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N9PMO > LETTER 17.02.17 01:07l 652 Lines 30419 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Sent: 170217/0003Z 12666@N9PMO.#SEWI.WI.USA.NOAM BPQ6.0.13
ARES Volunteers Support Evacuation, Shelters, in Wake of Oroville,
California, Dam Crisis
FCC Invites Comments on ARRL Petition to Allocate New 5 MHz Band
Campus Ham Radio Clubs Encouraged to Boost Vitality through Innovation
Alaska's HAARP Facility Once Again Open for Business
Amateur Radio Emergency Service Posts its 2016 Annual Report
Nayif-1 CubeSat with Amateur Radio Transponder Launched from India
"Mysterious Foghorn" is Chinese Over-the-Horizon Burst Radar
National Museum to Mark 75th Anniversary of Voice of America
In Brief...
The K7RA Solar Update
Getting It Right!
Just Ahead in Radiosport
Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
ARRL Headquarters Closed on Presidents' Day: ARRL Headquarters will be
closed on Monday, February 20, for the Presidents' Day holiday.
Headquarters will reopen at 8 AM EST on Tuesday, February 21. We wish
everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday!
ARRL Website, Store to be Offline: The ARRL website, the ARRL Store,
and other functions will be offline during maintenance on Sunday,
February 19, within the period from approximately 2 AM until 4 AM EST
(0700 to 0900 UTC). We apologize for any inconvenience.
ARES Volunteers Support Evacuation, Shelters, in Wake of Oroville,
California, Dam Crisis
Sacramento Valley ARES Section Emergency Coordinator Greg Kruckewitt,
KG6SJT, reported this week that Amateur Radio Emergency Service
(ARESŪ) volunteers actively supported communication for the evacuation
and sheltering of nearly 200,000 people living below the damaged
Oroville Dam in rural California. The dam, on the Feather River east
of Oroville, is the tallest in the US. Following a period of heavy
rain, a section of the earthfill-embankment dam's spillway eroded, and
authorities ordered residents living below the dam to evacuate, in
case the dam should fail. Crews have been attempting to fill the
eroded area with rock transported by helicopter. On February 14,
authorities lifted the mandatory evacuation order, but said it could
be re-imposed, if necessary. Residents returning home were advised to
remain vigilant, should the situation again become critical, and some
ARES activity continues.
"Things have really calmed down for now after the mandatory evacuation
notice was reduced to an evacuation warning," Kruckewitt told ARRL on
February 15. "At this time, only the Butte County ARES group is
deployed to the Chico Fairgrounds to support the Red Cross -- possibly
through the weekend." The Chico shelter will remain open until the
next storms pass.
FEMA reported that the Kelly Ridge Powerhouse located below Oroville
Dam is flooded and unsafe. "Any further flooding could result in the
potential release of 500 gallons of turbine oil stored in tanks," the
agency said on February 15.
The California Department of Water Resources released 100,000 cubic
feet per second from the damaged spillway to decrease the lake level
by 50 feet to handle the next round of storms expected this week.
[California DWR photo by Kelly M. Grow]
Butte County ARES EC Dale Anderson, KK6EVX, was called out by the
emergency operations center (EOC) on the evening of February 12. Six
members of the Butte County ARES team have been deployed to the Red
Cross evacuation shelter at the Chico fairgrounds. "ARC still wants us
at the Chico Fairgrounds," Anderson told Kruckewitt on February 15.
"We are down to one VHF unit and one operator on watch for now."
On February 12, Yuba/Sutter ARES EC Steve Sweetman, K6TAZ, opened and
managed a net to provide information and gather reports of road
closures or problems during the evacuation. The net received reports
from radio amateurs who were evacuating. Traffic was reported to be
very heavy, with a trip that would normally take 20 minutes extending
into a "3-hour stop-and-go ordeal," Sweetman said. The net also
gathered and disseminated information on where evacuees could get
fuel. "This became a critical need, as the thousands of people
evacuated their houses with 1-hour notice," Kruckewitt said. Sweetman
provided shelter for 17 evacuees.
The Sacramento County EC Vince Cracchiolo, KI6NHP, was called into the
Sacramento County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on February 13 as
the Red Cross opened a shelter at Cal Expo in Sacramento. Kruckewitt
said the Sacramento Valley Section received offers of help from hams
outside of California. As of February 15, FEMA was reporting 16
shelters open with 2,606 occupants.
California Department of Water Resources crews inspect and evaluate
the erosion just below the Lake Oroville emergency spillway site after
lake levels receded on February 13. [California DWR photo by Kelly M.
Grow]
"All ARES groups in the section are on standby, if help is needed. So
far, the dam is holding, and repair work is under way at last report,"
Kruckewitt said.
According to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR),
evacuation orders were issued to residents surrounding Lake Oroville
late Sunday afternoon. "DWR has been monitoring conditions at Lake
Oroville's main and auxiliary spillways around the clock for signs of
erosion that could threaten the integrity of the emergency spillway
and allow large, uncontrolled flows to the Feather River," the agency
says on its website.
FCC Invites Comments on ARRL Petition to Allocate New 5 MHz Band
The FCC has invited comments on the ARRL's January 12 Petition for
Rule Making to allocate a new, secondary contiguous band at 5 MHz to
the Amateur Service. The League also asked the Commission to keep four
of the current five 60-meter channels -- one would be within the new
band -- as well as the current operating rules, including the 100 W
PEP effective radiated power (ERP) limit. The federal government is
the primary user of the 5 MHz spectrum. The FCC has designated the
League's Petition as RM-11785 and put it on public notice. Comments
are due Monday, March 20. ARRL plans to file comments in support of
its petition.
The proposed ARRL action would implement a portion of the Final Acts
of World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) that provided for
a secondary international allocation of 5,351.5 to 5,366.5 kHz to the
Amateur Service; that band includes 5,358.5 KHz, one of the existing 5
MHz channels in the US. The FCC has not yet acted to implement other
portions of the WRC-15 Final Acts.
"Such implementation will allow radio amateurs engaged in emergency
and disaster relief communications, and especially those between the
United States and the Caribbean basin, to more reliably, more flexibly
and more capably conduct those communications [and preparedness
exercises], before the next hurricane season in the summer of 2017,"
ARRL said in its petition.
The League said that 14 years of Amateur Radio experience using the
five discrete 5-MHz channels have shown that hams can get along well
with primary users at 5 MHz, while complying with the regulations
established for their use. "Neither ARRL, nor, apparently, NTIA is
aware of a single reported instance of interference to a federal user
by a radio amateur operating at 5 MHz to date," ARRL said in its
petition. NTIA -- the National Telecommunications and Information
ministration, which regulates federal spectrum -- initially proposed
the five channels for Amateur Radio use. In recent years, Amateur
Radio has cooperated with federal users such as FEMA in conducting
communication interoperability exercises.
The League said in its petition that while the Amateur Radio community
is grateful to the FCC and NTIA for providing some access to the 5-MHz
band, "the five channels are, simply stated, completely inadequate to
accommodate the emergency preparedness needs of the Amateur Service in
this HF frequency range," ARRL said. Access even to the tiny 15-kHz
wide band adopted at WRC-15 would "radically improve the current, very
limited capacity of the Amateur Service in the United States to
address emergencies and disaster relief," ARRL said.
The WRC-15 Final Acts stipulated a power limit of 15 W effective
isotropic radiated power (EIRP), which the League said "completely
defeats the entire premise for the allocation in the first place."
ARRL said the FCC should permit a power level of 100 W PEP ERP,
assuming use of a 0 dBd gain antenna, in the contiguous 60-meter band.
"To impose the power limit adopted at WRC-15 for the contiguous band
would render the band unsuitable for emergency and public service
communications," the League said.
The ITU Radio Regulations permit assignments at variance with the
International Table of Allocations, provided a non-interference
condition is attached.
Campus Ham Radio Clubs Encouraged to Boost Vitality through Innovation
ARRL Public Relations Committee Chairman Scott Westerman, W9WSW,
believes collegiate Amateur Radio clubs need to blow away the dust and
cobwebs and modernize, in order to attract new members. And he urges
college and university ham radio clubs to seek common technological
ground with younger generations, in order to attract new Amateur Radio
licensees.
ARRL PR Committee Chair Scott Westerman, W9WSW, operates W1AW/0 at the
2016 ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention (HamCon).
"We really need to be thinking in terms of...state-of-the-art
technology, because that's what 'the kids' are looking for nowadays,"
Westerman told ARRL Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, during a
brief interview at the 2017 Orlando HamCation February 10-12, which
hosted this year's ARRL Southeastern Division Convention. "The big
challenge is how to get them away from their cell phones."
Westerman, a Michigan State University (MSU) alumnus and executive
director of the MSU Alumni Association, recalled his own student days,
when MSU Amateur Radio Club (MSUARC), W8SH, had a Collins S-Line for a
station. Founded in 1919, the MSUARC is one of the oldest collegiate
ham clubs in the US.
Collegiate clubs need to tap into students' interest in "parallel"
technological realms, such as the Maker movement or those already
experimenting with electronics, Westerman said. "At one time or
another, we were all in that parallel universe, and there was
something that brought us to ham radio," he offered.
Westerman said the MSU club has come up with a program to get students
on HF via a remote base. "So, you can get into our state-of-the-art
shack, you can check out a control head, a Kenwood TS-480, take it
back to your dorm, plug it into the Wi-Fi network, and work the
world!"
While access to opportunities for getting on the air is important,
Westerman said, the availability of Amateur Radio mentors -- what he
called "our seasoned generation" of radio amateurs -- is also vital.
"We're trying to encourage them to reach out and adopt somebody, and
to do the same for them that somebody did for us."
For Westerman, that person was his uncle, who took him into his ham
shack and got him fascinated with the world of Amateur Radio. "Why
can't we be one of those people for some kid in college?" he
suggested. "That's the challenge."
This group of college students, alumni, faculty, and friends gathered
for the Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative Forum at Orlando
HamCation, moderated by Andy Milluzzi, KK4LWR (far left, kneeling), of
the Gator Amateur Radio Club at the University of Florida,
Gainesville, W4DFU. [Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, photo]
The ARRL College Amateur Radio Initiative (CARI) enjoyed attention
throughout HamCation, Inderbitzen recounted. ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher,
NY2RF, wearing a "Penn" sweatshirt for his University of Pennsylvania
alma mater, welcomed attendees to a Collegiate Amateur Radio
Initiative Forum, moderated by Andy Milluzzi, KK4LWR. A graduate
student in electrical engineering, Milluzzi highlighted the value of
Amateur Radio as a way to meet other people.
"We keep our alumni close," Milluzzi said, explaining how college ham
radio clubs help students develop professional networks in their field
of study. Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA) Director Ken
Simpson, W8EK, shared information about applying for QCWA scholarships
administered by the Foundation for Amateur Radio (FAR). Sterling
Coffey, N0SSC, posted the forum on YouTube. --Thanks to Bob
Inderbitzen, NQ1R
Alaska's HAARP Facility Once Again Open for Business
The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) in Gakona,
Alaska, will soon undertake its first scientific research campaigns
since the facility was taken over by the University of Alaska
Fairbanks (UAF) Geophysical Institute 18 months ago. Among the
investigators is UAF Researcher Chris Fallen, KL3WX, who will be
working under a National Science Foundation grant, "RAPID:
Spatiotemporal Evolution of Radio-Induced Aurora." Fallen says the
HAARP transmissions will take place within the facility's transmitter
tuning range of 2.7 to 10 MHz and should be audible outside of Alaska,
and may even produce visible effects within the state.
Part of the vast HAARP antenna array with the control center in the
background, set against the majesty of the Alaska landscape.
"This time my experiments will largely focus on artificial
radio-induced airglow that potentially can be photographed from nearly
anywhere in Alaska -- weather permitting," Fallen told ARRL. "I plan
to start and stop each experiment block with an audio Luxembourg-style
broadcast -- transmitting two amplitude-modulated carrier waves at
different frequencies separated by about 1 MHz, with the resulting
skywave signal being a mix of both frequencies."
Fallen's experiments will take place February 19-22.
Fallen said that he has prior success reproducing the "Luxembourg
effect" using two DTMF tones. "But this time, I have a short, simple
musical composition recorded by a local musician," he said. "It was
composed specifically to take advantage of the Luxembourg effect."
According to UAF, Fallen, an assistant research professor in space
physics, will create an "artificial aurora" that can be photographed
with a sensitive camera within Alaska. The phenomenon has been created
in the past above HAARP during certain types of transmissions.
Just which HF frequencies Fallen will use won't be determined until
shortly before he begins his research. "The specific frequency chosen
during a particular experiment depends on the experiment's objectives,
FCC regulations, and ionospheric conditions at the time," Fallen
explained. He will use ionosonde data to guide frequency selection.
UAF Assistant Professor Chris Fallen, KL3WX. [Photo courtesy of UAF]
In his explanatory Gakona HAARPoon 2017 blog, Fallen explains that
HAARP scientists use the ionosonde to estimate two important
parameters: (1) the amount of low-level ionosphere D-region HF radio
absorption that frequently occurs due to natural, but not well
understood, processes that prevent HAARP radio wave energy from
reaching the higher ionosphere E and F regions; and, (2) the
ionosphere vertical "critical frequency" [sometimes referred to as
foF2], above which any radio transmissions pass through the ionosphere
into space rather than being reflected or absorbed."
Fallen said experiment times and frequencies for his airglow and
Luxembourg experiments will be updated on his blog and on his Twitter
account linked in the blog. He encourages radio amateurs and SWLs to
record the events they hear and post reports to social media or e-mail
him.
Built and operated by the US Air Force until August 2015, HAARP
includes a 40-acre grid of antennas and a very high-power array of HF
transmitters to conduct ionospheric research. Later this month,
scientists will use HAARP to conduct other experiments that will
include a study of atmospheric effects on satellite-to-ground
communications and over-the-horizon radar experiments.
Research funding agencies also include the US Department of Energy's
Los Alamos National Lab and the Naval Research Laboratory. HAARP also
has a Facebook page.
Amateur Radio Emergency Service Posts its 2016 Annual Report
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) has posted its 2016 annual
report. The 2016 ARES Annual Report focuses on documenting the value
that ARES provides to the nation, states, and localities in
collaboration with partners at all levels. The report features basic
data drawn from Section Emergency Coordinators' reports, a breakdown
of ARES figures by state and FEMA region, and a challenge for 2017.
According to the report, ARES membership in 2016 was 27,754 -- up from
17,756 in 2015 -- and the Service was active in 42 states and US
territories. ARES volunteers responded to 33,136 events last year.
"Sharing information about what ARES provides at all levels is
critical to our work overall, as hard numbers provide better detail
about our work," ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U,
said. "We all need to pitch in to ensure that our contributions are
counted, and here at HQ, we will be sure to do our part."
ARES volunteers will see changes in some reporting forms in 2017; all
forms, starting in January 2017, have been updated and renumbered.
According to the report, 76% of ARRL sections filed reports for 2016,
a significant improvement over past years. The report challenges ARRL
Section Emergency Coordinators to raise that number to 85% in 2017.
In addition to the annual ARES report, ARRL Field Services staffers
will produce their own monthly report, a link will appear in the ARES
E-Letter, showing monthly data for ARES, as well as information about
ARRL Headquarters emergency preparedness and Field Service activities.
Nayif-1 CubeSat with Amateur Radio Transponder Launched from India
AMSAT-UK reports the Indian Space Agency (ISRO) on February 15
successfully launched the Nayif-1 Amateur Radio CubeSat, along with
103 other satellites -- a record for a single launch. The Nayif-1 1U
CubeSat includes a full FUNcube communication package. Nayif-1 carries
a U/V linear Amateur Radio transponder for SSB and CW and a telemetry
transmitter. Nayif-1 started transmitting about 1 hour after launch,
and radio amateurs on the west coast reported the first signals.
The Nayif-1 Team. [MBRSC photo]
Nayif-1 is a joint project of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre
(MBRSC) and American University of Sharjah (AUS). The United Arab
Emirate's first nanosatellite, Nayif-1 was developed by Emirati
engineering students from AUS under the supervision of a team of
engineers and specialists from MBRSC. The partnership between the two
entities was aimed at providing hands-on satellite-manufacturing
experience to engineering students.
Telemetry is transmitted on 145.940 MHz, 1.2 kb BPSK (FUNcube
standard). The SSB/CW transponder uplink passband is 435.045-435.015
MHz, and the downlink passband is 145.960-145.990 MHz.
A mission-specific telemetry dashboard is available. In a manner
similar to that of the FUNcube-1 dashboard, this one will be capable
of uploading the telemetry received to a central data warehouse. More
information on the telemetry dashboard is available, as is a test
file.
Initial spacecraft operation will be in a low-power "safe" mode, with
just the telemetry transmitter activated.
"Mysterious Foghorn" is Chinese Over-the-Horizon Burst Radar
The International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 (IARU-R1) Monitoring
System newsletter reports a mysterious "foghorn" -- a Chinese
over-the-horizon (OTH) burst radar -- is operating in Amateur Radio
bands.
"We observed the mysterious foghorn on 7, 10, and 14 MHz," the
newsletter recounted. "This is a Chinese OTH radar, which is often
jumping, and sounding like a foghorn." The signal is frequency
modulation on pulse (FMOP) with 66.66 sweeps-per-second bursts.
The "foghorn" waveform from the Chinese over-the-horizon burst radar.
[Wolf Hadel, DK2OM, screenshot]
Other intruders include a Russian frequency shift keying (FSK) signal
from Kaliningrad on 7,193 kHz and a Russian FSK signal on 7,193 kHz
(50 baud, 200 Hz shift). German telecommunications authorities have
filed another complaint.
The latest IARUMS newsletter also reports strong splatter from Radio
France International (RFI) on 7,205 kHz down to 7,186 kHz. The French
REF has informed RFI and French telecommunications authorities.
Intruders still reported, and the subjects of complaints from German
authorities include Radio Hargeysa in Somaliland on 7,120.0 kHz; Radio
Eritrea with Ethiopian interference on 7,175.0 kHz; Radio Taiwan and a
Chinese jammer on 7,200.0 kHz, and a Radio Tajik harmonic (from 4765
kHz) on 14,295.0 kHz.
National Museum to Mark 75th Anniversary of Voice of America
The National Voice of America (VOA) Museum at the VOA-Bethany site in
West Chester, Ohio, will join in celebrating the 75th anniversary of
the VOA. The Voice of America marked its diamond jubilee on February
1. In 1942, not 2 months after the US officially entered World War II,
a live, 15-minute shortwave broadcast was
The VOA-Bethany station in West Chester, Ohio, now a museum.
transmitted into Germany from a small studio in New York City.
Introduced by "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," the voice of
announcer William Harlan Hale declared, "We bring you Voices from
America. Today, and daily from now on, we shall speak to you about
America and the war. The news may be good for us. The news may be bad.
But we shall tell you the truth."
"We're planning a series of events and exhibits this year to celebrate
the VOA's commitment across America and the world to embrace best
practices in telling the truth in order to let the world decide," said
Jack Dominic, the museum's executive director. The West Chester
Amateur Radio Club is a museum partner and operates WC8VOA from the
museum.
At the dedication of VOA-Bethany, FCC Commissioner Clifford Durr
referred to the forest of towers on the site as "siege guns of
radio...that can hurl explosive facts against the enemy's weapons of
lies and confusion... They are also potential guns of peace." Helped
by an array of rhombic antennas, VOA-Bethany station transmitted news
to Europe during World War II and to South America during the Cold
War. The federal government decommissioned the Bethany station in
1994.
Siege guns: VOA-Bethany's six transmitters were connected to dozens of
large antennas spread across a 1-square-mile area. Many people may
recall seeing these towers as they drove past on Interstate 75.
"The men and women who made up the VOA broadcasting system were our
journalistic beacons of light during the 20th century," said Ken
Rieser, president of the VOA Museum board. "Elmer Davis, John
Houseman, Edward R. Murrow, and Robert Bauer all had positions of
leadership within the VOA."
Today the VOA is the world's largest international broadcaster,
transmitting news and information in 47 languages to 236 million
people each week, according to the VOA website. The National VOA
Museum of Broadcasting, located in the art deco Bethany station
building, houses three collections -- the Gray History of Wireless
radios, VOA-Bethany station's Voice of America control room, and the
Media Heritage Cincinnati Museum of Broadcast History.
The National VOA Museum of Broadcasting is open on the third Saturday
of each month -- including February 18 -- from 1 to 4 PM Eastern Time.
For more information, visit the VOA Museum website.
In Brief...
Field Day 2017 Packet is Now Available: The Field Day 2017 packet now
is available from the ARRL website. Field Day 2017 is June 24-25 --
always the fourth full weekend in June. There have been no significant
rule changes from 2016. The Field Day packet contains everything you
or your club will need to succeed in June, including explanations,
FAQs, articles from experts, and even a log page template, if you log
on paper for FD. For more information on Field Day, contact the ARRL
Contest Branch.
New Section Manager Appointed in Illinois: Ron Morgan, AD9I, of East
Peoria, Illinois, has been appointed ARRL Illinois Section Manager,
effective February 16. He succeeds Tom Ciciora, KA9QPN, of Sandwich,
who stepped down for personal reasons. ARRL expressed its thanks to
Ciciora, who has served at the helm of the Illinois Field Organization
for more than 10 years, since July 2006. ARRL Field Services Manager
Dave Patton, NN1N, appointed Morgan in consultation with ARRL Central
Division Director Kermit Carlson, W9XA. Morgan, who has been an
Assistant Section Manager in Illinois since 2002, will complete the
current term, which continues through June 2018. He's also a Central
Division Assistant Director. A retired electrical engineer, Morgan
currently teaches technology at Illinois Central Christian School.
Washington Club Gets North Cook Islands Ham Back on the Air after
Lengthy Absence: Thanks to the generosity of members of the
ARRL-affiliated Western Washington DX Club (WWDXC) Pia "Papa Pia"
Taraeka, E51PT, of Manihiki, North Cook Islands, is back on the air
after a more than 3-decade absence. "My interest in Amateur Radio
started around 1962 as a radio operator working for the Cook Island
and New Zealand governments," Papa Pia recounted on his QRZ.com
profile. "My primary job was relaying radio Morse code traffic
destined for the Cook Islands and other places, including New Zealand,
Samoa, Tahiti, and Niue." Bob Nielsen, N7XY, donated the bulk of the
radio gear, while Bengt-Erik Norum, K7ADD/E51AMF, helped to set up
Papa Pia's station (and help another North Cook Islands ham, too).
Papa Pia is on CW and SSB, 80 through 10 meters, running 100 W to an
all-band dipole. -- Thanks to The Daily DX
The K7RA Solar Update
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Over the February 9-15 reporting
week, the average daily sunspot number declined from 21.3 to 17.6,
while the average daily solar flux rose from 73.5 to 75.1. The average
planetary A index dropped from 12.9 to 4.7, and the mid-latitude A
index dipped from 9.9 to 2.9.
The predicted solar flux is 75 on February 16-17; 74 on February
18-19; 77, 80, and 83 on February 20-22; 80 on February 23-24; 78 on
February 25-26; 76 on February 27-28; 75 on March 1-2; 73 on March
3-4; 72 on March 5-7; 73 and 74 on March 8-9; 75 on March 10-11; 78 on
March 12-15; 80 on March 16-18; 82, 85, and 82 on March 19-21; 80 on
March 22-23; 78 on March 24-25; 76 on March 26-27, and 75 on March
28-29.
Predicted planetary A index is 10, 12, 10, and 8 on February 16-19; 5
on February 20-21; 8 and 15 on February 22-23; 10 on February 24-25;
5, 25, 30, 25, and 20 on February 26-March 2; 15 on March 3-5; 8 on
March 6; 5 on March 7-12; 8, 12, and 10 on March 13-15; 8 on March
16-17; 5 on March 18-20; 10 and 15 on March 21-22, and 10 on March
23-24.
Sunspot numbers for February 9 through 15 were 15, 18, 18, 18, 16, 15,
and 23, with a mean of 17.6. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 75.4, 74,
75.7, 76.2, 74.8, 74.5, and 74.8, with a mean of 75.1. Estimated
planetary A indices were 7, 8, 5, 3, 5, 2, and 3, with a mean of 4.7.
Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 5, 5, 3, 2, 2, 1, and 2, with a
mean of 2.9.
Send me your reports or observations.
etting It Right!
The February 9 edition of The ARRL Letter included an error in the
title of the QEX article for which Steven J. Franke, K9AN, and Joseph
H. Taylor, K1JT, were awarded with the Doug DeMaw Technical Excellence
Award. The article, which appeared in the May/June 2016 issue of QEX,
was entitled, "Open Source Soft-Decision Decoder for the JT65 (63, 12)
Reed-Solomon Code."
Just Ahead in Radiosport
February 18 -- SARL Youth Day Sprint (Phone)
February 18-19 -- ARRL International DX Contest (CW)
February 18-26 -- Novice Rig Roundup (CW)
February 18-19 -- Russian PSK WW Contest
February 18 -- Feld Hell Sprint
February 20 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest (CW)
February 22 -- SKCC Sprint (CW)
February 22 -- NAQCC CW Sprint
February 22 -- 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 e-mail preferences.
Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
February 17-18 -- Arizona Section Convention, Yuma, Arizona
February 18 -- Arkansas Section Convention, Hoxie, Arkansas
February 25 -- West Central Florida Section Technical Conference,
Sarasota, Florida
February 25 -- New Mexico Tech Fest, Albuquerque, New Mexico
February 25 -- Vermont State Convention, South Burlington, Vermont
March 3-4 -- Alabama Section Convention, Birmingham, Alabama
March 4 -- Arkansas State Convention, Russellville, Arkansas
March 10-11 -- Louisiana State Convention, Rayne, Louisiana
March 11 -- Nebraska State Convention, Lincoln, Nebraska
March 18 -- West Texas Section Convention, Midland, Texas
March 18 -- MicroHAMS Digital Conference, Redmond, Washington
March 24-25 -- Texas State Convention, Rosenberg, Texas
March 31-April 1 -- Maine State Convention, Lewiston, Maine
March 31-April 2 -- Nevada State Convention, Las Vegas, Nevada
April 7-8 -- OzarkCon QRP Conference, Branson, Missouri
April 15 -- Roanoke Division Convention, Raleigh, North Carolina
Apr 21-23 -- International DX Convention, Visalia, California
April 21-23 -- Idaho State Convention, Boise, Idaho
April 22 -- Delaware State Convention, Georgetown, Delaware
April 22 -- Aurora '17 Convention, White Bear Lake, Minnesota
Apr 22-23 -- Communications Academy XIX, Seattle, Washington
April 28-29 -- Southeastern VHF Society Conference, Charlotte, North
Carolina
Find conventions and hamfests in your area.
ARRL -- Your One-Stop Resource for
Amateur Radio News and Information.
Join or Renew Today! ARRL membership includes QST, Amateur Radio's
most popular and informative journal, delivered to your mailbox each
month.
Listen to ARRL Audio News, available every Friday.
Subscribe to...
NCJ -- National Contest Journal. Published bimonthly, features
articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA
Sprint, and QSO Parties.
QEX -- A Forum for Communications Experimenters. Published bi-monthly,
features technical articles, construction projects, columns, and other
items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals.
Free of charge to ARRL members...
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