[SFDXA] The ARRL Letter for October 11, 2018
Bill
bmarx at bellsouth.net
Thu Oct 11 20:36:59 EDT 2018
Preview
If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:
http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2018-10-11
The ARRL Letter
October 11, 2018
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/>
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* Amateur Radio Assets Active as Category 4 Hurricane Michael Makes
Landfall <#toc01>
* FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 Overhauls Marking Requirements for
Short Rural Towers <#toc02>
* US Ham-Astronaut, Russian Cosmonaut Safe in Wake of /Soyuz/ Launch
Failure <#toc03>
* The Doctor Will See You Now! <#toc04>
* International Space Station Crew Member Fires Up NA1SS to Seek
Random Contacts <#toc05>
* MARS to Support Defense Department Radio Communication Readiness
Exercise <#toc06>
* Climber Dies in Amateur Radio Tower Collapse <#toc07>
* Minnesota Club Provides Support for "Ride The Ridges" Cycling Event
<#toc08>
* IARU Region 1 Volunteers and Partners Getting Behind WRC-19 50 MHz
Agenda Item <#toc09>
* Radio Amateurs among Radio Club of America 2018 Award Recipients and
Fellows <#toc10>
* In Brief... <#toc11>
* The K7RA Solar Update <#toc12>
* Just Ahead in Radiosport <#toc13>
* Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions <#toc14>
Amateur Radio Assets Active as Category 4 Hurricane Michael Makes Landfall
An array of Amateur Radio public service assets was active as Hurricane
Michael -- now a tropical storm -- made landfall near Mexico Beach on
the Florida Panhandle on October 10, with devastating 155 MPH winds. The
storm is believed to be the first Category 4 or stronger hurricane to
hit the Florida Panhandle, and the National Hurricane Center (NHC)
warned of life-threatening storm surge as well as hurricane-force winds
and heavy rainfall.
The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN <http://www.hwn.org/>) activated on October
10 and closed operations the following day.
WX4NHC <http://w4ehw.fiu.edu/>, the Amateur Radio at the National
Hurricane Center, was active to receive observed weather information and
data via Amateur Radio to aid forecasters.
The VoIP Hurricane Net <http://voipwx.net/> activated on October 10 to
support communication with the National Hurricane Center.
The Southern Territory Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network
(SATERN <http://www.satern.org/>) stood down on October 11. SATERN was
requested to provide Amateur Radio operators for Pensacola, Panama City,
Tallahassee, and Tampa, as well as some local units in Georgia, and at
Divisional Headquarters in Atlanta.
The ARRL North Florida and West Central Florida sections assisted SATERN
with additional operators in Pensacola, Panama City, Tallahassee, and
Tampa. North Florida Section ARES was at Level 1 (full) activation.
Miller Norton, W4EMN, the Communications Watch Officer at the Duval
County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Jacksonville, Florida, was
monitoring SARnet <https://www.sarnetfl.com/> -- a UHF-linked repeater
network in Florida -- when he heard an urgent call for help that needed
to be sent to the State EOC in Tallahassee. All other forms of
communication were out, and Norton was able to relay the message to via
Amateur Radio. He also passed along messages and requests from the
Jackson County EOC to the American Red Cross. Norton said officials in
Tallahassee and Jackson County were both incredibly grateful for the way
the SARnet system functioned during the weather emergency.
Jackson County Emergency Coordinator Ricky Whittington, KD4AST, is
deployed to the county EOC in Marianna.
"We took a direct hit by the center of the storm at 140 MPH," he told
Clay County ARES Assistant Emergency Coordinator and Public Information
Officer Scott Roberts, KK4ECR. "[The] county maintenance building across
the road from the EOC was picked up and slammed into the north side and
over the roof of the EOC just prior to the eye passing over."
The incident took out the HF antenna, which has since been restored.
Whittington said the internet failed, as did cell service for a while.
Hams have been passing material and resource orders to the State EOC via
HF and SARnet. Whitting reported "total devastation of Bay, Jackson, and
Gulf counties," with loss of electrical power and water service, in
addition to damage in Franklin, Holmes, and Leon counties. "[The] /only/
mode of communications after the eye came across was ham radio, until we
got minimal cell service a few hours ago," he reported.
The ARRL Emergency Response Team has been coordinating with Field
Organization leadership in ARRL Sections affected by the storm, as well
as with WX4NHC, the HWN, VoIP Hurricane Net, Department of Homeland
Security SHARES, and US Army MARS.
FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 Overhauls Marking Requirements for Short
Rural Towers
Thanks to ARRL efforts on Capitol Hill, language in the 2018 Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act
<https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/hr302/BILLS-115hr302enr.pdf>, just
signed by President Donald Trump, resolves the issue of problematic or
preclusive rules affecting some rural Amateur Radio towers. The previous
FAA Reauthorization Act of 2016 had instructed the FAA to enact
tower-marking requirements, similar to those in some state statutes,
aimed at improving aircraft safety in the vicinity of meteorological
evaluation towers (METs). These towers are typically between 50 and 200
feet and set up in rural areas, often on short notice. In the wake of
fatal crop-dusting aircraft collisions with METs, the National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) had recommended that states institute
laws, sometimes called "crop-duster" statutes, requiring marking and
registration of METs. While some state crop-duster laws exempted ham
radio towers, federal regulations dating to the 1996 FAA Reauthorization
Act did not, and ARRL had expressed its concerns since.
"There is no evidence whatsoever that even one Amateur Radio antenna
below 200 feet has ever been involved in an aviation accident," ARRL
General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, said. "To impose painting and
lighting requirements on Amateur Radio antennas between 50 and 200 feet
tall would preclude many, if not most, of the exurban, rural, and, in
some cases, suburban Amateur Radio antennas that are and will be sited
outside incorporated towns and cities. This would ironically defeat the
entire reason such antenna facilities are sited in those environments:
because rural and exurban areas are where such antennas are permitted
and the few areas where antennas are not precluded entirely by private
land use regulations."
Prior to 2017, per long-established FAA regulations, unless such short
radio towers were located within the glide slope of airports or
heliports, they were not required to be painted or lighted.
After attempting to address the issue through the FAA, ARRL's
legislative team met with staff members of Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and
other lawmakers and their staffs associated with the congressional
committees of jurisdiction. Senator Inhofe -- himself a pilot -- was of
the view that the 2016 legislation was excessive and that exemptions
should exist for both broadcast and Amateur Radio antennas and support
structures. "We worked with our close allies at the National Association
of Broadcasters (NAB), [who were] afraid that this legislation would
have a large adverse effect on short broadcast towers," Imlay recounted.
"We also worked with the Association of American Railroads, which has
hundreds of short towers along rail lines in rural areas that would have
been affected."
Imlay said Section 576 of the large 2018 FAA reauthorization now
requires that the only towers less than 200 feet tall that have to be
painted and lighted are meteorological aids and those within the glide
slope of an airport or heliport. The remainder of such towers in rural
or agricultural areas lower than 200 feet need to only be included in an
FAA-maintained database, which will be updated by the owners of such towers.
Imlay credited members of the ARRL Legislative Advocacy team, as well as
Senator Inhofe and ARRL's broadcast and land mobile association partners
for getting the language revised in the new, 5-year Reauthorization Act.
"We consider this a big success for Amateur Radio," Imlay said, "and it
would not have been possible but for the visibility that has been
achieved for ARRL through our active Capitol Hill advocacy for the
Amateur Radio Parity Act."
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US Ham-Astronaut, Russian Cosmonaut Safe in Wake of /Soyuz/ Launch Failure
A Russian /Soyuz/ spacecraft crew launch to the International Space
Station (ISS) suffered a booster failure that resulted in an emergency
flight abort shortly after lift-off from Kazakhstan on October 11, but
the crew is safe. On board the /Soyuz/ MS-10 were US Astronaut Nick
Hague, KG5TMV, and Russian Cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin. NASA
Administrator Jim Bridenstine promised "a thorough investigation."
"Shortly after launch, there was an anomaly with the booster and the
launch ascent was aborted, resulting in a ballistic landing of the
spacecraft," Bridenstine said. "Search-and-rescue teams were deployed to
the landing site. Hague and Ovchinin are out of the capsule and are
reported to be in good condition." The pair has since been transported
to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City. This was Hague's
first launch and Ovchinin's second.*
*
Early this month, NASA issued a statement regarding the late-August
discovery of a 2-millimeter hole in the wall of the /Soyuz/ capsule that
is now docked to the ISS. The resulting air pressure leak has since been
repaired. There is no indication the launch failure and the mystery hole
in the last /Soyuz/ launched are connected.
Roscosmos said the hole was not drilled by accident, and posited that it
may have been drilled by a technician on the ground. Roscosmos Director
General Dmitry Rogozin earlier had ruled out a manufacturing defect.
"[This] indicates that this is an isolated issue which does not
categorically affect future production," the NASA statement said. "This
conclusion does not necessarily mean the hole was created intentionally
or with mal-intent."
NASA and Roscosmos launched an investigation, and a November spacewalk
was planned to gather more information.
In the wake of the /Soyuz/ failure, operations to transport ISS crew
members have been suspended. The current ISS crew of cosmonaut Sergey
Prokopyev and astronauts Serena Auñón-Chancellor, KG5TMT, and Alexander
Gerst, KF5ONO, is scheduled to return to Earth in December.
The Doctor Will See You Now!
"Winterizing Your Station" is the topic of the new (October 11) episode
of the "ARRL The Doctor is In <http://www.arrl.org/doctor>" podcast.
Listen...and learn!
Sponsored by DX Engineering <http://www.dxengineering.com/>, "ARRL The
Doctor is In" is an informative discussion of all things technical.
Listen on your computer, tablet, or smartphone -- whenever and wherever
you like!
Every 2 weeks, your host, /QST/ Editor-in-Chief Steve Ford, WB8IMY, and
the Doctor himself, Joel Hallas, W1ZR, will discuss a broad range of
technical topics. You can also email your questions to doctor at arrl.org
<mailto:doctor at arrl.org>, and the Doctor may answer them in a future
podcast.
Enjoy "ARRL The Doctor is In" on Apple iTunes
<https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/arrl-the-doctor-is-in/id1096749595?mt=2>,
or by using your iPhone or iPad podcast app (just search for "ARRL The
Doctor is In"). You can also listen online at Blubrry
<https://www.blubrry.com/arrl_the_doctor_is_in/>, or at Stitcher
<https://www.stitcher.com/> (free registration required, or browse the
site as a guest) and through the free Stitcher app for iOS, Kindle, or
Android devices. If you've never listened to a podcast before, download
our beginner's guide <http://www.arrl.org/doctor>.
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International Space Station Crew Member Fires Up NA1SS to Seek Random
Contacts
"Hello, America. This is the International Space Station. Who's out there?"
And with that "CQ" of sorts on 145.800 MHz, NASA astronaut Serena
Auñón-Chancellor, KG5TMT, M.D., spent some time at the helm of NA1SS on
October 6 making casual, random contacts -- something that's fairly rare
these days. The ISS was on a pass that took the spacecraft up along the
east coast of the US at the time. In response to a question,
Auñón-Chancellor, who has been on station since June, told one caller
that she's been floating the entire time she's been in space.
*Serena Auñón-Chancellor, KG5TMT, at work on the ISS. [NASA photo]*
"We float every day. Float to work, float back to sleep. It is awesome,"
she said.
Scott Chapman, K4KDR, of Montpelier, Virginia, edited a clip of downlink
chatter
<https://www.qsl.net/k/k4kdr/files/2018-10-06--1858--ISS-voice.mp3> by
the 42-year-old flight surgeon and flight engineer.
"During most passes of the ISS where I'm working with the packet
digipeater on 145.825, I also monitor 145.800 just in case there is any
activity on that frequency," Chapman said in a post to AMSAT-BB. "For
the first time in my personal experience, today one of the astronauts
was randomly calling to see if anybody was listening. Of course I tried
to reply on 145.800 simplex, but there are a number of possible uplinks,
and none of them were programmed into my radio. They are now! It was a
real thrill and, like so much of this hobby, a learning opportunity."
Auñón-Chancellor is aboard the ISS as part of the Expedition 56/57 crew
and is scheduled to return to Earth in December.
The Amateur Radio FM voice frequencies for stations in ITU Regions 2 and
3 are 145.800 MHz down and 144.490 MHz up. For stations in Region 1, the
uplink frequency is 145.200 MHz.
MARS to Support Defense Department Radio Communication Readiness Exercise
Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) members will support a Department
of Defense HF radio communication exercise on October 24 - 26. The
readiness exercise will test the ability to communicate via voice and
military standard communication protocols, simulating the loss of
conventional communication systems.
MARS members will interface with the Amateur Radio community to collect
information at the county level regarding publicly available
information. At 0001 UTC on October 24, Amateur Radio operators are
asked to monitor 60-meter channel 1 (5,330.5 kHz, USB) for a high-power
broadcast of updated information regarding this exercise and how the
Amateur Radio community can participate.
During the exercise, MARS members will communicate with Amateur Radio
operators on all five 60-meter channels, as well as on other Amateur
Radio bands.
Contact <mailto:mars.exercises at gmail.com> MARS for more information
regarding this exercise. As a simulation, this exercise will not affect
any public or private communications or infrastructure. The exercise
will end at 2359 UTC on October 26.
Additionally, MARS members will participate in the HF automatic link
establishment (ALE) on-the-air exercise taking place on October 12 - 22.
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Climber Dies in Amateur Radio Tower Collapse
A young Tennessee father of five is dead after the Amateur Radio tower
on which he was working collapsed due to a guy anchor letting go.
Thirty-year-old Ken Waddell was killed on September 29 while attempting
to erect a 70-foot Rohn 25G tower on the property of Dale Darling,
W9WBA, in Cookeville, Tennessee. A professional tower climber, Waddell
handled the tower job on a freelance basis, rather than for his employer.
*Kenneth Waddell.*
According to media accounts, Waddell and Darling checked the new guy
anchors in advance of putting up the tower. Waddell was getting ready to
attach a second set of guys at 70 feet when a guy at the 40-foot level
let go, taking him to the ground on the section where he was attached.
He was the only person on the tower when it fell, and died at the scene.
Waddell was the sole financial provider for his family, and a GoFundMe
campaign <https://www.gofundme.com/waddellfamily> has been established.
The Tower Family Foundation <http://towerfamilyfoundation.org/> and the
Hubble Foundation <https://www.hubblefoundation.org/> have also reached
out to assist Waddell's widow, Cadie, and their five children. Both the
Tower Family Foundation and the Hubble Foundation are dedicated in part
to providing financial assistance and support to the families of tower
workers injured or killed in tower-climbing mishaps.
Minnesota Club Provides Support for "Ride The Ridges" Cycling Event
Members of the Winona (MN) Amateur Radio Club (WARC
<https://www.facebook.com/WinonaARC/>) provided communication support in
mid-September for 300 riders taking part in the "Ride The Ridges
<https://www.ridetheridges.bike/>" bicycle tour. WARC said the region's
scenic hills and deep valleys present a communication challenge. Members
patrolled four routes -- ranging from 23 to 105 miles -- as well as
seven rest stops, working voice communication via a UHF repeater near
Winona and the Riverland Amateur Radio Club VHF repeater 30 miles away
in Wisconsin. APRS was used to track SAG and sweep vehicles and also
offered messaging capability.
*Lance Tagliapietra, AD0UT, manages a large-screen display at the ride's
start and end, so friends and family could observe the progress of the
riders.*
As a public awareness effort, a large-screen display at the ride's start
and end showed friends and family the progress of riders. With cell
coverage impaired by the terrain, the club installed two temporary
digipeaters to assure constant contact with the APRS units.
"We can bring technology to these events that the sponsoring
organizations don't have other access to," said Dan Goltz, WK0W, of
WARC. "We are there to enhance the event, and to provide a service, not
for our benefit but for theirs."
Fifteen club members volunteered for the September 15 event. Ride the
Ridges is a project of the Winona Rotary Club.
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IARU Region 1 Volunteers and Partners Getting Behind WRC-19 50 MHz
Agenda Item
International Amateur Radio Union (IARU <http://www.iaru.org/>)
volunteers are continuing their work toward a favorable outcome for
World Radio Conference 2019 (WRC-19) Agenda Item 1.1, which seeks a
6-meter allocation for the Amateur Radio Service in Region 1 in the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) /Radio Regulations/ Table of
Frequency Allocations. The effort is aimed at aligning the band with the
50 MHz allocations in ITU Regions 2 and 3. In a news release, IARU
Region 1 (IARU R1 <http://iaru-r1.org/>) President Don Beattie, G3BJ,
described
<https://iaru-r1.org/index.php/spectrum-and-band-plans/91-spectrum>
extensive work in various forums and the ITU aimed at gaining support
for a 6-meter band in Region 1, rather than the current
country-by-country allocations.
"IARU has represented the global voice of Amateur Radio in these
meetings, arguing that new applications in Amateur Radio require
significant bandwidth at 50 MHz and has set out a proposed utilization
of the band which supports its claim," Beattie said. He added that the
IARU has also engaged in extensive work on sharing studies using
propagation models recognized by the ITU and the European Conference of
Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT).
"The Amateur Service has met strong opposition from a few nation states
who argue that the 50 MHz band is already allocated to other services in
their countries -- following the closure of many broadcasting stations
in recent years which operated in this band -- and believe that sharing
the band presents problems," Beattie said.
CEPT Project Team D has prepared two Agenda 1.1 options. The majority of
CEPT administrations actively participating in discussions preferred one
proposal for a 2 MHz secondary allocation. The second option, the result
of a major compromise and preferred by IARU and the European Radio
Amateurs' Organization (EURAO <https://eurao.org/>), would see a 500 kHz
primary allocation of 50.0 - 50.5 MHz, paired with a secondary
allocation of 50.5 - 52.0 MHz. Beattie said either option would be an
improvement over the status quo.
Additional meetings lie ahead, including a CEPT Conference Preparatory
Group (CPG) meeting in November, and the ITU Conference Preparatory
Meeting (CPM) in February.
"It is hoped that the cooperation between IARU and EURAO will continue
in future CEPT activities, which are relevant to Amateur Radio," Beattie
said.
Radio Amateurs among Radio Club of America 2018 Award Recipients and Fellows
The Radio Club of America (RCA) has named well-known academic,
entrepreneur, contester, and DXer Theodore "Ted" Rappaport, N9NB, as the
recipient of the 2018 Armstrong Medal. The Armstrong Medal is the RCA's
most prestigious honor. Rappaport is being honored for "outstanding
achievements and lasting contributions to the radio arts and sciences
and wireless communications." When the RCA began its
*2018 Armstrong Medal recipient Ted Rappaport, N9NB. [Photo courtesy of
NYU]*
recognition of outstanding achievement, its first award was presented to
Major Edward H. Armstrong for his invention of circuits that make AM and
FM radio possible, and for his lifetime of championing work that
established the foundation for modern radio technology.
Inventor and entrepreneur Nathan "Chip" Cohen, W1YW, of fractal antenna
and cloaking technology fame, will receive the RCA's Lee de Forest Award
for "significant contributions to the advancement of radio
communications." The award's namesake, de Forest, is credited with
inventing the Audion vacuum tube as an amplifier in radio circuits. De
Forest also popularized the word "radio" in the US, in favor of the
European term "wireless."
*Lee de Forest Award winner Chip Cohen, W1YW.*
Radio amateurs are among the recipients of several other 2018 RCA awards:
Joseph Yurman, N2PFO: The Fred M. Link Award "for notable achievements
in land mobile radio communications."
Mark Allen, W6PC: The Edgar F. Johnson Pioneer Citation "in recognition
for noteworthy contributions to the success of RCA or the radio industry."
Carroll Hollingsworth, K5CTT: The RCA Presidents Award "for service and
dedication to the Radio Club of America."
A complete listing of RCA Awards and previous recipients can be found on
the RCA website <http://www.radioclubofamerica.org/>. Founded in 1909,
the Radio Club of America is the oldest, most prestigious group of
wireless communications professionals in the world. Members are
dedicated to the wireless art and science for the betterment of society.
The Radio Club of America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
The RCA 2018 Awards Banquet and Technical Symposium will take place on
Saturday, November 17, at the Westin New York Times Square in New York
City. Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/radio-amateurs-among-radio-club-of-america-2018-award-recipients-and-fellows>.
In Brief...
**
*Abby Finchum, AB1BY, at the helm of one of the Get on the Air stations
during NET^2 in May 2018. [Photo courtesy of NET^2 /NEAR-Fest]*
*The New England Amateur Radio Festival (**NEAR-Fest*
<http://www.near-fest.com/>*) and the Deerfield Fair Association will
present a science and technology exposition for young people. *The event
at the Deerfield Fairgrounds, in Deerfield, New Hampshire, will take
place Friday, October 12, and Saturday, October 13, as part of NEAR-Fest
XXIII. Each spring and fall, the New England Tech Trek (NET^2
<http://www.near-fest.com/?page_id=5378>) provides middle- and
high-school students with an informal, hands-on introduction to
real-life applications and the fun of science, technology, engineering,
and math (STEM). The display will feature Amateur Radio and other
technology, including a high-altitude balloon with radio telemetry,
robotics, Raspberry Pi projects, radio direction finding, and
software-defined radios. The Nashua (NH) Area Radio Society (NARS
<https://www.n1fd.org/youth-exposition/>) will offer five "Get on the
Air" stations that attendees can use. Admission to the NET^2 expo is free.
**
*The Russian "Sunflower" radar. [Wolf Hadel, DK2OM, screenshot]*
*The International Amateur Radio Union Monitoring Service (**IARUMS*
<https://www.iarums-r1.org/>*) reports interference on 40 meters from
various Russian sources.* The Russian coastal over-the-horizon (OTH)
radar "Sunflower" was very active on 40 meters and audible in Europe in
the evenings, transmitting FM on pulse. The site is believed to be
northeast of Vladivostok. IARUMS Region 1 Coordinator Wolf Hadel, DK2OM,
said it was monitored in September. In addition, a Russian ship was
observed transmitted on 7,110 kHz on F1B with 50 baud and 200 Hz shift.
The vessel was believed to be in the vicinity of Cyprus and on the air
daily in September. Another Russian ship was heard on September 18,
transmitting AT3004D with 12 × 120 baud PSK2A on 7,179 kHz with a 2.6
kHz bandwidth, also in the area of Crete. And a Russian military system,
believed to be near Moscow, was heard transmitting on 7,198 kHz in
AT3004D test mode. Elsewhere, fishing crews often were monitored on
3,500; 3,535; 3,540; 3,560; 3,585; 3,590; 7,000 kHz, and 14,320 USB.
The K7RA Solar Update
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Last week, we reported a return of
sunspot activity on September 29, after a 16-day absence, but the new
activity lasted only 6 days. The average daily sunspot number declined
from 9.6 to 1.6, while the average daily solar flux rose slightly from
68.4 to 68.9. The average planetary A index increased from 7.7 to 14.1,
while the mid-latitude A index jumped from 6.1 to 10.3.
Predicted solar flux is 72 on October 11 - 17; 71 on October 18; and 69
on October 19 - November 24.
The predicted planetary A index is 12, 8, 5, 12, and 8 on October 11 -
15; 5 on October 16 - 17; 10, 25, 14, 8, and 12 on October 18 - 22; 8 on
October 23 - 25; 10 on October 26; 5 on October 27 - November 2; 22 and
35 on November 3 - 4; 15 on November 5 - 6; 10, 8, 5, 10, and 8 on
November 7 - 11; 5 on November 12 - 13; 10, 25, 14, 8, and 12 on
November 14 - 18; 8 on November 19 - 21; 10 on November 22, and 5 on
November 23 - 24.
Conditions will probably continue at somewhat marginal levels because of
weak solar activity. It is widely believed that Cycle 24 should reach
solar minimum in 2020. The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC)
has the latest projections
<ftp://ftp.swpc.noaa.gov/pub/warehouse/2018/WeeklyPDF/prf2249.pdf>.
Sunspot numbers for October 4 - 10 were 11, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, and 0, with a
mean of 1.6. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 67.2, 68.7, 68.6, 69.5, 68.8,
69.5, and 69.8, with a mean of 68.9. Estimated planetary A indices were
4, 9, 6, 24, 21, 17, and 18, with a mean of 14.1. Estimated mid-latitude
A indices were 4, 8, 5, 13, 16, 14, and 12, with a mean of 10.3.
Share <mailto:k7ra at arrl.net> your reports or your propagation observations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just Ahead in Radiosport
*
October 13 -- FISTS Fall Unlimited Sprint (CW)
*
October 13-14 -- Arizona QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
*
October 13-14 -- Nevada QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
*
October 13-14 -- Pennsylvania QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
*
October 13-14 -- South Dakota QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
*
October 13-14 -- QRP ARCI Fall QSO Party (CW)
*
October 13-14 -- Makrothen RTTY Contest
*
October 13-14 -- Oceania DX Contest (CW)
*
October 13-14 -- Scandinavian Activity Contest (SSB)
*
October 13-14 -- SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (CW)
*
October 13-14 -- PODXS 070 Club 160-Meter Great Pumpkin Sprint (Digital)
*
October 14 -- UBA ON Contest, CW
*
October 14 -- UBA ON Contest, 6 Meter (CW, phone)
*
October 15 -- 4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint (CW, phone)
*
*October 15-19 -- **ARRL School Club Roundup (CW, phone
<arrl.org/school-club-roundup>**)*
*
October 15-16 -- Telephone Pioneers QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
*
October 17 -- RSGB 80-Meter Autumn Series (Data)
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
email preferences.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
*
October 11-14 -- Microwave Update Convention
<http://www.microwaveupdate.org/>, Fairborn, Ohio
*
October 12-13 -- Pacific Northwest VHF Conference
<http://pnwvhfs.org/>, Seaside, Oregon
*
October 13 -- Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference
<http://wi-aresraces.org/>, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin
*
October 19-20 -- New Mexico State Convention
<http://socorroara.org/hamfest.html>, Socorro, New Mexico
*
October 19-21 -- Pacific Division Convention
<http://www.pacificon.org/>, San Ramon, California
*
October 20 -- Tennessee State Convention <http://www.w4am.net/>,
East Ridge, Tennessee
*
October 21 -- Connecticut State Convention
<http://nutmeghamfest.com/>, Meriden, Connecticut
*
November 3-4 -- Georgia Section Convention
<http://stonemountainhamfest.com/>, Lawrenceville, Georgia
*
November 10 -- Alabama Section Convention
<http://www.w4ap.org/Events/Hamfest.htm>, Montgomery, Alabama
*
November 10 -- HamJam 2018 Convention <http://hamjam.info/>,
Alpharetta, Georgia
*
November 17-18 -- Central Division Convention
<http://www.fortwaynehamfest.com/>, Fort Wayne, Indiana
*
December 1 -- Arkansas DX Association Conference
<http://www.adxa.org/>, North Little Rock, Arkansas
*
December 7-8 -- West Central Florida Section Convention
<http://fgcarc.org/>, Plant City, Florida
Find conventions and hamfests in your area <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests>
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