The ARRL Letter
June 11, 2020
* ARRL Contest Program Issues Field Day 2020 FAQ
* ARRL Volunteer Monitor Program Recognizes Good Operators
* UK Special Events to Recognize Historic Marconi Factory Radio
Broadcast
* The K7RA Solar Update
* Just Ahead in Radiosport
* ARRL Announces Updated Features on Contest Portal
* Deadline is June 15 for 2020 McGan Silver Antenna Award Nominations
* ARISS Establishes Itself as an Independent Organization
* Announcements
* Youth Working Group in IARU Region 1 Inaugurates YOTA Online
* Indian Amateur Radio Volunteers Support Communication During
Cyclones
* In Brief...
* Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
ARRL Contest Program Issues Field Day 2020 FAQ
The ARRL Contest Program has released some Frequently Asked Questions
related to the temporary rule waivers for Field Day. On May 28, the
ARRL Programs and Services Committee (PSC) adopted these provisions
only for the June 27 - 28, 2020, event: (1) Class D stations may work
all other Field Day stations, including other Class D stations, for
points, and (2) an aggregate club score will be published, which will
be the sum of all individual entries that indicate a specific club.
Contact the ARRL Contest Program with any questions related to Field
Day 2020.
Q: Several of our club members are going to operate independently and
wish to attribute their scores to the aggregate club score. What call
sign should they use?
A: Participants should use their own call signs. Except for Class C
(mobile) entries, all transmitters, receivers, and antennas located
within a 1,000-foot-diameter circle may operate using a single call
sign. This prohibits the use of a single call sign from more than one
location. Under the 2020 waiver, those operating from home, including
backyard operations, must use their own station call signs. Multiple
home stations operating with a club call sign or modified club call
sign, such as W1AW-1, W1AW-2, W1AW-3, etc., are not allowed.
Q: How does my club submit an aggregate club score? Does the club need
to add up each participating member's scores and submit a club entry
with the aggregate score under the club call sign?
A: Each participant will submit his or her own independent entry under
his or her call sign. ARRL will calculate the aggregate score based
upon the club name entered on the official Field Day entry form via the
web applet (preferred method) or on the paper Field Day entry form. In
order for results to be tabulated correctly, all club participants must
enter the club's official name exactly the same, avoiding abbreviations
or acronyms. This is important!
Q: Our group is still planning to operate at the usual Field Day site,
but some members do not feel comfortable gathering in a large group
this year. Can we still submit an entry using the club call sign, as
well as have members operating from home using their own call signs?
A: Yes. If your club is still hosting a group Field Day effort, it will
submit an entry as usual, using the club call sign. Club members
operating at home will submit separate entries with their own call
signs and will enter the club name on the entry form for club aggregate
scoring.
Q: Can a club member operate from home using the club call sign?
A: Yes, but the call sign may only be used in one location. The member
must receive permission from the trustee of the club call sign.
Q: Our club normally enters Field Day in Class A. If we operate from
our home stations, in which class should individual members enter in
order to be included in the aggregate club score?
A: Each member will operate independently and will submit the entry
using whatever class applies to their operation. Typically, home
stations running on commercial ac power are Class D, while home
stations running on battery, solar, generator, or the like (i.e., not
from ac mains) are Class E. When the results are published, each club
member will be listed in the results under the class in which they
operated. For 2020 only, aggregate club scores will be listed by the
club name in a separate listing. Read more.
Refer to the complete rules to determine eligibility for bonus points.
-- Thanks to ARRL Contest Program Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE,
ARRL Volunteer Monitor Program Recognizes Good Operators
Volunteer Monitor Program Coordinator Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, said
the program has recognized numerous radio amateurs with Good Operator
Notices.
"One facet of the ARRL and FCC agreement that set up the Volunteer
Monitor Program calls for ARRL to recognize especially good amateur
radio behavior, in order to encourage compliance with FCC rules and
further the efficiency of the Amateur Radio Service," Hollingsworth
said. "Seventeen operators in 15 states received Good Operator Notices
in the first quarter of 2020. The Good Operator Notices went to veteran
operators as well as newcomers, including a 13-year-old in North
Carolina for CW operation during the Youth on the Air Special Event,
and a 14-year-old in Wyoming for SSB operation."
Hollingsworth also said that a 2-meter repeater operator received a
Good Operator Report for establishing and managing a COVID-19 net in
Pennsylvania, while other operators of various license classes received
notices for everyday SSB and CW operation on the HF bands. Recipients
were nominated on the basis of operation observed by Volunteer Monitors
(VMs).
According to Hollingsworth, Volunteer Monitors reported 2,035 hours
monitoring on HF, and 2,856 hours monitoring on VHF/UHF and other
frequencies during May.
After kicking off on January 1, the new Volunteer Monitor Program
ramped up to operational status earlier this spring, starting with a
"soft rollout" that started on February 1, designed to familiarize VMs
with issues on the bands and to put into practice what to report and
what to ignore, based on their training.
Hollingsworth uses a system called VMTRAC -- developed by a VM -- to
measure the work of VMs and determine instances that qualify for good
operator or discrepancy notices, referral to the FCC, or follow-up with
FCC requests to the VM program. -- Thanks to Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH
UK Special Events to Recognize Historic Marconi Factory Radio Broadcast
Two special events in June will mark the centennial of the first
entertainment radio broadcast. England's Chelmsford Amateur Radio
Society (CARS) will operate special event GB100MZX on June 13 - 20, and
Wales' Dragon Amateur Radio Club will operate special event GB0MZX on
June 12 - 21. Both will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the live
radio recital by well-known Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba, on
June 15, 1920. These special events open the door to some interesting
radio history.
MZX was the call sign at Marconi's
factory on New Street in Chelmsford.
MZX was the call sign at Marconi's second Chelmsford radio factory on
New Street, built in 1912. A CARS history recounts that after 1913, all
G- and M-prefix call signs were allocated to the UK, with the M prefix
being associated with Marconi. The Marconi factory received a general
experimental license in late 1919 with the MZX call sign.
According CARS, in order to test transmitters manufactured in the new
plant, it became common practice to power them into an antenna and
invite people to read "railway timetables or similar mundane material"
over the air.
Listeners who wrote Marconi suggested that he air more enlightening
material, so some locals were informally invited into the factory to
tell stories or even sing from a makeshift studio. Two 750-foot towers
at the factory supported wire antennas for MZX, which by the time of
the historic broadcast was running a 15 kW transmitter.
Dame Nellie Melba. [BBC archive]
Sensing a potential profit, The Daily Mail newspaper paid Dame Nellie
Melba to travel to Chelmsford by train, where she was picked up in a
chauffeur-driven car and taken the long way around Chelmsford on a
route advertised beforehand to waving crowds before arriving at the
studio in New Street, just a few hundred meters away.
The CARS account continues, "Her historic performance was very well
received, although she realized that possibly future (paid) public
performances may suffer if she was often 'on the radio,' [and] she
never made a radio broadcast again.
"The Postmaster-General was not amused by such trivial use and withdrew
the license in November 1920 on 'interference grounds,' in particular
with Croydon airfield. The public clamor for reinstatement was
substantial, and due to pressure from the Wireless Society of London
and the House of Commons, the Post Office eventually relented."
The Wireless Society of London eventually became the Radio Society of
Great Britain (RSGB), the International Amateur Radio Union
member-society.
ditional history of Marconi's manufacturing and broadcasting in the
UK appears on the CARS website.
The K7RA Solar Update
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Sunspots made a solid reappearance
over the June 4 - 10 reporting week, with average daily sunspot number
rising from 3.3 to 14. As expected, the average 10.7-centimeter solar
flux rose from 69.6 to 71.3.
The average daily planetary A index dipped from 6 to 5.1, while average
daily middle latitude A index changed from 5.7 to 6.1.
The outlook for the next 45 days has solar flux at 72 on June 11; 70 on
June 12 - 17; 68 on June 18 - 24; 70 on June 25 - 26; 72 on June 27 -
July 11; 70 on July 12 - 13; 68 on July 14 - 21; 70 on July 22 - 23,
and 72 on July 14 - 25.
Predicted planetary A index is 5 on June 11 - July 3, then 8 and 12 on
July 4 - 5, and 5 on July 6 - 25.
Sunspot numbers for June 4 through 10 were 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 14, and
11, with a mean of 14. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 70.1, 71.1, 71.6,
71.6, 71, 72.4, and 71, with a mean of 71.3. Estimated planetary A
indices were 4, 4, 3, 9, 4, 5, and 7, with a mean of 5.1. The middle
latitude A index was 5, 4, 2, 10, 6, 5, and 11, with a mean of 6.1.
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.
Just Ahead in Radiosport
* June 13 -- Asia-Pacific Sprint (SSB)
* June 13 -- AGCW VHF/UHF Contest (CW)
* June 13 - 14 -- DRCG WW RTTY Contest
* June 13 - 14 -- SMIRK Contest (CW)
* June 13 - 14 -- Portugal Day Contest (CW, phone)
* June 13 - 14 -- SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (CW)
* June 13 - 14 -- GACW WWSA CW DX Contest
* June 13 - 14 -- REF DDFM 6 Meter Contest (CW, phone)
* June 13 - 15 -- ARRL June VHF Contest (CW, phone, digital)
* June 15 -- 4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint (CW, phone)
* June 15 -- RSGB FT4 Contest Series
* June 16 -- SARL Youth Sprint (Phone)
* June 17 -- NAQCC CW Sprint
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.
ARRL Announces Updated Features on Contest Portal
The much-anticipated updated features at the ARRL Contest portal are
here! These web-based tools provide an updated interface to contest
data for all ARRL-sponsored contest events, including:
* Contest Score viewer, including a searchable call history and
records
* Submitted logs and raw scores for recent events
* Downloadable Comma Separated Values (CSV) files of contest results
* Club Competition scores, including total and individual scores
* Soapbox page for posting and viewing contest stories, photos, and
other media
* Downloadable, printable certificates suitable for framing
* Log Checking Reports (LCRs)
* Access to public logs
* Contest results articles and line scores
ARRL Contest portal users will notice other minor changes to the site,
as some functions have been moved on the page for better functionality
and flow. The ARRL Contest portal is now a one-stop shop for all
ARRL-sponsored contests. From the site, you can access everything, from
the start time of a contest to your post-event certificate of
accomplishment. All ARRL contest information is now conveniently
located in one centralized location. Contact the Contest Program
Manager for more information on the updated features and on ARRL
contests in general.
Deadline is June 15 for 2020 McGan Silver Antenna Award Nominations
The deadline is Monday, June 15, to submit nominations for the 2020
Philip J. McGan Memorial Silver Antenna Award, presented annually to a
radio amateur who has demonstrated success in public relations on
behalf of amateur radio and who best exemplifies the volunteer spirit
of Philip McGan, WA2MBQ (SK).
A journalist, McGan was the first chairman of the ARRL's Public
Relations Committee, which helped reinvigorate ARRL's commitment to
public relations, and he served as ARRL PIO for the New Hampshire
Section.
Activities for which the McGan Award is presented include those
specifically directed at bringing amateur radio to the media's and the
public's attention in a positive light. This may include such
traditional methods as news releases or interviews, or less traditional
methods, such as hosting a radio show or being an active public
speaker. Nominees must be ARRL members.
The ARRL Board of Directors will choose the award winner at its July
2020 meeting.
Nominations must be received at ARRL Headquarters by the close of
business on Friday, June 15, 2020. Nominations must be on an official
entry form. Anyone may make a nomination. Read more.
ARISS Establishes Itself as an Independent Organization
Going forward, the US arm of the Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station International working group will be known as ARISS-USA,
an independent organization. ARISS serves as the intermediary to
arrange contacts between schools and organizations on Earth and ISS
crew members. ARISS-USA incorporated as a non-profit entity in Maryland
in late May. The move will allow ARISS-USA to work independently,
soliciting grants and donations. ARISS-USA will continue promoting
amateur radio and science, technology, engineering, arts, and math
(STEAM) goals within schools and educational organizations. ARISS-USA
lead Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, noted that the scope and reach of what ARISS
accomplishes has grown significantly since its modest start in 1996.
"Our working group status made it cumbersome to establish partnerships,
sign agreements, and solicit grants," Bauer said. "These can only be
done as an established organization."
The move toward becoming an independent organization has been discussed
for quite a while, ARISS-USA said in announcing the change.
"ARISS-USA will maintain its collaborative work with ARISS
International as well as with US sponsors, partners, and interest
groups," the announcement said. "The main goal of ARISS-USA remains as
connecting educational groups with opportunities to interact with
astronauts aboard the [space station]. ARISS-USA will expand its human
spaceflight opportunities with the space agencies beyond low-Earth
orbit, starting with lunar opportunities including the Lunar Gateway.
ARISS-USA will continue to review and accept proposals for ISS contacts
and expand its other educational opportunities to increase interest in
space sciences and radio communications."
AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, said AMSAT would work with
ARISS-USA to ensure a smooth transition for operations and funding.
"Many of AMSAT's members are an integral part of the ARISS team," he
said. "The human spaceflight element of AMSAT's vision has been
realized through these contributions."
ARISS-USA can accept tax-deductible contributions via AMSAT-NA through
the ARISS website. Read more.
Announcements
* The 38th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting
in-person event set to be held in Bloomington, Minnesota, in
October will be shifted to a virtual, online platform, in response
to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
* Astronaut Kate Rubins, KG5FYJ, in mid-October will head to the ISS
for a 6-month mission as a flight engineer. She will launch with
Cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.
* The FCC has announced a $5 million settlement with
voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) telephone service provider
magicJack regarding the company's failure to report its interstate
revenues and to contribute to the Universal Service Fund.
* Kylee Shirbroun, KE0WPA, of Worthington, Minnesota, has posted a
portion of the science fair video she made about amateur radio
satellites.
* China's Harbin Institute of Technology has released a short cartoon
video, Longjiang-2: Journey to the Moon, which tells the story of
LO-94, the world's smallest spacecraft, which entered lunar orbit
independently. The video is narrated in Chinese with English
subtitles.
* The 2020 edition of AMSAT's Getting Started with Amateur Satellites
is now available for download on the AMSAT store.
Youth Working Group in IARU Region 1 Inaugurates YOTA Online
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 Youth Working
Group inaugurated YOTA (Youngsters on the Air) Online in late May. The
program is an opportunity for young radio amateurs from Region 1
(Europe, Africa, and the Middle East) to gather online each month. For
each session, a YOTA team will present various topics; the initial
session focused on the Youth Contesting Program (YCP) in Region 1, in
which young radiosport enthusiasts operate from well-equipped contest
stations for various events. The sessions, which are open to all and
conducted in English, also offer the opportunity for participants to
get answers to questions addressed to the online community. Each
session wraps up with a prize raffle.
Region 1 Youth Working Group chair Lisa Leenders, PA2LS, moderated the
May 28 gathering. She said the YOTA Online approach evolved because a
lot of activities fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond that,
she said, YOTA Online provides an interactive venue for those who might
be unable to attend even in-person activities. The inaugural YOTA
Online session ran about 1 hour. In addition to social media platforms
Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch, Leenders said the session was
streamed on Amateur Television via the Es'hail QO-100 geostationary
satellite from a location in Belgium, with good reports.
Lisa Leenders, PA2LS,
moderated the YOTA Online
inaugural session.
"A huge thanks to everyone watching the first YOTA Online session,"
Leenders said. "The successful session gathered more than 600 unique
viewers from all continents except Oceania and Antarctica, as far as we
could track. Considering this, we can say that the event was indeed
taking place worldwide."
YOTA Online was created by a team of young hams from six European
countries. The first event involved dozens of hours of planning, with
several team sessions held in advance to make the free YOTA broadcast
available around the world.
Leenders asked all who watched the event or viewed it after the fact
for any feedback. The form also gives viewers a chance to suggest
topics for future YOTA Online gatherings. The second YOTA Online
session is set for Thursday, June 25, at 1800 UTC.
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