[South Florida DX Association] The ARRL Letter for June 10, 2010
Bill
bmarx at bellsouth.net
Thu Jun 10 18:05:22 EDT 2010
If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:
http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2010-06-10
The ARRL Letter
June 10, 2010
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA <mailto:k1sfa at arrl.org>
ARRL Home Page <http://www.arrl.org/>
/ARRL Letter/ Archive <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>
Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>
Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&i=2010-06-10&t=t>
* + /Public Service/ : Amateur Radio Operators Active during Severe
Tornado Breakout in Northwestern Ohio <#toc01>
* + /FCC News/ : In FCC Rule Making Proceeding, ARRL Supports
Employee Participation in Drills <#toc02>
* + /ARRL Field Day/ : Field Day Station Locator Service Returns for
2010 <#toc03>
* + Boy Scouts Revive Four Merit Badges for 100th Anniversary <#toc04>
* + /On the Air/ : ARRL Using Twitter to Promote Field Day <#toc05>
* + /Coming Up in QST/ : Take a Look at What's in Store for July
<#toc06>
* + Solar Update <#toc07>
* This Week on the Radio <#toc08>
+ Available on /ARRL Audio News/ <http://www.arrl.org/arrl-audio-news>
+ /Public Service/: Amateur Radio Operators Active during Severe Tornado
Breakout in Northwestern Ohio
A family surveys their home, destroyed by a tornado in Northwestern
Ohio. [Tony Everhardt, N8WAC, Photo]
During the early overnight hours of Saturday, June 5 through Sunday,
June 6, severe weather and tornadoes ripped across an area of
Northwestern Ohio, laying a large path of destruction. ARES and SKYWARN
groups in Erie, Huron, Sandusky and Wood Counties activated nets as
early as 10:30 PM Saturday, with many not standing down until 4:30 AM
the next day. According to ARRL Ohio Section Manager Frank Piper, KI8GW,
traffic on the nets was filled with reports of severe weather damage,
flooding and downed power lines. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/amateur-radio-operators-active-during-severe-tornado-breakout-in-northwestern-ohio>.
+ /FCC News/: In FCC Rule Making Proceeding, ARRL Supports Employee
Participation in Drills
In March 2010, the FCC released a /Notice of Proposed Rule Making/
(/NPRM/) (WT Docket No 10-72) that proposed to amend the Part 97 rules
-- specifically 97.113(a)(3) -- governing the Amateur Radio Service. The
new rules would provide that, under certain limited conditions, Amateur
Radio operators may transmit communications on behalf of their employers
during government-sponsored emergency and disaster preparedness drills.
While current rules provide for Amateur Radio use during emergencies,
the rules prohibit communications where the station licensee or control
operator has a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of
an employer, except for government-sponsored drills for which a waiver
has been granted. The /NPRM/ asked for comments from interested parties.
As such, on May 24, the ARRL filed its initial comments and on June 7,
filed its reply comments. The ARRL's filings reflect the position
adopted by the Board of Directors at its January 2010 meeting. Read more
here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/in-fcc-rule-making-proceeding-arrl-supports-employee-participation-in-drills>.
+ /FCC News/: FCC Dismisses California Ham's /Petition/ to Amend Section
97.1
In September 2009, Gordon Schlesinger, W6LBV, of San Diego, California,
filed a /Petition for Rule Making/ with the FCC, seeking to amend
Section 97.1 of the Commission's rules to account for changes in
technology and amateur practice since the rule was adopted. On June 8,
2010, the FCC dismissed Schlesinger's /Petition/. Schlesinger proposed
new text in his /Petition/ that he claimed "is equivalent to a total
restatement of the Basis and Purpose for the Amateur Radio Service, to
account for the numerous and significant changes both in wireless
technology and in the practice of the Amateur Radio art over the
intervening decades since the present Basis and Purpose was adopted. The
current Basis and Purpose, which consists of five goals for the Amateur
Radio Service, appears to have been adopted more than 50 years ago. The
dramatic change in both telecommunications technology and the practice
of Amateur Radio over the past five decades strongly suggests that a
review and reconstitution of the Basis and Purpose is in order." Read
more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-dismisses-california-ham-s-petition-to-amend-section-97-1>.
Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2010-06-10&p=0>
+ /ARRL Field Day/: Field Day Station Locator Service Returns for 2010
ARRL Field Day is always the fourth full weekend in June. This year,
Field Day is on June 26-27.
First introduced in 2008, the ARRL's Field Day Station Locator Service
<http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator> has proved a popular addition to
the Field Day toolbox. This service -- an interactive map that helps
amateurs or those interested in Amateur Radio find a Field Day
<http://www.arrl.org/field-day> site near them -- is free to clubs or
individuals who will be operating public Field Day stations. Stations
can also be listed by state or province. So far, hams in all 50 states
and Puerto Rico have listed Field Day sites on the Field Day Locator. If
your group would like to be a part of the Station Locator Service, it's
easy to get started -- just go to the Field Day Station Locator Web site
<http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator> and follow the instructions
(this is a different link than was printed in the Field Day packets).
ARRL Field Day is the most popular on-the-air operating event in Amateur
Radio. On June 26-27, join tens of thousands of Amateur Radio operators
as they gather for a public demonstration of the Amateur Service.
+ Boy Scouts Revive Four Merit Badges for 100th Anniversary
In keeping with Boy Scouts of America's centennial theme -- /Celebrating
the Adventure, Continuing the Journey/ -- four retired badges have been
brought back for the group's 100th anniversary. The effective date for
earning these new merit badges -- Carpentry (1911-1952), Tracking
(formerly Stalking, 1911-1952), Pathfinding (1911-1952) and Signaling
(formerly Signaler, 1910-1992) -- is April 1, 2010; requirements must be
completed no later than December 31, 2010. The contemporary merit badges
closely resemble the original designs of their counterparts, but with a
gold border, immediately identifying it as a 2010 historic merit badge.
These four historical merit badges may be used toward a Scout's rank
advancement.
"The Signaling merit badge is a great way to encourage hams who are
already involved in Scouting to mentor this limited-time badge in their
Troop and perhaps in other ways, such as camps," said ARRL Rocky
Mountain Division Director Brian Mileshosky, N5ZGT; Mileshosky is the
chairman of the ARRL's /ad hoc/ Committee on Scouting. "Hams -- and
especially clubs, that have more resources and volunteers -- who are not
involved in Scouting at the present time but want to assist a Troop with
earning the Signaling merit badge -- should contact their local BSA
Council to inquire about Scoutmasters in their area to contact and offer
their assistance." The requirements for the Signaling merit badge are
the original requirements as written in 1911. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/boy-scouts-of-america-revive-four-merit-badges-for-100th-anniversary-including-signaling>.
+ /On the Air/: ARRL Using Twitter to Promote Field Day
This year, the ARRL will be using Twitter <http://twitter.com/ARRL_FD>
to promote Field Day events. According to ARRL Media and Public
Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, more and more people, both young
and old, are using social networking sites -- such as Twitter and
Facebook
<http://www.facebook.com/story.php?id=1126126806&share_id=133156716701040&rc1a73746&r24746a04#%21/pages/ARRL-the-National-Association-for-Amateur-Radio/20069212407>
-- to keep their friends up-to-date with their latest activities. The
account for ARRL's Field Day actions with Twitter is ARRL_FD
<http://twitter.com/ARRL_FD>. Sign up to create your own Twitter account
-- it's free -- and follow ARRL_FD. If you already have a Twitter
account, just follow us.
Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that enables
its users to send and read messages known as tweets
<http://support.twitter.com/articles/15367-how-to-post-a-twitter-update-or-tweet>,
text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's
profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers (who are known as
followers). You can send these short messages by computer or even via
text with your cell phone. When you receive a tweet, you can also relay
it on to your own followers (called a retweet
<http://support.twitter.com/articles/77606-what-is-retweet-rt>). Your
followers can in turn relay it even further, getting your message spread
around, growing and going.
Pitts explained that posts with #FIELDDAY (the # sign must be included)
in with the message, Twitter will keep track of it: "If there is enough
traffic with #FIELDDAY in the text, then major blogs and news outlets
take note of it. So by taking part in this experiment, tweeting and
using the #FIELDDAY insert in with your message -- called a hashtag
<http://support.twitter.com/articles/49309-what-are-hashtags-symbols> --
will help bring all of Field Day to the media's attention. Social
networking is new to a lot of us, but I found it is really not hard at
all to learn and do. The more people we get on, the more tweeting we do,
we have the wonderful opportunity to expose Amateur Radio to a new
audience."
Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2010-06-10&p=1>
/Propagation/: Space Weather and Solar Storms Topics at Forum in
Nation's Capital
The National Space Weather Program Council held a forum in Washington,
DC earlier this week. On Tuesday, June 8 at the National Press Club, the
Space Weather Enterprise Forum discussed how solar storms affect today's
technological society. This is the fourth year in a row that
policymakers, researchers, legislators and reporters have gathered in
Washington to share ideas about space weather. This year, forum
organizers sharpened the focus on critical infrastructure protection,
with the ultimate goal to improve the nation's ability to prepare,
mitigate and respond to potentially devastating space weather events in
order to serve a broad and growing user community.
According to Richard Fisher, the Sun is "waking up from a deep slumber,
and in the next few years we expect to see much higher levels of solar
activity. At the same time, our technological society has developed an
unprecedented sensitivity to solar storms. The intersection of these two
issues is what we're getting together to discuss. I believe we're on the
threshold of a new era in which space weather can be as influential in
our daily lives as ordinary terrestrial weather. We take this very
seriously indeed." Fisher is the head of NASA's Heliophysics Division.
Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/space-weather-and-solar-storms-to-be-topics-at-upcoming-forum-in-nation-s-capital>.
+ /Coming Up in QST/: Take a Look at What's in Store for July
The July issue of /QST/ is jam-packed with all sorts of things today's
Amateur Radio operator needs. From product reviews to experiments to
contesting -- including a look at how Amateur Radio fits into the Boy
Scouts of America's 2010 National Scout Jamboree -- the upcoming issue
of /QST/ has something for just about everyone.
If you've ever had a hankering to try your hand at making some digital
QSOs but you weren't sure if you had the right equipment, look no
further. After reading an article in the January 2010 issue of /QST/
about how to get on the air with PSK31 in one weekend, Howard "Skip"
Teller, KH6TY, decided that he needed a low cost sound interface card
that could be built in a single evening. Read all about it in his
article "The Classic Universal Sound Interface Card." Hams know that
just one lightning strike can take out their whole shack. Jim Talens,
N3JT, learned that lesson the hard way -- even after he disconnected all
cables and lines that led into his shack from the outside. Read about
what he learned and how he recovered in "A Simple and Effective Approach
to Station Grounding."
Was it just a few weeks ago that close to 20,000 hams trekked to Ohio
for the 2010 Dayton Hamvention^® ? If you were there -- or even if you
weren't -- relive the experience with "The 2010 ARRL EXPO at the Dayton
Hamvention -- Everything Under the Sun (or Rain, or Snow, or...)" by
ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA. With everything from soup
(tasty clam chowder) to (hot roasted cinnamon) nuts, you can find just
about anything at the Dayton Hamvention. ARRL Technical Editor Joel
Hallas, W1ZR, takes a look at some of the new products that were
introduced at this year's Hamvention.
<http://www.arrl.org/multimedia>
Click here <http://www.arrl.org/multimedia> to go to the /QST
/Multimedia page. Scroll down to the Product Review video to watch a
preview of what is coming up in the July issue of /QST/ magazine.
ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Assistant Manager Norm Fusaro,
W3IZ, takes a look at the Yaesu FTdx9000MP HF and 6 meter transceiver in
this month's Product Review. "The full size FTdx9000MP is Yaesu's
flagship transceiver, offering a 400 W transmitter and a full suite of
features and functions," he reports. "Hardware and Firmware upgrades
under the PEP9000 program have made the radio even better." ARRL Senior
Assistant Technical Editor and /QEX/ Editor Larry Wolfgang, WR1B, checks
out the Elecraft W2 HF/VHF/UHF wattmeter. "Elecraft's easy-to-build W2
wattmeter kit results in an accurate instrument that can be used over a
wide range of frequencies and power levels," recounts Wolfgang.
Of course, there are the usual columns you know and expect in the July
/QST/: Happenings, Hints & Kinks, The Doctor Is IN, How's DX, Vintage
Radio, Hamspeak and more. Look for your July issue of /QST/ in your
mailbox. /QST/ is the official journal of ARRL, the national association
for Amateur Radio. /QST/ is just one of the many benefits of ARRL
membership. To join or renew your ARRL membership, please see the ARRL
Web page <https://www.arrl.org/join-arrl-renew-membership/>.
/On the Air/: WX4NHC Reports 2010 On-the-Air Station Test Results
On Saturday, May 29, WX4NHC -- the Amateur Radio station at the National
Hurricane Center (NHC) In Miami, Florida -- conducted its annual
on-the-air station test to promote awareness of the 2010 hurricane
season, as well as to verify station equipment performance on the many
frequencies and modes that are used to communicate with stations in the
affected area during hurricanes. The station was on the air for 8 hours
and made 142 contacts with stations in the US, as well as the Caribbean,
Central and South America.
As volunteers at the WX4NHC prepare for one of the most active hurricane
seasons predicted since 2005, WX4NHC Assistant Coordinator Julio Ripoll,
WD4R, said he is counting on help from amateurs to relay hurricane
advisories and weather data to those affected by the storms. "The
surface reports that we receive from the affected areas help the NHC
Hurricane Specialists fill in gaps in their meteorological data and help
with their forecasts," he said. "Relaying the hurricane advisories to
those who have lost the conventional means of getting information can
help save lives." Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/wx4nhc-reports-2010-on-the-air-station-test-results>.
Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2010-06-10&p=2>
+ Solar Update
The Sun, as seen on Thursday, June 10, 2010 from NASA's SOHO Extreme
Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope
<http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/realtime-update.html>.
This image was taken at 304 Angstrom; the bright material is at 60,000
to 80,000 Kelvin.
Tad "We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to
lay on our backs and look up at them
<http://www.americanliterature.com/Twain/TheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn/19.html>"
Cook, K7RA, reports: This week, the geomagnetic conditions quieted down,
due to calmer solar activity. The average daily sunspot numbers were
down 7.6 points to 17.7, and the average daily solar flux dropped two
points to 71. The average planetary A index declined 6.4 points to 7.9,
and the mid-latitude A index dropped 2.7 points to 6.4. Three new
sunspot groups emerged this week. Group 1077 made a brief appearance on
June 5, with group 1078 appearing on June 8-9. The area of 1078 grew
rapidly, from 80 millionths of a solar hemisphere to 180. On June 9,
sunspot group 1079 appeared, at 10 millionths of a solar hemisphere.
Both sunspot groups are in the far southwest of the solar disc and
should disappear soon. We are only 10 days away from the summer
solstice, after which the days will shorten as we progress toward more
favorable HF conditions in the fall. ARRL Field Day
<http://www.arrl.org/field-day> is on the sixth and seventh days of
summer. Look for more information on the ARRL Web site on Friday, June
11. 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 Mark Twain's /The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn
<http://www.americanliterature.com/Twain/TheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn/TheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn.html>/
(Chapter 19).
This Week on the Radio
This 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. A 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. The DRCG Long Distance Contest (RTTY) is June
12-13 and the SKCC Weekend Sprint is June 13. Next week, look for yet
another running of the NCCC Sprint Ladder on June 18. The Kids Day
Contest and the Feld Hell Sprint are both June 19. The All Asian DX
Contest (CW) and the West Virginia QSO Party are June 19-20. The Run for
the Bacon QRP Contest is June 21 and the SKCC Sprint is June 23. 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 Membership Newsletters, Bulletins and Notifications
Did you know the ARRL offers more newsletters than just /The ARRL Letter
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter>/? One of the many ARRL membership
benefits includes other newsletters, such as the /ARRL Contest Update
<http://www.arrl.org/contest-update-issues>/ (a bi-weekly contest
newsletter), the /ARES E-Letter <http://www.arrl.org/ares-el>/ (sent
monthly, containing public service and emergency communications news),
the /ARRL Club News/, the /ARRL Instructor/Teacher E-Letter/ and the /VE
Newsletter/, just to name a few. You can also elect to receive news and
information from your Division Director and Section Manager (keep in
mind that not all Divisions/Sections send notices), as well as W1AW
bulletins that relate to DX, propagation, satellites and Keplerian
reports. The ARRL also offers a free notification service to members,
letting them know when their membership and license are due to expire.
ARRL members can sign up for these newsletters, bulletins and
notifications on their profile page on the ARRL Web site
<http://www.arrl.org/myarrl-account-management#%21/edit-info-email_subscriptions>.
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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