The ARRL Letter for October 5, 2017

[ARRL Web site]

********************************************
The ARRL Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************

October 5, 2017

Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME <ww...@arrl.org>

ARRL Home Page <http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Letter Archive
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>Audio News
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> IN THIS ISSUE

- Amateur Radio Volunteers in Puerto Rico Meet a Variety of
Communication Needs
- FCC Grants Temporary Waiver to Permit Higher Symbol Rate Data
Transmissions
- World Maker Faire Visitors Urged to Build, Make, Create, Communicate
- The Doctor Will See You Now!
- US Senate Confirms FCC Chairman Ajit Pai for a Second Term
- IARU President: Traditional Aspects of Ham Radio May Not Be
Attractive to Newcomers
- ARISS Moves One Step Closer to Flying New Amateur Radio Equipment to
the ISS
- Amateur Radio Satellite Pioneer Patrick J. A. Gowen, G3IOR, SK
- In Brief...
- The K7RA Solar Update
- Just Ahead in Radiosport
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions

==> AMATEUR RADIO VOLUNTEERS IN PUERTO RICO MEET A VARIETY OF
COMMUNICATION NEEDS

The Amateur Radio volunteers who deployed as American Red Cross
volunteers to Puerto Rico as part of the "Force of 50" this past
weekend have been focusing their efforts where their help is most
needed. ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, said the volunteers, in general,
will provide communications for local law enforcement and utility
managers, island-to-mainland health-and-welfare traffic, and contact
with the island's more remote areas.

ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U, said arriving
volunteers initially gathered at the Convention Center in San Juan,
which is now serving as Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency (PREMA)
Headquarters. Their first night, a local church offered accommodations,
he said, and volunteers slept on pews that had been pushed together.

Since the storm struck Puerto Rico on September 20, ARRL Section
Manager Oscar Resto, KP4RF, and other volunteers have staffed VHF and
HF nets at the American Red Cross temporary headquarters in San Juan,
despite damage to their own homes. The 24/7 net covers nearly
two-thirds of the island and has been handling traffic to and from the
power company, Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica (Electric Power Authority
-- AEE), and state and local authorities. The electric distribution
infrastructure suffered extreme storm damage, and only about 9% of
customers have power. Twelve team members were assigned to provide
communication for engineers involved in repairing power distribution
centers.

An Amateur Radio station has been installed and an operator embedded at
the Puerto Rico Emergency Operations Center (PREOC). Radio amateurs
also were asked to establish VHF communication capabilities at 51
hospitals throughout the island, so they can have direct contact with
the EOC.

ARRL Puerto Rico Section Manager Oscar Resto, KP4RF (right), works with
two new "Force of 50" volunteers at Red Cross Headquarters in San Juan.

Volunteer Val Hotzfeld, NV9L, told ARRL in an October 4 update that
the team on the ground has recruited three local hams to handle Amateur
Radio communications at hospitals in Jayuya, Humacau, and Caguas. "They
were on site and began handling hospital traffic today," she said in
her October 4 situation report. "We successfully received and forwarded
traffic from three hospitals needing water and fuel."

"My station will be QRT for a long time," said Alfredo (Al) Velez
Ramos, WP3C/NP4DX.

Puerto Rico volunteers and local hams alike have successfully passed
"lots of traffic" to net control, which has been forwarded on to the
appropriate agencies. Some examples included getting an oxygen tank to
a nursing home resident and insulin to a diabetic youth.

A local radio amateur was recruited to handle hospital communications
at Centro Medico. "This is the main hospital on the island and needs
communication to handle transfers from the other hospitals and medical
centers," she said. The Puerto Rico team has begun checking with
hospitals to see which ones have telephone service, before dispatching
additinal operators.

Hotzfeld said they've received a request from AEE, which operates the
precarious Guajataca hydroelectric dam, to deploy another operator to
the dam and assist those fixing the channel that delivers water to
about 350,000 in the Quebradilla and Isabella area. "We are now also
being tasked with doing the same for all the police departments in
Puerto Rico," she added. "We are gathering information on roads that
are open from the EOC and providing it to the Red Cross for their
missions."

The Amateur Radio liaison at the EOC is working with federal officials
to co-locate Amateur Radio repeaters on tower sites now being restored
to improve communication island-wide. The volunteer team was approached
by the Southern Baptist disaster team to discuss the possibility of
utilizing a few of their team members who hams to help with
communication tasks.

A FEMA vehicle navigates a muddy back road, where trees and foliage
have been stripped bare. [FEMA photo]

Volunteers Jeremy Dougherty, NS0S, and Bobby Price, KB4ROR, are in
Yauco. "We installed our rigs in the fire truck and gave them our
handhelds. It left us no other radio for local contact," the pair
reported on October 3. They reached out to Marcos Pereda, KP3CA, in
Yauco, who loaned the team his FTM-100DR.

They didn't have an antenna that would offer sufficient range, so they
improvised, fashioning a "tape measure" five-element Yagi, using
supplies from a local hardware store and a coax jumper from their extra
HF radio. "We installed everything and made contact with N5TGL and
N0CSM, who are 50 miles away, [using] the repeater between us," they
said.

Volunteers Jeremy Dougherty, NS0S (left), and Bobby Price, KB4ROR, and
their tape-measure Yagi.

There have been problems filling resource requests from remote areas
of the island. A message was relayed on WinLink by Juan Sepulveda,
KP3CR, from volunteer team members in Mayagüez on behalf of Lares Mayor
Roberto Pagán, who had put out an urgent call for water for the town of
some 5,000.

According to one FEMA official, the White House situation room is
extremely pleased and enthusiastic about the service Amateur Radio
volunteers are providing in Puerto Rico.

An HF station with Winlink capability and a VHF/UHF station have been
set up in the FEMA disaster field office, and volunteers have been
reporting in by radio from around the island to post situation reports.
Four volunteers were positioned to accompany and provide VHF
communication at Red Cross distribution centers on a daily basis. Two
volunteers also were sent to Culebra Island to establish VHF and HF
communication there, the first since the storm.

==> FCC GRANTS TEMPORARY WAIVER TO PERMIT HIGHER SYMBOL RATE DATA
TRANSMISSIONS

The FCC has granted an ARRL request to waive current Amateur Radio
rules to permit data transmissions at a higher symbol rate than
currently permitted, in order to facilitate hurricane relief
communications between the continental US and Puerto Rico. The
temporary waiver is limited to Amateur Radio operators in Puerto Rico
using PACTOR 3 and PACTOR 4 emissions, and to those radio amateurs in
the continental US who are directly involved with HF hurricane relief
communications involving Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands, the
Commission said.

"We conclude that granting the requested waiver is in the public
interest," the FCC said in its October 5 Order
<https://www.fcc.gov/document/temporary-waiver-amateur-symbol-rate-limits-puerto-rico>.

"Hurricane Maria caused massive destruction in Puerto Rico, and
communication services continue to be disrupted. Thus, to accommodate
Amateur Radio operators assisting in the recovery efforts, we grant the
ARRL's waiver request for the period of 60 days from the date of this
Order."

ARRL explained in its waiver petition that it's shipping five PACTOR
radio modems to Puerto Rico for use in connection with Hurricane Maria
disaster relief communications. The League asked the FCC to temporarily
allow PACTOR 3 and PACTOR 4 transmissions that exceed the current
symbol rate limitations under § 97.307(f) of the Amateur Service rules.

Under the current rules, "specified digital codes" in Part 97 may be
used with a symbol rate that does not exceed 300 baud for frequencies
below 28 MHz, with the exception of 60 meters, and 1200 baud in the 10
meter band. The baud rate limits were adopted in 1980, when the FCC
amended Part 97 to specify ASCII as a permissible digital code.

==> WORLD MAKER FAIRE VISITORS URGED TO BUILD, MAKE, CREATE,
COMMUNICATE

Ham radio exhibitors at the 2017 World Maker Faire <> in New York City
over the September 23-24 weekend urged visitors to "build, make,
create, communicate." Three Amateur Radio clubs took part in the event,
held at the New York Hall of Science in Corona, Queens. World Maker
Faire drew upward of 90,000 visitors in 2016.

The Hall of Science Amateur Radio Club had a ham radio station
demonstration that visitors could try, with supervision. [Bob
Inderbitzen, NQ1R, photo]

An exhibit hosted by grade 6 to 12 students from the Garden School
Amateur Radio Club
<https://sites.google.com/jrhaleteacher.me/gardenschoolarc/home>
(K2GSG) in Jackson Heights was aimed at introducing ham radio to those
who stopped by. They also demonstrated electronics experiments, kit
construction, and soldering skills. Projects included a Morse code
practice oscillator and an LED candle.

The Garden School ARC students are mentored by the Hall of Science
Amateur Radio Club (WB2JSM/WB2ZZO), which co-exhibited at the World
Maker Faire. Both are ARRL-affiliated clubs.

"The Garden School students, led by their club advisor, science teacher
John Hale, KD2LPM, did a great job engaging the public through kit
building," said ARRL Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, who was
part of the ARRL contingent to the event. "They helped demonstrate the
educational benefits of having students engaged in the STEM [science,
technology, engineering, and math] disciplines. Garden School ARC was
recognized with an Editor's Choice Blue Ribbon. Congratulations!"

Visitors to the World Maker Faire had the chance to build a small Morse
code practice oscillator from a kit. [Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, photo]

Inderbitzen said the Hall of Science ARC worked hard to get people
on the air. Their "Get On the Air" (GOTA) station paired attendees with
experienced station operators to make VHF and HF radio contacts. Club
trustee Steve Greenbaum, WB2KDG, helped to organize the joint exhibit
with Garden School.

A third group, HamHacks <https://zeloof.xyz/> -- made up of high school
and college students who enjoy hacking for ham radio -- also put in an
appearance. Their projects include what they describe as
"unconventional and cheap Amateur Radio hacks in Doppler radar,
satellite photography, airplane tracking, microwave electronics,
software-defined radios, and more."

"HamHacks had a fantastic exhibit and team, showing off a whole lot of
innovation," Inderbitzen remarked. "Their demonstrations included a
WSPR (Weak Signal Propagation Reporter) software-controlled station,
and an RF plasma generator. HamHacks contributed to the 'cool factor'
with dynamic exhibits."

ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, also was on hand at the World Maker
Faire to represent ARRL and to support the participating radio clubs.

A 60-second video with highlights
<http://www.facebook.com/ARRL.org/videos/10155203732592408/> from the
ham radio exhibits is posted on ARRL's Facebook page.

==> THE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU NOW!

"Soldering and Unsoldering" is the topic of the latest (September 28)
episode of the "ARRL The Doctor is In <http://www.arrl.org/doctor>"
podcast. Listen...and learn!

Sponsored by DX Engineering <http://www.dxengineering.com/>, "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
doc...@arrl.org, and the Doctor may answer them in a future podcast.

Enjoy "ARRL The Doctor is In" on Apple iTunes
<https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/arrl-the-doctor-is-in/id1096749595?mt=2>,

or by using your iPhone or iPad podcast app (just search for "ARRL The
Doctor is In"). You can also listen online at Blubrry
<https://www.blubrry.com/arrl_the_doctor_is_in/>, or at Stitcher
<https://www.stitcher.com/> (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 <http://www.arrl.org/doctor>.

==> US SENATE CONFIRMS FCC CHAIRMAN AJIT PAI FOR A SECOND TERM

In a generally party-line vote, the US Senate on October 2 confirmed
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai for a second term on the Commission. Pai would
have had to leave the FCC at the end of the year if he had not been
reconfirmed.

"I am deeply grateful to the US Senate for confirming my nomination to
serve a second term at the FCC and to President Trump for submitting
that nomination to the Senate," Pai said in a statement. "Since
January, the Commission has focused on bridging the digital divide,
promoting innovation, protecting consumers and public safety, and
making the FCC more open and transparent. With today's vote, I look
forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to advance these
critical priorities in the time to come."

President Donald Trump had nominated Pai for a new term in January; his
previous term as a commissioner had expired on July 1, 2016, and his
new term is retroactive to that date. FCC rules permitted him to remain
until the end of 2016. The final Senate confirmation vote tally was
52-41, although he picked up votes from four Democratic senators.

Pai has primarily drawn fire for his opposition to so-called "net
neutrality" rules. All five members of the FCC must be confirmed by the
Senate, but the president chooses which will serve as the chairman.

==> IARU PRESIDENT: TRADITIONAL ASPECTS OF HAM RADIO MAY NOT BE
ATTRACTIVE TO NEWCOMERS

The 24th General Conference of International Amateur Radio Union Region
1 (IARU-R1 <https://www.iaru-r1.org/>) convened September 17-23 in
Landshut, Germany, with representatives of 40 member-societies present
and another 13 represented by proxy. IARU President Tim Ellam,
VE6SH/G4HUA, welcomed the attendees, urging them to reflect upon what
will attract the majority of young people into Amateur Radio, "and what
our mutual expectations should be." Ellam said his personal observation
is that, while some younger people are interested in the more
traditional aspects of Amateur Radio, many are only interested in ham
radio as an adjunct to other possibly unrelated interests.

IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA.

"I applaud the excellent work that has been undertaken in this
region through the Youngsters on the Air (YOTA
<https://www.ham-yota.com/>) program." Tim said, crediting the hard
work of IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group Chair Lisa Leenders, PA2LS.
YOTA's summer Amateur Radio camps have attracted young hams from around
the world; this year's was held in the UK.

"Our ambition should be to embrace these individuals in their
activities and accept that some of the more traditional aspects of the
hobby will hold little interest to them, and, indeed, may no longer be
relevant," he continued. "That is not to say that some are not enthused
with what we all hold as the core of our hobby, such as contesting or
operating generally. I fear, though, that we need to look at what will
attract the new generations to Amateur Radio and make sure we promote
Amateur Radio as meeting their needs, rather than promoting the
historical view of what Amateur Radio has to offer."

Delegates to the 24th IARU Region 1 General Conference. The Deutsche
Amateur Radio Club (DARC) was the host for the conference, which is
held every 3 years.

Delegates to the plenary adopted a proposal that all IARU bodies and
member-societies pressure national regulators to implement all
recommendations that protect the amateur bands. They also approved
initiating a simple noise-measuring campaign among Region 1
member-societies, giving IARU the ability to offer an independent
opinion on the noise situation in the bands and trends over time.

Region 1's highest recognition, the Roy Stevens, G2BVN, Memorial
Trophy, was conferred upon Colin Thomas, G3PSM, for his outstanding
contribution to Amateur Radio and the work of the IARU over several
decades.

The full Conference Report
<https://www.iaru-r1.org/index.php/downloads/func-startdown/977/> is
available on the IARU Region 1 website. Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/iaru-president-traditional-aspects-of-ham-radio-may-not-be-attractive-to-newcomers>.


==> ARISS MOVES ONE STEP CLOSER TO FLYING NEW AMATEUR RADIO EQUIPMENT
TO THE ISS

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS
<http://www.ariss.org>) International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO,
announced this week that the program has submitted its Interoperable
Radio System (IORS) flight-safety data package to NASA for review.
ARISS has been developing the IORS to replace most of the Amateur Radio
hardware now on the space station. It is called "interoperable" because
it's designed to operate anywhere on the ISS. A NASA flight-safety
review in about a month is the next step. Bauer said he was
highlighting the accomplishment, because all work on the safety data
submission was developed exclusively by ARISS volunteers, rather than
NASA or other contractors, as had been done in the past. It also meant
a substantial saving to ARISS, which has become more reliant on
donations in recent years.

"This is a very major IORS milestone," Bauer said. "We cannot get [the
new equipment] to orbit without successfully completing the safety
review process and getting our hardware certified for flight."

Bauer said having the work done by volunteers will shorten the timeline
involved in getting the new Amateur Radio hardware to the ISS.

A key development: The ARISS multi-voltage power supply.

He explained that the material turned in for NASA Human Spaceflight
Safety Certification covers the first three phases of a four-phase
process. The initial steps in the process are aimed at ensuring that
NASA understands the design, demonstrating that ARISS understands the
potential hazards that the new hardware systems could introduce, and
how it has mitigated or prevented them. The final phase will be
complete when ARISS has finished all testing and NASA deems the
hardware flight worthy. ARISS is hoping that will happen next spring.

Astronaut Mike Fincke, KE5AIT (left), and Cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov with
the current Kenwood radio, which will be replaced. [NASA photo]

"We will remove the 3 W Ericsson handheld radio system, initially
certified for flight in 1999, and the packet module -- both of which
have recently had issues," Bauer said, and install a brand-new,
specially modified 25 W JVC Kenwood TM-D710GA radio to enable a
multitude of new or improved capabilities on the ISS, including voice
repeater and better APRS operations."

A key development, Bauer explained, is the multi-voltage power supply
(MVPS), which interfaces with multiple electrical outlet connector
types on the station and provides a range of power-output capabilities
for current and future ARISS operations and Amateur Radio experiments.

ARISS invites contributions <http://www.ariss.org/donate.html> to help
cover the expenses of its work. All donations go directly to ARISS.
Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/ariss-moves-one-step-closer-to-flying-new-ham-equipment-to-iss>.


==> AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITE PIONEER PATRICK J. A. GOWEN, G3IOR, SK

Amateur Radio satellite pioneer Pat Gowen, G3IOR, of Norwich, England,
died on August 17 after a lengthy illness. He was 85.

"Pat was passionate about Amateur Radio, amateur satellites, and the
environment; he contributed much over his long life to each of these
and will be sadly missed," said AMSAT-UK Chair Martin Sweeting, G3YJO.

Gowen was a cofounder of AMSAT-UK and a member of its Board of
Directors in 1974. He wrote the satellite column for Practical Wireless
for many years and was a frequent contributor to The AMSAT Journal and
OSCAR News.

Gowen was the first radio amateur to work DXCC via low-Earth-orbit
(LEO) satellites, although his award is #4, because he had to wait for
QSLs to arrive. Fluent in Russian, he enjoyed conversing with the
cosmonauts aboard the now-defunct Russian Mir space station and the
ISS. Gowen also was the first to discover the resurrection of the
long-dormant AO-7. He also was a prominent HF operator and DXer and a
member of the First-Class CW Operators Club. A biochemist, Gowen was
retired from the University of East Anglia.

"No mention of Pat would be complete without noting his decades of work
in cleaning up the beaches and waters of his beloved Norfolk," Ray
Soifer, W2RS, commented. -- Thanks to AMSAT News Service

==> IN BRIEF...

ARRL Research Project Alert: ARRL has partnered with Readex Research to
conduct a survey of both League members and nonmembers within the
Amateur Radio community. Over the next several days, a select group of
amateurs will receive e-mail invitations to participate. The survey
will attempt to address the ways in which amateurs obtain their
information, how local clubs serve their needs, and how ARRL might do a
better job of providing helpful resources. Because of the way the
survey methodology is designed, most amateurs will not receive an
invitation, but if you're among the lucky few, we encourage you to say
"yes!"

Update: Secure Forms on the ARRL Website: The security of your
information on the ARRL website <http://www.arrl.org/> is extremely
important to the League. ARRL has taken steps to encrypt/secure all
forms on the site that contain personal or account information by using
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS).This includes the Shopping
Cart checkout, the ARRL Donation Form, the site Login form, the Edit
your Profile form, and New User registrations. To verify that a web
page is secure, look for the green closed padlock icon near the web
address at the top of the browser window. The Google Chrome (v. 62) web
browser will display a "Not Secure
<https://security.googleblog.com/2017/04/next-steps-toward-more-connection.html>"

warning when users enter text in a form on an unencrypted/insecure web
page (HTTP). (Chrome already marks HTTP pages as "Not secure," if they
have password or credit card fields.). The ARRL website does have
numerous user-input forms on the site that are currently not encrypted.
These include the site search, license class and exam searches, and
several others. These forms do not contain any sensitive information
and can be filled out safely, despite the updated warning from Chrome.
ARRL is working toward securing all forms to provide a better visitor
experience in the future. Contact <circu...@arrl.org> the ARRL
Circulation Department with any questions or concerns.

Clubs Active in ARRL Contest Club Competitions Should Review
Eligibility Lists: ARRL Contest Branch Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ,
suggests that now would be an opportune occasion to review club
membership eligibility lists <http://www.arrl.org/contest-club-tools>
for the 2017-2018 contest season. See "ARRL Contest Changes for
2017-2018" in the Septembern 2017 issue of QST (p. 91) or on the ARRL
website, for background information
<http://www.arrl.org/arrl-contests-changes-for-2017-2018>. Contest
clubs planning to participate in club competitions -- with ARRL
November Sweepstakes up next -- will need to update (or upload, if no
list is on file) member eligibility lists using the contest club tools
<http://www.arrl.org/contest-club-tools> before the contest begins.
These lists include club members who reside in and operate from a
club's territory. Per the September issue of QST, no amnesties or
adjustments will be allowed this year; club results will be calculated
based solely upon eligible members filed in the club's eligibility
list. If a club already has a list on file and no updates are needed,
clubs need not upload a fresh list. To make any additions, deletions,
or changes, simply upload a fresh list. Contact the ARRL Contest Branch
<cont...@arrl.org> for more information.

Revised ARRL Frequency Chart Now Available: An updated ARRL frequency
chart is now available
<http://www.arrl.org/graphical-frequency-allocations> for printing and
downloading. The chart has been updated to include our new bands at
2,200 and 630 meters.

The new chart is available as PDFs in these formats: 8.5 × 11
grayscale; 8.5 × 11 black and white; 8.5 × 11 color, and 11 × 17 color.

==> THE K7RA SOLAR UPDATE

Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: For the past week, the 45-day outlook
<ftp://ftp.swpc.noaa.gov/pub/forecasts/45DF/> for solar flux and
planetary A index from the US Air Force has been unavailable, with no
updates since October 1. Over the past week (the 7 days through October
4), average daily sunspot numbers rose from 27 to 32.6, and the average
daily solar flux rose from 84.3 to 87.9.

The average daily planetary A index bumped up from 9.9 to 16.3, and the
average daily mid-latitude A index -- measured at a magnetometer at
Wallops Island on Virginia's Eastern Shore -- increased from 7.6 to
12.7.

Because of the USAF outage, predictions for solar flux and planetary A
index are now several days old. Predicted solar flux is 86 on October
5-6; 84 on October 7; 81 on October 8-9; 75, 74, and 73 on October
10-12; 72 on October 13-15; 71, 74, 73, 78, 80, 87, and 90 on October
16-22; 95 on October 23-November 2; 90, 85, 76, 75, 74, and 73 on
November 3-8, and 72 on November 9-10.

Predicted planetary A index is 5, 8, and 12 on October 5-7; 8, 8, and 5
on October 8-10; 25 on October 11-13; 20 and 15 on October 14-15; 8 on
October 16-17; 5 on October 18-21; 16, 8, 20, 25, 20, 10, and 8 on
October 22-28; 5 on October 29-November 6, and 25 on November 7-9.

Sunspot numbers for September 28-October 4 were 40, 39, 38, 34, 25, 25,
and 27, with a mean of 32.6. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 90.9, 89.7,
89.4, 85.7, 86, 86.4, and 87, with a mean of 87.9. Estimated planetary
A indices were 55, 12, 16, 11, 7, 8, and 5, with a mean of 16.3.
Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 41, 8, 11, 10, 6, 8, and 5, with
a mean of 12.7.

Send <k7...@arrl.net> me your reports or observations.

==> JUST AHEAD IN RADIOSPORT

- October 6-8 -- YLRL DX/NA YL Anniversary Contest (CW, phone, digital)

- October 7 -- Microwave Fall Sprint (CW, phone, digital)

- October 7 -- FISTS Fall Slow-Speed Sprint (CW)

- October 7-8 -- GTC CW Cup

- October 7-8 -- Oceania DX Contest (Phone)

- October 7-8 -- Russian WW Digital Contest

- October 7-8 -- TRC DX Contest (CW, phone)

- October 7-8 -- SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (CW)

- October 7-8 -- International HELL Contest

- October 7-8 -- California QSO Party (CW, phone)

- October 7-8 -- WAB HF Phone

- October 8 -- RSGB DX Contest (CW, phone)

- October 8 -- UBA ON Contest (CW)

- October 8 -- UBA ON Contest, 6 Meters (CW, phone)

- October 9 -- 4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint (CW, phone)

- October 9 -- RSGB 80-Meter Autumn Series (CW)

- October 10 -- 10-10 International 10-10 Day Sprint (CW, phone,
digital)

- October 11 -- NAQCC CW Sprint

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 e-mail preferences.

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

- October 6-8 -- Mid-Atlantic States VHF Conference
<http://packratvhf.com/>, Bensalem, Pennsylvania

- October 7 -- South Carolina Section Convention
<http://www.ycars.org/>, Rock Hill, South Carolina

- October 7-8 -- Great Lakes Division Convention
<http://glhamcon.org/>, Brooklyn, Michigan

- October 13-14 -- Florida State Convention <http://www.pcars.org/>,
Melbourne, Florida

- October 14 -- Pacific Northwest VHF Society Conference
<http://pnwvhfs.org/>, Moses Lake, Washington

- October 20-22 -- Pacific Division Convention
<http://www.pacificon.org/>, San Ramon, California

- October 21 -- Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference
<http://www.wi-aresraces.org/>, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin

- October 22 -- Connecticut State Convention
<http://nutmeghamfest.com/>, Meriden, Connecticut

- October 28 -- Arizona State Convention <http://copahams.org/>,
Maricopa, Arizona

- November 4-5 -- Georgia State Convention
<http://stonemountainhamfest.com/>, Lawrenceville, Georgia

- November 11 -- HamJam Convention <http://hamjam.info/>, Alpharetta,
Georgia

- November 18-19 -- Indiana State Convention
<http://www.fortwaynehamfest.com/>, Fort Wayne, Indiana

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

ARRL -- Your One-Stop Resource for
Amateur Radio News and Information.

.

.

- Join or Renew Today! <http://www.arrl.org/join> ARRL membership
includes QST <http://www.arrl.org/qst>, Amateur Radio's most popular
and informative journal, delivered to your mailbox each month.

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