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From n3kl.org -Solar X-rays:		Geomagnetic Field

ARRL Amateur Radio News

Leaving on a Jet Plane to Dayton Hamvention® "As the song says, 'All our bags are packed and we're ready to go' -- well, almost," said ARRL Hamvention Coordinator Katie Breen, W1KRB. "The ARRL EXPO area is packed up into seven shipping skids and they are in a truck on their way to Dayton. We here at headquarters are not only breathing a huge sigh of relief, but many of us are still wrapping up our individual final details." The Dayton Hamvention® will run from May 16-18 at Hara Arena, just outside Dayton, Ohio. The K7RA Solar Update Again this week, we saw a new, but brief sunspot, sunspot 993. Judging from the polarity of the spot, it looks to be from new Solar Cycle 24; this spot was south of the solar equator, so it has the same polarity as any Cycle 23 spot that was north of the equator. After two days it was gone, not from drifting over the edge of the visible solar disk -- it just disappeared. Surfin': Destination: Dayton This week, discover how you can attend the Dayton Hamvention without trekking to the Gem City. FCC Looks to Raise Vanity Call Sign Fees The FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order (NPRM) on May 8 seeking to raise fees for Amateur Radio vanity call signs. Currently, a vanity call sign costs $11.70 and is good for 10 years; the new fee, if the FCC plan goes through, will go up to $12.30 for 10 years, an increase of $.60. The FCC is authorized by the Communications Act of 1934 (as amended) to collect vanity call sign fees to recover the costs associated with that program. The vanity call sign regulatory fee is payable not only when applying for a new vanity call sign, but also upon renewing a vanity call sign for a new term. Instructions on how to comment on this NPRM are available on the FCC Web site. Colorado Group Receives D-STAR Equipment The Colorado Council of Amateur Radio Clubs (CCARC) recently teamed up with Ham Radio Outlet (HRO) in Denver to donate a 2 meter, 70 cm and 23 cm D-STAR system stack. According to ARRL Colorado Section Manager and CCARC Board Member Jeff Ryan, K0RM, the two groups hit upon the idea of issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) to Colorado radio amateurs. "The RFP required the D-STAR systems to be installed and maintained on-the-air for five years, after which the winning group would retain ownership of the equipment," Ryan said. "We received three excellent proposals, and on March 21, CCARC and HRO awarded the D-STAR system to the Colorado D-STAR Association, a consortium of Denver area individuals, clubs and ARES groups." FCC Denies Two Amateur Radio Petitions for Rulemaking In two separate decisions released today, the Federal Communications Commission denied two Petitions for Rulemaking (PRM) having to do with Amateur Radio. These two PRMs, one filed by Mark Miller, N5RFX, of Arlington, Texas, concerning digital spectrum issues, and the other filed jointly by Ken Chafin, W6CPA, of La Crescenta, California, and Leon Brown, KC6JAR, of Los Angeles, California, concerning additional spectrum for more repeaters, including digital systems. Miller's PRM was assigned RM-11392, while the Chafin and Brown petition was not afforded an RM number by the FCC. According to ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, the ARRL filed no comments on either petition in accordance with the League's standard policy on bare petitions for rule making that do not deal with spectrum allocations. Annual Armed Forces Day Crossband Test to Be Conducted May 10 The Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard are co-sponsoring the annual Military/Amateur Radio Crossband Communications Test in celebration of the 58th anniversary of Armed Forces Day (AFD). Although the actual Armed Forces Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in May -- May 17 in 2008 -- the AFD Military/Amateur Crossband Communications Test will be conducted on May 10 to prevent conflict with the Dayton Hamvention®, scheduled for May 16-18. New NASA Tool Allows Amateurs to Explore the Ionosphere from the Inside Last week at the Space Weather Workshop in Boulder, Colorado, NASA released a 4D live model of the Earth's ionosphere. Without leaving home, anyone can fly through the layer of ionized gas that encircles Earth at the edge of space itself. All that is required is an Internet connection and a free copy of Google Earth. NASA calls the ionosphere the "last wisp of Earth's atmosphere that astronauts leave behind when they enter space. The realm of the ionosphere stretches from 50 to 500 miles above Earth's surface where the atmosphere thins to near-vacuum and exposes itself to the fury of the sun. Solar ultraviolet radiation breaks apart molecules and atoms creating a globe-straddling haze of electrons and ions." History Channel Show to Feature Nikola Tesla Modern Marvels, a series on The History Channel, will feature electricity pioneer Nikola Tesla in an episode scheduled to air May 14. Helping out with the program was Bob "Loby" Lobenstein, WA2AXZ; Lobenstein is General Superintendent, Power Operations for New York City's subway system. "We did 8 hours of taping interviews at my 1904 power substation," Lobenstein said. "In addition to the action scenes of me throwing the 100 year old switches and demonstrating the use of power, I did a 'Mr Wizard' talk, showing the various things that 'Mr T' envisioned and invented. Of course, radio had a part and I just had to put the D-104 mic with our club's K2IRT shield into view!" According to The History Channel, Tesla's "...bizarre vision of the future brought him failure, but his genius electrified the world. Travel to Niagara Falls, where in 1893, Tesla installed his new system of Alternating Electrical Current known as AC -- the same power we use today. Uncover the forgotten ruins of Tesla's dream experiment -- a huge tower on Long Island Sound he hoped would wirelessly power the world. Radar, death rays, invisibility devices and earthquake machines: Tesla claimed to have created them all. More than 100 years ago Tesla foresaw the need for alternative energies like geothermal and solar." Check the The History Channel Web site for show times. CQ de LA8OKA from Galdhoepiggen, Norway's Highest Peak A high altitude location for a low power operation. ARRL Audio News: May 9, 2008; Vol 27 Number 18 ARRL Audio News--OPEN--In this edition . . .; Leaving on a Jet Plane to Dayton Hamvention; Look for the June Issue of QST in Your Mailbox; ARRL Audio News ID--Satellite Update--BREAK; FCC Denies Two Amateur Radio Petitions for Rulemaking; Veteran Wireless Operators Association Honors Two Hams; New NASA Tool Allows Exploration of Ionosphere from Inside; ARRL Audio News--News Briefs--CLOSE

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Wireless Amber Alerts What is the Wireless AMBER Alerts Initiative? The national Wireless AMBER Alerts Initiative is a voluntary partnership between the wireless industry, the United States Department of Justice, and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), to distribute AMBER Alerts to wireless subscribers who opt in to receive the messages and are able to receive text messages on their wireless devices. PL-259 Installation Made Easy for RG8X Video: PL-259 Installation Made Easy for RG8X ARRLWeb: First Contact Award Certificate Request First Contact Award Certificate Request. Do you want to recognize someone who just made their first two-way radio communications by Amateur radio? Outpost Packet Message Manager Homepage Outpost Packet Message Manager Disaster Survival Skills for the Urban Environment - Disaster Survival Skills for the Urban Environment Updated Sept. 2007 (PowerPoint 3.26 Mb) - The Day After: 24 Hours Following A Nuclear Blast (PDF 1.01 Mb) - The First Scenario: A Nuclear Attack! RACES Resource Library RACES Resource Library - Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) - 2-Way Radio Fundamentals - Part 1 (PPT 687K) - 2-Way Radio Fundamentals - Part 2 (PPT 1.9 MB) - Portable Radio Fundamentals Part 1 (DOC 61K) - Portable Radio Fundamentals Part 2 (DOC 78K) Yolo County OES This is the new Web address to Yolo County's OES site. Please keep in mind, this Website is still under construction. Therefore, don't expect to find any pictures at this time. However, there are some useful links for those of you who want to know the current water levels and weather. US Amateur Radio Licensing Practice Test A new set of practice tests. Another way to practice. City of Davis Emergency Information Various links to emergency information that primarily pertains to the City of Davis, but also has some Yolo County information included. County of Sacramento Emergency Information Various links to emergency information in and around Sacramento. California Data Exchange Center - Current River Conditions Get up to the minute water levels on rivers and creeks that are monitored by California's Department of Water Resources. Washington County Oregon RACES/ARES D-STAR Information Page Here is a wealth of information on Icom's D-STAR. This site has PDFs, videos, and more. Link added with permission from: Washington County, OR ARES/RACES Team (http://www.washcoares.org). D-STAR ARES video A new video on the use of D-STAR by the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is available on YouTube. D-STAR is the new Amateur Radio digital voice and data mode that has generated much interest in recent months. KE7FTE, N7QQU and W9ERT show us the 'drag and drop' flexibility of the Icom D-STAR System, offering a reliable exchange of large image files, email, word-processing and other files that emergency responders and served agencies find invaluable. Gear Check List THE EMCOMM COMPREHENSIVE EQUIPMENT AND PERSONAL GEAR CHECKLIST From emcomm.org Wildfire Zone UC Cooperative Extension, with special funding from the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, developed a site that creates awareness of wildfire risks and hazards and offers tips on how to reduce them: Lots of links.