The ARRL Letter
November 12, 2020
* ARRL Petitions FCC for Reconsideration of Order Removing 3.4 GHz
Amateur Allocation
* Red Cross Fall Emergency Communication Drill Set for November 14
* Low-Band Titan John Devoldere, ON4UN, SK
* ARRL Podcasts Schedule
* ARRL Learning Network Webinars
* Low-Frequency Station SAQ Broadcasts UN Day Message of Unity in
Face of COVID-19
* "Black Swan" Exercise Offers Opportunity to Demonstrate IPAWS via
HF
* Announcements
* Australian Space Communications Station Will Feature Optical Data
Transfer
* In Brief...
* The K7RA Solar Update
* Just Ahead in Radiosport
* Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
ARRL Petitions FCC for Reconsideration of Order Removing 3.4 GHz
Amateur Allocation
ARRL has petitioned the FCC to reconsider its order removing the
secondary amateur allocation at 3.3 - 3.5 GHz and requiring that
amateur operations in the 3.450 - 3.500 GHz band cease "on a date
consistent with the first possible grant of flexible use authorizations
to new users."
"The amateur services in this band long have been operated on a
secondary allocation status, functionally similar to the de facto
secondary status of Part 5 experimental licenses, whose continued
operation was (correctly) approved in the same proceeding," ARRL told
the FCC. "Continued operation of amateur stations similarly should be
permitted in the vacant portions of this spectrum that otherwise will
go unused."
ARRL said the public interest is in using the spectrum, not in leaving
it vacant waiting for some future application. "The Commission's
decision in this proceeding undermines its long-standing policy
objective to provide for and encourage more intensive use of spectrum,"
ARRL said.
"The Commission's decision to remove the amateur secondary allocation
throughout the 3300 - 3500 MHz band," ARRL said, "appears to be based
upon a mistaken conclusion that amateur secondary 'sharing' of this
spectrum is equivalent to the type of 'sharing' that occurs with
primary government and other primary commercial users, when in fact
amateur secondary operations are quite different in usage, scope, and
signal range."
ARRL outlined a number of ways radio amateurs use the band.
ARRL said that weak-signal point-to-point amateur communication often
applies new technologies, methodologies, and coding to improve the
communications capability of equipment. "Since the purpose of this type
of activity is to hear or decode weak signals, operators use every
possible means to avoid frequencies with other signals."
Amateurs also operate radio beacons to study propagation, contributing
to a better understanding of propagation in the 3.4 GHz range, ARRL
said. "Amateur beacons are fixed and low power, and therefore
relatively easy to engineer into the environment if other users
initiate operations, or to relocate or shut down if they cannot be
'engineered in.'"
ARRL's petition also cited moonbounce as another aspect of amateur
operation. "This field of activity has led to a chain of improvements
in antennas and equipment design in the 3.4 GHz spectrum," ARRL
asserted, and is extremely unlikely to interfere with terrestrial
services.
Amateur satellites could also use the 3.4 - 3.41 GHz band with minimal
likelihood to present interference concerns due to the signals' low
power and narrow antenna beamwidths. ditionally, uplinks employ
antennas that point skyward, further minimizing any possible area of
concern. "Other frequencies will not necessarily be available when
needed, and this limitation threatens to constrain future experiments
with space communications technologies as the number of amateur
satellite experiments increase in number and purpose," ARRL said.
The 3.3 - 3.5 GHz band also is used for digital high-speed data mesh
networks and for amateur TV repeaters. "Design of and work with mesh
networks has attracted an ongoing stream of computer-literate youth to
the amateur ranks," ARRL contended. "The networks themselves are
commonly employed for digital experimentation with a wide range of
technologies and services, with a bedrock purpose of emergency
readiness and availability during actual emergencies. ARRL noted that
the greater the number of available band choices, the more likely that
a suitable link could be engineered for a specific path.
ARRL said that these and other amateur experimental activities make
good use of the spectrum, "and should be permitted to continue on a
secondary basis unless and until a new primary licensee is ready to
operate in a geographic area where interference would result."
Red Cross Fall Emergency Communication Drill Set for November 14
The fall 2020 nationwide Red Cross Emergency Communication Drill will
take place on Saturday, November 14, in conjunction with ARRL Amateur
Radio Emergency Service (ARES^(R)) groups. The focus of the exercise is
sending messages from local sites to a group of divisional clearing
houses to simulate and demonstrate amateur radio's capability to relay
information in emergencies and disasters. The drill will get under way
at 0900 until 1800 local time in each time zone. The scenario is a
major weather event that has caused outages and created hazardous
conditions across the country.
The drill will use Winlink as the primary method of delivering
pre-formatted messages. The goal is to encourage more operators to
become familiar with Winlink and its message templates -- primarily
ARC-213. This format permits sending standardized messages. The drill
aims to bring as many radio operators as possible up to a "basic" level
of Winlink proficiency.
A series of Winlink Workshops is held each Thursday at 0100 UTC on
Zoom. Join the SEC-ARES group for announcements and discussions.
Include name and call sign when registering.
Winlink proficiency goals have been drafted, a Winlink technical
support team has been formed, and metrics for drill success have been
developed. The proficiency goals are established as a training
guideline and reference online training resources. Many hams new to
Winlink may find these resources helpful.
Several hundred radio amateurs have already signed up for the event.
This event is open to all radio amateurs.
Low-Band Titan John Devoldere, ON4UN, SK
A giant in the field of low-frequency DXing and contesting, John
Devoldere, ON4UN/AA4OI, of Merelbeke, Belgium, died on November 9. An
ARRL Life member, he was 79 and had been in failing health. In addition
to his enthusiasm for operating, Devoldere may be best known as the
author of the popular book ON4UN's Low Band DXing,
published by ARRL, as well as other books, including Ethics and
Operating Procedures for the Radio Amateur, which he co-authored with
Mark Demeuleneere, ON4WW. The book is hosted on the International
Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 website.
"Ham radio, and especially low-band DXing, were my father's lifelong
passions and always had a strong presence in our house," his daughter,
Marleen, said in announcing her father's passing. "Though I don't have
a call sign, I very much feel a part of the big radio family and always
will."
The Royal Union of Belgian Radio Amateurs (UBA) President Claude van
Pottelsberghe de la Potterie, ON7TK, said Devoldere was "a radio
amateur in heart and soul" who will always be remembered. "We are
grateful for his contribution to [amateur radio] and for his efforts
within the UBA," he said. He was a member of the HF Committee from 1983
to 2016. In 1994, he became Provincial President of East Flanders. Two
years later, he joined the national board of the UBA, and from 1998 to
2007 he became chairman and was at the basis of many reforms within the
UBA. Devoldere retired in 2016.
According to his QRZ.com profile, he became interested in radio at the
age of 11 and built his first single-tube transmitter the following
year. His uncle, ON4GV, got him interested in amateur radio. Devoldere
was licensed in 1961, at the age of 20. He built much of his station
gear and got into contesting, winning the UBA CW Contest in 1962. At
about the same time, he got interested in low-band operating. He worked
364 DXCC entities on 80 meters, lacking only North Korea.
Belgium didn't gain access to160 meters until 1987, and a few years
later he erected a full-size quarter-wave vertical for top band (160
meters). By 2018, he had 325 DXCC entities on 160 meters. He authored
the 80-Meter DX Handbook for Ham Radio magazine. ARRL approached him
about writing a book on low-band operating, and the first edition of
Low Band DXing came out in 1987, and updated editions followed.
He built a competitive multi-single contest station and operated in
some 80 international contests -- including the ARRL International DX,
the CQ World Wide DX, Stew Perry Topband Challenge, and others. The
walls in his ham shack hold more than 50 first-place contest plaques.
He was elected to the CQ Contest Hall of Fame in 1997 and the CQ DX
Hall of Fame in 2007. He received the Yasme Excellence Award in 2013.
Marleen Devoldere said she is planning a digital farewell ceremony on
Saturday, November 21. The family invites condolences via email.
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ARRL Podcasts Schedule
The latest episode of the On the Air podcast (Episode 11) discusses how
to choose the right antenna for your station, considering several
aspects that go beyond cost and complexity.
The latest edition of Eclectic Tech (Episode 20) features an interview
with ARRL Emergency Preparedness Director Paul Gilbert, KE5ZW,
about the future of amateur radio technology in public service. Also: A
new power source that uses diamonds and nuclear waste.
The On the Air and Eclectic Tech podcasts are sponsored by Icom. Both
podcasts are available on iTunes (iOS) and Stitcher (Android), as well
as on Blubrry -- On the Air | Eclectic Tech.
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ARRL Learning Network Webinars
Visit the ARRL Learning Network website (a members-only benefit) to
register for upcoming sessions and to view previously recorded
sessions. The schedule is subject to change.
Amateur Radio's Role at the Boston Marathon Bombing: Steve Schwarm,
W3EVE
Amateur radio has played a significant role in public service
communications for the Boston Marathon for several decades. That role
was put to the test in 2013 when two bombs were exploded near the
finish line. This presentation will describe the role that ham radio
played at the marathon and how that role changed due to the bombing.
Tuesday, December 8, 2020, 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST (1800 UTC)
Learn and Have Fun with Morse Code: Howard Bernstein, WB2UZE, and Jim
Crites, W6JIM
Morse code, or "CW," is a popular ham radio operating mode. Learning CW
does not have to be an arduous or lonely experience. Learn, practice,
and enjoy CW with the methods used by the Long Island CW Club.
Thursday, December 17, 2020, 5 PM PST / 8 PM EST (0100 UTC on Friday,
December 18)
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Low-Frequency Station SAQ Broadcasts UN Day Message of Unity in Face of
COVID-19
On United Nations Day, October 24, the Alexanderson alternator station
SAQ in Sweden transmitted a message on 17.2 kHz urging unity in the
face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The message transcript follows.
"CQ CQ CQ DE SAQ SAQ SAQ This is Grimeton Radio/SAQ in a transmission
using the Alexanderson 200 kW alternator on 17.2 kHz. The global
COVID-19 pandemic challenges people and nations to unite to minimize
the negative consequences for individuals and societies, and to uphold
the advancements in public health made in recent decades. Good health
and wellbeing is a prerequisite for a peaceful and sustainable global
development, and health equity cannot be achieved without peace and
human security."
The message was signed by Anders Tegnell, chief epidemiologist of
Sweden's Public Health Agency. SAQ notes that QSL information is on the
Alexanderson alternator website.
SAQ received some 400 listener reports from all over the world, with
just 20 reporting they were unable to copy the message.
"As usual, we have received very many reports from north, central, and
eastern Europe," the SAQ report said. "We also have received reports
from the US and some from Russia and Japan. The farthest reports comes
from Tasmania, south of Melbourne, approximately 16,000 kilometers
(9,942 miles) from Grimeton, Sweden."
The entire transmission event was also broadcast on the SAQ YouTube
channel, with some technical problems experienced.
Following the United Nations Day transmission, singer Anna Louise Ekman
performed a concert in the transmitter hall with songs in Swedish and
Italian. She was accompanied by her pianist, Oscar Johansson, and her
sister, violinist Åsa Grimberg.
"Black Swan" Exercise Offers Opportunity to Demonstrate IPAWS via HF
The SHARES HF program recently brought the FEMA Integrated Public Alert
& Warning System (IPAWS) and the Winlink HF email development team
together to demonstrate that an IPAWS message could be delivered by HF
in the event of an internet outage. IPAWS is FEMA's nationwide local
alert system that provides authenticated emergency and life-saving
information to the public through mobile phones using Wireless
Emergency Alerts, to radio and television via the Emergency Alert
System, and on NOAA Weather Radio. The recent Ohio Military Reserve
"Black Swan" exercise provided the opportunity to demonstrate the
ability to deliver an IPAWS message via HF.
Ideally, a SHARES Winlink station would be at the location where the
IPAWS message originated. Because this wasn't possible within the time
and budget constraints, the internet was used to get IPAWS messages
from the point of origination to the SHARES HQ program office in
Arlington, Virginia, where custom software written by Winlink
Development Team Chief Programmer Phil Sherrod, W4PHS, detected the
IPAWS message, and forwarded it by Winlink HF email to exercise
participants in Ohio.
The messages were relayed automatically from FEMA through the SHARES
Winlink Hybrid HF Radio Email Network, with no human intervention. Due
to COVID-19 restrictions, no station personnel were present in the HQ
SHARES radio station building. Messages were then retrieved by SHARES
operators over SHARES Winlink, and the messages handed off to radio
amateurs, who manually relayed them to county and city emergency
management agencies. Involved were the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency
Service (ARES^(R)), the ARRL National Traffic System (NTS), and
amateurs involved through the government's AUXCOMM program.
Exercise messages were sent each day at various times to demonstrate
that the Winlink system gets the message through under varying radio
conditions. The project was coordinated by Scott Johnson of Sawdey
Solutions, a FEMA contractor, and Ross Merlin, WA2WDT, the SHARES HF
Radio Program Manager, of the Cybersecurity and Information Security
Agency (CISA) of DHS.
The SHARES Hybrid Winlink Radio Email Network is provided to the
federal government at no cost by the Amateur Radio Safety Foundation,
Inc. -- Thanks to Ross Merlin, WA2WDT, SHARES HF Radio Program Manager
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Announcements
* The FCC will hold an Open Meeting on Wednesday, November 18, at
10:30 AM EST (1530 UTC). Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and
related agency telework and headquarters access policies, this
meeting will be in a wholly electronic format and will be open to
the public on the internet via live feed from the FCC website and
on the FCC's YouTube channel.
* The Israel Amateur Radio Club has announced that special call signs
will be on the air during the week of Chanukah, December 10 - 19.
Their one-letter suffixes spell "Chanukah" -- 4X1C, 4X2H, 4Z3A,
4X4N, 4X5U, 4X6K, 4Z7A, 4X8H, and 4X0NER ("ner" means "candle" in
Hebrew). The call sign number represents the number of the candle
lit that day, with one added to the menorah each day.
* David Vowell, N3NTV, has announced the Santa Watch Net on Christmas
Eve, December 24, hosted by the DoDropIn Echolink node 355800,
getting under way at 1800 UTC.
* The Radio Club of America will celebrate the 100th anniversary of
KDKA on November 17 at 9 PM EST, by hosting a conversation with the
station's program manager, Jim Graci. RCA President Emeritus Tim
Duffy, K3LR, and Graci will take a walk down memory lane. The event
is free, but advance registration is required.
* "Pre-pre Frequency Measuring Test" (ppFMT) practice sessions are
held on Tuesdays and Thursdays on 30 and 40 meters. Schedule and
frequency information is on the FMT-nuts page on Groups.io. The FMT
takes place on November 13.
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Australian Space Communications Station Will Feature Optical Data
Transfer
The University of Western Australia (UWA) is set to install an optical
communications station capable of receiving high-speed data
transmissions from space. The communications station will be able to
receive data from spacecraft from anywhere between low-Earth orbit
(between 100 miles and 620 miles above Earth's surface) to as far away
as the surface of the moon -- some 240,000 miles away.
Astrophotonics Group Leader Dr. Sascha Schediwy at UWA and the
International Centre for Radio Astronomy (ICRAR) said optical
Optical telescope at the University
of Western Australia.
communications are an emerging alternative to radio waves and are
expected to drastically improve data transfer capabilities from space.
"Most current space communications rely on radio waves -- it's the same
technology that brought us the voice of Neil Armstrong when the Apollo
11 mission landed on the moon in 1969," Schediwy said. "Free-space
optical laser communications has several advantages over radio,
including significantly faster data rates and hack-proof data transfer.
It's the next generation of space communications, and it's likely to be
how we'll see high-definition footage of the first woman to walk on the
moon."
The $535,000 ground station will use a 0.7-meter observatory-grade
optical telescope donated to ICRAR, which will be fitted with
atmospheric noise suppression technology developed at the university.
The Western Australian ground station will be a joint venture between
the UWA Astrophotonics Group, the ARC Centre of Excellence for
Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS), and UK industry partner Goonhilly
Earth Station, which handles data traffic and supports secure
communications links for major satellite operators including Intelsat,
Eutelsat, and SES Satellites.
Data from the station will be fed to Goonhilly's supercomputer data
center in Cornwall, England by high-speed fiber. It will form part of a
larger Australasian network of optical stations, led by the Australian
National University and supported by partners in South Australia and
New Zealand.
EQUS Director Andrew White said the Western Australian ground station
could be the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere and have
additional applications in research in different fields.
Goonhilly Chief Executive Ian Jones said the initiative is driving
satellite communications into the next generations of systems and
t
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