The ARRL Letter Vol. 28, No. 34 August 28, 2009

[David (N4DLT)]

***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 28, No. 34
August 28, 2009
***************

IN THIS EDITION:

* + FCC to Utilities: Don't Look to Hams to Pay for Your Testing
* + Hurricane Bill Passes New England, Finds Newfoundland
* + ARRL Vice Director Elections Set for November
* + Space Shuttle Discovery: Three Hams on Board
* + SuitSat-2 Now Called ARISSat-1
* + South African Hams to Put ZS10WCS On the Air Before, During World
Cup
* Solar Update
* IN BRIEF:
This Week on the Radio
ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration
+ 2009 Field Day Logs Received, Posted Online
+ Kansas QSO Party Back on the Air for 2009

+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
<[e-mail]>

==>Editorial questions or comments only: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
<[e-mail]>
===========================================================

==> FCC TO UTILITIES: DON'T LOOK TO HAMS TO PAY FOR YOUR TESTING

In a case that goes back more than 10 years, the FCC has told a
Pennsylvania utility that the utility is responsible for paying for
"efforts to locate and correct instances of [power line] noise"
<http://www.fcc.gov/eb/AmateurActions/files/Duque09_08_07_5108.pdf>. At
least one amateur has been complaining to the FCC since 2000 regarding
harmful radio interference possibly caused by power line equipment
maintained by Pittsburgh's Duquesne Light Company (DLC)
<http://www.duquesnelight.com/>.

Bob Thacker, K3GT, of Allison Park, Pennsylvania -- a suburb just
northeast of Pittsburgh -- first noticed harmful interference back in
1996. He told the ARRL that DLC would come out and fix things, but that
he would soon hear noise again. After a few years of this, he complained
to the FCC, and in 2005, the FCC notified DLC of the complaint. A month
later, DLC responded to the FCC, detailing their efforts to resolve the
matter and indicated that the most recent complaint was the result of
changed conditions, not the continuation of an old problem.

According to the FCC, DLC again communicated with the FCC in a letter
dated June 2, 2005, explaining the efforts they had taken to repair
three lightning arrestors. During the latter half of 2005 and into 2006,
Thacker continued to experience interference and continued to report
these instances to DLC, requesting that DLC correct the problems. In
2007, he located a specific pole as one source of noise and advised a Mr
Luther of DLC of this fact; Mr Luther advised Thacker that he would
submit a work order.

In March 2008, DLC contacted Thacker, indicating that it had swept the
area where the suspected pole was located and discovered no noise. DLC
indicated that the noise source was a neon light. Finally, DLC stated
that it had spent "significant amounts of time and money" attempting to
address his concerns and that DLC would require him to pay for any
additional efforts to locate and correct instances of noise.

Special Counsel for Amateur Enforcement Laura Smith responded to DLC in
July of this year, saying "Such a response is not acceptable." She
spelled out what she called "the most important rules relating to radio
and television interference from incidental radiators," specifically:

47 CFR, Section 15.5: General Conditions of Operation
<http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2002/octqtr/pdf/47cfr15.5.pdf>; 47
CFR, Section 15.13: Incidental Radiators
<http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2002/octqtr/pdf/47cfr15.13.pdf>, and
47 CFR Section 15.15: General Technical Requirements
<http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2002/octqtr/pdf/47cfr15.15.pdf>.

"Given the fact this case has been ongoing for quite some time without
resolution and DLC has had ample time to locate the instances of
interference and make the necessary repairs," Smith told the utility,
"you are directed to respond to [me] within 60 days of receipt of this
letter, detailing what steps you have taken to resolve the remaining
instances of interference that are reported as being caused by your
equipment. Should the remaining interference problems not be resolved
within those 60 days, DLC will be required to provide [me] with a status
update every two weeks going forward as to what progress, if any, has
been made to resolve the matter."

ARRL Lab Engineer and power line noise expert Mike Gruber, W1MG, was
pleased with Smith's decision, and said that amateurs should not be made
to pay fees to the utilities to test for harmful interference by the
same utilities. "It is not the responsibility of an Amateur Radio
operator to track down and get rid of power line noise -- that's the
utilities' job. I am pleased with the precedent that Laura Smith and the
FCC have set here. Now maybe more utilities will take power line noise
interference more seriously in the future."

==> HURRICANE BILL PASSES NEW ENGLAND, FINDS NEWFOUNDLAND

Along Coastal New England and the Canadian Maritimes, residents boarded
up windows in preparation for Hurricane Bill. Even though the storm --
eventually downgraded from Category 4 to Category 1 -- was considerably
weaker than it had been when it was in the Caribbean earlier last week,
those who live and work in the region were not taking any chances. To
assist the National Hurricane Center (NHC) <http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/> in
tracking the storm, hams with the Hurricane Watch Net and the VoIP
Hurricane Net relayed traffic and spotting reports to WX4NHC, the
Amateur Radio Station at the NHC <http://www.wx4nhc.org/>.

"For the second year in a row -- last year with Hurricane Kyle, and now
Hurricane Bill -- the Amateur Radio operators in the Canadian Maritimes
proved their skills at supporting the needs of the hurricane centers and
in passing information vital to the public's safety," said ARRL
Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager Dennis Dura, K2DCD. "We know
that should even more severe tropical events impact that area, the hams
will be ready with this increasing experience of late, and we will be
ready to support them."

Bill's top-sustained winds fell from 105 MPH on Friday night to just 85
MPH by Sunday morning. But as the storm's wind speed dissipated, its
size didn't: The diameter of tropical storm-force winds stretched 550
miles, the distance from Atlanta to Washington, DC. During the early
hours of Sunday morning, Bill's center of circulation passed about 160
miles to the east-southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, its closest
approach to the United States. There were wind gusts ranging from 25-35
MPH along the eastern coast of Massachusetts and a few bands of rain
swept northward across Cape Cod, but not enough to cause any flooding.

The VoIP Hurricane Net (VoIP Net) <http://www.voipwx.net/> activated at
4 AM EDT on Sunday, August 23, wrapping up at 6 PM that evening. "Nova
Scotia amateurs relayed a significant number of reports to WX4NHC via
the Net," said Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net Rob
Macedo, KD1CY. "They described tropical storm force conditions and
pockets of wind damage, including a few coastal road washouts from storm
surge but the region was spared hurricane force winds. This is likely
because of Bill's track parallel to the coast, just south of the
province. The highest wind gusts were in the 45-55 MPH range over land."

Macedo said that during the weekly VoIP Net on Saturday evening, Net
Control conducted a special roll call, lining up Canadian stations from
the affected area: "Martin Thomas, VE1AUZ, was the key liaison station
monitoring the local VHF/UHF repeaters, feeding the information to the
VoIP Hurricane Net. Several other Canadian stations also relayed
reports, including Geoff Wilson, VE1GW, and Frank Leslie, VE1FWL.
VE1EMX, an official station for the Municipality of the County of
Cumberland's Emergency Measures Organization, was also on the air. More
than a dozen Canadian stations were connected into the VoIP Hurricane
Net during the height of Bill's impact on the Maritimes. This is our
second time in two years working with Canadian amateurs and amateurs
affiliated with Radio Amateurs Canada and they did a terrific job once
again."

RAC Vice President of Field Services Doug Mercer, VO1DTM, told the ARRL
that he, Newfoundland Section Emergency Coordinator Rendyl Godwin,
VO1RYL, and four District Emergency Coordinators were "actively passing
traffic hourly to the Hurricane Watch Net since 1200 UTC [Sunday]."

Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) <http://www.hwn.org/> Manager Dave Lefavour,
W7GOX, told the ARRL that they received an activation request from
WX4NHC, their first activation of the 2009 hurricane season: "We opened
the Net at 8 AM EDT on Sunday, August 23 on 14.325 MHz, and operated
continuously until 7 PM. We had a successful spring recruiting campaign
that brought several new members to the Net, and Hurricane Bill allowed
us to introduce them to our Net protocols. It's one thing to read about
how we do things, but there is no substitute for experience. Conditions
on 20 meters were difficult, but with the additional members added to
our roster, we were able to maintain communications with our Canadian
reporting stations. Kudos to three hams -- Derek King, VE1AWT, David
Myrick, VO1VCE, and Fredrick Snow, VO1FJS -- are in order, as they were
stalwarts during this HWN session, providing timely information that we
relayed to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. By the end of the
day, 22 HWN members had participated in the Net."

Lefavour thanked all amateurs who kept the 20 meter frequency clear so
they could support WX4NHC. "With the unpredictable shifts in propagation
on the 20 meter band, and considering the conditions under which these
folks are operating, the signals of our reporting stations are often
weak," he said. "This was certainly the case for Sunday's Net session."

WX4NHC Assistant Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, thanked the hams who
supported the operation: "I would like to echo my thanks to everyone for
making the effort to support our friends in Canada during Hurricane
Bill. It was truly an international effort with Net Controls from many
parts of the US and as far away as Germany. The highest wind reports
that I saw come in came from Sable Island with a population of five
people and 300 wild horses."

Ripoll singled out five Canadian hams "who truly deserve special mention
for their extra efforts and long hours relaying reports: Martin Thomas,
VE1AUZ; Joseph Wilson, VE1GW; Frank Leslie, VE1FWL; James Hannon,
VE1EMX, and Fredrick Snow, VO1FJS."

"Bill opened the 2009 hurricane season for us," HWN's Lefavour said. "We
hope that we are not needed for the rest of the year, but the peak of
the hurricane season is yet to come. We're ready."

==> ARRL VICE DIRECTOR ELECTIONS SET FOR NOVEMBER

Responding to solicitations in the July and August issues of QST, ARRL
members in the Central, Hudson, New England, Northwestern and Roanoke
Divisions have nominated 11 candidates for the 10 positions of Director
and Vice Director of each of the five divisions. Seven incumbents have
been declared elected without opposition, while there will be balloting
for Vice Director in the Central and Roanoke Divisions; ballots will be
counted on Friday, November 20, 2009, and those elected will serve
three-year terms beginning at noon on January 1, 2010.

The ARRL Ethics and Elections Committee has reviewed and confirmed the
eligibility of all 11 candidates and has declared the following
re-elected: Central Division Director George R. Isely, W9GIG; Hudson
Division Director Frank Fallon, N2FF, and Vice Director Joyce
Birmingham, KA2ANF; New England Division Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI, and
Vice Director Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF; Northwestern Division Director Jim
Fenstermaker, K9JF, and Roanoke Division Director Dennis Bodson, W4PWF.
The rules state that if a candidate is running unopposed, he or she
shall be declared the winner without balloting. No one from the
Northwestern Division requested a petition form for the Vice Director
position, so that position will become vacant at noon on January 1,
2010; William J. Sawders, K7ZM, is the current Northwestern Division
Vice Director. The ARRL President is empowered by the ARRL Articles of
Association and Bylaws to appoint someone to fill the vacant position.

Roanoke Division Vice Director Patricia Hensley, N4ROS, decided not to
seek another term. Nominated to succeed her are South Carolina Section
Manager James F. Boehner, N2ZZ, of Aiken, and former West Virginia
Section Manager Hal Turley, W8HC, of Huntington.

In the Central Division, incumbent Vice Director Howard S. Huntington,
K9KM, of Hawthorn Woods, Illinois, is being challenged by VHF/UHF
Advisory Committee (VUAC) Chairman Kermit Carlson, W9XA, of Batavia,
Illinois.

The policies of the League are established by 15 Directors who are
elected to the Board on a geographical basis to represent their
divisions and constituents. These 15 Directors serve three year terms,
with five standing for election each year. Vice Directors, who succeed
the Director in the event of a mid-term vacancy and serve as Director at
any Board meeting the Director is unable to attend, are elected at the
same time.

Full members of the ARRL in the Central and Roanoke Divisions will be
mailed ballots in late September. To receive a ballot you must be a
member as of September 10. To be counted, ballots must be returned so as
to be received at ARRL HQ no later than noon Eastern Standard Time on
Friday, November 20. The count will be conducted on that date under the
supervision of three tellers and a certified public accountant.

Absentee ballots are available to those ARRL full members licensed by
the FCC but temporarily residing outside of the US. Members overseas who
arrange to be listed as full members in an appropriate Division prior to
September 10, 2009, will be able to vote this year where elections are
being held. Even within the US, full members temporarily living outside
the ARRL Division they consider home may have voting privileges by
notifying the ARRL Secretary prior to September 10, 2009, giving their
current QST address and the reason another Division is considered home.

==> SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY: THREE HAMS ON BOARD

Tuesday's launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-128)
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts128/index.
html> was scuttled when thunderstorms -- including a lightning strike
just five miles from the launch pad -- popped up unexpectedly Monday
evening, continuing into Tuesday morning. With plans to reschedule the
launch the next day, NASA technicians found problems with the shuttle's
fill and drain valves. Discovery is now scheduled to launch into space
at 11:59 PM (EDT) on Friday, August 28, carrying a crew of seven
astronauts, including three radio amateurs.

Commanded by Frederick W. "Rick" Sturckow and piloted by Kevin A. Ford,
Discovery is poised to blast off on a 13 day mission to deliver more
than 7 tons of supplies, science racks and equipment, as well as
additional environmental hardware to sustain six crew members on the
International Space Station (ISS). The shuttle also has a crew of five
Mission Specialists: Jose Hernandez, KE5DAV; Nicole Stott, KE5GJN;
Christer Fuglesang, SA0AFS/KE5CGR; Patrick G. Forrester, and John D.
"Danny" Olivas.

When Discovery undocks from the ISS, Stott will be left behind in the
orbital outpost. Timothy Kopra, KE5UDN -- who has been on the ISS since
July -- will return to Earth on the shuttle. Kopra's departure and
Stott's arrival makes for six astronauts on board the ISS, and all but
one are licensed radio amateurs: Commander Gennady Padalka, RN3DT;
Flight Engineer Michael Barratt, KD5MIJ; Flight Engineer Frank DeWinne,
ON1DWN; Flight Engineer Robert Thirsk, VA3CSA, and Flight Engineer Roman
Romanenko.

Stott -- who holds a BS in aeronautical engineering from Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University and a master's degree in engineering management
from the University of Central Florida -- joined NASA in 1988 as an
Operations Engineer in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) at the
Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Soon after, she was detailed to
the Director of Shuttle Processing as part of a two-person team tasked
with assessing the overall efficiency of shuttle processing flows and
implementing tools for measuring the effectiveness of improvements.
During her time at KSC, Stott also held a variety of positions within
NASA Shuttle Processing, including Vehicle Operations Engineer, NASA
Convoy Commander, Shuttle Flow Director for Endeavour and Orbiter
Project Engineer for Columbia. In 1998, she joined the Johnson Space
Center team in Houston as a member of the NASA Aircraft Operations
Division, where she served as a Flight Simulation Engineer on the
Shuttle Training Aircraft.

Selected as a mission specialist by NASA in July 2000, Stott reported
for astronaut candidate training the next month. Following the
completion of two years of training and evaluation, she was assigned
technical duties in the Astronaut Office Station Operations Branch,
where she performed crew evaluations of station payloads. She also
worked as a support astronaut for the Expedition 10 crew. In April 2006,
she was a crew member on the NEEMO 9 mission (NASA Extreme Environment
Mission Operations) where she lived and worked with a six-person crew
for 18 days on the Aquarius undersea research habitat.

In a NASA pre-flight interview, Stott said that while on board the ISS,
the crew will "be continuing the final assembly of the space station,
and also moving more actively into the utilization phase of station,
with the science and research that will be going on." Her primary
responsibility on the ISS will be "to maintain the U.S. systems as well
as the payloads that are on the US side, and that also includes the
Japanese Experiment Module and the Columbus experiment module. And I
think one of the really cool things about Expedition 20 and 21 is that
we'll be a six person crew on board the station at that time."

STS-128 marks the first spaceflight for Hernandez, a native of Stockton,
California. Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2004, he completed his
initial training in February 2006. While on Discovery, he is slated to
perform robotic operations to inspect Discovery after launch and assist
with cargo transfer from the shuttle to ISS. Hernandez holds a BSEE in
electrical engineering from the University of the Pacific and a master's
degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of
California Santa Barbara.

Fuglesang, from Sweden, is an astronaut with the European Space Agency
(ESA); he flew as a mission specialist and conducted three spacewalks on
STS-116 in 2006. He was selected to join the ESA astronaut corps in 1992
and began training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston in 1996.
Fuglesang has a master's degree in engineering physics from the Royal
Institute of Technology and a PhD in experimental particle physics from
the University of Stockholm.

NASA has said that if Discovery is not launched by Sunday, the mission
would have to be delayed until mid-October to provide launch
opportunities for other spacecraft, including a Russian crew capsule and
an unmanned Japanese cargo ship destined to visit the ISS. If NASA
decides workers have to make repairs, that could mean a weeks-long
delay.

Stott is scheduled to return to Earth on the Space Shuttle Atlantis
(STS-129)
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/index.
html>, set to launch in November 2009. -- NASA provided the information
for this article

==> SUITSAT-2 NOW CALLED ARISSAT-1

The SuitSat-2 project -- an Amateur Radio satellite housed in a Russian
spacesuit -- now has a new name to go with a new shape: ARISSat-1. On
Wednesday, August 19, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) <http://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm> Chairman Gaston Bertels,
ON4WF, announced the new name for the satellite and project. According
to ARRL ARISS Program Manager Rosalie White, K1STO, the project team is
moving ahead, using the same hardware that was to fly in the Russian
Orlan suit. Russia will continue to call the satellite Radioskaf-2, so
ARISS is designating it ARISSat-1/Radioskaf-2.

Plans to launch a second SuitSat-spacesuit-turned-satellite were the
subject of discussions and presentations at the November 2006 AMSAT
Space Symposium and ARISS International Delegates' meeting. Despite a
weaker-than-anticipated 2 meter signal, SuitSat-1 sparked the
imagination of students and the general public and turned into a public
relations bonanza for Amateur Radio
<http://www.arrl.org/ARISS/Suitsat.pdf>. ARISS hopes to capitalize on
the concept by building an even better SuitSat that will include ham
radio transponders. The SuitSat.org Web site <http://www.suitsat.org/>
attracted nearly 10 million hits during the SuitSat-1 mission.
Designated by AMSAT as AO-54, SuitSat-1 remained in operation for more
than two weeks, easily outlasting initial predictions that it would
transmit for about a week. SuitSat-1 re-entered and burned up in Earth's
atmosphere in September 2006. ARISSat-1/Radioskaf-2 is expected to be
live for at least six months.

Due to storage considerations, the two surplus Orlan space suits in
storage on the ISS were discarded via the Progress Cargo Vessel earlier
this year. One of these suits was to be used to house the electronics
for the upcoming SuitSat-2 mission; the batteries were to be mounted
inside the suit, solar panels attached to the extremities with the
electronics, video cameras and antenna mounted on the helmet by the ISS
crew prior to deployment during an extra-vehicular activity (EVA),
commonly called a spacewalk. The removal of the Orlan space suits from
ISS removes the "Suit" component of the deployment and the new name
reflects the change in configuration.

White told the ARRL that the ARISSat-1/Radioskaf-2 team, through Gould
Smith, WA4SXM, made the final decision for the satellite to be square,
with solar panels on all 6 sides. "The team is mounting a 70 cm
quarter-wave whip on the bottom and a 2 meter quarter wave whip on the
top," she said. "All of the hardware and software goes inside the
square, and cameras go on the outside." The experiment being developed
by Russia's Kursk State University is expected to be integrated into the
electronics once the US-produced equipment is delivered to Russia this
fall.

AMSAT <http://www.amsat.org/> and ARISS pointed out that the importance
of this project to both organizations is not diminished. "ARISS sees
this mission as an important component of education outreach, as it will
provide an opportunity for students around the world to listen for
recorded greetings from space, as well as learn about tracking
spacecraft in orbit," White said.

The ARISSat-1/Radioskaf-2 transmitter and receiver will be based on a
Software Defined Transponder (SDX) system. It will consist of two major
components: The RF Module and the Digital Signal Processor (DSP) module.
In the RF module, there will be an up converter that receives a signal
from the DSP module as a 10.7 MHz intermediate frequency RF signal with
a 50 kHz bandwidth, and up converts it to 145 MHz signal of 50 kHz
bandwidth centered on 145.9375 MHz. The receiver is a down converter
with a 50 kHz bandwidth centered on 437.6125 MHz. The output of the
receiver is a 10.7 MHz RF signal with a bandwidth of 50 kHz. The DSP
processor receives the 10.7 MHz signal from the receiver down converter
and processes it and outputs a 10.7 MHz signal to the transmitter up
converter. The DSP can also inject signals such as the CW ID, telemetry,
audio and packet signals as determined by the software on the DSP.

AMSAT calls the deployment of the SDX "a critical milestone" for the
organization. "This upcoming flight provides an opportunity to flight
test the next generation of spacecraft hardware," Bertels said. "Lessons
learned from this deployment will be applied to future flight
opportunities as AMSAT moves towards a 'modularization approach' to
spacecraft development with the expectation the future spacecraft
missions will utilize a derivative of SDX and the associated hardware."

The ARISS International Team has been informed that there is still space
available for shipment of the ARISSat-1/Radioskaf-2 electronics on the
projected cargo flight to the ISS in January 2010, and the
extra-vehicular activity scheduled for April 2010 still has a SuitSat-2
deployment on the schedule.

==> SOUTH AFRICAN HAMS TO PUT ZS10WCS ON THE AIR BEFORE, DURING WORLD
CUP

With World Cup soccer coming to South Africa in 2010, hams in that
country will commemorate the event starting in September 2009 with a
special call sign: ZS10WCS. According to the South African Radio League
(SARL) <http://www.sarl.org.za/>, that country's IARU Member-Society,
the call sign will be used in two ways: In the months leading up to the
Word Cup, to be held June 11-July 11, 2010, and for times during the
event itself. SARL is requiring that clubs selected to use ZS10WCS
before the event be on the air on weekends, Friday night through Sunday
night. Clubs using the special call sign during the World Cup are
expected to be on the air each day.

SARL will supply the special event QSL cards, and requests for direct
QSLs will be handled by the SARL QSL bureau. Direct QSLs must include a
self-addressed envelope and one IRC or US $1. Amateurs may also QSL via
e-mail <[e-mail]>, but those hams sending an e-mail QSL will only
receive an e-mail QSL in return, and not the commemorative printed QSL.

When the World Cup was in Germany in 2006, 38 different special event
stations were on the air to celebrate the event. From May 13-July 16, 26
special district stations (DQ2006A to DQ2006Z) and 12 special stadium
stations (such as DR2006B and DR2006C) at the various venues were on the
air. The Deutsche Amateur Radio Club (DARC) offered a gold, silver and
bronze award for contacting each station; there is no word if SARL will
offer an award in 2010. -- Some information provided by SARL

==>SOLAR UPDATE

Tad "The Sun just touched the morning" Cook, K7RA, this week reports:
Sunspot numbers for August 20-26 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 and 0 with a mean
of 0. The 10.7 cm flux was 67.6, 66.4, 66.6, 67.3, 67.6, 67.1 and 67.3
with a mean of 67.1. The estimated planetary A indices were 11, 8, 5, 5,
3, 3 and 4 with a mean of 5.6. The estimated mid-latitude A indices were
8, 6, 3, 3, 1, 2 and 4 with a mean of 3.9. Geophysical Institute Prague
predicts quiet to unsettled conditions August 28, quiet August 29-30,
quiet to unsettled August 31, September 1 quiet, quiet to unsettled
September 2 and active conditions on September 3. NOAA and the US Air
Force predict the planetary A index for August 28-September 6 at 5, 7,
10, 7, 5, 12, 7, 5, 8 and 6. 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/>. This week's "Tad
Cookism" brought to you by Emily Dickinson's "The Sun Just Touched the
Morning"
<http://www.quotesandpoem.com/poems/poeticworks/Dickinson/Complete_Poems
:_Nature_-_1/5>.

__________________________________

==>IN BRIEF:

* This Week on the Radio: This week, look for an NCCC Sprint on August
28. The Kansas QSO Party is August 29-30. Next week is the All Asia
Contest and Colorado QSO Party on September 5-6. The Tennessee QSO Party
is September 6-7. 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/update/> and the WA7BNM
Contest Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for
more info. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the
ARRL Special Event Station Web page
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/spev.html>.

* ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration: Registration remains
open through Sunday, April 6, 2009, for these online course sessions
beginning on Friday, April 18, 2009: XXXXXX. 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/cep/student> or contact the Continuing Education
Program Coordinator <[e-mail]>.

* 2009 Field Day Logs Received, Posted Online: All 2009 Field Day logs
that have been received have been posted to the Claimed Scores page on
the ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/contests/claimed>. They reflect
all applications sent from the b4h.net Web applet, as well as those
received via the US Postal Service and usable electronic submissions
sent via regular e-mail (non-Web applet submissions). If you find an
error in your listing, or your entry is missing, please contact ARRL
Field Day Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, via e-mail <[e-mail]>
or by phone at 860-594-0236. If your entry is listed as needing more
information, please contact Kathy Allison, KA1RWY, via e-mail
<[e-mail]> or by phone at 860-594-0295. She has all of the
entries received and can determine what specifically is missing from
those entries with problems.

* Kansas QSO Party Back on the Air for 2009: This weekend offers an
opportunity to work rarely activated Kansas counties -- all 105 of them!
The Kansas QSO Party <http://www.ksqsoparty.org/> returns to the
airwaves for the first time since 2002, making it possible to put the
Kansas state flag on your Year of the State QSO Party certificate
<http://www.arrl.org/awards/ysqso>. The contest begins at 1400 UTC
Saturday, August 29 and runs throughout the weekend.

===========================================================
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 [phone]; 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!):
[e-mail]
==>Editorial questions or comments: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA,
[e-mail]
==>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
automatically sent email" to temporarily stop all e-mail deliveries.)
Then, click on "Submit modification" to make selections effective.
(NOTE: HQ staff members cannot change your e-mail delivery address. You
must do this yourself via the Members Only Web Site.)

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

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

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

Copyright 2009 American Radio Relay League, Inc.
All Rights Reserved