***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 27, No. 22
June 6, 2008
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IN THIS EDITION:
* + National Hurricane Center Director Joins WX4NHC Annual Test
* + ARRL Foundation Announces 2008 Scholarship Recipients
* + Hams Head into Space
* + Field Day Locator Service Up and Running
* + Army MARS Offers Free Father's Day Messages for Soldiers Overseas
* + ARRL Welcomes Yaesu as Principal Sponsor of Logbook of The World Web
Site
* Solar Update
* IN BRIEF:
This Weekend on the Radio
ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration
+ More Field Day T Shirts On the Way!
+ Morse Code Returning to MARS Toolbox
Hein Hvatum, N4FWA (SK)
Be Careful on 10 Meters
+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: S. Khrystyne Keane,
<k1sfa@arrl.org>;
===========================================================
==> NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER DIRECTOR JOINS WX4NHC ANNUAL TEST
On Saturday, May 31, WX4NHC <http://www.wx4nhc.org/>, the Amateur Radio
station at the National Hurricane Center (NHC), held their annual
Communications Test from 1300-2100 UTC. According to WX4NHC Assistant
Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, this annual test has two purposes: To
verify that ham radio equipment will not interfere with any equipment at
the NHC, and to ensure proper performance of Amateur Radio equipment at
the NHC.
During the test, NHC Director Bill Read, KB5FYA, addressed the Amateur
Radio community on the VoIP Hurricane Net and on the Hurricane Watch Net
<http://www.wx4nhc.org/Bill-Read-QST.mp3>. Read spoke about the
importance of Amateur Radio in hurricane-related disasters and thanked
Amateur Radio operators for their support in past hurricanes. He
encouraged hams to continue to provide that strong support as WX4NHC
enters its 28th year of service and the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season
begins. Read made several contacts with Amateur Radio operators during
the test.
"We all know how important it is to maintain communications during a
hurricane to relay our hurricane warnings to those in the affected area
which may have no other means to receive this vital information," Read
said. "We are also very appreciative for the surface reports from those
in the storm which add to our database and help our forecasters better
visualize what is actually happening at the ground level in real time.
As our own ham radio station, WX4NHC, celebrates its 28th year of
volunteer service at the National Hurricane Center, we extend our thanks
to all ham radio operators that continue to support our mission to help
save lives."
Ripoll, calling the annual test "very successful," thanked all the
amateurs involved and called on them for their support as the hurricane
season starts up. During the test Ripoll and his crew also completed
antenna work in preparation for the season.
Ripoll said that the WX4NHC Annual Station Test started very early on
Saturday with three of the operators replacing the main HF dipole. "The
dipole runs from the 100 foot tower to the top of the Hurricane Center
Building and was reinstalled with a better orientation so that the main
effective lobes run SE and NW," he said. "This will improve reception to
the Caribbean, as well as the US Gulf area. It took three hours of
bringing the dipole up and down to fine tune the SWR down to 1:1.2, but
it was worth the effort. Stations monitoring our antenna tests reported
improvements of 3 to 6 dB at their locations. We are very happy with the
results of this new antenna installation."
It was good timing for the test as the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season
started on the same day, albeit one day earlier than it was scheduled:
Tropical Storm Arthur formed from the remnants of Pacific Tropical Storm
Alma over Central America. Arthur did weaken, but was responsible for
very heavy rains and flooding over portions Guatemala, Honduras, Belize
and Mexico. This is the second straight year in which a tropical system
formed prior to the start of the Atlantic hurricane season.
WX4NHC made 346 contacts during this event: 291 on HF and 55 on
EchoLink/IRLP. They heard from 23 states and US territories, as well as
such foreign locales as Bermuda, Curacao, Jamaica, Cuba, Honduras,
Estonia and Canada.
"The WX4NHC Coordinators and Operators extend their thanks to all ham
radio operators that participated in our Annual Station Test," Ripoll
said, "and look forward to your continued support during the hurricane
season."
==> ARRL FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES 2008 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
In May 2008, the ARRL Foundation Board of Directors voted unanimously to
award the prestigious William R. Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship
<http://www.arrlf.org/programs/scholarships> to Austin Evans Wilmot,
KD5QKS, of Dallas, Texas. Wilmot will graduate from Richardson High
School this year with a cumulative GPA of 97.64, placing him 19th in a
class of 431.
First licensed in 2001, Wilmot holds a Technician class license and was
active in his elementary school's Amateur Radio club (W5SPS); he is
currently active in the Richardson Wireless Klub, K5RWK. His commitment
to volunteer service in his community included support for the Lone Star
MS150 Bike tour and the City of Richardson's annual Christmas parade. He
can be found on local repeaters and is currently studying for his
General class license.
Wilmot credits Amateur Radio with helping to develop leadership,
organization and communication skills. Wilmot's studies at Washington
University in St Louis will concentrate on medicine and will include his
interest in mathematics and finance. "I envision a future as a scientist
and economist where I can apply my analytic skills with compassion and
curiosity," Wilmot said.
The Goldfarb Scholarship is the result of a generous endowment from the
late William Goldfarb, N2ITP. Before his death in 1997, Goldfarb set up
a scholarship endowment of close to $1 million in memory of his parents,
Albert and Dorothy Goldfarb. Awarded to one high school senior each
year, the Goldfarb Scholarship assists the recipient to receive a
four-year undergraduate degree in engineering or science or in the
medical or business-related fields. The terms of reference of the
generous Goldfarb scholarship award require that recipients demonstrate
financial need and significant involvement with Amateur Radio, in
addition to high academic performance. The sixth Goldfarb Scholarship
winner, Wilmot continues the tradition of prior recipients,
demonstrating superior academic performance, outstanding leadership and
extraordinary Amateur Radio and community service.
More information on the Goldfarb Scholarship is available on the ARRL
Web site. Applications for the Goldfarb Scholarship and other ARRL
Foundation Scholarships are accepted each year beginning October 1 and
ending February 1 for the academic year that starts the following
August/September.
The ARRL Foundation awarded more than 50 scholarships -- ranging from
$500 to $2500 -- for the 2008-2009 academic year. For a complete list of
recipients, please see the ARRL Web site
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/05/31/10131/?nc=1> or the July
issue of QST.
==> HAMS HEAD INTO SPACE
On Saturday, May 31, the space shuttle Discovery launched into the
heavens carrying a crew of one Japanese and six American astronauts to
the International Space Station (ISS); of the seven crew members, two
are Amateur Radio operators. NASA's Greg Chamitoff, KD5PKZ, is the ISS
Flight Engineer and Science Officer on Expedition 17 and will spend six
months living and working onboard the ISS, returning home on Endeavour
(STS-126), currently targeted for November 10. Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, is a mission
specialist.
Chamitoff will replace Garrett Reisman, KE5HAE, who arrived on the ISS
in March; Reisman will return to Earth when Discovery leaves the ISS. It
is expected that the ISS Crew -- Commander Sergei Volkov, RU3DIS; Flight
Engineer Oleg Kononenko, RN3DX, and Chamitoff -- will conduct Amateur
Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contacts while on the
ISS.
This mission, STS-124 -- the 123rd space shuttle flight and 26th shuttle
flight to the ISS -- docked with the ISS at 2:03 PM (EDT) on Monday,
June 2. Discovery carries with it the second component of JAXA's Kibo
laboratory, the Japanese Pressurized Module (JPM). The 37 foot, 32,000
pound JPM will be attached to the left side of the Harmony connecting
node by shuttle and station crew members during a series of three
spacewalks. The JPM will join the first component of Kibo, the Japanese
Logistics Module, which was launched on the last shuttle flight, STS-123
on Endeavour, in March.
Kibo (which means hope in Japanese) is so heavy that only its primary
set of avionics systems can be launched inside it. The second set was
launched in the logistics module delivered on STS-123 so that it will be
available, if needed, when Kibo is activated. "Kibo is just a beautiful
piece of work," said lead shuttle flight director Matt Abbott. "I know
the Japanese space agency had an element installed on STS-123, but this
is really their pride and joy. This module is amazing."
"It's going to be a world-class laboratory," said astronaut Mark Kelly,
Discovery's commander. "It's its own little spacecraft, in the sense
that it has an environmental system, electrical system, its own computer
system, its own robotic arm. It's got a lot of capability, and I'm
hopeful that over the years that the laboratory produces significant
discoveries in the fields of chemistry, physics, material science and
life sciences. It certainly has that potential." The Kibo laboratory
complex includes two robotic arms that also will be delivered on
Discovery. A third and final shuttle mission to complete the complex
will launch an exterior platform for the Kibo laboratory complex that
will allow experiments to be exposed to space.
On Earth, STS-124 will mark the first time the JAXA flight control team
will activate and control a module from Kibo Mission Control in Tsukuba,
Japan. JAXA is scheduled to take over final activation of Kibo on the
fifth day of STS-124, the day after the module is installed. "That's a
big day for Japan," Hoshide said. "We'll be doing vestibule outfitting,
which is basically hooking up all the jumper connections between Node 2
and the pressurized module for power signals, data cables, fluid lines,
all that stuff. Once that's done we will be activating the main computer
in the pressurized module from our laptop computer inside the station -
we call that the initial activation. "Then, once the computer's
activated, the Mission Control Center in Tsukuba Space Center can start
commanding, so we'll hand it over to them. They will start doing the
final activation of the module."
In addition to Kelly, Hoshide and Chamitoff, the STS-124 crew consists
of Pilot Ken Ham and Mission Specialists Karen Nyberg, Ron Garan and
Mike Fossum. Discovery is due back to Earth on Saturday, June 14 at
10:45 AM (EDT) at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. --
Information provided by NASA
==> FIELD DAY LOCATOR SERVICE UP AND RUNNING
This year, for the first time, the ARRL has put together a Station
Locator to help amateurs or those interested in Amateur Radio find a
Field Day site near them. According to ARRL Field Day Manager Dan
Henderson, N1ND, many amateurs have been asking for something like this
for many years.
If your group would like to be a part of the Station Locator Service,
it's easy to get started. Just go to the Field Day Station Locator Web
site <http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/locator.php> and
follow the instructions.
To help you out, Henderson has prepared a FAQ for the Field Day Station
Locator.
Q) How does our Field Day site get listed on the map?
A) A club official or Field Day Chairman needs to go to the Web site.
Once there, click on the link for "Add a Station" and follow the
instructions.
Q) I put in the name of the park where we will be holding Field Day but
got the message that the program can't find it. What do I do?
A) You should use a street address for the location. Unfortunately, the
mapping program doesn't have a 100 percent complete database of park
names and public site names. You may also use a latitude/longitude -
enter the values separated by a comma (e.g. 42.345N, 85.445W) and set
the city to NONE).
Q) I put in a street address but the map locator put me it in a wrong
location on the street. What do I do?
A) While in the data input or edit screen, use your cursor to move the
red "pin" to the correct location on the map.
Q) What if I put in the wrong information or something about our Field
Day operation changes?
A) The person who input the data will be able to edit the entry. Simply
follow the "Add a Station" link and then select "Edit this entry" next
to the one to correct.
Q). I tried to enter my club's information, but I was denied access.
What do I do?
A) To help ensure that only one person is managing a club's entry, you
must be logged onto the site with your ARRL member ID and password. If
you are not an ARRL member, ask a member of the club who is to be
responsible for adding the club's information to the site.
Q) I am looking for a Field Day operation to attend. How do I use the
site?
A) Begin by typing in the city and state where you would like to search,
something like "Brooklyn, New York" or "Anaheim, California." Depending
on the geographic location, the map will take you to the area you list.
If a Field Day operation has been registered for that general area, a
red "pin" will show on the map. If you click on the red pin, the details
for that site will appear in the box on the right hand side of the
screen. If you don't see a red pin, scroll out a level to find one near
the location you listed. It is also possible to drag the map to other
areas by holding down the left button on your mouse and then moving the
map around. You can also scroll in and out using the +/- buttons on the
left side of the map. You may also zoom in and center by double-clicking
with the mouse near the red pin.
Q) I found a red pin near where I will be. Where do I find the
information on that site?
A) Each entry has a contact person with either an e-mail address or
phone number who should be able to help you. It will appear on the right
side of the box when you click on the red pin for an entry.
Q) I found an entry with wrong information. What should I do?
A) Please contact the person whose name appears as the contact person
for that site. ARRL HQ does not have detailed information on the site.
Q) I want to check on our club's information. What should I do?
A) Type in the call sign that will be used and you will be taken to the
location and club information.
ARRL Field Day will be held June 28-29. For more information, please
visit the Field Day Web page <http://www.arrl.org/fieldday>.
==> ARMY MARS OFFERS FREE FATHER'S DAY MESSAGES FOR SOLDIERS OVERSEAS
If Jeff Hammer, N9NIC, gets his way, he'll be an awfully busy soldier in
the run-up to Father's Day on June 15. Captain Hammer, who represents
the Army Military Affiliate Radio System (Army MARS) in Iraq, has
appealed to the families of troops deployed overseas to "shower down
with Father's Day messages" for their loved ones.
According to Army MARS Public Affairs Director Bill Sexton,
AAA9PC/AAR1FP/N1IN, these free messages -- called MARSgrams -- date back
to the Korean War when many thousands were delivered. The service
continued during the Vietnam conflict and the first Gulf War, but had
fallen off with the advent of e-mail and cell phones.
As the military's Middle East operations continue, Sexton said that the
responses from that area indicate that the soldiers treasure the printed
MARSgrams as mementos of their deployment: "It's not just a greeting.
E-mail just isn't the same." MARSgram traffic spurted last Thanksgiving
and Christmas, and Captain Hammer reports that he is "100 percent set
up" to handle MARSgrams for Father's Day.
A National Guardsman from Indiana, Hammer arrived in Baghdad just this
spring after previously serving in Afghanistan. In addition to
volunteering for the MARS assignment, he is acting as station custodian
for the Baghdad Amateur Radio Society. Hammer shipped in his own
low-power ham station and began direct receipt of messages May 25; he
has to shoehorn his volunteer Amateur Radio activity into his off-duty
hours.
On Sunday, June 1, five soldiers including Hammer gathered for a meeting
of the Baghdad ARS. Besides Hammer, three Amateur Radio operators are
part of the group: Warrant Officer 2 Edward Mendez, N3BZA, who also
operated the military MARS station ABM4USS in Korea for an Aviation
Maintenance Company; Barry Coronado, KC8RTK, a Department of Defense
employee, and Wayne Gale, W0GTO, a contractor.
The subject of Sunday's meeting was preparing for the hoped-for Father's
Day surge. After a period of instruction on MARS procedure during which
the participants wrote their own MARSgrams, Hammer took the members to
his personal MARS station to attempt transmission despite difficult
propagation conditions.
"We are only running 5 W on a Yaesu 817, but we wanted to give it a try
if for no other reason than to see the equipment and demonstrate the
procedure," Hammer messaged afterward. "God must have been smiling down
on us because after only a few attempts we connected to AEN3QT in Qatar
on 40 meters and got all the messages through without any problems."
Family members can easily send free MARSgrams overseas by entering their
message on the MARSgram Web site <http://www.mymars.org/>. The Army MARS
WinLink system will automatically relay the Iraq-bound messages to
Hammer and his helpers; they will produce printouts and envelopes and
hand them off to the Military Postal Service for final delivery. A
MARSgram travels much faster than ordinary mail and can be delivered
wherever American troops serve.
Army MARS is a Department of Defense-sponsored organization of more than
2700 Amateur Radio operators who provide emergency communications backup
for government agencies in times of civil calamity; active-duty service
personnel are welcome to join. Parallel MARS units serve the Air Force
and Navy-Marine Corps, making the three-prong program more than 5000
members strong.
==> ARRL WELCOMES YAESU AS PRINCIPAL SPONSOR OF LOGBOOK OF THE WORLD WEB
SITE
The ARRL welcomes Yaesu as the principal sponsor of the Logbook of The
World (LoTW) <http://www.arrl.org/lotw/> Web site. LoTW is a repository
of log records submitted by users from around the world; when both
participants in a QSO submit matching QSO records to LoTW, the result is
a QSL that can be used for ARRL award credit. With almost 21,000
amateurs registered on LoTW, more than 170 million QSO records have been
entered into the five year old system, resulting in more than 13.4
million QSL records.
"Yaesu is absolutely delighted to be the Principal Sponsor supporting
the extremely popular ARRL Logbook of The World Web site," said Yaesu's
Executive Vice President for Amateur Radio Sales and Marketing Dennis
Motschenbacher, K7BV. "It provides Yaesu with an opportunity to serve
the Amateur Radio community. We hope LoTW users will note our support
and judge this action for what it is intended to be -- a 'Thank You' to
the thousands of avid DXers and other active operators worldwide." In
return for its sponsorship of the LoTW Web site, Yaesu will receive
promotional consideration in QST and on the LoTW Web site.
Motschenbacher said he understands that hams have felt the "pain" of
postal price increases around the world: "I am certain that a huge
number of hams have had to give up their dream of having prestigious
ARRL certificates and plaques on their wall simply because they could no
longer afford the postage costs associated with exchanging QSL cards to
verify contacts. Those QSO verifications are, however, absolutely
essential for maintaining the integrity of ARRL's DXCC and other awards.
LoTW, with its global acceptance, now allows nearly everyone interested
in the excitement that goes along with chasing DX and awards to provide
most if not all of the required all-important QSO verifications without
burdensome postage expenses. LoTW provides a very valuable service for
both the individual users and ARRL."
ARRL Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B, thanked Yaesu for
their ongoing support of the ARRL. "We look forward to working with them
on the Logbook of The World Web site."
==>SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice" Cook, K7RA, this week
reports: We had seven days of no sunspots this week, but a sunspot was
emerging on Thursday, June 5. Helioseismic holography revealed a high
latitude sunspot on the opposite side of the Sun. Until recently, we had
no idea what was happening on the far side of the Sun, the side directed
away from Earth. The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center sees a
constant and quiet geomagnetic planetary A index of 5 through June 14.
Geophysical Institute Prague predicts quiet conditions for June 6, quiet
to unsettled June 7-8 and quiet again June 9-12. Sunspot numbers for May
29-June 4 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 and 0 with a mean of 0. The 10.7 cm flux
was 68.1, 67.1, 66.9, 66.6, 67.1, 66.3 and 65.2 with a mean of 66.8.
Estimated planetary A indices were 9, 11, 8, 8, 5, 4 and 4 with a mean
of 7. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 7, 7, 8, 6, 4, 3 and 2, with
a mean of 5.3. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit
the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page
<http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html>. To read this week's
Solar Report in its entirety, check out the W1AW Propagation Bulletin
page <http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/>.
__________________________________
==>IN BRIEF:
* This Weekend on the Radio: This weekend, the NCCC Sprint Ladder and
the Digital Pentathlon are both June 6, and the Wake-Up! QRP Sprint is
on June 7. On June 7-8, look for the DigiFest, the SEANET Contest, the
UKSMG Summer Contest, RSGB National Field Day - IARU Region 1 Field Day
(CW) and the Alabama QSO Party. The SKCC Weekend Sprintathon is June 8.
The NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint and the RSGB 80 Meters Club
Championship (CW) are both June 11. Next weekend is the ARRL June VHF
QSO Party on June 14-16. Look for the NCCC Sprint Ladder and the Digital
Pentathlon on June 13. The Portugal Day Contest and Asia-Pacific Sprint
(SSB) are June 14. Look for the ANARTS WW RTTY Contest, the GACW WWSA CW
DX Contest, the REF DDFM 6 Meter Contest and the West Virginia QSO Party
on June 14-15. The Run for the Bacon QRP Contest and the SARL Youth for
Amateur Radio Event are June 16. The RSGB 80 Meter Club Championship
(SSB) is June 19. All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the
ARRL Contest Branch page <http://www.arrl.org/contests/>, the ARRL
Contest Update <http://www.arrl.org/contests/rate-sheet/> and the WA7BNM
Contest Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for
more info.
* ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration: Registration remains
open through Sunday, June 22, 2008 for these online course sessions
beginning on Friday, July 4, 2008: Technician License Course (EC-010),
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 1 (EC-001), Radio Frequency
Interference (EC-006), Antenna Design and Construction (EC-009), Analog
Electronics (EC-012) and Digital Electronics (EC-013). Each online
course has been developed in segments -- learning units with objectives,
informative text, student activities and quizzes. Courses are
interactive, and some include direct communications with a
Mentor/Instructor. Students register for a particular session that may
be 8, 12 or 16 weeks (depending on the course) and they may access the
course at any time of day during the course period, completing lessons
and activities at times convenient for their personal schedule. Mentors
assist students by answering questions, reviewing assignments and
activities, as well as providing helpful feedback. Interaction with
mentors is conducted through e-mail; there is no appointed time the
student must be present -- allowing complete flexibility for the student
to work when and where it is convenient. To learn more, visit the CCE
Course Listing page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or contact
the Continuing Education Program Coordinator <cce@arrl.org>;.
* More Field Day T Shirts On the Way! During the last couple of weeks, a
surge of demand for 2008 ARRL Field Day T shirts had exhausted the
supply much earlier than previous years. "It's clear that this year's
Field Day logo and slogan -- Ride the Waves -- is a big hit!" said ARRL
Sales and Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R. "We want to assure
our valued members and clubs that more shirts are on the way. Until
today, we weren't certain we could restock the shirts in time for
delivery before Field Day. But our manufacturer has promised to
re-supply the shirts as early as next week." ARRL Field Day is June
28-29. To order Field Day T shirts, participation pins and other items,
as well as information on this year's Field Day, including the Field Day
Locator Service, please go to the ARRL Field Day Web page
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/fd/>. The ARRL regrets any
inconvenience with order delays. Inderbitzen added, "Since February,
we've encouraged clubs to place their orders early. But this good news
means there's still time to Ride the Waves!"
* Morse Code Returning to MARS Toolbox: After more than a dozen years,
Morse code will soon be returning to Military Affiliate Radio System
(MARS) nets. In the mid-1990s, the Department of Defense (DoD) did away
with CW operation across the board -- including MARS nets -- as
automatic systems such as the Internet, SATCOM, cell phones and e-mail
became available and the payroll cost of manual operators escalated.
Army MARS launched a limited test of CW nets in four Midwestern states
in late 2007. During a DoD interoperability test this past March, a
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) station used it to
communicate with Fort Huachuca. In announcing the return of CW to MARS
nets, Navy-Marine Corps MARS Chief Bo Lindfors cited an emergency where
CW was sorely missed: "I remember the [1998] Northeast Ice Storm shortly
after I became [Navy-Marine Corps MARS] Chief and the unnecessarily
lengthy effort by all of southern New England to receive one voice EEI
[Essential Elements of Information Report] from a northern New England
member whose antenna was covered in ice and lying on the ground. It took
more than an hour when CW could have handled it in a few minutes. As
more and more of our members enter MARS with no Morse code experience, I
am afraid that we will soon lose that skill set if we don't do
something." Army MARS Chief Carter said the imminent return of CW will
not replace modes such as WinLink, Pactor 3 and MT63. "Our CW nets will
focus on maintenance of skills and will necessarily be limited by the
shortage of available frequencies and trained members," he said. "But if
members want to add CW to their skills, the nets will be available for
training."
* Hein Hvatum, N4FWA (SK): Hein Hvatum, N4FWA, who in the 1970s and '80s
supervised construction of one of the world's most powerful radio
observatories, died of cancer May 22 at his home in Charlottesville,
Virginia. He was 85. In 1974, Hvatum assumed responsibility for
construction of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Large
Array (VLA), an arrangement of radio telescopes near Socorro, New
Mexico. The VLA has made key observations of black holes and
protoplanetary disks around young stars, discovered magnetic filaments
and traced complex gas motions at the Milky Way's center, probed the
Universe's cosmological parameters, and provided new knowledge about the
physical mechanisms that produce radio emission. The observatory is
perhaps best known to the general public for its appearance in the 1997
movie "Contact" with Jodie Foster; it has also appeared in Carl Sagan's
documentary "Cosmos," in the movie "Independence Day," in a Bon Jovi
music video and on the cover of a Dire Straits album. The VLA was
completed in 1982. Hvatum, an ARRL member since 1981, was responsible
for computing, antenna design and electronics for the $78 million
project, the largest the National Science Foundation had funded at the
time. Hvatum became acting director at NRAO in 1984 and project manager
for the Very Long Baseline Array the next year. He retired in 1987.
Hvatum, as a member of the Albemarle Amateur Radio Club, organized a
number of community emergency preparedness drills. He was active with
both national and international groups seeking to protect radio
frequencies for radio astronomy. Calling Hvatum a "friend, mentor and
Elmer," the Albemarle ARC said Hvatum will be missed "by everyone who
had the pleasure of knowing him and calling him a friend." According to
the Albemarle ARC Web site, a memorial service for Hvatum is planned for
2 PM on June 27 at NRAO Headquarters. The family requests that in lieu
of flowers, donations be made to the Hospice of the Piedmont or to the
Leukemia/Lymphoma Society.
* Be Careful on 10 Meters: With recent band openings beginning on 10
meters, ARRL has received word that a number of US amateurs have been
heard using SSB below 28.300. "We urge everyone to remember that 28.000
to 28.300 MHz is reserved for RTTY and data, including CW," said ARRL
Field and Regulatory Correspondent Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG. "Phone is
permitted from 28.300 to 28.500 for Novice and Technician class
licensees with a maximum power of 200 W. Phone and image are allowed
from 28.300 up to 29.700 for General, Advanced and Extra class license
holders." Skolaut, who manages the Official Observer and Intruder Watch
programs, said that people have called and e-mailed ARRL HQ inquiring
about hearing IDs repeated in code on various 10 meter frequencies.
"What they are hearing are beacons," Skolaut said; he suggests checking
out some Web sites for more information on beacons you might hear on 10
meters <http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=1114> and other
bands <http://www.ncdxf.org/beacons.html>.
===========================================================
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. It's also available as a
podcast from our Web site.
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/American Radio Relay League.
==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!):
letter-dlvy@arrl.org
==>Editorial questions or comments: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA,
k1sfa@arrl.org
==>ARRL News on the Web: <http://www.arrl.org/>
==>ARRL Audio News: <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> or call
860-594-0384
==>How to Get The ARRL Letter
The ARRL Letter is available to ARRL members free of charge directly
from ARRL HQ. To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your address for
e-mail delivery:
ARRL members first must register on the Members Only Web Site
<http://www.arrl.org/members/>. You'll have an opportunity during
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
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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.)
Copyright 2008 American Radio Relay League, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
