ARRL Urges Comments to FCC on 60-Meter Band

QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 26  ARLB026
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  October 11, 2023
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB026
ARLB026 ARRL Urges Comments to FCC on 60-Meter Band

The ARRL is asking that all radio amateurs urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to continue the existing use of the 60-meter band. A public comment period is open until October 30, 2023. ARRL encourages expressions of support to the FCC for the current 100 W ERP power limit (instead of reducing the power limit to 15 W EIRP) and continuing secondary access to the current channels.

To submit a filing of your comments for the FCC’s consideration in the rulemaking process, go to the FCC web page for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking’s (NPRM) Docket Number 23-120 at, https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/docket-detail/23-120.

If you wish to directly enter your comments, select the button labeled SUBMIT AN EXPRESS FILING at, https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings/express?proceeding5d=23-120 .

If you are uploading a document that contains your comments, select SUBMIT A STANDARD FILING at, https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings/standard?proceeding5d=23-120 .

When submitting your comments, be sure the correct proceeding’s docket number, 23-120, is included on the form. Your name and comments will be entered into the official public record of the proceedings and will be viewable by anyone who visits the docket web page.

While radio amateurs are encouraged to include any comments they would like in their submissions, they’re especially encouraged to draw upon their personal experiences using the 60-meter band for public service purposes and for its location between the amateur 80- and 40-meter bands, which is critical to ensuring signal propagation to certain geographic areas during variations in time and the solar cycle.

Some of the main points to comment on for this NPRM are:

* Urging the FCC to keep the four existing channels allocated to amateur radio on a secondary basis.

* Urging the FCC to keep the 100 W power limit for the four existing channels and the new 15 kHz subband.

ARRL Public Relations and Outreach Manager Sierra Harrop, W5DX, underscored the importance of commenting, urging members to speak up. “ARRL members make up the strongest voice in matters of amateur radio spectrum defense,” said Harrop. “Your membership and participation in the rulemaking process both ensure ARRL continues to make the difference when our band privileges are threatened. Please join us in effort to protect our 60-meter band privileges.”
NNNN
/EX

New York QSO Party, October 21-22, 2023

Map of NY state countiesKen Boasi, N2ZN, writes:

New York QSO Party 2023 – Our 15th Year!
 
On Saturday, October 21st (at 1400z), the 15th annual NY QSO Party will take place.  Come celebrate our 15th anniversary on the air with us.
 
Since the NYQP restart in 2009, we have experienced tremendous growth, not only in the number of entries, but also the total activity (QSO’s made) on a year-over-year basis.  The 2023 event will be no different, with a great set of awards for all entry categories, plus special rookie and youth awards as well.
 
Our mobiles and portable stations will take to the roads and fields to activate all of the 62 NY counties once again, with pileups sure to follow.  Will 2023 be the year that someone finally works a County Sweep?  Some have been close, but no operator has yet to achieve a sweep.  With high activity and great propagation due to enhanced sunspots, this may be the year!
 
Plan to join us, starting at 1400z Saturday until 0200z Sunday, on all bands, including VHF.  The full rules (updated for 2023), results from previous years, county data, planned activations and more can be found at www.nyqp.org
 
See you all in a week and a half!
 
73, Ken N2ZN (NYQP Co-Coordinator)

Western Massachusetts Amateur Radio Emergency Service to Hold Annual Emergency Test

WMA ARES logoFrom wma.arrl.org:

The Western Massachusetts section of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service will hold their 2023 Simulated Emergency Test from 10:00 AM local time on Saturday, 21 October to 10:00 AM local time on Sunday, 22 October 2023.  This test will involve ARES members attempting to receive and report airport weather information to the Department of Defense via the US Army Military Affiliate Radio System.  [Full story]

WWLP 22 News: “HCRA Celebrates 75 Years with Picnic on Saturday”

Screenshot of HCRA Picnic as reported by WWLP Ch. 22 SpringfieldAGAWAM, Mass. (WWLP) — “Radio Lovers came together for the 75th anniversary of the Hampden County Radio Association with a picnic at the School Street Park in Agawam Saturday afternoon.

“People were encouraged to bring their radios, antennas, and power sources to ‘Tune the World’. This gave amateur radio operators a chance to receive their license to transmit on HAM radios. There was a demonstration provided on how to use their portable radios as well. By the end of the classes, people were able to make unofficial contact with emergency services.” [Full story]

BBC Story: “Eclipses do odd things to radio waves. An army of amateur broadcasters wants to find out why”

During the American solar eclipses of October 2023 and April 2024, hundreds of radio amateurs will take to the airwaves. Their goal is to help scientists investigate what happens to radio signals when the Moon blocks the Sun.
 
BBC picture of HamSCI eclipse event“It’s the huge tower in his back yard that gives Todd Baker’s hobby away. Bristling with antennae, the 30m (100ft) structure is taller than many of the mature trees nearby. Baker, an industrial conveyor belt salesman from Indiana, goes not just by his name, but also his call-sign, the short sequence of letters and numbers that he uses to identify himself over the air: W1TOD. He is a member of the amateur radio, or ham radio, community.”  [Full story]

ARISS Contact With Covenant Christian Academy, West Peabody, October 13, 2023

ARISS logoFrom ARISS.org:

October 9, 2023—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and students at the Covenant Christian Academy (CCA) in West Peabody, MA. ARISS conducts 60-80 of these special amateur radio contacts each year between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard the ISS.

CCA is a private school that serves over 430 students, Pre-K through12th grade. To prepare for this ARISS contact CCA integrated space-themed aspects into its STEM program and STEM-related activities. The physics and chemistry students hosted “Space Week” where they put together interactive displays on everything from the physics of black holes, Doppler shift, life on the ISS, to the chemistry of astronaut cuisine. STEM-related activities engaged students in their newly instituted Rocketry Club, Women in STEM Club, and a robotics lab. Amateur radio activities, such as learning about ham radio and radio communications, are being provided during after-school programs by members of area amateur radio clubs.

This ARISS contact will allow students to ask their questions of Astronaut Loral O’Hara, amateur radio call sign KI5TOM. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz and may be heard by listeners within the ISS footprint that encompasses the amateur radio ground station in West Peabody, MA.

Amateur radio operators using call sign N1DQF will operate this radio station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.
The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for October 13, 2023 at 9:47 am EDT (MA) (13:47 UTC, 9:47 am EDT, 8:47 am CDT, 6:47 am PDT). The public is invited to watch the live stream at: https://vimeo.com/event/3761617.
_______________________________
As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. What happens with all the trash on the ISS?
2. What is the best part and worst part about living in space?
3. Is the wifi and internet connection better in space?
4. How do you get your supplies delivered to the space station?
5. Do you play games in space? If so, how are they different from the games you play on earth?
6. What is your favorite workout to do for two hours each day to keep your muscles in shape?
7. What has been one of your hardest or scariest moments on the ISS?
8. How do you train your bodies to fall asleep on the ISS since your circadian rhythm can’t be regulated to the earth’s rotation on its axis?
9. Does time feel different on the ISS?
10. Is there any research that you are currently involved in? If so, how does it benefit the earth?
11. What is your favorite meal or snack to eat in outer space?
12. What types of jobs do you do while on the International Space Station?
13. How do you fix the solar panels on the space station?
14. Do you have any animals on the ISS right now? What are they?
15. What happens when someone gets sick on board the ISS?
16. When you come back to earth from space, do you feel the pressure of gravity, and if so, how much does this affect you?
17. What was the most challenging part of your training that prepared you to work on the International
Space Station?
18. What’s the most amazing thing you have seen from space?
19. Has living on the ISS changed any of your perspectives on life?
20. Is all the training, preparation, and hardship you endure to be an astronaut on the ISS worth it?

About ARISS:

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program (SCaN) and the ISS National Lab—Space Station Explorers.

The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities take part in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see http://www.ariss.org.

Media Contact:

Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR

Find us on social media at:

X: ARISS_Intl
Facebook: facebook.com/ARISSIntl
Instagram: ariss_intl
Mastodon: ariss_intl@mastodon.hams.social

New England Sci-Tech Code Course, October 16, 2023

photo of telegraph keyNew England Sci-Tech writes on its Facebook page:
 
Our next Code Course begins October 16th!
 
This is a condensed Morse code course with only 6 lessons and is appropriate for children in 5th grade and up. Adults without children and children without adults are welcome too, and up to 3 members of the same household can take the course for a single fee!
For full details and to register, visit: https://nescitech.org/content.aspx?page_id=22…

Solar Eclipse QSO Party, Gladstone Signal Spotting Challenge to Coincide with Solar Eclipse, October 12, 2023

HamSCI Festivals of Eclipse Ionospheric Science logo

 

Gary Mikitin, AF8A <gmikitinaf8a@gmail.com> writes on the HamSCI mailing list on October 7, 2023

Greetings, solar eclipse enthusiasts – Perhaps no reminders are needed, but just to be safe, here goes:  

 
The Solar Eclipse QSO Party and the Gladstone Signal Spotting Challenge will be held in ~1 week.  Both commence at 1200UTC on 14 October and continue for 12 hours, until 2200UTC.
 
Both rule pages (SEQP and GSSC) have been updated with log submission and entry details.  
  • An email address for bonus point file submissions has been added to both
  • The GSSC entry form, at the end of the rules page, is ready for post-contest use. 
  • The SEQP log submission robot will accept both Cabrillo and ADIF file types – which should be popular with FT4/8 operators
  • A Checklog entry category has been added to the SEQP.  Details below.
Annular Eclipse Saturday coincides with 4 popular state QSO parties (AZ, NV, SD and PA).  Some hams will choose to exclusively operate the state contests, and that’s fine.  If they are on the air, especially on CW or digital modes, their activity will add to the data collected by the automated receiving networks, a plus for HamSCI.  They may upload their AZ or NV or SD or PA logs as check logs using the SEQP robot and receive an SEQP participation certificate from HamSCI.
 
The SEQP log upload robot coding is almost complete – a link will be added to the SEQP rules just before the contest begins.
 
Questions?  Feel free to email them to the hamsci <at> hamsci <dot> org address.
 
73 de Gary, AF8A
HamSCI Amateur Radio Community Coordinator

Rhode Island Simulated Emergency Test, October 7-8, 2023

ARES logoRhode Island ARES will participate in a Simulated Emergency Test and the “Communications Exercise 23-04 Airport Weather Report” conducted by the Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) on October 7-8, 2023.

RI ARES members will attempt to receive local airport weather broadcasts in the VHF-AM Aviation Band from 119-136 MHz. A list of local airport weather frequencies will be provided. Members may elect to establish a temporary station at an advantageous position in order to improve their chances of receiving one or more airports.

Members who are able to receive these reports will transcribe the weather reports so that they may be reported to US Army MARS.

Members who are unable to receive airport weather reports are requested to report that fact, along with their location, in order to alert authorities to any airports that may not be operational or that may have degraded weather reporting capabilities.

ARES members will check in to local ARES nets to pass the weather reports to any MARS station on the Net, or to Net Control who will aggregate these into a book of messages that can be passed to US Army MARS stations. Members may also send these reports via WinLink at any time during the exercise period. Members may alternatively complete a google form with the information.

Amateurs are asked to listen to aviation stations:
 
1. KBID Block Island, RI AVIATION 134.775 
2. KPVD Warwick, RI AVIATION 124.2 
3. KSFZ Pawtucket, RI AVIATION 120.775 
4. KUUU Newport, RI AVIATION 132.075 
5. KWST Westerly, RI AVIATION 132.375 
6. KOQU N. Kingstown, RI AVIATION 118.6 
 
and report the following information:
 
Reception Location: ________________________________________
STATION: ________________________
TIME: ______ ZULU
WIND: _______ @ _______
VISIBILITY: __________
SKY CONDITION: __________
TEMPERATURE: __________
DEWPOINT: ___________
ALTIMETER:__________
REMARKS: Density Altitude __________
 
For more information, contact RI Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator Jeremy Taylor, K1JST, at <k1jst@riares.org>.

ARRL Foundation Accepting Applications for Grants in October

From ARRL News:

10/04/2023—The ARRL Foundation is now accepting grant applications from amateur radio organizations for eligible amateur radio-related projects and initiatives, particularly those focused on educating, licensing, and supporting amateur radio activities. To grow amateur radio’s future, youth-based projects and initiatives are especially encouraged. The ARRL Foundation grants program accepts proposals on a cyclical model three times a year: in February, June, and October. Proposals for the June grant period are accepted through October 31. Awardees will be notified approximately 1 month after the closing of each cycle.

The ARRL Foundation is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The Foundation carefully manages a portfolio of endowments where donors have provided specific goals for their gifts, and that portfolio is invested and managed in a way that it can continue to support those goals for many years to come.

Additional information and a link to the grant application can be found at http://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-grants