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Text 15750, 597 rader
Skriven 2021-03-05 09:05:20 av Sean Dennis (1:18/200.0)
Ärende: The Weekly ARRL Letter
==============================
   The ARRL Letter                                                         
   March 4, 2021                                                           
                                                                           
     * Approaches to Tackle Noise Problems Vary, Remedies Elusive           
     * ARISS, NASA, and ESA Continue to Probe Amateur Radio Problems on     
       ISS                                                                  
     * Quantum Receiver Can Detect Huge Swath of the RF Spectrum            
     * ARRL Podcasts Schedule                                               
     * Moldova Peace Corps ARISS Contact is Successful                     
     * North Carolina Radio Amateurs apt Tailgating Hamfest to the       
       COVID-19 Pandemic                                                   
     * ARRL Learning Network Webinars                                      
     * Amateur Radio in the News                                           
     * Army MARS Volunteers Recognized with Gold-Level President's         
       Volunteer Service Award                                             
     * Announcements                                                       
     * AMSAT-DL Operators Track Mars Probes                                
     * January 2021 Volunteer Monitor Program Report                       
     * Video Documents Removal, Preservation of 250 kW Voice of America    
       Transmitter                                                         
     * The K7RA Solar Update                                               
     * Just Ahead in Radiosport                                            
     * Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions              
   Approaches to Tackle Noise Problems Vary, Remedies Elusive              
                                                                           
   RF noise is a frequent discussion topic among radio amateurs. A         
   proliferation of electronics has cluttered and complicated the noise    
   environment; it's not just power lines anymore. Unless isolated from    
   civilization, most hams experience RF interference (RFI) and spectrum   
   scopes on modern transceivers can make it much more apparent. Various   
   approaches to address the apparently worsening noise floor have been    
   taken around the world, some addressing lax regulation.                 
                                                                           
   "We all want to enhance our ability to copy the weak ones by increasing 
   our signal-to-noise ratio," Alan Higbie, K0AV, said in his March/April  
   NCJ article, "Tracking RFI with an SDR One Source at a Time." He        
   suggests practical methods for individual radio amateurs to improve     
   their own noise environment. "We can do that by reducing the noise on   
   each band that we operate. Lowering the noise floor increases the       
   relative strength of weak signals. Those who live in typical            
   residential environments find that locating and eliminating RFI sources 
   is a never-ending process. It is much like weeding a garden."           
                                                                           
   The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) warns against complacency. 
   "Radio amateurs cannot sit back, because even if the desired noise      
   limits are agreed, there are many rogue manufacturers                   
                                                                           
                                      Small household "wall warts" are     
                                      typically noisy switching power      
                                      supplies.                            
                                                                           
   and dealers who will happily sell noise-generating devices, leaving out 
   filter circuits to cut costs," IARU said. The IARU has urged            
   member-societies to get involved.                                       
                                                                           
   The FCC Technological visory Council (TAC) -- a Commission advisory   
   group -- initiated an inquiry in 2016 looking into changes and trends   
   to the radio spectrum noise floor to determine whether noise is         
   increasing and, if so, by how much. The TAC had encouraged the FCC to   
   undertake a comprehensive noise study in 1998, and cautioned the FCC    
   against implementing new spectrum management techniques or initiatives  
   without first concluding one. In 2017, the FCC Office of Engineering    
   and Technology (OET) invited comments on a series of (TAC)              
   spectrum-management questions. ARRL, in its comments, took the          
   opportunity to strongly urge the FCC to reinstate the 2016 TAC noise    
   floor study, which, ARRL asserted, was terminated before it even got    
   started. ARRL urged the FCC to "depart from the traditional regulatory  
   model" that placed limits only on transmitters and called for "a        
   'holistic' approach to transmitter and receiver performance."           
                                                                           
     -------------------------------------------------------------------   
                                                                           
     * ARRL offers a wide range of information on RFI on its website.      
     * Paul Giancolo, W1VLF, will offer "Finding and Fixing RFI" as part   
       of the ARRL Learning Network webinar series, on Tuesday, April 20,  
       at 1700 UTC.                                                        
     * ARRL Northwestern Division Director Mike Ritz, W7VO, will offer "HF 
       Noise Mitigation" as part of the ARRL Learning Network webinar      
       series, on Thursday, April 22, at 1930 UTC.                         
                                                                           
     -------------------------------------------------------------------   
                                                                           
   Greg Lapin, N9GL, represents ARRL on the TAC and chairs the ARRL RF     
   Safety Committee. "Perhaps the best result that we obtained was an      
   indication that illegal devices, mainly LED lights, were in             
   circulation, and the Enforcement Bureau agreed to look into it," he     
   told ARRL. "We never heard what they found out, but recently, I was     
   buying some LED bulbs over the internet from a site in Texas, and they  
   were selling non-FCC approved lights -- and didn't seem to care." Lapin 
   said his complaint went nowhere, and the TAC's focus has been nudged in 
   the direction of addressing 5G issues.                                  
                                                                           
   The Deutscher Amateur Radio Club (DARC) has been working on developing  
   a noise-measurement system that approximates methods used by the        
   International Telecommunications Union Radiocommunication Sector        
   (ITU-R). DARC reported that 35 of these electrical noise area           
   monitoring systems (ENAMS) have been delivered, and it's seeking        
   another 20 locations as part of the effort to monitor noise             
   interference on the HF bands. DARC said the ENAMS can help to make      
   scientifically reliable statements about interference levels.           
                                                                           
   IARU sees wireless power transmission (WPT) as an impending major noise 
   threat, especially from WPT electric vehicle (WPT-EV) charging systems. 
   "For the amateur service, given the planned density of WPT-EV systems,  
   it is calculated that there will be a widespread and serious impact in  
   the vicinity of WPT systems" from spurious emissions, said a 2019 EE    
   Publishers article, written by "Amateur radio societies concerned about 
   the HF noise floor." The article also said, "To ensure a low            
   probability of harmful interference to radiocommunication services,     
   further study is required." Read an expanded version.                   
   ARISS, NASA, and ESA Continue to Probe Amateur Radio Problems on ISS    
                                                                           
   Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) International  
   Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, reports that the ARISS team worked closely   
   with NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) this week to identify     
   what may have caused what ARISS is calling a "radio anomaly" on January 
   27. The net result has been an inability to use the NA1SS ham station   
   gear in the ISS Columbus module. For the time being, ARISS school and   
   group contacts with crew members have been conducted using the ham      
   station in the ISS Service Module. The radio issues came in the wake of 
   a January 27 spacewalk, during which astronauts installed new cabling   
   to support the commissioning of the Bartolomeo attached-payload         
   capability mounted on the Columbus module. The job involved re-routing  
   the antenna cabling to the ARISS radio system onboard Columbus.         
                                                                           
   Bauer said NASA, ESA, and ARISS would conduct a set of APRS (automatic  
   packet radio system) tests to determine the operational status of the   
   ARISS radio in Columbus through employment of three different cabling   
   configurations. The tests would use the station's APRS capability on    
   145.825 MHz, with the crew periodically shutting down the radio and     
   swapping cables. The tests were expected to wrap up by March 3. No      
   results had been reported by March 4.                                   
                                                                           
   "We cannot guarantee that these troubleshooting tests will resolve the  
   radio issue," Bauer said.                                               
                                                                           
   Bauer said that if the tests are unsuccessful, "a contingency task" has 
   been green-lighted for a March 5 spacewalk (EVA). "This EVA task would  
   return the ARISS cabling to the original configuration prior to the     
   January 27 EVA," he explained, noting that a contingency task will only 
   be performed if time allows.                                            
                                                                           
   "If you definitely hear the packet system working or are able to        
   connect through it, let us know the date, time, and grid square of the  
   occurrence," he added.                                                  
   Quantum Receiver Can Detect Huge Swath of the RF Spectrum               
                                                                           
   US Army researchers have built a so-called "quantum sensor," which can  
   analyze the full RF spectrum and real-world signals, a report on        
   Physics.org says. The quantum sensor -- technically a Rydberg sensor -- 
   can sample the RF spectrum from 0 to 20 GHz and is able to detect AM    
   and FM radio signals, as well as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and other RF         
   communication protocols. The peer-reviewed Physical                     
                                                                           
   A Rydberg receiver and spectrum                                         
   analyzer detects a wide range of                                        
   real-world radio frequency signals                                      
   above a microwave circuit including                                     
   AM radio, FM radio, Wi-Fi, and                                          
   Bluetooth. [US Army, illustration]                                      
                                                                           
   Review Applied published the researchers' findings, "Waveguide-coupled  
   Rydberg spectrum analyzer from 0 to 20 Gigaherz," coauthored by Army    
   researchers Drs. David Meyer, Paul Kunz, and Kevin Cox.                 
                                                                           
   "The Rydberg sensor uses laser beams to create highly excited Rydberg   
   atoms directly above a microwave circuit, to boost and hone in on the   
   portion of the spectrum being measured," the article explains. "The     
   Rydberg atoms are sensitive to the circuit's voltage, enabling the      
   device to be used as a sensitive probe for the wide range of signals in 
   the RF spectrum."                                                       
                                                                           
   Cox, a researcher at the US Army Combat Capabilities Development        
   Command (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory, called the development "a    
   really important step toward proving that quantum sensors can provide a 
   new and dominant set of capabilities for our soldiers, who are          
   operating in an increasingly complex electromagnetic battlespace."      
                                                                           
   Cox said earlier demonstrations of Rydberg atomic sensors were only     
   able to sense small and specific regions of the RF spectrum, but "our   
   sensor now operates continuously over a wide frequency range for the    
   first time." The technology uses rubidium atoms, which are excited to   
   high-energy Rydberg states. These interact strongly with the circuit's  
   electric fields, allowing detection and demodulation of any signal      
   received into the circuit.                                              
                                                                           
                                      Researchers use a Rydberg spectrum   
                                      analyzer experimental apparatus at   
                                      the DEVCOM Army Research Lab. [US    
                                      Army, illustration]                  
                                                                           
   The report says the Rydberg spectrum analyzer has the potential "to     
   surpass fundamental limitations of traditional electronics in           
   sensitivity, bandwidth, and frequency range."                           
                                                                           
   According to Meyer, "Devices that are based on quantum constituents are 
   one of the Army's top priorities to enable technical surprise in the    
   competitive future battlespace. Quantum sensors in general, including   
   the one demonstrated here, offer unparalleled sensitivity and accuracy  
   to detect a wide range of mission-critical signals." Read an expanded   
   version.                                                                
                                                                           
     -------------------------------------------------------------------   
                                                                           
                                                                         
   ARRL Podcasts Schedule                                                  
                                                                           
   The latest episode of the On the Air podcast (Episode 14) takes a       
   deeper dive into the subject of HF antenna tuners, including some       
   shopping tips.                                                          
                                                                           
   The latest edition of Eclectic Tech (Episode 28) features a discussion  
   on grabbing NOAA weather satellite images at 137 MHz and a chat with    
   Nigel Vander Houwen, K7NVH, about how he has combined rockets and       
   high-altitude ballooning with 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.                            
                                                                           
     -------------------------------------------------------------------   
                                                                           
   Moldova Peace Corps ARISS Contact is Successful                         
                                                                           
   A March 3 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)      
   contact between young people in Moldova with an International Space     
   Station (ISS) crew member was a success. The Moldova Peace Corps (MPC)  
   was the hosting organization, and 90 students (aged 10 - 18) from a     
   consortium of educational institutions, rural schools, and libraries    
   from nine Moldovan villages participated.                               
                                                                           
   MPC promotes economic and civic development with a particular focus on  
   developing local resources in rural and suburban communities. Another   
   focus of MPC is to provide youth in Moldovan villages with access to    
   STEM opportunities and build capacity among local teachers/librarians   
   to implement STEM activities in their curricula.                        
                                                                           
   During the multipoint telebridge contact, students took turns asking    
   questions of astronaut Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG. ARISS team member David    
   Payne, NA7V, in Oregon served as the relay amateur radio station.       
                                                                           
   In support of this contact, the MPC partnered with the staff at the     
   Centre of Excellence for Space Sciences and Technologies within the     
   Technical University of Moldova (UTM), the US Peace Corps Volunteer     
   Coordinator, and the participating schools and libraries. The contact   
   was livestreamed via the MPC and UTM Facebook pages.                    
                                                                           
   ARRL is a partner in the ARISS program, which has kept amateur radio on 
   the air from the ISS for 20 years. A hallmark of the ARISS program is   
   the scheduled ham radio contacts made by ISS crew members with schools  
   and student groups around the world.                                    
   North Carolina Radio Amateurs apt Tailgating Hamfest to the COVID-19  
   Pandemic                                                                
                                                                           
   With many in-person hamfests canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic,     
   some radio amateurs in Raleigh, North Carolina, have come up with a way 
   to adapt with a tailgate hamfest in an unused shopping center parking   
   area. The event grew out of the so-called Ham Radio Taco Thursdays,     
   begun many years ago by ARRL Life Member Alan Pitegoff, AB4OZ.          
                                                                           
   Pitegoff had to put his event on hold when the pandemic erupted. It was 
   suggested that hams could gather and socialize at a safe distance by    
   having a Taco Thursday with the taco truck outside in an adjacent empty 
   parking lot. That event was a success, with participants remaining at   
   their vehicles and bringing their own chairs. That success inspired     
   holding a tailgate hamfest in the same spot, and it's now turned into a 
   monthly event, called the AB4OZ Hamfest.                                
                                                                           
   Pitegoff said Taco Thursday started collecting more people -- up to 15  
   or so -- and when Taco Bell closed due to the pandemic, the event moved 
   to a Thursday on-the-air net, with one requirement -- that participants 
   could not talk about COVID-19.                                          
                                                                           
   The tailgate hamfest was established at the new location and held once  
   a month on Saturday at 10 AM.                                           
                                                                           
   "I think this is a great, uplifting, and positive experience for all of 
   us hams to get out and socialize," participant Charles Murray, KI4DCR,  
   said. "We might not be able to have a big hamfest, but these micro      
   tailgate hamfests might be the future for a good while. I've met a lot  
   of good people. There's a lot of cool stuff out here. The weather's     
   great, you know, and there's plenty of space for everybody to be        
   socially distanced. I think it's fantastic." -- Thanks to Martin        
   Brossman, KI4CFS                                                        
                                                                         
   ARRL Learning Network Webinars                                          
                                                                           
   Visit the ARRL Learning Network (a members-only benefit) to register,   
   check on upcoming webinars, and to view previously recorded sessions.   
                                                                           
   Technicians: Life Beyond Repeaters -- Anthony Luscre, K8ZT              
                                                                           
   Maybe you just received your Technician-class license, or perhaps you   
   have had it for a while and are burned out waiting for sparse FM        
   repeater contacts. Take a new look at the possibilities available to    
   you beyond repeaters. Explore Tech HF and 6-meter privileges for SSB,   
   CW, and digital modes such as FT8, RTTY, and PSK31 to expand your       
   operating modes and your station's outreach. Explore other VHF/UHF      
   uses, including SSB, satellites, FM simplex, digital modes, contesting, 
   and more.                                                               
                                                                           
   Tuesday, March 9, 2021 @ 1 PM EST (1800 UTC)                            
                                                                           
   The Art and Science of Operating Ultra-Portable -- Mike Molina, KN6EZE  
                                                                           
   Ultra-portable operation, or being able to carry your radio over        
   distances (e.g., in a backpack), is quickly growing in popularity.      
   Whether for SOTA, POTA, backcountry survival, or just spending time in  
   nature, learning how to operate ultra-portable is a fun and rewarding   
   experience. In this presentation, Mike, KN6EZE, will cover the basics   
   of ultra-portable operating for both the new and experienced ham radio  
   operator.                                                               
                                                                           
   Tuesday, April 6, 2021 @ 8 PM EDT (0000 UTC on Friday, April 7)         
                                                                           
   The ARRL Learning Network schedule is subject to change.                
                                                                           
     -------------------------------------------------------------------   
                                                                           
   Amateur Radio in the News                                               
                                                                           
   ARRL Public Information Officers, Coordinators, and many other          
   member-volunteers help keep amateur radio and ARRL in the news.         
     * Estes Park Elementary School Students Speak with Astronaut Aboard   
       ISS -- Yahoo News, February 28, 2021                                
     * Craig Fugate on Twitter: @Wired Also Points Out the Role Amateur    
       Radio Can Play in Disasters -- Twitter, February 22, 2021           
     * Amateur Radio Operators Help Fill Earthquake Donut Holes -- Eos     
       Magazine, February 22, 2021                                         
     * Over Neighbors' Objections, Shelburne Operator Gets the Green Light 
       for Ham Radio Towers -- Burlington Free Press (Vermont), February   
       19, 2021                                                            
                                                                           
     * Amateur Radio Users Want to Be of Service When Modern Technology    
       Fails -- Nashville Scene (Tennessee), February 18, 2021             
                                                                           
   Share any amateur radio media hits you spot with us.                    
                                                                           
     -------------------------------------------------------------------   
                                                                           
   Army MARS Volunteers Recognized with Gold-Level President's Volunteer   
   Service Award                                                           
                                                                           
   A dozen US Army Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) volunteers have  
   been honored with gold-level recognition for the President's Volunteer  
   Service Award for 2020. They are:                                       
     * Bob Mims, WA1OEZ                                                    
     * Ron Tomo, KE2UK                                                     
     * Mark Bary, N4EOC                                                    
     * Billy Pearson, KO4XT                                                
     * Dave Bock, W8OHS                                                    
     * Bob Baker, K5LLF                                                    
     * John Monson, WB0PLW                                                 
     * Gary Geissinger, WA0SPM                                             
     * Brian Handy, W8JBT                                                  
     * Bliss Wheeler, W7RUG                                                
     * Jim Hamilton, K4QDF                                                 
     * Daniel Wolff, KA7AGN                                                
                                                                           
   Each award recipient receives a letter signed by the President of the   
   United States, a certificate of achievement, and a presidential         
   volunteer service lapel pin.                                            
                                                                           
   Volunteer awards are based on the certifying organization's             
   recommendation and the number of documented volunteer hours for the     
   year. Gold-level volunteers must accrue a minimum of 500 hours          
   volunteer time supporting the organization. Silver awardees must        
   achieve 300 hours and bronze must achieve a minimum of 100 hours        
   volunteer time.                                                         
                                                                           
   Army MARS Chief Paul English, WD8DBY, was to conduct a virtual awards   
   presentation on Thursday, March 4. -- Thanks to Paul English, WD8DBY    
                                                                           
     -------------------------------------------------------------------   
                                                                           
                                                                         
   Announcements                                                           
     * The Amateur Radio Contest DX Club (ARCDXC) will activate the C7A    
       call sign during March, with activity SSB, CW, and digital modes on 
       all HF bands, 1.8 - 28 MHz. C7A counts for Austria for DXCC         
       purposes.                                                           
     * The ARRL International DX Phone Contest is March 6 - 7 (UTC), and   
       the DX will abound. It's a chance even for modest stations to snag  
       a few new contacts. In this major event on the radiosport calendar, 
       the DX will be looking for you! Operators in the US and Canada work 
       stations everywhere else in the world. It's not only an opportunity 
       to pit your station and operating skills against those of your      
       peers but to expand your knowledge of propagation on the HF and MF  
       bands and tweak your contesting skills.                             
     * R125PR is a special event call sign to mark 125 years since the     
       reputed "world's first radiogram." Sponsors say that historic event 
       took place in 1896 when Alexander Popov at the Russian Physical and 
       Chemical Society of Saint-Petersburg Imperial University sent the   
       two words "Heinrich Hertz" a distance of 250 meters.                
     * The Radio Society of Kenya (RSK) and the South African Radio League 
       (SARL) have signed a formal memorandum of understanding. The SARL   
       will assist RSK with the amateur radio examinations and administer  
       the technical aspects of the examination on RSK's behalf and assist 
       with training materials.                                            
     * Members of the Northern Corridor Radio Group in Australia plan to   
       activate Cocos (Keeling) Island -- VK9C (not to be confused with    
       Cocos Island -- TI9). Cocos (Keeling) is #70 on the Club Log Most   
       Wanted DXCC List. The vacation-style operation will take place      
       March 16 - 23, using the call sign VK9CE. -- Thanks to The Daily DX 
   AMSAT-DL Operators Track Mars Probes                                    
                                                                           
   Members of Germany's AMSAT organization, AMSAT-DL, in cooperation with  
   the Sternwarte Bochum Institute in Bochum, Nordrhein-Westfalen,         
   Germany, have been using the institute's 20-meter (65.6-foot) diameter  
   dish antenna to listen directly to signals from probes in Mars orbit.   
   Signals have been copied from the Chinese Tianwen-1 and the Hope        
   Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) spacecraft now orbiting Mars and            
   transmitting in the 8.4 GHz band.                                       
                                                                           
   Recordings of the signals can be heard on YouTube with regular updates  
   by following @amsatdl on Twitter.                                       
                                                                           
   In 2003, radio amateurs added phase-locked receivers in the 2.3, 5.8,   
   and 10.4 GHz amateur bands, as well as an 8.4 GHz receiver. There is    
   also an S-band 2.4 GHz amateur transmitter running 250 W PEP (peak      
   envelope power).                                                        
                                                                           
   In 2006, the dish was used to copy signals from Voyager 1 at a distance 
   of nearly 15 billion kilometers (9.3 billion miles). -- Thanks to AMSAT 
   News Service                                                            
   January 2021 Volunteer Monitor Program Report                           
                                                                           
   The Volunteer Monitor (VM) Program is a joint initiative between ARRL   
   and the FCC to enhance compliance in the Amateur Radio Service.         
                                                                           
   In January 2021, Volunteer Monitors reported 2,277 hours monitoring the 
   HF frequencies and 2,162 hours monitoring VHF frequencies and above.    
                                                                           
   The Volunteer Monitor Coordinator issued 11 visory Notices. An        
   visory Notice is an attempt to resolve rule violation issues          
   informally before FCC intervention:                                     
     * Operators in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Centralia, Washington; Edmond,   
       Oklahoma; Fontana, California, and Orleans, Massachusetts, received 
       advisories concerning operation outside their license class.        
     * An operator in Thorn Hill, Tennessee, received an advisory          
       concerning interference.                                            
     * An operator in Ridgely, Tennessee, received an advisory regarding   
       excessive bandwidth.                                                
     * Operators in Miami, Florida; Friendly, West Virginia; Collinsville, 
       Illinois, and Keansburg, New Jersey, received advisories concerning 
       station ID issues.                                                  
     * An operator in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, received an advisory     
       regarding improper use of a linear amplifier.                       
                                                                           
   ARRL had two meetings in January with FCC Enforcement Bureau personnel. 
   -- Thanks to Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, VM Program ministrator       
                                                                         
   Video Documents Removal, Preservation of 250 kW Voice of America        
   Transmitter                                                             
                                                                           
   With the former Voice of America Delano relay site in Central           
   California scheduled for eventual demolition for resale, the Collins    
   Collectors Association (CCA), in association with the Antique Wireless  
   Association (AWA), came up with a plan in 2014 (working, among others,  
   with past ARRL Midwestern Division Director Rod Blocksome, K0DAS, a     
   former Collins engineer) to retrieve one of the Collins 821A-1 250 kW   
   HF transmitters from the site and put it on display at the AWA museum   
   in Bloomfield, New York.                                                
                                                                           
   The Delano site went on the air in 1944 with a 170-foot rhombic         
   antenna. The Collins 821 A-1 transmitter was autotuned and could shift  
   frequencies between 3.95 and 26.5 MHz in 20 seconds. The transmitter    
   and its associated components represent an era when equipment was large 
   and heavy.                                                              
                                                                           
   The Delano site, now owned by the General Services ministration       
   (GSA), remains with antennas still standing and buildings in place and  
   demolition on hold, because it was discovered to be the habitat for an  
   endangered species of shrew.                                            
                                                                           
   A video presentation featuring Dennis Kidder, W6DQ, describes and       
   illustrates the entire removal and relocation effort, and offers some   
   background on the VOA. On the continental US, the only remaining VOA    
   site is the Edward R. Murrow Greenville Transmitting Site in North      
   Carolina.                                                               
                                                                           
     -------------------------------------------------------------------   
                                                                           
   The K7RA Solar Update                                                   
                                                                           
   Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Monday was the only day with no       
   sunspots over the reporting week, so average daily sunspot numbers      
   declined slightly from 19.6 to 18.9. Two new sunspot groups appeared on 
   the following day. Average daily solar flux edged up from 75.7 to 76.7. 
                                                                           
   Average daily planetary A index softened from 16 to 14.7, and the       
   middle latitude average went from 12.4 to 10.4. Geomagnetic indicators  
   remained somewhat active due to persistent solar wind. On Monday,       
   Alaska's high-latitude College A index reached 34.                      
                                                                           
   Spaceweather.com reported a G2 class geomagnetic storm on March 1.      
                                                                           
   Predicted solar flux for the next 30 days appears anemic: 74 on March   
   4; 75 on March 5 -- 10; 73, 71, 72, and 70 on March 11 -- 14; 71, 72,   
   71, and 73 on March 15 -- 18; 76, 75, 76, and 78 on March 19 -- 22; 81, 
   80, 80, and 79 on March 23 -- 26; 78 and 73 on March 27 -- 28; 74 on    
   March 29 -- 30; 73 on March 31 - April 1, and 74 on April 2 -- 3.       
                                                                           
   Predicted planetary A index is 12, 8, 10, 20 and 15 on March 4 -- 8; 10 
   on March 9 -- 10; 8, 15, 10, and 5 on March 11 -- 14; 15, 8, 5, and 18  
   on March 15 -- 18; 20 on March 19 -- 20; 18, 12, and, 8 on March 21 --  
   23; 5 on March 24 -- 27; 20, 15, and 10 on March 28 -- 30; 5 on March   
   31 - April 1; 12 on April 2, and 5 on the following 5 days.             
                                                                           
   Sunspot numbers for February 25 - March 3 were 31, 16, 14, 13, 0, 28,   
   and 30, with a mean of 18.9. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 80.1, 80.1,   
   79.2, 77.7, 71, 74.7, and 74.2, with a mean of 76.7. Estimated          
   planetary A indices were 13, 11, 4, 6, 26, 20, and 23, with a mean of   
   14.7. Middle latitude A index was 13, 8, 3, 4, 16, 14, and 15, with a   
   mean of 10.4.                                                           
                                                                           
   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. For customizable           
   propagation charts, visit the VOACAP Online for Ham Radio website.      
                                                                           
   Share your reports and observations.                                    
                                                                           
     -------------------------------------------------------------------   
                                                                           
   Just Ahead in Radiosport                                                
     * March 5 -- NCCC RTTY Sprint                                         
     * March 5 -- NCCC CW Sprint                                           
     * March 6 -- Wake-Up! QRP Sprint (CW)                                 
     * March 6 - 7 -- ARRL International DX Contest (Phone)                
     * March 6 - 7 -- Open Ukraine RTTY Championship                       
     * March 7 -- UBA Spring Contest (CW)                                  
     * March 7 -- NSARA Contest (CW, phone, digital)                       
     * March 7 -- WAB 3.5 MHz Phone                                        
     * March 10 -- VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest                            
     * March 10 -- RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (CW)                    
     * March 10 - 14 -- AWA John Rollins Memorial DX Contest (CW)          
                                                                           
     -------------------------------------------------------------------   
                                                                           
   Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions                  
                                                                           
   Many conventions and hamfests have been canceled or postponed due to    
   the coronavirus pandemic. Check the calendar of canceled events on the  
   ARRL website.                                                           
     * March 13 - 14 -- QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo                         
                                                                           
   Find conventions and hamfests in your area.                             
                                                                           
     -------------------------------------------------------------------   
                                                                           
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     * Listen to ARRL Audio News, available every Friday.                  
                                                                           
   Subscribe to...                                                         
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       articles by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA  
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   their profile.                                                          
                                                                           
   Copyright (c) 2021 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated. Use and   
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