ARRL Receives Donation of Optimod 9300 from Orban Labs: Orban Labs Inc. has
donated an Optimod model 9300 audio-processing unit to ARRL. Popular with AM
broadcasters, the 9300 increases the loudness of a station's audio without
overmodulation, through the use of sophisticated multiband limiting and
clipping. The digital processing also minimizes distortion and other unwanted
side effects. The 9300 includes a fully programmable equalizer that can be
tailored to voice communications. Currently, the unit is being evaluated at the
 ARRL Lab and will be used in conjunction with upcoming QST "Product Review"
articles. Its eventual planned use will be as part of the W1AW audio chain that
 feeds the station's bulletin transmitters, providing a greater presence on the
 air. ARRL thanks Mike Pappas, W9CN, Vice President of Business Development at
Orban Labs Inc. for arranging this generous donation, made to support of the AM
 voice bulletin transmissions on W1AW that began earlier this year on 7.290
MHz.


OZ7IGY 40 MHz Beacon Shifts to Next Generation Beacons Platform: The 40 MHz
OZ7IGY beacon was migrated to the Next Generation Beacons platform on March 25.
 The beacon was activated during a 60th anniversary event for OZ7IGY, making it
 the oldest ham radio beacon still on the air. The beacon was inaugurated at
the start of the International Geophysical Year (IGY). The nominal frequency is
 40.071 MHz. The beacon's output power is 20 W into an omnidirectional halo
antenna. The OZ7IGY beacon is now frequency- and time-locked to GPS. The
sequence is programmed to send PI4 (a digital mode specifically designed for
beacons and propagation studies), followed by a short pause, and then the call
sign and grid locator sent in CW, then a pause, and a carrier until start of
the next
cycle. To decode PI4, tune 800 Hz below the nominal frequency. PI4 is similar
to JT4, JT9, and WSPR. This completes the upgrading of the 12 beacons at OZ7IGY
 transmitting from 28 MHz to 24 GHz. -- Thanks to Southgate Amateur Radio News
via Bo Hansen, OZ2M


Centenarian World War II Veteran Victor M. Sokolov, U5FS, SK: Victor M.
Sokolov, U5FS, of Izmail, Russia, died on March 25. At 103, he was among the
oldest -- if not the oldest -- living radio amateurs. No formal records
tracking the age of the world's radio amateurs are maintained, however. Sokolov
 lived through World War I, the Russian Revolution, and World War II, and told
interesting stories of his wartime experiences, including the Kerch landing
(Russian troops crossed the Kerch Strait in December 1941 in an effort to
regain control of Crimea). While apparently inactive on the air for several
years, Sokolov did join an unidentified caretaker in heartily singing a Russian
 song when he was 101. -- Thanks to The Daily DX for some information.



The K7RA Solar Update

Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Solar activity rose over the past week, with
average daily sunspot numbers rising from 3.4 to 29.7 and solar flux from 71.2
to 77.9. The average daily planetary A index increased from 10 to 18.3, and the
 average mid-latitude A index went from 7.1 to 13.6.

Predicted solar flux is 83 on March 30; 82 on March 31-April 3; 80 and 78 on
April 4-5; 71 on April 6-14; 73 on April 15-17; 75 on April 18-22; 78 on April
23-26; 75 on April 27-29, and 73 on April 30-May 1.

Predicted planetary A index is 24 and 20 on March 30-31; 16 on April 1-2; 14 on
 April 3; 12 on April 4-6; 5 on April 7-16; 24, 25, and 10 on April 17-19; 5 on
 April 20-22; 25, 40, 35, 20, 18, and 12 on April 23-28; 8, 16, 12, 15, and 12
on April 29-May 3, and 5 through mid-May.

Tamitha Skov released a video a week ago, although it is a bit out of date by
now, but her observations are always interesting.

Sunspot numbers for March 23 through 29, 2017 were 12, 12, 11, 20, 49, 51, and
53, with a mean of 29.7. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 72, 72.3, 74, 77.2, 82.8,
 83.7, and 83.3, with a mean of 77.9. Estimated planetary A indices were 11, 6,
 4, 4, 54, 28, and 21, with a mean of 18.3. Estimated mid-latitude A indices
were 9, 7, 3, 3, 34, 22, and 17, with a mean of 13.6.

Send me your reports and observations.

____________________________________________________________________________


Just Ahead in Radiosport

 *  April 1 -- LZ Open 40-Meter Sprint Contest (CW)
 *  April 1-2 -- 15-Meter SSTV Dash Contest
 *  April 1-2 -- Mississippi QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
 *  April 1-2 -- Missouri QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
 *  April 1-2 -- Texas State Parks on the Air (CW, phone, digital)
 *  April 1-2 -- SP DX Contest (CW, phone)
 *  April 1-2 -- EA RTTY Contest
 *  April 2 -- North American SSB Sprint
 *  April 2 -- RSGB RoLo SSB
 *  April 3 -- RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (CW)
 *  April 4 -- ARS Spartan Sprint (CW)
 *  April 5 -- UKEICC 80-Meter Contest (Phone)
 *  April 6 -- SARL 80-Meter QSO Party (Phone)
 *  April 6 -- NRAU 10-Meter Activity Contest (CW, phone, digital)

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 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 7-8 -- Oklahoma Section Convention, Claremore, Oklahoma
 *  April 15 -- Roanoke Division Convention, Raleigh, North Carolina
 *  Apr 21-23 -- International DX Convention, Visalia, California
 *  April 21-23 -- Eastern VHF-UHF Microwave Conference, Manchester,
    Connecticut
 *  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
 *  April 29 -- Louisiana Section Convention, West Monroe, Louisiana
 *  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.

____________________________________________________________________________


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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...
... Good customers are as rare as latinum.
---
 * Origin:  (1:3634/12.73)