XPost: rec.radio.amateur.misc, rec.radio.amateur.policy, rec.radio.info

********************************************
The ARRL Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League ********************************************

April 14, 2022

Editor <news@arrl.org>

ARRL Home Page <http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Letter Archive <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> IN THIS ISSUE

- Amateur Radio Helps Rescue Injured California Outdoorsman
- ARRL EXPO at Dayton Hamvention May 20 - 22, 2022
- 2022 ARRL Field Day -- Ready, Set, GO!
- ARRL Podcasts Schedule
- Amateur Radio in the News
- In Brief...
- Announcements
- The K7RA Solar Update
- Just Ahead in Radiosport
- Upcoming Section, State, and Division Conventions

AMATEUR RADIO HELPS RESCUE INJURED CALIFORNIA OUTDOORSMAN

A relaxing weekend of camping and fishing did not go as planned last

Friday when a member of a California outdoors club fell and broke
his hip.

The Old Goats Mountain Club (OGMC) had worked their way along an old
Forest Service Road into a rugged, off grid location in the foothills
of the Cascade Mountains. Dave Johnson, KL7DJ, said his friend slipped
and fell while trying reel in a catch. The injury was so severe that
the man could not be moved safely with a trip that could take at least
2 hours over the rough terrain.

Johnson is the only licensed amateur radio operator in the group and
using the California Amateur Linking Radio Association (CARLA) <http://www.carlaradio.net/thesystem/> system, he was able to call for emergency help from this vehicle. Greg Stamback, KD6VEN, located in the
San Francisco Bay area responded and contacted the Shasta County EMS
which dispatched a REACH 5 <https://reachair.com/about-us/history/>
rescue helicopter from their base in Redding, California.

The entire rescue took about 1 hour and before the helicopter landed a
local ambulance company arrived and was able to stabilize the injured
camper. After surgery and 3 days in the hospital he is now at home
recovering.

Johnson's wife Linda, KL7ISN, helped coordinate getting their friend's
vehicle back to Redding. Using pre-planned contact schedules for Friday
and Saturday and, after several makeshift auto-patches, the car was
driven to a nearby highway where two other club members were able to
take the car safely back home.

But the weekend was not over for amateur radio help. While the rest of
the group was making their way out of the mountains on Sunday they were
flagged down by a stranded motorist. His car's gas tank had been
punctured and his cell phone would not work. He was taken to a small
community along the way where there was a landline, and he was able to
call for help from AAA.

Johnson said the motorist was thankful for the help and another member
of the OGMC suggested the motorist might want to consider getting an
amateur radio license.

While waiting for a tow truck to arrive, Johnson and a couple of OGMC
members talked about amateur radio and how it had helped over the last
few days. One member suggested maybe even he should have a transceiver installed in his vehicle. Johnson plans to make sure his friend, and
the motorist, get a complete demonstration.

ARRL EXPO AT DAYTON HAMVENTION

MAY 20 - 22, 2022

The ARRL, in partnership with the Dayton Hamvention®, will offer FREE
EVENTS and forums every day at 2022's' Hamvention beginning on Friday,
May 20.

ARRL Booths

Radio Clubs. Take the Radio Club Health Check!

ARRL Development and ARRL Foundation. Raising resources to extend the
reach of ARRL programs and services beyond membership dues.

ARES® - The ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service® - and featuring ARRL
Ham Aid.

Meet the Authors. Meet ARRL authors and editors who are inspiring
today's radio experimenters, operators and innovators. (see schedule in
the ARRL exhibit area)

ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative. We Want U to help advance ham
radio among college and university students: www.arrl.org/WeWantU <http://www.arrl.org/WeWantU>

ARRL Laboratory: Get Your Handheld Radio Tested!

ARRL Learning Center.

ARRL Teachers Institute. Meet ARRL Education and Technology Program
Instructors and explore the resources available for introducing radio
science and wireless technology to everyone! Find ways to make,
discover, experiment, explore, and build.

ARRL Great Lakes Division - Visit this gathering area for ARRL Field Organization networking, hosted by the ARRL Great Lakes Division and
feature these ARRL Sections: Ohio, Kentucky, and Michigan.

Radiosport and DXCC. DXCC Card Checking, ARRL Contests and Awards,
ARRL's Logbook of The World (LoTW), and QSL Bureau.

ARRL VEC and ARRL Volunteer Monitor Program.

The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) - Meet representatives
from the IARU.

ARRL-sponsored forums will begin on Friday May 20 including the 2022
ARRL Field Day and the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service -- ARES
Forums

Friday May 20, 2022

Friday, 9:15 AM to 10:20 AM (Room 3)


2022 ARRL FIELD DAY -- READY, SET, GO!

ARRL Field Day, ham radio's most popular on-the-air event, is June 25 -
26, 2022. Field Day is fun whether you're participating from the great
outdoors with your radio club, or from your home or backyard. It's also
a terrific opportunity to practice your personal radio communications readiness, and to demonstrate amateur radio to the public. Hear from a
panel of Field Day 'experts' who will cover the educational, operating,
and public relations objectives of a successful and fun Field Day. The
panel includes:

- Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, ARRL Radiosport and Regulatory Information
Manager, who will cover rules recap and what's new.
- Bob Naumann, W5OV, ARRL Director of Operations, who will discuss
Operating tips.
- Scott Roberts, KK4ECR, ARRL Public Relations Committee Member, who
will explain how to get a boost by promoting your Field Day activation.

Friday, 1:15 PM to 2:25 PM (Room 3)

ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service -- ARES Forum
Presenter: Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, ARRL Director of Emergency
Management
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) consists of licensed
amateurs who have volunteered their qualifications and equipment, with
their local ARES leadership, for communications duty in the public
service when disaster strikes. Come learn about opportunities to
volunteer and train, and to hear stories about best-practices, the
importance of building mutually beneficial relationships with local
emergency management services, and the importance of our partnerships
with served agencies. Sponsored by ARRL The National Association for
Amateur Radio®.

A complete list of Hamvention forums can be found at www.hamvention.org <http://hamvention.org/>.

ARRL PODCASTS SCHEDULE

The latest episode of the ARRL On the Air
<https://blubrry.com/arrlontheair/> podcast (Episode 28) features a
discussion of digital multimeters with practical usage examples and
shopping tips.

The latest episode of the ARRL Eclectic Tech <https://blubrry.com/eclectictech/> podcast (Episode 57) features an
interview with Carl Nord, WA1KPD, about experiments he has been doing
with WSPR at very low power levels.

The On the Air and Eclectic Tech podcasts are sponsored by Icom. Both
podcasts are available on iTunes (iOS) and Stitcher (Android) as well
as on Blubrry -- On the Air <https://blubrry.com/arrlontheair/> |
Eclectic Tech <https://blubrry.com/eclectictech/>.

AMATEUR RADIO IN THE NEWS

ARRL Public Information Officers, Coordinators, and many other member-volunteers help keep amateur radio and ARRL in the news <http://www.arrl.org/media-hits>.

- "When all other communication systems fail, El Dorado County's
amateur radio groups step in <https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/wildfire/emergency-communications-amateur-radio-groups/103-9e6544c4-0731-4cad-a75f-e58c80ed42e5>"

/ ABC 10 (California), March 29, 2022.

Share <newsmedia@arrl.org> any amateur radio media hits you spot with
us.

IN BRIEF...

The 2022 AMSAT President's Club Coins Have Arrived

The coins commemorate the 50th anniversary of AMSAT's launch on
October 15, 1972.This year's coin features an image of AMSAT-OSCAR 6.
Join the AMSAT President's Club <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/> today and help
keep amateur radio in space.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Nashua Area Radio Society <http://n1fd.org/bootcamp> will hold
their next online Ham Bootcamp on Saturday May 14 from 10 Am to 6 PM
Eastern time. Ham Bootcamp includes a series of demonstrations and
tutorials designed to help newly licensed Technician-, General-, and
Amateur Extra-class license holders get on the air and use their
amateur radio license. Bootcamp is also a great opportunity for
prospective hams who are interested in seeing what the hobby has to
offer. Ham Bootcamp activities are provided online via a series of
sessions. Bootcamp participants will find all of this material
interesting and fun no matter what their focus or license level.

The online Bootcamp program is available to all licensed and
prospective hams in North America. You can register for the next Ham
Bootcamp session in May 2022 by on the Nashua Area Radio Society
website.

THE K7RA SOLAR UPDATE

Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports:

At 0010 UTC on April 14, the Australian Space Forecast Centre issued

a Geomagnetic Disturbance Warning that stated, "Increased
geomagnetic activity expected due to coronal mass ejection from April
14 - 15 2022."

Sunspot numbers and solar flux declined this reporting week (April 7
-13), although solar activity was not really down, Instead, there were
solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) every day, causing
disruptions to HF radio communication.

There was a new sunspot appearance on April 7, and another on each day
from April 11 - 13. Yet, average daily sunspot numbers declined from
94.6 to 34.4, and average daily solar flux dropped from 135.3 to 103.1.

Average daily planetary A index increased from 14.4 to 15.9. Average
middle latitude A index, measured at a single magnetometer in Virginia,
went from 10.9 last week to 12.6 this week.

The latest solar flux prediction from the US Air Force Space Weather
Squadron, via he National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), shows modest activity for the next month at 100, 103, 105, and
106 on April 14 - 17; 105 on April 18 - 19; 108 and 106 on April 20 -
21; 110 on April 22 - 23; 115 on April 24; 118 on April 25 - 28; 116 on
April 29 through May 6; 112 and 98 on May 7- 8; 95 on May 9 - 11; 98
and 102 on May 12 - 13, and 106 on May 14 - 18.

Predicted planetary A index is 35, 20, 12, 8, and 5 on April 14 - 18;
10, 8, 10, 5, 15, 10, and 8 on April 19 - 25; 5 on April 26 - 28; 18,
12, and 8 on April 29 through May 1; 5 on May 2 - 5; 8, 15, and 12 on
May 6 - 8; 5 on May 9 - 11; 12 and 8 on May 12 - 13; 5 on May 14 - 16,
and 10 on May 17 - 18.

Sunspot numbers for April 7 - 13 were 52, 55, 37, 13, 24, 23, and 37,
with a mean of 34.4. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 111.1, 108.9, 107.1,
101.1, 98.7, 96.2, and 98.7, with a mean of 103.1. Estimated planetary
A indices were 15, 9, 19, 34, 13, 12, and 9, with a mean of 15.9.
Middle latitude A index was 12, 9, 17, 18, 13, 10, and 9, with a mean
of 12.6.

A comprehensive K7RA Solar Update is posted Fridays on the ARRL
website. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit <http://arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals> the ARRL Technical
Information Service, read
<http://arrl.org/the-sun-the-earth-the-ionosphere> "What the Numbers
Mean...," and check out <http://k9la.us/> the Propagation Page of Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA.

A propagation bulletin archive <http://arrl.org/w1aw-bulletins-archive-propagation> is available. For customizable propagation charts, visit the VOACAP Online for Ham Radio <https://www.voacap.com/hf/> website.

Share <k7ra@arrl.net> your reports and observations.

A weekly, full report is posted on ARRL News
<http://www.arrl.org/news>.

JUST AHEAD IN RADIOSPORT

- April 15 -- Holyland DX Contest (CW, phone, digital)
- April 16 -- ES Open HF Championship (CW, phone)
- April 16 -- Worked All Provinces of China (CW, phone)
- April 16 -- YU DX Contest (CW, phone)
- April 16 -- CQMM DX Contest (CW)
- April 16 -- Michigan QSO Party (CW, phone)
- April 16 -- EA-QRP CW Contest (CW)
- April 16 -- Feld Hell Sprint (digital)
- April 16 -- Ontario QSO Party (CW, phone)
- April 17 -- Dutch PACCdigi Contest (digital)
- April 17 -- Quebec QSO Party (CW)
- April 17 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest (CW)
- April 18 -- DARC Easter Contest (CW, phone)
- April 19 -- 222 MHz Spring Sprint (CW, phone, digital)
- April 19 -- Walk for the Bacon Contest (CW)
- April 23 -- International Spring Contest (digital)
- April 23 -- QRP to the Field (CW, phone)

Visit the ARRL Contest Calendar <http://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar>
for more events and information.

UPCOMING SECTION, STATE, AND DIVISION CONVENTIONS

April 16 -- ARRL Roanoke Division Convention
<https://www.rarsfest.org/> (Raleigh Hamfest), Raleigh, North Carolina

April 23 -- ARRL Delaware State Convention <http://www.radioelectronicsexpo.com/> (Delmarva Amateur Radio and
Electronics Expo), Georgetown, Delaware

May 1 -- ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania Convention
<http://www.k3dn.org/hamfest/> (Warminster Amateur Radio Club Hamfest), Bristol, Pennsylvania

May 7 -- ARRL Indiana State Convention <http://www.ncihamfest.com/>
(North Central Indiana Hamfest), Peru, Indiana

May 14 -- ARRL Nebraska State Convention
<http://www.lincolnhamfest.org/>, Lincoln, Nebraska

May 20 - 22 -- Dayton Hamvention <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/dayton-hamvention-7>®, Xenia, Ohio, and
featuring ARRL EXPO <http://www.arrl.org/expo>

Search the ARRL Hamfest and Convention Database
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests> 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.

ARRL -- Your One-Stop Resource for
Amateur Radio News and Information

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QEX, and NCJ.

- Listen to ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrl-audio-news>,
available every Friday.

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group. The group is dedicated to discussions about amateur radio as it
concerns blind hams, plus related topics including ham radio use of
adaptive technology.

Subscribe to...

- NCJ -- National Contest Journal <http://www.ncjweb.com/>. Published bimonthly, features articles by top contesters, letters, hints,
statistics, scores, NA Sprint, and QSO parties.

- QEX -- A Forum for Communications Experimenters
<http://www.arrl.org/qex>. Published bimonthly, features technical
articles, construction projects, columns, and other items of interest
to radio amateurs and communications professionals.

Free of charge to ARRL members...

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