The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
March 8, 2012
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- + Dayton Hamvention®: Dayton Hamvention Honors QST Technical Editor
Joel Hallas, W1ZR, with Technical Achievement Award
- + On the Air: New 60 Meter Privileges Now in Effect
- On the Air: ARRL Seeks Comments on Proposed 9 cm Band Plan
- + Propagation News: Active Sunspot Region 1429 Produces Solar Flares,
Coronal Mass Ejections
- + Don't Be Fooled: Check out the April Issue of QST
- + FCC News: FCC Reduces Forfeiture for Florida Man Accused of Using
Unauthorized Equipment
- ARRL Annual Awards: Nominations for ARRL Awards Now Open
- Solar Update
- + DXCC News: Four Operations Approved for DXCC Credit
- This Week in Radiosport
- + Enter the Seventh Annual ARRL Photo Contest!
- New QuickStats Poll Now Available on ARRL Website
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News .
> + DAYTON HAMVENTION®: DAYTON HAMVENTION HONORS QST TECHNICAL EDITOR
JOEL HALLAS, W1ZR, WITH TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
On March 6, the Dayton Hamvention® Awards Committee announced the
recipients of Hamvention's four annual awards. QST Technical Editor
Joel Hallas, W1ZR, was named the winner of the Technical Achievement
Award. The recipient of the Amateur of the Year is S. Suri, VU2MY.
Steven Betza, WZ2V, was selected as the recipient of the Special
Achievement Award. The Deutscher Amateur Radio Club -- Germany's IARU
Member-Society -- was selected as the Club of the Year. Read more here
.
> + ON THE AIR: NEW 60 METER PRIVILEGES NOW IN EFFECT
As of March 5, US amateurs have new privileges on the 60 meter band. In
addition to an increase in effective radiated power from 50 to 100 W,
hams can now transmit CW and PSK31 on the following channel-center
frequencies:
- Channel 1: 5332.0 kHz
- Channel 2: 5348.0 kHz
- Channel 3: 5358.5 kHz
- Channel 4: 5373.0 kHz
- Channel 5: 5405.0 kHz
Amateurs can also transmit USB voice and PACTOR III on the following
suppressed carrier frequencies (the frequencies typically shown on
transceiver displays):
- Channel 1: 5330.5 kHz
- Channel 2: 5346.5 kHz
- Channel 3: 5357.0 kHz
- Channel 4: 5371.5 kHz
- Channel 5: 5403.5 kHz
For more information, please see 60 Meter Operations -- New Privileges
and Recommended Practices
,
published
by the ARRL HF Band Planning Committee. A revised ARRL band chart
is also available.
Watch for the article "New Privileges on 60 Meters" by ARRL Regulatory
Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, in the April 2012 issue of
QST.
> ON THE AIR: ARRL SEEKS COMMENTS ON PROPOSED 9 CM BAND PLAN
A few months ago, the ARRL UHF/Microwave Band Plan Committee asked
the Amateur Radio community about current, planned and projected uses
of the amateur bands between 902 MHz and 3.5 GHz. The response was
beyond our expectations, with hundreds of comments and suggestions
received. Thanks to all of you who took the time to share information
with us. After reading the feedback, the committee began working on the
band plans; the first draft plan ready for review is for the 9 cm band
(3300-3500 MHz). Read more here
.
> + PROPAGATION NEWS: ACTIVE SUNSPOT REGION 1429 PRODUCES SOLAR
FLARES, CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS
This week has been an active week for our Sun. An X-1.1 class solar
flare erupted from the Sun on March 4 at 11:13 PM EST (0413 UTC March
5), sending an explosion of plasma and charged particles -- a coronal
mass ejection (CME) -- hurtling through space. Forecasters at NOAA's
Space Weather Prediction Center are saying that this CME should miss
Earth, but it will hit Mercury and Venus. Then on March 6 at 7:28 PM
EST (0028 UTC March 7), the Sun released a solar flare, the strongest
one this year. The X-5 class flare hurled another CME into space, but
it is too soon to tell if this is an Earth-directed flare. This
activity is coming from sunspot 1429, which is currently making its way
around the northern hemisphere of the Sun.
Sunspot 1429 -- which emerged on the Sun on March 2 and is estimated to
be at least four to five times larger than Earth -- is slowly turning
to face Earth, so if any such eruptions do occur, they are increasingly
likely to be geoeffective.
When a CME hits the Earth's atmosphere -- approximately 72 hours
after exploding on the Sun -- the low bands will be depressed and
signals will be weaker the lower the frequency. The absorption rate
will be most severe on 160 meters, less on 80 and somewhat better on 40
meters. The maximum usable frequency (MUF) -- the highest frequency at
which a radio wave can propagate between given terminals by ionospheric
propagation alone, independent of power -- will be lower and auroral
propagation on the VHF bands is quite possible.
When aurorae occur, the electrons hit the ionosphere at the North and
South geomagnetic poles, creating ionization. Waves that would normally
travel off into space are bouncing off the aurora and being redirected
back toward Earth. This can create opportunities for long-distance
propagation via VHF and UHF. Read more here
.
> + DON'T BE FOOLED: CHECK OUT THE APRIL ISSUE OF QST
This April issue of QST remembers the wireless heroes of the RMS
Titanic and the SS Carpathia 100 years ago, and also takes readers on a
voyage to the South Orkney Islands for the VP8ORK DXpedition -- and
more. So set aside a couple of hours, grab a beverage and get ready to
have some radio fun with the April issue of QST.
In 2011, the Third Annual ARRL Homebrew Challenge presented the
toughest challenge to date. In 2006, we asked readers to build a 5 W
PEP 40 meter sideband and CW transceiver. In 2009, we upped the ante,
looking for a 50 W linear amplifier to go along with the transceiver.
For 2011, we challenged hams to come up with a single or multiband
transceiver for 6 and/or 10 meters. Find out who walked away with the
honors in "Homebrew Challenge III - And the Winner Is..." by QST
Technical Editor Joel R. Hallas, W1ZR.
Eric Keerbs, AD7HM, discovers a way to let your radios talk to your
computer using an interface converter in his article "Level Converter
to Allow Full Control of Peripherals by Computer or Radio." In "A
Transceiver-to-Amplifier Interface," Ed Toal, N9MW, presents an
interface that you can use to safely switch your older linear amplifier
from your new transceiver. Paul Danzer, N1II, takes a look at window
line and standing wave ratio in his article "Balanced Line SWR
Measurement."
It's been 100 years since the RMS Titanic -- heralded as "unsinkable"
-- struck an iceberg and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic, taking
1511 passengers and crew with it. Retired US Coast Guard Reserve
Commander Richard Paton takes a look at the tragedy -- with a focus on
Jack Phillips and Harold Bride, the two Marconi wireless operators on
the Titanic -- in his article "Radio's Role in the Titanic Disaster."
The "Vintage Radio" column profiles the wireless operator aboard the
rescue ship, the SS Carpathia.
The VP8ORK DXpedition to the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula saw seals,
dolphins and big pileups. Join Michael Mraz, N6MZ, as he recounts the
Microlite Penguin DXpedition to the South Orkney Islands in "South of
Sixty South." Make plans to join the ARRL and the ARRL EXPO at the 2012
Dayton Hamvention and the 2012 ARRL National Convention in California.
Find out all you need to know about these two headlining events in
"ARRL EXPO 2012 -- Save the Dates" by ARRL Marketing Manager Bob
Inderbitzen, NQ1R.
NCJ Managing Editor Rick Lindquist, WW3DE, takes a look at the ICOM
IC-9100 MF/HF/VHF/UHF transceiver in this month's Product Review. He
says the rig is "compact and versatile. The IC-9100 handles almost any
type of operating on the 160 meter through 2 meter bands, plus 70 and
23 cm."
Of course, there are the usual columns you know and expect in the April
QST: Happenings, Hints & Kinks, The Doctor Is In, Short Takes, How's DX
and more. Look for your April issue in your mailbox. QST is the
official journal of ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio.
QST is just one of the many benefits of ARRL membership. To join or
renew your ARRL membership, please see the ARRL Web page
.
> + FCC NEWS: FCC REDUCES FORFEITURE FOR FLORIDA MAN ACCUSED OF USING
UNAUTHORIZED EQUIPMENT
In November 2011, the FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture in the amount of $10,000 to Michael Perry of Cross City,
Florida. In a Forfeiture Order released on March 6, the FCC reduced the
forfeiture that Perry must pay to $450. Perry was accused of operating
a radio transmitter without the requisite FCC authorization and his
failure to operate a Citizens Band station, "willfully violat[ing]"
Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended and Sections
95.409 (by operating an unlicensed and non-certificated CB transmitter)
and 95.411 (by operating an unlicensed radio transmitter with two
amplifiers) of the FCC's rules. Read more here
.
> ARRL ANNUAL AWARDS: NOMINATIONS FOR ARRL AWARDS NOW OPEN
Each year, the ARRL Board of Directors has the opportunity to select
recipients for a number of awards in various categories that honor
Amateur Radio operators. The nomination period is now open for the ARRL
awards that are designed to recognize educational and technological
pursuits in Amateur Radio, as well as an award to honor a young Amateur
Radio operator. ARRL members can nominate hams for the Herb S. Brier
Instructor of the Year Award, the Hiram Percy Maxim Award, the ARRL
Microwave Development Award, the ARRL Technical Service Award, the ARRL
Technical Innovation Award and the Knight Distinguished Service Award.
Read more here
.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "If we can make it through the night we will see the Sun
" Cook, K7RA, reports: This
has been quite a week for dramatic solar activity: The average daily
sunspot number was up nearly 26 points to 69.4, while the average daily
solar flux rose nearly 17 points to 121.9. The latest forecast has
solar flux at 140 on March 8-9, 135 on March 10-11, 130 on March 12-13,
125 on March 14-15, then 130, 125, 120, 115, 115, 110 and 110 on March
16-22, then back down to 105 on March 23-25. The predicted planetary A
index for March 8-10 is 75, 28 and 15, then 10 on March 11-13, 5 on
March 14-16, then 12, 15, 10, and 8 on March 17-20, and 5 on March
21-27. Look for more information on the ARRL website on Friday, March
9. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL
Technical Information Service Propagation page
. This week's "Tad
Cookism" is brought to you by Good Charlotte's March On
.
> + DXCC NEWS: FOUR OPERATIONS APPROVED FOR DXCC CREDIT
ARRL DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, reports that four operations --
the current VK0TH and AX/VK0TH (Macquarie Island) operation, the
current T6BP (Afghanistan) operation, the 2011 6O0M (Somalia) operation
and the December 2011-January 2012 9U3TMM (Burundi) operation -- have
been approved for DXCC credit. "If you have had these operations
rejected in a recent application, please send an e-mail
to the ARRL DXCC Desk," Moore said. "Please note that
due to heavy e-mail volume, you may not receive a reply. Once updated,
results will appear in Logbook of The World (LoTW
) accounts, as well as online in
the daily listings ."
> THIS WEEK IN RADIOSPORT
This week:
- March 10 -- AGCW QRP Contest
- March 10-11 -- Idaho QSO Party; EA PSK63 Contest
- March 11 -- North American Sprint (RTTY); SKCC Weekend Sprint
- March 11-12 -- Wisconsin QSO Party
- March 14-15 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test
Next week:
- March 17 -- 10-10 International Mobile Contest; Feld Hell Sprint;
AGCW VHF/UHF Contest
- March 17-18 -- North Dakota QSO Party; Oklahoma QSO Party; Virginia
QSO Party; Russian DX Contest
- March 17-19 -- BARTG HF RTTY Contest
- March 19 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest
- March 22 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug 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
.
> + ENTER THE SEVENTH ANNUAL ARRL PHOTO CONTEST!
Have you ever wanted to see a photo of yours in QST, the annual ARRL
Amateur Radio Calendar or another ARRL publication? Well, here's your
chance! If you're among the winners, not only will your photographic
skill be propagated far and wide, but we're offering $100 as the First
Prize. The winning photo and three runners-up will be published in QST.
All submitted photos will also be considered for the 2013 ARRL
Calendar. Read more here
.
> NEW QUICKSTATS POLL NOW AVAILABLE ON ARRL WEBSITE
Four new poll questions have just been published on the QuickStats page
on the ARRL website. Let your voice be
heard!
Questions in this month's QuickStats poll:
- When operating CW, do you send the symbol "@"
(di-dah-dah-di-dah-dit), or do you spell out "at" (di-dah/dah)?
- Is your primary station computer a desktop, laptop or tablet?
- Does your local Amateur Radio club still publish a newsletter?
- How many times has your primary call sign changed over the years?
Visit the QuickStats page and be sure
to bookmark it in your browser. Results from this QuickStats poll will
be published in the June 2012 issue of QST on the QuickStats page,
located in the rear advertising section of the magazine. Along with
monthly poll results, QST QuickStats offers colorful charts and graphs
that highlight interesting Amateur Radio statistics.
> UPCOMING ARRL SECTION, STATE AND DIVISION CONVENTIONS AND EVENTS
- 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
- April 7 -- ARRL North Carolina State Convention
,
Raleigh, North Carolina
- April 14 -- ARRL Delta Division Convention
, Bartlett,
Tennessee
- April 14-15 -- Communications Academy 2012
, Seattle,
Washington
- April 20-22 -- ARRL Idaho State Convention
, Boise, Idaho;
63rd International DX Convention
,
Visalia, California
- April 21 -- ARRL Delaware State Convention
,
Georgetown, Delaware; ARRL Louisiana Section Convention
, Monroe,
Louisiana
- May 4-6 -- EMCOMMWEST
, Reno, Nevada
- May 18-20 -- Dayton Hamvention
, Dayton, Ohio
- June 1-3 -- ARRL Northwestern Division Convention
,
Seaside, Oregon
- June 2 -- ARRL Georgia Section Convention
,
Marietta, Georgia
- June 8-9 -- ARRL West Gulf Division Convention
,
Plano, Texas
- June 9 -- ARRL Arkansas State Convention
, Rogers,
Arkansas; ARRL Tennessee State Convention
, Knoxville,
Tennessee
To find a convention or hamfest near you, click here
.
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