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Ärende: The Weekly ARRL Letter
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The ARRL Letter
August 5, 2021
* Bouvet Island DXpedition Negotiating with New Charter Vessel,
Planning Begins Anew
* ARRL Now Provides Free RF Exposure Calculator
* ARRL Podcasts Schedule
* New Release: More Arduino for Ham Radio
* Utah Amateur Radio Club Receives Nearly $18,000 Grant to Introduce
and Engage Youth
* AMSAT is Looking Forward and Dreaming Big
* CQ World Wide DX Contests to Include Youth Overlay
* ARRL Learning Network Webinars
* Amateur Radio in the News
* Announcements
* Faith Hannah Lea, KD3Z, is Amateur Radio Newsline 2021 Young Ham of
the Year
* In Brief...
* Getting It Right!
* The K7RA Solar Update
* Just Ahead in Radiosport
* Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
Bouvet Island DXpedition Negotiating with New Charter Vessel, Planning
Begins Anew
The Intrepid-DX Group's plans for a 2023 DXpedition to Bouvet Island
are on the front burner again. In a brief announcement to the "global
DX community," DXpedition co-leader Paul Ewing, N6PSE, said this week
that a new charter vessel contract is in the offing. The 3Y0J
DXpedition has refunded all donations to its earlier announced plan,
advanced before losing its contract with the charter vessel Braveheart,
and Ewing conceded, "there was a high degree of uncertainty that we
could move forward." Braveheart captain Nigel Jolly, K6NRJ, told the
DXpedition in June that the Braveheart was being put up for sale, and
he was canceling its contract for the 3Y0J voyage.
Ewing said this week that the team has found a suitable and affordable
vessel whose skipper is willing to take a group of a dozen DXers to
Bouvet, and they are negotiating the terms of that charter contract at
present.
"We have submitted a new application to the Norwegian Polar Institute,"
Ewing said. The team leadership has been revised. David Jorgensen,
WD5COV, will be a co-leader, responsible for operations and antennas,
while Kevin Rowett, K6TD, will be a co-leader, responsible for
systems/networks, procurement, and logistics, and Ewing as a third
co-leader, will oversee planning, public relations, tents, and
logistics.
"Together, this leadership team will assemble 12 operators to make this
vision a reality," Ewing said. "We are revising our website, and soon,
we will begin fundraising for this renewed effort." He expressed
gratitude for all past sponsors of the Bouvet Island DXpedition
initiative and said he hopes they can support the renewed effort as
well. A new website is under construction.
A dependency of Norway, Bouvet is a subantarctic volcanic island in the
South Atlantic.
ARRL Now Provides Free RF Exposure Calculator
The FCC has adopted guidelines and procedures for evaluating
environmental effects of RF emissions.
Under the new FCC rules, some amateurs need to perform routine station
evaluations to ensure that their stations comply with the RF exposure
rules. This can be as simple as running an online calculator to
determine the minimum safe distance between any part of your antenna
and areas where people might be exposed to RF energy from your station.
Although amateurs can make measurements of their stations, evaluations
can also be done by calculation.
The FCC guidelines already incorporate two tiers of exposure limits
based on whether exposure occurs in an occupational or "controlled"
situation, or whether the general population is exposed or exposure is
in an "uncontrolled" situation.
To make this easy for amateurs, ARRL now provides an RF exposure
calculator on its RF Exposure page. To use the calculator, enter your
transmit peak-envelope power (PEP) and operating mode, and answer the
questions about the maximum amount of time you might be transmitting.
The calculator will give you the minimum distance people must be from
your antenna and human exposure.
You can print the results and keep them in your station records. There
is no requirement to send your results to the FCC.
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ARRL Podcasts Schedule
The latest episode of the On the Air podcast (Episode 19) features a
discussion with ARRL Lifelong Learning Manager Kris Bickell, K1BIC,
about the launch of the new ARRL Learning Center.
The latest edition of Eclectic Tech (Episode 39) begins with a chat
about "rediscovering" receive audio filters. This is followed by a
conversation with Bryant Julstrom, KC0ZNG, about his ac dummy load that
appeared "Hints & Hacks" in the July 2021 issue of QST.
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
New Release: More Arduino for Ham Radio
The new book More Arduino for Ham Radio by popular author and
experimenter Glen Popiel, KW5GP, builds on the success of his two
previous titles, Arduino for Ham Radio and More Arduino Projects for
Ham Radio.
More Arduino for Ham Radio introduces many of the new Arduino boards
and add-on modules, followed by an overview of the software, tools, and
techniques needed to bring projects to life. These concepts are put to
work in 10 practical projects that showcase a wide variety of
applications and include detailed descriptions of how the software
"sketches" work. Each is complete as-is, with ideas for adding your own
personal touches or creating your own projects using the techniques and
modules presented.
That's part of the fun of the Arduino and open-source communities --
building on the work of others, and then sharing your designs and
innovations for others to learn, modify, and improve.
More Arduino for Ham Radio is available from the ARRL Store or your
ARRL Dealer. (ARRL Item No. 1472), ISBN: 978-62595-147-2, $39.95
retail, special ARRL Member Price $34.95). Call (860) 594-0355 or,
toll-free in the US, (888) 277-5289.
Utah Amateur Radio Club Receives Nearly $18,000 Grant to Introduce and
Engage Youth
The Bridgerland Amateur Radio Club in northern Utah has received a
nearly $18,000 grant from the nonprofit Amateur Radio Digital
Communications (ARDC) to fund the club's initiatives to engage and
educate youth in amateur radio through hands-on space science
activities.
"This grant and our Bridgerland Amateur Radio Club demonstrate the
important role amateur radio can play in furthering STEM education,
which is critical to continuing Utah's high-tech economy," said Utah
Section Manager Pat Malan, N7PAT, who came into office on July 1. Malan
said prime movers behind the grant initiative included Jason Peterson,
K7EM; Club President Ted McArthur, AC7II, and Club Secretary Kevin
Reeve, N7RXE. Malan just appointed Reeve as the Section Youth
Coordinator.
In July 2019, ARDC announced that it would use the proceeds from its
sale of some 4 million unused consecutive AMPRNet internet addresses to
fund its operations and to establish a program of grants and
scholarships to support communications and networking research -- with
a strong emphasis on amateur radio.
Bridgerland ARC has set out an 18-month timeline of proposed
activities, which would include an Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station (ARISS) contact between students in a local school and a
member of the ISS crew, hands-on workshops to build and launch a
high-altitude balloon and amateur radio payload, and youth-oriented
hands-on operating events.
"Where local schools do not have the equipment to make this a
possibility, the Bridgerland Amateur Radio Club is prepared to set up
and maintain a portable ground station and provide the expertise to
help [schools] make ISS contacts." The initiative would also provide
educational and enjoyable hands-on activities.
A component of this initiative would include training local radio
amateurs to use the ground station equipment to prepare them to mentor
students and apply the necessary skills to help run the activities.
ARDC has said that it intends to award "a total of several million
dollars in grants of varied amounts" to qualified beneficiaries, to be
used in accordance with ARDC's mission. Numerous amateur radio
organizations and projects have benefited from ARDC's largesse. In
2021, these included nearly $82,000 to W8EDU at Case Western Reserve
University for tower replacement, some $88,400 to the Oregon HamWAN
backbone project, and $23,600 to ARESLAX, Inc. for sophisticated RF
interference location equipment. In 2020, the ARRL Foundation received
a $200,000 scholarship-matching grant.
AMSAT is Looking Forward and Dreaming Big
Earlier this year, the AMSAT Board of Directors adopted a set of
strategic satellite objectives and organizational goals for 2021 -
2035. The plan, adopted in early June and published for members to see
in the May/June 2021 edition of The AMSAT Journal, establishes what
AMSAT describes as "a long-term, multi-faceted vision that includes big
dreams, a continued presence in space, and a development path for the
scientists, engineers, and operators of tomorrow."
"Anything this ambitious will undoubtedly challenge our limited human
and fiscal resources," remarked AMSAT President Robert Bankston, KE4AL.
"We must parallel our new plan with new ways to manage and
AMSAT President Robert Bankston,
KE4AL.
fund projects. AMSAT has a pool of very talented volunteers, but there
will be times when we require skills beyond our current capabilities.
Recruitment, partnerships, collaborative efforts, and even outsourcing
are options that will help us fill in the gaps."
The list of long-range satellite objectives includes putting amateur
radio spacecraft into highly elliptical orbit (HEO). According to The
AMSAT Journal, this entails developing and deploying "a series of
satellites capable of providing wide-area and continuous coverage from
highly elliptical and geostationary transfer orbits." This means
satellites in HEO will be readily accessible, or at least accessible
for longer periods.
The GOLF (Greater Orbit, Larger Footprint) initiative has a similar,
but less lofty, objective. The GOLF program intends to field a series
of increasingly capable spacecraft "through a program to learn skills
and systems for which we do not yet have the necessary low-risk
experience, including active attitude control, deployable/steerable
solar panels, [and] radiation tolerance for commercial off-the-shelf
components in higher orbits and propulsion."
As an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) partner,
AMSAT would work with ARISS and ARISS-USA "to advance amateur radio's
presence aboard the International Space Station" and beyond, to the
Deep Space Gateway and Artemis missions, which would provide
opportunities to engage with astronauts in lunar and deep-space
operations.
AMSAT will continue to embrace low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite
projects. AMSAT's strategic plan calls for the organization to support
"a stream of LEO satellites developed in cooperation with the
educational community and other amateur radio satellite groups." FM
voice 1U CubeSats in LEO would continue to be a part of the mix.
Other objectives call on AMSAT to develop a plug-and-play
communications solution for educational and other amateur radio CubeSat
programs, providing a VHF/UHF telemetry beacon, command receiver, and
linear transponder or FM repeater communications module.
AMSAT also aims to support science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM) initiatives and training programs for satellite and
ground system designers and operators. In the same vein, AMSAT hopes to
develop an educational outreach program that encourages youth to pursue
STEM interests in space science and communication technology, continue
development of AMSAT's CubeSat Simulator Program, and develop a program
to support and sponsor the use of amateur radio in high-altitude
balloon (HAB) launches.
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CQ World Wide DX Contests to Include Youth Overlay
Effective this fall, the CQ World Wide DX Contests (CQ WW) will offer a
new Youth overlay, available to all competitors who are 25 years old or
younger, as of the dates of the events. The Cabrillo overlay format
will be CATEGORY-OVERLAY: YOUTH. To support this change, Youth overlay
entries will be highlighted in the results, as is now done in the case
of Classic and Rookie entries. Plaques will be available for winners in
this category.
CQ WW has also established a new Explorer category to allow amateurs to
participate in the CQ WW Contest while experimenting creatively with
internet-linked stations and other developing technologies. The goal is
to encourage innovation in operating strategies, station design, and
technology adaptation.
CQ WW Contest Director John Dorr, K1AR, reminds participants that audio
recordings may be requested for your entry as part of the log-checking
process. Any single operator entrant competing for a top five finish at
the world, continent, or US levels -- including Classic Overlay -- must
record the transmitted and received audio, as heard by the operator for
the duration of the contest operation. Failing to respond to this
request may result in your log being reclassified or disqualified.
"The combination of embracing new technology as well as recognizing the
youth community among us is going to make CQ WW an even more popular
event," Dorr said. "My thanks go out to the CQ WW Contest Committee and
others who helped make this happen."
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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.
Introduction to DMR and Digital Voice -- Tim Deagan, KJ8U / Thursday,
September 9, 2021 at 3:30 PM EDT (1930 UTC)
An introductory overview of digital voice (DV) technologies for ham
radio. This presentation will focus on DMR with notes on System Fusion,
D-STAR, and more. Included will be a description of DV architecture and
components, and the interesting opportunities and challenges that DV
presents.
ARRL members may register for upcoming presentations and view
previously recorded Learning Network webinars. ARRL-affiliated radio
clubs may also use the recordings as presentations for club meetings,
mentoring new and current hams, and discussing amateur radio topics.
The ARRL Learning Network schedule is subject to change.
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Amateur Radio in the News
ARRL Public Information Officers, Coordinators, and many other
member-volunteers help keep amateur radio and ARRL in the news.
* Emergency Management trains with old-school methodology for
innovative communications backup during disasters / Palm Coast
Observer (Florida) August 2, 2021
* Amateur radio operator bags another award / The Hindu (India)
August 2, 2021
Share any amateur radio media hits you spot with us.
Announcements
* NCJ's North American QSO Parties will recognize Youth entries in
the Single Operator category. Beginning with the NAQP CW (August 7
- 8) and the NAQP SSB (August 21 - 22), a Youth checkbox will be
added on 3830 Scores and on the NAQP log upload app. Operators aged
25 and younger may "self-certify" when checking the box. Youth
scores will be included with the regular Single Operator scores,
and in a separate table of their own in the results.
* Amateur radio volunteer registration for the annual Boston Marathon
has been extended until Friday, August 6, at 5 PM EDT. New
volunteers should visit the Volunteer Registration Page and follow
the instructions. Returning volunteers should already have received
an email with a direct link. New and returning volunteers must set
up an account via the BAA Athletes' Village. Contact the Boston
Marathon Communications Committee for more information. -- Thanks
to Rob Macedo, KD1CY
* Kev Richardson, G0PEK, and his daughter, Lauren, 2E0HLR, have set
out on a 1,640-kilometer (about 1,017-mile) bicycle and radio
expedition from the south of England to the north of Scotland --
Lands End to Cape Wrath and John o' Groats. During their 28-day
adventure they will use APRS, WSPR, VHF and UHF FM, and HF QRP.
They will use the call sign MX0KRO when at camp locations.
* Special event station HS18IARU is now active on all bands.
Thailand's National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission
(NBTC) granted the call sign to promote the 18th International
Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 3 Conference September 20 - 23,
hosted by the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand. An online log is
available.
Faith Hannah Lea, KD3Z, is Amateur Radio Newsline 2021 Young Ham of the
Year
ARRL member Faith Hannah Lea, KD3Z, of Palm Coast, Florida, has been
selected as the 2021 Bill Pasternak WA6ITF Memorial Amateur Radio
Newsline Young Ham of the Year. Faith Hannah comes from an all-ham
family. She is the daughter of James Lea, WX4TV, and Michelle Lea,
N8ZQZ. Her brother and two sisters are also hams. She credited her
parents with being the biggest influences in her entry into amateur
radio at the age of 10 in 2014. Just 18 months after being licensed,
Faith Hannah was invited to join the 2016 Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX
team, which operated from the Saba station of Jeff Jolie, as PJ6/NM1Y.
"And that's when I realized especially that DXing is amazing, because I
absolutely love those huge pileups and getting to talk to all of those
different people," she explained.
Among her PJ6 achievements was a satellite contact that broke the SO-50
distance world record. Her account of the event appeared in the
March/April 2017 issue of The AMSAT Journal.
In August 2018, Faith Hannah took part in the week-long Youngsters on
the Air (YOTA) camp in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she
participated in kit building, antenna projects, satellite operation,
and a high-altitude balloon launch. An article about her experiences in
South Africa appeared in CQ Magazine.
On the way to South Africa, Faith Hannah and her father had a 22-hour
layover in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. While there, they were
invited by the Emirates Amateur Radio Society to visit and operate A62A
and A60YOZ.
In December 2018, Faith Hannah, her younger sister, Hope, ND2L, and
their father organized a 36-hour mini DXpedition to the Dry Tortugas in
the Gulf of Mexico, off the southwest coast of Florida, where they
operated as N4T. The family team put 1,970 HF contacts and 100
satellite contacts into the log. CQ published Faith Hannah's account of
the N4T operation, and she and Hope shared the April 2019 cover of the
magazine.
Faith Hannah earned an associate degree from Daytona State College at
age 15 and currently attends Stetson University in Deland, Florida,
where she is a member of the junior class. She maintains a 4.0 grade
point average while working toward two separate bachelor's degrees --
in molecular and cellular biology and business administration. She is
considering two possible career tracks -- medicine or law, or possibly
both.
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In Brief...
Electronics Notes has begun to develop a virtual museum and directory
of various vintage radios. It may include everything from crystal sets
to early tube radios, government and military gear, and ham radio
equipment up to the early solid-state era. Each radio gets a
description, details of the specification, and a circuit where
possible. Some already in the database include: the Philco 111
superheterodyne (1931); some of the EKCO Art Deco round radio sets from
the 1930s - 1940s; a selection of government surplus radios such as the
AR88, Marconi CR100, and 150; some ham radio equipment, and a Tandberg
radio from the 1970s. "As you can imagine, this is very much a 'work in
progress,' so we will be adding more as time permits so we can end up
with a useful selection of radios that people will find interesting to
browse and read about," the website said.
FEMA, in coordination with the FCC, will conduct a nationwide test of
the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA)
this month. The national test will consist of two segments, to test EAS
and WEA. Both tests are set to begin at 1820 UTC on Wednesday, August
11. The WEA portion of the test will be directed only to consumer cell
phones where the subscriber has opted to receive test messages. The EAS
portion of the test will be sent to radios and televisions. This will
mark the sixth nationwide EAS test. The purpose of the August 11 test
is to ensure that the EAS and WEA systems continue to be effective
means of warning the public about emergencies.
Getting It Right!
An item in the July 29 edition of The ARRL Letter, "ITU-R Working Party
Considers Preliminary Studies on 23-Centimeter Band," should have said
the issue primarily concerns ITU Region 1.
The item in the July 29 edition of The ARRL Letter, "More Slow-Scan TV
Transmissions from RS0ISS Scheduled," should have said that free SSTV
software is available for download.
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The K7RA Solar Update
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: During the July 29 - August 4
reporting week, solar activity went into a sharp decline.
Sunspots were gone July 28 - August 1, so the average daily sunspot
number dropped from 33.1 last week to 6 this week. The average daily
solar flux slipped from 83 to 74.8.
Predicted solar flux is 72 on August 5 - 6; 70 on August 7 - 12; 75 on
August 13 - 14; 76 on August 15 - 16; 75 and 74 on August 17 - 18; 72
on August 19 - 31; 74 on September 1, and 75 on September 2 - 10.
Predicted planetary A index is 8, 12, 8, and 8 on August 5 - 8; 5, 10,
and 8 on August 9 - 11; 5 on August 12 - 15; 10, 8, and 8 on August 16
- 18; 5 on August 19 - 22; 8, 12, and 8 on August 23 - 25; 5 on August
26 - 31; 12 and 10 on September 1 - 2, and 5 on September 3 - 11.
Sunspot numbers for July 29 - August 4 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 13, 15, and 14,
with a mean of 6. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 75.8, 75.5, 75.9, 74.9,
74.6, 75.9, and 70.8, with a mean of 74.8. Estimated planetary A
indices were 8, 6, 6, 4, 17, 10, and 5, with a mean of 8. Middle
latitude A index was 12, 6, 6, 4, 13, 15, and 5, with a mean of 8.7.
A comprehensive K7RA Solar Update is posted Fridays on the ARRL
website. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the
ARRL Technical Information Service, read "What the Numbers Mean...,"
and check out this 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.
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Just Ahead in Radiosport
* August 6 -- QRP Fox Hunt (CW)
* August 6 -- NCCC RTTY Sprint
* August 6 -- NCCC Sprint CW
* August 6 -- K1USN Slow Speed Test (CW -- 20 WPM maximum)
* August 7 -- European HF Championship (CW, phone)
* August 7 -- Two-Meter Classic Sprint (CW, phone)
* August 7 -- FISTS Saturday Sprint (CW)
* August 7 - 8 -- North American QSO Party, CW
* August 7 - 8 -- ARRL 222 MHz and Up Distance Contest (CW, phone,
digital)
* August 7 - 8 -- Batavia FT8 Contest
* August 7 - 8 -- 10-10 International Summer Contest, SSB
* August 7 - 8 -- SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (CW)
* August 9 -- 4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint (CW, phone)
* August 11 -- NAQCC CW Sprint
* August 11 -- VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest
* August 11 - 13 -- MMMonVHF 144 MHz Meteorscatter Sprint (CW, phone,
digital)
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Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
Some conventions and hamfests may have been canceled or postponed due
to the coronavirus pandemic. Check the calendar of canceled events on
the ARRL website.
* August 7 -- ARRL Iowa State Convention (Cedar Valley ARC Techfest),
Central City, Iowa
* August 14 - 15 -- QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo (online)
* August 21 - 22 -- ARRL Southeastern Division Convention (Huntsville
Hamfest), Huntsville, Alabama
* August 27 - 29 -- ARRL West Virginia State Convention, Sutton, West
Virginia
* September 3 - 5 -- ARRL North Carolina Section Convention (Shelby
Hamfest), Shelby, North Carolina
* September 10 - 11 -- ARRL Illinois Section Convention (2021 W9DXCC
Convention), Naperville, Illinois
* September 10 - 12 -- ARRL New England Division Convention
(Northeast HamXposition), Marlborough, Massachusetts
* September 12 -- ARRL Southern New Jersey Section Convention and
Hamfest, Mullica Hill, New Jersey
* September 25 -- ARRL Dakota Division Convention (RRRA Hamfest),
West Fargo, North Dakota
Find conventions and hamfests in your area.
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