Volume 17, Number 9 (February 27, 1998)

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IN THIS EDITION:

+ Available on ARRL Audio News

SAREX TO BE ON JOHN GLENN FLIGHT

A ham radio package will be aboard the shuttle flight that carries US Senator and astronaut John Glenn into space this fall. Word from NASA this week was that the Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment or SAREX payload would be carried on STS-95 when it flies in October carrying the 77-year-old space pioneer into orbit for the first time since the early 1960s, when Glenn became the first US astronaut to orbit the Earth.

Two hams--US Astronaut Scott Parazynski, KC5RSY, and European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque, KC5RGG, of Spain--will be among an international crew aboard STS-95. The launch date for the only other SAREX mission scheduled for 1998--STS-93--has slipped from August to December. Glenn already has begun his astronaut training, but it's not yet known if he plans to get his ham ticket before his return to space.

MIR RESUMES SCHOOL CONTACTS!

It's been a long, dry spell for schools that have been waiting for a chance to have their students talk to Mir. But that drought has ended. Amateur Radio contacts between the Russian Mir space station and schools--on hold since a series of problems plagued Mir last year--resumed this week. Aboard Mir, US astronaut Andy Thomas, KD5CHF, spoke with youngsters at schools in California, Colorado, and South Carolina. Another Mir contact with a school in Wyoming is set for March 3, and additional Mir-school contacts are in the works, possibly for later in March.

On February 23, Thomas spoke with youngsters at Shell Beach Elementary School in Pismo Beach, California. The pupils got to ask Thomas 10 questions during the 10-minute contact--made possible through a telebridge connection via W5RRR at Johnson Space Center in Texas. AMSAT Technical Mentor Bill Hillendahl, KH6GJV, said the children practiced their on-the-air performance several times during the previous week until they had it just right. "After the session with Andy, the kids were very excited," he said. More than 125 other pupils and adults were on hand at the school during the contact, which was covered by local news media.

The following day, February 24, ten equally excited kids at Prairie Hills Elementary School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, got their chance to speak with Thomas via WA0VTU, the club station of the Pikes Peak Radio Amateur Association. As an audience of around 350--including TV and newspaper reporters--looked on and listened in, Thomas described his activities on Mir and answered six questions. A local repeater retransmitted both sides of the contact. Signals were reported generally good but with some static.

On February 26, pupils at Buist Academy in Charleston, South Carolina, fired off a dozen questions. Thomas--using his Australian-issued VK5MIR call sign for the telebridge contact via VK5AGR--managed to answer 11 of them during the 10-minute contact. In one answer, Thomas spoke of the importance for those in space to have radio contact with Earth to keep in touch with friends and family (he expressed similar sentiments during a NASA press conference where he extolled ham radio as immensely helpful in combating the loneliness of space flight). In answering another question about the value of international cooperation in space exploration, Thomas declared, "Space doesn't belong to any one country. We have to share it." An audience of approximately 50 people, including news media, was on hand for the contact.

Some of the schools on the latest schedule originally had been scheduled to talk with US astronaut Jerry Linenger, KC5HBR, who was aboard Mir for the last school-Mir contacts a year ago. Arranging the latest contact schedule took several months and was complicated by equipment malfunctions aboard Mir and--more recently--by the change in crews.

AMSAT Vice President for Manned Space Programs Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, said this week he's pleased that the school contacts logjam was finally starting to clear. "It was exciting to hear the students' reactions to the contacts and rewarding to know that we have provided an experience to these communities they will never forget," he said.

The school contacts--carried out on 70 cm--were a new experience for the pupils on Earth and for Thomas aboard Mir. In the first few weeks of his stay, Thomas had logged very little time on the spacecraft's Amateur Radio equipment because of the crew's busy schedule. But he did make some contacts earlier this month on 70 cm using the R0MIR call sign. The 46-year-old Australian native will work aboard Mir until June.

HAMS HELP IN AFTERMATH OF FLORIDA TORNADOES

Hams pitched in to help in the aftermath of intense storms and tornadoes in Central Florida that killed more than three dozen and injured hundreds of others. The tornadoes and heavy thunderstorms struck early Monday while most people were asleep, surprising the residents of the affected areas between Daytona Beach and Orlando. Many were left homeless by the storms, now being called the deadliest and most destructive in Florida's recorded history. Weather observers blamed the tornadoes on the El Nino weather system. Some families lost their homes and everything they owned. In one tragic incident, a tornado wrenched an 18-month old toddler out of its father's arms; the child later was found dead. In another miraculous one, the storm picked up a youngster on his mattress and placed him gently on an oak tree.

ARRL Northern Florida Section Emergency Coordinator Nils Millergren, WA4NDA, said the tornadoes mostly affected Florida's East Central District, while the West Central District--Sumter County in particular--experienced flooding. At least three Red Cross shelters were reported open in the days right after the storms struck. Millergren says amateurs were providing communications for shelters and had put in hundreds of operator-hours in Sumter County alone. Seminole County ARES/RACES member Allen Wilson, WB7BCI, was among dog-handler hams activated to assist in the search and rescue effort. Other hams were involved in damage assessment and in providing backup communication to relieve already-congested commercial systems. Net operations on 2 meters continued this week, and volunteers still were being solicited in Northern Florida.

Osceola County--the only county in the Southern Florida section affected by the storms--was said to have been hardest hit. Osceola County EC Christopher Hammock, KE4DUJ, spent several days at the county Emergency Operations Center. Osceola has a small ham population. Southern Florida SM Rip Van Winkle, AA4HT, reports hams from outside the county--particularly from Polk County--were helping out. Van Winkle said Osceola ham operations in support of the emergency wrapped up February 26.

President Clinton visited the affected area this week. Damage was reported to be in the tens of millions of dollars. Curfews were imposed in some areas to deter looting.--thanks to Nils Millergren, WA4NDA, Rip Van Winkle, AA4HT, and others

FCC COMPUTER SYSTEM BACK ON LINE

The FCC got its errant Amateur Radio licensing computer system back on line February 21 and began processing the backlog of applications. The system went down February 10, and no paper or electronic applications were processed for nearly 11 days as FCC personnel in Gettysburg attempted to troubleshoot the problems with the system.

Gettysburg personnel first processed data submitted on February 11 and 12 by VECs and had an updated file available for the Internet call sign servers on February 21. Since the initial processing went well, VECs then sent on the applications they'd been holding back at the FCC's request. By February 26, it was business as usual. Gettysburg had caught up with the backlog and ran a batch of vanity applications, although a number of applications remained in the work in process (WIPs) stack.

The FCC offered no explanation for the computer breakdown--its longest ever. The situation frustrated those who have been hoping to learn their new call signs or to check on updated licensing status. Call sign servers on the Internet also were affected. The FCC apologized to VECs for the inconvenience.

SECTION MANAGERS ELECTED

Virginia, Pacific, and San Diego will get new section managers, while incumbent section managers were returned to office in five other sections.

In the Virginia Section, Lynn Gahagan, AF4CD, of Chesapeake outpolled Lawrence Macionski, W8LM, of Bluemont 1256 to 579. Gahagan will succeed current Section Manager Chris Wright, KD4TZN, of Rocky Mount.

In the Eastern Pennsylvania Section, incumbent SM Allen Breiner, W3TI, of Tamaqua defeated Robert Stanhope, KB3YS, of York 950 to 760.

In the North Carolina Section, incumbent W. Reed Whitten, AB4W, of Cary was the winner in a three-way race. Whitten received 730 votes. Challengers Glenn Roger Allen, KD4MYE, of Wake Forest and Billy Mitchell, WB4SGA, of Mebane, polled 657 and 636 votes respectively.

Votes from the three contested sections were counted February 24 at ARRL Headquarters.

Candidates in five other sections were uncontested. Declared elected were: In the Eastern New York Section, incumbent Rob Leiden, KR2L, of Scotia; in the Louisiana Section, incumbent Lionel "Al" Oubre, K5DPG, of New Iberia; in the Pacific Section, Ronald Phillips, AH6HN, of Keaau, Hawaii (Phillips will succeed current Pacific SM Dean Manley, KH6B); in the San Diego Section, Tuck Miller, K6ZEC, of National City (Miller will succeed Patrick Bunsold, WA6MHZ); and in the South Dakota Section, incumbent Roland Cory, W0YMB, of Mobridge.

Terms for successful candidates begin April 1, 1998.

NEW ARRL BOOK--RF EXPOSURE AND YOU--NOW AVAILABLE

If you're worried about how to comply with the FCC's new RF exposure requirements, then you'll want a copy of the new ARRL book RF Exposure and You by ARRL Lab Supervisor Ed Hare, W1RFI. RF Exposure and You became available just this week.

As ARRL Executive Vice President Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, put it: "The new RF exposure rules are now a part of the regulatory landscape and are likely to remain so." RF Exposure and You is the best way available to ease the transition, Sumner said.

This book communicates one simple message: For the vast majority of Amateur Radio operators, the RF exposure rules are not difficult to understand and follow. At 320 pages, RF Exposure and You contains all the background information, suggestions and worksheets you'll need to help you comply with the new RF exposure rules and to operate your station legally and safely.

Hare said that preparing the book was "a real challenge and a real collective effort." The result is a book that's probably the first of its kind. "I have never seen this information pulled together in one place before," he said. ARRL Headquarters staff and volunteers (including the ARRL RF Safety Committee) participated fully with the FCC as the Commission determined the best advice to give amateurs on how to meet the new requirements. The League was able to persuade the FCC to reconsider its rules, and to rewrite them so that amateurs would be less affected. Hare says it took a lot of teamwork between Headquarters staff and outside volunteers to have the book printed and available in just three months.

A. J. Kruger, K7CMM, of Arizona, placed the first advance order for RF Exposure and You early this year. This week, Hare personally autographed the first copy out of the box--indicating it was the first copy purchased from ARRL Headquarters. The order went out this week.

RF Exposure and You is $15 (plus shipping and handling). Order Item #6621. To order your copy, visit your local Amateur Radio retailer or the ARRLWeb, http://www.arrl.org/catalog/6621, or call toll-free 888-277-5289.

JERRY LINENGER, KC5HBR, RETIRES FROM ASTRONAUT CORPS

NASA has announced that US astronaut Jerry Linenger, KC5HBR, who lived aboard the Mir space station for 122 days, has retired from NASA to pursue private interests. Linenger, a physician and a captain in the US Navy, was aboard the Russian space station from January to May 1997.

Also retiring as a NASA astronaut is shuttle veteran Blaine L. Hammond, KC5HBS, who plans to join a California aerospace firm. Hammond, a colonel in the US Air Force, flew on two Shuttle flights.

Linenger was aboard Mir when a fire broke out just over one year ago ignited by oxygen-generating lithium perchlorate "candles" used on the spacecraft. Despite the fire just a few days earlier, Linenger spoke with students at a Michigan elementary school via ham radio to report all crew members in good health. The fire, a collision with a Progress supply rocket last summer, several computer failures, and other problems led some officials in this country to question sending additional US astronauts to train aboard Mir.

Linenger arrived at the Mir as a member of the STS-81 crew and returned with the STS-84 crew, logging 132 consecutive days in space during those combined missions. Selected as an astronaut in 1992, his first space flight was on board Discovery for STS-64, an 11-day mission, in 1994.

SOLAR UPDATE: ANOTHER SOLAR RETREAT

Solar savant Tad Cook, K7VVV Seattle, Washington, reports: Solar activity retreated again last week, with average sunspot numbers down 20 points and average solar flux down about five. Geomagnetic conditions were relatively quiet. Quiet conditions are expected to continue over the next few days, with the solar flux February 27 through March 1 predicted to be 93, 92 and 90. Stable geomagnetic conditions should be good for the CQ Worldwide 160 Meter DX Contest this weekend. Currently the most active solar region is number 8164, with 18 sunspots.

Over the next week look for solar flux to drift below 90, then rise above 90 after March 8, above 100 around March 12, and below 100 by March 18. Over the next month the hours of daylight will increase in the northern hemisphere, and we can look forward to typical spring conditions with more daylight openings on the higher bands.

A chart on the web at http://www.dxlc.com/solar/cyclcomp.html compares the current solar cycle, now 21 months old, with the two previous cycles, dating back to June 1976. This is part of the DX Listener's Club of Norway Web site mentioned in a previous report. The monthly smoothed sunspot number is obviously lagging for this cycle, and the month-by-month graphic comparison makes this very clear.

K7EEC wrote to ask: "If flux numbers are high, does this mean that propagation is probably better?" He also asked what the flux numbers measure.

High solar flux is good for HF propagation, especially if A and K indices are low. During the peak of the sunspot cycle the solar flux is higher. Solar flux is a measurement of radio energy emitted by the sun at 10.7 cm--or 2800 MHz. This seems to correlate with ionization of the ionosphere. The denser the ionization, the higher the frequencies that it can reflect. More information can be found in chapter 21 of the 1998 edition of The ARRL Handbook for Radio Amateurs and in The New Shortwave Propagation Handbook, by Jacobs, Rose and Cohen, published by CQ magazine.

Your questions and comments are welcome via e-mail to tad@ssc.com.

Sunspot numbers for February 19 through 25 were 57, 29, 28, 38, 59, 78, and 69 with a mean of 51.1. The 10.7-cm flux was 98, 95.7, 94.8, 95.5, 99.4, 98.6, and 94.7, with a mean of 96.7, and estimated planetary A indices were 7, 7, 4, 6, 11, 3, and 4, with a mean of 6.

IRIS COLVIN, W6QL, SK

The other half of the world-famous Colvin DXpedition team, Iris Colvin, W6QL, of Richmond, California, died February 18 at her home. She was 83. Iris Colvin was first licensed in 1945. She and her late husband, Lloyd Colvin, W6KG, traveled the world between the 1960s and the early 1990s, operating from more than 100 DXCC countries. Lloyd Colvin died in 1993. The couple had been married for 55 years.

The Colvins racked up more than a million contacts over the years and amassed one of the largest QSL collections in the world--more than a half million cards at last count. The collection is said to have occupied an entire room in the Colvins' home.

The ARRL Board of Directors recognized the Colvins' contributions to international goodwill by naming them Amateur Radio Ambassadors of the Decade 1980-1990. The Colvin Award was established in 1994 from the proceeds of an endowment set up by Lloyd Colvin that named the ARRL as a beneficiary. The Award disburses grants to support ham radio projects that promote international goodwill in the field of DX. Among others, the Colvin Award has helped to fund the second World Radiosport Team Championship in 1996 and the VK0IR Heard Island DXpedition in 1997.

Upon learning of Iris Colvin's passing, Carlos Garnier da Silva, PY1HDG, commented, "The DX world owes a debt to the Colvins. I had a lot of fun working them, and I will never forget their efforts on behalf of ham radio." Rusty Epps, W6OAT, said, "With her passing, we have lost both a friend and one of the true giants of Amateur Radio."

Iris Colvin was a Charter Life Member of the ARRL and a life member and past president of the Northern California DX Club. She also was on the DXCC Honor Roll and was inducted into the CQ DX Hall of Fame in 1976.

A daughter and grandchildren survive. Services were private.

BASIL O'BRIEN, G2AMV, SK

Former RSGB President Basil O'Brien, G2AMV, died on February 21. O'Brien represented the North of England as an RSGB Council Member for many years and had previously been Regional Representative for the North-West. O'Brien was RSGB President during 1981. Eight years later, he was awarded the highest honor to be bestowed by the RSGB--he was made a Vice President. Services were February 27. US amateurs had the opportunity to meet Basil O'Brien and his wife, Eileen, at the 1981 ARRL National Convention in Orlando and at the 1982 Dayton Hamvention.--RSGB; David Sumner, K1ZZ

In Brief:

  • This weekend on the radio: The CQ WW 160-meter SSB Contest tops the list of operating events this weekend. Also, the North Carolina QSO Party and the UBA Contest (CW) are on tap. Coming up: March 7-8 it's the ARRL International DX Contest (SSB).

  • K0OV tapped as ARRL ARDF Coordinator: Joe Moell, K0OV has been appointed as the first ARRL Amateur Radio Direction Finding Coordinator. At its last meeting, the ARRL Board of Directors authorized creation of the volunteer position to promote ARDF activities in IARU Region 2 as one means to involve youth in the hobby. The ARDF Coordinator will promote ham radio direction-finding activities and report regularly to the Board.

  • SG-2020 debut delayed: SGC reports via its Web site, http://www.sgcworld.com/sg2020.html, that deliveries of its long-awaited SG-2020 low-power HF transceiver will not begin until mid-March. Initial production will cover back-ordered units. New orders won't be available from dealers until after May 1. The SG-2020, based on the design of the popular Index Laboratories QRP Plus transceiver--now out of production--was originally scheduled to be on the market last fall. That date subsequently slipped to January. By way of explaining the delay, SGC says it's improved the SG-2020's technical specs "to deliver enhanced performance."

  • Southeastern VHF Society Technical Conference: The second annual Southeastern VHF Society Technical Conference is set for Friday and Saturday, April 3-4, at the Atlanta Marriott Northwest. ARRL Lab Supervisor Ed Hare, W1RFI, will speak on EMI and the new RF exposure regulations during the conference. Other presentation topics include helical antennas by Mike Barts, N4GU; using high-speed CW for meteor scatter, by Jim McMasters, KD5BUR; and UHF Beacons by Charles Osborne, WD4MBK. Microwave experimenter and author Paul Wade, N1BWT, is the banquet speaker. Antenna measurements and noise figure testing as well as a flea market will be available. The family program offers a chance to see the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, April 5. For more information, contact Conference Chairman Jim Worsham, W4KXY, e-mail wa4kxy@bellsouth.net; tel 770-945-9910, or Publicity Chairman Tad Danley, K3TD, e-mail k3td@contesting.com; tel 770-513-9252, visit http://www.akorn.net/~ae6e/svhfs, or write Southeastern VHF Society Inc, Box 1255, Cornelia, GA 30531. A special hotel rate is in effect for conference attendees. For Marriott reservations, call toll-free 800-228-9290.

  • Free SWL contest logger available: A free SWL logger program, SDL (Super-Duper for Listeners), is now available. SDL is a comprehensive MS-DOS HF contest logger for SWLs. It's derived from SD and shares all its relevant features. SDL offers direct support for most international contests. Some 35 country and area multiplier reference files are supplied. SDL links to Kenwood and Yaesu radios to follow band and mode changes. It offers fast, simple logging and editing, and it tracks multipliers, dupes and points in real time. It is not designed for post-contest logging, however. SDL runs under MS-DOS or in a DOS window with Windows 3.11, 95 or NT. SDL may be downloaded from http://ve7tcp.ampr.org/ftp/software/sd. SDLCHECK, a post-contest program to edit SDL files and to generate printed logs, multiplier lists, check sheets and summary sheets. An SDL reflector also is available. To subscribe, send e-mail to majordomo@blacksheep.org with the message "subscribe sd-user".--Paul O'Kane, EI5DI

  • New Satellite Handbook available: The ARRL's new Radio Amateur's Satellite Handbook by Martin Davidoff, K2UBC is off the press. This brand-new edition contains valuable information on satellite operating, types of antennas (including how-to articles on building your own), software, satellite Internet sites, profiles of all the current active satellites and much more. This new edition includes 376 pages of information, such as getting ready for the new Phase 3D satellite and information about Amateur Radio operation from the US space shuttles (SAREX) and the Russian Mir space station. It contains thorough appendices covering profiles of computer programs, Internet sites, FCC Rules, and a complete history of amateur satellite and space operations. The new Radio Amateur's Satellite Handbook is available from ARRL Publications. Order Item #6583. It's $22 (plus shipping and handling). To order your copy, visit your local Amateur Radio retailer or the ARRLWeb, http://www.arrl.org/catalog/6583, or call toll-free 888-277-5289.

  • SETI League annual meeting set: The SETI League Inc will hold its fourth annual membership meeting and a press briefing Sunday, March 29, 1998, starting at 2 PM Eastern Time, at the organization's headquarters in Little Ferry, New Jersey. At the press briefing, SETI League scientists will report on the progress of their Project Argus search, launched just over two years ago. The SETI League calls Project Argus--named after the fictional search in the late Carl Sagan's 1985 novel, Contact-- "perhaps the most ambitious radio astronomy project ever undertaken without government equipment or funding." Project Argus will deploy and coordinate approximately 5000 small radiotelescopes around the world in an all-sky survey for signals of possibly intelligent extraterrestrial origin. For more information or to join The SETI League, see http://www.setileague.org/ or send e-mail to join@setileague.org or call toll-free 800-828-7384 (TAU SETI).