[South Florida DX Association] The ARRL Letter for October 7, 2010
Bill
bmarx at bellsouth.net
Thu Oct 7 16:56:27 EDT 2010
If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:
http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2010-10-07
The ARRL Letter
October 7, 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=2010-10-07&t=t>
* + /International Spotlight/ : IARU Administrative Council Updates
WRC-12 Plans <#toc01>
* + /Amateur Radio in the Classroom/ : ARRL Teachers Institute
Expands to Include Space, Electronics in the Classroom <#toc02>
* /Amateur Radio in the Classroom/ : ARRL Executive Committee
Approves Grant Funding for Seven Schools <#toc03>
* + /At the Workbench/ : Get Ready for the ARRL Homebrew Challenge
III <#toc04>
* /ARRL in Action/ : What Have We Been Up to Lately? <#toc05>
* /DX News/ : PJ Pandemonium -- Opening October 10 on an HF Band
Near You <#toc06>
* + /Public Service/ : Nominations Now Being Accepted for the 2010
ARRL International Humanitarian Award <#toc07>
* + Solar Update <#toc08>
* This Week on the Radio <#toc09>
+ Available on /ARRL Audio News/ <http://www.arrl.org/arrl-audio-news>
+ /International Spotlight/: IARU Administrative Council Updates WRC-12
Plans
The Administrative Council (AC) of the International Amateur Radio Union
held its annual meeting on October 1-2 in Salinitas, El Salvador. The AC
is responsible for the policy and management of the IARU and consists of
the three IARU international officers and two representatives from each
of the three IARU regional organizations. The IARU Region 2 General
Assembly -- held October 4-8 -- also in Salinitas, immediately follows
the AC meeting. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/iaru-administrative-council-updates-wrc-12-plans>.
+ /Amateur Radio in the Classroom/: ARRL Teachers Institute Expands to
Include Space, Electronics in the Classroom
This summer, the ARRL offered two advanced ARRL Teachers Institutes on
Wireless Technology (TI-2) sessions. One session focused on how to
integrate space into the classroom, while the other concentrated on
basic and more advanced electronics concepts and ham radio operations.
"As we gain experience as to what content is need to help teachers to
better integrate basic electronics, the science of radio,
microcontrollers and robotics into their curriculum, the TI program
continues to be refined and expanded," said ARRL Education and
Technology Program Coordinator Mark Spencer, WA8SME. "The TI-2 program
is an offshoot of that effort and provides a 'graduate level'
opportunity for graduates of the regular Teachers Institute sessions."
Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-teachers-institute-expands-to-include-space-electronics-in-the-classroom>.
/Amateur Radio in the Classroom/: ARRL Executive Committee Approves
Grant Funding for Seven Schools
In May 2010, the ARRL Executive Committee reviewed grant applications
for the ARRL's Education & Technology Program, awarding nearly $6400 to
seven schools. More than 475 schools across the country have received
support from the ETP in the form of grants for equipment, curriculum and
resources, as well as teacher in-service training through the Teachers
Institute on Wireless Technology. The Executive Committee reviews
applications for equipment and resource grants twice each year, in
December and May. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-executive-committee-approves-grant-funding-for-seven-schools>.
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+ /At the Workbench/: Get Ready for the ARRL Homebrew Challenge III
/QEX /Editor Larry Wolfgang, WR1B -- one of the HBC judges -- evaluates
transceivers from the first Homebrew Challenge on the air from ARRL club
station, W1HQ. [S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, Photo]
The ARRL has sponsored two Homebrew Challenges in the past, designed to
test our members' design and construction skills by making useful
amateur gear at low cost -- and sharing their results with our members.
Our first ARRL Homebrew Challenge, announced in /QST/ for August 2006,
required the construction of a 40 meter, 5 W voice and CW transceiver
built for less than $50 of new parts. The Second Homebrew Challenge,
announced in February 2009, resulted in a number of creative designs of
low cost 50 W linear amplifiers to follow the transceiver -- two for
about $30, as well as a multiband amplifier with many features for
somewhat more.
This time, we announce a challenge to build a transceiver in celebration
of the (slow) return of sunspots. This challenge will be in two parts
and readers can enter into either or both:
* A single band 25 W SSB and CW transceiver for 10 or 6 meters
(Option 1), with a prize of $200.
* A 25 W SSB and CW transceiver that can be switched between 10 and
6 meters, using one or two switches (Option 2), with a prize of
$300. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/get-ready-for-the-arrl-homebrew-challenge-iii>.
/ARRL in Action/: What Have We Been Up to Lately?
/Compiled by ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA /
This feature is a concise monthly update of some of the things ARRL is
doing on behalf of its members. This installment -- which covers the
month of September -- includes seeking protection of amateur frequencies
with the FCC, representing the ARRL at the local, regional and national
level, training Field Organization leaders, administering ARRL awards
programs and more. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-in-action-what-have-we-been-up-to-lately-26>.
/Amateur Radio in Space/: Sumbandila OSCAR 67 Satellite Active Over the
Americas
The FM repeater aboard the South African Sumbandila OSCAR 67 (SO-67
<http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/satInfo.php?satID=71&retURL=/satellites/status.php>)
satellite will be activated over North and South America until Sunday,
October 10. According to the announcement from AMSAT-NA Vice President
of Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, the repeater will be available
for 15 minutes beginning at the following times (UTC):
* *October 7*: 11:55, 14:51 and 17:57
* *October 8*: 13:04, 16:06, and 19:10
* *October 9*: 11:18, 14:14 and 17:20
* *October 10*: 10:58, 13:56 and 17:02
The SO-67 repeater receives at 145.875 MHz FM (233.6 CTCSS) and
re-transmits at 435.345 MHz FM. Local pass predictions are available
from AMSAT-NA's online calculator
<http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/predict/>. -- /Activity periods
calculated by Ed Clayo, N8BBQ///
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/DX News/: PJ Pandemonium -- Opening October 10 on an HF Band Near You
/By H. Ward Silver, N0AX/
Not since after World War II -- with new European entities -- and the
break-up of the French colonies in Africa in the early 1960s, have so
many new possible DXCC entities come into existence all at once.
No, it's not a colorized re-release of a 1960s B-grade beach movie
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_movie>. On Sunday, October 10, five
islands in the Caribbean are all changing their governmental status at
the same time: Saba, St Eustatius, Bonaire, St Maarten and Curacao.
Known collectively as the Netherlands Antilles, these islands have up to
now been an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Some will
remain within the Netherlands as "special municipalities" and some will
become independent nations within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, just
as the island nation of Aruba did back in 1986. What this means for the
HF bands is a lot of interference as the new DXCC entities are born: Two
DXCC entities (the island pair of Bonaire & Curacao and the three-island
group of St Maarten, Saba and St Eustatius) will be deleted from the
DXCC list of active entities and be replaced by up to five new entities!
Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/pj-pandemonium-opening-october-10-on-an-hf-band-near-you>.
+ /Public Service/: Nominations Now Being Accepted for the 2010 ARRL
International Humanitarian Award
The ARRL International Humanitarian Award
Nominations are open for the 2010 ARRL International Humanitarian Award.
The award is conferred upon an amateur or amateurs who demonstrate
devotion to human welfare, peace and international understanding through
Amateur Radio. The League established the annual prize to recognize
Amateur Radio operators who have used ham radio to provide extraordinary
service to others in times of crisis or disaster. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/nominations-now-being-accepted-for-2010-arrl-humanitarian-award>.
+ /On the Air/: Amateurs Are On the Air in Celebration of National
Wildlife Refuge Week
This colorful QSL card commemorated a previous NWR Week operation.
Amateur Radio operators will be on the air in observance of the 2010
National Wildlife Refuge Week
<http://www.arrl.org/news/nwrweek-radio.info>, scheduled for October
9-17. This event will coincide with festivals and special events at
refuges that help connect people with nature at the country's more than
500 National Wildlife Refuges. Combining Amateur Radio's communication
capabilities with enjoyment of the outdoors to help others learn about
the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) is the goal of the amateur
stations participating in the nine-day event. Hams begin operating from
a number of wildlife refuges this week under guidelines established in
cooperation with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Only those
stations that have authorized, responsible access to refuges are
sanctioned by this event. For the first time, the US Senate has passed a
resolution officially recognizing National Wildlife Refuge Week. The
resolution "recognizes the importance of national wildlife refuges to
wildlife conservation and the protection of imperiled species and
ecosystems" and "reaffirms the support of the Senate for wildlife
conservation and the National Wildlife Refuge System." Visit the
National Wildlife Refuge Week Ham Radio Web site
<http://nwrweek-radio.info> for more information and a list of
participating ham radio stations.
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+ Solar Update
The Sun, as seen on Thursday, October 7, 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 "Here comes the Sun King; everybody's laughing, everbody's happy
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgLCGurproA>" Cook, K7RA, reports: Solar
activity quieted over the past week. There were no sunspots on
Wednesday, October 6, and the average daily sunspot number declined
nearly 18 points to 27.6, compared to the previous week. The average
daily solar flux values were off more than 3 points to 81. The predicted
solar flux for the next 10 days -- October 7-16 -- is 75, 76, 78, 78,
80, 79, 80, 80, 82 and 81. Looking at the STEREO image early Thursday
morning <http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/> shows an active region in our
Sun's southern hemisphere, just over the eastern horizon. Perhaps this
will bring more sunspots. Look for more information -- including an
updated solar forecast and reports on 15 meter activity -- on the ARRL
Web site on Friday, October 8. 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" is brought to you by John Lennon's / Here comes the Sun King
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgLCGurproA>/.
/On the Web/: How to Submit a News Story
Visit the News Tips <http://www.arrl.org/news-tips> page on the ARRL Web
site to submit a news story to our Editorial team. Your Amateur
Radio-related news tip could end up in /QST, /online or in /The ARRL
Letter/.
Here are a few hints from /QST/ Managing Editor Joel Kleinman, N1BKE:
* *Include contact information*: If the person sending the tip isn't
the main point of contact, be sure to include that person's
contact information.
* *Photos*: When a story has a photo or two included, attach it to
an e-mail message addressed to news at arrl.org
<mailto:news at arrl.org> and include caption information, as well as
the name and call sign of the photographer.
For those submitting a complete item rather than just a tip, it's best
to include the usual suspects:
* */Who?/* Who was involved?
* */What?/* What happened (what's the story)?
* */When?/* When did it take place?
* */Where?/* Where did it take place?
* */Why?/* Why did it happen?
* */How?/* How did it happen?
This Week on the Radio
/This week:/
<http://www.arrl.org/multimedia>
With a little work, the Hamtronics R303-137 weather satellite receiver
board offers a great way to receive fascinating weather satellite
images. Read a review about this product, as well as the ICOM IC-R6
portable wideband receiver and Wouxun's KG-UV2D and KG-UVD1P dual-band
handheld transceivers in the November issue of /QST/. Click here
<http://www.arrl.org/multimedia> to watch the video.
* October 8-10 -- YLRL DX/NA YL Anniversary Contest
* October 9 -- FISTS Fall Sprint; EU Autumn Sprint (CW)
* October 9-10 -- Arizona QSO Party; Pennsylvania QSO Party; CQ SA
SSB Contest; Makrothen RTTY Contest; Oceania DX Contest (CW);
Scandinavian Activity Contest (SSB); WAB HF Phone Contest
* October 10 -- SKCC Weekend Sprint; North American Sprint (RTTY);
10-10 International 10-10 Day Sprint; UBA ON Contest (CW)
* October 13 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint
* October 13-14 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test
/Next week:/
* October 16 -- Iowa QSO Party; Feld Hell Sprint; Microwave Fall
Sprint (local time)
* October 16-17 -- New York QSO Party; JARTS WW RTTY Contest; ARCI
Fall QSO Party; Worked All Germany Contest; PODXS 070 Club 160
Meter Great Pumpkin Sprint (local time)
* October 17 -- Asia-Pacific Fall Sprint (CW)
* October 17-18 -- Illinois QSO Party; Run for the Bacon QRP Contest
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 Events Station Web page <http://www.arrl.org/special-events>.
Upcoming ARRL Division Conventions and Events
* October 15-17, 2010 -- ARRL Pacific Division Convention
<http://www.pacificon.org/>, San Ramon, California
* May 20-22, 2011 -- Dayton Hamvention
<http://www.hamvention.org/>^® featuring ARRL EXPO, Trotwood, Ohio
* June 10-11, 2011 -- ARRL National Convention and ARRL EXPO at the
ARRL West Gulf Division Convention <http://www.hamcom.org/>,
Plano, Texas
Click here <mailto:ads at arrl.org> to advertise in this newsletter.
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