The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
December 2, 2010
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- + Public Service: ARESŪ, SKYWARN Activated as Tornados Swing Through
the South
- + BPL: ARRL Strengthens the Case for Mandatory BPL Notching
- + Amateur Radio in Space: ISS Expedition 24/25 Crew Back on Terra
Firma
- + On the Air: Soar High in the ARRL 10 Meter Contest
- On the Air: The Spratly Islands DXpedition Gets Wings
- ARRL in Action: What Have We Been Up to Lately?
- Support ARRL: ARRL Thanks Donors with Publication Gift Certificates
- + Amateur Radio Enforcement: British Man Convicted for Deliberate
Interference, Operating Without a License
- + Amateur Radio Enforcement: FCC Issues Retailer Second Citation in
18 Months for Marketing Non-Compliant RF Devices
- Solar Update
- ARRL Homebrew Challenge Has New Dedicated Web Page
- + ARRL Recognizes: Joe Taylor, K1JT, and Bruce Walker, W1BW, Win
November QST Cover Plaque Award
- This Week on the Radio
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News
> + PUBLIC SERVICE: ARESŪ, SKYWARN ACTIVATED AS TORNADOS SWING
THROUGH THE SOUTH
On
the evening of Monday, November 29, a series of severe storms swept
through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and hams provided support
from the National Weather Service office in Jackson, Mississippi.
According to the NWS, seven tornados were embedded in the storm system,
with at least six counties reporting damage. There were no deaths in
the latest storms, though 15 people were hurt in Mississippi and
buildings were badly damaged there and in Louisiana. Schools were
closed in Alabama and tornado watches were posted in Tennessee and
parts of North and South Carolina on Tuesday as the storms moved east.
Read more here
.
> + BPL: ARRL STRENGTHENS THE CASE FOR MANDATORY BPL NOTCHING
The ARRL filed an ex parte submission with the FCC on November 30,
providing additional support for its position that the FCC should
require mandatory notching of the amateur bands by Broadband over Power
Line (BPL). The ARRL's filing stated such devices can cause harmful
interference to Amateur Radio operators, and requested that the FCC
"establish rules that are appropriate for unlicensed BPL systems and
which minimize the interference potential."
After the FCC released its Request for Further Comment and Further
Notice of Proposed Rule Making in July 2009, the ARRL filed comments
and reply comments and made oral and written ex parte filings, urging
the adoption of Part 15 Rules which reflect both the capabilities and
practices of the bulk of the BPL industry, and which are sufficient to
protect licensed radio services in the HF and VHF bands.
"It has been painfully apparent that the present rules permit the
deployment of BPL in configurations which cause severe, ongoing harmful
interference if operated on radio spectrum that is in use locally," the
ARRL asserted in its filing. The ARRL, in its numerous filings on this
issue has "strenuously urged" the FCC to require full time, mandatory
notching of all amateur allocations to at least 35 dB notch depths.
"This level of notching is both achievable by present BPL systems and
is typically, but not universally, implemented by the BPL industry."
Read more here
.
> + AMATEUR RADIO IN SPACE: ISS EXPEDITION 24/25 CREW BACK ON TERRA
FIRMA
After more than 160 days in space, ISS Expedition 25 Commander Doug
Wheelock, KF5BOC -- along with Flight Engineers Shannon Walker, KD5DXB,
and Fyodor Yurchikhin, RN3FI -- has returned to Earth from the
International Space Station (ISS). Their Soyuz spacecraft landed in
Kazakhstan on Friday, November 26. While on board the ISS, both
Wheelock and Walker participated in the Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) program, and made 22 ISS-to-school
and ISS-to-camp QSOs. In addition, Wheelock averaged about two dozen
casual QSOs each week while on board the ISS. Read more here
.
> + ON THE AIR: SOAR HIGH IN THE ARRL 10 METER CONTEST
The highest of the HF bands will be the central operating focus of
many amateurs in the ARRL 10 Meter Contest, December 11-12. During the
event, many propagation modes will be available: Sporadic-E will help
you work stateside stations, a touch of meteor scatter in the morning
will give you split-second chances to work stations -- you'd better be
quick, though! -- and DX stations could find their way into the log,
thanks to some recent signs of life from the F-layer. "Ten meters was
open from the United States to Africa, Europe and South America during
the CQ World Wide DX CW contest on the weekend of November 27," said
ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X. "Let's see if those
conditions remain for the second weekend in December." Read more here
.
> ON THE AIR: THE SPRATLY ISLANDS DXPEDITION GETS WINGS
The 37 operators from 15 countries who make up the DX0DX DXpedition
Team that will go to the Spratly Islands is finalizing preparations for
the almost month-long DXpedition that begins January 6, 2011. Instead
of going by boat, the team will instead fly to Thitu Island where they
will set up their operation. Thitu is the second largest island in the
Spratly Islands. The Spratlys are a group of more than 750 reefs,
islets, atolls, cays and islands in the South China Sea between
Vietnam, the Philippines, China, Malaysia and Brunei. They comprise
less than 4 square kilometers of land area, spread out over more than
425,000 square kilometers of sea. Read more here
.
> ARRL IN ACTION: WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO LATELY?
Compiled by ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
This feature is a concise monthly update of some of the things ARRL is
doing on behalf of its members. This installment -- which covers the
month of November -- includes ARISS activities ; new licensing exam
software; elections of Board members and Section Managers; and
on-the-air events. Read more here
.
> SUPPORT ARRL: ARRL THANKS DONORS WITH PUBLICATION GIFT CERTIFICATES
The end of 2010 is fast approaching and ARRL is poised to close the
books on December 31! Many members wait to make contributions at the
end of the year -- these contributions are important to the ARRL funds
that are not supported by member dues.
But wait! There's more! When you make a contribution of $30 or more
before December 31, you'll receive a complimentary $10 gift
certificate* on your next publication sales purchase at ARRL. You can
make your gift on our secure Web site , by
mail or by phone at 860-594-0397 and we'll send your $10 gift
certificate right away.
You may designate your contribution to one or more of the following
funds:
- The ARRL Diamond Club (to
renew your ARRL membership and make a contribution!)
- The Spectrum Defense Fund
- The Education & Technology Fund
- The Lab Fund
- The Historic Preservation Fund
- The ARRL General Fund.
You may decide to make a monthly credit card contribution of $10 or
more on the ARRL Web site to support one of the areas listed above. For
more information, contact ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart,
K1MMH, via e-mail or by phone at 860-594-0397. Your
year-end contribution is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
ARRL is an IRS designated 501(c)(3) organization holding tax
identification number 06-6000004.
* About ARRL Gift Certificates: After making your contribution of $30
or more, your $10 ARRL Gift Certificate will be promptly mailed to you.
Certificates must be redeemed by April 30, 2011. It is easy to redeem
your certificate online, by mail or phone. This offer is valid on all
sale and regular-priced ARRL publications.
> + AMATEUR RADIO ENFORCEMENT: BRITISH MAN CONVICTED FOR DELIBERATE
INTERFERENCE, OPERATING WITHOUT A LICENSE
Clive McMurray of the British town of Hull (located about 45 miles
southwest of York) was convicted and sentenced on November 22 for
causing deliberate interference to Amateur Radio users and unlawfully
using radio equipment without a license. According to the Radio Society
of Great Britain -- that country's IARU Member-Society -- McMurray
caused interference to operators in the Hull region of Humberside
between June-November 2009. Read more here
.
> + AMATEUR RADIO ENFORCEMENT: FCC ISSUES RETAILER SECOND CITATION IN
18 MONTHS FOR MARKETING NON-COMPLIANT RF DEVICES
On November 23, the FCC issued a Citation
to Hobby Lobby International (HLI ) for
marketing non-compliant radio frequency devices. According to the
Commission, these devices were in violation of Section 302(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as Amended and Section 2.803(a)(1) of the
Commission's Rules
. In
July 2009, HLI was also issued a Citation
for
the same reason. This time, HLI was found to be selling an unauthorized
radio frequency device, specifically the JETI Duplex 2.4 GHz System
for radio-controlled
models. This system consists of a transmitter and receiver used for
remote control of model aircraft, boats, and cars. The FCC Citation
warned that if, after receipt of the Citation, HLI violates the
Communications Act or the Rules "by engaging in conduct of the type
described herein, the Commission may impose monetary forfeitures...as
well as criminal sanctions, including imprisonment." HLI has 30 days to
respond to the Citation, either through a personal interview at the FCC
office in Atlanta or via a written statement.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "Holding you close is like holding the summer Sun
" Cook, K7RA, reports: The
average daily sunspot numbers for the seven days -- November 25 through
December 1 -- were up 1.3 points to 25.9, compared to the prior seven
day period. The predicted solar flux for the next 10 days, December
2-11 is 88, 90, 90, 90, 88. 88. 86, 86, 85 and 85. The predicted
planetary A index for the same period is 5, 10, 8, 7, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 and
7. The three-month moving average of daily sunspot numbers changed from
28.9 to 33 and 35.6 for the periods centered on August, September and
October (ending in September, October and November). This shows a
continued slow upward trend in sunspot activity. Look for more
information -- including some news on Long Delayed Echoes (LDE) -- on
the ARRL Web site on Friday, December 3. For more information
concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information
Service Propagation page
. This week's "Tad
Cookism" is brought to you by Billy Joel's This Is the Time
.
> ARRL HOMEBREW CHALLENGE HAS NEW DEDICATED WEB PAGE
The original announcement of the Third ARRL Homebrew Challenge -- as
seen on page 47 in the November 2010 issue of QST -- referred readers
to the QST-in-Depth Web page for updates and rules clarifications. We
have now established a dedicated Web page for the ARRL Homebrew
Challenge . This page not only
has the original and updated rules and clarifications to the third
challenge, but also has information about the earlier contests. For
additional clarifications, just e-mail QST Technical
Editor Joel Hallas, W1ZR.
> + ARRL RECOGNIZES: JOE TAYLOR, K1JT, AND BRUCE WALKER, W1BW, WIN
NOVEMBER QST COVER PLAQUE AWARD
The winners of the QST Cover Plaque Award for November are Joe
Taylor, K1JT, and Bruce Walker, W1BW, for their article "WSPRing Around
the World." Congratulations Joe and Bruce! The QST Cover Plaque award
-- given to the author or authors of the best article in each issue --
is determined by a vote of ARRL members on the QST Cover Plaque Poll
Web page . Cast a ballot for
your favorite article in the December issue today.
> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO
This 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
Next week:
- December 10 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- December 11 -- Feld Hell Sprint
- December 11-12 -- ARRL 10 Meter Contest
; International Naval Contest; MDXA PSK
Death Match
- December 11-16 -- NA High Speed Meteor Scatter Winter Rally
- December 12 -- SKCC Weekend Sprint; CQC Great Colorado Snowshoe Run
- December 15 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint
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
.
ARRL -- Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information
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