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The ARRL Letter January 23, 2020
- Barry Shelley, N1VXY, is ARRL Interim CEO
- ARES Volunteers Establish "Plan B" Communication Network in Puerto Rico
- Massachusetts Club Offers Support to Arecibo Observatory Following
Earthquakes
- New Book from ARRL: Amateur Radio Contesting for Beginners
- The K7RA Solar Update
- Just Ahead in Radiosport
- IARU Region 1 Youngsters On The Air Summer Camp 2020 Will Be in Croatia
- AMSAT: GOLF-TEE Initiative Meets Major Milestone
- ITU Development Sector Publication Highlights Amateur Radio's Role in
Emergency Communication
- ARISS Opens Window for ISS Ham Radio Contact Proposals on February 1
- In Brief...
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
Barry Shelley, N1VXY, is ARRL Interim CEO
-----------------------------------------
At its January 17 - 18 meeting, the ARRL Board of Directors did not elect
Howard Michel, WB2ITX, as the ARRL Chief Executive Officer.
As of January 20, Barry Shelley, N1VXY, became interim CEO. Mr. Shelley was
ARRL's Chief Financial Officer for 28 years and CEO during 2018 before his
retirement.
The Board has created a search committee to select the next CEO. More
details on this and other matters that took place at the Board meeting will
be released shortly.
ARES Volunteers Establish "Plan B" Communication Network in Puerto Rico
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES©) volunteers in Puerto Rico continued
over the weekend to report for daily duty at an American Red Cross (ARC)
distribution center in Mayagüez and at ARC Headquarters in San Juan. The two
sites are ready to provide a "Plan B" communication backbone in the event
the seismic situation worsens. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck
southwestern Puerto Rico on January 7, fast on the heels of a magnitude 5.8
tremor the day before, damaging homes in Guayanilla, Pe¤uelas, Yauco, and
Gu nica. ARRL Puerto Rico Section Manager Oscar Resto, KP4RF, told ARRL this
week that the situation is relatively "calm and quiet" for now and starting
on January 22, volunteers began monitoring from their homes or vehicles,
permitting most, including Resto himself, to get back to their jobs and homes.
ARES volunteers had been deployed to an ARC distribution center in Yauco,
but that part of the operation was shifted to Mayagüez over the weekend,
because it was considered safer there. An ARRL-provided VHF/UHF radio and
antenna have been set up at the Mayagüez facility. Resto said a second
operating position is being added at the San Juan ARC Headquarters site.
Resto said Red Cross officials know that they can rely on amateur radio, if
the situation calls for it, but for now commercial communications are fully
operational, although aftershocks from the January 7 quake persist. "In case
the situation escalates, the ARES team will immediately mobilize at the ARC
sites and establish communication (VHF/UHF or HF) as required," Resto said.
Last week, the Red Cross had requested assistance from the ARES volunteers
as well as volunteers from the CB radio and GMRS communities, to identify
undeclared refugee camps and to report on close or damaged roadways and
bridges. Resto said the ARES volunteers "did a marvelous job" that earned
praise from Red Cross officials.
Resto said about two dozen volunteers have made themselves available in the
Mayagüez area. In the event they're needed, Resto said, he has seven or
eight HF radios and 15 VHF/UHF transceivers left over from the Hurricane
Maria emergency response. He said the HF equipment has been safely stowed
for use in case of another major earthquake, when they might be needed.
He was expecting additional antennas and feed lines provided through ARRL's
Ham Aid program to show up this week.
Massachusetts Club Offers Support to Arecibo Observatory Following Earthquakes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although not in the hardest-hit earthquake zone, Puerto Rico's Arecibo
Observatory nonetheless has been affected by the recent spate of earthquakes
and aftershocks. The landmark Arecibo radio telescope and ionospheric radar
facility was a victim of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Members of the Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club (NVARC) have stepped up to
assist in support and recovery efforts for the Arecibo Observatory radio
telescope and ionospheric radar facility. NVARC members Phil Erickson,
W1PJE; Rod Hersh, WA1TAC, and Jim Wilber, AB1WQ, participated in daily
scheduled radio contacts with Arecibo's lead telescope operator and spectrum
manager, Angel Vazquez, WP3R. Other NVARC members volunteered to serve as
back-up stations.
"All AO staff members are safe, and our technical teams have completed
preliminary visual analysis of the primary structure and have found no
immediate damage/issues, however a more detailed inspection needs to be
completed once the aftershocks subside," said Francisco C¢rdova, Arecibo
Observatory's director, at the University of Central Florida.
Site operations were suspended and access was limited to essential
personnel, according to the latest information available from the Arecibo
Observatory website.
Over several days, when commercial power and water were not available near
Arecibo, club members inquired about potential assistance. Although
conditions are slowly improving on the northern portion of the island where
the observatory is located, Vazquez noted that thousands of people displaced
from their homes in the hard-hit southern part of the island had to camp
outside, due to extensive structural damage and ongoing aftershocks.
NVARC members were also able to provide messages of support from MIT's
Haystack Observatory in Westford, Massachusetts, and from program officers
at the National Science Foundation (NSF) Geospace Facilities Division in
Washington, DC. NSF funds the observation programs and scientific research
at Arecibo Observatory. NVARC said the radio contacts would continue as the
recovery proceeds.
New Book from ARRL: Amateur Radio Contesting for Beginners
----------------------------------------------------------
Contesting is one of the most exciting aspects of amateur radio -- and for
some, it's their primary ham radio activity. Amateur Radio Contesting for
Beginners by contesting veteran Doug Grant, K1DG, offers practical
information and ideas that will help you get started in contesting --
"radiosport" -- or to build your skills, if you're already active.
Contesting tests station capability and operator skill, and it really is a
sport, with a typical objective of contacting as many stations and
multipliers -- ARRL Sections, states, grids, or DXCC entities, for example
-- within the contest period.
"Doug Grant has written the ideal guide for anyone interested in
contesting," said QST Editor Steve Ford, WB8IMY.
Grant's book explains what equipment you need, typical contest formats,
details of some more popular events, operating techniques, how to submit an
entry, and how to improve your scores. No matter how modest your station or
experience, you can compete too!
Just ahead is Winter Field Day, January 25 - 26. See the ARRL Contest
Calendar for information on other events.
Amateur Radio Contesting for Beginners is available from the ARRL Store or
your ARRL Dealer. (ARRL Item no. 1243, ISBN: 978-1-62595-124-3, $27.95
retail, special ARRL Member Price $24.95). Call 860-594-0355 or, toll-free
in the US, 888-277-5289. It's also available as an e-book for the Amazon
Kindle.
For more information about ARRL-sponsored contests, including rules and
results, and to view the contest photo gallery, visit the ARRL Contests page.
The K7RA Solar Update
---------------------
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: No sunspots appeared over the January 16 -
22 reporting week. On January 22, Spaceweather.com reported the consecutive
period of spotless days is 11, but all recent sunspots have had Cycle 25
polarity.
The average daily solar flux dipped from 72.5 to 71.2. The average daily
planetary A index went from 5.6 to 4.1, and the middle latitude A index
dropped from 3.7 to 3.
Predicted solar flux is 72 on January 23 - February 5; 71 on February 6 -
20; 72 on February 21 - March 3; 71 on March 4, and 70 on March 5 - 7.
Predicted planetary A index is 5 on January 23 - 31; 10 on February 1 - 5; 5
on February 6 - 27; 10 on February 28 - March 3, and 5 on March 4 - 7.
When there are no sunspots, 160 meters seems to improve, probably because of
lower associated geomagnetic activity. The CW portion of the CQ World Wide
160-Meter Contest takes place this weekend.
Sunspot numbers for January 16 - 22 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, and 0, with a
mean of 0. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 71.8, 70.1, 71.3, 71.8, 71.2, 70.5,
and 71.9, with a mean of 71.2. Estimated planetary A indices were 5, 3, 4,
3, 2, 6, and 6, with a mean of 4.1. Middle latitude A index was 4, 2, 3, 2,
2, 4, and 4, with a mean of 3.
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
------------------------
January 23 -- NAQCC CW Sprint
January 24 - 26 -- CQ 160-Meter Contest (CW)
January 25 - 26 -- REF Contest (CW)
January 25 - 26 -- BARTG RTTY Sprint
January 25 - 26 -- UBA DX Contest, SSB
January 25 - 26 -- Winter Field Day (CW, phone, digital)
January 27 -- QCX Challenge (CW)
January 29 -- UKEICC 80-Meter Contest (CW)
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.
IARU Region 1 Youngsters On The Air Summer Camp 2020 Will Be in Croatia
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The 10th annual Youngsters On The Air (YOTA) camp will be held this summer
in Karlovac, Croatia -- not far from the capital city of Zagreb --
International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 Youth Working Group Chair
Lisa Leenders, PA2LS, has announced. The Croatian Amateur Radio Association
-- Croatia's IARU member-society -- will serve as host of the August 8 - 15
event. Participation is aimed at young radio amateurs living in IARU Region
1 (Europe, Africa, and the Middle East).
"In this YOTA Camp we will be continuing with our train-the-trainer (TTT)
program, which will be the main theme of the week," Leenders said.
"Participants will be working on the future of amateur radio and will be
involved in workshops where they gain skills to start similar amateur radio
youth events when they are back home. With this, we are aiming to create a
snowball effect, so there will be more and more YOTA events all over the
world. This also allows other youngsters and newcomers to enjoy amateur
radio."
Leenders said camp participants will also be able to enjoy getting on the
air, as well as building electronic kits.
Each IARU member-society in Region 1 is invited to sponsor teams of up to
four camp participants. Team members will be age 15 to 25 and not have
attended a previous YOTA camp. Overall participation is limited to 80 campers.
The inaugural Youth On The Air Camp in the Americas will take place this
June 21 - 26 at the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West
Chester Township, Ohio. For more information, email Camp Director Neil Rapp,
WB9VPG, or call 812-327-0749.
AMSAT: GOLF-TEE Initiative Meets Major Milestone
------------------------------------------------
AMSAT reports that an array of GOLF-TEE (Greater Orbit Larger Footprint -
Technology Evaluation Environment) satellite prototype boards transmitted
telemetry for the first time on January 14.
"The boards are laid out on a bench as a 'flat-sat,' with interconnecting
wires, bench power supplies, and a dummy load on the transmitter," AMSAT
said. The interconnected boards include an early radiation-tolerant internal
housekeeping unit (IHU, i.e., computer) prototype; a control interface
prototype, and a set of spare boards from HuskySat-1 that act as prototypes
for the legacy IHU and legacy VHF/UHF RF components.
"Now that the development team has reached this point, it has RF to use as a
basis for developing a GOLF-TEE decoder for FoxTelem, the ground telemetry
receiver software," AMSAT said. "Thousands of hours of work by many AMSAT
volunteers have gone into the hardware and software that got GOLF-TEE this
far, with much work yet to be done before flight units are ready."
GOLF-TEE is designed as a low-Earth orbit testbed for technologies necessary
for successful CubeSat missions to a wide variety of orbits, including
medium- and high-Earth orbits. "Higher is clearly better when it comes to
amateur radio satellites," AMSAT says on its website explanation of the GOLF
program. "The larger footprint, which brings more DX opportunities and more
good passes per day, also provides for a longer orbital lifetime, and slower
motion across the sky. This results in longer pass durations and easier
tracking." Higher orbits introduce a new set of engineering challenges,
AMSAT concedes, including higher power and antennas with greater gain.
"GOLF is designed to continue the growth of AMSAT's CubeSat abilities,
incorporating new systems such as software-defined radios and deployable
solar panels into a 3U spaceframe." AMSAT explained. "GOLF will also
continue AMSAT's educational partnership outreach that takes advantage of
the synergies that amateur radio satellites and education have to offer the
public."
AMSAT has invited donations to further the project. It's also seeking
additional volunteers. -- Thanks to AMSAT News Service
ITU Development Sector Publication Highlights Amateur Radio's Role in
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Emergency Communication
-----------------------
Amateur radio is featured in the publication ITU Guidelines for national
emergency telecommunication plans, published by the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) Development Sector (ITU-D). The publication
notes that radio amateurs have supported communication in emergency
situations on a voluntary basis since the dawn of radio.
"They are experts in radio communications and have the equipment, skills,
and necessary frequencies allocated by ITU to deploy networks in emergency
events quickly and efficiently," the publication says. ITU-D said amateur
radio support offers "great coverage due to the large number of amateur
radio stations available;" training programs and exercises that have been
developed for emergency communication; "qualified temporary volunteers who
provide skills and experience essential for emergency telecommunications;"
problem-solving skills for working with "often very limited resources," and
the ability to work with alternative power sources.
Past ARRL President and IARU Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD, represents the
International Amateur Radio Union at ITU-D meetings. -- Thanks to Southgate
Amateur Radio News; IARU
ARISS Opens Window for ISS Ham Radio Contact Proposals on February 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is once again
seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations --
individually or working together -- interested in hosting an amateur radio
contact with an International Space Station (ISS) crew member. A window to
accept proposals will open on February 1 for contacts that would be
scheduled between January and June 2021. The majority of ARISS contacts
involve schools and educational institutions. ARISS is looking for
organizations able to attract a large number of participants that can
integrate the contact opportunity into a well-developed education plan.
"ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn
firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to
learn about space research conducted on the ISS," ARISS said in announcing
the proposal period. "Students will also have an opportunity to learn about
satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science."
Proposal information and documents are available on the ARISS website. Two
identical ARISS introductory webinars have been set for January 23 at 9 PM
EST (0200 UTC on January 24) and for January 27 at 6 PM EST (2300 UTC).
Registration is required.
Contacts with ISS crew members run approximately 10 minutes in length and
allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer
session. ARISS contacts are voice-only amateur radio communication
opportunities. Schools and organizations typically work with a local amateur
radio club to assist in handling the technical aspects of carrying out a
successful contact with the ISS.
ARISS stresses that because of the nature of human spaceflight and the
complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, schools and
organizations must be flexible in accommodating changes in radio contact
dates and times.
"Amateur radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and
space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan, and Europe present educational
organizations with this opportunity," ARISS said. "The ham radio
organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational
support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around
the world using amateur radio."
Proposal information and more details are available on the ARISS website.
Contact ARISS with any questions.
In Brief...
-----------
The ARRL Events app is available to use with Apple iOS and Android devices.
A web-browser version, optimized for most browsers and other types of mobile
devices, is also available. ARRL Events will be featured at Orlando
HamCation 2020, February 7 - 9, which has been sanctioned as the 2020 ARRL
Northern Florida Section Convention.
The Perseverance DX Group VP8PJ DXpedition to South Orkney has received
permission from the National Science Foundation to land and camp on the
Antarctic island. Receipt of the Antarctic Conservation Act Permit
culminates a months-long approval process involving several governmental
agencies. VP8PJ is expected to commence operation on February 20 and
continue until March 5. The DXpedition's equipment container arrived by sea
in Punta Arenas, Chile, on January 13, and the MV Braveheart will transport
the operating team and the gear from there to the South Orkneys and back.
Set-up on the island is expected to take 2 days. Contact the DXpedition for
more information.
The Lagunaria DX Group is planning a "large-scale DXpedition" to Timor-Leste
(4W) in the October/November 2020 timeframe. "We currently have one team
member in Timor-Leste negotiating with different ministries, companies, and
accommodation facilities," said team member Chris Janssen, DL1MGB. "Right
now, we have positive feedback from all. We even already have a confirmed
reservation for two close-by lodges to have enough space to host up to 10
stations." Janssen said the team will consist of 18 operators and will
participate seriously in both CQ World Wide DX contests this fall.
Additional details will be available soon on the DXpedition website.
Timor-Leste is the 67th most-wanted DXCC entity, according to Club Log. --
Thanks to The Daily DX
A team of German DXers will operate as HU1DL from the Central American
country of El Salvador, starting in late January and continuing until
February 13. "Everything is well prepared. We are ready!" said an
announcement from Rolf Thieme, DL7VEE. The team will be transporting its own
equipment, which will include Elecraft K3 transceivers and full-power
amplifiers. Three stations will be on the air around the clock on CW, SSB,
RTTY, and FT8, with a focus on the lower bands. Thieme said HU1DL will
operate mostly in FT8 fox/hound mode. HU1DL plans to be active on 60 meters,
CW, and FT8. -- Thanks to The Daily DX
Spanish radio amateurs may exchange their current longer-format call signs
for permanent 2 ž 1 call signs, and some familiar Spanish call signs are
likely to be changing. Salva Moreno, EA5BB, told ARRL that hams in Spain who
decided to make the change are now awaiting the official license documents,
so they can use their new call signs on the air. Moreno's new call sign will
be EA5U. To be eligible, applicants must have held a license issued by
Spanish authorities without any sanctions and have at least 15 years of
experience in "international amateur radio."
The 17th International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) High Speed Telegraphy
(HST) World Championship will take place August 20 - 24 in Ulaanbaatar,
Mongolia. Europe's HST Cup and Balkan HST Championships will take place May
8 - 12 in Elbasan, Albania. Although not an IARU-recognized event, this
international competition is widely accepted by the HST community as an
opportunity for top competitors to check their form before the world
championship, for teams to test new candidates for a national team, and for
those unable to participate at the World Championship to still enjoy
top-level competition. -- Thanks to IARU Region 1
Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
------------------------------------------------------
January 25 -- ARRL Midwest Conference, Collinsville, Illinois
February 1 -- South Carolina State Convention, North Charleston, South
Carolina
February 1 -- Virginia State Convention, Richmond, VA
February 7 - 9 -- Northern Florida Section Convention, Orlando, Florida
February 14 - 15 -- Southwest Division Convention, Yuma, Arizona
March 7 - Delta Division Convention, Russellville, Arkansas
March 13 - 14 -- North Carolina Section Convention, Concord, North
Carolina
March 14 - 15 -- Great Lakes Division Convention, Perrysburg, OH
March 14 -- Nebraska State Convention, Lincoln, NE
March 14 -- West Virginia Section Convention, Charleston, West Virginia
March 21 -- West Texas Section Convention, Midland, Texas
Find conventions and hamfests in your area.
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