A Russian Dnepr rocket carried AMSAT-UK’s FUNcube-1 and 18 other satellites to orbit at 0710 UTC on Thursday, November 21. Ground stations began receiving telemetry from FUNcube-1 soon after deployment and the satellite appears to be functioning normally.
One of the satellites on the launch, UniSat-5, will deploy a number of additional satellites. Among them should be the CubeSats PUCP-SAT-1, Hu…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Nearly 2 weeks after Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) hit the Central Philippines in one of the worst natural disasters in modern history, survivors are slowly getting food, water, and medical attention and supplies, along with shelter, communication, and electrical power. Now, the Philippine Amateur Radio Association (PARA) is hoping that requests for emergency communication gear will provide the mean…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
In the only contested Section Manager election this fall, ARRL members in Tennessee have re-elected Keith E. Miller Sr, N9DGK. He received 690 votes, while challenger Randall Smith, KI4OAS, of Gadsden, received 352 votes. Smith is Tennessee’s Section Emergency Coordinator. Miller, who lives in Rockvale (near Murfreesboro), will begin his second term as Tennessee Section Manager on January 1. Ba…
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The ARRL Lab has worked with a manufacturer of arc fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) breakers to resolve complaints that Amateur Radio RF was causing certain breaker models to trip unnecessarily. Like the more common ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI), the AFCI is a safety device. Primarily designed to detect problems that could result in a fire, AFCIs detect potentially hazardous arc fault…
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A late-season, multistate outbreak of tornadoes and high winds on November 17 killed six people in Illinois and injured hundreds of others, some seriously. ARRL Illinois Tom Ciciora, KA9QPN, reported today that Peoria County ARES Emergency Coordinator Fritz Bock, WD9FMB, has responded with a team of volunteers to a Central Illinois Division Red Cross request for emergency communication support …
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Yuri Bodrov, UT1FG, has been operating maritime mobile while aboard a commercial ship Silver, now heading north, possibly increasing chances of making a contact with him. Frank Griffin, K4FEG, and Rick Tillman, WA4NVM, contacted UT1FG when he was sailing in grid FG43 during a 2 minute pass on the venerable AO-7 satellite (Mode B). His next port will be Punta Patache, Chile (FG49). It’s possible…
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The digital version of the December issue of QST is now available to ARRL members.
In this issue . . .
• Discover which modes offer the most mileage
• Replace bulbs with LEDs in vintage rigs
• Try a dual band HF ground plane antenna
• See the 2013 Field Day results
…and much more!
Enjoy content you won’t see in the print edition . . .
• Watch a video overview of the Icom ID-51A dual band handheld tr…
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Solar activity remains robust. Yesterday, Thursday, November 14 the daily sunspot number rose to 234, a number not seen since the last blast of the second peak of the previous solar cycle, exactly a decade ago.
Way back on October 27 through November 1, 2003 the daily sunspot numbers were 238, 230, 330, 293, 266, and 277. That was it. Nothing as high as a sunspot number of 234 since then.
But the…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
The ARRL Southeastern Division will have a new director on January 1. Ballots were counted today, and challenger Doug Rehman, K4AC, of Mt Dora, Florida, narrowly defeated incumbent Southeastern Division Director Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, of Huntsville, Alabama, 961 to 949 votes. Rehman was among challengers who ran against Sarratt in 2010. Sarratt has served as a Director since 2007.
There was no cha…
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The Daily DX reports that theK9W DXpedition to Wake Atoll is over. A final log upload to ClubLog is pending. The K9W team logged more than 100,000 contacts with stations in 186 DXCC entities. Meanwhile the XRØZR team on Juan Fernandez reports that it has surpassed 35,000 contacts, and it’s beefing up efforts to put even more contacts into the log. The DXpedition has 6 more days to go.
“With the …
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The results of the 2013 ARRL Field Day have been posted. Less-than-ideal conditions this past June likely accounted for a slight drop in participation from 2012. Nonetheless, there were more than 2500 entries, and more than 35,500 people participated.
The team at W3AO (Potomac Valley Radio Club/Columbia Amateur Radio Association) claimed top honors this year, running class 29A(!) to compile a sc…
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[UPDATED 2013-11-14 1412 UTC] The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) announced this week that it has deployed satellite communication equipment to the Philippines to help re-establish “communications vital for search and rescue” in areas severely affected by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). Amateur Radio volunteers throughout the Philippine archipelago have been a primary communication link s…
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Six meter operators were treated November 9 to an F2 opening from approximately 1500 until 1630 UTC.
“These have been very rare in solar cycle 24,” said QST “The World Above 50 MHz” Editor Jon Jones, NØJK. He described the opening as “mostly single-hop F2” from the East Coast, Midwest, Gulf Coast, and to the West Coast to Central America, Northern South America and Caribbean.
Jones said the geoma…
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Two astronauts and a cosmonaut returned safely to Earth from International Space Station today. The Expedition 37 crew of European Space Agency Astronaut Luca Parmitano, KF5KDP; Russian ISS Crew Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, RN3FI, and NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg landed in a Soyuz spacecraft in the Kazakhstan steppe, returning in the same spacecraft that took them to the ISS last May.
They carrie…
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Members of The American Legion Amateur Radio Club (TALARC) will honor their fellow veterans in a special on-the-air tribute on Veterans Day, Monday, November 11. TALARC will operate on 20 meters, IRLP, 2 meter simplex and a Central Indiana repeater from 9 AM through 5 PM Eastern Time (1300-2200 UTC), using special event call sign W9L. Anyone contacting the station is eligible to receive an attr…
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Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) President Geoffrey Bawden, VE4BAW, told the RAC’s Annual General Meeting in his Report to RAC Members last month that the organization is solvent.
“After two and a half years of hard work, RAC is on a firm financial footing,” Bawden said. At the 2010 Annual General Meeting, Bawden had raised the specter of financial failure. “We were insolvent and on the very brink…
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Officials in the Philippines are still assessing the extent of damage wrought by Typhoon Haiyan (locally called “Yolanda”), which hit the central Philippines November 8. The death toll is at least 100, with many others injured and some 500,000 people left homeless. The typhoon (tornado), with sustained winds approaching 150 MPH with gusts to 170 MPH, swept away homes and buildings, blocked road…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Powerful Typhoon Haiyan (called “Yolanda” locally) struck the central Philippines on November 8, leaving at least four people dead and cutting off power and communications. Ramon Anquilan, DU1UGZ, of the Philippines Amateur Radio Association (PARA), reports that the Ham Emergency Radio Operators (HERO) have been supporting authorities with reports and message-handling.
“They helped track the d…
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Solar activity eased off over the past week, with average daily sunspot numbers declining nearly 30 points from 161.6 to 131.7, and average daily solar flux down over 12 points from 158.3 to 146. Geomagnetic indicators were quiet. Still, activity remains strong. The last three days of the reporting week (November 4-6) had increasingly stronger sunspot numbers, all higher than the week’s average…
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Super Typhoon Haiyan, a category 5 storm, has hit the Philippines, triggering flooding, destroying buildings, and causing millions to take shelter. Ramon Anquilan, DU1UGZ, of the Philippines Amateur Radio Association (PARA) reports that the typhoon made landfall at about 4:40 AM local time November 8 in Guian Estern Samar, about 600 kilometers southeast of Manila. Neighboring provinces are affe…
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NASA’s Richard Mastracchio, KC5ZTE, Russia’s Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT, and Japan’s Koichi Wakata, KC5ZTA, arrived at the International Space Station November 7, expanding the ISS crew complement to nine members. The new crewmembers carried the torch that will be used to light the Olympic flame in Sochi, Russia, for the 2014 Winter Games.
The arrival of Mastracchio, Tyurin and Wakata brings the stat…
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The president of the European DX Foundation, Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T, has written the ARRL DX Advisory Committee (DXAC) in support of DXCC recognition of Kosovo. Timmerman, who is also IARU Region 1 president, has been involved in getting Amateur Radio back up to speed in Kosovo and operated in September 2012 as Z6ØK. Under current DXCC rules, Kosovo does not qualify as a DXCC entity. For…
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What’s the frequency, Kenneth? The annual Frequency Measuring Test (FMT) will take place on November 13, at 0300 UTC. See page 88 of November 2013 QST for the schedule and full details.
The FMT will employ a “roundtable” format, with all transmitting stations close to the same frequency. The four test signal stations will be K5CM in Oklahoma, W8KSE in Ohio, W6OQI in California and WA6ZTY in Cali…
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Technology marches on and, controversy aside, operating a remote station via the Internet has become more common in recent years. In the ARRL November Sweepstakes CW event last weekend, a ham who lives in Uruguay remotely operated a station in the US, making a clean sweep in the process. Tom Morton, K6CT/CX7TT, who lives in near Montevideo, logged into one of the operating positions at K4VV in …
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A hiker in distress in Nevada is thankful that he had his hand-held transceiver along when he found himself stranded in the hills near Henderson. Western Intertie Network (WIN) System member Jim Frederick, KF6QBW, in Arizona reports he was monitoring the system November 3 around midday when he heard, “Mayday, Mayday. Hiker in distress!” from his WIN System repeater.
“I grabbed a charged battery …
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Special event station KP4AO Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico will be on the air Sunday, November 10, 1230-2000 UTC.
“We will be on the air commemorating our 50th anniversary of Radio Astronomy Science,” explains Angel M. Vazquez, WP3R, the head of telescope operations and RFI/spectrum manager at the facility. “We will operate 20 meter phone only at around 14.250 MHz. All participants locally w…
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Sworn into office November 4, Tom Wheeler, the new FCC chairman, has named current Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Chief Ruth Milkman as his chief of staff. Replacing Milkman as acting Wireless Bureau chief will be Roger Sherman, a communications attorney with strong links to the Democratic Party. The WTB oversees Amateur Radio within the FCC. Sherman previously served as the Democratic Chie…
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Dmitry Pashkov, UB4UAD, reports that the Amateur Radio slow-scan television (SSTV) experiment onboard the International Space Station has been active for the past couple of days on 145.800 MHz FM, mainly while the ISS is above Moscow. UB4UAD says that on October 31, RSØISS will transmit SSTV images showing images from the life and work of the first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin.
Stations can view the …
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When the 2013 ARRL November Sweepstakes kicks into gear in a few days with the CW event, it will mark the 80th running of the oldest domestic ham radio contest, which debuted in 1930. Amateur Radio was ordered off the air during World War II, so no Sweepstakes events took place during those years. The CW event is this weekend, November 2-3, while the phone event is the weekend of November 16-17…
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The Federal Communications Commission once again has its full complement of five commissioners. On Tuesday, the US Senate confirmed the White House nomination of venture capitalist and industry insider Thomas Wheeler, a Democrat, to be FCC chairman. He succeeds former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who stepped down in June. The Senate also confirmed Michael O’Rielly as a commissioner to one o…
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It’s been a lively couple of weeks, with plenty of sunspots and great HF propagation. Average daily sunspot number for the week was 161.6, unchanged from last week’s average of 162. Solar flux values were up quite a bit though, rising from 139.6 to 158.3, quite a healthy jump.
On October 26 the Penticton solar flux reading was 171.8, but NOAA downgraded it to 165, probably because the higher val…
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Preparatory to a “DXcursion” to Albania, a team of operators in Kosovo will fire up Z6ØA for the first time November 1 through November 3 on SSB, 14.210, 21.310 and 28.510 MHz, operating split as needed. Special emphasis will be given to Japan and the US.
Operators will include Vjollca, Z61VB; Ali, Z61DD; Driton, Z61DX, and Fehmi, Z62FB. Some new hams will participate as well. A special QSL car…
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Helping to alleviate concerns that it rarely polices the Citizens Radio Service (CB), the FCC has fined an Alaska CBer $ 500 for “willfully and repeatedly” operating a non-certificated CB transmitter with an RF linear amplifier which, the Commission said, violated federal law and its rules and “voided his authority to operate his CB station.”
In a Forfeiture Order released October 30, the FCC not…
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ARRL Awards Branch Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, says the deadline for submissions to be published in the DXCC Yearbook is Tuesday, December 31. A hard copy of the Yearbook remains available, $ 8 in the US, $ 12 elsewhere, postage included. To be in the annual listing, DXers must make at least one submission during the calendar year or be on the current Honor Roll. The DXCC Annual List is included as…
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Members of the Uruguay DX Group will be on the air from Easter Island as XRØYY November 1-7. A seven-person team will operate from Hanga Roa, running three stations simultaneously on 1.8 through 50 MHz, CW, SSB and digital modes. QSL via EB7DX. Easter Island is number 107 on the ClubLog Most Wanted list. Operators include Jose, CEØHYO; Gustavo, CX2AM; Humberto, CX3AN; Gustavo, CX3CE; Mario, CX4…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
When the 2013 ARRL November Sweepstakes kicks into gear in a few days with the CW event, it will mark the 80th running of the oldest domestic ham radio contest, which debuted in 1930. Amateur Radio was ordered off the air during World War II, so no Sweepstakes events took place during those years. The CW event is this weekend, November 2-3, while the phone event is the weekend of November 16-17…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 2 (the Americas) has published a revised IARU Region 2 Band Plan for all allocations from 137 kHz to 250 GHz, effective September 27, 2013. The member-societies of IARU Region 2 adopted the new plan during their triennial General Assembly in Cancun, Mexico, in late September. Delegates from 18 national Amateur Radio associations attended. Represen…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Let the bidding begin! The 8th annual ARRL On-Line Auction is now open!. Our 2013 Auction will run from October 24 through October 31.
This year’s auction offers 229 items, including transceivers, amplifiers, antenna tuners, test gear, hand-held transceivers, and QST “Product Review” equipment (already ARRL Lab-tested!). A number of items were donated by our business partners. The selection als…
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The FCC has fined Jared A. Bruegman, ex-KCØIQN, of Bolivar, Missouri, $ 500 for transmitting on 14.312 MHz without a license. Last February, the FCC told Bruegman in a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) that it intended to impose a $ 10,000 fine, but in a Forfeiture Order released October 23, the FCC reduced the fine.
“Based on the financial documents provided by Mr. Bruegman,” the …
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Marvin O. “Marv” Loftness, KB7KK, of Olympia, Washington, died October 17. He was 93. A power line noise expert, Loftness may be best known in Amateur Radio circles for his book, AC Power Interference Handbook, distributed by ARRL in its third edition, revised (ARRL is the exclusive distributor.)
“His book is held in high regard by many EMC experts,” said ARRL Sales and Marketing Manager Bob Ind…
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Solar Activity remains high, as participants in the CQ World Wide DX Contest (phone) experience openings on the higher bands. NOAA forecasters are estimating a 70 percent chance of M-flares and a 35 percent chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours. According to NOAA, M-class flares can cause brief radio blackouts affecting Earth’s polar regions, while X-class flares are major events that can…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Solar activity is increasing, suggesting that perhaps now in Fall 2013 we are in the midst of a second peak in cycle 24. We hope it sustains.
Sunspot numbers this week ran up all the way to 228, a level not seen in the past decade since October 27 through November 1, 2003 when the daily sunspot numbers were 238, 230, 330, 293, 266 and 277. Prior to that, on January 11, 2003 the daily sunspot num…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) says solar activity is “high and intensifying,” and radio blackouts reaching the R3 levels have been observed over the past 24 hours. An R3 event can cause a wide-area blackout of HF radio communication and a loss of radio contact for about an hour on Earth’s sunlit side. Low-frequency navigation signals may be degraded for about an hour as well. A…
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When Monitoring Times publishes its final issue in December, a new electronic publication, The Spectrum Monitor, will follow in its footsteps. Monitoring Times announced earlier this year that it was ceasing publication after a 33 year run and the retirement of its publisher, Bob Grove, W8JHD.
Monitoring Times Managing Editor Ken Reitz, KS4ZR, will helm The Spectrum Monitor, which will debut in …
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After I became VP of the club during the second half of 2011, I heard from many that our club was too cliquish, the presentations were not as interesting as they could be, and new and prospective members didn’t feel a part of our club. As vice president, I wondered what could be done to improve the situation.
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The sponsors for the Wake Island K9W commemorative DXpedition that was derailed as a result of the partial government shutdown say they are continuing to work with the US Air Force to reschedule the operation.
“Once we have the new dates, we will post them here and through the normal Amateur Radio communication media,” the group announced October 22. “Thank you for your patience and understandin…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
The first episode of season 5 of the Ice Pilots NWT TV show will include video of an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact last May.
According to the description of the episode, “Cold Start,” the character Mikey “gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he’s invited to host a classroom discussion with Commander Chris Hadfield [KC5RNJ/VA3OOG], calling in from the Interna…
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Attention ARRL full members in the Southeastern Division (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands): An election is underway for Director and Vice Director of your division for the 3 year term beginning January 1, 2014.
The candidates for Director are Doug Rehman, K4AC, and Greg Sarratt, W4OZK. The candidates for Vice Director are George Hawrysko, K4AWA, and Jim Millsap,…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
At its July 2013 meeting the ARRL Board of Directors gave the wrong award to the right person. Brian D. Justin, WA1ZMS/4, was recommended by the Programs and Services Committee to receive the 2013 ARRL Technical Innovation Award, but a drafting error crept in that changed the name of the award in the motion that came to the Board. The error has been corrected by unanimous e-mail vote of the 15 …
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources