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   http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2016-02-25   
      
   The ARRL Letter   
      
   February 25, 2016   
   Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME   
      
    *  FCC Invites Comments on ARRL Petition That Seeks 80/75 Meter Adjustments   
    *  Ballots Counted, Results Announced in Three ARRL Section Manager   
       Contests   
    *  ARRL to Offer ARES Forms Training Webinar   
    *  ARES Team Leverages Radio Services, Local Media, Internet in Missouri   
       Flood Watch   
    *  FCC Seeks Comments on Petition to Grant Lifetime Amateur Radio Licenses   
    *  National Parks on the Air Update   
    *  AMSAT Seeks Volunteers to Support Phase 4 "Five and Dime" Ground   
       Terminal Effort   
    *  Satellite DXCC Nearly 20 Years in the Making   
    *  Article Profiles First African-American Radio Amateur, Rufus Turner,   
       W3LF   
    *  Hurricane Watch Net, Maritime Mobile Service Network Stalwart David   
       Lefavour, W7GOX, SK   
    *  In Brief...   
    *  The K7RA Solar Update   
    *  Just Ahead in Radiosport   
    *  Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events   
      
      
   FCC Invites Comments on ARRL Petition That Seeks 80/75 Meter Adjustments   
      
   The FCC has put the ARRL's January Petition for Rule Making (RM 11759) on   
   public notice and invited interested parties to comment on what the League has   
   called "minimal but necessary changes" to 80 and 75 meters. The ARRL   
   petitioned the FCC to fix a "shortfall in available RTTY/data spectrum" that   
   the Commission created when it reapportioned 80 and 75 meters 10 years ago.   
   The League's petition asked the FCC to shift the boundary between the 80 meter   
   RTTY/data subband and the 75 meter phone/image subband from 3600 kHz to 3650   
   kHz. The proposed change received strong support from ARRL members, and the   
   ARRL Board of Directors adopted it as policy at its July 2015 meeting. At that   
   time the Board also agreed to seek RTTY and data privileges for Novice and   
   Technician licensees within their current 15 meter CW subband, and to do the   
   same on 80 meters, depending on the outcome of the 80/75 meter subband   
   revision.   
      
   The petition asks the FCC to make the following changes to the Part 97 Amateur   
   Radio Service rules, with respect to 80/75 meters:   
      
    *  Modify the RTTY/data subband, so that it extends from 3500 kHz to 3650   
       kHz.   
    *  Modify the phone/image subband, so that it extends from 3650 kHz to 4000   
       kHz.   
    *  Make 3600-3650 kHz available for General and Advanced Class licensees,   
       as was the case prior to 2006.   
    *  Make 3600-3650 kHz available to Novice and Technician licensees for   
       telegraphy -- consistent with existing rules permitting Novices and   
       Technicians to operate CW in the 80, 40, and 15 meter General and   
       Advanced RTTY/data subbands.   
    *  Modify the rules governing automatically controlled digital stations   
       (ACDS), to shift the ACDS segment from 3585-3600 kHz to 3600-3615 kHz,   
       consistent with the IARU Region 1 and 2 band plans.   
      
   According to the ARRL, the FCC Report and Order in Docket 04-140 released in   
   2006 departed substantially and without justification from the rules proposed   
   in the FCC's so-called "Omnibus" Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), with   
   respect to 75 and 80 meters. Among other actions, the resulting changes   
   expanded voice privileges on additional frequencies in various bands,   
   including 75 meters. The FCC shifted the phone/image subband from 3750-4000   
   kHz to 3600-4000 kHz, trimming the 80 meter RTTY/data subband from 3500-3750   
   kHz to 3500-3600 kHz and substantially changing "the entire dynamic of this   
   band," the League said.   
      
   Although the Omnibus R&O had indicated that incumbent licensees would not lose   
   any operating privileges, some clearly did, the ARRL has pointed out. The most   
   substantial adverse effect of the "unexpected and vast expansion" of the 75   
   meter phone/image subband, the League said, was the elimination of access to   
   3620-3635 kHz by ACDS. Read more.   
      
      
   Ballots Counted, Results Announced in Three ARRL Section Manager Contests   
      
   The ARRL Pacific, San Diego, and Louisiana Sections will get new Section   
   Managers, and five incumbent SMs will begin new terms in their respective   
   sections on April 1. The results of three contested elections in the winter   
   election cycle were announced February 23, after ballots were tallied at ARRL   
   Headquarters.   
      
    *  In the Pacific Section, Joe Speroni, AH0A, received 228 votes, to 103   
       for Kimberly Fendt, WH6KIM. Speroni has been the Pacific Section's   
       Affiliated Club Coordinator and maintains a variety of Amateur   
       Radio-related interests. Outgoing Pacific Section Manager Bob Schneider,   
       AH6J, decided not to run for another term after serving for the past 10   
       years, in addition to stints from 1992 to 1996 and from 2002 to 2004.   
      
    *  In the San Diego Section, Dave Kaltenborn, N8KBC, outpolled Patrick   
       Bunsold, WA6MHZ, 350 to 219 votes. Kaltenborn brings more than 25 years   
       of experience as a radio amateur to the top post in San Diego Field   
       Organization. He has been Assistant Section Manager, Assistant Section   
       Emergency Coordinator, and a District and local Emergency Coordinator.   
       Outgoing Section Manager Steve Early, AD6VI, decided not to run for   
       another term after serving for the past 8 years.   
      
    *  In the Louisiana Section, Scott Wren, KD5DFL, will succeed Jim Molan,   
       KD5IGG, as Section Manager on April 1. Wren was the only nominee for the   
       new term when Molan announced that he would not run for the position   
       again after serving for one term. Wren has served as Section Emergency   
       Coordinator for the past 2 years, and as an Assistant District Emergency   
       Coordinator or Emergency Coordinator since 2005.   
      
    *  In Virginia, incumbent Section Manager Joe Palsa, K3WRY, received 870   
       votes, while Anthony Harbour, KG4YXP, garnered 512 votes. Palsa was   
       appointed as Virginia's SM 1 year ago, to complete the remaining term of   
       then-Section Manager Carl Clements, W4CAC, who had stepped down. Now   
       elected in his own right, Palsa will continue as Section Manager for the   
       next 2 years.   
      
   Four incumbent ARRL Section Managers faced no opposition and have been   
   declared elected for new terms beginning on April 1: Pete Cecere, N2YJZ,   
   Eastern New York; Joe Ames, W3JY, Eastern Pennsylvania; Karl Bowman, W4CHX,   
   North Carolina, and Chris Stallkamp, W0ADZ, South Dakota.   
      
      
   ARRL to Offer ARES Forms Training Webinar   
      
   On Tuesday March 1, ARRL Headquarters staff will offer a free training webinar   
   on three critical Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) report forms. This   
   webinar is intended for Emergency Coordinators, District Emergency   
   Coordinators, Section Emergency Coordinators, Assistant ECs at all three   
   levels, and Section Managers. The training will cover these forms:.   
      
    *  FSD-157 -- Public Service Activity Report   
    *  FSD-212 -- EC/DEC Monthly Report   
    *  FSD-96 -- SEC Monthly Report   
      
   Topics covered will include how to fill out the forms, who should complete the   
   forms, where the information goes, how the information gets used, and why good   
   reporting is critical. The future of ARES reporting will be discussed. The   
   webinar will begin at 8 PM ET (0100 UTC) and last about 1 hour.   
      
   Conducting the webinar will be ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey,   
   KI1U; ARRL Field Services Supervisor Steve Ewald, WV1X, and ARRL Emergency   
   Preparedness Assistant Ken Bailey, K1FUG.   
      
   Attendees may register online. For more information, contact Mike Corey, KI1U.   
      
      
   ARES Team Leverages Radio Services, Local Media, Internet in Missouri Flood   
   Watch   
      
   Members of Ste Genevieve County ARES in Missouri pulled together a variety of   
   resources to pitch in when the Mississippi River threatened to crest at a   
   record level in late December. Ste Genevieve County Emergency Coordinator Norm   
   Gallup, KD0HHM, reached out to the county's emergency manager to offer the   
   ARES group's assistance, and the ARES team was tasked with patrolling the   
   north levee. Gallup was familiar with the system of levees and earthen dams   
   that keep the river from overflowing its banks. With only a handful of radio   
   amateurs at hand, AEC Jody Odem, NR9A, said the ARES team soon realized it   
   would have to expand its pool of volunteers to non-amateurs who would be   
   willing to patrol the levee. He suggested providing Multi-Use Radio Service   
   (MURS) VHF radios to support unlicensed levee walkers, supplementing ham radio   
   and the Ste Genevieve County Amateur Radio Club repeater.   
      
   The ARES team set up shop at the Ste Genevieve Public Works Department, which   
   overlooks the Mississippi. A county-provided, trailer-mounted crank-up tower   
   was pressed into service to mount antennas. Gallup's "go kit" was packed with   
   a broad complement of radio gear. To obtain Internet service, Odem used a   
   modified wireless router that could function as a repeater to borrow a   
   wireless signal from a local residential care facility.   
      
   As the patrols got under way, MURS radios were issued to all levee walkers,   
   with one also going to the local police department to monitor the ARES team's   
   traffic. The command post also monitored local law enforcement as well as   
   county fire and EMS repeaters.   
      
   While all this was going on, Odem's wife Ana, N0ANA, took to Facebook, e-mail,   
   text message, and telephone to secure additional volunteers. Fortuitously, a   
   ham, Don Pritchard, W6ZPC, is the news director and an on-air personality for   
   the local radio station, and he was able to put out the word via that medium.   
      
   "As the operation progressed, volunteers came out of the woodwork to walk the   
   levee," Jody Odem said. Throughout the operation, a total of 37 volunteers   
   walked 4-hour shifts on the levee, looking for "areas of concern," which were   
   called in and plotted on a map using Google Earth. Many volunteers returned to   
   walk multiple shifts, Jody Odem said, and even with temperatures dipping into   
   the 20s at night, no one complained.   
      
   None of the areas of concern that levee walkers spotted turned out to be   
   significant, as the Mississippi River reached its second-highest level at   
   Chester, Illinois, since records have been kept. The ARES team officially   
   stood down on January 4.   
      
      
   FCC Seeks Comments on Petition to Grant Lifetime Amateur Radio Licenses   
      
   The FCC is seeking comments on a Petition for Rule Making (RM 11760) that asks   
   the FCC to grant lifetime Amateur Radio licenses. Mark F. Krotz, N7MK, of   
   Mesa, Arizona, filed his request with the FCC last November. He wants the FCC   
   to revise ? 97.25 of its rules to indicate that Amateur Radio licenses are   
   granted for the holder's lifetime, instead of for the current 10-year term.   
   Krotz noted that the General Radiotelephone Operator License (GROL) already is   
   issued on a lifetime basis, and he maintained that not having to renew   
   licenses would lighten the FCC's workload.   
      
   "It would be mutually beneficial for the FCC and Amateur Radio operators to   
   update Part 97 to grant operator licenses for lifetime," Krotz said in his   
   filing. "The FCC would benefit by reducing administrative costs."   
      
   In 2014, the FCC granted lifetime credit for examination elements 3 and 4, but   
   applicants seeking relicensing under that provision still must pass   
   examination element 2.   
      
   Individuals may submit comments via the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System   
   (ECFS).   
      
      
   National Parks on the Air Update   
      
   Since the creation of the Manhattan Project National Historic Site by the   
   National Park Service (NPS) in mid-November 2015, activating one of the three   
   sites comprising this unit has been impossible, in large part because gaining   
   access to active Department of Energy sites is exceptionally difficult. The   
   only site of the three with any hope of regular public access is Oak Ridge,   
   Tennessee. On February 24, NPOTA administrators decided that any location   
   within the boundaries of the Oak Ridge Reservation, as outlined on the NPS   
   Manhattan Project website, will count for NPOTA credit. Activators must be   
   sure not to transmit from private property without prior approval.   
      
   There are 35 activations on the NPOTA Activations Calendar between February 25   
   and March 2, including Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico, and Moore's   
   Creek National Battlefield in North Carolina -- as part of the 240th   
   anniversary celebration of the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge during the   
   Revolutionary War.   
      
   Details about these and other upcoming activations can be found on the NPOTA   
   Activations calendar.   
      
   Keep up with the latest NPOTA news on Facebook. Follow NPOTA on Twitter   
   (@ARRL_NPOTA).   
      
      
   AMSAT Seeks Volunteers to Support Phase 4 "Five and Dime" Ground Terminal   
   Effort   
      
   Established less than 1 year ago, AMSAT's all-volunteer Phase 4 Ground   
   Terminal team has made significant strides in developing an ensemble of   
   solutions to support the so-called "Five and Dime" (5 GHz and 10 GHz) strategy   
   AMSAT has embraced for microwave satellite projects. Prompting the effort is   
   the planned launch of a geosynchronous military satellite in the 2018 time   
   frame, which could play host to an Amateur Radio payload operating on the two   
   microwave bands. The overarching project, which also includes a complementary   
   Phase 4 Space team, is exploring new territory and innovative solutions, and   
   it's seeking volunteers from among the technically savvy within the Amateur   
   Radio community.   
      
   "We're going to make it as awesome as possible," Ground Station team lead   
   Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, told ARRL. The project not only would support the   
   Phase 4B geosynchronous launch, but provide solutions for the Phase 3E   
   high-Earth orbit satellite, and receiver support for AMSAT's entry into the   
   NASA Cube Quest Challenge, which would go to the moon.   
      
   Thompson said the compelling technical reason for using 5 GHz and 10 GHz is   
   the ability to use high-bandwidth modes on those bands. In addition, "the 5   
   and 10 GHz bands are popular elsewhere, and other projects are embracing this   
   band complement," she noted. Another advantage would be to raise Amateur   
   Radio's profile on the two bands and perhaps "shake things up" there for   
   terrestrial use. "The 5 and 10 GHz bands are a compromise that's working   
   really, really well," Thompson said.   
      
   The US Air Force will control the geosynchronous satellite. Virginia Tech,   
   Millennium Space Systems (MSS), FEMA, various clubs. as well as AMSAT and ARRL   
   are partners in, or are supporting, the project. A formal memorandum of   
   understanding is pending.   
      
      
   Cognitive Radios   
      
   "We're currently exploring the Amateur Radio implementation of a very advanced   
   and exciting open standard called DVB-S2X for the downlink," Thompson   
   explained, noting it offers a variety of modulation and coding. Earth stations   
   will use their individual radios, transmitting a digital signal -- probably   
   something called Offset QPSK (O-PSK) -- directly to the satellite, with each   
   getting its own channel in a frequency division, multiple access (FDMA) scheme.   
      
   "This is an elegant way to design an efficient and advanced communication   
   system and allows technical volunteers to experiment with the basics of   
   cognitive radio -- radio that can sense the environment and adapt to take full   
   advantage of the capabilities the hardware offers," she said.   
      
      
   Groundsats and a "Big Honking SDR"   
      
   Phase 4 radios will be designed to work not just with the impending   
   geosynchronous satellite but through terrestrial microwave "Groundsats,"   
   which, Thompson said, "are essentially satellite simulators that let you test   
   and use the radio terrestrially." Phase 4 radio designs also could be   
   configured to use modulation schemes that are better able to deal with   
   terrestrial multipath.   
      
   Amateur Radio Access Points (ARAPs) -- essentially signal aggregators -- would   
   allow legacy radios, FM handheld transceivers, or emergency traffic providers   
   to use the satellite from any point where an ARAP can be deployed, packaging   
   the input for uplink to the satellite. Hams within ARAP range would be able to   
   use the Five and Dime terrestrial network just as if they were operating   
   through a satellite.   
      
   "The Groundsat, which is doing the same job as the satellite payload, has a   
   big honking SDR on it," Thompson said. Groundsat equipment has arrived and is   
   in use in San Diego, North Texas, and at Virginia Tech, and Groundsat   
   development is under way at those sites. A fourth site would be at Morgan   
   State University in Maryland.   
      
      
   Doing It on the Cheap   
      
   The name "Five and Dime" also reflects the project's economics. AMSAT Board   
   Member and Virginia Tech Research Professor Bob McGwier, N4HY, recently   
   explained on the AMSAT-BB that the Ground Team's work is "an effort to design   
   an inexpensive ground terminal for amateurs that would cost tens of thousands   
   of dollars commercially, for as much under $1000 as we can get it."   
      
   To volunteer for the Phase 4 Ground Team, provide your contact information on   
   AMSAT's Engineering Team contact form.   
      
      
   Satellite DXCC Nearly 20 Years in the Making   
      
   It took nearly 20 years, but AMSAT Vice President of Operations Drew   
   Glasbrenner, KO4MA, finally qualified for Satellite DXCC. Glasbrenner   
   submitted the requisite number of QSLs for checking at the Orlando HamCation   
   February 12-14, and ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X,   
   verified KO4MA's achievement.   
      
   "It's been a long process getting to satellite DXCC," said Glasbrenner, who   
   got into satellite operating around 1993, and was only on RS-12 (Mode K) for a   
   long time. "This was the Russian satellite payload that used 15 meters up, and   
   10 meters down."   
      
   Glasbrenner's activity stagnated for a long time during and after his college   
   years, but in 1999 he got involved in working the LEO satellites, such as   
   UO-14, AO-27, FO-20, FO-29, and AO-10 "when it was still semi-usable," he   
   added.   
      
   "When AO-40 was launched into a high-Earth orbit, I dove into Mode U/S with   
   gusto," Glasbrenner recounted. During the 3 years that AO-40 was active, he   
   spent many late nights and early mornings looking for the next new one.   
   "Eventually I was using a 3-foot solid dish with preamp and downconverter for   
   the Mode S downlink, and this is when some of my most exciting contacts came."   
      
   Highlights included working VU2MKP at a few degrees of elevation to the east,   
   right after the satellite came up, and working KH2GR in the other direction.   
      
   When AO-40 went silent, Glasbrenner said he was about a dozen short of DXCC,   
   and he realized that he'd have to be proactive to finish up with just LEO   
   satellites. Many of his new ones came from operators who went the extra mile   
   to operate from places like the Caribbean and Greenland.   
      
   Glasbrenner said the absence of operational HEO satellites "makes satellite   
   DXCC nearly impossible for newer operators."   
      
   Bernhard Dobler, DJ5MN, has been at the top of the DXCC Satellite standings   
   since 2000, and has 274 entities confirmed.   
      
      
   Article Profiles First African-American Radio Amateur, Rufus Turner, W3LF   
      
   The computer hardware/software/do-it-yourself blog Hackaday has profiled Rufus   
   Turner, W3LF (ex-K6AI) -- believed to be the first African-American radio   
   amateur and one of the more fascinating personalities in US history. Born on   
   December 25, 1907, in Houston, Texas, Turner "became fascinated by crystal   
   diodes and published his first article about radio when he was 17," according   
   to Hackaday. He went on to build what Hackaday described as "then the world's   
   smallest radio set" in 1925, while still a teenager.   
      
   In the day when radio amateurs still were allowed to broadcast, W3LF became   
   the first radio station licensed to an African-American. He broadcast with a   
   15 W in Washington, DC, and operated another radio station for his church.   
      
   Working with Sylvania in the 1940s, Turner helped to develop the 1N34A   
   germanium diode. And in 1949, he wrote "Build a Transistor" for Hugo   
   Gernsback's Radio-Electronics magazine (May 1949 issue, p 38) -- at a time   
   when transistors (aka "crystal triodes") not only were cutting edge but not   
   commercially available. His meticulously described project involved the   
   sacrifice of two 1N34A diodes.   
      
   In January 1950, his article, "A Crystal Receiver with Transistor Amplifier"   
   appeared in Radio and Television News, along with plans for a three-transistor   
   radio. This was in the days before such things had begun to appear on the   
   market.   
      
   While he had attended Armstrong Tech in Washington, DC, and he became a   
   licensed professional engineer, he veered into the non-technical sphere of   
   academe later in his life, earning bachelor's and master's degrees in English,   
   and in 1960 -- at age 52 -- becoming an English professor. Read more. --   
   Thanks to Hackaday, Southgate Amateur Radio News, Radio-Electronics   
      
      
   Hurricane Watch Net, Maritime Mobile Service Network Stalwart David Lefavour,   
   W7GOX, SK   
      
   A veteran of the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) and the Maritime Mobile Service   
   Network (MMSN), Capt David Lefavour, W7GOX, of Los Lunas, New Mexico, died on   
   February 8. He was 82. Lefavour served for more than 28 years in the US Navy   
   as a fighter pilot and later worked in law enforcement. An ARRL member, he was   
   a member of the HWN for more than 20 years, serving as the net manager from   
   2006 until 2009 and receiving manager emeritus status in 2013. He also was a   
   net controller for a similar tenure for the MMSN.   
      
   "Dave was one of few I've met who had a very calming and reassuring voice   
   during any emergency situation," HWN Net Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, said.   
      
   Lefavour will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery with full military   
   honors.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   In Brief...   
      
   February 27-28 Maintenance to Interrupt ARRL Website Services: The ARRL   
   Information Technology Department will conduct overnight maintenance on its   
   network during the February 27-28 weekend, and some or all website systems and   
   services will be temporarily unavailable. The work will start at 0100 UTC on   
   February 28 (the evening of Saturday, February 27, in US time zones) and be   
   completed by 1100 UTC on Sunday, February 28. The ARRL website will remain up,   
   but online processing of membership applications and renewals and the ARRL   
   Store will not be available. E-mail also will be unavailable, but all messages   
   will be queued for later delivery. We apologize for any inconvenience.   
      
   "Ham Radio Now" Hosting 2015 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference Video   
   Presentations: Full-length video of all major presentations at the 2015   
   ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC) is now online, courtesy of   
   "Ham Radio Now." This includes the 16 individual talks on subjects ranging   
   from making a WSPR transmitter from a Raspberry Pi to advances in HF receiver   
   testing to building your own networked satellite ground station. Each talk   
   runs about 45 minutes. The DCC Sunday "Deep Dive" -- 4 hours on a single topic   
   --covered 3D modeling for Amateur Radio. Saturday night banquet speaker ARRL   
   Contributing Editor Ward Silver, N0AX, posed the question: "Ham Radio... Now   
   What?" DCC videos are grouped in a YouTube Playlist.   
      
      
   Idaho QSO Party Listing in QST "Contest Calendar" Contains Incorrect Website   
   URL: The March "Contest Calendar" listing for the Idaho QSO Party contains an   
   incorrect URL for the sponsor's website. The correct URL is http   
   //idahoarrl.info/qsoparty/rules.htm. The Idaho QSO Party takes place March   
   12-13, 2016.   
      
      
   The K7RA Solar Update   
      
   Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Over the 7 days of our reporting week   
   (February 18-24), average daily sunspot numbers declined from 56.7 to 37.9.   
      
   Average daily solar flux was down from 107.8 to 93.9, but geomagnetic   
   indicators were also down (generally a good thing), with the average planetary   
   A index decreasing from 17.7 to 10.1 and the average mid-latitude A index   
   declining from 12.6 to 7.3.   
      
   The latest prediction from the US Air Force has solar flux at 85 on February   
   25-26; 80 on February 27-28; 85 on February 29; 90 on March 1-2; 105 on March   
   3; 115 on March 4-7; 110 on March 8-9; 105 on March 10-13; 100 on March 14-15;   
   95 on March 16-19; 100 and 105 on March 20-21, and 110 on March 22-23. Solar   
   flux then peaks at 115 on March 29 through April 3.   
      
   Predicted planetary A index is 8 on February 25-29; 12 on March 1; 8 on March   
   2-4; 5, 15, 10, and 8 on March 5-8; 5 on March 9-10; then 8, 5, and 12 on   
   March 11-13; 30 on March 14-16; 15 and 8 on March 17-18, and 5 on March 19-21.   
      
   Sunspot numbers for February 18 through 24 were 35, 42, 46, 47, 29, 27, and   
   39, with a mean of 37.9. The 10.7 centimeter flux was 94.9, 94, 100, 95.6,   
   93.7, 91, and 87.9, with a mean of 93.9. Estimated planetary A indices were   
   29, 15, 6, 4, 4, 6, and 7, with a mean of 10.1. Estimated mid-latitude A   
   indices were 20, 10, 5, 3, 3, 5, and 5, with a mean of 12.6.   
      
   Send me your reports and observations.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   Just Ahead in Radiosport   
      
    *  February 26-28 -- CQ 160 Meter Contest (SSB)   
    *  February 27-28 -- REF Contest (SSB)   
    *  February 27-28 -- UBA DX Contest (CW)   
    *  February 27-28 -- South Carolina QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)   
    *  February 27-28 -- North American QSO Party (RTTY)   
    *  February 28 -- High Speed Club CW Contest   
    *  February 28 -- SARL Digital Contest   
    *  February 28-29 -- North Carolina QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)   
    *  March 1 -- AGCW YL-CW Party (CW)   
    *  March 2 -- UKEICC 80 Meter Contest (SSB)   
      
   See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. For in-depth reporting on   
   Amateur Radio contesting, subscribe to The ARRL Contest Update via your ARRL   
   member profile e-mail preferences.   
      
   ____________________________________________________________________________   
      
      
   Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events   
      
    *  February 27 -- WCF Section Technical Conference, Tampa, Florida   
    *  February 27 -- New Mexico TechFest, Albuquerque, New Mexico   
    *  February 27 -- Vermont State Convention, S. Burlington, Vermont   
    *  March 4-5 -- Alabama Section Convention, Birmingham, Alabama   
    *  March 11-12 -- Louisiana State Convention, Rayne, Louisiana   
    *  March 18-19 -- South Texas Section Convention, Rosenburg, Texas   
    *  March 19 -- West Texas Section Convention, Midland, Texas   
    *  March 19 -- MicroHAMS Digital Conference, Redmond, Washington   
    *  March 25-26 -- Maine State Convention, Lewiston, Maine   
    *  April 2 -- Delta Division Convention, Fort Smith, Arkansas   
    *  April 2 -- North Carolina Section Convention, Raleigh, North Carolina   
    *  April 8-9 -- Oklahoma State Convention, Claremore, Oklahoma   
    *  April 9-10 -- Communications Academy, Seattle, Washington   
    *  April 15-17 -- International DX Convention, Visalia, California   
    *  April 15-17 -- VHF Super Conference, Sterling, Virginia   
    *  April 16 -- Delaware State Convention, Georgetown, Delaware   
    *  April 22-24 -- Idaho State Convention, Boise, Idaho   
    *  April 23 -- Aurora '16 Conference, White Bear Lake, Minnesota   
    *  April 23 -- Nebraska State Convention, Lincoln, Nebraska   
    *  April 29-May 1 -- Nevada State Convention, Las Vegas, Nevada   
      
   Find conventions and hamfests in your area.   
      
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