Feed aggregator

In addition to the sunspot group 1029 that graced us from October 23-30, a new Solar Cycle 24 spot -- 1030 -- just emerged on Thursday. It is currently in a maximally geo-effective position (in other words, in the center longitudinal meridian as viewed from Earth), and may provide some enhancement for the ARRL CW Sweepstakes this weekend. On Thursday, the daily sunspot number was 15. Sunspot numbers for October 29-November 4 were 19, 13, 0, 0, 0, 0 and 0 with a mean of 4.6. The 10.7 cm flux was 76.7, 75.2, 75.1, 72.3, 71.4, 71.5 and 71.4 with a mean of 73.4. The estimated planetary A indices were 7, 11, 1, 2, 2, 0 and 0 with a mean of 3.3. The estimated mid-latitude A indices were 5, 8, 1, 2, 2, 1 and 1 with a mean of 2.9.

This week, Surfin' takes a look at some state-of-the-art homebrewing.

ARRL Audio News--OPEN--In this edition . . .; Ham Radio Operators Assist in Catalina Island Rescue; George E. Smith, AA2EJ, Wins Nobel Prize; ARRL Audio News ID--Satellite Update--BREAK:; Fall Frequency Measuring Test This Month; Look for the December QST in Your Mailbox; MARS Cuts Ribbon on New Pentagon Station; ARRL Audio News--News Briefs--CLOSE

March 18, 1945. We could tell the war was going in our favor, but we were still in some danger in the Pacific. My best pal, Franz Butler, and I were stationed aboard a DE, destroyer escort, as radiomen. I was first class. Franz was second class. One night it happened. It’s always in the back of your mind, but when it happens, it takes you by surprise — and then some.

With more than 500 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contacts conducted, thousands of students have experienced intriguing science and technology lessons -- plus the thrill of speaking with an astronaut who was on the International Space Station (ISS). According to ARRL ARISS Program Manager Rosalie White, K1STO, each school uses the ARISS events in different ways. From school to school, ARISS volunteers see a great range in the types of activities around the event, including integrating the activities into each grade level's curriculum. The lesson in common to all schools includes discussions on what Amateur Radio is, what ARISS is and how the worldwide ARISS Team works together.

Earlier this week, two more Congressional Representatives -- André Carson (D-IN-7), and C.W. Bill Young (R-FL-10) -- pledged their support for HR 2160, The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009, bringing the total number of cosponsors to 31, including original sponsor Sheila Jackson-Lee (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), John Boozman (R-AR-3), Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), 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), Tom Latham (R-IA-4), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-16), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO-9), Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI-11), 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), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA-46), Bennie Thompson (D-MS-2), Michael Turner (R-OH-3), Peter Welch (D-VT), David Wu (D-OR-1) and Don Young (R-AK). On the Senate side of Capital Hill, S 1755 -- also called The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009 -- cleared the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee with a favorable recommendation by voice vote. It now proceeds to committee staff to prepare the report for the full Senate.Click here for information on how to encourage your Congressional representative to sponsor HR 2160.

Around 5:30 on the morning of October 6, George E. Smith, AA2EJ, of Barnegat, New Jersey, got a phone call that changed his life: He had just found out he had won the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2009 "for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit -- the CCD sensor." Smith will share the prize money with two other recipients: Charles K. Kao, of Standard Telecommunication Laboratories in the United Kingdom and Chinese University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong, China, and Willard S. Boyle, of Bell Laboratories. Each recipient will receive a diploma, a medal and a document confirming their share of SEK 10 million (about 1.4 million US dollars); Kao will receive 50 percent, while Smith and Boyle will each receive 25 percent of the monetary award.

A military institution designed to provide emergency communications has moved to new quarters in the Pentagon. On October 21, John G. Grimes, the former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration, cut the ribbon on the new Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) station, now located on the fifth floor of the Pentagon. The facility -- manned by the Pentagon Amateur Radio Club (PARC) -- is packed with amateur radios, radio-telephone patches, computers and data links. "This is a great facility, manned totally by volunteers," Grimes told the crowd who came to see the new station. "It's a crucial capability for our country."

This feature -- including convenient Web links to useful information -- is a concise monthly update of some of the things ARRL is doing on behalf of its members. This installment covers the month of October.

The winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award for October is John E. Portune, W6NBC, for his article "The Quadrifilar Helix as a 2 Meter Base Antenna Station." Congratulations, John! The winner of the QST Cover Plaque award -- given to the author or authors of the best article in each issue -- is determined by a vote of ARRL members on the QST Cover Plaque Poll Web page. Cast a ballot for your favorite article in the November issue by Monday, November 30.

Earlier this year, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) named 13 men -- including three radio amateurs -- to the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame. The honorees were inducted last month at CEA's Industry Forum in Phoenix, Arizona. Former ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Director Walt Stinson, W0CP, of Englewood, Colorado; Former ARRL Vice President and Central Division Director R.H.G. Mathews, W9ZN (ex-9ZN) (SK), and Karl Hassel, W9PXW (ex-8AKG) (SK).

The W1AW Frequency Measuring Test (FMT) has taken several different formats over the past few years. This year, we return to the "classic" FMT -- measuring the frequency of an unmodulated carrier. Accurate frequency measurement is required of all hams for both regulatory compliance -- "stay in the band!" -- and operating convenience, particularly on the new digital modes. The W1AW FMT will run on November 12, 2009 at 0245 UTC (this is Wednesday evening, November 11, 2009 at 9:45 PM EST). It will replace any W1AW bulletin normally scheduled for that time. It is recommended that participants listen to W1AW's transmissions prior to the event to get an idea of conditions to see which band (or bands) will be best for measurement purposes.

Are you enjoying the fall operating season? Whether it's because radio conditions improve or just because our attention returns to indoor pursuits as the days get shorter, on-the-air activity always picks up at this time of the year.

Around 9:45 on the night of October 23, while attending an overnight event at the Boy Scouts' Camp Emerald Bay on Santa Catalina Island, Karl Tso, KI6PCW, and his wife, Deborah Ava, KJ6CRZ, of Topanga, California, decided to climb a hill to check out the view -- and to see if they could get into the repeater on the island with their handheld transceivers. As they climbed the hill, the two radio amateurs heard a sound; Tso turned his high-powered flashlight on the source, only to discover a man who had fallen 48 feet to the rocks below, bleeding and severely injured.

Well, what a week it has been. The solar flux hit 82.3 on Tuesday, the highest recording yet since the first-observed "new cycle sunspot" in January 2008, the "official" visual start of Solar Cycle 24. Even as I write this, the flux is still at 80, thanks to sunspot region 1029, so let's hope that it is a sign of better things to come. Sunspot numbers for October 22-28 were 0, 30, 21, 28, 29, 29 and 26 with a mean of 23.3. The 10.7 cm flux was 71.6, 72.9, 75.6, 75.5, 81.3, 81.5 and 79.9 with a mean of 76.9. The estimated planetary A indices were 14, 8, 8, 5, 3, 3 and 2 with a mean of 6.1. The estimated mid-latitude A indices were 12, 7, 5, 3, 3, 2 and 3 with a mean of 5. The region (1029) produced several B-class solar flare events and a single C2.2 class flare on the 28th, but luckily CQWW SSB was unaffected for the most part.

This week, Surfin' gets geographical with new online mapping features and applications.

ARRL Audio News--OPEN--In this edition . . .; Changes in Store for the 2009 November Sweepstakes; FCC Issues First Waiver for Government-Sponsored Disaster Drill; ARRL Audio News ID--Satellite Update--BREAK; The Doctor Is IN: Antennas for Domestic Contests; Did You Know?: From "The January Contest" to "ARRL Sweepstakes": A Proud History; Santa Cruz County Hams Called to Assist During Wildfires; ARRL Audio News--News Briefs--CLOSE

The 2009 ARRL On-Line Auction closes for bidding tonight -- October 29 -- at 11 PM EDT. “There has been plenty of bidding action on some wonderful items and there’s still room for more,” said ARRL Auction Coordinator Deb Jahnke, K1DAJ. “Bidders can browse the site and still register to bid on some spectacular items.” Jahnke reminded bidders that even though the Auction closes at 11 PM, each item has its own separate closing time: “In order not to slow the system at the very end of the Auction, each item is timed to close 6 seconds apart up to 11 PM EDT. The exact closing time is stated on the description page for each item.”

Almost 20 years to the day since the Loma Prieta Earthquake shook California's Bay Area, a wildfire was burning through Santa Cruz County (approximately 75 miles south of San Francisco) just miles from the epicenter of the quake that delayed the 1989 World Series. Just as Amateur Radio operators responded to calls for assistance for the earthquake, 20 years later on October 25, they responded when needed for a 485 acre wildfire.

Registration remains open through Sunday, November 22, 2009, for these online course sessions beginning on Friday, December 4, 2009: Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 1; Antenna Modeling; Radio Frequency Interference; Antenna Design and Construction; Ham Radio (Technician) License Course; Propagation; Analog Electronics, and Digital Electronics.