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N9PMO > LETTER 09.07.15 23:16l 551 Lines 25356 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Amateur Radio Becomes Primary on 1900-2000 kHz on August 6
ARRL Patrons Donate Warhol Print to League; Auction Proceeds Will
Create Endowment
Museum Donates Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Homebrew Equipment to ARRL
Ham Radio Volunteers Support Oklahoma Freewheel Bicycle Ride
Friedrichshafen HAM RADIO 2015 Hosts International Youth Gathering
Pioneering Remote Multi-Multi K4VV Contesting Station Closes, But
Project Continues
UK Government Holds Up Export of Early Amateur Radio-Related TV
Archive
In Brief...
The K7RA Solar Update
Just Ahead in Radiosport
Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events
Amateur Radio Becomes Primary on 1900-2000 kHz on August 6
Amateur Radio will be upgraded from secondary to primary in the
1900-2000 kHz segment of 160 meters in the US on August 6. That's the
effective date of the WRC-07 implementation Report and Order and
WRC-12 Order portions of a lengthy FCC document released on April 27.
Both appeared in the Federal Register on July 7; the Notice of
Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) of the same proceeding was published in
the Federal Register on July 2. The Radiolocation Service (RLS) has
been primary in the band segment. The FCC also made a secondary
allocation of 135.7-137.8 kHz to the Amateur Service, but this band
will not be available until service rules have been adopted.
"The FCC action with respect to 1900-2000 kHz reduces the possibility
that we might suffer in the future from new Radiolocation Service
deployments," said ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ. "On the other hand, we
will have to put up with radio buoys that have been operating
illegally in the band but that now have been 'regularized' by the
Commission."
The FCC said that while it had believed there was no non-Federal RLS
use of the 1900-2000 kHz band, the record indicated there are maritime
users, including the US "high seas" migratory species fishing fleets,
making use of radio buoys in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans as well
as within 200 nautical miles of the coast. It did not identify these
users in the WRC-07 proceeding, however, "because they did not appear
in its licensing database," it said.
"Apparently, fishing vessels have operated radio buoys in US waters
under the belief that a ship station license issued under Part 80 of
the Commission's rules permits operation of the buoys," the FCC Order
continued. The FCC said a Part 80 license applies only to stations in
the maritime services and does not authorize operation of radio
stations requiring a Part 90 license, "such as the radio buoys at
issue here."
The FCC said its action regarding 1900-2000 kHz supports increased use
of 160 meters as reported by commenters in the proceeding and provides
"spectrum support" for Amateur Radio emergency communication. The FCC
said its action also offers the Amateur Service "the long-term
security that primary status entails."
In removing the primary RLS allocation, the FCC added a new footnote
to the US Table of Allocations that provides for radio buoy operations
in the 1900-2000 kHz segment on a primary basis in Region 2 (the
Americas) and on a secondary basis in Region 3, which limits
operations to the open sea.
The FCC also concluded that it is in the public interest to establish
a secondary Amateur Radio allocation at 135.7-137.8 kHz -- 2200
meters, although the new band is not yet authorized for amateur use.
"In accordance with the WRC-07 Final Acts, the Commission also
restricted use of this secondary Amateur Service allocation to amateur
stations transmitting a maximum equivalent isotropically radiated
power (EIRP) of 1 W." The Commission is inviting comments until August
31 on how it should structure operational rules for that allocation as
well as for a proposed 472-479 kHz allocation, 630 meters. Read more.
ARRL Patrons Donate Warhol Print to League; Auction Proceeds Will
Create Endowment
ARRL patron and well-known Hollywood producer Dave Bell, W6AQ, and his
wife Sam, W6QLT (she's a quilter), have donated a signed Andy Warhol
print to the ARRL. The artwork -- "Myths: Superman 1981" -- will be
sold at auction and the proceeds used to create "The Dave Bell, W6AQ,
Endowment Fund" to benefit the League. The print's value has been
estimated to be in the vicinity of $150,000. Bell said he wanted to
encourage other radio amateurs who might own valuable artworks to
consider donating them to ARRL.
Andy Warhol's Myths: Superman (1981).
"I suspect that I'm not the only amateur art collector among the ham
radio population," Bell told ARRL recently. "I'm not sure that it's
ever occurred to any of these hams that one way to make a donation is
to give a painting to the League."
Bell, a ham since 1951 and a past chairman of the ARRL Public
Relations Committee, acquired the Superman print in the early 1990s,
and it hung in his Hollywood office for years. "I was looking around
for a Warhol, and a friend of mine was an art dealer, and he came
across this 'Superman' print and he gave me a very good price on it,
so I bought it," Bell said. He once owned another Warhol, which he
gave to Hiram College, his alma mater.
Hollywood movie producer David Wolper sold the print to Bell, who said
it had hung in Wolper's screening room for a decade or so. During his
own working years, Bell was a television and movie producer. He
started TV's "Unsolved Mysteries" and also produced some movies
("Nadia," "The Long Walk Home"). Amateur Radio was the focus of some
of his productions, including "The World of Amateur Radio" and
Dave Bell, W6AQ, in his ham shack.
"Amateur Radio Today." In 2003 the League presented Bell with its
first Lifetime Achievement Award, for his work on films and videos
about Amateur Radio. "I had an entertaining career," he punned. He was
also the Dayton Hamvention® Amateur of the Year in 1984. His book
World's Best Hobby, available from ARRL and elsewhere, details his
professional and Amateur Radio lives.
One reason he purchased the Superman print in particular, he said, was
that he could imagine an Amateur Radio handheld in the Man of Steel's
outstretched hand. "He should be 'Superham,'" Bell quipped.
ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, announced the donation in May at an
ARRL donors' reception in conjunction with Dayton Hamvention®. "Dave
and Sam have always supported ARRL most generously, and this latest
gift to the Endowment Fund will ensure their support never stops,"
President Craigie told the gathering. "I would like to say 'thank you'
for your thoughtful support. You are truly a 'Superman' to ARRL!" Read
more.
Ad
Museum Donates Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Homebrew Equipment to ARRL
The Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut (VRCMCT)
has donated equipment designed by former ARRL staffer Doug Demaw, W1FB
(SK), to ARRL Headquarters for exhibit. One of the most widely
published technical writers in Amateur Radio, DeMaw -- who earlier
held the call signs W1CER and W8HHS -- was on the HQ staff for 18
years, from 1965 to 1983, and he served as Senior Technical Editor and
Technical Department Manager from 1970 to 1983. Beginning in 1970, he
engineered a shift in emphasis toward solid-state design in QST and in
The ARRL Handbook. After retiring in 1983, DeMaw founded Oak Hills
Research, but he continued to write construction articles for QST as
well as books, including W1FB's QRP Notebook and W1FB's Antenna
Notebook.
ARRL Lab volunteer Pete Turbide, W1PT, spiffs up a DeMaw receiver that
was featured in the article "More Receiver Design Notes," in the June
1974 issue of QST.
"The ARRL has a significant collection of Amateur Radio-related
historical documents and equipment," said ARRL Senior Test Engineer,
Bob Allison, WB1GCM. "Besides the 'Evolution of Amateur Radio
Equipment' exhibit at the Lab, we have a 'Made in the Lab' exhibit.
Doug DeMaw and his Lab staff built equipment that many radio amateurs
duplicated at home. They are an important part of the history of
Amateur Radio and ARRL."
It's still unclear just how the museum ended up with its collection of
DeMaw project prototypes. With the exception of his famous "Tuna Tin"
QRP transmitter, which was detailed in the May 1976 issue of QST and
also appeared on its cover, DeMaw retained his projects after the
articles about them had been published, in line with the HQ custom of
that era. When DeMaw died in 1997, though, the whereabouts of many of
his construction projects was unknown. Recently, Allison spotted
something that looked familiar in a box of parts at the VRCMCT.
Allison, who is a museum board member and ARRL historical collection
curator, instantly recognized a receiver that DeMaw had featured in a
series of articles.
After some digging, more boxes containing other DeMaw construction
projects were discovered. Apparently, an anonymous donor at some point
had dropped off the items, some bearing Oak Hills Research stickers,
at the museum. During an impromptu meeting conducted by Museum
Director John Ellsworth, the museum board -- all ARRL members --
agreed that DeMaw's work belonged at ARRL Headquarters.
"We're in the preservation business too," said Ellsworth. "We're glad
to make this donation to ARRL, which will preserve and display DeMaw's
work." Read more.
Ham Radio Volunteers Support Oklahoma Freewheel Bicycle Ride
A small group of Amateur Radio operators and volunteers supported the
Oklahoma Freewheel -- a cross-state bicycle tour -- June 7-13. Kenneth
Baucum, KG5CBM, led the Amateur Radio contingent.
"This year, Freewheel started in Hollis, Oklahoma, and finished in
Fort Smith, Arkansas," Baucum said. "Bicyclists completed a tour of
about 500 miles in 7 days, completing an average of 65 miles each
day." He said some of those in the ham radio contingent are also ARES
volunteers.
Baucum said SAG support driver responsibilities included carrying
water to replenish rest stops and rider water bottles on the route, as
well as having spare tubes and tire pumps on hand to fix flat tires.
"Cyclists would request support by flagging down a support vehicle, or
calling the support number," he said. Baucum then would relay
messages, as appropriate, to the driver nearest the incident.
"Common issues included flat tires, slipped chains, and shifters
needing adjustment," Baucum said. "A few calls for medical support
were handled by providing first aid, water, and shade or air
conditioning for riders in distress."
Oklahoma Freewheel expressed its appreciation to the radio amateurs
who volunteered and to for the support of local radio clubs and the
use of their repeaters. Read more. -- Thanks to Kenneth Baucum,
KG5CBM, and Lloyd Colston, KC5FM
Ad
Friedrichshafen HAM RADIO 2015 Hosts International Youth Gathering
The just-ended HAM RADIO 2015 in Friedrichshafen, Germany hosted an
international gathering of Amateur Radio youth. HAM RADIO sponsors
reported that more than 17,000 visitors attended the combined HAM
RADIO and the Maker World 2015 events -- about the same as in 2014.
HAM RADIO celebrated its 40th year this year and attracted visitors
from around the world to the shores of Lake Constance.
"HAM RADIO 2015 went really well," said Steffen Schöppe, DL7ATE,
chairman of the German Amateur Radio Club (DARC), which co-sponsored
HAM RADIO and marked its 65th anniversary this year. "It met our
expectations in every way. We are very pleased with the supporting
program, such as teacher training, the Ham Rally, and the
presentations."
On Saturday, June 27, German Youth Coordinator Annette Coenen, DL6SAK,
and IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group Chair Lisa Leenders, PA2LS,
jointly hosted the International Youth Meeting. IARU Region 1 sponsors
a "Youngsters On The Air" (YOTA) program -- a 1-week summer youth
exchange program involving 75 youthful radio amateurs and prospective
hams from 22 countries -- held this year in Italy. Region 1 also
sponsors a YOTA Month program each December.
One main discussion topic concerned the difficulty of obtaining an
Amateur Radio license in some countries. Roadblocks cited included
fees, minimum age, exam locations and levels, and availability of
learning materials.
Presentations included the introduction of the new Youth Contest
Program in IARU Region 1, and the youth contesting initiative at 9A1A
and 9A1RBZ -- the "Amateur Radio in School" station of the Croatian DX
Club. An Amateur Radio course has been integrated into the elective
courses at the Technical School Rudera Boskovica in Croatia.
Marija, 9A7MSM, operated in a RTTY contest last August as 9A1RBZ.
Each year there is a beginner's class, and students who pass can
participate in 9A1RBZ activities. Since 2012, some 165 youngsters have
completed the class. Aspiring young contesters are paired with
experienced contesters at 9A1A. In 2014, nine youngsters joined the
world-class 9A1A team for the CQ World Wide RTTY contest. By this
year, 39 percent of the Croatian DX Club members were between the ages
of 16 and 19.
"Youngsters are not interested only in mobile and Internet
communications," the club concluded. "If you approach them in an
appropriate way, they are recognizing Amateur Radio as a very
interesting hobby." 9A1A will host an international youth contesting
team twice a year starting in 2016.
The IARU R1 Youth Contest Program plans to pair teams of about six
visiting young operators with about six home country operators at
well-known contest stations throughout Europe. It will get under way
this fall with a four-contest 2015-2016 schedule.
Several PowerPoint and synchronized-audio keynote lectures from HAM
RADIO 2015 are available on the Documentary Archive website.
Pioneering Remote Multi-Multi K4VV Contesting Station Closes, But
Project Continues
Due to health issues facing Jack Hammett, K4VV, the Virginia
mountaintop station bearing his call sign that pioneered totally
remote multioperator, multitransmitter (MM) contesting, has been shut
down. The equipment is being dismantled and sold off. The K4VV remote
multi-multi contest station project team won't be disbanding, however.
Instead, it will transition from "Team K4VV" to "Team W0YR," operating
from another Virginia station some 18 miles from the K4VV site, said
Mike Lonneke, W0YR.
No operators needed: An older photo from the now-dismantled K4VV MM
contest station in Virginia.
"This past winter's brutal conditions caused serious damage to
antennas on three of the towers at the big K4VV contest station,
sitting atop Virginia's Catoctin Ridge," Lonneke told ARRL. He said
Hammett, a veteran contester, had built K4VV into a contest
superstation, but more recent health problems had prevented him from
being actively involved in the station's activities. The 20-member
Team K4VV has been operating Hammett's station for the past 5 years at
his invitation, and the contest enthusiasts turned K4VV into the first
completely remote MM contesting superstation.
With no operators in the K4VV shack, Team K4VV finished 10th in the
ARRL International DX SSB this past March, with a claimed score of 5.3
million points. At the end of March, the team managed an 11th place
claimed finish in the CQ World Wide WPX SSB, operating as AC3U,
racking up 14.3 million points.
Bill Schwartz, K3WI, prepares to do some dumpster diving as the K4VV
shack and storage barn are cleaned out. The huge contest station
closed in June. [Mike Lonneke, W0YR, photo]
"Then, things came apart," Lonneke said. "The drive mechanism on
K4VV's Super Bertha failed, boom guys on the top four element 40 meter
OWA Yagi worked loose and hung down, endangering other antennas, and
several other serious problems came to light." He said Team K4VV
members were ready to carry out the repairs, but when Lonneke
approached Hammett to have the work done, he learned that, in view of
Hammett's worsening health, his family had decided to close the
station.
With its new name and renewed spirit, Team W0YR has begun planning to
resume its totally remote MM contesting activities in earnest this
September. W0YR recently took delivery of a new, additional tower. In
June, Lonneke upgraded his station's vital Internet connection to
equal the data throughput speeds that had been available at K4VV.
"The team is getting ready to work the IARU HF World Champsionship in
order to 'wring out' any faults," Lonneke told ARRL this week. "Even
though there is no MM category in the IARU, we will run MM and turn in
a checklog." Read more. -- Thanks to Mike Lonneke, W0YR
Ad
UK Government Holds Up Export of Early Amateur Radio-Related TV
Archive
Most encyclopedias say that the first transatlantic television
transmissions took place via the Telstar I satellite in 1962, but TV
images actually crossed the Atlantic in the late 1920s via an Amateur
Radio transmitter, according to historical accounts. An archive of
documents and other material related to that event from television
pioneer John Logie Baird and his colleague Benjamin Clapp, [G]2KZ,
The Baird-Clapp TV archive includes a manual telegraph key.
is at risk of being exported, and the government doesn't want to see
it leave Britain. Clapp's 2 kW transmitter was used to send the crude
images to a receiving station near New York City, and the archive
includes some of his Amateur Radio logbooks as well as a hand
telegraph key. UK Culture Minister John Vaizey has declined to issue
an export license in an effort to prevent the historic archive from
leaving the UK.
According to a UK government statement, Baird -- a Scottish engineer
-- and Clapp first transmitted the television images over telephone
lines from Baird's laboratory in London to Clapp's house in Surrey.
From there, Clapp's transmitter, identified by his Amateur Radio call
sign, was used to send the images across the Atlantic, where Clapp was
among those on hand in Hartsdale, New York, to receive them.
"Man's vision had spanned the ocean; transatlantic television was a
demonstrated reality, and one more great dream of science was on the
way to realization," said a February 9, 1928, account in The New York
Times that cited an Associated Press reporter who witnessed the
accomplishment. The Times article listed the operator of the "vision
sound" receiving station as R.M. Hart, 2CVJ. The Times put Baird's
feat on a par with Marconi's legendary transatlantic reception of the
Morse code letter "s" many years earlier.
n to the air for a few hours on July 13 UTC (July 12 in US
time zones) along with some US Coast Guard stations. The event
commemorates the days when coast station and shipboard radio operators
transmitted their message traffic via Morse code. A pair of Amateur
Radio stations -- K6KPH and W4WLO -- will be active on CW as well, and
QSL cards will be sent to those who copy the text of the maritime
stations' CW signals or work the ham stations. The coast stations shut
down in the late 1990s, but the MRHS has resurrected KPH and attempts
to preserve the history of the era.
AMSAT 2015 Symposium Invites Papers: AMSAT has issued the first call
for papers for its Annual Meeting and Space Symposium, set for October
16-18 in Dayton, Ohio. Proposals for papers, symposium presentations
and poster presentations are invited on any topic of interest to the
amateur satellite community. AMSAT requests a tentative title no later
than August 1. Final copy must be submitted by September 15 for
inclusion in the printed proceedings. Abstracts and papers should be
sent to Dan Schultz, N8FGV. The 2015 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual
Meeting will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Dayton. --
Thanks to AMSAT News Service
International DX Association Encourages Humanitarian Dimension to
DXpeditions: The International DX Association (INDEXA) has announced
that it intends to make additional funding available to DXpedition
groups that carry out pre-approved plans to provide humanitarian aid
and services that benefit the communities they visit. The incentive
can be as much as an additional 15 percent to any financial support
INDEXA offers the DXpedition. "INDEXA believes that many of the
DXpeditions we support have a unique opportunity to perform
humanitarian activities which will improve the lives of those
indigenous people and communities they encounter on a DXpedition,"
INDEXA said in a June 29 news release. "Humanitarian activities come
in a variety of forms including education, medical, and dental
assistance, infrastructure improvements, and physical donations of
goods and other services." INDEXA said there are many ways a
DXpedition team or individual team members could "positively impact
the lives of the people of the community or country the DXpedition
team is visiting." -- Thanks to The Daily DX
The K7RA Solar Update
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Solar activity perked up over the
July 2-8 period, with average daily sunspot numbers increasing from
35.9 to 109.1, compared to the previous 7 days. Likewise, average
daily solar flux increased from 100.7 to 123.2. Daily sunspot numbers
were below 100 for June 16-July 3, bottoming out at 25 on June 27.
A moderate geomagnetic storm July 4-5 was caused by a solar wind
stream. The mid-latitude A index from Fredericksburg, Virginia, for
July 4-6 was 21, 16, and 9. The planetary A index, based on
observations from a number of Northern Hemisphere magnetometers, was
19, 25, and 10 for the same days, and the college A index from
Fairbanks, Alaska was 13, 31, and 18. The July 8 outlook predicted
solar flux over the following 7 days at 121.1.
You can check how the daily 45-day forecast of solar flux has done
historically. Click "Download this file."
The latest prediction has solar flux at 125 for July 9-11; 122 on July
12; 120 on July 13, 115 on July 14-15; 125 on July 16; 130 on July
17-18; then 125, 115, 110, and 105 for July 19-22, then 100 on July
23-26; 105, 110, and 112 for July 27-29; 115 for July 30-31; 120 on
August 1, and 125 on August 2-4. Solar flux then peaks at 130 for
August 10-14, then goes to 100 after August 18.
The planetary A index predictions are 5, 12, 25, and 20 for July 9-12;
8 on July 13-14; 5 on July 15-17; 8 on July 18-19; 5 for July 20-25; 8
on July 26, 5 for July 27-30; then 18, 25, and 12 for July 31-August
2; 5 for August 3-5; then 20 and 25 on August 6-7; 8 on August 8-9,
and 5 for August 10-13.
For the near term, USAF and NOAA predict the geomagnetic field at
quiet levels on July 9, quiet to active levels July 10, and unsettled
to minor storm levels on day July 11.
In Friday's bulletin look for reports from readers, 6 meter updates,
and updated forecasts. Send me your reports and observations.
Just Ahead in Radiosport
July 11 -- FISTS Summer Sprint
July 11-12 -- IARU HF World Championship (CW, SSB)
July 11-12 -- SKCC Weekend Sprintathon
July 12 -- CQC Great Colorado Gold Rush (CW)
July 15 -- RSGB 80 Meter Club Championship (SSB)
July 15-16 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test
July 16 -- NAQCC CW Sprint
July 17 -- NCCC RTTY Sprint
July 17 -- NCCC Sprint
See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information.
Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events
July 10-11 -- Northern Florida Section Convention, Milton, Florida
July 13-16 -- Mobile Amateur Radio Awards Club Convention, The
Villages, Florida
July 17-19 -- Montana State Convention, East Glacier, Montana
July 23-26 -- Central States VHF Society Conference, Westminster,
Colorado
July 24-25 -- Oklahoma Section Convention, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
July 31-August 2 -- Rocky Mountain Division Convention, Bryce Canyon,
Utah
August 1 -- Great Lakes Division Convention, Columbus, Ohio
August 7-8 -- South Texas Section Convention, Austin, Texas
August 7-9 -- New Mexico State Convention, Albuquerque, New Mexico
August 7-9 -- Pacific Northwest DX Convention, Everett, Washington
August 15-16 -- Alabama State Convention, Huntsville, Alabama
August 16 -- Kansas State Convention, Salina, Kansas
August 21-23 -- New England Division Convention, Boxborough,
Massachusetts
August 22 -- West Virginia State Convention, Weston, West Virginia
August 30 -- Western Pennsylvania Section Convention, New Kensington,
Pennsylvania
September 5-6 -- Roanoke Division Convention, Shelby, North Carolina
September 11-12 -- W9DXCC, Schaumburg, Illinois
September 11-13 -- Southwestern Division Convention, Torrance,
California
September 12 -- Virginia Section Convention, Virginia Beach, Virginia
September 26 -- Washington State Convention, Spokane Valley,
Washington
Find conventions and hamfests in your area.
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