The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
September 29, 2011
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- + On the Air: Scouts to Take to the Airwaves for the 54th Jamboree on
the Air
- + ARRL Briefs White House Staff on Amateur Radio's Capabilities
During Emergencies
- + Amateur Radio in Space: Take the ARISSat-1 Survey
- + Amateur Radio in Space: AMSAT Sponsors ARISSat-1 Re-entry Contest
- + At the Workbench: The Deadline for the Third ARRL Homebrew
Challenge Is Approaching
- ARRL Executive Committee to Meet in Virginia this Weekend
- + ARRL Invites Nominations for 2011 International Humanitarian Award
- Solar Update
- + ARRL Invites Members to Express Opinions in QST
- This Week on the Radio
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News .
> + ON THE AIR: SCOUTS TO TAKE TO THE AIRWAVES FOR THE 54TH JAMBOREE
ON THE AIR
Each year, more than 500,000 Scouts in more than 100 countries take
to the airwaves on the third full weekend in October -- and this year
will be no different. The Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) is a Scouting and
Amateur Radio event sponsored by the World Scout Bureau of the World
Organization of the Scout Movement. JOTA is an annual event where Boy
Scouts, Girl Scouts and Girl Guides from all over the world speak to
each other via Amateur Radio. Since 1958 -- when the first Jamboree on
the Air was held -- millions of Scouts have met through this event.
Many contacts made during JOTA have resulted in pen pals and links
between Scout troops that have lasted many years. The radio stations
are operated by radio amateurs, and many Scouts and leaders hold
licenses and have their own stations. The majority of JOTA Scouts
participate through stations operated by local radio clubs and
individual hams. Read more here
.
> + ARRL BRIEFS WHITE HOUSE STAFF ON AMATEUR RADIO'S CAPABILITIES
DURING EMERGENCIES
On September 12, at the invitation of White House Cybersecurity
Coordinator Howard A. Schmidt, W7HAS
,
the ARRL briefed several members of the National Security Staff on the
capabilities of the Amateur Radio Service to communicate in
emergencies. "The White House is looking for ways that the great work
of Amateur Radio operators can continue to support emergencies in the
future with particular attention to increased use and dependency on
Internet-based technologies," Schmidt said. The ARRL presentation,
conducted by Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, W5MPC -- along
with President Kay Craigie, N3KN, and Chief Executive Officer David
Sumner, K1ZZ -- focused on Amateur Radio's current and evolving
capabilities to provide Internet messaging connectivity.
> + AMATEUR RADIO IN SPACE: TAKE THE ARISSAT-1 SURVEY
AMSAT is inviting radio amateurs
to complete a 19-question survey regarding ARISSat-1
. "Please
take a few minutes to answer the questions
," said Steven
Bible, N7HPR. "The survey results will be posted to the official
ARISSat-1 website ." ARISSat-1 was deployed
from the International Space Station in August 2011 and is active on
the following frequencies and modes:
- 145.950 MHz FM Downlink: FM transmissions will cycle between a voice
ID as RS01S, select telemetry values, 24 international greeting
messages in 15 languages, as well as SSTV images. If you successfully
receive the SSTV transmissions, you are invited to upload your picture
to the ARISS SSTV Gallery .
- 435 MHz - 145 MHz Linear Transponder: The linear transponder will
operate in Mode U/V (70 cm up, 2 meters down). It is a 16 kHz wide
inverting passband from 435.742 to 435.758 MHz and the convention will
be to transmit LSB on the 435 MHz uplink and receive USB on the 145 MHz
downlink between 145.922 and 145.938 MHz.
- 145.919 MHz/145.939 MHz CW Beacons: The CW transmissions will be call
sign ID RS01S, select telemetry and call signs of people actively
involved with the ARISS program.
- 145.920 MHz SSB BPSK-1000 Telemetry: The BPSK transmissions will
feature a new 1kBPSK protocol developed by Phil Karn, KA9Q. When the
CW2 beacon on 145.919 MHz is active, this indicates that the BPSK-1000
format is being transmitted. If the CW1 beacon on 145.939 MHz is
active, the backup of BPSK-400 format is being transmitted.
> + AMATEUR RADIO IN SPACE: AMSAT SPONSORS ARISSAT-1 RE-ENTRY CONTEST
AMSAT Secretary Alan Biddle, WA4SCA, said the ARISSat-1 Team is
looking for entries in the Chicken Little Contest. This is your
opportunity to calculate or guess when ARISSat-1 falls out of orbit.
This is defined as the time it crosses an altitude of 78 kilometers,
which is considered to be the point of no return. "This involves your
prognostications, calculations, guesses, darts-in-the-calendar
submissions for when ARRISSat-1 makes its final orbit," Biddle said.
"We have a fair number of submissions from all over the world from
adults, but very few from students. If you know of one who might be
interested, encourage them to enter." Read more here
.
> + AT THE WORKBENCH: THE DEADLINE FOR THE THIRD ARRL HOMEBREW
CHALLENGE IS APPROACHING
The ARRL has sponsored two Homebrew Challenges in the past, designed
to test our members' design and construction skills by making useful
amateur gear at low cost -- and sharing their results with our members.
Our first ARRL Homebrew Challenge, announced in QST for August 2006,
required the construction of a 40 meter, 5 W voice and CW transceiver
built for less than $50 of new parts. The Second Homebrew Challenge,
announced in February 2009, resulted in a number of creative designs of
low cost 50 W linear amplifiers to follow the transceiver -- two for
about $30, as well as a multiband amplifier with many features for
somewhat more. The deadline for the Third Homebrew Challenge is
Tuesday, November 1. Read more here
.
> ARRL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TO MEET IN VIRGINIA THIS WEEKEND
The ARRL Executive Committee will meet October 1 in Virginia. The
agenda
for
the meeting is now available. According to the ARRL By-Laws
, the Executive Committee is assigned
specific responsibility for:
- Applying existing Board policy to make decisions between Board
meetings.
- Evaluating proposed rules and regulatory changes for the Board.
- Assisting staff and General Counsel in Board recommendations for
petitions to the FCC and other governmental and international agencies.
- Periodically reviewing and recommending to the Board any changes in
the ARRL Articles of Association, By-Laws, Standing Orders, and
Memoranda of Understanding with other organizations.
- Monitoring progress of Board actions and recommendations (task
tracking).
- Monitoring progress of the implementation of, and suggesting ongoing
revisions to, the ARRL Strategic Plan, working in conjunction with
Standing Committees as appropriate.
- Reviewing and recommending programs designed to represent the
organization to the public, enhance the organization's image, and
communicate with the media.
> + ARRL INVITES NOMINATIONS FOR 2011 INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN
AWARD
Nominations are open for the 2011 ARRL International Humanitarian
Award. This award is conferred upon an amateur or amateurs who
demonstrate devotion to human welfare, peace and international
understanding through Amateur Radio. The League established the annual
prize to recognize those radio amateurs who have used ham radio to
provide extraordinary service to others in times of crisis or disaster.
As one of the few telecommunication services that allows people
throughout the world from all walks of life to meet and talk with each
other, Amateur Radio spreads goodwill across political boundaries. The
ARRL International Humanitarian Award recognizes the Amateur Radio
Service's unique role in international communication and the assistance
amateurs regularly provide to people in need.
Nominations should include a summary of the nominee's actions that
qualify the individual (or individuals) for this award, plus verifying
statements from at least two people having first-hand knowledge of the
events warranting the nomination. These statements may be from an
official of a group (for example, the American Red Cross, The Salvation
Army, a local or state emergency management official) that benefited
from the nominee's particular Amateur Radio contribution. Nominations
should include the names and addresses of all references. Read more
here
.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "The Sun shines forever
" Cook, K7RA, reports: Our
Sun has been very active this past week, with the average solar flux
rising nearly 12 points to 155.5, while the average daily sunspot
numbers dropped nearly 41 points to 96.1. This implies fewer, but more
intense, sunspots. A huge sunspot group numbered 1302 emerged on
September 22. This was the source of a coronal mass ejection that
triggered an immense geomagnetic storm. The planetary A index peaked at
67 on September 26, followed by 30 the next day and 24 on September 28.
The planetary K index reached 8 for two of the three-hour reporting
periods on September 26, indicating an intense geomagnetic storm. The
resulting aurora was observed in many places, including Maine,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota and South
Dakota. On September 22, there was a major X1.4 class solar flare at
1100 UTC, with a large CME, but this was when sunspot 1302 was just
coming over the horizon, so it wasn't Earth-directed. On September 24,
sunspot group 1302 produced a larger X1.9 flare. Currently, the latest
forecast from NOAA/USAF has solar flux for September 29-October 7 at
130, 130, 125, 120, 120, 115, 110, 110 and 140, and then 145 on October
8-10 and 140 on October 11-17. The predicted planetary A index is 12, 5
and 8 on September 29 through October 1, then 5 on October 2-7, then 8,
15, 12 and 8 on October 8-11 and 5 on October 12-21. Look for more
information on the ARRL website on Friday, September 30. For more
information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical
Information Service Propagation page
. This week's "Tad
Cookism" is brought to you by Bananarama's Through a Child's Eyes
.
> + 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.
> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO
This 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 Sprint (local time)
Next week:
- October 7-9 -- YLRL DX/NA YL Anniversary Contest
- October 8 -- FISTS Fall Sprint; EU Autumn Sprint (CW)
- October 8-9 -- Arizona QSO Party; Pennsylvania QSO Party; Makrothen
RTTY Contest; Oceania DX Contest (CW); Scandinavian Activity Contest
(SSB)
- October 9 -- North American Sprint (RTTY); UBA ON Contest (CW)
- October 10 -- 10-10 International 10-10 Day Sprint
- October 12 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint; NAQCC-EU Monthly Sprint
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
- 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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