, who had never
> worked with hams before, told me that I had been a godsend, I was moved."
>
> ==>YOUNG JAPANESE ASTRONAUT HOPEFULS DISCUSS ET, OTHER TOPICS
>
> Thirteen Japanese youngsters had the opportunity earlier this month to
speak
> via Amateur Radio with NASA International Space Station (ISS) Science
> Officer John Phillips, KE5DRY. The contact was arranged via the Amateur
> Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. The contact
> between NA1SS aboard the ISS and 8J9YAC, at the Japan Red Cross Radio
Corps
> in Wakasa took place September 9. Putting the questions to Phillips were
> members of the JRC Radio Corps-Wakasa branch and the Wakasa Branch of the
> Young Astronauts Club-Japan. One youngster asked Phillips whether the ISS
> crew could see the center of large storms on earth.
>
> "If we fly near a hurricane or typhoon, yes, we can see the center very
> easily. In fact, I saw and photographed Typhoon Nabi about four days ago,"
> Phillips replied. The crew this past week also took photographs of
Hurricane
> Ophelia.
>
> Another youngster wanted to know what Philips would do if he met an
> extraterrestrial. "I hope we can find some method of communication, so I
can
> tell him we are friendly, we mean him no harm, and that we can start to
> build a friendly relationship," he responded.
>
> Asked about the time difference between the ISS and the Earth, Phillips
> responded: "Some scientists predict that there is a very small slowing of
> time due to the effect of relativity in fast moving objects, but at our
> speed this would be a change in time of only a fraction of a second during
> our six months onboard."
>
> Masayuki Tsuda, JR9INQ, was the control operator for the contact. A crowd
of
> about 100 onlookers included several members of the news media, parents of
> the participants and others. The Expedition 12 crew of Commander Bill
> McArthur, KC5ACR, and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev is set to launch from
> the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan October 1 in a Soyuz transporter.
> They'll arrive at the ISS October 3.
>
> ARISS is an international educational outreach with US participation by
> ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.--Photos and information courtesy Satoshi Yasuda,
> 7M3TJZ
>
> ==>ARRL SPELLS OUT "HAM AID" REIMBURSEMENT PROCEDURES
>
> The ARRL has established a set of "Ham Aid" reimbursement procedures so
> radio amateurs volunteering to provide emergency communication in the
field
> during the Hurricane Katrina disaster can recover some of their
> out-of-pocket expenses. The procedures are on the ARRL Web site
> <http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/forms/cncs/>. The Corporation for
National
> and Community Service (CNCS) has provided a $100,000 grant supplement to
> ARRL to help fund Ham Aid, a new League program to support Amateur Radio
> volunteers deployed in the field in disaster-stricken areas. Ham Aid also
> has benefited from some individual donations. ARRL Chief Development
Officer
> Mary Hobart, K1MMH, says the Ham Aid reimbursement program for the Katrina
> disaster will be limited.
>
> "In an effort to distribute funding to as many hams as possible, expense
> reimbursement will be $25 per day for a maximum of four days for a total
> reimbursement per radio amateur of $100," Hobart said. "Hams will only be
> permitted one expense reimbursement during Katrina operations."
>
> The CNCS grant funds will go toward helping volunteers defray such
expenses
> as gasoline, meals, lodging and other necessities while they're in the
> field. Hobart says the money should not be misconstrued as compensation
for
> operating, however. For now, the program only covers per-diem
reimbursements
> between September 1 and December 31, 2005. The period may be extended
based
> on the availability of funds.
>
> Besides providing emergency communication within and outside the affected
> areas, Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) members and individual radio
> amateurs are supplementing the communication needs of emergency management
> and relief agencies, including the American Red Cross and The Salvation
> Army. Hobart said it's only due to the scope of the unprecedented and
tragic
> Katrina disaster that CNCS agreed to help support dedicated Amateur Radio
> volunteers.
>
> Hams seeking expense reimbursement must complete an on-line application
form
> with the required information. The form also solicits some optional
> information, such as license class, whether the applicant has completed
any
> of the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications courses and if the
> applicant is an ARES and/or RACES member. The Section Manager or Section
> Emergency Coordinator on site during the radio operator's service in the
> field then will review and e-mail validated electronic forms to ARRL
> Headquarters.
>
> Hobart says the League will accept reimbursement request applications on a
> first-come, first served basis for as long as funds are available.
> Reimbursement checks will be mailed to the address the radio amateur
> provides on the form.
>
> The CNCS grant is an extension of ARRL's three year Homeland Security
> training grant, which has provided certification in emergency
communication
> protocols to nearly 5500 Amateur Radio volunteers over the past three
years.
> This grant extension does not cover additional ARRL Amateur Radio
Emergency
> Communications training program reimbursements, however.
>
> ==>NCVEC QUESTION POOL COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES NEW SCHEDULE
>
> The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) has
> announced that the Question Pool Committee (QPC) has adjusted its schedule
> for revising Amateur Radio examination question pools. This decision was
> prompted by recent FCC announcements, changes in radio communication
> technology and recommendations from VECs.
>
> "The QPC feels it is imperative to produce a new Technician class pool now
> to better position the Amateur Radio Service for growth in the years
ahead,"
> the QPC said in a statement released September 9. "The new schedule
impacts
> previously announced release dates for all three question pools."
>
> The new Technician class (Element 2) pool now tops the schedule and is due
> for release January 1, 2006, effective July 1, 2006. General class
(Element
> 3) pool updates, previously scheduled to become effective on July 1, 2008,
> will be released December 1, 2006, and become effective July 1, 2007. The
> Extra class (Element 4) pool originally scheduled for 2005, will be
released
> on December 1, 2007, and will become effective July 1, 2008.
>
> Barring any major rules changes, subsequent updates to all pools will
follow
> the traditional four-year cycle, the QPC said. Selected by representatives
> of the 12 VECs attending the NCVEC's annual conference, the QPC consists
of
> Chair Jim Wiley, KL7CC, Anchorage VEC; Perry Green, WY1O, ARRL VEC, and
> Larry Pollock, NB5X, W5YI VEC.
>
> A team of associates representing various VEC organizations as well as
> experts selected from the amateur community will assist the QPC.
>
> Interested persons are encouraged to submit questions to the NCVEC QPC via
> the NCVEC Web site <http://www.ncvec.org>.
>
> ==>REMINDER: EMERGENCY POWER OPERATING EVENT IS SEPTEMBER 17
>
> To mark Amateur Radio Awareness Day, Saturday, September 17, the ARRL is
> sponsoring an Emergency Power Operating Event (EPOE) to highlight Amateur
> Radio's ability to communicate worldwide without commercial mains, the
> Internet or a cellular telephone system. The EPOE is especially pertinent
in
> light of Amateur Radio's response in the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
>
> "When we planned this event we couldn't have imagined that it would be so
> timely in the aftermath of Katrina," said ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ.
"I've
> seen publicity from other parts of the country about groups' plans to
> participate. I hope their experience will include a contact with W1AW."
>
> The ARRL invites home stations to operate from generator or battery power
or
> other emergency power source. Portable and mobile stations also may
> participate. ARRL Maxim Memorial Station W1AW will be on the air for the
> event, running from its 60-kW emergency backup diesel generator.
>
> An announcement in September QST (page 49) spells out the details. The
event
> kicks off at 1300 UTC on Saturday, September 17, and wraps up at 0400 UTC
on
> September 18.
>
> The EPOE dovetails with the Department of Homeland Security's designation
of
> September as National Preparedness Month. The 15-hour EPOE is not a
contest
> but a demonstration of what Amateur Radio can do without having to rely on
> the commercial mains, and what Amateur Radio does whenever the need
arises.
>
> A special QSL will be available to stations contacting W1AW while running
> from an emergency power source during the EPOE. Include a self-addressed,
> stamped envelope with all QSL card requests, and indicate on your card the
> emergency power source used. (Address cards to W1AW, 225 Main St,
Newington,
> CT 06111.)
>
> ==>HUGH A. CASSIDY, WA6AUD, SK
>
> Past ARRL Pacific Division Vice Director and San Francisco Section
> Communications Manager Hugh "Cass" Cassidy, WA6AUD, of San Rafael,
> California, died September 9. He was 88. Cassidy, who coined the
expression
> "DX IS," was perhaps best known as editor of the West Coast DX Bulletin
> (WCDXB), which he published from 1968-1979.
>
> A World War II veteran and US Postal Service employee (he once served as
> postmaster of San Rafael), Cassidy established the Marion DX Club Audio
and
> soon renamed it the West Coast DX Bulletin. Throughout his 11 years of
> publishing the bulletin Cassidy, with the help of his wife Virginia,
> created, edited, typed, printed, circulated advertised and more. The WCDXB
> quickly became one of the leading DX bulletins in an age before the
Internet
> and e-mail.
>
> Noted Finnish DXer Jarmo Jaakola, OH2BN, called Cassidy "a truly towering
> figure in DX, a source of great inspiration." ARRL Midwest Division DXCC
> Advisory Committee member Cliff Ahrens, K0CA, recalls that Cassidy's
> bulletin vignettes were "not only fun to read, but taught us much about
the
> qualities necessary to be a good DXer."
>
> Many of Cassidy's stories and poems were collated into a book in the early
> 1980s called "DX IS! The Best of the West Coast DX Bulletin," now out of
> print.
>
> Cassidy served as Pacific Division Vice Director from 1970 until 1973 and
> was San Francisco SCM (now SM) from 1964 until 1970. He has been inducted
> into the CQ DX Hall of Fame. Survivors include his wife and a daughter.
>
> ==>SOLAR UPDATE
>
> Propagation maven Tad "(The mornin' sun is shining like a) Red Rubber
Ball"
> Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: This week the sun has given us a
> tremendous amount of activity in the form of large solar flares. A
> geomagnetic storm is still in progress, and the planetary A index from
> Saturday through Thursday, September 10-15, was 30, 105, 66, 51, 25 and
43.
> These are high numbers.
>
> The average planetary A index for this week more than doubled to 43.1.
> Compared with week-earlier statistics, average daily sunspot numbers more
> than quadrupled to 71.1.
>
> Next week is the Northern Hemisphere's autumnal equinox. This period could
> be a good one for HF propagation, but only if solar flares quiet down and
> the sunspot count doesn't sink back toward zero. The sunspot number rose
> above 100 on Sunday, September 11, the first time it's done that since
> August 3.
>
> The source of all this excitement is the large sunspot group 798, which,
by
> September 14-15, was aimed squarely at our planet. Although not aimed at
> Earth at the time, it produced an X17 solar flare on September 7, and over
> the next week it produced eight more flares--each causing HF radio
> blackouts.
>
> Over the next few days look for declining geomagnetic numbers, but fairly
> good sunspot and solar flux values. Predicted solar flux for Friday
through
> Monday, September 16-19 is 115, 110, 110 and 105. Predicted planetary A
> index for those same days is 25, 15, 10 and 10.
>
> Sunspot numbers for September 8 through 14 were 36, 59, 59, 101, 62, 95
and
> 86, with a mean of 71.1. 10.7 cm flux was 94.1, 99, 116, 109.7, 118, 114,
> and 116.6, with a mean of 109.6. Estimated planetary A indices were 8, 17,
> 30, 105, 66, 51 and 25, with a mean of 43.1. Estimated mid-latitude A
> indices were 5, 12, 15, 53, 32, 26 and 13, with a mean of 22.3.
>
> __________________________________
>
> ==>IN BRIEF:
>
> * This weekend on the radio: The Emergency Power Operating Event, the
North
> American Sprint (SSB), the ARRL 10 GHZ and Up Contest, the SARL VHF/UHF
> Contest. the Scandinavian Activity Contest (CW), the South Carolina QSO
> Party, the Washington State Salmon Run, the QCWA Fall QSO Party are the
> weekend of September 17-18. The 144 MHz Fall Sprint is September 19. JUST
> AHEAD: the CQ Worldwide DX Contest (RTTY), the Tesla Cup (SSB+CW), the
> Scandinavian Activity Contest (SSB), the Texas QSO Party, the AGCW VHF/UHF
> Contest (144+432 MHz) and the UBA ON Contest (6 m) are the weekend of
> September 24-25. The Fall QRP Homebrewer Sprint is September 26. The 222
MHz
> Fall Sprint is September 27. See the ARRL Contest Branch page
> <http://www.arrl.org/contests/> and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar
> <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more info.
>
> * ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration:
Register
> is open through Sunday, September 18, for these ARRL Certification and
> Continuing Education courses: Antenna Modeling (EC-004); VHF/UHF Beyond
the
> Repeater (EC-008); Propagation (EC-011), and HF Digital Electronics
> (EC-013). All classes begin Friday, September 30. To learn more, visit the
> ARRL Certification and Continuing Education (CCE) Web page
> <http://www.arrl.org/cce> or contact the ARRL C-CE Department
> <cce at arrl.org>.
>
> * Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course registration: Registration
> for the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level III on-line
course
> (EC-003) opens Monday, September 19, 1201 AM EDT, and remains open until
all
> available 56 seats have been filled. Please note: Students must have
> completed Level I and II before registering for Level III. During this
> registration period, seats are being offered to ARRL members on a
> first-come, first-served basis. Mail-in registrations cannot be accepted.
> Classes begin Friday, October 7, and Friday, November 4. Thanks to a grant
> from United Technologies Corporation, the $45 registration fee paid upon
> enrollment will be reimbursed to students who complete the course
> requirements and are upgraded by their mentors to "Passed" within the
> eight-week course period. To learn more, visit the ARRL Certification and
> Continuing Education (CCE) Web page <http://www.arrl.org/cce>. For more
> information, contact Online Course Coordinator Jean Wolfgang, WB3IOS
> <cce at arrl.org>; 860-594-0219.
>
> * Correction: The In Brief item ""When All Else Fails" graphic available"
in
> The ARRL Letter, Vol 24, No 35 (Sep 9, 2005) contained an error. The
correct
> URL to obtain this graphic is <http://www.arrl.org/logos#waef>.
>
> * ARRL graphic designers win national award: A nationwide panel of judges
> has selected ARRL Headquarters graphic designers Sue Fagan and Diane
> Szlachetka as winners of the 2005 American Graphic Design Award. The award
> was a result of their design contributions to a special advertising
section
> in May 2005 QST. The award sponsor, Graphic Design USA is entering its
43rd
> year, and this competition is considered among the most prestigious, as
well
> as open and democratic. Fagan and Szlachetka were among the 10 percent of
> nominees honored this year. The award-winning piece will appear in the
> 300-page Graphic Design Annual, which will circulate in December to a
> national audience of influential creative decision makers, with thousands
> more distributed through the year at events, shows and conferences. "We're
> all proud of Sue and Diane," said ARRL Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen,
> NQ1R. "Having such talent in-house is invaluable for producing quality
> material enjoyed by ARRL members." Earlier this year, Fagan and Szlachetka
> collaborated on the design elements depicted in the graphic themes for
ARRL
> EXPO at the 2005 Dayton Hamvention. Inderbitzen says the exhibits earned
> high praise from convention attendees.
>
> * ESA announces SSETI Express telemetry download competition: The European
> Space Agency (ESA) education department has announced an award to the
radio
> amateur who submits the largest number of valid telemetry and payload
> packets from the student-built SSETI Express satellite. Telemetry may be
> received on any band to qualify for the award. SSETI Express is scheduled
> for launch September 27 from Plesetsk in northern Russia. It will downlink
> telemetry and payload data in AX.25 format at 9k6 bps on 437.250 MHz and
at
> 38k4 bps on 2401.835 MHz. The satellite later will also be available as a
> single-channel Amateur Radio FM transponder All radio amateurs interested
in
> competing for this award are encouraged to download the necessary software
> from the SSETI Express Web site <http://www.sseti.org/express> and to use
> the SERACC system to forward the telemetry and payload data to SSETI
Express
> Mission Control. Submissions will be automatically recorded, and the Web
> site will display a leader board, and the winner will be the amateur at
the
> top of the leader board at 0000 UTC on January 1, 2006. The winner will be
> offered the opportunity to visit the Student Technology Education
Conference
> and Exhibition next spring in Germany. The three day event is similar to
the
> AMSAT-NA Symposium and the AMSAT-UK Colloquium. In addition, the winner
will
> be invited to visit ESA's Mission Operations Centre (ESOC) near Darmstadt,
> Germany, for a private escorted tour of the facilities. ESOC currently
> controls many orbital and deep-space missions and will be responsible for
> the European Columbus module when it joins the International Space
Station.
> The prize includes economy-class travel, accommodations and a modest daily
> subsistence allowance.
>
> ===========================================================
> The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American
> Radio Relay League--The National Association For Amateur Radio--225 Main
St,
> Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259;
> <http://www.arrl.org>. Jim Haynie, W5JBP, President.
>
> The ARRL Letter offers a weekly e-mail digest of essential news of
interest
> to active amateurs. The ARRL Letter strives to be timely, accurate,
concise,
> and readable. Visit ARRLWeb <http://www.arrl.org> for the latest news,
> updated as it happens. The ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/> offers
> access to news, informative features and columns. ARRL Audio News
> <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> is a weekly "ham radio newscast"
> compiled from The ARRL Letter.
>
> Material from The ARRL Letter may be republished or reproduced in whole or
> in part in any form without additional permission. Credit must be given to
> The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League.
>
> ==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!):
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> ==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl at arrl.org
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> ==>ARRL Audio News: <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> or call
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>
> ==>How to Get The ARRL Letter
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>
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