Nayif-1 Amateur Radio Satellite Transmits Message from Dubai's Ruler: The
Nayif-1 Amateur Radio satellite is beaming a message from Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai -- the first to be transmitted by the
 new satellite. AMSAT-NA has designated Nayif-1 as Emirates OSCAR 88 (EO-88).
The message, in Arabic, says, "The renaissance of peoples, nations, and
civilizations starts with education; and the future of nations starts at their
schools." Launched on February 15, the Nayif-1 satellite carries a U/V linear
Amateur Radio transponder for SSB and CW and a telemetry transmitter. Nayif-1
was a joint project of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and
American University of Sharjah (AUS). It is the United Arab Emirates' first
nanosatellite. Telemetry is on 145.940 MHz, 1.2 kb BPSK (FUNcube standard). The
 SSB/CW transponder uplink passband is 435.045-435.015 MHz, and the downlink
passband is 145.960-145.990 MHz.


Gulf Coast Amateur Radio Club Annual Hamfest Announces New Date: The Gulf Coast
 Amateur Radio Club has changed the date of its annual hamfest. The event now
will take place on Saturday, April 8, in Hudson, Florida. Contact Michael
Christopher, W2IW, for more information.

____________________________________________________________________________


The K7RA Solar Update

Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Over the February 23-March 1 reporting week,
sunspot and solar flux averages rose, while geomagnetic indices remained about
the same, compared to the previous 7 days. Average daily sunspot numbers
increased from 19.1 to 34.1, and average daily solar flux went from 78.5 to
81.3.

The average planetary A index barely changed, from 11.3 to 13.1, and average
the mid-latitude A index, measured in Virginia, went from 9 to 8.7. The numbers
 went in opposite directions, but were each barely changed.

Predicted solar flux is 81 and 82 on March 2-3; 81 on March 4-5; 80 on March
6-7; 79 on March 8; 75 on March 9-14; 74, 75, 77, 79, and 80 on March 15-19; 82
 on March 20-23; 80 on March 24-25; 79 on March 26; 77 on March 27-28; 79 on
March 29-31; 75 on April 1; 72 on April 2-3; 73 and 74 on April 4-5; 75 on
April 6-10, and 75 on April 11.

Predicted planetary A index is 22, 16, 12, 10, and 8 on March 2-6; 5 on March
7-14; 10, 20, 15, 10, and 8 on March 15-19; 5, 8, 10, 15, and 8 on March 20-24;
 5 on March 25-26; 12, 25, 20, 15, and 8 on March 27-31, and 5 on April 1-10.

Sunspot numbers for February 23 through March 1, 2017 were 18, 27, 25, 35, 40,
39, and 55, with a mean of 34.1. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 83.3, 82.1, 80,
79, 82.2, 81.6, and 80.8, with a mean of 81.3. Estimated planetary A indices
were 11, 20, 7, 2, 8, 8, and 36, with a mean of 13.1. Estimated mid-latitude A
indices were 8, 15, 6, 0, 6, 5, and 21, with a mean of 8.7.

Send me your reports and observations.



Getting It Right!

The article, "ARISS Opens Window for Proposals to Host Contacts with Space
Station Crew," which appeared in the February 23 edition of The ARRL Letter,
contained an incorrect e-mail address to request additional information. The
correct e-mail address is ariss@arrl.org.



Just Ahead in Radiosport

 *  March 4 -- Wake-Up! QRP Sprint (CW)
 *  March 4-5 -- ARRL International DX Contest (SSB)
 *  March 4-5 -- Open Ukraine RTTY Championship
 *  March 5 -- UBA Spring Contest (CW)
 *  March 5 -- DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest
 *  March 5 -- NSARA Contest (Phone, CW, digital)
 *  March 5-7 -- SARL Hamnet 40-Meter Simulated Emergency (Phone)
 *  March 6 -- RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (Data)
 *  March 7 -- ARS Spartan Sprint (CW)
 *  March 7 -- AGCW YL-CW Party (CW)
 *  March 8-12 -- AWA John Rollins DX 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

 *  March 3-4 -- Alabama Section Convention, Birmingham, Alabama
 *  March 4 -- Arkansas State Convention, Russellville, Arkansas
 *  March 10-11 -- Louisiana State Convention, Rayne, Louisiana
 *  March 11 -- Nebraska State Convention, Lincoln, Nebraska
 *  March 18 -- West Texas Section Convention, Midland, Texas
 *  March 18 -- MicroHAMS Digital Conference, Redmond, Washington
 *  March 24-25 -- Texas State Convention, Rosenberg, Texas
 *  March 31-April 1 -- Maine State Convention, Lewiston, Maine
 *  March 31-April 2 -- Nevada State Convention, Las Vegas, Nevada
 *  April 7-8 -- OzarkCon QRP Conference, Branson, Missouri
 *  April 15 -- Roanoke Division Convention, Raleigh, North Carolina
 *  Apr 21-23 -- International DX Convention, Visalia, California
 *  April 21-23 -- Idaho State Convention, Boise, Idaho
 *  April 22 -- Delaware State Convention, Georgetown, Delaware
 *  April 22 -- Aurora '17 Convention, White Bear Lake, Minnesota
 *  Apr 22-23 -- Communications Academy XIX, Seattle, Washington
 *  April 28-29 -- Southeastern VHF Society Conference, Charlotte, North
    Carolina
 *  May 4-6 -- Military Radio Collector's Group Convention, San Luis Obispo,
    California
 *  May 7 -- Eastern Pennsylvania Section Convention, Bristol, Pennsylvania
 *  May 13 -- Iowa Section Convention, Boone, Iowa
 *  May 19-21 -- Ohio State Convention (Dayton Hamvention), Xenia, Ohio
 *  May 27-28 -- Rocky Mountain Division Convention, Cody, Wyoming

Find conventions and hamfests in your area.

____________________________________________________________________________


ARRL -- Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information.

 *  Join or Renew Today! ARRL membership includes QST, Amateur Radio's most
    popular and informative journal, delivered to your mailbox each month.
 *  Listen to ARRL Audio News, available every Friday.

Subscribe to...

 *  NCJ -- National Contest Journal. Published bimonthly, features articles
    by top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint, and
    QSO Parties.
 *  QEX -- A Forum for Communications Experimenters. Published bi-monthly,
    features technical articles, construction projects, columns, and other
    items of interest to radio amateurs and communications professionals.

Free of charge to ARRL members...

 *  Subscribe to the ARES E-Letter (monthly public service and emergency
    communications news), the ARRL Contest Update (bi-weekly contest
    newsletter), Division and Section news alerts -- and much more!

Find ARRL on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram!

____________________________________________________________________________


The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 48 times each year. ARRL members may
subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data Page as
described at http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/.

Copyright (C) 2017 American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved

www.arrl.org

)\/(ark

Always Mount a Scratch Monkey
Do you manage your own servers? If you are not running an IDS/IPS yer doin' it
wrong...
... Cauliflower is nothing but Cabbage with a College Education.
---
 * Origin:  (1:3634/12.73)