The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
January 20, 2011
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- + FCC News: ARRL Files Petition for Partial Reconsideration with FCC
Regarding Vanity, Club Call Signs
- + BPL: IEEE EMC Society Standards Development Committee Withdraws as
Cosponsor of IEEE BPL EMC Standard
- + On the Air: Logbook of the World Now Supports VUCC
- Amateur Radio in Space: NASA Seeks Amateur Radio Operators' Aid to
Listen for Nanosatellite's Beacon Signal
- + ARRL Board of Directors to Meet This Weekend
- + Focus on Youth: ARRL Seeks New Youth Editor
- + ARRL Foundation Scholarship Applications and Transcripts Due
February 1
- Solar Update
- This Week on the Radio
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News
> + FCC NEWS: ARRL FILES PETITION FOR PARTIAL RECONSIDERATION WITH
FCC REGARDING VANITY, CLUB CALL SIGNS
In October 2010, the FCC released a Report and Order, detailing
rules changes to the vanity call sign system and call signs for Amateur
Radio clubs. These new rules are scheduled to go into effect on
February 14. The ARRL found that most changes made by the R&O are
"reasonable codifications and clarifications of existing policies." But
several amended Sections of Part 97 -- including §§ 97.5 and 97.19 --
are unclear. As such, the ARRL filed a Petition for Partial
Reconsideration, urging the FCC to reconsider and modify these portions
"in order to reflect the intent of the Report and Order."
In the R&O, the FCC took into consideration some of the ARRL's
comments, but not all. The ARRL found it "disappointing" that the
Commission refused to consider in this proceeding "a series of
reasonable proposals aimed at increasing the available pools of Group A
call signs." The ARRL, in its comments, asked the FCC to consider
several changes that could be made "that would increase the number of
desirable call signs available for assignment, both sequentially and in
the vanity call sign program, and which would provide greater
flexibility in the temporary assignment of special-event call signs in
the Amateur Service." Read more here
.
> + BPL: IEEE EMC SOCIETY STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE WITHDRAWS
AS COSPONSOR OF IEEE BPL EMC STANDARD
Citing concerns about parts of its technical content, the IEEE EMC
Society Standards Development Committee (SDCom) has voted to withdraw
as the cosponsor of IEEE Standard for Power Line Communication
Equipment -- Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Requirements --
Testing and Measurement Methods (IEEE Standard 1775-2010). According to
ARRL Laboratory Manager and BPL guru Ed Hare, W1RFI, this decision came
about soon after the IEEE Standards Board approved publication of the
standard over the technical concerns of the SDCom. Hare is an SDCom
member and is a member of the IEEE Working Group that developed the
standard. Read more here
.
> + ON THE AIR: LOGBOOK OF THE WORLD NOW SUPPORTS VUCC
ARRL's Logbook of the World (LoTW) -- an online system for amateurs
to confirm two-way contacts that can be used for various ARRL awards --
has been upgraded to support awards based on Maidenhead grid squares,
such as VUCC and the Fred Fish Memorial Award. To take advantage of the
new features, you need to log in to your LoTW account. VUCC is an
open-ended award in that hams can work on throughout their lifetime,
just like DXCC. But, like the Worked All States award, the VUCC rules
require all the contacts to be made from a defined area. For VHF and
UHF QSOs on 1296 MHz and below, this distance must be within 200 km.
For SHF awards, contacts must be made from a single location, defined
as within a 300 meter diameter circle. As such, the VUCC support in
LoTW allows you to make the rule -- or rules -- necessary to find the
QSLs in LoTW that satisfy the VUCC rules. Don't have an LoTW account?
It's easy to sign up. Read more here
.
> AMATEUR RADIO IN SPACE: NASA SEEKS AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS' AID TO
LISTEN FOR NANOSATELLITE'S BEACON SIGNAL
On Wednesday, January 19 at 1630 UTC, engineers at Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama confirmed that the NanoSail-D
nanosatellite ejected from Fast Affordable Scientific and Technology
Satellite (FASTSAT). According to NASA, the ejection event occurred
spontaneously; the ejection of NanoSail-D also has been confirmed by
ground-based satellite tracking assets. NASA is asking radio amateurs
to listen on 437.270 MHz for the signal and verify NanoSail-D is
operating. Hams should send information to the NanoSail-D dashboard. As
of Thursday, January 20, the NanoSail-D dashboard website is reporting
that beacon data has been received, but NASA still wants amateurs to
track and report the signals. Read more here
.
> + ARRL BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO MEET THIS WEEKEND
The ARRL Board of Directors will hold its 2011 Annual Meeting on
January 21-22 in Windsor, Connecticut. Directors, Vice Directors and
ARRL Board Officers will be in attendance. The meeting will be preceded
on Thursday, January 20 with meetings of the Board's Administration and
Finance Committee and Programs and Services Committee.
The Administration and Finance Committee is chaired by Northwestern
Division Director Jim Fenstermaker, K9JF. This committee reviews and
makes recommendations for all administrative and financial matters of
the League. Some of these duties include recommending the annual budget
to the Board, making recommendations in regard to staff management and
monitoring investment of ARRL funds. "The Administration and Finance
Committee is involved in overseeing the 'business side' of Amateur
Radio from the standpoint of the ARRL," Fenstermaker explained. "We are
committed to ensuring that members' needs are being served while being
fiscally prudent. This requires an understanding of the financial
structure of the ARRL while, at the same time, working with the
administration to implement cost effective and relevant programs. We
are in a sound financial position and work to continue this status.
Thanks to our headquarters staff for focusing on the trade-offs needed
to foster this stability."
The Programs and Services Committee (PSC), headed by Atlantic Division
Director Bill Edgar, N3LLR, studies, advises and makes recommendations
for all programs and services provided by the League, including
operating activities and the Field Organization. "In January, the
Committee recommends to the Board who will receive various ARRL awards,
such as the International Humanitarian Award and the George Hart
Distinguished Public Service Award," Edgar said. "This year, we split
the committee into two sub-committees. These two sub-committees are the
Radiosport sub-committee and the Field Services sub-committee. The
Radiosport sub-committee reviews the ARRL's contesting and awards
programs, while the Field Organization sub-committee reviews the ARRL
Field Organization, such as public service, education and other similar
programs.
Edgar said that the PSC also oversees four advisory committees: the
Contest Advisory Committee (CAC
), the DX Advisory Committee
(DXAC ), the Emergency
Communications Advisory Committee (ECAC
)
and the VHF UHF Advisory Committee (VUAC
). Each Division Director
appoints a representative from their Division to participate on each
advisory committee. To serve on an advisory committee, the
representative must well-versed and respected in their particular area
of expertise."
The agenda for the 2011 Annual Meeting is available here
. Per the Articles of
Association the ARRL
Board of Directors meets twice a year, in January and July.
> + FOCUS ON YOUTH: ARRL SEEKS NEW YOUTH EDITOR
The ARRL has a proud tradition of promoting youth involvement in
Amateur Radio. One of the ways we involve young people in our hobby is
through our Youth Editor. This person is responsible for writing a
monthly column for the ARRL website about youth and youth activities
within the Amateur Radio Service. We are looking for a new Youth
Editor. Do you know of someone who would be a good fit for this
position? Maybe they hold leadership positions either in their Section
or in their local club. The candidate must be an ARRL member and must
keep their membership current throughout their tenure in the position.
He or she will be required to write a monthly column of at least 1000
words and provide a minimum of three pictures (with captions) for each.
For this, they will receive a small stipend for each column. Read more
here .
> + ARRL FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS AND TRANSCRIPTS DUE
FEBRUARY 1
Students planning to apply for the more than 60 scholarships
administered by the ARRL Foundation should be aware that the deadline
is fast approaching. All materials -- including transcripts -- are due
February 1. Beginning this year, applicants must submit all material
electronically. No paper forms will be accepted. Read more here
.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes a Sun
" Cook, K7RA, reports: The
average daily sunspot numbers dropped from 50 to 38 on January 6-12 and
now 21.3 on January 13-19. The average weekly solar flux over the same
three periods dropped from 89.5 to 83.8 to 80.4 over this past week.
The latest solar flux prediction shows a value of 82 for January 20-26
and 88 on January 27-30, followed by 87, 85, 85 and 84 on January
31-February 3. Geomagnetic predictions have the planetary A index at 5
over the next couple of weeks, except for a value of 7 on January 22
and February 2-4. Look for more information -- including updated
indices, an article on a 3D model of the ionosphere and information on
an online propagation prediction program using VOACAP for generating
coverage maps and point-to-point MUF data -- on the ARRL website on
Friday, January 21. For more information concerning radio propagation,
visit the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page
. This week's "Tad
Cookism" is brought to you by Stephen Schwartz's For Good
from the musical Wicked
.
> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO
This week:
- January 21 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- January 22-23 -- BARTG RTTY Sprint
- January 22-24 -- ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes
- January 26 -- SKCC Sprint
- January 27 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint
Next week:
- January 28-30 -- CQ 160 Meter Contest (CW)
- January 29-30 -- REF Contest (CW); BA DX Contest (SSB); SPAR Winter
Field Day
- January 30-31 -- Classic Exchange (CW)
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
- January 28-29 -- ARRL Mississippi State Convention
, Jackson, Mississippi
- February 5 -- ARRL South Carolina Section Convention
,
North Charleston, South Carolina; ARRL Virginia State Convention
,
Richmond, Virginia
- February 11-13 -- ARRL Southeastern Division Convention
,
Orlando, Florida
- February 18-19 -- ARRL Arizona State Convention
,
Yuma, Arizona
- February 26 -- ARRL Vermont State Convention
,
Colchester, Vermont
To find a convention or hamfest near you, click here
.
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