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+ Available on ARRL Audio News.
+ BPL Provider IBEC Announces Shutdown
IBEC -- one of the very few
remaining operators of Access BPL systems -- has announced that it is closing
down. In an undated announcement that appeared on the IBEC website, the company
announced that it has "no other option than to close our doors and cease
operations." IBEC claims that it cannot recover financially from the April 2011
tornadoes in Alabama that "ravished [sic] some of our major service areas."
IBEC provided Internet service via broadband over power lines (BPL) to rural
communities.
In this letter dated December 23, 2011, IBEC notified their
customers that it would be discontinuing service. According to a utility company
that serves portions of Tennessee and Virginia, they only found out about IBEC's
closure on January 3, 2012. Click here for a larger image. |
"While we regret the loss of jobs brought about by IBEC's BPL business
failure, in the long run the rural areas that IBEC was trying to serve will be
better served by broadband technologies that are superior to BPL and do not
pollute the radio spectrum," said ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner,
K1ZZ. "While initially IBEC was cooperative in addressing the ARRL's concerns
about interference to licensed radio services -- including Amateur Radio -- the
ARRL was dismayed to find that the systems as actually deployed fell short of
meeting even the inadequate requirements of the FCC's rules. We hope that this
latest in the long string of Access BPL failures will persuade the few remaining
fans of BPL to turn their attention elsewhere." Read more here.
+ On the Air:
ARRL Announces Diamond DXCC Challenge
2012 is the 75th anniversary of the ARRL's DXCC Award, the world's preeminent
DXing award. To celebrate this important milestone, the ARRL has gone back to
the beginning -- the 1937 DXCC List.The Diamond DXCC Challenge will test DXers
ability to contact all the 231 entities on the original DXCC List.
We tried to find corresponding entities today that would represent the places
listed in 1937, and we were mostly successful. There are a couple of places that
were merged, like French and British New Hebrides, and the Papua and New Guinea
Territories. In those places, for 2012 if you work a YJ or a P29 (on the main
island of New Guinea) you will get credit for working two entities! Many other
oddities are sprinkled throughout the list, too. Returning to the air in 2012
will be the Canal Zone (any HP operating within 8 kilometers of the Panama
Canal), the Cities of Gdansk, Poland, as well as Ifni, Morocco and Balochistan.
For some entities that now consist of multiple countries, you may work any of
today's entities to qualify for that single 1937 country. For example, French
Equatorial Africa will be considered worked if you log a station in TL, TN, TR
or TT in 2012. The Diamond DXCC country tables show the current entity names and
prefixes that qualify for the 1937 countries. Read more here.
+ Amateur Radio in
Space: ARISSat-1 Re-enters Earth's Atmosphere, Falls Silent
According to AMSAT, ARISSat-1
stopped transmitting on the morning of January 4. It is believed that the
satellite re-entered the Earth's atmosphere around 0700 UTC (+/- three hours)
and was destroyed soon after. Telemetry reports showed that the
temperature aboard ARISSat-1 had been rising as the atmospheric drag began to
affect the satellite The predicted
decay location is an open part of the South Atlantic, well west of
Angola.
Sergei Volvok, RU3DIS, and Alexander Samokutyaev deployed
ARISSat1-1 from the ISS on August 3, 2011. [Screenshot courtesy of NASA
TV] |
The last telemetry reports indicated that the internal temperature had topped
167 degrees Fahrenheit and was rising rapidly. Konstantin Vladimirovich, RN3ZF,
sent a reception report of a pass at 0842 UTC and stated, "The telemetry was
absent, voice messages were not legible, very silent and interrupted. Most
likely, I saw the last minutes in the life of the satellite." The last full telemetry captured was received
from ground stations as the satellite passed over Japan at 0602 UTC on January
4.
ARISSat-1 was deployed
from the International Space Station on August 3, 2011 during EVA-29 on by
Cosmonaut/Flight Engineers Sergei Volkov, RU3DIS, and Alexander Samokutyaev. The
satellite carried a student experiment from Kursk State University in Russia
that measured atmospheric density. Students from around the world provided the
voices for the FM voice announcements.
AMSAT President Barry Baines,
WD4ASW, said that ARISSat-1 marked a new type of satellite that captured the
attention of the national space agencies around the world. "With ARISSat-1, we
have we have been able to design, launch, and operate a unique educational
opportunity," he explained. "By designing an educational mission aligned with
NASA's Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics goals, radio amateurs
around the world have been able enjoy a new satellite in orbit."
ARISSat-1 achieved several "firsts" for Amateur Radio in space, including the
first flight test of the AMSAT Software Defined Transponder, which included an
FM voice downlink cycling between student messages, spoken telemetry and SSTV; a
16 kHz bandwidth linear transponder; a CW beacon carrying telemetry and call
signs of radio amateurs (noting their significant contributions to Amateur Radio
in space) and a robust, forward-error-corrected 1kbps BPSK digital downlink
carrying satellite telemetry and Kursk experiment telemetry.
+ Ham Radio in
Hollywood: Amateur Radio Makes Its Debut on Last Man Standing
Make Baxter, KA0XTT -- played by Tim Allen -- records his video
blog. Notice the tripod is on top of the 2011 ARRL Handbook, next to a
stack of QSTs. Last Man Standing airs on Tuesday nights at 8 PM
(Eastern) on ABC. [Screengrab courtesy of ABC] |
If you watched the January 3 episode of Last Man Standing -- the ABC hit
situation comedy starring Tim Allen as Mike Baxter, KA0XTT -- you were in for a
treat. While this episode didn't feature Amateur Radio per se, it did show
Mike's shack in the background. Viewers could see the DXCC, Worked All States,
Worked All Continents and the Morse Code Proficiency Certificate -- all provided
by the ARRL -- in the first scene. Later on in the show, Mike records his video
blog. Sharp-eyed viewers spotted the 2011
ARRL Handbook underneath the mini-tripod, next to issues of QST!
In the opening scene of the January 3 episode of Last Man
Standing, viewers get their first glimpse of Mike's shack -- along with his
impressive wall of ARRL awards and his QSL card collection. Mike's wife Vanessa
(played by Nancy Travis) and his boss Ed (played by Hector Elizondo) also appear
in the scene. [Screngrab courtesy of ABC] |
The episode airing on January 17 will introduce Mike Baxter as KA0XTT.
According to Last Man Standing
Producer John Amodeo, NN6JA, Mike will have a QSO on the show. "We had two
Amateur Extra class staff members complete a QSO on 10 meters and we recorded
it," Amodeo explained. " Unfortunately, we were set up on a stage that is
basically a Faraday cage. The very QRP signal made it radio-to-radio. We varied
the RIT [receiver incremental tuning] to give it a little extra SSB sound, but I
don't think the signal made it much past the stage walls. The recording will be
on the show. We thought our ham viewers would get a kick out of it. Non-hams
will think it's just distorted." Read more here.
On the Air:
Round Up Those Digital QSOs in the 2012 ARRL RTTY Roundup
We're in the heart of the 2011-2012 contest season and this weekend offers
the first major event of 2012: The ARRL RTTY Roundup. According to
ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, participation in the digital
modes has been growing at an amazing rate. "It's not difficult to get on the
digital modes," he explained. "All it takes these days is a computer, a piece of
free software and an interface to connect your computer to your rig. It's never
been easier!"
 |
Because of that ease, log submissions for the RTTY Roundup have increased
about 33 percent since 2007, with 1539 logs received in 2011. "There are plenty
of stations to work, including lots of DX," Kutzko said. "Many stations have
achieved RTTY DXCC and RTTY WAS in a
weekend. You can work toward other awards as well, such as the ARRL Triple Play Award, earned for
working all 50 states on CW, SSB and digital modes (including RTTY) and
confirming all of those QSOs via Logbook of The World (LoTW). Do you think you have
what it takes to set a new record score for your ARRL Division or Section? Check
the record scores for the RTTY
Roundup and see if you can beat the best!
The 2012 ARRL RTTY Roundup runs from 1800 UTC Saturday, January 7 through
2359 UTC Sunday, January 8. Logs may be submitted electronically via e-mail. Paper
logs should be sent to ARRL RTTY Roundup, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. All
logs must be postmarked no later than 2359 UTC Tuesday, February 7, 2012.
DIY: ARRL
Launches New DIY Campaign
The ARRL Public Relations Department has released the Do-It-Yourself (DIY)
suite of interrelated promotional materials aimed at exposing the growing Do It
Yourself/Maker community to Amateur Radio opportunities. The DIY movement is
nothing new to Amateur Radio. For more than a century, hams have been working in
basements and attics, taking things apart and putting them back together in new
ways, just for the fun of it. Meanwhile, there has been a growing population of
DIY hobbyists who do not know about the opportunities of Amateur Radio.
To reach this growing group, the ARRL Public Relations Department has created
an entirely new set of campaign materials for ARRL Public Information Officers,
groups and individual hams to use in reaching out to the DIY/Maker community.
Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, and Dave Bell, W6AQ, were recruited to create the new
video. Recruiting volunteers throughout 2011, the duo shot more than 65 hours of
high-definition video, and then edited it down to a mere 8 minutes. Titled The DIY Magic of Amateur Radio, it shows ham-makers projects from around
the country. Read more here.
+ Yaesu's Amateur Radio Division Breaks with Motorola,
Changes Name to Yaesu Musen
After four years under the Motorola umbrella, Yaesu has split from that
company. According to Vertex Standard President and Chief Executive Officer Jun
Hasegawa, effective January1, 2012, Motorola will keep the Vertex Standard
Land-Mobile Division, while the amateur, marine and air-band will be under the
Yaesu Musen banner. The new company will be known as Yaesu USA in the US. Read
more here.
+ On the Air:
ARRL 10 Meter Contest Sets Record
As of January 5, almost 5200 logs have been received for the ARRL 10
Meter Contest. Contest Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, is happy to have sunspots
back: "This just goes to show what sunspots can do for activity. When the solar
flux climbed to 190 in September, it was like the first warm day after a long
winter; people came out to play -- and play they did, in unprecedented numbers!
Activity during this contest season has been nothing short of tremendous, and it
seems to have reached a zenith for the ARRL 10 Meter Contest. Old Timers and new
licensees from all around the world got on the air and had one heck of a good
time on 28 MHz the second weekend in December, shattering the participation
record by more than 2300 logs. And we still have a week to go before the log
submission deadline!"
+ DXCC News:
2011 Sees Tremendous Increase in DXCC Applications
With the coming of more sunspots, comes more DX. And when more amateurs are
working DX, that means the ARRL's Membership and Volunteer Programs Department
-- especially the DXCC Desk and the ARRL Incoming and Outgoing QSL Bureaus --
goes into high gear.
"In 2011, we saw an increase in the
number of cards we received from ARRL members that were sent to foreign QSL
bureaus, as well as the number of cards we sent out to the bureaus," said DXCC
Manager Bill Moore, NC1L. "In addition, the number of DXCC applications --
including those for initial awards and endorsements -- also increased."
As the number of QSL cards has increased,
so have the number of DXCC applications. In 2010, the DXCC Desk processed 7134
applications for initial awards and endorsements; these 2010 applications
included 853,462 QSOs. In 2011, the DXCC Desk processed 11,175 applications,
containing 1,250,864 QSOs. "Comparing 2010 to 2011, this represents a 47 percent
increase in the number of QSOs and a 57 percent increase in the number of
applications," MVP Administrative Manager Sharon Taratula explained. "With all
of the year's applications not yet fully processed, we've seen a substantial
increase in the number of QSOs over 2010."
"Through December 31, 2011, the ARRL
Outgoing QSL Bureau received 802,500 cards destined for foreign QSL bureaus from ARRL
members in the US," Taratula said. "This represents an increase of 4 percent
over the 2010 number of about 771,900 cards. In 2011, the ARRL shipped 799,675
cards -- or close to 5400 pounds of cards -- to foreign bureaus." Read
more here.
+ On the Air:
ARRL Requests Feedback for 60 Meter Band Plan
In November 2011, the FCC released a Report & Order detailing new rules
for the 5 MHz (60 meters) Amateur Radio band. These rules have not yet been
published in the Federal Register. In order to be official, the rules
must be published in the Federal Register and will take effect 30 days
after the publication date. The R&O brings with it a number of
changes for 60 meter operators. Considering the expected increase in 60 meter
activity when the R&O finally
takes effect, the ARRL is asking for feedback to assist in crafting a proposed
band plan. Read more here.
Ham Radio in
Hollywood: Amateur Radio a Plot Point in Major Motion Picture
According to previews, the plot of the movie Journey 2: The Mysterious Island -- set
to be released February 10 -- hinges on Amateur Radio. The movie's hero Sean
Anderson (played by Josh Hutcherson) receives a coded distress signal that comes
from a mysterious island where no island should exist. Sean decides to follow
the signal with the unwilling assistance from his stepfather Hank (played by
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson).
Sean explains to Hank why he wants to hunt down the signal: "A few nights
ago, a radio signal got sent out from these coordinates. It could be the
mysterious island that Jules Verne wrote about." Hank replies: "You think you're
gonna travel halfway around the world and meet up with some lunatic who's
messing around on a ham radio?" "That's not some lunatic," Sean says. "That's my
grandfather." Read more here.
Ham Radio in
Hollywood: Can I Have "Amateur Radio" for $800, Alex?
If you were watching the popular television game show Jeopardy! -- where contestants have to
answer in the form of a question -- on December 15, you
might have noticed there was a question featuring Amateur Radio. In the first
round, returning champ Boomie Aglietti was playing the category "Pastimes" when
he encountered this "answer" worth $800: "The FCC assigns call signs, like
N8DNR, to use in this hobby." Aglietti answered correctly with "ham radio."
N8DNR is the call sign of Debbie Dorfman of West Bloomfield, Michigan. Debbie
is the mother of Stephen Dorfman, N6DIW
(SK). Stephen was a writer for Jeopardy! from 1984 until he passed away
in 2004 at age 48 due to complications from cancer. According to the New York
Times, Dorfman was Jeopardy!'s longest serving and most
prolific writer, with more than 50,000 clues to his credit. As part of a team of
writers, he won six Daytime Emmy Awards for special-class writing, given for
shows that do not fit into traditional categories. On the Jeopardy! episode that aired January 3,
2008, another Dorfman call sign was featured -- this one of Stephen's father
Neil -- also for $800, in the category "If You're...": "...using a call sign
like K8RX, you're engaged in this hobby."
Solar Update
The Sun, as seen on Thursday, January 5, 2012 from NASA's SOHO Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. This MDI
(Michelson Doppler Imager) image was taken in the continuum near the Ni I 6768
Angstrom line. The most prominent features are the sunspots. This is very much
how the Sun looks in the visible range of the
spectrum. |
Tad "We all live for the Sun"
Cook, K7RA, reports: We're continuing to see good conditions, although sunspot
activity has declined a bit. The average daily sunspot numbers for December
29-January 4 declined nearly 20 points (when compared to the previous seven
days) to 88.1; this is the lowest reported weekly sunspot number average since September 2011.
The average daily solar flux was off 6.4 points to 143.1. Another problem seems
to have cropped up with NOAA reporting of data that we use in this bulletin.
Last month, the sunspot numbers had to be corrected. Now it appears that some of
the geophysical data does not check out. Check the planetary A index for the
last few weeks of December 2011 here and check the
same dates here.
They should match, but they don't (unless the problem has been corrected by the
time you read this). But the numbers for all of 2011 match what we have reported
in the bulletin, and I suspect it is the correct version. The near term outlook
is for solar flux at 140 on January 5-6, 135 on January 7-8, 130 on January
9-11, 125 and 135 on January 12-13, and then back to 140 on January 14-21. The
next short term peak is expected at 150 on January 24-26. The expected planetary
A index for January 5-9 is 5, 8, 15, 10 and 8, then back down to 5 on January
10-27. That predicted A index of 15 on January 7 -- if accurate -- will be the
highest since October 25, when it was 27, and 31 the day before. That activity
was sparked by a coronal mass ejection that affected earth around 1800 UTC on
October 24. Look for more information on the ARRL website on Friday, January 6.
For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information
Service Propagation page. This week's "Tad Cookism" is brought to you by The
Sunrays' I Live for the
Sun.
ARRL
Congratulates: Ashraf Abuelhaija and Klaus Solbach, DK3BA, Win December QST
Cover Plaque Award
The winners of the QST Cover Plaque Award for December are Ashraf
Abuelhaija and Klaus Solbach, DK3BA, for their article "An Inverted V Wire Yagi
with Switchable Pattern Rotation for 14 MHz." Congratulations Ashraf and
Klaus! The QST Cover Plaque award -- given to the author or authors
of the best article in each issue -- is determined by a vote of ARRL members on
the QST Cover Plaque Poll web
page. Cast a ballot for your favorite article in the January issue today.
Dayton
Hamvention: Nomination Deadline for Dayton Hamvention Awards Approaching
It's not too late to nominate individuals and clubs for the 2012 Dayton
Hamvention® awards. The deadline to make your nominations for the
Amateur of the Year Award, Special Achievement Award, Technical Excellence
Award, and the Amateur Radio Club of the Year Award is Sunday, January 15. The
winners will be recognized at the 2012 Dayton Hamvention, May 18-20. Read more here.
This Week in Radiosport
This week:
- January 6 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- January 7 -- PODXS 070 Club PSKFest; QRP
ARCI Pet Rock Celebration
- January 7-8 -- ARRL RTTY Roundup; CWops Mini-CWT
Test; Original QRP Contest; EUCW 160 Meter Contest
- January 8 -- ARRL Kids
Day; SKCC Weekend Sprint; DARC 10 Meter Contest; Midwinter Contest
- January 11-12 -- CWops Mini-CWT
Test
Next week:
- January 13 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- January 14-15 -- North American QSO Party
(CW); WW PMC Contest; Michigan QRP January CW Contest
- January 16 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest
- January 19 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug
Sprint
All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL
Contest Branch page, the ARRL Contest Update and
the WA7BNM Contest
Calendar for more information. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure
to check out the ARRL Special Event Stations
Web page.
Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and
Events
- January 8 -- ARRL
New York/Long Island Section Convention, Bethpage, New York
- January 27-28 -- ARRL
Mississippi State Convention, Jackson, Mississippi
- February 4 -- ARRL
Virginia State Convention, Richmond, Virginia; ARRL South
Carolina State Convention, Ladson, South Carolina
- February 10-12 -- ARRL
Northern Florida Section Convention, Orlando, Florida
- February 17-18 -- ARRL
Southwestern Division Convention, Yuma, Arizona
- February 18 -- ARRL Arkansas
Section Convention, Hoxie, Arkansas
- February 25 -- ARRL
Vermont State Convention, South Burlington, Vermont
- March 3 -- ARRL
Santa Clara Valley Section Convention, Del Rey Oaks, California; ARRL
South Texas Section Convention, Rosenberg, Texas
- March 3-4 -- ARRL
Alabama Section Convention, Birmingham, Alabama
- March 9-10 -- ARRL
Louisiana State Convention, Rayne, Louisiana; ARRL
Oklahoma State Convention, Claremore, Oklahoma
- March 10-11 -- ARRL
Roanoke Division Convention, Concord, North Carolina
- March 17 -- ARRL
Nebraska State Convention, Lincoln, Nebraska; ARRL
Southern Florida Section Convention, Stuart, Florida; ARRL
West Texas Section Convention, Midland, Texas
- March 23-24 -- ARRL Maine State
Convention, Lewiston, Maine
To find a convention or hamfest near you, click here.
ARRL -- Your One-Stop Resource for
Amateur Radio News and Information
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