http://ral.org.lb/forum/ Thu, 17 May 2012 13:48:08 +0000 MyBB http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=133 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 10:13:45 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=133 73s, OD5NH,Puzant
od5nh@hotmail.com]]> 73s, OD5NH,Puzant
od5nh@hotmail.com]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=132 Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:15:22 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=132 Just to inform you that I have won the Spanish International EA8 Contest as the first place of course and won full paid package 5 in Spain and 5 days in Canary island (La Palma Isla Bonita)
I will be traveling next week and I hope to hear you from Spain I will be on air as OD5NJ/EA5 and OD5NJ/EA8
NB: Sometimes I seek for special contests who offered such prizes and do a high effort to win.hi hi Tango mango go ahead ...

73' OD5NJ

Gabriel A Mardiros P.O.Box 70647 Antelias - LEBANON
http://www.qsl.net/od5nj]]> Just to inform you that I have won the Spanish International EA8 Contest as the first place of course and won full paid package 5 in Spain and 5 days in Canary island (La Palma Isla Bonita)
I will be traveling next week and I hope to hear you from Spain I will be on air as OD5NJ/EA5 and OD5NJ/EA8
NB: Sometimes I seek for special contests who offered such prizes and do a high effort to win.hi hi Tango mango go ahead ...

73' OD5NJ

Gabriel A Mardiros P.O.Box 70647 Antelias - LEBANON
http://www.qsl.net/od5nj]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=131 Fri, 10 Jun 2011 10:17:37 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=131 + Public Service: ARRL, SATERN Team Up to Assist in Joplin
+ ARRL Field Day: It's Not Too Late to Prepare for Field Day
+ 2010 ARRL Annual Report Now Available
WRC-12: US Proposes WRC-12 Allocations for HF Radars
+ Check Out the July Issue of QST
+ FCC News: FCC Takes Strong Stance Against Radio Jamming, Issues $24,000 Fine to California Man
+ FCC News: FCC Seeks Comments on Terminating Certain Docketed Proceedings
+ On the Air: ARRL VHF/UHF Advisory Committee Seeks Input
+ On the Air: New Russian Prefix System in Use
+ Changing of the Guard: Gene Zimmerman, W3ZZ, to Retire from "The World Above 50 MHz"
Solar Update
There's Still Time to Enter the 2011 ARRL Photo Contest!
DXCC Desk Approves Current VK0KEV Macquarie Island DXpedition
This Week on the Radio
Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News

Follow the 2011 ARRL National Convention on Facebook and Twitter

If you can't make it to the 2011 ARRL National Convention -- held in conjunction with Ham-Com in Plano, Texas June 10-11 -- you can follow all the activities on Facebook and Twitter. Photos will be posted to the ARRL's Facebook page throughout the Convention, while the ARRL EXPO Twitter account will carry live tweets. Discover more about the 2011 ARRL National Convention here.

+ Public Service: ARRL, SATERN Team Up to Assist in Joplin

After the devastating EF5 tornado that swept through Joplin, Missouri last month, radio amateurs responded to assist with providing support in multiple ways. On Friday, June 3, the Salvation Army -- which has a Memorandum of Understanding with the ARRL -- contacted the ARRL, seeking the League's assistance to provide hams who could help support the agency's work in Joplin. More than 50 Amateur Radio operators responded to the request to help the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) supply logistical support to the affected areas. Just two days later, all personnel needs had been met. These hams helped to relay information back to the Salvation Army's Joplin headquarters about inventory, requests for food and drink and maintenance problems. Both the ARRL and SATERN greatly appreciate the response from the amateur community.

+ ARRL Field Day: It's Not Too Late to Prepare for Field Day

Now is the time to start getting information out to the public about your ARRL Field Day activities. ARRL Field Day -- the largest on-the-air operating event -- is the one of the best opportunities of the year for showing our Amateur Radio capabilities to the public. ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, notes that the ARRL has made many media materials available for local use. "Our visibility to the public is important in antenna, band preservation and texting issues, so we encourage you to use this opportunity to showcase what Amateur Radio can do," he said. Download an audio PSA that can air on your local radio stations here. Get a press release, a government proclamation template and invitation letters that you can use to invite your local officials to your Field Day site here. Find high-definition video files suitable for airing on your local television stations here. Get more information on ARRL Field Day, including the 2011 ARRL Field Day logo and operating tips here. More info, the logo and tips are here. Find a Field Day station near you here. ARRL Field Day is June 25-26.

+ 2010 ARRL Annual Report Now Available

The ARRL Annual Report for 2010 -- now available online and in print -- reviews the major events of the year and documents the renewed growth of both the ARRL and the activities of the Amateur Radio Service. For the fourth consecutive year, ARRL membership grew -- totaling 156,475 members at year end. In his introduction, ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, noted numerous challenges facing the ARRL. "But we also have great strengths," he explained, "and if we harness them effectively over the next few years, the ARRL and Amateur Radio will be well positioned for a bright second century -- at least as bright as their first." Read more here.


WRC-12: US Proposes WRC-12 Allocations for HF Radars
The ARRL and its partners in the IARU have been involved in the preparations for several items on the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12) agenda. Agenda item 1.15 is "to consider possible allocations in the range 3-50 MHz to the radiolocation service for oceanographic radar applications." Such radars have been in operation in coastal areas for many years, typically under experimental licenses.


Based on protection requirements for the Amateur Service that the IARU had arranged to be included in ITU documentation, the Conference Preparatory Meeting (CPM) Report for WRC-12 that was adopted in February concluded that sharing between oceanographic radars and the Amateur Service "seems to be difficult." Sharing studies, therefore, focused on in-band compatibility in the bands used only by the fixed and/or land mobile services. The CPM Report offers three methods of satisfying the agenda item through various combinations of primary and secondary allocations, with the objective of satisfying the operational need for safety systems (e.g. for the detection of tsunamis) and providing for the operation of other systems while protecting other allocated services from harmful interference. Read more here.

+ Check Out the July Issue of QST
The July issue of QST is jam-packed with all sorts of things that today's Amateur Radio operator needs. From product reviews to experiments to contesting, this issue of QST has something for just about everyone.


Radio amateurs who were active in the 1950s through the 1970s have most likely built a radio from a kit. But even 60 years later, hams can experience the fun that goes hand-in-hand with kit building. In his article "Electronic Kits Still in the Picture," Mark A. Lacy, W5TXR, says that hams today can still have the thrill of building a radio from kits that incorporate today's technology. Hams know that sunspots and solar activity influence band conditions. But how can we use that information ? QST Technical Editor Joel Hallas, W1ZR, explains the daily sunspot number, solar radio flux and more in his article "Solar Indices -- What Do They Mean?"

Join John Reisenauer Jr, KL7JR, as he takes to Canada's Northwest Territories and the Yukon to heed the call of the wild -- and the unpredictable challenges of Amateur Radio -- in his article "The Call Sign of the Wild." In his article "After the 73s," QST Assistant Editor Steve Sant Andrea, AG1YK, relates that although ARRL's Logbook of The World has changed the way many hams verify a contact, others still rely on QSL cards. Hams across the country participated in the 2010 ARRL Simulated Emergency Test, giving served agencies and the news media a public demonstration of our capabilities. ARRL Field Organization Supervisor Steve Ewald, NV1X, presents the results of the SET in the July issue.


Take a look at the Kenwood TH-D72A dual band handheld transceiver (pictured), the Down East Microwave L222-28 1-1/4 meter transverter and theTennadyne T-28 VHF/UHF log periodic antenna, featured in the July 2011QST product review. Click here to go to the QST Multimedia page and scroll down to the Product Review video. Click the "Play" button to watch the video.

ARRL Contributing Editor Howard Robins, W1HSR, takes a look at the Kenwood TH-D72A dual band handheld transceiver in this month's Product Review. He says that this rig "seamlessly folds APRS operation and a packet TNC into a full featured, easy-to-use dual band handheld." ARRL Contributing Editor Ward Silver, N0AX, checks out the Down East Microwave L222-28 1¼ meter transverter. He says the transverter "is a fine solution for amateurs looking to expand station coverage to the 1.25 meter band. It can be adapted to interface with a variety of radios and receivers, and transmits well." Silver also test drove the Tennadyne T-28 VHF/UHF log periodic antenna. He says that this antenna "is ruggedly built and will get you on six amateur bands with some gain from a single feed line."

Jay Townsend, WS7I, delivers the results of the 2011 ARRL RTTY Roundup. This year, participants in 132 countries submitted almost 1600 logs containing half a million contacts. Ken Harker, WM5R, has the results of the 2010 ARRL 10 Meter Contest. For the first time ever in this contest, Mexican states counted as multipliers, with 26 of the 32 Mexican states on the air.

Of course, there are the usual columns you know and expect in the July QST: Happenings, Hints & Kinks, The Doctor Is IN, How's DX, Technical Correspondence, Vintage Radio and more. Look for your July issue in your mailbox. QST is the official journal of ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio. QST is just one of the many benefits of ARRL membership. To join or renew your ARRL membership, please see the ARRL Web page.

+ FCC News: FCC Takes Strong Stance Against Radio Jamming, Issues $24,000 Fine to California Man

On June 6, the FCC issued a Forfeiture Order in the amount of $24,000 against Kevin W. Bondy of Encino, California, for engaging in unlicensed radio operation and intentional interference to licensed radio operations and for refusing to allow an inspection of his radio equipment by FCC personnel. Bondy -- licensee of General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) Station WQGX752 -- is accused of repeatedly and intentionally jamming four land mobile frequencies assigned to The Oaks Shopping Center in Thousand Oaks, California.

In assessing the $24,000 fine, the FCC noted that it was responsible for making and enforcing regulations to prevent interference and to maintain control over the use of the radio spectrum in a manner that promotes the public interest and convenience. "Bondy's acts cut at the heart of the Commission's responsibilities to protect the nation's airwaves and regulate use of the spectrum," the Order said. "Bondy operated a radio without a license on the specific frequencies assigned and licensed by the Commission to The Oaks, for the explicit and expressed purpose of prohibiting The Oaks's use of its licensed frequencies. This type of conduct inhibits the Commission's ability to effectively regulate and maintain control over the use of the spectrum and will not be tolerated." Bondy has until July 6 to pay the fine.

+ FCC News: FCC Seeks Comments on Terminating Certain Docketed Proceedings
In a Public Notice (CG Docket No 11-99) released on June 3, the FCC's Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) is seeking comments on whether or not it should terminate approximately 800 docketed proceedings. There are numerous proceedings pertaining to Amateur Radio on the list. These proceedings -- some going back to 1991 -- include dockets where no further action is required or contemplated, as well as those in which no pleadings or other documents have been filed since December 31, 2004. The record in a terminated docket will remain a part of the FCC's official records; the various pleadings, orders and other documents in that docket will continue to be accessible to the public, post-termination. With this Public Notice, the CGB is seeking comment from interested parties on the possible termination of those proceedings. Comments will be accepted within 30 days after the Public Notice is published in the Federal Register; reply comments must be filed within 45 days after publication. As of June 7, a publication date has not been set. Instructions on how to file comments are listed beginning on page 2 of the Public Notice.


+ On the Air: ARRL VHF/UHF Advisory Committee Seeks Input
The ARRL would like to encourage more participation in its several VHF/UHF contests held each year. Many of the HF transceivers sold in recent years include 50 MHz, and some also include the 144 and 432 MHz bands with multi-mode capabilities. The question at hand is how can we encourage more owners of such radios to utilize these bands and modes to participate in VHF/UHF contests?

The ARRL VHF/UHF Advisory Committee (VUAC) has been asked to consider this question, and to make recommendations to encourage, explore and expand the ARRL VHF and UHF contests and other operating activities by using the multi-band and multi-mode capabilities of modern transceivers and related equipment.

The VUAC would like to ask the Amateur Radio community to provide their comments and ideas for consideration.

Please send any comments or ideas you have on this matter to your ARRL VUAC Division representative no later than July 1, 2011. A listing of each Division's VUAC representative can be found at http://www.arrl.org/arrl-staff-vuac-cac.

+ On the Air: New Russian Prefix System in Use
If you have been on the HF bands lately, you may have noticed that a number of new prefixes are in use by stations in the Russian Federation. Here is a summary of the changes recently adopted by the Russian telecommunication authorities. Thanks to SRR President Roman Thomas, R5AA (ex-RZ3AA) for the information.



Russian prefixes with the numeral 2 are no longer limited to Kaliningradsk. Stations with RA2 and UA2-UI2 (with F and K as the first letter in the suffix) are in Kaliningradsk; otherwise, these prefixes will used in European Russia.
Stations with the following prefixes are in European Russia: R1, RA1-RZ1 (except RI1 as noted below), R2, RB2-RZ2, R3-R7, RA3-RZ7, UA1 and UA3-UI7. Also, stations with the prefixes R8, R9, RA8-RZ9 and UA8-UI9 (with F, S, T, W or X as the first letter in the suffix) are in European Russia.
Except for those listed above, all stations with 8, 9 and 0 as the numeral are in Asiatic Russia.
Russian Antarctic stations use temporary call signs in the series RI1ANA-RI1ANZ and RI00ANT to RI99ANT.
Franz Jozef Land stations use temporary call signs RI1F, RI1FJ and RI1FJA-RI1FJZ.
Malyj Visotskij island stations use temporary call signs RI1M, RI1MV and RI1MVA-RI1MVZ.
+ Changing of the Guard: Gene Zimmerman, W3ZZ, to Retire from "The World Above 50 MHz"

The July 2011 issue of QST will be Zimmerman's last as author of "The World Above 50 MHz."

If you're a VHF+ fan, you probably read "The World Above 50 MHz," written by Gene Zimmerman, W3ZZ, of Gaithersburg, Maryland. For the last nine years, Zimmerman -- an ARRL Life Member -- has written this popular QST column, but the July 2011 issue will be his last. "When I accepted the duties of VHF Editor in 2002, I did so well knowing that my tenure would be circumscribed and likely not to exceed a decade in time," he wrote in his farewell column. "There are many reasons for this, most importantly that an individual begins to run out of new ideas after a given amount of time and that the position -- and the readership -- would benefit from fresh viewpoints." Beginning with the August 2011 issue of QST, Jon Jones, N0JK, of Wichita, Kansas, will take over the column. Read more here.

Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, June 9, 2011 from NASA's SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This image was taken at 304 Angstrom; the bright material is at 60,000 to 80,000 Kelvin.

Tad "Until the Sun went down" Cook, K7RA, reports: Although higher early in the reporting week, the average daily sunspot numbers declined more than 4 points to 85.7, while the average of daily solar flux numbers was down 1.5 points to 101.6. The predicted solar flux for the near term is 88 on June 9-15, and 90, 95, 95, 92, 92 and 92 on June 16-21. The solar flux is then expected to rise to a peak of 115 on June 28. The predicted planetary A index is 20, 25, 12, and 8 on June 9-12, then 5 on June 13-22, then peaking at 15 on June 24-25. Check out this link sent by Scott Bidstrup, TI3/W7RI, showing some fantastic HD videos of recent solar eruptions. Look for more information on the ARRL website on Friday, June 10. 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 Human League's (Keep Feeling) Fascination.


There's Still Time to Enter the 2011 ARRL Photo Contest!
Have you ever wanted to see a photo of yours in QST, the annual ARRL Amateur Radio Calendar or another ARRL publication? Well, here's your chance! If you're among the winners, not only will your photographic skill be propagated far and wide, but we're offering $100 as the First Prize. The winning photo and three runners-up will be published in QST. All submitted photos will also be considered for the 2012 ARRL Calendar.

Deadline: Photos must be received at ARRL HQ by June 30, 2011.
Subject: Must be directly related to Amateur Radio, and be in good taste. Extra points will be awarded for photos showing folks having fun with Amateur Radio. Photos will be judged on overall quality and composition.
Requirements: Digital images or color prints accepted. A digital image printed on photo paper, however, doesn't work as well as a high-resolution file attachment. Digital images should be high resolution. A digital image up to 8 MB in size can be e-mailed to upfront@arrl.org, subject line "2011 Photo Contest." An image may also be burned to a CD and mailed to ARRL Photo Contest, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. All entries must include caption information describing where the photo was taken, along with a description of the subject of the photo, as well as the names and call signs of any persons shown. If you entered last year's contest, please do not resend the same photo for this year's contest. One entry per person.
Miscellaneous: The decisions of the judges -- composed of QST editorial and production staff -- are final.
DXCC Desk Approves Current VK0KEV Macquarie Island DXpedition

ARRL DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, reports that the current VK0KEV DXpedition to Macquarie Island has been approved for DXCC credit. "If you had cards that were recently rejected for this operation, please send an e-mail to the ARRL DXCC Desk," Moore said. "Please note that due to extremely heavy e-mail, DXCC staff may not respond to your message. Once your record is updated, results will appear in Logbook of The World (LoTW) accounts or in the live, daily DXCC Standings."

This Week on the Radio
This week:

June 10 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
June 11 -- Portugal Day Contest; Asia-Pacific Sprint (SSB)
June 11-12 -- DRCG Long Distance Contest (RTTY), VK Shires Contest; CWops Mini-CWT Test; GACW WWSA CW DX Contest; REF DDFM 6 Meter Contest
June 11-13 -- ARRL June VHF QSO Party
June 12 -- SKCC Weekend Sprint
June 15 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint
Next week:

June 17 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
June 18 -- Feld Hell Sprint; AGCW VHF/UHF Contest
June 18-19 -- West Virginia QSO Party; Stew Perry Topband Challenge; All Asian DX Contest (CW); SMIRK Contest
June 19 -- WAB 50 MHz Phone Contest
June 20 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest
June 22 -- SKCC Sprint; NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint
June 22-23 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test
All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest Branch page, the ARRL Contest Update and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar for more information. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the ARRL Special Event Stations Web page.

Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
June 10-11 -- ARRL National Convention, Plano, Texas
June 11 -- ARRL Tennessee State Convention, Knoxville, Tennessee
July 2 -- ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania Section Convention, Marysville, Pennsylvania
July 15-17 -- ARRL Montana State Convention, Essex, Montana
July 29-30 -- ARRL Oklahoma State Convention, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]]> + Public Service: ARRL, SATERN Team Up to Assist in Joplin
+ ARRL Field Day: It's Not Too Late to Prepare for Field Day
+ 2010 ARRL Annual Report Now Available
WRC-12: US Proposes WRC-12 Allocations for HF Radars
+ Check Out the July Issue of QST
+ FCC News: FCC Takes Strong Stance Against Radio Jamming, Issues $24,000 Fine to California Man
+ FCC News: FCC Seeks Comments on Terminating Certain Docketed Proceedings
+ On the Air: ARRL VHF/UHF Advisory Committee Seeks Input
+ On the Air: New Russian Prefix System in Use
+ Changing of the Guard: Gene Zimmerman, W3ZZ, to Retire from "The World Above 50 MHz"
Solar Update
There's Still Time to Enter the 2011 ARRL Photo Contest!
DXCC Desk Approves Current VK0KEV Macquarie Island DXpedition
This Week on the Radio
Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News

Follow the 2011 ARRL National Convention on Facebook and Twitter

If you can't make it to the 2011 ARRL National Convention -- held in conjunction with Ham-Com in Plano, Texas June 10-11 -- you can follow all the activities on Facebook and Twitter. Photos will be posted to the ARRL's Facebook page throughout the Convention, while the ARRL EXPO Twitter account will carry live tweets. Discover more about the 2011 ARRL National Convention here.

+ Public Service: ARRL, SATERN Team Up to Assist in Joplin

After the devastating EF5 tornado that swept through Joplin, Missouri last month, radio amateurs responded to assist with providing support in multiple ways. On Friday, June 3, the Salvation Army -- which has a Memorandum of Understanding with the ARRL -- contacted the ARRL, seeking the League's assistance to provide hams who could help support the agency's work in Joplin. More than 50 Amateur Radio operators responded to the request to help the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) supply logistical support to the affected areas. Just two days later, all personnel needs had been met. These hams helped to relay information back to the Salvation Army's Joplin headquarters about inventory, requests for food and drink and maintenance problems. Both the ARRL and SATERN greatly appreciate the response from the amateur community.

+ ARRL Field Day: It's Not Too Late to Prepare for Field Day

Now is the time to start getting information out to the public about your ARRL Field Day activities. ARRL Field Day -- the largest on-the-air operating event -- is the one of the best opportunities of the year for showing our Amateur Radio capabilities to the public. ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, notes that the ARRL has made many media materials available for local use. "Our visibility to the public is important in antenna, band preservation and texting issues, so we encourage you to use this opportunity to showcase what Amateur Radio can do," he said. Download an audio PSA that can air on your local radio stations here. Get a press release, a government proclamation template and invitation letters that you can use to invite your local officials to your Field Day site here. Find high-definition video files suitable for airing on your local television stations here. Get more information on ARRL Field Day, including the 2011 ARRL Field Day logo and operating tips here. More info, the logo and tips are here. Find a Field Day station near you here. ARRL Field Day is June 25-26.

+ 2010 ARRL Annual Report Now Available

The ARRL Annual Report for 2010 -- now available online and in print -- reviews the major events of the year and documents the renewed growth of both the ARRL and the activities of the Amateur Radio Service. For the fourth consecutive year, ARRL membership grew -- totaling 156,475 members at year end. In his introduction, ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, noted numerous challenges facing the ARRL. "But we also have great strengths," he explained, "and if we harness them effectively over the next few years, the ARRL and Amateur Radio will be well positioned for a bright second century -- at least as bright as their first." Read more here.


WRC-12: US Proposes WRC-12 Allocations for HF Radars
The ARRL and its partners in the IARU have been involved in the preparations for several items on the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12) agenda. Agenda item 1.15 is "to consider possible allocations in the range 3-50 MHz to the radiolocation service for oceanographic radar applications." Such radars have been in operation in coastal areas for many years, typically under experimental licenses.


Based on protection requirements for the Amateur Service that the IARU had arranged to be included in ITU documentation, the Conference Preparatory Meeting (CPM) Report for WRC-12 that was adopted in February concluded that sharing between oceanographic radars and the Amateur Service "seems to be difficult." Sharing studies, therefore, focused on in-band compatibility in the bands used only by the fixed and/or land mobile services. The CPM Report offers three methods of satisfying the agenda item through various combinations of primary and secondary allocations, with the objective of satisfying the operational need for safety systems (e.g. for the detection of tsunamis) and providing for the operation of other systems while protecting other allocated services from harmful interference. Read more here.

+ Check Out the July Issue of QST
The July issue of QST is jam-packed with all sorts of things that today's Amateur Radio operator needs. From product reviews to experiments to contesting, this issue of QST has something for just about everyone.


Radio amateurs who were active in the 1950s through the 1970s have most likely built a radio from a kit. But even 60 years later, hams can experience the fun that goes hand-in-hand with kit building. In his article "Electronic Kits Still in the Picture," Mark A. Lacy, W5TXR, says that hams today can still have the thrill of building a radio from kits that incorporate today's technology. Hams know that sunspots and solar activity influence band conditions. But how can we use that information ? QST Technical Editor Joel Hallas, W1ZR, explains the daily sunspot number, solar radio flux and more in his article "Solar Indices -- What Do They Mean?"

Join John Reisenauer Jr, KL7JR, as he takes to Canada's Northwest Territories and the Yukon to heed the call of the wild -- and the unpredictable challenges of Amateur Radio -- in his article "The Call Sign of the Wild." In his article "After the 73s," QST Assistant Editor Steve Sant Andrea, AG1YK, relates that although ARRL's Logbook of The World has changed the way many hams verify a contact, others still rely on QSL cards. Hams across the country participated in the 2010 ARRL Simulated Emergency Test, giving served agencies and the news media a public demonstration of our capabilities. ARRL Field Organization Supervisor Steve Ewald, NV1X, presents the results of the SET in the July issue.


Take a look at the Kenwood TH-D72A dual band handheld transceiver (pictured), the Down East Microwave L222-28 1-1/4 meter transverter and theTennadyne T-28 VHF/UHF log periodic antenna, featured in the July 2011QST product review. Click here to go to the QST Multimedia page and scroll down to the Product Review video. Click the "Play" button to watch the video.

ARRL Contributing Editor Howard Robins, W1HSR, takes a look at the Kenwood TH-D72A dual band handheld transceiver in this month's Product Review. He says that this rig "seamlessly folds APRS operation and a packet TNC into a full featured, easy-to-use dual band handheld." ARRL Contributing Editor Ward Silver, N0AX, checks out the Down East Microwave L222-28 1¼ meter transverter. He says the transverter "is a fine solution for amateurs looking to expand station coverage to the 1.25 meter band. It can be adapted to interface with a variety of radios and receivers, and transmits well." Silver also test drove the Tennadyne T-28 VHF/UHF log periodic antenna. He says that this antenna "is ruggedly built and will get you on six amateur bands with some gain from a single feed line."

Jay Townsend, WS7I, delivers the results of the 2011 ARRL RTTY Roundup. This year, participants in 132 countries submitted almost 1600 logs containing half a million contacts. Ken Harker, WM5R, has the results of the 2010 ARRL 10 Meter Contest. For the first time ever in this contest, Mexican states counted as multipliers, with 26 of the 32 Mexican states on the air.

Of course, there are the usual columns you know and expect in the July QST: Happenings, Hints & Kinks, The Doctor Is IN, How's DX, Technical Correspondence, Vintage Radio and more. Look for your July issue in your mailbox. QST is the official journal of ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio. QST is just one of the many benefits of ARRL membership. To join or renew your ARRL membership, please see the ARRL Web page.

+ FCC News: FCC Takes Strong Stance Against Radio Jamming, Issues $24,000 Fine to California Man

On June 6, the FCC issued a Forfeiture Order in the amount of $24,000 against Kevin W. Bondy of Encino, California, for engaging in unlicensed radio operation and intentional interference to licensed radio operations and for refusing to allow an inspection of his radio equipment by FCC personnel. Bondy -- licensee of General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) Station WQGX752 -- is accused of repeatedly and intentionally jamming four land mobile frequencies assigned to The Oaks Shopping Center in Thousand Oaks, California.

In assessing the $24,000 fine, the FCC noted that it was responsible for making and enforcing regulations to prevent interference and to maintain control over the use of the radio spectrum in a manner that promotes the public interest and convenience. "Bondy's acts cut at the heart of the Commission's responsibilities to protect the nation's airwaves and regulate use of the spectrum," the Order said. "Bondy operated a radio without a license on the specific frequencies assigned and licensed by the Commission to The Oaks, for the explicit and expressed purpose of prohibiting The Oaks's use of its licensed frequencies. This type of conduct inhibits the Commission's ability to effectively regulate and maintain control over the use of the spectrum and will not be tolerated." Bondy has until July 6 to pay the fine.

+ FCC News: FCC Seeks Comments on Terminating Certain Docketed Proceedings
In a Public Notice (CG Docket No 11-99) released on June 3, the FCC's Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) is seeking comments on whether or not it should terminate approximately 800 docketed proceedings. There are numerous proceedings pertaining to Amateur Radio on the list. These proceedings -- some going back to 1991 -- include dockets where no further action is required or contemplated, as well as those in which no pleadings or other documents have been filed since December 31, 2004. The record in a terminated docket will remain a part of the FCC's official records; the various pleadings, orders and other documents in that docket will continue to be accessible to the public, post-termination. With this Public Notice, the CGB is seeking comment from interested parties on the possible termination of those proceedings. Comments will be accepted within 30 days after the Public Notice is published in the Federal Register; reply comments must be filed within 45 days after publication. As of June 7, a publication date has not been set. Instructions on how to file comments are listed beginning on page 2 of the Public Notice.


+ On the Air: ARRL VHF/UHF Advisory Committee Seeks Input
The ARRL would like to encourage more participation in its several VHF/UHF contests held each year. Many of the HF transceivers sold in recent years include 50 MHz, and some also include the 144 and 432 MHz bands with multi-mode capabilities. The question at hand is how can we encourage more owners of such radios to utilize these bands and modes to participate in VHF/UHF contests?

The ARRL VHF/UHF Advisory Committee (VUAC) has been asked to consider this question, and to make recommendations to encourage, explore and expand the ARRL VHF and UHF contests and other operating activities by using the multi-band and multi-mode capabilities of modern transceivers and related equipment.

The VUAC would like to ask the Amateur Radio community to provide their comments and ideas for consideration.

Please send any comments or ideas you have on this matter to your ARRL VUAC Division representative no later than July 1, 2011. A listing of each Division's VUAC representative can be found at http://www.arrl.org/arrl-staff-vuac-cac.

+ On the Air: New Russian Prefix System in Use
If you have been on the HF bands lately, you may have noticed that a number of new prefixes are in use by stations in the Russian Federation. Here is a summary of the changes recently adopted by the Russian telecommunication authorities. Thanks to SRR President Roman Thomas, R5AA (ex-RZ3AA) for the information.



Russian prefixes with the numeral 2 are no longer limited to Kaliningradsk. Stations with RA2 and UA2-UI2 (with F and K as the first letter in the suffix) are in Kaliningradsk; otherwise, these prefixes will used in European Russia.
Stations with the following prefixes are in European Russia: R1, RA1-RZ1 (except RI1 as noted below), R2, RB2-RZ2, R3-R7, RA3-RZ7, UA1 and UA3-UI7. Also, stations with the prefixes R8, R9, RA8-RZ9 and UA8-UI9 (with F, S, T, W or X as the first letter in the suffix) are in European Russia.
Except for those listed above, all stations with 8, 9 and 0 as the numeral are in Asiatic Russia.
Russian Antarctic stations use temporary call signs in the series RI1ANA-RI1ANZ and RI00ANT to RI99ANT.
Franz Jozef Land stations use temporary call signs RI1F, RI1FJ and RI1FJA-RI1FJZ.
Malyj Visotskij island stations use temporary call signs RI1M, RI1MV and RI1MVA-RI1MVZ.
+ Changing of the Guard: Gene Zimmerman, W3ZZ, to Retire from "The World Above 50 MHz"

The July 2011 issue of QST will be Zimmerman's last as author of "The World Above 50 MHz."

If you're a VHF+ fan, you probably read "The World Above 50 MHz," written by Gene Zimmerman, W3ZZ, of Gaithersburg, Maryland. For the last nine years, Zimmerman -- an ARRL Life Member -- has written this popular QST column, but the July 2011 issue will be his last. "When I accepted the duties of VHF Editor in 2002, I did so well knowing that my tenure would be circumscribed and likely not to exceed a decade in time," he wrote in his farewell column. "There are many reasons for this, most importantly that an individual begins to run out of new ideas after a given amount of time and that the position -- and the readership -- would benefit from fresh viewpoints." Beginning with the August 2011 issue of QST, Jon Jones, N0JK, of Wichita, Kansas, will take over the column. Read more here.

Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, June 9, 2011 from NASA's SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This image was taken at 304 Angstrom; the bright material is at 60,000 to 80,000 Kelvin.

Tad "Until the Sun went down" Cook, K7RA, reports: Although higher early in the reporting week, the average daily sunspot numbers declined more than 4 points to 85.7, while the average of daily solar flux numbers was down 1.5 points to 101.6. The predicted solar flux for the near term is 88 on June 9-15, and 90, 95, 95, 92, 92 and 92 on June 16-21. The solar flux is then expected to rise to a peak of 115 on June 28. The predicted planetary A index is 20, 25, 12, and 8 on June 9-12, then 5 on June 13-22, then peaking at 15 on June 24-25. Check out this link sent by Scott Bidstrup, TI3/W7RI, showing some fantastic HD videos of recent solar eruptions. Look for more information on the ARRL website on Friday, June 10. 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 Human League's (Keep Feeling) Fascination.


There's Still Time to Enter the 2011 ARRL Photo Contest!
Have you ever wanted to see a photo of yours in QST, the annual ARRL Amateur Radio Calendar or another ARRL publication? Well, here's your chance! If you're among the winners, not only will your photographic skill be propagated far and wide, but we're offering $100 as the First Prize. The winning photo and three runners-up will be published in QST. All submitted photos will also be considered for the 2012 ARRL Calendar.

Deadline: Photos must be received at ARRL HQ by June 30, 2011.
Subject: Must be directly related to Amateur Radio, and be in good taste. Extra points will be awarded for photos showing folks having fun with Amateur Radio. Photos will be judged on overall quality and composition.
Requirements: Digital images or color prints accepted. A digital image printed on photo paper, however, doesn't work as well as a high-resolution file attachment. Digital images should be high resolution. A digital image up to 8 MB in size can be e-mailed to upfront@arrl.org, subject line "2011 Photo Contest." An image may also be burned to a CD and mailed to ARRL Photo Contest, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. All entries must include caption information describing where the photo was taken, along with a description of the subject of the photo, as well as the names and call signs of any persons shown. If you entered last year's contest, please do not resend the same photo for this year's contest. One entry per person.
Miscellaneous: The decisions of the judges -- composed of QST editorial and production staff -- are final.
DXCC Desk Approves Current VK0KEV Macquarie Island DXpedition

ARRL DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, reports that the current VK0KEV DXpedition to Macquarie Island has been approved for DXCC credit. "If you had cards that were recently rejected for this operation, please send an e-mail to the ARRL DXCC Desk," Moore said. "Please note that due to extremely heavy e-mail, DXCC staff may not respond to your message. Once your record is updated, results will appear in Logbook of The World (LoTW) accounts or in the live, daily DXCC Standings."

This Week on the Radio
This week:

June 10 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
June 11 -- Portugal Day Contest; Asia-Pacific Sprint (SSB)
June 11-12 -- DRCG Long Distance Contest (RTTY), VK Shires Contest; CWops Mini-CWT Test; GACW WWSA CW DX Contest; REF DDFM 6 Meter Contest
June 11-13 -- ARRL June VHF QSO Party
June 12 -- SKCC Weekend Sprint
June 15 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint
Next week:

June 17 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
June 18 -- Feld Hell Sprint; AGCW VHF/UHF Contest
June 18-19 -- West Virginia QSO Party; Stew Perry Topband Challenge; All Asian DX Contest (CW); SMIRK Contest
June 19 -- WAB 50 MHz Phone Contest
June 20 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest
June 22 -- SKCC Sprint; NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint
June 22-23 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test
All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest Branch page, the ARRL Contest Update and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar for more information. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the ARRL Special Event Stations Web page.

Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
June 10-11 -- ARRL National Convention, Plano, Texas
June 11 -- ARRL Tennessee State Convention, Knoxville, Tennessee
July 2 -- ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania Section Convention, Marysville, Pennsylvania
July 15-17 -- ARRL Montana State Convention, Essex, Montana
July 29-30 -- ARRL Oklahoma State Convention, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=130 Fri, 10 Jun 2011 10:12:31 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=130 IOTA EU-170, from June 12 to 22. Activity is holiday style on 40
and 20 meters. QSL to home call.

BAHAMAS, C6. Operators N5KM and N4BP are QRV as C6AKQ and C6A/N5KM
from Freeport until June 13. Activity is on 80 to 6 meters using CW
and SSB with two stations. They will be QRV as C6AKQ in the ARRL
VHF QSO Party. QSL via operators' instructions.

CUBA, CO. A group of operators will be QRV as T48K in the ARRL VHF
QSO Party from grid square FL10mw as a Limited/Multi Op entry. QSL
via DK1WI.

PORTUGAL, CT. Members of the Clube Radioamadores do Entroncamento
are QRV with special callsign CS2CS from Serta Castel until June 12.
Activity is on all HF bands using CW, SSB and digital modes. QSL
via operators' instructions.

JERSEY, GJ. Operators EA1AP and EA1SA will be QRV as MJ/home calls
from June 12 to 21. Activity will be on 80 to 6 meters using CW,
SSB and RTTY. QSL to home calls.

JAPAN, JA. In celebration of the 220th birthday anniversary of
Samuel F.B. Morse, special event stations using 8J1MORSE are active
from each call area until December 31, 2011. Each callsign is
followed by the call area number. Activity is on the HF bands using
mainly CW with some SSB. QSL via bureau.

SVALBARD, JW. Roar, LA1EOA is QRV as JW1EOA from Longyearbyen on
Spitsbergen, IOTA EU-026, until June 15. Activity is on 40 to 6
meters using SSB. QSL to home call.

MARIANA ISLANDS, KH0. Toru, JI3QBQ is QRV as AJ2L/AH0 from Saipan,
IOTA OC-086, until June 14. Activity is on all HF bands. QSL
direct to home call.

MARKET REEF, OJ0. Operators OH2BH, OH2PM and OH2TA will be QRV as
OJ0B from June 11 to 13 while working on the station here. Activity
will be primarily on 30, 20 and 17 meters using CW and SSB with two
stations. QSL via OH2BH.

DENMARK, OZ. A group of Scouts are QRV as OZ1RDP from Romo Island,
IOTA EU-125, until June 14. Activity is mainly on 80, 40, 30 and 20
meters using SSB and PSK31. QSL via DL9BCP.

NETHERLANDS, PA. Special event station PG6N will be QRV from the
Noordwijk Lighthouse Station, ARLHS NET-019, from June 11 to 18.
This takes place during Coastal Week. Activity will be on all HF
bands including 6 and 2 meters. QSL via bureau.

CURACAO, PJ2. Wayne, K8LEE will be QRV as PJ2T from Signal Point in
the ARRL VHF QSO Party with an emphasis on 6 meters. QSL via N9AG.

MONTSERRAT, VP2M. John, KB4CRT is QRV as VP2MRT until June 18.
Activity is on 40 to 2 meters. QSL direct to home call.

BERMUDA, VP9. Doug, KF4VTT is QRV as KF4VTT/VP9 until June 17 while
on holiday. Activity is on 160 to 6 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and
possibly PSK31 in his spare time. QSL to home call.

NICARAGUA, YN. Operators W5MJ and W5PR are QRV as YN2MJ and YN2PR,
respectively, until June 13. Activity is mainly on 160 and 80
meters. Look for YN2PR to be QRV in the ARRL VHF QSO Party on 6
meters. QSL via operators' instructions.

OPERATIONS APPROVED FOR DXCC CREDIT. The following operations are
approved for DXCC credit: Cameroon, TJ9PF, 2011 operation. These
particular cards were printed with the year 2001 instead of 2011.
This is a known software bug that has been fixed. This will not
affect the integrity of the logs. DXCC will accept TJ9PF QSL cards
showing the date as 2001; Macquarie Island, VK0KEV, current
operation.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO. The ARRL June VHF QSO Party, NCCC Sprint
Ladder, DRCG Long Distance RTTY Contest, Portugal Day Contest, VK
Shires Contest, Asia-Pacific SSB Sprint, CWops Mini-CWT CW Test,
GACW WWSA DX CW Contest, REF DDFM 6-Meter Contest and SKCC Weekend
CW Sprint are all on tap for this weekend. The NAQCC Straight
Key/Bug CW Sprint and RSGB 80-Meter Club CW Championship are
scheduled for June 15.]]> IOTA EU-170, from June 12 to 22. Activity is holiday style on 40
and 20 meters. QSL to home call.

BAHAMAS, C6. Operators N5KM and N4BP are QRV as C6AKQ and C6A/N5KM
from Freeport until June 13. Activity is on 80 to 6 meters using CW
and SSB with two stations. They will be QRV as C6AKQ in the ARRL
VHF QSO Party. QSL via operators' instructions.

CUBA, CO. A group of operators will be QRV as T48K in the ARRL VHF
QSO Party from grid square FL10mw as a Limited/Multi Op entry. QSL
via DK1WI.

PORTUGAL, CT. Members of the Clube Radioamadores do Entroncamento
are QRV with special callsign CS2CS from Serta Castel until June 12.
Activity is on all HF bands using CW, SSB and digital modes. QSL
via operators' instructions.

JERSEY, GJ. Operators EA1AP and EA1SA will be QRV as MJ/home calls
from June 12 to 21. Activity will be on 80 to 6 meters using CW,
SSB and RTTY. QSL to home calls.

JAPAN, JA. In celebration of the 220th birthday anniversary of
Samuel F.B. Morse, special event stations using 8J1MORSE are active
from each call area until December 31, 2011. Each callsign is
followed by the call area number. Activity is on the HF bands using
mainly CW with some SSB. QSL via bureau.

SVALBARD, JW. Roar, LA1EOA is QRV as JW1EOA from Longyearbyen on
Spitsbergen, IOTA EU-026, until June 15. Activity is on 40 to 6
meters using SSB. QSL to home call.

MARIANA ISLANDS, KH0. Toru, JI3QBQ is QRV as AJ2L/AH0 from Saipan,
IOTA OC-086, until June 14. Activity is on all HF bands. QSL
direct to home call.

MARKET REEF, OJ0. Operators OH2BH, OH2PM and OH2TA will be QRV as
OJ0B from June 11 to 13 while working on the station here. Activity
will be primarily on 30, 20 and 17 meters using CW and SSB with two
stations. QSL via OH2BH.

DENMARK, OZ. A group of Scouts are QRV as OZ1RDP from Romo Island,
IOTA EU-125, until June 14. Activity is mainly on 80, 40, 30 and 20
meters using SSB and PSK31. QSL via DL9BCP.

NETHERLANDS, PA. Special event station PG6N will be QRV from the
Noordwijk Lighthouse Station, ARLHS NET-019, from June 11 to 18.
This takes place during Coastal Week. Activity will be on all HF
bands including 6 and 2 meters. QSL via bureau.

CURACAO, PJ2. Wayne, K8LEE will be QRV as PJ2T from Signal Point in
the ARRL VHF QSO Party with an emphasis on 6 meters. QSL via N9AG.

MONTSERRAT, VP2M. John, KB4CRT is QRV as VP2MRT until June 18.
Activity is on 40 to 2 meters. QSL direct to home call.

BERMUDA, VP9. Doug, KF4VTT is QRV as KF4VTT/VP9 until June 17 while
on holiday. Activity is on 160 to 6 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY and
possibly PSK31 in his spare time. QSL to home call.

NICARAGUA, YN. Operators W5MJ and W5PR are QRV as YN2MJ and YN2PR,
respectively, until June 13. Activity is mainly on 160 and 80
meters. Look for YN2PR to be QRV in the ARRL VHF QSO Party on 6
meters. QSL via operators' instructions.

OPERATIONS APPROVED FOR DXCC CREDIT. The following operations are
approved for DXCC credit: Cameroon, TJ9PF, 2011 operation. These
particular cards were printed with the year 2001 instead of 2011.
This is a known software bug that has been fixed. This will not
affect the integrity of the logs. DXCC will accept TJ9PF QSL cards
showing the date as 2001; Macquarie Island, VK0KEV, current
operation.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO. The ARRL June VHF QSO Party, NCCC Sprint
Ladder, DRCG Long Distance RTTY Contest, Portugal Day Contest, VK
Shires Contest, Asia-Pacific SSB Sprint, CWops Mini-CWT CW Test,
GACW WWSA DX CW Contest, REF DDFM 6-Meter Contest and SKCC Weekend
CW Sprint are all on tap for this weekend. The NAQCC Straight
Key/Bug CW Sprint and RSGB 80-Meter Club CW Championship are
scheduled for June 15.]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=129 Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:42:16 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=129 sunspot number increasing over 55 points to 89.9. Average solar
flux rose nearly 20 points to 103.1.

The latest forecast shows solar flux at 115 on June 3, 110 on June
4-6, 105 on June 7-8, 100 on June 9-14, rising to 105 on June 15 and
110 on June 16-26. Planetary A index is predicted to be 12, 20, 15
and 10 on June 3-6, 5 on June 7-10, 8 on June 11-13 and 5 on June
14-21. The next period of high geomagnetic activity is projected
for Jun 22-27, at 12, 22, 18, 18, 15 and 8. Note that ARRL Field Day
for 2011 is June 25-26, which should be just after the predicted
peak in geomagnetic activity, currently predicted for June 23.

Geophysical Institute Prague sees unsettled to active conditions
June 3-4, unsettled June 5, quiet conditions June 6-7, and quiet to
unsettled June 8-9.

With the passing of May, we can look at some moving averages of
sunspot numbers.

74.4 was the average daily sunspot number for the latest 3-month
period, March through May, centered on April. The three month
moving averages centered on May 2010 through April 2011 were 16.4,
20.4, 23.2, 28.9, 33, 35.6, 31, 30.1, 35.3, 55.7, 72.3 and 74.4.

The average sunspot number for May was 61.5, down somewhat from
March and April. The monthly averages of daily sunspot numbers for
January through May 2011 were 32.3, 53.5, 81.1, 80.8 and 61.5.

Currently there are eight sunspot groups visible. You can see a
daily sunspot update at,
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpmenu/forecasts/SRS.html.

Check
http://www.space.com/11858-dark-sunspots...ained.html for
an article titled "Mysterious Origins of Dark Sunspots Explained."
The journal Science has an abstract for the article mentioned in the
Dark Sunspots piece at,
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/...e.1206429.
Often with an account at your local library you can log in and read
the full text of the article.

Another article similar to the "Dark Sunspots" article is on the
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/4378/...lem-solved
site.

Don Tucker, W7WLL who lives in Yachats (pronounced YAH-HOTS) on the
Oregon coast, writes "The bands, particularly 20, have been so hot
that I worked WAC and probably could'a worked DXCC in one 24 hour
period if I'd tried!! Antennas, antennas, antennas. Can't hear 'em,
can't work 'em."

Check out Don's station and antennas at http://www.qrz.com/db/w7wll.

Bob Elek, W3HKK of Johnstown, Ohio reminds us of the upcoming ARRL
June VHF QSO Party, which runs from 1800 UTC June 11 through 0259
UTC June 13. See http://www.arrl.org/june-vhf-qso-party for
details. Bob writes - concerning 6 meters - "My own observation
over 2010 and 2011 is that during last year's Es season there were
many more broad strong openings 1000 miles out, and therefore more
double/triple hop openings than I've heard this year. In 2011, I
often hear a handful of signals, often up and down into the noise,
and that's it. How much of this is based on antenna height, and very
low angle of radiation I have no idea. But it just seems like 6
meters has been a far tougher Es band this year."

Jon Jones, N0JK of Lawrence, Kansas writes: "On Sunday May 22, 6
meters opened via multi-hop Es to the Caribbean most of the day. I
worked FG5FR at 1928 UTC on 50.105 MHz. Franz was a solid 559 on my
dipole. Heard numerous KP4s, 9Y4D and P43A. FJ/OS1T was on earlier
and gave many a new country on 6M."

Later Jon wrote: "I heard K0ZN EM28 working K0SBV DM42 on May 29.
K0ZN is in DeSoto, about 15 miles from Lawrence."

Kent Doucy, N0IRM of Galena, Missouri had a nice 15 meter opening.
He writes, "At 0454 UTC on May 31, 2011 I found 5W1SA from Samoa
calling CQ on 21.020 with a great 579 signal. A little later at 0528
UTC I was also able to work Brad FO/N6JA on Marquesas Island on
21.018, he was a little harder copy with a 519 signal. Nothing else
was heard after that but it was a nice short lived late 15 meter
opening to the Midwest." See Kent's antennas at
http://www.qrz.com/db/n0irm .

Rudy Hanau, K2EVY of Rye, New York had some interesting comments
regarding backscatter: "Most of us have run into HF backscatter at
one time or another. In my experience the other station and I find
ourselves pointing our beams at some common point out of line with
the direct path between us.

"However, this incident was a bit different. On May 29 the SFI was
101 and the A index was 36. Not your most common set of conditions
and, I suspect the geomagnetic activity associated with the high A
is involved. Twenty meters was very sparsely populated and K6ZA's S9
signal stood out. My QTH is Rye Brook, NY (FN31) and Barry is in
Walnut Grove, CA (CM87). His bearing should have been 280 degrees,
just a bit north of West for me, and indeed it was. He was just
finishing another QSO and I called him. He told me he had been
working KL7 and was looking North! I swung North and lost him. He
looked East and lost me. We were both S9 or better when our antennas
were about 90 degrees to one another. We scratched our heads and
looked every which way for another path but there was none.

"I signed after about 30 minutes and Barry went on to work another
station (more about that later). When working backscatter we usually
think of some far off reflecting area such as aurora over Alaska or
the pole. In mulling this contact over the only explanation I can
offer is that the reflecting area was very near Walnut Grove and was
omnidirectional, like a vertical. If it was 50 or 100 miles north
of Barry it would be indistinguishable from Barry's QTH for me
whereas Barry would have to point north to see it.

"Barry described his next contact as follows: 'After our QSO I was
called by a Laughlin, Nevada station SE of me, also same scenario.
He was seeing me at normal NW direction. He was strongest to the
North. Then, during the 30 min contact, I found I could move the
beam toward the east with no change in strength and then he began to
peak more toward him and less to the North. By the end, he was 40
over at SE, and no propagation to the north at all."'

There is a slightly revised solar cycle prediction from NASA at
http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/predict.shtml. This month it says
"Three consecutive months with average daily sunspot numbers above
40 has raised the predicted maximum above the 64.2 for the Cycle 14
maximum in 1907." Last month it said "Two consecutive months with
average daily sunspot numbers in the 50s has raised the predicted
maximum above the 64.2 for the Cycle 14 maximum in 1907."


Sunspot numbers for May 26 through June 1 were 40, 65, 91, 89, 105,
132, and 107, with a mean of 89.9. 10.7 cm flux was 82.7, 89.9, 101,
110.8, 111.9, 112, and 113.6, with a mean of 103.1. Estimated
planetary A indices were 7, 11, 40, 32, 9, 13, and 12, with a mean
of 17.7. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 4, 7, 32, 17, 7, 10,
and 9, with a mean of 12.3.]]> sunspot number increasing over 55 points to 89.9. Average solar
flux rose nearly 20 points to 103.1.

The latest forecast shows solar flux at 115 on June 3, 110 on June
4-6, 105 on June 7-8, 100 on June 9-14, rising to 105 on June 15 and
110 on June 16-26. Planetary A index is predicted to be 12, 20, 15
and 10 on June 3-6, 5 on June 7-10, 8 on June 11-13 and 5 on June
14-21. The next period of high geomagnetic activity is projected
for Jun 22-27, at 12, 22, 18, 18, 15 and 8. Note that ARRL Field Day
for 2011 is June 25-26, which should be just after the predicted
peak in geomagnetic activity, currently predicted for June 23.

Geophysical Institute Prague sees unsettled to active conditions
June 3-4, unsettled June 5, quiet conditions June 6-7, and quiet to
unsettled June 8-9.

With the passing of May, we can look at some moving averages of
sunspot numbers.

74.4 was the average daily sunspot number for the latest 3-month
period, March through May, centered on April. The three month
moving averages centered on May 2010 through April 2011 were 16.4,
20.4, 23.2, 28.9, 33, 35.6, 31, 30.1, 35.3, 55.7, 72.3 and 74.4.

The average sunspot number for May was 61.5, down somewhat from
March and April. The monthly averages of daily sunspot numbers for
January through May 2011 were 32.3, 53.5, 81.1, 80.8 and 61.5.

Currently there are eight sunspot groups visible. You can see a
daily sunspot update at,
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpmenu/forecasts/SRS.html.

Check
http://www.space.com/11858-dark-sunspots...ained.html for
an article titled "Mysterious Origins of Dark Sunspots Explained."
The journal Science has an abstract for the article mentioned in the
Dark Sunspots piece at,
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/...e.1206429.
Often with an account at your local library you can log in and read
the full text of the article.

Another article similar to the "Dark Sunspots" article is on the
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/4378/...lem-solved
site.

Don Tucker, W7WLL who lives in Yachats (pronounced YAH-HOTS) on the
Oregon coast, writes "The bands, particularly 20, have been so hot
that I worked WAC and probably could'a worked DXCC in one 24 hour
period if I'd tried!! Antennas, antennas, antennas. Can't hear 'em,
can't work 'em."

Check out Don's station and antennas at http://www.qrz.com/db/w7wll.

Bob Elek, W3HKK of Johnstown, Ohio reminds us of the upcoming ARRL
June VHF QSO Party, which runs from 1800 UTC June 11 through 0259
UTC June 13. See http://www.arrl.org/june-vhf-qso-party for
details. Bob writes - concerning 6 meters - "My own observation
over 2010 and 2011 is that during last year's Es season there were
many more broad strong openings 1000 miles out, and therefore more
double/triple hop openings than I've heard this year. In 2011, I
often hear a handful of signals, often up and down into the noise,
and that's it. How much of this is based on antenna height, and very
low angle of radiation I have no idea. But it just seems like 6
meters has been a far tougher Es band this year."

Jon Jones, N0JK of Lawrence, Kansas writes: "On Sunday May 22, 6
meters opened via multi-hop Es to the Caribbean most of the day. I
worked FG5FR at 1928 UTC on 50.105 MHz. Franz was a solid 559 on my
dipole. Heard numerous KP4s, 9Y4D and P43A. FJ/OS1T was on earlier
and gave many a new country on 6M."

Later Jon wrote: "I heard K0ZN EM28 working K0SBV DM42 on May 29.
K0ZN is in DeSoto, about 15 miles from Lawrence."

Kent Doucy, N0IRM of Galena, Missouri had a nice 15 meter opening.
He writes, "At 0454 UTC on May 31, 2011 I found 5W1SA from Samoa
calling CQ on 21.020 with a great 579 signal. A little later at 0528
UTC I was also able to work Brad FO/N6JA on Marquesas Island on
21.018, he was a little harder copy with a 519 signal. Nothing else
was heard after that but it was a nice short lived late 15 meter
opening to the Midwest." See Kent's antennas at
http://www.qrz.com/db/n0irm .

Rudy Hanau, K2EVY of Rye, New York had some interesting comments
regarding backscatter: "Most of us have run into HF backscatter at
one time or another. In my experience the other station and I find
ourselves pointing our beams at some common point out of line with
the direct path between us.

"However, this incident was a bit different. On May 29 the SFI was
101 and the A index was 36. Not your most common set of conditions
and, I suspect the geomagnetic activity associated with the high A
is involved. Twenty meters was very sparsely populated and K6ZA's S9
signal stood out. My QTH is Rye Brook, NY (FN31) and Barry is in
Walnut Grove, CA (CM87). His bearing should have been 280 degrees,
just a bit north of West for me, and indeed it was. He was just
finishing another QSO and I called him. He told me he had been
working KL7 and was looking North! I swung North and lost him. He
looked East and lost me. We were both S9 or better when our antennas
were about 90 degrees to one another. We scratched our heads and
looked every which way for another path but there was none.

"I signed after about 30 minutes and Barry went on to work another
station (more about that later). When working backscatter we usually
think of some far off reflecting area such as aurora over Alaska or
the pole. In mulling this contact over the only explanation I can
offer is that the reflecting area was very near Walnut Grove and was
omnidirectional, like a vertical. If it was 50 or 100 miles north
of Barry it would be indistinguishable from Barry's QTH for me
whereas Barry would have to point north to see it.

"Barry described his next contact as follows: 'After our QSO I was
called by a Laughlin, Nevada station SE of me, also same scenario.
He was seeing me at normal NW direction. He was strongest to the
North. Then, during the 30 min contact, I found I could move the
beam toward the east with no change in strength and then he began to
peak more toward him and less to the North. By the end, he was 40
over at SE, and no propagation to the north at all."'

There is a slightly revised solar cycle prediction from NASA at
http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/predict.shtml. This month it says
"Three consecutive months with average daily sunspot numbers above
40 has raised the predicted maximum above the 64.2 for the Cycle 14
maximum in 1907." Last month it said "Two consecutive months with
average daily sunspot numbers in the 50s has raised the predicted
maximum above the 64.2 for the Cycle 14 maximum in 1907."


Sunspot numbers for May 26 through June 1 were 40, 65, 91, 89, 105,
132, and 107, with a mean of 89.9. 10.7 cm flux was 82.7, 89.9, 101,
110.8, 111.9, 112, and 113.6, with a mean of 103.1. Estimated
planetary A indices were 7, 11, 40, 32, 9, 13, and 12, with a mean
of 17.7. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 4, 7, 32, 17, 7, 10,
and 9, with a mean of 12.3.]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=128 Fri, 03 Jun 2011 04:21:15 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=128 4JA3USA from June 6 to 10. QSL to home call.

MONTENEGRO, 4O. Oskar, LB9N is QRV as 4O/LB9N until June 18.
Activity of late has been on 20 and 15 meters using SSB. QSL to
home call.

ANDORRA, C3. Chris, PA2CHR is QRV as C37MS until June 7. He is
active on 2 meters looking for meteor scatter and sporadic-E
propagation on 144.358 MHz using FSK and 144.318 MHz using SSB,
respectively. QSL to home call.

MOZAMBIQUE, C9. Bill, ZS6CCY is QRV as C95WH from the Zambezi River
Valley. His length of stay is unknown. QSL via K3IRV.

MOROCCO, CN. Richard, F8FGU is QRV as CN2RN from the Middle Atlas
mountains until June 20. Activity is on the HF bands using CW and
SSB. QSL to home call.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, E7. A group of operators are QRV with
special event callsign E711AMRS until June 5. Activity is on the HF
bands using SSB, various digital modes and some CW with three
stations active. QSL via OE4RGC.

SPAIN, EA. Special event station EG1DN will be QRV on June 4 and 5
from Gijon in commemoration of the 67th anniversary of the D-Day
invasion during World War II. Activity is on all HF, VHF and UHF
bands with all modes. QSL via EB1CAM.

FRANCE, F. Special event station TM6JUN is QRV from Utah Beach
until June 15 in commemoration of the 67th anniversary of the D-Day
invasion during World War II. Activity is on 160 to 6 meters using
CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK. QSL via F5SAZ.

SAINT MARTIN, FS. John, K9EL will be QRV as FS/K9EL from June 7 to
19. Activity will be on 80 to 6 meters using CW, SSB and some RTTY.
QSL to home call.

SCOTLAND, GM. A group of operators will be QRV as MS0RSD from Skye
Island, IOTA EU-008, from June 5 to 10. QSL via M0URX.

LIECHTENSTEIN, HB0. Operators IZ3ESV, I2VGW and IZ2LSC are QRV as
HB0/home calls until June 5. Activity is mainly on the newer and
high bands, including 6 meters. QSL to home calls.

REPUBLIC OF KOREA, HL. Operators HL1VAU, DS4NYE, DS1OYR and others
will be QRV as home calls/3 and D9K from Anmyon Island, IOTA AS-080,
from June 4 to 6. This includes an entry in the SEANET contest.
QSL D9K via DS4NYE and all others to home calls. In addition, a
group of operators will be QRV as 6M0W/5 from Kadok Island, IOTA
AS-081, from June 4 to 7. QSL via HL5BMX.

SAUDI ARABIA, HZ. Operators Hamdi, 7Z1TT and Bert, 7Z1IR are QRV as
7Z1TT/p and 7Z1IR/p, respectively, from Marzouk Island, IOTA AS-191,
until June 5. This is a new IOTA activation. Activity is on 20 to
10 meters, and possibly 40 meters, using SSB with two stations
active. QSL both calls via DK6IR.

MIDWAY ISLAND, KH4. Joe, KH4/W5FJG is usually QRV on 20 meters
using SSB around 0200 to 0400z. He will eventually be active on
other HF bands. QSL via N7RO.

BONAIRE, PJ4. Operators W0SD, W0OE and PJ4NX will be QRV as PJ4E
from June 4 to 19. Activity will be on all HF bands with an
emphasis on RTTY and 6 meters. QSL via W0SD.

TURKEY, TA. Special event station TC100HKK is QRV until June 6 in
celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Air Force. QSL
via TA1HZ.

SOUTH AFRICA, ZS. Members of the Boland Amateur Radio Club will be
QRV as ZS50RSA beginning June 4 to mark the 50th anniversary of the
Republic of South Africa. They will be active during the next 12
months for special occasions and certain contests. QSL via bureau.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO. The SEANET Contest, NCCC Sprint CW
Ladder, 10-10 International Open Season BPSK31 Contest, DigiFest,
Wake-Up. QRP CW Sprint, Maritimes QSO Party, UKSMG Summer Contest,
RSGB National CW Field Day, IARU Region 1 CW Field Day and the
Alabama QSO Party are all on tap for this upcoming weekend. The
RSGB 80-Meter Club Data Championship is scheduled for June 6. The
ARS Spartan CW Sprint is scheduled for June 7. The NAQCC-EU Monthly
CW Sprint is scheduled for June 8. And, the CWops Mini-CWT CW Test
is scheduled for June 8 and 9.]]> 4JA3USA from June 6 to 10. QSL to home call.

MONTENEGRO, 4O. Oskar, LB9N is QRV as 4O/LB9N until June 18.
Activity of late has been on 20 and 15 meters using SSB. QSL to
home call.

ANDORRA, C3. Chris, PA2CHR is QRV as C37MS until June 7. He is
active on 2 meters looking for meteor scatter and sporadic-E
propagation on 144.358 MHz using FSK and 144.318 MHz using SSB,
respectively. QSL to home call.

MOZAMBIQUE, C9. Bill, ZS6CCY is QRV as C95WH from the Zambezi River
Valley. His length of stay is unknown. QSL via K3IRV.

MOROCCO, CN. Richard, F8FGU is QRV as CN2RN from the Middle Atlas
mountains until June 20. Activity is on the HF bands using CW and
SSB. QSL to home call.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, E7. A group of operators are QRV with
special event callsign E711AMRS until June 5. Activity is on the HF
bands using SSB, various digital modes and some CW with three
stations active. QSL via OE4RGC.

SPAIN, EA. Special event station EG1DN will be QRV on June 4 and 5
from Gijon in commemoration of the 67th anniversary of the D-Day
invasion during World War II. Activity is on all HF, VHF and UHF
bands with all modes. QSL via EB1CAM.

FRANCE, F. Special event station TM6JUN is QRV from Utah Beach
until June 15 in commemoration of the 67th anniversary of the D-Day
invasion during World War II. Activity is on 160 to 6 meters using
CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK. QSL via F5SAZ.

SAINT MARTIN, FS. John, K9EL will be QRV as FS/K9EL from June 7 to
19. Activity will be on 80 to 6 meters using CW, SSB and some RTTY.
QSL to home call.

SCOTLAND, GM. A group of operators will be QRV as MS0RSD from Skye
Island, IOTA EU-008, from June 5 to 10. QSL via M0URX.

LIECHTENSTEIN, HB0. Operators IZ3ESV, I2VGW and IZ2LSC are QRV as
HB0/home calls until June 5. Activity is mainly on the newer and
high bands, including 6 meters. QSL to home calls.

REPUBLIC OF KOREA, HL. Operators HL1VAU, DS4NYE, DS1OYR and others
will be QRV as home calls/3 and D9K from Anmyon Island, IOTA AS-080,
from June 4 to 6. This includes an entry in the SEANET contest.
QSL D9K via DS4NYE and all others to home calls. In addition, a
group of operators will be QRV as 6M0W/5 from Kadok Island, IOTA
AS-081, from June 4 to 7. QSL via HL5BMX.

SAUDI ARABIA, HZ. Operators Hamdi, 7Z1TT and Bert, 7Z1IR are QRV as
7Z1TT/p and 7Z1IR/p, respectively, from Marzouk Island, IOTA AS-191,
until June 5. This is a new IOTA activation. Activity is on 20 to
10 meters, and possibly 40 meters, using SSB with two stations
active. QSL both calls via DK6IR.

MIDWAY ISLAND, KH4. Joe, KH4/W5FJG is usually QRV on 20 meters
using SSB around 0200 to 0400z. He will eventually be active on
other HF bands. QSL via N7RO.

BONAIRE, PJ4. Operators W0SD, W0OE and PJ4NX will be QRV as PJ4E
from June 4 to 19. Activity will be on all HF bands with an
emphasis on RTTY and 6 meters. QSL via W0SD.

TURKEY, TA. Special event station TC100HKK is QRV until June 6 in
celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Air Force. QSL
via TA1HZ.

SOUTH AFRICA, ZS. Members of the Boland Amateur Radio Club will be
QRV as ZS50RSA beginning June 4 to mark the 50th anniversary of the
Republic of South Africa. They will be active during the next 12
months for special occasions and certain contests. QSL via bureau.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO. The SEANET Contest, NCCC Sprint CW
Ladder, 10-10 International Open Season BPSK31 Contest, DigiFest,
Wake-Up. QRP CW Sprint, Maritimes QSO Party, UKSMG Summer Contest,
RSGB National CW Field Day, IARU Region 1 CW Field Day and the
Alabama QSO Party are all on tap for this upcoming weekend. The
RSGB 80-Meter Club Data Championship is scheduled for June 6. The
ARS Spartan CW Sprint is scheduled for June 7. The NAQCC-EU Monthly
CW Sprint is scheduled for June 8. And, the CWops Mini-CWT CW Test
is scheduled for June 8 and 9.]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=127 Thu, 02 Jun 2011 20:32:41 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=127 + Public Service: ARES® Stands Down After Joplin Storms
IARU News: ARRL Headquarters Hosts Overseas Visitors
+ On the Air: Gear Up for the ARRL June VHF QSO Party
+ On the Air: Join the USA ARDF Team in Albuquerque
+ On the Air: ARRL VHF/UHF Advisory Committee Seeks Input
+ FCC News: FCC Issues Citation to Illinois Company for Illegal Marketing of Unauthorized Radio Frequency Devices
+ US District Court Dismisses Maine Amateur's Counterclaims
ARRL Section News: New Section Manager Appointed in Santa Clara Valley
In the Shack: RadioShack Looking for Suggestions for DIY Parts
Solar Update
+ Jim Talens, N3JT, Wins May QST Cover Plaque Award
There's Still Time to Enter the 2011 ARRL Photo Contest!
This Week on the Radio
Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News

+ Public Service: Central Massachusetts Experiences Rare Tornado, Area Hams Hasten to Help

In Sturbridge, Massachusetts, state police officers survey the damage done by the tornado. [PJ Howe, N1PJ, Photo]

At least two tornadoes touched down in Central Massachusetts late in the afternoon on Wednesday, June 1. The storm pulverized or sheared off the tops of roofs on Main Street in Springfield, a city of more than 150,000, located about 90 miles west of Boston. A debris-filled funnel swept into downtown from the west, then swirled across the Connecticut River, which runs through the city. Like their counterparts in Alabama and Missouri who responded when storms hit those regions, hams in Western Massachusetts volunteered their time and radios to the American Red Cross the National Weather Service. Read more here.

+ Public Service: ARES® Stands Down After Joplin Storms

Due to the end of the "search and recovery" mode after the EF5 tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri on Sunday, May 22, ARRL Missouri Section Emergency Coordinator Ken Baremore, W0KRB, notified area hams that all Amateur Radio communications from the Emergency Operations Centers to the field operations have been stood down as of May 30. According to Baremore, officials are now focusing on debris and potential body part removal. "We do have some ARES® operators who are scheduled, and we will continue to work with SATERN through the rest of this week," he said. "I want to thank all of you who volunteered and came to Joplin to help with communications, as well as those of you who are still contacting me to see if additional help is needed." Read more here.

IARU News: ARRL Headquarters Hosts Overseas Visitors

Representatives from CRAC and CAMSAT visited ARRL Headquarters after attending the 2011 Dayton Hamvention®.

Where is Amateur Radio growing the fastest? The answer may surprise you -- it's China. The enthusiasm of Chinese radio amateurs was very much in evidence at ARRL Headquarters on Tuesday, May 24, when a dozen amateurs from Beijing and Shanghai toured ARRL Headquarters. The group -- which included representatives of Chinese AMSAT -- had attended the Dayton Hamvention® the previous weekend, where a booth for the Radio Association of China and its subsidiary, the Chinese Radio Amateur Club (CRAC, pronounced SEE-rack), was a part of ARRL EXPO.


Amateur Radio Society of India President and IARU Region 3 Director Gopal Madhavan, VU2GMN, visited ARRL Headquarters prior to attending the Dayton Hamvention. Here, he discusses emergency communications and the ARRL Ham Aid program with ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ. [S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, Photo]

ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, met with Zhu San Bao, BY1CRA, Executive Vice Chairman of The Radio Association of China, to hear about the evolution of Amateur Radio in China and to explain ARRL operations in more detail. China is now represented in the International Amateur Radio Union by the Chinese Radio Sports Association (CRSA). CRAC has been established to cover all aspects of Amateur Radio and is assuming some of the functions of the CRSA.

The Chinese guests capped a busy period of international activity at ARRL HQ that began on Monday, May 16, with a visit by Gopal Madhavan, VU2GMN, who is a Director of IARU Region 3, as well as President of the Amateur Radio Society of India (ARSI). The following day, two officers of the Viet Nam Amateur Radio Club (VARC) -- Chairman Nguyen Minh Duc, XV2REH, and President Nguyen Bac Ai, XV2A -- arrived to tour ARRL Headquarters and to discuss their plans for hosting next year's IARU Region 3 Conference.


Amateur Radio Society of India President and IARU Region 3 Director Gopal Madhavan, VU2GMN, visited ARRL Headquarters prior to attending the Dayton Hamvention. Here, he discusses emergency communications and the ARRL Ham Aid program with ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ. [S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, Photo]

All of these visitors included Dayton in their itineraries. While the Hamvention always attracts many foreign visitors, the theme of this year's event -- Global Friendship -- made their presence especially appropriate. To mark the theme, the ARRL EXPO area included exhibits representing, in addition to China and the IARU itself, four IARU Member-Societies: Deutscher Amateur Radio Club (Germany), Japan Amateur Radio League, Qatar Amateur Radio Society and Radio Society of Great Britain. The Radio Amateurs of Canada booth was nearby, rounding out our "global village."


+ On the Air: Gear Up for the ARRL June VHF QSO Party

These two hams are having a lot of fun making QSOs from WB3IGR in Easton, Maryland during the 2010 ARRL June VHF QSO Party. [George Fazio, WB3IGR, Photo]

Lots of RF will be generated on 6 meters and up the weekend of June 11-12 during the 2011 ARRL June VHF QSO Party. While many amateurs think of the VHF+ bands as a "local" band for public service, emergency communications or even a bit of fun on FM repeaters, weak-signal VHF+ enthusiasts know better. Even with a modest station, it's possible to work hundreds, or even thousands of miles on the VHF bands during a good opening.

ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, is a big VHF enthusiast. "In more than 25 years of Amateur Radio, weak-signal work on 6 and 2 meters remains the most fun and intriguing activity I do," he said. "There is nothing like a good VHF opening. With its fun and interesting propagation characteristics like sporadic-E, tropospheric ducting, aurora and even meteor scatter and moonbounce, VHF offers QSO opportunities that HF can never satisfy." Read more here.

+ On the Air: Join the USA ARDF Team in Albuquerque
The Annual USA Championships of Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) will take place in forests near Albuquerque, New Mexico from September 14-18, 2011. USA's national championships are being combined with the IARU Region 2 Championships. According to ARRL ARDF Coordinator Joe Moell, K0OV, they are open to anyone of any age who can safely navigate in the woods with handheld radio gear for several kilometers. Medals will be awarded for the top three finishers on each band in 10 age categories, six for males and four for females. A two day training camp will precede the formal competitions.

Organizers of the 2011 championships are members of the Albuquerque Amateur Radio Club and the New Mexico Orienteers, led by Jerry Boyd, WB8WFK, and Mike Pendley, K5ATM. Registration is now open -- Moell said that it is important for competitors to register early. The organizers need an accurate head count and assurances that there will be sufficient attendees. Read more here.

+ On the Air: ARRL VHF/UHF Advisory Committee Seeks Input

The ARRL would like to encourage more participation in its several VHF/UHF contests held each year. Many of the HF transceivers sold in recent years include 50 MHz, and some also include the 144 and 432 MHz bands with multi-mode capabilities. The question at hand is how can we encourage more owners of such radios to utilize these bands and modes to participate in VHF/UHF contests?

The ARRL VHF/UHF Advisory Committee (VUAC) has been asked to consider this question, and to make recommendations to encourage, explore and expand the ARRL VHF and UHF contests and other operating activities by using the multi-band and multi-mode capabilities of modern transceivers and related equipment.

The VUAC would like to ask the Amateur Radio community to provide their comments and ideas for consideration.

Please send any comments or ideas you have on this matter to your ARRL VUAC Division representative no later than July 1, 2011. A listing of each Division's VUAC representative can be found at http://www.arrl.org/arrl-staff-vuac-cac.


+ FCC News: FCC Issues Citation to Illinois Company for Illegal Marketing of Unauthorized Radio Frequency Devices

On June 2, the FCC issued a Citation to Gary L. Stanford -- doing business as Spark Gap CB Shop in Lincoln, Illinois -- for "marketing in the United States unauthorized radio frequency devices and external radio frequency power amplifiers." This is in violation of section 302(b) of the Communications Act, and Sections 2.803(a)(1) (marketing of radio frequency devices prior to equipment authorization) and 2.815(b) (external radio frequency power amplifiers) of the Commission's rules.

On November 1, 2010, an agent from the FCC's Enforcement Bureau office in Chicago visited the Spark Gap CB shop in Lincoln. According to the Citation, the agent asked the clerk if the store had any amplifiers for sale. The clerk showed the agent a display case with external radio frequency power amplifiers for sale from several different manufacturers. The clerk also suggested that the agent consider purchasing a 10 meter Amateur Radio that is modified to operate on frequencies in the 11 meter Citizen's Band. The clerk also showed the agent a 10 meter Amateur Radio that was on display and operating on a Citizen's Band frequency. Read more here.

+ US District Court Dismisses Maine Amateur's Counterclaims

After two US Attorneys filed a Complaint in US District Court in October 2010 against Glenn Baxter, K1MAN, for not responding appropriately to an order that he pay a $21,000 fine for violating several sections of Part 97, Baxter filed many pro se motions. On May 23, the US District Court in Maine released an Order, dismissing one of Baxter's motions, an amended counterclaim, on multiple grounds.

The Court dismissed Baxter's claim for the following reasons: That the counterclaim plaintiff [Baxter] does not have standing to file a civil action against the government for its decision not to initiate a prosecution; that this Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction to review a Federal Communications Commission licensing decision, and that the Federal Tort Claims Act does not authorize a civil suit based on a governmental agency's alleged failure to perform its statutory duty.

The fine had been levied, according to the Complaint, "for defendant's willful and repeated violations of Sections 97.101(d) [commencing transmissions on top of existing communications on 3.890 MHz] and 97.113(a)(3) [transmitting communications in which the station licensee or control operator has a pecuniary interest] of the Commission's Rules, and for the defendant's willful violation of Section 97.105(a) [exercising control over station] and 97.113(b) [broadcasting] of the Rules, and for failure to file requested information pursuant to an Enforcement Bureau directive" [information in brackets added]. The Complaint sought to force payment of the $21,000 fine along with a filing fee and "such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper."

ARRL Section News: New Section Manager Appointed in Santa Clara Valley

Phil Steffora, K6TT, of Los Altos, California, was appointed as Santa Clara Valley Section Manager on May 25. ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton, NN1N, made the appointment in consultation with Pacific Division Director Bob Vallio, W6RGG. Steffora's appointment extends through June 30, 2012. First licensed in 1998 as KF6PEQ, Steffora upgraded to General in 2006 and then Amateur Extra in 2008. He has served as a Santa Clara Valley Assistant Section Manager since January 2009, and was Vice President of the Northern California DX Club (NCDXC) from 2009-2011. Steffora holds Worked All States, DXCC and other DX and contest achievements. The Section's top ARRL Field Organization position has been open since Bill Dale's, N2RHV, term of office concluded on June 30, 2010. Dale served as Section Manager of Santa Clara Valley for two terms.


In the Shack: RadioShack Looking for Suggestions for DIY Parts

Back in the day, RadioShack was the first place many of us looked for parts. QST construction projects routinely referenced RS part numbers, and the Shack even sold 10 and 2 meter transceivers. What goes around comes around, and RadioShack is now looking for input from us, as members of the larger DIY community, on parts we'd like to see them carry. There's a video explaining what they're looking for, and a place to add comments.

Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, June 2, 2011 from NASA's SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This MDI (Michelson Doppler Imager) image was taken in the continuum near the Ni I 6768 Angstrom line. The most prominent features are the sunspots. This is very much how the Sun looks in the visible range of the spectrum.

Tad "Sweet dreams 'til sunbeams find you" Cook, K7RA, reports: Last week, we reported that it has been a long time since sunspot numbers passed the 100 mark, but this week, that's exactly where the sunspot numbers have been: On Tuesday, May 31, the daily sunspot number reached a high of 132. The average daily sunspot numbers increased more than 55 points to 89.9, while the average solar flux rose nearly 20 points to 103.1. The latest forecast shows solar flux at 115 on June 2-3, 110 on June 4-8, 105 on June 9-10, 100 on June 11-14, rising to 105 on June 15, and 110 on June 16-26. The planetary A index is predicted to be 10, 8, 10 and 8 on June 2-5, 5 on June 6-8. The next period of high geomagnetic activity is projected for June 22-27, at 12, 22, 18, 18, 15 and 8. Geophysical Institute Prague sees unsettled to active conditions June 3-4, unsettled June 5, quiet conditions June 6-7 and quiet to unsettled June 8-9. Look for more information -- including a look at the three month moving average for daily sunspot numbers, plus have a peek ahead to Field Day conditions -- on the ARRL website on Friday, June 3. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page. This week's "Tad Cookism" is brought to you by Dream a Little Dream of Me, as sung by Mama Cass Elliot from The Mamas and The Papas.

+ Jim Talens, N3JT, Wins May QST Cover Plaque Award

The winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award for May is Jim Talens, N3JT , for his article "An Emergency Backup Solar Power System. " Congratulations Jim! The QST Cover Plaque award -- given to the author or authors of the best article in each issue -- is determined by a vote of ARRL members on the QST Cover Plaque Poll Web page . Cast a ballot for your favorite article in the June issue today.

There's Still Time to Enter the 2011 ARRL Photo Contest!
Have you ever wanted to see a photo of yours in QST, the annual ARRL Amateur Radio Calendar or another ARRL publication? Well, here's your chance! If you're among the winners, not only will your photographic skill be propagated far and wide, but we're offering $100 as the First Prize. The winning photo and three runners-up will be published in QST. All submitted photos will also be considered for the 2012 ARRL Calendar.



Mike Likavec, WA8NNX, of Chester, Virginia, submitted this photo in the 2010 ARRL Photo Contest.

Deadline: Photos must be received at ARRL HQ by June 30, 2011.
Subject: Must be directly related to Amateur Radio, and be in good taste. Extra points will be awarded for photos showing folks having fun with Amateur Radio. Photos will be judged on overall quality and composition.
Requirements: Digital images or color prints accepted. A digital image printed on photo paper, however, doesn't work as well as a high-resolution file attachment. Digital images should be high resolution. A digital image up to 8 MB in size can be e-mailed to upfront@arrl.org, subject line "2011 Photo Contest." An image may also be burned to a CD and mailed to ARRL Photo Contest, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. All entries must include caption information describing where the photo was taken, along with a description of the subject of the photo, as well as the names and call signs of any persons shown. If you entered last year's contest, please do not resend the same photo for this year's contest. One entry per person.
Miscellaneous: The decisions of the judges -- composed of QST editorial and production staff -- are final.
This Week on the Radio
This week:

June 3 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
June 4 -- Wake-Up! QRP Sprint
June 5 -- 10-10 International Open Season PSK Contest
June 4-5 -- Maritimes QSO Party; Alabama QSO Party; SEANET Contest
June 7 -- ARS Spartan Sprint
Next week:

June 10 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
June 11 -- Portugal Day Contest; Asia-Pacific Sprint (SSB)
June 11-12 -- DRCG Long Distance Contest (RTTY), VK Shires Contest; CWops Mini-CWT Test; GACW WWSA CW DX Contest; REF DDFM 6 Meter Contest
June 11-13 -- ARRL June VHF QSO Party
June 12 -- SKCC Weekend Sprint
June 15 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint
All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest Branch page, the ARRL Contest Update and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar for more information. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the ARRL Special Event Stations Web page.

Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
June 3-5 -- ARRL Northwestern Division Convention (SeaPac), Seaside, Oregon; ARRL Wyoming State Convention, Cheyenne, Wyoming
June 4 -- ARRL Atlantic Division Convention, Rochester, New York; ARRL East Bay Section Convention, Berkeley, California; ARRL Georgia State Convention, Marietta, Georgia
June 10-11 -- ARRL National Convention, Plano, Texas
June 11 -- ARRL Tennessee State Convention, Knoxville, Tennessee
July 2 -- ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania Section Convention, Marysville, Pennsylvania
July 15-17 -- ARRL Montana State Convention, Essex, Montana
July 29-30 -- ARRL Oklahoma State Convention, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]]> + Public Service: ARES® Stands Down After Joplin Storms
IARU News: ARRL Headquarters Hosts Overseas Visitors
+ On the Air: Gear Up for the ARRL June VHF QSO Party
+ On the Air: Join the USA ARDF Team in Albuquerque
+ On the Air: ARRL VHF/UHF Advisory Committee Seeks Input
+ FCC News: FCC Issues Citation to Illinois Company for Illegal Marketing of Unauthorized Radio Frequency Devices
+ US District Court Dismisses Maine Amateur's Counterclaims
ARRL Section News: New Section Manager Appointed in Santa Clara Valley
In the Shack: RadioShack Looking for Suggestions for DIY Parts
Solar Update
+ Jim Talens, N3JT, Wins May QST Cover Plaque Award
There's Still Time to Enter the 2011 ARRL Photo Contest!
This Week on the Radio
Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News

+ Public Service: Central Massachusetts Experiences Rare Tornado, Area Hams Hasten to Help

In Sturbridge, Massachusetts, state police officers survey the damage done by the tornado. [PJ Howe, N1PJ, Photo]

At least two tornadoes touched down in Central Massachusetts late in the afternoon on Wednesday, June 1. The storm pulverized or sheared off the tops of roofs on Main Street in Springfield, a city of more than 150,000, located about 90 miles west of Boston. A debris-filled funnel swept into downtown from the west, then swirled across the Connecticut River, which runs through the city. Like their counterparts in Alabama and Missouri who responded when storms hit those regions, hams in Western Massachusetts volunteered their time and radios to the American Red Cross the National Weather Service. Read more here.

+ Public Service: ARES® Stands Down After Joplin Storms

Due to the end of the "search and recovery" mode after the EF5 tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri on Sunday, May 22, ARRL Missouri Section Emergency Coordinator Ken Baremore, W0KRB, notified area hams that all Amateur Radio communications from the Emergency Operations Centers to the field operations have been stood down as of May 30. According to Baremore, officials are now focusing on debris and potential body part removal. "We do have some ARES® operators who are scheduled, and we will continue to work with SATERN through the rest of this week," he said. "I want to thank all of you who volunteered and came to Joplin to help with communications, as well as those of you who are still contacting me to see if additional help is needed." Read more here.

IARU News: ARRL Headquarters Hosts Overseas Visitors

Representatives from CRAC and CAMSAT visited ARRL Headquarters after attending the 2011 Dayton Hamvention®.

Where is Amateur Radio growing the fastest? The answer may surprise you -- it's China. The enthusiasm of Chinese radio amateurs was very much in evidence at ARRL Headquarters on Tuesday, May 24, when a dozen amateurs from Beijing and Shanghai toured ARRL Headquarters. The group -- which included representatives of Chinese AMSAT -- had attended the Dayton Hamvention® the previous weekend, where a booth for the Radio Association of China and its subsidiary, the Chinese Radio Amateur Club (CRAC, pronounced SEE-rack), was a part of ARRL EXPO.


Amateur Radio Society of India President and IARU Region 3 Director Gopal Madhavan, VU2GMN, visited ARRL Headquarters prior to attending the Dayton Hamvention. Here, he discusses emergency communications and the ARRL Ham Aid program with ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ. [S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, Photo]

ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, met with Zhu San Bao, BY1CRA, Executive Vice Chairman of The Radio Association of China, to hear about the evolution of Amateur Radio in China and to explain ARRL operations in more detail. China is now represented in the International Amateur Radio Union by the Chinese Radio Sports Association (CRSA). CRAC has been established to cover all aspects of Amateur Radio and is assuming some of the functions of the CRSA.

The Chinese guests capped a busy period of international activity at ARRL HQ that began on Monday, May 16, with a visit by Gopal Madhavan, VU2GMN, who is a Director of IARU Region 3, as well as President of the Amateur Radio Society of India (ARSI). The following day, two officers of the Viet Nam Amateur Radio Club (VARC) -- Chairman Nguyen Minh Duc, XV2REH, and President Nguyen Bac Ai, XV2A -- arrived to tour ARRL Headquarters and to discuss their plans for hosting next year's IARU Region 3 Conference.


Amateur Radio Society of India President and IARU Region 3 Director Gopal Madhavan, VU2GMN, visited ARRL Headquarters prior to attending the Dayton Hamvention. Here, he discusses emergency communications and the ARRL Ham Aid program with ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ. [S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, Photo]

All of these visitors included Dayton in their itineraries. While the Hamvention always attracts many foreign visitors, the theme of this year's event -- Global Friendship -- made their presence especially appropriate. To mark the theme, the ARRL EXPO area included exhibits representing, in addition to China and the IARU itself, four IARU Member-Societies: Deutscher Amateur Radio Club (Germany), Japan Amateur Radio League, Qatar Amateur Radio Society and Radio Society of Great Britain. The Radio Amateurs of Canada booth was nearby, rounding out our "global village."


+ On the Air: Gear Up for the ARRL June VHF QSO Party

These two hams are having a lot of fun making QSOs from WB3IGR in Easton, Maryland during the 2010 ARRL June VHF QSO Party. [George Fazio, WB3IGR, Photo]

Lots of RF will be generated on 6 meters and up the weekend of June 11-12 during the 2011 ARRL June VHF QSO Party. While many amateurs think of the VHF+ bands as a "local" band for public service, emergency communications or even a bit of fun on FM repeaters, weak-signal VHF+ enthusiasts know better. Even with a modest station, it's possible to work hundreds, or even thousands of miles on the VHF bands during a good opening.

ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, is a big VHF enthusiast. "In more than 25 years of Amateur Radio, weak-signal work on 6 and 2 meters remains the most fun and intriguing activity I do," he said. "There is nothing like a good VHF opening. With its fun and interesting propagation characteristics like sporadic-E, tropospheric ducting, aurora and even meteor scatter and moonbounce, VHF offers QSO opportunities that HF can never satisfy." Read more here.

+ On the Air: Join the USA ARDF Team in Albuquerque
The Annual USA Championships of Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) will take place in forests near Albuquerque, New Mexico from September 14-18, 2011. USA's national championships are being combined with the IARU Region 2 Championships. According to ARRL ARDF Coordinator Joe Moell, K0OV, they are open to anyone of any age who can safely navigate in the woods with handheld radio gear for several kilometers. Medals will be awarded for the top three finishers on each band in 10 age categories, six for males and four for females. A two day training camp will precede the formal competitions.

Organizers of the 2011 championships are members of the Albuquerque Amateur Radio Club and the New Mexico Orienteers, led by Jerry Boyd, WB8WFK, and Mike Pendley, K5ATM. Registration is now open -- Moell said that it is important for competitors to register early. The organizers need an accurate head count and assurances that there will be sufficient attendees. Read more here.

+ On the Air: ARRL VHF/UHF Advisory Committee Seeks Input

The ARRL would like to encourage more participation in its several VHF/UHF contests held each year. Many of the HF transceivers sold in recent years include 50 MHz, and some also include the 144 and 432 MHz bands with multi-mode capabilities. The question at hand is how can we encourage more owners of such radios to utilize these bands and modes to participate in VHF/UHF contests?

The ARRL VHF/UHF Advisory Committee (VUAC) has been asked to consider this question, and to make recommendations to encourage, explore and expand the ARRL VHF and UHF contests and other operating activities by using the multi-band and multi-mode capabilities of modern transceivers and related equipment.

The VUAC would like to ask the Amateur Radio community to provide their comments and ideas for consideration.

Please send any comments or ideas you have on this matter to your ARRL VUAC Division representative no later than July 1, 2011. A listing of each Division's VUAC representative can be found at http://www.arrl.org/arrl-staff-vuac-cac.


+ FCC News: FCC Issues Citation to Illinois Company for Illegal Marketing of Unauthorized Radio Frequency Devices

On June 2, the FCC issued a Citation to Gary L. Stanford -- doing business as Spark Gap CB Shop in Lincoln, Illinois -- for "marketing in the United States unauthorized radio frequency devices and external radio frequency power amplifiers." This is in violation of section 302(b) of the Communications Act, and Sections 2.803(a)(1) (marketing of radio frequency devices prior to equipment authorization) and 2.815(b) (external radio frequency power amplifiers) of the Commission's rules.

On November 1, 2010, an agent from the FCC's Enforcement Bureau office in Chicago visited the Spark Gap CB shop in Lincoln. According to the Citation, the agent asked the clerk if the store had any amplifiers for sale. The clerk showed the agent a display case with external radio frequency power amplifiers for sale from several different manufacturers. The clerk also suggested that the agent consider purchasing a 10 meter Amateur Radio that is modified to operate on frequencies in the 11 meter Citizen's Band. The clerk also showed the agent a 10 meter Amateur Radio that was on display and operating on a Citizen's Band frequency. Read more here.

+ US District Court Dismisses Maine Amateur's Counterclaims

After two US Attorneys filed a Complaint in US District Court in October 2010 against Glenn Baxter, K1MAN, for not responding appropriately to an order that he pay a $21,000 fine for violating several sections of Part 97, Baxter filed many pro se motions. On May 23, the US District Court in Maine released an Order, dismissing one of Baxter's motions, an amended counterclaim, on multiple grounds.

The Court dismissed Baxter's claim for the following reasons: That the counterclaim plaintiff [Baxter] does not have standing to file a civil action against the government for its decision not to initiate a prosecution; that this Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction to review a Federal Communications Commission licensing decision, and that the Federal Tort Claims Act does not authorize a civil suit based on a governmental agency's alleged failure to perform its statutory duty.

The fine had been levied, according to the Complaint, "for defendant's willful and repeated violations of Sections 97.101(d) [commencing transmissions on top of existing communications on 3.890 MHz] and 97.113(a)(3) [transmitting communications in which the station licensee or control operator has a pecuniary interest] of the Commission's Rules, and for the defendant's willful violation of Section 97.105(a) [exercising control over station] and 97.113(b) [broadcasting] of the Rules, and for failure to file requested information pursuant to an Enforcement Bureau directive" [information in brackets added]. The Complaint sought to force payment of the $21,000 fine along with a filing fee and "such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper."

ARRL Section News: New Section Manager Appointed in Santa Clara Valley

Phil Steffora, K6TT, of Los Altos, California, was appointed as Santa Clara Valley Section Manager on May 25. ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton, NN1N, made the appointment in consultation with Pacific Division Director Bob Vallio, W6RGG. Steffora's appointment extends through June 30, 2012. First licensed in 1998 as KF6PEQ, Steffora upgraded to General in 2006 and then Amateur Extra in 2008. He has served as a Santa Clara Valley Assistant Section Manager since January 2009, and was Vice President of the Northern California DX Club (NCDXC) from 2009-2011. Steffora holds Worked All States, DXCC and other DX and contest achievements. The Section's top ARRL Field Organization position has been open since Bill Dale's, N2RHV, term of office concluded on June 30, 2010. Dale served as Section Manager of Santa Clara Valley for two terms.


In the Shack: RadioShack Looking for Suggestions for DIY Parts

Back in the day, RadioShack was the first place many of us looked for parts. QST construction projects routinely referenced RS part numbers, and the Shack even sold 10 and 2 meter transceivers. What goes around comes around, and RadioShack is now looking for input from us, as members of the larger DIY community, on parts we'd like to see them carry. There's a video explaining what they're looking for, and a place to add comments.

Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, June 2, 2011 from NASA's SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This MDI (Michelson Doppler Imager) image was taken in the continuum near the Ni I 6768 Angstrom line. The most prominent features are the sunspots. This is very much how the Sun looks in the visible range of the spectrum.

Tad "Sweet dreams 'til sunbeams find you" Cook, K7RA, reports: Last week, we reported that it has been a long time since sunspot numbers passed the 100 mark, but this week, that's exactly where the sunspot numbers have been: On Tuesday, May 31, the daily sunspot number reached a high of 132. The average daily sunspot numbers increased more than 55 points to 89.9, while the average solar flux rose nearly 20 points to 103.1. The latest forecast shows solar flux at 115 on June 2-3, 110 on June 4-8, 105 on June 9-10, 100 on June 11-14, rising to 105 on June 15, and 110 on June 16-26. The planetary A index is predicted to be 10, 8, 10 and 8 on June 2-5, 5 on June 6-8. The next period of high geomagnetic activity is projected for June 22-27, at 12, 22, 18, 18, 15 and 8. Geophysical Institute Prague sees unsettled to active conditions June 3-4, unsettled June 5, quiet conditions June 6-7 and quiet to unsettled June 8-9. Look for more information -- including a look at the three month moving average for daily sunspot numbers, plus have a peek ahead to Field Day conditions -- on the ARRL website on Friday, June 3. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page. This week's "Tad Cookism" is brought to you by Dream a Little Dream of Me, as sung by Mama Cass Elliot from The Mamas and The Papas.

+ Jim Talens, N3JT, Wins May QST Cover Plaque Award

The winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award for May is Jim Talens, N3JT , for his article "An Emergency Backup Solar Power System. " Congratulations Jim! The QST Cover Plaque award -- given to the author or authors of the best article in each issue -- is determined by a vote of ARRL members on the QST Cover Plaque Poll Web page . Cast a ballot for your favorite article in the June issue today.

There's Still Time to Enter the 2011 ARRL Photo Contest!
Have you ever wanted to see a photo of yours in QST, the annual ARRL Amateur Radio Calendar or another ARRL publication? Well, here's your chance! If you're among the winners, not only will your photographic skill be propagated far and wide, but we're offering $100 as the First Prize. The winning photo and three runners-up will be published in QST. All submitted photos will also be considered for the 2012 ARRL Calendar.



Mike Likavec, WA8NNX, of Chester, Virginia, submitted this photo in the 2010 ARRL Photo Contest.

Deadline: Photos must be received at ARRL HQ by June 30, 2011.
Subject: Must be directly related to Amateur Radio, and be in good taste. Extra points will be awarded for photos showing folks having fun with Amateur Radio. Photos will be judged on overall quality and composition.
Requirements: Digital images or color prints accepted. A digital image printed on photo paper, however, doesn't work as well as a high-resolution file attachment. Digital images should be high resolution. A digital image up to 8 MB in size can be e-mailed to upfront@arrl.org, subject line "2011 Photo Contest." An image may also be burned to a CD and mailed to ARRL Photo Contest, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. All entries must include caption information describing where the photo was taken, along with a description of the subject of the photo, as well as the names and call signs of any persons shown. If you entered last year's contest, please do not resend the same photo for this year's contest. One entry per person.
Miscellaneous: The decisions of the judges -- composed of QST editorial and production staff -- are final.
This Week on the Radio
This week:

June 3 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
June 4 -- Wake-Up! QRP Sprint
June 5 -- 10-10 International Open Season PSK Contest
June 4-5 -- Maritimes QSO Party; Alabama QSO Party; SEANET Contest
June 7 -- ARS Spartan Sprint
Next week:

June 10 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
June 11 -- Portugal Day Contest; Asia-Pacific Sprint (SSB)
June 11-12 -- DRCG Long Distance Contest (RTTY), VK Shires Contest; CWops Mini-CWT Test; GACW WWSA CW DX Contest; REF DDFM 6 Meter Contest
June 11-13 -- ARRL June VHF QSO Party
June 12 -- SKCC Weekend Sprint
June 15 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint
All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest Branch page, the ARRL Contest Update and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar for more information. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the ARRL Special Event Stations Web page.

Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
June 3-5 -- ARRL Northwestern Division Convention (SeaPac), Seaside, Oregon; ARRL Wyoming State Convention, Cheyenne, Wyoming
June 4 -- ARRL Atlantic Division Convention, Rochester, New York; ARRL East Bay Section Convention, Berkeley, California; ARRL Georgia State Convention, Marietta, Georgia
June 10-11 -- ARRL National Convention, Plano, Texas
June 11 -- ARRL Tennessee State Convention, Knoxville, Tennessee
July 2 -- ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania Section Convention, Marysville, Pennsylvania
July 15-17 -- ARRL Montana State Convention, Essex, Montana
July 29-30 -- ARRL Oklahoma State Convention, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=126 Sun, 29 May 2011 17:26:19 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=126
On 6 April Wolf Hadel, DK2OM, found a strong BC station on 10110 kHz. The transmitter was carrying a program in Turkish language. On 8 April Gerhard Schweidler, OE3GSA, from OeVSV reported another strong BC on 14210 kHz also in Turkish language to me. It was also carrying a program in Turkish language. I checked the frequencies. The jingles of the BCs told me, that the “Voice of Turkey” was broadcasting on two amateur radio frequencies. I immediately informed the German telecommunications authorities “Federal Network Agency” (Bundesnetzagentur) and, by means of Internet, the intruder watches of IARU Regions 1, 2, and 3. I realized that on both frequencies besides the very loud program in Turkish voice there was also audible a second program very faintly in the background: On 10110 kHz a program in English voice, and on 14210 kHz a program in German voice. So I was sure that both frequencies were not fundamentals or harmonics, but intermodulation products (IMs). I looked for the same program in Turkish language lower and higher than 10100 kHz and quickly found “Voice of Turkey” on 9460 kHz with S9+50dB. By means of this frequency I was able to find out the other frequencies which had led to the two IMs:

9785 kHz x 2 – 9460 kHz = 10110 kHz

11835 kHz x 2 – 9460 kHz = 14210 kHz

The “knitting pattern” of the Intermodulation:

The program in Turkish language was already in course on 9460 kHz. When 9785 kHz (English voice) was switched on, 10110 kHz was “generated”. When 11835 kHz (German language) was switched on, 14210 kHz was “generated”. When the interference had already lasted longer than one month, I sent letters by post and email to the Turkish Radio Television Corporation in Ankara and also to the Turkish amateur radio club. I never got an answer from the “Voice of Turkey”. From the President of the Turkish Amateur Radio Society, OM Aziz Sasa TA1E, I received an email by 26 May. He asked me, if the interference was still lasting on. In the evening of 26 May I checked both frequencies, and, oh wonder, 10110 kHz and 14210 kHz were without interference! Of course I do not exactly know who finally helped to QSY the Voice of Turkey off our ham bands. My sincere thanks go to Gerhard Schweidler, OE3GSA, and Alex Wagner, OE3DMA, from OeVSV-Austria bandwatch, to Wolf Hadel, DK2OM, “my” vice coordinator of DARC-MS. Also I want to thank engineer Edmund Grim of Federal Network Agency at Konstanz, Germany and his office. Thanks also to everybody who has helped in this case.


http://www.iarums-r1.org/iarums/actions.pdf]]>
On 6 April Wolf Hadel, DK2OM, found a strong BC station on 10110 kHz. The transmitter was carrying a program in Turkish language. On 8 April Gerhard Schweidler, OE3GSA, from OeVSV reported another strong BC on 14210 kHz also in Turkish language to me. It was also carrying a program in Turkish language. I checked the frequencies. The jingles of the BCs told me, that the “Voice of Turkey” was broadcasting on two amateur radio frequencies. I immediately informed the German telecommunications authorities “Federal Network Agency” (Bundesnetzagentur) and, by means of Internet, the intruder watches of IARU Regions 1, 2, and 3. I realized that on both frequencies besides the very loud program in Turkish voice there was also audible a second program very faintly in the background: On 10110 kHz a program in English voice, and on 14210 kHz a program in German voice. So I was sure that both frequencies were not fundamentals or harmonics, but intermodulation products (IMs). I looked for the same program in Turkish language lower and higher than 10100 kHz and quickly found “Voice of Turkey” on 9460 kHz with S9+50dB. By means of this frequency I was able to find out the other frequencies which had led to the two IMs:

9785 kHz x 2 – 9460 kHz = 10110 kHz

11835 kHz x 2 – 9460 kHz = 14210 kHz

The “knitting pattern” of the Intermodulation:

The program in Turkish language was already in course on 9460 kHz. When 9785 kHz (English voice) was switched on, 10110 kHz was “generated”. When 11835 kHz (German language) was switched on, 14210 kHz was “generated”. When the interference had already lasted longer than one month, I sent letters by post and email to the Turkish Radio Television Corporation in Ankara and also to the Turkish amateur radio club. I never got an answer from the “Voice of Turkey”. From the President of the Turkish Amateur Radio Society, OM Aziz Sasa TA1E, I received an email by 26 May. He asked me, if the interference was still lasting on. In the evening of 26 May I checked both frequencies, and, oh wonder, 10110 kHz and 14210 kHz were without interference! Of course I do not exactly know who finally helped to QSY the Voice of Turkey off our ham bands. My sincere thanks go to Gerhard Schweidler, OE3GSA, and Alex Wagner, OE3DMA, from OeVSV-Austria bandwatch, to Wolf Hadel, DK2OM, “my” vice coordinator of DARC-MS. Also I want to thank engineer Edmund Grim of Federal Network Agency at Konstanz, Germany and his office. Thanks also to everybody who has helped in this case.


http://www.iarums-r1.org/iarums/actions.pdf]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=125 Sat, 28 May 2011 00:57:45 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=125 SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP021
ARLP021 Propagation de K7RA

ZCZC AP21
QST de W1AW
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 21 ARLP021
From Tad Cook, K7RA
Seattle, WA May 27, 2011
To all radio amateurs

SB PROP ARL ARLP021
ARLP021 Propagation de K7RA

The bulletin this week is coming to you from Felton, California,
where your author is attending a camp for blues dancers.

Our Sun was certainly quieter this week. Average daily sunspot
numbers were down nearly 17 points to 51.6, and average daily solar
flux declined nearly 9 points to 83.2. The latest prediction is for
solar flux to remain low at about 85 on May 27-29, 80 on May 30
through June 3, then rise to 90 on June 4, then 85 on June 5-7, and
back to 90 on June 8-11, peaking at 95 on June 12.

The same prediction has some geomagnetic activity this weekend, with
planetary A index on May 27-30 at 10, 15, 12, and 10, then declining
to 5 on May 31 and into the first week of June. The moderate
activity on Saturday (May 28) is due to a solar wind stream.

Geophysical Institute Prague predicts unsettled conditions on May
27, active conditions May 28, unsettled May 29-31, and quiet on June
1-2.

Things may seem quiet on this (the Earth-facing) side of our Sun,
but a peek at http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/ shows much more activity
on the far side. All those white spots represent magnetic activity,
and some could indicate sunspot activity. If we assume that
(depending partly on latitude) the Sun takes a little less than 28
days (approximately 27.5 days) for a single revolution relative to
Earth, and there are 12 longitudinal sectors displayed, each one
represents about 2.29 days, or about 55 hours. This can help you
make a rough estimate of how long it takes an area on the far side
to rotate across the horizon, which is at 90 degrees.

Currently three sunspot groups (numbered 1216, 1222 and 1223) are
visible, and another may be emerging.

Somehow a month ago I missed this announcement about the solar flux
and geophysical announcements on WWV going away. Beginning
September 6, there will be no more announcements at 18 minutes after
the hour with solar flux, K and A index. This was reported on the
League website at
http://www.arrl.org/news/space-weather-p...ts-on-wwv-
and-wwvh.

Jeff Hartley, N8II of Shepherdstown, West Virginia sent a report on
May 23: "There's not much of an exciting nature to report except
that 15M openings to EU seem pretty commonplace up to at least 22Z
with very good signals despite being well after dark (except in far
western and NW EU), despite the lower flux which was 85 today, 5-23.
Saturday 5-21, there was plenty of activity thru the day in the EA
King of Spain and UN DX contests on 15M from 13Z when I turned on
the radio. There was the expected weakening of signals around noon
and then strengths increasing from 19Z thru the early evening. EU
signals on 20 were weak in the morning which was pretty much
expected due to the shift to summer conditions and increased
absorption. Around 1330-1430Z signals were good on 20 from JA
across to Kazakhstan which was more active than usual with the UN DX
Contest. Around 24Z, I again was active on 20 most of the time
until 03Z with best signals from UN in the 24Z hour and conditions
gradually improved farther west with northern EU such as LY, SM, OH
and EU Russians workable all with good signals, but some very
fluttery. Between the EU and AS Russians and UN's, I was pretty
busy running stations from 02-03Z working a total of 15 UN regions
for the day (almost every station is in a different region). There
was sporadic E to the upper Midwest on Sunday around 01Z with one
loud signal from EN32 in IA on 6M and several on 10M. 12M is still
frequently open to the south including Caribbean thru much of the
day starting around 15Z".

Jon Pollock, K0ZN of DeSoto, Kansas (EM28) sent this in on May 21:
"The upper HF bands were excellent last night. I worked a bunch of
Russian and European DX on 17 M between 10PM and Midnight. The
interesting part was 15 M. At 11PM CDT, I tuned the band and found
3 groups of digital signals around 21.070. Obviously, I have no
idea what or who, but they were pretty strong. So I tuned up in to
the phone band, this is now about 11:15 PM and heard a 'local' rag
chew between a couple of W4's and a W5. It sounded like
backscatter. Then I heard K0FPL in Kansas City chatting with AB0RJ
in St. Louis via 250 mile back scatter path.

I read the mail on their QSO, but no other signals on the band. It
sounded very dead. Then I heard a 'break', someone wanting to break
into their QSO. It was a strong signal so I figured someone local.
NOT! It was E51CG in the Cook Islands! Holy Toledo! The Western
Pacific! By now it was well after 11 PM CDT.

Another case of 15 M being 'dead' in the middle of the night. The
E51 guy chatted with them for about 10 minutes and gave the locals,
10 db over S-9 reports in Raratonga, Cook Islands!

Trust me, the sunspots are back. Several guys have been commenting
that they have not heard propagation like this in years and years.
Could we be lucky enough to have another really big sunspot peak?

I worked a KL7 in Western Alaska at 11 PM CDT on 15 M CW last night.
THAT is crazy stuff compared to what we been seeing for years.
Maybe after that crazy long multi year cycle low, we are going to
get a good one."]]> SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP021
ARLP021 Propagation de K7RA

ZCZC AP21
QST de W1AW
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 21 ARLP021
From Tad Cook, K7RA
Seattle, WA May 27, 2011
To all radio amateurs

SB PROP ARL ARLP021
ARLP021 Propagation de K7RA

The bulletin this week is coming to you from Felton, California,
where your author is attending a camp for blues dancers.

Our Sun was certainly quieter this week. Average daily sunspot
numbers were down nearly 17 points to 51.6, and average daily solar
flux declined nearly 9 points to 83.2. The latest prediction is for
solar flux to remain low at about 85 on May 27-29, 80 on May 30
through June 3, then rise to 90 on June 4, then 85 on June 5-7, and
back to 90 on June 8-11, peaking at 95 on June 12.

The same prediction has some geomagnetic activity this weekend, with
planetary A index on May 27-30 at 10, 15, 12, and 10, then declining
to 5 on May 31 and into the first week of June. The moderate
activity on Saturday (May 28) is due to a solar wind stream.

Geophysical Institute Prague predicts unsettled conditions on May
27, active conditions May 28, unsettled May 29-31, and quiet on June
1-2.

Things may seem quiet on this (the Earth-facing) side of our Sun,
but a peek at http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/ shows much more activity
on the far side. All those white spots represent magnetic activity,
and some could indicate sunspot activity. If we assume that
(depending partly on latitude) the Sun takes a little less than 28
days (approximately 27.5 days) for a single revolution relative to
Earth, and there are 12 longitudinal sectors displayed, each one
represents about 2.29 days, or about 55 hours. This can help you
make a rough estimate of how long it takes an area on the far side
to rotate across the horizon, which is at 90 degrees.

Currently three sunspot groups (numbered 1216, 1222 and 1223) are
visible, and another may be emerging.

Somehow a month ago I missed this announcement about the solar flux
and geophysical announcements on WWV going away. Beginning
September 6, there will be no more announcements at 18 minutes after
the hour with solar flux, K and A index. This was reported on the
League website at
http://www.arrl.org/news/space-weather-p...ts-on-wwv-
and-wwvh.

Jeff Hartley, N8II of Shepherdstown, West Virginia sent a report on
May 23: "There's not much of an exciting nature to report except
that 15M openings to EU seem pretty commonplace up to at least 22Z
with very good signals despite being well after dark (except in far
western and NW EU), despite the lower flux which was 85 today, 5-23.
Saturday 5-21, there was plenty of activity thru the day in the EA
King of Spain and UN DX contests on 15M from 13Z when I turned on
the radio. There was the expected weakening of signals around noon
and then strengths increasing from 19Z thru the early evening. EU
signals on 20 were weak in the morning which was pretty much
expected due to the shift to summer conditions and increased
absorption. Around 1330-1430Z signals were good on 20 from JA
across to Kazakhstan which was more active than usual with the UN DX
Contest. Around 24Z, I again was active on 20 most of the time
until 03Z with best signals from UN in the 24Z hour and conditions
gradually improved farther west with northern EU such as LY, SM, OH
and EU Russians workable all with good signals, but some very
fluttery. Between the EU and AS Russians and UN's, I was pretty
busy running stations from 02-03Z working a total of 15 UN regions
for the day (almost every station is in a different region). There
was sporadic E to the upper Midwest on Sunday around 01Z with one
loud signal from EN32 in IA on 6M and several on 10M. 12M is still
frequently open to the south including Caribbean thru much of the
day starting around 15Z".

Jon Pollock, K0ZN of DeSoto, Kansas (EM28) sent this in on May 21:
"The upper HF bands were excellent last night. I worked a bunch of
Russian and European DX on 17 M between 10PM and Midnight. The
interesting part was 15 M. At 11PM CDT, I tuned the band and found
3 groups of digital signals around 21.070. Obviously, I have no
idea what or who, but they were pretty strong. So I tuned up in to
the phone band, this is now about 11:15 PM and heard a 'local' rag
chew between a couple of W4's and a W5. It sounded like
backscatter. Then I heard K0FPL in Kansas City chatting with AB0RJ
in St. Louis via 250 mile back scatter path.

I read the mail on their QSO, but no other signals on the band. It
sounded very dead. Then I heard a 'break', someone wanting to break
into their QSO. It was a strong signal so I figured someone local.
NOT! It was E51CG in the Cook Islands! Holy Toledo! The Western
Pacific! By now it was well after 11 PM CDT.

Another case of 15 M being 'dead' in the middle of the night. The
E51 guy chatted with them for about 10 minutes and gave the locals,
10 db over S-9 reports in Raratonga, Cook Islands!

Trust me, the sunspots are back. Several guys have been commenting
that they have not heard propagation like this in years and years.
Could we be lucky enough to have another really big sunspot peak?

I worked a KL7 in Western Alaska at 11 PM CDT on 15 M CW last night.
THAT is crazy stuff compared to what we been seeing for years.
Maybe after that crazy long multi year cycle low, we are going to
get a good one."]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=124 Fri, 27 May 2011 04:19:19 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=124
2011: Saturday, June 18.
Kids Day always runs from 1800 UTC through 2359 UTC. Operate as much or as little as you like.

Suggested Exchange
Name, age, location and favorite color. Be sure to work the same station again if an operator has changed. To draw attention, call “CQ Kids Day.”

Suggested Frequencies-
10 Meters: 28.350 to 28.400 MHz
12 Meters: 24.960 to 24.980 MHz
15 Meters: 21.360 to 21.400 MHz
17 Meters: 18.140 to 18.145 MHz
20 Meters: 14.270 to 14.300 MHz
40 Meters: 7.270 to 7.290 MHz
80 Meters: 3.740 to 3.940 MHz
You can also use your favorite favorite repeater

Kids Day Survey and Certificates-
All participants are eligible to receive a colorful certificate. You can download this certificate for free, customized with the youngster’s names, after filling out the Kids Day Survey found on the same page as the certificate generator. Alternatively, you can send a 9” x 12” SASE to:
Kids Day Certificate Request
ARRL
225 Main St
Newington, CT 0611
ATTN: Sean Kutzko, KX9X]]>
2011: Saturday, June 18.
Kids Day always runs from 1800 UTC through 2359 UTC. Operate as much or as little as you like.

Suggested Exchange
Name, age, location and favorite color. Be sure to work the same station again if an operator has changed. To draw attention, call “CQ Kids Day.”

Suggested Frequencies-
10 Meters: 28.350 to 28.400 MHz
12 Meters: 24.960 to 24.980 MHz
15 Meters: 21.360 to 21.400 MHz
17 Meters: 18.140 to 18.145 MHz
20 Meters: 14.270 to 14.300 MHz
40 Meters: 7.270 to 7.290 MHz
80 Meters: 3.740 to 3.940 MHz
You can also use your favorite favorite repeater

Kids Day Survey and Certificates-
All participants are eligible to receive a colorful certificate. You can download this certificate for free, customized with the youngster’s names, after filling out the Kids Day Survey found on the same page as the certificate generator. Alternatively, you can send a 9” x 12” SASE to:
Kids Day Certificate Request
ARRL
225 Main St
Newington, CT 0611
ATTN: Sean Kutzko, KX9X]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=123 Fri, 27 May 2011 03:58:31 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=123 SB DX @ ARL $ARLD021
ARLD021 DX news

ZCZC AE21
QST de W1AW
DX Bulletin 21 ARLD021
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT May 26, 2011
To all radio amateurs

SB DX ARL ARLD021
ARLD021 DX news

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
DF1DV, N4QX, NC1L, QRZ DX, The Daily DX, the OPDX Bulletin, DXNL,
INDX, Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and
WA7BNM web sites. Thanks to all.

GEORGIA, 4L. Andi, UU0JM will be QRV as 4L0A in the CQ WW WPX CW
contest. Before and after the contest he is active as 4L/UU0JM.
QSL direct to EA7FTR.

ITU HEADQUARTERS, 4UxITU. Masa, JH3PRR and Brennan, N4QX will be
QRV as 4U1ITU in the CQ WW WPX CW contest. QSL direct.

MADAGASCAR, 5R. Giorgio, IZ4AKS will be QRV as 5R8KS from Nosy Be
Island, IOTA AF-057, from May 31 to June 6. Activity will be on 40
to 10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via IZ8IYX.

CHILE, CE. Members of the Radio Club Cavancha will be QRV as 3G1R
in the CQ WW WPX CW contest as a Multi Op entry. QSL via CE1RKV.

MADEIRA ISLANDS, CT3. Operators DJ2YE, DJ8DS, DJ9IE, DK3QZ, DL1XW,
DL3HAH and PA0R are QRV as CT9/home calls from Santana, IOTA AF-014,
until May 30. They will be active as CR3L in the CQ WW WPX CW
contest as a Multi Op entry. QSL CR3L via DJ6QT and all others to
home calls.

GERMANY, DA. Special event station DL0YLWM will be QRV from June 1
to July 31 during the Women's World Cup in Germany. QSL via bureau.

CANARY ISLANDS, EA8. Val, RD3A will be QRV as EF8M from Las Palmas,
IOTA AF-004, in the CQ WW WPX CW contest as a Single Op/All
Band/High Power entry. QSL via UA3DX.

THAILAND, HS. Look for HS7AT/8 to be a Single Op/Single Band/20
meter entry in the CQ WW WPX CW contest. QSL direct to E21IZC.

DJIBOUTI, J2. Operators J28RO, J28AA, J28WR, J28AP and J28JV will
be QRV as J25DXA from Arta City in the CQ WW WPX CW contest.
Outside the contest, they will be active with their own calls.
Activity will be on 160 to 10 meters. QSL J25DXA via F8DFP and all
others to home calls.

HAWAII, KH6. Jim, N6TJ will be QRV as NH7A in the CQ WW WPX CW
contest as a Single Op/All band entry. QSL via F5VHJ.

ALAND ISLANDS, OH0. Pekka, OH2TA will be QRV as OH0X in the CQ WW
WPX CW contest as a Single Op/All Band entry. QSL to home call.

ARUBA, P4. Andy, AE6Y will be QRV as P49Y in the CQ WW WPX CW
contest as a Single Op/All Band entry. QSL to home call.

BONAIRE, PJ4. Operators K4IQJ and K4BAI are QRV as PJ4/home calls
until May 31. Activity is on all HF bands using mostly CW. Look
for PJ4A to be a Single Op/All Band/High Power entry in the CQ WW
WPX CW contest. QSL PJ4/K4BAI and PJ4A via K4BAI and PJ4/K4IQJ via
K4IQJ.

GREECE, SV. Laci, HA0HW is QRV as SV8/HA0HW from Thassos Island,
IOTA EU-174, until June 5. Activity is on all HF bands including 6
meters. He will be active as J48HW in the CQ WW WPX CW contest as a
Single Op/All Band/High Power/TB-Wires entry. QSL both calls to
home call.

CRETE, SV9. Dick, SV0XBN will be QRV as J49XF in the CQ WW WPX CW
contest as a Single Op/All band entry. QSL to home call.

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, V2. Darrell, AB2E is QRV as V26E until May 31.
Activity is on all HF bands. He will be a Single Op entry in the CQ
WW WPX CW contest. QSL direct to home call.

COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS, VK9C. Wally, VK6YS will be QRV as VK9CI
from May 31 to June 7 while on vacation here. Activity will be on
40 to 10 meters using mostly PSK31 with some CW and SSB mostly
during his evenings and spare time. QSL to home call.

TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS, VP5. Dave, W5CW is QRV as VP5/home call
until June 14. Activity is on 160 to 6 meters using CW and SSB. He
will be QRV as VP5CW in the CQ WW WPX CW and upcoming ARRL VHF
contests. QSL to home call.

NICARAGUA, YN. Operators N5ET, NM5G and K5WQG are QRV as YN2ET,
YN2MG and YN2ER, respectively. They will also be active as YN2ET in
the CQ WW WPX CW contest as a Multi/Single entry. QSL all calls via
N5ET.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO. The CQ World Wide WPX CW Contest, NCCC
Sprint CW Ladder, ARCI Hootowl CW Sprint and the MI QRP Memorial Day
CW Sprint will certainly keep contesters busy this upcoming weekend.
Please see May QST, page 80, and the ARRL and WA7BNM contest web
sites for details.
NNNN
/EX]]> SB DX @ ARL $ARLD021
ARLD021 DX news

ZCZC AE21
QST de W1AW
DX Bulletin 21 ARLD021
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT May 26, 2011
To all radio amateurs

SB DX ARL ARLD021
ARLD021 DX news

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
DF1DV, N4QX, NC1L, QRZ DX, The Daily DX, the OPDX Bulletin, DXNL,
INDX, Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and
WA7BNM web sites. Thanks to all.

GEORGIA, 4L. Andi, UU0JM will be QRV as 4L0A in the CQ WW WPX CW
contest. Before and after the contest he is active as 4L/UU0JM.
QSL direct to EA7FTR.

ITU HEADQUARTERS, 4UxITU. Masa, JH3PRR and Brennan, N4QX will be
QRV as 4U1ITU in the CQ WW WPX CW contest. QSL direct.

MADAGASCAR, 5R. Giorgio, IZ4AKS will be QRV as 5R8KS from Nosy Be
Island, IOTA AF-057, from May 31 to June 6. Activity will be on 40
to 10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via IZ8IYX.

CHILE, CE. Members of the Radio Club Cavancha will be QRV as 3G1R
in the CQ WW WPX CW contest as a Multi Op entry. QSL via CE1RKV.

MADEIRA ISLANDS, CT3. Operators DJ2YE, DJ8DS, DJ9IE, DK3QZ, DL1XW,
DL3HAH and PA0R are QRV as CT9/home calls from Santana, IOTA AF-014,
until May 30. They will be active as CR3L in the CQ WW WPX CW
contest as a Multi Op entry. QSL CR3L via DJ6QT and all others to
home calls.

GERMANY, DA. Special event station DL0YLWM will be QRV from June 1
to July 31 during the Women's World Cup in Germany. QSL via bureau.

CANARY ISLANDS, EA8. Val, RD3A will be QRV as EF8M from Las Palmas,
IOTA AF-004, in the CQ WW WPX CW contest as a Single Op/All
Band/High Power entry. QSL via UA3DX.

THAILAND, HS. Look for HS7AT/8 to be a Single Op/Single Band/20
meter entry in the CQ WW WPX CW contest. QSL direct to E21IZC.

DJIBOUTI, J2. Operators J28RO, J28AA, J28WR, J28AP and J28JV will
be QRV as J25DXA from Arta City in the CQ WW WPX CW contest.
Outside the contest, they will be active with their own calls.
Activity will be on 160 to 10 meters. QSL J25DXA via F8DFP and all
others to home calls.

HAWAII, KH6. Jim, N6TJ will be QRV as NH7A in the CQ WW WPX CW
contest as a Single Op/All band entry. QSL via F5VHJ.

ALAND ISLANDS, OH0. Pekka, OH2TA will be QRV as OH0X in the CQ WW
WPX CW contest as a Single Op/All Band entry. QSL to home call.

ARUBA, P4. Andy, AE6Y will be QRV as P49Y in the CQ WW WPX CW
contest as a Single Op/All Band entry. QSL to home call.

BONAIRE, PJ4. Operators K4IQJ and K4BAI are QRV as PJ4/home calls
until May 31. Activity is on all HF bands using mostly CW. Look
for PJ4A to be a Single Op/All Band/High Power entry in the CQ WW
WPX CW contest. QSL PJ4/K4BAI and PJ4A via K4BAI and PJ4/K4IQJ via
K4IQJ.

GREECE, SV. Laci, HA0HW is QRV as SV8/HA0HW from Thassos Island,
IOTA EU-174, until June 5. Activity is on all HF bands including 6
meters. He will be active as J48HW in the CQ WW WPX CW contest as a
Single Op/All Band/High Power/TB-Wires entry. QSL both calls to
home call.

CRETE, SV9. Dick, SV0XBN will be QRV as J49XF in the CQ WW WPX CW
contest as a Single Op/All band entry. QSL to home call.

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, V2. Darrell, AB2E is QRV as V26E until May 31.
Activity is on all HF bands. He will be a Single Op entry in the CQ
WW WPX CW contest. QSL direct to home call.

COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS, VK9C. Wally, VK6YS will be QRV as VK9CI
from May 31 to June 7 while on vacation here. Activity will be on
40 to 10 meters using mostly PSK31 with some CW and SSB mostly
during his evenings and spare time. QSL to home call.

TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS, VP5. Dave, W5CW is QRV as VP5/home call
until June 14. Activity is on 160 to 6 meters using CW and SSB. He
will be QRV as VP5CW in the CQ WW WPX CW and upcoming ARRL VHF
contests. QSL to home call.

NICARAGUA, YN. Operators N5ET, NM5G and K5WQG are QRV as YN2ET,
YN2MG and YN2ER, respectively. They will also be active as YN2ET in
the CQ WW WPX CW contest as a Multi/Single entry. QSL all calls via
N5ET.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO. The CQ World Wide WPX CW Contest, NCCC
Sprint CW Ladder, ARCI Hootowl CW Sprint and the MI QRP Memorial Day
CW Sprint will certainly keep contesters busy this upcoming weekend.
Please see May QST, page 80, and the ARRL and WA7BNM contest web
sites for details.
NNNN
/EX]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=122 Fri, 27 May 2011 03:57:07 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=122 date Fri, May 27, 2011 at 5:13 AM
subject J48O DXPEDITION
mailed-by gmail.com
signed-by gmail.com

hide details 5:13 AM (1 hour ago)


HELLO HAMS AROUND

I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO MAKE YOUR OWN PILEUPS
IN 2011 IOTA EU-052/LOTA GRE-078 DXPEDITION TO OTHONOI ISLET/LIGHTHOUSE KASTRI .
BETWEEN 17-25 JUNE 2011.
FOR VERY FIRST TIME LIGHTHOUSE KASTRI ON THE AIR AND ALSO FIRST TIME FROM OTHONOI ISLET A DXPEDITION FOR ALL MODES/FREQUENCIES..
CALL SIGN J48O
INFOs http://www.qrz.com
FACEBOOK
C U DOWN THE LOG FROM OTHONOI ISLET!]]> date Fri, May 27, 2011 at 5:13 AM
subject J48O DXPEDITION
mailed-by gmail.com
signed-by gmail.com

hide details 5:13 AM (1 hour ago)


HELLO HAMS AROUND

I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO MAKE YOUR OWN PILEUPS
IN 2011 IOTA EU-052/LOTA GRE-078 DXPEDITION TO OTHONOI ISLET/LIGHTHOUSE KASTRI .
BETWEEN 17-25 JUNE 2011.
FOR VERY FIRST TIME LIGHTHOUSE KASTRI ON THE AIR AND ALSO FIRST TIME FROM OTHONOI ISLET A DXPEDITION FOR ALL MODES/FREQUENCIES..
CALL SIGN J48O
INFOs http://www.qrz.com
FACEBOOK
C U DOWN THE LOG FROM OTHONOI ISLET!]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=121 Thu, 26 May 2011 18:59:16 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=121 + Legislative News: Senate "Companion" Bill to HR 607 Avoids Impacting Amateur Spectrum
+ Legislative News: ARRL Testifies Before Congress on Interoperable Public Safety Network
FEMA Administrator Calls Amateur Radio "The Last Line of Defense"
Amateur Radio in the Classroom: NASA and ARISS Reach Out to Educators
+ ARRL Section News: Nevada Members Re-Elect ARRL Section Manager
+ On the Air: National Hurricane Center's WX4NHC Schedules On-The-Air Station Test
On the Air: Russia Now Permits Reciprocal Licensing Through CEPT
CQ Announces 2011 Hall of Fame Inductees
+ Forecasters Calling for "Above-Average" Hurricane Season
Solar Update
Atlantic Division to Host Two Webinars
+ ARRL HQ News: ARRL HQ to Close in Observance of Memorial Day
This Week on the Radio
Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News

+ Public Service: Radio Amateurs Assist American Red Cross, Served Agencies After Joplin Storm

Damaged vehicles litter the parking lot of St John's Hospital in Joplin, Missouri, after a tornado hit the Southwest Missouri city on Sunday, May 22. According to reports, the tornado hit the hospital head-on. [Mike Gullett/AP, Photo]

On Sunday, May 22 at 5:41 PM, the single deadliest twister in almost 60 years -- and the second major tornado disaster in less than a month -- swept through the southwestern Missouri city of Joplin, slamming straight into St John's Regional Medical Center. The tornado killed at least 117 people. As soon as the storm cleared, area Amateur Radio operators responded to requests from the American Red Cross and local hospitals to provide communications support.

"On Sunday, right after the tornado hit, I received a call from the American Red Cross office in Springfield, asking for radio support," said ARRL Missouri Section Emergency Coordinator Ken Baremore, W0KRB. "I contacted Greene County Emergency Coordinator William Gilmore, KC0TCF, and asked him to join me in Springfield. We got there at 9 PM and used a newly installed 2 meter beam to talk to the Joplin repeater, establishing communications between the two American Red Cross offices. Cell phone coverage was spotty at best, but mostly non-existent, and the circuit was overloaded most of the time. We left about 12:30 AM." Read more here.

+ Legislative News: Senate "Companion" Bill to HR 607 Avoids Impacting Amateur Spectrum

On Thursday, May 19, Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and John McCain (R-AZ) introduced S 1040 -- The Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011 -- in the Senate. While it has a similar objective to HR 607 -- introduced in February by Representative Peter King (R-NY-3) -- this Senate bill, unlike HR 607, does not call for auctioning any portions of Amateur Radio spectrum. Both bills call for the allocation of the so-called "D block" of spectrum, 758-763 and 788-793 MHz, to facilitate the development of a public safety broadband network. Read more here.

+ Legislative News: ARRL Testifies Before Congress on Interoperable Public Safety Network

The Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of the US House of Representatives invited the ARRL to testify at a hearing on "Creating an Interoperable Public Safety Network." ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, appeared before the Subcommittee on Wednesday, May 25. "While this is not a hearing specifically on HR 607, it provides a welcome opportunity to document our concerns about Section 207(d) of that bill," noted ARRL Regulatory Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND. Read more here.


FEMA Administrator Calls Amateur Radio "The Last Line of Defense"
In an FCC forum on earthquake communications preparedness, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate described the Amateur Radio operator as "the ultimate backup, the originators of what we call social media." The forum-- held May 3 at FCC Headquarters in Washington, DC -- brought together officials from the White House, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), FEMA, the FCC and the private sector. Fugate and FCC Bureau of Public Safety and Homeland Security Chief Jamie Barnett gave the opening remarks.


In an earthquake communications preparedness forum sponsored by the FCC, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate praised Amateur Radio, saying "...when you need Amateur Radio, you really need it."

Later in the forum, Fugate spoke more on Amateur Radio. "During the initial communications out of Haiti, volunteers using assigned frequencies that they are allocated, their own equipment, their own money, nobody pays them, were the first ones oftentimes getting word out in the critical first hours and first days as the rest of the systems came back up," he told the forum. "I think that there is a tendency because we have done so much to build infrastructure and resiliency in all our other systems, we have tended to dismiss that role 'When Everything Else Fails.' Amateur Radio oftentimes is our last line of defense."

Fugate said that he thinks "we get so sophisticated and we have gotten so used to the reliability and resilience in our wireless and wired and our broadcast industry and all of our public safety communications, that we can never fathom that they'll fail. They do. They have. They will. I think a strong Amateur Radio community [needs to be] plugged into these plans. Yes, most of the time they're going be bored, because a lot of the time, there's not a lot they're going to be doing that other people aren't doing with Twitter and Facebook and everything else. But when you need Amateur Radio, you really need them."

You can watch a video of the forum on YouTube. Fugate's remarks begin at 18:55.

Amateur Radio in the Classroom: NASA and ARISS Reach Out to Educators

On May 19, the Education Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center's notified almost 20,000 US educators about the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Project. According to ARRL ARISS Program Manager Rosalie White, K1STO, this kicks off the first of a number of new processes that the ARISS US team will put into motion to get educators more involved in the program, which coordinates Amateur Radio contacts between the ISS and educational institutions around the world. Read more here.

+ ARRL Section News: Nevada Members Re-Elect ARRL Section Manager

In the only Section Manager election this spring to be decided by member balloting, ARRL members in Nevada re-elected Section Manager Joe Giraudo, N7JEH, of Spring Creek, to a new two-year term of office. Giraudo received 347 votes; his opponent J.D. Weiss, NK7W, of Reno, received 124 votes. Giraudo has been Section Manager since August 2008. His new term of office starts on July 1. Ballots were counted at ARRL Headquarters on May 24.

The following incumbent ARRL Section Managers did not face opposition and were declared elected for their next two-year terms of office, beginning July 1: Jim Cross, WI3N, Maryland/DC; Al Shuman, K1AKS, New Hampshire; Rich Krohn, N2SMV, Northern New Jersey; Bob Beaudet, W1YRC, Rhode Island; Dan Pruitt, AE6SX, San Joaquin Valley, and Mel Parkes, NM7P, Utah.

In West Texas, no nominating petitions were received for Section Manager by the March 4 receipt deadline. West Texas Section Manager John Dyer, AE5B, of Cisco, decided not to run for another term of office, and his present term ends on June 30; he has been Section Manager since July 2007, and had previously served as Section Manager 2002-2005.

According to the ARRL Rules and Regulations for the Field Organization, the West Texas Section Manager's position will be re-solicited in the July 2011 issue of QST. A Section Manager elected through the re-solicitation will serve a term of 18 months.


+ On the Air: National Hurricane Center's WX4NHC Schedules On-The-Air Station Test

The annual WX4NHC On-the-Air Station Test from the National Hurricane Center in Miami will take place Saturday, June 4, 1300-2100 UTC (9 AM - 5 PM EDT). "The purpose of this annual station test is to test all of our radio equipment, computers and antennas using as many modes and frequencies as possible in preparation for this year's hurricane season," said WX4NHC Assistant Amateur Radio Volunteer Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R. "This is not a contest or simulated hurricane exercise." Read more here.

On the Air: Russia Now Permits Reciprocal Licensing Through CEPT

On May 18, the European Communications Office (ECO) in Copenhagen added the Russian Federation to the list of countries that accept the CEPT reciprocal operating arrangements. This means that US hams who hold an FCC-issued General, Advanced or Amateur Extra class Amateur Radio license may operate in Russia, as well as the other countries covered by the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), subject to the regulations in force in the country visited. Read more here.

CQ Announces 2011 Hall of Fame Inductees

CQ magazine announced its 2011 Hall of Fame inductees on May 20, welcoming 12 new members into the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame, one new member of the CQ DX Hall of Fame and one new member of the CQ Contest Hall of Fame. The CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame honors those individuals, whether licensed hams or not, who have made significant contributions to Amateur Radio, as well as those amateurs who have made significant contributions either to Amateur Radio, to their professional careers or to some other aspect of life on our planet. The CQ Contest and DX Halls of Fame honor those amateurs who not only excel in personal performance in these major areas of Amateur Radio but who also "give back" to Amateur Radio in outstanding ways. Read more here.


+ Forecasters Calling for "Above-Average" Hurricane Season

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina strengthened into a powerful Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 160 miles per hour. The boost came just hours after Katrina reached Category 4, with winds of 145 miles per hour, as it gathered energy from the warm water in the Gulf of Mexico. In this photo from NASA, Katrina is shown on its path toward the coastlines of Louisiana and Mississippi.

Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center are calling for an "above-average" Atlantic hurricane season for 2011. In its initial outlook for the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season -- which runs from June 1-November 30 -- the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) is calling for a 65 percent probability of an above-normal season, a 25 percent probability of a near-normal season and a 10 percent probability of a below-normal season.

CPC Forecasters say that there is a 70 percent chance of having 12-18 named storms, of which six to 10 could become hurricanes, including three to six major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5). Tropical systems acquire a name -- the first for 2011 will be Arlene -- upon reaching tropical storm strength with sustained winds of at least 39 miles per hour. Tropical storms become hurricanes when winds reach 74 miles per hour and become major hurricanes when winds increase to 111 miles per hour. An average season has 11 named storms, including six hurricanes with two becoming major hurricanes. Read more here.

Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, May 26, 2011 from NASA's SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This image was taken at 304 Angstrom; the bright material is at 60,000 to 80,000 Kelvin.

Tad "All alone with the memory of my days in the Sun" Cook, K7RA, reports: The Sun was quieter again this week. The average daily sunspot numbers were down nearly 17 points to 51.6, while the average daily solar flux declined nearly 9 points to 83.2. The latest prediction is for the solar flux to remain low at about 80 on May 26-June 2, then rise to 90 on June 3-4, then 85 on June 5-7 and back to 90 on June 8-11, finally peaking at 95 on June 12. We seem to be a long way from recent weeks when sunspot numbers were over 100. The same prediction has some geomagnetic activity this weekend, with the planetary A index on May 26-30 at 8, 12, 15, 12 and 10, then declining to 5 on May 31 and into the first week of June. Currently two new sunspots are emerging in the Sun's southeastern quadrant. Look for more information on the ARRL website on Friday, May 27. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page. This week's "Tad Cookism" is brought to you by Andrew Lloyd Webber's Memory from the musical Cats.

Atlantic Division to Host Two Webinars
Periodically, the ARRL's Atlantic Division hosts a "webinar" -- an interactive Web-based seminar, designed to facilitate communication between a small number of presenters and a large remote audience using the Internet.


On Wednesday, June 1 at 9 PM (EDT), ARRL West Gulf Division Director David Woolweaver, K5RAV -- along with ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, and noted antenna zoning lawyer Fred Hopengarten, K1VR -- will present Antennas, CC&Rs and You. The webinar is hosted by ARRL Atlantic Division Director Bill Edgar, N3LLR. The scope of the webinar will be an overview of the impact that private contracts and land use provisions -- such as homeowners association covenants and deed restrictions -- impact amateurs. The webinar will highlight how CC&Rs differ from public laws, such as zoning ordinances and governmental restrictions (which are covered under PRB-1). The presenters will also discuss some common approaches on how amateurs might try to address these restrictive covenants. Following the presentations by Imlay and Hopengarten, participants will have the opportunity to ask general questions related to the topic. Click here to sign up for the CC&R webinar.

On Wednesday, June 8 at 9 PM (EDT), Edgar and the National Capital Region D-STAR Association will present the second of a two-part webinar discussion on D-STAR technology and its application to emergency communications. This 90 minute webinar will provide a discussion on how D-STAR technology can benefit Amateur Radio EmComm scenarios. Examples of D-STAR applications to EmComm will also be presented, as well as future growth ideas. Click here to sign up for the D-STAR webinar.

+ ARRL HQ News: ARRL HQ to Close in Observance of Memorial Day

ARRL Headquarters will be closed Monday, May 30 in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. There will be no W1AW code practice or bulletin transmissions that day. ARRL Headquarters will reopen Tuesday, May 31 at 8 AM (EDT). We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.

This Week on the Radio

ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, speaks on HR 607 at the ARRL Forum during the 2011 Dayton Hamvention. Click here to go to the QST Multimedia page and scroll down to the HR 607 video. Click the "Play" button to watch the video.

This week:

May 27 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
May 28-29 -- CQ WW WPX Contest (CW)
May 29 -- ARCI Hootowl Sprint (local time)
May 29-30 -- Michigan QRP Memorial Day CW Sprint
June 2 -- QRP Minimal Art Session
Next week:

June 3 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
June 4 -- Wake-Up! QRP Sprint
June 5 -- 10-10 International Open Season PSK Contest
June 4-5 -- Maritimes QSO Party; Alabama QSO Party; SEANET Contest
June 7 -- ARS Spartan Sprint
All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest Branch page, the ARRL Contest Update and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar for more information. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the ARRL Special Event Stations Web page.

Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
June 3-5 -- ARRL Northwestern Division Convention (SeaPac), Seaside, Oregon; ARRL Wyoming State Convention, Cheyenne, Wyoming
June 4 -- ARRL Atlantic Division Convention, Rochester, New York; ARRL East Bay Section Convention, Berkeley, California; ARRL Georgia State Convention, Marietta, Georgia
June 10-11 -- ARRL National Convention, Plano, Texas
June 11 -- ARRL Tennessee State Convention, Knoxville, Tennessee
July 2 -- ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania Section Convention, Marysville, Pennsylvania
July 15-17 -- ARRL Montana State Convention, Essex, Montana
July 29-30 -- ARRL Oklahoma State Convention, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]]> + Legislative News: Senate "Companion" Bill to HR 607 Avoids Impacting Amateur Spectrum
+ Legislative News: ARRL Testifies Before Congress on Interoperable Public Safety Network
FEMA Administrator Calls Amateur Radio "The Last Line of Defense"
Amateur Radio in the Classroom: NASA and ARISS Reach Out to Educators
+ ARRL Section News: Nevada Members Re-Elect ARRL Section Manager
+ On the Air: National Hurricane Center's WX4NHC Schedules On-The-Air Station Test
On the Air: Russia Now Permits Reciprocal Licensing Through CEPT
CQ Announces 2011 Hall of Fame Inductees
+ Forecasters Calling for "Above-Average" Hurricane Season
Solar Update
Atlantic Division to Host Two Webinars
+ ARRL HQ News: ARRL HQ to Close in Observance of Memorial Day
This Week on the Radio
Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News

+ Public Service: Radio Amateurs Assist American Red Cross, Served Agencies After Joplin Storm

Damaged vehicles litter the parking lot of St John's Hospital in Joplin, Missouri, after a tornado hit the Southwest Missouri city on Sunday, May 22. According to reports, the tornado hit the hospital head-on. [Mike Gullett/AP, Photo]

On Sunday, May 22 at 5:41 PM, the single deadliest twister in almost 60 years -- and the second major tornado disaster in less than a month -- swept through the southwestern Missouri city of Joplin, slamming straight into St John's Regional Medical Center. The tornado killed at least 117 people. As soon as the storm cleared, area Amateur Radio operators responded to requests from the American Red Cross and local hospitals to provide communications support.

"On Sunday, right after the tornado hit, I received a call from the American Red Cross office in Springfield, asking for radio support," said ARRL Missouri Section Emergency Coordinator Ken Baremore, W0KRB. "I contacted Greene County Emergency Coordinator William Gilmore, KC0TCF, and asked him to join me in Springfield. We got there at 9 PM and used a newly installed 2 meter beam to talk to the Joplin repeater, establishing communications between the two American Red Cross offices. Cell phone coverage was spotty at best, but mostly non-existent, and the circuit was overloaded most of the time. We left about 12:30 AM." Read more here.

+ Legislative News: Senate "Companion" Bill to HR 607 Avoids Impacting Amateur Spectrum

On Thursday, May 19, Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and John McCain (R-AZ) introduced S 1040 -- The Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011 -- in the Senate. While it has a similar objective to HR 607 -- introduced in February by Representative Peter King (R-NY-3) -- this Senate bill, unlike HR 607, does not call for auctioning any portions of Amateur Radio spectrum. Both bills call for the allocation of the so-called "D block" of spectrum, 758-763 and 788-793 MHz, to facilitate the development of a public safety broadband network. Read more here.

+ Legislative News: ARRL Testifies Before Congress on Interoperable Public Safety Network

The Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of the US House of Representatives invited the ARRL to testify at a hearing on "Creating an Interoperable Public Safety Network." ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, appeared before the Subcommittee on Wednesday, May 25. "While this is not a hearing specifically on HR 607, it provides a welcome opportunity to document our concerns about Section 207(d) of that bill," noted ARRL Regulatory Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND. Read more here.


FEMA Administrator Calls Amateur Radio "The Last Line of Defense"
In an FCC forum on earthquake communications preparedness, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate described the Amateur Radio operator as "the ultimate backup, the originators of what we call social media." The forum-- held May 3 at FCC Headquarters in Washington, DC -- brought together officials from the White House, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), FEMA, the FCC and the private sector. Fugate and FCC Bureau of Public Safety and Homeland Security Chief Jamie Barnett gave the opening remarks.


In an earthquake communications preparedness forum sponsored by the FCC, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate praised Amateur Radio, saying "...when you need Amateur Radio, you really need it."

Later in the forum, Fugate spoke more on Amateur Radio. "During the initial communications out of Haiti, volunteers using assigned frequencies that they are allocated, their own equipment, their own money, nobody pays them, were the first ones oftentimes getting word out in the critical first hours and first days as the rest of the systems came back up," he told the forum. "I think that there is a tendency because we have done so much to build infrastructure and resiliency in all our other systems, we have tended to dismiss that role 'When Everything Else Fails.' Amateur Radio oftentimes is our last line of defense."

Fugate said that he thinks "we get so sophisticated and we have gotten so used to the reliability and resilience in our wireless and wired and our broadcast industry and all of our public safety communications, that we can never fathom that they'll fail. They do. They have. They will. I think a strong Amateur Radio community [needs to be] plugged into these plans. Yes, most of the time they're going be bored, because a lot of the time, there's not a lot they're going to be doing that other people aren't doing with Twitter and Facebook and everything else. But when you need Amateur Radio, you really need them."

You can watch a video of the forum on YouTube. Fugate's remarks begin at 18:55.

Amateur Radio in the Classroom: NASA and ARISS Reach Out to Educators

On May 19, the Education Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center's notified almost 20,000 US educators about the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Project. According to ARRL ARISS Program Manager Rosalie White, K1STO, this kicks off the first of a number of new processes that the ARISS US team will put into motion to get educators more involved in the program, which coordinates Amateur Radio contacts between the ISS and educational institutions around the world. Read more here.

+ ARRL Section News: Nevada Members Re-Elect ARRL Section Manager

In the only Section Manager election this spring to be decided by member balloting, ARRL members in Nevada re-elected Section Manager Joe Giraudo, N7JEH, of Spring Creek, to a new two-year term of office. Giraudo received 347 votes; his opponent J.D. Weiss, NK7W, of Reno, received 124 votes. Giraudo has been Section Manager since August 2008. His new term of office starts on July 1. Ballots were counted at ARRL Headquarters on May 24.

The following incumbent ARRL Section Managers did not face opposition and were declared elected for their next two-year terms of office, beginning July 1: Jim Cross, WI3N, Maryland/DC; Al Shuman, K1AKS, New Hampshire; Rich Krohn, N2SMV, Northern New Jersey; Bob Beaudet, W1YRC, Rhode Island; Dan Pruitt, AE6SX, San Joaquin Valley, and Mel Parkes, NM7P, Utah.

In West Texas, no nominating petitions were received for Section Manager by the March 4 receipt deadline. West Texas Section Manager John Dyer, AE5B, of Cisco, decided not to run for another term of office, and his present term ends on June 30; he has been Section Manager since July 2007, and had previously served as Section Manager 2002-2005.

According to the ARRL Rules and Regulations for the Field Organization, the West Texas Section Manager's position will be re-solicited in the July 2011 issue of QST. A Section Manager elected through the re-solicitation will serve a term of 18 months.


+ On the Air: National Hurricane Center's WX4NHC Schedules On-The-Air Station Test

The annual WX4NHC On-the-Air Station Test from the National Hurricane Center in Miami will take place Saturday, June 4, 1300-2100 UTC (9 AM - 5 PM EDT). "The purpose of this annual station test is to test all of our radio equipment, computers and antennas using as many modes and frequencies as possible in preparation for this year's hurricane season," said WX4NHC Assistant Amateur Radio Volunteer Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R. "This is not a contest or simulated hurricane exercise." Read more here.

On the Air: Russia Now Permits Reciprocal Licensing Through CEPT

On May 18, the European Communications Office (ECO) in Copenhagen added the Russian Federation to the list of countries that accept the CEPT reciprocal operating arrangements. This means that US hams who hold an FCC-issued General, Advanced or Amateur Extra class Amateur Radio license may operate in Russia, as well as the other countries covered by the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), subject to the regulations in force in the country visited. Read more here.

CQ Announces 2011 Hall of Fame Inductees

CQ magazine announced its 2011 Hall of Fame inductees on May 20, welcoming 12 new members into the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame, one new member of the CQ DX Hall of Fame and one new member of the CQ Contest Hall of Fame. The CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame honors those individuals, whether licensed hams or not, who have made significant contributions to Amateur Radio, as well as those amateurs who have made significant contributions either to Amateur Radio, to their professional careers or to some other aspect of life on our planet. The CQ Contest and DX Halls of Fame honor those amateurs who not only excel in personal performance in these major areas of Amateur Radio but who also "give back" to Amateur Radio in outstanding ways. Read more here.


+ Forecasters Calling for "Above-Average" Hurricane Season

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina strengthened into a powerful Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 160 miles per hour. The boost came just hours after Katrina reached Category 4, with winds of 145 miles per hour, as it gathered energy from the warm water in the Gulf of Mexico. In this photo from NASA, Katrina is shown on its path toward the coastlines of Louisiana and Mississippi.

Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center are calling for an "above-average" Atlantic hurricane season for 2011. In its initial outlook for the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season -- which runs from June 1-November 30 -- the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) is calling for a 65 percent probability of an above-normal season, a 25 percent probability of a near-normal season and a 10 percent probability of a below-normal season.

CPC Forecasters say that there is a 70 percent chance of having 12-18 named storms, of which six to 10 could become hurricanes, including three to six major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5). Tropical systems acquire a name -- the first for 2011 will be Arlene -- upon reaching tropical storm strength with sustained winds of at least 39 miles per hour. Tropical storms become hurricanes when winds reach 74 miles per hour and become major hurricanes when winds increase to 111 miles per hour. An average season has 11 named storms, including six hurricanes with two becoming major hurricanes. Read more here.

Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, May 26, 2011 from NASA's SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This image was taken at 304 Angstrom; the bright material is at 60,000 to 80,000 Kelvin.

Tad "All alone with the memory of my days in the Sun" Cook, K7RA, reports: The Sun was quieter again this week. The average daily sunspot numbers were down nearly 17 points to 51.6, while the average daily solar flux declined nearly 9 points to 83.2. The latest prediction is for the solar flux to remain low at about 80 on May 26-June 2, then rise to 90 on June 3-4, then 85 on June 5-7 and back to 90 on June 8-11, finally peaking at 95 on June 12. We seem to be a long way from recent weeks when sunspot numbers were over 100. The same prediction has some geomagnetic activity this weekend, with the planetary A index on May 26-30 at 8, 12, 15, 12 and 10, then declining to 5 on May 31 and into the first week of June. Currently two new sunspots are emerging in the Sun's southeastern quadrant. Look for more information on the ARRL website on Friday, May 27. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page. This week's "Tad Cookism" is brought to you by Andrew Lloyd Webber's Memory from the musical Cats.

Atlantic Division to Host Two Webinars
Periodically, the ARRL's Atlantic Division hosts a "webinar" -- an interactive Web-based seminar, designed to facilitate communication between a small number of presenters and a large remote audience using the Internet.


On Wednesday, June 1 at 9 PM (EDT), ARRL West Gulf Division Director David Woolweaver, K5RAV -- along with ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, and noted antenna zoning lawyer Fred Hopengarten, K1VR -- will present Antennas, CC&Rs and You. The webinar is hosted by ARRL Atlantic Division Director Bill Edgar, N3LLR. The scope of the webinar will be an overview of the impact that private contracts and land use provisions -- such as homeowners association covenants and deed restrictions -- impact amateurs. The webinar will highlight how CC&Rs differ from public laws, such as zoning ordinances and governmental restrictions (which are covered under PRB-1). The presenters will also discuss some common approaches on how amateurs might try to address these restrictive covenants. Following the presentations by Imlay and Hopengarten, participants will have the opportunity to ask general questions related to the topic. Click here to sign up for the CC&R webinar.

On Wednesday, June 8 at 9 PM (EDT), Edgar and the National Capital Region D-STAR Association will present the second of a two-part webinar discussion on D-STAR technology and its application to emergency communications. This 90 minute webinar will provide a discussion on how D-STAR technology can benefit Amateur Radio EmComm scenarios. Examples of D-STAR applications to EmComm will also be presented, as well as future growth ideas. Click here to sign up for the D-STAR webinar.

+ ARRL HQ News: ARRL HQ to Close in Observance of Memorial Day

ARRL Headquarters will be closed Monday, May 30 in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. There will be no W1AW code practice or bulletin transmissions that day. ARRL Headquarters will reopen Tuesday, May 31 at 8 AM (EDT). We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.

This Week on the Radio

ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, speaks on HR 607 at the ARRL Forum during the 2011 Dayton Hamvention. Click here to go to the QST Multimedia page and scroll down to the HR 607 video. Click the "Play" button to watch the video.

This week:

May 27 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
May 28-29 -- CQ WW WPX Contest (CW)
May 29 -- ARCI Hootowl Sprint (local time)
May 29-30 -- Michigan QRP Memorial Day CW Sprint
June 2 -- QRP Minimal Art Session
Next week:

June 3 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
June 4 -- Wake-Up! QRP Sprint
June 5 -- 10-10 International Open Season PSK Contest
June 4-5 -- Maritimes QSO Party; Alabama QSO Party; SEANET Contest
June 7 -- ARS Spartan Sprint
All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest Branch page, the ARRL Contest Update and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar for more information. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the ARRL Special Event Stations Web page.

Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
June 3-5 -- ARRL Northwestern Division Convention (SeaPac), Seaside, Oregon; ARRL Wyoming State Convention, Cheyenne, Wyoming
June 4 -- ARRL Atlantic Division Convention, Rochester, New York; ARRL East Bay Section Convention, Berkeley, California; ARRL Georgia State Convention, Marietta, Georgia
June 10-11 -- ARRL National Convention, Plano, Texas
June 11 -- ARRL Tennessee State Convention, Knoxville, Tennessee
July 2 -- ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania Section Convention, Marysville, Pennsylvania
July 15-17 -- ARRL Montana State Convention, Essex, Montana
July 29-30 -- ARRL Oklahoma State Convention, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=120 Thu, 26 May 2011 10:57:30 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=120 IN THIS ISSUE

• That's Where??? - CQ WPX CW
• Hunting Southeast Asia - SEANET Contest
• Sunday Morning Tearin' Down

CONTEST SUMMARY

Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section

May 28-29

* CQ WW WPX Contest--CW
* Baltic Contest
* QRP ARCI Hootowl Sprint
* MI QRP Memorial Day CW Sprint

June 4-5

* SNS and NS Weekly Sprints--CW (Jun 3)
* Worldwide EME Contest
* Ten-Ten Open Season--Digital
* LZ Open 20 Meter Contest--CW
* Maritime QSO Party
* SEANET Contest
* UKSMG Sporadic E Contest
* IARU Region I Field Day--CW
* Alabama QSO Party
* DARC 10 Meter Digital Contest
* ARS Spartan Sprint--CW (Jun 7)

DAYTON PHOTO ISSUE

If you weren't able to make it to Dayton this year - here is a potpourri of photos from my wanderings of the highways and byways of the world's largest hamfest. A special note of recognition goes to the Dayton Hamvention committee for their hard work - it is an all-year job and a lot of hours were dedicated to making it fun for all of the attendees. In addition, ham radio vendors donated thousands and thousands of dollars worth of prizes to the dinners, presentations, and seminars - please take a moment to thank them (even if you didn't win) for contributing to and supporting our favorite hobby.

And now - have a great Memorial Day weekend and on with the show!

This year's inductee to the CQ Contest Hall of Fame was John Sluymer, VE3EJ. Well done, John! (Photo by KM3T)

This year's Hamvention theme of "Global Friendship" was plenty evident - here are (L-R) QARS Secretary, Saba'an A71BP, Dave KM3T, Ali A71BZ, and Mubarak A71AE. (Photo from KM3T)

For those of you trying for the ham radio equivalent of skeet shooting - "squirting a bird" - you can keep those satellites in your sights with an automatic az-el rotator. (Photo by NØAX)

If it's not in the Hamvention flea market, it just doesn't exist - everything for the Big Gun station is ready to go! (Photo by NØAX)

Do you ever wonder why cavities are called "cans"? Wonder no more as Bird Technologies was displaying this set of 2 meter through 23 cm duplexers. (Photo by NØAX)

Tom W2SC and Randy K5ZD gave a great talk at the Contest Forum on their adventures at the WRTC2014 in Moscow last summer with tales of how they very closely avoided disaster on contest day! (Photo by NØAX)

You know you're at the Hamvention when the smell of roasted spiced nuts hits your nose and the chatter of the embroidery machines fills your ears! (Photo by NØAX)
Ad

Need any handhelds? (Photo by NØAX)

Last year's June QST article about using triplexers to share a tri-band antenna sure caught a lot of eyes. International Radio is offering this beefy model for sale - new at the Hamvention. (Photo by NØAX)

John K1AR was honored for his 21 years of service to the contest community writing the Contest column for CQ Magazine. (Photo by W8WTS)

Harry RA3AUU ® was on hand to pick up the CQ WW CW plaque as last year's World-winning Multiop, Single-Transmitter score from P33W, handed to him by CQ WW Committee member, Doug K1DG. (Photo by W8WTS)

I'm sure you're in the logs of this trio! Left to right are Tim K3LR, your best friend in Zone 1 - Rich KL7RA, and Tom K8AZ. (Photo by W8WTS)

Who's zooming who? That's Dennis K7BV on the left and old friend Mark AG9A on the right - that's why we go to Dayton every year, isn't it? (Photo by NØAX)

On the left is one of the PJ2T crew, Jeff K8ND, with Elecraft team member Bob K6XX. (Photo by W8WTS)
Ad

Dots a lot of dits - keys and paddles were everywhere as this Vibroplex display demonstrates. Not bad for a "dying mode"! (Photo by NØAX)

Chuck NO5W (next to display) wrote this WAY cool software to show how the KCDXC CW Pileup Contest horses were racing. The current heat is shown at the bottom in comparison to the current Top Five at the top. (Photo by NØAX)

The winners of the KCDXC CW Pileup Contest are holding their prizes: 2nd-place Andy N2NT (L), 1st-place Yuri VE3DZ, and 4th-place John N2NC ®. Winners of 3rd-place Randy K5ZD and 5th-place John K4BAI weren't around for the photo but congratulations to all! Big thanks to the Kansas City DX Club for putting on this fantastic competition every year. (Photo by NØAX)

Do you think this rotator plate is big enough to handle your aluminum farm? It fits on top of the 200-foot Luso crankup tower that was delivering some shock-and-awe to the Hamvention-eers. (Photo by NØAX)

Jim N2ZZ (L) and SteppIR Boss, Mike K7IR were no doubt discussing how a new Dream Beam would give Jim's competition nightmares. (Photo by NØAX)
Ad

The Contest Super Suite was full of happy hamsters like this pair. Ville OH2MM (L) now hails from Sao Paolo as the shirt and tan attest. Jim W8WTS gets his sun as part of the PJ2T team. (Photo from W8WTS)

You know there's a new LED category in the ARRL VHF+ contests, don't you? ARRL Lab Manager, Ed W1RFI sure does - and it looks like he's going for the title this year! (Photo by NØAX)

All smiles was Bob W6RGG, long-time DXer and contester and veteran of the Hamvention social scene. (Photo by NØAX)

Here's your Eastern Washington Sweepstakes multiplier - the colorful Wilse WX7P was manning the AMSAT booth when not looking for ideas for improving his Top Band antennas. (Photo by NØAX)

If you've every wondered what goes on after the banquets and dinners wind down, you need go no farther than upstairs at the hotel where you'll find the halls filled until oh-dark-thirty with happy hamsters packing a year's worth of socializing into a weekend. Oh, and as Paul K9PG (L) knows well - there can be some silly hats involved as modeled by Scott KA9FOX. See you next year! (Photo by NØAX)
CONVERSATION

As I was walking out the door on Sunday with tired feet and legs, headed for the parking lot and the long drive home with not enough sleep on Saturday night this song popped into my head, begging to be Dayton-ized. I obliged it.

73, Ward NØAX

Sunday Morning Tearin' Down

By Kris Kristofferson but re-engineered by Dr Beldar

Well, I parked on Sunday morning
With no way to plant my feet that didn't hurt.
And the candy bar for breakfast wasn't bad,
So I had one more for dessert.
I had fumbled in my suitcase through my clothes
To find that silly cartoon shirt.
So I grabbed my bag and donned my badge
And stumbled 'cross the lot to finish Day(ton).

For not buying on the day before
It was my own behind that I was kicking.
But I sipped my cup and watched a small kid
Playing with a key that she was clicking.
Then I walked across the aisle
And caught the smoky smell of hamfest hot dogs cooking.
And Lord, it took me back to goodies that I'd missed
Somewhere, somehow along the way.

At a Sunday morning hamfest
I'm wishing, Lord, I had more dough.
'Cause there's bargains left on Sunday
That a ham could take back home.
And there's nothing left this sunrise
More than half the price of Friday morn
From the sleepy hamfest vendors
On Sunday morning tearing down.

In the park I saw an Elmer
With a laughing learning ham that he was teaching.
And I stopped outside a forum talk
About technical achievements they were reaching.
Then I headed through the crowd
And somewhere far away a lonely rig was beeping,
And it echoed through the tables
Like the disappearing gadgets yesterday.

At a Sunday morning hamfest
I'm wishing, Lord, I had more dough.
'Cause there's bargains left on Sunday
That a ham could take back home.
And there's nothing left this sunrise
More than half the price of Friday morn.
From the sleepy hamfest vendors
On Sunday morning tearing down.
CONTESTS

25 May through 7 June

An expanded, downloadable version of QST's Contest Corral in PDF format is available. Check the sponsor's Web site for information on operating time restrictions and other instructions.

HF CONTESTS

CQ WW WPX Contest--CW, from May 28, 0000Z to May 29, 2400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RST and serial . Logs due: Jun 27. Rules

Baltic Contest--Phone,CW, from May 28, 2100Z to May 29, 0200Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5. Exchange: RS(T) and serial. Logs due: Jul 1. Rules

QRP ARCI Hootowl Sprint--CW, from May 29, 8 PM to May 29, Midnight. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST, S/P/C QRP number or power. Logs due: Jun 29. Rules

MI QRP Memorial Day CW Sprint--CW, from May 29, 2300Z to May 30, 0300Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, MI QRP number or power. Logs due: 30 days. Rules

SNS and NS Weekly Sprints--CW, from Jun 3, 0200Z to Jun 3, 0300Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-14. Exchange: Serial number, name, S/P/C. Logs due: none. Rules

Ten-Ten Open Season--Digital, from Jun 4, 0000Z to Jun 5, 2400Z. Bands (MHz): 28. Exchange: Call, name, S/P/C, member numbers. Logs due: 15 days. Rules

LZ Open 20 Meter Contest--CW, from Jun 4, 1100Z to Jun 4, 1500Z. Bands (MHz): 14. Exchange: 6-digit serial and serial from previous QSO. Logs due: 10 days. Rules

Maritime QSO Party--Phone,CW, from Jun 4, 1200Z to Jun 5, 0300Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144, Frequencies: 25 to 50 kHz from band edge. Exchange: RS(T), Maritime county or S/P/C. Logs due: 1 month. Rules

SEANET Contest--Phone,CW,Digital, from Jun 4, 1200Z to Jun 5, 1200Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Frequencies: CW--3.525,7.025,14.025,21.025,28.025, SSB--3.540/3.790,7.090,14.320,21.320,28.320. Exchange: RS(T), serial. Logs due: Jul 31. Rules

IARU Region I Field Day--CW, from Jun 4, 1500Z to Jun 5, 1459Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RST, serial. Rules are available on IARU Society Web sites

Alabama QSO Party--Phone,CW, from Jun 4, 1600Z to Jun 5, 0400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Frequencies: CW--1.810, 3.545, 7.045, 14.045, 21.045, 28.045; PH--1.865, 3.855, 7.230, 14.250, 21.300, 28.450. Exchange: RS(T) and county, state, province, or 'DX'. Logs due: 30 days. Rules

DARC 10 Meter Digital Contest--Digital, from Jun 5, 1100Z to Jun 5, 1700Z. Bands (MHz): 28. Exchange: RST, serial number. Logs due: 14 days. Rules

ARS Spartan Sprint--CW, from Jun 7, 0200Z to Jun 7, 0400Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Frequencies: Monthly on the first Monday evening. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, and power. Logs due: 2 days. Rules

VHF+ CONTESTS

Worldwide EME Contest--Phone,CW, from Jun 4, 0000Z to Jun 5, 2400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.2G. Exchange: TMO/RS(T) and "R". Logs due: Jun 25. Rules

Maritime QSO Party--Phone,CW, from Jun 4, 1200Z to Jun 5, 0300Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144, Frequencies: 25 to 50 kHz from band edge. Exchange: RS(T), Maritime county or S/P/C. Logs due: 1 month. Rules

UKSMG Sporadic E Contest--Phone,CW,Digital, from Jun 4, 1300Z to Jun 5, 1300Z. Bands (MHz): 50. Exchange: RST, member nr, 6-digit grid locator. Logs due: Jul 1. Rules
LOG DUE DATES

25 May through 7 June

* May 25 - Low Power Spring Sprint
* May 26 - RSGB 80m Club Championship, CW
* May 27 - SKCC Sprint
* May 28 - VK/Trans-Tasman 80m Contest, Phone
* May 30 - International Vintage Contest HF
* May 31 - Florida QSO Party
* May 31 - MIE 33 Contest
* May 31 - CQ Manchester Mineira DX Contest
* May 31 - 50 MHz Spring Sprint
* May 31 - Holyland DX Contest
* May 31 - Nebraska QSO Party
* May 31 - AGCW QRP/QRP Party
* June 1 - BARTG Sprint 75
* June 1 - Feld Hell Sprint
* June 1 - South Dakota QSO Party
* June 4 - Slobozhansky Sprint Contest
* June 5 - WAB LF Phone
* June 5 - 7th Call Area QSO Party
* June 6 - EU PSK DX Contest
* June 7 - New England QSO Party
* June 7 - ARI International DX Contest]]> IN THIS ISSUE

• That's Where??? - CQ WPX CW
• Hunting Southeast Asia - SEANET Contest
• Sunday Morning Tearin' Down

CONTEST SUMMARY

Complete information for all contests follows the Conversation section

May 28-29

* CQ WW WPX Contest--CW
* Baltic Contest
* QRP ARCI Hootowl Sprint
* MI QRP Memorial Day CW Sprint

June 4-5

* SNS and NS Weekly Sprints--CW (Jun 3)
* Worldwide EME Contest
* Ten-Ten Open Season--Digital
* LZ Open 20 Meter Contest--CW
* Maritime QSO Party
* SEANET Contest
* UKSMG Sporadic E Contest
* IARU Region I Field Day--CW
* Alabama QSO Party
* DARC 10 Meter Digital Contest
* ARS Spartan Sprint--CW (Jun 7)

DAYTON PHOTO ISSUE

If you weren't able to make it to Dayton this year - here is a potpourri of photos from my wanderings of the highways and byways of the world's largest hamfest. A special note of recognition goes to the Dayton Hamvention committee for their hard work - it is an all-year job and a lot of hours were dedicated to making it fun for all of the attendees. In addition, ham radio vendors donated thousands and thousands of dollars worth of prizes to the dinners, presentations, and seminars - please take a moment to thank them (even if you didn't win) for contributing to and supporting our favorite hobby.

And now - have a great Memorial Day weekend and on with the show!

This year's inductee to the CQ Contest Hall of Fame was John Sluymer, VE3EJ. Well done, John! (Photo by KM3T)

This year's Hamvention theme of "Global Friendship" was plenty evident - here are (L-R) QARS Secretary, Saba'an A71BP, Dave KM3T, Ali A71BZ, and Mubarak A71AE. (Photo from KM3T)

For those of you trying for the ham radio equivalent of skeet shooting - "squirting a bird" - you can keep those satellites in your sights with an automatic az-el rotator. (Photo by NØAX)

If it's not in the Hamvention flea market, it just doesn't exist - everything for the Big Gun station is ready to go! (Photo by NØAX)

Do you ever wonder why cavities are called "cans"? Wonder no more as Bird Technologies was displaying this set of 2 meter through 23 cm duplexers. (Photo by NØAX)

Tom W2SC and Randy K5ZD gave a great talk at the Contest Forum on their adventures at the WRTC2014 in Moscow last summer with tales of how they very closely avoided disaster on contest day! (Photo by NØAX)

You know you're at the Hamvention when the smell of roasted spiced nuts hits your nose and the chatter of the embroidery machines fills your ears! (Photo by NØAX)
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Need any handhelds? (Photo by NØAX)

Last year's June QST article about using triplexers to share a tri-band antenna sure caught a lot of eyes. International Radio is offering this beefy model for sale - new at the Hamvention. (Photo by NØAX)

John K1AR was honored for his 21 years of service to the contest community writing the Contest column for CQ Magazine. (Photo by W8WTS)

Harry RA3AUU ® was on hand to pick up the CQ WW CW plaque as last year's World-winning Multiop, Single-Transmitter score from P33W, handed to him by CQ WW Committee member, Doug K1DG. (Photo by W8WTS)

I'm sure you're in the logs of this trio! Left to right are Tim K3LR, your best friend in Zone 1 - Rich KL7RA, and Tom K8AZ. (Photo by W8WTS)

Who's zooming who? That's Dennis K7BV on the left and old friend Mark AG9A on the right - that's why we go to Dayton every year, isn't it? (Photo by NØAX)

On the left is one of the PJ2T crew, Jeff K8ND, with Elecraft team member Bob K6XX. (Photo by W8WTS)
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Dots a lot of dits - keys and paddles were everywhere as this Vibroplex display demonstrates. Not bad for a "dying mode"! (Photo by NØAX)

Chuck NO5W (next to display) wrote this WAY cool software to show how the KCDXC CW Pileup Contest horses were racing. The current heat is shown at the bottom in comparison to the current Top Five at the top. (Photo by NØAX)

The winners of the KCDXC CW Pileup Contest are holding their prizes: 2nd-place Andy N2NT (L), 1st-place Yuri VE3DZ, and 4th-place John N2NC ®. Winners of 3rd-place Randy K5ZD and 5th-place John K4BAI weren't around for the photo but congratulations to all! Big thanks to the Kansas City DX Club for putting on this fantastic competition every year. (Photo by NØAX)

Do you think this rotator plate is big enough to handle your aluminum farm? It fits on top of the 200-foot Luso crankup tower that was delivering some shock-and-awe to the Hamvention-eers. (Photo by NØAX)

Jim N2ZZ (L) and SteppIR Boss, Mike K7IR were no doubt discussing how a new Dream Beam would give Jim's competition nightmares. (Photo by NØAX)
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The Contest Super Suite was full of happy hamsters like this pair. Ville OH2MM (L) now hails from Sao Paolo as the shirt and tan attest. Jim W8WTS gets his sun as part of the PJ2T team. (Photo from W8WTS)

You know there's a new LED category in the ARRL VHF+ contests, don't you? ARRL Lab Manager, Ed W1RFI sure does - and it looks like he's going for the title this year! (Photo by NØAX)

All smiles was Bob W6RGG, long-time DXer and contester and veteran of the Hamvention social scene. (Photo by NØAX)

Here's your Eastern Washington Sweepstakes multiplier - the colorful Wilse WX7P was manning the AMSAT booth when not looking for ideas for improving his Top Band antennas. (Photo by NØAX)

If you've every wondered what goes on after the banquets and dinners wind down, you need go no farther than upstairs at the hotel where you'll find the halls filled until oh-dark-thirty with happy hamsters packing a year's worth of socializing into a weekend. Oh, and as Paul K9PG (L) knows well - there can be some silly hats involved as modeled by Scott KA9FOX. See you next year! (Photo by NØAX)
CONVERSATION

As I was walking out the door on Sunday with tired feet and legs, headed for the parking lot and the long drive home with not enough sleep on Saturday night this song popped into my head, begging to be Dayton-ized. I obliged it.

73, Ward NØAX

Sunday Morning Tearin' Down

By Kris Kristofferson but re-engineered by Dr Beldar

Well, I parked on Sunday morning
With no way to plant my feet that didn't hurt.
And the candy bar for breakfast wasn't bad,
So I had one more for dessert.
I had fumbled in my suitcase through my clothes
To find that silly cartoon shirt.
So I grabbed my bag and donned my badge
And stumbled 'cross the lot to finish Day(ton).

For not buying on the day before
It was my own behind that I was kicking.
But I sipped my cup and watched a small kid
Playing with a key that she was clicking.
Then I walked across the aisle
And caught the smoky smell of hamfest hot dogs cooking.
And Lord, it took me back to goodies that I'd missed
Somewhere, somehow along the way.

At a Sunday morning hamfest
I'm wishing, Lord, I had more dough.
'Cause there's bargains left on Sunday
That a ham could take back home.
And there's nothing left this sunrise
More than half the price of Friday morn
From the sleepy hamfest vendors
On Sunday morning tearing down.

In the park I saw an Elmer
With a laughing learning ham that he was teaching.
And I stopped outside a forum talk
About technical achievements they were reaching.
Then I headed through the crowd
And somewhere far away a lonely rig was beeping,
And it echoed through the tables
Like the disappearing gadgets yesterday.

At a Sunday morning hamfest
I'm wishing, Lord, I had more dough.
'Cause there's bargains left on Sunday
That a ham could take back home.
And there's nothing left this sunrise
More than half the price of Friday morn.
From the sleepy hamfest vendors
On Sunday morning tearing down.
CONTESTS

25 May through 7 June

An expanded, downloadable version of QST's Contest Corral in PDF format is available. Check the sponsor's Web site for information on operating time restrictions and other instructions.

HF CONTESTS

CQ WW WPX Contest--CW, from May 28, 0000Z to May 29, 2400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RST and serial . Logs due: Jun 27. Rules

Baltic Contest--Phone,CW, from May 28, 2100Z to May 29, 0200Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5. Exchange: RS(T) and serial. Logs due: Jul 1. Rules

QRP ARCI Hootowl Sprint--CW, from May 29, 8 PM to May 29, Midnight. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Exchange: RST, S/P/C QRP number or power. Logs due: Jun 29. Rules

MI QRP Memorial Day CW Sprint--CW, from May 29, 2300Z to May 30, 0300Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, MI QRP number or power. Logs due: 30 days. Rules

SNS and NS Weekly Sprints--CW, from Jun 3, 0200Z to Jun 3, 0300Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-14. Exchange: Serial number, name, S/P/C. Logs due: none. Rules

Ten-Ten Open Season--Digital, from Jun 4, 0000Z to Jun 5, 2400Z. Bands (MHz): 28. Exchange: Call, name, S/P/C, member numbers. Logs due: 15 days. Rules

LZ Open 20 Meter Contest--CW, from Jun 4, 1100Z to Jun 4, 1500Z. Bands (MHz): 14. Exchange: 6-digit serial and serial from previous QSO. Logs due: 10 days. Rules

Maritime QSO Party--Phone,CW, from Jun 4, 1200Z to Jun 5, 0300Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144, Frequencies: 25 to 50 kHz from band edge. Exchange: RS(T), Maritime county or S/P/C. Logs due: 1 month. Rules

SEANET Contest--Phone,CW,Digital, from Jun 4, 1200Z to Jun 5, 1200Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Frequencies: CW--3.525,7.025,14.025,21.025,28.025, SSB--3.540/3.790,7.090,14.320,21.320,28.320. Exchange: RS(T), serial. Logs due: Jul 31. Rules

IARU Region I Field Day--CW, from Jun 4, 1500Z to Jun 5, 1459Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Exchange: RST, serial. Rules are available on IARU Society Web sites

Alabama QSO Party--Phone,CW, from Jun 4, 1600Z to Jun 5, 0400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28. Frequencies: CW--1.810, 3.545, 7.045, 14.045, 21.045, 28.045; PH--1.865, 3.855, 7.230, 14.250, 21.300, 28.450. Exchange: RS(T) and county, state, province, or 'DX'. Logs due: 30 days. Rules

DARC 10 Meter Digital Contest--Digital, from Jun 5, 1100Z to Jun 5, 1700Z. Bands (MHz): 28. Exchange: RST, serial number. Logs due: 14 days. Rules

ARS Spartan Sprint--CW, from Jun 7, 0200Z to Jun 7, 0400Z. Bands (MHz): 3.5-28. Frequencies: Monthly on the first Monday evening. Exchange: RST, S/P/C, and power. Logs due: 2 days. Rules

VHF+ CONTESTS

Worldwide EME Contest--Phone,CW, from Jun 4, 0000Z to Jun 5, 2400Z. Bands (MHz): 1.2G. Exchange: TMO/RS(T) and "R". Logs due: Jun 25. Rules

Maritime QSO Party--Phone,CW, from Jun 4, 1200Z to Jun 5, 0300Z. Bands (MHz): 1.8-28, 50,144, Frequencies: 25 to 50 kHz from band edge. Exchange: RS(T), Maritime county or S/P/C. Logs due: 1 month. Rules

UKSMG Sporadic E Contest--Phone,CW,Digital, from Jun 4, 1300Z to Jun 5, 1300Z. Bands (MHz): 50. Exchange: RST, member nr, 6-digit grid locator. Logs due: Jul 1. Rules
LOG DUE DATES

25 May through 7 June

* May 25 - Low Power Spring Sprint
* May 26 - RSGB 80m Club Championship, CW
* May 27 - SKCC Sprint
* May 28 - VK/Trans-Tasman 80m Contest, Phone
* May 30 - International Vintage Contest HF
* May 31 - Florida QSO Party
* May 31 - MIE 33 Contest
* May 31 - CQ Manchester Mineira DX Contest
* May 31 - 50 MHz Spring Sprint
* May 31 - Holyland DX Contest
* May 31 - Nebraska QSO Party
* May 31 - AGCW QRP/QRP Party
* June 1 - BARTG Sprint 75
* June 1 - Feld Hell Sprint
* June 1 - South Dakota QSO Party
* June 4 - Slobozhansky Sprint Contest
* June 5 - WAB LF Phone
* June 5 - 7th Call Area QSO Party
* June 6 - EU PSK DX Contest
* June 7 - New England QSO Party
* June 7 - ARI International DX Contest]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=119 Thu, 26 May 2011 10:55:28 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=119 SB QST @ ARL $ARLB014
ARLB014 Senate "Companion" Bill to HR 607 Avoids Impacting Amateur
Spectrum

ZCZC AG14
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 14 ARLB014
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT May 25, 2011
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB014
ARLB014 Senate "Companion" Bill to HR 607 Avoids Impacting Amateur
Spectrum

On Thursday, May 19, Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and John McCain
(R-AZ) introduced S 1040 -- The Broadband for First Responders Act
of 2011 -- in the Senate. While it has a similar objective to HR
607 -- introduced in February by Representative Peter King (R-NY-3)
-- this Senate bill, unlike HR 607, does not call for auctioning any
portions of Amateur Radio spectrum. Both bills call for the
allocation of the so-called "D block" of spectrum, 758-763 and
788-793 MHz, to facilitate the development of a public safety
broadband network.

On learning in February that a Senate version of HR 607 was being
drafted, ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, met with
staff members of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee who were working on the bill to share the ARRL's
concerns with regard to HR 607. "They seemed very receptive to our
argument and appreciative of the public service contributions of
radio amateurs," Sumner said. "It is gratifying to see that S 1040
avoids impacting our spectrum allocations."

Sumner explained that while some media reports are referring to S
1040 as "the Senate version of HR 607," it is important that radio
amateurs not oppose S 1040: "There is no reason for us to do so. We
support the creation of an interoperable broadband network for first
responders. Other than to oppose any method that would impact
amateur spectrum use, we do not support one method over another of
achieving that objective. We only oppose one aspect of HR 607, not
the entire bill."

S 1040 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Science,
Commerce, and Transportation, chaired by Senator Jay Rockefeller
(D-WV). Senator Rockefeller earlier introduced his own bill, S 28,
to address the same general topic. Neither Senate bill would impact
amateur spectrum.
NNNN
/EX]]> SB QST @ ARL $ARLB014
ARLB014 Senate "Companion" Bill to HR 607 Avoids Impacting Amateur
Spectrum

ZCZC AG14
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 14 ARLB014
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT May 25, 2011
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB014
ARLB014 Senate "Companion" Bill to HR 607 Avoids Impacting Amateur
Spectrum

On Thursday, May 19, Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and John McCain
(R-AZ) introduced S 1040 -- The Broadband for First Responders Act
of 2011 -- in the Senate. While it has a similar objective to HR
607 -- introduced in February by Representative Peter King (R-NY-3)
-- this Senate bill, unlike HR 607, does not call for auctioning any
portions of Amateur Radio spectrum. Both bills call for the
allocation of the so-called "D block" of spectrum, 758-763 and
788-793 MHz, to facilitate the development of a public safety
broadband network.

On learning in February that a Senate version of HR 607 was being
drafted, ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, met with
staff members of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee who were working on the bill to share the ARRL's
concerns with regard to HR 607. "They seemed very receptive to our
argument and appreciative of the public service contributions of
radio amateurs," Sumner said. "It is gratifying to see that S 1040
avoids impacting our spectrum allocations."

Sumner explained that while some media reports are referring to S
1040 as "the Senate version of HR 607," it is important that radio
amateurs not oppose S 1040: "There is no reason for us to do so. We
support the creation of an interoperable broadband network for first
responders. Other than to oppose any method that would impact
amateur spectrum use, we do not support one method over another of
achieving that objective. We only oppose one aspect of HR 607, not
the entire bill."

S 1040 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Science,
Commerce, and Transportation, chaired by Senator Jay Rockefeller
(D-WV). Senator Rockefeller earlier introduced his own bill, S 28,
to address the same general topic. Neither Senate bill would impact
amateur spectrum.
NNNN
/EX]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=118 Wed, 25 May 2011 18:12:27 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=118 The ARES E-Letter
May 25, 2011
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
ARES E-Letter Archive
ARES Home
ARRL Home Page
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Just In: Joplin, Missouri Tornado Disaster

Here is a brief report from Missouri SEC W0KRB, just forwarded by Dale Temple, W5RXU, Arkansas Section Manager, at press time: "Thanks to all who volunteered to help provide radio support for the Joplin tornado. Last night, Amateur Radio was used to provide communications between Freeman hospital (in Joplin) to the hospitals in Springfield to help provide information about resources needed in Joplin. We also had a link-up for Red Cross between the main office in Springfield and the satellite office in Joplin.

"John Howard, K0VET, activated the Missouri Emergency Services Net (MESN) and it was up until 2300 hours last night. It ended up steering a lot of people to the proper Web site for health and welfare messages. The hospital requirements for radio communications were terminated at 0900 this morning and at 5:00 PM tonight we are on a standby status for Red Cross between the two locations.

"We still have a couple of the Jasper County ARES® and Newton County ARES® members providing communications between the Red Cross Shelter and the HQ for Red Cross that was set up away from the normal chapter office as this is now a national-level Red Cross response. It is anticipated that this need will be fulfilled by noon tomorrow.

"Again, thanks to all of you for asking if you could help and especially for not self-deploying, which ends up adding to the problem. Our professionalism again came shining through. -- Kenneth Baremore, WØKRB, Section Emergency Coordinator ARES®, Missouri Section

The Associated Press called the event the worst single tornado disaster since 1950.
Tornado Devastation, Responses in the Southeast

On April 27, 2011, two waves of tornadoes hit the region, causing massive damage and communication failures involving land-line phones, the Internet, and cell services that were severely impaired across Alabama. More than 600,000 residences and businesses in north Alabama were without power for over a week.

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) successfully provided critical communications for multiple organizations. The time spent practicing and training on nets and exercises, building relationships and hard work paid off for ARES® when this disaster struck. ARES® worked.

The National Weather Service documented 53 separate destructive tornadoes in Alabama resulting in damage to many counties, and forever changing the lives of so many who call Alabama home. There were 28 tracks in north Alabama, with 6 EF-3, EF-4 and EF-5 tornadoes. 22 smaller but damaging EF-0, EF-1 and EF-2s. Numbers at a glance:

238 deaths; thousands of injuries; thousands of demolished homes and businesses; an EF-5 tornado traveled 132.5 miles; six EF-4 tornadoes traveled 6, 33, 47, 28, 20.5 and 28 miles in length; eight EF-3s; four EF-2

Madison County AEC Alan Sieg, WB5RMG (l), and Southeastern Division Director Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, Alabama tornado disaster.

tornadoes traveled 20, 6.6, 2, and 26 miles in length; 130 high tension high-voltage line support structures/towers were demolished; 11 high-voltage transmission lines were out of service.

The President declared a Major Disaster for Alabama: the Federal declaration encompassed 42 counties. The NWS in Huntsville issued 92 tornado warnings, 31 severe thunderstorm warnings, and seven flash flood warnings.

ARES® operations began at 4 AM on Wednesday, April 27 as severe weather tracked into Alabama and continued to operate for the next 12 days. ARES® supported the State Emergency Management, local county Emergency Management, National Weather Service, American Red Cross, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, The Salvation Army, and Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster.

Amateur Radio had to face and contend with a major disaster scenario. A major city, Tuscaloosa, was severely hit, with multiple communications towers down, multiple counties and disaster areas involved, commercial and Amateur Radio repeaters gone or not operational, main utility power out, long lines at gas stations and grocery stores, many accepting cash only. Some hams were victims of this disaster but still provided Amateur Radio support.

I am proud of all the Amateur Radio operators that provided assistance during this long duration disaster. -- Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, Director, ARRL Southeastern Division

Here are links to ARRL coverage of the ARES tornado disaster responses:

5/11/2011 -- As Weather Clears in Southeast, Hams Continue to Provide Support

5/4/2011 -- Northern Florida Hams Respond to Aftermath of Alabama Storm

5/2/2011 -- The ARRL Ham Aid Fund Needs Your Help to Support Radio Communications in Alabama

5/2/2011 -- Georgia Hams Hasten to Help During Storms

4/28/2011 -- Tornadoes and Thunderstorms Keep Radio Amateurs Busy in Midwest, Southeast

A good example of an after-action report comes from ARES® AEC Alan Sieg, WB5RMG, of Huntsville-Madison County, Alabama and is included in this issue. He adds: "That report came from deep inside, and I've had several personal responses from people within the EMA, acknowledging

Madison County EC Rolf Goedhart, K4RGG, meeting with ARES team mates. (photo courtesy W4OZK)

that depth. Many of these issues are still very close to the surface with us, and we expect them to be for some time. This is normal, we process it. Writing and sharing is part of my process. It's hard sometimes, but it helps. This sharing is some slight good to come from such a tragedy. In that light, I have also just updated our Huntsville-Madision County EMA/EOC/ARES® blog with the sitreps that our group posted to our SEC."

________

2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast: "Above Average"

Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) are calling for an "above-average" Atlantic hurricane season for 2011. In its initial outlook for the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season -- which runs from June 1-November 30 -- the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) is calling for a 65 percent probability of an above-normal season, a 25 percent probability of a near-normal season and a 10 percent probability of a below-normal season. -- ARRL

Get ready now: Here is a good article on hurricane planning and preparedness for all radio amateurs. Also, the following notice was just received from National Hurricane Center assistant station coordinator WD4R:

WX4NHC Hurricane Season 2011 On-The-Air Station Test

When: Saturday, June 4, 2011, 9AM - 5 PM eastern time. The purpose of this event is to test the National Hurricane Center Amateur Radio station equipment in preparation for this year's hurricane season. Station operators will be making informal contacts on many frequencies and modes. They would appreciate signal reports and basic weather data exchange ("Sunny," or "Rain," etc.) from stations in any location.

WX4NHC will be on-the-air on HF, VHF, UHF and 2 and 30 meter APRS. They plan to test on the following voice frequencies +/- QRM: 3.950 MHz, 7.268 MHz, 14.325 MHz, 21.325 MHz, and 28.425 MHz. The operators will try to stay on 14.325 MHz most of the time and announce when they QSY.

Readers may be able to find the operation on HF by using one of the DX spotting networks, such as the DX Summit Web Site. They will also be on the VoIP Hurricane Net 1 PM - 3 PM (IRLP node 9219/EchoLink WX-TALK Conference node 7203). Southern Florida area VHF and UHF repeaters will also be contacted. QSL cards will be available via WD4R. Please send your card with a SASE. Please do NOT send QSLs directly to the Hurricane Center address. For more information about WX4NHC, please click here. Thank you. -- Julio Ripoll, WD4R, WX4NHC Amateur Radio Assistant Coordinator

_____

Here is a link to a current New York Times editorial on the need for an emergency communications system that is compatible across jurisdictions. Interesting reading.

_____

The 2011 Dayton Hamvention® is in the history books. I asked Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, who attended the event, about emcomm and ARES forums there. He reported "I spent most of the weekend in the ARRL Emcomm booth meeting ARES® members, EC's, DEC's, served agencies' personnel and many emcomm interested amateurs. I enjoyed talking with many hams from all across the nation about emergency communications. The FCC emcomm and ARRL ARES® forums were informative, must-attend events for ARES® leadership and membership. They were packed.

"The FCC's Curt Bartholomew, N3GQ and William Cross, W3TN, gave the Commission's annual emergency communications information update. Discussion items included the ARRL Amateur Radio course for emergency managers, an upcoming emcomm survey, and a review of FEMA head Craig Fugate's speech that included praise for the viability of Amateur Radio emergency communications.

"ARRL ARES® forum speaker Mike Corey, W5MPC, the ARRL's Emergency Preparedness Manager, talked about the recent success of ARES in the southeastern tornado disaster and discussed the importance of ARES member image, training and exercises.Corey showed how ARES works and debunked some myths." Thanks, Greg. -- K1CE

_________

In This Issue:



* Just In: Joplin, Missouri Tornado Disaster
* Tornado Devastation, Responses in the Southeast
* 2011 National Hurricane Conference a Wrap
* ARES® Digest
* Reflections on Alabama Tornado Disaster: On Doing More
* N5FDL's Seven Tips: How to be a Volunteer that Leaders Love
* Letters
* K1CE For a Final

_________
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2011 National Hurricane Conference a Wrap

Hosting ARRL Southeastern Division Director Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, summed it up: "Amateur Radio at the 2011 National Hurricane Conference was a success! The Conference leadership recognize the valuable contribution of Amateur Radio operators and again invited us to participate with two sessions at this year's conference held in Atlanta, Georgia last month. What a great opportunity for Amateur Radio."

The National Hurricane Conference (NHC), billed as the nation's forum for education and professional training in hurricane and disaster preparedness, was held in Atlanta during the week of April 18-22. Anyone interested in hurricane preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation could hear about and share experiences as they went about planning for the 2011 hurricane season. The conference held at the Hyatt Regency conference center in downtown Atlanta was attended by about 1400 people from federal, state and local governments, the private sector, businesses, VOADs and the ARRL. Amateur Radio was well represented: Representatives from the ARRL, WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center, the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) and VoIP Hurricane Net (VoIPWXNet) completed several presentations at the conference as well as a presentation at Georgia Tech for area ham radio clubs.

Nearly 40 people attended the Amateur Radio Disaster Communications Workshop titled "Disaster Communications, Before, During and After Hurricanes," on the afternoon of April 18. WX4NHC Amateur Radio Coordinator John McHugh, K4AG, and Assistant Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, explained the 30 year history of their work at the National Hurricane Center and the importance of measured surface data and damage reports. The pair told how this knowledge helps hurricane specialists to make better forecasts. They also told some stories and showed videos from several of the most critical activations over the past few years including emergency communications and interoperability involved in the deployment of operators in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti.

ARRL Southeastern Division Director Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, and Ken Bailey, K1FUG, Emergency Preparedness Assistant from ARRL HQ surprised Ripoll with an award from the ARRL for his dedication and service during the Haiti earthquake of 2010. On Wednesday, he also received the conference Distinguished Service Award for his tireless efforts over thirty years as Amateur Radio coordinator at WX4NHC. The award reads "exceptional service in providing emergency communication during hurricane events over three decades while leading [the] WX4NHC Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center." For a more in-depth story of Ripoll and the Amateur Radio station he co-founded, click here.

Director of Operations of the VoIP Hurricane Net Rob Macedo, KD1CY, gave a presentation on the net and the role it plays in gathering data for WX4NHC. He explained how it also can be used to connect various National Weather Service forecast offices, as well as local and regional Emergency Operation Centers during hurricanes. As Macedo explained "The VoIP Hurricane Net relays info to WX4NHC using any and all means of reliable information from all sources to give WX4NHC the most information possible from the surface during a hurricane."

Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, a member of the League's Board of Directors (Southeasten Division) and veteran ARES and emcomm leader, gave a presentation on the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), how it works in the field and interaction with ARRL HQ.

That evening, area hams who could not attend the conference were invited to the campus of Georgia Tech to hear the same presenters give similar presentations. A big thank you to Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM, ARRL Southeastern Division Vice Director and newly elected president of the Georgia Tech Amateur Radio Club, for arranging the use of the Molecular Science and Engineering buildings lecture hall for the talks.

On Tuesday morning, Dennis Dura, K2DCD, and Rob Macedo, KD1CY, were among several speakers who hosted a workshop for about 20 emergency management officials and representatives of government agencies. The workshop focused on situational awareness and disaster intelligence, stressing its importance to Emergency Management and how it creates more opportunities to utilize Amateur Radio. The presentation was followed by a question-and-answer session relating to Amateur Radio emcomm. "Collecting and gathering data and sharing information and reporting during disasters is another way Amateur Radio can assist beyond the typical message handling," Dura said. This rap session concept was started several years ago when Dennis Dura, K2DCD and Greg Sarratt found the forum worthwhile in explaining the ARRL's role in emergency communications to Emergency Management and other served agencies. This interaction continues to prove very valuable to emergency management and Amateur Radio.

All sessions were videotaped through the efforts of professional videographer and ARRL Eastern Massachusetts ARES® Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator Jim Palmer, KB1KQW. The videos should be available later this year on the North Shore Radio Association (NSRA) Web site. Meanwhile, be sure to watch videos of pasts NHC conference's and Southern New England SKYWARN related videos. Of special interest to all SKYWARN volunteers was Rob Macedo, KD1CY discussing the Southern New England SKYWARN Program on the Weather Channel.

This year's conference is now history and while we hope for a quiet hurricane season, we left with the confidence that the knowledge received would increase our effectiveness should the worst happen. Next year the National Hurricane Conference is scheduled to be held in Orlando, Florida, March 26 - 30, 2012. Hope to see you there. - Ken Bailey, K1FUG, Emergency Preparedness Assistant, ARRL HQ
ARES® Digest

Goochland County, Virginia ARES® Activates for Outage

April 26 seemed to just be another day and, as usual, I had already begun the Central Virginia Six Meter Net early to list check-ins. There were two stations from North Carolina near Raleigh already waiting their turns for comments.

The phone rang, and the voice on the other end I knew well: it was Bill Mackay, County Fire and Rescue Chief. ARES® was needed as the agency was suffering communications problems. "The dispatch frequency is not working to our fire/rescue stations and we need emergency backup communications at all fire rescue stations and the EOC." My response was simply "OK, Bill."

My heart began to race as I began to make several calls. The first was to Ray Clemons, WB4IKL, and within a few minutes he was in route to station Co#6. The next two calls were to Mat Long, N4MI, and Ned Creasy, AE4ID. Just as quickly, they were headed to cover Co#2 and Co #5. I called Rick Cook, AB4U, EC for Hanover County. He only asked "Where do you need me?" He was soon headed to cover Co#3.

As I headed to the EOC, Dennis Pinner, N4DEN, came up on the Goochland call-up repeater. After explaining the situation, he responded to Co#1. Within an hour we had five stations and the EOC up and running. I called and advised Chief Mackay that we had coverage in place for all stations except, Co#4. I asked if he wanted the coverage for any stations shifted. He said that the coverage was fine and that he would advise if any changes were needed. We later had "Medic 50" sign up with Beau Bouharoun, N4SIR, an Advanced Cardiac Life Supporter.

All stations were able to respond to the EOC when connected as we had all sites already pre-equipped with radios, power supplies, antennas, and manuals with several log and message handling forms. Chief Mackay came into the EOC and asked me to pass along his thanks to all of the radio amateurs. He also expressed his surprise that we were able to respond to the request as quickly as we did.

In accordance with protocols, I called to advise the District Six EC of the situation: Anthony Harbour, KG4YXP, is a very good person to have close by in any given situation. He is a great radio operator and computer guru as well as an Advanced Cardiac Life Supporter and Registered Nurse. This call resulted in several other amateur operators ready as stand-bys.

Thankfully, business was slow. We handled communication from a call to co#3. There had been an accident and this info was relayed to the EOC. Shortly after noon, with all equipment back in service, a stand down was declared. The call-up had lasted from 0800 to 1230. We were again thanked by Chief Bill Mackay for our support and the confidence he gained in our abilities and willingness to respond.

I thank all of the operators involved for their support and participation. Many had changed plans or had to take time off from work to provide this coverage. This demonstrates their devotion to the service of our community. I am sure that this sentiment is shared by many other ARES® groups as well. -- Ralph Fetty, Sr., W4FEG, Emergency Coordinator, Goochland County, Virginia

York County, PA Tornado Activation

Saturday night, April 16, 8:00 PM -- The York County, Pennsylvania ARES®/RACES/SKYWARN group (YARS) assembled on the air due to an Extreme Weather Alert. Members reported high winds and heavy rain. There was a report of a possible tornado near Hanover, Pennsylvania. Within minutes I heard that familiar sound of a freight train rushing past my house, accompanied by loud cracking noises and a power outage. After it had passed, my wife and I made a visual inspection. Four sections of our fence and a mature spruce tree were down and a huge flowering pear tree was down on the roof of our neighbors' house.

It wasn't until Monday afternoon that the NWS declared it to have been a tornado after determining evidence of rotational wind damage. -- Chris Palm, WY6Z, York, Pennsylvania
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Reflections on Alabama Tornado Disaster: On Doing More

I would like to think that the years of training and decades of Field Day practice allowed me to provide my community, the Huntsville/Madison County area, with the level of support that was needed after the tornadoes of April 27. Surely with all my experience helping with Red Cross sheltering after blizzards and hurricanes, all the planning sessions and tabletops and so on and so forth, I had what it takes.

What I feel has made the most difference this time is the fact that our EMA is well known and well respected in this community. Add to that the fact that our radio group is also well known and respected by this EMA. These two factors added up to our group's ability to step into action immediately without any need to organize further, or be in-processed as raw recruits might. We were already on the inside.

Yes, our training helped. We performed just as we have practiced time and time again, and we adapted successfully to a changing environment. However, I feel that my tasking was greatly empowered by one simple fact: that I held an official credential - a standardized ID card issued by the EMA, and it was easily recognized within the ICS infrastructure on the scene. No one ever challenged my presence or my inquiries. My job could have been more challenging and much less effective.

My job on the surface was to pass messages, primarily in support of a VOAD member, the Northern Alabama Medical Reserve Corps. Their task was to establish a field clinic at the Sparkman School, just south of the Anderson Hills area that was so heavily hit. When I realized that this location was also the support base for dozens of visiting law enforcement troops, and was becoming a major supply and staging area, I recognized that I could do more to help than just talk on the radio.

I wanted to become a hub of information management: who, what, when, and where. I identified and introduced myself to anyone who would listen: school administration, county commissioners, lunch-ladies and janitors, Sheriff deputies and officers from Madison County, SWAT teams from Montgomery and Mobile, the captains and lieutenants from the National Guard who knew who I was, and even the guy that changed 90 flats on the patrol cars that first night.

I spoke with neighborhood residents and volunteers, doctors and patients. My message was simple: "You have questions - I can get you answers." They all knew that they could come to me with their questions. And I knew where to go and who to ask about what, when, and anything in between.

Communication is an essential piece of managing the information. Talking on the radio was simple, because I've had practice - it's second nature. Listening and building these relationships was also simple - because I cared. My message to you now? Don't be afraid to care, and do more than pass messages. I have never been more proud than to be a part of such an effective group. We made a huge difference. This community knows what we can do, and we know we will gladly do it again whenever we need to. -- Alan Sieg, WB5RMG, Assistant Emergency Coordinator, Huntsville-Madison County ARES®/RACES, Alabama
N5FDL's Seven Tips: How to be a Volunteer that Leaders Love

Having spent two months talking about how to build and kill EMCOMM groups, this month I'll touch on what it takes to be the volunteer every leader wants on his or her team. Here are seven tips:

Sign-up and show-up - This is really simple, but can't be overstated. Leaders need dependable volunteers and need them to commit early. We need to be able to plan based on the number of volunteers we can expect. So sign-up early, let your leader know if your plans are "tentative," and cancel as soon as you know you cannot attend. That makes the planning job much, much easier. Ten people who become available the "day of" aren't very helpful, unless I have ten unexpected no-shows.
People respect our group because they know if we commit to something, we will deliver. This group reliability depends on volunteers who are equally reliable.

Dress like an emergency communications professional -- I feel stupid saying this, but what we wear impacts the image of all Amateurs. Now that we wear orange or green safety vests much of the time, individual fashion expression is not so apparent to served agencies or the public. However, as unpaid professionals we need to look like the paid professionals we work alongside.

In general, dress in office work/casual office attire when on an assignment, unless you have a special reason (cleared with your leaders) for dressing differently. If you don't wear an official government-issued patch, I am not wild about uniforms. I have a Sheriff's SAR uniform - silver badge and all - and I try very hard not to wear it. Polo shirts (with your group's logo) are almost always the best thing to wear. Try not to have too many logos or call signs (even your own) visible at the same time.

Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! - We all have better and worse days, but great volunteers develop a "game face" and "game attitude" they bring to public events. Whiners are not allowed. Egos get checked at the door. No, it really isn't about you, it's just what net control said or did, probably without thinking, and usually in the heat of the moment.

Seek Feedback (And Offer It) - We all need to talk about what we do well as well as where we could improve. Volunteers need to understand that the people who provide feedback (volunteer bosses) are sometimes insensitive louts. Please forgive us. We didn't mean to hurt your feelings and it really isn't personal. Nor is it personal when you tell leaders how we might improve. We are here to serve the public and our communities and we win or lose as a team.

The key to this is being a decent human being and treating others the way you'd want to be treated yourself. Sound familiar?

Build Your Skills - Newcomer mistakes must be forgiven. And some people - like me - make the same silly mistakes over and over. But, we need to constantly "sharpen the saw," as the book 7 Habits of Highly Successful People calls it. Great volunteers sharpen the saw on a regular basis. The reason we provide support for all these bike rides, community fairs, rodeos and other non-emergency events is two-fold. Sometimes these events become real emergencies. Mostly, though, we're training for when "the big one" (whatever that is where you live) happens. Use these events to train yourself while having fun. Then read, take classes, do free online training, anything to improve your skills. Reading this newsletter is a good use of your time.

Help solve problems - I was really pleased at a recent event when our volunteers at a remote site solved problems that occurred at their location without help from anyone. It was an issue related to signals and geography and these were new hams - all KJ6 call signs - who took initiative and made things better on the spot. And some people say HamCram hams are know-nothings! In the process, they improved our ability to serve the organization we were working for. Great volunteers give great customer service.

Observe Lines of Authority - Not long ago, I came unglued (it had been a bad day) when a fairly inexperienced volunteer tried to do something that went against the goals of the organization. It was not ill-intended, just inexperience. But, it was the second or third problem. This was a hugely promising volunteer, who just needed to understand why certain things are done the way they are. Even insensitive louts sometimes have good reasons behind their logic.

Good volunteers have ideas and want something to do. They want to contribute but can be overly enthusiastic and cause problems without meaning to. Long story short, the volunteer and I decided to give each other the benefit of the doubt, and at his first event he performed marvelously. He wants to become a leader and at the rate he is going, he will. But, he will need to work within the rules of the organization and ask questions before just "doing."

This is another way of saying, "Respect your elders." But if you feel your local leaders are killing the group don't just sit and watch it happen. That is a topic for another column, based on some of the letters I've been getting from E-Letter readers.

"What did you do at the bike race, dear?" That is what my wife, K6SWE, asked Saturday after I got home from working all day at a bicycle race. As leader of the group, I delegated much of the organizing to Matt, KI6ZTY, who served as net control. I purposely arrived late so Matt and his assistant NCS, Conrad, KJ6CNV, would get started without me. They did just fine, though I was ready to jump in if needed (I can delegate tasks but not responsibility).

What did I do from 0730 until 1530? Mostly drive around to make sure things were going OK. I occasionally cut in on the radio to ask a question, offer a clarification, and help handle emergencies -four riders were injured during the day.

The most critical thing I did was help get our operators moved around and instructed as to how to assist Highway Patrol, fire and race organizers when a racer had to be airlifted from the scene after a crash. I also took the injured woman's friends and their bikes back to the start line and later hauled in another rider with a minor injury and her bike. I also filled in at various locations when operators needed a break, etc.

What was the most important thing I did? I made sure our operators all got the lunches and t-shirts the race organizers provided for them. I made deliveries when necessary and made sure everyone was taken care of. My operators, hopefully, felt supported, fed, happy, and got a nice souvenir for their efforts.

Making the troops as happy as possible is key for any manager's success--especially when the workers are not getting paid. Leaders exist to support their volunteers, not vice versa. - ARES® E-Letter Contributing Editor David Coursey, N5FDL, is an emcomm leader in San Joaquin County, California and author of the N5FDL.com blog.
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Letters

On "HamCrams," April Issue

I am responding to the "HamCram" article and comments in the last issue. I have been licensed since 1959. I have been an active member of Nassau County, New York ARES® for nearly 30 years. I have worked with kids in school radio clubs at least since 1977 when I started work at Brooklyn Technical High School (W2CXN). My home club is the Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club (LIMARC) where I presently hold the title of Education Committee Chair. I am a retired public school chemistry teacher.

In my experience trying to teach classes to high school students and adults, traditional multi-session courses have not been very effective. The attrition rate has been very frustrating. Many who start never get to the exam. In the past year I have led a team of volunteer instructors in four 1-day cram/review sessions. The ground rules were that everyone who signed up was required to study in advance. We suggested, but did not prescribe which books, media, on-line resources, etc. they needed to use. These sessions that started at 8 AM and went through the question pool by 3:30 PM were followed immediately by VE sessions administered by a separate team of VEs.

The results were most encouraging. The Technician session results were 15 of 15, 13 of 13 and 4 of 7. The three who did not pass at the last session told us that they had not studied in advance. On April 10, the same team conducted a General class upgrade session resulting in 9 of 11 passing. One missed by one question and one had not studied. The bottom line is that these cram/review sessions only work when a person is committed enough to have done some individual studying.

We maintain a Yahoo group as a forum for support. Our experience has been that passing grades were typically 30 correct or more, including several 35s.

Our view is that getting the license is similar to what I used to hear about driving. Get the license and then learn to be a driver, or in this case an Amateur Radio operator. LIMARC and our county ARES® and CERT/RACES groups are all working to provide the hands-on experience in drills and public service events that are needed to make them effective.

We are exploring the idea of more traditional classes aimed at filling in the gaps that were glossed over during the pre-exam review sessions. The model that seems to be coming together would be open to all interested regardless of license held. There would be no pressure or anxiety about taking an exam at the end. Topics would be chosen from the various license manuals with sessions held prior to our regular monthly meetings.

The comments about inexperienced operators not knowing how to manage their stations in an emergency are a real concern, but it has always been so. Our fellow hams have always responded to emergencies when the need arose. I remember the first hurricane that I operated in, Donna, in 1960. When an Avianca plane ran out of fuel and crashed on the north shore of Long Island, there was an ad hoc response that was overwhelming. The same was true in the days after the 9/11 attacks in NYC and during the 2003 blackout.

You are absolutely correct that we do not have enough operators to meet the potential emcomm needs in nearly any serious situation. Since we always experience an ad hoc response and must transform these new volunteers into an effective team, which ones are likely to be better operators? I have contended for some time that they are not likely to come from the NTS ops, but from the DXers and contesters. It is in this regard that I am promoting participation in FD this year, especially by our newly licensed and upgraded hams. In order to be a skilled operator, one needs to operate. Drills and 'athons are good, but may not be enough to keep the attention of many. One needs to have fun with our hobby. It is not a job. More than 52 years of experience and still eagerly learning. Keep up the good work. - Lew Malchick, N2RQ, East Meadow, New York

Video: Interview with NC Ham who lost Home in Tornado

Readers might be interested in a video I posted on the Brightleaf Amateur Radio Club Web site. One of our members, Hollis Thigpen, KC3X, of Snow Hill, North Carolina, lost his home in the April 16 tornadoes that came through the eastern part of the state. The video is two minutes long, from WCTI-12, New Bern. Hollis is interviewed the next day at his home. Also, here are photos and captions I made at the KC3X QTH 13 days later showing a lot of the destruction, including the 72 foot US Tower bent over at the base. - Dave Langley, W4YDY, Brightleaf ARC Ham Chatter Editor; Brightleaf ARC Web site Editor, North Carolina

Do's and Don'ts for EmComm Success

I have experienced all of the things on the lists published in the last couple of issues by David Coursey, N5FDL. I would add that probably the most important "Do" is to communicate freely. Sometimes this is the most difficult, but it really needs to be emphasized. What we did in New Mexico when we established the state SAR organization is to ask each team what they thought their expertise is/was. Then we made it clear to them that they would be called when we needed that expertise, otherwise they would be put on standby. That way we did not wear out all of the teams.

On the subject of a simple H-T, I await a response to see if what you published will get any feedback. Meanwhile, I plan to check out the H-T you reviewed in the March issue of QST and see if it meets all the things that I suggested. It is imperative that it be simple enough that one can program it without the book being close at hand. - Bob Skaggs, KB5RX, Santa Fe, New Mexico

AA Battery/Power Solutions

I found a simple and economical way to have all the battery power I need: Get the correct size AA holders from a place like Jameco or Parts Express and put a few in parallel for longevity. Then add a flexible cable with a power connector on the end that will fit your HT. The battery holders generally will fit nicely into a small arms army surplus ammo pouch and fit on any belt even though the pouches are made for the ALICE belt (that belt is also the most comfortable). See my emcomm web page.

In re a simple H-T, I had one of the overly-complicated newer H-Ts and I reverted back to my old standby ICOM IC-2AT. It is a very simple, basic VHF-only H-T and it works fine with my home-brew battery pack. The problem with the old IC-2AT is that a tone board must be added. Being a fire fighter at heart I like to keep it simple and functional. Fancy stuff in an emergency usually just gets in the way and hampers the operation. - Bill MacLane, AI4WM, Palm Coast, Florida

Timely, Twitter and Passwords

In re last month's article on Twitter alerting, the author suggests creating a "strong password that you might share with just a few people in your group so they could post the alert if you were unavailable. Board members or the club president would be some examples of who you might grant posting access to."

You don't have to share your password, if you use http://timely.is/ YOU set up Timely for the account. YOU add users to the Timely account. Your group that you allow can post Tweets, either scheduled or within 30 minutes. It's a great tool for networking and team building. Hope that helps. -- Lloyd Colston, KC5FM, Altus, OK EMA http://wx5em.us

Simple H-Ts

Just a quick note that the simple thumbwheel-operated H-T described in KB5RX's letter is not a TH-22; it's probably an ICOM IC-2AT. I own several of the Kenwood TH series handhelds (2m, 70cm, 23cm), and they all program the same and are fairly simple to use. For the most-used function (set up and store a repeater pair) I have the process coded on an adhesive label on the back of each radio. For the less-used commands, a photo-reduced, laminated function chart I produced in Excel stays in my wallet. -- Marty Woll, N6VI, Vice Director, ARRL Southwestern Division; Assistant DEC, ARES®LAX

Formidable Footprint

Formidable Footprint is a free online Emergency Response Tabletop Exercise Series sponsored by Disaster Resistant Communities Group (DRC-Group), Depiction software, and Stoneybrook Group LLC. It is a Web-based interactive real-time drill which will take about three hours to complete. It features pictures, video, audio and interactive maps. Teams from all over the nation and some international teams participate. Although it is targeted to CERT and Neighborhood groups, I feel it has a lot of value to ARES® members because: 1) Many types of decisions and contact data are common to all groups and can be tested by this drill, and 2) ARES® volunteers are not going to be available if their families and/or neighbors need them. The better their family and neighbor can plan for any disaster, the better their availability for helping others. Summit County ARES® will gather at a single location and work through the drill as a team. Details can be found here. For a good overview of the process, you can view the online video found here.

We went through an interactive flood event to be used to elicit responses from our team at various points, such as "Is this request within the responsibility of our group," and "Who would our group contact to handle this item," etc. After the drill there was an online hotwash and we received a report of all our responses to the "injects" such that we can use it for an after action report. Other drills in this series include Wildfire (March 26), Tornado (April 30), Influenza Pandemic (May 28) and Hurricane (June 25). I think ARES® should publicize the availability of these FREE Tabletop exercises!

On another note, there is a Stop Disasters Game available here. Sponsored by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, it has five scenarios (Tsunami, Hurricane, Wildfire, Earthquake, and Flood) and three difficulty levels. With a limited budget and time, the player must manage the community to minimize loss of life and property damage during the impending event. It is targeted at late teens, but at 57 years of age, I find it a very interesting game and am working to optimize my strategy for the Flood event - the only one I have tried so far. I think, again, this is something that would be of interest to ARES®. The basic intent seems to be to raise the awareness of the value of preparation for disaster, and I think it does an excellent job of that. - Dennis Conklin, AI8P, AEC, Summit County, Ohio ARES®
K1CE For a Final]]> The ARES E-Letter
May 25, 2011
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
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Just In: Joplin, Missouri Tornado Disaster

Here is a brief report from Missouri SEC W0KRB, just forwarded by Dale Temple, W5RXU, Arkansas Section Manager, at press time: "Thanks to all who volunteered to help provide radio support for the Joplin tornado. Last night, Amateur Radio was used to provide communications between Freeman hospital (in Joplin) to the hospitals in Springfield to help provide information about resources needed in Joplin. We also had a link-up for Red Cross between the main office in Springfield and the satellite office in Joplin.

"John Howard, K0VET, activated the Missouri Emergency Services Net (MESN) and it was up until 2300 hours last night. It ended up steering a lot of people to the proper Web site for health and welfare messages. The hospital requirements for radio communications were terminated at 0900 this morning and at 5:00 PM tonight we are on a standby status for Red Cross between the two locations.

"We still have a couple of the Jasper County ARES® and Newton County ARES® members providing communications between the Red Cross Shelter and the HQ for Red Cross that was set up away from the normal chapter office as this is now a national-level Red Cross response. It is anticipated that this need will be fulfilled by noon tomorrow.

"Again, thanks to all of you for asking if you could help and especially for not self-deploying, which ends up adding to the problem. Our professionalism again came shining through. -- Kenneth Baremore, WØKRB, Section Emergency Coordinator ARES®, Missouri Section

The Associated Press called the event the worst single tornado disaster since 1950.
Tornado Devastation, Responses in the Southeast

On April 27, 2011, two waves of tornadoes hit the region, causing massive damage and communication failures involving land-line phones, the Internet, and cell services that were severely impaired across Alabama. More than 600,000 residences and businesses in north Alabama were without power for over a week.

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) successfully provided critical communications for multiple organizations. The time spent practicing and training on nets and exercises, building relationships and hard work paid off for ARES® when this disaster struck. ARES® worked.

The National Weather Service documented 53 separate destructive tornadoes in Alabama resulting in damage to many counties, and forever changing the lives of so many who call Alabama home. There were 28 tracks in north Alabama, with 6 EF-3, EF-4 and EF-5 tornadoes. 22 smaller but damaging EF-0, EF-1 and EF-2s. Numbers at a glance:

238 deaths; thousands of injuries; thousands of demolished homes and businesses; an EF-5 tornado traveled 132.5 miles; six EF-4 tornadoes traveled 6, 33, 47, 28, 20.5 and 28 miles in length; eight EF-3s; four EF-2

Madison County AEC Alan Sieg, WB5RMG (l), and Southeastern Division Director Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, Alabama tornado disaster.

tornadoes traveled 20, 6.6, 2, and 26 miles in length; 130 high tension high-voltage line support structures/towers were demolished; 11 high-voltage transmission lines were out of service.

The President declared a Major Disaster for Alabama: the Federal declaration encompassed 42 counties. The NWS in Huntsville issued 92 tornado warnings, 31 severe thunderstorm warnings, and seven flash flood warnings.

ARES® operations began at 4 AM on Wednesday, April 27 as severe weather tracked into Alabama and continued to operate for the next 12 days. ARES® supported the State Emergency Management, local county Emergency Management, National Weather Service, American Red Cross, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, The Salvation Army, and Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster.

Amateur Radio had to face and contend with a major disaster scenario. A major city, Tuscaloosa, was severely hit, with multiple communications towers down, multiple counties and disaster areas involved, commercial and Amateur Radio repeaters gone or not operational, main utility power out, long lines at gas stations and grocery stores, many accepting cash only. Some hams were victims of this disaster but still provided Amateur Radio support.

I am proud of all the Amateur Radio operators that provided assistance during this long duration disaster. -- Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, Director, ARRL Southeastern Division

Here are links to ARRL coverage of the ARES tornado disaster responses:

5/11/2011 -- As Weather Clears in Southeast, Hams Continue to Provide Support

5/4/2011 -- Northern Florida Hams Respond to Aftermath of Alabama Storm

5/2/2011 -- The ARRL Ham Aid Fund Needs Your Help to Support Radio Communications in Alabama

5/2/2011 -- Georgia Hams Hasten to Help During Storms

4/28/2011 -- Tornadoes and Thunderstorms Keep Radio Amateurs Busy in Midwest, Southeast

A good example of an after-action report comes from ARES® AEC Alan Sieg, WB5RMG, of Huntsville-Madison County, Alabama and is included in this issue. He adds: "That report came from deep inside, and I've had several personal responses from people within the EMA, acknowledging

Madison County EC Rolf Goedhart, K4RGG, meeting with ARES team mates. (photo courtesy W4OZK)

that depth. Many of these issues are still very close to the surface with us, and we expect them to be for some time. This is normal, we process it. Writing and sharing is part of my process. It's hard sometimes, but it helps. This sharing is some slight good to come from such a tragedy. In that light, I have also just updated our Huntsville-Madision County EMA/EOC/ARES® blog with the sitreps that our group posted to our SEC."

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2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast: "Above Average"

Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) are calling for an "above-average" Atlantic hurricane season for 2011. In its initial outlook for the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season -- which runs from June 1-November 30 -- the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) is calling for a 65 percent probability of an above-normal season, a 25 percent probability of a near-normal season and a 10 percent probability of a below-normal season. -- ARRL

Get ready now: Here is a good article on hurricane planning and preparedness for all radio amateurs. Also, the following notice was just received from National Hurricane Center assistant station coordinator WD4R:

WX4NHC Hurricane Season 2011 On-The-Air Station Test

When: Saturday, June 4, 2011, 9AM - 5 PM eastern time. The purpose of this event is to test the National Hurricane Center Amateur Radio station equipment in preparation for this year's hurricane season. Station operators will be making informal contacts on many frequencies and modes. They would appreciate signal reports and basic weather data exchange ("Sunny," or "Rain," etc.) from stations in any location.

WX4NHC will be on-the-air on HF, VHF, UHF and 2 and 30 meter APRS. They plan to test on the following voice frequencies +/- QRM: 3.950 MHz, 7.268 MHz, 14.325 MHz, 21.325 MHz, and 28.425 MHz. The operators will try to stay on 14.325 MHz most of the time and announce when they QSY.

Readers may be able to find the operation on HF by using one of the DX spotting networks, such as the DX Summit Web Site. They will also be on the VoIP Hurricane Net 1 PM - 3 PM (IRLP node 9219/EchoLink WX-TALK Conference node 7203). Southern Florida area VHF and UHF repeaters will also be contacted. QSL cards will be available via WD4R. Please send your card with a SASE. Please do NOT send QSLs directly to the Hurricane Center address. For more information about WX4NHC, please click here. Thank you. -- Julio Ripoll, WD4R, WX4NHC Amateur Radio Assistant Coordinator

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Here is a link to a current New York Times editorial on the need for an emergency communications system that is compatible across jurisdictions. Interesting reading.

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The 2011 Dayton Hamvention® is in the history books. I asked Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, who attended the event, about emcomm and ARES forums there. He reported "I spent most of the weekend in the ARRL Emcomm booth meeting ARES® members, EC's, DEC's, served agencies' personnel and many emcomm interested amateurs. I enjoyed talking with many hams from all across the nation about emergency communications. The FCC emcomm and ARRL ARES® forums were informative, must-attend events for ARES® leadership and membership. They were packed.

"The FCC's Curt Bartholomew, N3GQ and William Cross, W3TN, gave the Commission's annual emergency communications information update. Discussion items included the ARRL Amateur Radio course for emergency managers, an upcoming emcomm survey, and a review of FEMA head Craig Fugate's speech that included praise for the viability of Amateur Radio emergency communications.

"ARRL ARES® forum speaker Mike Corey, W5MPC, the ARRL's Emergency Preparedness Manager, talked about the recent success of ARES in the southeastern tornado disaster and discussed the importance of ARES member image, training and exercises.Corey showed how ARES works and debunked some myths." Thanks, Greg. -- K1CE

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In This Issue:



* Just In: Joplin, Missouri Tornado Disaster
* Tornado Devastation, Responses in the Southeast
* 2011 National Hurricane Conference a Wrap
* ARES® Digest
* Reflections on Alabama Tornado Disaster: On Doing More
* N5FDL's Seven Tips: How to be a Volunteer that Leaders Love
* Letters
* K1CE For a Final

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2011 National Hurricane Conference a Wrap

Hosting ARRL Southeastern Division Director Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, summed it up: "Amateur Radio at the 2011 National Hurricane Conference was a success! The Conference leadership recognize the valuable contribution of Amateur Radio operators and again invited us to participate with two sessions at this year's conference held in Atlanta, Georgia last month. What a great opportunity for Amateur Radio."

The National Hurricane Conference (NHC), billed as the nation's forum for education and professional training in hurricane and disaster preparedness, was held in Atlanta during the week of April 18-22. Anyone interested in hurricane preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation could hear about and share experiences as they went about planning for the 2011 hurricane season. The conference held at the Hyatt Regency conference center in downtown Atlanta was attended by about 1400 people from federal, state and local governments, the private sector, businesses, VOADs and the ARRL. Amateur Radio was well represented: Representatives from the ARRL, WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center, the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) and VoIP Hurricane Net (VoIPWXNet) completed several presentations at the conference as well as a presentation at Georgia Tech for area ham radio clubs.

Nearly 40 people attended the Amateur Radio Disaster Communications Workshop titled "Disaster Communications, Before, During and After Hurricanes," on the afternoon of April 18. WX4NHC Amateur Radio Coordinator John McHugh, K4AG, and Assistant Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, explained the 30 year history of their work at the National Hurricane Center and the importance of measured surface data and damage reports. The pair told how this knowledge helps hurricane specialists to make better forecasts. They also told some stories and showed videos from several of the most critical activations over the past few years including emergency communications and interoperability involved in the deployment of operators in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti.

ARRL Southeastern Division Director Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, and Ken Bailey, K1FUG, Emergency Preparedness Assistant from ARRL HQ surprised Ripoll with an award from the ARRL for his dedication and service during the Haiti earthquake of 2010. On Wednesday, he also received the conference Distinguished Service Award for his tireless efforts over thirty years as Amateur Radio coordinator at WX4NHC. The award reads "exceptional service in providing emergency communication during hurricane events over three decades while leading [the] WX4NHC Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center." For a more in-depth story of Ripoll and the Amateur Radio station he co-founded, click here.

Director of Operations of the VoIP Hurricane Net Rob Macedo, KD1CY, gave a presentation on the net and the role it plays in gathering data for WX4NHC. He explained how it also can be used to connect various National Weather Service forecast offices, as well as local and regional Emergency Operation Centers during hurricanes. As Macedo explained "The VoIP Hurricane Net relays info to WX4NHC using any and all means of reliable information from all sources to give WX4NHC the most information possible from the surface during a hurricane."

Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, a member of the League's Board of Directors (Southeasten Division) and veteran ARES and emcomm leader, gave a presentation on the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), how it works in the field and interaction with ARRL HQ.

That evening, area hams who could not attend the conference were invited to the campus of Georgia Tech to hear the same presenters give similar presentations. A big thank you to Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM, ARRL Southeastern Division Vice Director and newly elected president of the Georgia Tech Amateur Radio Club, for arranging the use of the Molecular Science and Engineering buildings lecture hall for the talks.

On Tuesday morning, Dennis Dura, K2DCD, and Rob Macedo, KD1CY, were among several speakers who hosted a workshop for about 20 emergency management officials and representatives of government agencies. The workshop focused on situational awareness and disaster intelligence, stressing its importance to Emergency Management and how it creates more opportunities to utilize Amateur Radio. The presentation was followed by a question-and-answer session relating to Amateur Radio emcomm. "Collecting and gathering data and sharing information and reporting during disasters is another way Amateur Radio can assist beyond the typical message handling," Dura said. This rap session concept was started several years ago when Dennis Dura, K2DCD and Greg Sarratt found the forum worthwhile in explaining the ARRL's role in emergency communications to Emergency Management and other served agencies. This interaction continues to prove very valuable to emergency management and Amateur Radio.

All sessions were videotaped through the efforts of professional videographer and ARRL Eastern Massachusetts ARES® Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator Jim Palmer, KB1KQW. The videos should be available later this year on the North Shore Radio Association (NSRA) Web site. Meanwhile, be sure to watch videos of pasts NHC conference's and Southern New England SKYWARN related videos. Of special interest to all SKYWARN volunteers was Rob Macedo, KD1CY discussing the Southern New England SKYWARN Program on the Weather Channel.

This year's conference is now history and while we hope for a quiet hurricane season, we left with the confidence that the knowledge received would increase our effectiveness should the worst happen. Next year the National Hurricane Conference is scheduled to be held in Orlando, Florida, March 26 - 30, 2012. Hope to see you there. - Ken Bailey, K1FUG, Emergency Preparedness Assistant, ARRL HQ
ARES® Digest

Goochland County, Virginia ARES® Activates for Outage

April 26 seemed to just be another day and, as usual, I had already begun the Central Virginia Six Meter Net early to list check-ins. There were two stations from North Carolina near Raleigh already waiting their turns for comments.

The phone rang, and the voice on the other end I knew well: it was Bill Mackay, County Fire and Rescue Chief. ARES® was needed as the agency was suffering communications problems. "The dispatch frequency is not working to our fire/rescue stations and we need emergency backup communications at all fire rescue stations and the EOC." My response was simply "OK, Bill."

My heart began to race as I began to make several calls. The first was to Ray Clemons, WB4IKL, and within a few minutes he was in route to station Co#6. The next two calls were to Mat Long, N4MI, and Ned Creasy, AE4ID. Just as quickly, they were headed to cover Co#2 and Co #5. I called Rick Cook, AB4U, EC for Hanover County. He only asked "Where do you need me?" He was soon headed to cover Co#3.

As I headed to the EOC, Dennis Pinner, N4DEN, came up on the Goochland call-up repeater. After explaining the situation, he responded to Co#1. Within an hour we had five stations and the EOC up and running. I called and advised Chief Mackay that we had coverage in place for all stations except, Co#4. I asked if he wanted the coverage for any stations shifted. He said that the coverage was fine and that he would advise if any changes were needed. We later had "Medic 50" sign up with Beau Bouharoun, N4SIR, an Advanced Cardiac Life Supporter.

All stations were able to respond to the EOC when connected as we had all sites already pre-equipped with radios, power supplies, antennas, and manuals with several log and message handling forms. Chief Mackay came into the EOC and asked me to pass along his thanks to all of the radio amateurs. He also expressed his surprise that we were able to respond to the request as quickly as we did.

In accordance with protocols, I called to advise the District Six EC of the situation: Anthony Harbour, KG4YXP, is a very good person to have close by in any given situation. He is a great radio operator and computer guru as well as an Advanced Cardiac Life Supporter and Registered Nurse. This call resulted in several other amateur operators ready as stand-bys.

Thankfully, business was slow. We handled communication from a call to co#3. There had been an accident and this info was relayed to the EOC. Shortly after noon, with all equipment back in service, a stand down was declared. The call-up had lasted from 0800 to 1230. We were again thanked by Chief Bill Mackay for our support and the confidence he gained in our abilities and willingness to respond.

I thank all of the operators involved for their support and participation. Many had changed plans or had to take time off from work to provide this coverage. This demonstrates their devotion to the service of our community. I am sure that this sentiment is shared by many other ARES® groups as well. -- Ralph Fetty, Sr., W4FEG, Emergency Coordinator, Goochland County, Virginia

York County, PA Tornado Activation

Saturday night, April 16, 8:00 PM -- The York County, Pennsylvania ARES®/RACES/SKYWARN group (YARS) assembled on the air due to an Extreme Weather Alert. Members reported high winds and heavy rain. There was a report of a possible tornado near Hanover, Pennsylvania. Within minutes I heard that familiar sound of a freight train rushing past my house, accompanied by loud cracking noises and a power outage. After it had passed, my wife and I made a visual inspection. Four sections of our fence and a mature spruce tree were down and a huge flowering pear tree was down on the roof of our neighbors' house.

It wasn't until Monday afternoon that the NWS declared it to have been a tornado after determining evidence of rotational wind damage. -- Chris Palm, WY6Z, York, Pennsylvania
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Reflections on Alabama Tornado Disaster: On Doing More

I would like to think that the years of training and decades of Field Day practice allowed me to provide my community, the Huntsville/Madison County area, with the level of support that was needed after the tornadoes of April 27. Surely with all my experience helping with Red Cross sheltering after blizzards and hurricanes, all the planning sessions and tabletops and so on and so forth, I had what it takes.

What I feel has made the most difference this time is the fact that our EMA is well known and well respected in this community. Add to that the fact that our radio group is also well known and respected by this EMA. These two factors added up to our group's ability to step into action immediately without any need to organize further, or be in-processed as raw recruits might. We were already on the inside.

Yes, our training helped. We performed just as we have practiced time and time again, and we adapted successfully to a changing environment. However, I feel that my tasking was greatly empowered by one simple fact: that I held an official credential - a standardized ID card issued by the EMA, and it was easily recognized within the ICS infrastructure on the scene. No one ever challenged my presence or my inquiries. My job could have been more challenging and much less effective.

My job on the surface was to pass messages, primarily in support of a VOAD member, the Northern Alabama Medical Reserve Corps. Their task was to establish a field clinic at the Sparkman School, just south of the Anderson Hills area that was so heavily hit. When I realized that this location was also the support base for dozens of visiting law enforcement troops, and was becoming a major supply and staging area, I recognized that I could do more to help than just talk on the radio.

I wanted to become a hub of information management: who, what, when, and where. I identified and introduced myself to anyone who would listen: school administration, county commissioners, lunch-ladies and janitors, Sheriff deputies and officers from Madison County, SWAT teams from Montgomery and Mobile, the captains and lieutenants from the National Guard who knew who I was, and even the guy that changed 90 flats on the patrol cars that first night.

I spoke with neighborhood residents and volunteers, doctors and patients. My message was simple: "You have questions - I can get you answers." They all knew that they could come to me with their questions. And I knew where to go and who to ask about what, when, and anything in between.

Communication is an essential piece of managing the information. Talking on the radio was simple, because I've had practice - it's second nature. Listening and building these relationships was also simple - because I cared. My message to you now? Don't be afraid to care, and do more than pass messages. I have never been more proud than to be a part of such an effective group. We made a huge difference. This community knows what we can do, and we know we will gladly do it again whenever we need to. -- Alan Sieg, WB5RMG, Assistant Emergency Coordinator, Huntsville-Madison County ARES®/RACES, Alabama
N5FDL's Seven Tips: How to be a Volunteer that Leaders Love

Having spent two months talking about how to build and kill EMCOMM groups, this month I'll touch on what it takes to be the volunteer every leader wants on his or her team. Here are seven tips:

Sign-up and show-up - This is really simple, but can't be overstated. Leaders need dependable volunteers and need them to commit early. We need to be able to plan based on the number of volunteers we can expect. So sign-up early, let your leader know if your plans are "tentative," and cancel as soon as you know you cannot attend. That makes the planning job much, much easier. Ten people who become available the "day of" aren't very helpful, unless I have ten unexpected no-shows.
People respect our group because they know if we commit to something, we will deliver. This group reliability depends on volunteers who are equally reliable.

Dress like an emergency communications professional -- I feel stupid saying this, but what we wear impacts the image of all Amateurs. Now that we wear orange or green safety vests much of the time, individual fashion expression is not so apparent to served agencies or the public. However, as unpaid professionals we need to look like the paid professionals we work alongside.

In general, dress in office work/casual office attire when on an assignment, unless you have a special reason (cleared with your leaders) for dressing differently. If you don't wear an official government-issued patch, I am not wild about uniforms. I have a Sheriff's SAR uniform - silver badge and all - and I try very hard not to wear it. Polo shirts (with your group's logo) are almost always the best thing to wear. Try not to have too many logos or call signs (even your own) visible at the same time.

Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! - We all have better and worse days, but great volunteers develop a "game face" and "game attitude" they bring to public events. Whiners are not allowed. Egos get checked at the door. No, it really isn't about you, it's just what net control said or did, probably without thinking, and usually in the heat of the moment.

Seek Feedback (And Offer It) - We all need to talk about what we do well as well as where we could improve. Volunteers need to understand that the people who provide feedback (volunteer bosses) are sometimes insensitive louts. Please forgive us. We didn't mean to hurt your feelings and it really isn't personal. Nor is it personal when you tell leaders how we might improve. We are here to serve the public and our communities and we win or lose as a team.

The key to this is being a decent human being and treating others the way you'd want to be treated yourself. Sound familiar?

Build Your Skills - Newcomer mistakes must be forgiven. And some people - like me - make the same silly mistakes over and over. But, we need to constantly "sharpen the saw," as the book 7 Habits of Highly Successful People calls it. Great volunteers sharpen the saw on a regular basis. The reason we provide support for all these bike rides, community fairs, rodeos and other non-emergency events is two-fold. Sometimes these events become real emergencies. Mostly, though, we're training for when "the big one" (whatever that is where you live) happens. Use these events to train yourself while having fun. Then read, take classes, do free online training, anything to improve your skills. Reading this newsletter is a good use of your time.

Help solve problems - I was really pleased at a recent event when our volunteers at a remote site solved problems that occurred at their location without help from anyone. It was an issue related to signals and geography and these were new hams - all KJ6 call signs - who took initiative and made things better on the spot. And some people say HamCram hams are know-nothings! In the process, they improved our ability to serve the organization we were working for. Great volunteers give great customer service.

Observe Lines of Authority - Not long ago, I came unglued (it had been a bad day) when a fairly inexperienced volunteer tried to do something that went against the goals of the organization. It was not ill-intended, just inexperience. But, it was the second or third problem. This was a hugely promising volunteer, who just needed to understand why certain things are done the way they are. Even insensitive louts sometimes have good reasons behind their logic.

Good volunteers have ideas and want something to do. They want to contribute but can be overly enthusiastic and cause problems without meaning to. Long story short, the volunteer and I decided to give each other the benefit of the doubt, and at his first event he performed marvelously. He wants to become a leader and at the rate he is going, he will. But, he will need to work within the rules of the organization and ask questions before just "doing."

This is another way of saying, "Respect your elders." But if you feel your local leaders are killing the group don't just sit and watch it happen. That is a topic for another column, based on some of the letters I've been getting from E-Letter readers.

"What did you do at the bike race, dear?" That is what my wife, K6SWE, asked Saturday after I got home from working all day at a bicycle race. As leader of the group, I delegated much of the organizing to Matt, KI6ZTY, who served as net control. I purposely arrived late so Matt and his assistant NCS, Conrad, KJ6CNV, would get started without me. They did just fine, though I was ready to jump in if needed (I can delegate tasks but not responsibility).

What did I do from 0730 until 1530? Mostly drive around to make sure things were going OK. I occasionally cut in on the radio to ask a question, offer a clarification, and help handle emergencies -four riders were injured during the day.

The most critical thing I did was help get our operators moved around and instructed as to how to assist Highway Patrol, fire and race organizers when a racer had to be airlifted from the scene after a crash. I also took the injured woman's friends and their bikes back to the start line and later hauled in another rider with a minor injury and her bike. I also filled in at various locations when operators needed a break, etc.

What was the most important thing I did? I made sure our operators all got the lunches and t-shirts the race organizers provided for them. I made deliveries when necessary and made sure everyone was taken care of. My operators, hopefully, felt supported, fed, happy, and got a nice souvenir for their efforts.

Making the troops as happy as possible is key for any manager's success--especially when the workers are not getting paid. Leaders exist to support their volunteers, not vice versa. - ARES® E-Letter Contributing Editor David Coursey, N5FDL, is an emcomm leader in San Joaquin County, California and author of the N5FDL.com blog.
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Letters

On "HamCrams," April Issue

I am responding to the "HamCram" article and comments in the last issue. I have been licensed since 1959. I have been an active member of Nassau County, New York ARES® for nearly 30 years. I have worked with kids in school radio clubs at least since 1977 when I started work at Brooklyn Technical High School (W2CXN). My home club is the Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club (LIMARC) where I presently hold the title of Education Committee Chair. I am a retired public school chemistry teacher.

In my experience trying to teach classes to high school students and adults, traditional multi-session courses have not been very effective. The attrition rate has been very frustrating. Many who start never get to the exam. In the past year I have led a team of volunteer instructors in four 1-day cram/review sessions. The ground rules were that everyone who signed up was required to study in advance. We suggested, but did not prescribe which books, media, on-line resources, etc. they needed to use. These sessions that started at 8 AM and went through the question pool by 3:30 PM were followed immediately by VE sessions administered by a separate team of VEs.

The results were most encouraging. The Technician session results were 15 of 15, 13 of 13 and 4 of 7. The three who did not pass at the last session told us that they had not studied in advance. On April 10, the same team conducted a General class upgrade session resulting in 9 of 11 passing. One missed by one question and one had not studied. The bottom line is that these cram/review sessions only work when a person is committed enough to have done some individual studying.

We maintain a Yahoo group as a forum for support. Our experience has been that passing grades were typically 30 correct or more, including several 35s.

Our view is that getting the license is similar to what I used to hear about driving. Get the license and then learn to be a driver, or in this case an Amateur Radio operator. LIMARC and our county ARES® and CERT/RACES groups are all working to provide the hands-on experience in drills and public service events that are needed to make them effective.

We are exploring the idea of more traditional classes aimed at filling in the gaps that were glossed over during the pre-exam review sessions. The model that seems to be coming together would be open to all interested regardless of license held. There would be no pressure or anxiety about taking an exam at the end. Topics would be chosen from the various license manuals with sessions held prior to our regular monthly meetings.

The comments about inexperienced operators not knowing how to manage their stations in an emergency are a real concern, but it has always been so. Our fellow hams have always responded to emergencies when the need arose. I remember the first hurricane that I operated in, Donna, in 1960. When an Avianca plane ran out of fuel and crashed on the north shore of Long Island, there was an ad hoc response that was overwhelming. The same was true in the days after the 9/11 attacks in NYC and during the 2003 blackout.

You are absolutely correct that we do not have enough operators to meet the potential emcomm needs in nearly any serious situation. Since we always experience an ad hoc response and must transform these new volunteers into an effective team, which ones are likely to be better operators? I have contended for some time that they are not likely to come from the NTS ops, but from the DXers and contesters. It is in this regard that I am promoting participation in FD this year, especially by our newly licensed and upgraded hams. In order to be a skilled operator, one needs to operate. Drills and 'athons are good, but may not be enough to keep the attention of many. One needs to have fun with our hobby. It is not a job. More than 52 years of experience and still eagerly learning. Keep up the good work. - Lew Malchick, N2RQ, East Meadow, New York

Video: Interview with NC Ham who lost Home in Tornado

Readers might be interested in a video I posted on the Brightleaf Amateur Radio Club Web site. One of our members, Hollis Thigpen, KC3X, of Snow Hill, North Carolina, lost his home in the April 16 tornadoes that came through the eastern part of the state. The video is two minutes long, from WCTI-12, New Bern. Hollis is interviewed the next day at his home. Also, here are photos and captions I made at the KC3X QTH 13 days later showing a lot of the destruction, including the 72 foot US Tower bent over at the base. - Dave Langley, W4YDY, Brightleaf ARC Ham Chatter Editor; Brightleaf ARC Web site Editor, North Carolina

Do's and Don'ts for EmComm Success

I have experienced all of the things on the lists published in the last couple of issues by David Coursey, N5FDL. I would add that probably the most important "Do" is to communicate freely. Sometimes this is the most difficult, but it really needs to be emphasized. What we did in New Mexico when we established the state SAR organization is to ask each team what they thought their expertise is/was. Then we made it clear to them that they would be called when we needed that expertise, otherwise they would be put on standby. That way we did not wear out all of the teams.

On the subject of a simple H-T, I await a response to see if what you published will get any feedback. Meanwhile, I plan to check out the H-T you reviewed in the March issue of QST and see if it meets all the things that I suggested. It is imperative that it be simple enough that one can program it without the book being close at hand. - Bob Skaggs, KB5RX, Santa Fe, New Mexico

AA Battery/Power Solutions

I found a simple and economical way to have all the battery power I need: Get the correct size AA holders from a place like Jameco or Parts Express and put a few in parallel for longevity. Then add a flexible cable with a power connector on the end that will fit your HT. The battery holders generally will fit nicely into a small arms army surplus ammo pouch and fit on any belt even though the pouches are made for the ALICE belt (that belt is also the most comfortable). See my emcomm web page.

In re a simple H-T, I had one of the overly-complicated newer H-Ts and I reverted back to my old standby ICOM IC-2AT. It is a very simple, basic VHF-only H-T and it works fine with my home-brew battery pack. The problem with the old IC-2AT is that a tone board must be added. Being a fire fighter at heart I like to keep it simple and functional. Fancy stuff in an emergency usually just gets in the way and hampers the operation. - Bill MacLane, AI4WM, Palm Coast, Florida

Timely, Twitter and Passwords

In re last month's article on Twitter alerting, the author suggests creating a "strong password that you might share with just a few people in your group so they could post the alert if you were unavailable. Board members or the club president would be some examples of who you might grant posting access to."

You don't have to share your password, if you use http://timely.is/ YOU set up Timely for the account. YOU add users to the Timely account. Your group that you allow can post Tweets, either scheduled or within 30 minutes. It's a great tool for networking and team building. Hope that helps. -- Lloyd Colston, KC5FM, Altus, OK EMA http://wx5em.us

Simple H-Ts

Just a quick note that the simple thumbwheel-operated H-T described in KB5RX's letter is not a TH-22; it's probably an ICOM IC-2AT. I own several of the Kenwood TH series handhelds (2m, 70cm, 23cm), and they all program the same and are fairly simple to use. For the most-used function (set up and store a repeater pair) I have the process coded on an adhesive label on the back of each radio. For the less-used commands, a photo-reduced, laminated function chart I produced in Excel stays in my wallet. -- Marty Woll, N6VI, Vice Director, ARRL Southwestern Division; Assistant DEC, ARES®LAX

Formidable Footprint

Formidable Footprint is a free online Emergency Response Tabletop Exercise Series sponsored by Disaster Resistant Communities Group (DRC-Group), Depiction software, and Stoneybrook Group LLC. It is a Web-based interactive real-time drill which will take about three hours to complete. It features pictures, video, audio and interactive maps. Teams from all over the nation and some international teams participate. Although it is targeted to CERT and Neighborhood groups, I feel it has a lot of value to ARES® members because: 1) Many types of decisions and contact data are common to all groups and can be tested by this drill, and 2) ARES® volunteers are not going to be available if their families and/or neighbors need them. The better their family and neighbor can plan for any disaster, the better their availability for helping others. Summit County ARES® will gather at a single location and work through the drill as a team. Details can be found here. For a good overview of the process, you can view the online video found here.

We went through an interactive flood event to be used to elicit responses from our team at various points, such as "Is this request within the responsibility of our group," and "Who would our group contact to handle this item," etc. After the drill there was an online hotwash and we received a report of all our responses to the "injects" such that we can use it for an after action report. Other drills in this series include Wildfire (March 26), Tornado (April 30), Influenza Pandemic (May 28) and Hurricane (June 25). I think ARES® should publicize the availability of these FREE Tabletop exercises!

On another note, there is a Stop Disasters Game available here. Sponsored by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, it has five scenarios (Tsunami, Hurricane, Wildfire, Earthquake, and Flood) and three difficulty levels. With a limited budget and time, the player must manage the community to minimize loss of life and property damage during the impending event. It is targeted at late teens, but at 57 years of age, I find it a very interesting game and am working to optimize my strategy for the Flood event - the only one I have tried so far. I think, again, this is something that would be of interest to ARES®. The basic intent seems to be to raise the awareness of the value of preparation for disaster, and I think it does an excellent job of that. - Dennis Conklin, AI8P, AEC, Summit County, Ohio ARES®
K1CE For a Final]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=117 Wed, 25 May 2011 08:55:49 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=117 Saturday, 07 March 2009 23:36
Radio amateurs have their own radio stations at home. These are not “broadcasting stations” in the normal sense of the word. The equipment is not used for transmitting entertainment or news programmes. It’s used for communicating with other radio amateurs around the world.



Radio amateurs are allocated, by international agreement, a range of frequencies (or “bands”) which they may use to communicate with each other. Some of these bands are more suitable for relatively short range communication (say across town) whereas others are suited to world-wide communication. It all depends what you want to do.

Some radio amateurs are happy to talk to other amateurs around the world (generally about personal and technical matters) whereas others like the competitive aspects of the hobby – entering world-wide “contests” to pit their operating skills against the best in the world. Some explore new transmission or radio propagation techniques, whereas others enjoy experimenting with new antenna designs. And still others speak to astronauts in the International Space Station, or to other amateurs via a number of amateur communications satellites circling the world.

Computers play an important part in amateur radio today, used for technical modelling, station logging, propagation prediction, and to support advanced transmission techniques such as slow-scan television.

An amateur radio station can transmit speech, Morse code, data or images. Amateur radio equipment need not be excessively expensive – a few dollars will buy the components for a basic transmitter/receiver capable of world-wide communication under the right conditions. But of course, once you are drawn into to amateur radio, you may want more advanced equipment. Some radio amateurs spend lots of money on their equipment, but this does not always mean better results! The skill of the operator makes a big difference.

Every day, thousands of radio amateurs can be heard communicating on the airwaves. Why not listen in, and enjoy the magic amateur radio?]]> Saturday, 07 March 2009 23:36
Radio amateurs have their own radio stations at home. These are not “broadcasting stations” in the normal sense of the word. The equipment is not used for transmitting entertainment or news programmes. It’s used for communicating with other radio amateurs around the world.



Radio amateurs are allocated, by international agreement, a range of frequencies (or “bands”) which they may use to communicate with each other. Some of these bands are more suitable for relatively short range communication (say across town) whereas others are suited to world-wide communication. It all depends what you want to do.

Some radio amateurs are happy to talk to other amateurs around the world (generally about personal and technical matters) whereas others like the competitive aspects of the hobby – entering world-wide “contests” to pit their operating skills against the best in the world. Some explore new transmission or radio propagation techniques, whereas others enjoy experimenting with new antenna designs. And still others speak to astronauts in the International Space Station, or to other amateurs via a number of amateur communications satellites circling the world.

Computers play an important part in amateur radio today, used for technical modelling, station logging, propagation prediction, and to support advanced transmission techniques such as slow-scan television.

An amateur radio station can transmit speech, Morse code, data or images. Amateur radio equipment need not be excessively expensive – a few dollars will buy the components for a basic transmitter/receiver capable of world-wide communication under the right conditions. But of course, once you are drawn into to amateur radio, you may want more advanced equipment. Some radio amateurs spend lots of money on their equipment, but this does not always mean better results! The skill of the operator makes a big difference.

Every day, thousands of radio amateurs can be heard communicating on the airwaves. Why not listen in, and enjoy the magic amateur radio?]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=116 Sat, 21 May 2011 03:06:22 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=116 average daily sunspot numbers, and nearly 9 point decline in average
daily solar flux. These compare, of course, to the numbers for the
previous reporting week, which always runs from Thursday through
Wednesday.

But with this decline in activity there were three new sunspot
groups on May 14, and then one new sunspot group each day following,
through May 18. But on May 19, there was no new sunspot group, and
the daily sunspot number declined from 65 on Wednesday to 36 on
Thursday. Heightened geomagnetic activity occurred from May 15-17,
with the planetary A index in the low double-digits.

The latest prediction from NOAA/USAF is for much lower solar flux
than predicted on Wednesday, May 18. The forecast predicts solar
flux readings of 84 and 82 on May 20-21, then 80 on May 22-26,
jumping to 90 on May 27 and 110 on May 28-30. Predicted planetary A
index is 7 on May 20-21, 5 on May 22-25, then 8, 22, 18, 15, 15 and
8 on May 26-31.

Geophysical Institute Prague predicts quiet conditions May 20-21,
quiet to unsettled May 22, and quiet May 23-26.

On Wednesday, May 18 the solar flux was predicted at 92 on May
20-26, much higher than numbers forecast a day later and referenced
above.

Last week's Propagation Forecast Bulletin ARLP019 mentioned that
most sunspots lately appear in the Sun's northern hemisphere, but on
May 19 they are all in the southern hemisphere. Go to
http://spaceweather.com/ and on the upper right check the archive
for May 18. Note the two sunspot groups, 1214 and 1216, in the
southern hemisphere. Now change to May 19, and note sunspot group
1218, also in the southern hemisphere. On May 20 it shows all
sunspots only in the southern half.

Today the new June 2011 issue of WorldRadio Magazine is available
online, for free. Go to http://www.worldradiomagazine.com to
download the latest issue, and check out Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA's
propagation column on pages 30-33. He gives an interesting treatise
on solar flux and sunspot numbers.

The only mail this week was from K4FNC, and is not the usual type of
question about propagation, but he asked, "Can you tell me when is
the best time to make contact with the space station on 2 meters or
the 440 frequencies?" Quite a bit of information on ARISS is on the
ARRL web site at
http://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-on-the...e-station.

If you click on the "Frequently Asked Questions" link on the left
side, this gives you a lot of the details, such as how to track the
space station. The link to AMSAT at
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools even gives a method for
tracking that doesn't need your own tracking software. Click on
Online Satellite Pass Predictions, select ISS, and enter FM05nb for
the grid square for K4FNC, click Predict, and this gives the time
for AOS (Acquisition of Signal) and LOS (Loss of Signal) for his
location.

Sunspot numbers for May 12 through 18 were 29, 29, 64, 54, 63, 57,
and 65, with a mean of 51.6. 10.7 cm flux was 92.8, 91.5, 91.4,
94.5, 92.2, 91.5, and 90.6, with a mean of 92.1. Estimated planetary
A indices were 3, 4, 4, 11, 12, 10, and 6, with a mean of 7.1.
Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 2, 3, 3, 9, 10, 8, and 4, with
a mean of 5.6.]]> average daily sunspot numbers, and nearly 9 point decline in average
daily solar flux. These compare, of course, to the numbers for the
previous reporting week, which always runs from Thursday through
Wednesday.

But with this decline in activity there were three new sunspot
groups on May 14, and then one new sunspot group each day following,
through May 18. But on May 19, there was no new sunspot group, and
the daily sunspot number declined from 65 on Wednesday to 36 on
Thursday. Heightened geomagnetic activity occurred from May 15-17,
with the planetary A index in the low double-digits.

The latest prediction from NOAA/USAF is for much lower solar flux
than predicted on Wednesday, May 18. The forecast predicts solar
flux readings of 84 and 82 on May 20-21, then 80 on May 22-26,
jumping to 90 on May 27 and 110 on May 28-30. Predicted planetary A
index is 7 on May 20-21, 5 on May 22-25, then 8, 22, 18, 15, 15 and
8 on May 26-31.

Geophysical Institute Prague predicts quiet conditions May 20-21,
quiet to unsettled May 22, and quiet May 23-26.

On Wednesday, May 18 the solar flux was predicted at 92 on May
20-26, much higher than numbers forecast a day later and referenced
above.

Last week's Propagation Forecast Bulletin ARLP019 mentioned that
most sunspots lately appear in the Sun's northern hemisphere, but on
May 19 they are all in the southern hemisphere. Go to
http://spaceweather.com/ and on the upper right check the archive
for May 18. Note the two sunspot groups, 1214 and 1216, in the
southern hemisphere. Now change to May 19, and note sunspot group
1218, also in the southern hemisphere. On May 20 it shows all
sunspots only in the southern half.

Today the new June 2011 issue of WorldRadio Magazine is available
online, for free. Go to http://www.worldradiomagazine.com to
download the latest issue, and check out Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA's
propagation column on pages 30-33. He gives an interesting treatise
on solar flux and sunspot numbers.

The only mail this week was from K4FNC, and is not the usual type of
question about propagation, but he asked, "Can you tell me when is
the best time to make contact with the space station on 2 meters or
the 440 frequencies?" Quite a bit of information on ARISS is on the
ARRL web site at
http://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-on-the...e-station.

If you click on the "Frequently Asked Questions" link on the left
side, this gives you a lot of the details, such as how to track the
space station. The link to AMSAT at
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools even gives a method for
tracking that doesn't need your own tracking software. Click on
Online Satellite Pass Predictions, select ISS, and enter FM05nb for
the grid square for K4FNC, click Predict, and this gives the time
for AOS (Acquisition of Signal) and LOS (Loss of Signal) for his
location.

Sunspot numbers for May 12 through 18 were 29, 29, 64, 54, 63, 57,
and 65, with a mean of 51.6. 10.7 cm flux was 92.8, 91.5, 91.4,
94.5, 92.2, 91.5, and 90.6, with a mean of 92.1. Estimated planetary
A indices were 3, 4, 4, 11, 12, 10, and 6, with a mean of 7.1.
Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 2, 3, 3, 9, 10, 8, and 4, with
a mean of 5.6.]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=115 Fri, 20 May 2011 08:52:14 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=115 Hi all.
I'm looking for a dualband FT-5200, FT-5100, IC-2410 radio.
For any availability please contact me.
73s, OD5NH,Puzant

email: od5nh@hotmail.com]]> Hi all.
I'm looking for a dualband FT-5200, FT-5100, IC-2410 radio.
For any availability please contact me.
73s, OD5NH,Puzant

email: od5nh@hotmail.com]]> http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=113 Fri, 20 May 2011 02:47:08 +0000 http://ral.org.lb/forum/showthread.php?tid=113 + Friends Use Ham Radio to Summon Help when Alaska Amateur Is Mauled by Bear
+ FCC News: FCC Upholds $4000 Fine to Pennsylvania Amateur
+ Honoring Amateur Radio: Puerto Rican Amateurs Recognized on Día del Radioaficionado de Puerto Rico
On the Air: Live Webcam from the Dayton Crowne Plaza Continues through Saturday Night
+ On the Air: Bob Heil, K9EID, to Headline New Internet Show
+ On the Air: WRTC 2014 Announces Advisory Council Members
+ 2011 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference Call for Papers
Solar Update
Voting Now Open for June QST Cover Plaque Award
+ DXCC News: DXCC Desk Approves 2011 Andaman and Nicobar Island DXpedition
This Week on the Radio
Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News

Dayton Hamvention: 2011 Dayton Hamvention® Coverage Starts Friday, May 20

Beginning Friday, May 20, check the ARRL website for daily summaries of Dayton Hamvention activity, complete with news and photos from the show. Videos may also appear on the ARRL HQ YouTube channel. If you are a member of Facebook, you can also follow the action on the ARRL's Facebook page. Watch for photos and comments in the 2011 Dayton Hamvention Facebook album.

+ Friends Use Ham Radio to Summon Help when Alaska Amateur Is Mauled by Bear

While on a hunting trip with friends, Wes Perkins, KL0FM, was mauled by a grizzly bear. His friends called into a local repeater to summon help.

Wes Perkins, KL0FM, of Nome, Alaska, was seriously mauled by a grizzly bear during a hunting trip on Sunday, May 14. According to the Alaska State Troopers, Perkins and two friends had been tracking the bear east of Nome -- located on the Seward Peninsula -- when the big grizzly charged the group. Perkins' companions shot and killed the animal during the attack. Perkins was badly hurt, including severe injuries to his face. The hunters called for help using an Amateur Radio handheld transceiver. Read more here.

+ FCC News: FCC Upholds $4000 Fine to Pennsylvania Amateur

The FCC announced that on May 16, it issued a Forfeiture Order of $4000 to Jose Torres, N3TX, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, "for willfully and repeatedly operating his amateur station on an unauthorized frequency at his residence, in violation of Section 1.903(a) of the Commission's Rules." This action follows a 2009 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) against Torres. In 2009, the FCC issued the NAL against Torres, after receiving a complaint of interference in 2008. Agents in the Enforcement Bureau's Philadelphia Office used mobile direction finding equipment in April and June of that year to determine the source of interference. Both times, they found that the source coming from Torres' residence and that the interference consisted of unauthorized radio transmissions on 26.71 MHz. Read more here.


+ Honoring Amateur Radio: Puerto Rican Amateurs Recognized on Día del Radioaficionado de Puerto Rico
Radio amateurs in Puerto Rico celebrated Puerto Rico Amateur Radio Operator Day (Día del Radioaficionado de Puerto Rico) on May 10, as provided by Law No. 50 of June 7, 1996. The law establishes the second Tuesday of May for this recognition.


Carlos Rosado, KP4CAR (left), awaits the proclamation by AEMEAD Executive Director Heriberto Sauri announcing Día del Radioaficionado in Puerto Rico. [Jorge Rodriguez, NP3SE, Photo]

That same day -- at a ceremony recognizing a number of voluntary organizations in the headquarters of the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency (AEMEAD) -- AEMEAD Executive Director Heriberto Saurí presented the proclamation celebrating Puerto Rico Amateur Radio Operator Day, signed by the Governor of Puerto Rico Luis G. Fortuño. Carlos Rosado, KP4CAR, accepted the proclamation on behalf of all radio amateurs in Puerto Rico, and especially on behalf of the Amateur Radio Volunteer Corps of Puerto Rico (CVRPR), who work closely with the agency in both drills and emergency situations.

"With this proclamation, we have the opportunity to promote and publicize Amateur Radio as a tool of vital importance when maintaining active communications in the event of a breakdown in traditional communications systems due to an emergency and to maintain the flow of information, whether internal or external, as well if necessary," Saurí said at the ceremony. Click here to read the proclamation.

On the Air: Live Webcam from the Dayton Crowne Plaza Continues through Saturday Night
Thanks to the hard work of Ben Townsend, AK2X, and support from ICOM America, the North Coast Contesters are proud to host the Dayton Contest Cam -- live from the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Downtown Dayton.

"Live camming began Wednesday evening and will continue through Saturday night," said Contest University Chairman Tim Duffy, K3LR. "The cam has an interactive text chat, so you can text the folks that you see on the cam and they can 'talk' back to you via the audio feature on the Dayton end."

Duffy said that while the cam is running, attendees will come up to it and tell viewers what is going on at Contest University on Thursday, the TopBand Dinner on Friday night and even the Super Suite each night through Saturday. "We'll also try and cover the Contest Dinner on Saturday night," he said. "With noted contester and DXer Scott Redd, K0DQ, giving the keynote speech, this is something that you don't want to miss. We're going to try and move the cam around to give viewers a feel of what is going on here. This is our first time trying this out and it might be a little clunky, so please bear with us."

You can reach the cam by going to anyone of the four contesting website front pages -- http://www.contestsupersuite.com, http://www.contestuniversity.com, http://www.contestdinner.com and http://www.topbanddinner.com -- and clicking on the "Click to Watch Live Dayton Contest Cam" link.

"We hope this new cam helps bring some of the Dayton Contest experience to all of those that cannot be here this weekend," Duffy said.

+ On the Air: Bob Heil, K9EID, to Headline New Internet Show

On Tuesday, May 24, Bob Heil, K9EID -- owner of Heil Sound -- will premier a new netcast show on Leo Laporte's TwiT.tv website. Called HamNation, the show will focus on equipment, applications, tips and general information for the Amateur Radio operator. Heil's first guest will be rock star, friend and fellow radio amateur Joe Walsh, WB6ACU. Walsh also wrote the theme music for the show. The show will be broadcast each week over the Internet at TWiT.tv at no cost. Read more here.


+ On the Air: WRTC 2014 Announces Advisory Council Members

Three radio amateurs have been selected to be on the Advisory Council for the 2014 World Radiosport Team Championships (WRTC): Tim Duffy, K3LR, of Edmond, Oklahoma, Craig Thompson, K9CT, of Trivoli, Illinois, and George DeMontrond III, NR5M, of Houston Texas. The WRTC Advisory Council consists of individuals who have not only have experience in the execution of major events, but can provide significant financial resources to the project. Read more here.

+ 2011 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference Call for Papers

Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the 30th Annual ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference, to be held September 16-18 in Baltimore, Maryland. Papers will also be published in the Conference Proceedings. Authors do not need to attend the conference to have their papers included in the Proceedings. The submission deadline is July 31, 2011. Read more here.

Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, May 19, 2011 from NASA's SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This image was taken at 304 Angstrom; the bright material is at 60,000 to 80,000 Kelvin.

Tad "If I look hard enough into the setting Sun" Cook, K7RA, reports: We saw a decline in sunspot activity this week with a 23 point drop in the average daily sunspot numbers and a nearly 9 point decline in the average daily solar flux. These compare, of course, to the numbers for the previous reporting week, which always runs from Thursday through Wednesday. But with this decline in activity, there were three new sunspot groups on May 14 and then one new sunspot group each day following, through May 18. Enhanced geomagnetic activity occurred from May 15-17, with the planetary A index in the low double-digits. The latest prediction from NOAA/USAF is for solar flux readings of 95 on May 19, then 92 on May 20-26 and jumping to 110 on May 27-30. The predicted planetary A index is 5 on May 19-26, then 22, 18, 15, 15 and 8 on May 27-31. Look for more information on the ARRL website on Friday, May 20. 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 Rolling Stones' Paint It Black.


Voting Now Open for June QST Cover Plaque Award
Now that you've thumbed through and read the June 2011 issue of QST cover-to-cover, we're sure that an article sticks in your mind. So go ahead and cast your vote for your favorite article in the issue. The article with the most votes will receive the QST Cover Plaque Award.



A One Person, Safe, Portable and Easy to Erect Antenna Mast, by Bob Dixon, W8ERD
Is There an Optimum Height for an HF Antenna? by Kazimierz "Kai" Siwiak, KE4PT
Direct Digital Synthesis for Those Classic Rigs, by Joe Lunsford, N4YG
A Single Element Vertical "Beam," by David Robbins, K7BKI
Two Small Helical Antennas for 2 Meters, by John E. Portune, W6NBC
Get Up and Get-on-the-Air, by Gary Pearce, KN4AQ, and Dick Orander, KD4ISC
DXpedition to Ponza Island, by Ruth L. Vano, KB0USC
The QST Cover Plaque award -- given to the author or authors of the best article in each issue -- is determined by a vote of ARRL members on the QST Cover Plaque Poll Web page. Only non-Headquarters staff authors are eligible to receive votes.

+ DXCC News: DXCC Desk Approves 2011 Andaman and Nicobar Island DXpedition

ARRL DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, reports that the 2011 VU4PB DXpedition to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands has been approved for DXCC credit. If you have any questions about this operation, please send an e-mail to the ARRL DXCC Desk.

This Week on the Radio
This week:

May 20 -- Feld Hell Sprint
May 21-22 -- UN DX Contest; Aegean RTTY Contest; His Majesty King of Spain Contest (CW); EU PSK DX Contest; Baltic Contest
May 25 -- SKCC Sprint
May 25-26 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test
Next week:

May 27 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
May 28-29 -- CQ WW WPX Contest (CW)
May 29 -- ARCI Hootowl Sprint (local time)
May 29-30 -- Michigan QRP Memorial Day CW Sprint
June 2 -- QRP Minimal Art Session
All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest Branch page, the ARRL Contest Update and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar for more informatin. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the ARRL Special Event Stations Web page.

Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
June 3-5 -- ARRL Northwestern Division Convention (SeaPac), Seaside, Oregon; ARRL Wyoming State Convention, Cheyenne, Wyoming
June 4 -- ARRL Atlantic Division Convention, Rochester, New York; ARRL East Bay Section Convention, Berkeley, California; ARRL Georgia State Convention, Marietta, Georgia


June 10-11 -- ARRL National Convention, Plano, Texas
June 11 -- ARRL Tennessee State Convention, Knoxville, Tennessee
July 2 -- ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania Section Convention, Marysville, Pennsylvania
July 15-17 -- ARRL Montana State Convention, Essex, Montana
July 29-30 -- ARRL Oklahoma State Convention, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]]> + Friends Use Ham Radio to Summon Help when Alaska Amateur Is Mauled by Bear
+ FCC News: FCC Upholds $4000 Fine to Pennsylvania Amateur
+ Honoring Amateur Radio: Puerto Rican Amateurs Recognized on Día del Radioaficionado de Puerto Rico
On the Air: Live Webcam from the Dayton Crowne Plaza Continues through Saturday Night
+ On the Air: Bob Heil, K9EID, to Headline New Internet Show
+ On the Air: WRTC 2014 Announces Advisory Council Members
+ 2011 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference Call for Papers
Solar Update
Voting Now Open for June QST Cover Plaque Award
+ DXCC News: DXCC Desk Approves 2011 Andaman and Nicobar Island DXpedition
This Week on the Radio
Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News

Dayton Hamvention: 2011 Dayton Hamvention® Coverage Starts Friday, May 20

Beginning Friday, May 20, check the ARRL website for daily summaries of Dayton Hamvention activity, complete with news and photos from the show. Videos may also appear on the ARRL HQ YouTube channel. If you are a member of Facebook, you can also follow the action on the ARRL's Facebook page. Watch for photos and comments in the 2011 Dayton Hamvention Facebook album.

+ Friends Use Ham Radio to Summon Help when Alaska Amateur Is Mauled by Bear

While on a hunting trip with friends, Wes Perkins, KL0FM, was mauled by a grizzly bear. His friends called into a local repeater to summon help.

Wes Perkins, KL0FM, of Nome, Alaska, was seriously mauled by a grizzly bear during a hunting trip on Sunday, May 14. According to the Alaska State Troopers, Perkins and two friends had been tracking the bear east of Nome -- located on the Seward Peninsula -- when the big grizzly charged the group. Perkins' companions shot and killed the animal during the attack. Perkins was badly hurt, including severe injuries to his face. The hunters called for help using an Amateur Radio handheld transceiver. Read more here.

+ FCC News: FCC Upholds $4000 Fine to Pennsylvania Amateur

The FCC announced that on May 16, it issued a Forfeiture Order of $4000 to Jose Torres, N3TX, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, "for willfully and repeatedly operating his amateur station on an unauthorized frequency at his residence, in violation of Section 1.903(a) of the Commission's Rules." This action follows a 2009 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) against Torres. In 2009, the FCC issued the NAL against Torres, after receiving a complaint of interference in 2008. Agents in the Enforcement Bureau's Philadelphia Office used mobile direction finding equipment in April and June of that year to determine the source of interference. Both times, they found that the source coming from Torres' residence and that the interference consisted of unauthorized radio transmissions on 26.71 MHz. Read more here.


+ Honoring Amateur Radio: Puerto Rican Amateurs Recognized on Día del Radioaficionado de Puerto Rico
Radio amateurs in Puerto Rico celebrated Puerto Rico Amateur Radio Operator Day (Día del Radioaficionado de Puerto Rico) on May 10, as provided by Law No. 50 of June 7, 1996. The law establishes the second Tuesday of May for this recognition.


Carlos Rosado, KP4CAR (left), awaits the proclamation by AEMEAD Executive Director Heriberto Sauri announcing Día del Radioaficionado in Puerto Rico. [Jorge Rodriguez, NP3SE, Photo]

That same day -- at a ceremony recognizing a number of voluntary organizations in the headquarters of the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency (AEMEAD) -- AEMEAD Executive Director Heriberto Saurí presented the proclamation celebrating Puerto Rico Amateur Radio Operator Day, signed by the Governor of Puerto Rico Luis G. Fortuño. Carlos Rosado, KP4CAR, accepted the proclamation on behalf of all radio amateurs in Puerto Rico, and especially on behalf of the Amateur Radio Volunteer Corps of Puerto Rico (CVRPR), who work closely with the agency in both drills and emergency situations.

"With this proclamation, we have the opportunity to promote and publicize Amateur Radio as a tool of vital importance when maintaining active communications in the event of a breakdown in traditional communications systems due to an emergency and to maintain the flow of information, whether internal or external, as well if necessary," Saurí said at the ceremony. Click here to read the proclamation.

On the Air: Live Webcam from the Dayton Crowne Plaza Continues through Saturday Night
Thanks to the hard work of Ben Townsend, AK2X, and support from ICOM America, the North Coast Contesters are proud to host the Dayton Contest Cam -- live from the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Downtown Dayton.

"Live camming began Wednesday evening and will continue through Saturday night," said Contest University Chairman Tim Duffy, K3LR. "The cam has an interactive text chat, so you can text the folks that you see on the cam and they can 'talk' back to you via the audio feature on the Dayton end."

Duffy said that while the cam is running, attendees will come up to it and tell viewers what is going on at Contest University on Thursday, the TopBand Dinner on Friday night and even the Super Suite each night through Saturday. "We'll also try and cover the Contest Dinner on Saturday night," he said. "With noted contester and DXer Scott Redd, K0DQ, giving the keynote speech, this is something that you don't want to miss. We're going to try and move the cam around to give viewers a feel of what is going on here. This is our first time trying this out and it might be a little clunky, so please bear with us."

You can reach the cam by going to anyone of the four contesting website front pages -- http://www.contestsupersuite.com, http://www.contestuniversity.com, http://www.contestdinner.com and http://www.topbanddinner.com -- and clicking on the "Click to Watch Live Dayton Contest Cam" link.

"We hope this new cam helps bring some of the Dayton Contest experience to all of those that cannot be here this weekend," Duffy said.

+ On the Air: Bob Heil, K9EID, to Headline New Internet Show

On Tuesday, May 24, Bob Heil, K9EID -- owner of Heil Sound -- will premier a new netcast show on Leo Laporte's TwiT.tv website. Called HamNation, the show will focus on equipment, applications, tips and general information for the Amateur Radio operator. Heil's first guest will be rock star, friend and fellow radio amateur Joe Walsh, WB6ACU. Walsh also wrote the theme music for the show. The show will be broadcast each week over the Internet at TWiT.tv at no cost. Read more here.


+ On the Air: WRTC 2014 Announces Advisory Council Members

Three radio amateurs have been selected to be on the Advisory Council for the 2014 World Radiosport Team Championships (WRTC): Tim Duffy, K3LR, of Edmond, Oklahoma, Craig Thompson, K9CT, of Trivoli, Illinois, and George DeMontrond III, NR5M, of Houston Texas. The WRTC Advisory Council consists of individuals who have not only have experience in the execution of major events, but can provide significant financial resources to the project. Read more here.

+ 2011 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference Call for Papers

Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the 30th Annual ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference, to be held September 16-18 in Baltimore, Maryland. Papers will also be published in the Conference Proceedings. Authors do not need to attend the conference to have their papers included in the Proceedings. The submission deadline is July 31, 2011. Read more here.

Solar Update

The Sun, as seen on Thursday, May 19, 2011 from NASA's SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This image was taken at 304 Angstrom; the bright material is at 60,000 to 80,000 Kelvin.

Tad "If I look hard enough into the setting Sun" Cook, K7RA, reports: We saw a decline in sunspot activity this week with a 23 point drop in the average daily sunspot numbers and a nearly 9 point decline in the average daily solar flux. These compare, of course, to the numbers for the previous reporting week, which always runs from Thursday through Wednesday. But with this decline in activity, there were three new sunspot groups on May 14 and then one new sunspot group each day following, through May 18. Enhanced geomagnetic activity occurred from May 15-17, with the planetary A index in the low double-digits. The latest prediction from NOAA/USAF is for solar flux readings of 95 on May 19, then 92 on May 20-26 and jumping to 110 on May 27-30. The predicted planetary A index is 5 on May 19-26, then 22, 18, 15, 15 and 8 on May 27-31. Look for more information on the ARRL website on Friday, May 20. 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 Rolling Stones' Paint It Black.


Voting Now Open for June QST Cover Plaque Award
Now that you've thumbed through and read the June 2011 issue of QST cover-to-cover, we're sure that an article sticks in your mind. So go ahead and cast your vote for your favorite article in the issue. The article with the most votes will receive the QST Cover Plaque Award.



A One Person, Safe, Portable and Easy to Erect Antenna Mast, by Bob Dixon, W8ERD
Is There an Optimum Height for an HF Antenna? by Kazimierz "Kai" Siwiak, KE4PT
Direct Digital Synthesis for Those Classic Rigs, by Joe Lunsford, N4YG
A Single Element Vertical "Beam," by David Robbins, K7BKI
Two Small Helical Antennas for 2 Meters, by John E. Portune, W6NBC
Get Up and Get-on-the-Air, by Gary Pearce, KN4AQ, and Dick Orander, KD4ISC
DXpedition to Ponza Island, by Ruth L. Vano, KB0USC
The QST Cover Plaque award -- given to the author or authors of the best article in each issue -- is determined by a vote of ARRL members on the QST Cover Plaque Poll Web page. Only non-Headquarters staff authors are eligible to receive votes.

+ DXCC News: DXCC Desk Approves 2011 Andaman and Nicobar Island DXpedition

ARRL DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, reports that the 2011 VU4PB DXpedition to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands has been approved for DXCC credit. If you have any questions about this operation, please send an e-mail to the ARRL DXCC Desk.

This Week on the Radio
This week:

May 20 -- Feld Hell Sprint
May 21-22 -- UN DX Contest; Aegean RTTY Contest; His Majesty King of Spain Contest (CW); EU PSK DX Contest; Baltic Contest
May 25 -- SKCC Sprint
May 25-26 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test
Next week:

May 27 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
May 28-29 -- CQ WW WPX Contest (CW)
May 29 -- ARCI Hootowl Sprint (local time)
May 29-30 -- Michigan QRP Memorial Day CW Sprint
June 2 -- QRP Minimal Art Session
All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest Branch page, the ARRL Contest Update and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar for more informatin. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the ARRL Special Event Stations Web page.

Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
June 3-5 -- ARRL Northwestern Division Convention (SeaPac), Seaside, Oregon; ARRL Wyoming State Convention, Cheyenne, Wyoming
June 4 -- ARRL Atlantic Division Convention, Rochester, New York; ARRL East Bay Section Convention, Berkeley, California; ARRL Georgia State Convention, Marietta, Georgia


June 10-11 -- ARRL National Convention, Plano, Texas
June 11 -- ARRL Tennessee State Convention, Knoxville, Tennessee
July 2 -- ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania Section Convention, Marysville, Pennsylvania
July 15-17 -- ARRL Montana State Convention, Essex, Montana
July 29-30 -- ARRL Oklahoma State Convention, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]]>