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   http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2015-07-09   
      
   The ARRL Letter   
      
   July 9, 2015   
   Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME   
      
    *  Amateur Radio Becomes Primary on 1900-2000 kHz on August 6   
    *  ARRL Patrons Donate Warhol Print to League; Auction Proceeds Will Create   
       Endowment   
    *  Museum Donates Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Homebrew Equipment to ARRL   
    *  Ham Radio Volunteers Support Oklahoma Freewheel Bicycle Ride   
    *  Friedrichshafen HAM RADIO 2015 Hosts International Youth Gathering   
    *  Pioneering Remote Multi-Multi K4VV Contesting Station Closes, But   
       Project Continues   
    *  UK Government Holds Up Export of Early Amateur Radio-Related TV Archive   
    *  In Brief...   
    *  The K7RA Solar Update   
    *  Just Ahead in Radiosport   
    *  Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events   
      
      
   Amateur Radio Becomes Primary on 1900-2000 kHz on August 6   
      
   Amateur Radio will be upgraded from secondary to primary in the 1900-2000 kHz   
   segment of 160 meters in the US on August 6. That's the effective date of the   
   WRC-07 implementation Report and Order and WRC-12 Order portions of a lengthy   
   FCC document released on April 27. Both appeared in the Federal Register on   
   July 7; the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) of the same proceeding was   
   published in the Federal Register on July 2. The Radiolocation Service (RLS)   
   has been primary in the band segment. The FCC also made a secondary allocation   
   of 135.7-137.8 kHz to the Amateur Service, but this band will not be available   
   until service rules have been adopted.   
      
   "The FCC action with respect to 1900-2000 kHz reduces the possibility that we   
   might suffer in the future from new Radiolocation Service deployments," said   
   ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ. "On the other hand, we will have to put up with   
   radio buoys that have been operating illegally in the band but that now have   
   been 'regularized' by the Commission."   
      
   The FCC said that while it had believed there was no non-Federal RLS use of   
   the 1900-2000 kHz band, the record indicated there are maritime users,   
   including the US "high seas" migratory species fishing fleets, making use of   
   radio buoys in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans as well as within 200 nautical   
   miles of the coast. It did not identify these users in the WRC-07 proceeding,   
   however, "because they did not appear in its licensing database," it said.   
      
   "Apparently, fishing vessels have operated radio buoys in US waters under the   
   belief that a ship station license issued under Part 80 of the Commission's   
   rules permits operation of the buoys," the FCC Order continued. The FCC said a   
   Part 80 license applies only to stations in the maritime services and does not   
   authorize operation of radio stations requiring a Part 90 license, "such as   
   the radio buoys at issue here."   
      
   The FCC said its action regarding 1900-2000 kHz supports increased use of 160   
   meters as reported by commenters in the proceeding and provides "spectrum   
   support" for Amateur Radio emergency communication. The FCC said its action   
   also offers the Amateur Service "the long-term security that primary status   
   entails."   
      
   In removing the primary RLS allocation, the FCC added a new footnote to the US   
   Table of Allocations that provides for radio buoy operations in the 1900-2000   
   kHz segment on a primary basis in Region 2 (the Americas) and on a secondary   
   basis in Region 3, which limits operations to the open sea.   
      
   The FCC also concluded that it is in the public interest to establish a   
   secondary Amateur Radio allocation at 135.7-137.8 kHz -- 2200 meters, although   
   the new band is not yet authorized for amateur use. "In accordance with the   
   WRC-07 Final Acts, the Commission also restricted use of this secondary   
   Amateur Service allocation to amateur stations transmitting a maximum   
   equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) of 1 W." The Commission is   
   inviting comments until August 31 on how it should structure operational rules   
   for that allocation as well as for a proposed 472-479 kHz allocation, 630   
   meters. Read more.   
      
      
   ARRL Patrons Donate Warhol Print to League; Auction Proceeds Will Create   
   Endowment   
      
   ARRL patron and well-known Hollywood producer Dave Bell, W6AQ, and his wife   
   Sam, W6QLT (she's a quilter), have donated a signed Andy Warhol print to the   
   ARRL. The artwork -- "Myths: Superman 1981" -- will be sold at auction and the   
   proceeds used to create "The Dave Bell, W6AQ, Endowment Fund" to benefit the   
   League. The print's value has been estimated to be in the vicinity of   
   $150,000. Bell said he wanted to encourage other radio amateurs who might own   
   valuable artworks to consider donating them to ARRL.   
      
   "I suspect that I'm not the only amateur art collector among the ham radio   
   population," Bell told ARRL recently. "I'm not sure that it's ever occurred to   
   any of these hams that one way to make a donation is to give a painting to the   
   League."   
      
   Bell, a ham since 1951 and a past chairman of the ARRL Public Relations   
   Committee, acquired the Superman print in the early 1990s, and it hung in his   
   Hollywood office for years. "I was looking around for a Warhol, and a friend   
   of mine was an art dealer, and he came across this 'Superman' print and he   
   gave me a very good price on it, so I bought it," Bell said. He once owned   
   another Warhol, which he gave to Hiram College, his alma mater.   
      
   Hollywood movie producer David Wolper sold the print to Bell, who said it had   
   hung in Wolper's screening room for a decade or so. During his own working   
   years, Bell was a television and movie producer. He started TV's "Unsolved   
   Mysteries" and also produced some movies ("Nadia," "The Long Walk Home").   
   Amateur Radio was the focus of some of his productions, including "The World   
   of Amateur Radio" and "Amateur Radio Today." In 2003 the League presented Bell   
   with its first Lifetime Achievement Award, for his work on films and videos   
   about Amateur Radio. "I had an entertaining career," he punned. He was also   
   the Dayton Hamvention(R) Amateur of the Year in 1984. His book World's Best   
   Hobby, available from ARRL and elsewhere, details his professional and Amateur   
   Radio lives.   
      
   One reason he purchased the Superman print in particular, he said, was that he   
   could imagine an Amateur Radio handheld in the Man of Steel's outstretched   
   hand. "He should be 'Superham,'" Bell quipped.   
      
   ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, announced the donation in May at an ARRL   
   donors' reception in conjunction with Dayton Hamvention(R). "Dave and Sam have   
   always supported ARRL most generously, and this latest gift to the Endowment   
   Fund will ensure their support never stops," President Craigie told the   
   gathering. "I would like to say 'thank you' for your thoughtful support. You   
   are truly a 'Superman' to ARRL!" Read more.   
      
      
   Museum Donates Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Homebrew Equipment to ARRL   
      
   The Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut (VRCMCT) has   
   donated equipment designed by former ARRL staffer Doug Demaw, W1FB (SK), to   
   ARRL Headquarters for exhibit. One of the most widely published technical   
   writers in Amateur Radio, DeMaw -- who earlier held the call signs W1CER and   
   W8HHS -- was on the HQ staff for 18 years, from 1965 to 1983, and he served as   
   Senior Technical Editor and Technical Department Manager from 1970 to 1983.   
   Beginning in 1970, he engineered a shift in emphasis toward solid-state design   
   in QST and in The ARRL Handbook. After retiring in 1983, DeMaw founded Oak   
   Hills Research, but he continued to write construction articles for QST as   
   well as books, including W1FB's QRP Notebook and W1FB's Antenna Notebook.   
      
   "The ARRL has a significant collection of Amateur Radio-related historical   
   documents and equipment," said ARRL Senior Test Engineer, Bob Allison, WB1GCM.   
   "Besides the 'Evolution of Amateur Radio Equipment' exhibit at the Lab, we   
   have a 'Made in the Lab' exhibit. Doug DeMaw and his Lab staff built equipment   
   that many radio amateurs duplicated at home. They are an important part of the   
   history of Amateur Radio and ARRL."   
      
   It's still unclear just how the museum ended up with its collection of DeMaw   
   project prototypes. With the exception of his famous "Tuna Tin" QRP   
   transmitter, which was detailed in the May 1976 issue of QST and also appeared   
   on its cover, DeMaw retained his projects after the articles about them had   
   been published, in line with the HQ custom of that era. When DeMaw died in   
   1997, though, the whereabouts of many of his construction projects was   
   unknown. Recently, Allison spotted something that looked familiar in a box of   
   parts at the VRCMCT. Allison, who is a museum board member and ARRL historical   
   collection curator, instantly recognized a receiver that DeMaw had featured in   
   a series of articles.   
      
   After some digging, more boxes containing other DeMaw construction projects   
   were discovered. Apparently, an anonymous donor at some point had dropped off   
   the items, some bearing Oak Hills Research stickers, at the museum. During an   
   impromptu meeting conducted by Museum Director John Ellsworth, the museum   
   board -- all ARRL members -- agreed that DeMaw's work belonged at ARRL   
   Headquarters.   
      
   "We're in the preservation business too," said Ellsworth. "We're glad to make   
   this donation to ARRL, which will preserve and display DeMaw's work." Read   
   more.   
      
      
   Ham Radio Volunteers Support Oklahoma Freewheel Bicycle Ride   
      
   A small group of Amateur Radio operators and volunteers supported the Oklahoma   
   Freewheel -- a cross-state bicycle tour -- June 7-13. Kenneth Baucum, KG5CBM,   
   led the Amateur Radio contingent.   
      
   "This year, Freewheel started in Hollis, Oklahoma, and finished in Fort Smith,   
   Arkansas," Baucum said. "Bicyclists completed a tour of about 500 miles in 7   
   days, completing an average of 65 miles each day." He said some of those in   
   the ham radio contingent are also ARES volunteers.   
      
   Baucum said SAG support driver responsibilities included carrying water to   
   replenish rest stops and rider water bottles on the route, as well as having   
   spare tubes and tire pumps on hand to fix flat tires. "Cyclists would request   
   support by flagging down a support vehicle, or calling the support number," he   
   said. Baucum then would relay messages, as appropriate, to the driver nearest   
   the incident.   
      
   "Common issues included flat tires, slipped chains, and shifters needing   
   adjustment," Baucum said. "A few calls for medical support were handled by   
   providing first aid, water, and shade or air conditioning for riders in   
   distress."   
      
   Oklahoma Freewheel expressed its appreciation to the radio amateurs who   
   volunteered and to for the support of local radio clubs and the use of their   
   repeaters. Read more. -- Thanks to Kenneth Baucum, KG5CBM, and Lloyd Colston,   
   KC5FM   
      
      
   Friedrichshafen HAM RADIO 2015 Hosts International Youth Gathering   
      
   The just-ended HAM RADIO 2015 in Friedrichshafen, Germany hosted an   
   international gathering of Amateur Radio youth. HAM RADIO sponsors reported   
   that more than 17,000 visitors attended the combined HAM RADIO and the Maker   
   World 2015 events -- about the same as in 2014. HAM RADIO celebrated its 40th   
   year this year and attracted visitors from around the world to the shores of   
   Lake Constance.   
      
   "HAM RADIO 2015 went really well," said Steffen Sch”ppe, DL7ATE, chairman of   
   the German Amateur Radio Club (DARC), which co-sponsored HAM RADIO and marked   
   its 65th anniversary this year. "It met our expectations in every way. We are   
   very pleased with the supporting program, such as teacher training, the Ham   
   Rally, and the presentations."   
      
   On Saturday, June 27, German Youth Coordinator Annette Coenen, DL6SAK, and   
   IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group Chair Lisa Leenders, PA2LS, jointly hosted   
   the International Youth Meeting. IARU Region 1 sponsors a "Youngsters On The   
   Air" (YOTA) program -- a 1-week summer youth exchange program involving 75   
   youthful radio amateurs and prospective hams from 22 countries -- held this   
   year in Italy. Region 1 also sponsors a YOTA Month program each December.   
      
   One main discussion topic concerned the difficulty of obtaining an Amateur   
   Radio license in some countries. Roadblocks cited included fees, minimum age,   
   exam locations and levels, and availability of learning materials.   
      
   Presentations included the introduction of the new Youth Contest Program in   
   IARU Region 1, and the youth contesting initiative at 9A1A and 9A1RBZ -- the   
   "Amateur Radio in School" station of the Croatian DX Club. An Amateur Radio   
   course has been integrated into the elective courses at the Technical School   
   Rudera Boskovica in Croatia.   
      
   Each year there is a beginner's class, and students who pass can participate   
   in 9A1RBZ activities. Since 2012, some 165 youngsters have completed the   
   class. Aspiring young contesters are paired with experienced contesters at   
   9A1A. In 2014, nine youngsters joined the world-class 9A1A team for the CQ   
   World Wide RTTY contest. By this year, 39 percent of the Croatian DX Club   
   members were between the ages of 16 and 19.   
      
   "Youngsters are not interested only in mobile and Internet communications,"   
   the club concluded. "If you approach them in an appropriate way, they are   
   recognizing Amateur Radio as a very interesting hobby." 9A1A will host an   
   international youth contesting team twice a year starting in 2016.   
      
   The IARU R1 Youth Contest Program plans to pair teams of about six visiting   
   young operators with about six home country operators at well-known contest   
   stations throughout Europe. It will get under way this fall with a   
   four-contest 2015-2016 schedule.   
      
   Several PowerPoint and synchronized-audio keynote lectures from HAM RADIO 2015   
   are available on the Documentary Archive website.   
      
      
   Pioneering Remote Multi-Multi K4VV Contesting Station Closes, But Project   
   Continues   
      
   Due to health issues facing Jack Hammett, K4VV, the Virginia mountaintop   
   station bearing his call sign that pioneered totally remote multioperator,   
   multitransmitter (MM) contesting, has been shut down. The equipment is being   
   dismantled and sold off. The K4VV remote multi-multi contest station project   
   team won't be disbanding, however. Instead, it will transition from "Team   
   K4VV" to "Team W0YR," operating from another Virginia station some 18 miles   
   from the K4VV site, said Mike Lonneke, W0YR.   
      
   "This past winter's brutal conditions caused serious damage to antennas on   
   three of the towers at the big K4VV contest station, sitting atop Virginia's   
   Catoctin Ridge," Lonneke told ARRL. He said Hammett, a veteran contester, had   
   built K4VV into a contest superstation, but more recent health problems had   
   prevented him from being actively involved in the station's activities. The   
   20-member Team K4VV has been operating Hammett's station for the past 5 years   
   at his invitation, and the contest enthusiasts turned K4VV into the first   
   completely remote MM contesting superstation.   
      
   With no operators in the K4VV shack, Team K4VV finished 10th in the ARRL   
   International DX SSB this past March, with a claimed score of 5.3 million   
   points. At the end of March, the team managed an 11th place claimed finish in   
   the CQ World Wide WPX SSB, operating as AC3U, racking up 14.3 million points.   
      
   "Then, things came apart," Lonneke said. "The drive mechanism on K4VV's Super   
   Bertha failed, boom guys on the top four element 40 meter OWA Yagi worked   
   loose and hung down, endangering other antennas, and several other serious   
   problems came to light." He said Team K4VV members were ready to carry out the   
   repairs, but when Lonneke approached Hammett to have the work done, he learned   
   that, in view of Hammett's worsening health, his family had decided to close   
   the station.   
      
   With its new name and renewed spirit, Team W0YR has begun planning to resume   
   its totally remote MM contesting activities in earnest this September. W0YR   
   recently took delivery of a new, additional tower. In June, Lonneke upgraded   
   his station's vital Internet connection to equal the data throughput speeds   
   that had been available at K4VV.   
      
   "The team is getting ready to work the IARU HF World Champsionship in order to   
   'wring out' any faults," Lonneke told ARRL this week. "Even though there is no   
   MM category in the IARU, we will run MM and turn in a checklog." Read more. --   
   Thanks to Mike Lonneke, W0YR   
      
      
   UK Government Holds Up Export of Early Amateur Radio-Related TV Archive   
      
   Most encyclopedias say that the first transatlantic television transmissions   
   took place via the Telstar I satellite in 1962, but TV images actually crossed   
   the Atlantic in the late 1920s via an Amateur Radio transmitter, according to   
   historical accounts. An archive of documents and other material related to   
   that event from television pioneer John Logie Baird and his colleague Benjamin   
   Clapp, [G]2KZ, is at risk of being exported, and the government doesn't want   
   to see it leave Britain. Clapp's 2 kW transmitter was used to send the crude   
   images to a receiving station near New York City, and the archive includes   
   some of his Amateur Radio logbooks as well as a hand telegraph key. UK Culture   
   Minister John Vaizey has declined to issue an export license in an effort to   
   prevent the historic archive from leaving the UK.   
      
   According to a UK government statement, Baird -- a Scottish engineer -- and   
   Clapp first transmitted the television images over telephone lines from   
   Baird's laboratory in London to Clapp's house in Surrey. From there, Clapp's   
   transmitter, identified by his Amateur Radio call sign, was used to send the   
   images across the Atlantic, where Clapp was among those on hand in Hartsdale,   
   New York, to receive them.   
      
   "Man's vision had spanned the ocean; transatlantic television was a   
   demonstrated reality, and one more great dream of science was on the way to   
   realization," said a February 9, 1928, account in The New York Times that   
   cited an Associated Press reporter who witnessed the accomplishment. The Times   
   article listed the operator of the "vision sound" receiving station as R.M.   
   Hart, 2CVJ. The Times put Baird's feat on a par with Marconi's legendary   
   transatlantic reception of the Morse code letter "s" many years earlier.   
      
   The archive, valued at more than $50,000, consists of Clapp's radio logbooks   
   for the US receiving station as well as for his own [G]2KZ amateur station,   
   plus "related paper ephemera," and a so-called "Phonovision" disc that   
   contains an early video recording, made in the fall of 1927, depicting images   
   of Baird's ventriloquist's dummy, "Stookie Bill." The Phonovision disc is   
   believed to be the oldest surviving video recording. Baird had demonstrated   
   his electro-mechanical television system to members of the Royal Institution a   
   year earlier.   
      
   Vaizey based his decision to bar the possible export of the items on a   
   recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and   
   Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA), administered by Arts Council England.   
   "The Columbia disc and the notes connected with this world first of a   
   transantlantic video recording represents British ingenuity and invention at   
   the highest level," said RCEWA Member Christopher Rowell. "The notes contain   
   the first ever use of the acronym 'TV' for television. The excitement of the   
   achievement rests in these objects, which we hope will remain in this country   
   as a permanent testament to Logie Baird and his team. Their departure abroad   
   would also be a serious loss to scholarship." Read more.   
      
      
   In Brief...   
      
   ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference Seeks Papers: The 34th annual   
   ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC) invites technical papers for   
   presentation at this year's conference. The 2015 DCC will take place October   
   9-11 in Chicago. Technical papers are solicited for presentation at DCC and   
   publication in the Conference Proceedings, published by ARRL. Presentation at   
   the conference is not required for publication. Submit papers by August 17 to   
   Maty Weinberg, KB1EIB, at ARRL (or mail to Maty Weinberg, ARRL, 225 Main St,   
   Newington, CT 06111). Papers will be published exactly as submitted, and   
   authors will retain all rights. Early conference registration closes on   
   September 19.   
      
   Get Ready for the Golden Packet Event! APRS Developer Bob Bruninga, WB4APR,   
   has invited radio amateurs to take part in the annual Golden Packet Event on   
   Saturday, July 18. Begun in 2009, the event is a demonstration of the ability   
   to relay text messages via the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS(R))   
   along the length of the Appalachian Trail -- all without the use of the   
   Internet. All participants need is an APRS digipeating transceiver and an APRS   
   handheld transceiver for backup messaging.   
      
   CAMSAT Renames, Postpones Six-Satellite Launch: CAMSAT has announced new   
   nomenclature for the six satellites that it planned to launch this summer.   
   CAS-3A through F have been re-designated as the XW-2 (Hope-2) amateur   
   satellite system -- XW-2A through F. CAMSAT said this week that all six   
   satellites have completed environmental testing and are currently undergoing   
   burn-in testing. The satellites will be moved to the launch site in   
   mid-August, but the launch has been postponed from mid-July until early   
   September. The six satellites are equipped with substantially identical   
   Amateur Radio payloads -- a U/V mode linear transponder, a CW telemetry beacon   
   and an AX.25 19.2k/9.6k baud GMSK telemetry downlink, a CAMSAT announcement   
   said in May. CAMSAT said that each Amateur Radio complement has the same   
   technical characteristics, but will operate on different 70 centimeter uplink   
   and 2 meter downlink frequencies.   
      
   MRHS "Night of Nights 2015" Set for July 12: The Marine Radio Historical   
   Society (MRHS) will hold its annual "Night of Nights" event, in which historic   
   maritime CW stations such as KPH (photo) and WLO return to the air for a few   
   hours on July 13 UTC (July 12 in US time zones) along with some US Coast Guard   
   stations. The event commemorates the days when coast station and shipboard   
   radio operators transmitted their message traffic via Morse code. A pair of   
   Amateur Radio stations -- K6KPH and W4WLO -- will be active on CW as well, and   
   QSL cards will be sent to those who copy the text of the maritime stations' CW   
   signals or work the ham stations. The coast stations shut down in the late   
   1990s, but the MRHS has resurrected KPH and attempts to preserve the history   
   of the era.   
      
   AMSAT 2015 Symposium Invites Papers: AMSAT has issued the first call for   
   papers for its Annual Meeting and Space Symposium, set for October 16-18 in   
   Dayton, Ohio. Proposals for papers, symposium presentations and poster   
   presentations are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite   
   community. AMSAT requests a tentative title no later than August 1. Final copy   
   must be submitted by September 15 for inclusion in the printed proceedings.   
   Abstracts and papers should be sent to Dan Schultz, N8FGV. The 2015 AMSAT   
   Space Symposium and Annual Meeting will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in   
   downtown Dayton. -- Thanks to AMSAT News Service   
      
   International DX Association Encourages Humanitarian Dimension to DXpeditions:   
   The International DX Association (INDEXA) has announced that it intends to   
   make additional funding available to DXpedition groups that carry out   
   pre-approved plans to provide humanitarian aid and services that benefit the   
   communities they visit. The incentive can be as much as an additional 15   
   percent to any financial support INDEXA offers the DXpedition. "INDEXA   
   believes that many of the DXpeditions we support have a unique opportunity to   
   perform humanitarian activities which will improve the lives of those   
   indigenous people and communities they encounter on a DXpedition," INDEXA said   
   in a June 29 news release. "Humanitarian activities come in a variety of forms   
   including education, medical, and dental assistance, infrastructure   
   improvements, and physical donations of goods and other services." INDEXA said   
   there are many ways a DXpedition team or individual team members could   
   "positively impact the lives of the people of the community or country the   
   DXpedition team is visiting." -- Thanks to The Daily DX   
      
      
   The K7RA Solar Update   
      
   Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Solar activity perked up over the July 2-8   
   period, with average daily sunspot numbers increasing from 35.9 to 109.1,   
   compared to the previous 7 days. Likewise, average daily solar flux increased   
   from 100.7 to 123.2. Daily sunspot numbers were below 100 for June 16-July 3,   
   bottoming out at 25 on June 27.   
      
   A moderate geomagnetic storm July 4-5 was caused by a solar wind stream. The   
   mid-latitude A index from Fredericksburg, Virginia, for July 4-6 was 21, 16,   
   and 9. The planetary A index, based on observations from a number of Northern   
   Hemisphere magnetometers, was 19, 25, and 10 for the same days, and the   
   college A index from Fairbanks, Alaska was 13, 31, and 18. The July 8 outlook   
   predicted solar flux over the following 7 days at 121.1.   
      
   You can check how the daily 45-day forecast of solar flux has done   
   historically. Click "Download this file."   
      
   The latest prediction has solar flux at 125 for July 9-11; 122 on July 12; 120   
   on July 13, 115 on July 14-15; 125 on July 16; 130 on July 17-18; then 125,   
   115, 110, and 105 for July 19-22, then 100 on July 23-26; 105, 110, and 112   
   for July 27-29; 115 for July 30-31; 120 on August 1, and 125 on August 2-4.   
   Solar flux then peaks at 130 for August 10-14, then goes to 100 after August   
   18.   
      
   The planetary A index predictions are 5, 12, 25, and 20 for July 9-12; 8 on   
   July 13-14; 5 on July 15-17; 8 on July 18-19; 5 for July 20-25; 8 on July 26,   
   5 for July 27-30; then 18, 25, and 12 for July 31-August 2; 5 for August 3-5;   
   then 20 and 25 on August 6-7; 8 on August 8-9, and 5 for August 10-13.   
      
   For the near term, USAF and NOAA predict the geomagnetic field at quiet levels   
   on July 9, quiet to active levels July 10, and unsettled to minor storm levels   
   on day July 11.   
      
   In Friday's bulletin look for reports from readers, 6 meter updates, and   
   updated forecasts. Send me your reports and observations.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   Just Ahead in Radiosport   
      
    *  July 11 -- FISTS Summer Sprint   
    *  July 11-12 -- IARU HF World Championship (CW, SSB)   
    *  July 11-12 -- SKCC Weekend Sprintathon   
    *  July 12 -- CQC Great Colorado Gold Rush (CW)   
    *  July 15 -- RSGB 80 Meter Club Championship (SSB)   
    *  July 15-16 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test   
    *  July 16 -- NAQCC CW Sprint   
    *  July 17 -- NCCC RTTY Sprint   
    *  July 17 -- NCCC Sprint   
      
   See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events   
      
    *  July 10-11 -- Northern Florida Section Convention, Milton, Florida   
    *  July 13-16 -- Mobile Amateur Radio Awards Club Convention, The Villages,   
       Florida   
    *  July 17-19 -- Montana State Convention, East Glacier, Montana   
    *  July 23-26 -- Central States VHF Society Conference, Westminster,   
       Colorado   
    *  July 24-25 -- Oklahoma Section Convention, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma   
    *  July 31-August 2 -- Rocky Mountain Division Convention, Bryce Canyon,   
       Utah   
    *  August 1 -- Great Lakes Division Convention, Columbus, Ohio   
    *  August 7-8 -- South Texas Section Convention, Austin, Texas   
    *  August 7-9 -- New Mexico State Convention, Albuquerque, New Mexico   
    *  August 7-9 -- Pacific Northwest DX Convention, Everett, Washington   
    *  August 15-16 -- Alabama State Convention, Huntsville, Alabama   
    *  August 16 -- Kansas State Convention, Salina, Kansas   
    *  August 21-23 -- New England Division Convention, Boxborough,   
       Massachusetts   
    *  August 22 -- West Virginia State Convention, Weston, West Virginia   
    *  August 30 -- Western Pennsylvania Section Convention, New Kensington,   
       Pennsylvania   
    *  September 5-6 -- Roanoke Division Convention, Shelby, North Carolina   
    *  September 11-12 -- W9DXCC, Schaumburg, Illinois   
    *  September 11-13 -- Southwestern Division Convention, Torrance,   
       California   
    *  September 12 -- Virginia Section Convention, Virginia Beach, Virginia   
    *  September 26 -- Washington State Convention, Spokane Valley, Washington   
      
   Find conventions and hamfests in your area.   
      
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   )\/(ark   
      
   ... Is he allowed a plea of insanity for a parking ticket?   
   ---   
    * Origin:  (1:3634/12.73)