manually). Hard copy and emailed submissions will appear the week of
July 23, allowing participants until the end of July to review. The
ARRL Contest Branch also announced that some contest award certificates
now are available for download
<http://contests.arrl.org/certificates.php> from the ARRL website in
PDF and JPEG formats. Just enter the call sign. Currently available
certificates are for the 2017 IARU HF Championship, the 2017 ARRL 222
MHz and Up Distance Contest, and the 2017 ARRL September VHF Contest.
"Future certificates for more current events, as well as past events
going back well over a decade, will be made available in the next few
weeks," Jahnke said.

A team of young radio amateurs will be on the air from Market Reef
Lighthouse this month and next. The group will operate as OJ0C from
July 21 until July 28, and again from August 18 until August 25. The
lighthouse is near sea level, and waves have been known to cover the
entire reef. The Finnish Lighthouse Society (FLS) and the Amateur Radio
League of Finland (SRAL) in conjunction with OH-DX-Foundation (OHDXF)
and DX University (DXU) have organized the first-ever International
Youth at Sea (IYAS) cultural exchange-based radio activity, which could
become a regular annual event. The 2018 youth team members are Nuuti,
OH1UBO; Elias, OH2EP; Otava, OH3OT; Mikael, OH3UAF; Pieter, ON3DI;
Florian, OE3FTA, and Ilie, YO3IMD -- all 16 to 25 years old. The young
operators will be participating in daily workshops of safety and
survival at sea in the remote lighthouse. In addition, they will become
familiar with the latest digital modes and, most important, learning
how to operate the radio efficiently -- providing OJ0C contacts and
handling pileups. QSL OJ0C via OH3JR.

==> THE K7RA SOLAR UPDATE

Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Three weeks of blank sun! A few weeks
ago, I thought sunspots would return by now, based on solar flux
predictions. Forecasts
<ftp://ftp.swpc.noaa.gov/pub/forecasts/45DF/07... from less
than 2 weeks ago were predicting solar flux of 80 for July 17-19;
higher flux values seem to correlate
<ftp://ftp.swpc.noaa.gov/pub/indices/old_indic... with
increased sunspot activity, but since the July 7 forecast, predicted
flux values have been well below 80.

Average daily solar flux barely changed, from 71.5 to 71.8. Average
daily planetary A index declined from 7.3 to 6.4, while average daily
middle latitude A index dipped from 7.9 to 6.1.

The July 18 prediction shows predicted solar flux at 70 on July 19-25;
68 on July 26 - August 1; 70 on August 2; 72 on August 3-18; 70 on
August 19; 68 on August 20-28; 70 on August 29, and 72 on August 30 -
September 1.

Predicted planetary A index is 5 on July 19; 15, 8, 12, 20, and 8 on
July 20-24; 5 on July 25 - August 5; 8 on August 6; 5 on August 7-11; 8
on August 12; 5 on August 13-15; 16, 8, 10, 18, and 8 on August 16-20,
and 5 on August 21 - September 1.

Sunspot numbers for July 12-18 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, and 0, with a
mean of 0. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 72.1, 72.5, 72.3, 71.7, 71.9,
71.2, and 71.2, with a mean of 71.8. Estimated planetary A indices were
8, 6, 5, 4, 9, 9, and 4, with a mean of 6.4. Estimated mid-latitude A
indices were 8, 6, 4, 4, 8, 9, and 4, with a mean of 6.1.

Friday's bulletin will include some remarks from solar observer Tamitha
Skov, who told me we are facing 3 more weeks of a spotless sun.

Send <k7ra@arrl.net> me your reports or propagation observations.

==> JUST AHEAD IN RADIOSPORT

- July 21 -- Feld Hell Sprint

- July 21 -- SA Sprint Contest (CW, phone)

- July 21 -- Jakarta DX Contest 40-Meters (phone)

- July 21 -- Russian Radio Team Championship (CW, phone)

- July 21 -- Trans-Tasman Low-Bands Challenge (CW, phone)

- July 21-22 -- DMC RTTY Contest

- July 21-22 -- North American QSO Party <http://www.ncjweb.com/>
(RTTY)

- July 21-22 -- CQ World Wide VHF Contest (CW, phone, digital)

- July 22 -- RSGB Low Power Contest (CW)

- July 22 -- CQC Great Colorado Gold Rush (CW)

- July 25 -- SKCC Sprint (CW)

- July 26 -- RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (digital)

See the ARRL Contest Calendar <http://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar>
for more information. For in-depth reporting on Amateur Radio
contesting, subscribe to The ARRL Contest Update
<http://www.arrl.org/contest-update-issues> via your ARRL member
profile email preferences.

==> UPCOMING ARRL SECTION, STATE, AND DIVISION CONVENTIONS

- July 20-22 -- Nevada State Convention <http://nvcon.org/>, Reno,
Nevada

- July 27-28 -- Oklahoma Section Convention
<http://www.hamholiday.org/>, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

- August 2-5 -- YLRL 2018 Convention <http://ylrlconvention.org/>,
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

- August 3-4 -- Texas State Convention
<http://www.austinsummerfest.org/>, Austin, Texas

- August 3-5 -- Pacific Northwest DX Convention
<http://pacificnwdxconvention.com/>, New Westminster, British Columbia,
Canada

- August 4-5 -- Midwest Division Convention <http://www.w0gq.org/>,
Central City, Iowa

- August 18-19 -- Southeastern Division Convention
<http://www.hamfest.org/>, Huntsville, Alabama

- August 19 -- Kansas State Convention <http://www.w0cy.org/>, Salina,
Kansas

- August 24-26 -- West Virginia State Convention
<http://qsl.net/wvsarc/>, Weston, West Virginia

- August 31-September 2 -- Roanoke Division Convention
<http://shelbyhamfest.org/>, Shelby, North Carolina

- September 1 -- Pennsylvania State Convention <http://www.w3pie.org/>,
Uniontown, Pennsylvania

- September 7-9 -- New England Division Convention
<http://boxboro.org/>, Boxborough, Massachusetts

- September 7-9 -- Northwest APRS Convention
<https://tinyletter.com/nwaprssg>, North Bend, Washington

- September 8 -- Kentucky State Convention
<http://louisvillehamfest.com/>, Shepherdsville, Kentucky

- September 8 -- Virginia Section Convention
<http://virginiabeachhamfest.com/>, Virginia Beach, Virginia

- September 14-16 -- W9DXCC Convention <http://w9dxcc.com/>,
Schaumburg, Illinois

- September 15 -- Wyoming State Convention
<http://www.wyominghamcon.org/>, Rock Springs, Wyoming

- September 16 -- Southern New Jersey Section Convention
<http://w2mmd.org/>, Mullica Hill, New Jersey

- September 21-22 -- W4DXCC/SEDCO Convention <http://www.w4dxcc.com/>,
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

- September 21-23 -- Rocky Mountain Division Convention
<http://dukecityhamfest.org/>, Albuquerque, New Mexico

- September 22 -- Washington State Convention
<http://www.n7cfo.com/amradio/hf/hf.htm>, Spokane Valley, Washington

- September 28-29 -- Wisconsin State Convention <http://hamradio.com/>,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

- September 29 -- North Dakota State Convention <http://www.rrra.org/>,
West Fargo, North Dakota

Find conventions and hamfests in your area
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests>.

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