[SFDXA] The ARRL Letter for January 24, 2013

Thu Jan 24 18:48:45 EST 2013

********************************************
             The  ARRL Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League
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January 24, 2013

Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA <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/> IN THIS ISSUE

- + ARRL Board Holds 2013 Annual Meeting
- + Amateur Radio and Scouting: BSA to Offer Amateur Radio Operator
Rating Strip
- + ARRL Scholarship Deadline Is February 1
- The Doctor is In: More Power for EME Stations
- + On the Air: Icelandic Amateurs Get MF Privileges
- Solar Update
- + Postage Rates to Rise this Month
- + DXCC Desk Approves Two Laotian Operations
- This Week in Radiosport
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events

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

==> + ARRL BOARD HOLDS 2013 ANNUAL MEETING

    The ARRL Board of Directors held its 2013 Annual Meeting January
18-19 in New Orleans, Louisiana. At the meeting, the Board set its
legislative objectives for the 113th Congress, bestowed awards,
approved the organization's amended financial plan, elected members to
the Executive Committee and ARRL Foundation, and more. A detailed look
at all the Board's actions, including the official minutes from the
meeting, is forthcoming.

==> + AMATEUR RADIO AND SCOUTING: BSA TO OFFER AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR
RATING STRIP

    The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has approved an Amateur Radio
Operator rating strip for Scouts and Scouters to wear on their
uniforms. According to BSA Communication Services Director Jim Wilson,
K5ND, the strip recognizes the Scout or Scouter's availability as an
Amateur Radio operator for communication services for events and
activities, as well as emergencies. All registered youth members and
adult leaders who also hold a valid FCC-issued Amateur Radio license of
any class are eligible to wear the rating strip. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/bsa-to-offer-amateur-radio-operator-rating-strip>.

==> + ARRL SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 1

    The application deadline for ARRL Foundation Scholarships
<http://www.arrl.org/scholarship-program> is fast approaching. The
deadline for applications is February 1, 2013. According to ARRL
Foundation Secretary Mary Hobart, K1MMH, the 2013 collection of
scholarship awards is bigger than ever, with eight new scholarships
added in 2012. "The annual awards range from $500 to $2500, while the
Goldfarb Scholarship can total upwards of $10,000 each year," Hobart
explained. "The estimated total dollar amount of all awards in excess
of $80,000." Scholarship recipients will be announced in May 2013 via
letter and on the ARRL website
<http://www.arrl.org/annual-scholarship-winners>.

"The message today is clear -- there is still time to apply for one of
the many scholarships administered by the ARRL Foundation," Hobart
said. "If you know a young radio amateur who is pursuing higher
education, please encourage him or her to apply. If you are a club
officer, add this information to your website. With several new awards
added every year, highly qualified young hams should review the list of
available scholarships <http://www.arrl.org/scholarship-descriptions>,
complete the electronic application form
<http://www.arrl.org/scholarship-application> and submit it -- along
with a recent academic transcript -- before February 1."

Information about all of the ARRL Foundation awards -- including
descriptions <http://www.arrl.org/scholarship-descriptions> and
selection criteria
<http://www.arrl.org/summary-of-scholarship-requirements>, application
forms <http://www.arrl.org/scholarship-application> and instructions
<http://www.arrl.org/scholarship-program> -- is available on the ARRL
Foundation website <http://www.arrl.org/the-arrl-foundation-overview>.
The ARRL Foundation is an IRS-designated 501(c)(3) organization
dedicated to Amateur Radio.

==> THE DOCTOR IS IN: MORE POWER FOR EME STATIONS

Carl Hasbargen, KN0WS, of St Paul, Minnesota, wrote to the ARRL's
Doctor, wanting to know how to use more transmit power for the new
Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) station that he plans to build later this year.
In the past, he has used a portable generator to power a 180 W, 432 MHz
linear amplifier into a quad Yagi antenna system. While Hasbargen was
successful using that setup to make a contact via the Moon, he figures
additional transmit power would be helpful. He told the Doctor that he
would like to be able to use his current generator.

Hasbargen asked "If I have two identical model solid state linear
amplifiers, each capable of amplifying a 25 W input into a 180 W
output, can I simply take the 50 W from my transceiver, divide the
power using a commercial antenna power divider to drive each linear
amplifier, then combine the two 180 W outputs from the pair of
amplifiers back through another power divider (used backwards as a
coupler) to produce a final 360 W to the antenna?"

Here's what the Doctor had to say:

    If you pull off the covers of many high power solid state
amplifiers, you will see that is exactly how they are constructed
internally (see photo). While it seems like a straightforward idea, the
main issue, especially at EME frequencies, is relative phase delay.
While a single dual-module amplifier is relatively easy to build and
test as an integrated system, your separate amplifiers were not built
with that in mind. At 70 centimeters, a wavelength is 70 centimeters
long, but 1/10 of a wavelength is only 7, about 5 centimeters, or 2
inches in coax.

I would think you would want tolerances to accumulate to well less than
that for reasonable operation, and with independent assembly and device
selection (not selected as matched components) and alignment, I would
be surprised if two randomly selected amplifiers would be that close.
If you have the capability to phase match them, the difference, if any,
could be accommodated in a short length of coax, preferably on the
input side.

If the amplifiers are linear and can amplify at very low levels, it
would be safe...to drive them with an input splitter and measure the
power at each output. If they are the same and you put them in a
combiner and the level is twice each, less the attenuation of the
combiner, you are probably good to go. I would bring up the power
slowly and watch for heating and other undesired effects.

Of course, in real life, each of the power divider/combiners will
introduce a little loss, so don't expect the full 360 W -- still it
should be close.

Thanks Doctor! Do you have a question or a problem? Send your questions
via e-mail
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlleghenyValleyRadio/post?postID=zpPOqQ_tDRUgz8PtrOLu7ReN8SebO3NBKYSpUQMK52ADP9llBYDxeNcBsVrABCPPnXowtP8cnIt4>
or to "The Doctor," ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 (no phone
calls, please). Look for "The Doctor Is In" every month in QST
<http://www.arrl.org/qst>, the official journal of the ARRL.

==> + ON THE AIR: ICELANDIC AMATEURS GET MF PRIVILEGES

    According to the Íslenskir Radíóamatörar (ÍRA) -- Iceland's IARU
Member-Society -- radio amateurs in Iceland now have operating
privileges on 472-479 kHz, or 630 meters, as of January 16. Amateurs in
Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Monaco already have
operating privileges in this portion of the MF spectrum. Delegates at
the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference approved this method of
addressing Agenda Item 1.23, as the Conference considered a possible
allocation of approximately 15 kilohertz between 415 and 526.5 kHz.
After discussions and taking into account spectrum conflicts with the
Maritime Mobile Service, delegates ultimately decided to allocate
472-479 kHz to the Amateur Radio Service on a secondary basis. Read
more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/icelandic-amateurs-get-mf-privileges>.

==> SOLAR UPDATE

    Tad Cook, K7RA, reports: The average daily sunspot numbers this past
week dropped nearly 73 points to 56.4, while the average daily solar
flux declined nearly 47 points to 110.7. The average geomagnetic
indices were up about 50 percent, but it was still very quiet. The
difference was mostly due to events on January 17 when the planetary A
index was 13 -- higher than in recent weeks, but still moderate. The
cause of the mild disturbance was the arrival of a coronal mass
ejection (CME). The predicted solar flux from the NOAA/USAF January 23
forecast has the 10.7 centimeter flux values at 105 on January 24, 100
on January 25-28, 95 on January 29-30, 100 on January 31-February 1,
110 on February 2, 120 on February 3-4, 125 on February 5-8, 120 on
February 9-14, and 115 on February 15. It doesn't look like a return to
solar flux values around 170 -- where it was on January 9-12 -- is
expected any time soon. But those high levels that we saw earlier in
the month weren't predicted, either. Looking back, 135 was predicted
for January 9 in the November 25-December 9 daily forecasts, then
downgraded to 110 on December 10-16, then increased to 115 on December
17-30, downgraded to 105 on December 31-January 2, increased to 115 on
January 3, 135 on January 4, 130 on January 5-6, 145 on January 7, and
150 on January 8. The final result? On January 9, we saw 169.3, far
above any of the predictions over the previous 45 days, which were
revised eight times. The predicted planetary A index is 5 on January
24, 8 on January 25-26, 5 on January 27-February 8, 8 on February 9-10,
and 5 on February 11-18. Look for more on the ARRL website on Friday,
January 25. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit
the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page
<http://www.arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals>.

==> + POSTAGE RATES TO RISE THIS MONTH

    Beginning Sunday, January 27, it will cost more to mail first class
letters, postcards and packages within the US. The cost to mail a first
class letter will be 46 cents, while the cost to mail a postcard will
be 33 cents, an increase of 1 cent for each; this is the third increase
for postcard postage in less than two years. This month, the USPS will
also introduce a First Class Mail Global Forever Stamp that will allow
customers to mail 1-ounce letters anywhere in the world for one set
price of $1.10. The cost to mail flat-rate Priority Mail packages and
letters will also increase. Click here
<http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2012/pr12_114.htm> for
more information on all the postal increases.

==> + DXCC DESK APPROVES TWO LAOTIAN OPERATIONS

    ARRL DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, reports that the 2010-2011 XWPA
operation and the current XW4XR operation in Laos have been approved
for DXCC credit. "If you have had these operations rejected in a recent
application, please send an e-mail <bmoore at arrl.org> to the ARRL DXCC
Desk," Moore said. "Once updated, results will appear in Logbook of The
World (LoTW <https://p1k.arrl.org/lotwuser/default>) accounts, as well
as online in the daily listings <http://www.arrl.org/dxcc>."

==> THIS WEEK IN RADIOSPORT

This week:

- January 25 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint; NCCC Sprint Ladder
- January 25-27 -- CQ 160 Meter Contest (CW)
- January 26-27 -- BARTG RTTY Sprint; REF Contest (CW); UBA DX Contest
(SSB); SPAR Winter Field Day
- January 27 -- QRP ARCI Fireside SSB Sprint
- January 27-28 -- Classic Exchange (CW)

Next week:

- February 1 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- February 2 -- Minnesota QSO Party; AGCW Straight Key Party
- February 2-3 -- Vermont QSO Party; Mexico RTTY International Contest;
10-10 International Winter Contest (SSB); Black Sea Cup International;
EPC WW DX Contest
- February 2-4 -- Delaware QSO Party
- February 3 -- North American Sprint (CW)

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
information. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out
the ARRL Special Event Stations web page
<http://www.arrl.org/special-event-stations>.

==> UPCOMING ARRL SECTION, STATE AND DIVISION CONVENTIONS AND EVENTS

- January 25-26 -- ARRL Mississippi State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/mississippi-state-convention-capital-city-hamfest>,
Jackson, Mississippi
- January 26-27 -- ARRL Puerto Rico State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/puerto-rico-state-convention>, Hatillo,
Puerto Rico
- February 2 -- ARRL South Carolina State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/south-carolina-state-convention-2>, North
Charleston, South Carolina; ARRL Virginia State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/virginia-state-convention-frostfest-1>,
Richmond, Virginia
- February 8-10 -- ARRL Southeastern Division Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/southeastern-division-convention-orlando-hamcation-1>,
Orlando, Florida
- February 15-16 -- ARRL Arizona State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/arizona-state-convention-yuma-hamfest-1>,
Yuma, Arizona
- February 16 -- ARRL Arkansas State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/arkansas-state-convention-winterfest>,
Hoxie, Arkansas
- February 23 -- ARRL Vermont State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/vermont-state-convention-ham-con-3>,
South Burlington, Vermont
- March 8-9 -- ARRL Oklahoma Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/oklahoma-section-convention-green-country-hamfest-1>,
Claremore, Oklahoma; ARRL Louisiana Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/louisiana-section-convention-acadiana-53rd-annual-hamfest>,
Rayne, Louisiana
- March 16 -- ARRL Nebraska State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/nebraska-state-convention-2>, Lincoln,
Nebraska; ARRL West Texas State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/west-texas-section-convention-58th-annual-st-patrick-s-day-hamfest>,
Midland, Texas
- March 23 -- ARRL South Texas State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/south-texas-section-convention-greater-houston-hamfest-3>,
Rosenberg, Texas
- March 29-30 -- ARRL Maine State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/maine-state-convention-3>, Lewiston,
Maine
- March 30 -- ARRL North Carolina State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/north-carolina-state-convention-raleigh-hamfest-2>,
Raleigh, North Carolina
- April 13-14 -- Communications Academy
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/communications-academy-2013>, Seattle,
Washington
- April 19-20 -- Southeastern VHF Society Conference
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/svhfs-conference>, Cocoa Beach, Florida
- April 19-21 -- International DX Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/international-dx-convention-2>, Visalia,
California
- April 20 -- ARRL Louisiana State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/louisiana-state-convention-northeast-louisiana-regional-ham-radiofest>,
Monroe, Louisiana
- April 26-28 -- ARRL Idaho State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/idaho-state-convention-3>, Boise, Idaho
- May 31-June 2 -- ARRL Northwestern Division Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/northwestern-division-convention-seapac-4>,
Seaside, Oregon

To find a convention or hamfest near you, click here
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests>.

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