The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
September 20, 2012
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- + ARRL National Convention: Find Out What's In Store at the 2012 ARRL
National Convention
- + Looking Ahead to WRC-15
- + Silent Key: Sean Smith, KG4WSS, Killed in Consulate Attack
- + ARDF Update: A Baker's Dozen of Medals for ARDF Team USA
- Federal Employees Can Help Support ARRL through the 2012 Combined
Federal Campaign
- + On the Air: Last Man Standing Plans Special Event Station
- Solar Update
- + DXCC News: ARRL DXCC Desk Approves 11 Operations for DXCC Credit
- This Week in Radiosport
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News .
> + ARRL NATIONAL CONVENTION: FIND OUT WHAT'S IN STORE AT THE 2012
ARRL NATIONAL CONVENTION
On October 12-14, the ARRL will welcome members and friends to the
2012 ARRL National Convention in Santa Clara, California. Hosted by
Pacificon and sponsored by members of the Mount Diablo Amateur Radio
Club, this three-day event is sure to be jam-packed with excitement,
exhibits and, of course, the ever-popular ARRL EXPO. Use this handy
guide to find ARRL-sponsored activities and exhibits throughout the
event. Read more here
.
> + LOOKING AHEAD TO WRC-15
From an Amateur Radio perspective, the 2012 World Radiocommunication
Conference (WRC-12) was very successful. According to IARU Secretary
Rod Stafford, W6ROD, the IARU Administrative Council will meet in the
next 45 days and will address the agenda items for the 2015 World
Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) with an eye to building the best
strategy for dealing with those items in a way that is most favorable
to the Amateur Radio Service. While the IARU will be watching all
agenda items in 2015, there is one agenda item that focuses on the
Amateur Radio Service, and another four that may have an effect the
Amateur Radio Service. Read more here
.
> + SILENT KEY: SEAN SMITH, KG4WSS, KILLED IN CONSULATE ATTACK
Sean P. Smith, KG4WSS, of Falls Church, Virginia, was killed when
the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked on September 11. He
was 34. Smith was one of four Americans, including Chris Stevens -- the
US Ambassador to Libya -- who was killed in the attack. Smith, a native
of San Diego, enlisted in the Air Force in 1995 at age 17. He served
six years as a ground radio maintenance specialist, including a
deployment to Oman, before leaving the service in 2002 as a staff
sergeant. He was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal. Smith, who
had worked at the State Department for 10 years, was in Libya on a
temporary assignment when he was killed. Prior to his temporary
assignment to Benghazi, Smith served for the State Department in
Brussels, Baghdad, Pretoria, Montreal and The Hague. Read more here
.
> + ARDF UPDATE: A BAKER'S DOZEN OF MEDALS FOR ARDF TEAM USA
By ARRL Amateur Radio Direction Finding Coordinator Joe Moell, K0OV
As they packed their suitcases in preparation for the World
Championships of Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF), the members of
Team USA were eager, but they had no idea that they would return home
with 13 medals. Team USA has participated in these biennial
championships since 1998, and the most medals they had won any time so
far had been two, with no golds. This year, however, would be
different; their practice sessions and training camps would make them
better prepared than ever.
The sport of ARDF -- also called foxtailing, foxhunting and
radio-orienteering -- has undergone many changes since the first World
Championships in 1980, but the basics remain unchanged. A championship
course has five transmitters in a mapped area of rural and wooded
terrain, typically 1000 acres or more. When Fox #1 comes on the air,
contestants set out from the start as and try to be the fastest to
"punch in" at all required transmitters and then make it to the finish
line in another part of the forest. Read more here
.
> FEDERAL EMPLOYEES CAN HELP SUPPORT ARRL THROUGH THE 2012 COMBINED
FEDERAL CAMPAIGN
For the past 11 years, the US Office of Personnel Management has
designated the ARRL as a participant in the Combined Federal Campaign
(CFC). This campaign for federal government civilian employees, US
Postal Service workers and members of the military has generated almost
$192,000 for ARRL programs since it first became an option for federal
employees to donate to the League. The CFC provides an easy way to
support the ARRL's effort to represent its members and all radio
amateurs. Read more here
.
> + ON THE AIR: LAST MAN STANDING PLANS SPECIAL EVENT STATION
The crew of the hit ABC comedy Last Man Standing
is planning a radio event on Sunday, October 28 to kick off the show's
second season. Last Man Standing features Tim Allen as Mike Baxter,
KA0XTT. According to Last Man Standing Producer John Amodeo, NN6JA,
Mike's station is back this year with even more gear. In addition, all
the antennas that were in the catwalk last year have been relocated to
the studio's roof.
Using special event call sign K6T, the show's crew will operate on
HF, VHF, UHF, D-STAR, EchoLink and IRLP to communicate with fans of the
show; 12 members of the Last Man Standing crew are licensed amateurs.
Members of the Los Angeles-based PAPA System
will assist the crew with running the event. The crew will use several
PAPA System repeaters to run analog VHF, UHF and D-STAR communications.
They will also be monitoring the Disney Amateur Radio Interconnect
repeater system, which has repeaters in New York City (W2ABC
), Florida (WD4WDW
and WD4WDW-B/D-STAR
) and California (KB6AJE
), as well as EchoLink capability. A list
of frequencies and an operating schedule will be posted on the KA0XTT
Facebook page and on Amodeo's
Twitter feed in the next few weeks. A
special QSL card will be sent to all hams who contact K6T; hams do not
need to send a self-addressed, stamped envelope, nor do they need to
send postage or "green stamps."
Last Man Standing
begins its second season on Friday, November 2 at 8/7 Central.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "The summer Sun knows me by name
" Cook, K7RA, reports: The
average daily sunspot numbers dropped this week, from 83.1 to 56, while
the average daily solar flux declined from 118.9 to 101.4. The latest
forecast shows the predicted solar flux at 115 on September 20-22, 120
on September 23-25, then 125 and 130 on September 26-27, and rising to
140 on September 28-October 1. On October 2, it drops to 135, 130 on
October 3-5, and back down to 125 on October 6-7. The flux values then
dip below 100 on October 14-16, and peak again around 140 on October
25-28. The predicted planetary A index is 10 on September 20, 12 on
September 21-22, 10 on September 23 and 5 on September 24-28, 10 again
on September 29, and 5 on September 30-October 2. Look for more on the
ARRL website on Friday, September 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 The Brady Bunch's It's a
Sunshine Day .
> + DXCC NEWS: ARRL DXCC DESK APPROVES 11 OPERATIONS FOR DXCC CREDIT
On September 19, the ARRL DXCC Desk approved the following 2012
operations for DXCC credit: 3B8/IW5ELA (Mauritius); E40VB (Palestine);
JY8VB (Jordan); 9A8VB (Croatia); E7/UA4WHX (Bosnia-Herzegovina); 4O7VB
(Montenegro); Z38VB (Macedonia); ZA/UA4WHX (Albania); YU9VB (Serbia);
EY8/UA4WHX (Tajikistan), and UN/UA4WHX (Kazakhstan).
> THIS WEEK IN RADIOSPORT
This week:
- September 21 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- September 22 -- FOC QSO Party; AGCW VHF/UHF Contest
- September 23 -- BARTG Sprint 75
- September 24 -- QRP Homebrewer Sprint
- September 25 -- 222 MHz Fall Sprint (local time)
- September 26 -- SKCC Sprint
- September 26-27 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test
Next week:
- September 29 -- Microwave Fall Sprint (local time)
- September 29-30 -- Texas QSO Party; CQ WW RTTY Contest
- October 2 -- ARS Spartan Sprint
- October 3 -- German Telegraphy Contest
- October 3 -- 432 MHz Fall Sprint (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 22 -- ARRL Washington State Convention
,
Spokane Valley, Washington
- September 22-23 -- ARRL Illinois State Convention
,
Peoria, Illinois
- September 28-29 -- SEDCO/W4DXCC VIII Convention
, Pigeon
Forge, Tennessee
- October 7 -- ARRL Connecticut State Convention
,
Meriden, Connecticut
- October 12-14 -- ARRL National Convention
,
Santa Clara, California
- October 13 -- ARRL Iowa State Convention
,
Sergeant Bluff, Iowa
- October 13-14 -- ARRL Florida State Convention
,
Melbourne, Florida
- November 3-4 -- ARRL Georgia State Convention
,
Lawrenceville, Georgia
- November 4 -- ARRL Iowa Section Convention
,
Davenport, Iowa
- November 10 -- ARRL Alabama State Convention
, Montgomery,
Alabama
- November 17-18 -- ARRL Indiana State Convention
,
Fort Wayne, Indiana
- December 1-2 -- ARRL West Central Florida Section Convention
,
Palmetto, Florida
- January 18-19 -- ARRL North Texas Section Convention
,
Fort Worth, Texas
- January 19 -- ARRL Southern Florida Section Convention
,
Fort Myers, Florida
- January 25-26 -- ARRL Mississippi State Convention
,
Jackson, Mississippi
- January 26-27 -- ARRL Puerto Rico State Convention
, Hatillo,
Puerto Rico
- February 2 -- ARRL South Carolina State Convention
, North
Charleston, South Carolina
- February 8-10 -- ARRL Southeastern Division Convention
,
Orlando, Florida
- February 15-16 -- ARRL Arizona State Convention
,
Yuma, Arizona
To find a convention or hamfest near you, click here
.
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