The ARRL Letter
February 4, 2021
* ARRL Board Confers Awards on Skip Jackson, KS0J, and Josh Nass,
KI6NAZ
* ARRL Board of Directors to Reconsider the Use of Electronic
Balloting
* ARISS and Partners Investigating Ham Radio Anomaly Following
Spacewalk
* ARRL Podcasts Schedule
* RadFxSat-2 Satellite Signals Detected, AMSAT Engineering Continues
to Assess Status
* The K7RA Solar Update
* FT8 and the Other WSJT-X Digital Modes are "Tools," K1JT Says
* ARRL Learning Network Webinars
* Plans to Retrieve Titanic Wireless Equipment Put on Indefinite Hold
* Announcements
* ARISS is Seeking Hosts for Ham Radio Contacts with the Space
Station
* Amateur Radio in the News
* Getting It Right
* In Brief...
* Just Ahead in Radiosport
* Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
ARRL Board Confers Awards on Skip Jackson, KS0J, and Josh Nass, KI6NAZ
During its Annual Meeting on January 14 - 15, the ARRL Board of
Directors announced recipients of the ARRL Knight Distinguished Service
Award and the 2020 ARRL Bill Leonard Professional Media Award. The
Board also recognized several ARRL-affiliated clubs.
Minnesota ARRL Section
Manager Skip Jackson,
KS0J.
ARRL Minnesota Section Manager Richard "Skip" Jackson, KS0J, is the
recipient of the ARRL Knight Distinguished Service Award. During his
16-year tenure, Jackson "has actively promoted ARRL activities in his
Section, including visiting hundreds of Field Day operations over the
years, represented the League at numerous hamfests, and attended
countless club meetings in his state, promoting the League," the
Board's resolution read. The Board credited Jackson's leadership for
developing "a strong working cadre of volunteers" in the Section,
calling him "a model to ARRL Section Managers across the country as a
strong supporter of ARRL and its activities."
The Award's namesake is longtime veteran New Mexico Section Manager Joe
T. Knight, W5PDY, who was the first recipient of the award in 2003. The
Award carries a $250 honorarium and a plaque.
The Board also approved, as recommended by the ARRL Public Relations
Committee, Josh B. Nass, KI6NAZ, as the winner of the 2020 Bill Leonard
Professional Media Award for Video Reporting. The
Josh Nass, KI6NAZ.
Board cited Nass "for his outstanding YouTube channel, 'Ham Radio Crash
Course,' which has garnered almost 170,000 subscribers." The Board
resolution observed that Nass generated "productions of high levels of
content -- and effective and entertaining instruction of that content."
The resolution also cited Nass for his use of "new modes of learning
and information conveyance that enhance further education of amateur
radio operators everywhere." The Leonard Award includes a $250
honorarium and a plaque.
The Board approved a change to the timing of the Philip J. McGan
Memorial Silver Antenna Award and the Bill Leonard Professional Media
Award. The nomination deadline for both awards has been changed to
March 31 each year. This brings the cycle of the two media awards into
alignment with five other prominent ARRL awards -- the Hiram Percy
Maxim Award; the ARRL Herb S. Brier Instructor of the Year Award; the
ARRL Microwave Development Award; the ARRL Technical Service Award, and
the ARRL Technical Innovation Award. Nominations for these awards will
cover the previous calendar year. The change is effective with the
March 31, 2022 nomination application, covering the period January 1 -
December 31, 2021.
The Board also recognized:
* The 70th anniversary of the Garden State Amateur Radio Association
(W2GSA). The Board resolution cited the club's "outstanding record
of learning and education programs, including youth programs."
* The 105th anniversary of the Amateur Radio Club of the University
of Arkansas (ARCUA), W5YM, formed in 1916.
* The 50th anniversary of the Boeing Employees Amateur Radio
Society-St Louis, which became an ARRL affiliated club in 1971.
Read more.
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ARRL Board of Directors to Reconsider the Use of Electronic Balloting
The ARRL Board of Directors will look into the use of electronic
balloting systems "to augment paper balloting for ARRL elections." The
Board instituted a hybrid paper and electronic balloting process in the
fall of 2012, which was popular among those who took advantage of it,
but overall voter participation declined significantly. In 2015, the
Board's Ethics and Elections Committee decided to return to using
solely paper ballots. The Ethics and Elections Panel said continuing
changes in technology, the acceptance of remote meetings, and
significant advancements in voting processes since then have made
electronic balloting worth a second look.
"Electronic balloting is now in common use among professional
organizations," the Board said. "Using electronic balloting would be of
benefit to members who find paper ballots difficult to use. Providing
electronic balloting as an alternative to paper balloting may result in
a cost savings to the organization and decrease delays and potential
conflicts over delays of paper ballots. It is likely, also, that the
use of online balloting will be attractive to younger members who are
more accustomed to online transactions."
The Board directed its ministration & Finance Committee to
investigate the state, cost, and availability of commercial electronic
balloting services as a member-selected alternative to paper ballots
distributed and collected via the postal service. The committee will
report back to the Board within a year.
ARISS and Partners Investigating Ham Radio Anomaly Following Spacewalk
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) and its
partners are troubleshooting what's keeping the NA1SS amateur station
off the air. ARISS became aware of the problem after an attempted
contact with a school in Wyoming, between ON4ISS on Earth and astronaut
Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, at NA1SS, had to abort when no downlink signal
was heard. ARISS has determined that the problem is not with the radio
equipment on board the ISS Columbus module.
ARISS-International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, explained that during a
January 27 spacewalk to install exterior cabling on the ISS Columbus
module, the coax feed line installed 11 years ago was replaced with
another built by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus. It
included two additional RF connectors to support the Bartolomeo
payload-hosting platform installed last spring on Columbus.
"On January 26, prior to the EVA [extravehicular activity], our
Columbus next-generation radio system was shut off and the ISS-internal
coaxial cable to the antenna was disconnected from the ARISS radio as a
safety precaution for the EVA," Bauer said. During the spacewalk, an
external four-connector coax feed line replaced one with two RF
connections.
"This change was made to allow ESA to connect ARISS and three
additional customers to Bartolomeo, as compared to ARISS and one
additional RF customer," Bauer explained.
With the spacewalk completed, the ISS crew restarted the ISS ham radio
station on January 28, but no voice repeater or automatic packet
repeater system (APRS) downlink reports were heard, and no downlink
signal was heard during an attempted scheduled school contact either.
Bauer said that because the exterior cable is not an ARISS cable, ARISS
is working with ESA and NASA on a way forward. "NASA has opened a
Payload Anomaly Report on this issue. We have talked to both the NASA
and ESA representatives," Bauer said. Read more.
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ARRL Podcasts Schedule
The latest episode of the On the Air podcast (Episode 13) features a
discussion with Curt Laumann, K7ZOO, about his success in boosting
activity at the University of Arizona amateur radio club.
The latest edition of Eclectic Tech (Episode 26) discusses synchronous
AM reception and includes an interview with Dave Tipping, NZ1J, about a
novel approach to boost foxhunt participation.
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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RadFxSat-2 Satellite Signals Detected, AMSAT Engineering Continues to
Assess Status
AMSAT reports that it's continuing to assess the status of the
RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E amateur radio CubeSat after a ham in Nevada
reported hearing his CW signal weakly via the spacecraft's transponder
on January 27. AMSAT Engineering and Operations was able to confirm the
reports from Brad Schumacher, W5SAT, and determined that RadFxSat-2 is
partially functioning, although signals are extremely weak.
"We also appreciate those who joined in determining whether they could
detect their own or other signals in recent passes today," AMSAT said
in a January 28 bulletin. "Please do not attempt to transmit through
the transponder until further notice. This is very important to the
next steps we are taking now."
AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, said on January
29 that the beacon still has not been heard, and AMSAT has enlisted the
aid of some "big gun" stations. "We have asked everybody to listen," he
said. The beacon transmits 1200 bps BPSK telemetry on 435.750 MHz, ±
Doppler, upper sideband (USB). Use FoxTelem to capture any telemetry,
and set FoxTelem to "Upload to Server" so that AMSAT will receive the
telemetry data. Recordings are welcome, with a detailed description.
AMSAT stressed that keeping the RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E transponder clear
"is essential to putting all power and attention to the beacon
telemetry." Read more.
The K7RA Solar Update
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: We just witnessed 5 days in a row
with zero sunspots, but on February 2 a small sunspot group (2801)
appeared in our sun's northwest limb. It should soon rotate off the
sun's visible area. Perhaps we will see a few more days of no sunspots,
but a return after February 11 is possible when increased solar flux is
forecast.
Average daily sunspot numbers declined from 28.1 last week to 3.3 this
week. Average daily solar flux dropped from 77.2 to 74.2.
Average daily planetary A index went from 9.4 to 6.7.
Solar flux over the next 30 days is predicted at 74 and 72 on February
4 - 5; 70 on February 6 - 11; 76 on February 12 - 16; 78 on February 17
- 22; 76 on February 23 - 25; 74 on February 26; 73 on February 27 -
March 1, and 72 on March 2 - 7.
Predicted planetary A index is 8, 5, and 5 on February 4 - 6; 16 and 10
on February 7 - 8; 5 on February 9 - 20; 20, 16, and 12 on February 21
- 23; 5 on February 24-27; 18, 12, and 8 on February 28 - March 2, and
5 on March 3 - 5.
Jon Jones, N0JK, reported, "Had some sporadic-E on 50 MHz the evening
of February 1 (February 2 UTC). XE2TT (DL44) in on 50.313 MHz, 0205
UTC. Was on Saturday night for a couple of hours January 31 UTC for the
CQ 160-Meter CW Contest. Band noisy due to snow and high winds in
eastern Kansas. Made over 50 contacts with 5 W and a rain gutter
antenna."
Sunspot numbers for January 28 - February 3 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 12, and
11, with a mean of 28.1. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 75.6, 75.5, 73.7,
73.4, 73.7, 72.9, and 74.3, with a mean of 77.2. Estimated planetary A
indices were 5, 3, 2, 1, 5, 17, and 14, with a mean of 9.4. Middle
latitude A index was 3, 2, 2, 0, 4, 11, and 10, with a mean of 6.3.
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. For customizable
propagation charts, visit the VOACAP Online for Ham Radio website.
Share your reports and observations.
FT8 and the Other WSJT-X Digital Modes are "Tools," K1JT Says
According to WSJT-X software co-developer Joe Taylor, K1JT, the very
popular FT8 and the other digital modes in the software suite "are
tools, freely available to hams who want to use them. They are very
good at some things, not so good at others." Nonetheless, FT8 -- and,
by extension, its contest-mode variation, FT4 -- especially have become
game-changers on the HF bands, although, as Taylor has explained, FT8
"was explicitly designed" for making contacts during weak, multi-hop,
sporadic-E openings on 6 meters.
"It's extremely good at that," he added, and noted that
transcontinental and intercontinental DX on 6 meters has greatly
benefited from the use of FT8 over the past several years. Developed in
2017, FT8 is named after its developers -- Taylor, and Steven Franke,
K9AN. The numeral designates the mode's eight-frequency shift-keying
format.
Taylor said that while the development team knew that FT8 would be very
useful for weak-signal DXing on HF as well as on 6 meters, it did not
foresee that it would have the sort of impact it's had on HF operating.
Taylor agreed that FT8 is "a mature mode," with the protocol's details
published in QEX. "Details of message structure, in particular, will
not change in a way that is not backward compatible," he said.
Although some FT8 fans may feel the mode is running out of room on some
bands, Taylor said that as far as he and his fellow WSJT-X developers
are concerned, the 3 kHz slices of spectrum suggested for FT8 use are
just that -- suggestions.
"There is no reason why additional slices should not be used when
over-occupancy requires it," he told ARRL. "We don't attempt to dictate
such usage patterns; band planning is best done by committees created
for that purpose."
Many radio amateurs are taking advantage of the FT8 and FT4 modes all
the time. FT8 watering holes are sometimes the only places to find
signals on bands that otherwise might be considered dead.
The WSJT Development Group this week announced the general availability
release of WSJT-X Version 2.3.0. It includes a new Q65 mode but does
not involve any changes to the FT8 protocol. A summary of new features
can be found in the WSJT-X 2.3 User Guide. The Release Notes offer
additional information, including a list of important program changes
since the WSJT-X 2.2. Upgrading from earlier versions of WSJT-X should
be seamless. Installation packages for Windows, Linux, and Macintosh
are available.
ARRL Learning Network Webinars
Visit the ARRL Learning Network (a members-only benefit) to register,
check on upcoming webinars, and to view previously recorded sessions.
Interesting Stories about Ham Radio & Weather Spotting -- Rob Macedo,
KD1CY
One of the most critical ways amateur radio supports agencies such as
the National Weather Service (NWS), National Hurricane Center, and
emergency management is through weather spotting via the NWS SKYWARN
program. This presentation reviews some interesting stories about how
amateurs involved in SKYWARN have saved lives and property, and why
this is an important amateur radio activity.
Thursday, February 11, 2021 @ 8 PM EST (0100 UTC on Friday, February
12)
Maxim Memorial Station W1AW Tour -- Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, W1AW Station
Manager
Maxim Memorial Station W1AW, located in Newington, Connecticut was
established to honor the memory of ARRL's co-founder and first
president, Hiram Percy Maxim. Although ARRL's first station was
actually located in Hartford, Connecticut and active as W1MK, W1AW in
Newington is known worldwide and considered the radio station most
associated with Hiram Percy Maxim. Formally established in 1938 --
nearly 2 years after the death of Hiram Percy Maxim -- W1AW has
consistently been on the air, save for the time when the station was
ordered off the air by the FCC because of World War II.
Thursday, February 18, 2021 @ 3:30 PM EST (2030 UTC)
Talking to Astronauts: An Elementary School's Exciting ARISS Experience
-- Diane Warner, KE8HLD
This is a story about Tallmadge Elementary School's participation in a
once-in-a-lifetime Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) school contact. Learn about their amazing journey leading up to
the amateur radio contact with an astronaut on the International Space
Station. The excitement of the entire experience was shared not just by
the students, but included faculty, parents, the community, and local
amateur radio operators. You will also learn how to begin the process
of submitting your own ARISS contact proposal.
Tuesday, March 2, 2021 @ 1 PM EST (1800 UTC)
The ARRL Learning Network schedule is subject to change.
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Plans to Retrieve Titanic Wireless Equipment Put on Indefinite Hold
RMS Titanic, Inc., (RMST) the company that owns salvage rights to the
Titanic shipwreck, has indefinitely put off its plans to retrieve the
vessel's radio equipment for exhibit. The company cited the coronavirus
pandemic for the delay, according to a January 29 court filing. The
Atlanta-based company said its plans have faced "increasing difficulty
associated with international travel and logistics, and the associated
health risks to the expedition team." RMST's primary source of revenue
comes from its exhibits of its vast collection of Titanic relics, which
have been closed or seen only limited attendance due to virus-related
restrictions.
RMST -- a subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions and the
"salvor-in-possession" of the Titanic wreck site -- said its planned
expedition to recover the ship's wireless station equipment remains a
top priority, however, and will "take place as soon as reasonably
practicable." The Marconi-equipped station transmitted the distress
calls after the Titanic (on its maiden voyage) struck an iceberg some
370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland in 1912 and began sinking. The
transmissions, heard by some nearby vessels, have been credited with
helping rescue some 700 passengers in lifeboats deployed from the
Titanic, but about 1,500 passengers were lost.
The bow of the Titanic on the
ocean's bottom. [NOAA/IFE/URI Photo]
RMST has been in an ongoing legal battle with the US government over
whether the recovery operation would be legal. In May 2020, a US
federal judge in Virginia gave permission to retrieve the wireless
gear, ruling that the company would be permitted "minimally to cut into
the wreck" to access the radio room.
RMST has said the radio room may be reachable via an already-open
skylight. But, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric ministration
(NOAA) has contended that the retrieval expedition is still prohibited
under US law and under an international agreement between the US and
the UK.
The wreck, some 2 1/2 miles beneath the surface, remained undiscovered
until 1985. Read more.
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Announcements
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