The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
March 10, 2011
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- + HR 607: NPSTC Says HR 607 "Needs to Be Amended"
- + FCC News: FCC Adopts Spread Spectrum Rules Changes
- + FCC News: FCC Issues California Man $7000 Forfeiture Order for
Refusing FCC Inspection
- + Amateur Radio in the Classroom: Middle School Students to Launch
Near-Space Balloon
- + Propagation: Respected Journal Publishes Explanation for Low
Sunspots
- + ARESŪ E-Letter Now Available in Audio Form
- Hints & Kinks : Weatherproofing Your Automatic Antenna Tuner
- ARRL Field Day: 2011 Field Day Packets Available
- Solar Update
- Amateur Radio Fun: New QuickStats Poll Now Available on ARRL Website
- This Week on the Radio
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
> + HR 607: NPSTC SAYS HR 607 "NEEDS TO BE AMENDED"
The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) -- a
federation of more than a dozen public safety communications
organizations -- has gone on record as sharing the ARRL's concerns
regarding HR 607, the Broadband for First Responders' Act of 2011. The
ARRL is actively opposing the legislation in its current form because
Section 207(d) of the bill -- introduced in the US House of
Representatives by Representative Peter King (R-NY-3) -- calls for the
reallocation of 420-440 MHz for commercial auction. The ARRL, which is
a member of the NPSTC Governing Board, has assured NPSTC members that
its opposition is limited to Section 207(d) and that it supports the
underlying objective of the legislation, which is to provide spectrum
near 700 MHz for a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband
network. Read more here
.
> + FCC NEWS: FCC ADOPTS SPREAD SPECTRUM RULES CHANGES
In a Report and Order adopted February 22 and released March 4,
2011, the FCC eliminated the requirement that amateur stations
transmitting Spread Spectrum use Automatic Power Control (APC) to
reduce transmitter power. At the same time, the Commission has reduced
the maximum power of a Spread Spectrum emission from 100 to 10 W PEP.
In March 2006, the ARRL filed a Petition for Rulemaking, asking that
the APC requirement be eliminated.
The R&O explains the Commission's actions this way: "We believe that
these rules changes will (1) encourage individuals who can contribute
to the advancement of the radio art to more fully utilize SS
technologies in experimentation, and (2) balance the interests of all
users in mixed-mode and mixed-service frequency bands until sharing
protocols are sufficiently developed to avoid interference." Read more
here
.
> + FCC NEWS: FCC ISSUES CALIFORNIA MAN $7000 FORFEITURE ORDER FOR
REFUSING FCC INSPECTION
After a Merced, California man refused to let FCC investigators inspect
his Citizens Band (CB) radio station, the FCC issued a Notice of
Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) for $7000. The Commission found
that Ira Jones "apparently willfully and repeatedly" violated Section
303(n) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Section
95.426(a) of the Commission's rules by failing to permit the
inspection. Read more here
.
> + AMATEUR RADIO IN THE CLASSROOM: MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS TO LAUNCH
NEAR-SPACE BALLOON
A group of students from Olde Towne Middle School ( OTMS) in
Ridgeland, Mississippi is preparing for a trip to space -- or as close
as they can get. The OTMS RadioN5VEI] and Technology Club, along with
the school's Science Team, are planning a near-space balloon launch at
9 AM (CDT) on March 26 (the date and time are subject to change
depending on weather). The balloon -- nicknamed Titans in Space -- will
use the call sign KC5NXD and is expected to reach an altitude of 94,825
feet. Read more here
.
> + PROPAGATION: RESPECTED JOURNAL PUBLISHES EXPLANATION FOR LOW
SUNSPOTS
An article in the March 3 issue of the journal Nature purports to
explain the extended sunspot minimum from 2008-2010. According to one
of the authors, Piet Martens, the last time a sunspot minimum lasted
twice as long as usual was around 1913 and before that, 1810. Although
solar activity has increased recently, scientists have been puzzled by
the lack of sunspots from 2008-2010. This quiet period had prevented
the ionosphere from supporting much of the long-range higher frequency
HF Amateur Radio communication that had been expected during the past
few years. Read more here
.
> + ARESŪ E-LETTER NOW AVAILABLE IN AUDIO FORM
The ARESŪ E-Letter is now available in audio format
. There are three
editions currently available, including the most recent recording of
the February 16 ARESŪ E-Letter. Edited for audio by Al Brown, KZ3AB,
the ARESŪ E-Letter is voiced by Tony Riggs, W1FHN. Brown was licensed
in 1966. He was a member of the White House Press Corps before retiring
from the International Broadcasting Bureau/Voice of America (IBB/VOA).
Licensed since 1955, Riggs has worked in both the commercial and public
broadcasting venues. He retired after 21 years as a staff announcer and
news anchor with the VOA. With more than 35,000 subscribers, the ARESŪ
E-Letter is written by Rick Palm, K1CE and is published each month.
Click here to
subscribe to the ARESŪ E-Letter.
> HINTS & KINKS : WEATHERPROOFING YOUR AUTOMATIC ANTENNA TUNER
Geoff Haines, N1GY, of Bradenton, Florida, sent us this idea for
waterproofing your automatic antenna tuner. Contact Geoff via e-mail
for more information.
As an avid Amateur Radio operator, I sometimes use an automatic antenna
tuner to operate more than one band with the same antenna. My mobile
unit uses an LDG RT-11 autotuner to feed a pair of "Hamstick" style
antennas on several different bands. One antenna covers the lower bands
and another antenna covers the higher ones. An excursion into operating
"fixed portable" with a telescopic vertical had me looking for another
solution.
In order to minimize the coax losses when feeding a vertical
monopole away from its resonant band it is necessary to reduce the
distance between the tuner and the antenna to a minimum. The use of
ladder line is not feasible when the antenna is fed almost at ground
level. In order to do this, it is necessary to place the tuner almost
directly at the base of the antenna and thus reduce the coax run from
the tuner to the antenna to nearly nothing. The coax from the tuner to
the transmitter can then be any appropriate length since the mismatch
has already been corrected.
Owning an LDG Z-100 automatic tuner already, I looked for a way to
mount it at the base of the antenna and yet protect it from the
elements. A phone call to LDG gave me the necessary specifications for
a 50 foot extension of the control cable so the only thing left was to
find a workable enclosure for the tuner itself. I discussed the
requirements for such an enclosure with my spouse, Audrey. Without a
word, she rummaged through a kitchen cabinet and produced a semi
flexible plastic container that had a snap-on lid and fit my Z-100 and
its cables to a T.
I drilled four small holes in one end of the container into which I
fitted two short coax jumpers, one for the antenna and one for the
radio. I also made up and installed a short 4-conductor cable to
connect the stock control harness to the 50 foot extension. The fourth
opening was used for a similarly short insulated wire to connect the
grounding stud on the Z-100 to the radial system of the antenna. Once
these four cables were in place, I sealed the drilled openings with hot
glue. Silicone caulk could be used just as easily, provided it will
stick to the container. I did not try that because the hot glue was at
hand so you are on your own there (see Figure 1).
With the jumpers connected to the tuner, the extension cable and coax
were run to the transceiver and the antenna erected. Now, testing was
in order. The pressing of the TUNE button on my IC-706MKIIG did exactly
what it was supposed to do. The Z-100 ran through its paces and
signaled a good match. Now if the afternoon showers come while I am
operating "fixed portable," the only thing I have to worry about is
keeping me and the radio dry. The tuner is cozy in its own little
raincoat (see Figure 2).
Total cost, even if you had to buy the container new at the discount
store, would probably not exceed $10. That does not include the
extension control cable of course. The container was already here and I
had enough UHF connectors, coax, wire and weatherproofing on hand for
the project. The only thing I had to buy was the 4-conductor cable and
Molex connectors to build the 50 foot extension cable.
This project has enabled me to comfortably operate "fixed portable"
from the beach, at Field Day and many other events where a vertical was
the only feasible antenna. As long as the container can handle the
physical size of the tuner with room for the connecting cables, any
automatic tuner could be protected in this way.
Do you have an idea or a simple project that has improved your
operating? Maybe you've taken something commonly found around the home
and developed a ham radio use for it? Why not share your hints with
fellow hams in "Hints and Kinks," a monthly column in QST. If we
publish your hint, you will receive $20. Send your hints via e-mail to
h&k(at)arrl(dot)org or to ARRL Headquarters, Attn: "Hints and Kinks,"
225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. Please include your name, call sign,
complete mailing address, daytime telephone number and e-mail address.
> ARRL FIELD DAY: 2011 FIELD DAY PACKETS AVAILABLE
It's that time of year again -- time to start gearing up for ARRL
Field Day, June 25-26, 2011! ARRL's flagship operating event -- always
held the fourth full weekend in June -- brings together new and
experienced hams for 24 hours of operating fun. Field Day packets are
now available for download
and
include the complete rules (including a change for 2011), as well as
other reference items such as forms, ARRL Section abbreviation list,
entry submission instructions, a Frequently Asked Questions section,
guidelines for getting bonus points, instructions for GOTA stations and
a kit to publicize your event with the local press. Read more here
.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "Fun, fun, fun in the Sun, Sun, Sun
" Cook, K7RA, reports:
Solar Cycle 24 continues to ramp up at a quickening pace. The average
daily sunspot number this week was more than double the value of the
week before, rising from 50.9 to 114. The average daily solar flux rose
44 percent, from 96.8 to 139.4. All this week through Tuesday, the
sunspot numbers and solar flux kept rising and beating old numbers, and
we had to look further and further back into Solar Cycle 23 to find
comparable conditions. On Tuesday, March 8, the daily sunspot number
was 137. The last time the daily sunspot number was higher than this
was July 7, 2005 when it was 149. Twice this week, the 10.7 cm receiver
at Penticton was overloaded, swamped by energy from a solar flare and
the daily solar flux value had to be estimated. On March 7 and 8, the
noon solar flux readings were 938.6 and 166.7, and they were corrected
by NOAA to estimated values of 153 and 155. The estimated flux level of
155 was the highest since July 23, 2004, when the solar flux was 165.
Predicted solar flux for March 10-17 is 150, 145, 140, 140, 135, 130,
125, 105 and then 100 on March 18-21, then going below 100 until April
2. The predicted planetary A index for March 10-11 is 22 and 18, then 5
on March 12-21, 7 on March 22-23, 5 on March 24-26, then 7, 7, 19 and 7
on March 27-30. Note the high predicted planetary A index on March
10-11 of 22 and 18. This is because of recent solar flares, and the
disturbance will probably affect signals traversing a polar route. Look
for more information -- including propagation reports, as well as a
critical look at last week's report of a 2 meter FM signal from South
America, reportedly monitored in North Carolina, more than 4700 miles
away -- on the ARRL website on Friday, March 11. For more information
concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information
Service Propagation page
. This week's "Tad
Cookism" is brought to you by the British television series Red Dwarf
.
> AMATEUR RADIO FUN: NEW QUICKSTATS POLL NOW AVAILABLE ON ARRL
WEBSITE
Four new poll questions have just been published on the QuickStats page
on the ARRL website. Let your voice be
heard!
Questions in this month's QuickStats poll:
- How did you sign up for ARESŪ?
- When was the last time you built a transceiver from a kit?
- Are your station antennas supported by a tower?
- Do you regularly operate HF mobile?
Visit the QuickStats page and be sure
to bookmark it in your browser. Results from this QuickStats poll will
be published in the June 2011 issue of QST on the QuickStats page,
located in the rear advertising section of the magazine. Along with
monthly poll results, QST QuickStats offers colorful charts and graphs
that highlight interesting Amateur Radio statistics.
> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO
This week:
- March 12 -- AGCW QRP Contest; ARCI HF Grid Square Sprint
- March 12-13 -- Idaho QSO Party
- March 13 -- North American Sprint (RTTY); SKCC Weekend Sprint; UBA
Spring Contest (CW)
- March 13-14 -- Wisconsin QSO Party; EA PSK31 Contest
- March 15-16 -- CLARA HF Contest
Next week:
- March 19 -- 10-10 International Mobile Contest; AGCW VHF/UHF Contest;
Feld Hell Sprint (local time)
- March 19-20 -- Oklahoma QSO Party; North Dakota QSO Party; Russian DX
Contest
- March 19-21 -- Virginia QSO Party; BARTG HF RTTY Contest
- March 21 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest
- March 23 -- SKCC Sprint
All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest
Branch page , the ARRL Contest Update
and the WA7BNM Contest
Calendar for more
info. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the
ARRL Special Event Stations Web page
.
> UPCOMING ARRL SECTION, STATE AND DIVISION CONVENTIONS AND EVENTS
- March 11-12 -- ARRL Oklahoma Section Convention
,
Claremore, Oklahoma
- March 12-13 -- ARRL North Carolina Section Convention
,
Concord, North Carolina
- March 19 -- ARRL West Texas Section Convention
,
Midland, Texas; ARRL Nebraska State Convention
, Lincoln,
Nebraska
- March 25 -- ARRL Maine State Convention
, Lewiston,
Maine
- March 26 -- ARRL Maryland State Convention
,
Timonium, Maryland
- April 2 -- ARRL New Jersey State Convention
, Ewing,
New Jersey
- April 21 -- ARRL Idaho State Convention
, Boise, Idaho
- April 23 -- ARRL Louisiana State Convention
,
Monroe, Louisiana; ARRL North Carolina State Convention
,
Raleigh, North Carolina
To find a convention or hamfest near you, click here
.
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