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The ARRL Letter

April 20, 2017
Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME

 *  ARRL Hamvention Forum Topics Will Encompass Makers, Youth, HamSCI
 *  FCC Proposes Levying Huge Fine on New York Police Radio Jammer
 *  ARISS Gains Visibility at National Science Teachers Association
    Conference
 *  ISS Packet System Returns to VHF
 *  Ham Radio Club in India Reunites Lost, Injured Pilgrims and Travelers
    with Families
 *  Canada May be the Best Place for Hams to Experience the Solar Eclipse,
    Says VE7DXW
 *  Ham Astronauts Swap Places on International Space Station
 *  Article Links Amateur Radio Growth to Emergency Communications
 *  RARSfest Hosts 2017 ARRL Roanoke Division Convention
 *  In Brief...
 *  The K7RA Solar Update
 *  Just Ahead in Radiosport
 *  Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions


ARRL Hamvention Forum Topics Will Encompass Makers, Youth, HamSCI

When Hamvention(R) opens on May 19 for the first time in Xenia, Ohio, the focus
 of ARRL activities will be the ARRL EXPO in Building 2 of the Greene County
Fairgrounds and Expo Center. ARRL will sponsor a slate of forums on all 3 days
of Hamvention.

To highlight the new location, some fresh ARRL forum topics will accompany the
old standards. Space is limited at some forum venues.

ARRL has reached out to the Maker movement, and "Ham Radio Makers and Hackers"
will kick off the League's forum schedule on Friday at 10:30 AM (Room 4). The
ham radio community has always promoted the DIY (do it yourself) approach --
what some hams call "homebrewing." The panelists at this hour-long session will
 share experiences about how ham radio is finding kinship with the new
generation of creators, makers, hackers, and innovators. Panelists will include
 ARRL author Glen Popiel, KW5GP, and ARRL Education & Technology Program
instructor Tommy Gober, N5DUX. Also on the panel is Cara Kouse, Innovation and
Makerspace Manager at the Xenia Community Library, who will talk about the new
Makerspace opened at the library early this year.

Also new at Hamvention 2017 will be the "HamSCI, the Ham Radio Science Citizen
Investigation" forum, Saturday at 9:15 AM (Room 4). Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF,
will answer the question, "What is HamSCI?" A group of panelists will share
information about professional research programs supported by radio amateurs.
Presentations also will address investigations related to the total solar
eclipse in August, and Frissell will discuss "The Solar Eclipse QSO Party:
Ionospheric Sounding Using Ham Radio QSOs."

One popular forum at the Orlando HamCation focused on the ARRL Collegiate
Amateur Radio Initiative (CARI). Andy Milluzzi, KK4LWR, will bring the
discussion to Hamvention on Saturday at 12:30 PM (Room 4). A growing number of
campus radio clubs and student radio amateurs have begun to share ideas and
suggestions on the CARI Facebook page to rekindle interest in ham radio on
college and university campuses, bringing students together, and developing
career connections. Students, alumni, and faculty will present at the forum.
The ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative is sponsored in part by the W1YSM
Snyder Family Collegiate Amateur Radio Endowment.

"Learning. Discovery. And FUN!" on Sunday at 9:15 AM (Room 2). ARRL Teachers
Institute on Wireless Technology instructor Tommy Gober, N5DUX, will introduce
teachers to a variety of tools, as well as a curriculum to take back to their
classrooms. Topics include an introduction to basic electronics, the science of
 radio, space technology, and satellite communication, as well as weather
science, introduction to microcontrollers, and basic robotics. Gober will share
 strategies to motivate students to learn and to inspire interest in STEM
(science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.

ARRL Great Lakes Division Director Dale Williams, WA8EFK, will moderate the
ARRL Member Forum on Saturday at 11:45 AM (Room 1). It's an opportunity for
ARRL members and prospective members to hear from local and national ARRL
officials on key areas of membership interest. Learn how ARRL supports dozens
of ways to get involved, get active, and get on the air.

The wide-ranging "Public Service Communications Panel Discussion" on Saturday
at 1:45 PM (Room 4) will offer a chance to hear from representatives of
organizations active during disasters and emergencies. ARRL Emergency
Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U, will moderate. There will be
presentations by representatives of the VoIP WX Net and VoIP Hurricane Net; the
 Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS); the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN); the
Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN), and the US Department of
Homeland Security's SHARES network.

At "Ham Radio and the Law: Antenna Permits and Problems" on Friday at 2:45 PM
(Room 2), attorney Fred H. Hopengarten, K1VR -- the author of Antenna Zoning
for the Radio Amateur -- will head a panel of Amateur Radio attorneys in a
discussion of legal issues to include avoiding restrictive covenants, tower
permits, and recent court rulings on the PRB-1 limited federal preemption. The
forum will present the latest information on H.R. 555, the Amateur Radio Parity
 Act of 2017.

"ARRL National Parks on the Air Recap" on Sunday at 10:30 AM (Room 2) will
review the highly successful NPOTA activity that commemorated the centennial of
 the US National Park Service last year, inspiring more than 1 million contacts
 during park activations. ARRL Radiosport Manager Norm Fusaro, W3IZ, and ARRL
Media and Public Relations Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, will moderate.

A complete schedule of Hamvention forums is available on the Hamvention
website.



FCC Proposes Levying Huge Fine on New York Police Radio Jammer

The FCC has proposed imposing a fine of more than $400,000 on a Queens, New
York, man who has admitted making unauthorized transmissions on New York City
Police Department (NYPD) radio frequencies, maliciously interfering with NYPD
officers' communications. Jay Peralta, 20, is alleged to have transmitted false
 bomb threats, false claims of criminal activities involving firearms, false
distress calls from purported NYPD officers, and threats against individual
NYPD officers. The unauthorized transmissions began a year ago, according to
the FCC.

"Through his actions, as he described them to the NYPD, Mr. Peralta has
demonstrated not only a deliberate disregard of the Commission's authority and
rules, but of the safety of NYPD officers and the public that they are called
to serve and protect," the FCC said in a Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL),
issued on April 14. "Commission action in this context is therefore essential
to safeguard authorized operations on spectrum licensed for public safety uses,
 and, accordingly, a substantial penalty appears warranted."

The FCC said the NAL addresses nine unauthorized and interfering transmissions
that Peralta has admitted to the NYPD that he made on its radio system.
According to the FCC, Peralta's unauthorized transmissions included false bomb
threats, false claims of criminal activities involving firearms, false distress
 calls from purported NYPD officers, and threats against individual NYPD
officers.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said that with the NAL, the FCC is making it "abundantly
clear that it will not tolerate unauthorized and illegal use of the radio
spectrum." The entire Commission now must sign off on such proposed fines, and
Pai said he was grateful to his fellow FCC members for "agreeing to act swiftly
 and strongly" in the matter. "This may not be a typical pirate radio case in
which an unauthorized operator inflicts damage on a radio broadcaster that is
operating with a valid FCC license," Pai said, "but it does involve
unauthorized interference to critical public safety communications systems."

Peralta was arrested last fall, along with two other men suspected of
committing several robberies. According to news accounts, police found a cache
of scanners and radios in one of the suspects' homes.



ARISS Gains Visibility at National Science Teachers Association Conference

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program gained
some valuable visibility at the 2017 National Science Teachers Association
(NSTA) national conference, March 27-April 2, in Los Angeles. ARRL Education
Services Manager Debra Johnson, K1DMJ, represented ARISS and ARRL at the annual
 gathering. The ARISS Team shared a booth with a few other educational programs
 under the Center for Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) Space Station
Explorers umbrella. CASIS is an important sponsor of the ARISS program and the
sole manager of the ISS US National Laboratory.

An estimated 4,000 educators visited the CASIS booth, learning what is
available to engage students in ISS research and activities.

"The Space Station Explorers program includes a number of educational
activities available to teachers that are appropriate for various grade levels:
 Story Time in Space, Zero Gravity, and Orion's Quest, to name a few," Johnson
said. "While at the NSTA, I had opportunities to speak with several curriculum
developers, pointing up the importance of including radio and wireless
communications in their physical science curricula," she added. "Curriculum
material about the electromagnetic spectrum and for using sensor technologies
abounded, but radio was hard to find."

Johnson said the NSTA conference also allowed an opportunity to engage in some
team building with other program representatives, discussing ideas for future
collaboration.

The NSTA convention came on the heels of the Council of State Science
Supervisors (CSSS) conference in Los Angeles. "CASIS also laid the groundwork
for the ARISS program to participate in that conference by conducting a
scheduled interview between ISS Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough,
KE5HOD, and students in the LA School District for the attending professionals
to experience," Johnson recounted. "The contact and interview went
extraordinarily well and resulted in many inquiries about the program from
those attendees who subsequently visited us at the NSTA."

Johnson also promoted ARISS to individual educators visiting the booth,
explaining the program and the proposal process and handing out more than 400
flyers. "I also discussed the ARRL's Teachers Institutes with some attendees
and encouraged them to consider applying," she said.



ISS Packet System Returns to VHF

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) packet digipeater
system is again operating on VHF -- 145.825 MHz. The failure of an Ericsson
handheld VHF transceiver on board the ISS last fall had caused ARISS to shift
packet operation to 70 centimeters. In February, a cargo resupply mission
delivered a new Ericsson 2-meter handheld to replace the one that had failed,
which had been used in the Columbus module for school group contacts and for
Amateur Radio packet.

While the VHF transceiver was offline, ARISS shifted school contacts from NA1SS
 to the Kenwood TM-D710 transceiver in the Russian Service Module. NASA ISS Ham
 Project Coordinator Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, said the VHF capability now back in
 Columbus can be used in conjunction with passes involving the HamTV digital
amateur television (DATV) system, which operates on 2.4 GHz.

ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, said recently that ARISS
continues to make progress on the development of the new interoperable radio
system on the ISS "that we hope to use to replace our aging radio
infrastructure in the Columbus module and the Service module."

Packets digipeated in a valid APRS format via the ISS system and picked up by
an internet gateway station are documented on the "Amateur Radio Stations heard
 via ISS" page. -- Thanks to Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, ISS Ham Project Coordinator



Ham Radio Club in India Reunites Lost, Injured Pilgrims and Travelers with
Families

For the past 24 years, members of India's West Bengal Radio Club (WBRC) have
helped to reunite lost or injured individuals, many of them pilgrims attending
the Ganga Sagar Mela festival each January. The Ganga Sagar fair and
pilgrimage, held on Sagar Island's southern tip in the Ganges Delta on the Bay
of Bengal, attracts a huge number of people, and the club typically fields a
special event station for the occasion. But each year, a number of visitors
simply lose their way. This year, the Chief Medical Officer of Health for the
region once again reached out to the club for its help.

"Some people are admitted [to the hospital] at the time of Sagar Mela, and
after the end of mela, many patients are waiting to return to their homes,"
WBRC founder and secretary Ambarish Nag "Raju" Biswas, VU2JFA, told ARRL. "But
some patients are not able to reach their destination on their own, and no
family members have claimed them."

WBRC members contact other radio amateurs in the home states of those who have
become separated or, in some cases, just become lost, to reconnect them with
their families and help them on their way.

Recently, a 25-year-old man -- a Tamil speaker not in town for the fair --
became hurt and lost and was hospitalized. Biswas, who does not speak Tamil,
enlisted the assistance of another club member, T. Gopinath, VU3ZHC, who was
able to translate. Armed with some information from the man and a photo, the
club members, working for more than a month through ham radio and social media,
 were able to get in touch with the man's family in the Vellore district.

"When we met him, he could hardly speak. He had head injuries," Biswas said.
They were able to determine that the young man, who was headed for Gujarat
state for work, had ended up in Kolkata by mistake and had lost all his
belongings on a train.

The young man's father and brother came to West Bengal with documents to prove
his identity, and the hospital and local authorities reunited him with his
family.

Another patient in his early 70s has only been able to provide his name and
state but nothing else, and after searching via ham radio, the club has been
unable to repatriate him. He remains in the hospital in West Bengal. "We are
trying our best," Biswas said. "We found 563 persons this Sagar Mela." He said
others also remain in the hospital and in limbo.

A man in his 60s who had attended the mela awoke in the hospital after becoming
 separated from his family, which had returned home to Bihar state without him,
 assuming he was lost. Authorities turned to the radio amateurs at the club,
who were able to reunite him with his family within a couple of days. -- Thanks
 to Raju Biswas, VU2JFA, and to Greg Lee, KI6GIG/HS0ZHM



Canada May be the Best Place for Hams to Experience the Solar Eclipse, Says
VE7DXW

Alex Schwarz, VE7DXW, who developed the online Scanning RF Seismograph to
determine which bands are open, is among the many looking forward to the solar
eclipse on August 21, 2017. Although the path of totality will move over Oregon
 then southeastward toward South Carolina, he believes radio amateurs north of
the border can take advantage of this "very exciting celestial event," as those
 in the US will be doing, and may have an edge of sorts. Members of the Ham
Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) in the US will sponsor a Solar
Eclipse QSO Party (SEQP) to conduct their own
research.

"This will be spectacular when viewed with our eyes," Schwarz said. "The
effects of the solar radiation on the propagation of radio waves will be
equally or more exciting." Schwarz said it may appear that Canada won't be a
part of the solar eclipse, but British Columbia (BC) will have up to 95%
coverage, he pointed out.

"As the solar eclipse is moving over the planet, it is leaving a canyon of
de-ionized gas on the ionosphere in altitudes of about 100 to 300 kilometers,"
Schwarz said. "This puts Canada -- and especially Ontario -- in a very good
position to get really long signal paths to the horizon toward the south.
Southern Ontario will be in the best location to make contacts into the
southern and western US and Central America. In southern BC, we can aim our
antennas right down the length of the propagation anomaly and reach the
Caribbean and southeastern US." Schwarz said timing is important, because the
gas will ionize again after the solar shadow has passed. The entire passage
across North America will be approximately 90 minutes.

Schwarz said that during the 1999 solar eclipse in Europe, radio amateurs
recorded long-distance contacts on 160 and 80 meters. "We want to inform all
amateurs about the opportunity of experiencing the solar eclipse on a totally
different level by operating radios in their shacks," he said.

Schwarz encouraged all ham radio clubs to participate in the opportunity, not
only to view the eclipse but to experience its effects on radio propagation.

NASA offers much more information about the 2017 solar eclipse.



Ham Astronauts Swap Places on International Space Station

With US Astronaut and ISS Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD, now
back on Earth, two more radio amateurs headed into space this week from
Kazakhstan to join the ISS crew members that Kimbrough and Russian crewmates
Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko left behind on the ISS. The returning trio
 touched down safely in Kazakhstan on April 10 after spending 173 days aboard
the orbiting laboratory.

"Our crew landed safely in Kazakhstan!" Kimbrough tweeted shortly after
arriving in Kazakhstan. "We are looking forward to time with family and
friends."

During his time on the orbital complex, Kimbrough participated in several
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) school contacts. In
addition to his scientific research activities, he also ventured outside the
confines of the space station for four spacewalks.

The Expedition 51/52 crew increment of NASA astronaut Jack Fischer, KG5FYH, and
 veteran cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, RN3FI, launched from Baikonur,
Kazakhstan, today (April 20).

The pair will travel on board a Soyuz MS-04 vehicle on a fast-track, 6-hour
course to the space station and dock to the Poisk module. Welcoming them aboard
 will be Expedition 51 Commander Peggy Whitson, ex-KC5ZTD, Oleg Novitskiy, and
Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG.

Fischer, a first-time space flier, and Yurchikhin, a veteran of four
spaceflights, will spend more than 4 months aboard the ISS, returning to Earth
in early September.

Article Links Amateur Radio Growth to Emergency Communications

An April 11 article, "Emergency Communications Driving Increase in Amateur
Radio Operators" in Emergency Management magazine links the growth in Amateur
Radio numbers to interest in emergency communications.

"There has been a tremendous amount of interest in emergency preparedness since
 9/11 and Katrina, and this is true for the Amateur Radio community as well,"
ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U, told the publication.
"Emergency communications is a gateway into Amateur Radio, and many join our
ranks through an interest in being better prepared themselves and as a way to
serve their community."

The article cites numbers from ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, who notes
that 2016 was the third year in a row that the total number of new licenses
exceeded 30,000. The article also cites ARRL Colorado Section Manager Jack
Ciaccia, WM0G, who agreed with the premise that the uptick in new licenses is
due to Amateur Radio's emergency capabilities.

"Interest really peaks after a large-scale event where ham radio has been
utilized," Ciaccia said.



RARSfest Hosts 2017 ARRL Roanoke Division Convention

The 45th annual RARSfest on April 15 -- sponsored by the Raleigh Amateur Radio
Society -- hosted the 2017 ARRL Roanoke Division Convention. The convention was
 held indoors at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds, in Raleigh. ARRL
Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, who represented the League at the
event, said a youth-operated special event station was among the activities
aimed to appeal to younger attendees. In a presentation highlighting some ARRL
Second Century activities, Inderbitzen noted the ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio
Initiative, intended to bolster activity at college and university ham radio
clubs.

Emphasizing some of the goals of the ARRL Strategic Plan, he further encouraged
 all radio amateurs to work closely with ARRL to help new licensees get
involved, get active, and get on the air.

ARRL Roanoke Division Director Jim Boehner, N2ZZ, presented the 2016 Roanoke
Division ARRL Service Award to Matthew W. McGuire Jr., AF4UZ. The award was
instituted in 1968 by then-Roanoke Division Director and past ARRL President
Vic Clark, W4KFC (SK). It recognizes an individual's history of significant and
 consistent contributions to Amateur Radio.

Among the many ARRL volunteers represented at the convention were North
Carolina Section Manager Karl Bowman, W4CHX; Section Youth Coordinator for
Scouting Dave Price, K4KDP; DXCC Card Checker and Raleigh Area QSL Manager Bill
 McDowell, K4CIA; Berkeley County (SC) ARES Emergency Coordinator Linda
Selleck, KJ4EVV; Roanoke Division Assistant Director Chuck Littlewood, K4HF,
and Roanoke Division Vice Director Bill Morine, N2COP.

Inderbitzen estimated that the convention attracted about 600 visitors. Event
photos are on the ARRL Facebook page.



In Brief...

Central States VHF Society Solicits Conference Papers, Presentations, Poster
Displays: The Central States VHF Society (CSVHFS) is soliciting papers,
presentations, and posters/tabletop displays for its 51st annual conference,
set for July 27-30 at the Sheraton Albuquerque Airport Hotel in Albuquerque,
New Mexico. The conference is seeking papers, presentations, and posters on all
 "weak-signal" VHF-and-above Amateur Radio topics. Such topics as FM,
repeaters, and packet radio are generally considered outside the scope of
papers, presentations, and posters being sought, but there are exceptions.
Contact Ed James, KA8JMW (10 Trade Ct., Edgewood, NM 87105), with any
questions. You do not need to attend the conference or present your paper to
have it published in the Proceedings. Posters will be displayed during the
conference. Submissions will be accepted via e-mail, Dropbox, Google Drive,
CD/DVD, USB stick/thumb drive, and other methods. The deadline is June 12 for
papers to be included in the Proceedings. Additional details on papers,
presentations, and posters, including formatting guidelines, are on the
conference website. Visit the conference website for more information on the
conference. Online registration will open on about May 1. -- Thanks to Brian
Mileshosky, N5ZGT, 2017 CSVHFS President


International Girls in Information and Telecommunication Technologies Day is
April 27: International Girls in Information and Telecommunication Technologies
 (ICT) Day is April 27. The ITU initiative aims to create a global environment
that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in the
growing ICT field, enabling them and technology companies to reap the benefits
of greater female participation in the ICT sector. "Since we launched Girls in
ICT Day, we have seen over 240,000 girls and young women take part in more than
 7,200 celebrations in 160 countries worldwide," said the ITU's Kemal
Huseinovic, Chief of the Infrastructure, Enabling Environment and
E-Applications Department. He offered some tips on planning Girls in ICT Day
events. These include hands-on workshops, competitions, inviting role models,
and hosting a career fair. "In IARU Region 2, we consider that Amateur Radio is
 an excellent way for girls to get to know and
appreciate ICTs," IARU Region 2 Public Information Officer Joaquín Solana,
XE1R, said. International Girls in ICT Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday
 in April every year. -- Thanks to Joaquín Solana, XE1R; ITU


Nominations are Open for the 2017 Bill Pasternak Young Ham of the Year:
Nominations for the 2017 Bill Pasternak/Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the
 Year (YHOTY) will be accepted until May 31.
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