If you are having trouble reading this message, you can see the original at:   
   http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2015-08-27   
      
   The ARRL Letter   
      
   August 27, 2015   
   Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME   
      
    *  ARRL President Expects Parity Act House Bill Cosponsorships to Top 100   
       Soon   
    *  Amateur Radio Volunteers Face Fire Threat While Supporting Emergency   
       Communication   
    *  FCC Universal Licensing System, Other Applications to be Down for   
       Maintenance   
    *  FCC Proposes to Fine Ohio Radio Amateur for Malicious Interference,   
       Failure to Identify   
    *  Two Incumbents Face Opposition in 2015 ARRL Director, Vice Director   
       Election Cycle   
    *  Outcome for 5 MHz at WRC-15 Remains in Limbo   
    *  IARU Reiterates Commitment to Coordinate Satellites Only Within   
       International Band Plans   
    *  In Brief...   
    *  The K7RA Solar Update   
    *  Just Ahead in Radiosport   
    *  Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events   
      
      
   ARRL President Expects Parity Act House Bill Cosponsorships to Top 100 Soon   
      
   ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, expects to see the list of cosponsors for   
   the US House version of the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 -- H.R. 1301 --   
   top 100 soon after Congress reconvenes following its August recess. As of   
   August 27, the measure had attracted 94 cosponsors. A US Senate version of the   
   bill -- S. 1685 -- also has been introduced. President Craigie again   
   encouraged ARRL members to urge their congressional delegations to cosponsor   
   the bills. Summertime ARRL conventions have also been affording more members a   
   chance to make their voices heard.   
      
   "Success doesn't happen by magic," President Craigie said this week. "Offices   
   on Capitol Hill have told us that without constituent expressions of support,   
   cosponsorship -- and, eventually, votes -- will not happen."   
      
   The identically worded Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 measures would direct   
   the FCC to extend its rules relating to reasonable accommodation of Amateur   
   Service communications to private land-use restrictions. It would require the   
   FCC to amend its Part 97 Amateur Service rules to apply the three-part test of   
   the PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy to include homeowners association   
   regulations and deed restrictions, often referred to as "covenants,   
   conditions, and restrictions" (CC&Rs). At present, PRB-1 only applies to state   
   and local zoning laws and ordinances, and the FCC has been reluctant to extend   
   the same legal protections to private land-use agreements without direction   
   from Congress.   
      
   President Craigie said ARRL staff members and officials have helped members to   
   generate well over 4000 letters to Senators and Representatives at ARRL   
   conventions this summer. Local radio clubs have held letter-signing events at   
   their meetings as well. This week, the ARRL forwarded more than 1000 such   
   letters for hand delivery to Capitol Hill.   
      
   "But we need a lot more member action now, to push our bills ahead," she   
   added. "We need letters, phone calls, e-mails from every ARRL member to our   
   Senators and Representatives. We need every ARRL member to urge our friends   
   in our clubs, on our nets, and on our social media, to take 5 minutes today to   
   do something critically important for the future of Amateur Radio."   
      
   AMSAT is also encouraging its members to urge lawmakers to cosponsor the two   
   bills. The satellite organization has pointed out that reaching orbiting   
   spacecraft via an appropriate ground station is something that may be denied   
   to satellite enthusiasts living in neighborhoods where outside antennas are   
   restricted or prohibited.   
      
   The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 page on the ARRL website has complete   
   information on how to become involved.   
      
   "Capitol Hill needs to hear from every friend of Amateur Radio by the end of   
   August," President Craigie said. "Every voice, your voice, makes a difference."   
      
      
   Amateur Radio Volunteers Face Fire Threat While Supporting Emergency   
   Communication   
      
   The North-Central Washington town of Republic touts "air you can't see" on its   
   website. That's not the case this week. Wildfires in the US Northwest have not   
   only hampered the air quality and visibility, but led to a Level 2 evacuation   
   order in the Ferry County community of about 1000 residents. That could rise   
   to Level 3. Amateur Radio volunteers in Ferry County have been on the front   
   lines of the wildfire emergency there. In Republic, a combination of Ferry   
   County Search and Rescue (SAR), Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and   
   ARES/RACES volunteers have been supporting communication for a shelter housing   
   some 4 dozen evacuees -- with more to come, according to Ferry County ARES   
   Emergency Coordinator and RACES Radio Officer Sam Jenkins, WA7EC.   
      
   "We are now close to our maximum support level for local volunteers," Jenkins   
   told State RACES Officer Monte Simpson, AF7PQ, who also is ARRL Western   
   Washington Section Manager. "We are now expecting to operate for several weeks   
   at the Republic High School. The firefighters say they are going to attempt to   
   defend our emergency operations center/emergency shelter at all costs,"   
   Jenkins added. "We are standing our ground."   
      
   In addition to being the Ferry County ARES EC and RACES RO, Jenkins explained,   
   he also heads the SAR component of the dual Ferry County SAR-CERT contingent.   
   "I have networked these three units together over time to increase the   
   effectiveness of our small, poor, but valiant teams," he told ARRL. At   
   present, he's working under the RACES banner.   
      
   Firefighters from several states and British Columbia, Canada, have been   
   working the Kettle Complex of three fires in Ferry County, which covered   
   nearly 60,000 acres as of August 26. No injuries have occurred and no homes   
   have been lost. Support teams from the Washington National Guard are assisting   
   fire managers to ensure safety. West of Republic near Omak, the Okanogan   
   Complex at more than 280,000 acres is now the largest fire complex in the   
   state's history.   
      
   According to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), wildfires continue   
   to burn actively across the West. The NIFC reports that 66 large fires -- or   
   complexes -- have burned nearly 1.6 million acres in 11 states. Twelve fires   
   are burning in Washington alone.   
      
   Jenkins said his team of volunteers would like to have additional support,   
   but, he told Simpson, "I would expect that it is asking a lot for anyone to   
   leave the comfort of their home to travel to a place where the smoke is so   
   thick you can cut it with a knife, and not know if they would escape."   
      
   Radio amateurs responding to the wildfire emergencies have been using VHF   
   repeaters as well as HF on 75 and 40 meters, including SSB and digital modes,   
   and IRLP.   
      
   "We are doing our best at doing our thing," Jenkins said. "I am concerned   
   about what is happening in our sister counties."   
      
      
   FCC Universal Licensing System, Other Applications to be Down for Maintenance   
      
   FCC website maintenance in early September will make the Universal Licensing   
   System (ULS), the Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), the Electronic   
   Document Management System (EDOCS), and other public applications unavailable   
   for more than 5 days. The Commission said the outage will begin at 2200 UTC on   
   Wednesday, September 2, and continue through the Labor Day weekend. The   
   maintenance work should be completed by 1200 UTC on Tuesday,   
   September 8. During the ULS outage, it will not be possible to file any   
   Amateur Radio applications.   
      
   "[M]ost Commission resources normally accessible through the Commission's   
   website, including access to all electronic filing systems and electronic   
   dockets, will be inaccessible for the same period, with the exception of the   
   Network Outage Reporting System (NORS), the Consumer Help Center (CHC), and   
   the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS), which will remain   
   available," an FCC Public Notice said on August 20. "The Commission's website   
   will remain available, but with reduced content and limited search   
   capabilities." According to the Public Notice, the FCC will follow its normal   
   schedule of operation during the maintenance period, but voicemail will be   
   offline, and most Commission staffers will not have access to e-mail. Static   
   content webpages on the fcc.gov domain, such as the FCC consumer guides,   
   should remain available during the outage.   
      
   Although the regulatory fee for Amateur Radio vanity call sign applications   
   will officially disappear on September 3, prospective applicants will have to   
   wait until September 8 (1200 UTC) -- or until after the ULS is back online --   
   to file without paying the fee. The FCC has told ARRL that the approximately   
   18-day waiting period for a vanity call sign to be granted will remain in   
   place "for now."   
      
   The FCC will extend filing deadlines for all regulatory and enforcement   
   filings that fall during the maintenance period. Filings due on September 2,   
   3, 4, or 8 now will be due on Wednesday, September 9. "Except for the due   
   dates specified herein, we are not automatically extending the deadlines for   
   any other comment or filing periods that will be running during this time   
   period, but requests for extension of time will be considered consistent   
   with the Commission's normal practice," the FCC Public Notice said. "To the   
   extent the due dates for filings to which reply or responsive pleadings are   
   allowed are affected by this Public Notice, the due dates for reply or   
   responsive pleadings shall be extended by the same number of days."   
      
      
   FCC Proposes to Fine Ohio Radio Amateur for Malicious Interference, Failure to   
   Identify   
      
   The FCC has proposed levying an $8000 fine on a Cincinnati, Ohio, radio   
   amateur, Daniel R. Hicks, KB8UYZ, who at one point had volunteered to track   
   down the interference he was causing on a number of primarily VHF repeaters.   
   In a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) released on August 20,   
   the FCC Enforcement Bureau asserted that Hicks intentionally interfered with   
   other Amateur Radio operators' communications and failed to identify   
   properly. According to the NAL, an agent from the Bureau's Detroit office   
   first responded to multiple complaints of interference on various repeaters in   
   April 2014.   
      
   "The agent, working with a local amateur group which included Mr Hicks, was   
   unable to locate the source of the transmission," recounted the NAL, signed by   
   FCC District Director James Bridgewater. Nearly a year later, in response to   
   continued interference complaints, an agent from the Bureau's Detroit office   
   returned to the Cincinnati area to take another crack at finding the source of   
   the transmissions.   
      
   "This time, the agent did not advise the local Amateur Radio group that he was   
   in the area," the NAL stated. "The agent used mobile direction-finding   
   techniques to locate the source of the transmissions to...the address of   
   record for Mr Hicks' amateur station, KB8UYZ."   
      
   ARRL Great Lakes Division Vice Director Tom Delaney, W8WTD, in his role as a   
   spokesperson for the Greater Cincinnati Local Interference Committee, said at   
   first the interference, which began in early 2014, was a nuisance, but later   
   it turned obscene and racist. He said his group was able to track the signals   
   to a particular neighborhood, but group members were surprised to learn who   
   was behind the interference.   
      
   "We did not know, until the FCC actually caught him, who it was," Delaney told   
   ARRL. "We had our suspicions. We were very close to finding the source but   
   were not quite there, but that helped the FCC." He said Hicks employed a   
   "sophisticated" synthesized voice and very short transmissions across several   
   repeaters to make him difficult to pin down.   
      
   According to the NAL, the agent monitored transmissions emanating from Hicks'   
   station for about an hour and heard the station transmit several recorded   
   messages. "These transmissions prevented other amateur licensees from   
   communicating over the frequency," the NAL said. "During the monitoring   
   period, the agent did not hear Mr Hicks transmit his assigned call sign. The   
   transmissions used the call sign of another licensee." Delaney said the holder   
   of that call sign had no idea why Hicks used it.   
      
   The FCC said it has determined that the evidence in the case was sufficient to   
   establish that Hicks caused willful and malicious interference and failed to   
   identify using his assigned call sign.   
      
      
   Two Incumbents Face Opposition in 2015 ARRL Director, Vice Director Election   
   Cycle   
      
   Two incumbents face challenges in the 2015 election cycle for ARRL Director   
   and Vice Director. Both races are in the ARRL Northwestern Division. Incumbent   
   Director James Pace, K7CEX, of Centralia, Washington, will face a challenge   
   from William Balzarini, KL7BB, of Auburn, Washington. Delvin Bunton, N7QMT, of   
   Vancouver, Washington, is seeking to unseat Northwestern Division Vice   
   Director Bonnie Altus, AB7ZQ, of Sheridan, Oregon.   
      
   The ARRL Ethics and Elections Committee earlier determined all candidates for   
   the 2016-2018 term in this year's election cycle to be eligible and nominated.   
      
   Incumbents in four other ARRL Divisions faced no challengers in the current   
   election cycle and have been declared re-elected. They are Central Division   
   Director Dick Isely, W9GIG, and Vice Director Kermit Carlson, W9XA; Hudson   
   Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, and Vice Director Bill Hudzik, W2UDT;   
   New England Division Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI, and Vice Director Mike   
   Raisbeck, K1TWF, and Roanoke Division Director Dr Jim Boehner, N2ZZ, and Vice   
   Director Bill Morine, N2COP.   
      
   Ballots will be mailed on October 1 to ARRL members in good standing in the   
   Northwestern Division as of September 10, 2015. Ballots will be counted under   
   the supervision of an independent auditor, and the successful candidates will   
   be announced on November 20.   
      
   The Ethics and Elections Committee agreed in January to return to using solely   
   paper ballots, after instituting a hybrid paper and electronic balloting   
   process in the autumn of 2012. Online balloting proved popular among those who   
   took advantage of it, but overall voter participation declined significantly.   
   See August 2015 QST, p 78, for more information.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   Outcome for 5 MHz at WRC-15 Remains in Limbo   
      
   With the deadline to submit proposals to World Radiocommunication Conference   
   2015 (WRC-15) now less than 2 months away, it's still unclear how at least one   
   agenda item of importance to the Amateur Radio community will fare. That is   
   agenda item 1.4, which calls on the delegates to consider a secondary Amateur   
   Radio allocation at 5 MHz (60 meters). In the US and in most other countries   
   where amateurs have privileges there, ham radio has a set of fixed channels at   
   5 MHz -- not necessarily the same from one country to the next, although most   
   are common.   
      
   As ARRL Chief Technology Officer Brennan Price, N4QX, explained last spring   
   following the second Conference Preparatory Meeting (CPM), the agenda item 1.4   
   proposals at the CPM were "all over the map -- ranging from no change to an   
   expansive allocation of 5275-5450 kHz, with explicit suggestions of 15 kHz and   
   100 kHz in between, and a few methods with details to be filled in later." As   
   Price summarized at the time, "[T]here is a wide divergence of opinion, and no   
   certainty as to the outcome."   
      
   In his July 2015 report to International Amateur Radio Union Region 3   
   Conference to be held this October in Indonesia, ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ,   
   said that while the US is "generally supportive" of the Amateur Radio and   
   Amateur-Satellite services at WRCs and in other International Te   
   ecommunication Union (ITU) venues, "it has been difficult to gain support from   
   the federal government side for agenda item 1.4." The ARRL is a member of IARU   
   Region 3 to represent the interests of FCC-licensed radio amateurs residing in   
   Guam; the Northern Marianas; American Samoa; Baker, Howland, Jarvis, and Wake   
   islands; Palmyra Atoll, and Kingman Reef.   
      
   When he submitted the report to IARU R3 in July, Sumner had said that the best   
   ARRL could hope for in the US position was a 25 kHz secondary allocation at 5   
   MHz, "and only then if this becomes the CITEL Inter-American Proposal (IAP),"   
   he explained. CITEL completed its work earlier this month and will put forward   
   an IAP for a 175 kHz secondary allocation at 5275-5450 kHz, with support by up   
   to a dozen countries. That's not a proposal the US or Canada could support,   
   however. Sumner noted that as of now, only one formal proposal for agenda item   
   1.4 has been submitted, and it calls for no change at 5250-5450 kHz. It came   
   from the Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications (RCC), the   
   regional telecommunications organization made up primarily of the former   
   Commonwealth of Independent States countries of which Russia is the largest.   
      
   Other regional telecommunication organizations still have not submitted formal   
   proposals. Sumner said this week that it's not possible to predict what might   
   happen at the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications   
   Administrations (CEPT) meeting in a few weeks. CEPT is the umbrella   
   organization for 48 European nations.   
      
   "We appreciate the strong support from so many Latin American and Caribbean   
   administrations and remain hopeful that a favorable consensus can be reached   
   in Geneva in November," Sumner said.   
      
      
   IARU Reiterates Commitment to Coordinate Satellites Only Within International   
   Band Plans   
      
   In apparent reference to efforts by China's Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT)   
   to coordinate operating frequencies for nine satellites set to launch in early   
   September, the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) has made it   
   clear that it will not coordinate frequencies that do not conform with   
   accepted band plans for all three IARU regions. The IARU has informed CAMSAT   
   CEO Alan Kung, BA1DU, that it was only able to coordinate uplink and downlink   
   frequencies for two of the nine spacecraft (CAS-3/XW-2D and E), but it has not   
   made that letter public. CAMSAT has said it plans to launch the nine   
   satellites, all carrying Amateur Radio payloads, on September 7 or 8.   
      
   "The IARU Satellite Adviser, Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV, and his advisory   
   panel are mandated to coordinate frequencies within the IARU band plans for   
   amateur satellites," said a public statement released on August 20 by IARU   
   Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD. "Coordinated frequencies must comply with band   
   plans that are common to all three IARU regions. Satellites coordinated   
   outside these plans could cause interference to terrestrial amateur operations   
   in other regions."   
      
   The IARU statement suggested that the popularity and high occupancy of 2   
   meters "led to a request by satellite builders for coordination outside the   
   spectrum reserved for satellites in the IARU band plans (145.800-146.000 MHz),   
   as not enough channels are available to satisfy their requirements."   
      
   The IARU said that, in theory, satellites could be programmed only to operate   
   while orbiting above their countries of origin, but "because satellite orbits   
   make it difficult to pinpoint operations, spillover to other regions may occur   
   during parts of the orbit. Accordingly, IARU will not coordinate frequencies   
   for satellites which are planned to operate outside the internationally   
   aligned IARU band plans for amateur satellites."   
      
   The IARU statement noted that its frequency coordination service aims to   
   "maximize spectrum utilization and avoid possible interference to other   
   satellites and ground stations." The IARU recommended that satellite groups   
   "work on a sharing plan or use other parts of the Amateur Service spectrum   
   designated for satellite operation," and it suggested resurrecting 10 meters   
   -- once popular as a satellite band, but largely unused today -- as one   
   possibility for uplink channels.   
      
   "The band segment 29,300-29,510 MHz has been used for Amateur-Satellite   
   downlinks for more than 40 years, beginning with Australis-OSCAR 5 in 1970 and   
   AMSAT-OSCAR 6, AMSAT's first communication satellite, in 1972," the IARU   
   statement noted. Just one amateur satellite actively uses a 29 MHz downlink --   
   AMSAT-OSCAR 7, launched in 1974. Conceding that 29 MHz downlink frequencies   
   "would not be practical for today's very small satellites" due to antenna size   
   considerations, the IARU said the band could be used for uplinks, even with   
   small receiving antennas, because Earth stations can run sufficient transmit   
   power to overcome the disadvantage. "The IARU Satellite Adviser and his panel   
   believe that the 10 meter band offers a good alternative to 2 meter uplinks,"   
   the IARU said.   
      
   AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, said his organization's Advanced   
   Satellite Communications and Exploration of New Technology (ASCENT) initiative   
   is exploring alternatives to address the proliferation of CubeSats and the   
   resulting pressure on 2 meters and 70 centimeters. He pointed out that the 200   
   kHz IARU allocation on 2 meters "is not very wide" given the number of   
   satellites being launched, but the use of 10 meters is impractical in this era   
   of CubeSats.   
      
   "It is incumbent upon the Amateur-Satellite community to develop new ways of   
   'keeping Amateur Radio in space' that take advantage of other bands and   
   provide enhanced services through appropriate technologies, given the need   
   to find suitable bandwidth for an increasing number of satellites," Baines   
   told ARRL. He said using digital technology could provide multi-channel   
   capability, and design work is already under way. Transitioning to   
   "underutilized amateur spectrum on higher bands such as 5 GHz and 10 GHz is   
   also a possibility," Baines added, although he was quick to point out that   
   AMSAT does not intend to abandon use of 2 meters and 70 centimeters for its   
   own satellite projects.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   In Brief...   
      
   JARL Sets 90th Anniversary QSO Party: The Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL)   
   will commemorate its 90th anniversary with the JARL 90th Anniversary QSO Party   
   during the entire month of September (UTC). The event is open to all radio   
   amateurs and shortwave listeners and activity will take place on all amateur   
   bands. Certificates are available to JA and DX stations for working a certain   
   number (either 9 or 90, depending upon category) of participating stations.   
   Stations exchange call signs and signal reports. Only one contact may be   
   counted in the event of multiple contacts with the same station operating from   
   different locations. All stations submitting a log and summary will receive a   
   Participation Certificate from JARL via the QSL Bureau. E-mail submissions are   
   welcome. Submit a summary sheet and logs of one or more categories. The   
   deadline for submissions is October 30, 2015. Results will be announced in the   
   spring 2016 issue of JARL News and posted on JARL's website.   
      
   Send Your Name (and Call Sign) to Mars! Mars enthusiasts can participate in   
   NASA's next journey to Mars by adding their names -- and call signs -- to a   
   silicon microchip headed to the Red Planet aboard NASA's InSight Mars lander,   
   scheduled to launch next year. "Our next step in the journey to Mars is   
   another fantastic mission to the surface," said Jim Green, director of   
   planetary science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "By participating in   
   this opportunity to send your name aboard InSight to the Red Planet, you're   
   showing that you're part of that journey and the future of space exploration."   
   NASA issued a similar invitation in 2014 for its Orion test flight. So far   
   nearly 365,000 "boarding passes" have been registered with the InSight   
   mission. NASA will accept submissions until September 8. Visit the Mars   
   InSight "Revealing the Heart of Mars" website to get onboard. -- Thanks to NASA   
      
   Launch Date Set for AMSAT Fox-1A Set: AMSAT Vice President of Engineering   
   Jerry Buxton, N0JY, has announced that the Fox-1A CubeSat will launch on   
   October 8 from California. It initially had been set to launch in August.   
   Fox-1A will include an FM transponder with an uplink frequency of 435.180 MHz,   
   and a downlink frequency of 145.980 MHz. The first phase of the Fox series   
   1-Unit CubeSats will allow simple ground stations using handheld transceivers   
   and simple dual-band antennas to make contacts. The Fox-1 CubeSats will also   
   be able to transmit continuous telemetry during normal transponder operation.   
   The satellites will feature 200 bps telemetry in the audio spectrum below 300   
   Hz. -- Thanks to AMSAT News Service   
      
   Postponed VI0ANZAC Operation from Antarctica Set for August 29-30 Weekend: The   
   Antarctic activation of VI0ANZAC that was postponed earlier this month will   
   take place over the August 29-30 weekend fom Casey Base in the Australian   
   Antarctic Territory, weather permitting. The VI0ANZAC activation will be part   
   of the Wireless Institute of Australia ANZAC 100 program to mark the 100th   
   anniversary of the famous World War I Battle at Gallipoli. The Wireless   
   Institute of Australia (WIA), the New Zealand Association of Radio   
   Transmitters (NZART), and the Telsiz ve Radyo Amat”rleri Cemiyeti (TRAC) in   
   Turkey have joined forces to commemorate the centenary of the battle. Various   
   special event stations, some with ANZAC suffixes, have been on the air during   
   2015. WIA Vice President and ANZAC 100 Coordinator Fred Swanston, VK3DAC, has   
   reported that brief tests of equipment and propagation were carried out   
   recently in preparation for VI0ANZAC, and tests between Australia and   
   Antarctica demonstrated that both the gear and propagation were working well.   
   -- Thanks to Wireless Institute of Australia   
      
      
   The K7RA Solar Update   
      
   Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: We saw just one new sunspot group (AR2403)   
   over the August 20-26 reporting week, but it was a big one, directly facing   
   Earth on August 23. Average daily sunspot numbers rose 32.3 points to 69.7,   
   while average daily solar flux increased 28.7 points to 119.7.   
      
   The average daily planetary A index dropped from 21.4 to 14.7, compared to the   
   previous 7 days. The most active days were August 23 and 26 when the planetary   
   A index was 28 and 30, caused by streams of solar wind.   
      
   At 0012 UTC on August 27 Australia's Space Weather Services issued a   
   geomagnetic warning for increased geomagnetic activity expected on August   
   27-28 due to a high-speed windstream coming from a coronal hole. On August 27   
   expect quiet to unsettled conditions with active to minor storm periods, and   
   on August 28 look for active to unsettled geomagnetic conditions.   
      
   Predicted solar flux is 125 on August 27-28; 120, 115, and 110 for August   
   29-31; 105 on September 1-2; 100 for September 3-5; 95 for September 6-9; 90,   
   85, 95, and 100 on September 10-13; 105 for September 14-19; 120 on September   
   20-21, and 125 on September 22-24. Solar flux values drop below 100 on October   
   3-9.   
      
   Predicted planetary A index is 16, 18, 12, 8, and 6 for August 27-31; 5, 8,   
   12, 15, 10, and 8 for September 1-6; 5 for September 7-11; 12 on September 12;   
   15 on September 13-14; 5, 10, 5, 8, and 20 for September 15-19, and 28, 20,   
   12, and 18 for September 20-23.   
      
   NASA issued a new commentary for the current sunspot cycle, this time with the   
   new V2.0 sunspot numbers, which read higher than the old standard. Historic   
   numbers are being revised to conform with this new standard. Using the new   
   numbering system, the maximum in late 2013 of 72 has been revised upward to   
   101, and the April 2014 peak of 81.9 was increased to 116.4.   
      
   The autumn equinox is September 23 at 0822 UTC, ushering in a new Fall DX   
   season.   
      
   In Friday's bulletin we will look at a revised forecast and reports from   
   readers. Send me your reports and observations.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   Just Ahead in Radiosport   
      
    *  August 29-30 -- ALARA Contest (CW)   
    *  August 29-30 -- W/VE Islands QSO Party (CW, SSB, digital)   
    *  August 29-30 -- SCC RTTY Championship   
    *  August 29-30 -- YO DX HF Contest (CW, SSB)   
    *  August 29-30 -- Kansas QSO Party   
    *  August 30 -- SARL HF CW Contest (CW)   
    *  September 2 -- Phone Fray   
    *  September 2 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test   
    *  September 2 -- UKEICC 80 Meter Contest   
    *  September 3 -- NRAU 10 Meter Activity Contest   
      
   See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events   
      
    *  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   
    *  October 16-18 -- Microwave Update Convention, San Diego, California   
    *  October 16-18 -- Pacific Division Convention (Pacificon), San Ramon,   
       California   
    *  October 17 -- Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference, Wisconsin Rapids,   
       Wisconsin   
    *  October 18 -- Connecticut State Convention, Meriden, Connecticut   
    *  October 23-24 -- Arizona State Convention, Kingman, Arizona   
    *  October 23-24 -- Oklahoma State Convention, Ardmore, Oklahoma   
      
   Find conventions and hamfests in your area.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   ARRL -- Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information   
      
    *  Join or Renew Today! ARRL membership includes QST, Amateur Radio's most   
       popular and informative journal, delivered to your mailbox each month.   
    *  Listen to ARRL Audio News, available every Friday.   
      
   Subscribe to...   
      
    *  NCJ -- National Contest Journal. Published bi-monthly, features articles   
       by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint and QSO   
       Parties.   
    *  QEX -- A Forum for Communications Experimenters. Published bi-monthly,   
       features technical articles, construction projects, columns, and other   
       items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals.   
      
   Free of charge to ARRL members...   
      
    *  Subscribe to the ARES E-Letter (monthly public service and emergency   
       communications news), the ARRL Contest Update (bi-weekly contest   
       newsletter), Division and Section news alerts -- and much more!   
      
   Find ARRL on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter!   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 48 times each year. ARRL members may   
   subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data Page as   
   described at http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/.   
      
   Copyright (C) 2015 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved   
      
   www.arrl.org   
      
   )\/(ark   
      
   ... Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction.   
   ---   
    * Origin:  (1:3634/12.73)