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The ARRL Letter

June 29, 2017
Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME


 *  Amateur Radio Poised to Retain Full 76-81 GHz Band, Sharing with
    Vehicular Radars
 *  "Germany Welcomes the World" to Friedrichshafen's Ham Radio 2017
 *  ARRL Foundation Announces Two New Scholarships
 *  Region 1 Intruder Watch Reports the Usual Suspects
 *  The Doctor Will See You Now!
 *  ARRL to Sponsor 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season Webinar
 *  Pikes Peak ARES at Right Place, Right Time
 *  W8CDX Takes Field Day Back to its Roots
 *  In Brief...
 *  The K7RA Solar Update
 *  Just Ahead in Radiosport
 *  Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions

____________________________________________________________________________


ARRL Headquarters to be Closed on July 3 and 4: ARRL Headquarters will be
closed on Monday, July 3, and Tuesday, July 4, for the Independence Day
holiday. There will be no ARRL bulletin or code practice transmissions on those
 days. ARRL Headquarters will reopen on Wednesday, July 5, at 8 AM ET. We wish
everyone a festive and safe holiday!

____________________________________________________________________________


Amateur Radio Poised to Retain Full 76-81 GHz Band, Sharing with Vehicular
Radars

In a draft Report and Order (ET Docket No. 15-26) to be considered at its July
13 open meeting, the FCC has proposed lifting a nearly 2-decade-old suspension
of Amateur Radio access to 76-77 GHz, giving the Amateur and Amateur-Satellite
services access to the full 76-81 GHz band on a secondary basis. The FCC also
reduced Amateur Radio's status from primary to secondary in the 77-77.5 GHz
segment, to match the rest of the 76-81 GHz band, and it imposed a uniform
power-level limit for users of the band. The draft Report and Order (R&O)
concluded that Amateur Radio and vehicular radars will be able to successfully
share the millimeter-wave band with minor adjustments in the Amateur Service
rules. A goal of the proceeding has been to expand and consolidate the spectrum
 available worldwide for 76-81 GHz radar operations. It would bring the US
Table of Allocations into line with decisions at the 2015 World
Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) and make the entire band available
internationally for vehicular radars operating in the Radiolocation Service
(RLS).

"The rule changes we adopt modifying the regulatory status of amateur stations
and capping their power levels will ensure the continued operation of amateur
stations in this band, and are a reasonable alternative to expanding the
suspension of amateur operations from the 76-77 GHz band to the remainder of
the 76-81 GHz band or removing the amateur allocations altogether from the
76-81 GHz band," the draft R&O said. "In addition, these changes, coupled with
the nature of amateur operations in the band...will ensure that the potential
for harmful interference from amateur operations to vehicular radar operations
in the 76-81 GHz band is negligible and satisfy our efforts to ensure
protection for the important safety functions that vehicular radars will
provide."

The FCC R&O would impose a 55 dBm peak effective isotropic radiated power
(EIRP) limit (316 W EIRP) on Amateur Radio operations in the band. This is the
same as that allowed to vehicular radars. The R&O reasons that the risk for
potential interference between Amateur Radio operation and RLS operations "is
mitigated by the directionality of vehicular radars' antennas -- downward in
orientation and mounted on a low position on the vehicles." The R&O also cited
the periodic and transient nature of amateur operations in the band coupled
with high path losses in a band that is conducive to frequency re-use.

In reaching its tentative conclusions relative to the amateur allocation in the
 2015 proceeding, the FCC considered the comments of several individual radio
amateurs as well as ARRL, Bosch, Delphi, the Automotive Safety Council, the
Consumer Technology Association (CTA), and automakers and their
representatives, among others. Several automotive manufacturers had asked that
Amateur Radio be ousted from the band.


____________________________________________________________________________


"Germany Welcomes the World" to Friedrichshafen's Ham Radio 2017

"Germany Welcomes the World" is the theme of the 2017 edition of Europe's major
 annual Amateur Radio gathering, known simply as "Ham Radio" but more commonly
called "Friedrichshafen," the city on the shores of Lake Constance where it
takes place each summer. ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, will head a League
 contingent to the event, which this year runs from Friday, July 14, until
Sunday, July 16. The show was rescheduled from June, due to a schedule conflict
 at the Friedrichshafen Fairground (Messe Friedrichshafen), where Ham Radio is
staged.

Others on the ARRL team attending Ham Radio/Friedrichshafen will be ARRL
Radiosport Manager Norm Fusaro, W3IZ; ARRL Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen,
NQ1R, and ARRL International Affairs Vice President Jay Bellows, K0QB. Expected
 to be on hand from the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) will be IARU
President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA; IARU Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ, and IARU
Region 1 President Don Beattie, G3BJ, as well as others from Region 1. ARRL and
 IARU will have separate booths at Friedrichshafen.

US Amateur Radio examinations will be offered on July 15 at Ham Radio by an
ARRL Volunteer Examiner team. The session will get under way at 9 AM on the 5th
 floor of the Administration Building at Messe Friedrichshafen. Contact Manfred
 Lauterborn, K2PZ, for more information.

The 42nd edition of Ham Radio will feature some 200 exhibitors from 30
countries, including around 70 associations. This year, the German Amateur
Radio Club (DARC) will celebrate the 45th anniversary of the founding of the
Amateur Radio center in Baunatal and will welcome visitors to the Lake
Constance Conference. Among its show activities, the DARC will sponsor a
competition for radio or electronics kits suitable for young people. Young
radio enthusiasts aged 11 and older should be able to assemble the kits within
30 minutes, without having to etch circuit boards.


____________________________________________________________________________


There will be an on-site Amateur Radio flea market.

The Chair of the IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group, Lisa Leenders, PA2LS, has
invited young radio amateurs to join the International Youth Meeting on
Saturday, July 15, at 10 AM, in the Liechtenstein Room. The program will
include a rundown of the youth contesting program at 9A1A, plus an open mic
session, where participants can share their experience on youth activities.
"This is the moment to share your experiences on youth activities and to ask
questions to other attendees," Leenders said. Members of the UK YOTA 2017 team
will be at Ham Radio in Friedrichshafen to receive the official Youth on the
Air (YOTA) flag from the YOTA Austria 2016 team.

A Ham Rally will take place on Friday and Saturday, offering a varied program
for young Amateur Radio operators between the ages of 8 and 18, and a Ham Youth
 Camp -- organized by the fairgrounds and DARC for participants aged 27 and
younger -- will take place during all 3 days of Ham Radio 2017.

World Radiosport Team Championship 2018 (WRTC 2018), which takes place next
July in Germany, will be a particular focus at Ham Radio 2017. The show will
include an exhibit of WRTC equipment, plus a demonstration of the competition,
as well as video presentations about WRTC 2018. Ham Radio sponsors say several
other presentations at the show also will highlight the upcoming international
event.

A foxhunt will be held in the wooded area near the fairgrounds on the final day
 of the show.

The concurrent and fourth annual Maker Faire will open its doors at the
Fairground on Saturday and Sunday, offering creative minds and tinkerers ideas
and accessories at about 80 exhibitors.

Ham Radio 2018 will take place June 1-3 in Friedrichshafen.


____________________________________________________________________________


ARRL Foundation Announces Two New Scholarships

Starting in 2018, the ARRL Foundation will offer two new scholarships for radio
 amateurs pursuing post-secondary education. They have been established by the
Medical Amateur Radio Council (MARCO) and by the Shenandoah Valley Amateur
Radio Club (SVARC).

The MARCO scholarship will provide financial assistance for the educational
expenses of a radio amateur pursuing higher education in the healing arts and
who is performing at a high academic level
(grade point average of at least 3.0).

The applicant's field of study may include, but is not necessarily limited to,
medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, nursing, pharmacology, emergency
medicine (EMT), or radiology. Preference will go to undergraduates and to those
 in certificate programs, but graduate students also may apply.

Applicants should provide details regarding their involvement in Amateur
Radio-related volunteer and/or public service activities. If possible, they
should demonstrate a desire to encourage others in the healing arts to become
Amateur Radio licensees.

The scholarship award of $500 annually is to cover the costs of tuition, books,
 fees, and other educational expenses.


The Shenandoah Valley Amateur Radio Club Scholarship will provide financial
assistance for the educational expenses of a radio amateur enrolled in an
accredited 2- or 4-year college or university and pursuing a degree in a
business, science, math, engineering, or technology-related field. Preference
will be given to applicants who live in the Virginia counties of Page,
Shenandoah, Warren, or Clarke, or in the City of Winchester, or living in the
West Virginia counties of Hampshire, Jefferson, or Berkeley. If no qualified
applicant is identified, the scholarship may be awarded to any applicant
residing in Virginia who meets the other eligibility requirements.

The award is intended exclusively to cover the costs of tuition, room, board,
books, and/or other fees essential to the advanced education of the recipient.

The ARRL Foundation shall determine award recipients to be academically
superior and the best among the scholarship applicants. The scholarship award
will be $1,000 annually, with one scholarship grant each year.

Established in 1973 by ARRL as an independent and separate IRS 501(c)(3)
organization, the ARRL Foundation administers programs to support the Amateur
Radio community. Visit the ARRL Foundation web page for more information on
scholarships the Foundation administers.

____________________________________________________________________________


Region 1 Intruder Watch Reports the Usual Suspects

International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 Monitoring System (IARUMS)
volunteers continue to document many of the same signals intruding on Amateur
Radio bands -- some of them audible in other parts of the world, according to
the latest editions of the IARUMS Region 1 newsletter. IARUMS Region 1
Coordinator Wolf Hadel, DK2OM, reported last month that his own band-monitoring
 activity has been hampered by interference from a neighbor's LED lamp, and
that Germany's telecoms regulator was not helpful in resolving the situation,
which Hadel says affects all bands from 80 through 10 meters. Nonetheless, he
has worked around the local interference to document many of the same bad
actors that show up in the IARUMS Region 1 newsletter month after month. IARU
Region 1 includes Europe and Africa.

These usual suspects include a Russian Navy F1B RTTY signal on 14.180 MHz in
Sevastopol in Crimea that is, "still active, not regarding official
complaints." Last fall, IARUMS reported that complaints had been successful in
silencing the intruder. Another Russian F1B RTTY signal had been showing up on
7.051 MHz, "mostly idling and every evening," Hadel reported in May. German
telecoms regulators registered an official complaint, which apparently was
successful in that instance. Hadel also reported "daily" transmissions of music
 on 7.050 MHz (LSB), possibly originating in Russia.

The "mysterious beacon 'D'" from Asiatic Russia has been reported on CW on
7.093.3 kHz, with spurious transmissions on 7.078.6, 7.117.9, and 7.157.2 MHz,
as well as outside the band.

Broadcaster Radio Hargeysa in Somalia continued to be reported on 7.120 MHz
(AM) daily. Hadel indicated that the signal is audible in Australia and Japan,
as well as in Europe and Africa. On 7.175 MHz, Radio Eritrea continues to be
jammed daily with white noise transmissions attributed to Radio Ethiopia.
IARUMS reported jamming of Radio Taiwan on 7.200 MHz, apparently originating in
 China and audible "every evening" in Europe. The Chinese "foghorn"
over-the-horizon radar (OTH-R) continues to intrude on 20 meters, with signals
on 14.211 MHz "jumping to 14.290 and 14.302 MHz." The Russian "Konteyner RLS"
OTH-R remains a problem on 14.280 MHz.


____________________________________________________________________________


The Doctor Will See You Now!

"Generators" is the topic of the current (June 22) 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.

Just ahead: "APRS."

____________________________________________________________________________


ARRL to Sponsor 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season Webinar

The ARRL will sponsor a 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season Webinar on Monday, July
17, at 8 PM ET (0000 UTC on Tuesday, July 18). The approximately 90-minute
session will address the role of Amateur Radio during the 2017 Hurricane
Season. Anyone interested in hurricane preparedness and response is invited to
take part in this online presentation.

Topics will include a meteorological overview of the current season from the
Canadian Hurricane Centre; Amateur Radio station WX4NHC at the National
Hurricane Center: Who We Are and What We Do; ARRL Media and Public Relations;
the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN); the VoIP Hurricane Net, Salvation Army Team
Emergency Radio Network (SATERN), and ARRL coordination and interface.

Webinar registration is free and open to all, but this session should be of
particular interest to radio amateurs in hurricane-prone areas. The webinar
will conclude with a question-and-answer session. For more information, contact
 ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U.

____________________________________________________________________________


Pikes Peak ARES at Right Place, Right Time

Members of Pikes Peak ARES(R) (PPARES -- Region 2, District 2 of Colorado ARES)
 were supporting the Mountain Top Cycling Club's annual Experience Ride on June
 17, when a motor vehicle collision occurred at an intersection where a race
rest stop was located. Three PPARES members on site -- Dan Huber, KN0MAP;
Matthew Tuttle, KD0YBE, and Dean Buckhouse, KB0VVA -- were able to respond to
the accident, which involved a passenger car and a pick-up truck.

There were injuries, and one of the truck's gas tanks had ruptured and was
leaking fuel.

One ARES operator called 911, but cellphone coverage was spotty, and the call
dropped after only basic information had been conveyed. A report then was
relayed via Amateur Radio to the race communications coordinator and director
positions, which had much better coverage, and the director, John Higgins,
N6VTS, was able to provide the dispatcher with the necessary information. The
on-scene operators were able to assess the situation and assist with traffic
control and initial hazardous materials mitigation. Coordinators, who still had
 riders to track and a course to sweep, were Nate Dwyer, KE0AHK, and Bob
Antion, WL7RV.

"It was reassuring to know that experienced and level-headed ARES operators
were in the right spot at the right time," said John Bloodgood, KD0SFY, Pikes
Peak ARES Emergency Coordinator and Public Information Officer.

____________________________________________________________________________


W8CDX Takes Field Day Back to its Roots

Some younger radio amateurs may not realize that ARRL Field Day has been a
staple operating event for more than 80 years. Former ARRL Communications
Manager F. E. Handy, W1BDI, is credited with conceiving "International Field
Day" in 1933, although it wasn't until the following year that he described it
as the "test of the emergency availability of portable stations and equipment"
we know today. For Field Day 2017, the crew at the Karns City Amateur Radio
Club, W8CDX, once again took Field Day equipment back to the 1930s -- a time
when the notion of "portable" applied only loosely to equipment of the era.
Last year, W8CDX used a National HRO-5 receiver and a style of transmitter
similar to something that could have been used at that first Field Day. This
time, everything was home built.

"We had a lot of fun putting up another 1930s-style station for Field Day
2017," said Eric Tichansky, NO3M, the trustee of the W8CDX station. The
transmitter was based on an August 1934 QST article, "A Medium-Powered
Phone-C.W. Transmitter with Pentode Power Tubes," the receiver on a May 1934
QST article, "A De Luxe Crystal Type S.S. Receiver." Tichansky has documented
the receiver project from start to finish.

"This would have been a possible setup used in the third Field Day in 1935,"
Tichansky told ARRL. "The entire station was 100% homebrew, including the power
 supplies, T/R switching, and link-coupled antenna tuner -- inspired by a 1935
ARRL Handbook project." Power supplies were based on standard designs from that
 era, using 866s in the amplifier supply and 83s in the buffer and oscillator
supplies. The bias supply used an 80 rectifier and an 874 regulator of late
1920s vintage to supply the needed -90 V bias.

Tichansky said the T/R switch, which could be operated by foot switch, not only
 switched the antenna between receiver and transmitter, but opened the keying
line in receive, grounded the receiver input on transmit, lifted the grounded
end of the receiver's RF/IF gain pot, and put a 15 kW potentiometer in line to
adjust the side tone level. The antenna was an 80-meter doublet fed with
homebrew open-wire feed line.

Using the replicated vintage gear, W8CDX logged 305 contacts, about evenly
split between 40 and 80 meters -- up from 153 on 40 meters alone in 2016. The
biggest issue on the air was chirp, "depending on how the stages in the rig
were tuned." Sometimes the receiver would decide on its own to change
frequency. Tichansky gave the gear a trial run during the Breezeshooters
Hamfest at the Butler Fairgrounds in Prospect, Pennsylvania, on June 4, making
several contacts.

"We plan to keep this going as an annual event," Tichansky told ARRL. "It's
really a lot of fun putting this antique-style gear on the air."

____________________________________________________________________________

In Brief...

ARRL Seeking Additional Vintage DXpedition Logs for Archive: ARRL continues to
solicit paper logs of prominent DXpeditions that took place predominantly in
the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, for inclusion in The DX Log Archive Endowed by
JA1BK. The DX Log Archive program was created, thanks to an endowment
established by Kan Mizoguchi, JA1BK, to obtain, preserve, and utilize paper
logs from rare and significant DXpeditions. The archive can include pre-1950
paper logs as well as those from rare operations, and logs kept by longtime
residents of very rare entities. All logbooks received to date have been
inventoried and are housed at ARRL Headquarters. ARRL Field Services Manager
Dave Patton, NN1N, said the archive contains logs "from 3D2 through HZ3 --
nothing after the Hs. That's just the way it has worked out." Contact the
program administrator with information about any logs that are available or
known to be available, and ARRL will make a determination on their suitability
for the archive.


Commemorative SSTV Activity Planned for Mid-July: To commemorate its 20th
anniversary, ARISS is planning to transmit a set of 12 slow-scan television
(SSTV) images that capture the accomplishments of ARISS over the years. SSTV
transmissions from the International Space Station will take place on 145.800
MHz FM around the July 15-16 weekend. "We are planning for at least a 2-day
operation, but are working for a potentially longer operation," ARISS
International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, said in an announcement on the ARISS
blog page. "Note that all of this is tentative and may change, based on crew
scheduling and ISS operations." The ARISS announcement pointed to the
organization's milestones and accomplishments over the past 20+ years, from its
 first meeting in November 1996, to joint operations on the Russian Mir space
station, becoming the first operational ISS payload in November 2000, and
completing more than 1,100 school and group contacts. "We have touched the
lives of many and inspired and educated countless students to pursue science,
technology, engineering, and math careers," Bauer asserted. -- Thanks to Frank
Bauer, KA3HDO


ARRL and IARU Headquarters Stations to be Active during IARU HF Championship:
The IARU HF Championship is the weekend of July 8-9. International Amateur
Radio Union (IARU) member society headquarters (HQ) stations count as
multipliers for the event. The ARRL Headquarters station will be W1AW/2, with
all operations taking place in New York and coordinated by Jeff Ach, W2FU. The
IARU Headquarters station will be NU1AW/5, with all operations in Louisiana and
 coordinated by Scott Dickson, W5WZ, and Mark Ketchell, K5ER. QSL W1AW/2 and
NU1AW/5 via ARRL.


OF100HQ Will Celebrate Finland's Centennial in IARU HF Championship Event: The
commemorative call sign OF1??HQ will be on the air during the IARU HF
Championship event July 8-9 to mark Finland's 100th anniversary. "Finland has
been under Swedish and Russian rule, and has had to fight her way to her own
destiny of freedom in securing her identity during World War II," well-known
Finnish radio amateur Martti Laine, OH2BH, pointed out in announcing the HQ
multiplier station call sign for the annual event. Laine said Finland has
succeeded so well, it now ranks in 5th place in the 2017 World Happiness
Report. According to the announcement, OF100HQ will be active on all 12 band
slots in the IARU event, via stations across Finland and including the Arctic
region. Many well-known operators will helm the operations. Laine said the
first 100 stations capturing the greatest number of the 12 available band
slots, will be awarded the "Happy Finland 100 Award." QSL via OH2BH.

____________________________________________________________________________

The K7RA Solar Update

Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Not much change in the numbers since last
week, but all indicators were lower. The average daily sunspot number moved
from 29.4 to 20.3, and average daily solar flux went from 74.6 to 73.6.

The average daily planetary A index dipped from 9.4 to 6.9, and the
mid-latitude A index from 8.1 to 7.4.

Predicted solar flux is 72 on June 29-July 2; 70, 71, and 72 on July 3-5; 74 on
 July 6-7; 75 on July 8-14; 76 on July 15-16; 75 on July 17-19; 74 on July
20-22; 72 on July 23-24; 77 on July 25-28; 74, 73 and, 72 on July 29-31; 73 on
August 1; 74 on August 2-3, and 75 on August 4-10.

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