[SFDXA] The ARRL Letter for July 3, 2014
Bill
bmarx at bellsouth.net
Thu Jul 3 21:16:37 EDT 2014
Preview
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The ARRL Letter
July 3, 2014
Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME <mailto:ww1me 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=2014-07-03&t=t>
* Convention Anticipation Peaking, Thousands Expected to Help
Celebrate League's Centennial <#toc01>
* FCC Seeks to Raise Vanity Call Sign Fee to $21.60 <#toc02>
* ISS Contacts Put Smiles on Field Day Faces <#toc03>
* FCC Invokes "Red Light Rule" in Denying K1MAN License Renewal
Application <#toc04>
* WRTC-2014 Receives ARRL Foundation Grant, Gets Marconi Boost <#toc05>
* W1AW Centennial Operations Now in Wisconsin, Utah <#toc06>
* WRTC-2014 Will Offer Online Scoreboard to Track Team Standings <#toc07>
* FM Transponder Active as LituanicaSAT-1 CubeSat Enters its Final Few
Weeks in Space <#toc08>
* ARRL-Sponsored 600 Meter Experiment Approaches 170,000 Hours of
Operation <#toc09>
* Voice of America Makes More Cuts to International Shortwave
Broadcast Schedule <#toc10>
* MARS Teams Remember D-Day With a Present-Day Purpose <#toc11>
* A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL <#toc12>
* In Brief... <#toc13>
* The K7RA Solar Update <#toc14>
* Just Ahead in Radiosport <#toc15>
* Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
<#toc16>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*ARRL Headquarters is Closed on Independence Day, July 4*
ARRL Headquarters will be closed on Independence Day, Friday, July 4,
and there will be no /ARRL Audio News
<http://www.arrl.org/arrl-audio-news>/, W1AW <http://www.arrl.org/w1aw>
bulletins or code practice on those days. /ARRL Audio News/ will return
July 11. We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July holiday!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Convention Anticipation Peaking, Thousands Expected to Help Celebrate
League's Centennial
Some 4000 visitors are expected to be on hand when the ARRL National
Centennial Convention <http://arrl2014.org/> kicks off in in a couple of
weeks. The convention theme, marking the 100th anniversary of the
League's founding, is "Advancing the Art and Science of radio -- Since
1914." ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, will preside at the official
opening ceremony and ribbon cutting on Friday morning at 8:30.
The ARRL National Centennial Convention will take place July 17-19 at
the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, KK4INZ, will be a featured speaker at
the July 17-19 event at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.
FEMA Chief Technology Officer Ted Okada, K4HNL, also will be attending
the convention.
Visitor have registered from all 50 US states and more than 30
countries. Among the attendees will be official delegations from Japan,
England, Germany, Australia, and elsewhere. In addition, more than 100
vendors and exhibitors will be in the main Convention Center exhibit
hall. Transportation will be available to shuttle convention registrants
to Newington for tours of ARRL Headquarters and W1AW.
<http://arrl2014.org>The Centennial Banquet will take place Friday
evening at 6:30. A Wouff Hong Society induction ceremony will follow at
10 PM in the ballroom of the downtown Hartford Marriott Hotel, which is
attached to the Convention Center. The Wouff Hong is a legendary
implement that League co-founder Hiram Percy Maxim -- writing under his
pseudonym as "The Old Man" -- devised to "punish" poor operators. By
tradition the ceremony is secret.
President Craigie will host a Presidents Breakfast at 7:30 on Saturday
morning in the Convention Center ballroom. Several past ARRL presidents
are expected to attend. Other notable visitors to the convention include
Nobel Laureate Joe Taylor, K1JT, who will speak at noon on Saturday.
The convention wraps up Saturday at 4 PM. ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ,
will officiate at the closing ceremony.
Convention registration <http://arrl2014.org/> remains open! The
deadline for all banquet and meal reservations is Sunday, July 6.
FCC Seeks to Raise Vanity Call Sign Fee to $21.60
The FCC is requesting to raise the Amateur Service vanity call sign
regulatory fee from its current $16.10 to $21.60 for the 10-year license
term. The $5.50 increase would be the largest vanity fee hike in many
years. The proposal is contained in a /Notice of Proposed Rule Making/
(/NPRM <http://www.fcc.gov/document/fy-2014-regulatory-fees-nprm>/),
"Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2014;
Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2013; and
Procedures for Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees," which
appeared in /The Federal Register/ on July 3.
The FCC reported there were 11,500 "payment units" in FY 2014. The
Commission said the vanity program generated $230,000 in FY 2013
revenue, and it estimated that it would collect nearly $248,000 in FY 2014.
Interested parties have 30 days to comment on the /NPRM/. Changes in the
vanity call sign fee typically take effect in late August or early
September.
ISS Contacts Put Smiles on Field Day Faces
Some lucky -- and happy -- ARRL Field Day <http://www.arrl.org/fieldday>
participants managed to snag a contact with NASA Astronaut Reid Wiseman,
KF5LKT, operating from NA1SS on board the International Space Station.
Wiseman, who just came aboard the space station this spring, seemed to
have fun working the pileup.
"Enjoyed ARRL FD 14," Wiseman Tweeted
<http://pic.twitter.com/0WWZ8klfs2>. "I operated from the ESA /Columbus/
module. So many calls!" Wiseman used NA1SS on the standard VHF
frequencies of 144.49 MHz up and 145.80 MHz down. It's not yet known how
many stations he was able to contact.
NASA Astronauts Reid Wiseman, KF5LKT (above), and Steve Swanson shaved
their heads last week after losing a World Cup bet. [Courtesy of Reid
Wiseman via Twitter]
Bob McCown, N3IYI, reported that the Goddard Amateur Radio Club's WA3NAN
Field Day station in Greenbelt, Maryland, was among those that succeeded
in contacting NA1SS during Field Day on Saturday afternoon. "The pass
was almost over, way to the east over the Atlantic, so things were no
doubt quieting down up there," McCown told ARISS <http://www.ariss.org/>
International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and others in a post-Field Day
e-mail. "When I mentioned Goddard, he came back with 'Goddard! That's
just down the road from where I grew up! Good to hear from you.'"
Wiseman is from Baltimore.
Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK, in Arizona also reported working
Wiseman on June 28. "I worked NA1SS as it passed over the western USA at
1818 UTC for my first ARRL (and AMSAT) Field Day QSO," he said in an ISS
Fan Club <http://www.issfanclub.com/> forum post. "First time working
NA1SS during Field Day!"
"Me too!!" rejoined Umesh Ghodke, K6VUG, who operated Field Day from the
South Bay Amateur Radio Association (SBARA <http://www.sbara.org/>) KU6S
site, He reported that NA1SS was full quieting in Fremont, California on
the space station's first Field Day pass over the Pacific and the
Midwest Saturday morning.
"It was such an out-of-the-world experience having a voice contact with
Wiseman, surrounded by many club members," Ghodke posted. "Due to the
uncertainty of his possible on-the-air operation, we were set up for
both voice as well as the usual packet. And we were scanning both
frequencies every few seconds. When we started 'hearing voices,' we were
so excited that it never occurred us to make a voice recording. This is
a once-in-a-lifetime contact."
Stoddard said Wiseman was having occasional difficulty copying call
signs. "With so many stations calling, and being on FM, that is
understandable," he added. "I could hear times during the two North
American passes where he was picking up a different call each time he
was transmitting. He was going very quickly, knowing the limited time he
had over the continent on each pass." Stoddard said he heard nothing on
the ISS's 70 centimeter frequency, 437.55 MHz.
In Elko, Nevada, Shane Wiggins, NV7SW, was operating as W7V for Elko
Amateur Radio Club's 2014 Field Day operation. He managed to work NA1SS
on one of the less-than-ideal passes. "Late into that pass I heard Reid
come back to my call," Wiggins told ARRL. "There were many people
huddled around my satellite station listening, and we all went crazy
when we heard him come back to me. In particular, there was a young
father and son visiting our Field Day location, [and] the little boy was
jumping around." Wiggins said his only regret was that he had worked
NA1SS with the Field Day station's W7V call sign and not his own. He
said he'd dreamed of working NA1SS ever since seeing the ISS pass
overhead one evening in 2009.
Another Field Day group that was fortunate enough to connect with the
ISS were the Boy Scouts of Raymore, Missouri, Troop 32. "I bet the boys
could be heard up in orbit even without a radio when Reid answered our
call!" Scout Leader Jim Reicher, W0HV, said afterward.
"Thanks to Reid Wiseman, NASA, and ARISS for encouraging him to try the
ham station in the ISS /Columbus/ module during Field Day!" Stoddard
said. Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/nasa-astronaut-s-iss-field-day-operation-puts-smiles-on-several-faces>.
FCC Invokes "Red Light Rule" in Denying K1MAN License Renewal Application
The curious Amateur Radio enforcement case of Glenn Baxter, now
ex-K1MAN, of Belgrade Lakes, Maine, may be at an end. The FCC dismissed
Baxter's long-standing license renewal application on June 23, invoking
its "Red Light Rule," which gives the Commission authority to turn down
a pending application if the applicant has an unpaid fine on the books.
His Amateur Extra class license is now shown as "canceled" in the FCC's
Universal Licensing System (ULS
<http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/index.htm?job=home>). Baxter was liable for
a $10,000 FCC forfeiture stemming from violations over a period
extending back several years.
"Anyone filing an application [who] is found to be delinquent in debt
owed to the FCC and who fails to pay the debt in full or make other
satisfactory arrangements in a timely manner will have their application
dismissed," said the /Notice of Dismissal/
<http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/letterPdf/LetterPdfController?applId=3052669&letterVersionId=110&autoLetterId=1638893&letterCode=DI&radioServiceCode=HA&op=LetterPdf&letterTo=L>
appended to Baxter's ULS file. "Because you have failed to resolve this
matter timely, your application is hereby dismissed."
The FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau dismissed Baxter's 2005
renewal application "without prejudice," which means that if Baxter
wants to be licensed again, he must file a new application -- and the
FCC could again invoke its Red Light Rule. Baxter's license expired in
October 2005, but FCC rules gave him the authority to continue operating
while his renewal application was pending. He lost that privilege,
effective June 23.
"If you are currently operating under authority provided by the
Commission's rules based on your submission of [a renewal] application,
you must immediately cease operation until such time as you come into
compliance with the rules," the dismissal letter said.
The legal history in the case is extensive. In 2011, the FCC issued a
/Hearing Designation Order/
<https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-11-58A1.pdf> to
determine, among other things, if Baxter's Amateur Radio license should
be renewed. According to the /Order/, "Baxter has apparently willfully
and repeatedly engaged in unlawful Commission-related activities,
including causing interference to ongoing communications of other
amateur stations, transmitting communications in which he had a
pecuniary interest, failing to file requested information pursuant to an
Enforcement Bureau directive, engaging in broadcasting without
communicating with any particular station, and failing to exercise
control of his station." Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-invokes-red-light-rule-in-denying-k1man-license-renewal-application>.
Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2014-07-03&p=0>
WRTC-2014 Receives ARRL Foundation Grant, Gets Marconi Boost
World Radiosport Team Championship 2014 (WRTC-2014
<http://www.wrtc2014.org/>) will benefit from an ARRL Foundation grant.
WRTC-2014 announced
<http://www.wrtc2014.org/wrtc2014-receives-grant-from-arrl-foundation/>
what it called "a significant financial grant" on June 22. The grant
will help to support WRTC-2014's public relations effort to use the
event to promote Amateur Radio to the general public. An international
competition involving 59 teams of radio contesters, WRTC-2014 will take
place July 8-14, with on-the-air activity taking place July 12-13,
concurrent with the IARU HF Championship
<http://www.arrl.org/iaru-hf-championship>.
"With competitors coming from around the world, this is the perfect
opportunity to showcase the radiosport aspect of Amateur Radio to the
public," said WRTC-2014 Co-Chair Randy Thompson, K5ZD. Thompson said the
ARRL Foundation grant has enabled WRTC-2014 to retain a media relations
expert to help introduce the event to the media
<http://www.wrtc2014.org/in-the-media/> and to issue news releases in
the home markets of US competitors.
The ARRL Foundation was created in 1973 to provide grants supporting
Amateur Radio activities and programs, and currently awards upward of 80
scholarships per year to young radio amateurs pursuing higher education.
In another public relations coup, WRTC-2014 Co-Chair Doug Grant, K1DG,
made a historical connection the weekend of June 21-22, when
Princess Elettra Marconi at KM1CC. [Photo courtesy of Doug Grant, K1DG]
he spoke via ham radio with Princess Elettra Marconi, radio pioneer
Guglielmo Marconi's youngest daughter. She was at the Marconi Wireless
site at Cape Cod National Seashore, where club station KM1CC had set up
a station. During the 40 meter SSB contact, Princess Elettra told Grant
that her father would have been proud to see that radio amateurs were
continuing to advance his work in wireless communication. She went on to
praise the WRTC-2014 event and its ability to promote international
goodwill and operating skill.
"What an honor, and a thrilling QSO," Grant said afterward. "It was
exciting to bridge history from the very beginning of Amateur Radio to
the many aspects of Amateur Radio that we enjoy today." Grant said
Princess Elettra's acknowledgement that WRTC-2014 was helping to carry
on the Marconi legacy added to the thrill.
Grant was using the World Radiosport Team Championship club call sign,
WR1TC. Assisting with the contact was Barbara Dougan, N1NS, the trustee
of the Marconi Cape Cod Radio Club station KM1CC.
A visit to the Marconi Wireless Station Site and Chatham Marconi
Maritime Museum is among the tours
<http://www.wrtc2014.org/tours-and-activities/> available to WRTC-2014
participants and visitors. Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/wrtc-2014-receives-arrl-foundation-grant-gets-marconi-boost>.
*Elettra Marconi Makes Contact Between Historic Radio Sites*
Princess Elettra also was at the microphone on June 20 for an contact
between KM1CC at the Marconi Cape Cod station in Wellfleet,
Massachusetts, and the former Marconi Belmar Receiving Station and
"Project Diana" moonbounce site in New Jersey. The contact between KM1CC
and WA2GM, the club station of the Marconi Chapter 128 of the Quarter
Century Wireless Association (QCWA <http://www.qcwa.org/>) took place on
40 meter SSB.
The Ocean-Monmouth Amateur Radio Club (OMARC <http://www.n2mo.org/>)
hosted the New Jersey station from its facility at the InfoAge
<http://www.infoage.org/> Science History Museum Learning Center. /--
Thanks to Jeff Harshman, N2LXM/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
W1AW Centennial Operations Now in Wisconsin, Utah
The ARRL Centennial W1AW WAS
<http://www.arrl.org/files/file/On%20the%20Air/W1AW_2014_sked.pdf>
operations taking place throughout 2014 from each of the 50 states are
now in Wisconsin and Utah. There will be no W1AW Centennial operations
from July 9 until July 16. W1AW will relocate at 0000 UTC on Wednesday,
July 16 (the evening of July 15 in US time zones), to South Carolina
(W1AW/4). Only one state will be active that week.
World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC-2014
<http://www.wrtc2014.org/>) takes place July 12-13, concurrent with the
IARU HF Championship <http://www.iaru.org/contests.html>, and contacts
with competitor teams will be worth 5 points in the ARRL Centennial QSO
Party <http://www.arrl.org/centennial-qso-party>.
Contacts may be made with the teams on SSB and CW on 80, 40, 20, 15, and
10 meters. WRTC-2014 will take place in New England, and teams will be
using 1 × 1 call signs from US first district.
The ARRL Centennial QSO Party <http://www.arrl.org/centennial-qso-party>
is a year-long operating event in which participants can accumulate
points and win awards. The event is open to all, although only ARRL
members and appointees, elected officials, HQ staff and W1AW are worth
ARRL Centennial QSO Party points
<http://www.arrl.org/centennial-qso-party#Table>.
During 2014, W1AW will be on the air from every state (at least twice)
and most US territories, and it will be easy to work all states solely
by contacting W1AW portable operations. Working W1AW/x from each state
is worth 5 points per mode/contact, even when working the same state
during its second week of activity.
To earn the "Worked all States with W1AW Award," work W1AW operating
portable from all 50 states. (Working W1AW or W100AW in Connecticut does
/not/ count for Connecticut, however. For award credit, participants
must work W1AW/1 in Connecticut.) A W1AW WAS certificate and plaque will
be available.
The ARRL has posted an ARRL Centennial QSO Party leader board
<https://centennial-qp.arrl.org> that participants can use to determine
how many points they have accumulated in the Centennial QSO Party and in
the W1AW WAS operations. Log in using your Logbook of The World (LoTW
<http://www.arrl.org/logbook-of-the-world>) user name and password, and
your position will appear at the top of the leader boards. Results are
updated daily, based on contacts entered into LoTW.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WRTC-2014 Will Offer Online Scoreboard to Track Team Standings
A live, near-real time scoreboard to track World Radiosport Team
Championship 2014 (WRTC-2014 <http://www.wrtc2014/>) team standings will
be available during the July 12-13 event. The scoreboard will be
accessible directly <http://sb.wrtc2014.org/> or from a link on the
WRTC-2014 website. The scoreboard uses an innovative data-collection
method developed by WRTC-2014 Director (IT infrastructure and
scoreboard) Dave Pascoe, KM3T, and Bob Raymond, WA1Z. Pascoe is a past
WRTC referee and competitor. Each of the 59 WRTC-2014 teams will use
networked computers for logging during the contest. The score collection
system will monitor network traffic to obtain the latest score and
QSO-breakdown information.
Here's how the WRTC-2014 live scoreboard will appear online. This screen
shot was taken during testing. [Courtesy of Dave Pasco, KM3T]
"Real-time -- or near real-time -- score reporting has been a tradition
at WRTC events since 2002," Pascoe and Raymond wrote in the July/August
issue of /NCJ <http://ncjweb.com/>/, which is dedicated to WRTC-2014.
"Each WRTC organizer has used -- or attempted -- various approaches to
report scores from the field. The most common approach involve[d] having
referees send SMS (text) messages from a cell phone." According to the
/NCJ/ article, past near-real time scoreboard attempts have been plagued
by real-world challenges that included connectivity issues and reliance
on referees to report scores on schedule.
The WRTC-2014 system will transmit score data via cellular modem every 5
minutes to a score-processing website that Raymond designed. The website
will display team scores in order. Clicking on a team will reveal its
band breakdown, hourly rate sheet, and position for each hour of the
contest. A leader board page will list the top five teams by CW
contacts, SSB contacts, multipliers, and points per contact.
WRTC-2014 said another innovation is the ability to compare the scores
of multiple teams on a graph over time. "This will reveal how the
fortunes of teams change over the 24 hours, as they follow their various
strategies for building their score," the event's organizers said in a
July 1 news release
<http://www.wrtc2014.org/wrtc2014-announces-live-scoreboard-to-track-team-standings/>.
Pascoe said his team has confirmed cell signal levels at all sites and
is confident that WRTC-2014 will have real-time scoring from all 59 teams.
The scoreboard site is now live for testing purposes, but all scores
will be reset to zero before WRTC-2014 begins at 1200 UTC on July 12,
2014. The international team competition takes place concurrent with the
IARU HF Championship <http://www.arrl.org/iaru-hf-championship> event.
Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/wrtc-2014-will-offer-online-scoreboard-to-track-team-standings>.
FM Transponder Active as LituanicaSAT-1 CubeSat Enters its Final Few
Weeks in Space
The LituanicaSAT-1
<http://amsat-uk.org/2014/02/27/lituanicasat-1-cubesat/> OSCAR-78/LO-78
Amateur Radio FM transponder has been activated, perhaps for the last
time. The CubeSat, which has the call sign LY5N, will deorbit and burn
up in Earth's atmosphere, possibly around August 5. Laurynas Maciulis,
LY1LM, of the LituanicaSAT-1 team said the transponder's duty cycle will
depend on the state of the batteries. He said all telemetry has been
disabled to save power.
"We hope the signal should be even better now, as the satellite is
descending steadily to 300 km and wish you all good QSOs!" he said.
The FM transponder frequencies are 435.1755 MHz up (±10 kHz Doppler
shift), and 145.950 MHz up, with a 67 Hz CTCSS tone. The beacon
frequency is 437.275 MHz; if the beacon is /off/, the transponder is
operational. The tiny 10 × 10 × 10 cm satellite weighs slightly more
than 1 kg and also carries a VGA camera. The satellite sports four
monopole antennas, three for UHF and one for VHF, all made of
spring-steel measurement tape.
LituanicaSAT-1 was launched to the International Space Station on
January 9 and deployed into orbit with other Amateur Radio satellites on
February 28. On March 22, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite
transmitted a greeting "to all Lithuanians around the world" via
LituanicaSAT-1 <http://amsat-uk.org/2014/02/27/lituanicasat-1-cubesat/>
-- her country's first satellite. She may be the first head of state to
send a message via an Amateur Radio satellite. LituanicaSAT-1 was
designed and built by students at Vilnius University.
The LituanicaSAT-1 team invites
<http://www.kosmonautai.lt/en/data-submission/> reception reports,
including small audio files or any other data online.
Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2014-07-03&p=1>
ARRL-Sponsored 600 Meter Experiment Approaches 170,000 Hours of Operation
According to the most recent report on the ARRL WD2XSH experimental
operation <http://www.500kc.com/> on 600 meters, participants have
logged 168,472 hours on the air. Things are not perceptibly closer in
terms of obtaining an Amateur Radio allocation in that part of the
spectrum, however. So far, 522 contacts have been made between
participating stations on 472 to 479 kHz since the experiment got
underway in late 2006.
"Activity has continued strong into the spring, in spite of the
increasing noise level and decreasing amount of night time," Experiment
Coordinator Fritz Raab, W1FR, reported in his Spring 2014 summary of
operations, released June 23. "Many transmissions used digital modes and
other experimental licensees were quite active."
The FCC has remained silent regarding the ARRL's November 2012 /Petition
for Rulemaking <http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022073018>/
that asked the Commission to make 472-479 kHz available to radio
amateurs in the US. Delegates to the 2012 World Radiocommunication
Conference approved
<http://www.arrl.org/news/amateur-radio-gets-secondary-mf-allocation-at-wrc-12>
a 7 kHz-wide secondary allocation for the Amateur Radio Service, with a
power limit of 5 W EIRP (or 1 W EIRP, depending on location). The FCC
has indicated that it will address the issue within the context of its
/Notice of Proposed Rule Making/ in ET Docket No. 12-338
<http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2012/db1119/FCC-12-140A1.pdf>,
to formally reflect the /Final Acts of WRC 2007/ in its rules.
Some regular ARRL MW experiment participants, including Raab, now are
off the air temporarily. Raab is moving to the Midwest, and Dean Gagnon,
KK1K, will take over his site in Burlington, Vermont and operate as
WD2XSH/47. Pat Hamel, W5THT, operating as WD2XSH/6, also is off the air
for the time being. In addition, after one season, Neil Klagge, W0YSE,
in Utah, who had been operating as WG2XSV, has shut down because he is
relocating. Michael Reid, WE0H, in Minnesota, who had been participating
as WD2XSH/16, is off the air but will return under his own Part 5
Experimental license WD2XGI, which was modified to add 460 to 490 kHz.
Proponents of the MW allocation, which is variously called "600 meters"
and "630 meters," have been spreading the word at ham radio gatherings.
Raab reported that Rudy Severns, N6LF, gave a presentation on the 600
meter band at the SeaPac <http://www.seapac.org/> earlier this month,
while John Langridge, KB5NJD/WG2XIQ, spoke at Ham-Com
<http://www.hamcom.org/> in June and reported strong interest a new band
at 472-479 kHz.
A few countries, including Canada, France, Germany, the Philippines, and
Vietnam, have approved Amateur Radio bands in the vicinity of 500 kHz.
Canada's band is 472-479 kHz.
Raab reported that three new experimental licenses have been issued, and
one existing license was modified to include frequencies in the 472-479
kHz range. They are WD2XGI in Minnesota, WH2XAR in Arizona, WH2XCR in
Hawaii, and WH2XES in Texas.
Voice of America Makes More Cuts to International Shortwave Broadcast
Schedule
With no public announcement or fanfare, the Voice of America has phased
out some 14 hours per day of international shortwave broadcast
transmissions and will cease broadcasting on some of its customary
frequencies, effective July 1. Another 10 hours of daily cuts have been
made to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Radio Free Asia
(RFA) broadcasts. The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG
<http://www.bbg.gov/>) oversees the VOA, RFE/RL and RFA. Tom
Witherspoon, K4SWL, who maintains The SWLing Post <http://swling.com/>
Internet site, said he contacted BBG spokesperson Letitia King for
details on the cuts, which he learned about from a leaked memorandum,
"Farewell to Shortwave," from recently retired VOA staff member Dan
Robinson. Information
<http://swling.com/blog/2014/06/details-of-shortwave-reductions-to-voa-rfe-rfa/>
King provided to Witherspoon said the cuts, okayed by Congress, will
save taxpayers some $1.6 million annually.
"US international media must optimize program delivery by market," said
the statement King provided. "We are ending some shortwave
transmissions. We continue shortwave to those countries where these
transmissions are still reaching significant audiences or where there
are no reasonable alternative platforms at a lower cost to the BBG."
King's statement, "Facts and Figures on Shortwave Broadcast Reductions,"
said the cuts were to "transmission platforms only," and that there
would be no staff reductions. "Programming continues to be available
through other media," her statement pointed out.
The cuts include essentially all shortwave broadcasts in English to Asia
-- some 6.5 hours a day in all. "Outside of sub-Saharan Africa, English
speakers are rarely users of shortwave radio," the BBG explanation said.
The VOA also will end 5.5 hours per day of "Special/Learning English"
transmissions on shortwave, although learning English programs will
continue on shortwave to Africa. Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/voice-of-america-makes-more-cuts-to-international-shortwave-broadcast-schedule>.
MARS Teams Remember D-Day With a Present-Day Purpose
For the second year in a row, hams in the Military Auxiliary Radio
System (MARS) have reached overseas to demonstrate interoperability in
cross-border emergencies. The June 6-7 exercise also had a historical
aspect -- to commemorate the role of HF radio in the D-Day landings of
1944. Joining MARS stations in the US and Europe in the drill were the
Canadian Forces Affiliate Radio System (CFARS) and units of the British
Defence Ministry's Combined Cadet Force. Replicating beachhead
communications on D-Day, the operation called for using minimal power
and simple wire antennas in a friendly competition to make the most
contacts. Army MARS Headquarters Operations Officer David McGinnis,
K7UXO, who created the drill scenario, dubbed it "Operation QRPX" -- the
"X" for "exercise."
The drill reflected earlier barrier-breaking during the Normandy
invasion 70 years ago. Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
deployed three "Joint Assault Signal Companies" (JASCOs) that pooled
front-line ground, sea, and air communicators to support the three US
landings.
"In the spirit of the JASCOs, this is a global, low-power exercise,
using field equipment and antennas, open to military stations of each US
military department, Allied military stations, and their respective
military communications auxiliaries," said the exercise order issued by
Army MARS Headquarters in Arizona.
Army MARS Headquarters invited Allied military stations to join in two
categories. One consisted of 20 W operation within North America and
Europe; the other of stations running up to 100 W across the Atlantic.
Participants were scored according to the number of contacts plus a
bonus for making automatic link establishment (ALE) contacts.
In the field: T/Sgt Nathan Belanger of Pennsylvania Air National Guard
joins the D-Day interoperability competition from Fort Indiantown Gap,
Pennsylvania.
A preliminary tabulation of 82 entries gave first place to Army MARS
member David Bly, K7DTB, of Sierra Vista, Arizona, with 43.05 points. He
was followed by T/Sgt Nathan Belanger of the Air National Guard's 148th
Air Support Operations Squadron, Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, with
35.7 points.
"I train our operations troops on HF comms, so I saw it as a great way
to reinforce my knowledge and see what we could accomplish," Belanger
explained. "The exercise also served as great radio operations and
communications etiquette training for the airman assisting me. Exercises
like this really give practical training and understanding of how far HF
can go."
Although Army MARS Region 2 Director Dick Corp, W2WC, placed third with
33 points, one of his hits was a home run -- a contact with military
contractor Tim McFadden, KB2RLB/T6TM, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Corp was
running 50 W and had used a bow and arrow to launch an inverted V into
an 80 foot tree near Albany, New York. McFadden, in turn, bagged the
American Embassy in Kuwait and one cadet station in the UK. Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/mars-teams-remember-d-day-with-a-present-day-purpose>.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL
Looking further at the early 1950s, we see that amateur incentive
licensing (an on-again/off-again thing with the FCC) ended on February
18, 1953. That same month, a /QST/ article by W1GXJ introduced a new
gadget to hams -- ferrite cores.
K2AH authored a /QST/ article in March 1953 telling of what appears to
be the first use of a transistor in a ham transmitter, running 50 μW
output on 2 meters to make contacts of up to 25 miles away. In the same
issue, an article reported the success of W4AO and W3GKP in receiving a
2 meter ham signal bounced off the Moon!
W6QYT and W6POH were exploring another new frontier -- meteor-scatter
communication on 20 and 15 meters.
CW still reigned as king in the 1950s, which saw many articles published
in /QST/ about electronic keyers. Those ran the gamut from W3FQB's
tubeless "Corkey" to W6SRY's "Ultimatic Keyer" with three dual triodes
and /seven/ relays. In the May 1953 issue of /QST/ W6DSR described
building a 40 meter CW transceiver around a BC-453 command receiver; as
you tuned it, the transmitter frequency moved in sync.
Effective March 28, 1953, phone operation was allowed on 15 meters.
During the early years of the Novice license, theory and code classes
sprang up all over. Most were taught through radio clubs, but even ham
employees of Allied Radio started a class, as a volunteer effort. This
1958 photo shows father and son Ed Bachner, Jr, and seventh grader Ed
III, at one of the classes. Father Ed, now SK, became KN9OIS, and son Ed
became KN9OBZ.
One facet of the Amateur Extra exam during the 1950 was amusing: The
transistor, invented in 1948, was in its infancy. The FCC, wanting to
keep up with the latest, formulated /one/ question about transistors,
which found its way into various study guides and appeared in /every/
Extra class exam for a couple of years.
The May 1953 issue of /QST/ published an article by W3FQB that remains,
to this day, one of my favorite /QST/ offerings -- "The Man Who Broke
the Bank." Although written as a humor piece, it had the ring of
futuristic hamming about it. It tells the tale of a radio club with a
new member whose day job was working with those newfangled electronic
calculators. Sweepstakes rolled around, and the new ham turned in an
unbelievably large score. There was much heated discussion over the
entry's validity, but the club finally agreed to submit it to ARRL,
which didn't believe it, either. After cross-checking every single
contact, they admitted that it was accurate and correct. Two weeks
later, Ed Handy, W1BDI, visited to tour the new member's station to get
to the bottom of the story.
That's all the room I have for this week, so visit the ARRL website,
search <http://www.arrl.org/arrl-periodicals-archive-search> for the
article, and read the whole thing. Enjoy! -- /Al Brogdon, W1AB/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2014-07-03&p=2>
In Brief...
*Last Call for Digital Communications Conference Papers:* July 14 is the
deadline to submit papers for the proceedings of 2014 ARRL/TAPR Digital
Communications Conference <http://www.tapr.org/dcc>, September 5 - 7, in
Austin, Texas. You do not have to attend the conference to have your
paper included in the proceedings. Your paper on any technical topic
relevant to amateur digital communications will be published as
submitted and you will retain all rights. E-mail <mailto:maty at arrl.org>
submissions no later than July 14 to Maty Weinberg, KB1EIB. Send text
files and images separately, and do /not/ attach Zip files. Total
attachments cannot exceed 5 MB per message.**
*World Wide Radio Operators Foundation Sponsoring WRTC-2014 Preview
Webinar:* A World Radiosport Team Championship 2014 (WRTC-2014
<http://www.wrtc2014.org/>) webinar is set for July 6 at 1800 UTC.
WRTC-2014 Co-Chair Randy Thompson, K5ZD, will provide a preview of the
upcoming international competition. He will review the week's schedule,
the teams, and the competitors, and suggest how you can join in the fun.
A few competitors and other organizers may drop in as well. Register
<https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/718400050> online.
*Volunteer Examiner Recognized by Governor of Tennessee:* ARRL VEC
Volunteer Examiner Butch Smith, N4TK, has received a /Certificate of
Appreciation/ from the Governor of Tennessee, on behalf of the Nashville
VE Team. Smith is one of the founding members of the team, which has
been continuously offering Amateur Radio exams since 1986. Smith
maintains the VE team website and delivers the "official opening
remarks" at test sessions/. -- Thanks to Jiro Oi, KW6A /
*NU1AW, W100AW Will Be on the Air for IARU HF Championship/WRTC-2014
Events: *IARU club station NU1AW will be on the air for the IARU HF
Championship <http://www.arrl.org/iaru-hf-championship> contest July
12-13. The World Radiosport Team Championship 2014 (WRTC-2014) takes
place within the IARU event. NU1AW will operate in the vicinity of the
WRTC <http://www.wrtc2014.org> events. W100AW will be on the air from
Newington. The W1AW call sign will /not/ be used that weekend.
*Defect Discovered in Latest /QST/ iOS App:* The /QST/ iOS app was
recently updated, but the ARRL has been notified by the app vendor that
a serious defect has been discovered that may cause the app to stop
functioning. ARRL is in discussions with the vendor to alleviate the
problem. Until a solution has been found, however, members are urged to
avoid updating their /QST/ iOS apps. This issue does /not/ impact /QST/
Android app users.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The K7RA Solar Update
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: The Earth-facing side of the Sun is
suddenly crowded with clusters of sunspots, so this sunspot cycle
definitely is not over. Over the past week average daily sunspot numbers
rose 43.3 points to 115.6, while average daily solar flux was up 30.7
points to 129.5. The 45-day outlook has also improved markedly. On July
2, the predicted average daily solar flux for July 3-9 rose to 177.9.
The latest short-term prediction shows solar flux at 175 on July 3, 180
on July 4-7, 175 on July 8-9, 170, 165 and 150 on July 10-12, 130 on
July 13-15, 110 on July 16-17, 115 on July 18, then declining to 90 on
July 23-24, rising to 165 on August 7, and declining to 100 on August 15-16.
Predicted planetary A index is 5 on July 3-5, 8 on July 6-7, 5 on July
8-10, 8 on July 11, 5 on July 12-13, then 8, 12, 8, and 8, on July
14-17, and 5 on July 18-28, before rising to 8 again.
The latest bulletin and an archive
<http://arrl.org/w1aw-bulletins-archive-propagation> of past propagation
bulletins is on the ARRL website. This week's bulletin was released 1
day early because of the July 4 holiday.
Send <mailto:k7ra at arrl.net> me /your/ reports and observations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just Ahead in Radiosport
*
July 4-5 -- MI QRP July 4th Sprint (CW)
*
July 5-6 -- 070 Club 40 Meter Firecracker PSK31 Sprint
*
July 5-6 -- DL DX RTTY Contest
*
July 6 -- DARC 10 Meter Digital Corona
*
July 6 -- OK1WC Memorial Contest (SSB, CW)
*
July 6 -- QRP ARCI Summer Homebrew (CW)
*
July 8 -- ARS Spartan Sprint (CW)
*
July 11 -- NS Weekly Sprint (CW)
*
July 11 -- FISTS Summer Sprint (CW)
*
July 12-13 -- IARU HF World Championship/WRTC-2014 (CW, SSB)
*
July 12-13 -- Straight Key Weekend Sprintathon (CW)
*
July 13 -- CQC Great Colorado Gold Rush (CW)
*
July 17 -- NAQCC Monthly QRP Sprint (CW)
See the ARRL Contest Calendar <http://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar> for
more information.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
*
July 5 -- Eastern Pennsylvania Section Convention
<http://www.w3uu.org>, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
*
July 9-12 -- Mobile Amateur Radio Awards National Convention
<http://marac.org/2014registration.pdf>, Visalia, California
*
*July 17-19 --****ARRL National Centennial Convention*
<http://arrl2014.org>*, Hartford, Connecticut*
*
July 18-19 -- Arizona State Convention <http://www.arca-az.org>,
Williams, Arizona
*
July 18-20 -- Montana State Convention <http://www.gwhamfest.org/>,
East Glacier, Montana
*
July 24-27 -- Central States VHF Society Conference
<http://www.csvhfs.org/2014conference/>, Austin, Texas
*
July 25-26 -- Oklahoma State Convention <http://www.hamholiday.org>,
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
*
August 1-2 --Texas State Convention
<http://www.austinsummerfest.org/>, Austin, Texas
*
August 7-9 -- Young Ladies Radio League Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/ylrl-2014-convention>, Vancouver,
Washington
*
August 8-10 -- Rocky Mountain Division Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/rocky-mountain-division-convention-duke-city-hamfest>,
Albuquerque, New Mexico
*
*August 16-17 -- **Southeastern Division Convention,*
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/southeastern-division-convention-huntsville-hamfest-regional-arrl-centennial-event>*Regional
ARRL Centennial Event, Huntsville, Alabama*
*
August 17 -- Kansas State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/kansas-state-convention-4>, Salina, Kansas
*
August 23 -- West Virginia State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/west-virginia-state-convention-4>,
Weston, West Virginia
*
August 23-24 -- JARL Ham Fair
<https://www.jarl.org/English/4_Library/A-4-6_ham-fair/ham-fair.htm>, Tokyo,
Japan
*
August 24 -- Western Pennsylvania Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/western-pennsylvania-section-convention-4>,
New Kensington, Pennsylvania
*
August 30-31 -- North Carolina State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/north-carolina-state-convention-shelby-hamfest>
(Shelby Hamfest), Shelby, North Carolina
*
September 5-7 -- ARRL-TAPR Digital Communications Conference
<http://www.tapr.org/dcc> (Austin, Texas)
*
September 6 -- Kentucky State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/kentucky-state-convention-greater-louisville-hamfest-2014>
(Shepherdsville, Kentucky)
*
September 6 -- Virginia Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/virginia-section-convention-virginia-beach-hamfest-1>
(Virginia Beach, Virginia)
*
September 12-14 -- Southwestern Division Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/southwestern-division-convention-2>
(San Diego, California)
*
September 19-20 -- W9DXCC Convention <http://www.w9dxcc.com/>
(Schaumburg, Illinois)
Find conventions and hamfests in your area <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests>.
*
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
****
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