 October 20, 2022 John E. Ross, KD8IDJ, Editor
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The ARRL Foundation is now accepting applications for grants to amateur radio organizations and for its 2023 Scholarship Program. For the 2023 scholarships, the ARRL Foundation will be utilizing the same Scholarship Management Platform that was used for the 2022 scholarships. Transcripts and additional required documents must be submitted with the application and not emailed separately. A number of scholarships require additional documents, such as a letter of recommendation from a sitting Officer of an ARRL Affiliated Club. Applications without accompanying transcripts and additional required documents (if applicable) will not be considered. The ARRL Foundation Scholarship Committee will review all applicants for eligibility and award decisions. Scholarship recipients will be notified in May 2023 via USPS and email. Awards are mailed directly to recipients' schools. 2022 ARRL Online Auction is Oct. 21 - 27 The 17th annual ARRL Online Auction preview is now open. Bidding begins at 10:00 AM EDT on Friday, October 21, and runs through 10 PM on Thursday, October 27. RT Systems, Inc. is sponsoring this year's ARRL Online Auction, which benefits ARRL education and technology initiatives and programs. The 2022 auction includes a large assortment of ham radio gear that was previously tested by the ARRL Lab for the regular "Product Review" column in QST magazine. Among the more than 30 products are these:
Visit the auction website, register to bid, and check out details on the items available so you will be ready to place a bid on your favorites. Plus, keep an eye on the ARRL Facebook page and Instagram for featured products and auction highlights throughout the event. Registration is not necessary to register to browse the items for sale, and you can register any time during the auction. ARRL's annual Online Auction is an important fundraiser and a critical means of support for ARRL educational programming. Auction proceeds ensure the continuation of programs that support the licensing of new hams, as well as Amateur Radio Emergency Service® training, and enhancements to technical and operating education for all ARRL members and the greater amateur radio community. If you don't want to bid but still would like to contribute to the ARRL Education & Technology Fund, visit www.arrl.org/donate. For more information about the ARRL Online Auction, contact Lisa Tardette, KB1MOI. Amateur Radio Operators Invited to Participate in Scientific Experiments The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) will be conducting their largest experiment and research campaign from October 19 - 28, 2022. Amateur radio operators are invited to listen and participate. The research will last for 10 days and include 13 experiments, with transmissions taking place between 1400 - 0600 UTC daily. The transmission experiments include moon bounce, Jupiter bounce, HF ocean scatter, and ionosphere satellite interactions. Amateur radio operators are being asked to monitor the times of the transmissions and signal quality. Reports can be filed electronically, and a special QSL card will be sent for participation. This will be the most scientifically diverse campaign ever conducted at HAARP. Particularly notable experiments include a first-of-its-kind attempt to bounce a signal off of Jupiter, investigation into possible causes of the airglow phenomenon known as STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), and testing the feasibility of using radio transmissions to measure the interiors of near-Earth asteroids. "The October research campaign is our largest and most diverse to date, with researchers and citizen scientists collaborating from across the globe," said HAARP Program Manager Jessica Matthews. The number of experiments is the highest so far under the 5-year, $9.3 million grant awarded last year by the National Science Foundation to establish the Subauroral Geophysical Observatory at HAARP. The observatory's purpose is to explore of Earth's upper atmosphere and geospace environment. An overview of all of the experiments can be found at the HAARP website. See the following document (PDF) for a more detailed listing of the experiments and technical data. Participating amateur radio operators can request a QSL card and send reception reports to HAARP, P.O. Box 271, Gakona, AK 99586. HAARP is a scientific endeavor aimed at studying the properties and behavior of the ionosphere. Operation of the research facility was transferred from the US Air Force to the University of Alaska Fairbanks on August 11, 2015, allowing HAARP to continue with exploration of ionospheric phenomenology via a land-use cooperative research and development agreement. Cleveland Amateur Radio Club Celebrates 60 Years The Cleveland Amateur Radio Club (CARC), in Cleveland, Tennessee, celebrated their 60th anniversary on August 27, 2022.
Founded in 1962, CARC is one of the oldest continually operating clubs in the southeastern US. The club was officially recognized as an ARRL Affiliated Club in 1965, and again in 2015 as a contesting club. Currently, the club has more than 125 members and operates its own clubhouse. They have a radio room outfitted with four multi-operator HF operating stations (KA4J) and a separate VHF room serving as the emergency communications room, complete with multiple VHF and UHF operating stations (W4GZX). They also have an on-site repeater facility hosting multiple repeaters for VHF and UHF, Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio (D-STAR), and Digital Mobile Radio (DMR). Two off-site mountaintop repeater sites allow for wide-area coverage from Atlanta, Georgia, to Knoxville, Tennessee. As part of their on-going celebration, the CARC celebrated their anniversary with the Chattanooga Amateur Radio Club at Hamfest Chattanooga 2022 on October 14 - 15. Complete information about the Cleveland Amateur Radio Club can be found at their website, www.carc.cc. Central States VHF Society Celebrates 54 Years The Central States VHF Society (CSVHFS), the oldest group in the country devoted to weak signal VHF, held their 54th annual conference on July 21 - 23, 2022. Over 130 amateurs attended the event, which was held in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
This year's conference highlighted the recent activity with 222 MHz Worked All States (WAS), as well as the Fred Fish Memorial Award (FFMA), the VHF Spring Sprints, and the year-long competition, States Above 50 MHz. The Wilson Award recognizes service to CSVHFS or VHF in general, and was presented to Peter Van Horne, KA6U. For the past two summers, Van Horne has been traveling the country, activating states via EME (Earth-moon-Earth) on 144, 222, 432, and 1296 MHz. His efforts resulted in six stations completing WAS on 222 MHz in the past year. The John T. Chambers Award for Technical Achievement was presented to Dave Olean, K1WHS, for his many years at Directive Systems and Engineering in Haymarket, Virginia. Olean has been active in the chase for 222 MHz WAS and has been instrumental in promoting activity on the band. 222 MHz WAS award recipients in attendance for the award presentation were: Charlie Betz, N0AKC; Dave Kerl, N9HF; Joel Harrison, W5ZN; John Swiniarski, K1OR; Ed Gray, W0SD; Marc Thorson, WB0TEM; Dave Olean, K1WHS, and Marshall Williams, K5QE. FFMA recipients attending the conference were Ralph Smith, W4UDH; Jim Spence, KO9A; John Feltz, W9JN, and Greg Clausen, W0LGQ. More information about CSVHFS is available on their website, www.csvhfs.org. Amateur Radio Club Members Assist Law Enforcement The Wayne Amateur Radio Club (WARC) manned a 30-foot-tall mobile observational Infrastructure Protection Unit, or SkyWatch tower, at Ohio's Wayne County Fair in September again this year. Staffed by specially trained amateur radio volunteers, the tower provided 24-hour surveillance, monitoring, and a record of activity on the fairgrounds, including medical emergencies, lost children, and other situations where help may have been needed.
Captain Doug Hunter, KE8JNH, of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, was impressed with its performance. "Last year, I put in a request for the tower from the Ohio Department of Homeland Security," Hunter said. "After seeing the benefit of having it, I immediately requested the unit for this year's fair." Positioned near the grandstand, the tower gave volunteers a bird's-eye view of the midway that allows one person to see from the air what four or five people can see from the ground. The observation deck is equipped with state-of-the-art video equipment that provides situational awareness in places where there are large crowds in attendance. With an array of pan, tilt, and zoom cameras, the unit provides a 360-degree view of the fair's most vulnerable areas. It is climate controlled and is capable of being self-powered to ensure continuous operation. Eric Mast, W8ELM, a member of WARC, said that club members who have additional training, apart from their amateur radio licensing exams, take shifts monitoring the crowd. "Through our training, we understand how to communicate with law enforcement," said Mast. "We know what they need to hear. If we see a situation that needs their attention, our radio is connected directly to dispatch inside their command center on the fairgrounds. Once we report it, we are out of the loop and law enforcement manages everything from that point." Captain Hunter added, "As long as this is available to us, we will take advantage of it. If we can utilize something that increases the safety of fairgoers, we will take advantage of that. WARC members donated more than 60 hours of their time, and we are very thankful for them."
Amateur Radio in the News ARRL Public Information Officers, Coordinators, and many other member-volunteers help keep amateur radio and ARRL in the news. "Thundering Herd Amateur Radio Club Holds its First Meeting." / The Parthenon (Marshall University Student Newspaper; West Virginia), October 11, 2022. "Detroit high school students speak with an astronaut that is currently orbiting earth" / ClickOnDetroit.com (Michigan), October 18, 2022. -- Thanks to Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), and members of the Hazel Park Amateur Radio Club, an ARRL Affiliated Club.
ARRL Podcasts
The latest episode of the ARRL On the Air podcast includes Arc Thames, W4CPD, the Section Emergency Coordinator of ARRL's Northern Florida Section and Emergency Coordinator of Santa Rosa County Florida. Thames shares some of his experiences from supporting emergency communications during Hurricane Ian. Listen to ARRL Audio News, available every Friday. ARRL Audio News is a summary of the week's top news stories in the world of amateur radio and ARRL, along with interviews and other features. The On the Air podcast is available on iTunes (iOS) and Stitcher (Android). The On the Air podcast and ARRL Audio News are also on Blubrry -- On the Air | ARRL Audio News. Announcements The 2022 Massillon Amateur Radio Club (MARC) Hamfest will be held on October 30 at the Military Air Preservation Hangar at the Military Aviation Preservation Society (MAPS) Air Museum, near the Akron-Canton Airport in Ohio. The Hamfest includes a display of World War II-era planes and aviation gear inside the MAPS hangar. On display will be fighter and bomber aircraft, as well as displays featuring the Tuskegee Airmen, a Pearl Harbor memorial, and Rosie the Riveter memorabilia. MAPS is an internationally recognized museum of aviation and the center of aviation history for northeast Ohio. The MARC Hamfest will be open from 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM, and admission is $5.00. In Brief... The San Angelo, Texas, City Council issued a proclamation on October 18, 2022, recognizing the San Angelo Amateur Radio Club's (SAARC) 100th Anniversary. More than 60 current and former members attended a special event and celebration on October 15, 2022, including six past presidents and visitors from the Midland Amateur Radio Club. The Boy Scouts Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA) was part of the celebration, and SAARC members made over 40 QSO's honoring the anniversary. SAARC was founded in June 1922 and is an ARRL Affiliated Club. Read more about their anniversary on ARRL News. The K7RA Solar Update Tad Cook, K7RA, of Seattle, Washington, reports for this week's ARRL Propagation Bulletin: Sunspot activity took quite a plunge over this reporting week (October 13 - 19). Average daily sunspot numbers declined from 114.9 to 57.3, while equivalent solar flux values went from 155.3 to 119.6.
Geomagnetic indicators were slightly lower, with the average planetary A index going from 13.3 to 10.6, and middle latitude A index from 10.4 to 8.1. I should note that the middle latitude A index for October 18 - 19 are my own estimates. The Fredericksburg, Virginia, magnetometer was offline for a 24-hour period spanning both days. The Wednesday forecast of solar flux shows a peak at 160 during the first week in November. Predicted daily flux values are 110 on October 20 - 26; 115 and 150 on October 27 - 28; 155 on October 29 - 30; 152 on October 31; 160 on November 1 - 8; 150, 140, and 135 on November 9 - 11; 130 on November 12 - 13; 135 on November 14; 138 on November 15 - 17, and 140 on November 18 - 21. Predicted planetary A index is 12 and 10 on October 20 - 21; 5 on October 22 - 23; 10, 5, 8, and 12 on October 24 - 27; 15, 12, and 20 on October 28 - 30; 15 on October 31 through November 1; 18, 15, 12, 20, and 8 on November 2 - 6; 5 on November 7 - 9; 18 on November 10 - 11; 15 and 8 on November 12 - 13; 5 on November 14 - 15; 12 on November 16 - 17; 8 on November 18, and 5 on November 19 - 21. Despite the lower solar activity, worldwide 10-meter propagation has been very good this week, probably helped by seasonal variations as we head deeper into the fall season. In Friday's bulletin, expect reports from readers. Send your tips, questions, or comments to k7ra@arrl.net. A comprehensive K7RA Solar Update is posted Fridays on the ARRL website. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service, read "What the Numbers Mean..." and check out the propagation page of Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA. A propagation bulletin archive is available. For customizable propagation charts, visit the VOACAP Online for Ham Radio website. Share your reports and observations. A weekly, full report is posted on ARRL News.
Just Ahead in Radiosport
Visit the ARRL Contest Calendar for more events and information.
Upcoming Section, State, and Division Conventions
Search the ARRL Hamfest and Convention Database to find events in your area. Have News for ARRL? Submissions for The ARRL Letter and ARRL News can be sent to news@arrl.org. -- John E. Ross, KD8IDJ, ARRL News Editor
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The grants program awards limited funding to organizations for eligible amateur radio related projects and initiatives, particularly those with a focus on educating, licensing, and supporting amateur radio activities. Youth-based projects and initiatives are especially encouraged. The ARRL Foundation grants program accepts proposals on a cyclical model three times a year, in February, June, and October. Proposals for the October grant period are being accepted through October 31. Awardees will be notified approximately one month after the closing of each cycle.-logo-2022.png){kind=logo}
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