Subj : The Weekly ARRL Letter
To : All
From : Sean Dennis
Date : Fri Apr 03 2020 09:05 am
The ARRL Letter
April 2, 2020
* FCC Grants Temporary Emergency Authority to WISPs Operating in 5.8
GHz Band
* HamSCI 2020 Workshop Successfully Reworked as a Virtual Event
* ARRL Field Day 2020 -- A Time to apt
* ARRL Podcasts Schedule
* Canceled Ohio ARES State Conference Morphs into Statewide
Communication Exercise
* Contest Entry Features Multiple Operator Locations and Remote
Transmitter-Receiver Site
* To All ARRL Members and ARRL VEC Accredited Volunteer Examiners
* The K7RA Solar Update
* Just Ahead in Radiosport
* Western Pennsylvania ARES Group Conducts District-Wide Simplex
Drill
* COVID-19 Affects Space Station Crew Transition
* In Brief...
* Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
FCC Grants Temporary Emergency Authority to WISPs Operating in 5.8 GHz
Band
The FCC has granted temporary permission to wireless internet service
providers (WISPs) in rural portions of 29 states and the US Virgin
Islands to operate in the 5.8 GHz band (5.850 - 5.895 GHz). The
authorization, to help meet the temporary surge in demand for
residential fixed broadband services during the COVID-19 pandemic, was
one of multiple waivers issued in the past week that grant temporary
access to a variety of bands in response to the uptick in residential
broadband demand.
The 5.8 GHz grants were effective on March 26. Each grant is for 60
days, provided individual WISPs file STA applications within 10 days of
March 26. Amateur radio shares this spectrum on a secondary basis with
Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) systems and industrial,
scientific, and medical (ISM) applications, and that status remains
unchanged.
"[E]ach applicant is independently responsible for complying with the
conditions of its grant," the FCC's Keith D. Harper, Associate Chief of
the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau's Mobility Division, wrote in
granting the request. "Applicants are advised that this includes
ensuring proper protection of incumbents in the 5.8 GHz band." The
Commission noted that WISPs are responsible for ensuring that they do
not cause interference to existing licensees.
According to the request, each of the WISPs provides fixed wireless
broadband service in rural areas, primarily relying on unlicensed
spectrum for last-mile connections to end users. "Many of the WISPs'
customers have no other alternative to terrestrial broadband services,"
the request said.
The Commission's emergency grant explicitly requires that the WISP
operations be conducted on a non-interference basis. Read more.
HamSCI 2020 Workshop Successfully Reworked as a Virtual Event
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the March 20 - 21 HamSCI Workshop
went on as scheduled, moving to a free, all-digital webinar workshop.
The theme of the 2020 workshop was "The Auroral Connection -- How does
the aurora affect amateur radio, and what can we learn about the aurora
from radio techniques?" Organizer and
Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF,
moderated the online
conference.
University of Scranton professor Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, told ARRL
that he was quite happy with the outcome, after the in-person workshop
had to be called off as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
"In some ways, it was good for us," Frissell said. "We actually got
many more participants than had we just held it in person."
Expectations for the live event were for about 100 participants.
Online, Zoom -- the webinar platform used for the workshop -- reported
290 unique logins from 24 countries. After cancellation of the
in-person workshop, Frissell had to scramble to make the virtual event
a reality.
"I had the webinar running in practice mode for about 2 or 3 days
before the workshop, and I let presenters log in whenever they wanted
to test things out," Frissell said.
Another hurdle to overcome was figuring out how to convert poster
presentations to electronic format. "The Aurorasaurus group really
helped out with that," Frissell said, noting that Aurorasaurus Project
manager Laura Brandt came up with a method for presenting the posters
electronically and made sure the poster session ran smoothly.
In a blog post, Brandt called the workshop "the first of its kind in
heliophysics." The Aurorasaurus Project theme is "Reporting Auroras
from the Ground Up."
"The annual HamSCI Workshop provided the perfect opportunity to
introduce citizen scientists and scientists from the aurora and ham
radio communities and build connections for future collaboration,"
Phil Erickson, W1PJE,
of MIT's Haystack
Observatory was among
the presenters and
participants.
Brandt said. "Both aurora and ham radio citizen scientists work closely
with the Earth's atmosphere and ionosphere, but while aurora folks tend
to think about how what we see reveals aspects of the ionosphere, ham
radio operators tend to think about what radio waves can tell us about
the ionosphere."
Oral presentations were delivered as originally scheduled and in the
same format as if they were being delivered at the in-person workshop.
The workshop served as a team meeting for the HamSCI Personal Space
Weather Station project that's funded by a National Science Foundation
(NSF) grant to Frissell as its principal investigator. The project
seeks to harness the power of a network of radio amateurs to better
understand and measure the effects of weather in the upper levels of
Earth's atmosphere.
Workshop presentations are being archived. Read more.
ARRL Field Day 2020 -- A Time to apt
Many individuals and groups organizing events for ARRL Field Day 2020
have been contacting ARRL for guidance on how to adapt their planned
activities in this unprecedented time of social distancing and
uncertainty.
"Due to the unique situation presented this year, this can be an
opportunity for you, your club, or your group to try something new,"
ARRL Contest Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE, said. "Field Day isn't about
doing things the same way year after year. Use this year to develop and
employ a new approach that is in line with the current circumstances."
Social distancing and state and local requirements very likely will
impact just how -- and even whether -- you are able to participate in
Field Day this year. ARRL continues monitoring the coronavirus
situation, paying close attention to information and guidance offered
by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If social
distancing means that Class A with a 30-member team set up in a city
park won't work this year, then it's time for a Plan B. Part of the
Field Day concept has always been adapting your operation to the
situation at hand. At its heart, Field Day is an emergency
communication demonstration. Field Day rules are flexible enough to
allow individuals and groups to adjust their participation and
strategies in a way that still addresses their needs while being fun.
Some possibilities include:
* Encouraging club members to operate from their home stations on
emergency power (Class E).
* Using the club's repeater as a means for individual participants to
keep in touch during the event.
* Setting up a portable station in the backyard with a temporary
antenna for family members interested in operating Field Day, who
are now unable to participate as part of a larger group.
One big impact this year will be a decline in public visibility and any
interaction with the visitors. Prudence may dictate dispensing with the
ham radio PR table to attract passersby, should you set up in a more
public location. It's okay not to score all the bonus points you may
have attempted in the past. Local and served agency officials may be
unwilling to visit, which is understandable under the circumstances. Do
be sure to reach out to them as part of your preparations and remind
them that you look forward to continuing your working relationship with
them in the future.
The impact will differ from place to place, so ARRL recommends that all
amateur radio clubs participating in Field Day stay in regular contact
with local or state public health officials for their advice and
guidance on hosting Field Day activities.
"With any emergency preparedness exercise, it's not about adapting the
situation to your operation; it's about adapting your operation to the
situation that presents itself," Bourque said. "Try something
different." Read more. -- Thanks to Paul Bourque, N1SFE, and Dan
Henderson, N1ND
ARRL Podcasts Schedule
The latest (March 12) episode of the On the Air podcast focuses on how
to calculate feed line loss, real-world examples of how digital and
analog FM transceivers handle weak signals, and an interview with Rob
Macedo, KD1CY, Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
and SKYWARN Coordinator for the National Weather Service Boston/Norton
office. Rob offers information about how hams can get involved with
SKYWARN.
The latest episode of the Eclectic Tech podcast (Episode 4) includes an
interview with Eric Knight, KB1EHE, updating the RF-based Alzheimer's
therapy featured in QST, and an interview with Robert Dixon, W8ERD,
about the "Wow!" signal and SETI. Dixon was the Big Ear project
director when the Wow! signal was received.
Both podcasts are available on iTunes (iOS) and Stitcher (Android), as
well as on Blubrry -- On the Air | Eclectic Tech.
Canceled Ohio ARES State Conference Morphs into Statewide Communication
Exercise
Ohio Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) canceled the Ohio ARES
State Conference set for April 4 due to the coronavirus pandemic and
repurposed the date for a statewide communication exercise, with an
emphasis on communicating from home.
"Ohio has a high-profile station at the state Emergency Operations
Center (EOC), with regular weekly EOC nets," ARES Section Emergency
Coordinator Stan Broadway, N8BHL, said. "But with the national emphasis
on staying home, we turned the vacated day into a 2-hour series of nets
designed to have amateur operators check in using their home stations."
The exercise was the brainchild of Assistant SEC Tim Price, K8WFL, who
suggested it would be a great way to showcase amateur radio's
capabilities for state and community leaders. The Ohio HF Emergency Net
will take check-ins on 40 and 80 meters (SSB), with the Ohio Digital
Emergency Net (OHDEN) operating on 80 meters. Then, around 1 PM ET, a
linked digital radio system will be brought into play, using DMR's Ohio
talk group linked to the Fusion "Ohio Link" group. Broadway said
stations will simply check in; no traffic will be handled. "It's just
designed to prove we can communicate from home, while locked down, and
still get the job done," he told ARRL.
"This is the same network topology used for the Ohio Watch Desk
Project, providing statewide reporting during such events as the
Memorial Day tornado outbreak last spring," Broadway said. The reports
are fed directly to the watch desk at Ohio's state EOC, to enhance
situational awareness for state emergency managers. "We plan to video
an operator on the State House steps, talking statewide using a small
handheld," Broadway said. "This demonstration can be used to enhance
our discussion of amateur radio with local and state officials."
Broadway said HF can be problematic most of the time if storms are
moving across, producing static, and digital modes fill in the gap.
Read more. -- Thanks to Stan Broadway, N8BHL
Contest Entry Features Multiple Operator Locations and Remote
Transmitter-Receiver Site
Restrictions on gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic recently
prompted a novel approach to multioperator/multi-transmitter operation.
The WW2DX entry in the CQ World Wide WPX SSB Contest over the March 28
- 29 weekend featured 10 operators, each at separate locations around
the US and in Europe, all operating via a
Connor Black, W4IPC.
single remote site on the coast of eastern Maine. WW2DX entered in the
Multioperator, High Power category, racking up a claimed score of
32,026,176 points. NR6O operated from the west coast with a smaller
complement of remote operators in the Multioperator, High Power
category.
"It was so much fun to work this contest," one of the WW2DX operators,
17-year-old Connor Black, W4IPC, said. "This was the most fun I've had
in a contest ever. We had no equipment failures and pulled off,
hopefully, a new US record."
In soapbox comments on the 3830scores.com website, Lee Imber, WW2DX,
expressed his belief that this year's contest would be viewed as a
turning point in multioperator contesting. Participants had nothing but
a web browser and a USB headset to operate, with the closest team
partner some 625 miles away. "No radio, no hardware, no traveling, and
no external logger," he noted.
What the WW2DX operators saw.
Team members brainstormed various configurations. Rock Schrock, WW1X,
custom-engineered the requisite software. In addition to Black, the
team included a few other young -- but experienced -- contesters:
13-year-old Charles Hoppe, AA4LS; 17-year-old Mason Matrazzo, KM4SII,
and 21-year-old Tucker McGuire, W4FS. The more senior team members were
K1LZ, K3JO, W1ADI, W2RE, WW1X, and WW2DX.
"We also used Slack and created a channel for the team to stay
connected over the weekend, and this ended up being half the fun,"
Imber said. Another feature included the "multi bell," which would
chime whenever a new multiplier was logged. He said it was "awesome
having seasoned pro operators sharing and mentoring these young
contesters."
"The world is experiencing something on a whole new level," he
observed. Read more.
To All ARRL Members and ARRL VEC Accredited Volunteer Examiners
We know many examiners have canceled amateur radio license exam
sessions to meet the requirements and recommendations of national and
local government and of health officials. The health and safety of
examinees and our Volunteer Examiners (VEs) is first and foremost in
any decision-making process. The ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator
(VEC) does not offer video-supervised online amateur radio licensing
exams at the present time. We are aware, however, that some VE teams
are exploring alternative formats on a local basis. Please use ARRL's
License Exam Search to find scheduled exam sessions in your area and
verify with the local exam team that the session is still being held.
The ARRL VEC is continuing to process license examination materials
from VEs who have completed exam sessions, although some delays may
occur under the circumstances. The ARRL VEC electronically forwards all
required data to the FCC for qualified examinees.
We understand that some examination candidates are continuing their
studies toward new amateur radio licenses and license upgrades. We also
know some will be frustrated that, at this time, the ARRL VEC does not
offer online licensing exams. Amateur radio is not alone in this
challenge, though.
While each of us continues to respond to the immediate evolving crisis,
we also know that we must keep an eye on the future. Throughout its
decades of service, the VEC system has served the FCC as a shining
example of the successes of a privatized system. The ARRL VEC and our
VEs are recognized throughout the Amateur Radio Service for our
integrity and efficiency. apting our all-volunteer license
examination administration will be a challenge, but it's a challenge we
are committed to undertake in order to advance the program and improve
service.
While we face unprecedented challenges, opportunities also await. We
are grateful to support radio amateurs in our common pursuit of skill,
service, and discovery. ARRL and the ARRL VEC remain steadfast in
serving the amateur radio community. We will provide updates as they
become available.
The K7RA Solar Update
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: A new sunspot appeared on the last
day in March and the first day in April, with daily sunspot numbers of
12 and 13, respectively. Prior to this, no sunspots had been seen since
earlier in March, when daily sunspot numbers were 13 and 12, on March 8
- 9.
Average daily solar flux this week (March 26 - April 1) declined from
71.1 to 69.4. Average daily geomagnetic indicators were identical to
the previous week, with planetary A index at 7.7 and middle latitude A
index at 5.9.
Predicted solar flux for the next 45 days is 70 on April 2 - 7; 69, 68,
and 68 on April 8 - 10; 70 on April 11 - 22; 68 on April 23 - May 7,
and 70 on May 8 - 16.
Predicted planetary A index is 8 on April 2 - 3; 5 on April 4 - 14; 10
on April 15; 8 on April 16 - 19; 5 on April 20 - 25; 12 on April 26 -
27; 8 on April 28 - 29; 5 on April 30 - May 11; 10 on May 12, and 8 on
May 13 - 16.
Sunspot numbers for March 26 - April 1 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 12, and 13,
with a mean of 0. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 70.2, 69.4, 69.2, 68.8,
69.3, 69.9, and 69.2, with a mean of 71.1. Estimated planetary A
indices were 5, 5, 5, 7, 11, 15, and 6, with a mean of 7.7. Middle
latitude A index was 5, 4, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 4, with a mean of 5.9.
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 K9LA's Propagation Page.
A propagation bulletin archive is available. Monthly charts offer
propagation projections between the US and a dozen DX locations.
Share your reports and observations.
Just Ahead in Radiosport
* April 4 -- LZ Open 40-Meter Sprint Contest (CW)
* April 4 - 5 -- PODXS 070 Club PSK 31 Flavors Contest
* April 4 - 5 -- Nebraska QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
* April 4 - 5 -- Louisiana QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
* April 4 - 5 -- Mississippi QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
* April 4 - 5 -- Missouri QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)
* April 4 - 5 -- Florida State Parks on the Air (CW, phone, digital)
* April 4 - 5 -- SP DX Contest (CW, phone)
* April 4 - 5 -- EA RTTY Contest
* April 5 -- North American SSB Sprint
* April 5 -- RSGB RoLo SSB
* April 6 - 12 -- All IQRP Quarterly Marathon (CW, phone, digital)
* April 6 -- RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship, CW
* April 6 -- 144 MHz Spring Sprint (CW, phone)
* April 7 -- ARS Spartan Sprint (CW)
See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. For in-depth
reporting on amateur radio contesting, subscribe to The ARRL Contest
Update via your ARRL member profile email preferences.
Western Pennsylvania ARES Group Conducts District-Wide Simplex Drill
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) Western Pennsylvania Southwest
District, which includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette,
Greene, Indiana, Washington, and Westmoreland counties, conducted a
district-wide simplex practice drill on March 21. The exercise lasted
about 4 hours, with all participants meeting on their local ARES county
repeaters. Each county Emergency Coordinator served as net control
stations, and all stations kept logs, which were to be sent to their
local Emergency Coordinator for forwarding to the District Emergency
Coordinator.
All stations were asked to stay on their county simplex frequency for
at least 15 minutes before going to other county simplex frequencies.
After checking in on the repeater, all stations switched to their
county-assigned simplex frequencies, to test the capabilities of
operators and stations and their simplex operating range. In all, 162
operators participated in the drill.
"We have received so many great comments about the drill that I plan on
running it again sometime after the Simulated Emergency Test (SET)
drill on April 4," Western Pennsylvania Southwest District Emergency
Coordinator Terry Nemitz, KA3UTD, said. "I also heard a lot of comments
about operators wanting to improve their stations. A good thing."
COVID-19 Affects Space Station Crew Transition
International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 62 crew is readying its
Soyuz MS-15 vehicle for an April 17 departure back to Earth. Expedition
62 members are NASA Flight Engineer Jessica Meir; Flight Engineer
Andrew Morgan, KI5AAA, and Commander Oleg Skripochka, RA0LDJ. The
Expedition 63 crew members who are to replace them are nearing an April
9 launch aboard the Soyuz MS-16 vehicle.
NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly
Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner arrived this week at the Baikonur Cosmodrome
in Kazakhstan for final training. The
(L - R) NASA astronaut Chris
Cassidy, KF5KDR, Russian Soyuz
commander Anatoly Ivanishin, and
flight engineer Ivan Vagner during
training in Star City, Russia.
[Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut
Training Center, photo]
Expedition 63 trio is scheduled to live aboard the station for a little
longer than 6 months, with Cassidy as commander. Because of travel
limitations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cassidy's family will watch
from home when he blasts off on April 9. Launch day at Baikonur is
usually a festive affair.
"But it'll be completely quiet," Cassidy said in a Spaceflight Now
satellite interview from Star City, Russia. "There won't be anybody
there. A NASA protocol has long been in place to prevent astronauts
from carrying disease microbes into space." NASA said it "will continue
to evaluate and augment this plan, in coordination with its
international and commercial partners," if needed.
Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos has shut down all media
activity surrounding the Soyuz launch, barring journalists from
covering the mission in person. Russia will still livestream the
launch; NASA typically carries all of its crewed launches online via
its NASA TV channel.
SpaceX will launch its Crew Dragon capsule with NASA astronauts Bob
Behnken, KE5GGX, and Doug Hurley aboard the spacecraft, "no earlier
than mid-to-late May," NASA said, marking the first crew launch from
the US since 2011. This is the final flight test of the system before
SpaceX is certified to carry out operational crew flights to and from
the ISS for NASA.
Pending the outcome of the demonstration test, SpaceX hopes to send its
first operational crew of astronauts to the ISS aboard its Crew Dragon
capsule later this year. Read more. -- Thanks to NASA, AMSAT News
Service
In Brief...
Former ARRL DXCC Manager Don Search, W3AZD, of Davie, Florida, died on
March 26. Search was widely known throughout the DXing community and
was a fixture at many hamfests and conventions, including the Dayton
Hamvention^(R), where he checked cards for years. An ARRL Life Member,
he was 80. A skillful DXer, Search was on the DXCC Honor Roll with 378
entities confirmed on phone. He and his partner Hope Smith, WB3ANE,
were early members of the National Capitol DX Association (NCDXA) --
traveling from Florida to attend monthly meetings as recently as 2018.
He also belonged to the Potomac Valley Radio Club (PVRC). According to
reports, Search had struggled with health issues related to a fall last
December in which he struck his head. Search worked as an electronics
technician in Maryland before serving for about 15 years as ARRL DXCC
Manager from the late 1970s until the early 1990s.
USA Amateur Radio Direction Finding Championships Canceled The ARRL
ARDF Committee has made the difficult decision to cancel the 20th USA
ARDF Championships, which were set to be held this summer. Contact the
ARRL ARDF Committee for more information on ARDF and on attending,
participating in, or hosting ARDF competitions. ARDF participants do
not need an amateur radio license. For more information on Amateur
Radio Direction Finding, visit the Homing In website of Joe Moell,
K0OV. -- Thanks to USA ARDF Co-Coordinator Charles Scharlau, NZ0I
International Marconi Day (IMD) ham radio operating event has been
canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The annual 24-hour
amateur radio event celebrates the birth of Marconi on April 25, 1874.
Sponsored by the Cornish Radio Amateur Club, which operates as GB4IMD,
International Marconi Day features participating stations operating at
sites that have a personal connection to Marconi.
Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions
Note: Many conventions and hamfests have been canceled or postponed due
to the coronavirus pandemic. Check the calendar of canceled events on
the ARRL website.
* May 9 - MicroHAMS Digital Conference 2020, Woodinville, Washington
* June 6 -- Georgia State Convention, Marietta, Georgia
* June 6 - 7 -- Northwestern Division Convention, Seaside, Oregon
* June 6 - 7 -- Western Pennsylvania Section Convention, Prospect,
Pennsylvania
* June 12 - 13 -- Ham-Com, Plano, Texas
* June 20 -- Tennessee State Convention, Knoxville, Tennessee
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