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

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

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

April 1, 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/>

Register to Log in to ARRL.ORG

Follow these steps to sign in and access ARRL features and services: Go
to arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org/> and click "Login" which will
redirect you to "Register" (please note, even if you have an ARRL
account you will need to register).

To register, enter the main e-mail address we have on file and click
"Next." You will be prompted to create a user name and new password.
Your password must contain at least eight characters, a number, an
uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, and a non-alphanumeric character.

If you receive an e-mail verification one-time password request
instead, you will receive an e-mail from Personify Identity Provider.
Enter the one-time password, which will default your user name to the
e-mail you used and prompt you to enter a new password twice. Click
"Next."

This will log you in to arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org/>, which now
allows you to renew, donate, and shop all in one transaction.

If you need help, we're here for you. Call us Monday - Thursday from 8
am - 7 pm (ET) and on Friday from 8 am - 5 pm (ET) or e-mail us at membership@arrl.org.

IN THIS EDITION . . .

IN THIS ISSUE

- New FCC Application Fee Will Not Apply to Amateur Radio License
Upgrades
- WSPR Beacon on the Air from Antarctica
- UK Amateurs Exploring 40 MHz
- ND4MR Receives Instructor of the Year Award
- ARRL Podcasts Schedule
- The K7RA Solar Update
- In Brief...
- Upcoming Section, State, and Division Conventions <>
- Just Ahead in Radiosport

NEW FCC APPLICATION FEE WILL NOT APPLY TO AMATEUR RADIO LICENSE

UPGRADES

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) staff has clarified in
response to an ARRL request that the new $35 application fee will not
apply to most license modifications, including those to upgrade
anamateur radio licensee's operator class and changes to club station
trustees. The FCC staff explained that the new fees will apply only to applications for a new license, renewal, rule waiver, or a new vanity
call sign. As previously announced, the new fees take effect on April
19, 2022.

"We are pleased that the FCC will not charge licensees the FCC
application fee for license upgrade applications," said ARRL Volunteer
Examiner Coordinator (VEC) Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM. "While
applicants for a new license will need to pay the $35 FCC application
fee, there will be no FCC charge for future upgrades and administrative updates, such as a change of mailing or email address. Most current
licensees, therefore, will not be charged the new FCC application fee
until they renew their license or apply for a new vanity call sign."

ARRL previously reported <http://www.arrl.org/news/new-amateur-radio-license-applications-fee-to-become-effective-april-19-2022>

that the new $35 application fee for amateur radio licenses will become effective on April 19, 2022. Further information and instructions about
the FCC Application Fee are available from the ARRL VEC at www.arrl.org/fcc-application-fee
<http://www.arrl.org/fcc-application-fee>.

WSPR BEACON ON THE AIR FROM ANTARCTICA

AMSAT Argentina has assembled and delivered a permanent WSPR
(Weak-Signal Propagation Reporter) beacon system to the Argentine
research station at Esperanza Base on the Antarctic Peninsula. Using
the call sign LU1ZV, the 200 mW beacon is presently active on 40, 20,
15, and 10 meters at 7.0386, 14.0956, 21.0946, and 28.1246 MHz,
respectively, and reception has been reported by stations throughout
the world.

WSPR is a digital communications protocol designed for reception at
very weak-signal levels. It is part of the WSJT-X <https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html> software suite.
You can use WSJT-X to receive the LU1ZV beacon directly, or you can see
reports from other stations online at www.wsprnet.org
<http://www.wsprnet.org>. [Thanks to the AMSAT News Service]

UK AMATEURS EXPLORING 40 MHZ

John Desmond, EI7GL, reports that Ofcom <https://www.ofcom.org.uk/home>
-- the communications regulator in the United Kingdom -- has granted
temporary Innovation and Research licenses to several UK amateurs to
transmit in the 40 MHz band.

On his blog, John stated that Roger Lapthorn, G3XBM, in the east of
England will be operating beginning on April 2 with a license that is
valid for 1 year. In a statement, Roger said, "After a very long wait,
Ofcom has approved my 8-meter permit. It permits me to use 40 to 42 MHz
with digital modes (including CW) at 5 W ERP maximum. I expect to erect
a wire dipole that will be directed towards Europe. I expect to be
mostly on FT8 around 40.676 MHz with a precise frequency done in
liaison with others. My hope is all 8-meter FT8 stations can be
monitored with one USB dial setting but spaced out. Five watts should
certainly cover Europe when sporadic E is in play. I will try some
local CW crossband QSOs but hope to be on FT8 24/7." [Thanks to
Southgate ARC News]

ND4MR RECEIVES INSTRUCTOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

The 2021 ARRL Herb S. Brier Award for Instructor of The Year was given
to recipient Dave Ritter, ND4MR, during the ARRL forum at the
Charlotte, North Carolina Hamfest on Saturday, March 12. Continuously
licensed since age 14, Dave is retired and living in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

ARRL sponsors this award in conjunction with the Lake County Indiana
Amateur Radio Club in Brier's memory to recognize superior Amateur
Radio instruction and recruitment. An ARRL Member for nearly 40 years,
Ritter is an ARRL Registered Instructor and a full-time faculty member
at Wilkes Community College, where he's been the lead -- and sole --
Technician licensing course instructor since 2010.

ARRL PODCASTS SCHEDULE

The latest episode of the On the Air
<https://blubrry.com/arrlontheair/> podcast (Episode 26) features an
audio tour of the 10-meter band.

The latest edition (Episode 56) of the Eclectic Tech <https://blubrry.com/eclectictech/> podcast features a conversation
with Steve Allen, KC1SA, about circuit simulation software.

The On the Air and Eclectic Tech podcasts are sponsored by Icom. Both
podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts <https://www.apple.com/apple-podcasts/> (iOS) and Stitcher <https://www.stitcher.com/> (Android).

THE K7RA SOLAR UPDATE

Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports:

Many solar flares and CMEs occurred over the reporting week (March 24 -
30) but with glancing blows and near misses it wasn't reflected in the geomagnetic indicators. The Planetary A index reached a high for the
week of 19 on March 27. Average daily planetary A index rose by a
modest amount from 6.3 to 10.

Average daily sunspot number rose from 33.4 to 80.1, while solar flux
went from 99.9 to 132.7.

Predicted solar flux is forecast to be 150 on March 31 and April 1,
then 145, 130, 125, 120, and 115 on April 2 - 6, 118 on April 7 - 9,
then 115 and 110 on April 10 - 11, 105 on April 12 - 14, 108 on April
15, 105 on April 16 - 19, 110 on April 20 - 21, 115 on April 22, 125 on
April 23 - 26, then 123, 118 and 118 on April 27 - 29, and 108 on April
30 through May 2.

On Wednesday, March 30, local news in Seattle was telling viewers that
if only we had clear skies, we could see aurora tonight or tomorrow.
This is likely with the predicted Planetary A index at 58 and 32 on
March 31 and April 1, then 10, 12 and 10 on April 2 - 4, 8 on April 5 -
6, then 5 and quieter conditions on April 7 - 19, 10 on April 20 - 21,
then 5, 15, and 10 on April 22 - 24, 5 on April 25 - 29, and 12, and 8
on April 30 and May 1.

We've been seeing more activity on 10 meters over the past week. Check
it out.

Sunspot numbers for March 24 - 30, 2022, were 44, 50, 48, 97, 125, 124,
and 73, with a mean of 80.1. 10.7-centimeter flux was 112, 112, 119,
130, 156, 149, and 151, with a mean of 132.7. Estimated Planetary A
indices were 9, 10, 7, 18, 10, 8, and 8, with a mean of 10. Middle
latitude A index was 6, 3, 6, 11, 4, 7, and 6, with a mean of 8.1

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.

IN BRIEF...

After careful deliberation, the SP DX Contest Committee, together with
Polish Amateur Radio Union (PZK) and the SP DX Club, has decided to
cancel the 2022 SP DX Contest. Since the start of the war in Ukraine,
Poland has taken in more than 2 million refugees. Polish radio amateurs
offer Ukrainian refugees accommodation in their homes and their help
and services in any way they can. Under these exceptional
circumstances, the organizers have decided that this year's SP DX
Contest will be canceled. [Thanks to Southgate ARC]

Amateur radio researchers from NASA's Ham Radio Science Citizen
Investigation (HamSCI <https://hamsci.org/>) have observed giant waves
in the upper atmosphere known as Large-Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances, or LSTIDs, for the first time. The observational results
appear to demonstrate the effects of LSTIDs on radio communications, as
well as add to the understanding about how the wave interface. The
results were published in the American Geophysical Union journal
Geophysical Research Letters <https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19448007>.

UPCOMING SECTION, STATE, AND DIVISION CONVENTIONS <>

- April 1 - 2 -- ARRL Maine State Convention <http://w1npp.org/>,
Lewiston, Maine
- April 8 - 9 -- ARRL Oklahoma State Convention <http://www.greencountryhamfest.org/index.php> (Green Country Hamfest
2022), Claremore, Oklahoma
- 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

Search the ARRL Hamfest and Convention Database
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests> to find events in your area.

JUST AHEAD IN RADIOSPORT

- April 2-3 - PODXS 070 Club PSK 31 Flavors Contest
- April 2-3 - Louisiana QSO Party
- April 2-3 -- Missouri QSO Party
- April 5 - ARS Spartan Sprint
- April 9 - QRP ARCI Spring QSO Party
- April 9-10 - JIDX CW Contest
- April 9-10 - SKCC Weekend Sprintathon
- April 9-10 - IG-RY Worldwide RTTY Contest
- April 9-10 - New Mexico QSO Party
- April 9-10 -- Nebraska QSO Party
- April 9-10 -- Georgia QSO Party
- April 9-10 - North Dakota QSO Party
- April 10 - Hungarian Straight Key Contest
- April 10 - ARRL Rookie Roundup, SSB

Search the ARRL Contest Calendar
<http://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar> for more.

HAVE NEWS FOR ARRL?

Submissions for the ARRL Letter and ARRL News can be sent to
news@arrl.org.

<http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL -- Your One-Stop Resource for
Amateur Radio News and Information

- Join or Renew Today! <http://www.arrl.org/join> Eligible US-based
members can elect to receive QST <http://www.arrl.org/qst> or On the
Air <http://www.arrl.org/on-the-air-magazine> magazine in print when
they join ARRL or when they renew their membership. All members can
access digital editions of all four ARRL magazines: QST, On the Air,
QEX, and NCJ.

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

- The ARRL Letter is available in an accessible format, posted weekly
to the Blind-hams Groups.io <https://groups.io/g/blind-hams> email
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: Subscribe
<http://www.arrl.org/myarrl> to the ARES Letter (monthly public service
and emergency communications news), the ARRL Contest Update (biweekly
contest newsletter), Division and Section news alerts and much more!

Find ARRL on Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/ARRL.org/>! Follow us
on Twitter <https://twitter.com/arrl> and Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/arrlhq>!

The ARRL Letter is published Thursdays, 48 times each year. ARRL
members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member
Data Page as described at http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/.

Copyright (c) 2022 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated.
Use and distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is
permitted for non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution.
All other purposes require written permission.

<http://www.arrl.org/>

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)