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AE5ME > ARL 10.04.16 03:50l 154 Lines 7859 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : AYIONOE6WP59
Read: GUEST
Subj: ARRL Letter April 7th Part 4 of 4
Path: IW8PGT<IZ3LSV<I0OJJ<N6RME<N0KFQ<AE5ME
Sent: 160410/0140Z 35308@AE5ME.#NEOK.OK.USA.NOAM BPQ1.4.64
In Brief...
ARRL Establishes "Youth Nets" Web Page: The new "Youth Nets" page on the ARRL website is designed to serve as a clearing house for information about Amateur Radio nets aimed at youth participation. During those dry spells between bigger operating events such as School Club Roundup, Kids Day, and Field Day, regular participation in a net helps to develop operating skills and confidence, and it builds connections within the community of young hams. A few nets are already listed, but ARRL invites any nets aimed at young radio amateurs to post and share their information on the ARRL "Youth Nets" web page.
Rose A. "Uti" Gandy, KS6FO, SK: Rose "Uti" Gandy, of Pago Pago, American Samoa, died on March 25. She was 69 and had been an ARRL member. Uti Gandy was the widow of the prominent contester and DXer Larry Gandy, AH8LG (SK). Uti Gandy helped with the Swains Island DXpeditions and hosted the W1AW/KH8 operations during the ARRL Centennial. A service was set for April 7.
Voice of America Antenna Farm in North Carolina Leveled: A field of 48 antenna towers that the Voice of America (VOA) once used to broadcast around the world, was dropped by explosives on April 4. The VOA had not used the towers, located in Beaufort County, North Carolina, for 10 years, although it still broadcasts news and information to Latin America, Cuba, the Caribbean, and Africa from antennas in a nearby county. According to news reports, it took less than 1 minute to fell the towers, which were hauled away as scrap. Television station WITN said the VOA site has been sold to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission for conservation. See the towers go down in this WITN TV news report.
Steve Thomas, M1ACB, is New Radio Society of Great Britain General Manager: Steve Thomas, M1ACB, has been appointed as the new general manager of the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB). He will succeed Graham Coomber, G0NBI, who is retiring. An RSGB volunteer since 2008, Thomas has a background in the IT and telecoms industries. He has also served as a director of an international standards organization and brings experience in contract, project, and financial management. "He will be working with the Board to review the Society's strategy, to ensure that the RSGB works effectively to increase awareness and understanding of Amateur Radio, wireless science, and its technologies, and also to make the hobby accessible to everyone," an RSGB announcement said. Read more.
UK to Sell Off 750 MHz of Radio Spectrum: UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced in the 2016 budget that 750 MHz of public sector radio spectrum would be "released" (auctioned). The Amateur Service in the UK currently shares significant spectrum with the public sector. "Budget 2016 announces a new government commitment that 750 MHz of valuable public sector spectrum in bands below 10 GHz will be made available by 2022, of which 500 MHz will be made available by 2020," the document states. Previous spectrum sell-offs have adversely impacted the Amateur and Amateur Satellite Services. In 2014 Ofcom announced that it would end Amateur Radio access to significant portions of the 2.3 and 3.4 GHz bands. Read more.
Waynesboro, Georgia, SwapFest is April 23: The date of the Waynesboro, Georgia, SwapFest was incorrect in the May edition of QST. The correct date is Saturday, April 23, 9 AM-4 PM at American Legion Post 120. The Waynesboro SwapFest is sponsored by the Burke Amateur Radio Club.
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The K7RA Solar Update
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: All solar and geomagnetic indicators declined again last week. Compared to the previous 7 days, from March 31 through April 6 the average daily sunspot number slipped from 28.1 to 19.4. Average daily solar flux sank from 88.8 to 83.1, while average daily planetary A index declined from 11.9 to 9.4. The average daily mid-latitude A index went to 7.6 from 8.6.
The April 6 prediction had solar flux at 90 and 92 on April 7-8; 95 on April 9-10; 93 and 91 on April 11-12; 90 on April 13-14; 80 on April 15; 78 on April 16-17; 80 on April 18-22; 78 on April 23; 80 on April 24-28; 82 on April 29-May 1; 78 on May 2-5; 82 on May 6-7, and 80 on May 8-12. Solar flux then continues to dither between 78 and 80 over the remainder of the 45-day forecast.
Predicted planetary A index is 14, 12, and 8 on April 7-9; 5 on April 10-11; 12, 20, 15, and 8 on April 12-15; 5 on April 16-20; 8 on April 21-22; 5 and 12 on April 23-24; 10 on April 25-26; 8 on April 27; 5 on April 28-29; 22, 8, 15, and 12 on April 30-May 3, and 8 on May 4-5.
The big factor in bringing the week's average sunspot number down by nearly 9 points was the fact that the daily sunspot number was 11 on March 31 through April 2. A sunspot number of 11 is the lowest we can possibly observe, outside of no sunspots (then the sunspot number is zero). Each sunspot group counts as 10 points, and these are added to the total number of sunspots, so a sunspot number of 11 means that just one sunspot is visible.
Spaceweather.com reported that on April 7, Earth is expected to cross a fold in the Heliospheric Current Sheet, which could trigger unsettled geomagnetic conditions. The Heliospheric Current Sheet separates regions of solar wind where the magnetic field points toward or away from the sun. See an animation of this effect from 2001 until 2009.
Sunspot numbers for March 31 through April 6 were 11, 11, 11, 38, 23, 27, and 13, with a mean of 19.1. The 10.7 centimeter flux was 81.7, 82.1, 81.5, 82.3, 83.4, 83.4, and 87.1, with a mean of 83.1. Estimated planetary A indices were 7, 3, 22, 15, 7, 5, and 7, with a mean of 9.4. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 5, 2, 15, 13, 6, 5, and 7, with a mean of 7.6.
Send me your reports and observations!
This Week in Radiosport
•April 9-10 -- JIDX CW Contest
•April 9-10 -- PODXS 070 Club PSK 31 Flavors
•April 9-10 -- OK/OM DX Contest (SSB)
•April 9-10 -- SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (CW)
•April 9-10 -- New Mexico QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
•April 9-10 -- Georgia QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
•April 9-10 -- Yuri Gagarin International DX Contest (CW)
•April 10 -- International Vintage Contest HF (CW, phone)
•April 10 -- Hungarian Straight Key Contest (CW)
•April 11 -- 144 MHz Spring Sprint (CW, phone, digital)
•April 13 -- NAQCC CW Sprint
•April 13 -- RSGB 80 Meter SSB Club Championship
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 and Events
•April 8-9 -- Oklahoma State Convention, Claremore, Oklahoma
•April 9-10 -- Communications Academy, Seattle, Washington
•April 15-17 -- International DX Convention, Visalia, California
•April 15-17 -- VHF Super Conference, Sterling, Virginia
•April 16 -- Delaware State Convention, Georgetown, Delaware
•April 22-24 -- Idaho State Convention, Boise, Idaho
•April 23 -- Aurora '16 Conference, White Bear Lake, Minnesota
•April 23 -- Nebraska State Convention, Lincoln, Nebraska
•April 29-May 1 -- Nevada State Convention, Las Vegas, Nevada
•May 7 -- South Carolina Section Convention, Spartanburg, South Carolina
•May 13-15 -- Rocky Mountain Division Convention, Keystone, Colorado
•May 14 -- Iowa State Convention, Boone, Iowa
•May 20-22 -- Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, Ohio
•June 3-5 -- Northwestern Division Convention, Seaside, Oregon
•June 4 -- Georgia Section Convention, Marietta, Georgia
•June 5 -- Western Pennsylvania Section Convention, Prospect, Pennsylvania
•June 10-11 -- West Gulf Division Convention, Irving, Texas
•June 18 -- Tennessee State Convention, Knoxville, Tennessee
Find conventions and hamfests in your area.
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