Volume 17, Number 19 (May 8, 1998)

The ARRL Letter Index
ARRL Audio News

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NOTE: Because the Dayton Hamvention begins Friday, May 15, that day's editions of The ARRL Letter and ARRL Audio News will be posted one day early, on Thursday, May 14. The solar/propagation bulletin will be transmitted Friday by W1AW and also will be available on the ARRLWeb page. See you in Dayton!--Rick Lindquist, N1RL

IN THIS EDITION:

+ Available on ARRL Audio News

LAND MOBILE SEEKS SHARED ACCESS TO 70 CM BAND

The ARRL is organizing opposition to a new threat to the 70-cm Amateur Radio band. The Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) has asked the FCC to immediately reallocate 420 to 430 MHz and 440 to 450 MHz from the federal government to the Private Mobile Radio Service (PMRS) on a primary basis. Amateur Radio now enjoys the use of 420 to 450 MHz on a secondary basis, and the 430 to 440 MHz segment is an international allocation. The 70-cm band is the second most popular of the hobby's VHF/UHF allocations, with substantial FM repeater and other operation in the 440 to 450 MHz segment and a variety of uses in the 420 to 430 MHz segment.

The LMCC request, based on "additional spectrum needs of the PMRS community," acknowledges Amateur Radio's use of 420 to 430 and 440 to 450 MHz, and suggests that ham radio applications can remain secondary to PMRS in those segments, but offers no explanation of how sharing could be accomplished. The LMCC says it believes the 430 to 440 MHz subband "is more important to the amateurs for use in emerging technologies such as links with spacecraft and amateur television applications."

The petition also suggests that equipment availability and technology resulting from an expanded PMRS presence on 70 cm would benefit hams "pursuing such applications as compressed video television in the 430-440 MHz band." The LMCC concedes, however, that its "most urgent need" for PMRS is voice and low-speed data applications, not advanced technologies which might come later on.

The petition also notes that PMRS already uses 420 to 430 MHz in three Canadian border cities (Buffalo, Cleveland and Detroit) and a "reduction in military use of this band is foreseen."

The LMCC also seeks allocations at 1390 to 1400 MHz, 1427-1432 MHz, and 1670 to 1675 MHz as well as 85 MHz at 960 to 1215 MHz by 2010.

Comments are due on the LMCC's Petition for Rulemaking, RM-9267, by June 1. Reply comments are due by June 15. The FCC has not indicated if it will accept electronically filed comments in this proceeding.

SOLAR EVENTS DISRUPT RADIO SPECTRUM

Huge solar flares in late April and early May wreaked havoc on the ham bands and other radio spectrum here on Earth. But the aftereffects of the solar storms on April 30, May 2, and May 6--the first major geomagnetic storm in years--continued for several days to keep HF noise levels higher than normal and to disrupt HF skip propagation. "It has been an amazing week for solar flares and geomagnetic disturbances," said propagation reporter Tad Cook, K7VVV. "Suddenly the earth is getting bombarded by protons, and the immense solar wind just doesn't let up." (see Tad's propagation report below).

Paul Harden, NA5N, of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Socorro, New Mexico (pharden@aoc.nrao.edu), says several huge flares--explosions of solar mass on the sun's surface--took place, one on April 30, two on May 2, and three on May 6. As they occur, the flares emit high-energy radiation from X-rays down to HF, producing about 20 minutes of "strong, bursty static" here on Earth. But that's not the end of it.

The explosion throws heavy particles into the sun's atmosphere. Harden explains that many of these particles get trapped in the sun's magnetic field, spiraling along the flux lines and generating RF energy from about 800 MHz downward to--in this case--about 20 MHz. "This is called a Type III storm," Harden said. "The RF sweeps downward in frequency about 20 MHz per second, so if you were in a QSO, this Type III sweep would sound like a big burst of static at regular intervals, almost like ignition noise." A Type III storm lasts about 10 to 20 minutes following a solar disturbance.

The mass of electrons and protons traveling through the sun's magnetic field produces electrical currents which, in turn, generate RF over a wide band of frequencies simultaneously. "This is called continuum radiation or a Type IV storm," Harden said. This produces the wideband noise on Earth--an elevated noise level over much of the HF spectrum. A Type IV storm persists for about an hour, Harden explained. But our troubles are not over here on Earth.

The "shock wave" of electrons and protons continues into space. "If the trajectory is right, it can smack right into Earth, triggering a geomagnetic storm." Harden says not all flares result in geomagnetic storms, however, and the ones on April 30 and May 2 were not a direct hit. This is how flares continue to make themselves known--and heard--for several days. A couple of days or so after a flare, the shock wave hits Earth's magnetic field "just like a big gust of wind," Harden said. "This causes our magnetic field to wiggle and tremble like it was a sphere of Jello." The resulting electric currents generate gobs of wideband noise. Electrons and protons traveling along the magnetic field fall inwards into the ionosphere at the poles and bunch up on the D layer. This makes it dense and difficult for radio signals to pass through to the E and F layers, shutting down skip propagation.

Harden says D-layer absorption can tend to come and go during a geomagnetic storm. "With a large solar disturbance, these electrons and protons keep getting pumped into the earth at the poles for many hours--sometimes for days--keeping this condition active," he said. While HF signals can't get through the D layer, VHF can, sometimes resulting in unusual propagation feats in that part of the spectrum. Many hams reported auroral conditions on VHF during the recent storms. Harden says that in a geomagnetic storm, the lowest usable frequency or LUF--normally about 2 MHz--can rise to 30 MHz. "That would be a blackout, which many experienced," he said.

Harden compared forecasting such solar events to predicting the stock market. It's not yet known if the shock wave from the May 6 flares will hit Earth, but the forecast was calling for major to severe storming by May 8 or 9 and potential HF blackout conditions. Harden says that with the polar caps already charged up, the May 6 events could trigger some aurora in the middle latitudes. Effects tend to linger a bit in higher latitudes.

Cook suggests the recent events are part of Nature's give and take. "We are seeing a big increase in solar activity, but with the increased sunspots comes a downside, with flares disrupting HF communications, often to the point of total blackout." To check the latest solar forecast, see http://www.sel.noaa.gov/forecast.html.

DAYTON 1998--A PREVIEW!

The world's largest Amateur Radio gathering--the Dayton Hamvention--is just days away. May 15, 16, and 17, upwards of 30,000 hams from around the world will descend upon Dayton and Hara Arena. Many go to socialize with friends they usually just get to meet on the air. Others go to attend the forums or special-interest events--like the QRP Amateur Radio Club International's "Four Days in May" event (see http://www.qrparci.org) and the DXers dinner and the Contest Dinner (sponsored by CQ magazine). For many others, the flea market is the thing. But for manufacturers and vendors, Dayton typically is the time to debut new equipment.

Among the innovative offerings you can expect to see this year is Kenwood's VC-H1 visual communicator. Kenwood has miniaturized SSTV into a hand-held package that includes both a color camera and monitor. It's usable with any transceiver (Kenwood's ads show it being used with an FM hand-held), and it's sure to attract lots of attention at Dayton. While you're there, you can twist the knobs on Kenwood's upgraded TS-570G transceiver and its new dual-band mobile, the TM-G707A.

ICOM plans to wow the crowds with its new IC-PW1 kilowatt amp for HF and 6 meters and its new, "really small, dual-band, mini-power radio," the IC-Q7A. ICOM's new IC-2100 2-meter mobile, the T8A triband hand-held, the PCR-1000 PC radio and the new IC-746 HF plus 6-meters transceiver also will be at Dayton for a look-see.

It's expected that the long-awaited SGC-2020 compact HF transceiver will be on display at the Hamvention. SGC announced this week that they have begun to ship the SSB/CW transceiver. It's rated at 20 W output and priced at $625, including the mike. In the same vein, Patcomm plans to display a prototype of its upcoming PC-9000 compact HF plus 6-meter transceiver at the ARW booth. The PC-9000 will sell in the $800 price class, and Patcomm expects it to be available by later this year.

EleCraft will have its K2 HF 160-10 meter SSB/CW transceiver kit--designed by N6KR and WA6HHQ--on display as well (next to the Wilderness booth). This is to be a fully-synthesized, microprocessor-controlled radio with "no wires" construction. The CW-only version will sell for about $600.

Speaking of kits, those who like to roll their own might want to attend the kit building forum Friday afternoon at Hara Arena, conducted by Joe Eisenberg, WA0WRI.

At the Alinco booth, look for more small stuff. Following on the success of the little DJ-C1 and DJ-C4 single-band "credit card" transceivers for 2 meters and 70 cm respectively, Alinco plans to formally debut its new dual-band "credit-card" H-T, the DJ-C5T at Dayton. This 300-mW unit has a speaker and a rubber-ducky type antenna, plus a very attractive price tag. Look for a new 222-MHz H-T from Alinco as well.

Ten-Tec is expected to debut its new PC-based model RX-320 "black box" receiver for HF at Dayton. Also look for Ten-Tec's new Titan II, a single-enclosure, single-tube, full-legal-limit HF linear. It will be available by this fall. The commercial RX-340 DSP short-wave receiver also will be on hand.

ADI/Premier will have its new compact 5-W H-Ts for 6 meters and 222 MHz on display.

Look for the new Ameritron ATR-30 "true legal-limit tuner" for HF at around $600, the Mirage B-320G 200-W 2-meter amp that you can drive with your H-T or your mobile, and a pair of lightweight switching power supplies from MFJ. The folks from Mississippi also will have the updated MFJ-259 SWR Analyzer at Dayton. New features, same price.

Look for new antennas from Butternut and Cushcraft, among others.

Yaesu is not saying what it has in store for Dayton this year. The manufacturer typically announces its new product offerings at a gathering held for vendors on Friday evening of the Hamvention.

The ARRL will have a bit more booth space this year at Dayton. All the better to help visitors get acquainted with the newest edition of the popular TravelPlus for Repeaters CD-ROM. The updated General Class License Manual, with new exam information, will be available. Stop by as well for a demonstration of the new QST View CD-ROM--issues of your favorite ham radio journal going all the way back to 1930.

Some 300 vendors and exhibitors will be open for business indoors, and another 2700 or so are expected to set up shop in the flea market area. For more Hamvention info, see http://www.hamvention.org.

VIRGINIA'S NEW TOWER LAW ATTRACTS ATTENTION

Virginia's newly enacted Amateur Radio antenna law got some prominent ink in The Washington Post on May 4. In an article, "Virginia Hams to Reach New Heights," writer Dan Eggen describes how Virginia's new law "trumps stricter limits imposed by local governments such as Arlington County, which has limited towers to 58 feet in many residential neighborhoods." The new law, which goes into effect July 1, incorporates the essence of the limited federal preemption known as PRB-1. But it also includes the most generous regulatory limit on the height of towers installed in Virginia's rural areas--200 feet. In urban areas, the regulatory minimum is 75 feet. Eggen's article says the legislation "makes Virginia the most permissive state in the nation when it comes to Amateur Radio antennas."

Among those quoted in the article was Bob Ham, KK4IY, of Vinton. The aptly-named Ham was the individual who started the ball rolling, then kept up the momentum, to get the tower law enacted in the face of fierce opposition from local and county government lobbies. Also getting mention was ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD. Imlay predicted that Virginia's law will "inspire similar proposals elsewhere." ARRL SEC and Virginia State RACES officer Frank Mackey, K4EC, of Springfield, said "darn few hams" can afford to put up a 200-foot tower. "All anybody was looking for was an reasonable solution, and I think this is reasonable," he's quoted as saying.

Eggen's article includes a graphic that compares the relative heights of a typical two-story house, a lamp post, a power pole, a high-voltage electric tower and both 75-foot (urban limit) and 200-foot (rural limit) Amateur Radio towers. The 200-foot structure towers above the others. Virginia has more than 16,400 hams.

SOLAR UPDATE

Solar sage Tad Cook, K7VVV, Seattle, Washington, reports: Average sunspot numbers this week were over twice the week before. Solar flux was almost 30% higher, and the average planetary A index was more than double the previous week. The average solar flux for the previous 90 days moved from 104 to 106, and solar flux levels were above this average for six out of seven days this week, indicating an upward trend.

May 2-5 had severe geomagnetic storms, with global A indices of 56, 57, 96 and 36 and K indices as high as 9. The K index, updated every three hours, is an indication of geomagnetic stability. A single unit change in the K index represents a big jump in activity. The A index, updated daily, is based on the K index for the previous 24 hours. A small change in the K index is represented as a big change in the A index.

This past week has had extremely high levels of activity, but actually the worst day (May 4) is not near the top of the historic list of disturbed days. The worst day on record had a planetary A index of 312. That was September 18, 1941. The second worst planetary A index was 293 on November 12, 1960, and the third highest was 285 on March 13, 1989. The last time the planetary A index was 96 was on February 20, 1992, and a few months later on May 10, 1992 the Ap index shot all the way up to 193.

You can see a chart of records of geomagnetic storms since 1932 via ftp from the National Geophysical Data Center on the web at http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov, then select Solar Terrestrial Physics, then Geomagnetic Variations, then Magnetic Data and Indices, then Ap Index, then select FTP, then apstar.lst.

The direct ftp path is ftp://ftp.ngdc.noaa.gov/STP/GEOMAGNETIC_DATA/APSTAR/apstar.lst. An interesting chart that plots a correlation between sunspots and magnetic storms is on the same National Geophysical Data Center site at http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/GEOMAG/image/ap_ssn.gif.

We are seeing a big increase in solar activity, but with the increased sunspots comes a downside, with flares disrupting HF communications, often to the point of total blackout. The absorption of radio waves, rather than the hoped for reflection, has been so extreme that many HF users at first thought their radios were broken. On May 4 conditions were so bad that the author could not hear WWV in the evening on 5 or 10 MHz, only a 1000-mile path.

The predicted solar flux for May 8-10 is 120, 115, and 110, and the planetary A index for these days is forecast at 50, 25 and 15. If there are more solar flares or coronal holes, then the A index will be higher following the activity. Monitor WWV at 18 minutes after the hour, and note the K index, which is updated every three hours.

When the K index is 3 or lower, conditions should have recovered somewhat. The forecast for the next few weeks, which may be in doubt given the sudden appearance of new active regions, shows solar flux declining below 100 by May 15, then rising above 100 about five days later, above 120 by May 25, and above 130 by the end of the month. Predicted disturbed days are May 21-23.

Sunspot numbers for April 30 through May 6 were 74, 89, 110, 123, 117, 105, and 111, with a mean of 104.1. The 10.7-cm flux was 102.5, 113.4, 117, 117.4, 121.1, 133.4, and 130.1, with a mean of 119.3. The estimated planetary A indices were 12, 8, 56, 57, 96, 36, and 8, with a mean of 39.

PAUL G. HEARNE, WB2GHI, SK

An advocate for the disabled, Paul Hearne, WB2GHI, of Arlington, Virginia, died May 3. He was 48. Hearne was president of the Dole Foundation for Employment of People with Disabilities and president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities. As director of the National Council on Disability from 1988 to 1989, Hearne helped to draft and press for passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Hearne was among the first students to attend Long Island's Human Resource Center and the first person with a disability to graduate from Hofstra University Law School. Hearne went on to establish established the first legal services office dedicated to people with disabilities.

In the Amateur Radio world, Hearne was among those who helped to pass message traffic following the Alaska earthquake in 1964. He belonged to the Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club and had a substantial collection of vintage equipment. He also helped to found the Ham Radio Museum in Rockville, Maryland.

Survivors include his mother and his sister. Services were set for Friday, May 8, at Our Lady of Victory, Floral Park, New York. Donations are welcome to AAPD, 1819 H St NW, #330, Washington, DC 20006 or Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation, 804 W Diamond Ave, Suite 210, Gaithersburg, MD 20878.--thanks to William D. Ricker, N1VVX and Justice-for-All newsletter.

In Brief:

  • This weekend on the radio: The ARRL VHF/UHF Spring Sprint for 902/1296/2304 MHz, the FISTS CW Club Spring Sprint, and the Indiana, Nevada, and Oregon QSO parties are on tap this weekend, May 9-10. Just ahead: The ARRL VHF/UHF Spring Sprint for 50 MHz and the EU Spring Sprint (CW) are on deck for May 16.

  • Correction: Our listing of ARRL Foundation scholarship winners (see The ARRL Letter, Vol 17, No 18) contained some incorrect information. Dawn D. Hopkins, KE6AHG, Sunnyvale, California received a General Fund Scholarship. Paul B. Driscoll, N1TBS, Medway, Massachusetts, received a FEMARA Scholarship.

  • Comment deadline extended: The FCC has extended the date for comments on its proceeding to establish the Uniform Licensing System (ULS), Docket 98-20. Comments now are due May 22, and reply comments are due June 8.

  • Second Annual Ham Radio Town Meeting: The Amateur Radio Newsline and Tucson Amateur Packet Radio will present the second annual Ham Radio Open Town Meeting of the Air during the Dayton Hamvention. The event will be broadcast live over the Internet in RealAudio. The forum will be held Sunday, 10 AM to noon, at Hara Arena. Topic for the first session is "Should the current voluntary band plans be made mandatory." ARRL First Vice President Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML, will keynote the session, moderated by Jim Davis, W2JKD. Debaters will be Rich Moseson, W2VU, of CQ VHF magazine, and Greg Jones, WD5IVD, of TAPR. The second session, moderated by Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is "No-Code: Life Beyond Repeaters." Dave Bell, W6AQ, will keynote the session with "An Extra Looks at the Success of No-Code." Presenters include Adam Weyhaupt, N9MEZ; Dave Booth, KC6WFS; and Ronald Ross, KE6JAB. For more information, see http://www.arnewsline.org.

  • Vanity update: Two years after its most recent inception, the vanity program continues to be popular. The FCC in Gettysburg reports it received 718 applications in April, nearly 600 of them filed via the Internet. The FCC has processed vanity applications received through April 16. In the last batch, processed May 6, the FCC granted 117 new call signs. Another 128 applications landed in the work in process (WIPS) stack.

  • RFX Workshop set: ARRL Lab Supervisor Ed Hare, W1RFI, will conduct a workshop at this month's SeaPac convention that defines and clarifies the FCC's new RF exposure rules and explains what's behind them and what is required of hams. The workshop is Friday, May 29, from 1 to 6 PM, at the SeaPac convention in Seaside, Oregon. Registration is $20 for ARRL members and $25 for nonmembers. This includes a course workbook and five hours of practical information. To register, send your check to Dan Miller, K3UFG, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0340 to pay by credit card. Registration deadline is May 20.

  • Submittals sought for Educational Workshop Proceedings: The Proceedings of the ARRL National Educational Workshop is a compendium of articles about Amateur Radio teaching hints for educators and other educational or recruitment topics pertinent to ham radio. If you have a topic you'd like to write about, contact Jean Wolfgang, WB3IOS, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington CT 06111; 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259; e-mail jwolfgang@arrl.org to get your Author's Kit. Articles up to 10 pages (approximately 2500 words) are acceptable. The deadline to submit is June 15. All authors receive a complimentary copy of the Proceedings. Copies are $16 (including shipping/handling); educators can get three of the previous years' editions for $16.

  • 1998 International Microwave Symposium and Exhibition set: The IEEE International Microwave Symposium and Exhibition is June 7-12, in Baltimore, Maryland. It's sponsored by IEEE's Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S), and more than 9000 are expected to attend. Technical activities include workshops, technical sessions, and lunch-time panels. Because of the recent surge of interest in personal communications, IMS has expanded its coverage to include subjects more traditionally of interest to amateurs. These include sessions on low-noise techniques, HF/VHF/UHF power amplifiers and ICs, filters and other passive components, RF measurements, FCC policy issues, and the International Mobile Telecommunications--2000 ITU standard. More than 300 technical papers will be presented. Nearly 400 companies will display. Full conference advance registration starts at $165 for IEEE members. Complete information and a program schedule are available at http://estd-www.nrl.navy.mil/ims/1998ims.html. On-line registration is available at http://www.expo-intl.com/shows/mtt-s/register. All technical events of IMS '98 take place in the Baltimore Convention Center in downtown Baltimore, next to Inner Harbor.--Steven Stitzer, WA3ZWC

  • Second call for papers: The 16th AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting and Space Symposium, October 16-18, Vicksburg Mississippi has issued its second call to authors who wish to present papers at the symposium and that will be printed in the Proceedings. Papers on topics of interest to the Amateur Radio satellite community are welcome. One page abstracts are due by June 1, 1998. Authors will be advised after June 15 if their papers have been accepted or not. Send abstracts to Malcolm Keown, W5XX, 14 Lake Circle Dr, Vicksburg, MS 39180; e-mail w5xx@magnolia.net. Follow up e-mail submittals to ensure delivery, or mail a hard copy. Proceedings will be printed by the ARRL and made available at and after the meeting. For more information, see http://pages.prodigy.com/DXHF93A.--Eddie Pettis, N5JGK