The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
March 24, 2011
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- + Public Service: Radio Amateurs in Japan Still Providing
Communications Support
- + Public Service: Amateurs Assist with Ocean Rescue
- + FCC News: FCC Seeking Comments on ARRL Petition Regarding TDMA
- ARRL Recognizes: Nominations for ARRL Awards Now Open
- + On the Air: NIST to Conduct Time and Frequency User Survey
- Solar Update
- + Silent Key: Thormod "Tom" Bøe, LA7OF (SK)
- + ARES® E-Letter Now Available in Audio Form
- This Week on the Radio
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
> + PUBLIC SERVICE: RADIO AMATEURS IN JAPAN STILL PROVIDING
COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT
Amateur Radio operators became involved in the rescue effort soon
after the March 11 8.9 earthquake and devastating tsunami that hit
northern Japan, and that effort continues nearly two weeks later. "In
the early stage following the earthquake and tsunami, several radio
amateurs were able to activate their stations with car batteries or
small engine generators, despite the electric power outages," IARU
Region 3 Secretary Ken Yamamoto, JA1CJP, told the ARRL. "They
transmitted rescue requests and information on the disaster situation
-- including refugee centers and their needs -- and the availability of
basic infrastructures, such as electricity, water and gas supplies."
After the earthquake and tsunami, there was no electricity, water or
gas service in many of the affected areas.
In his
report to the ARRL, Yamamoto said that the Japan Amateur Radio League
(JARL) activated JA1RL -- its headquarters station in Tokyo -- soon
after the earthquake. With the help of many other amateurs, it also
activated its regional headquarters station JA3RL in Osaka to
communicate with the amateurs in the damaged areas, including its
Tohoku headquarters station JA7RL in Sendai. "The communications were
mostly on the 7 MHz band in daytime and the 3.5 MHz band at night,"
Yamamoto explained. "Short range communications were also made on the
144 and 430 MHz bands. The information gathered through Amateur Radio
communications was reported to the rescue and disaster relief
organizations for their appropriate deployment. Some other amateurs
accepted health-and-welfare inquiries from the [impacted] areas and
they posted the information on the Internet." Read more here
.
> + PUBLIC SERVICE: AMATEURS ASSIST WITH OCEAN RESCUE
At 10:04 AM PDT on March 21, Rex Weinheimer, KC5AGO, of Stonewall,
Texas -- a member of the Maritime Mobile Service Net (MMSN) -- heard
and responded to a "weak and broken MAYDAY call." The call was from the
sailing vessel Gloria Jean, a 30 foot sailboat that was in the Pacific
Ocean about 120 miles west of Ensenada, Mexico. Weinheimer heard the
distress call on 14.300 MHz, a frequency monitored by the MMSN.
MMSN Net Controller Lee Langford, KG4DZN, told the ARRL that through
the combined efforts of several net stations, the net was able to
ascertain the situation and the position of the stricken vessel. MMSN
operators contacted both the US and Mexican Coast Guards and both
services deployed assets to the scene. The US Coast Guard dispatched an
MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from San Diego and a C-130 Hercules plane from
Sacramento. According to the USCG, the Gloria Jean had no propulsion,
food, water or safety equipment. Read more here
.
> + FCC NEWS: FCC SEEKING COMMENTS ON ARRL PETITION REGARDING TDMA
Earlier this month, the ARRL filed a Petition for Rulemaking and a
Request for Temporary Waiver with the FCC, seeking authorization of the
use of single-time-slot Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) emissions
in the amateur bands at and above 50 MHz, wherever multiple-time-slot
TDMA is authorized. The FCC has designated the Petition as RM-11625 and
is soliciting comments on it. Comments may be filed electronically and
will be accepted until April 22 . Read more here
.
> ARRL RECOGNIZES: NOMINATIONS FOR ARRL AWARDS NOW OPEN
Each year, the ARRL Board of Directors has the opportunity to select
recipients for a number of awards in various categories that honor
Amateur Radio operators. The nomination period is now open for those
ARRL awards that recognize educational and technological pursuits in
Amateur Radio. There are also awards to honor a young Amateur Radio
operator and an outstanding ARRL Section Manager. Read more here
.
> + ON THE AIR: NIST TO CONDUCT TIME AND FREQUENCY USER SURVEY
The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Time and
Frequency Division is conducting a survey to learn more about its
users, seeking to determine how the agency can make its services more
useful in the future. NIST services include WWV, WWVH and WWVB, which
provide reference time and frequency signals via radio. The NIST also
provides the Internet Time Service -- which provides accurate time
synchronization to computer systems -- and several other services to
offer accurate time information via telephone or web pages. Radio
amateurs are encouraged to complete the survey. Read more here
.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "The Earth turns, the Sun burns, but I die without you
" Cook, K7RA, reports: For
the second week in a row, all solar indicators were lower. The average
daily sunspot numbers declined more than 28 points from the week before
to 40.9, while the average daily solar flux was off more than 18 points
to 94.8. But looking at solar images from the STEREO mission
, we can see a great deal of activity
about to rotate toward us over the Sun's eastern horizon. The whole
"back" side of our Sun looks very busy. The NOAA forecast for March 23
for the planetary A index and solar flux still is not available, but
the March 22 forecast sees solar flux for March 24-31 at 110, 115, 120,
120, 120, 125, 130 and 135. The planetary A index for the same period
is predicted at 8 for March 24-25, 5 on March 26-27 and 8 on March
28-31. This indicates improving HF propagation for the near term, with
geomagnetic indicators slightly unsettled, compared to recent quiet
conditions. NASA has a video
explaining the very low
sunspot activity over the past few years. Look for more information on
the ARRL website on Friday, March 25. 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 song Without You
from the musical Rent
.
> + SILENT KEY: THORMOD "TOM" BøE, LA7OF (SK)
Thormod "Tom" Bøe, LA7OF, of Horten, Norway, passed away on Monday,
March 21. He was 71. Bøe was President of the Norsk Radio Relae Liga,
Norway's IARU Member-Society. Bøe actively worked for the Amateur Radio
cause throughout his adult life in both a private and professional
capacity. For many years, he worked on spectrum management matters with
the Norwegian administration, was extremely active in CEPT and ITU
forums and served as Director of the European Radiocommunications
Office in Copenhagen from 1998-2006.
ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, remembered Bøe fondly:
"Tom was the spokesman for Norway in Committee 5, which was responsible
for all frequency allocations -- and I do mean all, as the entire radio
spectrum was under review at WARC-79. Norway was an outstanding
supporter of Amateur Radio at the conference, and Tom was recognized as
the 'most valuable delegate' by the IARU team." Read more here
.
> + ARES® E-LETTER NOW AVAILABLE IN AUDIO FORM
The ARES® E-Letter is now available in audio format
. Edited for audio by
Al Brown, KZ3AB, the ARES® 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 ARES® E-Letter is written by Rick Palm, K1CE and is
published each month. Click here
to subscribe to the
ARES® E-Letter.
> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO
This week:
- March 26-27 -- CQ WW WPX Contest (SSB)
Next week:
- April 2-3 -- Missouri QSO Party; QCWA Spring QSO Party; ARCI Spring
QSO Party; SP DX Contest; EA RTTY Contest
- April 5 -- ARS Spartan 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 25-26 -- ARRL Maine State Convention
, Lewiston,
Maine
- March 26-27 -- ARRL Maryland State Convention
,
Timonium, Maryland
- April 2-3 -- ARRL New Jersey State Convention
, Ewing,
New Jersey
- April 22-24 -- 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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