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

American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources

The K7RA Solar Update Over this past week, four new sunspot groups appeared. Group 1101 was already in place since August 24, and 1102 emerged on August 29. On September 1, two new sunspot groups -- 1103 and 1104 -- appeared, and on September 2, sunspot group 1105 arrived. Through August 26-September 2, the daily sunspot numbers were 23, 11, 11, 25, 28, 27, 51 and 52 and these same eight days saw the relative total ... Surfin’: Hurricane Hamming By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU Contributing Editor This week, Surfin’ makes plans for emergency communications of the hurricane variety.   As I write this, Connecticut and the Northeast are looking down the barrel of Hurricane Earl. It looks like my neck of the woods will only receive a glancing, but powerful blow, but points south and east of us will not be so lucky. Having lived through direct hits fro... Hurricane Earl Heading for North Carolina, Hurricane Warnings Issued for New England Hurricane Earl -- once again a Category 4 storm -- is currently aiming for North Carolina’s Outer Banks. At 11 AM (EDT), Earl is located about 300 miles south of Cape Hatteras and 765 mles south of Nantucket Island, just off the coast of Massachusetts. Earl is now moving north at a speed near 18 MPH, and is expected to turn north-northeast with an increase in forward speed on Friday. The center... New D-STAR Repeater Now in Place in ARRL Laboratory The ARRL Lab has installed a D-STAR (Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio) repeater in the Lab at the ARRL Headquarters building. Operating with an output of 147.390 MHz, positive offset, the W1HQ D-STAR repeater is a local repeater with a modest footprint covering the Hartford-New Britain, Connecticut area. The antenna is on the roof of the Headquarters building with the repeater locat... Earl Possibly to Upgrade to Category 4 Storm, US Atlantic Coast on Alert On August 30, Hurricane Earl intensified into a Category 4 hurricane -- sustained winds 131-155 MPH -- before leveling out back into a Category 3 storm. But even as a Category 3 hurricane, Earl is still a major storm with hurricane-force winds extending outward up to 90 miles from the center, and tropical storm force winds extending outward up to 200 miles. According to the National Hurricane C... ARRL to Close in Observance of Labor Day ARRL Headquarters will be closed in observance of Labor Day on Monday, September 6. There will be no W1AW bulletin or code practice transmissions that day. ARRL Headquarters will reopen Tuesday, September 7 at 8 AM Eastern Daylight Time. We wish everyone a safe and festive holiday weekend. ARRL in Action: What Have We Been Up to Lately? Compiled by S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA ARRL News Editor news@arrl.org This feature -- including convenient Web links to useful information -- is a concise monthly update of some of the things ARRL is doing on behalf of its members. This installment covers the month of August. ARRL Sections along the Atlantic Coast are watching and monitoring the progress of Hurricane Earl, with many assisting WX4NHC... James Garland, W8ZR, Wins August QST Cover Plaque Award The winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award for August is James Garland, W8ZR, for his article “The StationPro Master Station Controller.” Congratulations, James! The winner of the QST Cover Plaque award -- given to the author or authors of the best article in each issue -- is determined by a vote of ARRL members on the QST Cover Plaque Poll Web page. Cast a ballot for your favorite article in the... Discover the Fun of 6 Meters (and Up!) in the ARRL September VHF QSO Party September is here, and according to ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, that means the VHF bands are getting a workout: “If you’ve never experienced the fun of VHF+ operating, the ARRL September VHF QSO Party is a great place to start. With many HF radios now offering at least 6 meter SSB/CW capabilities -- and some offering 2 meters and 70 cm as well -- any amateur with a Technician... FCC Reaffirms 2×2 Call Signs Are Only for Advanced, Amateur Extra License Classes QST Columnist Recognized for Documenting Radio’s Past John Dilks, K2TQN -- who pens the “Vintage Radio” column in QST every month -- was awarded the AWA Houck Award for Documentation by the Antique Wireless Association (AWA) at their 2010 World Convention, held August 17-21 in Rochester, New York. This award is presented each year to an AWA member who has written original articles on radio development or history in the AWA Journal, AWA Review or o... Youth@HamRadio.Fun: A 2010 Youth DX Adventure By Duncan MacLachlan, KU0DM ARRL Youth Editor ku0dm@arrl.net I desperately wanted to go on a DXpedition before I turned 18. I know not many kids my age have had the opportunity to travel abroad, let alone travel abroad for the sole purpose of doing something you love. So when Don DuBon, N6JRL, first contacted me, informing me that there was a possibility that I could accompany a group of young ope... Hurricane Earl Continues to Strengthen, Watch Nets Activated With Hurricane Earl now a category 2 storm -- and expected to become a major hurricane -- WX4NHC and the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) -- activated at 8 AM EDT on Monday, August 30; WX4NHC is the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, Florida. As of 8 AM (EDT) on Monday, August 30, Earl’s center is approximately 25 miles east north-northeast of St Martin in the north... ARRL Members Nominate Candidates for Director, Vice Director The policies of the ARRL are established by 15 Directors who are elected to the Board on a geographical basis, with elections for three-year terms held in five divisions each year. At the same time, Vice Directors are elected on the same basis. Responding to solicitations in the July and August issues of QST, ARRL members in the Pacific, Rocky Mountain, Southeastern, Southwestern and West Gulf ... The K7RA Solar Update This week, we saw three days -- August 21-23 -- with no sunspots, and the average daily sunspot numbers for the week -- August 19-25 -- declined over 28 points to 8, compared to the previous week. The average daily solar flux was down more than 8 points to 75.3. The last period of three days or more without sunspots ended on May 20, 2010, about 100 days ago. Sunspot numbers for August 19-25 wer...

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County's emergency systems take big leap into 21st century Yolo Emergency Communications Agency (YECA) has begun a multi-phase radio upgrade project, with phase one nearing completion. Click the title for the news article. Yolo County ARES - September's Weekly Nets & Monthly Meeting Yolo County ARES conducts a weekly Net on Monday evenings at 2000hrs (8:00 PM) PDT, primarily on the KE6YUV repeater. We also conduct a regular Net on the Monday following our monthly meeting on the N6QDY repeater, or via Simplex. The KE6YUV repeater is sponsored by the Berryessa Amateur Radio Klub (BARK). The N6QDY repeater is sponsored by California Amateur Radio Users Net (C.A.R.U.N.) and Valley Emergency Repeater Association (V.E.R.A.). Additional details regarding both repeaters and Simplex frequency is below. BARK Repeater Information Frequency: 146.9700 MHz Offset: Negative (-) PL Tone: 123.0 (Enc/Dec) Website: Berryessa Amateur Radio Klub (BARK) N6QDY Repeater Information Frequency: 147.2550 MHz Offset: Positive (+) PL Tone: 123.0 (Enc/Dec) Website: California Amateur Radio Users Net (C.A.R.U.N.) Simplex Frequency Information Frequency: 146.5500 MHz (Northern California ARES Frequency) Offset: -- NONE -- (Simplex) PL Tone: -- NONE -- We would like to thank the Officers and Members of both the BARK and the N6QDY repeaters for their use during our Nets.. Monthly Meeting Information Our monthly meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month at the Yolo-Lake County Chapter of the American Red Cross in Woodland, CA. Members are encouraged to attend and visitors are always welcome. Talk-in is on the KE6YUV repeater. September's meeting will be Tuesday the 21st, at 1900hrs (7:00 PM) PDT. For a map and directions to Red Cross, please click here: 120 Court Street, Woodland. The Chapter is located east of West Street, next door to Wallace Safe & Lock Company, Inc. (Across the street from Woodland's Fire Station 1.) FCC APPROVES 97.113 CHANGES WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 2010 AT 05:43PM The Federal Communications Commission today issued a Report & Order that changes Part 97.113 to allow employees to take part in disaster drills and exercises that involve their employers. 97.113 Prohibited transmissions. (a) * * * (3) Communications in which the station licensee or control operator has a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of an employer, with the following exceptions: (i) A station licensee or control station operator may participate on behalf of an employer in an emergency preparedness or disaster readiness test or drill, limited to the duration and scope of such test or drill, and operational testing immediately prior to such test or drill. Tests or drills that are not government-sponsored are limited to a total time of one hour per week; except that no more than twice in any calendar year, they may be conducted for a period not to exceed 72 hours. Small Quake Hits Near Esparto A mild 3.0 temblor struck near Esparto last night around 1800hrs (6pm). E.V.A.C. Exercise- Woodland Memorial Hospital Ken - K6WLS, James - W6JSC, and Greg - KG6SJT, supported Red Cross at the E.V.A.C. Exercise at Woodland Memorial Hospital. Several ICS-213 as well as tactical messages were passed between Net Control, The Red Cross Rehabilitation site, and the staging area. It was an excellent training exercise for Yolo ARES. More Active Sun Means Nasty Solar Storms Ahead Yahoo! news and other news Websites are reporting that the sun is becoming a bit more active with solar storms on the horizon. Welcome New Yolo County ARES Members Yolo County ARES has has added three new members this month. Please welcome W6JSC, James; N6JOA, Charles; and N6OLO, Pamela. On the Nature of Interacting Antennas A while back Wes, WS6Z, built a 2m Copper “Super-J-Pole” antenna which he attached to his chimney. Then a friend of his (AD6IL) was kind enough to supply me with a 2m square loop for horizontal work which he attached at the bottom of the J-pole. AD6IL and WS6Z were debating how much of a problem it would be to have them so close together and I figured I'd give it a try and see how much they interacted. After putting them both up they both performed adequately though Wes was pretty sure he could detect a performance difference in the J-pole after adding the square loop to its base. He measured the performance of both antennas as they were mounted together and then moved the square loop to the opposite corner of the chimney and remeasured them both again. The following 4 graphs show the results of these tests. David Coursey's 97.113 PRESENTATION David Coursey, N5FDL – Emergency Coordinator, San Joaquin Co. (CA) ARES has posted a NEW VERSION OF his 97.113 PRESENTATION that gives a good overview of what is currently happening with FCC rule making and 97.113 If you need additional information, please write or call him: david@coursey.com . On his blog, he notes that you are welcome to use this presentation to explain the 97.113 issue to the amateur community and served agencies. Yolo County ARES Members set up a School to School Ham Radio Contact Yolo County ARES members Wes Hardaker, WS6Z, and Greg Kruckewitt, KG6SJT setup a school to school ham radio contact. Wes was in a fourth grade classroom at Korematsu Elementary School in Davis and Greg was in a fourth/fifth grade classroom at Cambridge Elementary school in Vacaville. The students at each school took turns asking students at the other school questions, and then answering questions they were given. The excitement level in the classrooms was terrific! Emergency Communications Leadership Seminar April 24, 2010 The third annual seminar for Emergency Communications Leadership in the Sacramento Valley Section will take place Saturday, April 24, 9 A.M. to 2 P.M., at the U.C. Davis Sierra Foothills Research and Extension Center, 8279 Scott Forbes Rd., in Browns Valley. The seminar is hosted once again by Art, K6ALC, Yuba and Sutter County Emergency Coordinator. The seminar is organized and presented by Larry, WD6FXR, Section Emergency Coordinator. All Section EMCOMM Leadership is invited as well as anyone who intends to step up to a leadership position. All EMCOMM organizations, not just those whose title includes the ARES label, are urged to attend. Attendees need to bring a bag lunch. There is no food service available in the area. Also bring your go kit if you want to share your ideas, and any items you would like to discuss. Coffee, tea, and bottled water will be provided. Directions: take I-5 to Hwy. 99, then Hwy. 70 Marysville. Take Hwy. 20 east 14 miles to Peoria Road. Turn left, and follow signs 5.6 miles. ARRL Rookie Roundup The ARRL is conducting a Rookie Roundup contest for all licensed operators from 2008 to present. All newly licensed operators are encouraged to participate. For rules regarding the Rookie Roundup, please click this link. BARK - Yolo ARES Ham Test Update Yolo ARES and BARK sponsored a test session February 13, 2010 in Woodland. We had 14 candidates. 8 successful Technician candidates 3 General class licenses. 2 upgraded to General and one of the Technician candidates passed the General test also, 3 Amateur Extra class licenses. One of these candidates took and passed all three exams at our session. Thanks to our Volunteer Examiners : K6WLS, K6KN, K6HEW, K6VNQ, WS6Z, KG6SJT December 15, 2009 Yolo ARES Monthly Meeting Cancelled The December 15, 2009 Yolo ARES Monthly Meeting has been cancelled. Have a great holiday! We will see EVERYONE at the January meeting January 19, 2010. Congratulations Larry, WD6FXR, Sacramento Valley Section Emergency Coordinator Effective immediately, our new Sacramento Valley Section Emergency Coordinator is Larry Sutter, WD6FXR. Larry will be following several years of excellent service by Richard Cloyd, W06P.