*************** The ARRL Letter Vol. 25, No. 34 August 25, 2006 *************** IN THIS EDITION: * +US businesswoman will be first female civilian space traveler * +Roanoke Division Vice Director seat is only one contested * +Tasmanian high schoolers experience ham radio contact with ISS * +SSTV system in space undergoing troubleshooting * +Ohio, Idaho section managers retain seats in contested elections * +Silent SuitSat-1 still in orbit * Solar Update * IN BRIEF: This weekend on the radio ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration +Two radio amateurs to be aboard shuttle Atlantis +Interoperability called vital to public safety first-responder missions Katrina documentary to air Smithsonian's NN3SI to QRT during museum renovations Jerry Seligman, W7BUN, SK DXCC says some ZL7/KH0PR cards rejected in error SEWFERS Wisconsin Hamfest canceled Correction +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> =========================================================== ==>ANOUSHEH ANSARI IS A "GO" AS FIRST FEMALE CIVILIAN SPACE TRAVELER It's official! Iranian-American businesswoman Anousheh Ansari, 39, will travel to the International Space Station next month as part of the Russian Soyuz TMA-9 "taxi mission," Space Adventures Ltd <http://www.spaceadventures.com/> announced today. An eleventh-hour stand-in for Daisuke "Dice-K" Enomoto as the fourth civilian to fly to the ISS, Ansari would be the first female civilian "spaceflight participant." Enomoto, 34, was removed from the Soyuz flight roster for medical reasons. Although Ansari has had at least some training in using the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) <http://www.rac.ca/ariss> gear, it's not yet known whether she'll make ham radio contacts with Earth during her approximately 10-day stay in space. "By reaching this dream I've had since childhood, I hope to tangibly demonstrate to young people all over the world that there is no limit to what they can accomplish," said Ansari, co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems Inc, a digital home technology company that is sponsoring her efforts. "I'm thankful to both Space Adventures and Dice-K Enomoto for providing me this opportunity." Ansari will join ISS Expedition 14 crew members NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, KE5GTK, and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT, when Soyuz TMA-9 launches September 14 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Lopez-Alegria and Tyurin - a member of the ISS Expedition 3 crew - will stay aboard the ISS for about six months. Space Adventures says Ansari began her cosmonaut training earlier this year in preparation for a future orbital spaceflight. "We are pleased to announce this historic event, the world's first female space tourist, and are overjoyed that Anousheh is ready for flight," Space Adventures President and CEO Eric Anderson said in a statement. "She has been training diligently for several months now and has been certified for flight. We celebrate Anousheh's dedication in her spaceflight preparations and wish her a successful and awe-inspiring mission." Space Adventures already has arranged for three civilians to visit the ISS. Previous private space explorers have included Dennis Tito, KG6FZX, in 2001, South Africa's Mark Shuttleworth in 2003 and Greg Olsen, KC2ONX, in 2005. ARISS arranged for all three space travelers to make contacts with students on Earth during their respective stays in space. Ansari was the winner of the 2000 National Entrepreneurial Excellence Award sponsored by Working Woman magazine. Her family made a major contribution to the X Prize - now known as the Ansari X Prize - which offered a $10 million prize for the first successful private reusable space vehicle. The prize was won in 2004 by a team headed by aerospace designer Burt Rutan. Comments Enomoto posted on his Web site this week suggest he views his grounding as a temporary setback in his goal of visiting space. He said that while the Russian medical board has left open the possibility that the problem can be remedied and he'll be able to return to training in the future, that wouldn't happen in time to permit him take part in the September mission. Dice-K reportedly was already trained and authorized by Russia to operate the ARISS equipment aboard the ISS using the RS0ISS call sign and was to have made some school group contacts. In addition to Ansari, the return Soyuz flight will carry ISS Expedition 13 crew members Pavel Vinogradov, RV3BS, and Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, back to Earth. Vinogradov and Williams have been aboard the ISS since last April. ==>VICE DIRECTOR ELECTION SET IN ROANOKE DIVISION The only contest in the current election cycle for ARRL Director and Vice Director seats is in the Roanoke Division. Former South Carolina Section Manager Patricia Hensley, N4ROS, and the incumbent, the Rev Leslie Shattuck, K4NK, have filed petitions for the vice director seat. The ARRL Ethics and Elections Committee has declared Hensley and Shattuck eligible to run. No challengers stepped forward to face Roanoke Division Director Dennis Bodson, W4PWF, or incumbent directors or vice directors in four other ARRL divisions. Ballots will go out by October 1 to all full ARRL Roanoke Division members in good standing as of September 10. Votes will be tallied at ARRL Headquarters and the winner announced on November 17. Current office holders in the five affected divisions filed valid petitions by the August 18 deadline to run for new three-year terms. In addition to Bodson, the Ethics and Elections Committee has declared these unopposed candidates elected: In the Central Division, Director Dick Isely, W9GIG, and Vice Director Howard Huntington, K9KM; in the Hudson Division, Director Frank Fallon, N2FF, and Vice Director Joyce Birmingham, KA2ANF; in the New England Division, Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI, and Vice Director Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF, and in the Northwestern Division, Director Jim Fenstermaker, K9JF, and Vice Director Bill Sawders, K7ZM. In 2000 Hensley topped a field of three candidates to become South Carolina SM. She lost her bid for a second term to Jim Boehner, N2ZZ. Shattuck, who chairs the ARRL Board of Directors' Historical Committee, was tapped to fill the Vice Director's seat in 2000 after then-Roanoke Division Director John Kanode, N4MM, was elected as a vice president and Bodson moved into the director's seat. Shattuck, who also served as South Carolina Section Manager (1997-2000), was elected Roanoke Division Vice Director in his own right later that year. Successful candidates for the 2007-2009 term take office January 1. ==>ASTRONAUT, TASMANIAN STUDENTS WORK THROUGH ISS HAM RADIO CONTACT GLITCHES Although apparent technical problems plagued an August 18 Amateur Radio on the International Amateur Station (ARISS) contact between NA1SS and students in Tasmania, US astronaut Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, was able to hear and respond to a few questions. Then, after repeatedly experiencing difficulty copying questions posed by students gathered at Reece High School, in Devonport, Williams opened the NA1SS microphone and ad-libbed for a few minutes, running down what amounted to a short list of frequently asked questions he's heard during past ARISS school QSOs. "Sometimes we're asked about exercise in space and the adaptation of our bodies," Williams told the students, who represented both Reece and Devonport high schools. "In weightlessness, our muscles and bones will atrophy, so we exercise every day by running on a treadmill, and we also have a weight-lifting machine -- we get into a harness to do those exercises. And we also have a bicycle ergometer." Williams went on to say that food aboard the ISS is "very good, overall" and similar to what the crew might eat on Earth -- split evenly between Russian and American cuisine. Some meal items come in cans or need hydration, while others are packaged for easy reheating in the ISS galley's oven. "It's just a little bit more difficult to manage the food, of course, because it will float off if you let go of it," he pointed out. To avoid that problem with beverages, the crew consumes liquids via a straw from closed containers, he said. At times during the approximately nine-minute contact, Williams was able to understand and respond to some students' questions, and when he couldn't, W6SRJ Earth station control op Tim Bosma, W6ISS, attempted to relay the questions. Replying to one, Williams told the students that ISS crew members don't usually feel claustrophobic during their duty tours. "I think they screen us out before they ever select us to do this, to make sure we don't get claustrophobic," he said. Verizon Conferencing donated a teleconferencing link to provide two-way audio between Australia and W6SRJ in Santa Rosa, California. Will Marchant, KC6ROL, moderated the contact for those listening via the teleconference. ARISS volunteers were unable to immediately determine why Williams had trouble copying W6SRJ at NA1SS. After the ISS had gone over the horizon, ARISS Mentor Tony Hutchison, VK5ZAI, volunteered to field any additional student questions. One student wanted to know about the ARISS school contact schedule. ARISS Volunteer School Coordinator John Nickel, WD5EEV, responded. "We try to do at least one school a week, and we try to do it all over the world," he explained. "It's an international operation, so we try to cover all the continents at least for those schools that do apply." Nickel added that there's about a three-week transition period during ISS crew changeovers when no ARISS school contacts are scheduled. The technical glitches did cause a few long faces at the school, said Tony Bedelph VK7AX, of the NorthWest Tasmania Amateur Radio Interest Group, which helped set up for the contact in the Reece auditorium. Despite the difficulties, Bedelph called the QSO "a great experience for us all." Approximately 100 people were on hand for the event, he noted, and the contact attracted the attention of local news media. ARISS <http://www.rac.ca/ariss> is an international educational outreach, with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA. ==>ISS CREW, ARISS TEAM TROUBLESHOOTING SLOW-SCAN TV SYSTEM The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) <http://www.rac.ca/ariss> team is coordinating with Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov, RV3BS, and ARISS-Russia's Sergei Samburov, RV3DR, to troubleshoot the slow-scan television (SSTV) system onboard the ISS. The SSTV system remains off the air. "Photos of the current SSTV configuration that were downlinked to Earth showed several unanticipated results from the initial tests," ISS Ham Radio Project Engineer Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, told ARRL. "More extensive troubleshooting is being developed and could further delay permanent activation of the radio." He pointed out that Vinogradov is only able to work on the system in his free time; he's also due to return to Earth in September. During the early stages of SSTV testing in late July, Vinogradov thrilled Earth station operators by manually transmitting several pictures on 2 meters (the system has been using 144.490 and 145.800 MHz) using the RS0ISS call sign. Ransom says initial tests were run over Moscow, and then the system was left on for a few orbits. Plans call for Vinogradov to continue checking out the SSTV software, configure and optimize the radio and perform integration checks necessary. So far, the SSTV system has been unable to function properly in the autonomous "slide show" mode, Ransom said. Miles Mann, WF1F, who developed the SSTV system as an ARISS project, explains that slide-show mode will permit the crew to preload a directory of images that then will automatically be transmitted to Earth. "The crew will not need to keep pushing a button to send images," he said in a recent news release. "In theory, the system can run for weeks at a time without crew involvement." The SSTV system is not yet configured to receive SSTV transmissions from Earth stations, and no uplink frequency will be made public until testing is done. Earthbound radio amateurs are advised not to attempt to transmit SSTV images to the ISS. Mann has posted detailed information about the SSTV project on his MAREX-NA Web site <http://www.marexmg.org./>. ==>INCUMBENT SECTION MANAGERS OVERCOME RE-ELECTION CHALLENGES IN OHIO, IDAHO Incumbent ARRL Section Managers in Ohio and Idaho won re-election in the only two contested races of the current SM election cycle. ARRL Field and Educational Services staffers counted and verified election ballots August 22 at ARRL Headquarters. Sitting SMs were re-elected without opposition in seven other League sections. In the Ohio Section, veteran SM Joe Phillips, K8QOE, outpolled challenger Mark Erbaugh, N8ME, 1235 to 747. The nearly 2000 ballots cast by Ohio Section ARRL members were testament to the high interest in this race. Phillips's win makes him the first Ohio SM elected to five terms. He's been in office since October 1998. "I want to thank all Ohio Section voters for giving me the privilege of heading the ARRL's best section," Phillips said after the votes were in. "Mark, N8ME, ran a thoughtful and issue-oriented campaign, which made this election a model for election campaigning." In the Idaho Section, incumbent SM Doug Rich, W7DVR, topped a field of three candidates. Rich received 154 votes to 118 for John Wilson, K0IP, and 83 for past three-term Idaho SM Don Clower, KA7T. Rich has been SM since September, 2003, when he was appointed to fill the year remaining in the previous SM's term. He was elected in his own right in October 2004. During the campaign, Rich expressed his belief that an SM should focus on disaster readiness and communications. He has completed all three levels of the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications courses as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency Incident Command System courses. Incumbent SMs in seven other ARRL sections were elected without opposition. They are: Betsey Doane, K1EIC, Connecticut; Skip Jackson, KS0J, Minnesota; Kent Olson, KA0LDG, North Dakota; John Thomason, WB5SYT, Oklahoma; Sherri Brower, W4STB, Southern Florida; John Ellis, NP2B, Virgin Islands and Scott Bauer, W2LC, Western New York. New two-year terms for successful candidates begin October 1. The ARRL will re-solicit nominations for the position of Puerto Rico SM starting in the October 2006 QST. In the meantime, incumbent Puerto Rico SM Victor Madera, KP4PQ, will continue in office. ==>LONG-SILENT SUITSAT-1 KEEPS GOING AND GOING When SuitSat-1 -- the novel satellite built in a surplus Russian Orlan spacesuit -- was launched during a spacewalk from the International Space Station last February 3, those familiar with orbital mechanics predicted it would stay in orbit for 120 days at best. As of August 25, some 203 days (nearly seven months) later -- largely forgotten and its ham radio voice long since silent -- SuitSat-1 has defied the odds and remains in orbit some 155 miles above Earth. A project of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program, SuitSat-1, identifying as RS0RS, transmitted its voice greetings on 2 meters plus an SSTV picture thousands of times. Although its signal was far weaker than it was supposed to be for reasons never determined with any certainty, SuitSat-1 remained operational for more than two weeks. ARISS International Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, had credited ARISS-Russia's Sergei Samburov, RV3DR, and his colleagues with coming up with the SuitSat concept, called Radioskaf or Radio Sputnik in Russian. The SuitSat-1 mission proved to be an Amateur Radio public relations bonanza. In addition to prompting dozens of news items on Web sites and in journals around the world, Reader's Digest judged SuitSat-1 "Best Empty Suit" in its "America's 100 Best: The 2006 List" Popular Science ran an article about SuitSat-1 in its June issue called "Tossed in Space." To keep the SuitSat-1 momentum going a bit longer ARISS and AMSAT in May announced a "Chicken Little Contest" <http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/ariss/suitsatContest.php>, in which participants pick the date on which they believe SuitSat-1 will drop out of orbit and burn up in Earth's atmosphere. Entrants are only allowed one guess, and the winner will be the individual who picks the date closest to SuitSat-1's actual demise. Those who have not already entered may do so by filling out the online entry form on the AMSAT Web site. The odds could be in their favor. Certificates will go to winners in each of three age groups. Winners not only earn bragging rights, but the fame and notoriety associated with successful satellite re-entry prognostication. Even before SuitSat-1 went silent, ARISS and AMSAT already were discussing the possibility of a SuitSat-2 with contacts in Russia, although plans remain tentative at this stage. ARRL ARISS Liaison Rosalie White, K1STO, is among those named to the SuitSat-2 team, which will meet prior to the ARISS International Meeting/AMSAT Space Symposium October 5-10. Among other things, the team will look into the possibility of equipping SuitSat-2 with solar panels instead of just batteries, to extend its usable life. No formal announcements about SuitSat-2 are expected until around mid-October. Meanwhile, the time grows nigh when Suit-Sat-1 will pick up enough additional drag from Earth's atmosphere that friction-generated heat will cause it to burn up and vaporize. Just when that will happen is still anyone's guess. ==>SOLAR UPDATE Solar sage Tad "Who Let the Dogs Out!" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: The average daily sunspot number was 12 points lower this week than last, but the geomagnetic indices were higher. Active geomagnetic conditions on August 19-22 were the result of an August 19 change in the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) opening toward the south. This allowed a solar wind to affect Earth. Geophysical Institute Prague predicts quiet to unsettled conditions for August 25, unsettled August 26-28, quiet to unsettled on August 29 and quiet August 30-31. "Quiet" and "unsettled" refer to geomagnetic activity. Low geomagnetic activity is considered good for HF communications. NOAA predicts the geomagnetic planetary A index for August 25 through September 3 at 5, 8, 12, 12, 10, 8, 5, 5, 10 and 20. 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 August 17 through 23 were 26, 29, 21, 15, 24, 14 and 22, with a mean of 21.6. 10.7 cm flux was 85.8, 88.5, 88.8, 88.1, 87.8, 80.8, and 78.3, with a mean of 85.4. Estimated planetary A indices were 5, 12, 38, 24, 13, 17 and 7, with a mean of 16.6. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 4, 9, 21, 14, 10, 17 and 4, with a mean of 11.3. __________________________________ ==>IN BRIEF: * This weekend on the radio: The Ohio and Hawaii QSO parties, the ALARA Contest, the Keyman's Club of Japan Contest, the YO DX HF Contest, the SCC RTTY Championship, the SARL HF CW Contest and the CQC Summer VHF/UHF QSO Party are the weekend of August 26-27. JUST AHEAD: The All Asian DX Contest (SSB), the Russian RTTY World Wide Contest, the Wake-Up! QRP Sprint, RSGB SSB Field Day, IARU Region 1 Field Day (SSB) AGCW Straight Key Party and the DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest are the weekend of September 2-3. the Michigan QRP Labor Day CW Sprint is September 4-5. The ARS Spartan Sprint is September 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 Sunday, September 3, for these ARRL Certification and Continuing Education (CCE) online courses. Classes begin Friday September 15. Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 2 (EC-002), Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 3 (EC-003), Antenna Modeling (EC-004), HF Digital Communications (EC-005), VHF/UHF -- Life Beyond the Repeater (EC-008) and Radio Frequency Propagation (EC-011). These courses also will open for registration Friday, September 1, for classes beginning Friday, October 20. To learn more, visit the CCE Course Listing page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or contact the CCE Department <cce@arrl.org>. * Two radio amateurs to be aboard shuttle Atlantis: Mission Specialist Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper, KD5TVR, and Dan Burbank, KC5ZSX, will be the only US Amateur Radio licensees aboard the shuttle Atlantis, scheduled to head for the International Space Station Sunday, August 27, at 2030 UTC. The only woman on Mission STS-115, Stefanyshyn-Piper will be making first trip into space since becoming an astronaut 10 years ago. Burbank previously flew on Mission STS-106. In addition to Stefanyshyn-Piper and Burbank, the STS-115 crew consists of Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Chris Ferguson and mission specialists Joe Tanner and Steve MacLean, who represents the Canadian Space Agency. This mission will mark the first time in nearly four years that a space station component will be added to the orbiting outpost, which is home to NA1SS. During three spacewalks, Atlantis crew members will install a second set of solar arrays on the space station -- doubling the station's ability to generate power from sunlight -- and the P3/P4 truss to support the arrays. No Amateur Radio operation from Atlantis is planned. The ISS recently did an orbital "reboost" to place the station at the correct altitude to support the rendezvous with Atlantis as well as September's Soyuz launch of the Expedition 14 crew. * Interoperability called vital to public safety first-responder missions: California Department of General Services Senior Telecommunications Engineer Glen Nash, K6GSN, told a Radio Club of America (RCA) breakfast meeting August 9, that wireless communication among public safety first responders is a critical tool to satisfying their mission requirements. The meeting was held during a national convention of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO) in Orlando, Florida. An APCO past president, Nash chairs the Technology Committee of the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC). ARRL has a relationship with both organizations. Nash explained that the need for interoperability comes into play during police chases crossing jurisdictional lines and mutual assistance among neighboring fire departments to multi-agency drug enforcement and major emergencies involving multiple -- and sometimes distant -- agencies. Nash believes interoperability is not simply a technology problem. In addition to technical barriers to wireless interoperability, he cited cultural, social and language or terminology differences. "There are many areas where we need to approach the problem, and many factors to resolve to make it happen," he concluded. More than 100 attended the breakfast meeting, one of a series held every year by the Radio Club of America at conventions. Founded in 1909, the Radio Club of America is the world's oldest radio communications society. It promotes cooperation among those interested in the advancement and scientific study of radio communication. * Katrina documentary to air: The documentary "Postmark: Katrina" will air on The Weather Channel <http://www.weather.com/> Sunday and Monday, August 27 and 28, at 8 PM Eastern and Pacific Time as part of the cable network's Storm Stories series. The hour-long program, produced by ARRL Member Les Rayburn, N1LF, focuses on the restoration of mail service to the US Gulf Coast in the wake of the devastating storm and mentions Amateur Radio's role in the storm response and recovery effort. Rayburn and his crew were embedded for six weeks with US Postal Inspection Service officers within hours of Katrina's landfall. "In our documentary, there is some brief Amateur Radio voice traffic depicted, along with a graphic explaining how repeaters work, and even some Morse code," Rayburn told ARRL. "Our missions took us to Waveland, Biloxi, New Orleans, Bay St Louis and on to Houston. When not on duty filming, I also conducted mobile HF missions for the National Communications System SHARES program, keeping in contact with their watch desk on 20 meters." In addition to the August 27-28 airings, Rayburn expects the program to air at other times in the coming weeks. "We were proud to tell the story of how the US Postal Service worked tirelessly to restore mail to the affected area, and also to aid in the recovery using our amateur HF station," he says. * Smithsonian's NN3SI to QRT during museum renovations: NN3SI, the Amateur Radio station exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, will QRT in late August while the museum undergoes renovations that will include the ham station. The museum is scheduled to reopen by the summer of 2008. Inaugurated in 1976 and supported by a volunteer staff, NN3SI occupies a corner in the "Information Age" exhibit on the first floor of the National Museum of American History, and it's been open daily for visiting radio amateurs to operate. -- submitted by Murray Green, K3BEQ * Jerry Seligman, W7BUN, SK: Jerry Seligman, W7BUN, of E South Hill, Washington, died August 13. He was 72. An ARRL Life Member, Seligman was well known in the Pacific Northwest as an Amateur Radio "institution," mentor and promoter. "Jerry was keenly interested in the advancement of Amateur Radio and particularly with the recruitment of new hams and the pursuit of their advancement to higher classes of licenses," said Chip Margelli, K7JA, a longtime friend. "Jerry always pushed his students to learn just a little bit more, arousing their curiosity in the areas of technical ability and operating skill, and he always, above all, led by setting a good example of proper operating procedure on the air." Seligman served as a Radio Club of Tacoma (W7DK) officer, including as president and board member. "Jerry was active in virtually every area of club operations over 40 years, perhaps serving best as the club's conscience," said an announcement on the club's Web site. "For many years Jerry taught an amateur radio class at Bates Vocational Technical School, and many local amateurs owe their original licenses to Jerry's efforts." More recently he conducted the club's General and Extra class training sessions with great success. He also was an active net control station and contester. A memorial service is planned. * DXCC says some ZL7/KH0PR cards rejected in error: The ARRL DXCC Desk has announced that it inadvertently rejected several ZL7/KH0PR QSL cards for the May 2-5, 2005, Chatham Island operation. This operation has been accredited by DXCC. If your ZL7/KH0PR QSL was turned down, you can claim credit by contacting DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L <dxcc@arrl.org>. The DXCC Desk also notes that the DXCC computer has assigned Country Code 514 to Montenegro and Country Code 515 to Swain's Island. Some logging programs and databases use these numbers, but they have no particular significance. There are now 337 current entities on the DXCC List. * SEWFERS Wisconsin Hamfest canceled: The Southeastern Wisconsin Wisconsin FM Amateur Repeater Society has announced the cancellation of its SWAPFEST, scheduled for September 10 in Hubertus, Wisconsin. Contact SEWFARS <sewfars@hotmail.com> for more information. * Correction: The obituary for Jack W. Herbstreit, ex-W0DW, in The ARRL Letter, Vol 25, No 32 (August 4, 2006) contained some incorrect information. The International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR), which Herbstreit directed from 1966 to 1974, was a predecessor of the International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R). =========================================================== The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American Radio Relay League: ARRL--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 and general news of interest to active radio amateurs. Visit the ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/> for the latest Amateur Radio news and news updates. The ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/> also offers informative features and columns. ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> is a weekly "ham radio newscast" compiled and edited from The ARRL Letter. 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