[SFDXA] The ARRL Letter for November 7, 2013

Fri Nov 8 15:37:25 EST 2013

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The ARRL Letter

November 7, 2013
Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME <mailto:ww1me at arrl.org>
ARRL Home Page <http://www.arrl.org/> 	
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/Public Service/: Linked Ham Radio Repeater System Instrumental in Hiker 
Rescue

A hiker in distress in Nevada is thankful that he had his hand-held 
transceiver along when he found himself stranded in the hills near 
Henderson. Western Intertie Network (WIN <http://www.winsystem.org/>) 
System member Jim Frederick, KF6QBW, in Arizona reports he was 
monitoring the system November 3 around midday when he heard, "Mayday, 
Mayday. Hiker in distress!" from his WIN System repeater.

"I grabbed a charged battery for my VX-5, and the call came over the 
radio again," Frederick said. He responded, and the hiker on the other 
end, Nathan Rischling, KDØHFM, of Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, told 
him he'd misread the elevation on his topographical map, had ended up on 
a very steep and rough area, had hurt his hand on a cactus, and could 
find no safe way out of his situation. He had a GPS, however, and was 
able to provide Frederick with his precise coordinates. Rischling said 
he had a day's worth of food and water but needed help getting off the 
mountain, as he would not get back to his starting point before sundown 
and, he didn't think his GPS battery would last out the trip.

"KDØHFM stated that he did not take a conventional trail and was using a 
topographical map and GPS for guidance," Frederick explained.

Frederick said he knew from experience that a call to the Las Vegas 
search and rescue would expedite the process, so he put out a call on 
the WIN System for any Las Vegas station that could make the call. James 
Freeman, KG7EWP, promptly came back, and Frederick handed off the 
emergency traffic. Freeman called 911 and spoke with search and rescue, 
and stood by until the situation was resolved. Within 15 minutes a 
rescue helicopter was on the way.

Frederick kept his ear to the radio until the event was resolved, in 
case someone needed more information from him, and a few hours later, he 
overheard Rischling thank KG7EWP for helping "and everyone else on the 
WIN System for standing by."

The WIN System is a series of 90 linked, or inter-tied, repeaters -- 
most on UHF (70 centimeters) -- that cover a substantial portion of 
California, 16 other states, and four countries around the world. It is 
owned and operated by Shorty Stouffer, K6JSI. KF6QBW is an affiliated 
repeater station with the WIN System.

"Without Shorty, K6JSI (my Elmer), and the WIN System and its members, I 
would not have known what to do, let alone been able to help, as I was 
just a link in this chain of events," Frederick said. /-- Thanks to 
Chuck Baer, W4ROA; Jim Frederick, KF6QBW; Shorty Stouffer, K6JSI, and 
Sean Kutzko, KX9X/

/Public Service/: Oregon OEM Needs More Hams!

Oregon Public Broadcasting reports 
<http://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-office-of-emergency-management-seeking-amateur-radio-operators/> 
that when Oregon's Office of Emergency Management coordinated the 
largest-ever test of the state's emergency communications network, it 
found that some regions need more radio amateurs. "While the exercise 
was considered a success, it also shed light on one of the system's 
vulnerabilities -- a lack of qualified Amateur Radio operators east of 
the Cascades," the OPB story by David Nogueras said. The exercise 
scenario over the weekend of November 2-3 was a crippling cyber attack 
on the power grid that takes out telephone and Internet access. In such 
situations, emergency planners "have identified Amateur Radio as the 
fallback method of communication," the OPB story said.

Oregon Office of Emergency Management Communication Officer Fred 
Molesworth, AF7S (left), and Amateur Radio volunteer Patrick Lewis do a 
demonstration at the Oregon State Fair in August. [Cory E. Grogan, 
Oregon Office of Emergency Management, photo]

The broadcast story pointed out that while Oregon has some 700 ARES 
volunteers, most are in Western Oregon. Morrow, Grant, and Jefferson 
counties have no volunteers, however, and other counties have just one. 
"If we don't have active amateurs who know what to do in that kind of a 
situation and are part of the county organization, then we may not have 
any communications in those counties, and that's a real concern," Fred 
Molesworth, AF7S, with the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, told 
Oregon Public Radio (and ARES/RACES Emergency Coordinator for the OEM 
unit). He asked would-be volunteers to contact 
<http://www.w7oem.org/contact-us/> the Oregon Office of Emergency 
Management.

Oregon ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator Vince Van Der Hyde, K7VV, said 
Oregon has ARES/RACES groups in about 25 of the state's 36 counties, and 
is trying to build groups in the counties with very low amateur 
populations. He says local radio clubs are natural places to look. "But, 
we are beginning to think that we should look more and more at those who 
are already involved in disaster related work and then recruit them into 
Amateur Radio," he added, such as those on CERT teams.

Van Der Hyde said ARES/RACES also sponsors a Hamfair flea market each 
October, and this year, for the first time, it was expanded into a 
disaster preparedness fair, with a series of seminars on both amateur 
and non-amateur disaster-related training, operations and equipment. "It 
appears to have gone well, and we'll expand that program in October 
2014," Van Der Hyde said.

"We're also pushing an individual training program for operators and a 
county unit certification program for each county ARES/RACES group," Van 
Der Hyde added. "All of which will take years to accomplish!"

/On the Air/: South American Ham Scores "Clean Sweep" in ARRL November 
Sweepstakes CW

Technology marches on and, any controversy aside, operating a remote 
station via the Internet has become more common in recent years. In the 
ARRL November Sweepstakes CW event last weekend, a ham who lives in 
Uruguay remotely operated a station in the US, making a clean sweep in 
the process. Tom Morton, K6CT/CX7TT, who lives near Montevideo, logged 
into one of the operating positions at K4VV in Virginia. Operating as 
W4YY at a distance of nearly 5200 miles, he managed a clean sweep.

"I don't know if this is a first, but it would seem to be. It also 
demonstrates the efficacy of remote contesting," said Mike Lonneke, 
WØYR, the K4VV Remote Contesting Project Manager. According to Lonneke, 
Morton served for many years as an airline pilot, and later was tapped 
to be a flight instructor. He's a DXpeditioner and contester.

The K4VV station during a multi-multi contest. The operators were in 
different states. [Mike Lonneke, WØYR, photo]

Lonneke says the operating experience from the remote end "is 
transparent." Several remote operators have run K4VV as a multiop, and 
W4GOV once operated K4VV -- the station of Jack Hammett, K4VV -- during 
Field Day 2013 from Saudi Arabia. The station has three positions for 
remote operators, who can control everything, including an impressive 
array of antennas. (For more information on K4VV, see "Contesting by 
Remote Control," by Mike Lonneke, WØYR, September/October 2013 /NCJ/).

In a turnabout situation, Tree Tyree, N6TR, remotely operated VY1EI in 
Yukon Territory, Canada, from his home in Oregon. Eric, the station 
owner, was also on hand as they logged 1288 QSOs and a clean sweep!

/But wait! There's more!/ Hal Offutt, W1NN, remotely operated his home 
station in Medina, Ohio, in this year's SS CW from Tokyo -- a distance 
of more than 6500 miles. No word on how he did.

The operator of a remote station must identify as transmitting at the 
remote station site and follow all of the rules and regulations in the 
country hosting the transmitting site. /-- Thanks to Mike Lonneke, WØYR, 
and/ /The ARRL Contest Update <http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/>, K8BL /

/Ham Radio in Space: /All-Ham Contingent Carries Olympic Torch to ISS

With the arrival of Expedition 38 November 7, the ISS has nine 
crewmembers for the first time in 4 years. [NASA TV image]

NASA's Richard Mastracchio, KC5ZTE, Russia's Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT, and 
Japan's Koichi Wakata, KC5ZTA, arrived at the International Space 
Station November 7, expanding the ISS crew complement to nine members. 
The new crewmembers carried the torch that will be used to light the 
Olympic flame in Sochi, Russia, for the 2014 Winter Games.

The arrival of Mastracchio, Tyurin and Wakata brings the station's crew 
complement to nine, marking the first time since October 2009 that so 
many people have served together aboard the space station.

The crew will return to its normal complement of six on November 10, 
when Expedition 37 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, RN3FI, NASA Astronaut 
Karen Nyberg, and European Space Agency Astronaut Luca Parmitano, 
KF5KDP, return to Earth, wrapping up a 166 day mission. Expedition 38 
begins upon their departure, with Russian Cosmonaut Oleg Kotov at the helm.

Kotov, Russian Cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy, and NASA's Michael Hopkins, 
KF5LJG, will return home next March. At that time, Wakata will become 
the first-ever Japanese commander of the station for Expedition 39. 
Mastracchio, Tyurin and Wakata will return to Earth next May. /-- NASA/

/Ham Radio in Space/: Massive Satellite "Cluster" Launch Set for November 21

A Dnepr launch

A /Dnepr/ launcher set to lift off from Dombarovsky, near Yasny, 
Russia,on November 21 will carry more than two dozen satellites from 13 
countries. Individual satellite teams are now in Yasny preparing their 
payloads for launch. Several of the satellites will carry Amateur Radio 
payloads, marking this as the largest single deployment of ham radio 
satellites. Paving the way for this month's event was the August 22 
/Dnepr/ launch of the KOMPSAT-5 satellite from Korea -- the first 
/Dnepr/ launch in 2 years. This month's launch had been postponed for 
more than a year to work the wrinkles out of the Dnepr program. The 
DubaiSat-2 <http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/dubaisat-2.htm> 
Earth-imaging satellite will be the principal payload of this cluster 
mission.

Some of the satellites headed into orbit will be contained within the 
Italian UniSat-5 <http://amsat-uk.org/tag/unisat-5/> microsat package. 
UniSat-5 will include a pair of UHF transceivers operating 9k6 GMSK AX25 
protocol. From "PocketQube" launchers, UniSat-5 will deploy several 
smaller satellites, and one of the smaller satellites will release yet 
another satellite, reminiscent of decorative Ukrainian eggs within eggs. 
UniSat-5 will deploy Eagle-1 (BeakerSat-1), Eagle-2 ($50Sat), QubeScout 
S1 <http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/qubescout-s1.htm>, estar-2 (CW 
and 1k2 AFSK UHF downlink), Wren 
<http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/wren.htm>, and PUCP-Sat-1 
<http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/pucp-sat-1.htm>, which in turn will 
disgorge Pocket-PUCP, a tiny spacecraft built by students in Peru that 
will carry four temperature sensors and transmit the data using a 10 mW 
CW UHF transmitter using 30 kHz FSK.

A model of the FUNcube-1 satellite [J.D. Heck, G3WGM, photo]

Scheduled to be among the other Amateur Radio-payload carrying 
satellites is FUNcube-1 <http://funcube.org.uk/>, a 1U CubeSat that is a 
collaboration between AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL. It will carry an 
"educational beacon" (1200 baud BPK -- daytime operation) and a 20 kHz 
wide U/V inverting SSB/CW transponder running 300 mW PEP (nighttime 
operation). A project begun in 2009, FUNcube-1 will provide a signal 
/directly/ to schools, with the "target audience" students at the 
primary and secondary levels.

FUNcube-1 is the middle 1U CubeSat of three sharing a 3U launch vehicle 
pod. The other two areZACUBE-1 
<http://amsat-uk.org/2012/08/25/14099-khz-cput-cubesat-to-launch-end-of-november/> 
-- the first South African satellite -- and HiNCube 
<http://www.hincube.com/> from Norway, which will identify and transmit 
housekeeping data in the 70 centimeter band in CCSDS 
<http://www.ccsds.org/> protocol. ZACUBE-1, in addition to carrying VHF 
and UHF communication equipment, has a 20 meter beacon that will 
transmit on 14.099 MHz.

Another Amateur Radio satellite, Delfi-n3Xt 
<http://www.lr.tudelft.nl/en/organisation/departments/space-engineering/space-systems-engineering/projects/delfi-n3xt-project-page/>, 
is a 3U CubeSat developed by the Technical University of Delft in the 
Netherlands. It will feature a 40 kHz wide U/V transponder that will be 
activated after other experiments are completed, as well as a high-speed 
S-band downlink.

Triton-1 and Triton-2 <http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/triton-1.htm> 
are 3U CubeSats each carrying a science mission and an Amateur Radio 
payload. Triton-1 includes two single-channel U/V FM-to-DSB 
transponders. Triton-2 will a single-channel U/V FM-to-DSB transponder 
and a single-channel U/S FM-to-FM transponder. The science mission is 
expected to last 3 months, after which the Amateur Radio payloads will 
be activated. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/massive-satellite-cluster-launch-set-for-november-21>. 
/-- AMSAT-UK, AMSAT-NA, ///Gunter//'//s Space Page/ 
<http://space.skyrocket.de/>//, //Nader's Satellite Blog/ 
<http://st2nh-blogger.blogspot.com/>

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/Your League/: ARRL Atlantic Division to Hold Virtual Convention November 9

ARRL Atlantic Division Director Bill Edgar, N3LLR

The ARRL Atlantic Division Convention on Saturday, November 9, will be a 
virtual convention with four webinar sessions, Atlantic Division 
Director Bill Edgar, N3LLR, has announced. This marks the second year 
that the Atlantic Division is taking its convention to cyberspace. Edgar 
says the response was "great" last year, and no one missed the flea market.

"There is a lot to be said in face-to-face meetings, but this format 
permitted us to reach more members for the educational sessions," Edgar 
allowed. Those taking part will need to register for the individual 
sessions on GoToMeeting.com.

The first session will be "Welcome and Announcements." The winners of 
the Atlantic Division Awards -- Amateur of the Year, Keith Freeberg 
Educator of the Year, Technical Achievement, and The Grand Ol' Ham 
awards -- will be announced at this session. This session will be held 
from 9 until 9:20 AM. Participants need to register 
<https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/603857664> for this session.

The second session will be "The Boston Marathon and Amateur Radio." The 
presenter will be ARRL Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B. An 
Amateur Radio volunteer at the Boston Marathon in 2012, he will describe 
his thoughts and reactions about serving at an event where an act of 
terrorism occurred. This session will be held from 9:30 through 10:40 
AM. Participants need to register 
<https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/489381313> for this session.

The third session will be "Project Management for Amateur Radio 
Operators." Through his presentation, Paul Beeman, W2PB, will explain 
how to manage the project rather than have the project manage us. Every 
club should have officers and members listen in to this presentation. 
This session will be held from 10:50 AM through noon. Participants need 
to register <https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/814118272> for this 
session.

The fourth and final session will be "Modern Day NTS." Joe Ames, W3JY, 
will talk about the National Traffic System (NTS) and share his thoughts 
on why and how NTS remains very much relevant in today's Amateur Radio 
environment. This session will be held from 1 until 2:10 PM. 
Participants need to register 
<https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/816560328> for this session.

Director Edgar advises that if you are interested in attending any of 
these sessions to please register early!

/Your League: TQSL/ 2.0 Software Released for Logbook of The World

A new version of the /TQSL/ software for use with Logbook of The World 
(LoTW <http://www.arrl.org/logbook-of-the-world>) is available, and it 
has major changes. This latest update, /TQSL 2.0 
<http://www.arrl.org/tqsl-download>/, has been revamped to combine 
/TQSL-Cert/ and /TQSL/ into a single program, adds additional 
documentation for certificate operations, and includes a new, 
task-oriented user interface. Where previous versions had two icons on 
your desktop -- TQSL and TQSL Cert -- the new version has just one. 
You'll now be able to log onto your user account from /TQSL/. In 
addition, icons within the /TQSL/ user window are larger and easier to 
identify.

With v 2.0, you get auto-uploading of TQ8 log files and TQ5 certificate 
requests. In addition, there's automatic dupe checking to prevent 
previously uploaded QSOs from being uploaded again, saving LoTW server 
resources. /TQSL/ 2.0 will check for updates in the software and 
configuration files and notify the user.

Once the user approves the update request, /TQSL/ does the rest.

Individual station locations -- if you have more than one registered -- 
are managed in a folder tree format. /TQSL/ 2.0 also incorporates 
cross-checking to prevent users from entering invalid zones, states or 
provinces. /TQSL/ 2.0 will back up your call sign certificates, station 
locations and uploaded QSO log, so it's easy to move from one computer 
to another or recover from a hard disk failure.

It's easy to upgrade. Install /TQSL/ 2.0, and the installer will 
automatically uninstall older versions of /TQSL/ while preserving your 
configuration information. Several things will be obvious the first time 
you run the new /TQSL/ program. The user interface is completely 
different, with buttons to carry out major operations. It also provides 
tabs to access operations for Station Locations and Call Sign 
Certificates. The Station Location tab displays your station locations 
and associated call signs.

If you're new to LoTW, instructions <http://www.arrl.org/instructions> 
on the ARRL website explain how to participate. More than 60,000 radio 
amateurs use LoTW to confirm their contacts and to apply for awards, 
such as DXCC <http://www.arrl.org/dxcc-faq>. Nearly 78 million contact 
confirmations have resulted to date.

/Your League/: ARRL Frequency Measuring Test is November 13//

The annual Frequency Measuring Test (FMT 
<http://www.arrl.org/frequency-measuring-test>) will take place on 
November 13, at 0300 UTC. See page 88 
<http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/arrl/qst_201311/index.php#/92> of 
November 2013 issue of /QST/ for the schedule and full details. The FMT 
will employ a "roundtable" format, with all transmitting stations close 
to the same frequency.

The four test signal stations will be K5CM in Oklahoma, W8KSE in Ohio, 
W6OQI in California and WA6ZTY in California (40 meters only). The test 
will begin near 7055 kHz, then move to 80 meters near 3598 kHz 30 
minutes later, then to 1845 kHz 15 minutes later.

Participants may submit <http://www.b4h.net/fmt/fmtentry.php> their 
measurements and soapbox comments (by 0300 UTC on November 17) using the 
data entry website provided by Bruce Horn, WA7BNM. K5CM's website has 
more information <http://www.k5cm.com/> about frequency measuring 
techniques.

/Regulatory/: FCC Fines CBer for Operating Illegal Transmitter With 
Amplifier

Helping to alleviate concerns that it rarely polices the Citizens Radio 
Service (CB), the FCC has fined an Alaska CBer $500 for "willfully and 
repeatedly" operating a non-certificated CB transmitter with an RF 
linear amplifier which, the Commission said, violated federal law and 
its rules and "voided his authority to operate his CB station." In a 
/Forfeiture Order/ 
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-13-2083A1.pdf> 
released October 30, the FCC noted that the CB operator, Glenn S. 
Yamada, of Kenai, Alaska, did not deny the violations but stated that he 
"did not intend to violate" the Communications Act of 1934 or FCC rules.

Yamada also told the FCC that he was unable to pay the initial 
forfeiture of $12,500, imposed in a July 18, 2012, /Notice of Apparent 
Liability for Forfeiture/ (/NAL/). The Commission said its agents had 
identified Yamada as the source of a signal that the Commission's High 
Frequency Direction Finding Center "observed interfering with safety of 
life operations on the frequency of 21.965 MHz [sic]" in January and 
February 2012. The FCC said that based on financial documents Yamada 
provided, it found "sufficient basis" to reduce the fine to $500, and it 
gave Yamada 30 days to pay or have his case turned over to the US 
Department of Justice for enforcement of the forfeiture.

As required by the /NAL/, Yamada informed the FCC in writing in August 
2012 that he was still engaged in CB operations, using a certified 
transmitter that was not attached to a linear amplifier.

/Regulatory/: FCC Wireless Bureau Gets New Acting Chief

President Obama nominated Wheeler (R) to be FCC chairman last spring. 
[White House photo]

Sworn into office November 4, Tom Wheeler, the new FCC chairman, has 
named current Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Chief Ruth Milkman as 
his chief of staff. Replacing Milkman as acting Wireless Bureau chief 
will be Roger Sherman, a communications attorney with strong links to 
the Democratic Party. The WTB oversees Amateur Radio within the FCC.

Sherman previously served as the Democratic Chief Counsel to the House 
Committee on Energy and Commerce and as Democratic Staff Director to its 
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Read more 
<http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-wireless-bureau-gets-new-acting-chief>.

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/Events/: Arecibo Observatory 50th Anniversary Special Event Set

Special event station KP4AO Arecibo Observatory 
<http://www.naic.edu/general/> in Puerto Rico will be on the air Sunday, 
November 10, 1230-2000 UTC.

"We will be on the air commemorating our 50th anniversary of Radio 
Astronomy Science," explains Angel M. Vazquez, WP3R, the head of 
telescope operations and RFI/spectrum manager at the facility.

"We will operate 20 meter phone only at around 14.250 MHz."

The observatory is inviting radio amateurs to operate the station. 
Vazquez says the KP4AO ops will be transmitting right from the control 
room of the William E. Gordon telescope, the world's largest and most 
sensitive radiotelescope, commissioned in November 1963.

The Arecibo radiotelescope [NAIC photo]

A commemorative certificate will be available for those who make 
contacts with KP4AO (include a SASE) as well for those who operate the 
station. QSL to Arecibo Observatory Radio Club, HC03, PO Box 53995, 
Arecibo, PR 00612.

The special event is sponsored by the Caribbean Amateur Radio Group and 
the Arecibo Observatory Radio Club. The National Astronomy and 
Ionosphere Center (Arecibo Observatory) is a facility of the National 
Science Foundation.

AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting is a Wrap

The 31st annual AMSAT <http://www.amsat.org/> Space Symposium and Annual 
Meeting took place November 1-3 in Houston. Just prior to the gathering 
the AMSAT Board of Directors met October 31 and elected senior officers 
for 2013-2014. Barry Baines, WD4ASW, will continue as AMSAT-NA 
President. Others elected included Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, Vice 
President Operations; Gould Smith, WA4SXM, Vice President User Services; 
Tony Monteiro, AA2TX, Vice President Engineering, and Frank Bauer, 
KA3HDO, Vice President of Human Spaceflight.

The gathering celebrated the 30th anniversary of Amateur Radio 
involvement in human spaceflight and the evolution of Amateur Radio into 
a successful program aboard the International Space Station through the 
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS 
<http://ariss.rac.ca/>) program that supports educational outreach and 
provides opportunities for informal contacts between 
astronauts/cosmonauts and Amateur Radio operators and students.

Bauer's ARISS presentation included in-depth discussions with retired 
NASA astronauts Owen Garriott, W5LFL, and Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, former 
AMSAT President Bill Tynan, W3XO; Lou McFadin, W5DID, and ARISS 
telebridge operator Tim Bosma, W6MU. Garriott was the first astronaut 
(on STS-9 in 1983) to use Amateur Radio to communicate with radio 
amateurs on Earth, leading to the past SAREX (Shuttle Amateur Radio 
EXperiment) and current ARISS programs.

Additional details <http://www.amsat.org/> about the symposium are on 
the AMSAT-NA website. /-- AMSAT News Service /

/DX/: Advice to Avoid DXpedition Confusion

/The Daily DX <http://www.dailydx.com/>/ Editor Bernie McClenny, W3UR, 
offers some basic recommendations to avoid problems when trying to work 
the "many juicy DXpeditions" that are active (see The Daily DX Calendar 
<http://www.dailydx.com/Calendar.htm>) this month.

"DXers do not depend on the cluster spots to tell you who is on what 
frequency," McClenny says. He notes that it's fine to use DX spots as a 
reference point, but to make sure you know for certain which station you 
are hearing/calling, so that you log the correct call sign. Don't assume.

Also, DXpeditions all work split and typically listen a few kilohertz 
up. Pay attention to your VFOs, and don't transmit on top of the DX 
station. "If someone /does/ transmit (calls) on top of a DXpedition, you 
are better off not getting involved and making things worse," McClenny 
advises. "Don't be a DX pileup policeman!"

He also has some advice for DXpedition operators. "DXpeditioners, before 
firing up on a frequency make sure your transmit frequency is clear. 
Listen around to make sure some other DXpedition is not too close to 
your transmit or receiving frequencies." And, he adds, "Please send your 
call sign often!"

McClenny says that ultimately the DXpedition operator is responsible for 
the pileup. "Remember it takes two to make a QSO, and we DXers at home 
and those on DXpeditions have certain responsibilities to keep the 
confusion at a minimum, especially with all the DXpeditions that will be 
QRV [on the air] during this month."

/Milestones/: Ohio Section Manager to Step Down

Citing increased job and family commitments, Ohio Section Manager Frank 
Piper, KI8GW, will step down from his position on January 1. Piper, of 
Pickerington, has been the Ohio Section Manager since July 2009, when he 
was tapped to complete the term of office after the death of Joe 
Phillips, K8QOE. Piper subsequently was elected as Section Manager in 
2010 and 2012.

Succeeding Piper will be Scott Yonally, N8SY, of Mansfield, who will 
complete the current term of office that ends on September 30, 2014. In 
accordance with ARRL Field Organization procedures, section manager 
vacancies between elections are filled by appointment. Membership and 
Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton, NN1N, in consultation with Great 
Lakes Division Director Jim Weaver, K8JE, appointed Yonally, who has 
been an assistant section manager since 2009.

Yonally also holds appointments as Official Relay Station and Official 
Emergency Station and previously served as Public Information 
Coordinator and District Emergency Coordinator within the Ohio Field 
Organization.

/Milestones/: Veteran Broadcast Engineer Richard Mertz, N3QJF, SK

Richard Mertz, N3QJF [Cavell Mertz photo]

Richard H. Mertz, N3QJF, of North Bethesda, Maryland, a noted broadcast 
engineer, died October 30 after a lengthy illness. He was 65. Mertz was 
well known in radio broadcasting circles, and he was a regular writer 
for /WorldRadio <http://www.worldradiomagazine.com/>./ He also presented 
technical papers at the NAB and IBC conventions. In 1994, Mertz joined 
the firm that became Cavell Mertz and Associates 
<http://www.cavellmertz.com/index.php?action=E&value=3> and served as 
its vice president. He spent more than 40 years in broadcast television 
and radio, cable television, and communications. He was a leading 
authority on TV re-banding and earlier had assisted television clients 
in making the transition from analog to digital. Mertz oversaw the 
installation of the South's first AM stereo facility at WBT. A graduate 
of Oglethorpe University, he was past chairman of Chapter 37 of the 
Society of Broadcast Engineers in Washington, DC. Services were November 
3. /-- Thanks to N7UR/The Nevada Amateur Radio Newswire/

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/Miscellany/: Team K3LR "In the Pink" for CQ World Wide Phone

Standing (L-R) WM2H, K3LA, AD1C, K3UA, N3GJ, K1DG, N2NT, N5UM, K1AR, and 
W2RQ. Seated (L-R) LU7DW, K3LR, and N2NC [Tim Duffy, K3LR, photo]

Top contester Tim Duffy, K3LR, reports that Team K3LR supported National 
Breast Cancer Awareness Month <http://www.nbcam.org/> by wearing their 
pink "Powered by Icom" shirts during the CQ World Wide DX Contest (SSB) 
the weekend of October 26-27. "Last weekend the HF Amateur Radio world 
enjoyed some of the best DX conditions in many years," Duffy told ARRL. 
The K3LR team competed 
<http://lists.contesting.com/pipermail/3830/2013-October/291577.html> in 
the Multi-Multi category, finishing on the top in that category for 
eight years in a row. "Pending final log checking it looks like 9 years 
in a row now, with a /new/ USA record," he added. If the claimed score 
holds up, Team K3LR will have topped its previous record, set in 2011, 
of 36.3 million points.

Getting It Right

In the article, "ARRL November Sweepstakes Marks 80 Years!" in the 
October 31, 2013, edition of /The ARRL Letter/, Halloween gremlins 
somehow got into the works (ie, your editor slipped up). The word below 
"A Sweepstakes Primer" describing the element following the sequential 
contact serial number in the ARRL November Sweepstakes exchange is 
"precedence."

Solar Update

Solar Sage Tad "Let the Sunspots In" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, 
reports: Solar activity eased off over the past week, with average daily 
sunspot numbers declining nearly 30 points from 161.6 to 131.7. Average 
daily solar flux was down more than 12 points from 158.3 to 146. 
Geomagnetic indicators were quiet. Still, activity remains strong. The 
last 3 days of the reporting week (November 4-6) had increasingly 
stronger sunspot numbers, all higher than the week's average. The same 
is true for solar flux values, with numbers over the past few days 
higher than the average for the week.

Recently we noted a near-term peak in *solar flux* at 155 predicted for 
November 22-25, but now that peak has moved, and values predicted for 
those dates are around 140. The new peak is predicted for the next few 
days, at 155 on November 7, 150 on November 8-9, 155 on November 10, 145 
on November 11-13, 140 on November 14-15, 135 on November 16, 130 on 
November 17-20, 135 on November 21-22, 140 on November 23-28, and 145 on 
November 29 through December 1.

*Predicted planetary A index* is 8 on November 7, 5 on November 8-10, 8 
on November 11-13, 5 on November 14 through December 2, 8 on December 
3-4, 5 on December 5-6, and 8, 10, 8 and 8 on December 7-10.

On Friday we will update the forecast and pass on observations from readers.

This Week in Radiosport

  *

    Nov 9-10 -- Worked All Europe DX Contest, digital

  *

    Nov 9-10 -- 10-10 Fall Digital QSO Party, digital

  *

    Nov 9-10 -- Japan International DX Contest, SSB

  *

    Nov 9-10 -- OK-OM DX Contest, CW

  *

    Nov 9-10 -- Straight Key Weekend Sprintathon, CW

  *

    Nov 9-10 -- Kentucky QSO Party, SSB+CW+digital

  *

    Nov 9-11 --CQ WE (Western Electric), SSB+CW+digital

  *

    Nov 13-14 -- CWops Monthly Mini-CWT Test

  *

    Nov 14 -- NAQCC Monthly QRP Sprint, CW

  *

    Nov 16 -- Feld-Hell Turkey Shoot Sprint

  *

    Nov 16-17 ARRL EME Contest

  *

    Nov 16-17 -- LZ DX Contest, SSB+CW

  *

    Nov 16-17 -- All Austria 160 Meter Contest, CW

  *

    Nov 16-17 -- RSGB Second 1.8 MHz Contest, CW

  *

    Nov 16-18 -- ARRL November Sweepstakes, SSB

  *

    Nov 17 -- Homebrew and Oldtime Contest, CW

  *

    Nov 18 -- Run For The Bacon, CW

Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events

  *

    November 8-9 -- Midwest Division Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/midwest-division-convention-1>,
    Lebanon, Missouri

  *

    November 9 -- Atlantic Division Virtual Convention
    <http://www.atldiv.org/convention.htm> (Webinar)

  *

    November 9 -- All-Ohio ARES Conference
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/all-ohio-ares-conference>,
    Reynoldsburg, Ohio

  *

    November 16-17 -- Indiana State Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/indiana-state-convention-fort-wayne-hamfest-and-computer-expo-1>,
    Fort Wayne, Indiana

  *

    December 6-7 -- West Central Florida Section Convention
    <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/west-central-florida-section-convention-tampa-bay-hamfest-3>,
    Plant City, Florida

  *

    January 5 -- NYC/LI Section Convention
    <http://hamradiouniversity.org/>, Bethpage, New York

  *

    January 17-18 -- North Texas Section Convention
    <http://www.cowtownhamfest.org/>, Fort Worth, Texas

  *

    January 19-26 - Quartzfest Convention <http://www.quartzfest.org/>,
    Quartzite, Arizona

  *

    January 24-25 -- Mississippi State Convention
    <http://hamfest.msham.org/>, Jackson, Mississippi

  *

    January 25-26 -- Puerto Rico State Convention
    <http://www.arrlpr.org/>, Hatillo, Puerto Rico

  *

    January 31-February 1 -- Southern Florida Section Convention
    <http://hamboree.org/>, Miami, Florida

Find conventions and hamfests in your area <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests>.

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