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N9PMO > LETTER 21.02.15 03:24l 527 Lines 26320 Bytes #999 (0) @ ARRL
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Sent: 150221/0216Z 7595@N9PMO.#SEWI.WI.USA.NOAM BPQ1.4.63
ARRL Warns Experimental Licensee to Avoid Interference to HF Ham
Activity
US to Propose Additional Sharing of 10 GHz Band at WRC-15
FCC "Paperless" Amateur Radio License Policy Now in Effect
ARRL Foundation Announces Two New Scholarships
Exit Navassa, Enter Cocos
ARISS Contact Proposal Window for 2016 Events Now Open
AMSAT-NA Board Approves Seed Money for Technology Development
Ulrich Rohde, N1UL, Wins Second Prestigious IEEE Award
Canada Funds Amateur Radio Disaster Assistance Project in Saint Lucia
Hams in Haiti to Build Tower, Promote International Goodwill
Hams Encouraged to Hit the Water for New US Islands Awards "One-Day
Getaway"
In Brief...
The K7RA Solar Update
Just Ahead in Radiosport
Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events
ARRL Warns Experimental Licensee to Avoid Interference to HF Ham
Activity
The ARRL has asked a Massachusetts company that plans to conduct
experimental transmissions over wide portions of the HF spectrum either
to avoid Amateur Radio allocations or to announce the times and
frequencies of their transmissions in advance. The FCC last fall granted
MITRE Corporation of Bedford, Massachusetts, a 2-year Part 5
Experimental License, WH2XCI, to operate 21 transmitters at 10 fixed New
York and Massachusetts sites. MITRE plans to test wideband HF
communication techniques on a variety of bands between 2.5 MHz and 16
MHz.
"[I]t will not be possible for MITRE to operate these transmitters
within the Amateur Radio Service allocations...without causing harmful
interference to a large number of Amateur Radio operators on an ongoing
basis," ARRL Chief Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, said in a February 12
letter to MITRE.
Imlay said that if MITRE does not agree to avoid ham radio bands or to
announce times and frequencies of transmissions ahead of time, it will
ask the FCC to rescind the company's Experimental License or to impose a
prior notification requirement "in real time for each and every use of
the transmitters authorized at each site."
The WH2XCI Experimental License authorizes maximum bandwidths of 5 kHz,
500 kHz, and 1 MHz at effective radiated power levels of 6 W, 24 W, or
122 W. MITRE has indicated that most bandwidths would be between 100 and
300 kHz.
"At these power levels with the operating parameters proposed, it will
be impossible to conduct your tests at any time within the Amateur Radio
allocations and, at the same time, avoid harmful interference," Imlay
said. He noted that MITRE already conceded this point in a technical
exhibit submitted to the FCC with respect to its 1 MHz bandwidth mode.
ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD. [Rick Lindquist, WW1ME, photo]
Imlay said that when interference from MITRE's wide-bandwidth
transmitters "inevitably occurs in the narrow-bandwidth, sensitive
receivers" hams use, amateur licensees will have no way to determine the
source of the interference or know to whom they might complain. "Thus,
your assurance of operation on a 'non-interference basis' is meaningless
under the circumstances, and yet that is both a special condition of
operation" of the WH2XCI license and under FCC Part 5 regulations, Imlay
told MITRE.
"It is ARRL's intention to ensure that this experimental authorization,
improvidently granted to the extent that it includes heavily used
Amateur Radio allocations, is not permitted to cause interference to
ongoing Amateur Radio HF communications," Imlay concluded.
MITRE obtained the Experimental License to investigate high data rate
wideband HF communication systems.
US to Propose Additional Sharing of 10 GHz Band at WRC-15
The US proposal for World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15)
Agenda Item 1.12 -- to expand the Earth Exploration Satellite Service
(EESS) in the vicinity of 10 GHz -- supports allocating an additional
600 MHz of spectrum to the EESS (active) as a primary allocation in the
frequency band 9.9-10.5 GHz, with certain limitations. The Amateur and
Amateur-Satellite services have secondary allocations of 10.0-10.5 GHz
and 10.45-10.5 GHz, respectively; the only current primary allocation is
to Radiolocation. A study conducted by a Working Party of the
International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R)
concluded that the interference potential of EESS (active) to Amateur
Radio was limited to very brief and infrequent periods.
"In this hotly contested frequency range, the best we can hope for is
that sharing partners will be compatible with continued amateur access,
and that is the case here," ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, commented.
The US proposal does not include adding the United States to a "country
footnote" that allocates the 10.0-10.45 GHz band to the fixed service in
some Region 2 countries -- a position advocated by Mimosa Networks and
strongly opposed by the ARRL. Mimosa Networks had petitioned the FCC to
allow wireless broadband services in the band, which the ARRL has also
strongly opposed.
The US proposal includes a provision that recognizes the
Amateur-Satellite Service. "This proposal ensures that secondary
Amateur-Satellite service operations in the frequency band 10.45-10.5
GHz that are advance published prior to the date of entry into force of
the primary EESS (active) allocation in 9900-10,500 MHz are treated on a
co-equal basis with EESS (active) operations," the US position states.
After that date, presumed to be January 1, 2017, new stations in the
Amateur-Satellite Service would be considered secondary to the EESS.
ARRL Chief Technology Officer Brennan Price, N4QX. [Rick Lindquist,
WW1ME, photo]
EESS use of the 9900-10,500 MHz band would be limited to systems
requiring necessary bandwidths greater than 600 MHz that cannot be fully
accommodated within the 9300-9900 MHz band.
ARRL Chief Technology Officer Brennan Price, N4QX, has been advocating
on behalf of positions favorable to Amateur Radio at WRC-15 during the
US preparatory process. He notes that administrations in Europe
generally favor an EESS allocation down to 9.2 GHz and up to 10.4 GHz,
sparing the Amateur Satellite segment.
A US proposal on WRC-15 Agenda Item 1.4, involving the possibility of an
Amateur Radio allocation in the vicinity of 5 MHz, has not been
finalized. US proposals on WRC-15 agenda items that already have been
agreed upon are available on the National Telecommunications and
Information Agency (NTIA) website. Each proposal represents the US
position on WRC-15 agenda items for possible changes to the
international Radio Regulations.
FCC "Paperless" Amateur Radio License Policy Now in Effect
Effective February 17, the FCC no longer routinely issues paper license
documents to Amateur Radio applicants and licensees. The FCC will
continue to provide paper license documents to all licensees who notify
the Commission that they prefer to receive one, but what arrives in the
mail now will be printed on plain white recycled paper, instead of the
more distinctive stock the FCC had been using until recently. All of
this is part of the FCC's efforts to streamline procedures and save
money.
"We find this electronic process will improve efficiency by simplifying
access to official authorizations in ULS, shortening the time period
between grant of an application and access to the official
authorization, and reducing regulatory costs," the FCC Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) said. According to the WTB, the new
procedures will save more than $300,000 a year, including staff
expenses.
The Commission has maintained for some time now that the official
Amateur Radio license authorization is the electronic Universal
Licensing System (ULS) record, although the FCC had routinely continued
to print and mail hard copy licenses until this week.
In mid-December, the FCC adopted final procedures to provide access to
official electronic authorizations, as it had proposed in WT Docket
14-161 as part of its "process reform" initiatives. Under the new
procedures, licensees will access their current official authorization
("Active" status only) via the ULS License Manager.
Licensees can also print an official license authorization -- as well as
an unofficial "reference copy" -- from the ULS License Manager.
The ULS License Manager now permits licensees to change the default
setting, so that the Bureau will print and mail a license document.
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ARRL Foundation Announces Two New Scholarships
The ARRL Foundation has announced the establishment of two new
scholarships -- The James Cothran, KD3NI, Scholarship Fund and The Dan
Huettl, WZ7U, Memorial Scholarship Fund. The Cothran scholarship,
endowed by his daughter, ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, and her
husband Carter, N3AO, will award $2000 annually to a young radio amateur
pursuing higher education. President Craigie said her father, a
life-long experimenter, had tried unsuccessfully to get her interested
in electronics when she was a child.
James Cothran, KD3NI. [Photo courtesy of Kay Craigie, N3KN]
"He came to Amateur Radio late in life but was active in several clubs
in the Atlanta area, where he signed N4IQR, before moving to
Pennsylvania for the last decade of his life," President Craigie said.
"He packed a lot of fun and many friendships into his few years in
Amateur Radio." Cothran died in 1997, a few days shy of turning 84.
During World War II, Cothran served in the US Army Signal Corps,
assembling military radio stations from boxes of components. "That was
good preparation for being a radio amateur," President Craigie said.
"Although he did not graduate from college, he encouraged my doing so,
and he paid the bill for it," she continued. "In the last years of his
life, Amateur Radio was a great shared interest in our family. Put it
all together, and it just made sense to name our ARRL Foundation
scholarship in his memory."
Preference will be given to Cothran scholarship applicants who live in
the ARRL Atlantic, Roanoke, or Southeastern divisions.
The Huettl Scholarship, which will award $1000 annually to a radio
amateur pursuing higher education, was established by the radio amateurs
in his family. Huettl died earlier this year. His niece, Connie Mah,
NR4CB, said Huettl got interested in ham radio as a teenager, when
another ham relative -- as an impromptu demonstration -- brought a radio
to Huettl's house, threw a wire over a fence, and began making contacts.
Dan Huettl, WZ7U. [Photo courtesy of Connie Mah, NR4CB]
"Fascinated by what his Elmer helped him experience, he learned Morse
code and passed his license exams," Mah said. Huettl attended Arizona
State University, earning an electrical engineering degree and going on
to work in the semiconductor industry for 33 years until his death at
age 55. While working in Czech Republic, he held call sign OK8DX.
"Dan was a member of ARRL for 37 years, making contacts with hams
locally and internationally as a way to relax. Amateur Radio was one wae to host an Amateur Radio contact with an ISS
crew member between January 1 and June 30, 2016. Crew scheduling and ISS
orbits determine the exact contact dates. The application window closes
on April 15.
ARISS is looking for organizations that have the potential to draw large
numbers of participants and can integrate the contact into a
well-developed educational plan.
FM voice contacts with ISS crew members last about 10 minutes -- the
typical length of an orbital pass -- and allow students and educators to
interact with the astronauts in a question-and-answer format. ARISS
contacts afford an opportunity for participants to learn firsthand from
astronauts and cosmonauts what it is like to live and work in space, and
about ISS research. Students will also have an opportunity to learn
about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science.
Because of the nature of human spaceflight and scheduling complexity,
schools and organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate
changes in contact dates and times.
Details on expectations, audience, proposal guidelines, the proposal
form, and dates and times of information sessions are on the ARRL
website. E-mail ARISS with any questions.
Amateur Radio organizations around the world, NASA, and space agencies
in Russia, Canada, Japan, and Europe sponsor this educational
opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable
communication between ISS crew and students around the world via Amateur
Radio.
In the US, ARISS is managed by the ARRL and AMSAT, in partnership with
NASA.
AMSAT-NA Board Approves Seed Money for Technology Development
As a part of its "Design The Next AMSAT Satellite" challenge, the AMSAT
Board of Directors has approved $5000 as seed money for future satellite
development. The Board will also seek additional fund-raising
possibilities.
AMSAT-NA President Barry Baines, WD4ASW.
"We're prepared to return to space in 2015 with a fleet of satellites
that will equal, if not exceed, the performance, and availability to the
average ham, of our previously popular AMSAT OSCAR 51," AMSAT President
Barry Baines, WD4ASW, said. "Meanwhile, we are preparing for the future
looking to potentially leverage new technologies, to provide the best
opportunities for enhancing Amateur Radio's presence in space." The
AMSAT Board met in December.
AMSAT hopes its Fox-1A CubeSat will be one of its 2015 successes. In
January, the CubeSat successfully completed required pre-launch testing,
including so-called "shake and bake" vibration and thermal testing.
Fox-1A is scheduled to launch in late August on a NASA ELaNa flight .
AMSAT has expressed interest in supporting technology ideas that enhance
the utility of the CubeSat form factor to support more robust Amateur
Satellite capabilities. These could include microwave technology
suitable for use in amateur spacecraft and complementary, low-cost
ground systems. Another potential enhancement would be attitude
determination and control systems that would point a spacecraft's
antennas toward the user, while maximizing solar panel production.
For more details, contact AMSAT Vice President-Engineering Jerry Buxton,
N0JY. Buxton told the Board that construction and testing of five Fox
CubeSats continues on schedule. -- Thanks to AMST News Service
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Ulrich Rohde, N1UL, Wins Second Prestigious IEEE Award
Ulrich Rohde, N1UL (ex-KA2WEU), has been named by the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) to receive the prestigious
I. I. Rabi Award for 2015. The award recognizes outstanding
contributions related to the fields of atomic and molecular frequency
standards, and time transfer and dissemination. The author of some 200
scientific papers and books, including several QEX and QST articles,
Rohde was cited specifically for "intellectual leadership, selection,
and measurement of resonator structures for implementation in
high-performance frequency sources, essential to the determination of
atomic resonance."
Ulrich Rohde, N1UL.
"I am really in disbelief and overwhelmed by this totally unexpected
honor close to my 75th birthday," Rohde said in thanking Gregory Weaver,
the 2015 Awards Chair of the IEEE International Frequency Control
Symposium (IFCS) Standing Committee. "Since the age of 16, I have been
fascinated with oscillators as well as their performance and their
influence on atomic standards. Some of the results of my research are
still the basis of all really high-performance oscillators."
Last year Rohde was the recipient of another IEEE IFCS honor, the C.B.
Sawyer Memorial Award, which recognizes "entrepreneurship or leadership
in the frequency control community; or outstanding contributions in the
development, production or characterization of resonator materials or
structures."
Rohde, who is the chairman of Synergy Microwave Corporation and
President of Communications Consulting Corporation, will receive the
Rabi Award at the 2015 Joint Conference of the IEEE International
Frequency Control Symposium and European Frequency and Time Forum, held
April 12-16 in Denver.
The award's namesake, physicist Isidor Isaac Rabi, received the Nobel
Prize in 1944 for his discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance, which is
used in magnetic resonance imaging.
Canada Funds Amateur Radio Disaster Assistance Project in Saint Lucia
The Government of Canada will provide more than $25,000 (CDN) to the
Saint Lucia Amateur Radio Club to improve Amateur Radio coverage and
communication in the small Caribbean island nation in the event of a
disaster. The project will install two repeater systems including solar
backup power, train 90 radio operators, and increase coverage for all of
Saint Lucia's 18 districts.
"Rising sea levels, coastal erosion, and an escalation in the frequency
and intensity of tropical storms and hurricanes threaten homes and
businesses across the Caribbean. These situations can have a significant
negative impact on sustainable economic growth and result in loss of
life," the Canadian Government said in announcing the grant.
According to the announcement, the Repeater System for the Saint Lucia
Amateur Radio Club will provide enhanced two-way communication during
normal and disaster conditions, allowing for Amateur Radio coverage in
all communities -- and especially in known high-risk areas.
"The project will ensure that, in future hazard events, reliable and
accurate information can be passed from communities to response teams,
leading to more timely and effective assistance to those communities,"
the announcement said.
The Saint Lucia Amateur Radio Club secured support for this project
through the Canada Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Fund (CCDRM), part
of Canada's $600 million Caribbean Regional Program. The fund is
designed to support Caribbean-based non-governmental organizations,
community groups, and governmental agencies working at the community
level to reduce risks from natural hazards and climate change. -- Thanks
to the Canadian High Commission, Bridgetown
Hams in Haiti to Build Tower, Promote International Goodwill
Dale Long, N3BNA, and others are back in Haiti to oversee the
construction of a 300-foot broadcast station antenna and to do a little
hamming while there. Long, from Pennsylvania, has been on the air as
HH2/N3BNA, and he expects to operate as 4V1JR during the ARRL
International DX Contest (CW) over the February 21-22 weekend. The
antenna raising is a project of the Haiti International Friendship
Amateur Radio Club.
A tower grows in Haiti, thanks to the Haiti International Friendship
ARC.
"Our mission is to foster international friendship and promote Amateur
Radio in Haiti," the club's website states.
The 300-foot tower was shipped from the US to Haiti in sections, each
weighing about 340 pounds. It is being installed on a 9-acre semi-marsh
near the ocean. Once up, the tower, which will have a complete radial
field, will serve a popular radio station that has played a role in
disaster relief efforts in Haiti. Long said the radio station has agreed
to let the ham radio group use the tower for 160 meters -- presumably
during periods when the radio station is off the air -- in exchange for
helping to put it up. The entire project is largely supported by
donations, and the work is being done by volunteers.
Since no trees or a crane were available, the tower team needed to build
a second, smaller tower to winch the big tower into place. A lot of the
work is being done with rudimentary tools. Long has traveled to Haiti
and to Central America to work on similar projects in the past.
Contact the club for more information or to volunteer for future
projects.
Hams Encouraged to Hit the Water for New US Islands Awards "One-Day
Getaway"
Fans of portable ham radio are encouraged to grab their equipment and
head for the water as part of the new "One-Day Getaway," sponsored by
the US Islands Awards Program. The annual event will debut on Saturday,
May 9, from 0000 UTC through 2359 UTC (Friday evening to Saturday
evening in the continental US). Founded in 1994, US Islands promotes
portable ham radio operation from islands in all bodies of water --
lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, and coastal islands in US territorial
waters.
"US Islands is a great way to go on a mini-DXpedition without spending a
lot of money," said US Islands Awards Manager Jay Chamberlain, NS4J.
"Discovering islands in your own backyard and setting up a station
outdoors is always a good time. If hams have only operated outdoors
during Field Day, we offer another route to get outside and enjoy
portable ham radio in a different way."
Jim Paine, N4SEC (left), and Wes Lamboley, W3WL, operated with Terry
Joyner, W4YBV, last November from the Turkey Islands on the Suwannee
River in West Central Florida. [Photo courtesy of Jim Paine, N4SEC]
The One-Day Getaway is an on-air activity, not a contest. No scores are
tallied, and no prizes are awarded. Participation from all radio
amateurs, regardless of experience level, is encouraged. Contacts may be
made with any station. US Islands offers achievement awards for both
island activators and island chasers, including a certificate for your
first US Islands activation.
While there are some 2800 islands on the US Islands list, there are more
than 17000 islands within the US. Participants can use Google Earth to
locate new islands and be the first to operate ham radio from those
locations.
Complete information on the US Islands Program, a how-to guide for
One-Day Getaway participants, and a list of currently qualified islands
are available on the group's website.
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In Brief...
A Reminder -- ARRL International DX Contest 2015 CW Event is February
21-22: CW, DXing, and contesting come together and go global February
21-22 for the 2015 ARRL International DX CW contest. Stations in the US
and Canada work only DX stations (Alaska and Hawaii are considered DX
for this contest), while DX stations work only the US and Canada. The
contest exchange is simple: US and Canadian stations send a signal
report and their state or province, while DX stations send a signal
report and their power output. The contest gets under way at 0000 UTC on
Saturday, February 21 (the evening of Friday, February 20, in US time
zones) and continues through 2359 UTC on Sunday, February 22, 2015.
Complete rules and forms are on the ARRL website.
Slow-Scan Television Transmissions from ISS Set for February 21-23
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has issued a
reminder that continuous slow-scan television transmissions are
scheduled from Saturday, February 21, at about 1030 UTC until Monday
February 23, at about 2130 UTC. The AMSAT-NA website has a pass
prediction calculator. "It is expected that 12 different photos will be
sent on 145.800 MHz FM, using SSTV mode PD180, with 3-minute off periods
between transmissions," said ARISS-EU Chairman Gaston Bertels, ON4WF.
Transmitted images will commemorate Russian space history, and most have
been transmitted previously. The equipment used will be the Kenwood
TM-D710 transceiver in the ISS Russian Service Module. Received images
may be uploaded to the image gallery. Plans are being discussed for
transmitting new images from space enthusiasts around the world. --
Thanks to ARISS-EU Chairman Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
ARRL 2014 September VHF Contest Results Available: Complete results for
the 2014 ARRL September VHF contest now are online, with a summary
article by Jeff Klein, K1TEO. ARRL Contest Branch Manager Matt Wilhelm,
W1MSW, said that line scores are in a new format, courtesy of K9JK, and
Log Checking Reports (LCRs) and results in the online searchable
database are also available. Contact Matt Wilhelm with any questions.
Past QSL Bureau Manager, Carolina DX Association President Ken Boyd,
K4DXA, SK: Kenneth W. Boyd, K4DXA (ex-WA4UNZ), of Mint Hill, North
Carolina, died February 16 following a brief illness. He was 69. Boyd
served for 6 years as the W4 single-letter QSL Bureau manager, and as
the current and previous (1988-1992) president of the Carolina DX
Association. Boyd was licensed in 1973 and was an ARRL Life Member.
Roanoke Division Vice Director Bill Morine, N2COP, a former North
Carolina Section Manager, called Boyd a "ham's ham" and an inspirational
leader as head of CDXA. He was a veteran of the US Air Force and
attended Clemson University. After serving in the military Boyd worked
for IBM from 1969 until 2002. He held DXCC Honor Roll. Survivors include
his wife Bev, KE4EHB, and three sons.
DXpeditioner, Expert Amps Owner Charles "Frosty" Frost, K5LBU, SK:
DXpeditoner and Expert Amps founder Charles "Frosty" Frost, K5LBU, of
Missouri City, Texas, died on his birthday, February 14, after an
illness. He was 74 and an ARRL Life Member. A member of the Texas DX
Society and former teacher, Frost went to Southern Africa every summer.
Over the years he traveled to, lived in, and operated from Africa, where
he was on the air as 9L1CF, 9J2CF, 9G1LL, 3DA0CF, C91CF, and 7P8CF. He
also operated from Sudan as K5LBU/ST0, and from Nicaragua as YN2EJ (with
W5GCX and K5UO) and was on the 2013 3DA0ET DXpedition. He operated
Mission Communications in the 1980s. Survivors include his daughters,
Elizabeth White and Rachael Larkins, who operate Expert Amps as a family
business.
The K7RA Solar Update
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: Average daily solar flux
and sunspot numbers were down for the second week in a row. Average
daily sunspot numbers for January 29 to February 4 were 139, then down
to 81.6 the next 7 days, and now 54.6 during the February 12-18 period.
The three averages for daily solar flux over the same periods were
151.1, 144.1, and 121.4.
The latest prediction for solar flux is 120 on February 19, 115 for
February 20-21, 120 for February 22-24, then 125 and 135 on February
25-26, 130 for February 27-28, 125 for March 1-5, 120 on March 6, and
115 for March 7-14. Solar flux then rises to 135 for March 23-25.
Predicted planetary A index is 8 on February 19, 5 for February 20-21,
12 for February 22-23, then 10, 8, 5, and 10 for February 24-27, 18 for
Februarcommunications news), the ARRL Contest Update (bi-weekly contest
newsletter), Division and Section news alerts -- and much more!
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