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The ARRL Letter April 30, 2020
- Emergency Ventilator Designed and Constructed by Hams Going to FDA
- ARISS Experiments with School Contacts Using "Multipoint Telebridge"
Approach
- Resolving Sunspot Number Confusion
- ARRL Podcasts Schedule
- The K7RA Solar Update
- Just Ahead in Radiosport
- Radio Amateur Finds Another "Zombie Satellite"
- Frequency Measuring Test Results Posted
- Hams in India Provide Communication Assistance during COVID-19 Pandemic
- Garmin Seeks FCC Ruling or Waiver to Obtain Certification for Part 95/Part
25 Device
- RSGB Aims to Promote Health and Well-Being within the Amateur Radio
Community
- Announcements
- Getting It Right
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
COVID-19 Impact & News
Find the latest news and information on the impact of the coronavirus
pandemic to ARRL members and our global amateur radio community.
Emergency Ventilator Designed and Constructed by Hams Going to FDA
------------------------------------------------------------------
Radio amateurs have succeeded in providing a complete, working ventilator
system to University of Florida researchers who are in the process of
applying to the Food and Drug Administration for an Emergency Use
Authorization (EUA). A successful submission would blaze the way for
volunteers and manufacturers around the world to create low-cost, highly
functional Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or anesthesia-care ventilators that
offer many of the features of modern ventilators at a fraction of the
typical cost. Dr. Gordon Gibby, KX4Z, who is associated with the project,
said efforts to further improve the device are ongoing.
"We made a stunning improvement in accuracy of the system and measuring
volumes last night at about 1 AM," he told ARRL. "Accuracy of that
particular alarm measurement went from about 300%, down to about 10%. The
FDA submission is being readied, but we keep making engineering improvements."
Gibby credited some of the primary volunteers. "Bob Benedict, KD8CGH, has
provided incredible volunteer testing, now exceeding 1.6 million cycles on
one crucial valve and 300,000 on another. Jack Purdum, W8TEE, is the main
'code-cleaner' for one of multiple teams building software, following the
initial lead of Marcelo Varanda, VA3MVV. Ashhar Farhan, VU2ESE, not only
created the ventilator controller schematic but the printed circuit board
layout that will be part of an expected University of Florida submission."
Farhan was among the founding code writers of what we now know as Voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP).
Other hams worked on mechanical designs for flow measurements and retooled
potential manufacturing capabilities otherwise used to produce transceivers.
In another example of ham radio ingenuity, Marc Winzenried, WA9ZCO, modified
a readily available lawn sprinkler to serve as a durable expiratory valve.
This development enabled the ventilator to go more than 1 million breaths
before significant valve issues developed, and the part can be replaced for
less than $15.
The completed prototype in Florida was built using typical tools by a radio
amateur, and assembled boards provided by LifeMech, a manufacturer working
with the project. Farhan crafted an extendable menu structure for the
Arduino Nano-based controller, and gas-flow measurements are made every few
milliseconds by an I2C-based differential pressure transducer that can
measure down to tiny PSI fractions, allowing the design to accurately track
patient-induced variations in the volume of delivered gasses.
"Using Wenzenried's expiratory valve, electronic on-off control at the rate
of 30 Hz allows modulation of the valve to set the continuous airway
pressure used to keep the patient's lung alveoli open against virus-induced
water-logging of the connective tissue," Gibby explained.
"Perhaps the most surprising development was the addition of the ability to
sense patient effort to take a breath and immediately switch to assisting
the patient with that breath, known as 'assist-control' ventilation," Gibby
said. "This is expected to allow far lighter sedation of patients --
potentially even no sedation." Read more.
ARISS Experiments with School Contacts Using "Multipoint Telebridge" Approach
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is hoping to adopt
a concept it's calling the "multipoint telebridge contact via amateur radio"
that will allow stay-at-home students to take part in amateur radio contacts
with members of the space station crew. Its initial success on an April 30
contact with youngsters in Northern Virginia should provide some impetus for
the initiative.
ARISS has used telebridge stations in the past to enable contacts at times
when the ISS orbit does not pass overhead to permit a direct radio contact
with the school or other location. In a conventional ARISS telebridge
contact, an amateur station ground station in a favorable location for an
ISS pass on the scheduled day makes the contact and handles two-way audio
between the station and the contact site. ARISS said its new multipoint
telebridge approach permits simultaneous reception by families, school
faculty, and the public.
"During the last several weeks, efforts to contain the spread of the
COVID-19 virus have resulted in massive school closures worldwide," ARISS
said this week in a news release. "In addition, the stay-at-home policies
invoked by authorities initially shut down opportunities for ARISS school
contacts for the near future."
The April 30 event involved 5-to-10-year old pupils. Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC,
in Hollis, New Hampshire, who served as the telebridge ground station,
linked with a ISS crew member via radio. Homebound students and their
teacher were able to take part individually via the telebridge network.
Under the teacher's direction, each at-home student was to take a turn to
ask the astronaut one question on a prepared list, although unrelated
technical issues aboard the ISS curtailed the contact.
"This approach is a huge pivot for ARISS, but we feel it is a great
strategic move," said ARISS-International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO. "In
these times of isolation due to the virus, these ARISS connections provide a
fantastic psychological boost to students, families, educators, and the
public. And they continue our longstanding efforts to inspire, engage, and
educate students in STEAM [science, technology, engineering, the arts, and
mathematics] subjects and encourage them to pursue STEAM careers." -- Thanks
to ARISS
Resolving Sunspot Number Confusion
----------------------------------
Recently, well-known contester and DXer Frank Donovan, W3LPL, reviewed
NOAA's official updated solar cycle prediction. Noted propagation authority
Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA, followed up.
In his discussion, Donovan commented that the International Sunspot Number
is typically about one-third lower than the Space Weather Prediction Center
(SWPC) sunspot number. There's a good reason for this discrepancy, and it
should be resolved in the near future. Let's look at how we got into this
confusing situation, and what the solution is.
We have sunspot records back to Solar Cycle 1 (and even earlier). The
official sunspot number originally came out of Zurich, but now originates
from the Royal Observatory of Belgium. In 1848, Rudolf Wolf devised the
equation for the sunspot number. It involves the number of sunspot groups,
the total number of individual spots in all the groups, and a variable scale
factor. We were happy with this until 2011, when the first of four workshops
were held to review the sunspot data due to concerns that the scale factor
may have been skewing the data. The result of the four workshops was an
entirely new sunspot record.
The biggest difference is the scale factor of 0.6 that had been used and is
no longer considered valid, based on corroborating data. This change raised
the revised (Version 2.0) data over the former (Version 1.0) data by 1/0.6.
The Royal Observatory of Belgium started reporting Version 2.0 sunspot
numbers on July 1, 2015. Keep in mind that the V2.0 record all the way back
to Cycle 1 changed, too). Now, if we go to the Table of Recent Solar Indices
(Preliminary) of Observed Monthly Mean Values' in the data tab, we'll see
the following SWPC predictions. Columns 1 and 2 are the year and month.
Columns 3, 4, and 5 are the monthly mean sunspot numbers per Space Weather
Operations (with the SWPC), per the Royal Observatory of Belgium (RI is also
known as the International Sunspot Number), and the ratio between the two.
Columns 6 and 7 are the smoothed sunspot numbers per SWO and per the Royal
Observatory of Belgium (RI). Note that the smoothed sunspot numbers are 6
months behind the monthly mean sunspot numbers. That's because of how the
smoothed sunspot number is determined.
So, the discrepancy that W3LPL talked about is between the SWO values and
the RI values; the SWO group never applied the 0.6 scale factor to its
sunspot count, and thus the SWO values are essentially the Royal Observatory
of Belgium Version 2.0 data. The RI values reported by SWO are the Royal
Observatory of Belgium Version 1.0 data. In the graph, the V1.0 data is in
blue and the V2.0 data is in orange. The SWO data (in gray) indeed follows
the V2.0 data, and the RI data, in yellow, follows the V1.0 data.
To resolve this discrepancy going forward, SWO plans to change RI to V2.0
data at solar minimum, when the V1.0 data should be equal, or extremely
close, to the V2.0 data. So, the SWO data, for all intents and purposes,
will be equal to the RI data. That should resolve the confusion with sunspot
numbers, except for the fact that our old sunspot numbers, to which our
propagation predictions were correlated, now are deemed incorrect. -- Carl
Luetzelschwab, K9LA
ARRL Podcasts Schedule
----------------------
The latest episode of the On the Air podcast (Episode 4) focuses how to
create a family emergency communications plan and includes an interview with
Dino Papas, KL0S, about attaching coaxial connectors with crimping tools.
The latest episode of the Eclectic Tech podcast (Episode 6) includes an
interview with ARRL Assistant Laboratory Manager Bob Allison, WB1GCM, about
key clicks and a discussion with NCJ editor Scott Wright, K0MD, about
artificial intelligence software and amateur radio.
The On the Air and Eclectic Tech podcasts are sponsored by Icom. Both
podcasts are available on iTunes (iOS) and Stitcher (Android) as well as on
Blubrry -- On the Air | Eclectic Tech.
The K7RA Solar Update
---------------------
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Several sunspots put in appearances this
week. Sunspot numbers on April 25 - 29 were 11, 14, 12, 0, and 24, for a
weekly average of 8.7. Average daily solar flux barely moved -- from 69 to
69.2.
Geomagnetic activity remains quiet, with average daily planetary A index
declining from 7.3 to 5.6.
Predicted solar flux is 70 on April 30 - May 6; 69 on May 7 - 16; 70 on May
17 - 31; 69 on June 1 - 12, and 70 on June 13.
Predicted planetary A index is 8 on April 30 - May 2; 5 on May 3 - 17; 10
and 8 on May 18 - 19; 5 on May 20 - 23; 8 on May 24 - 27; 5 on May 28 - 31;
12 on June 1, and 5 on June 2 - 13.
Sunspot numbers for April 23 - 29 were 0, 0, 11, 14, 12, 0, and 24, for a
mean of 8.7. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 68.7, 69.7, 68.9, 69.2, 69, 69,
and 69.9, for a mean of 69.2. Estimated planetary A indices were 4, 8, 5, 6,
7, 6, and 3, with a mean of 5.6. Middle latitude A index was 4, 6, 5, 5, 6,
6, and 4, with a mean of 5.1.
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
------------------------
May 1 -- AGCW QRP/QRP Party (CW)
May 2 -- RCC Cup (CW, phone)
May 2 -- Microwave Spring Sprint (CW, phone)
May 2 -- FISTS Spring Slow Speed Sprint (CW)
May 2 - 3 -- 7th Call Area QSO Party (CW, phone)
May 2 - 3 -- Indiana QSO Party (CW, phone)
May 2 - 3 -- Delaware QSO Party (CW, phone)
May 2 - 3 -- New England QSO Party (CW, phone)
May 2 - 3 -- Araucaria World Wide VHF Contest (CW, phone)
May 2 - 3 -- 10-10 International Spring Contest (CW)
May 2 - 3 -- SBMS 2.3 GHz and Up Contest (CW, phone)
May 2 - 3 -- ARI International DX Contest (CW, phone, digital)
May 4 -- RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship, SSB
May 4 - 5 -- MIE 33 Contest (CW, phone)
May 5 -- ARS Spartan Sprint (CW)
May 7 -- NRAU 10-Meter Activity Contest (CW, phone)
May 7 -- SKCC Sprint Europe (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.
Radio Amateur Finds Another "Zombie Satellite"
----------------------------------------------
British Columbia radio amateur Scott Tilley, VE7TIL, has found another
"zombie satellite," as he calls them. This time, he tracked and identified
radio signals from the experimental UHF military communication satellite
LES-5. Tilley says he found the satellite in what he called a geostationary
"graveyard" orbit after noting a modulated carrier on 236.7487 MHz.
"Most zombie satellites are satellites that are no longer under human
control, or have failed to some degree," Tilley told National Public Radio
(NPR) earlier this month. It's not clear whether LES-5 is still capable of
receiving commands.
LES-5 was built by MIT's Lincoln Laboratory and launched in 1967 as part of
the military's Tactical Satellite Communication Program. It was supposed to
shut down in 1972, but it continues to operate as long as its solar panels
are facing the sun.
What intrigued Tilley about LES-5 was that it might be the oldest
functioning geostationary satellite in space. After British Columbia went on
lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tilley found himself with a lot of
free time for such a search. He located LES-5 on March 24.
>From his home in Roberts Creek, British Columbia, Tilley, an amateur
astronomer, routinely scans the skies for radio signals from classified
objects orbiting Earth. Since he started, he's located dozens of secret or
unlisted satellites.
In 2018, while hunting for an undisclosed US government spacecraft lost in a
launch mishap, he spotted the signature of IMAGE (Imager for
Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration), a NASA spacecraft believed to
have died in December 2005. The discovery delighted space scientists. NASA
and another ham in the UK confirmed his finding. Launched in 2000 on a
mission to monitor space weather, IMAGE mapped plasma patterns around Earth.
Frequency Measuring Test Results Posted
---------------------------------------
The results of the spring 2020 Frequency Measuring Test (FMT), conducted on
April 24, have been posted. Coming in at the top of the list for stations
entering readings of both the 40-meter and 80-meter frequencies was Steve
Cerwin, WA5FRF. His average error rate was 0.004902 parts per million (ppm).
The Top 10 looked like this, with average error rates in ppm. Bill De Carle,
VE2IQ, has posted a ranked list of participants who submitted readings for
both frequencies.
1.
WA5FRF
0.004902
2.
WA2IKL
0.005584
3.
N7WS
0.005636
4.
N9CIF
0.006999
5.
NJ0U
0.007051
6.
N8OBJ
0.007655
7.
AD5MT
0.008415
8.
KB3UMD
0.008415
9.
WB6RJH
0.008492
10
AB4RS
0.009174
Today's FMTs are conducted completely online, with no manual log-checking or
intervention. Connie Marshall, K5CM, provides Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, with the
precise actual frequencies, participating individuals submit their
measurements, and machines handle the rest. Ninety-eight radio amateurs took
part in the April 2020 FMT. The next FMT will take place in November.
Taking part in the FMT does not require special laboratory equipment. Modern
HF transceivers can measure frequency quite accurately, and SDR-based
receivers and available software can enable precise frequency measurements.
Today's FMT leaders are able to accurately measure beyond the number of
decimal places (out to five) that a typical transceiver will display, however.
Some information on how to measure the frequency of a carrier is available
on Marshall's website, as well as in past articles in QST. Visit the
FMT-Nuts discussion group on groups.io. Read more.
Hams in India Provide Communication Assistance during COVID-19 Pandemic
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
According to a report in The New Indian Express, amateur radio operators in
Kerala have joined the fight against COVID-19. The newspaper said the
district administration has enlisted radio amateurs to improve important
communication between departments and offices. Over 20 hams, organized into
teams, are involved. Radio Amateur Society of Ananthapuri President Dr.
Zakheer Hussain, VU3OOH, said using ham radio during the time of crisis
would help coordinate crucial communication.
"We have assigned our teams at the district medical office and taluk
[administrative subdivision] offices," Hussain told the paper. "We have a
team at the district administration, which is the center of all action." He
said help lines now in operation receive many calls, including distress
calls. "If anyone is in need of emergency medical care, we immediately
inform the respective taluk office and the ambulance desk, so that help
reaches in time," he said.
The Times of India reports that a radio amateur in West Bengal drove 98
kilometers (61 miles) to deliver medicine to an elderly resident of Rahara.
"We have been providing assistance to people ever since the lockdown was
announced," said Raju Biswas, VU2JFA, the secretary of the West Bengal Radio
Club.
The Telegraph newspaper in India reported an anecdote regarding a homeless
woman who showed up when Swaraj Ghosh, VU3URP, was distributing food for
people on the streets. He contacted Biswas, who, in turn, got in touch with
radio amateurs in the woman's hometown. They were able to contact her
father, who had been looking for her.
Garmin Seeks FCC Ruling or Waiver to Obtain Certification for Part 95/Part
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
25 Device
---------
The FCC is seeking public comment on an April 24 request by Garmin
International for a declaratory ruling or a rules waiver to obtain equipment
certification for a handheld unit that combines a low-power, terrestrial
Part 95 Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS) transmitter and a Part 25 emergency
satellite communication module in the same device. Section 95.2761(c)
precludes combining MURS transmitting capabilities in equipment that is also
capable of transmitting in another service, with the exception of Part 15
unlicensed services.
Garmin's proposed product is a handheld unit that will include two
transmitters: a low-power MURS transmitter for short-range terrestrial
communication, and a previously certified Part 25 module that will allow
emergency communication via the Iridium satellite system under a blanket
license held by Iridium. End users would have to subscribe to the Iridium
service.
Garmin argues that the purpose of the original equipment authorization
restriction was "to prevent consumer confusion with other terrestrial
services that either had different licensing regimes or were for different
types of communications" and that it is inappropriate in this case. Garmin
asserts that a waiver would serve the public interest because "the certified
Part 25 module in the MURS unit would allow emergency communications to the
outside world at the push of a button." The FCC seeks comment on the waiver
request.
Comments are due by May 28, with reply comments due by June 13. Interested
parties may file short comments via the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing
Service (Express). Visit the FCC's "How to Comment on FCC Proceedings" page
for information on filing extended comments.
RSGB Aims to Promote Health and Well-Being within the Amateur Radio Community
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) has launched a major campaign --
"Get on the air to care" (GOTA2C) -- in association with the UK National
Health Service (NHS) to help promote health and well-being within the
amateur radio community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Now, more than ever, we need to optimize all modes of communication to help
reduce loneliness and isolation within communities," said Paul Devlin, of
the NHS England Emergency Care Improvement Support Team. "Amateur radio
provides a wonderful, unprecedented opportunity to help make this a
reality." The RSGB is urging radio amateurs in the UK and around the globe
to get on the air to chat and "support each other across the airwaves."
Radio amateurs can "get on the air to care" with a simple handheld
transceiver.
RSGB General Manager Steve Thomas, M1ACB, said, "We want this campaign to
inspire even more to get involved and also to use #GOTA2C when they share
photos, videos, and news of what they're doing on social media."
Devlin said that GB1NHS, the UK's National Health Service ham station, gives
the NHS "the ability to reach communities anywhere in the world, regardless
of geographic location or connection to domestic power supplies, land lines,
cell phone, or internet services. It will be on the air as part of this
campaign, so listen out for it!"
ARRL has been promoting its "Stay Safe and Stay on The Air" initiative in
some of its media outlets, using the hashtag #StayOnTheAir, as a way to
counter online fatigue and social isolation. Read more. -- Thanks to Heather
Parsons, RSGB Communications Manager
Announcements
-------------
The 2020 Central States VHF Society (CSVHFS) conference, set for July,
has been put off until next year -- July 30 - 31, 2021. The conference hotel
is not yet ready to accept 2021 reservations.
Contest University (CTU), a staple of Dayton Hamvention week, will take
place online this year through the Zoom video platform, and all sessions
will be free. Visit the CTU website to register. Live CTU sessions via Zoom
will get under way on Thursday, May 14, 1245 UTC, and will be recorded and
archived. -- Thanks to CTU Chair Tim Duffy, K3LR
The ARRL New England Division Convention, hosted by the Northeast
HamXposition at its new location in Marlborough, Massachusetts, has been
postponed until November 6 - 8 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The show had
been scheduled for July.
Icom has announced that delivery of its new IC-705 HF - 430 MHz all-mode
10 W transceiver, scheduled for release last month, has been pushed back to
later this year because the coronavirus pandemic has delayed the delivery of
some components.
The Vienna International Center in Austria has authorized the call sign
4U2STAYHOME for use by the UN Amateur Radio Contest DX Club, 4U1A, to
promote amateur radio goodwill and over-the-air social networking. QSL cards
go to UA3DX. Contacts with 4U2STAYHOME count for both CMA and SHA awards. --
Thanks to The Daily DX
Getting It Right
----------------
The news brief "Welsh Radio Amateur Heard Titanic Distress Call, But
Authorities Did Not Believe Him" in the April 23 edition of The ARRL Letter
repeated a myth regarding the now-obsolete CQD distress signal. It was not
an acronym for "come quickly, distress."
Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
------------------------------------------------------
Note: Many conventions and hamfests have been canceled or postponed due to
the coronavirus pandemic. Check the calendar of canceled events on the ARRL
website.
May 9 -- MicroHAMS Digital Conference 2020 (Virtual Event)
June 12 - 13 -- Ham-Com, Plano, Texas
June 20 -- Tennessee State Convention, Knoxville, Tennessee
Find conventions and hamfests in your area.
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