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N9PMO > LETTER 27.06.14 05:16l 674 Lines 32904 Bytes #999 (0) @ ARRL
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House Bill Would Require FCC to Extend PRB-1 Coverage to Restrictive
Covenants
Changes to Amateur Service Part 97 Rules Go Into Effect on July 21
Full Schedule of Youth Activities Featured at ARRL National Centennial
Convention
Newly Minted Ham Hopes His Celestial Concert is Not HAARP'S Final Opus
June 19 Launch Puts Several New Amateur Radio Payloads into Orbit
W1AW Centennial Operations Now in Illinois and Maryland
SAQ "Alexanderson Day" Transmissions Set for June 29 and July 2
Amateur Radio Newsline: No Young Ham of the Year in 2014
SKYWARN Pioneer Alan R. Moller, N5ZCB, SK
Past IARU Region 1 PZK Liaison Officer Wieslaw "Wes" Wysocki, SP2DX, SK
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
NOTICE: Effective July 1, the ARRL is upgrading its website's Secure
Socket Layer (SSL) certificate to keep abreat of industry standards.
This upgrade only affects HTTPS (secure) pages on the ARRL website,
including the e-store checkout pages, any pages that accept donations,
or pages that allow amateurs to join the ARRL or renew their
memberships. As a result of this upgrade, users running Windows XP
Service Pack 2 or earlier Windows operating systems will not be able to
access these pages.
To ensure uninterrupted service, Windows XP Service Pack 2 users are
encouraged to upgrade to Service Pack 3 or to Windows 7 or Windows 8. If
you don't know which Windows operating system you have, visit Microsoft
support.
Contact your computer professional or service center, if you have
questions or encounter problems updating your system.
House Bill Would Require FCC to Extend PRB-1 Coverage to Restrictive
Covenants
A bill with bipartisan support has been introduced in the US House of
Representatives that calls on the FCC to apply the "reasonable
accommodation" three-part test of the PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy
to private land-use restrictions. HR.4969, the "Amateur Radio Parity Act
of 2014" was introduced on June 25 at the request of the ARRL, which
worked with House staffers to draft the proposed legislation. The bill's
sponsor is Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL). It has initial co-sponsorship from
Rep Joe Courtney (D-CT). If the measure passes the 113th Congress, it
would require the FCC, within 120 days of the Bill's passage, to amend
the Part 97 Amateur Service rules to apply PRB-1 coverage to include
homeowners' association regulations and deed restrictions, often
referred to as "covenants, conditions, and restrictions" (CC&Rs).
Presently, PRB-1 only applies to state and local zoning laws and
ordinances.
"There is a strong federal interest in the effective performance of
Amateur Radio stations established at the residences of licensees," the
bill states. "Such stations have been shown to be frequently and
increasingly precluded by unreasonable private land-use restrictions,
including restrictive covenants."
The 11-page PRB-1 FCC Memorandum Opinion and Order is codified at §
97.15(b) in the FCC Amateur Service rules, giving the regulation the
same effect as a federal statute. In short, PRB-1 states that local
governments cannot preclude Amateur Radio communications; they must
"reasonably accommodate" amateur operations, and the state and local
regulations must be the minimum practicable regulation to accomplish a
legitimate governmental interest. Subject to those guidelines,
municipalities may still establish regulations with respect to height,
safety, and aesthetic concerns.
For 28 years, FCC regulations have "prohibited the application to
Amateur Radio stations of state and local regulations that preclude or
fail to reasonably accommodate Amateur Service communications," the bill
points out, "or that do not constitute the minimum practicable
regulation to accomplish a legitimate state or local purpose." Since
PRB-1 was enacted, the FCC has said several times that it would prefer
to have some guidance from Congress before extending the policy to
private land-use regulations.
HR.4969 has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Rep Greg Walden, W7EQI (R-OR), chairs that panel's Communications and
Technology Subcommittee, which will consider the measure.
ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, is a principal
advocate for the current legislative initiative to gain PRB-1
recognition for CC&Rs. Lisenco said the most urgent task now is to get
additional co-sponsors to sign onto HR.4969.
Changes to Amateur Service Part 97 Rules Go Into Effect on July 21
The FCC's recently announced revisions to the Part 97 Amateur Radio
rules governing exam credit to former licensees, test administration,
and emission types will go into effect on Monday, July 21. The new rules
were published in The Federal Register on June 20. Earlier this month,
the Commission announced that it would grant examination credit for
written elements 3 (General) and 4 (Amateur Extra) to holders of
"expired licenses that required passage of those elements." The FCC will
require former licensees falling outside the 2-year grace period to pass
Element 2 (Technician) in order to be relicensed. The Commission
declined to give exam credit to holders of expired Certificates of
Successful Completion of Examination (CSCEs) or to extend lifetime
validity to CSCEs.
The FCC also embraced the use of remote testing methods, allowing
volunteer examiners and volunteer examiner coordinators "the option of
administering examinations at locations remote from the VEs." The
National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) in 2002
endorsed experimental use of videoconferencing technology to conduct
Amateur Radio testing in remote areas of Alaska. The Commission dropped
its earlier proposal to permit two VEs to administer exams; the
requirement remains at three VEs. The Commission did not spell out the
"mechanics" of remote testing, however, which, it said, would "vary from
location to location and session to session." VEs administering
examinations remotely must grade such examinations "at the earliest
practical opportunity," rather than "immediately," as the current rule
for conventional exam sessions requires.
In addition, the FCC adopted an ARRL proposal to authorize certain Time
Division Multiple Access (TDMA) emissions in the Amateur Service. The
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau in 2013 granted an ARRL request for a
temporary blanket waiver to permit radio amateurs to transmit emissions
with designators FXD, FXE, and F7E, pending resolution of the rulemaking
petition. That waiver becomes permanent on July 21.
The Commission also made "certain minor, non-substantive amendments" and
corrections to the Amateur Service rules.
Full Schedule of Youth Activities Featured at ARRL National Centennial
Convention
The ARRL National Centennial Convention July 17-19 in Hartford,
Connecticut, will feature a wide-ranging slate of youth activities aimed
at younger hams and prospective hams. Scheduled on Friday and Saturday,
the youth activities include two youth forums, a hidden transmitter
hunt, a scavenger hunt, and the Youth Radio Lab. The ARRL Discovery
Station in the ARRL exhibit area in the Exhibition Hall Friday and
Saturday will highlight programs of interest to visitors of all ages,
with an emphasis on younger visitors. A separate forum will expand on
some of the Discovery Station presentations and activities.
ARRL Discovery Station team leader Tommy Gober, N5DUX, takes W1AW for a
spin during a visit to ARRL Headquarters.
"The Discovery Station will have a range of hands-on exhibits to help
visitors to understand the basics of radio waves, and projects that
young operators can explore in the world of exciting world of Amateur
Radio," said Tommy Gober, N5DUX, who will head up the ARRL Discovery
Station team. "Stop by the Discovery Station to discover the different
parts of what makes up a radio wave, try out some of the electronic kits
available through the Education & Technology Program (ETP), and get
inspired to create something of your own."
Gober said the Discovery Station will feature some of the robots
developed by ARRL Teachers Institute participants, as well as a CubeSat
simulator, and an audio-frequency oscillator with an oscilloscope
display and speakers -- to demonstrate the relationship between
amplitude and frequency. Visitors will be able to change these
relationships by moving their hands over a sensor. "We'll also have two
different-sized coils to stretch or shrink to demonstrate the
relationship of coil size and spacing on inductance," Gober added.
"Essentially, [we'll offer] stimulating, hands-on things for visitors to
do."
Visitors do not need to be Amateur Radio licensees to attend the
convention, but registration is required for all attendees, including
youth. Two-day tickets (Friday and Saturday) are free for those who are
age 21 or younger. Advance registration is recommended.
Youth Forum Schedule
On Friday at 1 PM, Tommy Gober, N5DUX, invites all comers to a Youth Fox
Hunt. Young radio amateurs are invited to explore the basics of radio
direction finding in a hidden-transmitter hunt -- or fox hunt. The
activity will involved the use of directional antennas to hunt down two
secret transmitters.
On Friday at 2 PM, presenters Carole Perry, WB2MGP, and Kyle Watt,
KD2DWC, will host Youth Forum #1. This is an opportunity for younger and
older radio amateurs to see a demonstration, "Rapid Deployment of
Antennas for Portable Operations," developed by KD2DWC.
On Friday at 3 PM, Tommy Gober, N5DUX, invites young convention
attendees to learn some of the hows and whys behind the activities and
demonstrations at the ARRL Discovery Station. It's an opportunity to
learn the basics of frequency, amplitude and interacting with simple
circuits.
On Saturday at 9 AM, the Youth Scavenger Hunt gets underway. Tommy
Gober, N5DUX, invites young radio amateurs to join the search for
various items in and around the Centennial Convention. Prizes will be
offered to those who are the first to find certain individual items as
well as to those who are first to complete the entire list.
On Saturday at 10 AM, Carole Perry, WB2MGP, Devlin Murray, KC2PIX, and
Chris Blackwood, KD2CXC, will host Youth Forum #2. This forum will offer
a youthful perspective on robotics, Amateur Radio, and public service.
It will include a demonstration of the robotic device that the young
people have built.
On Saturday at 11 AM, the Youth Radio Lab with Tommy Gober, N5DUX, will
feature an exciting, hands-on activity. Those attending will build a
simple crystal radio receiver, which they can take home. -- Read more.
Ad
Newly Minted Ham Hopes His Celestial Concert is Not HAARP'S Final Opus
Not long before the US Air Force notified Congress in May that it
planned to dismantle the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program
-- better known as HAARP -- a researcher at the unique and
Part of HAARP's 180-antenna field, bisected by a row of transmitter
shelters. [Courtesy of Chris Fallen, KL3WX]
controversial facility near Gakona, Alaska, briefly turned its
ultra-high power HF transmitter into a celestial musical instrument.
That "music of the spheres" could turn out to be HAARP's swan song. The
Air Force has told lawmakers that keeping HAARP in operation would not
be a good use of its research funds. In April, when he orchestrated
HAARP's turn on the musical stage, Chris Fallen, now KL3WX -- he got his
Technician ticket on May 5 -- was training as a HAARP operator on the
outside chance that his alma mater, the University of Alaska Fairbanks
(UAF), might take over the sprawling plant. As a UAF grad student,
Fallen wrote his thesis on HAARP, inspired by a 2005 visit to a HAARP
open house. Now a UAF assistant professor of space engineering, Fallen
is distressed that he might not be able to continue his investigations.
But don't look for Maestro Fallen to take the HAARP Farewell Tour on the
road just yet.
As NPR's "All Things Considered" news magazine reported on June 10,
Fallen used HAARP's 3 GW transmitter and 30-acre antenna farm in April
to create music that literally came from above. Employing what is known
as the Luxembourg Effect, in which the ionosphere serves as a heavenly
mixing device for radio signals on different frequencies, Fallen
transmitted separate pieces of music directly skyward from
A HAARP control position. [Courtesy of Chris Fallen, KL3WX]
HAARP. In his report, "Bye-Bye To The Home Of A Favorite Internet
Conspiracy Theory," NPR's Geoff Brumfield said the Luxembourg Effect
blended the different pieces together. As Fallen explained, "These two
different musical performances were essentially mixed in space."
The result was an otherworldly "New Age" type concerto reminiscent of a
glass harp composition, no pun intended. Students visiting UAF composed
two "complementary pieces" of music for the experiment, according to a
report in The Anchorage Press. Fallen explained on NPR that he
transmitted one of the pieces at 3.25 MHz, the other at 4.25 MHz. The
ionosphere reflected the resulting "mix tape" of sorts back to Earth for
the listening pleasure of Fallen and his, uhhh, co-conspirators.
The Air Force told Congress that it intended to call in the wrecking
ball as early as this summer, but things now are in limbo. Built in 1990
at a cost of nearly $300 million, HAARP's immediate trajectory toward
the scrap heap has been paused, while the Air Force and UAF attempt to
work out a deal to have the university take over HAARP -- lock, stock,
and conspiracy theories.
One of the massive diesel generators that help to power the HAARP site.
[Courtesy of Chris Fallen, KL3WX]
Fallen said a couple of the scientists with him on site in April were
hams, and conversations during lulls in their research turned toward
vintage radio gear. "News about the future of HAARP from AFRL was
increasingly grim, and, as I have been working with the instruments
there for several years, I started to pursue a ham license to continue
working with radio in some capacity, particularly the HF bands, where
the ionosphere plays an important role." He is already preparing to
upgrade to General.
Fallen told ARRL that he remains optimistic that HAARP will support
additional research campaigns in the short term, but "nothing would
surprise me at this point." As he sees it, HAARP's future will in part
depend on "the creativity of the atmospheric science and radio
communities for developing new operational and funding models." -- Read
more.
June 19 Launch Puts Several New Amateur Radio Payloads into Orbit
A Dnepr launch vehicle carried several Amateur Radio payloads aloft from
Russia on June 19. The 37 spacecraft for research and commercial
applications, about one-third of them carrying Amateur Radio packages,
marked a new record for the most spacecraft launched by a single rocket
. Among the Amateur Radio payloads now
A Dnepr launcher blasts off on June 19 from Russia.
in orbit is FUNcube-3, a transponder-only payload on the QB50 precursor
CubeSat, QB50p1. FUNcube-3 carries an inverting 400 mW SSB/CW
transponder, with an uplink passband of 435.035-435.065 MHz (LSB) and a
downlink passband of 145.935-145.965 MHz (USB).
The otherwise nearly identical QB50p2 package carries an Amateur Radio
435/145 MHz FM voice transponder as well as packet on 145.880 MHz,
1200bps BPSK and 145.840 MHz, 9600 bps FSK. The QB50 satellites will
become available to radio amateurs after 6 months of testing. The QB50
program plans to launch a constellation of 50 small science research
satellites.
The QB50p1 and QB50p2 satellites. [ISIS photo, courtesy of AMSAT-UK]
TabletSat-Aurora, built in Russia, carries a experimental D-STAR parrot
(store-and-forward) repeater running 0.8 W (GMSK) on 437.050 MHz (±10
kHz). It can store a voice message of up to 8 seconds. Two other
transceivers on the satellite operate on 435.550 MHz and 436.100 MHz.
Their power can be varied by ground-station command from between 0.8 and
2.0 W. They will be used for command and control and transmit GMSK
telemetry data.Unofficial reports indicate that the D-STAR repeater
could become operational in early July and that when the D-STAR repeater
is active telemetry will be turned off.
In the hours immediately following the launch, signals were reported
from FUNcube-3, POPSAT, QB50p1, QB50p2, UniSat-6, BugSat-1 -- the first
satellite to be deployed after launch -- NanosatC-BR1, Duchifat-1,
TabletSat-Aurora, and DTUsat-2. BugSat-1 contains an Amateur Radio
digipeater, which will be activated after the satellite's primary
mission has been completed.
UniSat-6, which transmits on 437.425 MHz (9600 bps GFSK at 2 W) with the
call sign II0US, carried Tigrisat, Lemur 1, ANTELSat, and AeroCube 6.
ANTELSat is the first Uruguayan satellite. It carries a telemetry
downlink and a command uplink (437.575 MHz 1200 bps AFSK) with a
2403.000 MHz (1 Mbit GFSK/MSK) downlink for payload data, and a 437.280
MHz CW beacon.
W1AW Centennial Operations Now in Illinois and Maryland
The ARRL Centennial W1AW WAS operations taking place throughout 2014
from each of the 50 states are now in Illinois and Maryland. They will
relocate at 0000 UTC on Wednesday, July 2 (the evening of July 1 in US
time zones), to Wisconsin (W1AW/9) and Utah (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.
Ad
SAQ "Alexanderson Day" Transmissions Set for June 29 and July 2
The annual "Alexanderson Day" transmission from the World Heritage
Grimeton site in Sweden, using the vintage Alexanderson alternator on
17.2 kHz, will take place Sunday, June 29 at 0900 UTC (SAQ will start
tuning at about 0830 UTC) and again at 1200 UTC (SAQ will start tuning
at about 1130 UTC). Another SAQ transmission will take place on July 2
at 1430 UTC (SAQ will start tuning at about 1400 UTC), to mark 10 years
since SAQ was designated as a World Heritage site.
"Alexanderson Day" Amateur Radio activity from SAQ Grimeton club station
SK6SAQ will get underway at about 0800 and continue until about 1400
UTC, except during SAQ transmissions. Listen for SK6SAQ on 14.035 MHz
(CW), 14.215 MHz (SSB), and 3.535 MHz (CW) QSL via the bureau.
QSL reports for SAQ are welcome via e-mail or via the bureau, or QSL
An SAQ operator sends CW during a public demonstration of the historic
facility. [Grimeton Heritage photo]
direct to Alexander-Grimeton Veteranradios Vaenner, Radiostationen,
Grimeton 72 SE-432 98 GRIMETON, Sweden.
In January, SAQ reported that nearly 300 listeners -- most of them in
Europe -- reported hearing the 17.2 kHz CW transmission from SAQ on
Christmas Eve 2013. The reports included three from the US.
Dating from the 1920s, the Alexanderson alternator -- essentially an ac
alternator run at extremely high speed -- can put out 200 kW but
typically is operated at less than one-half that power level. Once
providing reliable transatlantic communication, it is now a museum piece
and only put on the air on special occasions.
The transmitter was developed by Swedish engineer and radio pioneer
Ernst Alexanderson, who was employed at General Electric in Schenectady,
New York, and was chief engineer at the Radio Corporation of America.
Six 400+ foot towers with 150 foot crossarms support a multi-wire
antenna for SAQ. The actual signal radiates from vertical wires, one
from each tower. Amateur Radio station SK6SAQ operates from the
Alexanderson alternator site.
Amateur Radio Newsline: No Young Ham of the Year in 2014
Amateur Radio Newsline has announced that it will not name a 2014 Young
Ham of the Year (YHOTY). Newsline Editor Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, told
ARRL that not enough nominations were received by the May 30
deadline."We initiated the award in 1986, so this would have been the
28th year it would have been presented," Pasternak said.
Young Ham of the Year Award Judging Committee Chair Mark Abramowicz,
NT3V, said the committee's decision to defer this award this year due to
the low number of nominees "does not in any way reflect on the quality
of the nominees we did receive or on their nominators. It's simply the
decision of the judges that more nominations and documentation would be
needed to make a fair determination of the Young Ham of the Year."
Newsline said it plans to open nominations for the 2015 YHOTY in
February.
SKYWARN Pioneer Alan R. Moller, N5ZCB, SK
National Weather Service forecaster, storm chaser, and SKYWARN pioneer
Alan "Al" Moller, N5ZCB, of Benbrook, Texas, died June 19. He was 64.
Moller and Chuck Doswell were the primary contributors to the
development of the national SKYWARN program.
Al Moller, N5ZCB.
Moller was a Senior Forecaster (retired) at the National Weather Service
Fort Worth, Texas, Office, where, the NWS said, he "tirelessly worked to
better understand thunderstorms and tornadoes, while at the same time
teaching others to responsibly observe and report storm information from
the field. He was a voice and a bridge between operational and research
meteorology, and thus, was respected by both of these meteorological
disciplines."
He also was a writer and cinematographer, known for StormWatch (1995),
Tornadoes: A Spotter's Guide (1977), and Chasing the Wind (1991). In
addition, Moller enjoyed nature and landscape photography.
Moller held bachelor's and master's degrees in meteorology from The
University of Oklahoma. Doswell, a friend and colleague Moller met at
the University of Oklahoma, described Moller as passionate about public
service as well as about forecasting and severe storms.
According to his Dallas Morning News obituary, Doswell and Moller
started a storm-chaser program in 1972, theorizing that weather
observations from the field could help forecasters. This established the
groundwork for SKYWARN, a volunteer program with nearly 290,000 trained
severe-weather spotters, many of them Amateur Radio licensees, who work
with NWS forecasters by providing real-time observations.
Memorials may be made to the Humane Society of North Texas, 1840 E
Lancaster Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76103. Read more. -- Thanks to Sam
Barricklow, K5KJ
Ad
Past IARU Region 1 PZK Liaison Officer Wieslaw "Wes" Wysocki, SP2DX, SK
Wieslaw "Wes" Wysocki, SP2DX, of Sopot, Poland, died unexpectedly on
June 15. He was 82. Wysocki was an honorary member of the PZK, Poland's
International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) member-society. For 10 years he
served as IARU Region 1 Liaison Officer for the PZK, attending many
Region 1 meetings and conferences. He also was the oldest living founder
of the Old Timers Club of the PZK and served for many years as vice
president.
Wes Wysocki, SP2DX.
Wysocki got into Amateur Radio in the mid-1940s. "He was very involved
in the growth and development of Amateur Radio in Poland," said OTC
President Ryszard Czerwinski, SP2IW, who called Wysocki "a seasoned CW
operator" and avid contester. He said Wysocki helped to revive the PZK
in 1956, after years of inactivity during the Stalin era.
According to Czerwinski, Wysocki had 330 DXCC entities confirmed,
operating with 100 W and wire antennas. "We remember him as a
knowledgeable and friendly colleague," Czerwinski said. "Wes was an icon
and an example to follow for future generations of Amateur Radio
enthusiasts."
A Century of Amateur Radio and the ARRL
On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began, with a surprise invasion by
North Korea. In the days following, Amateur Radio played a valuable and
unexpected role. When the invasion began, military personnel who were
hams -- mostly in South Korea, Japan, and the US -- were the first
bearers of the bad news, even before military communication links got
word back to Washington. Until United Nations military personnel became
organized with their own communication, hams continued to provide early
radio communication.
Throughout the Korean War, the Military Affiliate (now Auxiliary) Radio
Service (MARS) and amateur operators devoted tens of thousands of hours
to handling phone patch traffic between military personnel and their
families back home.
In 1952, W2ZXM/mm, Captain Kurt Carlsen, brought the world's attention
to Amateur Radio in a huge way. His command, the passenger/freighter
Flying Enterprise, was damaged mid-sea by hurricane-force winds and high
seas. "Captain Stay-Put" -- as the news media dubbed him -- ordered crew
and passengers to abandon ship when the vessel started taking on water
and listing heavily. Using his ham know-how, he managed to stay on the
air using improvised equipment, antennas, and power, even after the
radio room was flooded. He remained in radio contact from the ship until
just before it sank. He was the star of an New York City ticker-tape
parade and was knighted by the King of Denmark for his heroism.
Sixty years ago: The June 1954 cover of QST featured this fanciful Field
Day on the moon cartoon by Gil, W1CJD.
The 15 meter band opened for US hams on May 1, 1952 -- at first, for CW
only. At the same time, the 40 meter voice sub-band was opened to US
hams.
On August 15, 1952, the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES)
came into being. QST continued to publish article on mobile/portable
Civil Defense equipment for 10 and 6 meters. In addition to RACES
operation on 10 meters, many hams were becoming quite interested in the
band for its DX potential.
Two interesting articles appeared in QST describing extreme 10 meter
antennas. One was a 3 element vertical beam for mobile use. A
quarter-wave director and reflector were added to the typical mobile
whip for portable (not mobile) use on a rear bumper-mounted boom. The
driver would position the car to "rotate" the antenna. The second
extreme antenna was a full-sized Yagi featuring rack-and-pinion gearing
to adjust the lengths of each element from the shack, so the antenna
could be tuned exactly.
A third extreme antenna -- not reported in QST -- was built by a
Midwestern ham who commuted daily in his VW Beetle. Much of his commute
involved about 40 minutes of driving on a long stretch of highway with
no overpasses. He built a quarter-wave mobile antenna that could be
assembled and disassembled quickly. When he reached the start of his
unobstructed drive, he would put up his antenna and put out a big signal
on 40 phone.
Lots of things were happening in Amateur Radio in the early 1950s, so
next week we will look at that period a bit more. -- Al Brogdon, W1AB
The K7RA Solar Update
Solar activity continues to weaken, with average daily sunspot numbers
dropping nearly 69 points to 72.3, and average daily solar flux down by
nearly 36 points to 98.8.
Predicted solar flux for Field Day weekend, Friday through Sunday, June
27-29, is 105, 110, and 115. Predicted planetary A index for those dates
is 8, 12 and 8.
The predicted solar flux for the next 7-day reporting period, June
26-July 2, is 111.4 -- about the same as the forecast for this weekend,
but a little above the 98.8 from the previous reporting period, June
19-25.
If we look at bulletins for 2014, 98.8 was the lowest average reported
flux value. The highest average was 201.6 in the January 2-8 reporting
period, and the second was 180.4 in the January 30-February 5 reporting
period. The weekly solar flux averages reported in bulletins covering
May 8 through June 25 were 157.5, 128.5, 110.3, 104.1, 146.4, 134.7, and
98.8, respectively.
How will this weekend compare with Field Day 2013? Average solar flux
reported for the equivalent period last year, June 20-26, was 122 -- not
much higher than this year's numbers.
The latest predicted solar flux for the near term is 100, 105, and 110
for June 26-28, 115 for June 29-30, 120, 115, and 135 for July 1-3, 130
for July 4-5, 135, 140, and 135 for July 6-8, 130 for July 9-10, and 125
on July 11. Solar flux continues to drift downward reaching a short term
minimum of 95 on July 21, then a high of 140 on August 3.
Predicted planetary A index is 5, 8, 12, and 8 for June 26-29, 5 for
June 30-July 1, 8 on July 2, then 5 for July 3-10, 8 for July 11, 5 for
July 12-13, then 8, 12, 8, and 8 for July 14-17, and 5 after that,
returning to 8 for July 22-23.
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 this week's Friday bulletin look for an updated forecast and reports
from readers. Send me your reports and observations.
Just Ahead in Radiosport
June 26-30 -- SARL Top Band QSO Party (SSB, CW)
June 28 -- His Majesty King of Spain Contest (SSB)
June 28-29 -- ARRL Field Day (SSB, CW, digital)
June 28-30 -- Marconi Memorial HF Contest (CW)
June 30 -- Ten-Ten Spirit of 76 QSO Party (SSB, CW, digital)
July 1 -- Canada Day Contest (SSB, CW)
July 3 -- CWops Weekly Mini-CWT Tests
July 4-5 -- MI QRP July 4th Sprint (CW)
July 5-6 -- 070 Club 40 Meter Firecracker PSK31 Sprint
July 5-6 -- DL DX RTTY Contest
July 6 -- DARC 10 Meter Digital Corona
July 6 -- OK1WC Memorial Contest (SSB, CW)
July 6 -- QRP ARCI Summer Homebrew (CW)
July 8 -- ARS Spartan Sprint (CW)
Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
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
Find conventions and hamfests in your area.
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