Tiny "Sprite" Satellites Deployed, Transmitting on 70 Centimeters: According to
 Scientific American, six tiny "Sprite" satellites, each consisting of a 4-gram
 circuit board packed with electronics, were deployed in late June. The Sprites
 are the brainchild of Zac Manchester, KD2BHC, whom Scientific American
interviewed for the article. The Sprites went into low-Earth orbit as secondary
 payloads on the Latvian Venta and Italian Max Valier satellites, launched from
 India. Signals on 437.325 MHz from at least one of the exterior-mounted
Sprites have been received in California and New York. Manchester launched 104
Sprites into orbit in 2014 aboard KickSat-1, but they failed to deploy.

____________________________________________________________________________


The K7RA Solar Update

Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: At 0549 UTC on August 3, the Australian Space
 Forecast Centre issued a warning to "expect an increase in geomagnetic
activity up to active to minor storm levels, due to influence of the recurrent
coronal hole," on August 4-5 UTC. The Centre said the increased geomagnetic
activity was expected due to "coronal hole high-speed wind stream" on both
days.

More zero-sunspot days appeared over the past week, but fewer than during the
previous week; in fact, the average daily sunspot number increased from 1.7 to
5, and average daily solar flux went from 69.7 to 71. Both are very low
numbers.

We saw the average daily planetary A index go from 11.9 to 5, and the average
dally mid-latitude A index (measured in Virginia) decline from 12.9 to 6.

These numbers are generally good for HF propagation, being lower, but for the
best HF propagation, we like sunspot numbers and solar flux as high as
possible.

Predicted solar flux is 75 on August 3; 78 on August 4-10; 75 on August 11-13;
73 on August 14; 70 on August 15-26; 78 on August 27-29, and 75 on August
30-September 9.

Predicted planetary A index is 5 on August 3-4; 25, 12, and 8 on August 5-7; 5
on August 8-16; 15 on August 17-18; 12 on August 19; 10 on August 20-22; 5 on
August 23-26; 12, 10, 8, and 5 on August 27-30; 25, 18, 12, and 8 on August
31-September 3; 5 on September 4-12, and 15 on September 13-14.

Sunspot numbers for July 27-August 2 were 0, 0, 12, 11, 0, 0, and 12, with a
mean of 5. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 68.3, 69.5, 69.9, 69.5, 72.2, 73.5, and
 74.4, with a mean of 71. Estimated planetary A indices were 6, 7, 4, 4, 3, 6,
and 5, with a mean of 5. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 8, 7, 4, 3, 2,
10, and 8, with a mean of 6.

Send me your reports and observations.

____________________________________________________________________________


Just Ahead in Radiosport

 *  August 5 -- European HF Championship (CW, phone)
 *  August 5 -- WAB 144 MHz Low Power Phone
 *  August 5-6 -- North American QSO Party (CW)
 *  August 5-6 -- ARRL 222 MHz and Up Distance Contest
 *  August 5-6 -- 10-10 International Summer Contest (CW, phone)
 *  August 6 -- SARL HF Phone Contest
 *  August 8 -- ARS Spartan Sprint (CW)
 *  August 9 -- NAQCC CW Sprint

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

 *  August 4-5 -- South Texas Section Convention, Austin, Texas
 *  August 4-6 -- Pacific Northwest DX Convention, Spokane, Washington
 *  August 11-13 -- New Mexico State Convention, Albuquerque, New Mexico
 *  August 12 -- Delta Division Convention, Shreveport, Louisiana
 *  August 18-20 -- West Virginia State Convention, Weston, West Virginia
 *  August 19-20 -- Alabama State Convention, Huntsville, Alabama
 *  August 20 -- Kansas State Convention, Salina, Kansas
 *  September 1-3 -- North Carolina State Convention, Shelby, North Carolina
 *  September 8-10 -- New England Division Convention, Boxboro,
    Massachusetts
 *  September 9 -- Virginia Section Convention, Virginia Beach, Virginia
 *  September 10 -- New Jersey State Convention, Mullica Hill, New Jersey
 *  September 15-16 -- W9DXCC Convention, Schaumburg, Illinois
 *  September 15-17 -- Southwestern Division Convention, Torrance,
    California
 *  September 15-17 -- ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference, St.
    Louis, Missouri
 *  September 22-23 -- W4DXCC/SEDCO Convention, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
 *  September 23 -- Iowa State Convention, Sergeant Bluff, Iowa
 *  September 23 -- Washington State Convention, Spokane Valley, Washington
 *  September 30 -- North Dakota State Convention, West Fargo, North Dakota

Find conventions and hamfests in your area.

____________________________________________________________________________


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---
 * Origin:  (1:3634/12.73)