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********************************************
The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
April 29, 2010
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA <k1...@arrl.org>
ARRL Home Page <http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Letter Archive
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>Audio News
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> IN THIS ISSUE
- Hamvention®: DX Activities Abound at ARRL EXPO at Dayton Hamvention®
- FCC News: FCC Seeks Comments on Newly Proposed Rules for Amateur
Radio Operators and Emergency Drills
- The Doctor Is IN: Window Line and Coax Loss
- More Improvements to the ARRL Web Site
- ARRL Publications: Check Out the May/June Issue of NCJ
- Solar Update
- This Week on the Radio
==> HAMVENTION®: DX ACTIVITIES ABOUND AT ARRL EXPO AT DAYTON
HAMVENTION®
ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton, NN1N,
reports that plans for a plethora of DX activities at the ARRL EXPO --
part of the 2010 Dayton Hamvention -- are wrapping up. "We a part of the 2010 Dayton Hamvention -- are wrapping up. "We are excited
about the activities that will be taking place," he said. "Visitors to
the EXPO will see a lot of activities relating to DX, including DXCC
card checking, a chance to drop off QSL cards for the ARRL Outgoing QSL
bureau and even an expanded International Amateur Radio Union (IARU)
area." The Dayton Hamvention will take place May 14-16 at Hara Arena,
located near Dayton, Ohio. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/dx-activities-abound-at-arrl-expo-at-the-day...
vention>.
==> FCC NEWS: FCC SEEKS COMMENTS ON NEWLY PROPOSED RULES FOR AMATEUR
RADIO OPERATORS AND EMERGENCY DRILLS
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-10-45A1.pdf>
In March, the FCC released
<http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-issues-notice-of-proposed-rule-making-on...
ment-disaster-drills-and-amateur-radio>
a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-10-45A1.pdf>)
(Docket #10-72) (Docket #10-72) that proposed to amend the Part 97 rules --
specifically 97.113(a)(3) -- governing the Amateur Radio Service. The
new rules would provide that, under certain limited conditions, Amateur
Radio operators may transmit messages during emergency and disaster
preparedness drills, regardless of whether the operators are employees
of entities participating in the drill. On April 22, a summary of the
NPRM was published in the Federal Register
<http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-9092.pdf> and the FCC is
seeking comments on it. Comments must be filed on or before May 24,
2010 (30 days after publication in the Federal Register); reply
comments must be filed on or before June 7, 2010 (45 days after
publication in the Federal Register). Instructions on how to file
comments are listed beginning on page 5 of the NPRM
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-10-45A1.pdf>.
==> LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS: MORE SUPPORT FOR HR 2160
Last week, two more Congression Last week, two more Congressional Representatives -- Greg Walden,
W7EQI (R-OR-2) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE-1) -- pledged their support
for HR 2160
<http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bi...
id=f:h2160ih.txt.pdf>,
The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009,
bringing the total number of cosponsors to 39, including original
sponsor Sheila Jackson-Lee
<http://www.arrl.org/news/houston-representative-introduces-amateur-ra...
l-in-congress>
(D-TX-18). HR 2160 is also sponsored by W. Todd Akin (R-MO-2), Michael
Arcuri (D-NY-24), Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD-6), Jo Bonner, (R-AL-1), John
Boozman (R-AR-3), Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), André Carson (D-IN-7),
Geoff Davis (R-KY-4), Bob Filner (D-CA-51), Scott Garrett (R-NJ-5),
Bart Gordon (D-TN-6), Brett Guthrie (R-KY-02), Maurice Hinchey
(D-NY-22), Michael Honda (D-CA-15), Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH-15), Ron
Klein, (D-FL-22), Tom Latham (R-IA-4), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-16), Blaine
Luetkemeyer (R Luetkemeyer (R-MO-9), Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI-11), Michael E. McMahon,
(D-NY-13), Cathy McMorris Rodgers, (R-WA-5), Charlie Melancon (D-LA-3),
Candice Miller (R-MI-10), Dennis Moore (D-KS-3), John Olver (D-MA-1),
Bill Posey (R-FL-15), Denny Rehberg, (R-MT), Dana Rohrabacher
(R-CA-46), Aaron Schock, (R-IL-18), Bennie Thompson (D-MS-2), Michael
Turner (R-OH-3), Peter Welch (D-VT), David Wu (D-OR-1), C.W. Bill Young
(R-FL-10) and Don Young (R-AK). On the Senate side of Capitol Hill, S
1755
<http://www.arrl.org/news/senate-introduces-companion-bill-to-hr-2160>
-- also called The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement
Act of 2009 -- cleared the Senate
<http://www.arrl.org/news/amateur-radio-bill-passes-senate-moves-to-th...
by unanimous consent in December 2009 and now sits in the House
Committee on Energy and Commerce. Click here
<http://www.arrl.org/sample-letters> for information on how to
encourage your Congressional representative to sponsor HR 2160.
==> THE DOCTOR IS IN: WINDOW LINE AND COAX LOSS
Andy Anderson, AE5EA, of Placitas, New Mexico, has an old three band,
three element quad that was built by a company no longer in business.
This quad was designed to be fed with coax to a 1:1 balun. Andy told
the ARRL's Doctor that he plans on putting the quad back up and was
wondering if he can feed it with 450 Ω window line to avoid the loss in
over 180 feet of coax.
Here's what the Doctor had to say:
There are two approaches that should work with the window line
(assuming the feedpoint's impedance is 50 Ω -- a quad is typically a
bit higher).
- Feed the driven element directly with the window line. At the
station, you will then need a wide range antenna tuner that can match
balanced loads. This could be a regular unbalanced one with a balun on
the output. Note that the impedance will be neith the output. Note that the impedance will be neither 50 nor 450 Ω, but
will vary widely due to the transformation through the mismatched line,
which will be different on every band. The 9:1 SWR with 180 feet of
typical window line will result a bit less than 1 dB loss at 28.5 MHz
and 0.67 dB on 14 MHz.
- Use a 9:1 balun at each end of the window line. You may want to use
coax (with a coil choke) from the antenna to below the rotator. Then
attach a balun (waterproof units are available or you can build your
own). Run the window line to (or near to) the station and use another
9:1 balun and coax to the radio. The two baluns combined will have less
than 1 dB loss. The matched window line will have 0.2 dB additional
loss on 14, 0.26 dB on 28 MHz.
· Use a 9:1 balun at each end of the window line. You may want to use
coax (with a coil choke) from the antenna to below the rotator. Then
attach a balun (waterproof units are available or you can build your
own). Run the window line to own). Run the window line to (or near to) the station and use another
9:1 balun and coax to the radio. The two baluns combined will have less
than 1 dB loss. The matched window line will have 0.2 dB additional
loss on 14, 0.26 dB on 28 MHz.
Another thought is to use really good coax. 180 feet of LMR 400 or
Belden 9913 coax, for example (both fit standard UHF connectors), will
have a matched loss of 1.2 dB at 28.5 MHz, but only 0.8 dB on 20
meters. While not cheap, it probably will cost less than the window
line plus two baluns. A section of special "LMR Flex 400" can be used
around the rotator.
The performance differences among the various approaches are small. If
I were starting from scratch, I think I'd go with low loss coax, based
on simplicity and ease of operation.
Thanks Doctor! Do you have a question or a problem? Send your questions
via e-mail <doc...@arrl.org> or to "The Doctor," ARRL, 225 Main St,
Newington, CT 06111 (no phone calls, please). Look for "The Doctor Is Newington, CT 06111 (no phone calls, please). Look for "The Doctor Is
IN" every month in QST <http://www.arrl.org/qst> , the official journal
of the ARRL.
==> MORE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE ARRL WEB SITE
<http://www.arrl.org> As more and more people use the new ARRL Web
site <http://www.arrl.org/>, we are finding some minor bugs in the
system and fixing them. Here are the latest improvements to the Web
site:
- A link to your Section News is located right underneath the "Edit
Your Profile" link at the top of the page. Just click on "Section News"
and you will be directed to the appropriate page. This link is only
available on the home page of the site.
- Users no longer have to log in each time they access the Web site.
The site now remembers your log-in information and you will
automatically be logged in on each visit.
- The DXCC standings and Honor Roll
<http://www.arrl.org/dxcc-standings>, DXCC application
<http://www.arrl.org/files/file/DXCC/dxccapp.pdf> and the DXCC order
form <http://www.arrl.org/files/file/DXCC/dxccitem.pdf> are now
available online.
- You can now register hamfests and conventions
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfest-convention-application> on the Web site.
- Find an Amateur Radio licensing class
<http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-class> or an exam
session <http://www.arrl session <http://www.arrl.org/finding-an-exam-session> near you. In
earlier versions of the Exam Session Locator Service, all exam sessions
were listed as "no walk-ins." This has now been fixed.
- An amateur's current license class is now listed in the Call Sign
Search <http://www.arrl.org/fcc/search>. Extraneous numbers in the
amateur's FRN have also been removed.
<http://www.arrl.org/images/view/News/SectionNews.JPG> "With a Web
site as large as the ARRL's, we are constantly making improvements and
changes," said ARRL Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B. "We
have received a lot of feedback from members and are trying to
implement many of these ideas. One of our main goals at the moment is
optimizing the club search function. We also understand that the Web
site search function is not as functional as we would like. In time,
once the Google engines crawl through the site and catalog it, the
search function should greatly improve. We appreciate your patience and
under understanding as we work through the issues."
==> ARRL PUBLICATIONS: CHECK OUT THE MAY/JUNE ISSUE OF NCJ
The May/June issue of NCJ, The National Contest Journal, is filled
with the latest news from the contesting world. Whether you are new to
contesting or are a seasoned pro -- or somewhere in the middle -- you
will find something in NCJ just for you. In addition to the
contest-related articles, there are all the regular columns and
features you expect from NCJ: "Workshop Chronicles" by Don Daso, K4ZA;
"Contest Tips, Tricks and Techniques" by Gary Sutcliffe, W9XT; "VHF-UHF
Contesting" by Jon Jones, N0JK; "RTTY Contesting" by Don Hill, AA5AU;
"Propagation" by Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA; "Contesting on a Budget" by
Ralph Bellas, K9ZO; "Software for Contesters" by Pete Smith, N4ZR, and
"Contesting 101 "by Kirk Pickering, K4RO. NCJ is published six times a
year by the ARRL; it is edited by Al Dewey, K0AD. NCJ is what every
contester needs in their shack -- subscribe today! Read mor contester needs in their shack -- subscribe today! Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/check-out-the-may-june-issue-of-em-ncj-em>.
==> SOLAR UPDATE
<http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/firstlight/> Tad "The sunlight
struck them with an ever-varying rainbow bloom as they moved
<http://arthursclassicnovels.com/doyle/lostw10.html>" Cook, K7RA,
reports: After 13 days of no sunspots, new region 1063 appeared late on
Wednesday, April 28. Unknown at this point (early Thursday) is how
strong or fast-growing this new sunspot region will be. Earlier region
1062 was only with us for three days, April 12-14. Look for more
information on the ARRL Web site on Friday, April 30, including some
e-mails about the European ash cloud and the possibility that 72 MHz
propagation was depressed because no aircraft were in the sky. For more
information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical
Information Service Propagation page
<http://www.arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals>. This <http://www.arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals>. This week's "Tad
Cookism" brought to you by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World
<http://arthursclassicnovels.com/doyle/lostw10.html> (Chapter 15).
==> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO
This week the Microwave Spring Sprint (local time) and the AGCW QRP/QRP
Party are May 1. The 10-10 International Spring Contest (Digital), the
7th Call Area QSO Party, the Indiana QSO Party, the ARI International
DX Contest and the New England QSO Party are May 1-2. Next week, the
FISTS Spring Sprint is May 8.The CQ-M International DX Contest and the
VOLTA WW RTTY Contest are May 8-9. All dates, unless otherwise stated,
are UTC. See the ARRL Contest Branch page
<http://www.arrl.org/contests>, the ARRL Contest Update
<http://www.arrl.org/The-ARRL-Contest-Update> and the WA7BNM Contest
Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more
info. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the
ARRL Special Event Station Web page
<http://www.arrl.org/special-events>.
==> ARRL CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSE REGISTRATION
Registration remains open through Sunday, May 23, 2010, for these
online course sessions <http://www.arrl.org/online-course-registration>
beginning on Friday, June 4, 2010: Amateur Radio Emergency
Communications Level 1; Antenna Design and Construction; Propagation;
Analog Electronics, and Digital Electronics. To learn more, visit the
CEP Course Listing page <http://www.arrl.org/online-courses> or contact
the Continuing Education Program Coordinator <c...@arrl.org>.
The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 50 times each year. ARRL
members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member
Data Page as described at http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/.
Copyright (c) 2010 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All
Rights Reserved
<http://www.arrl.org/>
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