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The ARRL Letter

January 5, 2017
Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME

 *  FEMA Interoperability Exercise Deemed a Success, Monthly Exercises Set
    for 2017
 *  630 Meters Becoming a "Mainstream" Amateur Band, Experiment Coordinator
    Says
 *  FCC Denies Expert Linears' Request for Waiver of 15 dB Rule, Petition
    Pending
 *  Philippines' Ham Emergency Radio Operations Net Activates for Super
    Typhoon
 *  The Doctor Will See You Now!
 *  Boy Scouts' Radio Merit Badge Requirements to Include Amateur Radio
    Direction Finding Option
 *  QCWA Donation to Support ARISS Hardware Upgrade
 *  ARRL Education & Technology Program Offers Grants to Four Schools
 *  HamSCI Members Showcase Amateur Radio-Related Research at AGU Fall
    Meeting
 *  In Brief...
 *  The K7RA Solar Update
 *  Just Ahead on Radiosport
 *  Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions


FEMA Interoperability Exercise Deemed a Success, Monthly Exercises Set for 2017

Laura Goudreau, KG7BQR, Regional Emergency Communications Coordinator for FEMA
Region X, said a December 21 Region X interoperability communications exercise
on 60 meters went well. FEMA Region X, which consists of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon,
 and Washington, now has announced that it will hold similar exercises each
month in 2017, with all radio amateurs welcome to participate.

"We had 48 check-ins, of which 42 were amateurs," Goudreau said of the December
 event. "It was very successful and also included our first digital test." The
"COMMEX" event consisted of check-ins from authorized state, tribal, federal,
and Amateur Radio stations to test HF interoperability in case of an emergency
or disaster response. The interoperability aspect between federal stations and
Amateur Radio licensees was coordinated and authorized by the NTIA and the FCC.

The net included a digital component, intended as a one-way broadcast to test
FEMA's ability to send messages and for remote stations to receive them.
Goudreau said that while there's still room for improvement in the digital
area, overall, she was happy with how the exercise played out.

During 2017, FEMA Region X will hold a communication exercise (COMMEX) on the
third Wednesday of each month, 1500-2100 UTC. The initial exercise will take
place on January 18.

"The intent of [each] COMMEX is to test and exercise interoperable
communications (federal/state/local/tribal/amateur) during a major disaster,
where communications infrastructure would be significantly damaged or
destroyed," a FEMA Region X announcement said. FEMA Region X will use the call
sign WGY910. Others taking part in these exercises will include, but are not
limited to, other FEMA stations, SHARES stations, and Air Force and Army MARS
stations. All stations are encouraged to participate.

The COMMEX will use the five 60-meter channels: 5,330.5 kHz, 5,346.5 kHz,
5,357.0 kHz, 5,371.5 kHz, and 5,403.5 kHz. The area of operation is the
Continental US. -- Thanks to FEMA Region X Regional Emergency Communications
Coordinator Laura Goudreau, KG7BQR, and FEMA Spectrum Manager Dave Adsit,
KG4BIR



630 Meters Becoming a "Mainstream" Amateur Band, Experiment Coordinator Says

The coordinator of ARRL's WD2XSH 600-Meter Experimental Group -- Fritz Raab,
W1FR -- said in his latest quarterly report that 630 meters is becoming quite
active, with both Amateur Radio and Part 5 Experimental stations taking
advantage of the band, which is still not available in the US.

"Band activity has been very high, and there are often more WSPR stations --
more than 110 stations -- on 472 kHz than on 80 or 160 meters!" Raab said.
WSPR, which stands for "Weak Signal Propagation Reporter," is software designed
 for transmitting and receiving low-power transmissions to test propagation
paths on MF and HF.

"In a sense, 630 meters has become a mainstream ham band, in spite of not being
 authorized in the US," Raab said. To boost activity, a second annual Midwinter
 630-Meter Operating Activity Night will take place on February 4-5. Details
will be announced.

Raab also said in his report that MF propagation appears to be improving as the
 solar cycle declines. "The paths to VK and JA have remained good," Raab said.
"This was not the case last year, so perhaps it is an effect of the coming
solar minimum. Many reports have been received for WSPR transmissions with
relatively moderate power. There have been a number of polar and high-latitude
openings to LA2XPA from North America. Many long-time operators say that they
have never seen anything like that. There have also been a number of openings
from the US west coast deep into Europe."

Countries now permitting Amateur Radio access to the 630-meter band include
Germany, Greece, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Philippines, Czech Republic, Ireland,
Switzerland, New Zealand, Finland, Spain, France, Poland, Bulgaria, Canada,
Vietnam, Japan, Cayman Islands, Reunion Island, and Hungary. "It appears that
more than 100 DXCC entities have permission to operate on 630 meters," Raab
said in his report.

In April 2015, the FCC proposed a new secondary 630-meter allocation at 472 to
479 kHz to Amateur Radio, implementing decisions made at World
Radiocommunication Conference 2012 (WRC-12). At the same time, the FCC
allocated a new LF band, 135.7 to 137.8 kHz (2,200 meters), to the Amateur
Service on a secondary basis, in accordance with the Final Acts of WRC-07.

No US Amateur Radio operation will be permitted in either band until the FCC
determines the specific Part 97 rules it must frame to permit operation in the
new bands. That process is ongoing at the FCC, but the change in administration
 and the consequent resignation of the current FCC chairman has put FCC action
on any proceeding on hold, at least until a new chairman is in place.



FCC Denies Expert Linears' Request for Waiver of 15 dB Rule, Petition Pending

The FCC has denied a request by Expert Linears America LLC to waive
?97.317(a)(2) of the Amateur Service rules limiting amplifier gain. Expert, of
Magnolia, Texas, distributes linears manufactured by SPE in Italy. Its waiver
request, filed in June, would have allowed Expert to import an amplifier
capable of exceeding the current 15 dB gain limitation as it awaits FCC action
on its April petition (RM-11767) to revise the same Amateur Service rules. That
 petition remains pending. Expert has asserted that there should be no gain
limitation on amplifiers sold or used in the Amateur Service. Most commenters
supported Expert's waiver request, but a couple of commenters -- including
FlexRadio, which supports a rule change -- expressed concerns about granting a
waiver to Expert alone.

"In light of the conflicting comments regarding the desirability of eliminating
 the 15 dB limitation, we conclude that waiving the limitation at this stage of
 the rulemaking proceeding would prejudice the rulemaking proceeding and
prematurely dispose of commenters' concerns," the FCC said in denying the
waiver. "Moreover, we agree with FlexRadio that granting Expert's waiver
request while the rulemaking petition remains pending would provide an unfair
market advantage for one equipment model over other manufacturers' RF power
amplifiers that would still be limited by [the existing rules]."

The FCC said it would rather give full consideration to "the pending issues"
and apply the result of the rulemaking proceeding to all Amateur Radio Service
equipment. The Commission said rule waivers "generally" are not warranted
"merely to accommodate technical parameters that are based solely on
harmonization with the manufacturer's products available abroad."

In its April rulemaking petition, Expert maintained that the 15 dB gain
limitation is an unneeded holdover from the days when amplifiers were less
efficient and the FCC was attempting to rein in the use of Amateur Service
amplifiers by Citizens Band operators.

Although the FCC had proposed in 2004 to delete the requirement that amplifiers
 be designed to use a minimum of 50 W of drive power -- and subsequently did so
 -- it did not further discuss the 15 dB limit in the subsequent Report and
Order in that proceeding.



Philippines' Ham Emergency Radio Operations Net Activates for Super Typhoon

Super Typhoon Nock-Ten (called "Nina" locally) interrupted Christmas for radio
amateurs in the Philippines, who responded to provide communication for the
disaster. The category 4 storm claimed six lives, and more than 380,000
residents were evacuated as the storm cut a path through the Philippines.
Warnings were posted for flooding and mudslides. The slow-moving typhoon made
landfall seven times from Sunday evening until mid-day on Monday. The
Philippines Amateur Radio Association's (PARA) Ham Emergency Radio Operations
(HERO) net activated in advance of the storm, which cut power to five
provinces, downed trees, caused widespread damage, and dimmed the festive
occasion in Asia's largest Roman Catholic nation.

"A truly commendable job was done by many radio amateurs, who not only gave up
their traditional Christmas activities, but some had to stop transmissions
because they were in the storm path," Jojo
Vicencio, DU1VHY, said. Amateur Radio volunteers used both HF and VHF during
the storm response.

Vicencio said that as the typhoon first made landfall in Catanduanes, some
network stations were forced off air by high winds in excess of 120 MPH.
Stations gradually returned to the air to report extensive damage in their
areas. HERO reported that as the typhoon swept along the Southern Tagalog
region, it made landfall several times. Marinduque also was badly hit.

"It created a large swath of destruction and debris -- uprooted and fallen
trees and posts, landslides, impassable roads, and other damage," Vicencio
said. "Even our own HEROs were not spared." Net participants were able to
compile damage reports and relay them to authorities, some of which had tuned
to the HERO net.

"It has now become a reality that our emergency calling frequency is the most
listened to during disaster," Vicencio said. "Government operators listened
in...armed forces station Peacemaker in Catarman, for example, broke into the
frequency looking for a counterpart station also in Northern Samar." The HERO
net also heard from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council
 and the Office of Civil Defense. Vicencio said the HERO HF net on 7.095 MHz
never faltered. -- Thanks to Jim Linton, VK3PC, Chairman IARU Region 3 Disaster
 Communications Committee



The Doctor Will See You Now!

"Restoring Old Radios" is the topic of the latest (December 29) episode of the
"ARRL The Doctor is In" podcast. Listen...and learn!

Sponsored by DX Engineering, "ARRL The Doctor is In" is an informative
discussion of all things technical. Listen on your computer, tablet, or
smartphone -- whenever and wherever you like!

Every 2 weeks, your host, QST Editor-in-Chief Steve Ford, WB8IMY, and the
Doctor himself, Joel Hallas, W1ZR, will discuss a broad range of technical
topics. You can also e-mail your questions to doctor@arrl.org, and the Doctor
may answer them in a future podcast.

Enjoy "ARRL The Doctor is In" on Apple iTunes, or by using your iPhone or iPad
podcast app (just search for "ARRL The Doctor is In". You can also listen
online at Blubrry, or at Stitcher (free registration required, or browse the
site as a guest) and through the free Stitcher app for iOS, Kindle, or Android
devices.

If you've never listened to a podcast before, download our beginner's guide.



Boy Scouts' Radio Merit Badge Requirements to Include Amateur Radio Direction
Finding Option

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) have updated the requirements for the Radio
Merit Badge for 2017, although a formal announcement is pending the publication
 of the 2017 Boy Scouts Requirements pamphlet. A new option for the Radio Merit
 Badge is Amateur Radio Direction Finding (ARDF). ARRL ARDF Coordinator Joe
Moell, K0OV, said he's "really excited" about the move, and he credited
Jamboree on the Air Coordinator (JOTA) and K2BSA trustee Jim Wilson, K5ND, with
 being the "spark plug" behind the ARDF addition.

"Jim visited a training session at the USA ARDF Championships in Texas last
April and realized what an excellent activity that on-foot hidden transmitter
hunting can be for Scouts," Moell recounted. "Working with Brian Coleman,
KB0MAP, Jim authored the new ARDF Radio Merit Badge syllabus, which was then
reviewed by several leaders of US ARDF community."

A first draft of the new merit badge pamphlet is anticipated later this month
or in early February. Moell said the new merit badge requirements should become
 effective just in time for the July 2017 National Scout Jamboree in West
Virginia, where an ARDF course and equipment will be available to Scouts of all
 ages. He also hopes there could be a role for ARDF in JOTA.

The Radio Merit Badge ARDF option combines orienteering and foxhunting, and
opens a new interactive component to this program. Other new Radio Merit Badge
options include cellular telephones and different types of radio modulation.

Key requirements being dropped from the Radio Merit Badge include open, closed,
 and short circuits, as well as schematic symbols and components, because these
 are covered in the Electricity and Electronics Merit Badges.

The BSA also made some minor editorial changes and reordered requirements for
the Amateur Radio option. The radio broadcasting option now includes internet
streaming, regulations, and power levels. A medium-wave and shortwave listening
 option includes both types of listening, as well as listening via streaming
services on a smartphone.

The BSA has posted a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs). Scouts are
encouraged to follow the new requirements, although the guidelines may allow
use of the previous requirements in some cases.



QCWA Donation to Support ARISS Hardware Upgrade

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) in late December
announced a "notable contribution" from the Quarter Century Wireless
Association (QCWA) to help support the development and certification of new
radio hardware for the International Space Station. ARISS-International Chair
Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, thanked the QCWA for its contribution and said that it
arrived at a most critical time.

"Our radio system design is nearly complete, and we're about to start
fabrication and the very expensive hardware certification effort," he said. "It
 is fantastic to see Amateur Radio groups like QCWA donating to ARISS, as it
demonstrates to our larger benefactors and potential sponsors that the Amateur
Radio community has 'skin in the game' and is willing to sacrifice to further
the ARISS cause."

QCWA President Ken Oelke, VE6AFO, expressed the hope that the donation might
inspire other groups and individuals to follow suit. ARISS reports its hardware
 team has made good progress over the past year in developing the new radio
system. But the October failure of the 17-year-old Ericsson VHF handheld in the
 ISS Columbus module made completion of the project far more urgent. The
failure shut down 2-meter APRS operation, and ARISS operations must
[QCWA%20logo.gif] now be carried out using an Ericsson UHF handheld in the
Russian Service Module. This requires astronauts to make a round trip from one
end of the ISS to the other in order to carry out 10-minute school contacts.

ARISS-International Treasurer Rosalie White, K1STO, said, "QCWA members now
understand it's important to hams to have the ARISS radio for APRS and other
modes, and it's caused a number of hams and their local clubs to donate toward
helping to get the radio system upgraded."

ARISS welcomes donations toward the hardware upgrade project via the AMSAT
website. Click on the "ARISS Donate" button, or visit the donation page on the
ARISS website. Contributions may be tax deductible. Those contributing $100 or
more will receive an ARISS Challenge Coin. Contact Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, if you
or your organization wishes to make a more substantial contribution.



ARRL Education & Technology Program Offers Grants to Four Schools

The ARRL Board of Directors' Executive Committee has approved Education and
Technology Program (ETP) grants to schools in Illinois, California, Ohio, and
Connecticut. The funds will help three of the schools to establish Amateur
Radio club stations by providing the necessary equipment, and aid one school in
 getting its radio club off the ground.

Zeigler-Royalton High School in rural Zeigler, Illinois; Sato Academy in Long
Beach, California, and Pickaway-Ross Career & Technology Center in Chillicothe,
 Ohio, will receive station grants, while E.O. Smith High School in Mansfield,
Connecticut, will receive a progress grant, enabling it to build upon the
school's burgeoning Amateur Radio program. Sponsors for all four grants are
alumni of the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology, who are
implementing Amateur Radio as part of their school's curriculum.

Teacher Miroslaw Klapyk, KC1GBT, at E.O. Smith High School, took his initial
Amateur Radio license test during a Teachers Institute session this past
summer, and promptly upgraded to Amateur Extra. Klapyk teaches physics to more
than 50 students, and he plans to spend a week or two toward the end of the
school year focusing on wireless communication, with an eye toward getting more
 students interested in the radio club. But, he told ARRL, that interest is
already there. "I never advertised our club," he said. "Yet since the start of
the school year, we went from one to eight members. They just keep coming." The
 school currently has some Amateur Radio station gear and the beginnings of an
antenna system.

The Pickaway-Ross Career & Technology Center in Chillicothe, Ohio, requested
Amateur Radio station equipment to augment the school's engineering program and
 to attract other interested students to wireless and related technology. "The
establishment of an Amateur Radio station would give impetus for students to
become radio amateurs," with a view toward getting them involved in public
service communication, teacher David Pentecost, KC8WEB, said in the school's
application. Pickaway-Ross, he said, is "committed to helping underserved
students in the Appalachian region of southern Ohio achieve success in a
variety of technical fields."

The Sato Academy Amateur Radio Emergency Communication team's project in part
focuses on establishing a demonstration station to train youngsters in using
Amateur Radio for emergency communication. The school, which received a station
 grant, also wants "to help students learn to build and create circuit boards,
such as those used in the Teachers Institute," teacher Devon Day, KF6KEE, said
in her school's application.

At Zeigler-Royalton, teacher Lance Newman, KD9GOY, said he's hoping to see more
 students become interested, pass their license exams, and spend time on the
radio and working with the equipment. Newman said in the school's application
that he began the process of establishing a ham radio station at the school
this fall, "to provide an extracurricular outlet for students interested in
radio communication technologies." But he's hoping that Amateur Radio will
offer other educational opportunities as well.



HamSCI Members Showcase Amateur Radio-Related Research at AGU Fall Meeting

Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) scientists were among those
taking part in the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San
Francisco earlier this month. The December 11-17 gathering, which attracted
some 24,000 geoscientists, offered an opportunity for HamSCI scientists to
present Amateur Radio-based research, discuss possibilities for upcoming
experiments, and network with members of the citizen science and space science
communities. Two young university-affiliated radio amateurs -- Nathaniel
Frissell, W2NAF, a post-doctoral research associate at the New Jersey Institute
 of Technology (NJIT), and Virginia Tech (VT) undergraduate researcher Magda
Moses, KM4EGE -- offered poster presentations at the AGU meeting. Frissell said
 he feels the radio amateurs made a good impression.

"As I go to these meetings and tell different people about the HamSCI work, I
find people that either want to contribute or that I think would have something
 important to say," Frissell told ARRL. "Once I identify these people, I invite
 them to our HamSCI Google e-mail group, where we can discuss possible
experiments or ways to use ham radio for science. We now have almost 60
scientists and ham radio operators in the group."

Frissell's poster presentation, "HamSCI: The Ham Radio Science Citizen
Investigation," discussed Amateur Radio and HamSCI's objectives and
demonstrated how the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) can serve as a scientific
instrument. It also outlined plans for the Solar Eclipse QSO Party (SEQP) next
August. (An introductory Solar Eclipse QSO Party article is set to appear in
the February 2017 issue of QST; final SEQP rules will be available by
Hamvention in May.)

Moses called the Fall AGU Meeting "the most scientifically diverse conference"
she's ever attended, with many sessions and presentations encompassing a
variety of disciplines. "This diversity was especially evident in the citizen
science sessions and offered a unique opportunity for networking before the
eclipse," she told ARRL. "It was also interesting to see similarities to HamSCI
 in some aspects of other citizen science projects."

Moses's poster presentation, "Characterizing the Ionosphere Using a Commercial
Off the Shelf Software Defined Radio System," described propagation experiments
 between Blacksburg, Virginia, and Newark, New Jersey, aimed at better
understanding the use of HF links for characterizing the ionosphere during the
total solar eclipse later this year. Moses first presented ray-trace diagrams
through an eclipsed ionosphere, and then used propagation test data to show
that 80 meters was most useful for identifying diurnal variations along the
southwest Virginia-to-New Jersey signal path.

During a general HamSCI meeting, members talked about rules for the upcoming
SEQP, installation of additional RBN receivers, use of data from other networks
 such as WSPRNet, the design of better measurement techniques, and
possibilities for future HamSCI experiments. Plans for Hamvention 2017 include
a display table and the program for a 90-minute ARRL-sponsored forum.



In Brief...

Logbook of The World to No Longer Accept Contacts Signed by TQSL Versions
Earlier Than 2.0: As of 1400 UTC on January 16, ARRL Logbook of The World
(LoTW) no longer will accept contacts that have been digitally signed by
versions of TQSL earlier than version 2.0. Users of earlier versions are
encouraged to upgrade as soon as possible, as older TQSL versions contain
uncorrected defects and display inaccurate error messages. The current versions
 of TQSL for Windows, OS X, and Linux are available online at
https://lotw.arrl.org/lotw-help/installation/... This action does not affect data
 already uploaded to LoTW; all QSOs remain in the LoTW database in perpetuity.
-- Thanks to Norm Fusaro, W3IZ


Registration is Now Open for Contest University at Dayton: Student registration
 is now open for 2017 Dayton Contest University (CTU), all day on Thursday, May
 18, 2017, at the Crowne Plaza hotel in downtown Dayton, Ohio. CTU sessions
have been held in 11 countries over its 11-year history, and more than 5,000
students have attended to learn the ins and outs of Amateur Radio contesting
from CTU's "professors." Scholarships to cover the registration fee are
available from CTU through a grant from the Northern California DX Foundation
(NCDXF) for students 25 years old and younger. Click the "Contact Us" button on
 the CTU website for more information. Student registration information is
available on the CTU website. Anyone who has given (or will give at Hamvention
2017) a talk about Amateur Radio to any club, hamfest, or group since May 17,
2016, qualifies for a $10 registration fee discount. Use the "Registration with
 Club Talk Discount" option on the CTU website, which has much more
information. -- Thanks to Tim Duffy, K3LR, Contest University Chairman


Special Call Sign Prefixes Available to Celebrate Canada's Sesquicentennial:
Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) has secured permission for all Canadian radio
amateurs to use special call sign prefixes to celebrate the 150th anniversary
of Canada's Confederation during 2017. Starting on January 1, radio amateurs
and clubs with VA-prefix call signs may use CF instead, and those with
VE-prefix call signs may use CG instead. Amateurs and clubs with VO-prefix call
 signs may substitute CH instead, while those holding VY-prefix call signs may
substitute CI. Use of the special prefixes is optional, and Canadian radio
amateurs may choose if and when to use the special prefix at any time during
the year. VY1AAA, the Yukon Canam Contest Club, will mark the sesquicentennial
with special call sign XK150YUKON from January 1 until March 1. For the rest of
 2017, VY1AAA will operate using either CI1AAA or VY1AAA.



The K7RA Solar Update

Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: The sun was quieter this week compared to the
 previous 7 days, and there were no sunspots on Thursday, Sunday, Monday, and
Wednesday. Geomagnetic numbers were also lower.

The average daily sunspot number decreased from 7.6 to 4.7, average daily solar
 flux declined from 73.6 to 73.1, and the average daily planetary A index went
from 17.3 to 9.3. The average mid-latitude A index dipped from 11.6 to 6.3.

The latest forecast sees solar flux at 72 on January 5; 71 on January 6-10; 72
on January 11-12; 76 on January 13-14; 77 on January 15-19; 75 on January
20-24; 74 on January 25-27; 73 on January 28-February 2; 75 on February 3-7; 76
 on February 8-10, and 77 on February 11-15.

The prediction for planetary A index sees 25, 18, 15, 10, and 6 on January 5-9;
 5, 12, 10, 5, and 10 on January 10-14; 5 on January 15-16; 25, 20, 25, and 18
on January 17-20; 20 on January 21-22; 10 on January 23; 5 on January 24-26;
12, 15, 10, 12, and 18 on January 27-31; 24, 22, 15, and 8 on February 1-4, and
 5 on February 5-9.

F.K. Janda, OK1HH, delivered his geomagnetic predictions a day early this week,
 for January 6-February 1: The geomagnetic field will be: Quiet on January
8-10, 16, 24-25; mostly quiet on January 11-12, 15, 26, 30; quiet to unsettled
on January 23, 27, 29; quiet to active on January 6-7, 13-14, 17-18, 28, 31;
active to disturbed on January 19-20, (21-22), February 1.

Amplifications of the solar wind from coronal holes are expected on January
6-8, 17-20, 25, (27-31) and February 1. Numbers in parentheses mean lower
probability of activity enhancement.

Sunspot numbers for December 29-January 4 were 0, 11, 11, 0, 0, 11, and 0, with
 a mean of 7.6. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 73.4, 73.6, 73.5, 72.5, 73, 73.4,
and 72.4, with a mean of 73.6. Estimated planetary A indices were 5, 4, 12, 14,
 7, 12, and 11, with a mean of 17.3. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 2,
2, 10, 9, 5, 8, and 8, with a mean of 11.6.

Send me your reports or observations.

____________________________________________________________________________


Just Ahead on Radiosport

 *  January 7 -- Kids Day (Phone)
 *  January 7 -- PODXS 070 Club PSKFest
 *  January 7-8 -- SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (CW)
 *  January 7-8 -- WW PMC Contest (CW, phone)
 *  January 7-8 -- Original QRP Contest (CW)
 *  January 7-8 -- ARRL RTTY Roundup
 *  January 7-8 -- EUCW 160-Meter Contest (CW)
 *  January 8 -- DARC 10-Meter Contest (CW, phone)
 *  January 11-15 -- AWA Linc Cundall Memorial (CW)


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 e-mail preferences.


Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions

 *  January 8 -- New York City/Long Island Section Convention, Bethpage, New
    York
 *  January 14 -- TechFest 2017 Convention, Lawrenceville, Georgia
 *  January 20-21 -- North Texas Section Convention, Forest Hill, Texas
 *  January 21 -- Georgia ARES Convention, Forsyth, Georgia
 *  January 22-28 -- QuartzFest Convention, Quartzsite, Arizona
 *  January 27-28 -- Mississippi State Convention, Jackson, Mississippi
 *  January 27-29 -- Puerto Rico State Convention, Hatillo, Puerto Rico
 *  February 3-4 -- Southern Florida Section Convention, Ft. Lauderdale,
    Florida
 *  February 4 -- South Carolina State Convention, North Charleston, South
    Carolina
 *  February 4 -- Virginia State Convention, Richmond, Virginia
 *  February 10-12 -- Southeastern Division Convention (HamCation), Orlando,
    Florida
 *  February 17-18 -- Arizona Section Convention, Yuma, Arizona
 *  February 18 -- Arkansas Section Convention, Hoxie, Arkansas
 *  February 25 -- West Central Florida Section Technical Conference,
    Sarasota, Florida
 *  February 25 -- 2017 New Mexico Tech Fest, Albuquerque, New Mexico
 *  February 25 -- Vermont State Convention, South Burlington, Vermont

Find conventions and hamfests in your area.

____________________________________________________________________________


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)\/(ark

Always Mount a Scratch Monkey
Do you manage your own servers? If you are not running an IDS/IPS yer doin' it
wrong...
... A real friend remembers only the birthday.
---
 * Origin:  (1:3634/12.73)