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   http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2014-07-03   
      
   The ARRL Letter   
      
   July 3, 2014   
   Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME   
      
    *  Convention Anticipation Peaking, Thousands Expected to Help Celebrate   
       League's Centennial   
    *  FCC Seeks to Raise Vanity Call Sign Fee to $21.60   
    *  ISS Contacts Put Smiles on Field Day Faces   
    *  FCC Invokes "Red Light Rule" in Denying K1MAN License Renewal   
       Application   
    *  WRTC-2014 Receives ARRL Foundation Grant, Gets Marconi Boost   
    *  W1AW Centennial Operations Now in Wisconsin, Utah   
    *  WRTC-2014 Will Offer Online Scoreboard to Track Team Standings   
    *  FM Transponder Active as LituanicaSAT-1 CubeSat Enters its Final Few   
       Weeks in Space   
    *  ARRL-Sponsored 600 Meter Experiment Approaches 170,000 Hours of   
       Operation   
    *  Voice of America Makes More Cuts to International Shortwave Broadcast   
       Schedule   
    *  MARS Teams Remember D-Day With a Present-Day Purpose   
    *  A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL   
    *  In Brief...   
    *  The K7RA Solar Update   
    *  Just Ahead in Radiosport   
    *  Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events   
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
   ARRL Headquarters is Closed on Independence Day, July 4   
      
   ARRL Headquarters will be closed on Independence Day, Friday, July 4, and   
   there will be no ARRL Audio News, W1AW bulletins or code practice on those   
   days. ARRL Audio News will return July 11. We wish everyone a safe and   
   enjoyable Fourth of July holiday!   
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
   Convention Anticipation Peaking, Thousands Expected to Help Celebrate   
   League's Centennial   
      
   Some 4000 visitors are expected to be on hand when the ARRL National   
   Centennial Convention kicks off in in a couple of weeks. The convention   
   theme, marking the 100th anniversary of the League's founding, is "Advancing   
   the Art and Science of radio -- Since 1914." ARRL President Kay Craigie,   
   N3KN, will preside at the official opening ceremony and ribbon cutting on   
   Friday morning at 8:30.   
      
   The ARRL National Centennial Convention will take place July 17-19 at the   
   Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.   
      
   FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, KK4INZ, will be a featured speaker at the   
   July 17-19 event at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. FEMA   
   Chief Technology Officer Ted Okada, K4HNL, also will be attending the   
   convention.   
      
   Visitor have registered from all 50 US states and more than 30 countries.   
   Among the attendees will be official delegations from Japan, England,   
   Germany, Australia, and elsewhere. In addition, more than 100 vendors and   
   exhibitors will be in the main Convention Center exhibit hall.   
   Transportation will be available to shuttle convention registrants to   
   Newington for tours of ARRL Headquarters and W1AW.   
      
   The Centennial Banquet   
   will take place Friday evening at 6:30. A Wouff Hong Society induction   
   ceremony will follow at 10 PM in the ballroom of the downtown Hartford   
   Marriott Hotel, which is attached to the Convention Center. The Wouff Hong   
   is a legendary implement that League co-founder Hiram Percy Maxim -- writing   
   under his pseudonym as "The Old Man" -- devised to "punish" poor operators.   
   By tradition the ceremony is secret.   
      
   President Craigie will host a Presidents Breakfast at 7:30 on Saturday   
   morning in the Convention Center ballroom. Several past ARRL presidents are   
   expected to attend. Other notable visitors to the convention include Nobel   
   Laureate Joe Taylor, K1JT, who will speak at noon on Saturday.   
      
   The convention wraps up Saturday at 4 PM. ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, will   
   officiate at the closing ceremony.   
      
   Convention registration remains open! The deadline for all banquet and meal   
   reservations is Sunday, July 6.   
      
   FCC Seeks to Raise Vanity Call Sign Fee to $21.60   
      
   The FCC is requesting to raise the Amateur Service vanity call sign   
   regulatory fee from its current $16.10 to $21.60 for the 10-year license   
   term. The $5.50 increase would be the largest vanity fee hike in many   
   years. The proposal is contained in a   
   Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), "Assessment and Collection of   
   Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2014; Assessment and Collection of   
   Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2013; and Procedures for Assessment and   
   Collection of Regulatory Fees," which appeared in The Federal Register on   
   July 3.   
      
   The FCC reported there were 11,500 "payment units" in FY 2014. The   
   Commission said the vanity program generated $230,000 in FY 2013 revenue,   
   and it estimated that it would collect nearly $248,000 in FY 2014.   
      
   Interested parties have 30 days to comment on the NPRM. Changes in the   
   vanity call sign fee typically take effect in late August or early   
   September.   
      
   ISS Contacts Put Smiles on Field Day Faces   
      
   Some lucky -- and happy -- ARRL Field Day participants managed to snag a   
   contact with NASA Astronaut Reid Wiseman, KF5LKT, operating from NA1SS on   
   board the International Space Station. Wiseman, who just came aboard the   
   space station this spring, seemed to have fun working the pileup.   
      
   "Enjoyed ARRL FD 14," Wiseman Tweeted. "I operated from the ESA Columbus   
   module. So many calls!" Wiseman used NA1SS on the standard VHF frequencies   
   of 144.49 MHz up and 145.80 MHz down. It's not yet known how many stations   
   he was able to contact.   
      
   Bob McCown, N3IYI, reported that the Goddard Amateur Radio Club's WA3NAN   
   Field Day station in Greenbelt, Maryland, was among those that succeeded in   
   contacting NA1SS during Field Day on Saturday afternoon. "The pass was   
   almost over, way to the east over the Atlantic, so things were no doubt   
   quieting down up there," McCown told ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer,   
   KA3HDO, and others in a post-Field Day e-mail. "When I mentioned Goddard, he   
   came back with 'Goddard! That's just down the road from where I grew up!   
   Good to hear from you.'" Wiseman is from Baltimore.   
      
   Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK, in Arizona also reported working Wiseman on   
   June 28. "I worked NA1SS as it passed over the western USA at 1818 UTC for   
   my first ARRL (and AMSAT) Field Day QSO," he said in an ISS Fan Club forum   
   post. "First time working NA1SS during Field Day!"   
      
   "Me too!!" rejoined Umesh Ghodke, K6VUG, who operated Field Day from the   
   South Bay Amateur Radio Association (SBARA) KU6S site, He reported that   
   NA1SS was full quieting in Fremont, California on the space station's first   
   Field Day pass over the Pacific and the Midwest Saturday morning.   
      
   "It was such an out-of-the-world experience having   
   a voice contact with Wiseman, surrounded by many club members," Ghodke   
   posted. "Due to the uncertainty of his possible on-the-air operation, we   
   were set up for both voice as well as the usual packet. And we were scanning   
   both frequencies every few seconds. When we started 'hearing voices,' we   
   were so excited that it never occurred us to make a voice recording. This is   
   a once-in-a-lifetime contact."   
      
   Stoddard said Wiseman was having occasional difficulty copying call signs.   
   "With so many stations calling, and being on FM, that is understandable," he   
   added. "I could hear times during the two North American passes where he was   
   picking up a different call each time he was transmitting. He was going very   
   quickly, knowing the limited time he had over the continent on each pass."   
   Stoddard said he heard nothing on the ISS's 70 centimeter frequency, 437.55   
   MHz.   
      
   In Elko, Nevada, Shane Wiggins, NV7SW, was operating as W7V for Elko Amateur   
   Radio Club's 2014 Field Day operation. He managed to work NA1SS on one of   
   the less-than-ideal passes. "Late into that pass I heard Reid come back to   
   my call," Wiggins told ARRL. "There were many people huddled around my   
   satellite station listening, and we all went crazy when we heard   
   him come back to me. In particular, there was a young father and son   
   visiting our Field Day location, [and] the little boy was jumping around."   
   Wiggins said his only regret was that he had worked NA1SS with the Field Day   
   station's W7V call sign and not his own. He said he'd dreamed of working   
   NA1SS ever since seeing the ISS pass overhead one evening in 2009.   
      
   Another Field Day group that was fortunate enough to connect with the ISS   
   were the Boy Scouts of Raymore, Missouri, Troop 32. "I bet the boys could be   
   heard up in orbit even without a radio when Reid answered our call!" Scout   
   Leader Jim Reicher, W0HV, said afterward.   
      
   "Thanks to Reid Wiseman, NASA, and ARISS for encouraging him to try the ham   
   station in the ISS Columbus module during Field Day!" Stoddard said. Read   
   more.   
      
   FCC Invokes "Red Light Rule" in Denying K1MAN License Renewal Application   
      
   The curious Amateur Radio enforcement case of Glenn Baxter, now ex-K1MAN, of   
   Belgrade Lakes, Maine, may be at an end. The FCC dismissed Baxter's   
   long-standing license renewal application on June 23, invoking its "Red   
   Light Rule," which gives the Commission authority to turn down a pending   
   application if the applicant has an unpaid fine on the books. His Amateur   
   Extra class license is now shown as "canceled" in the FCC's Universal   
   Licensing System (ULS). Baxter was liable for a $10,000 FCC forfeiture   
   stemming from violations over a period extending back several years.   
      
   "Anyone filing an application [who] is found   
   to be delinquent in debt owed to the FCC and who fails to pay the debt in   
   full or make other satisfactory arrangements in a timely manner will have   
   their application dismissed," said the Notice of Dismissal appended to   
   Baxter's ULS file. "Because you have failed to resolve this matter timely,   
   your application is hereby dismissed."   
      
   The FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau dismissed Baxter's 2005 renewal   
   application "without prejudice," which means that if Baxter wants to be   
   licensed again, he must file a new application -- and the FCC could again   
   invoke its Red Light Rule. Baxter's license expired in October 2005, but FCC   
   rules gave him the authority to continue operating while his renewal   
   application was pending. He lost that privilege, effective June 23.   
      
   "If you are currently operating under authority provided by the Commission's   
   rules based on your submission of [a renewal] application, you must   
   immediately cease operation until such time as you come into compliance with   
   the rules," the dismissal letter said.   
      
   The legal history in the case is extensive. In 2011, the FCC issued a   
   Hearing Designation Order to determine, among other things, if Baxter's   
   Amateur Radio license should be renewed. According to the Order, "Baxter has   
   apparently willfully and repeatedly engaged in unlawful Commission-related   
   activities, including causing interference to ongoing communications of   
   other amateur stations, transmitting communications in which he had a   
   pecuniary interest, failing to file requested information pursuant to an   
   Enforcement Bureau directive, engaging in broadcasting without communicating   
   with any particular station, and failing to exercise control of his   
   station." Read more.   
      
   WRTC-2014 Receives ARRL Foundation Grant, Gets Marconi Boost   
      
   World Radiosport Team Championship 2014 (WRTC-2014) will benefit from an   
   ARRL Foundation grant. WRTC-2014 announced what it [WRTC2014-new.jpg] called   
   "a significant financial grant" on June 22. The grant will help to support   
   WRTC-2014's public relations effort to use the event to promote Amateur   
   Radio to the general public. An international competition involving 59 teams   
   of radio contesters, WRTC-2014 will take place July 8-14, with on-the-air   
   activity taking place July 12-13, concurrent with the IARU HF Championship.   
      
   "With competitors coming from around the world, this is the perfect   
   opportunity to showcase the radiosport aspect of Amateur Radio to the   
   public," said WRTC-2014 Co-Chair Randy Thompson, K5ZD. Thompson said the   
   ARRL Foundation grant has enabled WRTC-2014 to retain a media relations   
   expert to help introduce the event to the media and to issue news releases   
   in the home markets of US competitors.   
      
   The ARRL Foundation was created in 1973 to provide grants supporting Amateur   
   Radio activities and programs, and currently awards upward of 80   
   scholarships per year to young radio amateurs pursuing higher education.   
      
   In another public relations coup, WRTC-2014 Co-Chair Doug Grant, K1DG, made   
   a historical connection the weekend of June 21-22, when   
   he spoke via ham radio with Princess Elettra Marconi, radio pioneer   
   Guglielmo Marconi's youngest daughter. She was at the Marconi Wireless site   
   at Cape Cod National Seashore, where club station KM1CC had set up a   
   station. During the 40 meter SSB contact, Princess Elettra told Grant that   
   her father would have been proud to see that radio amateurs were continuing   
   to advance his work in wireless communication. She went on to praise the   
   WRTC-2014 event and its ability to promote international goodwill and   
   operating skill.   
      
   "What an honor, and a thrilling QSO," Grant said afterward. "It was exciting   
   to bridge history from the very beginning of Amateur Radio to the many   
   aspects of Amateur Radio that we enjoy today." Grant said Princess Elettra's   
   acknowledgement that WRTC-2014 was helping to carry on the Marconi legacy   
   added to the thrill.   
      
   Grant was using the World Radiosport Team Championship club call sign,   
   WR1TC. Assisting with the contact was Barbara Dougan, N1NS, the trustee of   
   the Marconi Cape Cod Radio Club station KM1CC.   
      
   A visit to the Marconi Wireless Station Site and Chatham Marconi Maritime   
   Museum is among the tours available to WRTC-2014 participants and visitors.   
   Read more.   
      
   Elettra Marconi Makes Contact Between Historic Radio Sites   
      
   Princess Elettra also was at the microphone on June 20 for an contact   
   between KM1CC at the Marconi Cape Cod station in Wellfleet, Massachusetts,   
   and the former Marconi Belmar Receiving Station and "Project Diana"   
   moonbounce site in New Jersey. The contact between KM1CC and WA2GM, the club   
   station of the Marconi Chapter 128 of the Quarter Century Wireless   
   Association (QCWA) took place on 40 meter SSB.   
      
   The Ocean-Monmouth Amateur Radio Club (OMARC) hosted the New Jersey station   
   from its facility at the InfoAge Science History Museum Learning Center. --   
   Thanks to Jeff Harshman, N2LXM   
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
   W1AW Centennial Operations Now in Wisconsin, Utah   
      
   The ARRL Centennial W1AW WAS operations taking place throughout 2014 from   
   each of the 50 states are now in Wisconsin and Utah. There will be no W1AW   
   Centennial operations from July 9 until July 16. W1AW will relocate at 0000   
   UTC on Wednesday, July 16 (the evening of July 15 in US time zones), to   
   South Carolina (W1AW/4). Only one state will be active that week.   
      
   World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC-2014) takes place July 12-13,   
   concurrent with the IARU HF Championship, and contacts with competitor teams   
   will be worth 5 points in the ARRL Centennial QSO Party.   
      
   Contacts may be made with the teams on SSB and CW on 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10   
   meters. WRTC-2014 will take place in New England, and teams will be using 1   
   x 1 call signs from US first district.   
      
   The ARRL Centennial QSO Party is a year-long operating   
   event in which participants can accumulate points and win awards. The event   
   is open to all, although only ARRL members and appointees, elected   
   officials, HQ staff and W1AW are worth ARRL Centennial QSO Party points.   
      
   During 2014, W1AW will be on the air from every state (at least twice) and   
   most US territories, and it will be easy to work all states solely by   
   contacting W1AW portable operations. Working W1AW/x from each state is worth   
   5 points per mode/contact, even when working the same state during its   
   second week of activity.   
      
   To earn the "Worked all States with W1AW Award," work W1AW operating   
   portable from all 50 states. (Working W1AW or W100AW in Connecticut does not   
   count for Connecticut, however. For award credit, participants must work   
   W1AW/1 in Connecticut.) A W1AW WAS certificate and plaque will be available.   
      
   The ARRL has posted an ARRL Centennial QSO Party leader board that   
   participants can use to determine how many points they have accumulated in   
   the Centennial QSO Party and in the W1AW WAS operations. Log in using your   
   Logbook of The World (LoTW) user name and password, and your position will   
   appear at the top of the leader boards. Results are updated daily, based on   
   contacts entered into LoTW.   
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
   WRTC-2014 Will Offer Online Scoreboard to Track Team Standings   
      
   A live, near-real time scoreboard to track World Radiosport Team   
   Championship 2014 (WRTC-2014) team standings will be available during the   
   July 12-13 event. The scoreboard will be accessible directly or from a link   
   on the WRTC-2014 website. The scoreboard uses an innovative data-collection   
   method developed by WRTC-2014 Director (IT infrastructure and scoreboard)   
   Dave Pascoe, KM3T, and Bob Raymond, WA1Z. Pascoe is a past WRTC referee and   
   competitor. Each of the 59 WRTC-2014 teams will use networked computers for   
   logging during the contest. The score collection system will monitor network   
   traffic to obtain the latest score and QSO-breakdown information.   
      
   "Real-time -- or near real-time -- score reporting has been a tradition at   
   WRTC events since 2002," Pascoe and Raymond wrote in the July/August issue   
   of NCJ, which is dedicated to WRTC-2014. "Each WRTC organizer has used -- or   
   attempted -- various approaches to report scores from the field. The most   
   common approach involve[d] having referees send SMS (text) messages from a   
   cell phone." According to the NCJ article, past near-real time scoreboard   
   attempts have been plagued by real-world challenges that included   
   connectivity issues and reliance on referees to report scores on schedule.   
      
   The WRTC-2014 system will transmit score data via cellular modem every 5   
   minutes to a score-processing website that Raymond designed. The website   
   will display team scores in order. Clicking on a team will reveal its band   
   breakdown, hourly rate sheet, and position for each hour of the contest. A   
   leader board page will list the top five teams by CW contacts, SSB contacts,   
   multipliers, and points per contact.   
      
   WRTC-2014 said another innovation is the ability to compare the scores of   
   multiple teams on a graph over time. "This will reveal how the fortunes of   
   teams change over the 24 hours, as they follow their various strategies for   
   building their score," the event's organizers said in a July 1 news release.   
      
   Pascoe said his team has confirmed cell signal levels at all sites and is   
   confident that WRTC-2014 will have real-time scoring from all 59 teams.   
      
   The scoreboard site is now live for testing purposes, but all scores will be   
   reset to zero before WRTC-2014 begins at 1200 UTC on July 12, 2014. The   
   international team competition takes place concurrent with the IARU HF   
   Championship event. Read more.   
      
   FM Transponder Active as LituanicaSAT-1 CubeSat Enters its Final Few Weeks   
   in Space   
      
   The LituanicaSAT-1 OSCAR-78/LO-78 Amateur Radio FM transponder has been   
   activated, perhaps for the last time. The CubeSat, which has the call sign   
   LY5N, will deorbit and burn up in Earth's atmosphere, possibly around August   
   5. Laurynas Maciulis, LY1LM, of the LituanicaSAT-1 team said the   
   transponder's duty cycle will depend on the state of the batteries. He said   
   all telemetry has been disabled to save power.   
      
   "We hope the signal should be even better   
   now, as the satellite is descending steadily to 300 km and wish you all good   
   QSOs!" he said.   
      
   The FM transponder frequencies are 435.1755 MHz up (ñ10 kHz Doppler shift),   
   and 145.950 MHz up, with a 67 Hz CTCSS tone. The beacon frequency is 437.275   
   MHz; if the beacon is off, the transponder is operational. The tiny 10 x 10   
   x 10 cm satellite weighs slightly more than 1 kg and also carries a VGA   
   camera. The satellite sports four monopole antennas, three for UHF and one   
   for VHF, all made of spring-steel measurement tape.   
      
   LituanicaSAT-1 was launched to the International Space Station on January 9   
   and deployed into orbit with other Amateur Radio satellites on February 28.   
   On March 22, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite transmitted a greeting   
   "to all Lithuanians around the world" via LituanicaSAT-1 -- her country's   
   first satellite. She may be the first head of state to send a message via an   
   Amateur Radio satellite. LituanicaSAT-1 was designed and built by students   
   at Vilnius University.   
      
   The LituanicaSAT-1 team invites reception reports, including small audio   
   files or any other data online.   
      
   ARRL-Sponsored 600 Meter Experiment Approaches 170,000 Hours of Operation   
      
   According to the most recent report on the ARRL WD2XSH experimental   
   operation on 600 meters, participants have logged 168,472 hours on the air.   
   Things are not perceptibly closer in terms of obtaining an Amateur Radio   
   allocation in that part of the spectrum, however. So far, 522 contacts have   
   been made between participating stations on 472 to 479 kHz since the   
   experiment got underway in late 2006.   
      
   "Activity has continued strong into the spring, in spite of the increasing   
   noise level and decreasing amount of night time," Experiment Coordinator   
   Fritz Raab, W1FR, reported in his Spring 2014 summary of operations,   
   released June 23. "Many transmissions used digital modes and other   
   experimental licensees were quite active."   
      
   The FCC has remained silent regarding the ARRL's November 2012 Petition for   
   Rulemaking that asked the Commission to make 472-479 kHz available to radio   
   amateurs in the US. Delegates to the 2012 World Radiocommunication   
   Conference approved a 7 kHz-wide secondary allocation for the Amateur Radio   
   Service, with a power limit of 5 W EIRP (or 1 W EIRP, depending on   
   location). The FCC has indicated that it will address the issue within the   
   context of its Notice of Proposed Rule Making in ET Docket No. 12-338, to   
   formally reflect the Final Acts of WRC 2007 in its rules.   
      
   Some regular ARRL MW experiment participants, including Raab, now are off   
   the air temporarily. Raab is moving to the Midwest, and Dean Gagnon, KK1K,   
   will take over his site in Burlington, Vermont and operate as WD2XSH/47. Pat   
   Hamel, W5THT, operating as WD2XSH/6, also is off the air for the time being.   
   In addition, after one season, Neil Klagge, W0YSE, in Utah, who had been   
   operating as WG2XSV, has shut down because he is relocating. Michael Reid,   
   WE0H, in Minnesota, who had been participating as WD2XSH/16, is off the air   
   but will return under his own Part 5 Experimental license WD2XGI, which was   
   modified to add 460 to 490 kHz.   
      
   Proponents of the MW allocation, which is variously called "600 meters" and   
   "630 meters," have been spreading the word at ham radio gatherings. Raab   
   reported that Rudy Severns, N6LF, gave a presentation on the 600 meter band   
   at the SeaPac earlier this month, while John Langridge, KB5NJD/WG2XIQ, spoke   
   at Ham-Com in June and reported strong interest a new band at 472-479 kHz.   
      
   A few countries, including Canada, France, Germany, the Philippines, and   
   Vietnam, have approved Amateur Radio bands in the vicinity of 500 kHz.   
   Canada's band is 472-479 kHz.   
      
   Raab reported that three new experimental licenses have been issued, and one   
   existing license was modified to include frequencies in the 472-479 kHz   
   range. They are WD2XGI in Minnesota, WH2XAR in Arizona, WH2XCR in Hawaii,   
   and WH2XES in Texas.   
      
   Voice of America Makes More Cuts to International Shortwave Broadcast   
   Schedule   
      
   With no public announcement or fanfare, the Voice of America has phased out   
   some 14 hours per day of international shortwave broadcast transmissions and   
   will cease broadcasting on some of its customary frequencies, effective July   
   1. Another 10 hours of daily cuts have been made to Radio Free Europe/Radio   
   Liberty (RFE/RL) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) broadcasts. The   
   Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) oversees the VOA, RFE/RL and RFA. Tom   
   Witherspoon, K4SWL, who maintains The SWLing Post Internet site, said he   
   contacted BBG spokesperson Letitia King for details on the cuts, which he   
   learned about from a leaked memorandum, "Farewell to Shortwave," from   
   recently retired VOA staff member Dan Robinson. Information King provided to   
   Witherspoon said the cuts, okayed by Congress, will save taxpayers some $1.6   
   million annually.   
      
   "US international media must optimize program delivery by market," said the   
   statement King provided. "We are ending some shortwave transmissions. We   
   continue shortwave to those countries where these transmissions are still   
   reaching significant audiences or where there are no reasonable alternative   
   platforms at a lower cost to the BBG."   
      
   King's statement, "Facts and Figures on Shortwave Broadcast Reductions,"   
   said the cuts were to "transmission platforms only," and that there would be   
   no staff reductions. "Programming continues to be available through other   
   media," her statement pointed out.   
      
   The cuts include essentially all shortwave broadcasts in English to Asia --   
   some 6.5 hours a day in all. "Outside of sub-Saharan Africa, English   
   speakers are rarely users of shortwave radio," the BBG explanation said. The   
   VOA also will end 5.5 hours per day of "Special/Learning English"   
   transmissions on shortwave, although learning English programs will continue   
   on shortwave to Africa. Read more.   
      
   MARS Teams Remember D-Day With a Present-Day Purpose   
      
   For the second year in a row, hams in the Military Auxiliary Radio System   
   (MARS) have reached overseas to demonstrate [MARS-NEW.jpg] interoperability   
   in cross-border emergencies. The June 6-7 exercise also had a historical   
   aspect -- to commemorate the role of HF radio in the D-Day landings of 1944.   
   Joining MARS stations in the US and Europe in the drill were the Canadian   
   Forces Affiliate Radio System (CFARS) and units of the British Defence   
   Ministry's Combined Cadet Force. Replicating beachhead communications on   
   D-Day, the operation called for using minimal power and simple wire antennas   
   in a friendly competition to make the most contacts. Army MARS Headquarters   
   Operations Officer David McGinnis, K7UXO, who created the drill scenario,   
   dubbed it "Operation QRPX" -- the "X" for "exercise."   
      
   The drill reflected earlier barrier-breaking during the Normandy invasion 70   
   years ago. Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force deployed three   
   "Joint Assault Signal Companies" (JASCOs) that pooled front-line ground,   
   sea, and air communicators to support the three US landings.   
      
   "In the spirit of the JASCOs, this is a global, low-power exercise, using   
   field equipment and antennas, open to military stations of each US military   
   department, Allied military stations, and their respective military   
   communications auxiliaries," said the exercise order issued by Army MARS   
   Headquarters in Arizona.   
      
   Army MARS Headquarters invited Allied military stations to join in two   
   categories. One consisted of 20 W operation within North America and Europe;   
   the other of stations running up to 100 W across the Atlantic. Participants   
   were scored according to the number of contacts plus a bonus for making   
   automatic link establishment (ALE) contacts.   
      
   A preliminary tabulation of 82 entries gave first place to Army MARS member   
   David Bly, K7DTB, of Sierra Vista, Arizona, with 43.05 points. He was   
   followed by T/Sgt Nathan Belanger of the Air National Guard's 148th Air   
   Support Operations Squadron, Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, with 35.7   
   points.   
      
   "I train our operations troops on HF comms, so I saw it as a great way to   
   reinforce my knowledge and see what we could accomplish," Belanger   
   explained. "The exercise also served as great radio operations and   
   communications etiquette training for the airman assisting me. Exercises   
   like this really give practical training and understanding of how far HF can   
   go."   
      
   Although Army MARS Region 2 Director Dick Corp, W2WC, placed third with 33   
   points, one of his hits was a home run -- a contact with military contractor   
   Tim McFadden, KB2RLB/T6TM, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Corp was running 50 W and   
   had used a bow and arrow to launch an inverted V into an 80 foot tree near   
   Albany, New York. McFadden, in turn, bagged the American Embassy in Kuwait   
   and one cadet station in the UK. Read more.   
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
   A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL   
      
   Looking further at the early 1950s, we see that amateur incentive licensing   
   (an on-again/off-again thing with the FCC) ended on February 18, 1953. That   
   same month, a QST article by W1GXJ introduced a new gadget to hams --   
   ferrite cores.   
      
   K2AH authored a QST article in March 1953 telling of what appears to be the   
   first use of a transistor in a ham transmitter, running 50 æW output on 2   
   meters to make contacts of up to 25 miles away. In the same issue, an   
   article reported the success of W4AO and W3GKP in receiving a 2 meter ham   
   signal bounced off the Moon!   
      
   W6QYT and W6POH were exploring another new frontier -- meteor-scatter   
   communication on 20 and 15 meters.   
      
   CW still reigned as king in the 1950s, which saw many articles published in   
   QST about electronic keyers. Those ran the gamut from W3FQB's tubeless   
   "Corkey" to W6SRY's "Ultimatic Keyer" with three dual triodes and seven   
   relays. In the May 1953 issue of QST W6DSR described building a 40 meter CW   
   transceiver around a BC-453 command receiver; as you tuned it, the   
   transmitter frequency moved in sync.   
      
   Effective March 28, 1953, phone operation was allowed on 15 meters.   
      
   During the early years of the Novice license, theory and code classes sprang   
   up all over. Most were taught through radio clubs, but even ham employees of   
   Allied Radio started a class, as a volunteer effort. This 1958 photo shows   
   father and son Ed Bachner, Jr, and seventh grader Ed III, at one of the   
   classes. Father Ed, now SK, became KN9OIS, and son Ed became KN9OBZ.   
      
   One facet of the Amateur Extra exam during the 1950 was amusing: The   
   transistor, invented in 1948, was in its infancy. The FCC, wanting to keep   
   up with the latest, formulated one question about transistors, which found   
   its way into various study guides and appeared in every Extra class exam for   
   a couple of years.   
      
   The May 1953 issue of QST published an article by W3FQB that remains, to   
   this day, one of my favorite QST offerings -- "The Man Who Broke the Bank."   
   Although written as a humor piece, it had the ring of futuristic hamming   
   about it. It tells the tale of a radio club with a new member whose day job   
   was working with those newfangled electronic calculators. Sweepstakes rolled   
   around, and the new ham turned in an unbelievably large score. There was   
   much heated discussion over the entry's validity, but the club finally   
   agreed to submit it to ARRL, which didn't believe it, either. After   
   cross-checking every single contact, they admitted that it was accurate and   
   correct. Two weeks later, Ed Handy, W1BDI, visited to tour the new member's   
   station to get to the bottom of the story.   
      
   That's all the room I have for this week, so visit the ARRL website, search   
   for the article, and read the whole thing. Enjoy! -- Al Brogdon, W1AB   
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
   In Brief...   
      
   Last Call for Digital Communications Conference Papers:   
   July 14 is the deadline to submit papers for the proceedings of 2014   
   ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference, September 5 - 7, in Austin,   
   Texas. You do not have to attend the conference to have your paper included   
   in the proceedings. Your paper on any technical topic relevant to amateur   
   digital communications will be published as submitted and you will retain   
   all rights. E-mail submissions no later than July 14 to Maty Weinberg,   
   KB1EIB. Send text files and images separately, and do not attach Zip files.   
   Total attachments cannot exceed 5 MB per message.   
      
   World Wide Radio Operators Foundation Sponsoring   
   WRTC-2014 Preview Webinar: A World Radiosport Team Championship 2014   
   (WRTC-2014) webinar is set for July 6 at 1800 UTC. WRTC-2014 Co-Chair Randy   
   Thompson, K5ZD, will provide a preview of the upcoming international   
   competition. He will review the week's schedule, the teams, and the   
   competitors, and suggest how you can join in the fun. A few competitors and   
   other organizers may drop in as well. Register online.   
      
   Volunteer Examiner Recognized by Governor of   
   Tennessee: ARRL VEC Volunteer Examiner Butch Smith, N4TK, has received a   
   Certificate of Appreciation from the Governor of Tennessee, on behalf of the   
   Nashville VE Team. Smith is one of the founding members of the team, which   
   has been continuously offering Amateur Radio exams since 1986. Smith   
   maintains the VE team website and delivers the "official opening remarks" at   
   test sessions. -- Thanks to Jiro Oi, KW6A   
      
   NU1AW, W100AW Will Be on the Air for IARU HF   
   Championship/WRTC-2014 Events: IARU club station NU1AW will be on the air   
   for the IARU HF Champi