The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
November 11, 2010
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- + FCC News: FCC Issues Report and Order on Vanity and Club Station
Call Signs
- + Public Service: Indonesian Hams Continue to Support Communications
as Volcano Stays Active
- + The Doctor Is IN: Pacemakers and RF
- + On the Air: W1AW Announces Winter Operating Schedule
- + ARRL Says "Thank You" to Veterans
- + Section News: New Section Manager Appointed in Western New York
- Solar Update
- + Silent Key: John W. Soderberg, W1AKV (SK)
- + Silent Key: Milton A. Sullivan Jr, ex-K8YDO, Former Chief Engineer
at R. L. Drake (SK)
- This Week on the Radio
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News
> + FCC NEWS: FCC ISSUES REPORT AND ORDER ON VANITY AND CLUB STATION
CALL SIGNS
In November 2009, the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making
(NPRM) -- WT Docket No. 09-209 -- seeking to amend the Commission's
Amateur Radio Service rules to clarify and codify existing procedures
governing the vanity call sign system. The NPRM also sought to revise
certain rules applicable to club stations. The ARRL submitted its
comments to the FCC on March 26. On Monday, November 8, 2010, the FCC
issued a Report and Order with its decisions. These new rules will take
effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
In the Report and Order, the FCC amended and clarified its rules with
respect to Amateur Service vanity call signs "in order to promote
processes that are more equitable and administratively efficient." The
FCC has amended its vanity call sign rules to clarify the date on which
the call sign associated with a license that is canceled due to the
licensee's death becomes available for reassignment. The R&O also
clarifies the exceptions to the general rule that a call sign is
unavailable to the vanity call sign system for two years after the
license terminates. As for club stations, the FCC has placed limits on
who can file applications on behalf of a club, how many vanity call
signs a club can hold and how many clubs can have the same license
trustee. Read more here
.
> + PUBLIC SERVICE: INDONESIAN HAMS CONTINUE TO SUPPORT
COMMUNICATIONS AS VOLCANO STAYS ACTIVE
As the dual natural disasters of an erupting volcano and the
aftermath of a tsunami continue in Indonesia, the Organisasi Amatir
Radio Indonesia (ORARI) -- that country's IARU Member-Society --
continues to provide communication support to relief and government
agencies. According to ORARI International Affairs Coordinator Wisnu
Widjaja, YB0AZ, ORARI members are still working in the field at the
site of the Mount Merapi eruption and the Mentawai tsunami: "We are
working on the 2 meter band and on HF at 7.065 MHz." He asked that the
40 meter frequency and the IARU Region 3 Emergency Center of Activity
Frequencies be kept clear from regular use. These frequencies are
3.600, 7.110, 14.300, 18.160 and 21.360 MHz . Read more here
.
> THE ARRL ON-LINE AUCTION: GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE, GONE!
With almost 200 items up for bid -- and almost 1000 bids placed --
the Fifth Annual ARRL On-Line Auction closed on October 25 with winning
bids on every auction item. ARRL Business Services Manager Deb Jahnke,
K1DAJ, said that she was happy with the responses the Auction received
during its run. The generosity of many donors, Jahnke says, made it
possible for the Auction to offer a diverse list of items that included
transceivers, ARRL Lab-tested and reviewed equipment, vintage gear,
one-of-a-kind treasures, mystery "junque" boxes and more. Read more
here
.
> + THE DOCTOR IS IN: PACEMAKERS AND RF
Schley Cox, W4AMW, of Owensboro, Kentucky, told the Doctor that he's
headed to see the cardiologist next week about a pacemaker. He's
already started researching their use around RF and says he is happy to
go all low power (QRP), if that's what's called for. Schley mentioned
that he might also be able to operate his rig remotely -- perhaps 20
feet away, but he needs to know how to measure stray RF in the shack
itself.
Here's what the Doctor had to say:
I haven't received actual reports of any pacemaker problems and that
seems to go along with the info on the ARRL Web site
. Note that there are no power levels
(or field strength) limits noted there, nor have I found any on
manufacturers' Web sites. Thus knowing the actual field strength level
in the station may not help. If it were me, I would start by talking to
my physician. She won't be able to give you power limits, but perhaps
could indicate symptoms to watch for while on the air so you could take
appropriate action quickly if called for.
I would start with a careful RF safety evaluation, as required by the
FCC anyway. While the FCC guidelines were not based on pacemaker
interference, they should result in a reasonably safe environment. If
your station is properly set up -- without common mode feed line
current, for example -- most radiation should surround the antenna and
there should not be much RF within the shack.
Calibrated RF field strength meters are available, but are quite
expensive. Relative measurement is pretty easy -- look at any recent
ARRL Handbook. If you had a simple field strength meter running at all
times in the station (I'm thinking the diode and microampmeter type
that doesn't require power), you could see if anything changed, and
diagnose and repair as needed.
Thanks Doctor! Do you have a question or a problem? Send your questions
via e-mail or to "The Doctor," ARRL, 225 Main St,
Newington, CT 06111 (no phone calls, please). Look for "The Doctor Is
IN" every month in QST , the official journal
of the ARRL.
> + ON THE AIR: W1AW ANNOUNCES WINTER OPERATING SCHEDULE
With the switch from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time, W1AW
Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, has updated the W1AW operating
schedule to reflect the change. The standard times have not changed,
but the UTC times have. Read more here
.
> + ARRL SAYS "THANK YOU" TO VETERANS
On Thursday, November 11, here in the US and abroad, we celebrate
Veterans Day, also called Remembrance Day or Armistice Day. Originally
a holiday that marked the end of World War I -- the "War to End All
Wars" -- this day has been set aside to honor all who have served their
country. It was on November 11, 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th day
of the 11th month, that Germany signed the Armistice, formally ending
the hostilities that had been ongoing since 1914.
The ARRL would like to take this opportunity to thank our service
veterans. Whether they served on active duty or reserve, during peace
time or time of conflict, they served their county with honor. We also
would be remiss if we did not remember the families of those veterans
who kept the homefires burning bright; without their love and support,
our veterans would have indeed been alone.
ARRL Headquarters has its share of service veterans: Contributing
Editor Al Brogdon, W1AB (Army); Publications Sales Associate Mark
Dzamba, KB1FMY (Air Force); Assistant VEC Manager Perry Green, WY1O
(Army); Technical Editor Joel Hallas, W1ZR (Army); News Editor S.
Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA (Coast Guard); DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L
(Army); Reprints Specialist Tony Nesta, AA1RZ (Navy); Membership and
Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton, NN1N (Navy); Technical
Relations Specialist Jon Siverling, WB3ERA (Army); Field and Regulatory
Correspondent Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG (Air Force); Education & Technology
Program Coordinator Mark Spencer, WA8SME (Air Force), and Archivist
Perry Williams, W1UED (Air Force).
Thank you for your service -- your sacrifice and the sacrifice of your
fellow service members is not forgotten.
> + SECTION NEWS: NEW SECTION MANAGER APPOINTED IN WESTERN NEW YORK
Steve Ryan, N2ITF, of Ashville, New York, has been appointed Section
Manager of the ARRL Western New York Section, effective November 2.
ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton, NN1N, made
the appointment in consultation with Atlantic Division Director Bill
Edgar, N3LLR, after Scott Bauer, W2LC, announced his resignation for
personal reasons on October 31. Bauer had served as Section Manager
since January 2000. Read more here
.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "Now I believe the Sun is gonna shine
" Cook, K7RA, reports: The
average daily sunspot numbers and solar flux increased over the past
week, with sunspot numbers up 7.4 points to 33.1, and solar flux up 2.1
points to 84.2. Four new sunspot groups have appeared since November 4.
The latest forecast shows predicted solar flux at 86 on November 11-12,
85 on November 13, 83 on November 14-18 and 85 on November 19-25. The
predicted planetary A index for the next week is 5. Last year, Steve
Nichols, G0KYA, wrote the bulletin for us on October 30, and he has
just published a free online book -- Understanding LF and HF
Propagation -- with G3NYK. You can download it from Steve's blog
. Look for more information on the ARRL
Web site on Friday, November 12. 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 Eagles' No More Cloudy Days
.
> + SILENT KEY: JOHN W. SODERBERG, W1AKV (SK)
John Soderberg, W1AKV, of Weston, Vermont, passed away on November
7. He was 90. Soderberg, an ARRL member, was one of the inventors of
the spherical array and its associated electromechanical compensator
that was the primary acoustic (sonar) sensor subsystem on three
generations of Navy nuclear attack and fleet ballistic submarines. He
was also a key member of the Underwater Sound Laboratory (USL)
engineering team that developed sonar and related systems for the
submarines. According to friends, he was walking the hills for miles
with his German shepherd and working CW just days before his death.
> + SILENT KEY: MILTON A. SULLIVAN JR, EX-K8YDO, FORMER CHIEF
ENGINEER AT R. L. DRAKE (SK)
Milton A. "Buddy" Sullivan Jr, ex-K8YDO, of Washington, DC -- the
former chief engineer at the R. L. Drake Company
-- passed away from
a stroke on October 28. He was 85. Sullivan designed and oversaw the
designs of all the most significant Drake Amateur Radio products,
including the 1A, 2B and 2NT transmitter, all the 4 lines and the
beginning of the 7 line. After retiring from Drake in 1984, Sullivan
ran his own business selling and setting up satellite television
systems, an offshoot of his later projects at Drake that involved
designing satellite equipment. After that, he went back to work full
time as chief engineer for Lytton Electronics, where he worked until
his final retirement in 1990. In 1993, he and his wife Judith moved to
South Carolina where Sullivan worked for Alpha Delta, the small company
owned by his former Drake colleague and long time friend, Don Tyrrell,
W8AD. Sullivan donated his body to science. A US Navy veteran, he will
be interred at Arlington National Cemetery after a term with the
Georgetown University Medical School. -- Thanks to John Sullivan and
Don Tyrrell, W8AD, for the information
> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO
This week:
- November 13-14 -- Kentucky QSO Party; WAE DX Contest (RTTY); OK/OM DX
Contest (CW)
- November 13-15 -- CQ-WE Contest
- November 14 -- SKCC Weekend Sprint
- November 17 -- QRP Fox Hunt
- November 18 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint
Next week:
- November 19 -- YO International PSK31 Contest; QRP Fox Hunt
- November 20 -- Feld Hell Sprint
- November 20-21 -- LZ DX Contest; All Austrian 160 Meter Contest; RSGB
Second 1.8 MHz Contest (CW)
- November 20-22 -- ARRL Sweepstakes Contest (SSB)
; North American Collegiate ARC
Championship (SSB)
- November 21 -- EU PSK63 QSO Party; Homebrew and Oldtime Equipment
Party
- November 22 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest
- November 24 -- SKCC Sprint; QRP Fox Hunt
All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest
Branch page , the ARRL Contest Update
and the WA7BNM Contest
Calendar for more
info. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the
ARRL Special Events Station Web page
.
> UPCOMING ARRL SECTION, STATE AND DIVISION CONVENTIONS AND EVENTS
- November 13 -- ARRL Alabama Section Convention
, North Montgomery,
Alabama
- November 13-14 -- ARRL Indiana State Convention
, Ft Wayne, Indiana
- December 4-5 -- ARRL West Central Florida Section Convention
, Palmetto, Florida
To find a hamfest near you, click here .
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