The Illuminator

April Meeting

The next regular meeting of the Carbon Amateur Radio Club will be on Thursday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m. at the Emergency Operations Center in Nesquehoning. We are scheduled to have a presentation on Winlink, maybe even including a demonstration! You don’t want to miss that!

See you there!

Amateur Radio Newsline

Just a reminder that Bob, WB3W, and Brian, KB3KLJ, transmit the latest Amateur Radio Newsline on Monday nights at 8 p.m. local time on the CARC repeater on 147.255 MHz. Check out this excellent service that Bob and Brian provide and hear the latest amateur radio news!

Carbon Amateur Radio Club

Regular Meeting Minutes

March 16, 2006

The meeting was called to order by Goody, K3NG, at 19:38 local time.

Minutes from the February 16 meeting were reviewed as published. A motion was made to accept the minutes as published, seconded and carried.

The treasurer's report submitted by John, W3MF, was as follows:

Treasurer's Report

Previous Balance	$1,113.27
Receipts (dues)	$0.00
Sub-total	$113.27
Disbursements (newsletter)	-$5.85
New Balance	$1,107.42

A motion was made to accept the treasurer's report, seconded and carried.

Old Business

Nothing discussed.

New Business

Field Day

Goody, K3NG began discussion about Field Day, focusing on where it will be held this year. Eric, N3TVV will discuss the subject with his father for hosting Field Day at the Bott Building again. Sean, KB3MIS indicated he may have a contact for Flagstaff (nothing definite yet).

Kent, WA3IEM stated that he won't be able to bring the 6m beam this year due to wear and tear, but suggested that the club may want to buy one for $150; they are very good antennas.

Lift Rental

Another topic brought up was renting a lift of some kind, for doing high work on antennas and amongst other things. Since there seem to be a few club members that are in need of one, the idea of chipping in to rent one for a few days was tossed around. Possibly a Friday to Monday. It was also mentioned that Al Breiner, Jr. (W3ZRQ) does have access to a bucket truck.

The meeting adjourned at 19:51 local time.

Following the meeting all enjoyed the DXpedition video provided by Bob, K3PH.

Minutes respectfully submitted by Eric, N3TVV (formatting by Brian, KB3KLJ).

DXCC Desk Approves Operation for DXCC Credit

(From the ARRL Letter)

The ARRL DXCC Desk has approved this operation for DXCC credit: YI/OM2DX, Iraq, operation commencing June 9, 2003. For more information, visit the DXCC Web page http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/. "DXCC Frequently Asked Questions" can answer most questions about the DXCC program. ARRL DX bulletins are available on the W1AW DX Bulletins page http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/dx/.

"Hello" Campaign Provides Rallying Point To Promote Amateur Radio

(From the ARRL Letter)

The first components of the ARRL's "Hello" Amateur Radio public relations campaign now are available. "This campaign will give hams the tools they need to reach out in their communities to non-hams and influence their perception of Amateur Radio," says ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, who conceived the campaign and is its principal Headquarters contact. The "Hello" campaign is aimed at recasting Amateur Radio in the light of the 21st century and focusing on its universal appeal. At the same time, it will mark the 100th anniversary of what many historians consider the first voice radio broadcast in 1906 by Reginald Fessenden.

"For years, ARRL public information officers (PIOs) and others interested in promoting Amateur Radio have been looking for leadership and a rallying point from which we can join together in a major promotion for ham radio," Pitts said. This is it! Tools include a distinctive "Hello" Web site

http://www.hello-radio.org/ and radio and TV public service announcements.

Based on the word "Hello," which Pitts calls "possibly the most pleasant word in any language," the coordinated campaign will set "a positive, upbeat tone that highlights the international capabilities of Amateur Radio," he explained. The "Hello" Web site is designed for non-hams to learn a little bit about Amateur Radio and to arouse more interest. The site points prospective Amateur Radio licensees to groups that have indicated they will provide a warm welcome to newcomers. The national "Hello" campaign can bring curious people into contact with ham radio groups, but it will be up to local radio amateurs to make them truly welcome, Pitts maintains.

"The key to creating a new ham operator is to develop a relationship with a current ham operator," says Pitts. Behind the effort is "an army of dedicated, truly motivated PIOs and others who want to see ham radio flourish."

A series of 30-second radio public service announcements (PSAs) http://www.arrl.org/pio/pr.html has been developed for the "Hello" campaign. "You can help by downloading the PSAs from the ARRL Web site onto a CD and taking it to your own local radio station," Pitts suggests.

A broadcast-quality video for the "Hello" campaign will be available in April.

Copies of the special four-page "Hello" brochure

http://www.arrl.org/pio/hello/Hello-Campaign-Brochure.pdf are available from ARRL Headquarters for use during presentations to non ham groups. (Full details on the "Hello" campaign plus a pull-out copy of the brochure are available in the April issue of QST.) The brochures are suitable for talks to schools, clubs, displays and other venues promoting Amateur Radio to the public. There is a space on the back page to add local club info.

"For 100 years, the magic of the human voice over radio has brought imaginations to life. It opened a whole new era of human communication," the brochure declares, urging, "It's your world. Get on the radio and say "Hello."

To obtain copies, e-mail the "Hello" campaign [email protected]. Donations are welcome (make checks out to "ARRL") to help cover return postage to ARRL, Public Relations, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.

"Hello" logo bumper stickers will be on sale through the ARRL on-line catalog http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=9731. Buttons for the "Hello" campaign will be available at Dayton Hamvention and at other major Amateur Radio events. Banners for the "Hello" campaign will be flying at Dayton Hamvention and at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in April. After that, they will be made available for use at major events in 2006.

"ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, was correct in stating that the Main Street of today is not the same as the Main Street of yesteryear," Pitts says. "To reach out today, the very first requirement is that Amateur Radio operators be perceived as friendly and trustworthy. That's a true public relations goal and the primary focus of the campaign."

Logbook of the World Now Supports Worked All States Award

(From the ARRL Letter)

Users of the ARRL's Logbook of the World (LoTW) http://www.arrl.org/lotw/ now may apply their LoTW credits to applications for the League's Worked All States (WAS) award. Once registered and logged in, users may set up a WAS account on the Logbook Awards page, configuring the account to automatically select QSLs to use or selecting them manually via the Your QSOs page.

LoTW is a repository of logbook records submitted by users from around the world. When both participants in a contact submit matching QSO records to LoTW, the result is an electronic "QSL" that can be used for award credit.

As part of this addition, administration and maintenance of all WAS awards is now performed using an LoTW module. US Amateur Radio licensees must be ARRL members to apply for the WAS award. In addition to WAS, LoTW supports the ARRL DX Century Club (DXCC) award.

Since its inauguration in September 2005, LoTW has more than 95 million QSO records on file, with nearly 5.15 million QSL records resulting. The system boasts just over 12,000 registered users, and there are more than 18,100 certificates — each representing a particular user call sign — on file.

Dayton Hamvention^® Announces 2006 Award Winners

(From the ARRL Letter)

Dayton Hamvention has announced the winners of its 2006 Amateur of the Year, Special Achievement and Technical Excellence awards. Being honored for their contributions to the Amateur Radio Service are Gordon West, WB6NOA — Amateur of the Year; Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH — Special Achievement Award, and Dick Illman, AH6EZ — Technical Excellence Award.

West, of Costa Mesa, California, was named Amateur of the Year for his efforts in recruiting and training many new amateurs, in addition to his nearly lifelong involvement in ham radio. A Radio Club of America fellow and a recipient of the ARRL Instructor of the Year Award, West volunteers with the American Red Cross communications team in Orange County and regularly offers free kids classes and classes for cities to support their Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT).

"It's my give-back to a hobby that gives me the satisfaction of offering free classes for kids and emergency responders," West said "and I thank all the ham operators who support our training program, and the ARRL for their continued support with the emergency communication Web-based classes."

Hollingsworth, who's Special Counsel in the FCC Enforcement Bureau at the Commission's Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, office, will receive Hamvention's Special Achievement Award. Hamvention is recognizing Hollingsworth's efforts, begun in 1998, to resurrect the FCC's Amateur Radio enforcement program. Radio amateurs across the US have credited Hollingsworth with reducing malicious interference and other problem behavior on the air.

First licensed in 1960 in his home state of South Carolina, Hollingsworth is a member ARRL, QCWA and F.I.S.T.S.

Illman, who lives in St Charles, Illinois, was picked to receive the 2006 Technical Excellence Award. The honor recognizes his work as principal staff engineer at Motorola in developing the company's patent-pending Powerline LV broadband over power line (BPL) system, which essentially eliminates HF interference.

Motorola and the ARRL have cooperated in deploying a test stand Powerline LV system between ARRL Headquarters and W1AW. Preliminary test results have shown the Powerline LV system to be Amateur Radio-friendly. Illman's idea to include a set of hardware notch filters to protect Amateur Radio beyond the traditional technique of turning off specific carriers is an industry first.

Hamvention Chairman Jim Nies, WX8F, praised the winners on behalf of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association and Hamvention. "Please join me in recognizing each of these gentlemen for their outstanding contributions to Amateur Radio and their many years of devotion to the Amateur Radio Service," he said.

Held this year from May 19 until May 21, Dayton Hamvention, the world's largest Amateur Radio gathering, annually attracts more than 25,000 people to the greater Dayton area. The event includes exhibits, a flea market, forums and educational sessions. More information is on the Hamvention Web site http://www.hamvention.org.

ISS Commander on a Roll, Completes Another Set of Back-to-Back School QSOs

(From the ARRL Letter)

With Expedition 12 drawing to a close in April, ISS Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, has been working hard to speak via Amateur Radio with students at as many schools as possible. This week, he took time to thank the worldwide Amateur Radio community for its help in achieving several ham radio milestones from space. McArthur has been more active from NA1SS than any other astronaut or cosmonaut who's lived aboard the ISS since the first crew arrived in 2000. Among other accomplishments, he completed DXCC and WAS from space (the awards will be honorary). In addition, he holds the record for handling the most Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) school contacts of any ISS crew member — 34 as of March 23.

"I would like to express my deep gratitude to the worldwide amateur radio community for your participation in this great adventure," McArthur said. "Clearly, one of the benefits for Amateur Radio is bridging the distances between us. Through your participation, you helped realize the potential for the human exploration of space to do exactly that. Thanks to you, over the past six months, the International Space Station has been more international than ever before."

On St Patrick's Day, March 17, McArthur chatted with students at high schools in Maryland and Ohio on successive orbits. Something a bit out of the ordinary occurred during the contact with Bowie High School in Maryland, when one student asked in Russian, "How do the northern lights look from out in space?" Because all ISS crew members are bi-lingual, McArthur was able to respond in kind: "It's a beautiful sight."

Commenting for an article http://www.gazette.net/stories/032306/bowinew185511_31939.shtml about the contact that appeared in The Gazette newspaper, Bowie High School Principal John Birckhead said, “This type of event creates all kinds of opportunities for the students.” He credited coordinating teacher and Earth station operator Art Colton, KB3KAR, with doing "an excellent job" in making the contact happen. Members of the Goddard Amateur Radio Club (WA3NAN) provided and set up the equipment and antennas for the ARISS QSO.

McArthur answered 20 questions during the approximately 10-minute contact. The station for the direct VHF ARISS contact was located in the Bowie High School library. AMSAT President Rick Hambly, W2GPS, was on hand for the Bowie contact.

ARISS Mentor Jim Gass, N3CJN, said the event received coverage from TV and print media, including the Washington Post. "The kids were ecstatic, their parents were proud, and the principal, his staff and administrators were highly impressed and very pleased," he said.

On the next orbit, McArthur took 22 questions from students at Cleveland Heights High School in Ohio during a direct contact between NA8SA and NA1SS. In response to one, he indicated he doesn't put much stock in astrology and discounted any notion of a connection between astrology and space.

"That's a pretty interesting question," McArthur allowed. "Of course, astrology involves looking at the stars and the constellations and seeing if it can help predict our fates." Then, after some hesitation, he added, "I don't really pay much attention to astrology, to be quite honest with you."

McArthur told the students that the major difference between daily life on Earth and daily life in space is that his work day is longer on orbit.

"We really have a longer work day here," he responded. "Almost everything we do to some degree or another is work, so we have a little less time to 'hang around' if you will, although I'm hanging around on the ceiling right now."

The NA8SA Earth station call sign belongs to the NASA Lewis Research Center Amateur Radio Club in Cleveland, whose members helped set up for the event.

Coincidentally, both Bowie and Cleveland Heights boast current NASA astronauts among their graduates. Ricky Arnold, KE5DAU, of the astronaut class of 2004 is a Bowie alumnus, while Don Thomas, KC5FVF, attended Cleveland Heights.

ARISS http://www.rac.ca/ariss is an international educational outreach, with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.

ARRL Propagation Forecast Bulletin

Propagation Forecast Bulletin 13 ARLP013

From Tad Cook, K7RA

Seattle, WA March 31, 2006

To all radio amateurs

Sunspots continue to be scarce, although numbers have risen the past couple of days. Several days this week had 0 spots (March 25-27), but then they rose over the next few days to 11, 31 and 35. Geomagnetic conditions have been nice and stable, and should continue until April 6.

Even last weekend when there were no sunspots, 10 meters was active during the WPX contest. Bill Hohnstein, K0HA of Seward, Nebraska said that A35RK in Tonga worked EA8TX in the Canary Islands, a path of nearly 11,000 miles. This was on March 26 around 2153z. Around that time Bill also worked both of these stations.

He worked many strong Central and South American stations on 10 meters, as well as ZD8Z on Ascension Island and AH6RF in Hawaii. Bill also copied the ZL2MHF beacon, which runs 10 watts to a vertical antenna, and his longest path was his QSO with ZL1ANJ, 7,709 miles, at 1957z on March 26.

If you would like to make a comment or have a tip for our readers, email the author at, [email protected].

For more information concerning radio propagation and an explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin see the ARRL Technical Information Service propagation page at, http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html. An archive of past propagation bulletins is found at, http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/.

Sunspot numbers for March 23 through 29 were 36, 44, 0, 0, 0, 11 and 31 with a mean of 17.4. 10.7 cm flux was 76.6, 75.8, 75.6, 73.6, 74.3, 79.3, and 81.7, with a mean of 76.7. Estimated planetary A indices were 5, 4, 7, 7, 9, 6 and 6 with a mean of 6.3. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 2, 2, 4, 5, 8, 4 and 4, with a mean of 4.1.

ARRL DX Bulletin

DX Bulletin 13 ARLD013

From ARRL Headquarters

Newington CT March 30, 2006

To all radio amateurs

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by NC1L, TA3J, UA4CC, the QRZ DX, the OPDX Bulletin, DXNL, 425 DX News, The Daily DX, Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and WA7BNM web sites. Thanks to all.

BARBADOS, 8P. G3RWL is QRV as 8P6DR until April 6. QSL to home call.

PAKISTAN, AP. AP2IA is usually QRV on 20 meters from around 1230 to 1320z and then from 0525 to 0630z. QSL to home call.

SOUTH SHETLANDS. DT8A has been active on 30 meters around 2030z, 20 meters around 2230z and 40 meters around 2100z. QSL via HL2FDW.

IRAN, EP. Ali, EP3AG is usually QRV on 20 meters using RTTY between 0800 and 0900z and then from 1330 to 1530z.

REUNION ISLAND, FR. Jules, FR1AN can usually be found on 17 meters using SSB as early as 1100z up until 1500z. QSL via N5FTR.

SAINT MARTIN, FS. John, K9EL will be QRV as FS/K9EL from April 3 to 11. Activity is on 80 to 10 meters. QSL to home call.

HUNGARY, HA. As of March 29, 2006, Hungarian amateurs now have access to 50 to 52 MHz on a secondary, non-interference basis. They also now have access to 7.1 to 7.2 MHz.

ITALY, I. Operators IW9GUR, IW9HLM, IT9CVO, IT9RKR and IW9HQP are active as IE9/homecalls from Ustica Island, IOTA EU-051, until April 2. Activity is on 160 to 6 meters, excluding 30 meters. QSL to home calls.

ST. LUCIA, J6. Oleh, KD7WPJ is QRV as J6/homecall until April 5. Activity is on 160 to 6 meters using CW and SSB. QSL to home call.

BULGARIA, LZ. Members of the Bulgarian Federation of Radio Amateurs are active as LZ80R from their HQ to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the first radio amateur club in Bulgaria. They are active until the end of the year. QSL via LZ1BJ.

BONAIRE, CURACAO, PJ2. Andy will be QRV as PJ4/W9NJY from Bonaire from April 1 to 11. He plans to be active using mostly CW, on 40 to 10 meters, with a little SSB and digital. QSL via WD9DZV.

FERNANDO de NORONHA, PY0F. Orlando, PT2OP is QRV as ZV0F until April 4. He is here on holiday, but will be active generally every night after 2200z, and eventually during the day, on 80 to 10 meters using SSB. QSL to home call.

TURKEY, TA. Berkin, TA3J will be QRV as TA3J/0 from Sican Adasi, Rat Island, IOTA AS-115, from April 1 to 22. Activity is on 160 to 10 meters, including the newer bands and 2 meters, using all modes. QSL via TA3YJ.

CORSICA, TK. Jean, F5NHJ is QRV as TK/F5NHJ near Ajaccio until April 4. He is active holiday style using QRP CW. QSL to home call.

CHAGOS ISLANDS, VQ9. Larry, VQ9LA is QRV using RTTY on 40 meters around 0130z.

EUROPEAN RUSSIA, UA. Members of Radio Club REMO will be QRV as R4G from April 1 to 20 to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the first astronaut space flight on board the Russian spaceship Vostok. QSL via RZ4CWW.

INDIA, VU. A group of Indian amateurs are QRV as AT0AI from Arnala Island, IOTA AS-169, off the coast of Mumbai, until April 2. Activity is on all bands using CW, SSB, RTTY, PSK31 and other digital modes. QSL via VU2SWS.

SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO, YU. To commemorate the 500th anniversary of the city of Senta, amateur radio operators from here are using 500 in their callsigns until December 31.

ALBANIA, ZA. ZA1Z can usually be found on 40 meters using CW after 0000z.

OPERATION APPROVED FOR DXCC. The following operation is approved for DXCC credit: Peter 1 Island, 3Y0X, operations from February 8 to 19, 2006.

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO. Kids Roundup, SP DX Contest, EA RTTY Contest, 50th Annual QCWA Spring QSO Party, Missouri QSO Party, Montana QSO Party, Low Power CW Spring Sprint, RSGB RoPoCo 1, ARS Spartan CW Sprint are all scheduled for this weekend. The YLRL DX-YL to NA-YL CW Contest runs from April 4 to 6. The 144 MHz Spring Sprint runs for four hours on April 4. Please see April QST, page 100, and the ARRL and WA7BNM contest websites for details.

Where is Cycle 24?

By Paul Dunphy, VE1DX

One of the more persistent QRPers came by the other day and he was not in a good mood. "Where have all the sunspots gone?" he asked, "where are they? The flux has been stuck in the low seventies forever! I've looked at all the historical charts of solar cycles and it seems to me that we've been at the bottom for several years now. This is unprecedented! There's something wrong this time, and there are only two possible explanations. Why doesn't someone do something?" With that, he threw himself on the veranda chair, took a deep breath, and stared us right in the eye, "Why doesn't someone either tell us the truth or bring on cycle 24?"

There are days when we feel that if we hear any more about the solar minimum, we are going to explode! However, with several successful 3Y0X QSOs under our DX belt, we thought about what W9EEA had said in the Amateur's Code. So we turned to the QRPer and said, "Tell us more. What are the two explanations for the continued cycle minimum?" The QRPer was ready and started with the one thought that brings terror to the heart of any genuine true-blue DXer. "Well," he began, "the most likely reason is that we've hit another Maunder Minimum, one of those seventy to eighty year periods where there just is no sunspot activity. And no one will tell us because. . ." We jumped to our feet, "Stop! That's enough! There'll be no mention of that here, understand?" The QRPer looked at us for a moment and realized we were serious about such DX heresy.

"Okay, okay," he said, avoiding our glance for a moment, "I guess it's not that." We sat back down, still shaken that any DXer would mention that phrase, no matter how unlikely it might be. "What's the second theory?" we asked, putting forth our poker face and looking directly at the QRPer. "It's all those government agencies! Like NOAA and the NASA folks at the JPL in Pasadena. Or maybe the Royal Belgian Observatory. No one has declared that Cycle 23 has ended and Cycle 24 has begun. Someone has to do it! They have all their charts and computers and smoothed sunspot numbers and all that suffering stuff. Why don't they stop looking at them and make the official announcement? It's always happened in the past. As soon as one of these agencies make the official announcement of the new cycle, the flux starts to rise." He jumped to his feet and stared at us with his beady little eyes. "You can't argue with that, Buster! It's always been that way. Why are they holding back? What do they have against us DXers?"

Son of a Gun! What could we say to a DX dog that was barking up the wrong tree? Cause and effect can sometimes be puzzling, so we simply said, "You could be right. Maybe they forgot and need to be reminded. Why don't you write them a letter, word it tactfully, and maybe they'll notice their mistake." The QRPer brightened up and made his way toward the veranda steps. "Now there's an idea! And if they do, maybe they'll mention me in their announcement. I might get my call in CQ or QST!"

And with that he was off down the hill, sure that the sunspots would soon be back. We checked our subscriptions to CQ and QST to make sure they were up to date. It's not often that a local gets credit for such a major event, and we didn't want to miss it! We called the Old Timer and told him the news . . . but halfway through the story he hung up on us. Maybe the phones were bad . . .

April 2006

ARRL Propagation Forecast Bulletin

ARRL DX Bulletin