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ARRL Letter

 

***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 25, No. 25
June 23, 2006
***************

===========================================================
It's ARRL Field Day Weekend! Details are on the ARRL Web site:
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2006/rules-fd-2006.html>.
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IN THIS EDITION:

* +Wildfire season keeping Western US ARES volunteers on alert
* +FCC to invite comments on Katrina Panel recommendations
* +Youngsters in two states take a turn at ham radio's microphone to space
* +ARRL asks FCC to protect amateur operations on 902-928 MHz
* +Ham-Com 2006 in Texas a big success at its new location
* +League invites nominations for Knight Distinguished Service Award
* +Astronaut still collecting cards to earn DXCC from space
*  Solar Update
*  IN BRIEF:
     This weekend on the radio: It's ARRL Field Day Weekend!
     ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration
    +Minnesota student-ham presented with 2006 ARRL Goldwater scholarship
     Three radio amateurs aboard Discovery for July 1 launch
     Special WRTC 2006 call signs announced
     Spain, the Netherlands report Amateur Radio regulatory changes
     Yukon Territory radio amateur exploring LF spectrum

+Available on ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>

===========================================================
==>Delivery problems: First see FAQ
<http://www.arrl.org/members-only/faq.html#nodelivery>, then e-mail
<letter-dlvy@arrl.org>;
==>Editorial questions or comments only: Rick Lindquist, N1RL,
<n1rl@arrl.org>;
===========================================================

==>AMATEUR RADIO VOLUNTEERS READY IN WESTERN STATES AS FIRE THREAT CONTINUES

Fire season is in full swing in several states in the Western US, and
Amateur Radio volunteers have been helping to provide communication for the
American Red Cross and The Salvation Army. Fires have forced evacuations in
several areas.

At week's end, Arizona ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator Rick Aldom, W7STS,
said ARES teams were gearing up to activate in case the Brins Fire, burning
in timber two miles northeast of Sedona, got out of hand over the weekend.
Given the heavy HF activity expected for Field Day, Aldom requested that
radio amateurs steer clear of the ARES net frequencies of 7248 kHz and 3992
kHz and The Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) frequency
of 3977.7 kHz, on the outside chance they'll be needed for fire-related
emergency traffic. Aldom anticipates that most emergency communication would
take place on VHF and UHF repeaters, however.

"The American Red Cross invited ARES volunteers to provide back-up for their
communication systems," Aldom told ARRL June 23. "Emergency Coordinators in
Flagstaff and Yavapai County report ham radio volunteers are supporting two
evacuation centers." He said ARES also is available to provide communication
between the state emergency operations center and the two shelters, as
needed.

Additional ARES involvement depends on how the fire behaves, Aldom said,
noting that firefighters made "significant progress" in battling the blaze
June 23, and "things are looking very good." The weather also cooperated.

"Two things happened," Aldom said. "We had an influx of moisture last night
in the middle levels, which I think helped on the ground, and the winds were
much calmer than they might have been."

Should additional evacuations become necessary, ARES volunteers may be
called in to help livestock rescue crews. As of June 23, about a dozen ARES
volunteers were assisting in the Arizona wildfire response. Aldom also has
two portable repeaters on standby in case they're needed.

By late June 22, the Brins Fire had burned some 3260 acres and was 15
percent contained. Evacuation orders remained for Oak Creek Canyon and two
subdivisions north of Sedona. State Route 89A was closed, and power to the
region was cut. The fire also was generating considerable smoke in the
region, causing a health and visibility hazard.

A statewide fire emergency continues throughout New Mexico. On June 19, the
Bear Fire in the Bearwallow Mountain area of Catron County prompted
authorities to evacuate residents and campers in the vicinity to two Red
Cross shelters. New Mexico ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator Rick Sohl,
K5RIC, has been coordinating Amateur Radio volunteer assistance for Grant
and Catron counties. Russell Stanley, KD5RWX, and Grant County ARRL
Emergency Coordinator Tom Meyer, N4CYV, were reported active on UHF to
provide any needed communication support.

"This looks to be a very active fire season," Sohl observed. "ARES groups
need to be ready in the event of a major fire." ARES volunteers have been
working overtime in June to support local emergency managers after several
wildfires broke out across the state -- some of them ignited by lightning.

As of June 23, the Bear Fire had spread over more than 44,800 acres and was
only 5 percent contained. Sixty structures along Willow Creek were said to
be imminently threatened. The fire has crossed into the wilderness, and
accumulations of extremely dry fuels in the southern and western portions of
the fire are hampering containment.

Over the June 17-18 weekend, the Skates Fire prompted precautionary
evacuations in the Lake Roberts area, and ARES volunteers provided
communication for a shelter. Residents have since been allowed to return
home. No homes were lost.

ARES volunteers assisted the Red Cross after two fires broke out earlier
this month in the Bosque south of Albuquerque.

Colorado SEC Rob Roller, N7LV, reports the Colorado Disaster Response Team
(DRT) stood down this week after providing communication support for The
Salvation Army in the wake of the Mato Vega fire near Fort Garland. DRT
Emergency Coordinator Wes Wilson, K0HBZ, provided communication support for
The Salvation Army back to its Denver Headquarters using Winlink for digital
e-mail communication.

At more than 13,100 acres and 35 percent contained as of June 23, the fire,
12 miles northeast of Fort Garland, prompted the evacuation of 280 homes in
three communities. US Route 160 remained closed.

So far in 2006, wildfires have burned more than 3.1 million acres
nationwide. Long-range forecasts offer little hope for relief from the
extreme fire danger in the Southwest and the Amateur Radio operators who
volunteer when called. -- NM PIO Charlie Christman, K5CEC, contributed
information for this report

==>FCC TO SEEK COMMENTS ON KATRINA PANEL RECOMMENDATIONS

The FCC will invite public comments in response to recommendations presented
this month by the Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane
Katrina on Communications Networks. A Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM)
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-06-83A1.pdf> in EB
Docket 06-119, released this week, contains wide-ranging proposals and
considerations that could involve FCC rule or administrative changes, a few
of which deal with the Amateur Service.

"The devastation of Hurricane Katrina highlighted the importance of
telecommunications and media to our daily lives, and our dependency on our
national communications infrastructure," remarked FCC Chairman Kevin J.
Martin. "With this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, we are asking for comments
and suggestions from the public on how to best address and implement the
Independent Panel's recommendations."

The Independent Panel's report points out that Amateur Radio stations were
among those segments of the communications infrastructure adversely affected
by Hurricane Katrina.

"Equipment was damaged or lost due to the storm, and trained amateurs were
difficult to find in the immediate aftermath," the report said. "However,
once called into help, Amateur Radio operators volunteered to support many
agencies, such as FEMA, the National Weather Service, Hurricane Watch [Net]
and the American Red Cross."

The Independent Panel report said Amateur Radio volunteers provided
communication in many locations where no other means of communicating
existed. Hams also provided other technical aid to communities affected by
Hurricane Katrina, the report added. The panel recommended adopting "a
proactive (rather than reactive) program for network reliability and
resiliency."

ARRL Alabama Section Manager Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, addressed the Independent
Panel on March 7 to note that Amateur Radio volunteers "were part of the
solution" in supplementing normal emergency communication systems taken out
by the storm. For 37 days following Hurricane Katrina, Sarratt headed the
volunteer effort to process Amateur Radio volunteers headed to the Gulf
Coast to assist recovery operations.

In its NPRM, the FCC asked if should explore amending its rules to permit
automatic grants of certain types of waivers or special temporary authority
(STA) in declared disaster areas. "As a condition of the waiver or STA, the
FCC could require verbal or written notification to the Commission staff
contemporaneously with activation or promptly after the fact," the NPRM
suggested. Following last year's devastating hurricanes, the FCC issued a
handful of STAs to permit licensees lacking HF privileges to operate on HF
for emergency purposes. The NPRM offered these specific areas for
consideration.

* Waiver of Amateur Radio and license-exempt rules, permitting transmissions
necessary to meet essential communications needs.

* Waiver of application filing deadlines, something the FCC did last fall
for amateurs who lived in hurricane-stricken states.

* Streamlined STA process, so parties in the affected area may simply notify
the FCC in writing or orally of a need to operate in order to restore
service.

Comments will be due 30 days from the date the NPRM is published in the
Federal Register and may be filed via the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing
System (ECFS) <http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/>.

==>NEW JERSEY, MICHIGAN KIDS GET A TURN AT HAM RADIO'S "MICROPHONE TO SPACE"

Youngsters in New Jersey and Michigan recently had a chance to learn
firsthand about life in space when they spoke via ham radio with astronaut
Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, aboard the International Space Station. Both contacts
were arranged by the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) program. Using the ARISS station NA1SS, Williams chatted June 5 with
pupils at Salt Brook Elementary School in New Providence, New Jersey, and
June 6 with students at Scarlett Middle School in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

All of the Salt Brook students who participated in the contact between N2XJ
and NA1SS are members of the Salt Brook Statics, a ham radio club at the
school mentored by the New Providence Amateur Radio Club. One sixth grader
wanted to know if Williams felt as if he were moving in space during his
recent spacewalk. Williams answered that when he looked around and saw Earth
far below him, it did indeed feel like he was moving.

The New Providence Amateur Radio Club set up and operated the ground station
at the school for the approximately 10-minute contact, originally scheduled
for May 31 but postponed due to technical difficulties. Nick Esposito,
KC2ONP, a seventh grader at New Providence Middle School, served as the
control operator.

An audience of some 600 fellow students, parents, faculty, dignitaries and
news media packed the school's auditorium for the contact. Another 300
students at Liberty Middle School in W Orange listened in. ARRL Northern New
Jersey Section Manager Bill Hudzik, W2UDT, represented ARRL.

The following day, students at Scarlett Middle School in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, had their chance to speak with Williams via ham radio. Responding
to one youngster's question, "Why did you decide to go into space?" the
astronaut said he wanted to serve his country and humankind.

"Really, the history of humankind is the history of exploration," Williams
told the middle schoolers. "And that's what we're doing here: Exploring the
unknown."

Replying to another question about the risks involved with space travel,
Williams said, "There's quite a bit of risk involved with going into space
and being in space – and returning home." Understanding the risks and how to
minimize them is part of an astronaut's training, he explained.

His two favorite things about living aboard the ISS are weightlessness "and
all the things weightlessness allows you to do" as well as looking at Earth
from 220 miles above.

Wearing T-shirts illustrating the space station and commemorating the ARISS
contact, 21 youngsters from science teacher Jon Strempek's class prepared
and asked the questions. Ignacy Justyna, N0EFT, served as the control
operator.

In the audience was a staff member from US Rep John Dingell's office as well
as NASA Aerospace Education Specialist Jim Fitzgerald, a reporter and a
photographer from the Ann Arbor News, administration, faculty and parents.

ARISS is a nine-nation educational outreach with US participation by ARRL,
AMSAT and NASA.

==>LEAGUE ASKS FCC TO PROTECT 902-928 MHZ OPERATIONS

The ARRL has asked the FCC to avoid making any changes within the 902-928
MHz allocation -— including further deployment of unlicensed Part 15 devices
—- that might increase the noise floor or otherwise adversely affect Amateur
Radio operations there. The League filed comments recently in a Notice of
Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) in WT Docket 06-49, which seeks input on
encouraging the little-used Multilateration Location Monitoring Service
(M-LMS) -- a terrestrial service for location of objects and tracking --
while continuing to accommodate licensed and unlicensed uses of the 902-928
MHz band. Amateur Radio is secondary in the band to federal radiolocation
systems, industrial, scientific and medical devices, federal fixed and
mobile systems and the M-LMS.

"This 'kitchen sink' of allocations is acceptable from ARRL's perspective,
provided that the noise floor is regulated, in terms of aggregate noise
levels from unlicensed devices," the ARRL said in its comments, filed May
30. "The high power levels permitted in this band in particular bear careful
watching, lest the allocated radio services, including federal systems,
suffer decreased utility of the band."

Given that only two M-LMS licensees operate these systems that exist only in
six major US cities and in parts of Florida, the League asked whether
present FCC rules are the obstacle to M-LMS or whether it's been overtaken
by time and GPS technology.

The League urged the FCC to examine the 902-928 MHz band in its entirety.
"Specifically, the needs of the Amateur Service in this proceeding are
increased protection of weak-signal operations in the 902-903 MHz segment,"
the ARRL noted, specifying the 902.0-902.2 MHz and 903.0-903.2 "weak-signal"
segments.

"The Amateur Service also requires the continued use of the 903.2-928 MHz
band for amateur voice, television and digital communications, coexisting
with other licensed and unlicensed users of this spectrum," the League
concluded.

In its comments, the ARRL pointed out that the NPRM does not propose to
adopt, modify or delete any rules but only seeks information "looking toward
modifications in the licensing and use" of the 902-928 MHz band. The League
described the band as "a patchwork of overlays" and one that has "orphan
allocation status" in ITU Region 2, precluding amateur use of the band for
communication outside the region.

==>HAM-COM 2006 A HUGE SUCCESS AT NEW LOCATION, ORGANIZERS SAY

Organizers of Ham-Com are calling the Texas hamfest's first year at its new
location in Plano "an unqualified success." The show moved this year from
Arlington. More than 3500 attended Ham-Com June 9-10 at the Plano Centre,
its sponsors report. Ham-Com has secured the new venue at least through the
2011 event. ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, addressed the ARRL West Gulf
Division forum during the show. Representing ARRL Headquarters were Chief
Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH, who discussed the importance of the
League's development activities to Amateur Radio, and Field and Regulatory
Correspondent Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG, who talked about the Headquarters'
response to Hurricane Katrina.

"An enthusiastic crowd visited the ARRL booth, which was staffed by a
multitude of League officials," Skolaut reported. Those attending managed to
retain an upbeat mood despite unseasonably hot weather, he added. In
addition to President Harrison, other League volunteers attending included
West Gulf Division Director Coy Day, N5OK, Vice Director Dr David
Woolweaver, K5RAV, Oklahoma ARRL Section Manager John Thomason, WB5SYT,
Arkansas SM David Norris, K5UZ, and North Texas ASM Bill Byrom, N5BB.

Past ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, from Dallas also turned out for
Ham-Com 2006, which is billed as "the biggest hamfest in Texas."

Ham-Com 2006 offered more than 100 hours of programs featuring 52 speakers
and 78 individual forum sessions. Amateur Radio examination session resulted
in 38 license upgrades as well as 19 new Technician, 9 new General and 10
new Amateur Extra Class tickets. Ham-Com volunteers also helped 57 Boy
Scouts receive their Radio merit badges.

Ham-Com 2006 was a commercial success as well, with more than three dozen
commercial vendors filling all 60 booths. All 48 available tables in the
indoor flea market were sold, while tailgaters filled 61 spaces on Friday
and 88 spaces on Saturday -- the largest turnout in several years, Ham-Com
sponsors said.

The ARRL West Gulf Division forum featured a discussion on BPL. Addressing
the concerns of radio amateurs during his presentation was Jory McIntosh,
KJ5RM, an ARRL West Gulf Assistant Director and chair of the West Gulf BPL
Task Force. A representative of Texas utility TXU discussed his company's
plans to deploy BPL in Texas.

TXU's initial foray into BPL in Irving, Texas, resulted in interference
complaints, including one from McIntosh. The company has changed BPL vendors
and will use Current Technologies equipment in its future systems. Current
Technologies' gear has shown to be Amateur Radio friendly.

In conjunction with Ham-Com 2006, the Lone Star DX Association hosted W5DXCC
2006, which featured a Friday banquet. Featured speaker Bob Allphin, K4UEE,
spoke about his experiences as co-leader of the recent 3Y0X DXpedition to
Peter I Island. A sellout crowd of more than 150 attended the DX gathering.

==>KNIGHT DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD NOMINATIONS WELCOME

The ARRL invites nominations for the Joe Knight Distinguished Service Award.
The award recognizes "exceptionally notable contributions by a Section
Manager to the health and vitality of the League." The ARRL Board of
Directors created the award in 2003 to honor former ARRL New Mexico SM Joe
Knight, W5PDY, who was its first recipient. He died in December of that
year. Until ill health forced him to step down as SM in July 2003, Knight
had guided the New Mexico Section for nearly 27 years -- longer than any of
his peers.

Knight was honored not only for his more than a quarter-century of service
as an SM but for repeatedly volunteering to share his leadership knowledge
and skills each year to help orient new SMs. Knight also headed a section
that values public service and emergency preparedness, and he helped to
maintain the WA5IHL Megalink Repeater System that opened up statewide
communication to anyone with a handheld.

The ARRL Board of Directors may from time to time designate a recipient of
the Knight Distinguished Service Award to an individual who distinguishes
himself or herself in accordance with these ideals:

* Exceptionally notable contributions over an extended period of time within
his or her Section and beyond.

* Efforts contributing to the health and vitality of the ARRL and its Field
Organization.

* Actions in the spirit of the unselfish contributions of Joe Knight, W5PDY.

Recipients of the Knight Distinguished Service Award will be presented with
a plaque commemorating the award.

Any ARRL member may nominate a Section Manager -- past or present -- for the
Knight Distinguished Service Award. A narrative of the nominee's
accomplishments identifying the individual's long-term contributions to the
ARRL and its Field Organization should accompany the nomination.

Submit nominations to ARRL Field and Educational Services Manager Dave
Patton, NN1N, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 or via e-mail
<dpatton@arrl.org>;.

==>ASTRONAUT STILL SEEKS QSLS FOR DXCC FROM SPACE

International Space Station Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR,
reports logging 130 DXCC entities from NA1SS while on orbit, but the DX QSLs
have been slow in coming. To date McArthur has only about one-third of the
entities confirmed for a special DXCC from space.

DX stations that worked McArthur at NA1SS during Expedition 12 are urged to
send QSL cards to ARRL, ARISS QSL -- Exp 12, 225 Main St, Newington, CT
06111-1494 USA. DX stations may also QSL via the routes on the Amateur Radio
on the International Space Station (ARISS) Web site
<http://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm#QSL's>, but they will take longer to be
counted. If you've already sent a card "via the buro," ARISS asks that you
send another to the ARRL ARISS QSL address.

As of June 20, McArthur has these entities confirmed from NA1SS: Alaska,
Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, England,
France, Gibraltar, Hawaii, India, Israel, Japan, Mariana Is, Mexico, the
Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Puerto Rico, South Cook Is, South Africa,
Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.

==>SOLAR UPDATE

Sun gazer Tad "Staring at the Sun" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports:
One thing nice about the bottom of the solar cycle is that disruptive radio
blackouts or sudden ionospheric events are very unlikely, compared with
periods when the solar cycle is active.

Very low geomagnetic activity is predicted this time around, with the
planetary A index forecast around five. Sunspot counts for the past five
days have been 23, 21, 20, 19 and 0. No substantial increase is predicted.
Geophysical Institute Prague predicts quiet conditions June 23, 24 and 27,
quiet to unsettled June 25 and 29, and unsettled June 26 and 28.

I've received many messages asking for advice on which HF bands to
concentrate on during Field Day. Your best bets are going to be 40 and 20
meters. Be alert for sporadic E openings on 15 and 10 meters too. Forty
meters will open to many areas of North America throughout the day and
night, and 80 meters should give good results from a couple of hours before
local sunset on Saturday night until a couple of hours past local sunrise on
Sunday morning.

For more information concerning propagation and an explanation of the
numbers used in this bulletin see the ARRL Technical Information Service
Propagation page <http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html>.

Sunspot numbers for June 15 through 21 were 11, 0, 42, 23, 21, 20 and 19,
with a mean of 19.4. 10.7 cm flux was 76.4, 75.3, 73.2, 73.3, 73.3, 72.9,
and 72.7, with a mean of 73.9. Estimated planetary A indices were 28, 10,
10, 8, 5, 4 and 4, with a mean of 9.9. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were
17, 7, 7, 6, 4, 2 and 2, with a mean of 6.4.

__________________________________

==>IN BRIEF:

* This weekend on the radio: ARRL Field Day, the ARCI Milliwatt Field Day,
the His Majesty the King of Spain Contest (SSB) and the Ukrainian DX Digi
Contest are the weekend of June 24-25. The Marconi Memorial HF Contest has
been cancelled. The Thursday NCCC Sprint Ladder is June 30. JUST AHEAD: The
RAC Canada Day Contest is July 1. The Venezuelan Independence Day Contest,
the DL-DX RTTY Contest, the Original QRP Contest, the DARC 10-Meter Digital
Contest are the weekend of July 1-2. The RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship
(CW) is July 3. The ARS Spartan Sprint is July 4. The MI QRP July 4th CW
Sprint is July 4-5. See the ARRL Contest Branch page
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/> and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar
<http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more info.

* ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration:
Registration remains open through Friday July 7, for these ARRL
Certification and Continuing Education (CCE) program on-line courses:
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 2 (EC-002) Amateur Radio
Emergency Communications Level 3 (EC-003R2) Antenna Modeling (EC-004) HF
Digital Communications (EC-005) VHF/UHF -- Life Beyond the Repeater (EC-008)
and Radio Frequency Propagation (EC-011) Classes begin Friday, July 21. To
learn more, visit the CCE Course Listing page
<http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or contact the CCE Department
<cce@arrl.org>;.

* Minnesota student-ham presented with 2006 ARRL Goldwater scholarship:
Acting in his role as vice president of the ARRL Foundation, ARRL Dakota
Division Director Jay Bellows, K0QB, recently presented the 2006 ARRL
Scholarship to Honor Senator Barry Goldwater, K7UGA, to Melissa Johnson,
K1MJ, of Bemidji, Minnesota. The $5000 scholarship grant recognizes her
outstanding academic achievement and her dedication to the ideals of public
service that Senator Goldwater exemplified. Melissa, 21, just completed her
first year at the University of Minnesota School of Veterinary Medicine.
Bellows presented a Certificate of Award to Melissa on May 26. She is the
daughter of 2004 ARRL International Humanitarian Award winner Glenn Johnson,
W0GJ.

* Three radio amateurs aboard Discovery for July 1 launch: NASA has
tentatively cleared the shuttle Discovery for a July 1 flight to the
International Space Station. Three radio amateurs will be among the seven
crew members. One of them, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut and Mission
Specialist Thomas Reiter, DF4TR, will remain on the ISS as part of the
Expedition 13 and 14 crews, marking the first three-person crew since NASA
grounded the shuttle fleet in 2003. Discovery will carry no Amateur Radio
equipment. Commander Steve Lindsey will head the 12-day STS-121 mission.
Others on the flight include Pilot Mark Kelly, Mission Specialists Michael
Fossum, Lisa Nowak, KC5ZTB, Stephanie Wilson, KD5DZE, and Piers Sellers. The
Discovery crew will test new hardware and techniques to improve shuttle
safety, as well as deliver supplies to the ISS and make repairs. Now aboard
the ISS are Expedition 13 Commander and cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov, RV3BS,
and Flight Engineer and NASA Station Science Officer Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ.

* Special WRTC 2006 call signs announced: WRTC 2006 Steering Committee
Chairman Atilano de Oms, PY5EG, has announced that ANATEL (Agência Nacional
De Telecomunicações), Brazil's national telecommunication authority, has
okayed the allocation of special call signs for use by World Radiosport Team
Championship 2006 teams Saturday and Sunday, July 8-9. The call signs
approved are from PW5A to PW5Z and from PT5A to PT5Z -- a total of 52 call
signs, although 47 stations will be competing. Call signs will be assigned
by lottery prior to the contest. WRTC 2006 will take place concurrently with
the IARU HF World Championship, although WRTC rules differ in some respects
from those of the IARU event, and scoring is separate. More information is
on the WRTC 2006 Web site <http://www.wrtc2006.com/site/home.asp>.

* Spain, the Netherlands report Amateur Radio regulatory changes: New
Amateur Radio regulations
<http://www.ure.es/ureinforma/Reglamento_Radioaficionados.pdf> became
effective in Spain on June 10. The new licensing regime essentially
eliminates the former Novice, General and Restricted license classes and
extends the same privileges to all radio amateurs. Jose Díaz, EA4BPJ,
general secretary of the Union de Radioaficionados Españoles (URE), Spain's
IARU member-society, says the change means EB and EC-prefix call signs will
be showing up on all bands now, in addition to the familiar EA prefix. All
amateurs in Spain also now may use the 50-51 MHz band, although Díaz notes
there are some geographical restrictions on 6-meter operation. In the
Netherlands, Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T, the IARU liaison officer of IARU
member-society the Vereniging voor Experimenteel Radio Onderzoek in
Nederland (VERON), reports that as of June 10, radio amateurs in the
Netherlands may use the band 7.100-7.200 MHz on a secondary basis with a
maximum power output of of 250 W. Telecommunication authorities in Thailand
reportedly have granted temporary permission for radio amateurs to operate
on the 30, 17 and 12-meter bands upon application. The temporary allocation
is valid until the end of the year.

* Yukon Territory radio amateur exploring LF spectrum: J Allen, VY1JA, of
Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, recently became the first radio amateur to put
the Yukon on LF. Allen has joined the half-dozen or so Canadian hams
authorized to experiment on low frequencies. Perhaps best known as the ham
who most often hands out the hard-to-work Northern Territories multiplier,
Allen now is beaconing nightly on 137.574 kHz. On May 25, Allen completed
the first LF QSO from the Yukon by working LF aficionado Steve McDonald,
VE7SL, in British Columbia. "Running just 30 W into a loaded inverted L, J's
ERP was likely well below 100 mW," McDonald estimated. He reports Allen's
very slow-speed CW signal was 100-percent copy using ARGO software on the
receiving end. In Whitehorse, Allen reported that VE7SL's signal was strong
enough to copy by ear at normal speeds. Observed McDonald: "At 1000 miles
distance, the initial QSO demonstrates that amateurs can enjoy
inter-provincial or out-of-state CW ragchews on 2200 meters using simple
stations and backyard antenna systems." There's more information on 2200
meter activity in "The VE7SL Radio Notebook" <http://www.imagenisp.ca/jsm>.

===========================================================
The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American
Radio Relay League  --  The National Association For Amateur Radio  --  225
Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259;
<http://www.arrl.org/>. Joel Harrison, W5ZN, President.

The ARRL Letter offers a weekly e-mail digest of essential news of interest
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Material from The ARRL Letter may be republished or reproduced in whole or
in part in any form without additional permission. Credit must be given to
The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League.

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ARRL members first must register on the Members Only Web Site
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registration to sign up for e-mail delivery of The ARRL Letter, W1AW
bulletins, and other material. To change these selections  --  including
delivery of The ARRL Letter  --  registered members should click on the
"Member Data Page" link (in the Members Only box). Click on "Modify
membership data," check or uncheck the appropriate boxes and/or change your
e-mail address if necessary. (Check "Temporarily disable all automatically
sent email" to temporarily stop all e-mail deliveries.) Then, click on
"Submit modification" to make selections effective. (NOTE: HQ staff members
cannot change your e-mail delivery address. You must do this yourself via
the Members Only Web Site.)

The ARRL Letter also is available to all, free of charge, from these
sources:

* ARRLWeb <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>. (NOTE: The ARRL Letter will be
posted each Friday when it is distributed via e-mail.)

* The QTH.net listserver, thanks to volunteers from the Boston Amateur Radio
Club: Visit Mailing Lists@QTH.Net
<http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/letter-list>. (NOTE: The ARRL
cannot assist subscribers who receive The ARRL Letter via this listserver.)


 

The ARRL Letter

The ARRL Letter offers a weekly summary of essential news of interest to active amateurs that is available in advance of publication in QST, our official journal. The ARRL Letter strives to be timely, accurate, concise and readable.

Much of the ARRL Letter content is also available in audio form in ARRL Audio News.

Material from The ARRL Letter may be republished or reproduced in whole or in part in any form without additional permission. Credit must be given to The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League.

Back issues published since 2000 are available on this page. If you wish to subscribe via e-mail, simply log on to the ARRL Web site, click on Edit Your Profile at the top, then click on Edit Email Subscriptions. Check the box next to The ARRL email newsletter, the ARRL Letter and you will receive each weekly issue in HTML format. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!): letter-dlvy@arrl.org

Editorial questions or comments: John E. Ross, KD8IDJ, at news@arrl.org.

Plain-Text

The ARRL E-Letter e-mail is also available in plain-text version:

Outlook Express

1. From the Inbox view, select the Tools menu and the Options selection.

2. Click the Read tab

3. Check the Read All Messages In Plain Text box.  When you open the e-mail, it will be in plain text without images. Other e-mail programs may be able to make a Mail Rule for e-mail received from the address memberlist@www.arrl.org so that the plain-text-only display is selected automatically.

Outlook 2007

Use the same procedure as for Outlook Express, although the global option is under "Tools/Trust Center/E-mail Security".

Thunderbird

Use the menu item "View/Message Body As/Plain Text" or "View/Message Source" options.

OS X Mail (Mac)

Use the "View/Message/Plain Text Alternative" menu item.

GMail

Use the "Message text garbled?" link in the drop-down menu at the upper right of the displayed message block. pine, alpine Set "prefer-plain-text" in your ~/.pinerc configuration file: feature-list=..., prefer-plain-text, ...

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