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   http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2015-10-01   
      
   The ARRL Letter   
      
   October 1, 2015   
   Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME   
      
    *  Hurricane Watch Net Keeping Tabs on Joaquin   
    *  League Reiterates Call for FCC to Allocate 630 Meters, Okay Rules for   
       2200 Meters   
    *  Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 Hits 100 Proponents in the US House   
    *  Wyoming Club Supports League's Washington Advocacy Efforts   
    *  MARS Invites ARES/RACES Participation in Coronal Mass Ejection Disaster   
       Exercise   
    *  ARRL Foundation Scholarship Program Accepting 2016-17 Applications   
    *  More Chinese Amateur Radio Satellites are Aloft   
    *  Former ARRL Washington Coordinator, Archivist Perry Williams, W1UED, SK   
    *  In Brief   
    *  The K7RA Solar Update   
    *  Just Ahead in Radiosport   
    *  Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events   
      
      
   Hurricane Watch Net Keeping Tabs on Joaquin   
      
   It's been a quiet season so far for the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN), but   
   Hurricane Joaquin, now a Category 3 storm, has been keeping net members busy   
   this week. Joaquin hit the Bahamas on September 30, with maximum sustained   
   winds of 120 MPH. After initially activating on September 30 at 1500 UTC on   
   14.325 MHz, the net took a break on October 1 at 0445 UTC, as conditions   
   deteriorated on its nighttime frequency of 7.268 MHz. The HWN resumed   
   operation a few hours later on 20 meters at Alert Level 5 -- Catastrophic   
   Response Mode. WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) also activated on   
   October 1.   
      
   "This storm has gotten huge and very ugly," HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV,   
   told ARRL on October 1. Residents along the US East Coast should closely   
   monitor the progress of Joaquin."   
      
   The NHC said Joaquin would batter the Central Bahamas with hurricane-force   
   winds and heavy rain and storm surges into the evening of October 1. The storm   
   was expected to generate rainfall totals of 10 to 15 inches over the central   
   Bahamas. The NHC has predicted that Joaquin would turn toward the   
   west-northwest late on October 1, followed by a turn to the north and an   
   increase in forward speed on October 2.   
      
   The 5-day projection for Hurricane Joaquin would place the storm off the coast   
   of North Carolina as early as October 4 and headed toward Southern New   
   England. States of emergency already are in effect in Virginia and New Jersey,   
   but it's still unclear whether the storm will make landfall or remain   
   offshore. Some ARES units are already preparing for possible activation.   
      
   During HWN activations, the net control station requests measured/observed   
   "ground-truth" data from stations in the affected area. The HWN is available   
   to provide backup communication to official agencies, such as emergency   
   operations centers and Red Cross officials in the affected area. The net also   
   will gather and report to FEMA officials in the NHC any information on   
   significant damage. Stations should not check into the net unless specifically   
   requested to do so.   
      
   The NHC said swells generated by Joaquin will affect portions of the Bahamas   
   over the next few days and will start affecting portions of Florida's eastern   
   coast and the US southeast coast by October 2. "These swells are likely to   
   cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions," the NHC predicted.   
      
   "We're monitoring the situation and the forecasts regularly. Like most, we're   
   waiting to see which way the storm will go," ARRL Emergency Preparedness   
   Manager Mike Corey, KI1U, told the ARRL Field Organization leadership in areas   
   that could be affected by Joaquin. "ARRL Headquarters will be in touch with   
   our National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), FEMA, and NHC   
   as things develop."   
      
   Visit the HWN website for the latest information on this storm and HWN   
   activation plans.   
      
      
   League Reiterates Call for FCC to Allocate 630 Meters, Okay Rules for 2200   
   Meters   
      
   The ARRL has again urged the FCC to go forward with a proposed new Amateur   
   Radio allocation at 472-479 kHz (630 meters) and to establish service rules   
   for Amateur Radio operation at 135.7-137.8 kHz (2200 meters). The League   
   reiterated its August 31 arguments in favor of flexible FCC Part 97   
   regulations in its September 30 reply comments to the FCC's April Report and   
   Order, Order, and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (R&O/NPRM) in ET Docket 15-99.   
   That R&O/NPRM raised several questions regarding how Amateur Radio might   
   coexist with PLC systems used to control the power grid. Targeting comments   
   filed by the Utilities Telecom Council (UTC), the ARRL called on the   
   Commission to ignore UTC's call not to allocate 630 meters to Amateur Radio.   
   It asked the FCC to implement a notification procedure for amateur stations   
   within 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) of a transmission line carrying PLC and where   
   the PLC system is operating on frequencies within or which overlap the 2200 or   
   630 meter bands.   
      
   "The comments of UTC, without the benefit of any technical component or   
   argument, oppose the allocation of the 630 meter band to the Amateur Service,   
   and suggest overly and unnecessarily conservative regulation of amateur   
   operation in the 2200 meter band," the ARRL told the FCC. "Whatever protection   
   criteria are ultimately deemed to be necessary with respect to the 2200 meter   
   band, those criteria would be applicable and sufficient as well with respect   
   to the 630 meter band," the ARRL said. "There is no technical justification   
   offered by UTC for withholding the 630 meter allocation."   
      
   The ARRL also urged the FCC to reject what it called "UTC's inchoate proposal"   
   to elevate the unlicensed status of PLCs operating between 9 and 490 kHz,   
   purportedly to protect them from interference "caused by amateur operations,"   
   while not making any accommodations to address PLC interference to Amateur   
   Radio operations. "UTC cannot have it both ways: It cannot enjoy the benefits   
   of unlicensed operation under Part 15 of the Commission's rules as a   
   carrier-current, unintentional emitter and at the same time claim the   
   protection afforded an allocated, licensed radio service," the ARRL argued.   
      
   While the UTC has offered to work with the FCC, the ARRL characterized the   
   UTC's comments as "distinctly unhelpful" in terms of providing information   
   regarding the prevalence and location of PLCs that need protection, the   
   interference potential from Amateur Radio operation and notification   
   requirements, and just how much protection the PLCs actually need. "They are   
   not responsive at all to the plethora of questions asked by the Commission in   
   the Notice," the ARRL continued, "and those points that UTC makes are   
   unsubstantiated."   
      
   The League said it's willing to work with utilities in setting up a   
   notification procedure to address the unlikely possibility that Amateur Radio   
   operations in the two bands might interfere with critical PLC systems.   
      
   "In order to implement this, UTC should be called upon to provide to ARRL or   
   to the general public, a list of transmission lines carrying PLC which make   
   use of either of the two subject bands, thus to facilitate notification," the   
   ARRL reply comments said.   
      
   The League concluded by calling on the FCC to allocate 630 meters to Amateur   
   Radio, as proposed in the Notice, reject UTC's proposal to elevate the status   
   of PLCs, and implement a notification procedure for amateur stations   
   within 1 kilometer of a transmission line carrying PLC in or near the two   
   bands, and to make the LF and MF allocation changes in Part 2 and the Part 97   
   service rule changes, "as proposed by ARRL and not otherwise."   
      
      
   Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 Hits 100 Proponents in the US House   
      
   The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 -- H.R. 1301 and S. 1685 -- now has the   
   support of 100 members of the US House of Representatives. Two additional   
   cosponsors signed onto H.R. 1301 on September 24, raising the number of   
   cosponsors to 99. Those members plus the House bill's sponsor, US Rep Adam   
   Kinzinger (R-IL), total 100 proponents, and the number is expected to continue   
   growing.   
      
   One of the newcomers agreeing to cosponsor H.R. 1301 was the congressman who   
   represents the Connecticut House district that includes ARRL Headquarters --   
   Rep John Larson (D-CT). The other new cosponsor was Rep Kristi L. Noem   
   (R-SD)   
      
   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. Kinzinger introduced H.R. 1301 in March, with   
   12 original cosponsors from both sides of the aisle. Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS)   
   introduced S. 1685 in June, with Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) as the original   
   cosponsor.   
      
   Recently the League took steps to address objections and concerns raised by   
   representatives of community associations about the legislation. "Clarity on   
   Amateur Radio Parity" makes it clear that the bill would not create new   
   federal policy with respect to outdoor amateur antennas. As it points out, the   
   FCC already recognizes a strong federal interest in effective Amateur Radio   
   communication from residences and has adopted a limited preemption of   
   state and local regulation of Amateur Radio antennas. The Amateur Radio Parity   
   Act of 2015 would extend the limited preemption to private land-use   
   restrictions.   
      
   H.R. 1301 has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Rep   
   Greg Walden, W7EQI (R-OR), chairs that panel's Communications and Technology   
   Subcommittee, which will consider the measure. S. 1685 has been referred to   
   the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee's subcommittee on   
   Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, chaired by Sen   
   Wicker, the bill's sponsor.   
      
   The ARRL continues to encourage members to write their US House and Senate   
   members urging their cosponsorship of the legislation. Visit the Amateur Radio   
   Parity Act of 2015 page for information on how you can get involved.   
      
      
   Wyoming Club Supports League's Washington Advocacy Efforts   
      
   ARRL Wyoming Section Manager Jack Mitchell, N7MJ, on September 18 at ARRL   
   Headquarters presented ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, with a check for $1000 on   
   behalf of the Shy-Wy Amateur Radio Club of Cheyenne, Wyoming. The club's   
   designated its donation to support the League's efforts in Washington on the   
   Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015.   
      
   "The ARRL is very appreciative to the members of the Shy-Wy Amateur Radio Club   
   for their generous contribution to the Legislative Issues Advocacy Fund," said   
   ARRL Development Manager Lauren Clarke, KB1YDD. "This fund supports the   
   efforts of ARRL key volunteers and staffers in Washington, DC, on behalf of   
   the Amateur Radio Parity Act, and every donation to help this important work   
   brings us that much closer to our goal."   
      
   Sumner gave Mitchell an ARRL Certificate of Appreciation for the Shy-Wy ARC.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   MARS Invites ARES/RACES Participation in Coronal Mass Ejection Disaster   
   Exercise   
      
   A disastrous coronal mass ejection (CME) will be the focus of a national   
   Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) communication exercise in early   
   November, and MARS is hoping to collaborate with Amateur Radio Emergency   
   Service (ARES) and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) groups. The   
   MARS exercise will get under way on November 8 and continue into November 10.   
   It will be a quarterly contingency HF exercise in support of the US Department   
   of Defense.   
      
   "The exercise scenario will simulate a CME event and focus on actions that   
   radio operators should take prior to and following a CME event," explained   
   Army MARS Program Manager Paul English, WD8DBY. "One thing we want to continue   
   to work on is the interface with the greater Amateur Radio community."   
      
   CMEs are huge explosions of gas, plasma, and electromagnetic radiation from   
   the Sun, which are responsible for geomagnetic storms. Solar flares can   
   accompany CMEs, but they are not the same thing. A CME can take anywhere from   
   1 day to 3 days to reach Earth. CMEs occur all the time, but most bypass Earth   
   with minor effects. A major CME that hits Earth directly could damage or   
   destroy satellites as well as terrestrial communication and electrical power   
   infrastructure.   
      
   English said the November exercise would simulate a radio blackout as well as   
   infrastructure damage. "During the exercise, we will simulate the blackout   
   with a 3 hour pause, and then we will bring stations back on air and begin   
   handling requests for information," he told ARRL.   
      
   Training objectives for this exercise will include understanding what a CME is   
   and how much forecast lead time can be expected; the effects associated with a   
   CME, and what precautions radio operators take to protect their equipment   
   prior to a severe CME.   
      
   After the simulated CME, operators will assess its effects and begin reporting   
   that information. This will involve "interoperation with Amateur Radio   
   operators and groups to assist in assessment."   
      
   Individual radio amateurs as well as ARES and RACES teams are encouraged to   
   participate in this exercise. Contact MARS and provide your contact   
   information, if your organization is interested.   
      
      
   ARRL Foundation Scholarship Program Accepting 2016-17 Applications   
      
   The ARRL Foundation is accepting academic year 2016-17 applications from   
   eligible young radio amateurs planning to pursue higher education. All   
   applicants must be active FCC licensees and submit an online application. More   
   than 80 scholarships ranging from $500 to $5000 will be awarded in 2016. In   
   addition, one applicant will be selected to receive the prestigious William R.   
   Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship, awarded to a high school senior pursuing a   
   degree in business, computers, medical, nursing, engineering, or science.   
   Students submitting 2016 applications should read the ARRL Scholarship   
   descriptions carefully and apply only for those scholarships for which they   
   are eligible. Some scholarships have geographic criteria or other requirements.   
      
   All applicants must submit a completed online application. Applicants must   
   also forward a copy of their academic transcripts from their most recently   
   completed school year. Applications without accompanying transcripts will not   
   be considered. Cell phone photos of transcript(s) will not be accepted. All   
   transcripts must be scanned into a PDF and sent via e-mail.   
      
   Applicants for the William R. Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship must also submit a   
   PDF of their FAFSA form by February 18, 2016, as well as a copy of their   
   academic transcript from their most recently completed school year.   
      
   Applicants will receive a confirmation message when their applications have   
   been successfully processed.   
      
   The 2016 application window opened on October 1. Applications for the 2016   
   scholarship process must be received by 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time on   
   January 31, 2016. Transcripts must be received by Thursday, February 18, 2016.   
   Award recipients are typically notified by mid-May by USPS mail and e-mail.   
      
      
   More Chinese Amateur Radio Satellites are Aloft   
      
   On the heels of the September 19 launch of nine satellites carrying Amateur   
   Radio payloads comes word that three more satellites were launched on   
   September 25 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia's Gobi   
   Desert. The CubeSats, identified as Tianwang-1A (TW-1A; SECM-1), Tianwang-1B   
   (TW-1B; NJUST-2), and Tianwang-1C (TW-1C; NJFA-1), were developed by students   
   at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in collaboration   
   with the Shanghai Engineering Center for Microsatellites. TW-1A and TW-1B are   
   2 U CubeSats, while TW-1C is a 3U CubeSat.   
      
   The mission's main goal is to experiment with software defined radio   
   technology in space. The Amateur Radio payloads, which do not include any   
   transponders, will serve to exchange telemetry, tracking, and command   
   information with the ground control station. Telemetry data will be made   
   public, so that radio amateurs around the world may track and monitor the   
   health of the satellites.   
      
   Other payloads include a video camera, along with receivers for dual-band   
   GPS/BeiDou, Maritime Automatic Identification System, and Aeronautical   
   Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast. Using MEMS-based cold-gas   
   micropropulsion, it is planned to demonstrate formation flying by two of the   
   CubeSats along with inter-satellite communication using GAMALINK 2.4 GHz   
   spread spectrum technology from Portugal.   
      
   According to Michael Chen, BD5RV, of CAMSAT, the satellites have downlinks in   
   the 435-438 MHz Amateur-Satellite Service allocation. TW-1A transmits on   
   435.645 MHz (GMSK 4800/9600 baud, 10 second transmit interval); TW-1B on   
   437.645 MHz (GMSK 4800/9600 baud, 20 second transmit interval), and TW-1C on   
   435.645 MHz (GMSK 4800/9600 baud, 10 second transmit interval). Note that   
   TW-1A and 1C use the same frequency. The satellites also may have downlink   
   frequencies in the VHF range. -- Thanks to AMSAT News Service, AMSAT-UK   
      
      
   Former ARRL Washington Coordinator, Archivist Perry Williams, W1UED, SK   
      
   The League's former Washington Coordinator and veteran ARRL Headquarters staff   
   member Perry Williams, W1UED, of Unionville, Connecticut, died on September   
   25. An ARRL Life Member, Williams, who would have turned 87 in October, spent   
   4 decades on staff before retiring in 1994. That same year, he was named as   
   Dayton Hamvention's Amateur of the Year. In 2002 he returned to ARRL   
   Headquarters in a part-time position as the League archivist.   
      
   "If Perry didn't know something about ARRL history, it wasn't worth knowing,"   
   commented ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ. "I worked for Perry when I joined the   
   full-time ARRL staff in 1972 and couldn't have asked for a better mentor."   
      
   A radio amateur since 1951, Williams came to ARRL Headquarters in April 1954   
   as an assistant secretary, which, as Sumner explained, meant that Williams   
   "was expected to be able to answer just about any question about Amateur   
   Radio regulations, both nationally and internationally, and to do whatever the   
   Secretary and General Manager needed done."   
      
   After rising to senior assistant secretary, in 1977 he was named manager of   
   the Membership Services Department. Three years later, he became the ARRL's   
   Washington Area Coordinator, spending a couple of days a week in DC as the   
   face and voice of Amateur Radio on Capitol Hill and at the FCC and working   
   with ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD (then N3AKD), and Washington-area   
   volunteers. Over the years, Williams contributed an extensive list of columns   
   and articles to QST. After returning to Headquarters part-time in 2002,   
   Williams continued as archivist until February 2011.   
      
   "It was my great privilege to work with Perry Williams, W1UED ('usually eats   
   dinner' were his self-chosen phonetics for that call sign), on ARRL advocacy   
   issues. Perry was extremely proud to wave ARRL's banner in the halls of   
   Congress at the FCC and in a good number of other Federal agencies where   
   Amateur Radio had business." Imlay said. One of Williams's greatest   
   accomplishments included talking Congress out of charging amateurs a license   
   application fee; instead he argued convincingly in favor of creating a vanity   
   call sign program. "Perry thought -- accurately -- that amateurs would be   
   willing to pay for services that they got from FCC, but that they would be   
   very unhappy to pay application fees that didn't translate into something that   
   benefited them," Imlay said. "Congress bought Perry's argument, and so we now   
   have vanity call signs and no application fees."   
      
   Imlay said Williams also crafted a plan for the Amateur Service not only to   
   retain large segments of microwave spectrum that a bill in Congress would have   
   surrendered for commercial interests, but to create a primary allocation   
   around 2.4 GHz.   
      
   Prior to joining the ARRL staff, Williams served as a radio operator with the   
   US Air Force Strategic Air Command for 6 years, before and during the Korean   
   Conflict. In his younger years, he was active as a Boy Scout leader,   
   once directed two church choirs, and enjoyed playing the accordion.   
      
   A memorial service will be announced. Survivors include his wife, Martha, and   
   four children.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   In Brief   
      
   AMSAT's Fox-1A to Launch from California on October 8: The much-awaited Fox-1A   
   CubeSat is set to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on   
   October 8. It will ride aloft on an Atlas V rocket as part of the National   
   Reconnaissance Office Launch 55 (NROL-55), which will carry an auxiliary   
   payload called Government Rideshare Advanced Concepts Experiment (GRACE).   
   Sponsored by the NRO, GRACE will carry 13 CubeSats into space -- nine   
   sponsored by the NRO and four -- including Fox-1A -- by NASA. GRACE is the   
   fourth NRO-sponsored CubeSat mission. -- Thanks to AMSAT News Service   
      
      
   LAPAN-A2 FM and APRS Satellite Launched: It's getting even busier in space.   
   Indonesia's IARU Amateur Radio society ORARI reports that the LAPAN-A2/ORARI   
   satellite was launched on September 28, from India. LAPAN-A2 is in a 650 km   
   orbit and takes about 110 minutes to orbit Earth. The low-inclination   
   equatorial orbit of 6ø to 8ø means it will be receivable only from about 30ø N   
   to 30ø S, limiting the satellite's accessibility to users outside of that   
   footprint. LAPAN-A2 has been heard. It now is undergoing activation and   
   systems testing, and it is expected to be 1 month before the Amateur Radio FM   
   transponder will be generally available. The primary aims of the mission are   
   Earth observation using an RGB camera and maritime traffic monitoring using   
   AIS -- both using frequencies outside the Amateur Satellite Service. The   
   telemetry beacon is on 437.425 MHz; the FM voice uplink is 435.880 MHz; the FM   
   voice downlink is 145.880 MHz. The transponder runs 5 W. The APRS digipeater   
   is on 145.825. Reports are welcome.   
      
      
   Radio Amateurs Track Signal Interfering on Public Safety Frequency: Radio   
   amateurs in New Hampshire recently were able to help track down the source of   
   a constant mystery signal on 155.340 MHz -- the "Med 1" frequency for local   
   hospitals. "The offending transmitter was easily received in Dover on a   
   handheld, and was interfering with ambulance-hospital communications," New   
   Hampshire Technical Coordinator Dee Hebert, AB1ST, told New Hampshire Section   
   Manager Pete Stohrer, K1PJS. "George [Whitehead, W1BOF] and I began looking   
   for the transmitter in Dover, and, after a few hours, we had traced it down to   
   Exeter Hospital. George knows the emergency preparedness coordinator at that   
   hospital and contacted him." Communications technicians at the hospital,   
   responding to a report that users were unable to transmit or receive on any   
   frequency, were unaware of the constantly keyed transmitter. They started   
   shutting down systems there until the offending signal disappeared. "We   
   suspect that all of the problems at Exeter Hospital were due to that single   
   transmitter," Hebert said. "It was good to see Amateur Radio and our fox hunt   
   skills put to practical use in the community." -- Thanks to Dee Hebert, AB1ST   
      
      
   CQ World Wide DX Contest Committee Conducting Survey: The CQ World Wide DX   
   Contest Committee is conducting a survey to gather feedback about the contest   
   from participants. An invitation with a link to the survey has been sent via   
   e-mail to everyone who submitted a log in the 2014 SSB and CW CQ WW events.   
   "The responses will help us improve the contest and make important decisions   
   about the rules," the CQ WW Contest Committee said. Anyone who has   
   participated in the CQ WW DX Contest in the past 3 years is invited to take   
   the survey, which is available in five languages and should take about 10   
   minutes to complete. Participants should only take the survey once. The   
   deadline to submit surveys is October 10.   
      
      
   The K7RA Solar Update   
      
   Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Solar activity spiked again this week, with   
   average daily sunspot numbers rising from 73 to 120.9. Average daily solar   
   flux tracked upward too -- from 106.7 to 122.7.   
      
   Predicted solar flux is 130 on October 1-2; 120 and 110 on October 3-4; 100 on   
   October 5-8; 115 on October 9-10; 110 on October 11-12; then 115, 120, and 125   
   on October 13-15; 130 on October 16-18; 125 on October 19; 120 on October   
   20-24, then 130, 125, 120, and 115 on October 25-28; 110 on October 29 through   
   November 1, and 115 on November 2-6.   
      
   Predicted planetary A index is 8, 20 and 22 on October 1-3; 28, 16, and 12 on   
   October 4-6; 8 on October 7-8; 10 on October 9; 8 on October 10-14; then 12,   
   10, and 12 on October 15-17; 8 on October 18-24; 7 on October 25-27; 15, 10,   
   7, and 15 on October 28-31, and 12, 8, and 12 on November 1-3.   
      
   Monthly averages of sunspot numbers for May through September were 83, 77.4,   
   68.5, 61.7, and 72.5. The 3 month moving averages of daily sunspot numbers   
   centered on January through August were 98.2, 78.1, 68.2, 72.4, 77.7, 76.3,   
   69.1, and 67.5. A 3 month moving average centered on August has a sum of all   
   sunspot numbers from July 1 through September 30, and divides by 92, the   
   number of days. A 3 month moving average centered on July incorporates all   
   data from June 1 through August 31.   
      
   Send me your reports and observations.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   Just Ahead in Radiosport   
      
    *  October 1 -- SARL 80 Meter QSO Party (SSB)   
    *  October 1 -- NRAU 10 Meter Activity Contest (CW, SSB, Digital)   
    *  October 2 -- NCCC Weekly Sprint (CW)   
    *  October 2-4 -- YLRL YL Anniversary Contest (CW, SSB, Digital)   
    *  October 3 -- TARA PSK Rumble Contest   
    *  October 3 -- German Telegraphy Contest   
    *  October 3 -- FISTS Fall Slow Speed Sprint (CW)   
    *  October 3 -- 4 State 4x4 QRP Sprint (CW, SSB)   
    *  October 3-4 -- 15-Meter SSTV Dash Contest   
    *  October 3-4 -- Oceania DX Contest (SSB)   
    *  October 3-4 -- Russian WW Digital Contest   
    *  October 3-4 -- TRC DX Contest (CW, SSB)   
    *  October 3-4 -- California QSO Party (CW)   
    *  October 3-4 -- International HELL Contest   
    *  October 3-4 -- WAB HF Phone   
    *  October 4 -- UBA ON Contest (SSB)   
    *  October 4 -- RSGB 21/28 MHz Contest (CW, SSB)   
    *  October 6 -- ARS Spartan Sprint (CW)   
    *  October 7 --Weekly Phone Fray   
    *  October 7 -- 432 MHz Fall Sprint (CW, phone)   
    *  October 7-8 -- CWops Weekly Mini-CWT Test   
    *  October 9 -- NCCC RTTY Weekly Sprint   
      
   See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events   
      
    *  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 9-11 -- ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference, Arlington   
       Heights, Illinois   
    *  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   
    *  November 7 -- Fall TechFest, Lakewood, Colorado   
    *  November 7-8 -- Georgia Section Convention, Lawrenceville, Georgia   
    *  November 14 -- HamJam Convention, Alpharetta, Georgia   
    *  November 14-15 -- Indiana State Convention, Fort Wayne, Indiana   
      
   Find conventions and hamfests in your area.   
      
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