The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
July 28, 2011
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- + Public Service: New Mexico Hams Provide Communications Support
During Wildfires
- + ARRL Board of Directors Gathers in Connecticut for 2011 Second
Meeting
- FCC News: ARRL Asks FCC to Keep 2300 MHz Proceeding Open
- + Amateur Radio in Space: Astronauts On Board ISS Get ARISSat-1 Ready
for Launch
- + On the Air: The Bands Heat Up for the 2011 ARRL August UHF Contest
- + On the Air: 2011 ARRL June VHF QSO Party Sets Record for Logs
Received
- + ARRL Official Observers Team with FCC to Solve Rogue Keyer Problem
on 17 Meters
- Solar Update
- + Social Media: ARRL Launches Online Forums
- This Week on the Radio
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News
> + PUBLIC SERVICE: NEW MEXICO HAMS PROVIDE COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT
DURING WILDFIRES
One month after it began, the Las Conchas Fire -- New Mexico's
largest fire on record -- has burned more than 157,000 acres and is 90
percent contained. One day after it started, the fire threatened the
Los Alamos National Laboratory, forcing the evacuation of the entire
town of Los Alamos. During the evacuation, the Santa Fe ARESŪ Group
placed itself on alert. The fire, which began on June 26, is believed
to have been human set. Read more here
.
> + ARRL BOARD OF DIRECTORS GATHERS IN CONNECTICUT FOR 2011 SECOND
MEETING
The ARRL Board of Directors held its Second Meeting of 2011 July
15-16 in Windsor, Connecticut, under the chairmanship of President Kay
Craigie, N3KN. At the two-day meeting, the Board considered a number of
reports and acted on several recommendations -- including proceeding
with plans for a digital version of QST and planning for the League's
Centennial Celebration in 2014 -- and Directors' motions. The ARRL
Board of Directors meets twice each year -- in January and July --
usually in the Hartford area. Click here
for a detailed look at the 2011 Second Meeting of the ARRL Board of
Directors.
> FCC NEWS: ARRL ASKS FCC TO KEEP 2300 MHZ PROCEEDING OPEN
In June, the FCC released a Public Notice that sought comments on
whether or not it should terminate approximately 800 docketed
proceedings in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, the
International Bureau, the Office of Engineering and Technology and the
Enforcement Bureau. Some of the proceedings set for possible
termination affect the Amateur Radio Service. On July 20, the ARRL
filed comments with the FCC on this matter, explaining that it has no
objection to the termination of the proceedings in the Public Notice,
save for one item. "With respect to the Office of Engineering and
Technology dockets slated for termination," the ARRL stated in its
comments, "there is one Amateur Radio-related proceeding that, in the
ARRL's view, should not be terminated, but retained in open status."
Read more here
.
> + AMATEUR RADIO IN SPACE: ASTRONAUTS ON BOARD ISS GET ARISSAT-1
READY FOR LAUNCH
The ARISSat-1 satellite -- also known as KEDR -- has spent several
months aboard the International Space Station waiting for deployment by
crew. According to the AMSAT News Service, that day is arriving soon.
"As of July 22, we are looking at an August 3, 2011 date for EVA 29 and
the ARISSat-1/KEDR deployment, subject to change due to ISS schedules,"
said ARISSat-1/KEDR Project Manager Gould Smith, WA4SXM. "The
preliminary Russian EVA-29 timeline shows the ARISSat/KEDR deployment
is the first task of the EVA, so it will occur fairly soon after the
EVA begins." The ARISSat-1/KEDR battery was charged for 24 hours on
July 24. A test of the satellite inside the ISS is scheduled to run
from 1900 UTC on Saturday, July 30 and will be turned off at 1430 UTC
on July 31. Read more here
.
> + ON THE AIR: THE BANDS HEAT UP FOR THE 2011 ARRL AUGUST UHF
CONTEST
VHF/UHF weak-signal operators across North America are making final
tests on their stations in preparation for the 2011 ARRL August UHF
Contest , scheduled for the weekend of
August 6-7. Most VHF+ SSB/CW operation takes place on the two
lowest-frequency bands of the VHF spectrum: 6 and 2 meters. But a lot
of activity takes place above 144 MHz in the UHF portion of the radio
spectrum and beyond. This contest will focus on 220 MHz and above and
there will be lots of activity -- and hopefully lots of propagation,
too! Read more here
.
> + ON THE AIR: 2011 ARRL JUNE VHF QSO PARTY SETS RECORD FOR LOGS
RECEIVED
The 2011 running of the ARRL June VHF QSO Party
saw a record number of logs
submitted. This year, 1243 logs were submitted for this contest,
breaking the record set in 2010 of 1202 logs. "Six meters has been in
excellent shape for the June VHF QSO Party for four of the past five
years," explained ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X. "It's
clear that when the 'Magic Band' is in great shape at the start of the
contest, we see more participation with more logs submitted. As a 6
meter fan, I hope this trend continues in the years to come."
With the exception of 2007, the ARRL June VHF QSO Party has seen
upwards of 1000 logs submitted each year since 2006; in 2007, 860 logs
were received, down from 1052 the year before. Kutzko said one of the
contributing factors to the popularity of the contest is that more HF
transceivers now include the 6 meter band: "When hams buy new HF rigs
that include 6 meters, we see them having a go on the band -- sometimes
for the first time, other times it's like revisiting an old friend from
their past. These hams are having a blast on the band and it sure is
contagious. When you add that to the improved propagation, it's no
wonder we're seeing an upswing in the popularity of 6 meters."
> + ARRL OFFICIAL OBSERVERS TEAM WITH FCC TO SOLVE ROGUE KEYER
PROBLEM ON 17 METERS
On July 15, Walt Bilous, K3DQB -- an Official Observer in ARRL's
Eastern Pennsylvania Section -- notified ARRL Headquarters of a keyer
continuously sending a series of dits on 18.0855 MHz. According to ARRL
Field and Regulatory Correspondent Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG, Bilous kept
hearing the dits throughout the night.
Skolaut asked Bilous to alert other OOs to monitor the frequency, but
the signal was proving hard to locate via direction finding due to
changing propagation and fading conditions on the band. "We alerted OOs
across the country to monitor and collect additional information for us
including bearings and signal strength reports," Skolaut said. "We had
a great response from quite a number of Official Observers." But the
signal was still proving elusive, so Skolaut contacted the FCC for
assistance. Read more here
.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "Say my name, Sun shines through the rain
" Cook, K7RA, reports:
Sunspot activity dipped over this past week, but now is on its way back
up. On July 20, five sunspot groups were visible, but on July 21, only
groups 1251, 1254 and 1259 remained. On July 24, new sunspot group 1260
appeared, but the next day group 1251 disappeared. On July 26, groups
1254 and 1259 went away, and new sunspot group 1261 arrived. The next
day, another new group, 1262, appeared. The average daily sunspot
numbers for the week July 21-27 declined nearly 47 points -- a little
more than 50 percent -- to 45.6. The average daily solar flux declined
more than 6 points to 91.8. The latest forecast shows the predicted
solar flux at 100 on July 28-29, rising to 105 on July 30-31, 110 on
August 1-3, and then dropping back to 95 on August 4-7. It also shows
the planetary A index at 5 on July 28-30, 12 on July 31-August 1, and
7, 5, 8 on August 2-4, followed by 12 again on August 5-7. Geophysical
Institute Prague predicts quiet conditions on July 29, quiet to
unsettled July 30, unsettled July 31 and August 1, then quiet to
unsettled August 2 and quiet again on August 3-4. Look for more
information on the ARRL website on Friday, July 29. 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 Bangles' Eternal Flame
.
> + SOCIAL MEDIA: ARRL LAUNCHES ONLINE FORUMS
To assist League members in communicating with one another and with
ARRL staff on topics of common interest, the ARRL has established three
forums -- Contesting, Awards and Technology -- on the ARRL website.
Visit www.arrl.org/forums to chat with
fellow hams about these topics. Additional forums are planned once we
have gained some experience with these three. ARRL members, guest users
and others can view the threads, but in order to participate in the
conversations or ask questions, you must be logged in as an ARRL
member. All users should read the forum rules
before participating.
> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO
This week:
- July 29 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- July 30-31 -- RSGB IOTA Contest; US Counties QSO Party
- July 31 -- ARS Flight of the Bumblebees
- August 2 -- ARS Spartan Sprint
Next week:
- August 5 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- August 6 -- TARA Grid Dip Shindig; European HF Championship
- August 6-7 -- ARRL UHF Contest; North American QSO Party (CW); 10-10
International Summer Contest (SSB)
- August 7 -- RSGB RoPoCo CW; SARL HF Phone Contest
- August 10 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint
- August 10-11 -- 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
- July 29-30 -- ARRL Oklahoma State Convention
,
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- August 5-6 -- ARRL Texas State Convention
,
Austin, Texas
- August 5-7 -- ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention
,
Taos, New Mexico; ARRL Midwest Division Convention
, Cedar
Rapids, Iowa
- 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
,
New Kensington, Pennsylvania
- September 9-11 -- 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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