Volume 17, Number 6 (February 6, 1998)

The ARRL Letter Index
ARRL Audio News

·To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your e-mail delivery address: see How to Get The ARRL Letter, below
·Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!): letter-dlvy@arrl.org
·Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, rlindquist@arrl.org
·ARRL Audio News: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/ or call 860-594-0384
·The ARRLWeb Extra: http://www.arrl.org/members-only/extra

IN THIS EDITION:

+Available on ARRL Audio News

ASTRO-SWAP COMPLETED; THREE HAMS ON MIR

Three hams--two Russians and one American--now are aboard the 12-year old Mir. US astronaut Andy Thomas, KD5CHF/VK5MIR, last week swapped spots on the Russian space station with Dave Wolf, KC5VPF. Wolf returned to Earth--and a pepperoni pizza he'd called ahead for--on January 31 aboard the shuttle Endeavour. For its next mission, in July, Endeavour will carry the US Node Module to support construction of the International Space Station.

At about the same time the Endeavour was departing Mir, a Russian replacement crew and a French astronaut on his first ride into space were blasting off from Baikonur. The new Russian crew, Talgat Musabayev, RO3FT, and Nikolai Budarin, RV3FB (ex-RV3DB/R4MIR), and French researcher Leopold Eyharts, arrived February 1. Eyharts will stay for three weeks.

The Australian-born Thomas, 41, is an engineer and the seventh US astronaut to serve a tour aboard the Russian space station. He will spend the next four months aboard Mir.

It had been announced that Thomas would be the last US astronaut to be posted to Mir. But last week, NASA and Russian authorities left open the door to the possibility that additional US astronauts might also serve aboard Mir as the International Space Station construction lags behind schedule.

DATE SLIPS FOR NEXT SAREX MISSION

The launch date for the next Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment (SAREX) payload, aboard STS-93, has slipped until late this year. STS-93 originally was scheduled to go up in August, but its primary payload will not be ready by then. The five-day mission is the only SAREX mission scheduled during 1998. But another flight, STS-95 in October--the flight that will carry once and future astronaut and US Sen John Glenn into space--has been under consideration for several months as a possible SAREX flight, according to AMSAT Vice President for Manned Space Programs Frank Bauer, KA3HDO. Nothing has been confirmed yet, however.

While the shuttle will be involved in construction of the International Space Station (ISS), it's unlikely that SAREX will be aboard shuttle construction missions or shuttle/Mir docking flights because of the heavy astronaut workload involved on these missions and the need to swap antennas during Mir docking flights. The silver lining here is that the shuttle activity on behalf of the ISS lays the groundwork for a permanent Amateur Radio presence aboard the International Space Station when it is completed and occupied in a few years. But one ISS construction mission that's expected to be less busy than the others is under consideration to carry SAREX.

As ISS construction begins late this year or early next year, a transportable ham radio station will go into space that will support voice and 1200-baud packet on 2 meters and 70 cm.

Further news regarding future SAREX missions will be posted in The ARRL Letter and on the ARRLWeb as it becomes available.

TOWER LAW SUCCESS: CHALK ONE UP FOR AMATEUR RADIO

Hams in Mason County, Washington, won't be encumbered by a telecommunications ordinance that would have restricted the height of ham radio towers to 70 feet and imposed other regulations. Andrew Forsberg, WV7M, of Grapeview, reports that several hams in the largely rural Western Washington county (population approximately 30,000) cited federal preemption over local regulation of Amateur Radio activities as well as the hobby's public service dimension to get the County Board of Commissioners to exclude ham radio from the new law last month.

Forsberg says that, as originally drafted, not only would tower heights have been limited to 70 feet, but building-mounted towers could not have been more than 20 feet tall. It also would have held the height of vertical antennas (called "whips" in the proposed regulations) to 15 feet. In addition, the proposed law would have required landscaping to hide a tower and lot setbacks equal to a tower's height--something often impossible on a small, residential lot.

Forsberg said that, at first, the drafters of the new ordinance "seemed to be unmoved by Amateur Radio considerations." In addition to federal preemption, the county hams pointed out the connection between a good antenna system and ham radio's public service contributions--in an area subject to floods, earthquakes, power outages during winter storms, and even volcanic activity). Commissioners "began to soften their position," Forsberg said.

"By the time the vote was taken, the commissioners were well-informed of our position and were commending Amateur Radio for its outstanding contributions to the community," he said.

VIRGINIA HAMS ASKED TO RALLY BEHIND TOWER BILL

Hams in Virginia are being asked to rally behind a statewide bill to regulate the placement of Amateur Radio antennas. The measure, Senate Bill 480 (SB 480) was introduced January 26 by State Sen John Edwards of Roanoke.

The bill would amend the Code of Virginia to include the essence of the PRB-1 federal preemption. It would require local ordinances involving the placement, screening, or height of antennas to "reasonably accommodate Amateur Radio antennas" and "impose the minimum regulation necessary."

The bill--if approved by the Virginia General Assembly--would prohibit localities from restricting ham antennas to less than 200 feet above ground, restricting the number of support structures. or requiring restrictive variances "beyond reasonable and customary engineering practices" unless the antenna "clearly represents an unreasonable risk to human health or life."

Bob Ham, KK4IY, says hams can track the progress of the bill at http://leg1.state.va.us/981/bil.htm (enter "sb480" at the prompt). Hams can voice an opinion on the bill by calling 800-889-0229 and leaving a message for their Delegate or Senator.--thanks to Frank Mackey, K4EC, Bob Cecil, WB3S, and Bob Ham, KK4IY

FCC SEQUENTIAL CALL SIGN UPDATE

The following is a list of FCC sequentially assigned call signs issued as of February 2, 1998.

District Group A
Extra		 Group B
Advanced		 Group C
Tech/Gen		 Group D
Novice
Ø ABØHF KIØLO ++ KCØCRE
1 AA1TE KE1JE ++ KB1CIT
2 AB2EX KG2NO ++ KC2CYG
3 AA3QT KF3AW ++ KB3CBT
4 AF4HV KU4OF ++ KF4VRS
5 AC5OX KM5OU ++ KD5DFM
6 AD6EJ KQ6UM ++ KF6PIL
7 AB7XF KK7LT ++ KD7AKT
8 AB8BV KI8FA ++ KC8JFJ
9 AA9VK KG9MI ++ KB9SAO
N Mariana Island NHØB AHØAY KHØGV WHØABI
Guam ++ AH2DF KH2TA WH2ANV
Hawaii NH7F AH6PF KH7IN WH6DEN
American Samoa AH8P AH8AH KH8DL WH8ABF
Alaska ALØH AL7QY KLØLN WL7CUQ
Virgin Islands ++ KP2CM NP2JX WP2AIJ
Puerto Rico NP3S KP3BE NP3TS WP4NNP
++All call signs in this group have been issued in this district.

1998 McGAN AWARD NOMINATIONS OPEN

Nominees are welcome for the seventh annual Philip J. McGan Memorial Silver Antenna Award, a chance to honor the ham who did the most to promote Amateur Radio in 1997. The McGan award was named for journalist Philip J. McGan, WA2MGQ (SK), the first chairman of the ARRL Public Relations Committee. It goes to the ARRL member who demonstrates volunteer public relations success on behalf of ham radio at the local, state or national level, and who best exemplifies the volunteer spirit of the award's namesake.

Public relations (as opposed to public service) activities are those specifically directed at bringing Amateur Radio to the public's attention in a positive light--typically through the media (newspapers, TV, radio).

Nominations for the seventh annual award are due May 29, 1998 at ARRL Headquarters, Newington, Connecticut, by 5 PM Eastern Time.

A committee screens eligible nominations and forwards its recommendations to the ARRL Board of Directors, which makes the final determination at its July meeting.

Entry forms for the Philip J. McGan Memorial Silver Antenna Award are available from Jennifer Gagne, N1TDY, e-mail jgagne@arrl.org or call 860-594-0328. Send completed forms and supporting materials to Philip J. McGan Memorial Silver Antenna Award, care of Jennifer Gagne, N1TDY, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.

WØDX/VP2VI TO RELIVE THRILL OF FIRST DXPEDITION

Original 'Gon-Waki' crew (1948) The original "Gon-Waki" crew puts VP7NG on the air in the first-ever "modern" DXpedition to the Bahamas. Shown (l-r) are Charley Orr, W4NND, Buddy Buttizoni, W3GRP, and Bob Denniston, W4NNN (now WØDX).

The man called "the father of the modern DXpedition"--former ARRL President Bob Denniston, WØDX/VP2VI--will mark the 50th anniversary of his first-ever DXpedition March 14-15 by resurrecting the same radio gear he used as VP7NG back in 1948 and putting it back on the air from the Caribbean. "We're trying to do everything exactly the way it was the first time," Denniston said. He's even attempting to round up the same operators to lend a hand, but several others have been invited as well.

Late in 1947, Denniston, then W4NNN, thought it would be fun to be DX. He also discovered that the Bahamian government would be willing to issue him its first post-World War II license. Denniston's non-DXer friends thought he was quite mad, so the DXpedition was dubbed "Gon-Waki"--a reference to Thor Heyerdahl's famous Kon-Tiki/LI2B expedition earlier that same year.

Denniston gathered together some gear and two more operators--Charley Orr, W4NND, Buddy Buttizoni, W3GRP--and put VP7NG on the air the weekend of March 14-15, 1948--the second CW weekend of the ARRL International DX Contest. The crew used a Meissner Signal Shifter to drive a 100 W transmitter, plus Hallicrafters SX-28A and Hammarlund HQ-129X receivers. Antennas included a 138-foot wire for transmitting and a separate 66-footer for receiving (for the full "Gon-Waki" story, see QST, Jul 1948, page 80).

DXpedition members will bring the SX-28A from Denniston's Newton, Iowa, shack. Modern equipment will be available to back up the original gear, but original bands, hand keys (the original crew used a Vibroplex bug), and wire antennas will be the order of the day. The major difference will be the QTH. The 1998 event will be from the British Virgin Islands, where Denniston now lives during part of the year. The group will operate March 14, 0000 UTC until 2400 UTC March 15, 1998, using VP2VI/50 on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters. The "Gon-Waki II" group will operate 24 kHz up from the band edges and listen up. A commemorative QSL card will be available. QSL via AB1U.

Noted DXpeditioner Martii Laine, OH2BH, credits Denniston as being the originator of the modern DXpedition. As Denniston put it, "I didn't realize it at the time, but I was inventing DXpeditions." Denniston, in turn, credits CM9AA with coining the expression "DXpedition." Denniston's other firsts include Clipperton Island (FO8AJ) in 1954) and Malpelo. His strategy of visits to rare prefixes helped earn him a world record ARRL International DX Contest score in 1960 from VP1JH (now Belize). Denniston, who turns 79 this month, served as the League's president from 1966 until 1972 and continues to contribute his time and talent to the hobby.--thanks to Jim Livengood, WØNB

NOEL EATON MEMORIAL AMATEUR RADIO STATION TO DEBUT

Hams at the home club of the late IARU President Emeritus Noel Eaton, VE3CJ, will celebrate the opening of the Noel Eaton Memorial Amateur Radio Station later this month. Eaton served as International Amateur Radio Union President from 1974 until 1982. He headed the IARU team at the 1979 World Administrative Radio Conference. Eaton also was ARRL Canadian Director from 1960 until 1974 and was inducted into the Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of Fame in 1997.

Eaton died in 1996 and left all of his equipment (including a TH7-DX beam and a 56-foot tower) to the Burlington (Ontario) Amateur Radio Club. Club members obtained space to build a club station and got Industry Canada to reissue Eaton's call sign for the station. The VE3CJ call sign returned to the air last July 1 during the RAC's Canada Day Contest.

The grand opening of the club station, coupled with a banquet and a ham radio flea market, will be held February 21 in Burlington. Visitors are welcome to operate the VE3CJ club station. The list of those planning to attend includes IARU President Dick Baldwin, W1RU, ARRL Vice President Hugh Turnbull, W3ABC, RAC President J. Farrell "Hoppy" Hopwood, VE7RD, and IARU Region 2 President Tom Atkins, VE3CDM. For more information, contact Hugh McCully, VE3AYR, e-mail janus@bigwave.ca. Additional details are available at http://www.bigwave.ca/jefdavis/eaton/index.htm.--The Canadian Amateur

SOLAR UPDATE: NEW CYCLE RETREATING

Solar seer Tad Cook, K7VVV, Seattle, Washington, reports: This solar cycle seems to be in the doldrums. The average sunspot number last week was less than half what it was the week before, and average solar flux was down about nine points. The 90-day average for solar flux drifted down from 97 to 96, and flux values were below that level on every day, indicating a general downward trend over the short term.

Even more disturbing is the regression in solar activity over the past few months. The average solar flux was 99.5 in November, 98.7 in December, and 93.4 in January. This new cycle was already showing progress slower and later than expected, and now it seems to be gradually retreating rather than progressing. The NOAA prediction for those three months was for a smoothed solar flux of 102, 109, and 116. The prediction for this month was 122.

Last week, geomagnetic activity was running a bit higher. The worst day was Friday, January 30, when Planetary A index was 19 and the K index went as high as five.

For the short term the solar flux is expected to gradually increase to around the mid-90s by February 10, then drift back around 90 after mid-month, then possibly mid-90s or above by February 22, then back to 90 by month's end. No geomagnetic disturbances are predicted, although unsettled conditions could return around February 26-28. The predicted solar flux for February 6-8 is 86 for each day.

W6PYK wrote to ask if we take into account the sun's rotational period in forecasting conditions. The paragraph above is based upon projections by NOAA which use the solar rotation to try to predict when active regions may come into view again.

NØEG wrote to point out an interesting Web site at http://www.dxlc.com operated by the DX Listener's Club of Norway. This site has some nice graphs of sunspot numbers, solar flux and planetary A indices, as well as daily solar data, all selectable in either English or Norwegian. NØEG wanted to know what the references such as "K indices: 3322 3211" meant. Each digit is a single K index value for each three-hour period in a 24-hour day. The grouping in four digits has no significance, except that each group represents 12 hours out of a day.

Sunspot numbers for January 29 through February 4 were 71, 41, 37, 25, 23, 39, and 26 with a mean of 37.4. The 10.7-cm flux was 93.6, 91, 89.4, 90.7, 89.1, 88.8, and 89.1, with a mean of 90.2, and estimated planetary A indices were 8, 19, 9, 7, 3, 3, and 8, with a mean of 8.1.

PHILLIP M. CATONA, W2JAV, SK

RTTY pioneer Phil Catona, W2JAV, of Pitman, New Jersey, died suddenly on January 27 after a period of ill health. He was 79. Catona held RTTY WAS #2, for which he qualified in 1961. Based on a design by W2PAT, he also developed the W2JAV RTTY demodulator (see "An Improved Radioteletype Converter," CQ, April 1958), which remained a standard for a decade or more in the 1950s and 1960s and was included by Byron Kretzman, W2JTP, in The New RTTY Handbook.

Catona also built equipment for and operated on the UHF and microwave bands in the days when they were largely uncharted territory for hams. His close friend, E. M. "Brownie" Brown, W2PAU, recalled how Catona "gave freely of his expertise" to help others with ham radio projects and solve their problems. "He was always ready to participate in operating events," he added, and he was "a master of practical jokes."

Catona also belonged to the Antique Wireless Association and collected and meticulously restored vintage radios and radio paraphernalia. He also was an amateur aviator.

A World War II veteran, Catona was retired from RCA. He was a member of the ARRL and a member and past president the South Jersey Radio Association; in 1952, he was SJRA's Amateur of the Year. He also was a member of the Cumberland Radio Club and trustee of the CRC club station, W2BX. His wife, Pearl, WA2AVA, is among his survivors.--thanks to Brownie Brown, W2PAU, and Dennis Gazak, N3DG

In Brief:

  • This weekend on the radio: This weekend, be on the lookout for the Delaware QSO Party, the Kansas QSO Party, the Vermont QSO Party, the New Hampshire QSO Party, the North American Sprint (CW), the FYBO Winter QRP Field Day, the NW QRP Club Digital Contest, and the Ten-Ten International Net Winter Phone QSO Party. Details are on page 94 of February QST. A reminder: The 12th Annual School Club Roundup begins February 9 and continues until February 14 (dates in the February issue of QST are incorrect). For information on the New Hampshire QSO Party, see http://homepages.together.net/~bhabooks/nhqso.html. For details on other events, see page 114 in January QST.

  • SW Virginia snowstorm update: Scott County, Virginia, EC Jim Flanary, K4LMP, provides additional information on ARES activity during a surprise snowstorm that hit the Appalachian region January 27 (see "Hams active after surprise storm," The ARRL Letter, Vol 17, No 5). ARES was activated as Scott County--on the Kentucky border--declared a state of emergency because of a heavy snowfall. The storm knocked out power to nearly 164,000 customers in Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. With power outages throughout the county and telephone service disrupted, ARES provided communication for the local Department of Emergency Services to areas inaccessible via telephone or regular radio channels. Via repeater contact with other ARES stations who still had phone service, Flanary was able to alert area radio and TV stations so they could tell listeners and viewers what to do and whom to call if they needed help. "The calls for assistance were overwhelming," he said. "Central dispatch was swamped with calls, and all available law enforcement and fire and rescue personnel were on the road rendering assistance." Flanary says fallen trees made the situation worse by blocking roads. Local ARES handled a call from one Amateur Radio operator in a semi-tractor trailer who'd been involved in an accident that blocked a highway for several hours. "We let him to talk direct to central dispatch via the autopatch," he said. The trucker-ham also reported that someone was breaking into cars abandoned on the highway, and Flanary was able to relay the information to authorities. ARES members in two states (Virginia and Tennessee) and several counties assisted in this emergency. "It was a prime example of ARES members working together across county and state lines," Flanary said. "I am proud to be a member of ARES."

  • YLRL Web site moves: The Young Ladies' Radio League Web site has moved to http://home.earthlink.net/~tenmtryl/ylrl/. The pages will be redesigned and new ones will be added, including information on the upcoming convention, how to join YLRL, and links to other sites. For more information, contact YLRL Editor Margaret Dunn, KC7LXS, at her new e-mail address, tenmtryl@earthlink.net.

  • New batteries now possible for space power: Space power engineers at the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate are reported to be very excited about their successful sodium-sulfur battery tests performed on a November space shuttle mission, according to a press release from the Air Force Material Command at Kirtland AFB in New Mexico. The new battery cell weighs half as much and generates nearly three times the specific power of nickel-hydrogen technology, or 150 watt hours per kilogram of battery weight. The sodium-sulfur costs half as much as nickel-hydrogen and is more reliable due to simpler design.--International Space Report (ISIR) Newsline Digest

  • Announcement in QST reunites high school chums: A QST announcement helped to reunite two high school friends who had lost touch with one another since graduating in 1957 from Shelby High School in Northern Ohio. Eric Morse, KCØARM, now living in Rolla, Missouri, wasn't sure if the 1997 co-winner of the McGan Award--L. James Biddle, WB3DCL--was the "guy who was always soldering something" during their high school days. Biddle's picture, as the award winner, appeared in February QST. Morse made a quick phone call to League HQ, and the assistance of Jennifer Gagne, N1TDY, resulted in an unexpected e-mail message when Biddle checked his e-mail that day. A phone call helped complete the circuit and, with the proper propagation, the two are already thinking skeds. Biddle was licensed in 1956 as KN8DIT. Morse, who recently retired, is a relatively new ham.--L. James Biddle, WB3DCL

  • ACE mission starts: The official start of NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) was February 1. ACE has been in orbit for about 150 days, and all instruments completed their high voltage ramp ups with "some minor glitches," but were said to be working well. ACE may provide as much as an hour's warning of major solar events that can cause geomagnetic storms here on earth, according to project scientists.--International Space Report (ISIR) Newsline Digest