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Ärende: The Weekly ARRL Letter
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The ARRL Letter
January 23, 2020
* Barry Shelley, N1VXY, is ARRL Interim CEO
* ARES Volunteers Establish "Plan B" Communication Network in Puerto
Rico
* Massachusetts Club Offers Support to Arecibo Observatory Following
Earthquakes
* New Book from ARRL: Amateur Radio Contesting for Beginners
* The K7RA Solar Update
* Just Ahead in Radiosport
* IARU Region 1 Youngsters On The Air Summer Camp 2020 Will Be in
Croatia
* AMSAT: GOLF-TEE Initiative Meets Major Milestone
* ITU Development Sector Publication Highlights Amateur Radio's Role
in Emergency Communication
* ARISS Opens Window for ISS Ham Radio Contact Proposals on February
1
* In Brief...
* Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
Barry Shelley, N1VXY, is ARRL Interim CEO
At its January 17 - 18 meeting, the ARRL Board of Directors did not
elect Howard Michel, WB2ITX, as the ARRL Chief Executive Officer.
As of January 20, Barry Shelley, N1VXY, became interim CEO. Mr. Shelley
was ARRL's Chief Financial Officer for 28 years and CEO during 2018
before his retirement.
The Board has created a search committee to select the next CEO. More
details on this and other matters that took place at the Board meeting
will be released shortly.
ARES Volunteers Establish "Plan B" Communication Network in Puerto Rico
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES^(R)) volunteers in Puerto Rico
continued over the weekend to report for daily duty at an American Red
Cross (ARC) distribution center in Mayagüez and at ARC Headquarters in
San Juan. The two sites are ready to provide a "Plan B" communication
backbone in the event the seismic situation worsens. A magnitude 6.4
earthquake struck southwestern Puerto Rico on January 7, fast on the
heels of a magnitude 5.8 tremor the day before, damaging homes in
Guayanilla, Pe¤uelas, Yauco, and Gu nica. ARRL Puerto Rico Section
Manager Oscar Resto, KP4RF, told ARRL this week that the situation is
relatively "calm and quiet" for now and starting on January 22,
volunteers began monitoring from their homes or vehicles, permitting
most, including Resto himself, to get back to their jobs and homes.
ARES volunteers had been deployed to an ARC distribution center in
Yauco, but that part of the operation was shifted to Mayagüez over the
weekend, because it was considered safer there. An ARRL-provided
VHF/UHF radio and antenna have been set up at the Mayagüez facility.
Resto said a second operating position is being added at the San Juan
ARC Headquarters site.
Resto said Red Cross officials know that they can rely on amateur
radio, if the situation calls for it, but for now commercial
communications are fully operational, although aftershocks from the
January 7 quake persist. "In case the situation escalates, the ARES
team will immediately mobilize at the ARC sites and establish
communication (VHF/UHF or HF) as required," Resto said.
The ARRL Ham
Aid program
provided this
antenna,
installed in
Mayagüez.
[Oscar Resto,
KP4RF, photo]
Last week, the Red Cross had requested assistance from the ARES
volunteers as well as volunteers from the CB radio and GMRS
communities, to identify undeclared refugee camps and to report on
close or damaged roadways and bridges. Resto said the ARES volunteers
"did a marvelous job" that earned praise from Red Cross officials.
Resto said about two dozen volunteers have made themselves available in
the Mayagüez area. In the event they're needed, Resto said, he has
seven or eight HF radios and 15 VHF/UHF transceivers left over from the
Hurricane Maria emergency response. He said the HF equipment has been
safely stowed for use in case of another major earthquake, when they
might be needed.
He was expecting additional antennas and feed lines provided through
ARRL's Ham Aid program to show up this week.
Massachusetts Club Offers Support to Arecibo Observatory Following
Earthquakes
Although not in the hardest-hit earthquake zone, Puerto Rico's Arecibo
Observatory nonetheless has been affected by the recent spate of
earthquakes and aftershocks. The landmark Arecibo radio telescope and
ionospheric radar facility was a victim of the devastation wrought by
Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Members of the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club (NVARC) have stepped
up to assist in support and recovery efforts for the Arecibo
Observatory radio telescope and ionospheric radar facility. NVARC
members Phil Erickson, W1PJE; Rod Hersh, WA1TAC, and Jim Wilber, AB1WQ,
participated in daily scheduled radio contacts with Arecibo's lead
telescope operator and spectrum manager, Angel Vazquez, WP3R. Other
NVARC members volunteered to serve as back-up stations.
"All AO staff members are safe, and our technical teams have completed
preliminary visual analysis of the primary structure and have found no
immediate damage/issues, however a more detailed inspection needs to be
completed once the aftershocks subside," said Francisco C¢rdova,
Arecibo Observatory's director, at the University of Central Florida.
Site operations were suspended and access was limited to essential
personnel, according to the latest information available from the
Arecibo Observatory website.
Over several days, when commercial power and water were not available
near Arecibo, club members inquired about potential assistance.
Although conditions are slowly improving on the northern portion of the
island where the observatory is located, Vazquez noted that thousands
of people displaced from their homes in the hard-hit southern part of
the island had to camp outside, due to extensive structural damage and
ongoing aftershocks.
NVARC members were also able to provide messages of support from MIT's
Haystack Observatory in Westford, Massachusetts, and from program
officers at the National Science Foundation (NSF) Geospace Facilities
Division in Washington, DC. NSF funds the observation programs and
scientific research at Arecibo Observatory. NVARC said the radio
contacts would continue as the recovery proceeds.
New Book from ARRL: Amateur Radio Contesting for Beginners
Contesting is one of the most exciting aspects of amateur radio -- and
for some, it's their primary ham radio activity. Amateur Radio
Contesting for Beginners by contesting veteran Doug Grant, K1DG, offers
practical information and ideas that will help you get started in
contesting -- "radiosport" -- or to build your skills, if you're
already active.
Contesting tests station capability and operator skill, and it really
is a sport, with a typical objective of contacting as many stations and
multipliers -- ARRL Sections, states, grids, or DXCC entities, for
example -- within the contest period.
"Doug Grant has written the ideal guide for anyone interested in
contesting," said QST Editor Steve Ford, WB8IMY.
Grant's book explains what equipment you need, typical contest formats,
details of some more popular events, operating techniques, how to
submit an entry, and how to improve your scores. No matter how modest
your station or experience, you can compete too!
Just ahead is Winter Field Day, January 25 - 26. See the ARRL Contest
Calendar for information on other events.
Amateur Radio Contesting for Beginners is available from the ARRL Store
or your ARRL Dealer. (ARRL Item no. 1243, ISBN: 978-1-62595-124-3,
$27.95 retail, special ARRL Member Price $24.95). Call 860-594-0355 or,
toll-free in the US, 888-277-5289. It's also available as an e-book for
the Amazon Kindle.
For more information about ARRL-sponsored contests, including rules and
results, and to view the contest photo gallery, visit the ARRL Contests
page.
The K7RA Solar Update
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: No sunspots appeared over the January
16 - 22 reporting week. On January 22, Spaceweather.com reported the
consecutive period of spotless days is 11, but all recent sunspots have
had Cycle 25 polarity.
The average daily solar flux dipped from 72.5 to 71.2. The average
daily planetary A index went from 5.6 to 4.1, and the middle latitude A
index dropped from 3.7 to 3.
Predicted solar flux is 72 on January 23 - February 5; 71 on February 6
- 20; 72 on February 21 - March 3; 71 on March 4, and 70 on March 5 -
7.
Predicted planetary A index is 5 on January 23 - 31; 10 on February 1 -
5; 5 on February 6 - 27; 10 on February 28 - March 3, and 5 on March 4
- 7.
When there are no sunspots, 160 meters seems to improve, probably
because of lower associated geomagnetic activity. The CW portion of the
CQ World Wide 160-Meter Contest takes place this weekend.
Sunspot numbers for January 16 - 22 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, and 0, with
a mean of 0. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 71.8, 70.1, 71.3, 71.8, 71.2,
70.5, and 71.9, with a mean of 71.2. Estimated planetary A indices were
5, 3, 4, 3, 2, 6, and 6, with a mean of 4.1. Middle latitude A index
was 4, 2, 3, 2, 2, 4, and 4, with a mean of 3.
A comprehensive K7RA Solar Update is posted Fridays on the ARRL
website. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the
ARRL Technical Information Service, read "What the Numbers Mean...,"
and check out K9LA's Propagation Page.
A propagation bulletin archive is available. Monthly charts offer
propagation projections between the US and a dozen DX locations.
Share your reports and observations.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Just Ahead in Radiosport
* January 23 -- NAQCC CW Sprint
* January 24 - 26 -- CQ 160-Meter Contest (CW)
* January 25 - 26 -- REF Contest (CW)
* January 25 - 26 -- BARTG RTTY Sprint
* January 25 - 26 -- UBA DX Contest, SSB
* January 25 - 26 -- Winter Field Day (CW, phone, digital)
* January 27 -- QCX Challenge (CW)
* January 29 -- UKEICC 80-Meter Contest (CW)
See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. For in-depth
reporting on amateur radio contesting, subscribe to The ARRL Contest
Update via your ARRL member profile email preferences.
IARU Region 1 Youngsters On The Air Summer Camp 2020 Will Be in Croatia
The 10th annual Youngsters On The Air (YOTA) camp will be held this
summer in Karlovac, Croatia -- not far from the capital city of Zagreb
-- International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 Youth Working
Group Chair Lisa Leenders, PA2LS, has announced. The Croatian Amateur
Radio Association -- Croatia's IARU member-society -- will serve as
host of the August 8 - 15 event. Participation is aimed at young radio
amateurs living in IARU Region 1 (Europe, Africa, and the Middle East).
"In this YOTA Camp we will be continuing with our train-the-trainer
(TTT) program, which will be the main theme of the week," Leenders
said. "Participants will be working on the future of amateur radio and
will be involved in workshops where they gain skills to start similar
amateur radio youth events when they are back home. With this, we are
aiming to create a snowball effect, so there will be more and more YOTA
events all over the world. This also allows other youngsters and
newcomers to enjoy amateur radio."
Leenders said camp participants will also be able to enjoy getting on
the air, as well as building electronic kits.
Each IARU member-society in Region 1 is invited to sponsor teams of up
to four camp participants. Team members will be age 15 to 25 and not
have attended a previous YOTA camp. Overall participation is limited to
80 campers.
The inaugural Youth On The Air Camp in the Americas will take place
this June 21 - 26 at the National Voice of America Museum of
Broadcasting in West Chester Township, Ohio. For more information,
email Camp Director Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, or call 812-327-0749.
AMSAT: GOLF-TEE Initiative Meets Major Milestone
AMSAT reports that an array of GOLF-TEE (Greater Orbit Larger Footprint
- Technology Evaluation Environment) satellite prototype boards
transmitted telemetry for the first time on January 14.
"The boards are laid out on a bench as a 'flat-sat,' with
interconnecting wires, bench power supplies, and a dummy load on the
transmitter," AMSAT said. The interconnected boards include an early
radiation-tolerant internal housekeeping unit (IHU, i.e., computer)
prototype; a control interface prototype, and a set of spare boards
from HuskySat-1 that act as prototypes for the legacy IHU and legacy
VHF/UHF RF components.
"Now that the development team has reached this point, it has RF to use
as a basis for developing a GOLF-TEE decoder for FoxTelem, the ground
telemetry receiver software," AMSAT said. "Thousands of hours of work
by many AMSAT volunteers have gone into the hardware and software that
got GOLF-TEE this far, with much work yet to be done before flight
units are ready."
GOLF-TEE is designed as a low-Earth orbit testbed for technologies
necessary for successful CubeSat missions to a wide variety of orbits,
including medium- and high-Earth orbits. "Higher is clearly better when
it comes to amateur radio satellites," AMSAT says on its website
explanation of the GOLF program. "The larger footprint, which brings
more DX opportunities and more good passes per day, also provides for a
longer orbital lifetime, and slower motion across the sky. This results
in longer pass durations and easier tracking." Higher orbits introduce
a new set of engineering challenges, AMSAT concedes, including higher
power and antennas with greater gain.
"GOLF is designed to continue the growth of AMSAT's CubeSat abilities,
incorporating new systems such as software-defined radios and
deployable solar panels into a 3U spaceframe." AMSAT explained. "GOLF
will also continue AMSAT's educational partnership outreach that takes
advantage of the synergies that amateur radio satellites and education
have to offer the public."
AMSAT has invited donations to further the project. It's also seeking
additional volunteers. -- Thanks to AMSAT News Service
ITU Development Sector Publication Highlights Amateur Radio's Role in
Emergency Communication
Amateur radio is featured in the publication ITU Guidelines for
national emergency telecommunication plans, published by the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Development Sector (ITU-D).
The publication notes that radio amateurs have supported communication
in emergency situations on a voluntary basis since the dawn of radio.
"They are experts in radio communications and have the equipment,
skills, and necessary frequencies allocated by ITU to deploy networks
in emergency events quickly and efficiently," the publication says.
ITU-D said amateur radio support offers "great coverage due to the
large number of amateur radio stations available;" training programs
and exercises that have been developed for emergency communication;
"qualified temporary volunteers who provide skills and experience
essential for emergency telecommunications;" problem-solving skills for
working with "often very limited resources," and the ability to work
with alternative power sources.
Past ARRL President and IARU Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD, represents
the International Amateur Radio Union at ITU-D meetings. -- Thanks to
Southgate Amateur Radio News; IARU
ARISS Opens Window for ISS Ham Radio Contact Proposals on February 1
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is once again
seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations --
individually or working together -- interested in hosting an amateur
radio contact with an International Space Station (ISS) crew member. A
window to accept proposals will open on February 1 for contacts that
would be scheduled between January and June 2021. The majority of ARISS
contacts involve schools and educational institutions. ARISS is looking
for organizations able to attract a large number of participants that
can integrate the contact opportunity into a well-developed education
plan.
"ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn
firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and
to learn about space research conducted on the ISS," ARISS said in
announcing the proposal period. "Students will also have an opportunity
to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio
science."
Proposal information and documents are available on the ARISS website.
Two identical ARISS introductory webinars have been set for January 23
at 9 PM EST (0200 UTC on January 24) and for January 27 at 6 PM EST
(2300 UTC). Registration is required.
Contacts with ISS crew members run approximately 10 minutes in length
and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a
question-and-answer session. ARISS contacts are voice-only amateur
radio communication opportunities. Schools and organizations typically
work with a local amateur radio club to assist in handling the
technical aspects of carrying out a successful contact with the ISS.
Astronaut Reid Wiseman, KF5LKT, on
the air at NA1SS on board the ISS in
2014. [NASA, photo]
ARISS stresses that because of the nature of human spaceflight and the
complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, schools and
organizations must be flexible in accommodating changes in radio
contact dates and times.
"Amateur radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA
and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan, and Europe present
educational organizations with this opportunity," ARISS said. "The ham
radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and
operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and
students around the world using amateur radio."
Proposal information and more details are available on the ARISS
website. Contact ARISS with any questions.
In Brief...
The ARRL Events app is available to use with Apple iOS and Android
devices. A web-browser version, optimized for most browsers and other
types of mobile devices, is also available. ARRL Events will be
featured at Orlando HamCation 2020, February 7 - 9, which has been
sanctioned as the 2020 ARRL Northern Florida Section Convention.
The Perseverance DX Group VP8PJ DXpedition to South Orkney has received
permission from the National Science Foundation to land and camp on the
Antarctic island. Receipt of the Antarctic Conservation Act Permit
culminates a months-long approval process involving several
governmental agencies. VP8PJ is expected to commence operation on
February 20 and continue until March 5. The DXpedition's equipment
container arrived by sea in Punta Arenas, Chile, on January 13, and the
MV Braveheart will transport the operating team and the gear from there
to the South Orkneys and back. Set-up on the island is expected to take
2 days. Contact the DXpedition for more information.
The Lagunaria DX Group is planning a "large-scale DXpedition" to
Timor-Leste (4W) in the October/November 2020 timeframe. "We currently
have one team member in Timor-Leste negotiating with different
ministries, companies, and accommodation facilities," said team member
Chris Janssen, DL1MGB. "Right now, we have positive feedback from all.
We even already have a confirmed reservation for two close-by lodges to
have enough space to host up to 10 stations." Janssen said the team
will consist of 18 operators and will participate seriously in both CQ
World Wide DX contests this fall. ditional details will be available
soon on the DXpedition website. Timor-Leste is the 67th most-wanted
DXCC entity, according to Club Log. -- Thanks to The Daily DX
A team of German DXers will operate as HU1DL from the Central American
country of El Salvador, starting in late January and continuing until
February 13. "Everything is well prepared. We are ready!" said an
announcement from Rolf Thieme, DL7VEE. The team will be transporting
its own equipment, which will include Elecraft K3 transceivers and
full-power amplifiers. Three stations will be on the air around the
clock on CW, SSB, RTTY, and FT8, with a focus on the lower bands.
Thieme said HU1DL will operate mostly in FT8 fox/hound mode. HU1DL
plans to be active on 60 meters, CW, and FT8. -- Thanks to The Daily DX
Spanish radio amateurs may exchange their current longer-format call
signs for permanent 2 * 1 call signs, and some familiar Spanish call
signs are likely to be changing. Salva Moreno, EA5BB, told ARRL that
hams in Spain who decided to make the change are now awaiting the
official license documents, so they can use their new call signs on the
air. Moreno's new call sign will be EA5U. To be eligible, applicants
must have held a license issued by Spanish authorities without any
sanctions and have at least 15 years of experience in "international
amateur radio."
The 17th International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) High Speed Telegraphy
(HST) World Championship will take place August 20 - 24 in Ulaanbaatar,
Mongolia. Europe's HST Cup and Balkan HST Championships will take place
May 8 - 12 in Elbasan, Albania. Although not an IARU-recognized event,
this international competition is widely accepted by the HST community
as an opportunity for top competitors to check their form before the
world championship, for teams to test new candidates for a national
team, and for those unable to participate at the World Championship to
still enjoy top-level competition. -- Thanks to IARU Region 1
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Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
* January 25 -- ARRL Midwest Conference, Collinsville, Illinois
* February 1 -- South Carolina State Convention, North Charleston,
South Carolina
* February 1 -- Virginia State Convention, Richmond, VA
* February 7 - 9 -- Northern Florida Section Convention, Orlando,
Florida
* February 14 - 15 -- Southwest Division Convention, Yuma, Arizona
* March 7 - Delta Division Convention, Russellville, Arkansas
* March 13 - 14 -- North Carolina Section Convention, Concord, North
Carolina
* March 14 - 15 -- Great Lakes Division Convention, Perrysburg, OH
* March 14 -- Nebraska State Convention, Lincoln, NE
* March 14 -- West Virginia Section Convention, Charleston, West
Virginia
* March 21 -- West Texas Section Convention, Midland, Texas
Find conventions and hamfests in your area.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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* Origin: Outpost BBS * Limestone, TN, USA (1:18/200)
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