The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
September 1, 2011
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- Public Service: Hams from North Carolina to Maine Provide
Communication Support Before, During and After Hurricane Irene
- Public Service: Puerto Rico Feels Early Brunt of Hurricane Irene
- Kalaupapa, Hawaii Is Site of Second ARRL Remote VE Testing
- On the Air: Have Some Fun in the ARRL September VHF QSO Party
- On the Air: Special Event Stations Mark Tenth Anniversary of 9/11
- Solar Update
- HQ News: ARRL HQ to Close in Observance of Labor Day
- This Week on the Radio
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
There will be no ARRL Audio News
this week. The ARRL Audio News will return September 8.
> PUBLIC SERVICE: HAMS FROM NORTH CAROLINA TO MAINE PROVIDE
COMMUNICATION SUPPORT BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER HURRICANE IRENE
Hurricane Irene -- the first major hurricane of the 2011 hurricane
season -- left extensive flood and wind damage along its path through
the Caribbean, the East Coast of the United States and as far north as
Atlantic Canada. Beginning on August 20 as then-Tropical Storm Irene
headed toward Puerto Rico, radio amateurs were already on alert.
Irene first made landfall in the US as a Category 1 storm on the
morning of Saturday, August 27 on North Carolina's Outer Banks. In
preparation, ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, W5MPC,
activated the ARRL HQ Emergency Response Team (HQERT). On Tuesday,
August 23, this team of ARRL HQ staffers began monitoring various nets
and providing support to the affected Field Organizations from W1AW,
the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station. Two days later, the HQERT went
into active mode. Read more here
.
> PUBLIC SERVICE: PUERTO RICO FEELS EARLY BRUNT OF HURRICANE IRENE
When Tropical Storm Irene formed on the evening of Saturday, August
20, the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency began to activate in
preparation for the storm's approach. According to ARRL Public
Information Officer Angel Santana, WP3GW, amateurs affiliated with the
Cuerpo Voluntarios Radioaficionados (CVR) began to move throughout the
island. In San Juan, CVR activated KP4CVR on the KP4CAR repeater. Hams
also monitored 7.195 MHz for traffic and used 146.520 MHz for local
contacts. Read more here
.
> KALAUPAPA, HAWAII IS SITE OF SECOND ARRL REMOTE VE TESTING
From the sunny shores of Hawaii's Kalaupapa Peninsula, -- located on
the Island of Molokai -- ARRL Volunteer Examiners gave a remote ARRL VE
session on the morning of July 25. Well, at least it was morning in
Hawaii, but it was late in the afternoon at ARRL Headquarters. What
made this VE session so special that it was only the second VE session
to be administered via Internet video feed. The first video VE session
-- and the first-ever VE session in Antarctica -- took place in October
2010.
Not only was this VE session special due to its location, only one VE
was at Kalaupapa for the exam. "This is where the Internet video feed
came into play," explained ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM. "Joe
Speroni, AH0A -- who lives in Honolulu but went to the site at his own
expense -- was at Kalaupapa, but Bev Yuen, AH6NF, and Ray Moody, AH6LT,
were in Honolulu and watching on video. We also had three VEs here at
ARRL Headquarters watching via video feed: Penny Harts, N1NAG, Steve
Ewald, NV1X, and Rose Anne Lawrence, KB1DMW. These three administer
many VE sessions each year here at ARRL HQ." Read more here
.
> ON THE AIR: HAVE SOME FUN IN THE ARRL SEPTEMBER VHF QSO PARTY
September is here, and that means the VHF bands have been getting a
workout. "If you've never experienced the fun of VHF+ operating, the
ARRL September VHF QSO Party, the weekend of September 10 is a great
place to start," said ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X.
"With many HF radios now offering at least 6 meter SSB/CW capabilities
-- and some offering 2 meters and 70 cm as well -- any amateur with a
Technician class license or higher can experience long-haul
communication on the VHF bands."
Kutzko explained that September is known for having good tropospheric
propagation, as opposed to June, which is known for sporadic-E, or
E-skip. "As the summer winds down, the sporadic-E season comes to an
end and good tropo conditions flourish," he said. "A modest station --
say a 50 to 100 W SSB/CW transceiver and a small Yagi on 2 meters --
can, with favorable conditions, make QSOs several hundred miles away.
If conditions are excellent, QSOs of more than 1000 miles are
possible." Read more here
.
> ON THE AIR: SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS MARK TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11
In remembrance of those who died in the terrorist attacks that
occurred on September 11, 2001, several Amateur Radio Special Event
Stations are being planned. Click here
for a list of those stations that have notified the ARRL that they will
be on the air. The dates, times and frequencies of these Special Event
Stations are listed as they were reported to the ARRL, and as such, are
subject to change. This list will be updated as more Special Event
Stations notify ARRL HQ of their plans. We recommend that you bookmark
the web page and check back periodically for any additions.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "September Sun, blowing golden hair
" Cook, K7RA, reports:
Sunspot activity rose again this week, with the average daily sunspot
number up nearly 18 points to 83.6, but the geomagnetic indices were
down slightly. The high sunspot number for the week -- 121 -- was
recorded on Wednesday, August 31. The last time the sunspot number was
higher was on July 31 at 128 and August 1 at 130. The predicted solar
flux is 110 on September 1-2, 105 on September 3, 100 on September 4-5,
95, 90, 90, 85, 90, 92 and 95 on September 6-12, 100 on September
13-15, and finally peaking at 105 on September 18-22. The predicted
planetary A index is 5 on September 1-2, 8 on September 3-4, 5 on
September 5-10, and then 8, 12, 8 and 5 on September 11-14. Look for
more information on the ARRL website on Friday, September 2. For more
information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical
Information Service Propagation page
. This week's "Tad
Cookism" is brought to you by Type O Negative's September Sun
.
> HQ NEWS: ARRL HQ TO CLOSE IN OBSERVANCE OF LABOR DAY
ARRL Headquarters will be closed in observance of Labor Day on
Monday, September 5. There will be no W1AW bulletin or code practice
transmissions that day.
ARRL Headquarters will reopen Tuesday, September 6 at 8 AM Eastern
Daylight Time. We wish everyone a safe and festive holiday weekend.
> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO
This week:
- September 2 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- September 3 -- Wake-Up! QRP Sprint; GCW Straight Key Party; Russian
Radio WW RTTY Contest
- September 3-4 -- Colorado QSO Party; QCWA Fall QSO Party; All Asian
DX Contest (Phone); CWops Mini-CWT Test
- September 4 -- DARC 10 Meter Digital Contest
- September 4-5 -- Tennessee QSO Party
- September 5-6 -- Michigan QRP Labor Day CW Sprint
- September 6 -- ARS Spartan Sprint
Next week:
- September 9 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- September 9-10 -- PODXS 070 Club Jay Hudak Memorial 80 Meter Sprint
(local time)
- September 10 -- Ohio State Parks on the Air; Kulikovo Polye Contest
- September 10-11 -- Arkansas QSO Party; WAE DX Contest (Phone)
- September 10-12 -- ARRL September VHF QSO Party
; ARCI VHF Contest
- September 11 -- SKCC Weekend Sprint
- September 14-15 -- 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
- 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
- October 8-9 -- ARRL Florida State Convention
,
Melbourne, Florida
- October 9 -- ARRL Connecticut State Convention
,
Wallingford, Connecticut
- October 14-16 -- ARRL Pacific Division Convention
, Santa Clara, California
- October 21-22 -- ARRL West Gulf Division Convention
,
Ardmore, Oklahoma
- October 22 -- ARRL Iowa State Convention
,
Sergeant Bluff, Iowa
- November 6 -- ARRL Iowa Section Convention
, Davenport, Iowa
- November 19-20 -- ARRL Indiana State Convention
,
Fort Wayne, Indiana
- December 3-4 -- ARRL West Central Florida Section Convention
,
Palmetto, Florida
To find a convention or hamfest near you, click here
.
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