The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
June 16, 2011
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- +: The 2011 ARRL National Convention Ventures Deep in the Heart of
Texas
- + 2011 Dayton Hamvention: Check Out the New Products that Debuted at
Dayton
- + New Online Introductory Emergency Communications Class Now
Available
- + ARRL Field Day: It's Not Too Late to Prepare for Field Day
- + EmComm News: ARRL's Emergency Communications Advisory Committee
Moves Forward with MDEC Plans
- + ARRL HQ News: Longtime HQ Staffer Jon Bloom, KE3Z, Leaves ARRL
- Support ARRL: ARRL and Combined Federal Campaign Mark Decade of
Partnership
- Solar Update
- + Logbook of The World Now on Facebook!
- New QuickStats Poll Now Available on ARRL Website
- This Week on the Radio
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News
> +: THE 2011 ARRL NATIONAL CONVENTION VENTURES DEEP IN THE HEART OF
TEXAS
The ARRL National Convention -- held in conjunction with Ham-Com in
Plano, Texas June 10-11 -- featured the ARRL EXPO, a large exhibition
area within the main exhibit hall. The ARRL EXPO featured a project
building activity and the ARRL Youth Lounge, while booths highlighting
various ARRL departments and programs such as Education & Technology,
Emergency Communications, Radiosport, ARRL VEC, ARRL Equipment and Club
Liability Insurance Programs, Regulatory and Legislative Programs, ARRL
Development and the ARRL Foundation were on hand. The exhibit area was
anchored on one side by a huge ARRL store where attendees could browse
and buy the latest ARRL publications, join or renew their League
membership. ARRL EXPO was supported by a team of 73 ARRL volunteers,
officials and staff. Read more here
.
> + 2011 DAYTON HAMVENTION: CHECK OUT THE NEW PRODUCTS THAT DEBUTED
AT DAYTON
One of the most exciting things at the Dayton Hamvention each year
is the introduction of new products. This year was no exception. From
HF transceivers to receivers to test equipment to station equipment,
there was a plethora of new products just about everywhere you turned.
Read more here .
> + NEW ONLINE INTRODUCTORY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CLASS NOW
AVAILABLE
Registration is now open for the new online Introduction to
Emergency Communications course (EC-001). Course information, including
a description, pre-requisites and instructions on how to register are
available on the ARRL website. Slots are still available for the
section which begins Friday, July 29; the registration deadline is
Sunday, July 17. ARRL Education Services Manager Debra Johnson, K1DMJ,
explained that she is also looking for qualified volunteers to provide
support as Mentors for the course, as well as Field Instructors who
want to lead classroom sessions to instruct the course material.
The new Introduction to Emergency Communications course includes
updated content from the previous Basic Emergency Communications Level
1 course, as well as some content previously included in the former
Level 2 course. The EmComm training program has been restructured to
offer two courses: This enhanced basic course for EmComm volunteers who
want to serve as part of an ARESŪ response team and the management
course -- Public Service and Emergency Communication Management for
Radio Amateurs (EC-016) -- for those who are serving in ARESŪ
leadership and management roles. Read more here
.
> + 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 Information 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.
> + EMCOMM NEWS: ARRL'S EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MOVES FORWARD WITH MDEC PLANS
At the 2007 Annual Meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors, the ARRL
National Emergency Response Planning Committee -- led by then-ARRL
First Vice President Kay Craigie, N3KN -- presented a report to the
Board that outlined how the League should respond to emergencies. One
of the key concepts proposed by the committee was the Major Disaster
Emergency Coordinator (MDEC) appointment. The idea was to have a
manager who would coordinate Amateur Radio operations, operators and
resources in supporting served agencies during a major disaster relief
operation when Section and Regional ARESŪ assets are overwhelmed,
similar to operations performed in the Hurricane Katrina response. The
MDEC's line of authority would be derived from the ARRL's Emergency
Preparedness Manager -- currently Mike Corey, W5MPC -- and would
parallel the affected area's Section Managers. The MDEC position was
envisioned to be a continuous appointment, but would only be active
when called upon by the Emergency Preparedness Manager.
The ARRL Emergency Communications Advisory Committee (ECAC) --
established at the 2010 Annual Meeting -- is currently drafting
appointment protocols and requirements for the MDEC. As presently
conceived by the committee, there will be several MDECs geographically
arranged by each ARRL Division. The geography, and hence the actual
MDEC headcount, is being determined at this time. The committee will
report its recommendations and draft appointment guidelines to the
ARRL's Programs and Services Committee. Read more here
.
> + ARRL HQ NEWS: LONGTIME HQ STAFFER JON BLOOM, KE3Z, LEAVES ARRL
May 31 marked the last day at ARRL HQ for ARRL Information Technology
Manager Jon Bloom, KE3Z. Bloom -- an ARRL Life Member who had been with
the League for 27 years -- resigned from the League to pursue other
opportunities. Michael Keane, K1MK -- hired in 2009 as a programmer in
the IT Department -- has been selected as the new Information
Technology Manager. Read more here
.
> SUPPORT ARRL: ARRL AND COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN MARK DECADE OF
PARTNERSHIP
For the past 10 years, the US Office of Personnel Management has
designated the ARRL to participate in the Combined Federal Campaign
(CFC ). In that time, this campaign for
federal government civilian employees, US Postal Service workers and
members of the military has generated more than $170,000 for ARRL
programs since it first became an option for giving by federal
employees to the League. The CFC provides an easy way to support ARRL's
effort to represent its members and all radio amateurs.
Similar to the United Way, the CFC encourages individuals to pledge
by payroll deduction to non-profit organizations of their choice. The
ARRL encourages eligible radio amateurs to consider the League when
designating campaign recipients. Payroll deduction through the CFC is
an easy way for participants to support ARRL over and above their
annual membership. Such contributions support programs that are not
funded by member dues, enriching ARRL's ability to serve its members
and all of Amateur Radio. Those wishing to select the ARRL to receive
all or part of their payroll deductions should designate organization
10099 when completing their CFC donor forms. Donations to ARRL can be
designated for Diamond Club contributions, the ARRL Spectrum Defense
Fund or the ARRL Education & Technology Program. Donors may also make
unrestricted contributions to the League.
One important note: Since the CFC does not provide the ARRL with the
names of individual donors, the ARRL Development Office would
appreciate a copy of the donor form to ensure that each contribution is
applied according to the donor's wishes and the contribution or pledge
can be properly acknowledged.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "The damp of the river fog rises after the Sun goes down
" Cook, K7RA, reports: The
average daily sunspot numbers for the past week declined by more than
half, nearly 52 points to 35.1, when compared to the previous week. The
average daily solar flux declined nearly 12 points to 90.1. NOAA and
the USAF predict rising solar flux for the near term, with solar flux
at 105 on June 16-20 to 110 on June 21-22, and then dipping below 100
after June 28. Predicted solar flux for ARRL Field Day weekend is 105
on June 24-26. The predicted planetary A index for June 16-25 is 5, 7,
8, 5, 8, 8, 5, 12, 15 and 10, followed by 5 on each day through the end
of June. It seems that a recurring coronal hole may disturb our Earth's
geomagnetic field, with the maximum effect on June 24 -- the day before
Field Day -- but geomagnetic conditions should be very quiet by Sunday,
June 26. Our inbox is exploding this week with all the e-mail
concerning the meeting of the Solar Physics Division of the American
Astronomical Society at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, and
the report from the meeting about predictions for a major drop in solar
activity, which you can read here
. But
support for this position isn't unanimous, and in tomorrow's bulletin
we'll look at a report by astrophysicist Douglas Biesecker that is
skeptical of this prediction. Look for more information on the ARRL
website on Friday, June 17. For more information concerning radio
propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation
page . This week's "Tad
Cookism" is brought to you by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Paul
Revere's Ride , in
celebration of Battle of Bunker Hill
(June 17, 1775).
> + LOGBOOK OF THE WORLD NOW ON FACEBOOK!
Last week, the ARRL added a Logbook of The World page
to social networking site
Facebook. With almost 300 fans, the page is growing every day. The LoTW
page on Facebook offers the latest LoTW news, as well as comments from
users. Have you checked out the ARRL Facebook page
lately? With almost 18,000 fans,
it's the most popular Amateur Radio page on Facebook!
> 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:
- Do you own a D-STAR or APCO-25 transceiver?
- When it comes to QSL cards, do you buy from a printer or make your
own?
- Have you ever built a kit that included Surface Mount Devices (SMDs)?
- When was the last time you used Amateur Radio to assist a
non-emergency public service event (such as a footrace or parade)?
Visit the QuickStats page and be sure
to bookmark it in your browser. Results from this QuickStats poll will
be published in the September 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:
- 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
Next week:
- June 24 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- June 25 -- VK/Trans-Tasman 160 Meter Contest (Phone)
- June 25-26 -- ARRL Field Day ;
Ukrainian DX DIGI Contest; His Majesty King of Spain Contest (SSB);
Marconi Memorial HF Contest; ARCI Milliwatt Field Day
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
- 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
- August 5 -- ARRL Midwest Division Convention
, Cedar
Rapids, Iowa
- August 5-6 -- ARRL Texas State Convention
,
Austin, Texas
- August 5-7 -- ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention
,
Taos, New Mexico
- August 20 -- ARRL West Virginia State Convention
,
Weston, West Virginia
- August 20-21 -- ARRL Alabama State Convention
,
Huntsville, Alabama
- August 21 -- ARRL Kansas State Convention
, Salina,
Kansas
- August 28 -- ARRL Western Pennsylvania Section Convention
,
West Kensington, Pennsylvania
- September 9 -- ARRL Southwestern Division Convention
,
Torrance, California
- September 11 -- ARRL Great Lakes Division Convention
,
Findlay, Ohio
- September 17 -- ARRL Roanoke Division Convention
,
Virginia Beach, Virginia
- September 24 -- ARRL Washington State Convention
,
Spokane Valley, Washington
To find a convention or hamfest near you, click here
.
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