[SFDXA] The ARRL Letter for March 24, 2016
Bill
bmarx at bellsouth.net
Thu Mar 24 17:39:59 EDT 2016
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Preview
If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:
http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2016-03-24
The ARRL Letter
March 24, 2016
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=2016-03-24&t=t>
* ARRL HF Band Planning Committee Seeks Suggestions on IARU Region 2
HF Band Plan <#toc01>
* SBE Urges FCC to Improve Medium-Wave Noise Environment <#toc02>
* Puerto Rico ARES Volunteers Take Part in Caribe Wave 2016 Exercise
<#toc03>
* ARRL Introduces Three New E-Books <#toc04>
* National Parks on the Air Update <#toc05>
* Hamvention Announces 2016 Award Winners <#toc06>
* UC Berkeley Trains, Tests Hundreds of New Hams <#toc07>
* Fox-1C and Fox-1D Satellites Ready for Payload Integration <#toc08>
* "Amateur Radio Roundtable" Connects Live with Heard Island
DXpedition <#toc09>
* Kosovo Activity in CQ WPX SSB Will Help to Train Young Hams <#toc10>
* In Brief... <#toc11>
* The K7RA Solar Update <#toc12>
* Just Ahead in Radiosport <#toc13>
* Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events
<#toc14>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*ARRL Headquarters to be Closed on Friday, March 25:* ARRL Headquarters
will be closed on Good Friday, March 25. There will be no W1AW bulletin
or code practice transmissions
<http://www.arrl.org/w1aw-operating-schedule> and no /ARRL Audio News/
<http://www.arrl.org/arrl-audio-news> on that day. ARRL Headquarters
will reopen Monday, March 28, at 8 AM Eastern Daylight Time. We wish
everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL HF Band Planning Committee Seeks Suggestions on IARU Region 2 HF
Band Plan
The ARRL Board of Directors' HF Band Planning Committee is inviting
input from the US Amateur Radio community regarding possible changes to
the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU <http://www.iaru.org/>)
Region 2 Band Plan <http://www.iaru-r2.org/band-plan/>. That band plan
and other significant Amateur Radio spectrum issues will be high on the
agenda at this fall's IARU Region 2 General Assembly in Chile. Leading
up to that gathering, the ARRL and other IARU member societies in the
Americas will be seeking comments and suggestions regarding the Region 2
HF Band Plan. The HF Band Planning Committee will review the current
plan, consider comments from the US Amateur Radio community, and
recommend any changes to the ARRL Board for submission to IARU Region 2.
"The ARRL HF Band Planning Committee wants to stress that the IARU
Region 2 Band Plan is a voluntary guideline and does not supersede FCC
regulations related to spectrum usage," Committee Chairman and ARRL
Second Vice President Brian Mileshosky, N5ZGT, noted. He also pointed
out two other issues for radio amateurs to consider.
Most Region 2 countries outside the US do not have the sort of detailed
subband regulations contained in the FCC's Part 97. For radio amateurs
in these countries, the Region 2 Band Plan may serve as the only source
of guidance on spectrum usage.
The designation of a calling frequency or band segment for a particular
purpose or mode in any IARU band plan does not convey any special rights
or exclusivity of use. On the other hand, the /absence/ of a calling
frequency or band segment associated with a particular purpose or mode
should not suggest that these have been overlooked or are viewed negatively.
The Committee is urging US radio amateurs who are considering suggesting
revisions to the IARU Region 2 Band Plan first to study the existing
IARU Region 2 Band Plan <http://www.iaru-r2.org/band-plan/>. They then
should formulate a clear statement of any proposed changes, including a
brief explanation of why each particular change would benefit all IARU
Region 2 spectrum users. Participants should include name and call sign.
Submit <mailto:bandplan2016 at arrl.org> input via e-mail by June 1, 2016.
Messages will be automatically acknowledged.
The 19th IARU Region 2 General Assembly <http://chile2016.info/en/> will
take place in mid-October in Viña del Mar, Chile. Held every 3 years,
the Region 2 Conference is attended by delegations from IARU member
societies in throughout the Americas.
SBE Urges FCC to Improve Medium-Wave Noise Environment
The Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE <http://www.sbe.org/>) has told
the FCC that the regulatory agency needs to take another tack in its
efforts to tackle AM broadcast band revitalization. If the FCC takes the
SBE's advice, the result could be less noise in the MF and HF Amateur
Radio bands. In comments
<http://sbe.org/sections/documents/FNPRM_AM_Improvement_13-249_20160321.pdf>
the SBE filed in response to an FCC /Further Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking/ and /Notice of Inquiry/ (MB 13-249) proposing ways to
enhance the viability of the AM broadcast service, the SBE said the
Commission must "commit to a regulatory plan which, over time, will
reduce the levels of man-made noise in the MF bands, and more broadly in
the bands below 30 MHz." In comments it filed earlier in the proceeding,
the SBE pointed out that "AM radio in particular is susceptible to
interference from electronic devices of all types," and that ambient
noise on the AM band is only bound to get worse with further
proliferation of noise-generating electronic devices, including certain
lighting devices regulated under FCC Part 15 and Part 18 rules.
"[T]he only source of regulatory reform that has a meaningful chance to
positively affect the noise floor over time are regulations that create
obligations on manufacturers and importers and dealers, prior to the
point that the consumer or user of the device or system comes into
possession of it, and before it is deployed," the SBE said. The SBE said
that while the FCC has strongly supported unlicensed low-power RF
devices over the years, it "apparently does not have a clear
understanding of the aggregate effects" of these devices on the MF noise
environment. In addition, the power grid has expanded, imposing its own
family of electrical noises on the radio spectrum.
"Much unintentional interference is local in nature, but the cumulative
impact can be extensive," the SBE told the FCC. "The Commission does not
now have, and has never had, a complete understanding of ambient RF
noise levels and trends over time."
The SBE urged the FCC to better enforce some existing regulations and
develop new ones to address ambient noise in the existing AM band. "It
is obvious that any interference management plan...has to be based on
rules which limit RF noise before it becomes an issue, not /post hoc/,
and those rules have to be enforced," the SBE said. Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/sbe-urges-fcc-to-improve-medium-wave-noise-environment>.
Puerto Rico ARES Volunteers Take Part in Caribe Wave 2016 Exercise
For the second year, Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) volunteers
in Puerto Rico took part in the annual Caribe Wave exercise (formerly
known as the Large Atlantic Tsunami Exercise -- LANTEX), a tsunami
communication drill undertaken on different dates on the US East Coast,
in Canada, on the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean Basin. The object
of Caribe Wave is to test the reliability of communication systems and
protocols among tsunami alert centers and to help emergency management
agencies to improve their preparedness to execute a tsunami alert. In
Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, Caribe Wave takes place in
conjunction with the Puerto Rico Seismic Network (Red Sísmica de Puerto
Rico), FEMA, NOAA, and the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency
(PREMA/AEMEAD <http://www2.pr.gov/agencias/aemead/Pages/default.aspx>).
The scenario for the March 17 drill was a tsunami generated by a
magnitude 8.4 seismic event, 15 kilometers deep, off the coast of Venezuela.
Amateur Radio has played an important part on this exercise at an
island-wide level in the past, and ARES Puerto Rico, with Section
Emergency Coordinator Carlos A. Rosado, KP4CAR, at the helm, is now the
major player in these drills.
*Net control for Caribe Wave 2016 was Santos Javier Rodriguez, KP4RS,
operating from the Oficina Municipal de Manejo de Emergencias (Municipal
Emergency Management Office) in Moca, Puerto Rico.*
At 10:05 AM on March 17, the Emergency Alert System (EAS) activated on
broadcast and cable outlets around Puerto Rico, announcing the
"emergency" and emphasizing that it was a drill. Many government,
public, school, and senior institutions conducted evacuation drills to
test their preparedness to reach their nearest local refugee site. PREMA
practiced evacuation procedures in the city of Cataño, which could end
up partially underwater in the event of a tsunami.
Amateur Radio's role during Caribe Wave 2016 was to gather reports from
other radio amateurs in the island regarding how they learned of the
tsunami alert. The reports gathered are delivered to PREMA Headquarters
for a later evaluation meeting that includes all agencies and
organizations involved.
The main communication took place via the KP4CAR 147.210 MHz repeater in
Jayuya, Cerro Puntas -- the highest point on the island. The repeater's
emergency power system will permit it to remain on the air for a few
days. Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/puerto-rico-ares-volunteers-take-part-in-caribe-wave-2016-exercise>.
/-- Thanks to Angel Santana, WP3GW, ARRL Puerto Rico Section Public
Information Coordinator/
Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2016-03-24&p=0>
ARRL Introduces Three New E-Books
ARRL has introduced three new e-books to its growing digital library.
The newest titles available in the popular Amazon Kindle format include
/Work the World with JT65 and JT9/ <http://amzn.com/B01CGU79EQ> by ARRL
author Steve Ford, WB8IMY, /ARRL's Small Antennas for Small Spaces/
<http://amzn.com/B01CLH5YIW>, second edition, and /Antenna Physics: An
Introduction/ <http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CQ07E46>, by Robert J.
Zavrel, Jr, W7SX.
/Work the World with JT65 and JT9/ shows you how to assemble an
effective digital communication station and configure the software for
best performance. Some operators use these popular digital modes with as
little as 5 W RF output and an indoor antenna. The book is filled with
tricks and tips to help you get on the air and making contacts.
The fully updated second edition of /ARRL's Small Antennas for Small
Spaces/ is a must-have for radio amateurs who live in apartments,
condominiums, or houses on small lots. The book is filled with practical
advice, and will guide you to finding the right antenna design to fit
whatever space you have available.
/Antenna Physics: An Introduction/ has been written to bridge the gap
between basic theory and graduate-level engineering texts. Delve deeper
into antenna theory, and explore the underlying principles and
mathematics of antennas and antenna physics.
All of these publications are also available in print format, directly
from ARRL <http://www.arrl.org/shop> and ARRL publication dealers
<http://www.arrl.org/arrl-publication-dealers>.
ARRL reminds Amazon shoppers to consider visiting smile.amazon.com
<http://smile.amazon.com/ch/06-6000004> when ordering. Amazon will
donate 0.5 percent of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases
to ARRL whenever you shop on AmazonSmile
<http://smile.amazon.com/ch/06-6000004>.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Parks on the Air Update
National Parks Week is April 16-24, a happy alignment for National Parks
on the Air operators, as World Amateur Radio Day
<http://www.iaru.org/world-amateur-radio-day.html> is April 18. This
would be a prime day to get out and operate from an NPOTA
<https://npota.arrl.org/> unit, promoting both the National Parks and
Amateur Radio simultaneously. If you plan to be on the air from an NPS
site for World Amateur Radio Day, e-mail the details to npota at arrl.org
<mailto:npota at arrl.org>.
There are 28 NPOTA activations scheduled for March 24-30, including Big
Bend National Park (NP04) in Texas, and the Tuskegee Airmen National
Historic Site (NS71) in Alabama.
Details <https://npota.arrl.org/nps-events.php> about these and other
upcoming activations can be found on the NPOTA Activations calendar.
Keep up with the latest NPOTA news on Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/NPOTA/>. Follow NPOTA on Twitter
<http://www.twitter.com/> (*@ARRL_NPOTA*).
Hamvention Announces 2016 Award Winners
Nobel Laureate Joe Taylor, K1JT, of Princeton, New Jersey, has been
named as the 2016 Dayton Hamvention <http://www.hamvention.org>^®
Amateur of the Year. Hamvention announced the recipients of the Amateur
of the Year, Technical Achievement, Special Achievement, and Club of the
Year awards on March 18.
Taylor was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1993 for the discovery
of the first orbiting pulsar, leading to observations that established
the existence of gravitational waves. Licensed in 1954 as KN2ITP, Taylor
served as a professor of astronomy at the University of Massachusetts
from 1969 to 1981, and later as a professor of physics at Princeton
University. Since his retirement, Taylor has been developing and
enhancing digital protocols for weak-signal communication by Amateur
Radio, including /JT65/ and /WSPR./
John S. Burningham, W2XAB, of Morrow, Georgia, is the recipient of the
Hamvention Technical Achievement Award. A radio amateur since 1970,
Burningham has been involved with amateur repeaters for more than 40
years. Following positions in the aerospace industry and for Motorola,
he has been in higher education for more than 20 years, and now serves
as a senior lecturer in the Department of Computer Science and
Information Technology at Clayton State University. A Life Member of
ARRL and QCWA and a member of AMSAT and TAPR, he currently is active in
the digital mobile radio community and is the author of the /Amateur
Radio Guide to Digital Mobile Radio/ <http://guide.k4usd.org>/. /He also
wrote "Introduction to Digital Mobile Radio," which appeared in the
October 2015 issue of /QST/, and is a contributing author in the 2016
/ARRL Handbook/.
The 2016 Hamvention Special Achievement Award will go to Stan Horzepa,
WA1LOU, of Wolcott, Connecticut, for advocating cutting-edge
technologies now commonly used in Amateur Radio. Horzepa has authored
five books and written more than 1200 pieces for ARRL and TAPR,
evangelizing the use of home computers, packet radio, APRS, digital
signal processing and software defined radio in Amateur Radio. Licensed
in 1969, Horzepa has sampled almost every entrée on the ham radio menu
and has served in a slew of roles, including ARRL Connecticut Section
Manager. Presently, Horzepa is a director and secretary for TAPR and
serves as editor of TAPR's newsletter, /PSR/.
Rocky Mountain Ham Radio has been named as Hamvention Club of the Year.
The organization, based in the Denver, Colorado suburbs, offers its
services to other ham radio clubs and ARES groups to help them be
successful. Technical assistance, classroom training on a myriad of
subjects, mentoring, equipment/system design, and public service are
among the services it provides. The group owns and maintains fixed
analog and digital/DMR repeater assets, including one of the premier
private DMR networks in the nation, which is linked with an amateur
microwave network that spans the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains from
Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Cañon City, Colorado. The group also owns and
operates a deployable communications command post in a 26-foot trailer.
Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/hamvention-2016-award-winners-announced-joe-taylor-k1jt-is-amateur-of-the-year>.
Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2016-03-24&p=1>
UC Berkeley Trains, Tests Hundreds of New Hams
Ham radio-related courses taught at the University of California
Berkeley Campus and a follow-on "Annual VE Mega-Session" may be one
reason that California continues to lead the nation in the number of
Amateur Radio licensees. A March 16 exam session yielded 50 new
Technician licensees, as well as three new General class, and five new
Amateur Extra class licensees. For the third year in a row, scores of
mostly electrical engineering and computer science students capped their
participation in one of two ham radio-related classes taught by UC
Berkeley EE/CS Professor Michael "Miki" Lustig, KK6MRI. His
lower-division "Hands-On Ham" course is for sophomores, while and his
upper-division "Digital Signal Processing" course is aimed at juniors
and seniors.
"These popular courses are filled quickly on registration day," Lustig
said. "Class members also include some majoring in mechanical,
biological, and nuclear engineering."
*A 2015 UC Berkeley Amateur Radio test session. [Peter McElmury, AA6SF,
photo]*
The entry-level course exposes newcomers to ham radio and introduces
them to "hacking" and "making," Lustig explained, while the advanced
class "delves into the theoretical applications of digital signal
processing, filter design, modulation/demodulation, decoding
subcarriers, APRS audio interface techniques, and antenna design." Both
classes feature hands-on, practical projects that require them to
transmit on radio frequencies, so students are motivated, as part of
their courses, to become licensed Amateur Radio operators.
The lower-division students are given inexpensive handheld transceivers
to keep, and are coached in radio protocols. The upper division students
are issued higher-end handhelds that they may keep if they pass the
General or Amateur Extra class examination.
"They make satellite contacts, participate in on-campus Field Day-like
activities, practice with small software designed radio dongles, and, if
already licensed, stay in touch with each other throughout the semester
on a 2 meter simplex frequency," Lustig told ARRL.
Lustig is quick to point out that the two courses would not be possible
without the active support of the UC Berkeley W6BB
<http://stafforg.berkeley.edu/organizations/special-interest-groups/w6bb-amateur-radio-club>
club members, including Trustee Fritz Sommer, K6EE/DL4TT; President Jack
Burris K6JEB, and others, as well as support from the EECS Department staff.
In the latest VE session, 63 candidates took a total of 78 exam elements
in a little more than 2 hours. Only one candidate left without a
license. Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/uc-berkeley-trains-tests-hundreds-of-new-hams>.
Fox-1C and Fox-1D Satellites Ready for Payload Integration
AMSAT reports that its Fox-1C (Fox-1Cliff -- named in honor of the late
AMSAT pioneer and benefactor Cliff Buttschardt, K7RR) and Fox-1D
satellites are ready for delivery to Spaceflight Industries for
integration into the SHERPA payload dispenser, which will be making its
maiden flight. Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D successfully finished environmental
testing on February 8.
Launch is set for later this year on a SpaceX Falcon 9. Until delivery,
the CubeSats will be sealed in anti-static bags, opened occasionally to
charge the batteries so they will be fully topped off for delivery.
Launched into Sun synchronous orbits, Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D will carry
the same FM repeater as Fox-1A (AO-85), in addition to a Virginia Tech
camera experiment that will take images of Earth for high-speed downlink.
Fox-1Cliff will also contain a radiation experiment from Vanderbilt
University ISDE, like the one in AO-85, and Fox-1D will host the
University of Iowa High-Energy Radiation CubeSat Instrument experiment
to map the Van Allen radiation belts.
The Fox Engineering Team now has shifted its focus to RadFxSat/Fox-1B,
currently set to launch in January 2017./-- Thanks to AMSAT News Service/
"Amateur Radio Roundtable" Connects Live with Heard Island DXpedition
W5KUB's "Amateur Radio Roundtable <http://tmedlin.com/wordpress1/>"
webcast scored a live, audio-only interview on March 22 with the leader
of the Heard Island VK0EK DXpedition <http://vk0ek.org/>, Bob Schmieder,
KK6EK -- believed to be a first in ham radio news media history. The
VK0EK DXpedition team got under way on March 23.
When "Amateur Radio Roundtable" host Tim Medlin, W5KUB, spoke with
Schmieder, he and the other 13 DXpedition operators had just arrived on
Heard Island on the R/V /Braveheart/ and were preparing to start moving
equipment and personnel ashore. Schmieder talked with Medlin for about
15 minutes over an Iridium phone, explaining that he could not do a
video interview this time, because he was still on board the
/Braveheart/, and the necessary Inmarsat phone's antenna must be pointed
at the satellite.
*"Amateur Radio Roundtable" host Tom Medlin, W5KUB (left, inset),
interviewed VK0EK DXpedition leader Bob Schmieder, KK6EK, on March 22
via a satellite telephone connection.*
"Amateur Radio Roundtable" is hoping for a video interview on Tuesday,
March 29, with the VK0EK DXpedition. "I want to see a volcano in the
background and penguins all around him," Medlin quipped, looking ahead
to the planned video interview.
More information is on the DXpedition's website <http://vk0ek.org/>, and
the VK0EK log appears on the DXA3.org <http://dxa3.org/> website. The
interview, available <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3_UHvNg54g> on
the "Amateur Radio Roundtable" YouTube archive, was also broadcast on
international shortwave station WBCQ on 5130 kHz.
Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&t=i&i=2016-03-24&p=2>
Kosovo Activity in CQ WPX SSB Will Help to Train Young Hams
Z60A in Kosovo, the headquarters station of SHRAK
<http://www.shrak.org/en/>, the newest International Amateur Radio Union
(IARU <http://www.iaru.org>) member society, will be on the air leading
up to and during the CQ World Wide WPX <http://www.cqwpx.com/> SSB
Contest the weekend of March 26-27. SHRAK President Vjollca Caka, Z61VB,
has announced that other Kosovo prefixes, such as Z61DX, Z62FB, Z63ESC,
Z64EEF, and Z68BH, will be active in addition to Z60A. The on-the-air
activity will serve as part of a training process for new Kosovar hams
as they prepare for the forthcoming IARU Youngsters On The Air (YOTA
<http://www.ham-yota.com/>) gathering in Austria with other young people
from throughout Europe.
*(L-R) Fehmi Bojniku, Z62FB; Driton Sadiku, Z61DX; David Meadows,
Z63MED; Vjollca Caca, Z61VB, and Martti Laine, OH2BH/Z68BH. Meadows,
associated with the UN, was the first foreigner to take the Kosovo
license examination under SHRAK auspices. He is returning to the US
after 3 years of operating and 34,364 contacts in his log. [Martti
Laine, OH2BH, photo]*
SHRAK has a new Yaesu/Acom station sporting Force 12 beams high up in
the hills at the Technical University of Pristina, where Z60A is
located. SHRAK has expressed its gratitude to the ARRL Fund
<http://www.arrl.org/endowment-funds> for International Relations and
Goodwill, the International DX Association (INDEXA
<http://www.indexa.org/>), Force 12 <http://www.force12inc.com>, the
OH-DX-Foundation (OHDXF <http://www.ohdxf.fi/>) and to Chiltern DX Club
(CDXC <http://www.cdxc.org.uk/>) -- the UK DX Foundation, for their
valuable support.
Helping to mentor the operation and handle on-the-air duties will be
Martti Laine, OH2BH. Nigel Cawthorne, G3TXF, will be in Kosovo in late
May to assist SHRAK and to activate Z60A in the WPX CW event./-- Thanks
to thanks to Vjollca Caka, Z61VB, and Martti Laine, OH2BH/
In Brief...
*Well-Known Contester Gary R. Senesac, AL9A, SK*: Contesting luminary
Gary Senesac, AL9A (ex-KC9UM), of Wasilla, Alaska, died suddenly on
March 15 while vacationing in Florida. An ARRL Life Member, he was 72.
Senesac, an Illinois native, moved to Alaska in 2003 after he retired,
and his was a familiar call sign in many operating events. During the
ARRL Centennial in 2014, he took part in the W1AW/KL7 operation. "Gary
was an avid contester," said fellow Alaskan Corliss Kimmel, AL1G, "and
he was an excellent contester. He was also very technically
knowledgeable and helpful to anyone who needed advice." Senesac enjoyed
operating all modes but may be best known as a CW and RTTY contester.
Senesac was a member of the Matanuska Amateur Radio Association, the Fox
River Radio League, the Society of Midwest Contesters, and the ARRL A1
Operators Club. In addition to his participation in the W1AW ARRL
Centennial year operation, AL9A also recently took part in the KL7RST
special event, and he served as a mentor to many operators. "He will be
dearly missed by us all," Kimmel said. "I will miss his posts, seeing
his amazing scores, and laughing at his jokes."
*Centenarian, Alaska Women's Hall of Fame Member Arlene "Buddy" Clay,
KL7OT, SK:* Arlene "Buddy" Clay, KL7OT, of Wasilla, Alaska, died on
February 11. She was 103. An ARRL member, Clay was inducted into the
Alaska Women's Hall of Fame <http://alaskawomenshalloffame.org/> in 2015
for her work in rural justice administration among the Yup'ik people.
She became a ham in 1948 and began calling the Thursday night Snipers
Net for the Matanuska Amateur Radio Association, a duty she continued
from her retirement community home until she died of a stroke. In 1960,
after having worked for years with her husband Earl, KL7EM (SK), as an
air traffic controller, she began a new career as a magistrate for the
Alaska Court System, becoming responsible for 12 villages along the
Kuskokwim, Yukon, and Iditarod rivers. She traveled from village to
village by boat in the summer and by dog sled in the winter. In all,
"Buddy" Clay spent nearly 70 years living in Alaska's wilderness. She
was profiled in the August 2013 issue of /QST /in the article "A Radio
Voice in the Wilderness
<http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/arrl/qst_201308/index.php?startid=66>,"
by Brenda Plessinger, AL7LX.
*The FCG's recently elected President Chris Plumblee, WF3C, with Ellen
White, W1YL.*
*W1YL, W1CW (SK), and K4OJ (SK) are First Florida Contest Group Hall of
Fame Inductees:* Former ARRL Headquarters staffers Ellen White, W1YL,
and Bob White, W1CW (SK), and their son Jim, K4OJ (SK), were the first
inductees into the Florida Contest Group (FCG
<http://www.floridacontestgroup.org/>) Hall of Fame, in honor of their
lifetime of service to Amateur Radio and "for their role as the First
Family of the Florida Contest Group (FCG)," the group said. An honorary
plaque was presented to Ellen White by FCG President Dan Street, K1TO,
at the 2016 Florida Contest Group Banquet on February 12, attended by
more than 160 visitors. The Florida Contest Group, an ARRL affiliated
club, supports and encourages all types of Amateur Radio contesting. /--
Thanks to George Wagner, K5KG/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The K7RA Solar Update
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: All of the indicators we track were
lower over the past week (March 17-23), compared to the previous 7 days.
Average daily sunspot numbers declined from 51.7 to 28.4, and average
daily solar flux dipped from 98.6 to 88.8 over the reporting period. The
planetary A index was lower by 3.8 points at 11.9, and the average
mid-latitude A index (measured in Wallops Island, Virginia) dropped from
12 to 8.6. Lower geomagnetic indices are generally considered a good
thing for HF propagation. The record
<ftp://ftp.swpc.noaa.gov/pub/indices/DSD.txt> indicates no new sunspot
regions since March 17.
Even though our sun is quiet, there is a seasonal variation that
produces aurora around the vernal and autumnal equinox. Spaceweather.com
explained <http://www-ssc.igpp.ucla.edu/personnel/russell/papers/40/>
this recently.
Sunspot numbers for March 17 through 23 were 66, 29, 26, 26, 25, 13, and
14, with a mean of 28.4. The 10.7 centimeter flux was 91.6, 90.3, 89.4,
87.6, 88.9, 87.3, and 86.8, with a mean of 88.8. Estimated planetary A
indices were 21, 8, 18, 10, 8, 8, and 10, with a mean of 11.9. Estimated
mid-latitude A indices were 16, 6, 12, 6, 7, 6, and 7, with a mean of 8.6.
Send <mailto:k7ra at arrl.net> me your reports and observations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just Ahead in Radiosport
*
March 26 -- FOC QSO Party (CW)
*
March 26-27 -- CQ WW WPX Contest (SSB)
*
March 30 -- UKEICC 80 Meter Contest (CW)
See the ARRL Contest Calendar <http://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar> for
more information. For in-depth reporting on Amateur Radio contesting,
subscribe to /The ARRL Contest Update/
<http://www.arrl.org/contest-update-issues> via your ARRL member profile
e-mail preferences.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events
*
March 25-26 -- Maine State Convention <http://www.w1npp.org/>,
Lewiston, Maine
*
April 1-2 -- OzarkCon QRP Conference <http://www.ozarkcon.com/>,
Branson, Missouri
*
April 2 -- Delta Division Convention
<http://www.hangingjudgehamfest.com/>, Fort Smith, Arkansas
*
April 2 -- North Carolina Section Convention
<http://rars.org/rarsfest>, Raleigh, North Carolina
*
April 2 -- Wisconsin Section Convention
<http://www.aesham.com/aes-superfest>, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
*
April 8-9 -- Oklahoma State Convention
<http://greencountryhamfest.org/>, Claremore, Oklahoma
*
April 9-10 -- Communications Academy <http://commacademy.org/>,
Seattle, Washington
*
April 15-17 -- International DX Convention
<http://dxconvention.org/>, Visalia, California
*
April 15-17 -- VHF Super Conference
<http://vhfsuperconference.com/>, Sterling, Virginia
*
April 16 -- Delaware State Convention
<http://www.radioelectronicsexpo.com/>, Georgetown, Delaware
*
April 22-24 -- Idaho State Convention <http://voiceofidaho.org/>,
Boise, Idaho
*
April 23 -- Aurora '16 Conference <http://www.nlrs.org/>, White Bear
Lake, Minnesota
*
April 23 -- Nebraska State Convention
<http://www.lincolnhamfest.org/>, Lincoln, Nebraska
*
April 29-May 1 -- Nevada State Convention <http://www.nvcon.org/>,
Las Vegas, Nevada
*
May 7 -- South Carolina Section Convention <http://brars.org/>,
Spartanburg, South Carolina
*
May 13-15 -- Rocky Mountain Division Convention
<http://www.hamconcolorado.org/>, Keystone, Colorado
*
May 14 -- Iowa State Convention <http://3900club.com/>, Boone, Iowa
*
May 20-22 -- Dayton Hamvention <http://www.hamvention.org/>, Dayton,
Ohio
*
Find conventions and hamfests in your area
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests>.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*ARRL *-- *Your One-Stop Resource for *
*Amateur Radio News and Information*.
.
.
*
Join or Renew Today! <http://www.arrl.org/join> ARRL membership
includes /QST/ <http://www.arrl.org/qst>, Amateur Radio's most
popular and informative journal, delivered to your mailbox each month.
* Listen to /ARRL Audio News/ <http://www.arrl.org/arrl-audio-news>,
available every Friday.
Subscribe to...
* /NCJ / <http://www.ncjweb.com/>/-- National Contest Journal/
<http://www.ncjweb.com/>. Published bi-monthly, features articles by
top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint and
QSO Parties.
* /QEX/ <http://www.arrl.org/qex>*//*/-- A Forum for Communications
Experimenters/ <http://www.arrl.org/qex>. Published bi-monthly,
features technical articles, construction projects, columns, and
other items of interest to radio amateurs and communications
professionals.
Free of charge to ARRL members...
* Subscribe
<http://www.arrl.org/myarrl-account-management#%21/edit-info-email_subscriptions>
to the /ARES E-Letter/ (monthly public service and emergency
communications news), the /ARRL Contest Update/(bi-weekly contest
newsletter), Division and Section news alerts -- and much more!
Find ARRL on Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/ARRL.org/>! Follow us on
Twitter <https://twitter.com/>and Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/>!
Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&i=2016-03-24&t=r&p=0>
Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&i=2016-03-24&t=r&p=1>
Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&i=2016-03-24&t=r&p=2>
Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&i=2016-03-24&t=r&p=3>
Ad <http://www.arrl.org/nladclick.php?n=al&i=2016-03-24&t=r&p=4>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 48 times each year. ARRL members
may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data
Page as described at http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/.
Copyright © 2016 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved
www.arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org/>
More information about the SFDXA
mailing list