The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
February 9, 2012
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- + FCC News: New Rules for 5 MHz (60 Meters) To Go Into Effect March 5
- + WRC-12: Agenda Item 1.23 Passes Committee, Moves to Plenary
- + WRC-12: How Are Agenda Items Processed at a WRC?
- + WRC-12: Proposed Maritime Mobile Allocation Gets First Reading at
WRC-12 Plenary Session
- + WRC-12: Nobel Laureate Joe Taylor, K1JT, Addresses Plenary Session
at WRC-12, Receives ITU Gold Medal
- On the Air: The 2012 ARRL International DX CW Contest Takes to the
Air Next Weekend
- ARRL HQ: Save the Date! Take a Virtual Tour of W1AW on February 12
- + ARRL Field Day: 2012 Field Day Packet Now Available
- Solar Update
- This Week in Radiosport
- Be a Star! Deadline for Second Annual ARRL Video Contest is February
29
- + Silent Key: Former ITU-R Director Dick Kirby, W0LCT/HB9BOA (SK)
- + Silent Key: Astronaut Janice Voss, KC5BTK (SK)
- Silent Key: WorldRadio Founder Armond Noble, N6WR (SK)
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News .
> + FCC NEWS: NEW RULES FOR 5 MHZ (60 METERS) TO GO INTO EFFECT MARCH
5
On November 18, the FCC released a Report and Order, defining new
rules for the 60 meter (5 MHz) band. These rules are in response to a
Petition for Rulemaking filed by the ARRL more than five years ago and
a June 2010 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. In the February 3 edition of
the Federal Register, the FCC announced that these new rules will go
into effect on March 5, 2012. Read more here
.
> + WRC-12: AGENDA ITEM 1.23 PASSES COMMITTEE, MOVES TO PLENARY
On the afternoon of February 7, Committee 4 of the 2012 World
Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12) approved Option 1 to satisfy
Agenda Item 1.23, with minor editorial amendments to the text received
from Working Group 4C. Option 1 calls for a worldwide secondary
allocation to the Amateur Service at 472-479 kHz, with a power limit of
1 W EIRP, with a provision for administrations to permit up to 5 W EIRP
for stations located more than 800 km from certain countries that wish
to protect their aeronautical radionavigation service (non-directional
beacons) from any possible interference. Option 2 was NOC (no change to
the current rules).
In keeping with the rules of the Conference, Committee decisions must
be read twice in Plenary Session; the decision of the Conference is not
final until after second reading in Plenary. According to ARRL Chief
Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, quite a few additional
administrations -- mainly in the former Soviet Union and Arab states --
will be adding their country names to the Footnotes prior to
consideration in Plenary. Sumner said that Agenda Item 1.23 should have
its first reading in the Plenary on Friday, February 10, with its
second reading sometime next week. Read more here
.
> + WRC-12: HOW ARE AGENDA ITEMS PROCESSED AT A WRC?
By IARU Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD
The procedures used by the International Telecommunication Union
before and during a World Radiocommunication Conference seem
complicated. They are somewhat complicated, but they are understandable
with a bit of background. Each Agenda Item that will be decided at a
WRC has been studied for at least three or four years leading up to a
WRC. ITU Study Groups and Working Parties discuss the issues involved
in the Agenda Item. Compatibility studies, sharing studies and
experiments take place whenever needed, so that discussions and
decisions can be made based upon facts, rather than opinions. Read more
here
.
> + WRC-12: PROPOSED MARITIME MOBILE ALLOCATION GETS FIRST READING AT
WRC-12 PLENARY SESSION
At the February 3 Plenary Session of the 2012 World
Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12), delegates heard the first
reading and approved a worldwide exclusive allocation to Maritime
Mobile of 495-505 kHz. There will need to be a second reading to
finalize the allocation. According to ARRL Chief Executive Officer
David Sumner, K1ZZ, discussion of this allocation to Maritime Mobile
"has been in the works throughout the conference preparation (i.e.
since 2008) and was the reason why the MF amateur allocation could not
be made in this band as some amateurs had hoped. That's why we [the
Amateur Radio Service] had to look elsewhere and is what put us in
conflict with aeronautical radionavigation."
> + WRC-12: NOBEL LAUREATE JOE TAYLOR, K1JT, ADDRESSES PLENARY
SESSION AT WRC-12, RECEIVES ITU GOLD MEDAL
On February 3, delegates and attendees at the 2012 World
Radiocommunication Conference had the pleasure of listening Joe Taylor,
K1JT, share his vision of the future of radiocommunication. Taylor --
an ARRL Member -- won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1993
for
the discovery of a binary pulsar, a discovery which has opened up new
possibilities for the study of gravitation. After the speech,
International Telecommunication Union Secretary General Dr Hamadoun
Touré, HB9EHT, presented Taylor with the ITU Gold Medal in recognition
of Taylor's outstanding contribution to the research in the field of
radiocommunication.
Dr Touré introduced Taylor to the Plenary. In his introduction, he
told the audience that Amateur Radio led to Taylor's career as a radio
astronomer, and ultimately to his winning the Nobel Prize: "I'm told
that an early interest in Amateur Radio led Joe Taylor to an exciting
career in radio astronomy, which then earned him the 1993 Nobel Prize
in physics. I share his interest in Amateur Radio with passion, but
will that lead me to a Nobel Prize? I'm working on it!"
Taylor began his speech by thanking the WRC-12 delegates for the job
they were doing at the Conference. "I understand that you have come to
Geneva from more than 150 of the ITU's Member States," he said. "You
are here to do an important job, an essential one, for nearly all of
humanity in today's world. You are charged to do your upmost to
accommodate the wide variety of competing interests of all users of the
radio frequency spectrum and its available orbits for Earth satellites.
This is surely not an easy task. Most people give very little thought
to the complicated issues that you face. Why should they, since for
most of us, most of the time, the technologies that depend on these
limited resources just seem to work. But I know, and each one of you
knows, that much background work and many long negotiations are often
necessary in order to make everything fit together and work in
harmony."
Taylor noted new discoveries "that have fundamentally changed or
expanded our understanding of nature's laws, or might do so in the near
future." But, he said, these discoveries will not affect the ITU or
future WRCs for "at least not for many decades to come. This is because
our fundamental understanding of electromagnetism is already in a
mature state. Maxwell's equations
, after all, have
been thoroughly tested now for 150 years. And in principle, they tell
us everything we need to know in order to exploit the wonders of
telecommunications at the speed of light. Our understanding of these
laws of nature, including what they tell us is possible and not
possible, is not likely to change, even in the more distant future. But
of course we can still develop new and improved ways of generating,
controlling and detecting electromagnetic radiation, as well as clever
new ways of effectively sharing the spectral resources that we have.
Such advances as these will surely continue, and perhaps they will even
increase. The fundamental science may be mature, but technology's
ability to exploit and build upon electromagnetic phenomena is still
rapidly developing.
"It's interesting to comment in passing on the fundamental
differences between the bounded radio frequency spectrum and the
balance, for example, on accessible fossil fuels. Limitations of the
radio spectrum are a result of fundamental laws of nature. Every nation
on Earth, and indeed every person on Earth, has access, in principle,
to the same spectrum as everyone else. The amount of accessible oil, on
the other hand, depends on the much more complicated way on how the
Earth formed and evolved over time, and fossil fuels are not evenly
distributed over the Earth and they are expendable. When it's gone,
there's none left. The electromagnetic spectrum, on the other hand,
will always be there, whether or not we humans are around here to enjoy
using it. Moreover, the spectrum can be shared by many users
simultaneously, and shared use can be especially effective if adequate
planning is done in advance. That planning, of course, is an essential
part of your assignments here.
"Future technologies will surely make even better uses of wireless
communication than we do today. I foresee plenty of scope for
contributions for new technologies. Information and communication
technologies have much to offer for the betterment of the human
condition everywhere, and perhaps especially so in the developing
world. It is extremely important to continue seeking the best
efficiencies in the use of the spectrum. I wish you every success in
your task of creating wise and fair guidelines for regulators and
policy makers who must allocate the limited resources in the very best
interest of all mankind."
You can view Taylor's speech on YouTube
, courtesy of Andy Clegg,
W4JE.
> ON THE AIR: THE 2012 ARRL INTERNATIONAL DX CW CONTEST TAKES TO THE
AIR NEXT WEEKEND
CW DXing and contesting take center stage the weekend of February
18-19, as the 2012 ARRL International DX CW Contest takes to the
airwaves. "After years of lackluster conditions on 15 and 10 meters,
2011 finally saw the propagation gods giving us a break," said ARRL
Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X. "Since September 2011, the
high bands have been in excellent shape, with worldwide openings on 15
and 10 meters becoming an almost-daily occurrence. As a result,
activity has spiked in almost every major contest, with hundreds more
logs being submitted. If conditions hold -- and I don't see why they
wouldn't -- we're in for another high-band treat in another week or
so." Read more here
.
> ARRL HQ: SAVE THE DATE! TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR OF W1AW ON FEBRUARY 12
Join W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, on a virtual tour of W1AW,
the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station
, the Amateur Radio station at
ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut. Carcia will lead this tour
via a live webcast on Sunday, February 12 at 5 PM EST (2200 UTC).
Anyone with an Internet connection will be able to watch the tour here
.
"We want viewers of this live Internet tour to feel as if they are
actually at W1AW," Carcia explained. "If you came to W1AW in person,
you would see the same things that we are going to show on the virtual
tour: The three operating stations, the W1AW workshop, the transmitter
racks that we use to send out our bulletins and use for the code
practice transmission, the control console and Old Betsy
, Hiram Percy Maxim's
personal spark gap transmitter."
Al Petrunti, KA1TCH, of the New Day Group ,
will follow Carcia as he leads viewers through the station. ARRL Staff
members, including Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts,
W1AGP, and Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B, as well as
local television weatherman Geoff Fox, K1GF ,
will also be on hand at W1AW during the tour.
"Hams around the world know of W1AW, and thousands have made contacts
with this impressive station -- but most hams never get to see it,"
Pitts said. "Thanks to Al Petrunti's group, we hope that folks enjoy
seeing what's at the other end of the signals. As in all live
broadcasts, you never know just what might happen. We invite you to
join us." Pitts is producing the live web tour.
This is the second video that the New Day Group has made for the ARRL.
In 2011, they created the HR 607 video
that educated radio amateurs of a bill in Congress that addressed
certain spectrum management issues, including the creation and
maintenance of a nationwide Public Safety broadband network using
current Amateur Radio spectrum.
> + ARRL FIELD DAY: 2012 FIELD DAY PACKET NOW AVAILABLE
It's that time of year again -- time to start gearing up for ARRL
Field Day, June 23-24, 2012! ARRL's flagship operating event -- always
held the fourth full weekend in June -- brings together new and
experienced hams for 24 hours of operating fun. Field Day packets are
now available for download and include
the complete rules, as well as other reference items such as forms,
ARRL Section abbreviation list, entry submission instructions, a
Frequently Asked Questions section, guidelines for getting bonus
points, instructions for GOTA stations and a kit to publicize your
event with the local press. A brief one-page flyer with basic "What is
Field Day" information has also been included in this year's Field Day
packet. Amateur Radio clubs and individuals are encouraged to reproduce
this flyer as a handout for information tables.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "The Sun rolling high through the sapphire sky
" Cook, K7RA, reports:
Solar activity was down again this week -- this is the third week in a
row with sunspot numbers lower than the week prior. On January 20, we
reported an average daily sunspot number of 116.9 for January 12-18,
98.7 the next week, followed by 62 the week of January 26-February 1,
and now 40.4 during the latest period. The solar flux forecast -- which
roughly tracks sunspot numbers; we don't have access to any short term
sunspot number forecast -- is also lower. The latest forecast from
NOAA/USAF has solar flux at 100 on February 9-11, 105 on February 12,
and 110 on February 13-24. The predicted planetary A index is 8 on
February 9-10, 5 on February 11, 8 on February 12-13, 5 on February
14-22, 8 on February 23, and 5 from February 24 through the end of the
month. Look for more information on the ARRL website on Friday,
February 10. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit
the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page
. This week's "Tad
Cookism" is brought to you by Circle of Life
from The Lion King
.
> THIS WEEK IN RADIOSPORT
This week:
- February 10 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- February 11 -- FISTS Winter Sprint
- February 11-12 -- Louisiana QSO Party; New Hampshire QSO Party; CQ WW
RTTY WPX Contest
- February 12 -- North American Sprint (SSB); SKCC Weekend Sprint
- February 12-13 -- Classic Exchange (Phone)
- February 13-17 -- ARRL School Club Roundup
- February 14-15 -- PODXS 070 Club Valentine Sprint (local time)
- February 15 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint; AGCW Semi-Automatic Key
Evening
Next week:
- February 17 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- February 17-18 -- Russian PSK WW Contest
- February 18 -- Feld Hell Sprint
- February 18-19 -- ARRL International DX Contest (CW)
; AWA Amplitude Modulation QSO Party
- February 20 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest
- February 22 -- SKCC Sprint
- February 22-23 -- 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
.
> BE A STAR! DEADLINE FOR SECOND ANNUAL ARRL VIDEO CONTEST IS
FEBRUARY 29
If you've ever wanted a way to show the world how exciting Amateur
Radio can be, here's your chance: The ARRL is sponsoring its Second
Annual Video Contest! Here's a chance to put that video camera to use:
Shoot a ham radio-related video and send it our way. All videos must be
postmarked by February 29, 2012. Burn your video to a CD or DVD using
the appropriate software and mail it to ARRL Video Contest, 225 Main
St, Newington, CT 06111. Do not attempt to send it via e-mail, as our
e-mail system cannot accommodate large files. Read more here
.
> + SILENT KEY: FORMER ITU-R DIRECTOR DICK KIRBY, W0LCT/HB9BOA (SK)
Richard "Dick" Kirby, W0LCT/HB9BOA, passed away on January 26. He
was 89. In 1974, Kirby -- an ARRL Life Member -- was elected Director
of the International Telecommunication Union's International Radio
Consultative Committee; he served as Director until his retirement in
1995. In 1992, under Kirby's tenure as Director, the Committee became
the ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R). One of three sectors at the
ITU, ITU-R is responsible for matters concerning radio communication.
Its role is to manage the international radio-frequency spectrum and
satellite orbit resources, and to develop standards for
radiocommunication systems with the objective of ensuring the effective
use of the spectrum. While at the ITU, Kirby also served as President
of the International Amateur Radio Club, 4U1ITU, the Amateur Radio
station at ITU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Read more here
.
> + SILENT KEY: ASTRONAUT JANICE VOSS, KC5BTK (SK)
NASA astronaut Janice Voss, KC5BTK, of Houston, Texas, passed away
on February 7 from cancer. She was 55. One of only six women who have
flown in space five times, Voss' career was highlighted by her work and
dedication to scientific payloads and exploration. Voss participated in
making ham radio contacts from space via the Space Shuttle Amateur
Radio Experiment (SAREX), the precursor to the Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) program. Read more here
.
> SILENT KEY: WORLDRADIO FOUNDER ARMOND NOBLE, N6WR (SK)
Armond Noble, N6WR -- the founder of WorldRadio magazine and its
publisher for 37 years -- passed away February 1 in Sacramento,
California after a short illness. He was 77. WorldRadio was published
monthly in printed form from July 1971 until the end of 2008, when
Noble sold the magazine to Hicksville, New York-based CQ Communications
Inc. With its February 2009 edition, the publication was renamed
WorldRadio Online and became the first online-only major Amateur Radio
publication . Read more here
.
> UPCOMING ARRL SECTION, STATE AND DIVISION CONVENTIONS AND EVENTS
- February 10-12 -- ARRL Northern Florida Section Convention
,
Orlando, Florida
- February 17-18 -- ARRL Southwestern Division Convention
,
Yuma, Arizona
- February 18 -- ARRL Arkansas Section Convention
, Hoxie,
Arkansas
- February 25 -- ARRL Vermont State Convention
,
South Burlington, Vermont
- March 3 -- ARRL Santa Clara Valley Section Convention
,
Del Rey Oaks, California; ARRL South Texas Section Convention
,
Rosenberg, Texas
- March 3-4 -- ARRL Alabama Section Convention
,
Birmingham, Alabama
- March 9-10 -- ARRL Louisiana State Convention
,
Rayne, Louisiana; ARRL Oklahoma State Convention
,
Claremore, Oklahoma
- March 10-11 -- ARRL Roanoke Division Convention
,
Concord, North Carolina
- March 17 -- ARRL Nebraska State Convention
,
Lincoln, Nebraska; ARRL Southern Florida Section Convention
,
Stuart, Florida; ARRL West Texas Section Convention
,
Midland, Texas
- March 23-24 -- ARRL Maine State Convention
, Lewiston,
Maine
To find a convention or hamfest near you, click here
.
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