The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
September 22, 2011
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- + On the Air: Radio Amateurs Take to the Air to Support National
Wildlife Refuge Week
- + ARRL Recognizes: 2010 ARRL Technical Excellence Award Winners
Announced
- On the Air: Yaesu Donates FT DX 5000 HF/6 Meter Transceiver to W1AW
- + FCC News: FCC Upholds $17,000 Forfeiture Order to Tennessee Ham
- + ARRL Seeks Treasurer
- Hays Affinity Group Provides ARRL Members with Equipment Protection,
Club Liability Insurance Plans
- + HB9DRV Sells Rights to Ham Radio Deluxe
- Solar Update
- + ARRL Invites Members to Express Opinions in QST
- + On the Air: JARL QSL Bureau Has New Address
- This Week on the Radio
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News .
> + ON THE AIR: RADIO AMATEURS TAKE TO THE AIR TO SUPPORT NATIONAL
WILDLIFE REFUGE WEEK
Amateur Radio operators will be on the air in observance of the 2011
National Wildlife Refuge Week, October 8-16. This event will coincide
with festivals and special events at refuges that help connect people
with nature at the country's more than 500 National Wildlife Refuges.
Radio amateurs are helping spread the word about the National Wildlife
Refuge System by operating from refuges during National Wildlife Refuge
Week. This event is a chance to combine Amateur Radio's communication
capabilities with enjoyment of the outdoors, while helping others learn
about the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS). Hams will highlight
refuge features, wildlife and geography when making contact with other
stations across North America. Operators will make contact using SSB,
CW and various digital modes, including RTTY and PSK31. Read more here
.
> + ARRL RECOGNIZES: 2010 ARRL TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS
ANNOUNCED
Joe Taylor, K1JT, and Bruce Walker, W1BW, are winners of the 2010
ARRL Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Technical Excellence Award for their article
"WSPRing Around the World" that appeared in the November 2010 issue of
QST. Established in 1975 as the ARRL Technical Excellence Award, the
name was changed in 1997 to honor the late Doug DeMaw, W1FB, a former
ARRL Headquarters technical editor and well-known Amateur Radio author.
The award consists of an engraved 9 inch pewter cup.
Joe Taylor was first licensed as KN2ITP in 1954, and has since held
call signs K2ITP, WA1LXQ, W1HFV, VK2BJX and K1JT. He was Professor of
Astronomy at the University of Massachusetts from 1969 to 1981 and
since then Professor of Physics at Princeton University, serving also
as Princeton's Dean of the Faculty from 1997 to 2004 and retiring in
2007. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1993 for discovery
of the first orbiting pulsar.
Bruce Walker has a Bachelor in Science degree in Physics from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is the Director of Genome
Assembly and Analysis at the Broad Institute in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. Bruce was an avid shortwave listener in his youth and
became a ham in 1991. His involvement in Amateur Radio has gone through
several phases: homebuilt QRP, amateur satellites, early computer-based
digital modes (PSK31, MSFK, etc), and occasional contesting. Read more
here
.
> ON THE AIR: YAESU DONATES FT DX 5000 HF/6 METER TRANSCEIVER TO W1AW
Thanks to the generosity of Yaesu , W1AW
, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial
Station, now boasts Yaesu's premier transceiver -- an FT DX 5000
and SM-5000 Station Monitor. Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV, Executive
Vice President for Yaesu's Amateur Radio Sales Division, visited ARRL
Headquarters on August 26 to present the radio. ARRL Chief Executive
Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, accepted the radio on behalf of the
station. Sumner also serves as W1AW trustee.
"Yaesu is thrilled to continue its long support of the ARRL by
donating our new premium class FT DX 50000 transceiver," Motschenbacher
said. "We understand this transceiver scored some of the best receiver
performance numbers every measured during ARRL Lab product testing, so
ARRL Headquarters guests will now be able to slip into one of the W1AW
operating studios to get on the air and spin the knobs on one of the
best of the best radios ever manufactured for the enjoyment of Amateur
Radio."
W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, thanked Yaesu for their donation
of the FT DX 5000 transceiver to W1AW: "This radio is installed in
Studio Three and is available for use to Amateur Radio operators
visiting W1AW. The Yaesu Quadra amplifier, DMU-2000 and Yaesu SM-5000
Station Monitor are all attached and make for an excellent operating
spot. The FT DX 5000 certainly complements the station."
Motschenbacher, who worked at ARRL HQ before moving to Yaesu, remarked
that returning to Newington to make the presentation "was a wonderful
personal experience for me. I was so happy to see many old friends
inside HQ, friendships made during the four and half years I spent with
ARRL before joining Yaesu. It didn't take me long to see that the staff
is very busy supporting its membership and Amateur Radio as a whole!"
> + FCC NEWS: FCC UPHOLDS $17,000 FORFEITURE ORDER TO TENNESSEE HAM
In March 2009, the FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (NAL) in the amount of $17,000 to David Edward Perka,
KA3PRB, of Lewisburg, Tennessee. The FCC alleges that Perka "willfully
and repeatedly violat[ed] section 301 of the Communications Act of
1934, as amended, by operating without a license in the Maritime Radio
Service and willfully violat[ed] Section 333 of the Act by maliciously
interfering with the United States Coast Guard on the International
Distress, Safety and Calling Channel in Annapolis, Maryland." Perka,
who admitted to the findings, requested a reduction in the forfeiture
amount, based on his inability to pay, but in a Forfeiture Order
released by the FCC on September 21, 2011, the Commission refused to
lower the amount. Read more here
.
> + ARRL SEEKS TREASURER
After more than 31 years of distinguished service to the ARRL as its
volunteer Treasurer, Jim McCobb, K1LU, has decided to step down when
his current term expires in January 2012. The ARRL is seeking qualified
candidates from among its membership. The Board of Directors elects the
Treasurer and other officers at its Annual Meeting in even-numbered
years.
The Treasurer is a non-voting member of the Board of Directors and must
be a licensed radio amateur and a Full member of the ARRL for four
continuous years prior to nomination. The ARRL By-laws
define the role of the Treasurer as
follows:
- In consultation with and subject to the general supervision of the
Administration and Finance Committee, provides for the investment and
reinvestment of the surplus funds of the League in any bonds or stocks
or other securities as would be selected by a trustee with the care of
a prudent investor.
- Reports to and attends all regular meetings of the Board of
Directors.
- Serves as a member of the Administration and Finance Committee.
The position is unpaid; however, necessary expenses including travel to
meetings are reimbursable.
A Search Committee has been established to recommend one or more
candidates for Treasurer to the Board. Additional information about the
position is available here
.
Interested and qualified members are invited to submit a Statement of
Interest and qualifications by November 14, 2011 to the Secretary,
preferably by e-mail .
> HAYS AFFINITY GROUP PROVIDES ARRL MEMBERS WITH EQUIPMENT
PROTECTION, CLUB LIABILITY INSURANCE PLANS
On May 1, 2011, the ARRL began a new partnership with Hays Affinity
Group to provide its ARRL-sponsored Equipment Insurance and Club
Liability Insurance plans. Hays -- who took over from Marsh Affinity
Group Services -- serves as the program administrator to provide
equipment insurance to ARRL members who choose to elect coverage. In
addition, Hays will also provide club liability insurance to ARRL
Affiliated Clubs for those clubs that wish to take advantage of that
program. Hays has introduced new policies for both plans, underwritten
by the Hanover Insurance Company. Read more here
.
> + HB9DRV SELLS RIGHTS TO HAM RADIO DELUXE
Simon Brown, HB9DRV, has sold the rights to his popular Ham Radio
Deluxe software package to a group consisting of Mike Carper, WA9PIE,
Randy Gawtry, K0CBH and Rick Ruhl, W4PC. All three principals have more
than 25 years of experience with radio data communications. Rick Ruhl
is the president of W4PC Software, Inc whose products include the
PakRatt, PKTerm and Radio Operations Center software suites. Randy
Gawtry is the president of Timewave Technology Inc whose products
include the PK and DSP families of data controllers and other
commercial data products. Mike Carper is an experienced Fortune 500
technology executive, educator and featured speaker in the areas of
wireless technologies and IT Service Management. Read more here
.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "Somewhere the Sun is shining
" Cook, K7RA, reports:
Compared to the uneventful past few years, sunspot activity was truly
remarkable this week. The daily sunspot number for September 16 was
173. We haven't see numbers like this in more than six years, when the
sunspot number was 181, way back on July 5, 2005 in Solar Cycle 23. The
solar flux reached 150.1 on September 18. Just six months ago it was
slightly higher, 153 on March 7 and 155 on March 8, but prior to that
the only higher number was 157.3 on August 22, 2005, about 7 weeks
after the sunspot number of 181. Currently, the solar flux and
planetary A index forecast from USAF/NOAA calls for solar flux of 144
on September 22-23, 140 on September 24-25, 145 on September 26-28, 130
on September 29 through October 1, and 135 on October 2-5. The
planetary A index is predicted at 5 on September 22-24, 8 on September
25, 5, 8, 5, 5, 15 and 8 on September 26 through October 1, and 5 on
October 2-7. Look for more information on the ARRL website on Friday,
September 23. 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 Go-Go's Stuck in My Car
.
> + ARRL INVITES MEMBERS TO EXPRESS OPINIONS IN QST
Each month in QST, the ARRL devotes a page to print letters from its
members. This is a chance for you to express your opinions -- good or
bad -- on ham radio-related matters. Your opinion counts! Send your
letters electronically to qst@arrl.org or via postal mail to
Correspondence, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. You can also fax your
letters to 860-594-0259. We read every letter received, but we can only
publish a few each month. We reserve the right to edit your letter for
clarity and to fit the available page space. Letters published in QST
may also appear in other ARRL media. The ARRL assumes no responsibility
for statements made by correspondents.
> + ON THE AIR: JARL QSL BUREAU HAS NEW ADDRESS
As of October 1, 2011, the Japan Amateur Radio League's (JARL) QSL
Bureau will have a new address. If you use the JARL QSL Bureau, please
send your QSL cards to JARL QSL Bureau, 1324-3 Kanba, Hikawa-cho,
Izumo-shi, Shimane 699-0588 JAPAN.
> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO
This week:
- September 23 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- September 24 -- AGCW VHF/UHF Contest
- September 24-25 -- ARRL EME Contest
; Texas QSO Party; CQ Worldwide DX
Contest (RTTY)
- September 25 -- UBA ON 6 Meter Contest
- September 26 -- QRP Homebrewer Sprint
- September 27 -- 222 MHz Fall Sprint (local time)
- September 28 -- SKCC Sprint
- September 28-29 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test
Next week:
- October 1 -- TARA PSK Rumble Contest; EU Autumn Sprint (SSB)
- October 1-2 -- California QSO Party; Oceania DX Contest (SSB); WAB HF
Phone Contest; EPC Russia DX Contest
- October 2 -- UBA ON Contest (SSB)
- October 3 -- German Telegraphy Contest
- October 4 -- ARS Spartan Sprint
- October 5 -- 432 MHz Fall Sprint1 (local time)
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 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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