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      The ARRL Letter                                                            
      January 20, 2022                                                           
                                                                                 
        * ARES Activates as Wind-Driven Year-End Fire Destroys 1,000 Colorado     
          Homes                                                                   
        * Extended ARRL Team Will Support February's ARRL National Convention     
          in Orlando                                                              
        * ARRL Podcasts Schedule                                                  
        * National Science Foundation Awards Nearly $50,000 for HamSCI           
          Workshop                                                               
        * Announcements                                                          
        * FCC Seeks Attorney-visor for its Mobility Division                   
        * Launch of a Wooden Satellite Still Pending                             
        * Amateur Radio in the News                                              
        * Two Radio Amateurs Appointed to the FCC Technological visory         
          Council (TAC)                                                          
        * Getting It Right!                                                      
        * In Brief...                                                            
        * The K7RA Solar Update                                                  
        * Just Ahead in Radiosport                                               
        * Upcoming Section, State, and Division Conventions                      
      ARES Activates as Wind-Driven Year-End Fire Destroys 1,000 Colorado        
      Homes                                                                      
                                                                                 
      Members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service^(R) (ARES^(R)) in           
      Colorado, volunteering for the Boulder County (Colorado) Amateur Radio     
      Emergency Services (BCARES), turned out on December 30, 2021 as the        
      devastating Marshall Fire roared through Superior and (portions of)        
      Louisville, Colorado. Intense winds whipped a grass fire south of          
      Boulder near Marshall into a massive firestorm that became too large       
      and fierce for firefighters to battle.                                     
                                                                                 
      "The only battle was evacuation, as the towns of Louisville and            
      Superior and [the] northern suburbs of Denver lay in the fire's            
      wind-driven path," said Amateur TV (ATV) enthusiast and equipment          
      dealer Jim Andrews, KH6HTV, of Boulder. Andrews said the only thing        
      limiting the fire's spread was the fact that the winds diminished by       
      that evening.                                                              
                                                                                 
      "By that time, hundreds of homes had burned down," Andrews said, whose     
      own house was among them. "This was not a typical forest fire, but an      
      urban firestorm." Thousands of people were evacuated.                      
                                                                                 
      BCARES Board of Directors Chairman and Region 1, District 3 Emergency      
      Coordinator Allen Bishop, K0ARK, said that a request from the Boulder      
      Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to activate the emergency             
      operations center (EOC) is what initiated the ARES activation. "At that    
      time, staffing was initiated with the activation of the BCARES Radio       
      Network, with three BCARES members assigned to the EOC," Bishop said.      
      The BCARES Net was promptly activated.                                     
                                                                                 
      ARES volunteers supported communication at evacuation sites and            
      established emergency communication as commercial power failures and       
      preventive shutdowns by utilities caused a loss of commercial              
      communication. "Within about 8 hours," Bishop said, "battery back-up       
      systems for cell phones and landlines failed, and 911 services went        
      down."                                                                     
                                                                                 
      "To facilitate a restoration of these emergency services, BCARES           
      activated the Mountain Emergency Radio Network (MERN)," Bishop said.       
      Established in 2010, MERN consists of repeaters installed at fire          
      stations in Gold Hill and Allenspark, at community centers in Nederland    
      and Raymond, and the privately owned Airlink Repeater. "These repeaters    
      provided the emergency communication links that facilitated the            
      restoration of 911 communications back to the dispatch center for the      
      duration of the power outages," Bishop explained. The Allenspark           
      Neighbors Emergency Network (ANEN) and Airlink (Alternate Access Radio     
      Network) participated.                                                     
                                                                                 
                                         Jim Andrews, KH6HTV, shared this        
                                         photo of what remained of his home.     
                                         [Jim Andrews, KH6HTV, photo]            
                                                                                 
      According to Bishop, as the Marshall Fire expanded, evacuation center      
      support was requested at three locations to provide on-site situation      
      reports using Winlink. Bishop said BCARES members and mutual-aid ARES      
      operators from neighboring Districts established local communication       
      with the BCARES EOC radio position from designated field locations.        
      BCARES was activated for 2 days. One person died as a result of the        
      fire.                                                                      
                                                                                 
      As Andrews reported, Boulder County announced on New Year's Day that       
      nearly 1,000 homes were lost. In addition to his own home, the fire        
      destroyed his daughter's home next door, as well as the homes of all       
      his close neighbors. "We had no official warning of the coming             
      firestorm," Andrews said. "My only warning was from our daughter who       
      saw it happening." Andrews added, "KH6HTV VIDEO, as a supplier of ATV      
      gear, will be out of operation for a very long time to come." Andrews      
      edits the monthly Boulder Amateur Television Club TV Repeater's            
      REPEATER newsletter.                                                       
      Extended ARRL Team Will Support February's ARRL National Convention in     
      Orlando                                                                    
                                                                                 
      An extended ARRL team of member-volunteers, program representatives,       
      and presenters will advance the convention theme inviting attendees to     
      "reDiscover Radio" at Orlando HamCation, host of the 2022 ARRL National    
      Convention February 10 - 13. A wide-ranging roster of workshops,           
      exhibits, and activities will educate and entertain radio amateurs         
      committed to developing knowledge and skills in radio technology and       
      radio communication.                                                       
                                                                                 
      The convention will be held in two parts. On Thursday, February 10, an     
      all-day ARRL National Convention Program will be held at the DoubleTree    
      by Hilton Hotel Orlando at SeaWorld. vance registration is required      
      and includes a series of day-long ARRL Training Tracks and a National      
      Convention luncheon with a keynote address by ARRL CEO David Minster,      
      NA2AA. The Training Tracks comprise four workshops led by experienced      
      presenters: Contest University (CTU), Emergency Communications Academy,    
      Hands-On Handbook, and Technology Academy. Registration can be             
      completed online.                                                          
                                                                                 
      DX Engineering is the Official Sponsor of the 2022 ARRL National           
      Convention Program.                                                        
                                                                                 
      On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, February 11 - 13, HamCation will take     
      place at the Central Florida Fairgrounds and Expo Park in Orlando -- an    
      87-acre lakefront fairgrounds. The convention marks the 75th               
      anniversary of HamCation -- one of the largest annual gatherings of        
      radio amateurs in the US. HamCation tickets can be purchased online        
      until January 31 and at the gate during the event.                         
                                                                                 
      The centerpiece of ARRL's participation will be a large exhibit area in    
      the East and West Hall. Nearly a dozen ARRL program areas will be          
      represented, including Radiosport and DXCC Card Checking, Radio Clubs,     
      the Amateur Radio Emergency Service^(R), Development, and the ARRL         
      Foundation.                                                                
                                                                                 
      A suite of exhibits organized by the ARRL Education and Learning           
      Department will include an introduction to the new ARRL Learning           
      Center. ARRL Education and Learning Manager Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, will    
      introduce this new member benefit that includes online courses, videos,    
      and other amateur radio instruction and training. At another booth,        
      ARRL Education and Technology Program Instructor Tommy Gober, N5DUX,       
      will cover the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology.             
                                                                                 
      Josh Nass, KI6NAZ, of the popular                                          
      "Ham Radio Crash Course" is one of                                         
      the YouTube content creators who                                           
      will present at the Convention.                                            
                                                                                 
      ARRL has invited several ham radio content creators from popular           
      YouTube channels to meet and interact with attendees in the exhibit        
      area. Josh Nass, KI6NAZ, of the popular "Ham Radio Crash Course"           
      YouTube channel, will moderate. He is the 2020 winner of the ARRL Bill     
      Leonard Award for outstanding published media that advances amateur        
      radio. Visitors will have a chance to meet ARRL authors and editors.       
                                                                                 
      ARRL Laboratory engineers and volunteers will offer free testing of        
      visitors' handheld radios. This service will determine the spectral        
      purity of the output signal from the radios.                               
                                                                                 
      Members and other attendees can meet ARRL elected officials and Field      
      Organization volunteers at the Southeastern Division booth to catch up     
      on events and to explore opportunities to get involved through their       
      ARRL Sections and radio clubs.                                             
                                                                                 
      The exhibit area will also include the ARRL store and membership area,     
      where visitors may join, renew, or extend ARRL and Diamond Club            
      memberships and purchase publications, apparel, and 2022 Field Day         
      products. New ARRL Membership Manager Matt Caruso will be eager to meet    
      and greet members.                                                         
                                                                                 
      ARRL will sponsor three forums at HamCation:                               
        * An ARRL Emergency Communications Panel will be held at 3:15 PM         
          Eastern on Friday. The panel will be moderated by ARRL Director of     
          Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, and will include           
          panelists from the ARRL Southeastern Division Field Organization.      
        * On Saturday at 2 PM Eastern, ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio visors    
          Andy Milluzzi, KK4LWR, and Tony Milluzzi, KD8RTT, will lead a          
          Collegiate Amateur Radio Forum. The ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio      
          Initiative is a regular networking source among active campus radio    
          clubs and their student members.                                       
        * An ARRL Membership Forum will be held on Saturday at 3:15 PM,          
          moderated by Southeastern Division Director Mickey Baker, N4MB.        
          This forum offers an opportunity to hear from ARRL representatives     
          on key areas of member interest and amateur radio advocacy and to      
          learn how ARRL supports dozens of ways to get involved and active      
          on the air. Panelists will include President Rick Roderick, K5UR,      
          and CEO David Minster, NA2AA.                                          
                                                                                 
      The exhibit area will also include the ARRL store and membership area,     
      where visitors may join, renew, or extend ARRL and Diamond Club            
      memberships and purchase publications, apparel, and 2022 Field Day         
      products.                                                                  
                                                                                 
      The Orlando Amateur Radio Club sponsors Orlando HamCation. Further         
      
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