[South Florida DX Association] The ARRL Letter, Vol 25, No 33 (Aug 18, 2006)

[Bill Marx]

> ***************
> The ARRL Letter
> Vol. 25, No. 33
> August 18, 2006
> ***************
>
> IN THIS EDITION:
>
> * +"Radiation Belt Remediation" plan raises eyebrows
> * +Second Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference held
> * +US, Australian youngsters talk with ISS via ham radio
> * +Icom will again be ARRL November Sweepstakes principal awards sponsor
> * +"Music jammer" QSYs on 20 meters
> * +IARU Administrative Council meets in India
> * +DXCC posts new "Accreditation Criteria" rule
> * +Solar Update
> *  IN BRIEF:
>     This weekend on the radio
>     ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration
>     ISS Expedition 12 commander to keynote AMSAT Space Symposium
>     Paul J. Graziani, W5ZK, wins July QST Cover Plaque Award
>     DXCC Desk approves operations for DXCC credit
>     Setting the record straight
>
> +Available on ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>
===========================================================
>
> ==>"RADIATION BELT REMEDIATION" PLAN COULD AFFECT HF PROPAGATION, STUDY
> SUGGESTS
>
> A New Zealand university research group believes a US Defense Advanced
> Research Projects Agency (DARPA) "Radiation Belt Remediation" (RBR) plan
> could cause major worldwide disruptions to HF radio communication and GPS
> navigation. DARPA reportedly envisions RBR as a way to protect low-Earth
> orbiting (LEO) satellites from damage caused by severe solar storms or 
> even
> from high-altitude nuclear detonations. The New Zealand-based research 
> group
> suggests, however, that policymakers need to carefully consider the
> implications of the project. Headed by Craig Rodger of the University of
> Otago Physics Department, the research group says RBR could significantly
> affect radio propagation from several days to a week or longer.
>
> "We've calculated that Earth's upper atmosphere would be dramatically
> affected by such a system, causing unusually intense HF blackouts around
> most of the world," Rodger said. "Airplane pilots and ships would lose 
> radio
> contact, and some Pacific Island nations could be isolated for as long as
> six to seven days, depending on the system's design and how it was
> operated." GPS would likely also be disrupted on a large scale, he added.
>
> System tests would employ extremely high-intensity, very low frequency 
> (VLF)
> radio waves to "flush" particles from radiation belts and dump them into 
> the
> upper atmosphere. The disruptions would result from the deluge of dumped
> charged particles temporarily changing the ionosphere from a "mirror" that
> bounces HF radio waves around the planet to a "sponge" that soaks them up,
> Rodger explains.
>
> The group's paper, "The atmospheric implications of radiation belt
> remediation" 
> <http://www.physics.otago.ac.nz/research/space/ag-24-2025.pdf>,
> appears in the August edition of the international journal Annales
> Geophysicae. University of Otago researchers collaborated with UK and
> Finnish scientists in its preparation.
>
> ARRL Propagation Report Editor Tad Cook, K7RA, contacted Rodger to learn
> more about the RBR proposal. Rodger told him that RBR "is a serious 
> project,
> that 'money is starting to appear to investigate it in more detail,' and 
> 'US
> scientists with military connections are treating it seriously'," Cook 
> said.
>
> Unclassified US Department of Defense budget documents from earlier this
> year have proposed using Alaska's High Frequency Active Auroral Research
> Project (HAARP) "to exploit emerging ionosphere and radio science
> technologies related to advanced defense applications." HAARP is jointly
> operated by the US Air Force and the US Navy. The project appears to be
> included under a program called "Sleight of HAND" (SoH).
>
> "The effects of High Altitude Nuclear Detonations (HAND) are catastrophic 
> to
> satellites," the budget report explains. "HAND-generated charged particles
> are trapped for very long periods of time, oscillating between the earth's
> north and south magnetic poles. This enhanced radiation environment would
> immediately degrade low-earth orbiting (LEO) spacecraft capability and
> result in their destruction in a short period of time."
>
> The military budget documents refer to the SoH program as "a proof of
> concept demonstration" of technology and techniques to mitigate the
> HAND-enhanced trapped radiation, with the goal of accelerating "the rate 
> of
> decay of trapped radiation from the LEO environment by a factor of 10 over
> the natural rate of decay."
>
> ==>ARRL FIRST VP CHAIRS GLOBAL AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
> CONFERENCE
>
> ARRL First Vice President Kay Craigie, N3KN, represented the League at the
> Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference 2006 (GAREC-2006)
> <http://www.rientola.fi/oh3ag/garec/index.html>. She also was chosen to
> chair the event, held June 19-20 in Tampere, Finland, concurrently with 
> the
> International Conference on Emergency Communications (ICEC 2006) and the
> International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Working Group on Emergency
> Telecommunications (WGET). GAREC-2006 participants primarily followed up 
> on
> items first raised during GAREC-2005. Representatives of than 20 countries
> were on hand, and Craigie said it was beneficial to have a chance to get 
> to
> know amateurs from other countries who are involved in emergency
> communications.
>
> "It is easy for American amateurs to assume that Amateur Radio emergency
> communications work in other countries is the same as what we are familiar
> with in the USA; however, for historical, cultural and regulatory reasons
> this is not necessarily the case," she said. "We have much to learn from 
> one
> another."
>
> Establishing emergency communications center-of-activity frequencies was
> among the GAREC 2005 agenda items carried over to this year's gathering.
> Center-of-activity frequencies provide common spots on various bands for
> operators in disaster areas to congregate -- after making initial 
> contact --
> to carry out necessary communications and pass emergency traffic. GAREC 
> 2006
> participants recommended selecting global center-of-activity frequencies 
> on
> 15, 17 and 20 meters, with regional frequencies considered more 
> appropriate
> on 40 and 75 meters.
>
> Further refinement of the International Amateur Radio Union Emergency
> Communications Handbook and a proposal to produce a brochure about Amateur
> Radio communication also came in for discussion. Craigie cited the 
> challenge
> of producing a book that is useful worldwide -- neither too generalized 
> nor
> dominated by a few countries' practices. GAREC-2006 participants shared
> views on what the handbook should include as well as its purpose and
> audience.
>
> Conferees concurred to support the efforts of the IARU Emergency
> Communications Handbook working group and to make copies of the 
> publication
> available in their respective languages. International Coordinator for
> Emergency Communications Hans Zimmermann, F5VKP/HB9AQS, has spearheaded 
> the
> handbook effort.
>
> One conference session was devoted to discussion of special and innovative
> emergency communication concepts. Participants also debated the various
> advantages and disadvantages of newer digital modes and networks.
>
> Craigie stressed that Amateur Radio needs to avoid "being dazzled by our 
> own
> press clippings into thinking that we are the big dog in emergency
> telecommunications."
>
> "The point of the Tampere Convention is to remove regulatory impediments 
> to
> the swift deployment of modern emergency telecommunications equipment and
> competent personnel," she said, "especially to disaster zones in those 
> parts
> of the world where communications infrastructure may not have been much to
> talk about before the disaster struck and where regulatory environments 
> may
> be hostile."
>
> In the US, Craigie pointed out, there's been a post-Katrina emphasis to
> speed up deployment of sophisticated communications systems after 
> disasters,
> so that government and non-government organizations can get to work 
> quickly.
> "As the emergency telecomm world as a whole speeds up its reaction time, 
> we
> hams must be better organized, more capable and on the scene as quickly as
> possible after our help is requested," she commented.
>
> "Given ham radio's dependency on emergency communications as our reason to
> exist in the US, it would be suicidal to assume that what we have always
> been able to do -- at the speed we have always been able to do it -- will 
> be
> just fine to maintain our relevance into the indefinite future."
>
> Craigie predicted there will always be a role for Amateur Radio in
> disasters. "The question is whether we will suitably prepare ourselves to
> play it," she concluded.
>
> Additional materials, including a presentation by Craigie, are available 
> on
> the GAREC-2006 Web site
> <http://www.rientola.fi/oh3ag/garec/material2006.html>.
>
> ==>INDIANA, AUSTRALIAN YOUNGSTERS STEP UP TO THE MICROPHONE TO SPACE
>
> Pupils at Robinson Elementary School in Anderson, Indiana, and at
> Teven-Tintenbar Public School in New South Wales, Australia, learned more
> about life in space when they spoke via ham radio earlier this month with
> ISS crew member Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ. The Amateur Radio on the
> International Space Station (ARISS) program arranged both direct VHF
> contacts. During the August 2 QSO between W9VCF at Robinson Elementary and
> NA1SS in space, one youngster offered a new twist on the typical "food
> question." He wanted to know how the space station crew was able to eat
> without their meals floating away.
>
> "Well, it does float if you let it go," Williams allowed. "Wet food, if 
> you
> fish it out of the container with a spoon, will stick to the spoon.
> Sometimes dry food you can let float and catch it in your mouth." He said
> moist food is easier to consume because it will stick to a utensil or the
> container. "We are well supplied with food," he said in reply to another
> pupil's question.
>
> Williams told the youngsters he enjoys being an astronaut because "we do
> some pretty cool things, and that's what my passion is." He said he became
> an astronaut because he believes in space exploration that eventually will
> take human beings outside of Earth orbit and on to the planets.
>
> Responding to another question, he told the youngsters that all three 
> space
> travelers now onboard the ISS get along very well. There are three crew
> members on the ISS: Williams, ISS Expedition 13 Commander Pavel 
> Vinogradov,
> RV3BS, of Russia, and Thomas Reiter, DF4TR, of Germany.
>
> On August 11, an audience of nearly 400 was on hand at Teven-Tintenbar
> Public School to witness the contact between VK2ZTY and NA1SS. The 
> youngest
> student, Amy, VK2FCAT, a recent Foundation licensee, had the honor of
> establishing contact with NA1SS. Williams told one youngster that there's 
> no
> single most-important experiment under way aboard the ISS.
>
> "We have a whole bunch of experiments that we're doing that will help us
> understand what it takes to counter the weightless environment for people 
> in
> long-durations in space," Williams explained, "primarily in preparation 
> for
> going back to the moon and staying there and on to Mars, because it takes 
> a
> long time to get to Mars, do the mission and come back."
>
> Williams said he misses his family most of all during his space mission. 
> "I
> also miss the smells of Earth," he continued, "the smells of nature --
> flowers, the wind. I miss quietness."
>
> After the ISS went out of range, ARISS mentor Tony Hutchison, VK5ZAI, 
> picked
> up where Williams left off, answering a half-dozen questions that the
> students weren't able to fit in during the nearly eight-minute pass. He 
> also
> took more questions from the audience. Just after sunset, those gathered 
> at
> the small school were treated to a clear view of the ISS passing overhead 
> on
> its next orbit.
>
> ARISS <http://www.rac.ca/ariss> is an international educational outreach,
> with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.
>
> ==>ICOM TO BE 2006 ARRL NOVEMBER SWEEPSTAKES PRINCIPAL AWARDS SPONSOR
>
> Icom has generously agreed to serve for a second year as principal awards
> sponsor for the ARRL November Sweepstakes. The Amateur Radio equipment
> manufacturer first took on that role for the 2005 events. This week, the
> company announced it would do the same this year. The 2006 CW Sweeps takes
> place November 4-5, while the phone Sweeps is November 18-19. Under its
> agreement with ARRL, Icom will be the principal sponsor for nearly 150
> unsponsored contest plaques that recognize various levels of operating
> achievement in the popular annual competition.
>
> "We are pleased to continue our role as principal awards sponsor for the
> 2006 November Sweepstakes," said Icom Amateur Radio Products National 
> Sales
> Manager Ray Novak, N9JA. "It's a mutually beneficial arrangement and
> enhances the contesting experience for everyone."
>
> ARRL Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B, said the agreement with
> Icom will permit the League to recognize the accomplishments of many more 
> of
> Sweepstakes participants, not just the very top scorers. Contest award
> plaques lacking club or individual sponsorship typically cost their 
> winners
> $60 to $70 apiece.
>
> The 2005 ARRL-Icom Sweepstakes pact marked the first-ever corporate awards
> sponsorship for ARRL November Sweepstakes awards. Kramer has assured 
> members
> -- in particular, regular ARRL contest participants -- that Icom's
> sponsorship will not in any way affect the integrity of the League's 
> overall
> program of operating events. Individuals and non-commercial organizations
> already sponsor many plaques, and ARRL and Icom encourage their continued
> participation in the awards program.
>
> ==>REPORTED "FIREDRAGON" JAMMER/INTRUDER SHIFTS FREQUENCY
>
> A Chinese-language "intruder" signal first spotted earlier this summer on
> 14.260 MHz this week shifted frequencies. International Amateur Radio 
> Union
> Region 1 Monitoring System (IARUMS) Vice coordinator Uli Bihlmayer, DJ9KR,
> says the powerful jammer -- dubbed "Firedragon" -- had been transmitting
> solely Chinese music on 14.260 MHz since August 5.
>
> "This offender is active day and night -- all day, every day -- and 
> causing
> very harmful interference to the Amateur Radio Service," Bihlmayer 
> informed
> ARRL Monitoring System/Intruder Watch Liaison Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG, and 
> IARU
> Region 2 Monitoring System Coordinator Bill Zellers, WA4FKI, on August 15.
> In an August 17 update, however, Bihlmayer said the music jammer had moved
> to 14.050 MHz. That part of the 20-meter band is allocated to the Amateur
> Radio Service on an exclusive basis throughout the world.
>
> Prior to August 5, Skolaut said, reports indicated that the transmission
> contained both talk and music and was more intermittent, but "now it's
> pretty continuous and entirely music."
>
> According to Bihlmayer, German telecom authorities pinpointed the
> transmitter's location as Hainan Island in Hainan Sheng Province, Peoples'
> Republic of China (PRC), located south of the mainland in the Gulf of
> Tonkin. Hainan Island also was the apparent source of an over-the-horizon
> radar signal heard on 75 meters in Region 3. Bihlmayer said.
>
> Citing complaints from members, Skolaut has reported the intruder to the
> FCC, although as he and Zellers point out, the Commission has no authority
> to make intruder stations outside the US stop transmitting on Amateur 
> Radio
> frequencies. Such situations typically are dealt with through diplomatic
> channels.
>
> Skolaut says he was able to hear the jammer for himself this week -- on 
> its
> new frequency -- from W1AW. Until earlier this week, the same jammer also
> was appearing on 18.160 MHz. In July, Bihlmayer alerted telecom 
> authorities
> in Germany and Hong Kong, as well as IARU Region 3 and the PRC embassy in
> Berlin to the situation. The 17-meter band also is a worldwide exclusive
> Amateur Radio allocation.
>
> According to reports filed this month with DX Listening Digest
> <http://www.worldofradio.com/index.html>, the 14.260 MHz Firedragon signal
> was an effort by the PRC to jam the clandestine "Sound of Hope" 
> transmission
> beamed to the Chinese mainland from Taiwan, with Amateur Radio operators
> being caught in the crossfire. The "parallel" signal on 18.160 MHz
> apparently disappeared earlier this week, and the jammer now has been
> appearing on 17.330 MHz. The signal also has been heard on 7.130 MHz, 
> which
> is allocated to broadcasters in much of the world outside of Region 2 (the
> Americas).
>
> Short wave listeners said the AM carrier, heard earlier this summer on
> various 20-meter phone band frequencies, would occasionally drop out at 
> the
> top of the hour, apparently for a monitoring check, then reappear five
> minutes later.
>
> Skolaut says he's received reports about the music jammer from all over 
> the
> US. "I have one ham reporting it regularly from New Zealand," he said.
>
> ==>ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL REVIEWS IARU'S ROLE AND STRUCTURE
>
> Meeting in Bangalore, India, August 12-14, the International Amateur Radio
> Union (IARU) <http://www.iaru.org> Administrative Council heard a progress
> report from an ad hoc panel that's looking into the IARU's future role and
> structure. The Council wants the committee to provide a recommendation by
> year's end addressing the feasibility, budget and possible timetable to 
> put
> a revised organization into place.
>
> The Council also reviewed and tentatively agreed with the recommendations
> and conclusions of a study aimed at improving coordination on
> electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) matters. Final approval of the report,
> prepared by the ARRL in its role as IARU International Secretariat, is
> subject to additional input from the IARU EMC adviser. The study includes
> several suggestions to improve information flow among radio amateurs
> worldwide who are working on this important topic.
>
> Turning to other matters, the Council determined to continue its strategic
> planning initiative begun in 2003, and it reviewed progress on a 
> three-year
> plan to develop support for Amateur Radio frequency allocations. The plan
> provides for the IARU, working through its regional organizations, to
> maintain -- and increase -- contact with regional telecommunications
> organizations.
>
> The Council also identified International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
> meetings requiring an IARU presence over the coming year and reviewed 
> plans
> for representation. The principal focus continues to be on preparations 
> for
> the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07).
>
> Council members also went over plans for IARU participation in Telecom 
> World
> 2006 and the accompanying forum. Telecom World 2006 will take place 
> December
> 4-8 in Hong Kong.
>
> A report on the 2006 Global Amateur Radio Emergency Conference (GAREC 
> 2006),
> held in June in Tampere, Finland, was reviewed. It was agreed to publish 
> the
> "Statement of GAREC-06" on behalf of the conference to call it to the
> attention of IARU member-societies. The Council thanked International
> Coordinator for Emergency Communications Hans Zimmermann, F5VKP/HB9AQS, 
> for
> his continuing work in this important area, which includes preparation of 
> an
> IARU Emergency Communications Handbook.
>
> Three humanitarian aid workers and radio amateurs were named as the 
> initial
> honorees for inclusion in the IARU "Memorial for Amateurs Killed in
> Humanitarian Service." They are Pero Simundza, 9A4SP, Carlos Luis Caceres,
> KD4SYB, and Nadisha Yassari Ranmuthu, 4S7NR. Simundza and Caceres were 
> among
> a group of United Nations workers killed by a mob in West Timor in 2000.
> Ranmuthu, an International Red Cross aid worker from Sri Lanka, was shot 
> to
> death near Baghdad, Iraq, in 2003.
>
> The Council reviewed a working document describing the requirements for
> radio spectrum allocations to the Amateur and Amateur-Satellite services.
> Delegates strengthened references to the need for an amateur allocation in
> the vicinity of 5 MHz.
>
> The International Secretariat presented -- and the Council reviewed -- the
> IARU's 2007-2009 budget. The spending plan provides for financial
> contributions from the three IARU regional organizations to defray a 
> portion
> of the expenses, in accordance with previously adopted policy.
>
> In additional actions, the Administrative Council:
>
> * created an IARU exploratory committee to investigate ways to move 
> forward
> with plans for a commonly adopted Amateur Radio license that would permit
> amateurs to operate in countries other than their own without the need to
> obtain a permit from the host country.
>
> * discussed problems facing QSL bureaus operated by IARU member-societies,
> recognizing that the cost of forwarding of QSL cards is substantial for 
> some
> member-societies.
>
> * received and discussed reports from the three IARU regional 
> organizations,
> acknowledging that member-societies in all regions face financial
> challenges.
>
> * received reports of the other IARU international coordinators and
> advisers.
>
> Additionally, the International Secretariat agreed to undertake efforts to
> increase the visibility of IARU activities within the worldwide Amateur
> Radio community.
>
> This month's Administrative Council meeting followed on the heels of the
> IARU Region 3 Conference, also held in Bangalore. The next IARU
> Administrative Council meeting is set to take place next May in Boston,
> Massachusetts.
>
> Attending the Bangalore gathering were IARU President Larry Price, W4RA;
> Vice President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA; Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ;
> regional representatives Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, Don Beattie, G3BJ, Rod
> Stafford, W6ROD, Reinaldo Leandro, YV5AMH, Chandru Ramchandra, VU2RCR, K. 
> C.
> Selvadurai, 9V1UV, and Peter Lake, ZL2AZ; and recording secretary Paul
> Rinaldo, W4RI.
>
> ==>DXCC ANNOUNCES ACCREDITATION CRITERIA RULE CHANGE
>
> ARRL's DXCC program has added language to its Accreditation Criteria to
> minimize difficulties stemming from online DXpedition logs. The change,
> recently approved by the ARRL Board of Directors Programs and Services
> Committee, limits the level of QSO detail that DXpeditions may provide on
> Web-based log sites, search engines or other public forums and still 
> qualify
> for DXCC accreditation. ARRL Membership Services Manager Wayne Mills, 
> N7NG,
> notes that it's become accepted practice for DXpeditions to post QSO
> information on the Web.
>
> "Although this information is generally limited to call sign, band and 
> mode,
> it has been useful in reducing the number of duplicate contacts in the
> DXpedition log," Mills points out. "Publishing complete QSO information or
> information from which full QSO information can be derived, on the other
> hand, threatens the integrity of the QSLing process, and is unacceptable."
>
> Mills says at least some key information a station provides when 
> submitting
> a DXpedition contact for DXCC credit must be obtained solely by actually
> making the QSO. "If complete contact information can be derived from
> information based on the DXpedition log, the QSL manager's job can be much
> more difficult if busted calls are involved," he says.
>
> Section III, Accreditation Criteria, Rule 5, of the DXCC rules states:
>
> "The presentation in any public forum of logs or other representations of
> station operation showing details of station activity or other information
> from which all essential QSO elements (time, date, band, mode and call 
> sign)
> for individual contacts can be derived creates a question as to the
> integrity of the claimed QSOs with that station during the period
> encompassed by the log. Presentation of such information in any public 
> forum
> by the station operator, operators or associated parties is not allowed 
> and
> may be considered sufficient reason to deny ARRL award credit for contacts
> with any station for which such presentations have been made. Persistent
> violation of this provision may result in disqualification from the DXCC
> program."
>
> "In almost every case, the new accreditation rule will change nothing," 
> said
> Mills, calling the new rule a "reasonable compromise" in terms of its 
> impact
> on the program's integrity. "Publishing band and mode information for each
> call sign -- as is now done -- is perfectly acceptable. It is only the 
> rare
> case where complete QSO information is published or can be derived from
> published data that we are concerned about."
>
> ==>SOLAR UPDATE
>
>Propagation guru Tad "Sunshine Superman" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington,
> reports: Solar flux and sunspot numbers were up a bit this week, with the
> average daily sunspot number rising by 25 points to 33.6. Friday, August 
> 11,
> had a daily sunspot number of 39. With more sunspots, the higher HF bands
> exhibit better propagation than they did nearly two weeks ago when the
> sunspot number was zero for four days in a row.
>
> A coronal mass ejection (CME) August 16 could cause geomagnetic 
> disturbances
> this weekend. The predicted planetary A index for August 18-21 is 10, 25, 
> 15
> and 8.
>
> We are still anticipating the upcoming solar minimum, but a large amount 
> of
> e-mail arrived this week regarding news from NASA of what could be the 
> first
> spot of Cycle 24
> <http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/15aug_backwards.htm>. The sunspot
> appeared briefly, then disappeared. The clue was the short-lived sunspot's
> magnetic polarity, which was the opposite of sunspots during the current
> Cycle 23. As time goes on, there will be more Cycle 24 spots and fewer 
> Cycle
> 23 spots.
>
> For more information concerning radio propagation, see the ARRL Technical
> Information Service at http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html. For 
> a
> detailed explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin, see
> http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/k9la-prop.html. An archive of past 
> propagation
> bulletins is at http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/.
>
> Sunspot numbers for August 10 through 16 were 37, 39, 27, 26, 45, 32 and 
> 29,
> with a mean of 33.6. 10.7 cm flux was 80.3, 83.9, 84.7, 85.9, 86.4, 85.6,
> and 86, with a mean of 84.7. Estimated planetary A indices were 5, 6, 8, 
> 2,
> 4, 3 and 3, with a mean of 4.4. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 4, 
> 3,
> 4, 2, 2, 2 and 2, with a mean of 2.7.
>
> __________________________________
>
> ==>IN BRIEF:
>
> * This weekend on the radio: The ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest, the North
> American QSO Party (SSB), the SARTG World Wide RTTY Contest, and the New
> Jersey QSO Party, as well as the International Lighthouse/Lightship 
> Weekend
> are the weekend of August 19-20. The Run for the Bacon QRP Contest is 
> August
> 21. JUST AHEAD: the Ohio and Hawaii QSO parties, the ALARA Contest, the
> Keyman's Club of Japan Contest, the YO DX HF Contest, the SCC RTTY
> Championship, the SARL HF CW Contest and the CQC Summer VHF/UHF QSO Party
> are the weekend of August 26-27. 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:
> Registration remains open through Sunday, September 3, for these ARRL
> Certification and Continuing Education (CCE) online courses. Classes begin
> Friday September 15. 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). 
> These
> courses also will open for registration Friday, September 1, for classes
> beginning Friday, October 20. 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>.
>
> * ISS Expedition 12 commander to keynote AMSAT Space Symposium: AMSAT has
> announced announce that ISS Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR,
> will be the keynote speaker at the 2006 AMSAT Space Symposium this fall in
> the San Francisco Bay area. The Space Symposium takes place October 6-8.
> During his six months aboard the ISS -- from October 2005 until April 2006
> -- McArthur became the most active radio amateur ever to serve in space,
> logging more than 1800 QSOs and picking up several honorary operating
> awards, including Worked All States and Worked All Continents. He also
> established an impressive new milestone of 37 Amateur Radio on the
> International Space Station (ARISS) school contacts. In addition, he put 
> 130
> DXCC entities into the NA1SS log and now is in the process of collecting 
> the
> cards for DXCC. A veteran of four spaceflights and spacewalks, McArthur 
> will
> speak during the annual banquet the evening of Saturday, October 7. The 
> 2006
> Space Symposium will be held jointly with the ARISS International and IARU
> Satellite Advisory Panel annual meetings and an AMSAT International
> Delegates meeting. Additional information and Space Sysmposium online
> registration are available on the AMSAT Web site <http://www.amsat.org>.
>
> * Paul J. Graziani, W5ZK, wins July QST Cover Plaque Award: The winner of
> the QST Cover Plaque Award for July is Paul J. Graziani, W5ZK, for his
> article "Tune in a Beacon Station." Congratulations, Paul! The winner of 
> the
> QST Cover Plaque award -- given to the author or authors of the best 
> article
> in each issue -- is determined by a vote of ARRL members on the QST Cover
> Plaque Poll Web page <http://www.arrl.org/members-only/QSTvote.html>. Cast 
> a
> ballot for your favorite article in the August issue by Thursday, August 
> 31.
>
>
> * DXCC Desk approves operations for DXCC credit: The ARRL DXCC Desk has
> approved these operations for DXCC credit: KH8SI, K1ER/KH8, KS6FO/KH8,
> WH7S/KH8, K8YSE/KH8, AH7C/KH8 and KH6BK/KH8 -- Swain's Island, for 
> contacts
> made from July 28 through August 2, 2006. The DXCC Desk will begin 
> accepting
> QSL cards for Swain's Island on October 1. 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.
>
> * Setting the record straight: The brief obituary for Don Newcomb, W0DN,
> that appeared in The ARRL Letter, Vol 25, No 32 (Aug 11, 2006), contained
> incomplete information. Newcomb, who died July 27, co-founded the 
> Butternut
> Company with Pat Tice, WA0TDA. "We started the company in the basement of 
> an
> old country schoolhouse Don was using as a home," Tice recalled this week.
> "It happened to be in Butternut Township, Blue Earth County, Minnesota --
> hence the 'Butternut' name."
>
> ===========================================================
> The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American
> Radio Relay League: ARRL--the National Association For Amateur Radio, 225
> Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259;
> <http://www.arrl.org>. Joel Harrison, W5ZN, President.
>
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