The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
November 24, 2010
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- ARRL Board of Directors: New Vice Director for Southeastern Division;
Southwestern, West Gulf Divisions Remain Unchanged
- ARRL Section Managers: 2010 Fall Section Manager Election Results
- On the Air: Warm Up Your Chilly December with the 2010 ARRL 160 Meter
Contest
- Amateur Radio in Space: ARISS Aiming to Raise Its Educational Profile
- Amateur Radio in Space: Hams Invited to Listen for New Satellites
- ARRL to Close in Observance of Thanksgiving Holiday
- Out and About: "Coming Home" to HamJam 2010
- Solar Update
- This Week on the Radio
> ARRL BOARD OF DIRECTORS: NEW VICE DIRECTOR FOR SOUTHEASTERN
DIVISION; SOUTHWESTERN, WEST GULF DIVISIONS REMAIN UNCHANGED
ARRL Southeastern Division members have chosen a new Vice Director
for the ARRL Board family. Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM, is already a
familiar face to many, but on January 1, she will become the youngest
serving ARRL Vice Director in modern times -- and possibly in history.
On November 19, ballots were counted in the races for Director and Vice
Director in the Southeastern and West Gulf Divisions and Director in
the Southwestern Division. Hartlage, 21, of Grayson, Georgia, was
declared the new Vice Director in the Southeastern Division, defeating
incumbent Jeff Beals, WA4AW, of Loxahatchee, Florida.
Director Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, of Huntsville, Alabama, won re-election
as the Director in the Southeastern Division. Dick Norton, N6AA, of
Topanga, California will stay as Southwestern Division Director. In the
West Gulf Division, Dr David Woolweaver, K5RAV, of Harlingen, Texas and
John Robert Stratton, N5AUS, of Austin, Texas, will continue as
Director and Vice Director, respectively. Terms for Directors and Vice
Directors begin at noon on January 1, 2011 and run for three years.
Read more here
.
> ARRL SECTION MANAGERS: 2010 FALL SECTION MANAGER ELECTION RESULTS
ARRL members in Western Pennsylvania, Missouri and South Carolina
have re-elected their Section Managers -- John Rodgers, N3MSE, Dale
Bagley, K0KY, and Marc Tarplee, N4UFP, respectively -- for another two
year term. Votes were counted on Tuesday, November 23 at ARRL
Headquarters. In Eastern Massachusetts, the only nominee for Section
Manager was Phil Temples, K9HI, of Watertown. Temples previously served
as the Eastern Massachusetts Section Manager for terms from 1994-1996
and again from 2001-2004. The following incumbent ARRL Section Managers
did not face opposition and were declared elected for their upcoming
terms of office: Art Zygielbaum, K0AIZ, Nebraska; Mike Lisenco, N2YBB,
New York City-Long Island; Thomas Dick, KF2GC, Northern New York;
George Strayline, W2GSS, Southern New Jersey, and Dee Turner, N4GD,
West Central Florida. New terms of office will begin on January 1,
2011. Read more here
.
> ON THE AIR: WARM UP YOUR CHILLY DECEMBER WITH THE 2010 ARRL 160
METER CONTEST
The ARRL 160 Meter Contest -- an all-CW
event -- is tremendous fun! As the object of the contest is for DX
stations to contact American and Canadian stations (and vice versa),
everyone will be seeking you (especially if you live in a rare section
like North Dakota, Nebraska or any of the rare sections from November's
Sweepstakes contests).
In this contest, Alaska (KL7) and Hawaii (KH6) count as DX, as do
the Caribbean US possessions (KP1-KP5) and all of the Pacific Ocean
territories (KH0-KH9). According to ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean
Kutzko, KX9X, if you don't have an antenna for 160, you should just
load up whatever you have through an antenna tuner and give "top band"
a try -- even a 40 meter dipole through a tuner will make QSOs.
Since ARRL and RAC Sections are worth 2 points each and count as
multipliers, the ARRL 160 Meter Contest is a good way to begin working
-- or finishing up! -- your Worked All States (WAS
) award. But don't forget about those DX
stations -- each DXCC entity is a multiplier and is worth 5 points.
The ARRL 160 Meter Contest runs from 2200 UTC Friday, December 3
through 1559 UTC Sunday, December 5. Logs must be e-mailed
<160meter@arrl.org> or postmarked no later than 1600 UTC Tuesday,
January 4, 2011. Paper logs should be sent to ARRL 160 Meter Contest,
225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.
> AMATEUR RADIO IN SPACE: ARISS AIMING TO RAISE ITS EDUCATIONAL
PROFILE
NASA will assume more direct sponsorship of the Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) program as an educational project.
Among its activities, ARISS oversees the project that enables
schoolchildren to speak via ham radio with astronauts aboard the
International Space Station. NASA also will embrace ARISSat as an
educational project for the ISS National Lab. A reconfigured,
yet-to-be-named education planning group will pick up the mission of
the ARISS Communications Council. These changes were among the outcomes
of a meeting of NASA and ARISS International officials who gathered
November 12-13 at ARRL Headquarters. Read more here
.
> AMATEUR RADIO IN SPACE: HAMS INVITED TO LISTEN FOR NEW SATELLITES
Five research satellites were carried to orbit on November 19 aboard a
Minotaur V rocket from Kodiak Island, Alaska. All the satellites use
Amateur Radio frequencies and hams have been invited to participate in
their missions by monitoring and collecting data.
Two of the satellites are FASTRACs -- relatively small
"nanosatellites" -- built by students at The University of Texas in
Austin. They enter orbit as a single spacecraft, but then separate into
FASTRAC 1 (known as "Sara Lily") and FASTRAC 2 (referred to as "Emma").
Both satellites use 1200 or 9600 baud AX.25 digital communication and
transmit at 1 W output, so they should be receivable with
omnidirectional VHF or UHF antennas and decodable by ordinary packet
radio hardware and software. After their scientific missions are
complete, the satellites will be reconfigured to function as digipeater
relays for Amateur Radio use, as part of the Automatic Packet Reporting
System (APRS). Read more here
.
> ARRL TO CLOSE IN OBSERVANCE OF THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
ARRL Headquarters will be closed November 25 and 26 in observance of
Thanksgiving. There will be no W1AW bulletins or code practice
transmissions those days .
The ARRL Letter is being published a
day early, but there will be no ARRL Audio News
this week. ARRL Headquarters will
reopen Monday, November 29 at 8 AM Eastern Standard Time. We wish
everyone a safe and bountiful Thanksgiving holiday.
> OUT AND ABOUT: "COMING HOME" TO HAMJAM 2010
On November 13, Georgia hams and others enjoyed HamJam 2010. According
to HamJam organizer Mack McCormick, WB4MAK, the event's goal is to
encourage members of Amateur Radio clubs in the region to come together
for a day of learning and fellowship. Members of more than a dozen
clubs from Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee -- and of
course, Georgia -- were on hand. "HamJam is an example of how the
traditional hamfest is evolving to incorporate education and social
elements," said H. Ward Silver, N0AX, who attended as a guest speaker.
"Change hasn't left behind the traditional raffle prizes, as high-end
manufacturers sponsored equipment donations, allowing attendance to be
free, with Georgia Tech providing the meeting space." Read more here
.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "For I have the warmth of the Sun
" Cook, K7RA, reports:
Sunspot numbers declined this week, and it looks like the average daily
sunspot number will be less than half the value reported last week
. Solar flux was in
the 90s a week ago and is now around 75. The predicted solar flux from
NOAA/USAF shows levels continuing around 75 through December 1, and
then rising gradually and returning to 90 around December 12-14; quiet
geomagnetic conditions are predicted for the near term. This week's
bulletin will be available as usual on Friday from the ARRL Web site,
but it won't go out from W1AW or via e-mail until Monday, November 29.
Look for more information on the ARRL Web site on Friday, November 26.
For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL
Technical Information Service Propagation page
. This week's "Tad
Cookism" is brought to you by The Beach Boys' The Warmth of the Sun
.
> ARRL RECOGNIZES: DEADLINE CLOSING FAST FOR NOMINATIONS FOR ARRL'S
LEONARD AWARD
Television, radio, magazines, newspapers, blogs, Webcasts -- Amateur
Radio has been featured in all of them in 2010. And now it is time to
thank the professional media people who made it happen by nominating
them for the Bill Leonard, W2SKE, Professional Media Award. This
national level annual award sponsored by the ARRL, honors three
professional journalists whose outstanding coverage in audio, video and
print formats best reflect the enjoyment, importance and public service
value of the Amateur Radio Service. The deadline for nominations is
December 10. Read more here
.
> ARRL RECOGNIZES: NOMINATION DEADLINE FOR 2010 ARRL INTERNATIONAL
HUMANITARIAN AWARD APPROACHING
Nominations are open for the 2010 ARRL International Humanitarian
Award. The award is conferred upon an amateur or amateurs who
demonstrate devotion to human welfare, peace and international
understanding through Amateur Radio. The League established the annual
prize to recognize Amateur Radio operators who have used ham radio to
provide extraordinary service to others in times of crisis or disaster.
The deadline for nominations is December 31, 2010. Read more here
.
> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO
This week:
- November 26 -- QRP Fox Hunt
- November 27-28 -- CQ Worldwide DX Contest (CW)
- December 1 -- QRP Fox Hunt
- December 2 -- ARCI Topband Sprint
Next week:
- December 3 -- NCCC Sprint
- December 3-5 -- ARRL 160 Meter Contest
- December 4 -- TARA RTTY Melee
- December 4-7 -- ARS Spartan Sprint
- December 8 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test
All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest
Branch page , the ARRL Contest Update
and the WA7BNM Contest
Calendar for more
info. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the
ARRL Special Event Stations Web page
.
> UPCOMING ARRL SECTION, STATE AND DIVISION CONVENTIONS AND EVENTS
- December 4-5, 2010 -- ARRL West Central Florida Section Convention
, Palmetto, Florida
- January 8, 2011 -- ARRL Delta Division Convention
, Hammond, Louisiana
- January 9, 2011 -- ARRL New York-Long Island Section Convention
, Bethpage, New York
- January 15, 2011 -- ARRL Southern Florida Section Convention
, Fort Myers, Florida
- January 28-29, 2011 -- ARRL Mississippi State Convention
, Jackson, Mississippi
To find a convention or hamfest near you, click here
.
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