[South Florida DX Association] The ARRL Letter for June 3, 2010

Thu Jun 3 18:09:30 EDT 2010

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The ARRL Letter

June 3, 2010
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA <mailto:k1sfa at arrl.org>
ARRL Home Page <http://www.arrl.org/> 	
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    * + 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season Begins This Week <#toc01>
    * + /On the Air/ : Join the Fun on VHF in the ARRL VHF QSO Party
      <#toc02>
    * + /Amateur Radio in Space/ : Australia Students Celebrate WIA
      Centenary with ARISS QSO <#toc03>
    * /ARRL in Action/ : What Have We Been Up to Lately? <#toc04>
    * + /International Perspective/ : 2010 IARU Eyeball QSO Contest
      Results <#toc05>
    * + /ARRL Recognizes/ : Mert Nellis, W0UFO, Wins May /QST/ // Cover
      Plaque Award <#toc06>
    * + Solar Update <#toc07>
    * This Week on the Radio <#toc08>

+ Available on /ARRL Audio News/ <http://www.arrl.org/arrl-audio-news>

/+ After installing some software updates, we are pleased to be able to 
once again offer the ARRL Audio News via telephone. By calling 
*860-594-0384*, you can listen to the latest edition of the Audio News. /

+ 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season Begins This Week

Forecasters are calling for a busy hurricane system this season/

The Atlantic hurricane season could be the busiest since 2005, when 
Katrina and Rita caused massive destruction along the same part of the 
Gulf Coast now struggling with the largest offshore oil spill in US 
history, government scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA) said last week. According to NOAA's predictions, 
the 2010 season may spawn as many as 23 named tropical storms, including 
up to seven major hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season began 
Tuesday, June 1 and runs through November 30.

"This year's hurricane season is forecasted to be a busy one, with a 
strong chance of a major hurricane making landfall in the US," said ARRL 
Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager Mike Corey, W5MPC. "I would 
encourage all amateurs in hurricane-prone areas to take part in any 
planning, drills or exercises, have your go-kits in order, review your 
local plans, make sure your home and family are safe and be ready if 
called upon. We here at ARRL Headquarters are already making plans to 
assist amateurs in the field if and when needed this season." Read more 
here <http://www.arrl.org/news/2010-atlantic-hurricane-season-begins-today>.

+ /On the Air/: Join the Fun on VHF in the ARRL VHF QSO Party

Malcolm Scrimger, VE7DAO, of Victoria, British Columbia, activated 
Special Event Station VE7IYOA from Mt Tolmie for the 2009 ARRL June VHF 
QSO Party. The station, to commemorate the International Year of 
Astronomy, intrigued many visitors to the park, giving Scrimger 
opportunity to explain not only how astronomy has evolved over 400 
years, but the Amateur Radio Service.

Lots of RF will be generated on 6 meters and up the weekend of June 
12-13 during the 2010 ARRL VHF QSO Party 
<http://www.arrl.org/june-vhf-qso-party>. While many amateurs think of 
the VHF+ bands as a "local" band for public service, emergency 
communications or even a bit of fun on FM repeaters, weak-signal VHF+ 
enthusiasts know better. Even with a modest station, it's possible to 
work hundreds, or even thousands of miles, on the VHF bands during a 
good opening.

ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, is a big VHF enthusiast 
himself. "In more than 25 years of Amateur Radio, weak-signal work on 6 
and 2 meters remains the most fun and intriguing activity I do. There is 
nothing like a good VHF opening; with interesting propagation 
characteristics like Sporadic-E, tropospheric ducting, aurora and even 
meteor scatter and moonbounce, VHF offers QSO opportunities that HF can 
never satisfy." The ARRL June VHF QSO Party 
<http://www.arrl.org/june-vhf-qso-party> runs from 1800 UTC Saturday, 
June 12 through 0300 UTC Monday, June 14 (Saturday afternoon to Sunday 
evening for most of the US and Canada). Complete rules and entry forms 
may be found on the ARRL Web site. Read more here 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/join-the-fun-on-vhf-in-the-arrl-vhf-qso-party>.

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+ /Amateur Radio in Space/: Australia Students Celebrate WIA Centenary 
with ARISS QSO

Students from the Trinity Christian School at Wanniassa in the 
Australian Capital Territory made history on May 29 with the first 
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact to be 
held in Canberra. The event was part of the Wireless Institute of 
Australia (WIA) Centenary Dinner on May 29. More than 200 people 
attended the event, including international guests IARU President Tim 
Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA, and ARRL International Vice President Jay Bellows, 
K0QB, as well as prominent Australians such as IARU Region 3 Chairman 
Michael Owen, VK3KI, Australian Communications and Media Authority 
Chairman Chris Chapman and WIA Centenary Patron Dick Smith, VK2DIK. The 
principal of Trinity Christian School is Carl Palmer, VK2TP/VK1TP. Read 
more here 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/australia-students-celebrate-wia-centenary-with-ariss-qso>.

/ARRL in Action/: What Have We Been Up to Lately?

This feature -- including convenient Web links to useful information -- 
is a concise monthly update of some of the things ARRL is doing on 
behalf of its members, including bringing the ever-popular ARRL EXPO to 
the 2010 Dayton Hamvention^® , awarding college scholarships, releasing 
new books, holding Section Manager elections and more. This installment 
covers the month of May. Read more here 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-in-action-what-have-we-been-up-to-lately-22>.

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+ Texas Group to Host International Earth-Moon-Earth Conference in August

The North Texas Microwave Society (NTMS <http://www.ntms.org/>) will 
host the 14th International EME Conference <http://www.ntms.org/eme/> in 
Dallas, Texas on August 12-14. This is the first time the conference has 
been held in the US since 2004. Whether you are an experienced EMEer or 
new to EME, the conference will offer a wide range of technical, social 
and sight-seeing activities. Gerald Youngblood, K5SDR, President and 
Chief Executive Officer of FlexRadio, will be the lunchtime speaker on 
Friday, August 13; Nobel laureate Joe Taylor, K1JT, will speak about 
April's 432 MHz EME event at Arecibo 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/moonbounce-for-everyone-courtesy-of-the-arecibo-radio-telescope> 
on Saturday, August 14. Presentations will include a noise figure 
workshop hosted by Al Ward, W5LUA, Tommy Henderson, WD5AGO, and Tony 
Emanuele, WA8RJF, as well as an EME demonstration by Paul Perryman, 
WA5WCP, and exhibits featuring a number of dealers. The event will also 
feature tours for both attendees and their spouses to various historic 
sites around the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Organizers are still soliciting 
people to speak or submit articles for the conference's /Technical 
Proceedings/. If interested, please contact Barry Malowanchuk, VE4MA, 
via e-mail <mailto:ve4ma at shaw.ca>. A block of rooms has been reserved 
<http://www.ntms.org/eme/hotel.php> at the Westin Hotel, a short shuttle 
ride from DFW Airport; rooms must be reserved by July 12 to take 
advantage of special rates.

+ /International Perspective/: 2010 IARU Eyeball QSO Contest Results

At the 2010 Dayton Hamvention^® , the International Amateur Radio Union 
(IARU) and the ARRL sponsored a game that involved searching for hams 
visiting from outside the USA. According to ARRL Membership and 
Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton, NN1N, the idea was to obtain 
calls and names from as many different DXCC entities (from outside the 
USA) as possible by making "eyeball QSOs" during the Hamvention.

"No one knew exactly what to expect," Patton said, "as there hadn't been 
a formal list of attendees from outside the USA in the recent past. But 
amazingly, there were at least 138 hams from 48 DXCC entities -- not 
including all the DXpeditioners who signed with their DXpedition calls 
-- appearing on the eyeball QSO cards that were turned in to IARU 
officials at the end of the event to the IARU staff." As for the 
winners, Patton said that "everyone was a winner through the interaction 
with all the international guests, and the Top 10 will receive gift 
certificates from the ARRL."

The Top 10 winners -- including a tie for first place --were (with 
number of international "eyeball QSOs" following their call sign): 
Margreet Blondeel Timmerman, K2XYL (24); Frank Butler, W4RH (24); Lewis 
Ankerbrand, W3GHU (19); Steve Gocala, KB8VAO (18); Allen Olender, WA8IWK 
(14); Stan Arnett, AC8W (14); Judy Attaya-Harris, KB1SRO (12); Coy Day, 
N5OK (12); Preben Mailand Christensen, OZ1HHH (10); Ed Moyer, AB3AH (9), 
and Ken Lowry, W8ND (6). For a list of the 138 call signs representing 
almost 50 DXCC entities, click here 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/2010-iaru-eyeball-qso-contest-results>.

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+ /ARRL Recognizes/: Mert Nellis, W0UFO, Wins May /QST/// Cover Plaque Award

The winner of the /QST/ //Cover Plaque Award for May is Mert Nellis, 
W0UFO, for his article "Build an Ampere-Hour Meter for Portable 
Operations." /Congratulations Mert!/ T//he 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/cover-plaque-poll>. Cast 
a ballot for your favorite article in the June issue by Wednesday, June 30.

+ Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, June 3, 2010 from NASA's SOHO Extreme 
Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope 
<http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/realtime-update.html>. 
This MDI <http://soi.stanford.edu/> (Michelson Doppler Imager) image was 
taken in the continuum near the Ni I 6768 Angstrom line. The most 
prominent features are the sunspots. This is very much how the Sun looks 
in the visible range of the spectrum.

Tad "Fear no more the heat o' the Sun 
<http://www.absoluteshakespeare.com/plays/cymbeline/a4s2.htm>," Cook, 
K7RA, reports: Sunspot group 1072 -- reported in last week's bulletin -- 
was visible for nine days, until May 28. When it disappeared on May 29, 
three new groups appeared: 1073, 1074 and 1075. On May 29-31, the 
sunspot number was 43, 40 and 39, but geomagnetic indices were high as 
well, with the planetary A index at 33 on May 29 and the planetary K 
index up to 5. On the same day, the college A index (Alaska) was 53, 
with the college K index as high as 7. So we have had some increased 
sunspot activity, but the downside for HF operators has been geomagnetic 
storms. Look for more information, including a rare 2 meter sporadic-E 
opening, on the ARRL Web site on Friday, June 4. For more information 
concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information 
Service Propagation page 
<http://www.arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals>. This week's "Tad 
Cookism" brought to you by William Shakespeare's /Cymbeline 
<http://www.absoluteshakespeare.com/plays/cymbeline/cymbeline.htm>/ (Act 
IV, Scene 2).

This Week on the Radio

This week, the Ten-Ten International Open Season Contest and the Alabama 
QSO Party are June 5-6. The CWOps Mini-CWT Test is June 9-10. Next week, 
the ARRL June VHF QSO Party 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/join-the-fun-on-vhf-in-the-arrl-vhf-qso-party> 
is June 12-14. Another running of the NCCC Sprint Ladder takes place 
June 11. On June 12, look for the BARTG Sprint, the Portugal Day Contest 
and the Bill Windle QSO Party. TheDRCG Long Distance Contest (RTTY) is 
June 12-13 and the SKCC Weekend Sprint is June 13. All dates, unless 
otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest Branch page 
<http://www.arrl.org/contests>, the /ARRL Contest Update 
<http://www.arrl.org/The-ARRL-Contest-Update>/ and the WA7BNM Contest 
Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more 
info. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the ARRL 
Special Event Station Web page <http://www.arrl.org/special-events>.

ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration

Registration remains open through *Sunday, June 20, 2010*, for these 
online course sessions <http://www.arrl.org/online-course-registration> 
beginning on *Friday, July 2, 2010*: Amateur Radio Emergency 
Communications Level 1; Antenna Design and Construction; Propagation; 
Analog Electronics, and Digital Electronics. To learn more, visit the 
CEP Course Listing page <http://www.arrl.org/online-courses> or contact 
the Continuing Education Program Coordinator <mailto:cce at arrl.org>.

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