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ARRL and IARU President Emeritus Larry Price, W4RA, SK
FCC Proposes to Make All Universal Licensing System Filings Electronic
Unraveling the Mystery of 1 × 1 Call Signs
The Doctor Will See You Now!
Hurricane Watch Net Sets New Activation Record during Dorian
The K7RA Solar Update
Just Ahead in Radiosport
Dayton Hamvention Signs 5-Year Contract with Greene County Expo Center
UN Headquarters' 4U1UN Making Slow but Steady Progress in Returning to Air
YOTA 2019 Summer Camp in Bulgaria Spawns Subregional Camps
In Brief...
Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
ARRL and IARU President Emeritus Larry Price, W4RA, SK
ARRL and International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) President Emeritus Larry
E. Price, W4RA, of Statesboro, Georgia, died on September 10. An ARRL Life
Member, he was 85. Price was licensed in 1951 at age 16 as WN5TIA, one of
the first Novice licenses issued in the US. A US Army veteran, Price held
BSEE, MBA, and doctoral degrees. He spent most of his career as a professor
of finance and economics at Georgia Southern University.
Elected as ARRL Southeastern Division Vice Director in 1973, Price became
Director later that year and was elected as an ARRL Vice President by the
Board of Directors in 1980. In 1983 he became First Vice President following
the death of ARRL President Vic Clark, W4KFC, and was elected President by
the Board the following year.
He served as ARRL President for 8 years, serving simultaneously as IARU
Secretary from 1989 until 1992, and continuing as IARU Secretary and ARRL
International Affairs Vice President until his election as IARU President in
1999, a post he held for 10 years. The IARU ministrative Council named him
President Emeritus upon his retirement in 2009. The ARRL Board named him
ARRL President Emeritus in 2011.
"His accomplishments as President of ARRL and the IARU are too many to list,
but neither organization would be what it is today without his vision,
dedication, and hard work," said former ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, who now
serves as IARU Secretary. "We all owe a great debt to Larry and his family
for their many sacrifices on our behalf."
IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, recalled his many years of association with
Price. "Amateur Radio...has lost a valued colleague today," Ellam said.
"Larry Price was the dean of the IARU, and under his leadership the
organization not only achieved great success for the Amateur Radio services
but the respect of those we work with in the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU). His work and tenacity on a number of issues gave the IARU the
admiration of many administrations and senior leadership at the ITU, which
we continue to enjoy today."
In 2014, Dayton Hamvention® honored Price as Amateur of the Year. At the
ARRL Centennial Convention that same year, Price was awarded the ARRL Medal
of Honor. Read more. -- Thanks to David Sumner, K1ZZ
FCC Proposes to Make All Universal Licensing System Filings Electronic
The FCC is seeking comment on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that is
part of an overall plan to transition completely to electronic filing,
licenses, authorizations, and correspondence. The notice proposes to make
all filings to the Universal Licensing System (ULS) electronic, expand
electronic filing and correspondence elements for related systems, and
require applicants to provide an email address on the FCC forms related to
these systems. Although much of the FCC's ULS filings are already
electronic, the changes suggested in the NPRM (in WT Docket No. 19-212)
would require all Amateur Radio Service applications to be filed
electronically. Under current rules, Amateur Radio applications may still be
filed manually, except those filed by Volunteer Examiner Coordinators
(VECs).
"Given the drastic changes that have occurred with regard to the ubiquity of
the internet and increased personal computer access, we find it unlikely
that electronic filing remains infeasible or cost-prohibitive for the
previously exempted types of filers, or that they lack resources to file
electronically," the FCC said in the NPRM, released on September 6. "We
therefore propose to eliminate Section 1.913's exemptions to mandatory
electronic filing."
The FCC said that while the vast majority of ULS applications today are
submitted electronically, some are still manually filed, largely from
exempted filers, such as radio amateurs. Last year, the FCC received some
5,000 manually filed applications out of a total of some 425,000. The FCC is
seeking comment on whether its underlying assumptions about the ease of
electronic filing for previously exempted filers are valid.
This NPRM also seeks comment on additional rule changes that would further
expand the use of electronic filing and electronic service. The FCC stopped
providing printed Amateur Radio license documents in 2015.
"Together, these proposals will facilitate the remaining steps to transition
these systems from paper to electronic, reducing regulatory burdens and
environmental waste, and making interaction with these systems more
accessible and efficient for those who rely on them," the FCC said.
Comments are due within 30 days of the NPRM's release.
Unraveling the Mystery of 1 × 1 Call Signs
The 1 × 1 Special Event Call Signs system offers a way for clubs, groups,
or even individuals to use a short call sign of special significance to the
amateur community. These 1 × 1 call signs are reserved in advance for use
in conjunction with short-term special events and commemorative operations.
The FCC does not assign 1 × 1 call signs, so they are not "official."
On the matter of special event call signs, the FCC says, in Section
97.3(a)(11)(iii) of the Amateur Service rules: "The call sign is selected by
the station licensee from a list of call signs shown on a common database
coordinated, maintained and disseminated by the amateur station special
event call sign data base coordinators. The call sign must have the single
letter prefix K, N, or W, followed by a single numeral 0 through 9, followed
by a single letter A through W or Y or Z (for example K1A). The special
event call sign is substituted for the call sign shown on the station
license grant while the station is transmitting."
The FCC also says in Section 97.119 (d): "ditionally, the station must
transmit its assigned call sign at least once per hour during such
transmissions." This requirement tends to be widely flouted, however.
A 1 × 1 Special Event Call Sign aids other radio amateurs by calling
attention to the special event or other occasion. 1 × 1 call signs may be
used for a variety of purposes, such as conventions, festivals, dedications,
anniversaries, commemorations, and ARRL Field Day. Even local events
qualify.
There are 750 1 × 1 Special Event Call Sign possibilities, and radio
amateurs of any license class may reserve one as far as a year in advance to
use for up to 15 days. Of course, 1 × 1 Special Event Call Signs are
recycled. It's first come, first served. See the Frequently Asked Questions
page for more information.
The FCC has selected coordinators to approve and post 1 × 1 Special Event
Call Sign reservations to a searchable database. -- Thanks to The Radiogram
(Portage County Amateur Radio Society newsletter)
The Doctor Will See You Now!
"Coaxial Cable Connectors" is the topic of the new (September 12) episode of
the ARRL The Doctor is In podcast. Listen...and learn!
Sponsored by DX Engineering, ARRL The Doctor is In is an informative
discussion of all things technical. Listen on your computer, tablet, or
smartphone -- whenever and wherever you like!
Every 2 weeks, your host, QST Editor-in-Chief Steve Ford, WB8IMY, and the
Doctor himself, Joel Hallas, W1ZR, will discuss a broad range of technical
topics. You can also email your questions to doctor@arrl.org, and the Doctor
may answer them in a future podcast.
Enjoy ARRL The Doctor is In on Apple iTunes, or by using your iPhone or iPad
podcast app (just search for ARRL The Doctor is In). You can also listen
online at Blubrry, or at Stitcher (free registration required, or browse the
site as a guest) and through the free Stitcher app for iOS, Kindle, or
Android devices. If you've never listened to a podcast before, download our
beginner's guide.
Hurricane Watch Net Sets New Activation Record during Dorian
Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) volunteers set a new record for total hours
activated during a single storm. The net was active for 157 hours -- 139
hours of which were continuous. HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, said the
continuous activation record stands at 151 hours for Hurricane Matthew in
2018.
"During this marathon activation, members of the Hurricane Watch Net
collected and forwarded countless surface reports to the National Hurricane
Center in Miami," Graves noted.
After devastating Abaco and Grand Bahama islands with winds clocked at 200
MPH or more, Dorian made its way slowly toward Florida, before sliding up
the southeastern US coast and making a second landfall on Cape Hatteras,
North Carolina. It wasn't over, however. Dorian veered out into the
Atlantic, affecting New England before hitting Maritime Canada, where it
knocked out power and downed trees.
During its lengthy initial activation, the HWN attempted on numerous
occasions to raise stations in the Bahamas but was unable to contact anyone
in the most-affected area.
The HWN activated for the last time during Hurricane Dorian last Saturday,
as the storm was, by then, speeding up the east coast of the US as a
Category 1 storm. Poor propagation plagued net operations throughout the
activation, even right up to the end. At one point, propagation was lost
between net members and Nova Scotia on 40 meters, although the net continued
for a while longer on 20 meters.
Early on, Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) volunteers went on alert
along the US east coast, preparing for the worst. The major problem was
storm surge-related flooding. Evacuations were ordered ahead of the storm.
The ARRL Headquarters Emergency Response Team convened early on to monitor
the situation closely. ARRL officials were in regular communication with
partner agencies, particularly FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security.
W1AW, which had already planned to be in operation for the Hiram Percy Maxim
150th birthday special event, remained ready to assist with emergency
communications.
The VoIP Hurricane Net activated over the weekend in conjunction with WX4NHC
at the National Hurricane Center to keep on top of ground-truth weather
information.
The K7RA Solar Update
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: No sunspots this week. The average daily
sunspot numbers declined from 3.4 to 0. At the same time, the average daily
solar flux rose from 67.4 to 69.4.
Geomagnetic activity quieted, with the average daily planetary A index
declining from 19.9 to 8.9, while the average daily mid-latitude A index
went from 16.7 to 7.7.
Predicted solar flux is 68 on September 12 - 22; 69 on September 23 -
October 5; 68 on October 6 - 19; 69 on October 20 - 24; 68 on October 25,
and 69 on October 26.
Predicted planetary A index is 5 on September 12 - 22; 8 on September 23; 5
on September 24 - 25; 10, 35, 45, 20, and 10 on September 26 - 30; 8, 10,
and 8 on October 1 - 3; 5 on October 4 - 19; 8 on October 20; 5 on October
21 - 22; 8, 25, 30, and 18 on October 23 - 26.
Sunspot numbers for September 5 - 11, 2019 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, and 0,
with a mean of 0. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 68.3, 68.9, 73.9, 67.5, 68.8,
70, and 68.1, with a mean of 69.4. Estimated planetary A indices were 14, 8,
7, 10, 14, 4, and 5, with a mean of 8.9. Middle latitude A index was 11, 9,
6, 9, 11, 4, and 4, with a mean of 7.7.
A comprehensive K7RA Solar Update is posted Fridays on the ARRL website. For
more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical
Information Service, read "What the Numbers Mean...," and check out K9LA's
Propagation Page.
A propagation bulletin archive is available. Monthly charts offer
propagation projections between the US and a dozen DX locations.
Share your reports and observations.
Just Ahead in Radiosport
September 14 -- FOC QSO Party (CW)
September 14 - 15 -- Worked All Europe DX Contest (SSB)
September 14 - 15 -- SARL Field Day Contest (CW, phone, digital)
September 14 - 15 -- All Texas QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
September 14 - 15 -- Alabama QSO Party (CW, phone)
September 14 - 15 -- Russian Cup Digital Contest
September 14 - 16 -- ARRL September VHF Contest (CW, phone, digital)
September 15 -- North American Sprint (RTTY)
September 15 - 18 -- Classic Exchange (CW)
September 15 -- BARTG Sprint 75 (Digital)
September 16 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest (CW)
September 18 -- RSGB 80-Meter Autumn Series (CW)
September 19 -- NAQCC CW Sprint
September 20 -- AGB NEMIGA Contest (CW, phone, digital)
See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. For in-depth reporting
on Amateur Radio contesting, subscribe to The ARRL Contest Update via your
ARRL member profile email preferences.
Dayton Hamvention Signs 5-Year Contract with Greene County Expo Center
The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) has signed a 5-year agreement to
keep Dayton Hamvention® at the Greene County Expo Center. The agreement was
announced on September 9 by Hamvention General Chairman Jack Gerbs, WB8SCT.
"It has been a wonderful experience working with the Expo Center team in the
development of this agreement," Gerbs said. "With the 5-year agreement
signed, the Expo Center and Hamvention can move forward with additional
enhancements to the facilities."
Dayton Amateur Radio Association President Ron Cramer, KD8ENJ, said the DARA
Board, in approving the contract, noted that the relationship with the Expo
Center and Greene County, the City of Xenia, and Xenia Township "has proven
especially rewarding." Cramer said, "They all have worked hard to make
Hamvention a success over the last 3 years. We look forward to a great
relationship over the next 5 years and beyond." Hamvention's 2019 attendance
was 32,472 -- the highest recorded since the move to the Exposition Center
in Xenia in 2017, which was coordinated by Cramer, the Hamvention General
Chairman in 2017 and 2018.
The largest Amateur Radio show in the US, Dayton Hamvention is held the
third full weekend in May. The dates for 2020 are May 15 - 17.
UN Headquarters' 4U1UN Making Slow but Steady Progress in Returning to Air
Responding to inquiries noting the lack of 4U1UN activity, the United
Nations Amateur Radio Club (UNARC) indicated on its Facebook page this week
that it's making slow but steady progress in its efforts to get a station
back on the air from UN Headquarters. The main difficulties in getting 4U1UN
up and running again following its displacement by renovations at UN
Headquarters have been administrative and organizational, the UNARC team
said. The club explained that as a result of UN Headquarters renovation, the
room on the 41st floor housing the 4U1UN radio equipment was reallocated to
the UN Broadcast and Conference Support Section (BCSS) and is now off
limits.
"After the successful activity of 4U70UN back in 2015, with the support of
the UN ministration, we were able to secure a tiny 20-square-foot room for
the club's needs on the ground floor of the building," the club said in its
post. With no opportunity to run a feed line from the ground floor to the
top of the building and the tenuous hold even on the tiny, bottom-floor
shack space, the club is in the process of installing a remotely controlled
station on the 41st floor.
Over a recent weekend, several UNARC members, representatives of UN
services, and guests had an opportunity to continue equipment configuration.
An assembled 19-inch rack and part of the equipment were disconnected during
delivery to the 41st floor so that BCSS personnel could hand-carry the
equipment up several flights of stairs to the top floor. "After 4 hours of
work, the connections of the SteppIR BigIR vertical antennas were restored,
a new SDA-100 controller was installed, and a RemoteRig 1216H was connected
for easy remote access," the club post said. "The antenna was tested and
configured."
UNARC says remote access from the 1st floor now works, thanks to a separate
Ethernet cable run up the entire height of the building for UNARC's use.
Operation of the ACOM-2000A amplifier also was tested with an antenna.
"We really hope that in the very near future, after debugging and setting up
all the equipment, we will finally be able to proudly look at the work done
and begin to appear steadily on the bands," the club said.
YOTA 2019 Summer Camp in Bulgaria Spawns Subregional Camps
Most of those attending the recent Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) summer camp
in Bulgaria were first-timers, observed Monty Schebesta, OE3VVU, a
participant this year. Some 80 young radio amateurs from 27 countries
convened near Sofia August 11 - 17 to, as he put it, "connect and learn from
each other." Monty said the successful 2019 summer camp demonstrated that
YOTA is growing quickly, noting too that 40% of the YOTA Summer Camp
attendees were young women.
During the week, campers engaged in a variety of workshops that included
such activities as building VHF and HF antennas and assembling electronic
kits, which, for many, meant learning how to solder. Monty said the focus of
the activities and presentations involved learning from each other.
"YOTA is shifting more and more towards a 'youngsters for youngsters'
approach, where youngsters teach each other, rather than relying on older
generations for input," he said. "The main goal of the YOTA summer camp is
to give youngsters the ideas, knowledge, and experiences they require to go
back to their home country at the end of the week and start their own youth
activities."
Monty said the practical workshops are the mostly easily reproducible, so
that young radio amateurs could use them to introduce new young people into
the hobby. "For example," he said, "youngsters might do a kit building
workshop at a local school or use the antenna built at the camp to do a
[Summits On The Air] activation together with some new youngsters."
Subregional camps such as those held in Finland, Italy, and Germany in
recent years are becoming more common in Region 1, with the next set for
late September in the Czech Republic (OL19CAMP), followed closely by a camp
in the Netherlands in December.
He anticipates many other youth teams will want to stage subregional YOTA
camps of their own. "What the participants learned at the YOTA summer camp
will be an invaluable resource for organizing subregional camps and youth
activities on any scale," he concluded.
Bulgaria's International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) member-society, BFRA,
sponsored the 2019 YOTA Summer Camp.
In Brief...
The IARU recently attended an ITU Inter-Regional Workshop. As part of its
strategy to support topics related to Amateur Radio at World
Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19), the International Amateur Radio
Union (IARU) was on hand at the third inter-regional workshop in Geneva,
Switzerland, this past week. The workshop, attended by member states and
other International Telecommunication Union (ITU) sector members, considered
and discussed the positions of the six Regional Telecommunication
Organizations (RTO) on the main WRC-19 agenda items. Attendees also
considered how differing regional positions might be reconciled during WRC
to arrive at consensus. The ITU said the meeting would "provide participants
with the opportunity to exchange views and have a better understanding of
the common views, positions and/or proposals of the concerned entities." The
third ITU Inter-regional Workshop on WRC-19 Preparation took place September
4 - 6. Documents can be downloaded from the ITU website.
The roster of presentations and speakers for the 2019 ARRL-TAPR Digital
Communications Conference (DCC) is now posted on the TAPR website. The DCC
takes place September 20 - 22 at the Detroit Metro Airport Marriott Hotel.
Bill Brown, WB8ELK, father of Amateur Radio ballooning and noted
experimenter and engineer, will be the DCC Saturday evening banquet speaker.
The Sunday Seminar topic will be "Learn to build and operate your own
SatNOGS ground station," presented by Dan White, AD0CQ, and Corey Shields,
KB9JHU. The seminar will be a hands-on, progressive tutorial, starting with
the basics of a SatNOGS (Satellite Networked Open Ground Station) and ending
with the development of telemetry decoders. Participants should gain an
understanding of how SatNOGS applications work, how to use them, and a basic
familiarity with the technologies behind the scenes, should they wish to
contribute to the development of the project. Participants should bring a
laptop and sign up for a free account. A room will be set aside for
demonstrations, experiments, and show-and-tell projects. Tables and power
strips will be provided.
Former ARRL Iowa Section Manager Bob McCaffrey, K0CY, of Boone, Iowa, died
on September 2. An ARRL Life Member, he was 77. McCaffrey served twice as
Iowa Section Manager -- first, from 1980 until 1986, and again from 2013
until 2019, after he declined to run for another term. He served in other
Iowa ARRL Field Organization positions as well. McCaffrey was licensed in
1955 as KN0EJZ. He taught entry-level Amateur Radio classes within adult
education and served as a Volunteer Examiner. He was an AMSAT and Quarter
Century Wireless Association member and an enthusiastic ARRL Field Day
participant. McCaffrey was a past president of the Des Moines Radio Amateur
Association and of the Boone Amateur Radio Club.
Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
September 13 - 14 -- W9DXCC 2019, St. Charles, Illinois
September 21 - 22 -- New Mexico State Convention, Albuquerque, New Mexico
September 27 - 28 -- Central Division Convention, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
September 28 -- Dakota Division Convention, West Fargo, North Dakota
September 28 -- Washington State Convention, Spokane Valley, Washington
October 6 -- Iowa State Convention, West Liberty, Iowa
October 11 - 12 -- PNWVHFS Conference and Meeting, Issaquah, Washington
October 11 - 12 -- Florida State Convention, Melbourne, Florida
October 13 -- Connecticut State Convention, Meriden, Connecticut
October 18 - 19 -- Delta Division Convention, East Ridge, Tennessee
October 18 - 20 -- Pacific Division Convention, San Ramon, California
October 19 -- 21st Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference, Wisconsin Rapids,
Wisconsin
October 26 -- South Carolina Section Convention, Conway, South Carolina
November 2 - 3 -- Georgia State Convention, Lawrenceville, Georgia
November 16 -- Indiana Section Convention, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Find conventions and hamfests in your area.
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