The ARRL Letter
June 27, 2019
* ARRL Field Day 2019 is a Hit, Entries Due by July 23
* Petition for Rulemaking Asks FCC to Create a New 8-Meter Amateur
Band
* New Device Creates Electricity from Snowfall
* So Now What? Podcast
* The K7RA Solar Update
* Just Ahead in Radiosport
* LightSail 2 Launches, Will Transmit CW Beacon
* HAM RADIO 2019 Reports 14,300 Attended from 50 Countries
* Over-the-Horizon Radars Continue to Plague Amateur Bands
* In Brief...
* Getting It Right
* Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
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ARRL Headquarters will close on July 4 and 5 for Independence Day.
The ARRL Letter will not be published on July 4, and ARRL Audio News
will not be produced on July 5. ARRL Headquarters will re-open on
Monday, July 8, at 8 AM EDT. We wish everyone an enjoyable and safe
holiday weekend.
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ARRL Field Day 2019 is a Hit, Entries Due by July 23
ARRL Field Day isn't over until participants take that final step of
submitting their entries. By Thursday at 1800 UTC, nearly 1,400 had
done so. The preferred method of submitting a Field Day entry is via
the 2019 Field Day Entry Form on the ARRL website. This app,
developed and supplied by Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, asks for the call sign
used (as well as the GOTA station call sign, if applicable), entry
class, number of participants, list of operators, power source and
multiplier, claimed bonus points, contact totals by band and mode,
and GOTA station operators and contact totals. It also allows the
attachment of supporting information for bonuses. In addition, all
entries require a list of stations contacted by band and mode (a dupe
sheet). A Cabrillo file is also acceptable. Log files or summary
sheets alone sent to ARRL do not constitute a valid Field Day entry.
To confirm that your web entry has been received, visit the Field Day
logs received page. If the entry indicates "Pending documents,"
upload the missing items for maximum scoring. Entries must be
postmarked or submitted by Tuesday, July 23, 2019. Late entries
cannot be accepted.
Field Day is typically a club activity, and by the time the fourth
weekend in June had arrived, nearly 1,600 groups had registered their
locations.
The NB6GC crew
operated from the deck
of the USS Hornet.
The South Jersey Radio Association's (SJRA) K2AA operated in the 7A
category. "This was a great effort by the SJRA members and guest
operators, especially at the low point in the sunspot cycle and what
seemed like not very good conditions," Bob Beyer, KE2D, reported on
3830scores.com. "Our digital station was the new star this year,
contributing 232 QSOs -- a considerable improvement over other
years."
W3AO, the well-known call sign of the National Press Radio Club in
Maryland, had an unofficial contact count of 10,000 in the 14 A
category. "Propagation on 15 and especially 10 meters was somewhat
sub par, same for 6 meters," said Frank Donovan, W3LPL. "FT8 has
fundamentally changed the digital landscape; there was very limited
RTTY and PSK31 activity. There was also very limited CW and SSB
activity on 6 meters."
Rob Collins, W8HAP, tweaks the
antenna tuning at the Ellsworth
(Maine) Amateur Radio Association's
W1TU Field Day site. [Rick
Lindquist, WW1ME, photo]
One operator who posted to the ARRL Field Day 2019 Facebook page was
among those pointing out that propagation was difficult; while he was
able to hear stations on the other side of the country and in the
Caribbean, they could not hear him. He also reported high atmospheric
noise. Nonetheless, others reported openings on 6, 10, and 15 meters,
where good propagation has been sparse in recent months.
Wade Harris, KF5IF, was part of the crew at the USS Batfish WW2SUB
Field Day in Oklahoma. "Everyone seemed to have a good time, but it
was a less-than-wonderful Field Day event, mainly due to storms that
caused noisy band conditions and severe lightning and high winds that
caused everyone to disconnect and drop the antennas to stay safe," he
said on the ARRL Field Day 2019 Facebook page. Less than a month ago,
extreme flooding at the museum floated the World War II submarine
downriver, after mooring lines broke.
Donald Purnhagen, K4ILG, in Florida said his 10-year-old daughter,
Donalyn, caught the bug operating the GOTA station at the Platinum
Coast Amateur Radio Society Field Day site (W4MLB). "After some quick
instructions, she was answering CQs, exchanging information, and
logging contacts," he reported on the ARRL Field Day soapbox page.
Her dad said Donalyn was eager to return the next day and logged a
total of some 40 contacts. "I am pretty sure that she will be ready
to take her Technician exam by the time our hamfest rolls around in
October," he added.
Michelle Gangi, AC2SQ, who was among the Community Amateur Radio Club
(K2SRV) operators in New York, asked in jest if bonus points were
available for having a wedding take place in the midst of a Field Day
setup. "Apparently, the lighthouse we're set up at double booked,"
she posted on the ARRL Field Day 2019 Facebook page. "We respectfully
shut down our stations for the ceremony."
Brenda Plummer, KD9GDX, narrated a video tour of the Fort Wayne Radio
Club's Field Day operation in Indiana.
Petition for Rulemaking Asks FCC to Create a New 8-Meter Amateur Band
The FCC has put on public notice for comment a Petition for
Rulemaking (RM-11843) that seeks the creation of a new 8-meter
Amateur Radio allocation on a secondary basis. The Petition suggests
the new band could be centered on an industrial-scientific-medical
(ISM) segment somewhere between 40.51 and 40.70 MHz. The spectrum
between 40 and 41 MHz is currently allocated to the Federal
Government and, as such, within the purview of the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). ARRL member
Michelle Bradley, KU3N, of Maryland, filed the Petition in May on
behalf of REC Networks, which she founded and described in the
Petition as "a leading advocate for a citizen's access to spectrum,"
including Amateur Radio spectrum.
"REC feels that the time is right for the Commission to open a Notice
of Inquiry and eventually a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and in
cooperation with the NTIA, this new band opportunity can be realized
to spark the next generation of 'makers' in the fields of science,
technology, education, and math (STEM), especially women and girls,"
Bradley told the FCC in the Petition. "The more opportunities we give
to make things, the more opportunities we have to build a pool of
experts in STEM, right here at home."
The Petition said the objective of a new band would be "an effort to
foster experimentation into the propagation characteristics of this
band midway between the 10- and 6-meter bands." An allocation in the
8-meter band is available to radio amateurs in Ireland, where the
Irish Radio Transmitters Society has developed a band plan for 40 -
41 MHz.
"REC perceives this spectrum can be used for weak signal
experimentation and eventually general amateur use, especially along
transatlantic paths using CW, SSB, digital modes such as FT8 and
digital voice," the Petition said. "As no radios are mass-produced
for this band at this time, this opens up new opportunities for
'makers' to construct transmitters, receivers, and antenna systems
that can be used in this spectrum."
REC anticipates "very low" usage of the new band, "with peak usage
around sporadic-E episodes, operating events such as ARRL Field Day,
and VHF contests, as well as during the peak of sunspot cycles,"
Bradley told the Commission. "[W]e feel that the sharing of 40 MHz
can be accomplished in a manner that serves the needs of the Amateur
Radio Service while meeting the organizational missions of Federal
Government agencies that utilize this spectrum."
Interested parties may file short comments on RM-11843 via the FCC's
Electronic Comment Filing Service (Express).
New Device Creates Electricity from Snowfall
UCLA reports that researchers and colleagues there have designed a
new device that creates electricity from falling and fallen snow. The
first-of-its-kind device is inexpensive, small, thin, and flexible
like a sheet of plastic.
"The device can work in remote areas, because it provides its own
power and does not need batteries," said senior author Richard Kaner.
"It's a very clever device -- a weather station that can tell you how
much snow is falling, the direction the snow is falling, and the
direction and speed of the wind."
The researchers call it a snow-based triboelectric nanogenerator,
which generates charge through static electricity and produces energy
from the exchange of electrons.
Findings about the device are published in the journal Nano Energy.
"Static electricity occurs from the interaction of one material that
captures electrons and another that gives up electrons," said Kaner.
"You separate the charges and create electricity out of essentially
nothing."
Snow is positively charged and gives up electrons. Silicone -- a
synthetic rubber-like material composed of silicon and oxygen atoms,
combined with carbon, hydrogen and other elements -- is negatively
charged. When falling snow contacts the surface of silicone, that
produces a charge that the device captures, creating electricity.
Hiking shoe with device attached.
[Abdelsalam Ahmed for UCLA, photo]
"While snow likes to give up electrons, the performance of the device
depends on the efficiency of the other material at extracting these
electrons," said co-author Maher El-Kady, a UCLA assistant researcher
of chemistry and biochemistry. "After testing a large number of
materials including aluminum foils and Teflon, we found that silicone
produces more charge than any other material."
About 30 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by snow each
winter, during which time solar panels often fail to operate, El-Kady
noted. The accumulation of snow reduces the amount of sunlight that
reaches the solar array, limiting the panels' power output. The new
device could be integrated into solar panels to provide a continuous
power supply when it snows, he said.
So Now What? Podcast
"Available Operating Modes to Us New Hams" is the focus of the new
(June 27) episode of the So Now What? podcast for Amateur Radio
newcomers.
If you're a newly licensed Amateur Radio operator, chances are you
have lots of questions. This biweekly podcast has answers! So Now
What? offers insights from those who've been just where you are now.
New episodes will be posted every other Thursday, alternating
new-episode weeks with the ARRL The Doctor is In podcast.
So Now What? is sponsored by LDG Electronics, a family owned and
operated business with laboratories in southern Maryland that offers
a wide array of antenna tuners and other Amateur Radio products.
ARRL Communications Content Producer Michelle Patnode, W3MVP, and
ARRL Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, co-host the podcast. Presented
as a lively conversation, with Patnode representing newer hams and
Carcia the veteran operators, the podcast will explore questions that
newer hams may have and the issues that keep participants from
staying active in the hobby. Some episodes will feature guests to
answer questions on specific topic areas.
Listeners can find So Now What? on Apple iTunes, Blubrry, Stitcher
(free registration required, or browse the site as a guest) and
through the free Stitcher app for iOS, Kindle, or Android devices.
Episodes will be archived on the ARRL website.
The K7RA Solar Update
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: A new sunspot group emerged on June
24, but don't count on it persisting much longer. It emerged already
far along the western limb, and it's about to rotate off the visible
solar disc.
The average daily sunspot number increased from 0 to 6.7 over the
June 20 - 26 reporting week, while average daily solar flux increased
from 67.1 to 67.4.
The average daily planetary A index decreased from 5.3 to 5, and the
average daily middle latitude A index decreased from 7 to 5.7.
Predicted solar flux is 68 on June 27 - July 6; 69 on July 7 - 9; 68
on July 10 - 11; 67 on July 12 - 27; 68 on July 28; 69 on July 29 -
31; 68 on August 1 - 2; 69 on August 3 - 5; 68 on August 6 - 7, and
67 on August 8 - 10.
Predicted planetary A index is 8 on June 27; 5 on June 28 - 30; 8 on
July 1; 5 on July 2 - 5; 8 on July 6; 5 on July 7 - 9; 8 on July 10 -
11; 5 on July 12 - 20; 8, 12, and 10 on July 21 - 23; 5 on July 24 -
August 1; 8 on August 2; 5 on August 3 - 5; 8 on August 6 - 7, and 5
on August 8 - 10.
Sunspot numbers for June 20 - 26 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 24, 12, and 11,
with a mean of 6.7. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 67.7, 66.5, 66.4,
67.2, 67.9, 67.9, and 68, with a mean of 67.4. Estimated planetary A
indices were 7, 6, 4, 3, 5, 4, and 6, with a mean of 5. Middle
latitude A index was 8, 8, 5, 4, 5, 5, and 5, with a mean of 5.7.
A comprehensive K7RA Solar Update is posted Fridays on the ARRL
website. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the
ARRL Technical Information Service, read "What the Numbers Mean...,"
and check out K9LA's Propagation Page.
A propagation bulletin archive is available. Monthly charts offer
propagation projections between the US and a dozen DX locations.
Share your reports and observations.
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Just Ahead in Radiosport
* June 29 -- Feld Hell Sprint
* June 29 -- Battle of Carabobo International Contest (CW, phone,
digital)
* June 29 -- UFT QRP Contest (CW)
* July 1 -- RAC Canada Day Contest (CW, phone)
* July 1 -- RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship, CW
* July 1 - 7 -- 10-10 International Spirit of 76 QSO Party (CW,
phone, digital)
* July 1 - 7 -- IQRP Quarterly Marathon (CW, phone, digital)
* July 2 -- ARS Spartan Sprint (CW)
* July 4 -- NRAU 10-Meter Activity Contest (CW, phone, digital)
* July 4 -- SKCC Sprint Europe CW
* July 6 -- FISTS Summer Slow Speed Sprint (CW)
* July 6 -- Venezuelan Independence Day Contest (CW, phone,
digital)
* July 6 - 7 -- DL-DX RTTY Contest
* July 6 - 7 -- Marconi Memorial HF Contest (CW)
* July 6 - 7 -- Original QRP Contest (CW)
* July 6 - 7 -- PODXS 070 Club 40-Meter Firecracker Sprint
(Digital)
* July 10 -- RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship, SSB
See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. For in-depth
reporting on Amateur Radio contesting, subscribe to The ARRL Contest
Update via your ARRL member profile email preferences.
LightSail 2 Launches, Will Transmit CW Beacon
The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 CubeSat, launched on June 25,
will transmit Morse code from space on 437.025 MHz, within the
Amateur Radio 70-centimeter band. LightSail is a citizen-funded
project to send a small spacecraft, propelled solely by sunlight,
into Earth's orbit. The innovative satellite is due to be deployed on
July 2 from Prox-1, a Georgia Tech student-built spacecraft. Once
deployed, LightSail 2 will automatically transmit a beacon packet
every few seconds, which can be decoded into 238 lines of text
telemetry describing the spacecraft's health and status, including
everything from battery status to solar sail deployment motor state.
LightSail 2 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, carried by
the SpaceX triple-booster Falcon Heavy rocket. The launcher also
carried aloft two dozen US Air Force spacecraft.
"During its ride to orbit, LightSail 2 was tucked safely inside its
Prox-1 carrier spacecraft," The Planetary Society said post-launch.
"The Falcon Heavy upper stage's payload stack released Prox-1 about
an hour and 20 minutes after liftoff, at an altitude of roughly 720
kilometers (446 miles). Prox-1 will house LightSail 2 for one week,
allowing time for other vehicles released into the same orbit to
drift apart so each can be identified individually."
LightSail 2 team members will soon converge at Cal Poly San Luis
Obispo in California, where the spacecraft's mission control is
located. Once LightSail 2 is released from Prox-1, the team will
spend several days checking out its systems before commanding its
dual-sided solar panels to deploy. Following that, the spacecraft's
solar sails will be deployed in approximately 2 weeks.
Two US Naval Academy student-built satellites carrying Amateur Radio
payloads were on the launch. BRICSat-2 (call sign USNAP1) will
function as a 1.2/9.6 kB APRS digipeater on 145.825 MHz. Telemetry
will be transmitted on 437.975 MHz. PSAT-2 also will operate on
145.825 MHz with APRS to voice and DTMF to voice/APRS, and it will
carry a 28.120 MHz up/435.350 MHz down PSK31 transponder. An SSTV
camera will transmit on the same downlink. -- Thanks to The Planetary
Society, Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, and AMSAT News Service
HAM RADIO 2019 Reports 14,300 Attended from 50 Countries
While thousands were enjoying ARRL Field Day over the June 21 - 23
weekend, some 14,300 visitors from more than 50 countries arrived on
the shores of Lake Constance in Friedrichshafen, Germany, for HAM
RADIO 2019. Show officials said this 44th event attracted about 400
more visitors this year. The previously reported 2018 attendance of
15,460 included radio amateurs, invited Scouts, and attendees at the
concurrent and co-located Maker Faire, which did not take place at
this year's show. This year's show boasted 184 exhibitors and
associations from 32 countries.
A young operator at the HAM RADIO
youth "Ham Camp" station DA0HC.
[Messe Friedrichshafen, photo]
ARRL fielded a contingent of representatives to HAM RADIO 2019,
headed by President Rick Roderick, K5UR.
"The ARRL booth was busy," reported ARRL Product Development Manager
Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R. "Many international attendees joined ARRL or
renewed their memberships. It was nice to meet so many radio amateurs
from around the globe." Inderbitzen said he was struck by the large
number of younger attendees.
"Many of these young radio amateurs and prospective hams attended Ham
Camp," Inderbitzen said. "A large contingent representing Youngsters
on the Air (YOTA), an initiative of IARU Region 1, helped promote the
2019 YOTA summer camp, August 11 - 17 in Bulgaria. During HAM RADIO,
young hams carried the YOTA flag to each of the stands organized by
International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) member-societies, gathering
crowds to cheer on the young hams."
HAM RADIO 2020 will take place June 26 - 28.
Over-the-Horizon Radars Continue to Plague Amateur Bands
The International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 Monitoring System
(IARUMS) reports a "new kind" of over-the-horizon (OTH) radar on 20
meters. The intruding signal, appearing to emanate from the Far East,
was monitored during May on 14.140 - 14.150 MHz. Another Chinese
wideband OTH radar has been showing up on 15 meters, with a signal
160 kHz wide. An Iranian radar has appeared on 10 meters, centered on
28.860 MHz, and is audible in Europe during sporadic-E
A spectrograph of the "new kind" of
over-the-horizon radar on 20 meters.
[Wolf Hadel, DK2OM, image]
conditions. The signal is about 46 kHz wide. The Russian OTH radar
"Konteyner," centered on 14.127 MHz, continues to be observed, with a
12 kHz wide signal.
The so-calle
--- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462
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