The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
June 9, 2011
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- Follow the 2011 ARRL National Convention on Facebook and Twitter
- + Public Service: ARRL, SATERN Team Up to Assist in Joplin
- + ARRL Field Day: It's Not Too Late to Prepare for Field Day
- + 2010 ARRL Annual Report Now Available
- WRC-12: US Proposes WRC-12 Allocations for HF Radars
- + Check Out the July Issue of QST
- + FCC News: FCC Takes Strong Stance Against Radio Jamming, Issues
$24,000 Fine to California Man
- + FCC News: FCC Seeks Comments on Terminating Certain Docketed
Proceedings
- + On the Air: ARRL VHF/UHF Advisory Committee Seeks Input
- + On the Air: New Russian Prefix System in Use
- + Changing of the Guard: Gene Zimmerman, W3ZZ, to Retire from "The
World Above 50 MHz"
- Solar Update
- There's Still Time to Enter the 2011 ARRL Photo Contest!
- DXCC Desk Approves Current VK0KEV Macquarie Island DXpedition
- This Week on the Radio
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News
> FOLLOW THE 2011 ARRL NATIONAL CONVENTION ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER
If you can't make it to the 2011 ARRL National Convention -- held in
conjunction with Ham-Com in Plano, Texas June 10-11 -- you can follow
all the activities on Facebook and
Twitter . Photos will be posted to the
ARRL's Facebook page throughout the
Convention, while the ARRL EXPO Twitter account
will carry live tweets. Discover more
about the 2011 ARRL National Convention here
.
> + PUBLIC SERVICE: ARRL, SATERN TEAM UP TO ASSIST IN JOPLIN
After the devastating EF5 tornado that swept through Joplin,
Missouri
last month, radio amateurs responded to assist with providing support
in multiple ways. On Friday, June 3, the Salvation Army -- which has a
Memorandum of Understanding with the ARRL -- contacted the ARRL
,
seeking the League's assistance to provide hams who could help support
the agency's work in Joplin. More than 50 Amateur Radio operators
responded to the request to help the Salvation Army Team Emergency
Radio Network (SATERN ) supply logistical
support to the affected areas. Just two days later, all personnel needs
had been met. These hams helped to relay information back to the
Salvation Army's Joplin headquarters about inventory, requests for food
and drink and maintenance problems. Both the ARRL and SATERN greatly
appreciate the response from the amateur community.
> + ARRL FIELD DAY: IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO PREPARE FOR FIELD DAY
Now is the time to start getting information out to the public about
your ARRL Field Day activities. ARRL
Field Day -- the largest on-the-air operating event -- is the one of
the best opportunities of the year for showing our Amateur Radio
capabilities to the public. ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager
Allen Pitts, W1AGP, notes that the ARRL has made many media materials
available for local use. "Our visibility to the public is important in
antenna, band preservation and texting issues, so we encourage you to
use this opportunity to showcase what Amateur Radio can do," he said.
Download an audio PSA that can air on your local radio stations here
. Get a press
release, a government proclamation template and invitation letters that
you can use to invite your local officials to your Field Day site here
.
Find high-definition video files suitable for airing on your local
television stations here . Get more
information on ARRL Field Day, including the 2011 ARRL Field Day logo
and operating tips here. More info, the logo and tips are here
. Find a Field Day station
near you here . ARRL Field Day
is June 25-26.
> + 2010 ARRL ANNUAL REPORT NOW AVAILABLE
The ARRL Annual Report for 2010 -- now available online
and in print -- reviews the major
events of the year and documents the renewed growth of both the ARRL
and the activities of the Amateur Radio Service. For the fourth
consecutive year, ARRL membership grew -- totaling 156,475 members at
year end. In his introduction, ARRL Chief Executive Officer David
Sumner, K1ZZ, noted numerous challenges facing the ARRL. "But we also
have great strengths," he explained, "and if we harness them
effectively over the next few years, the ARRL and Amateur Radio will be
well positioned for a bright second century -- at least as bright as
their first." Read more here
.
> WRC-12: US PROPOSES WRC-12 ALLOCATIONS FOR HF RADARS
The ARRL and its partners in the IARU have been involved in the
preparations for several items on the 2012 World Radiocommunication
Conference (WRC-12) agenda. Agenda item 1.15 is "to consider possible
allocations in the range 3-50 MHz to the radiolocation service for
oceanographic radar applications." Such radars have been in operation
in coastal areas for many years, typically under experimental licenses.
Based on protection requirements for the Amateur Service that the
IARU had arranged to be included in ITU documentation, the Conference
Preparatory Meeting (CPM) Report for WRC-12 that was adopted in
February concluded that sharing between oceanographic radars and the
Amateur Service "seems to be difficult." Sharing studies, therefore,
focused on in-band compatibility in the bands used only by the fixed
and/or land mobile services. The CPM Report offers three methods of
satisfying the agenda item through various combinations of primary and
secondary allocations, with the objective of satisfying the operational
need for safety systems (e.g. for the detection of tsunamis) and
providing for the operation of other systems while protecting other
allocated services from harmful interference. Read more here
.
> + CHECK OUT THE JULY ISSUE OF QST
The July issue of QST is jam-packed with all sorts of things that
today's Amateur Radio operator needs. From product reviews to
experiments to contesting, this issue of QST has something for just
about everyone.
Radio amateurs who were active in the 1950s through the 1970s have
most likely built a radio from a kit. But even 60 years later, hams can
experience the fun that goes hand-in-hand with kit building. In his
article "Electronic Kits Still in the Picture," Mark A. Lacy, W5TXR,
says that hams today can still have the thrill of building a radio from
kits that incorporate today's technology. Hams know that sunspots and
solar activity influence band conditions. But how can we use that
information ? QST Technical Editor Joel Hallas, W1ZR, explains the
daily sunspot number, solar radio flux and more in his article "Solar
Indices -- What Do They Mean?"
Join John Reisenauer Jr, KL7JR, as he takes to Canada's Northwest
Territories and the Yukon to heed the call of the wild -- and the
unpredictable challenges of Amateur Radio -- in his article "The Call
Sign of the Wild." In his article "After the 73s," QST Assistant Editor
Steve Sant Andrea, AG1YK, relates that although ARRL's Logbook of The
World has changed the way many hams verify a contact, others still rely
on QSL cards. Hams across the country participated in the 2010 ARRL
Simulated Emergency Test, giving served agencies and the news media a
public demonstration of our capabilities. ARRL Field Organization
Supervisor Steve Ewald, NV1X, presents the results of the SET in the
July issue.
ARRL Contributing Editor Howard
Robins, W1HSR, takes a look at the Kenwood TH-D72A dual band handheld
transceiver in this month's Product Review. He says that this rig
"seamlessly folds APRS operation and a packet TNC into a full featured,
easy-to-use dual band handheld." ARRL Contributing Editor Ward Silver,
N0AX, checks out the Down East Microwave L222-28 1¼ meter transverter.
He says the transverter "is a fine solution for amateurs looking to
expand station coverage to the 1.25 meter band. It can be adapted to
interface with a variety of radios and receivers, and transmits well."
Silver also test drove the Tennadyne T-28 VHF/UHF log periodic antenna.
He says that this antenna "is ruggedly built and will get you on six
amateur bands with some gain from a single feed line."
Jay Townsend, WS7I, delivers the results of the 2011 ARRL RTTY Roundup.
This year, participants in 132 countries submitted almost 1600 logs
containing half a million contacts. Ken Harker, WM5R, has the results
of the 2010 ARRL 10 Meter Contest. For the first time ever in this
contest, Mexican states counted as multipliers, with 26 of the 32
Mexican states on the air.
Of course, there are the usual columns you know and expect in the July
QST: Happenings, Hints & Kinks, The Doctor Is IN, How's DX, Technical
Correspondence, Vintage Radio and more. Look for your July issue in
your mailbox. QST is the official journal of ARRL, the national
association for Amateur Radio. QST is just one of the many benefits of
ARRL membership. To join or renew your ARRL membership, please see the
ARRL Web page .
> + FCC NEWS: FCC TAKES STRONG STANCE AGAINST RADIO JAMMING, ISSUES
$24,000 FINE TO CALIFORNIA MAN
On June 6, the FCC issued a Forfeiture Order
in the amount of $24,000 against Kevin W. Bondy of Encino, California,
for engaging in unlicensed radio operation and intentional interference
to licensed radio operations and for refusing to allow an inspection of
his radio equipment by FCC personnel. Bondy -- licensee of General
Mobile Radio Service (GMRS
)
Station WQGX752 -- is accused of repeatedly and intentionally jamming
four land mobile frequencies assigned to The Oaks Shopping Center in
Thousand Oaks, California.
In assessing the $24,000 fine, the FCC noted that it was responsible
for making and enforcing regulations to prevent interference and to
maintain control over the use of the radio spectrum in a manner that
promotes the public interest and convenience. "Bondy's acts cut at the
heart of the Commission's responsibilities to protect the nation's
airwaves and regulate use of the spectrum," the Order said. "Bondy
operated a radio without a license on the specific frequencies assigned
and licensed by the Commission to The Oaks, for the explicit and
expressed purpose of prohibiting The Oaks's use of its licensed
frequencies. This type of conduct inhibits the Commission's ability to
effectively regulate and maintain control over the use of the spectrum
and will not be tolerated." Bondy has until July 6 to pay the fine.
> + FCC NEWS: FCC SEEKS COMMENTS ON TERMINATING CERTAIN DOCKETED
PROCEEDINGS
In a Public Notice
(CG Docket No 11-99) released on June 3, the FCC's Consumer &
Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB ) is
seeking comments on whether or not it should terminate approximately
800 docketed proceedings
.
There are numerous proceedings pertaining to Amateur Radio on the list.
These proceedings -- some going back to 1991 -- include dockets where
no further action is required or contemplated, as well as those in
which no pleadings or other documents have been filed since December
31, 2004. The record in a terminated docket will remain a part of the
FCC's official records; the various pleadings, orders and other
documents in that docket will continue to be accessible to the public,
post-termination. With this Public Notice, the CGB is seeking comment
from interested parties on the possible termination of those
proceedings. Comments will be accepted within 30 days after the Public
Notice is published in the Federal Register; reply comments must be
filed within 45 days after publication. As of June 7, a publication
date has not been set. Instructions on how to file comments are listed
beginning on page 2 of the Public Notice
.
> + ON THE AIR: ARRL VHF/UHF ADVISORY COMMITTEE SEEKS INPUT
The ARRL would like to encourage more participation in its several
VHF/UHF contests held each year. Many of the HF transceivers sold in
recent years include 50 MHz, and some also include the 144 and 432 MHz
bands with multi-mode capabilities. The question at hand is how can we
encourage more owners of such radios to utilize these bands and modes
to participate in VHF/UHF contests?
The ARRL VHF/UHF Advisory Committee (VUAC) has been asked to consider
this question, and to make recommendations to encourage, explore and
expand the ARRL VHF and UHF contests and other operating activities by
using the multi-band and multi-mode capabilities of modern transceivers
and related equipment.
The VUAC would like to ask the Amateur Radio community to provide their
comments and ideas for consideration.
Please send any comments or ideas you have on this matter to your ARRL
VUAC Division representative no later than July 1, 2011. A listing of
each Division's VUAC representative can be found at
http://www.arrl.org/arrl-staff-vuac-cac.
> + ON THE AIR: NEW RUSSIAN PREFIX SYSTEM IN USE
If you have been on the HF bands lately, you may have noticed that a
number of new prefixes are in use by stations in the Russian
Federation. Here is a summary of the changes recently adopted by the
Russian telecommunication authorities. Thanks to SRR President Roman
Thomas, R5AA (ex-RZ3AA) for the information.
- Russian prefixes with the numeral 2 are no longer limited to
Kaliningradsk. Stations with RA2 and UA2-UI2 (with F and K as the first
letter in the suffix) are in Kaliningradsk; otherwise, these prefixes
will used in European Russia.
- Stations with the following prefixes are in European Russia: R1,
RA1-RZ1 (except RI1 as noted below), R2, RB2-RZ2, R3-R7, RA3-RZ7, UA1
and UA3-UI7. Also, stations with the prefixes R8, R9, RA8-RZ9 and
UA8-UI9 (with F, S, T, W or X as the first letter in the suffix) are in
European Russia.
- Except for those listed above, all stations with 8, 9 and 0 as the
numeral are in Asiatic Russia.
- Russian Antarctic stations use temporary call signs in the series
RI1ANA-RI1ANZ and RI00ANT to RI99ANT.
- Franz Jozef Land stations use temporary call signs RI1F, RI1FJ and
RI1FJA-RI1FJZ.
- Malyj Visotskij island stations use temporary call signs RI1M, RI1MV
and RI1MVA-RI1MVZ.
> + CHANGING OF THE GUARD: GENE ZIMMERMAN, W3ZZ, TO RETIRE FROM "THE
WORLD ABOVE 50 MHZ"
If you're a VHF+ fan, you probably read "The World Above 50 MHz,"
written by Gene Zimmerman, W3ZZ, of Gaithersburg, Maryland. For the
last nine years, Zimmerman -- an ARRL Life Member -- has written this
popular QST column, but the July 2011 issue will be his last. "When I
accepted the duties of VHF Editor in 2002, I did so well knowing that
my tenure would be circumscribed and likely not to exceed a decade in
time," he wrote in his farewell column. "There are many reasons for
this, most importantly that an individual begins to run out of new
ideas after a given amount of time and that the position -- and the
readership -- would benefit from fresh viewpoints." Beginning with the
August 2011 issue of QST, Jon Jones, N0JK, of Wichita, Kansas, will
take over the column. Read more here
.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "Until the Sun went down
" Cook, K7RA, reports:
Although higher early in the reporting week, the average daily sunspot
numbers declined more than 4 points to 85.7, while the average of daily
solar flux numbers was down 1.5 points to 101.6. The predicted solar
flux for the near term is 88 on June 9-15, and 90, 95, 95, 92, 92 and
92 on June 16-21. The solar flux is then expected to rise to a peak of
115 on June 28. The predicted planetary A index is 20, 25, 12, and 8 on
June 9-12, then 5 on June 13-22, then peaking at 15 on June 24-25.
Check out this link
sent by Scott Bidstrup, TI3/W7RI, showing some fantastic HD videos of
recent solar eruptions. Look for more information on the ARRL website
on Friday, June 10. 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 Human League's (Keep Feeling)
Fascination
.
> THERE'S STILL TIME TO ENTER THE 2011 ARRL PHOTO CONTEST!
Have you ever wanted to see a photo of yours in QST, the annual ARRL
Amateur Radio Calendar or another ARRL publication? Well, here's your
chance! If you're among the winners, not only will your photographic
skill be propagated far and wide, but we're offering $100 as the First
Prize. The winning photo and three runners-up will be published in QST.
All submitted photos will also be considered for the 2012 ARRL
Calendar.
- Deadline: Photos must be received at ARRL HQ by June 30, 2011.
- Subject: Must be directly related to Amateur Radio, and be in good
taste. Extra points will be awarded for photos showing folks having fun
with Amateur Radio. Photos will be judged on overall quality and
composition.
- Requirements: Digital images or color prints accepted. A digital
image printed on photo paper, however, doesn't work as well as a
high-resolution file attachment. Digital images should be high
resolution. A digital image up to 8 MB in size can be e-mailed to
upfront@arrl.org, subject line "2011 Photo Contest." An image may also
be burned to a CD and mailed to ARRL Photo Contest, 225 Main St,
Newington, CT 06111. All entries must include caption information
describing where the photo was taken, along with a description of the
subject of the photo, as well as the names and call signs of any
persons shown. If you entered last year's contest, please do not resend
the same photo for this year's contest. One entry per person.
- Miscellaneous: The decisions of the judges -- composed of QST
editorial and production staff -- are final.
> DXCC DESK APPROVES CURRENT VK0KEV MACQUARIE ISLAND DXPEDITION
ARRL DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, reports that the current VK0KEV
DXpedition to Macquarie Island has been approved for DXCC credit. "If
you had cards that were recently rejected for this operation, please
send an e-mail to the ARRL DXCC Desk," Moore said.
"Please note that due to extremely heavy e-mail, DXCC staff may not
respond to your message. Once your record is updated, results will
appear in Logbook of The World (LoTW
) accounts or in the live, daily
DXCC Standings ."
> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO
This week:
- June 10 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- June 11 -- Portugal Day Contest; Asia-Pacific Sprint (SSB)
- June 11-12 -- DRCG Long Distance Contest (RTTY), VK Shires Contest;
CWops Mini-CWT Test; GACW WWSA CW DX Contest; REF DDFM 6 Meter Contest
- June 11-13 -- ARRL June VHF QSO Party
- June 12 -- SKCC Weekend Sprint
- June 15 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint
Next week:
- June 17 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- June 18 -- Feld Hell Sprint; AGCW VHF/UHF Contest
- June 18-19 -- West Virginia QSO Party; Stew Perry Topband Challenge;
All Asian DX Contest (CW); SMIRK Contest
- June 19 -- WAB 50 MHz Phone Contest
- June 20 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest
- June 22 -- SKCC Sprint; NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint
- June 22-23 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test
All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest
Branch page , the ARRL Contest Update
and the WA7BNM Contest
Calendar for more
information. 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
- June 10-11 -- ARRL National Convention
,
Plano, Texas
- June 11 -- ARRL Tennessee State Convention
, Knoxville,
Tennessee
- July 2 -- ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania Section Convention
,
Marysville, Pennsylvania
- July 15-17 -- ARRL Montana State Convention
,
Essex, Montana
- July 29-30 -- ARRL Oklahoma State Convention
,
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
To find a convention or hamfest near you, click here
.
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