The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
October 20, 2011
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- + Thai Amateurs Respond to Floods, Ask that 7.060-7.063 MHz Be Kept
Clear
- + ARRL Executive Committee Examines BPL Issues, Regulatory Matters,
Electronic Balloting, More
- + Newly Elected Section Managers to Converge in Newington
- The 6th Annual ARRL On-Line Auction Is Open for Bidding!
- + California Ham Killed in Shooting Spree
- Check Out the November/December Issue of QEX
- + Honor Professional Journalists: Nominate Them for the ARRL's
Leonard Award
- Solar Update
- + Postage Rates to Increase in January
- This Week on the Radio
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News .
> + THAI AMATEURS RESPOND TO FLOODS, ASK THAT 7.060-7.063 MHZ BE KEPT
CLEAR
Authorities in Thailand
continue to battle the country's worst floods in decades, with the
death toll rising to almost 300. While Thai hams are mostly using 2
meters to communicate, IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee
Chairman Jim Linton, VK3PC, is asking all radio amateurs to keep
7.060-7.063 MHz clear from unnecessary traffic, as Thai hams are also
using 40 meters during the flooding that is affecting millions of
people in North and Central Thailand. "Amateur Radio has been assisting
with flood relief communications, helping victims in the affected
areas, said Tony Waltham, HS0ZDX, the Radio Amateur Society of
Thailand's (RAST) International Liaison Officer. "Operators are using
RAST's club station call sign HS0AC, and a special flood relief center
with the call sign HS0AB has been established at Bangkok's Don Mueang
Airport. Please be formally advised that Thai radio amateurs are
standing by on 144.900 MHz, 145.000 MHz and 144.9375 MHz, as well as on
frequencies of 7.060-7.063 MHz in the 40 meter HF band." Read more here
.
> + ARRL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE EXAMINES BPL ISSUES, REGULATORY MATTERS,
ELECTRONIC BALLOTING, MORE
The ARRL Executive Committee (EC) held its second 2011 meeting
Saturday, October 1 in Dulles, Virginia. The EC administers the
League's affairs in between Board meetings. It consists of the
President (Kay Craigie, N3KN), five Directors elected annually by the
Board, and -- without vote - the First Vice President (Rick Roderick,
K5UR) and Chief Executive Officer (David Sumner, K1ZZ). For 2011 the
Director members are Tom Frenaye, K1KI (New England), Dick Isely, W9GIG
(Central), Brian Mileshosky, N5ZGT (Rocky Mountain), Bob Vallio, W6RGG
(Pacific) and Dr David Woolweaver, K5RAV (West Gulf). Also in
attendance at the meeting were Second Vice President Bruce Frahm, K0BJ,
International Affairs Vice President Jay Bellows, K0QB, and General
Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD. Read more here
.
> + NEWLY ELECTED SECTION MANAGERS TO CONVERGE IN NEWINGTON
This weekend, five newly elected or appointed Section Managers will be
in Newington for an orientation workshop. The primary purposes of the
workshop sessions are to share ideas and to provide basic
administrative, management, leadership and motivational training.
"The Section Manager Workshop is an orientation and training event for
new Section Managers that have come on board within the last year or
so," said ARRL Field Organization Team Supervisor Steve Ewald, WV1X.
"The ARRL has conducted this training each year at HQ for the past
several years, and it has been well received by past participants. The
Membership and Volunteer Programs Department Staff and its Field
Organization Team are the lead coordinators of the event. We also cover
the responsibilities and functions of the Section Manager position, and
the SMs are able to visit with ARRL Headquarters staff members and
learn more about the many programs that the ARRL supports. The workshop
sessions are presented by several ARRL Headquarters staff members who
are experts in their respective areas."
The following five Section Managers are attending the orientation
workshop: Alabama Section Manager David Drummond, W4MD; Arkansas
Section Manager Dale Temple, W5RXU; Colorado Section Manager Jack
Ciaccia, WM0G; Western New York Section Manager Steve Ryan, N2ITF, and
West Texas Section Manager Bill Roberts, W5NPR. Drummond, Temple,
Ciaccia and Roberts began their terms in 2011, while Ryan began his
2010.
> THE 6TH ANNUAL ARRL ON-LINE AUCTION IS OPEN FOR BIDDING!
The Sixth Annual ARRL On-Line Auction
opened for bidding on Wednesday, October 19. There is a large
assortment of ARRL Product Review items, including a Yaesu FT-DX5000D
HF and 6 meter transceiver, an Ameritron ALS-1300 HF power amplifier, a
Ten-Tec 599AT Eagle HF and 6 meter transceiver, a Kenwood TS-590S HF
and 6 meter transceiver and an Elecraft P3 panadapter, as well as a
wide assortment of books, including ARRL Handbooks from the 1920s and
1930s. "If you are interested in some great bargains and some great
fun, you really need to check this out," Advertising Manager and ARRL
On-Line Auction Coordinator Deb Jahnke, K1DAJ said. The 2011 ARRL
On-Line Auction runs through 11:59 PM (EDT) October 26.
> + CALIFORNIA HAM KILLED IN SHOOTING SPREE
A gunman, apparently enraged over a custody dispute with his
ex-wife, walked into a hair salon in Seal Beach, California on October
12. Scott Evans Dekraai allegedly opened fire in the salon, killing
eight people, including his ex-wife. David Caouette, N6DAC -- who was
waiting outside the salon in his car -- was killed in the rampage. He
was 64. Ed Testa, KI6OJV, a longtime friend of Caouette's, told The
Orange County Register that Caouette "was in the wrong place at the
wrong time and had no way to defend himself. We are just in disbelief
that he could have been involved in this tragedy." Testa said that he
had heard that Caouette was visiting one of the restaurants next to the
salon where the shooting occurred. Read more here
.
> CHECK OUT THE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER ISSUE OF QEX
The November/December issue of QEX is coming soon, and it is full of
theoretical and practical technical articles that you won't want to
miss. QEX is the ARRL's "Forum for Communications Experimenters."
Published bimonthly, it features technical articles, columns and other
items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals.
The mission of QEX is threefold: To provide a medium for the exchange
of ideas and information among Amateur Radio experimenters; to document
advanced technical work in the Amateur Radio field, and to support
efforts to advance the state of the Amateur Radio art. Read more here
.
> + HONOR PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS: NOMINATE THEM FOR THE ARRL'S
LEONARD AWARD
Television, radio, magazines, newspapers, blogs, Webcasts -- Amateur
Radio has been featured in all of them in 2011. Now it is time to
return the favor and thank the professional media people who made it
happen by nominating them for the Bill Leonard, W2SKE, Professional
Media Award. This national level annual award is sponsored by the ARRL
and honors three professional journalists whose outstanding coverage in
audio, video and print formats best reflect the enjoyment, importance
and public service value of the Amateur Radio Service. The deadline for
nominations is December 9. Read more here
.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "Blackbirds and the Sun of October
" Cook,
K7RA, reports: The high solar activity -- relative to the past few
years -- continues. The average daily sunspot number rose more than 66
percent this week (October 13-19) over last week, to 158.6, while the
average daily solar flux for the same period rose more than 15 percent
to 144.2. With the geomagnetic indices this week below the previous
week, radio amateurs have frequently worked stations on other
continents as late as midnight on 10 meters. The bands are alive. The
latest forecast from USAF/NOAA shows solar flux from October 20-23 at
145, 150, 150 and 140, then 135 on October 24-28, and then 130 on
October 29-November 3. The planetary A index is predicted at 5 on
October 20-27, 8 on October 28-30 and 5 on October 31-November 2.
Geophysical Institute Prague shows quiet conditions October 21-13,
quiet to unsettled October 24 and quiet again October 25-27. Look for
more information on the ARRL website on Friday, October 21. For more
information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical
Information Service Propagation page
. This week's "Tad
Cookism" is brought to you by Dylan Thomas's Poem in October
.
> + POSTAGE RATES TO INCREASE IN JANUARY
The US Postal Service has announced that as of January 22, 2012, the
cost to mail first class letters, postcards and packages within the US
will go up. The cost to mail a first class letter will be 45 cents, an
increase of 1 cent. According to the USPS, this is the first increase
since May 2009. The cost of mailing a postcard will be 32 cents, an
increase of 3 cents. This is the second increase for postcard postage
in less than a year; in April 2011, the USPS boosted the postcard stamp
price from 28 cents to 29 cents. You will also pay more to send letters
to Canada, Mexico and other international destinations. Click here
for more information on all the postal increases.
> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO
This week:
- October 22 -- FOC QSO Party, Microwave Fall Sprint (local time)
- October 22-23 -- ARRL EME Contest ;
Stew Perry Topband Challenge; W/VE Islands QSO Party; SYLRA Contest
- October 26 -- SKCC Sprint
- October 26-27 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test
Next week:
- October 29-30 -- CQ Worldwide DX Contest (SSB); 50 MHz Fall 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 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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