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   http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2015-07-30   
      
   The ARRL Letter   
      
   July 30, 2015   
   Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME   
      
    *  The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 Gains Momentum, Cosponsor List Tops   
       90   
    *  ARRL Files More "Grow Light" Ballast Complaints with FCC   
    *  AMSAT-NA, AMSAT-DL, and Virginia Tech Announce Potential Phase 3E   
       Opportunity   
    *  FCC Sustains $22,000 Fine for Egregious On-Air Behavior   
    *  FCC Proposes Fining Georgia Ham $1000 for Failing to Identify   
    *  Amateur Radio Vanity Call Sign Fee to Disappear in September   
    *  HAARP Facility Will Be Transferred to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks   
       on August 11   
    *  World Scout Jamboree Participants Set to Speak with ISS via Amateur   
       Radio   
    *  Past IARU Region 3 Director, WARC-79 Delegate Fred Johnson, ZL2AMJ, SK   
    *  In Brief...   
    *  The K7RA Solar Update   
    *  Getting It Right!   
    *  Just Ahead in Radiosport   
    *  Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   ARRL E-Mail, LoTW, Online Store Will Be Down Overnight, July 31-August 1!   
   Logbook of The World (LoTW), e-mail to and from ARRL Headquarters, and the   
   ARRL Online Store will be down from Friday, July 31, at 8 PM EDT (0000 UTC on   
   August 1) until 8 AM EDT (1200 UTC on August 1) in order to complete necessary   
   maintenance. All incoming e-mail will be queued for later delivery. The ARRL   
   website will be operating normally. We apologize for any inconvenience.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 Gains Momentum, Cosponsor List Tops 90   
      
   Keep those letters coming! According to the ARRL Regulatory Affairs Office,   
   more than 4300 letters have been received from League members since the   
   Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 grassroots campaign began in March. All urge   
   their members in both branches of Congress to become cosponsors of the bill.   
   More letters are in the queue, and the correspondence seems to be having the   
   desired effect. As of July 29, H.R. 1301 had attracted 94 cosponsors, with 8   
   signing on since mid-July. The League has a combined web page to provide a   
   clearinghouse for all information on the identical pieces of legislation now   
   in play in the US House and Senate. The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 would   
   direct the FCC to extend its rules relating to reasonable accommodation of   
   Amateur Service communications to private land-use restrictions. The FCC has   
   been reluctant to extend those legal protections without direction from   
   Congress.   
      
   ARRL Headquarters has forwarded 3433 letters to 402 individual US House   
   members, seeking their cosponsorship of H.R. 1301. The nascent campaign on   
   behalf of the identical US Senate bill, S. 1685, has so far garnered more than   
   900 letters destined to 77 individual US Senate members. To help maintain the   
   momentum, many ARRL Division Directors have been taking a letter-generating   
   tool to conventions and hamfests.   
      
   Sending letters urging members of Congress to sign on as cosponsors of The   
   Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 via ARRL allows Headquarters staff to keep   
   track of how many pieces of correspondence are going to which US   
   representatives and senators. These are sorted and then hand-delivered to   
   Capitol Hill. As ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, has pointed out, delivering   
   these letters to Capitol Hill in person offers an opportunity to speak with   
   Congressional staffers.   
      
   "The stack of letters is proof that voters care about the bill," she said in   
   June. "We have to convince the staff people, so they'll advise the [Member of   
   Congress] to cosponsor. That's how it works on Capitol Hill."   
      
   Congress's August recess provides an ideal opportunity to meet with lawmakers   
   while they are in their home states and districts. Clubs also may want to   
   invite a Member of Congress to visit a meeting. Those interested in following   
   the trajectory of H.R. 1301 can sign up to receive the ARRL's free Legislative   
   Update Newsletter.   
      
   All correspondence to representatives and senators must be signed and include   
   the constituent's name and address. Send letters to ARRL Headquarters for hand   
   delivery to the appropriate House or Senate member to ARRL, ATTN Amateur Radio   
   Parity Act Grassroots Campaign, 225 Main St, Newington CT 06111.   
      
   In the July 29 Ham Radio Now news videocast, "Parity in the Senate," host Gary   
   Pearce, KN4AQ, interviews ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB,   
   and ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD. Pearce said Lisenco and Imlay,   
   "fill in some history of PRB-1 that you might not have heard, discuss how our   
   current FCC is far more focused on the Internet...[and] how the deed   
   restrictions and HOA rules prohibiting your antenna are not a 'private   
   contract.'"   
      
      
   ARRL Files More "Grow Light" Ballast Complaints with FCC   
      
   The ARRL has filed three more complaints with the FCC, urging its Enforcement   
   Bureau to investigate and initiate enforcement proceedings to halt the   
   marketing and retail sale of certain RF lighting devices, typically known as   
   "grow light" ballasts, which, it said, violate FCC Part 18 rules. The largely   
   identical complaints zeroed in on three specific products: The Galaxy Legacy   
   Selective Wattage Ballast, the Quantum Horticulture HPS/MH-600W RF Lighting   
   Ballast, and the Lumatek "Dial-a-Watt Air-Cooled" 1000 W Ballast. The League   
   had complained to the FCC in March 2014 about another Lumatek product, and   
   noted that "apparently nothing has been done to date" in that case. The ARRL   
   asserted that the three devices targeted in its most recent complaints   
   generate "blatantly excessive conducted emissions." Further, the League   
   alleged, the devices are being marketed and sold illegally -- in both   
   instances in violation of FCC Part 18 rules. Supporting all three complaints   
   were detailed reports from the ARRL Laboratory that quantify the League's   
   emission level concerns.   
      
   "The level of conducted emissions from [these devices] is so high that, as a   
   practical matter, one RF ballast operated in a residential environment would   
   create preclusive interference to Amateur radio HF communications throughout   
   entire neighborhoods," ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, wrote in each   
   complaint. The devices exceeded conducted emission limits under all test   
   conditions, "sometimes by extreme margins, throughout most of the HF range,"   
   Imlay said in his letters.   
      
   Samples of each RF lighting device cited were purchased by ARRL through retail   
   outlets. All are manufactured overseas and imported into the US.   
      
   In a similar vein as its recent complaint about marketing of certain RF   
   lighting devices by The Home Depot, the ARRL pointed out that there were no   
   FCC labels on two of the devices mentioned nor any FCC compliance information   
   "anywhere in the documentation, or in or on the box, or on the device itself,"   
   in violation of FCC Part 18 rules.   
      
   The League asked the FCC to require removal of all such illegal "grow light"   
   devices from retail sale and marketing and the recall of those devices already   
   sold or available for retail sale, and it said the device importers should be   
   subject to a forfeiture proceeding. Read more.   
      
      
   AMSAT-NA, AMSAT-DL, and Virginia Tech Announce Potential Phase 3E Opportunity   
      
   Virginia Tech has approached the US Government to fly the Phase 3E space frame   
   into high Earth orbit (HEO) in order to support scientific payloads as well as   
   serve as an Amateur Radio satellite. During the AMSAT-DL Annual Meeting on   
   July 4, the membership approved the concept, agreeing to allow the Phase 3E   
   space frame currently stored in Germany to be shipped to Virginia Tech for   
   further construction, testing, and preparation for eventual launch into HEO,   
   if the US Government formally agrees to fund such a mission.   
      
   Should the project move forward, AMSAT-NA, as the satellite's initial   
   operator, will apply for frequency coordination from the IARU Satellite   
   Advisor and satellite licensing from the FCC.   
      
   Further developments and details will be announced as they become known.   
      
   This latest satellite project comes on the heels of another, unrelated effort   
   with Virginia Tech ties that was announced earlier this year. AMSAT-NA said in   
   April that, if all goes according to plan, an Amateur Radio payload will go   
   into space on a geosynchronous satellite planned for launch in 2017. AMSAT   
   said it had accepted the opportunity to be a "hosted payload" on a spacecraft   
   that Millennium Space Systems (MSS) of El Segundo, California, is under   
   contract to design, launch, and operate for the US Government. Virginia Tech's   
   Hume Center for National Security and Technology is a partner in the   
   geosynchronous Amateur Radio satellite project. -- Thanks to AMSAT News Service   
      
      
   FCC Sustains $22,000 Fine for Egregious On-Air Behavior   
      
   In the case of Michael Guernsey, KZ8O (ex-ND8V), of Parchment, Michigan, the   
   FCC imposed the full $22,000 fine it had proposed in 2014 for intentionally   
   interfering with other Amateur Radio communications and for failing to   
   identify. In a July 22 Forfeiture Order -- issued exactly 1 year from its   
   Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) proposing the hefty fine -- the FCC cited   
   Guernsey's "long history of causing interference to other Amateur Radio   
   operators" and noted that he had been "warned repeatedly in writing."   
   Guernsey's interactions with the FCC Enforcement Bureau date back well over a   
   decade, and, at one point he agreed to a 9-month license suspension.   
      
   "Despite repeated warnings from the [Enforcement] Bureau regarding his on-air   
   behavior, Mr Guernsey's violations included the deliberate playing of music on   
   top of the transmissions of other amateur operators in order to obstruct their   
   ability to communicate on the frequency," the FCC recounted in the July 22   
   Forfeiture Order. "Mr Guernsey further used various animal noises to prevent   
   the communications of other stations with whom he had a longstanding and   
   well-documented dispute."   
      
   In responding to the 2014 NAL, Guernsey denied responsibility for the   
   interference and sought cancellation or reduction of the fine based on   
   inability to pay. The FCC was having none of it. The Commission said its   
   agents "positively confirmed the source" of the interfering transmissions as   
   Guernsey's residence and monitored them for 40 minutes.   
      
   "Considering the entire record, we find no reason to cancel, withdraw, or   
   reduce the proposed penalty," the FCC said in the Forfeiture Order to   
   Guernsey. He was given 30 days to pay the fine or arrange an installment plan.   
   Read more.   
      
      
   FCC Proposes Fining Georgia Ham $1000 for Failing to Identify   
      
   The FCC has proposed fining a Georgia ham $1000 for alleged failure to   
   properly identify. David J. Tolassi, W4BHV, had been warned last August about   
   not following the Commission's Part 97 ID rules. The FCC said his "deliberate   
   disregard" of that warning warranted the proposed penalty.   
      
   "Mr Tolassi...has a history of failing to comply with the rules governing the   
   Amateur Radio Service," the FCC said in a July 22 Notice of Apparent Liability   
   for Forfeiture (NAL). As the NAL recounted, agents from the FCC's Atlanta   
   Office used direction-finding techniques to track the source of a signal on   
   14.313 MHz to Tolassi's residence in Ringgold, Georgia.   
      
   "The agents monitored and recorded transmissions during which Mr Tolassi   
   failed to transmit his assigned call sign," the FCC said. "The agents   
   interviewed Mr Tolassi later that evening, and, while he admitted operating   
   that evening, he denied making the unidentified transmissions."   
      
   Nonetheless, the FCC determined that Tolassi "apparently repeatedly violated   
   Section 97.119(a)" of the rules. The Commission pointed out that it could have   
   assessed a forfeiture of $16,000 a day for a continuing violation, but it   
   settled on a $1000 fine.   
      
      
   Amateur Radio Vanity Call Sign Fee to Disappear in September   
      
   The Amateur Radio vanity call sign regulatory fee is set to disappear in the   
   next few weeks. According to the best-available information from FCC sources,   
   the first day that applicants will be able to file a vanity application   
   without having to pay a fee is Thursday, September 3. In deciding earlier this   
   year to drop the regulatory fee for Amateur Radio vanity call signs and   
   General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) applications, the FCC said it was doing so   
   to save money and personnel resources. The Commission asserted that it costs   
   more of both to process the regulatory fees and issue refunds than the amount   
   of the regulatory fee payment.   
      
   "Our costs have increased over time, and now that the costs exceed the amount   
   of the regulatory fee, the increased relative administrative cost supports   
   eliminating this regulatory fee category," the FCC said in its Report and   
   Order, which appeared on July 21 in The Federal Register. "Once [it's]   
   eliminated, these licensees will no longer be financially burdened with such   
   payments, and the Commission will no longer incur these administrative costs   
   that exceed the fee payments."   
      
   In 2014 the FCC raised the Amateur Service vanity call sign regulatory fee   
   from $16.10 to its current $21.40 for the 10-year license term. The $5.30   
   increase was the largest such fee hike in many years. In a typical fiscal   
   year, the FCC collected on the order of $250,000 in vanity call sign   
   regulatory fees.   
      
   The FCC said the revenue it would otherwise have collected from such   
   regulatory fees "will be proportionally assessed on other wireless fee   
   categories." Congress has mandated that the FCC collect nearly $340 million in   
   regulatory fees from all services in fiscal year 2015.   
      
      
   HAARP Facility Will Be Transferred to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks on   
   August 11   
      
   HAARP -- the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program -- will transfer   
   from military into academic hands next month. After a swell of support last   
   year from the scientific community and intervention by Alaska US Sen Lisa   
   Murkowski -- plus a lot of uncertainty before that -- the US Air Force delayed   
   its plans to shutter the ultra-high power HAARP and demolish it. Now the   
   University of Alaska-Fairbanks (UAF) has won a bid to assume ownership of the   
   facility near Gakona. That will happen on August 11.   
      
   "[N]ext month the facilities and equipment will formally transfer from the   
   military to the university," UAF spokesperson Marmian Grimes told Alaska   
   Public Media's KSKA in Anchorage. Grimes said the agreement is not open ended,   
   but it will allow UAF access to HAARP for 2 years, during which time, the   
   university and the Air Force can reach an agreement regarding the transfer of   
   land.   
      
   In January, ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, wrote the US Secretary of Defense to   
   urge that HAARP be maintained in its current condition while UAF attempted to   
   acquire the facility.   
      
   "Most of our 164,000 members employ ionospheric propagation of HF radio   
   signals for their communications and technical investigations," Sumner told   
   then-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. "Ionospheric research therefore has great   
   significance and importance to us."   
      
   As UAF's Grimes explained to KSKA, "Scientists would pay to use the facility   
   for their research projects, and that would support operations, and is a   
   common model for the university and research community."   
      
   Those who pushed for HAARP to remain open as a scientific research facility   
   included several radio amateurs. UAF researcher and faculty member Chris   
   Fallen, KL3WX, told ARRL this week that he had no information yet on the   
   timing of the next experiment campaign or future operations, beyond what's   
   already been reported in the news media. Fallen has conducted research at   
   HAARP, and he was among those who had expressed concern last summer that   
   HAARP's equipment was being carted off site for sale or disposal. He said   
   little has been going on at HAARP since June 2014, and even with the transfer   
   to UAF, it appears unlikely that any research would resume until the spring.   
      
   "I have not visited the facility in more than a year," he said, "but my   
   understanding is that most, if not all, of the important equipment has been   
   returned, while 'junk' and other antiquated equipment from initial development   
   and construction has been permanently removed."   
      
   Fallen told ARRL that he believes HAARP has "unique relevance to hams" and   
   could become the sort of self-sustaining facility that UAF envisions.   
   "Sustainable long-term success of the facility will depend on UAF's ability to   
   secure funding from multiple sources for research operations, preferably   
   including a large 'anchor tenant,'" he said this week.   
      
   HAARP was constructed in 1990 at a cost of some $300 million.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   World Scout Jamboree Participants Set to Speak with ISS via Amateur Radio   
      
   Scouts attending the 23rd World Scout Jamboree in Japan are scheduled to speak   
   via Amateur Radio on July 31 with astronaut Kjell Lindgren, KO5MOS ("cosmos"),   
   on the ISS. Jamboree attendees are between 14 and 17 years old. This will mark   
   the first ARISS contact from space by Lindgren, who arrived on the ISS earlier   
   this month on the ISS with astronaut Kamiya Yui, KG5BPH, and cosmonaut Oleg   
   Kononenko, RN3DX.   
      
   The direct Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact   
   will take place on 2 meters between NA1SS on station and 8N23WSJ at the Nippon   
   Boy Scout Amateur Radio Club in Bunkyo-ku, Japan. The roughly 10 minute event   
   is set to start at approximately 1126 UTC. It's expected the contact will be   
   conducted in English.   
      
   More than 30,000 Scouts and leaders from 161 countries around the world have   
   converged on Kirara-hama, Yamaguchi, Japan, for the Jamboree. The theme of the   
   23rd World Scout Jamboree is "WA: A Spirit of Unity." The Kanji character "WA"   
   connotes a variety of meanings, such as unity, harmony, cooperation,   
   friendship, and peace.   
      
   Scouts attending the Jamboree will be able to enjoy a variety of activities   
   during their free time, including an Amateur Radio workshop.   
      
      
   Past IARU Region 3 Director, WARC-79 Delegate Fred Johnson, ZL2AMJ, SK   
      
   Former International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 3 Director J. F.C.   
   "Fred" Johnson, ZL2AMJ, died on July 23. He was 83. Johnson was a New Zealand   
   delegate to World Administrative Radio Conference 1979 (WARC-79), where   
   Amateur Radio gained access to the so-called "WARC bands" -- 30, 17, and 12   
   meters.   
      
   "It was not happenstance that New Zealand was one of Amateur Radio's strongest   
   supporters before and during the conference," said ARRL CEO David Sumner,   
   K1ZZ, who attended WARC-79 as a member of the IARU team. "Anyone who knew Fred   
   will understand when I say that his work ethic had a great deal to do with it,   
   and with our ultimate success at the conference."   
      
   Johnson was also a delegate to World Radiocommunication Conference 2003   
   (WRC-03), for which he chaired the drafting group for 7 MHz issues.   
      
   Sumner said those attending the 2009 IARU Region 3 Conference in Christchurch,   
   New Zealand had the opportunity to see Johnson in his favorite role -- that of   
   teacher. "He showed how to use simple, inexpensive devices to demonstrate   
   basic principles of antennas and polarization," he recalled.   
      
   Johnson was elected as a Director of IARU Region 3 in 1985, serving until 2004   
   -- the last 10 years as Chairman of the Region 3 Board of Directors, and he   
   served on the IARU Administrative Council for a total of 10 years between 1988   
   and 2003.   
      
   Johnson was born into Amateur Radio. His father, Joe, had been a radio   
   amateur, holding 2GA and ZL2GA, among other call signs over the years.   
   Fascinated by his dad's collection of ham radio literature, he read up on   
   radio and built his first crystal receiver at age 10. After World War II, he   
   constructed a tube receiver. When he got his Amateur Radio license in 1950, he   
   added a home-built transmitter.   
      
   In 2002, Johnson was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. At the   
   1999 IARU Region 1 Conference in Lillehammer, Norway, he was honored as a   
   Knight of the Order of the Golden Key by the Norwegian Radio Relay League.   
      
   "One of the extraordinary dimensions of the IARU is how it brings together   
   people from all over the globe and from almost any walk of life to work for a   
   common purpose," said Sumner. "Millions of radio amateurs don't realize they   
   owe a debt of gratitude to Fred Johnson and to other IARU volunteers like him   
   -- but they do."   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   In Brief...   
      
   ARRL August UHF Contest is August 1-2: The focus will be on the bands 222 MHz   
   and above when the ARRL August UHF Contest gets under way August 1-2. During   
   this time of year in North America, there is a greater chance of enhanced   
   tropospheric propagation that can extend the usable range of UHF+ frequencies   
   from line of sight to several hundred miles. William Hepburn's Worldwide   
   Tropospheric Ducting Forecast website is an excellent resource. Many radios   
   now include the 70 centimeter band, and antennas are small and easy to make.   
   Easy homebrew UHF antenna plans are in The ARRL Antenna Book and The ARRL   
   Handbook. Rovers are always welcome too, for those who enjoy getting out and   
   about. New rules for VHF+ contests allow all entrants to use assistance,   
   including the use of self-spotting, to find other stations. The contest   
   exchange is your Maidenhead grid square.   
      
   The Yasme Foundation Announces Grants: The Board of Directors of The Yasme   
   Foundation has announced the recipients of grants in furtherance of the   
   Foundation's goal of supporting the development of Amateur Radio. Grants will   
   go to the Organizing Committee of the 2018 World Radiosport Team Championship   
   (WRTC 2018), which will take place in Germany; the Reverse Beacon Network   
   (RBN), for the purchase of equipment necessary to establish a node at the   
   Ethiopian Amateur Radio Society's ET3AA club station, and to a representative   
   of the Voodoo Contest Group for the purchase of Amateur Radio training   
   materials for use in Liberia. The Yasme Foundation is a not-for-profit   
   corporation organized to conduct scientific and educational projects related   
   to Amateur Radio, including DXing and the introduction and promotion of   
   Amateur Radio in developing countries.   
      
   New, User-Friendly VOACAP Propagation Planner Debuts: A revamped online   
   service, VOACAP Propagation Planner, a comprehensive, free-of-charge planning   
   tool for HF contesters and DXers, is now available. The more user-friendly   
   beta version 2.0 does all the heavy lifting and number crunching on the VOACAP   
   server and displays the results graphically by CQ or ITU zones (short-path or   
   long-path) and by band-specific zone charts (also short-path or long-path).   
   Tables can easily be copied into word processing software. More information is   
   available at The Official VOACAP Blog. -- Thanks to Jari Perki”m„ki, OH6BG   
      
   Illinois Ham's Death Ruled a Homicide: Authorities in Illinois are   
   investigating as an apparent homicide the death earlier this month of a   
   Rockford radio amateur and repeater owner. Henry Murphy, WB9TFX, died on July   
   18. He was 67. That morning, neighbors reported that Murphy's house was on   
   fire. After extinguishing the blaze, Winnebago County investigators located   
   the remains of Murphy and his dog in the dwelling. The coroner determined that   
   both had died of gunshot wounds before the fire started. A US Army veteran,   
   Murphy owned a local 70 centimeter repeater system that has been in operation   
   since the early 1990s. He was a retired AT&T field tech. -- Thanks to QRZ.com   
   via NN9P   
      
   OK1MS's EME Accomplishments Earn Kudos from Joe Taylor, K1JT: Nobel Laureate   
   Joe Taylor, K1JT, has congratulated Stanislav "Standa" Blazka, OK1MS, for   
   racking up an astonishing moonbounce (EME) record on 2 meter CW. In a posting   
   to the Moon-Net reflector, Zdenek Samek, OK1DFC, noted that OK1MS recently   
   reached 1000 initial EME CW contacts on 144 MHz, after making his first such   
   contact (with WA1JXN, now W7GJ). His 1000th was with R6CS. Blazka holds WAS,   
   WAC, and DXCC on 2 meter EME, CW only. He also holds WAZ No. 1 on EME. He has   
   built all or most of his own equipment. Taylor, who developed the WSJT   
   software suite that many EME operators now use, offered, "Hearty   
   congratulations to Standa, OK1MS, for this truly great achievement!"   
      
   The K7RA Solar Update   
      
   Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: On July 30 at 0132 UTC, the Australian Space   
   Forecast Centre issued a geomagnetic disturbance warning, noting that a   
   high-speed solar wind from a recurring coronal hole was expected to raise   
   geomagnetic activity levels to minor storms on July 31 and August 1. The   
   Centre predicted quiet to minor storm levels on July 31, and minor storms   
   declining to unsettled conditions on August 1.   
      
   Solar activity remains in the doldrums, with average daily sunspot numbers   
   rising just 4.5 points to 47.9 during the July 23-29 period, as compared with   
   a week earlier. Average daily solar flux over the same periods rose just 1.5   
   points to 96.4.   
      
   The most active geomagnetic day was July 23, when the planetary A index was   
   23, and the mid-latitude A index was 21. On July 23 a mild geomagnetic storm   
   occurred. It was caused by a coronal mass ejection that did not hit Earth   
   directly.   
      
   Predicted solar flux is 105, 107, 110, and 105 for July 30-August 2; 110 on   
   August 3 and 4; 105 on August 5-6; 100 on August 7-9; 95 on August 10-13; then   
   90 and 85 on August 14 and 15, then 100 on August 16-17. Solar flux peaks at   
   115 for August 28-31, then drops below 100 after September 5.   
      
   Predicted planetary A index is 8, 18, and 24 for July 30-August 1, then 16,   
   12, and 8 for August 2-4; then 5, 8, and 20 for August 5-7; 15 on August 8-9;   
   8 on August 10; 5 on August 11-15; 10 on August 16; 5 on August 17-18; then 15   
   and 10 on August 19 and 20, and 5 for August 21-23.   
      
   QST "50 MHz and Above" Editor Jon Jones, N0JK, notes that the summer sporadic   
   E season for North America is winding down. Read his comments in tomorrow's   
   bulletin. Send me your reports and observations.   
      
   Getting It Right!   
      
   In an In Brief... item "Radio Amateurs Join ISS Crew" in the July 23 edition   
   of The ARRL Letter, we misreported the number of Amateur Radio licensees who   
   joined the International Space Station (ISS) crew on July 23. There were   
   three: Kjell Lindgren, KO5MOS; Oleg Kononenko, RN3DX, and Kimiya Yui, KG5BPH.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   Just Ahead in Radiosport   
      
    *  July 29-30 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test   
    *  July 31 -- NCCC RTTY Sprint   
    *  July 31 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder (CW)   
    *  August 1 -- TARA Grid Dip Shindig (Digital)   
    *  August 1 -- European HF Championship (CW, SSB)   
    *  August 1-2 -- 10-10 International Summer Contest (SSB)   
    *  August 1-2 -- ARRL August UHF Contest   
    *  August 1-2 -- North American QSO Party (CW)   
    *  August 2 -- RSGB RoPoCo CW   
    *  August 2 -- SARL HF Phone Contest   
    *  August 4 -- ARS Spartan Sprint (CW)   
    *  August 5-6 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test   
    *  August 6 -- NRAU 10 Meter Activity Contest (CW, SSB, Digital)   
    *  August 7 -- NCCC RTTY Sprint   
    *  August 7 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder (CW)   
      
   See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events   
      
    *  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 Convention, Schaumburg, Illinois   
    *  September 11-13 -- Southwestern Division Convention, Torrance,   
       California   
    *  September 12 -- Virginia Section Convention, Virginia Beach, Virginia   
    *  September 19 -- San Joaquin Valley Section Convention, Fresno,   
       California   
    *  September 25-26 -- W4DXCC/SEDCO Convention, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee   
    *  September 26 -- Iowa State Convention, Sergeant Bluff, Iowa   
    *  September 26 -- North Dakota State Convention, West Fargo, North Dakota   
    *  September 26 -- Washington State Convention, Spokane Valley, Washington   
    *  October 2-4 -- Mid-Atlantic States VHF Conference, Bensalem,   
       Pennsylvania   
    *  October 3 -- Delaware State Convention, Georgetown, Delaware   
    *  October 9-10 -- Florida State Convention, Melbourne, Florida   
    *  October 10-11 -- Pacific Northwest VHF Conference, Issaquah, Washington   
      
   Find conventions and hamfests in your area.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
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   described at http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/.   
      
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