[South Florida DX Association] The ARRL Letter, Vol 25, No 17 (Apr 28, 2006)

[Bill Marx]

 ***************
> The ARRL Letter
> Vol. 25, No. 17
> April 28, 2006
> ***************
>
> IN THIS EDITION:
>
> * +BPL study amendment attached to House telecoms bill
> * +Kevin Martin tapped for new FCC term
> * +Andamans operation helps slake VU4 demand
> * +California adopts BPL deployment regulations
> * +KB0WZA is 2006 Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship winner
> * +West Mountain Radio to be RTTY Round-UP Principal Awards Sponsor
> * +European hams hear signal from far-distant Voyager 1 spacecraft
> * +Long-lost QSL card finds its way back home
> *  Solar Update
> *  IN BRIEF:
>     This weekend on the radio
>     ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration
>     Armed Forces Day 2006 military/amateur activities set
>     SuitSat-1 still in orbit
>     Hugh L. Tinley, K0GHK, SK
>     DXCC Desk approves operations for DXCC credit
>
> +Available on ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>
>
> ===========================================================
> ==>Delivery problems: First see FAQ
> <http://www.arrl.org/members-only/faq.html#nodelivery>, then e-mail
> <letter-dlvy at arrl.org>
> ==>Editorial questions or comments only: Rick Lindquist, N1RL,
> <n1rl at arrl.org>
> ===========================================================
>
> ==>HOUSE COMMITTEE OKAYS TELECOMS BILL WITH BPL-INTERFERENCE STUDY 
> AMENDMENT
>
> The US House Energy and Commerce Committee's version of the Communications
> Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement (COPE) Act of 2006 includes an
> amendment requiring the FCC to study the interference potential of BPL
> systems. The panel voted April 26 to send the much-talked-about "telecoms
> rewrite" bill to the full House for its consideration. "Outstanding news!"
> was the reaction of ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ.
>
> "This is a major victory for the ARRL," he exulted, noting that the
> amendment "received significant opposition" from utilities. Rep Mike Ross,
> WD5DVR (D-AR), proposed the amendment, and, with the support of Committee
> Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX), the committee agreed by voice vote to include 
> it
> in the bill.
>
> A year ago, Ross sponsored House Resolution 230 (H Res 230)
> <http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/filings/hres230/HRes230.pdf>, which
> calls on the FCC to "reconsider and revise rules governing broadband over
> power line systems based on a comprehensive evaluation of the interference
> potential of those systems to public safety services and other licensed
> radio services."
>
> "Hundreds of ARRL members who wrote their congressional representatives in
> support of Rep Ross's H Res 230 helped to achieve this week's success with
> the COPE Act amendment," Sumner observed.
>
> A more-widely reported Internet "network neutrality" amendment to the COPE
> Act bill was defeated. The measure will get a number next week.
>
> A statement released by Ross's office notes that his amendment, which
> received unanimous committee support, "would guarantee that valuable 
> public
> safety communications and Amateur Radio operators are not subject to
> interference." One of two radio amateurs in the US House, Ross said
> infrastructure-free Amateur Radio, "often overlooked in favor of flashier
> means of communication," can maintain communication in disasters that 
> bring
> more vulnerable technology to its knees. Ham radio operators "are often 
> the
> only means of communication attainable in a devastated area," he said.
>
> "I believe it is imperative that the interference potential [of BPL] is
> thoroughly examined and comprehensively evaluated to ensure that 
> deployment
> of BPL, which I do support, does not cause radio interference for Amateur
> Radio operators and first responders who serve our communities," Ross 
> added.
>
> The COPE Act BPL amendment adds a section (under Title V) to the proposed
> legislation that would require the FCC to study and report on the
> interference potential of BPL systems within 90 days of the bill's
> enactment. "This puts the House Energy and Commerce Committee on record as
> having concerns about BPL interference," Sumner said. "If we are vigilant 
> in
> protecting it against deletion on the House floor--assuming the bill is
> approved by the House--the BPL language will be included in the 
> legislation
> that goes on to the Senate."
>
> ==>FCC CHAIRMAN NOMINATED FOR NEW TERM
>
> President George W. Bush has tapped FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin of North
> Carolina for a second, five-year term on the Commission starting July 1. 
> The
> White House this week submitted Martin's name to the US Senate for
> confirmation. Martin says he's honored to be nominated for a second term 
> as
> a commissioner and as FCC chairman.
>
> "This is an exciting time of growth and innovation in the communications
> sector," Martin said in a statement. "I look forward to working with the
> Administration, Congress, my fellow commissioners and the talented staff 
> at
> the FCC to provide all Americans with the services and opportunities 
> offered
> by the best communications system in the world today."
>
> Judging by their statements, his three FCC colleagues have confidence in 
> his
> leadership. Martin succeeded Michael Powell as FCC chairman in 2005.
>
> In the meantime, politics reportedly is keeping the FCC from having a full
> slate of commissioners. In February, the White House nominated Republican
> Robert M. McDowell of Virginia to fill the still-vacant fifth FCC seat. 
> The
> Senate Commerce Committee okayed the telecommunications attorney's
> nomination, but US Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La) reportedly has blocked any
> of President Bush's non-judicial nominations--including McDowell's--from
> going forward to a vote by the full Senate. Landrieu is said to be unhappy
> with the pace of Hurricane Katrina recovery assistance to the Gulf Coast.
>
> The situation leaves the FCC split at two Republicans and two Democrats. 
> If
> the Senate stalemate continues, Martin could continue to serve on the FCC
> beyond his term's expiration.
>
> ==>SUPPLY AND DEMAND: VU4AN ANDAMANS OPERATIONS CREATE A CLAMOR
>
> For several days this month, the tiny Andaman Islands became the DX mouse
> that roared--well, sort of. Just how loudly depended on your position on 
> the
> globe and fickle propagation. A first-of-its-kind event, "Hamfest - (VU4)
> India - 2006," made rare VU4 (Andaman and Nicobar Islands) widely 
> available
> worldwide April 18-25. With activities centered in Port Blair on South
> Andaman Island, more than 100 VU4AN stations made a joyful noise on 
> several
> modes and bands. Despite the current ebb in the sunspot cycle, many US 
> radio
> amateurs were able to take advantage.
>
> "They weren't rock-crushingly loud, but they seemed to be making a lot of
> QSOs in North America," said ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ--one of the lucky
> ones. Sumner said he worked VU4 on CW and SSB and noted that some of the
> stations were spotted quite a lot on RTTY.
>
> Sumner expressed pleasure that one of his QSOs was with Bharathi Prasad,
> operating as VU4AN/VU2RBI. She led the December 2004 VU4 DXpedition that
> turned into a disaster-communication operation after being cut short by 
> the
> devastating South Asia earthquake and tsunami. As a result, Prasad and her
> team won the 2005 ARRL International Humanitarian Award, and she was named
> Dayton Hamvention's Radio Amateur of the Year.
>
> Telecommunication authorities in India authorized the issuance of 
> short-term
> licenses to some 40 Indian nationals and 70 foreigners. While VU4AN 
> signals
> were dicey or non-existent in some North American locations, many stations
> in the US and elsewhere were able to add this rare one to their DXCC
> total--some on more than one band.
>
> According to The DX Magazine's 2005 survey of DXers, Andaman and Nicobar
> Islands was the 10th most-wanted DXCC entity. This month's massive
> operation--sponsored by the National Institute of Amateur Radio 
> (NIAR)--may
> have put a dent in the demand. The NIAR offered certificates for stations
> working more than four VU4AN stations as well as awards for working the 
> most
> VU4AN stations in several categories.
>
> In addition to operating, several participants delivered presentations at
> the NIAR gathering that stressed the positive aspects of Amateur Radio
> operating as well as various technical topics. The intention was to 
> promote
> ham radio and to invite more-friendly governmental regulation.
>
> "This VU4-Andaman Islands project took some eight months from start to
> finish and involved many hours and financial support by members of NIAR,"
> commented QST "Hows DX?" and The Daily DX Editor Bernie McClenny, W3UR,
> after returning from the Andamans where he operated as VU4AN/VU3OHA.
> "Heavy-duty negotiations between NIAR and the many different government
> branches took place for this activity to happen." McClenny also reported
> that there are now two newly licensed hams in Port Blair, Andaman.
>
> Unless otherwise announced for individual stations, VU4AN QSLs go to Jose
> Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, 6-3-1092/93, Raj 
> Bhavan
> Rd, Somajiguda, Hyderabad 500082 INDIA.
>
> ==>CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION APPROVES BPL REGULATIONS
>
> Saying that broadband over power line (BPL) will bring Internet access to
> "underserved communities," the California Public Utilities Commission 
> (CPUC)
> has adopted regulatory guidelines for electric utilities and companies 
> that
> wish to develop BPL projects in that state. While the Commission's BPL
> guidelines include a requirement to maintain the safety and reliability of
> the electric distribution system, the state agency has no jurisdiction 
> over
> radio frequency interference, which received no mention in the PUC's news
> release. ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, points out that the 
> utility
> industry still must meet another tier of federal regulations that govern
> permitted BPL signal levels and interference issues.
>
> "Although this action addresses how BPL operators will be responsible to
> state regulators, it does not address any of the technical problems with 
> BPL
> in any way," Hare observed. "Utilities will still have to carefully choose
> BPL vendors with a proven track record of preventing interference
> complaints."
>
> The CPUC said it wants to foster BPL deployment to solve the "last mile"
> problem of broadband delivery and to increase consumer choice in broadband
> providers. "BPL has the potential to bring broadband Internet services to
> communities who do not have broadband service available today from the
> telephone companies or cable companies," said CPUC President Michael R.
> Peevey.
>
> One commissioner suggested that BPL faces an uphill battle. "This is a
> nascent technology with technological, market, and financial hurdles 
> before
> it," commented CPUC member John Bohn. "By removing unnecessary regulations
> from its path, we free BPL entrepreneurs to invest and take the risks they
> want, while protecting ratepayers from any downside."
>
> ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, said that while the League's concern is with
> BPL interference and not with BPL's viability in the broadband 
> marketplace,
> "it's odd to see the California PUC echoing the pro-BPL rhetoric that was
> coming out of the FCC two years ago and that is so demonstrably wrong
> today." Sumner points out that BPL has been around for years now, and 
> "after
> all the hype," the most-recent FCC statistics show no more than about 4000
> BPL lines in service across the US.
>
> "The California PUC would better serve its citizens by focusing on more
> capable broadband technologies, such as fiber and wireless, that do not 
> have
> the potential to disrupt radio communication," Sumner concluded.
>
> The policy the CPUC adopted April 27 stemmed from a draft developed by 
> CPUC
> member Rachelle Chong, a former FCC commissioner.
>
> ==>MISSOURI TEEN WINS PRESTIGIOUS GOLDFARB MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
>
> Seventeen-year-old Mellissa Ann Meye, KB0WZA, of Camdenton, Missouri, has
> been named the recipient of the 2006 William R. Goldfarb Memorial
> Scholarship, the ARRL Foundation Scholarship Committee has announced. Meye
> is the first young woman to receive this generous award. Licensed in 1996,
> Meye has actively promoted Amateur Radio in her community, was 
> instrumental
> in establishing the Osage Amateur Radio Club at her school and serves as 
> the
> club's president.
>
> "The establishment of this club took many hours of work and convincing the
> school administration of its value," said Lloyd Wood, N0GYE, who 
> recommended
> Meye's selection. "Mellissa was so successful in convincing school 
> personnel
> of Amateur Radio's value that the high school principal and some of the
> faculty members are presently studying to take their exams."
>
> The terms of reference of the generous Goldfarb scholarship award require
> that recipients demonstrate financial need and significant involvement 
> with
> Amateur Radio, in addition to high academic performance. "Ms Meye meets or
> exceeds all of our criteria," the selection committee said. A high school
> senior and General-class licensee, Meye ranks sixth in a class of 132
> pursuing an advanced academic diploma course of study. She plans to attend
> the University of Missouri-Rolla to study petroleum engineering.
>
> Amateur Radio runs in the Meye family. Her father David is KL7QW.
>
> Beyond her academic accomplishments, Meye sports a well-balanced and
> impressive list of extracurricular and community activities. She's a 
> member
> of her school's advanced concert chorale, Science Research Team, the
> Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Future Business Leaders of 
> America.
> She also has participated in the Upward Bound Math and Science Program 
> held
> summers at Northwest Missouri State University and was selected two years
> running.
>
> Said one of her church leaders, Robert D. Ashford: "She has led other 
> young
> women of her age group to be better people and has conducted music for the
> entire congregation."
>
> The William R. Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship is intended to assist a
> qualified student to obtain a bachelor's degree at an accredited school in
> one of the following courses of study: business-related computers, medical
> or nursing fields, engineering or sciences. The four-year award to an 
> active
> radio amateur is based on outstanding qualifications, need and other 
> funding
> sources.
>
> The Goldfarb Scholarship is the result of a generous endowment from the 
> late
> William Goldfarb, N2ITP. Before his death in 1997, Goldfarb set up a
> scholarship endowment of close to $1 million in memory of his parents,
> Albert and Dorothy Goldfarb.
>
> More information on the Goldfarb Scholarship is available on the ARRL Web
> site <http://www.arrl.org/arrlf/goldfarb.html>. Applications for the
> Goldfarb Scholarship and other ARRL Foundation Scholarship applications 
> are
> accepted each year beginning October 1 and ending February 1 for the
> academic year that starts the following August/September.
>
> ==>WEST MOUNTAIN RADIO TO BE PRINCIPAL AWARDS SPONSOR FOR ARRL RTTY 
> ROUNDUP
>
> West Mountain Radio, which manufactures the popular RIGblaster digital 
> modes
> radio-to-sound card interfaces, has generously agreed to be Principal 
> Awards
> Sponsor for the 2006 and 2007 runnings of the ARRL RTTY Round-Up. During 
> the
> annual event, which takes place the first full weekend in January, radio
> amateurs around the globe contact and exchange QSO information using 
> Baudot
> RTTY, PSK31, ASCII, AMTOR and attended packet operation. ARRL COO Harold
> Kramer, WJ1B, said West Mountain Radio's participation will provide the
> events' top scorers with plaques that might not otherwise be available.
>
> "We are pleased that West Mountain Radio has agreed to be the Principal
> Awards Sponsor for the ARRL RTTY Round-Up," Kramer said. "Participation in
> the ARRL RTTY Round-Up has been increasing every year, and we are grateful
> to West Mountain Radio for its support. It is particularly appropriate for
> West Mountain Radio to associate itself with this operating event because 
> of
> its continuing commitment and technical contribution to digital
> communication and support of this interest group." West Mountain Radio 
> will
> be Principal Awards Sponsor for all unsponsored plaques for the events.
>
> West Mountain Radio's Dan Gravereaux, N1ZZ, said he hopes the cooperative
> arrangement will help to spur more interest in digital mode contesting and
> operating. "We are delighted to be the Principal Awards Sponsor," he
> commented. "We at West Mountain Radio have worked very hard to make RTTY 
> and
> other digital modes more accessible to the Amateur Radio community."
>
> Gravereaux says he believes the League, the various digital-mode software
> developers and his company have made an effort to promote more exciting
> modes and "to keep ham radio really fun," and he sees West Mountain 
> Radio's
> participation as Principal Awards Sponsor an extension of that activity.
>
> RTTY Round-Up plaques will go to the top-scoring low and high-power 
> entrants
> in each overall contest category within each ARRL Division and Canada. 
> Entry
> categories include single-operator low power and high power and
> multioperator single-transmitter, low power and high power. Plaques that
> West Mountain Radio is underwriting will bear the company's logo, as will
> all contest certificates sent to contest category winners. Other plaques
> already are underwritten by clubs, individuals or other organizations.
>
> Based in Norwalk, Connecticut, West Mountain Radio
> <http://www.westmountainradio.com/> produces several RIGblaster models for
> operating digital modes with a computer. It also makes the RIGrunner for
> distributing 12 V dc power, PWRgates for emergency backup, RIGtalk for rig
> control, and CBAs for battery testing. Gravereaux says the West Mountain
> Radio team plans to be on the air for the ARRL RTTY Round-Up next January
> using the company's K1WMR club station call sign.
>
> ==>EUROPEAN HAMS HEAR SIGNALS FROM THE EDGE OF SPACE
>
> Hams in Germany and Portugal reportedly have received signals from the US
> Voyager 1 spacecraft <http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/> in March and April. On
> March 31, AMSAT-DL (Germany) radio amateurs at the Institute for
> Environmental and Future Research (IUZ) at Bochum Observatory used a
> 20-meter radio telescope dish to detect Voyager 1's 8.4 GHz signal.
>
> Using Doppler shift and sky positioning, the German team received the 
> signal
> from a distance of 8.82 billion miles (14.7 billion km)--nearly 100 times
> the distance from the sun to Earth. This is the first recorded reception 
> of
> signals from Voyager 1 by radio amateurs.
>
> Members of the AMSAT-DL/IUZ team included Freddy de Guchteneire, ON6UG,
> James Miller, G3RUH, Hartmut Paesler, DL1YDD, and Achim Vollhardt,
> DH2VA/HB9DUN. Assisting were Theo Elsner, DJ5YM of IUZ, and Roger Ludwig 
> of
> Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), as well as the Deep Space Network (DSN)
> tracking station in Madrid, Spain.
>
> Luis Cupido, CT1DMK, in Portugal reported April 15 that he spent "two 
> nights
> without sleep" to hear Voyager I at his QTH using a 5.6-meter dish. To
> detect the signal, Cupido says he had to acquire and integrate 
> spectrograms
> over an extended period.
>
> "I did several acquisition periods of 15 minutes (900 s), the minimum I
> would expect to see something," he said on his Web site
> <http://w3ref.cfn.ist.utl.pt/cupido/dsn.html>, noting that any longer time
> period would be incompatible with his Doppler-shift correction scheme. 
> "The
> receiver is operated at fixed frequency, and the Doppler variation was
> corrected by skewing successive spectrograms in software while 
> accumulating
> [images]."
>
> He based positive identification of Voyager 1's signal on the fact that
> signal is "only visible for the right skew amount that corresponds to the
> Doppler variation as predicted by the relative velocity calculation."
>
> Voyager 1 was launched in September 1977 to conduct close-up studies of
> Jupiter and Saturn, Saturn's rings and the larger moons of the two 
> planets.
> Designed to last only five years, the probe is expected to send back
> astronomical information to NASA and JPL until at least 2020. Voyager 1 
> will
> study ultraviolet sources among the stars, and its fields and particles
> instruments will continue to search for the boundary between the sun's
> influence and interstellar space.
>
> ==>NON-DELIVERABLE CARD REMAINS IN "QSL LIMBO" FOR 50 YEARS
>
> George Hitz, W1DA, of Sudbury, Massachusetts, can finally account for one 
> of
> his QSL cards--one he sent in 1956. While a newly licensed teenager living
> in DeLand, Florida, Hitz, then KN4DPI, fired up his Johnson Viking
> Adventurer transmitter and made contact with Dave, KN6MSI, on 40 meters.
> Like a good operator, Hitz sent off a QSL card, addressed only to "Amateur
> Radio--KN6NMI, Chief Op Dave, Address Unknown, Riverdale, Calif." This
> turned out to be David Leaven, later WI6J, who became a Silent Key in 
> 2003.
>
> "I was 14, and like me, Dave was a new ham, and he wasn't in the call 
> book,"
> Hitz told ARRL. "I hoped there would be someone at the Riverdale post 
> office
> that would know who Dave was, and it would get to him." But Hitz made one
> mistake: he addressed the card to Riverdale instead of to Dave's actual 
> QTH,
> Riverside. That simple error left the card sitting in QSL limbo from 1956
> until now.
>
> "In 1956, I was just a Novice operator with a primitive station and even
> more primitive operating skills," Hitz explained. "Back then, with my 
> radio
> built from a kit and my BC-348 World War II Army Air Corps surplus 
> receiver
> and a 60-foot long wire antenna that was 15 feet high, California, was 
> like
> a whole other country. And I needed that California QSL!"
>
> Hitz had put a return address on his card, but for reasons perhaps best
> known to the US Postal Service, it finally was returned to his former
> Florida address in early April. It turned up in the mailbox of Mack
> McCormick, a nonham now living in Hitz's childhood home.
>
> "The card apparently has been in the 'Twilight Zone' for 50 years,"
> McCormick said. "It's not wrinkled or anything."
>
> McCormick offered to return the card to Hitz, but Hitz declined. "What 
> would
> I do with it?" he said. "I understand the guy who found it is going to 
> frame
> it and place it on his coffee table!"
>
> The story of the long-lost QSL card received worldwide attention. "The 
> press
> has run wild with this," Hitz said. "I heard this story has been in
> newspapers in India, Iceland, Ireland--all over the world, over 100
> countries! It's almost like I could have DXCC from all the countries that
> have reported it."
>
> ==>SOLAR UPDATE
>
> Solar flash Tad "That Lucky Ol' Sun" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington,
> reports: Geomagnetic conditions were quiet this week in most places, but 
> on
> April 22 there was a geomagnetic storm at high latitudes caused by solar
> wind and a south-pointing interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). The College 
> A
> index in Fairbanks, Alaska, reached 38, and the K index was 7 at its
> highest. The Mid-Latitude A index for the day was only 10--just slightly
> unsettled.
>
> On April 27 there was a strong, but brief, solar flare from Sunspot 875, 
> but
> this was not expected to cause major geomagnetic activity. At the time of
> the flare, around 1552 UTC, X-rays caused a radio blackout of nearly a
> quarter-hour.
>
> Sunspot numbers and solar flux have been rising, and solar flux is 
> expected
> to remain around 100 over the next week. Geomagnetic conditions may become
> active again around May 2 and May 6, with a big increase in activity
> expected around May 10-13 because of similar activity during the previous
> solar rotation.
>
> Sunspot numbers for April 20 through 26 were 30, 14, 15, 24, 38, 33 and 
> 60,
> with a mean of 30.6. The 10.7 cm flux was 78.7, 76.4, 82.4, 86.7, 92.8,
> 95.1, and 100, with a mean of 87.4. Estimated planetary A indices were 5, 
> 8,
> 18, 8, 7, 5 and 5, with a mean of 8. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were
> 3, 6, 10, 8, 4, 1 and 2, with a mean of 4.9.
>
> __________________________________
>
> ==>IN BRIEF:
>
> * This weekend on the radio: The North America High Speed Meteor Scatter
> Spring Rally is April 29 until May 7. The SBMS 2 GHz and Up World Wide 
> Club
> Contest, the Helvetia Contest and the Alabama QSO Party are the weekend of
> April 29-30. JUST AHEAD: The AGCW QRP/QRP Party and the RSGB 80-meter Club
> Championship (SSB) are May 1. The ARS Spartan Sprint is May 2. The 
> Thursday
> NCCC Sprint Ladder is May 5 UTC. The New England, Seventh Call Area and
> Indiana QSO parties, the MARAC County Hunter Contest (CW), the 10-10
> International Spring Contest (CW), the Microwave Spring Sprint, and the 
> ARI
> International DX Contest are the weekend of May 6-7. The RSGB 80-meter 
> Club
> Championship (Data) is May 10. The Thursday NCCC Sprint Ladder is May 12
> (UTC). 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:
> Registration remains open through Sunday, May 7, for these ARRL
> Certification and Continuing Education (CCE) Program on-line courses:
> Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 2 (EC-002), Amateur Radio
> Emergency Communications Level 3 (EC-003), Antenna Modeling (EC-004), HF
> Digital Communications (EC-005), VHF/UHF--Life Beyond the Repeater 
> (EC-008),
> and Radio Frequency Propagation (EC-011). Classes begin Friday, May 19. To
> learn more, visit the CCE Course Listing page
> <http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or contact the CCE Department
> <cce at arrl.org>.
>
> * Armed Forces Day 2006 military/amateur activities set: The US Army, Air
> Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard will cosponsor the annual
> military/Amateur Radio communications tests Saturday and Sunday, May 13-14
> t56th Armed Forces Day. Although the actual Armed Forces Day is Saturday,
> May 20, the Armed Forces Day on-the-air activities will take place 
> earlier,
> to avoid conflicts with those who might be attending Dayton Hamvention, 
> May
> 19-21. The annual activity features traditional military-to-amateur
> crossband (ie, hams transmit on amateur frequencies and receive military
> stations on nearby military channels) SSB voice tests and copying the
> Secretary of Defense's annual Armed Forces Day message via digital modes
> (RTTY, PACTOR, AMTOR, PSK-31 and MT63). "These tests give Amateur Radio
> operators and Short Wave Listeners an opportunity to demonstrate their
> individual technical skills and receive recognition from the Secretary of
> Defense and/or the appropriate military radio station for their proven
> expertise," the US Armed Forces Day announcement says. QSL cards will be
> provided to those making contact with military stations. Commemorative
> certificates will be awarded to those receiving and copying without error
> the digital Armed Forces Day message from the Secretary of Defense. The
> tentative schedule of on-the-air events--including a list of participating
> stations, the Secretary of Defense's message transmission schedule and 
> more
> information--is available on the US Army MARS Web site
> <http://www.netcom.army.mil/mars/news/ARMED%20FORCES%20DAY%20(2006).doc>.
> The schedule is subject to change without notice.
>
> * SuitSat-1 still in orbit: Tossed into orbit three months ago from the
> International Space Station, SuitSat-1 continues to orbit Earth--although
> its batteries are long since dead, Spaceweather.com reported this week 
> that
> skywatcher Kevin Fetter videotaped SuitSat-1 as it passed over his
> Brockville, Ontario, Canada, home (the bright star in the movie is Vega)
> <http://science.nasa.gov/spaceweather/swpod2006/27apr06/fetter.wmv>. A 
> spare
> Russian Orlan spacesuit equipped with a voice transmitter, slow-scan TV
> system, voice recordings and various sensors, SuitSat-1 was the brainchild
> of the Russian Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
> team. From the outset, radio signals from the unusual satellite were very
> weak due to an undetermined problem. Even so, SuitSat-1 remained in
> operation for more than two weeks, easily outlasting initial predictions
> that it would only transmit for about one week. The last confirmed 
> reception
> of SuitSat-1's voice audio was on February 18. Calling the project
> "tremendously successful," ARISS International Chairman Frank Bauer, 
> KA3HDO,
> says SuitSat-1 captured the imagination of people around the world, 
> despite
> its much-lower-than-expected signal strength. Eventually, SuitSat-1 will
> sink into Earth's atmosphere and disintegrate in a flash of fire. Another
> surplus Orlan suit remains aboard the ISS, so SuitSat-2 could be in the
> offing.
>
> * Hugh L. Tinley, K0GHK, SK: QST author and World War II historical figure
> Hugh Tinley, K0GHK, of Omaha, Nebraska, died April 27. He was 88. Tinley 
> had
> been suffering from bone cancer. His article, "Riding the Magic Carpet," 
> in
> April QST about using EchoLink to put hospital patients in touch with one
> another proved very popular with readers. An officer on the staff of Gen
> Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War II, Tinley was one of the last
> surviving individuals to have witnessed the signing of the German 
> surrender
> documents that ended the war. In 2005, he appeared in an ABC Evening News
> segment, "Old Soldiers," marking the 60th anniversary of the victory in
> Europe. Retired as president of Farmers International, he had been a radio
> amateur for 46 years. During the 1960s, he was an active participant in 
> the
> Military Affiliate Radio System's "Operation Hello," helping provide phone
> patches between servicemen in Vietnam and their families. He was a member 
> of
> ARRL and the Heartland DX Association.
>
> * DXCC Desk approves operations for DXCC credit: The ARRL DXCC Desk has
> approved these operations for DXCC credit: YI9AQ (Iraq), current 
> operation,
> effective September 21, 2004; D6/WB4MBU (Comoros), operation from May 24 
> to
> October 27, 2001; D68JC (Comoros), operation from October 23 to November 
> 8,
> 2001, and 4W2AQ (Timor-Leste), operation from June 18 to December 17, 
> 2003.
> For more information, visit the DXCC Web page
> <http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc>. "DXCC Frequently Asked Questions" can
> answer most questions about the DXCC program. ARRL DX bulletins are
> available on the W1AW DX Bulletins page <http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/dx/>.
>
> ===========================================================
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> Radio Relay League--The National Association For Amateur Radio--225 Main 
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> Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259;
> <http://www.arrl.org>. Joel Harrison, W5ZN, President.
>
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