ARRL

It was an absolutely beautiful Memorial Day weekend. No rain, not too hot and not too cold. It was perfect for picnicking, yard work, washing your car -- whatever you wanted to do. The soggy days had departed just in time for a much-deserved and much-needed three-day weekend. Or so the weather forecast said.

The July/August issue of QEX is out, and it is full of theoretical and practical technical articles that you don't want to miss.

This week, Surfin’ considers Google Docs as an online Amateur Radio application.

On Thursday, July 3, Special Counsel for the Spectrum Enforcement Division of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH -- the man who has come to embody Amateur Radio Enforcement - will say goodbye to the FCC as he retires and begins his life as a private citizen. In May, Hollingsworth announced he would definitely retire; he had contemplated retiring in January 2008, but cited "several issues on the table that I want[ed] to continue to work through with the amateur community." While his successor has not yet been named, he was quick to point out that the FCC's Amateur Radio enforcement program will continue.

On July 2, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with RadioShack, announced a voluntary recall of 13.8 V dc power supplies. The CPSC said that consumers should stop using these power supplies immediately, as the "power supplies are wired incorrectly, posing electrocution and fire hazards." No injuries have been reported in conjunction with the power supplies that were sold in RadioShack stores nationwide from October 2004-January 2008 for between $50 and $85. Manufactured in China, the CPSC said that the recall involves RadioShack 13.8 V DC Power Supplies, catalog numbers 22-507 and 22-508 with date codes from 08A04 through 01A08. Date code format is MMAYY where MM is the month and YY is the year. The catalog number and date code are located on the back of the power supply. Power supplies with a green dot on the product and the product's packaging have already been repaired and are not included in the recall. The CPSC recommends for consumers to unplug the recalled power supply immediately and take it to any RadioShack store for a free repair. Registered owners of the recalled power supplies will be mailed a notice. For additional information, contact RadioShack at 800-843-7422 anytime, or visit their Web site.

HAM RADIO 2008, the 33rd International Exhibition for Radio Amateurs in Friedrichshafen, Germany, was held June 27-29. This annual event, billed as Europe's biggest hamfest, focused this year on the radio amateur satellite program and included many programs and activities for youth. The event drew more than 17,000 visitors from over 30 countries. The fourth annual Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference (GAREC) preceded the event. A team representing ARRL attended, greeting international ARRL members throughout HAM RADIO 2008. ARRL Sales and Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, who attended the event, has posted a blog recapping the event.

This week's bulletin is presented a day earlier than usual, due to the Independence Day holiday on Friday. The weeks seem to drag on with no sunspots in sight. An image from helioseismic holography on Tuesday shows a spot on our Sun's far side. We hope it emerges in a week or 10 days on our side and hasn't died out by then. Spots emerge from time to time, but they are all old Solar Cycle 23 spots and they seem to fade quickly without much activity. Sunspot numbers for June 26-July 2 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 and 0 with a mean of 0. The 10.7 cm flux was 65.4, 66.1, 65.9, 66.6, 66.7, 65.6 and 65.9 with a mean of 66. Estimated planetary A indices were 16, 8, 7, 8, 6, 5 and 3 with a mean of 7.6. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 17, 7, 6, 7, 5, 4 and 1 with a mean of 6.7.

ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, has written to Armond T. Mascelli, Vice President for Domestic Disaster response for the American Red Cross (ARC) to identify the ARRL's remaining concerns over the background check policy for ARC partners. Harrison emphasized that the commencement of negotiation of a replacement Statement of Understanding (SOU) between the two organizations should not be further delayed while these concerns are resolved and that he looked forward to signing a new SOU once additional edits to the background check Disclosure Form and clarifications of the background check Authorization Form are in place for those radio amateurs who volunteer their service to the Red Cross.

Bright sun, good friends and a clean sweep.

The FCC has posted new Amateur Radio enforcement correspondence on its "Amateur Radio Service Enforcement Actions" Web page. Special Counsel in the FCC Spectrum Enforcement Division Riley Hollingsworth sent a letters to William G. Aber Sr, N2JAI (Warning Notice), and to Gateway Coal Mine (Warning Notice) of Coulterville, Illinois. Direct all questions concerning the Amateur Radio Service Enforcement Actions Web postings via e-mail only to the FCC Spectrum Enforcement Division.

This feature -- including convenient Web links to useful information -- is a concise monthly update of some of the things ARRL is doing on behalf of its members. This installment covers the month of June.

Registration remains open through Sunday, July 20, 2008 for these online course sessions beginning on Friday, August 1, 2008: Technician License Course (EC-010), Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 1 (EC-001), Radio Frequency Interference (EC-006), Antenna Design and Construction (EC-009), Analog Electronics (EC-012) and Digital Electronics (EC-013). Each online course has been developed in segments -- learning units with objectives, informative text, student activities and quizzes. Courses are interactive, and some include direct communications with a Mentor/Instructor. Students register for a particular session that may be 8, 12 or 16 weeks (depending on the course) and they may access the course at any time of day during the course period, completing lessons and activities at times convenient for their personal schedule. Mentors assist students by answering questions, reviewing assignments and activities, as well as providing helpful feedback. Interaction with mentors is conducted through e-mail; there is no appointed time the student must be present -- allowing complete flexibility for the student to work when and where it is convenient. To learn more, visit the Continuing Education course listing page or contact the Continuing Education Program Coordinator.

NCJ, The National Contest Journal, is what everyone interested in radiosport needs to have in their shack. Filled with the latest news from the contesting world, NCJ is what every contester needs in their shack. Whether you are new to contesting or are a seasoned pro (or somewhere in the middle), you will find something in NCJ just for you.

Last year, in the wake of Federal Communications Commission decisions that did not adequately protect licensed radiocommunication services from interference from Broadband Over Power Line (BPL) systems, the ARRL went to court to challenge the FCC.

When residents of a Philadelphia suburb complained to an area television station about how their remote car door entry devices wouldn't work in the parking lot of a local department store, an investigative reporter for NBC-10 (WCAU) called everyone she could to help her discover why. No one knew anything -- until she called on some local ham radio operators.

ARRL Headquarters will be closed in observance of Independence Day on Friday, July 4. There will be no W1AW bulletin or code practice transmissions that day. The ARRL Letter and ARRL Audio News will be posted a day early on Thursday, July 3. ARRL Headquarters will reopen Monday, July 7 at 8 AM Eastern Daylight Time. We wish everyone a safe and festive holiday weekend.

We are pleased to report that ARRL Audio News can once again be accessed via telephone at 860-594-0384; it had been down for a few days due to equipment failure. Compiled and edited from The ARRL Letter, ARRL Audio News is available on the League's Web site for two weeks and via telephone for one week after publication. We are sorry for any inconvenience the outage may have caused.

Recent days graced by sunspots were short lived. June 10-June 13 saw a single sunspot group, followed by two days with no spots then a week of spots from June 16-22. During that week, the sunspot number was 11 every day, the lowest non-zero sunspot number. The four days since have had no spots at all. All the sunspot numbers for the last calendar quarter are listed here. This current quarter data is only available on the net through June 30. July 1 begins a new quarter.

This week, Surfin’ considers the user interface of Amateur Radio software.

Registration remains open through Sunday, July 6, 2008 for these online course sessions beginning on Friday, July 18, 2008: Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 2 (EC-002), Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 3 (EC-003R2), Antenna Modeling (EC-004), HF Digital Communications (EC-005), VHF/UHF -- Life Beyond the Repeater (EC-008), and Radio Frequency Propagation (EC-011). Each online course has been developed in segments -- learning units with objectives, informative text, student activities and quizzes. Courses are interactive, and some include direct communications with a Mentor/Instructor. Students register for a particular session that may be 8, 12 or 16 weeks (depending on the course) and they may access the course at any time of day during the course period, completing lessons and activities at times convenient for their personal schedule. Mentors assist students by answering questions, reviewing assignments and activities, as well as providing helpful feedback. Interaction with mentors is conducted through e-mail; there is no appointed time the student must be present -- allowing complete flexibility for the student to work when and where it is convenient. To learn more, visit the Continuing Education course listing page or contact the Continuing Education Program Coordinator.