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N9PMO > LETTER 23.05.14 00:17l 947 Lines 33699 Bytes #999 (0) @ ARRL
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ARRL Celebrates its Centennial at Dayton
Hamvention® 2014
Amateur Radio Volunteers Assist Rescue Operations
in Balkans Flooding
"Red Badges on the Air" Centennial QSO Party
Activity Set for June 1
W1AW Centennial Operations Now in New York and
Colorado
ARRL Responds to Ukrainian Amateur Radio League
Regarding DXCC Status of Crimea
WX4NHC National Hurricane Center Annual Station
Test Set for May 31
ARISS International Partners Regroup at First
In-Person Meeting since 2011
KickSat Re-Enters Atmosphere Without Deploying
"Sprite" Satellites
ARRL Offers New Amateur Radio Public Service
Announcements
New ARRL Section Managers Elected
CQ Announces 2014 Hall of Fame Inductees
A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL
The K7RA Solar Update
Just Ahead in Radiosport
Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division
Conventions and Events
ARRL Celebrates its Centennial at Dayton
Hamvention® 2014
Dayton Hamvention 2014 already was a Regional ARRL
Centennial Event, but May 18 -- Hamvention's last
day -- was the 100th anniversary of the League's
founding. A birthday party and free cake
ARRL's 100th birthday cake "sparkles," as
President Kay Craigie, N3KN, joins the applause.
[Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, photo]
helped to draw a room-filling crowd of 200 or more
for the Sunday morning occasion. ARRL President
Kay Craigie, N3KN, told the gathering, "The Second
Century is up to us," and expressed the hope that
in another 100 years, the Amateur Radio community
would reflect on the League's first century with
respect and admiration.
"The weather was not so hot, but the atmosphere at
Hamvention was as warm as ever," Craigie observed
post-Dayton. "People were in a buying mood, both
at the ARRL Expo and at the Hamvention in general.
I talked to several vendors who were quite
pleased."
Hara Arena was shrouded in fog as Hamvention
opened on Friday, and cool, rainy weather --
including some hail -- prevailed initially, but by
Saturday afternoon, the weather turned clear and
brisk. While attendance numbers won't be available
for a few weeks, some
Some of the Dayton Hamvention flea market
treasures. [Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY, photo]
observers said the crowd seemed to be about the
same size as last year's -- which was about
24,500. Others said the crowd seemed to thin more
rapidly than in past years.
"People were thrilled to be there," said QST
Managing Editor Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY. "Happy to
be seeing old friends and making new ones, excited
about seeing new gear, and, of course, seeing what
kinds of free goodies they could pick up."
Crowd estimates notwithstanding, opening-day
traffic was excellent at the ARRL Expo. Centennial
coins remained a popular item, and some visitors
expressed their appreciation to the ARRL when they
stopped by. "The coins were bestowed with a warm
handshake and a message of thanks for supporting
the League for the past 100 years, and into the
Second Century," Schoenfeld said. The ARRL
contingent brought 10,000 of the coins to Dayton
and gave all of them away.
This year, the League Store switched to checkout
via iPad. The top seller was the 2014 ARRL Field
Day shirt. Other hot items were Travel Plus and
the softcover edition of the ARRL's 2014 Handbook.
The League received more than 1000 applications
for memberships and renewals at the show,
including eight Life Member applicants.
Central Division Director Dick Isely, W9GIG,
presented Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA, with the 2013
Bill Orr, W6SAI, Technical Writing Award. [Becky
Schoenfeld, W1BXY, photo]
Gino Mollica, KA8YPZ, of Mansfield, Ohio, won an
ARRL drawing for $200 worth of ARRL Publications.
Equipment dealers did well, by most accounts.
Several major manufacturers remarked that sales
were going very well, for both in-stock and
on-order items. One smaller vendor reported that
sales were four times greater than last year's.
On Friday afternoon, the ARRL presented the 2013
Bill Orr, W6SAI, Technical Writing Award to Carl
Luetzelschwab, K9LA. The ARRL Foundation selected
Luetzelschwab for his article "The Sun and the
Ionosphere," which appeared in the March 2013
issue of QST.
New products seen at Hamvention included the
TEN-TEC Patriot, Model 507, a dual-band (20 and 40
meters) SSB/CW QRP transceiver that modifies
easily for custom applications. It runs on an
Uno32 microprocessor, and uses Arduino-compatible
software. Yaesu's new offering, the DR-1X
repeater, a follow-up to the DR-1 that was
beta-tested last year. FlexRadio debuted its
Flex-6300, a software-defined radio for 160
through 6 meters.
Other new products included the TeleSense remote
site monitoring system from Sierra Radio Systems;
it offers station, repeater, and site
The Youth Lounge at ARRL Expo. [Bob Inderbitzen,
NQ1R, photo]
monitoring via a web or cell phone interface.
Hendricks QRP Kits had its new MBDC multiband CW
transceiver on display.
Two Saturday ARRL forums -- "Getting Started With
Antenna Modeling," with Ward Silver, N0AX, and a
second showing of "ARRL at 100: A Century of Ham
Radio" -- were standing room only. The Hamvention
Youth Forum attracted some 70 attendees and
featured presentations by young hams.
Silver returned to the speaker's podium Saturday
afternoon for "Impedance Matching 101," which drew
a capacity crowd. The popular ARRL Member Forum
began with the awarding of the 2014 William R.
Goldfarb Memorial scholarship to Padraig
Lysandrou, KC9UUS. After that, attorney Fred
Hopengarten, K1VR, spoke on "Amateur Radio and the
Law," followed by remarks from President Craigie.
Craigie said this week that visitors were
especially enthusiastic about the ARRL Centennial
operating events -- the W1AW/x portable operations
and the associated Centennial QSO Party. As for
Hamvention?
"I'm ready to go back and do it all again next
year," she said.
Hamvention Awards
Saturday evening, Hamvention's sponsor, the Dayton
Amateur Radio Association (DARA), held its annual
awards dinner at Dayton's beautiful Carillon
Historical Park.
This year's four honorees were Georgia's Gwinnett
Amateur Radio Society for Club of the Year; Fldigi
creator David Freese Jr, W1HKJ, winner of the
Technical Excellence Award; ARRL CEO David Sumner,
K1ZZ, winner of the Special Achievement Award; and
ARRL President Emeritus Larry E. Price, W4RA, who
was honored as Amateur of the Year.
For more photos, see the Dayton Hamvention 2014
photo album on the ARRL's Facebook page. Read
more.
Amateur Radio Volunteers Assist Rescue Operations
in Balkans Flooding
Amateur Radio volunteers in Serbia put in long
hours this week, supporting rescue operations in
the wake of unprecedented flooding in the Balkans
that has affected Serbia, Croatia, and
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Meteorologists have called the
flooding the worst that
Flooding on the Sava River in Bosnia. [Bosnia Army
photo]
Serbia has experienced in more than 100 years. The
death toll stands at more than three dozen. CNN
reported that 13 bodies had been recovered in the
town of Obrenovac, Serbia, where radio amateurs
have been coordinating communication to boat crews
that are rescuing stranded residents. Alliance of
Serbian Radio Amateurs (SRS) member Nenad
Supurovic, YU1TTL, deployed to Obrenovac, after
registering with the Crisis Center, to support
communication between rescuers and emergency
managers keeping track of those needing to be
evacuated.
"We showed our radio transmitters, and [the
police] immediately let us through, as if we were
ministers of state," Supurovic told Al Jazeera in
an interview. "We went and reported to the radio
amateur just finishing his shift. There were four
of us." He said the hams have been able to provide
"an alternative link" to the rescue crews. The
crisis center sends addresses of people who need
to be evacuated, and the Amateur Radio volunteers
tell the rescue boat crews where to go next. Each
boat has a local resident aboard, who knows the
town and can direct the vessel to the right
location -- in some cases, even though flood
waters already have obscured street names and
house numbers.
Supurovic said that by and large the people who
were evacuated appeared to be in good condition.
"At the beginning it looked like they were just
really tired," he told Al Jazeera, "like they'd
spent the whole day on public transport."
Amateur Radio volunteers in the Belgrade, Serbia,
communications headquarters. [Dragan Antonic,
YU1UO, photo]
Marijan Miletic, S56A/N1YU, who has been
monitoring the flood situation from Slovenia, told
ARRL that radio amateurs in Serbia and Bosnia have
activated emergency networks, and Tilen Cestnik,
S56CT, was dispatched to the affected region to
assist. He said there has been a lot of mutual aid
among the former republics of Yugoslavia. Miletic
said Zoran Mladenovic, YU1EW, was heading up the
headquarters operation in the Serbian capital of
Belgrade, with the help of a wide-coverage 2 meter
repeater. Belgrade is at the confluence of the
Sava and Danube rivers and could see flooding
later this week.
SRS member Dragan Antonic, YU1UO, has been working
at an emergency operations center in Belgrade. He
estimated that hams already have handled some
25,000 pieces of traffic.
"Our equipment, our people, and our knowledge are
used to pass...information to the rescue people,"
he explained in an interview with Kristina Kukolja
of SBS World News. He said the radio communication
helps the crews in the field to be more efficient
in
Serbian flooding has been widespread. [Serbian
Embassy photo]
locating and evacuating those in danger. The ham
radio volunteers, he told Kukolja, will be on the
scene "for as long as it takes."
An estimated 24,000 people have had to be
evacuated to safety in Serbia, while another
30,000 people were displaced in
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
CNN quoted a May 18 statement from the Serbian
Embassy in Washington, which said that many towns
and cities in western Serbia were "completely
underwater" and describing the situation as an
"unimaginable catastrophe."
"Red Badges on the Air" Centennial QSO Party
Activity Set for June 1
To further boost enthusiasm for the ARRL
Centennial QSO Party, the League will sponsor a
"Red Badges on the Air" activity on June 1 (UTC).
The object is to provide an opportunity for
Centennial QSO Party participants to work more
ARRL officers, elected officials -- such as
Director or Section Manager -- and Headquarters
staffers and volunteers, which offer higher point
value in the year-long event.
"The badges they wear at hamfests, conventions,
and other formal occasions are red, hence the term
'Red Badges on the Air,'" explained ARRL Media and
Public Relations Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X.
Working the wearer of this red badge -- ARRL
President Kay Craigie, N3KN -- is worth 300
points.
"ARRL members around the world are excited about
the Centennial QSO Party," he added. "Activity on
the bands is noticeably improved, and more
contacts are being made than ever." QSOs with "Red
Badges" are worth a lot of points -- as much as
300 points per contact for working ARRL President
Kay Craigie, N3KN -- so participants can increase
their Centennial QSO Party tally very quickly.
Kutzko stressed that the event is "an activity
day, not a contest." There is no required amount
of operating time. Participants can call "CQ ARRL
Centennial QSO Party" on phone or "CQ CENT" on CW
or digital modes. While the event is focused on
encouraging those with ARRL red badges to hand out
Centennial QSO Party points, all activity is
welcome, regardless of point value; every ARRL
member is worth at least one point in the
Centennial QSO Party. Participants get credit for
each band/mode contact, regardless of point value.
ARRL Centennial QSO Party participants can use the
leader board to determine how many points they
have accumulated.
Other high-point contacts include: President
Emeritus (PE) or Past President (PP), 275 points;
Honorary Vice president (HVP) or ARRL Vice
President (VP), 250 points; Director (DIR),
Director Emeritus (DE), or Past Vice President
(PVP), 225 points; Vice Director (VD), 200 points;
Section Manager (SM), 175 points; ARRL Officer
(OFF) or Past Director (PD), 150 points, and Past
Vice Director (PV), 125 points.
W100AW, Charter Life Member (CLM), or Past Section
Manager (PSM), 100 points.
ARRL Headquarters department managers (DM), 75
points; ARRL Headquarters staffers/volunteers
(HQ), 50 points; Assistant Director (AD), 40
points, and NCJ editor (NCJ) and QST columnist
(QST), 30 points.
Ad
W1AW Centennial Operations Now in New York and
Colorado
The ARRL Centennial W1AW WAS operations taking
place throughout 2014 from each of the 50 states
are now in New York (W1AW/2) and Colorado
(W1AW/0). They will relocate at 0000 UTC on
Wednesday, May 28 (the evening of May 27 in US
time zones), to Missouri (W1AW/0) and Wyoming
(W1AW/7). During 2014 W1AW will be on the air from
every state (at least twice) and most US
territories, and it will be easy to work all
states solely by contacting W1AW portable
operations. Some schedule changes have been made,
and the W1AW WAS list has been updated to reflect
these.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ARRL,
the ARRL Centennial QSO Party kicked off January 1
for a year-long operating event in which
participants can accumulate points and win awards.
The event is open to all, although only ARRL
members and appointees, elected officials, HQ
staff and W1AW are worth ARRL Centennial QSO Party
points.
Working W1AW/x from each state is worth 5 points
per mode/contact, even when working the same state
during its second week of activity.
To earn the "Worked all States with W1AW Award,"
work W1AW operating portable from all 50 states.
(Working W1AW or W100AW in Connecticut does not
count for Connecticut, however. For award credit,
participants must work W1AW/1 in Connecticut.) A
W1AW WAS certificate and plaque will be available.
The ARRL has posted an ARRL Centennial QSO Party
leader board that participants can use to
determine how many points they have accumulated in
the Centennial QSO Party and in the W1AW WAS
operations. Log in using your Logbook of The World
(LoTW) user name and password, and your position
will appear at the top of the leader boards.
Results are updated daily, based on contacts
entered into LoTW.
ARRL Responds to Ukrainian Amateur Radio League
Regarding DXCC Status of Crimea
The ARRL has responded to an appeal from the
Ukrainian Amateur Radio League (UARL) to "consider
the information regarding the status of Crimea as
temporarily occupied territory." UARL President
Vladimir Grishchenko, UT0FT, told the ARRL on May
3, that Russia's "illegal annexation" of Crimea
"does not change the status of this territory,
which legally belongs to Ukraine." ARRL CEO David
Sumner, K1ZZ, on May 21 acknowledged the UARL's
position and reiterated the ARRL Awards
Committee's determination that the annexation did
not lend Crimea status as a new DXCC entity.
"We appreciate the high regard you have expressed
for the DXCC program," Sumner wrote. "However, the
list of DXCC entities is simply for the purpose of
giving radio amateurs a consistent way to compare
their DX achievements. It is not intended to
express a position with respect to sovereignty and
should not be regarded as such."
The Awards Committee has concluded that a QSL with
a call sign issued by Ukraine and showing the
entity name as Ukraine counts as Ukraine, while a
QSL with a call sign issued by Russia and showing
the entity name as Russia counts as Russia. "A QSL
that satisfies neither condition does not count
for either entity," the committee said.
Grishchenko had pointed out that the UN does not
recognize Crimea's annexation, and that the US
government is "currently working actively to
preserve the territorial integrity of Ukraine." He
further asserted that, according to the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU),
Ukraine is responsible for spectrum usage in
Crimea, and that only Ukraine can issue licenses,
despite what he called Crimea's "temporary" status
as an occupied territory.
Grishchenko had asked the ARRL to consider this
information when determining "the conditions of
meeting award requirements, as well as in
determining the winners of competitions held."
Sumner told Grishchenko that the ARRL Awards
Committee's determination "is consistent with the
treatment, for DXCC purposes, of other territory
that may be described as either 'temporarily
occupied' or disputed."
"We join the world community in the hope that the
difficulties and uncertainties currently being
faced by the people of Ukraine will be resolved
peacefully and with full regard for human rights,"
Sumner concluded.
WX4NHC National Hurricane Center Annual Station
Test Set for May 31
Now in its 34th year, WX4NHC at the National
Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, will be on the
air Saturday, May 31, for the annual NHC Station
Test. The event will begin at 1300 UTC and wrap up
at 2200 UTC.
"The purpose of this event is to test Amateur
Radio Station equipment, antennas and computers
prior to this year's Hurricane Season, which
starts June 1 and runs through November 30," said
WX4NHC Amateur Radio Assistant Coordinator Julio
Ripoll, WD4R.The annual Station Test is not a
contest or simulated hurricane exercise. "This
event is will be good practice for ham radio
operators worldwide as well as for NWS staff to
become familiar with Amateur Radio communications
available during times of severe weather," he
added.
WX4NHC will make brief contacts with participating
station on various bands and modes, exchanging
signal reports and basic weather data. For
example, stations may report "sunny" or "rain" or
"cloudy" in describing the conditions at their
locations. Ripoll said WX4NHC will operate on HF,
VHF, UHF, 2 meter 30 meter APRS, and be available
via Winlink (subject line must contain "//WL2K").
"We will try to stay on the recognized Hurricane
Watch Net (HWN) frequency of 14.325 MHz most of
the time and announce when we QSY," Ripoll said.
WX4NHC also plans to be on the VoIP Hurricane Net
from 2000 until 2200 UTC (IRLP node 9219; EchoLink
WX-TALK Conference node 7203). In addition, the
station will be active on South Florida VHF and
UHF repeaters.
QSL cards are available to participating stations
via WD4R; include a self-addressed stamped
envelope. Do not send cards to the National
Hurricane Center. Read more.
Ad
ARISS International Partners Regroup at First
In-Person Meeting since 2011
Representatives of the Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) International
partners met in person last month for the first
time in 2-1/2 years to reassess the program's
direction and to consider new objectives. The
European Space Agency (ESA) hosted the April 3-5
gathering at its European Space Research and
Technology Centre (ESTEC) in The Netherlands.
ARISS International Secretary-Treasurer Rosalie
White, K1STO, represented the ARRL at the
sessions. ARISS International Chair and AMSAT-NA
Vice President for Human Spaceflight Programs
Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, presided.
Former ESA astronaut Gerhard Thiele, DG1KIL,
welcomed the representatives. Thiele, who heads
ESA's Human Spaceflight and Operations Strategic
Planning and Outreach office, told the gathering
that ESA recognizes the benefit to students of
being able to communicate with the ISS crew
directly via Amateur Radio, and that students
learn a lot as a result of these ARISS contacts.
The meeting offered an opportunity to sort out
where things stand for ARISS and to enhance
collaboration among the ARISS partners. Bauer
expressed his desire for a committee to review all
charters that ARISS has with space agencies around
the world and to develop a plan for establishing
future agreements.
ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO,
presided at the session. [ARISS photo courtesy of
Rosalie White, K1STO]
In a wide-ranging presentation, ARISS
International Project Selection & Use Committee
representative Lou McFadin, W5DID, addressed
long-term equipment possibilities. Among other
requirements, McFadin said, ARISS should have the
ability to control its equipment from Earth, and
he said that developing software-defined equipment
would permit this. He also spoke of the need for
an "override power switch," as the astronauts need
to shut down ARISS equipment during
safety-critical events, such as spacecraft
dockings or spacewalks. Given the paucity of space
aboard the ISS, ARISS also must minimize the
amount of real estate its equipment occupies,
McFadin said. He also noted that there is "little
or no" ISS crew time available to address ISS ham
gear issues.
McFadin further discussed the advantages of
installing a higher-power mobile VHF/UHF
transceiver in the Columbus module,
ARISS International Project Selection & Use
Committee representative Lou McFadin, W5DID,
addressed equipment issues in a wide-ranging
presentation. [ARISS photo courtesy of Rosalie
White, K1STO]
similar to the Kenwood D-700 located in the
Service Module. In recent months crew members have
been using a 5 W Ericsson hand-held transceiver
for school contacts, and signal levels have been
lower than the team would prefer. McFadin
suggested that a portable mobile system with a
power output of 15 W or greater might improve this
situation.
ARISS-Europe Chair Gaston Bertels, ON4WF,
addressed considerations for using the "Ham Video"
Amateur Radio digital TV system in conjunction
with school contacts. He suggested a presentation
that shows what Ham Video can do, in order to
stimulate thinking about ways to make the best use
of the system -- such as, for example, uploading a
school's science project that could be viewed by
many students.
ARISS is an international educational outreach
with participation from ARRL, NASA, ESA, the
Russian Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS), CNES, JAXA, CSA,
and AMSAT. Read more. -- ARISS
KickSat Re-Enters Atmosphere Without Deploying
"Sprite" Satellites
KickSat Project Manager Zac Manchester, KD2BHC,
has announced that the KickSat CubeSat reentered
the atmosphere on May 14 (UTC) and burned without
deploying its cargo of tiny "Sprite" satellites.
"Unfortunately, we were not able to command the
Sprite deployment in time," said Manchester, a
Cornell University aerospace engineering graduate
student. "While we are certainly disappointed that
things did not go as planned, I think we still
have a lot to be proud of."
Manchester said that more than 300 people from
around the world cooperated to make KickSat a
reality. "We built a spacecraft, tested it,
Zac Manchester, KD2BHC, during KickSat vibration
testing last fall.
and launched it," he said. "Hundreds of people had
their names flown in space, more than a dozen
radio amateurs were able to receive signals from
KickSat's beacon radio, and volunteers collected
and processed telemetry data and predicted
KickSat's orbit and reentry. This kind of
participation is exactly what KickSat is all about
and I'm glad we all got to share in this
experience."
Manchester said he plans to take the lessons
learned to build an even better KickSat-2. "This
is only the beginning!" he said.
The Sprites, PC boards each about an inch or so
square, would have been the smallest satellites
ever to orbit Earth. Manchester said an unexpected
reset of KickSat's master clock caused the
failure, preventing the CubeSat from releasing its
cargo of some 100 Sprite satellites before it
deorbited.
The satellite launched successfully April 18, and
the ground control team at Cornell as well as
several Amateur Radio operators around the world
made contact with the spacecraft.
ARRL Offers New Amateur Radio Public Service
Announcements
ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Sean
Kutzko, KX9X, has added new 30-second radio/audio
public service announcements (PSAs) to promote
Amateur Radio and the 2014 ARRL Field Day.
The spot named "Amateur" talks about the meaning
of the word "amateur" and how the Amateur Radio
Emergency Service (ARES) helps during disasters.
It includes an 8-second "bed" at the end for local
clubs to provide contact information. "Careers"
tells how Amateur Radio skills can lead to a
career path, and it references the ARRL website.
"What Is Ham Radio" is a generic spot to promote
how much fun Amateur Radio offers. It includes an
8-second bed at the end for a local club
billboard.
Two PSAs for 2014 Field Day are available. One
includes 8 seconds at the end for local clubs, one
does not.
The PSAs for Promotions web page includes tips on
how to get airplay for Amateur Radio PSAs.
Ad
New ARRL Section Managers Elected
Four new ARRL Section Managers will take office on
July 1. Ballots were counted May 20 at ARRL
Headquarters for contested races in the spring SM
election cycle.
In Indiana, Joseph Lawrence, K9RFZ, of Fort Wayne,
received 652 votes to top incumbent Section
Manager Lou Everett Sr, WA5LOU, of Cumberland, who
polled 482 votes. Everett has been SM for the past
2 years.
In Maine, Bill Crowley, K1NIT, received 258 votes,
to defeat veteran incumbent Section Manager Bill
Woodhead, N1KAT, who got 156 votes. Woodhead has
served as Maine's SM since 1998.
In Northern Florida, Stephen Szabo, WB4OMM, of
Port Orange, polled 833 votes, while Gary
Alberstadt, KA3FZO, of Monticello garnered 296
votes. Current Northern Florida SM Paul Eakin,
KJ4G, decided not to run for a new term of office
after serving since 2008.
In Delaware, Bill Duveneck, KB3KYH, of Milton,
received 142 votes to defeat Jerome Palmer, N3KRX,
of Houston, who got 122 votes. Outgoing SM Frank
Filipkowski, AD3M, of Wilmington, who has served
as SM in Delaware since 2006, did not run for a
new term.
Because candidates in Delaware had to be
resolicited for this nomination/election cycle,
Duveneck's term of office will be 18 months
instead of 24.
Five incumbent ARRL Section Managers ran unopposed
and were declared elected for new 2-year terms
beginning on July 1: Tom Ciciora, KA9QPN
(Illinois); Everett Curry, W6ABM (Oregon); Brandon
Bianchi, NI6C (Santa Clara Valley); Paul Gayet,
AA1SU (Vermont), and Gary Sorensen, W9ULK
(Wisconsin). Read more.
CQ Announces 2014 Hall of Fame Inductees
CQ Magazine has announced its 2014 Hall of Fame
inductees. The Class of 2014 adds two members each
to the CQ DX Hall of Fame and the CQ Contest Hall
of Fame, as well as eight members to the CQ
Amateur Radio Hall of Fame.
The 2014 CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame inductees
are Clifford Berry, W9TIJ (SK); Warren Bruene,
W5OLY (SK); John Huntoon, W1RW (SK); Mike Koss,
W9SU (SK); Nancy Kott, WZ8C (SK); Paul Laughton,
AC6B (ex-N6BVH); Ralph Showers, ex-W3GEU (SK), and
Steve Wozniak, ex-WV6VLY and ex-WA6BND.
The 2014 inductees to the CQ DX Hall of Fame are
Joe Reisert, W1JR, and David Collingham, K3LP.
The 2014 inductees to the CQ Contest Hall of Fame
are J. Scott Redd, K0DQ, and Ed Muns, W0YK.
Formal inductions to the CQ Contest and DX Halls
of Fame took place at Dayton Hamvention®. Read
more.
A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL
Continuing our look at amateur SSB during its
early years, there was one major human obstacle:
Teaching phone operators how to operate their
receivers for SSB reception. For AM reception,
operators were in the habit of setting RF gain to
maximum and adjusted the audio gain to control the
speaker level. It was difficult to convince
operators that, for SSB reception, they needed to
turn up the audio gain and back off the RF gain,
so the incoming SSB signal level would be at the
level the receiver needed for the BFO to insert a
"carrier" signal. Operators soon learned how to
tune in SSB signals.
Also, back in those days of analog frequency
control, receiver frequency drift was a problem,
and the frequency (or the BFO frequency) would
have to be tweaked occasionally to keep the SSB
signal properly tuned. That problem disappeared,
as the oscillators in newer receivers became more
stable.
Gen Curtis LeMay, W6EZV (ex-K3JUY, K4RFA, and
K0GRL).
In July 1948, QST began publishing the monthly
column, "On the Air with Single Sideband," by By
Goodman, W1DX, which continued until March 1954.
By the early 1950s, some AM operators still looked
at "that Donald Duck talk" with disdain, but most
hams realized the value of SSB, and the changeover
to SSB proceeded. By April 1953, there were at
least 300 active SSB stations in the US. The first
SSB DXCC was awarded in 1955, and the first WAS
and WAC awards were made in 1956.
One very interesting SSB-related happening took
place 1956. Air Force General Curtis LeMay had
been assigned in 1948 to head the Strategic Air
Command in. LeMay was well known on the ham bands
as Curt, W6EZV. By virtue of SAC's mission,
extremely reliable, long-haul communication was
necessary. Separate radio operators were being
eliminated from bomber crews, and the first
thought was that SAC would communicate using HF AM
radios. Because of his Amateur Radio background,
LeMay had become aware of the value of SSB. So, he
had Amateur Radio SSB gear installed in a SAC test
aircraft that made two flights from SAC HQ in
Offutt AFB, Nebraska -- one to Greenland and one
to Okinawa -- while making SSB contacts all along
the way on the ham bands! In addition to LeMay as
an operator, two civilian operators were on board
-- Art Collins, W0CXX (Collins Radio), and Leo I.
Myerson, W0GFQ (World Radio Labs). A lot of hams
around the world received treasured QSL cards from
contacts made with that rare aeronautical mobile.
Soon thereafter, SAC announced its decision to
install HF SSB equipment on its bombers and other
aircraft. As you can see, Amateur Radio lent a
helping hand to SAC and our nation's defense
posture, back in the day when the Cold War was
getting very chilly.
Next week we'll leave early SSB and move on to
another subject.
The K7RA Solar Update
Tad Cook, K7RA, in Seattle, reports: Over the past
week we saw a decline in solar activity, and the
45-day outlook showed weaker numbers as well.
Average daily sunspot numbers for May 15-21 were
129.4, while the previous average was 142.4.
Average daily solar flux declined from 157.5 to
128.5. The daily sunspot number on Wednesday
dropped down to 100.
Last week the solar flux prediction for Friday
through Sunday on Field Day (June 28-29) was 125
on Friday and 135 for Saturday and Sunday. But the
daily forecast changed on May 19, with predicted
solar flux at 120 for all three days. Prior to May
19 solar flux was predicted to peak at 165 for
June 10-11, but that forecast now has been revised
downward to 135 and 130, respectively.
The latest prediction has solar flux at 115 on May
22, 110 for May 21-28, 115 on May 29, 120 for May
30-June 3, 125 for June 4-5, 130 for June 6-7, 135
for June 8-10, and 130 for June 11-12. Flux values
then drop down to 105 for June 22-24.
Predicted planetary A index is 8 for May 22-23, 5
for May 24-25, 7 on May 26, 5 for May 27-June 3,
12 on June 4, 8 for June 5-8, and 5 for June 9-16.
This weekly "Solar Update" in The ARRL Letter is a
preview of the "Propagation Bulletin" issued each
Friday. The latest bulletin and an archive of past
propagation bulletins is on the ARRL website.
In tomorrow's bulletin look for an updated
forecast and reports from readers. Send me your
reports and observations.
Just Ahead in Radiosport
May 24-25 -- Worldwide EME Contest
May 24-25 -- CQ World Wide WPX Contest (CW)
May 25 -- QRP ARCI Hoot Owl Sprint
May 26-27 -- MI QRP Memorial Day CW Sprint
May 31 -- Full Day of Hell Feld-Hell Contest
May 31-June 1 -- Worldwide EME Contest
June 3 -- ARS Spartan Sprint
June 5 -- NRAU 10 Meter Activity Contest
(CW/SSB/Dig)
June 14-16 -- ARRL June VHF Contest
June 21 -- Kids Day
June 28-29 -- ARRL Field Day
Visit the Contest Calendar for details.
Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division
Conventions and Events
May 30 ---Jun 1 Nevada State Convention, Virginia
City, Nevada
June 6-8 -- Northwestern Division Convention
(SeaPac) -- Regional ARRL Centennial Event,
Seaside, Oregon
June 7 -- Georgia Section Convention (Atlanta
Hamfest), Marietta, Georgia
June 13-14 -- Ham-Com -- Regional ARRL Centennial
Event, Plano, Texas
June 14 -- Western Pennsylvania ARES Emcomm
Conference, Johnstown, Pennsylvania
June 14 -- Tennessee State Convention (Knoxville
Hamfest), Knoxville, Tennessee
June 27-29 -- HAM RADIO International Exhibition
for Radio Amateurs, Friedrichshafen, Germany
July 5 -- Eastern Pennsylvania Section Convention,
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
July 9-12 -- Mobile Amateur Radio Awards National
Convention, Visalia, California
July 17-19 -- ARRL National Centennial Convention,
Hartford, Connecticut
July 18-19 -- Arizona State Convention, Williams,
Arizona
July 18-20 -- Montana State Convention, East
Glacier, Montana
July 24-27 -- Central States VHF Society
Conference, Austin, Texas
July 25-26 -- Oklahoma State Convention, Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma
August 1-2 -- Texas State Convention, Austin,
Texas
August 7-9 -- Young Ladies Radio League
Convention, Vancouver, Washington
August 8-10 -- Rocky Mountain Division Convention,
Albuquerque, New Mexico
August 16-17 -- Southeastern Division Convention,
Regional ARRL Centennial Event, Huntsville,
Alabama
August 17 -- Kansas State Convention, Salina,
Kansas
August 23 -- West Virginia State Convention,
Weston, West Virginia
August 23-24 -- JARL Ham Fair, Tokyo, Japan
August 24 -- Western Pennsylvania Section
Convention, New Kensington, Pennsylvania
August 30-31 -- North Carolina State Convention
(Shelby Hamfest), Shelby, North Carolina
The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 50 times
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