ARRL Foundation Scholarship Program Now Accepting Applications

ARRL Foundation logo09/29/2020 – Applications for the 2021 ARRL Foundation Scholarship Program will be accepted between October 1 and December 31, 2020.All applicants must be FCC-licensed radio amateurs, and many scholarships have other specific requirements, such as intended area of study, residence within a particular ARRL Division, Section, or state, and license class.

Applicants should review the scholarship descriptions and check off the ones for which they are eligible. If you complete an online application, you must also email a PDF of academic transcripts from your most recently completed school year by January 11, 2021. Some scholarships require additional documents to be submitted (e.g., letter of recommendation from an officer of an ARRL-affiliated club). Applications not accompanied by transcripts and additional documents, where applicable, will not be considered.

The ARRL Foundation Scholarship Committee will review all applicants for eligibility and award decisions. Scholarship recipients will be notified in May 2021 via USPS mail and email. For more information, visit the ARRL Foundation Scholarship Program page.

Massachusetts Department of Motor Vehicles is Not Processing Ham Operator Plate Applications

From EMA ARRL Section News, September 30, 2020:

For almost a year now, the Massachusetts Department of Motor Vehicles has been unable to process new “Ham Operator” special plate applications. According to one Western Massachusetts amateur who spoke to a DMV employee, “[…] the person I talked to informed me that this issue has been referred to the software company/vendor. No estimate has been placed on a resolution. She refused to tell me how many applications are being held up. I asked if there was anyone I could refer this to, she declined and said there was no one to escalate it to.”

At the request of Western MA Section Manager Ray Lajoie, KB1LRL, MA State Government Liaison Hank McCarl, W4RIG, contacted MA State Senator Bruce Tarr’s office to inquire. A legislative spokesperson from that office informed Hank that all special series and vanity license plates that have specific letter-number requests are currently impacted. However, plates for which numbers are sequentially assigned; e.g., 0001 through 9999, are being processed.

How many other amateurs in Massachusetts have been affected by this snafu at the DMV? Please write and let us know at <k1tw@arrl.org>

Winlink Workshop: DIY Radio Interfaces, October 1, 2020

Please plan to attend Thursday, October 1 , WK10 – Winlink Workshop: DIY Radio Interfaces
9:00 PM AST / 9:00 PM EDT / 8:00 PM CT / 7:00 PM MDT / 6:00 PM PDT / 5:00 PM AKDT / 3:00 PM HST
Topic: DIY Radio Interfaces
Speaker: Scott Currie NS7C
Thursday’s meeting will be OPEN for all to attend. Please feel free to invite others.
This meeting will be recorded. By participating you consent to being recorded.
Please change your display name to Your FirstName, CallSign, and Location, e.g. Dan K7REX Idaho
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 212 888 4758
Passcode: W10Winlink
One tap mobile
+13462487799,,2128884758#,,,,,,0#,,7008925219# US (Houston)
+12532158782,,2128884758#,,,,,,0#,,7008925219# US (Tacoma)
Dial by your location
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
Meeting ID: 212 888 4758
Passcode: 7008925219
Join our SEC-ARES group for announcements and discussions https://groups.io/g/SEC-ARES
Please be sure to use both your name and call sign when registering

HCRA Fox Box is Back Up

Hampden Co RA logoKen Dion, KD1KU writes on the WMAFoxHunters list:

As of 1300 hrs, Tuesday, September 29th, the [Hampden County Radio Association] Fox has been fully charged and is back in hiding! With a little bit of luck the issue of it randomly cutting out has been resolved. The only way to know for sure is if we get some hunters after the fox so if you know someone interested in fox hunting then why not take them along with you on this or a future hunt. Let’s get more hams interested in this aspect of amateur radio! This is also a good opportunity for base stations to give signal reports and a direction if possible.

That diabolical fox is running the usual one watt into a 18 inch antenna. I was able to activate it running 50 watts on my mobile rig with a 5/8 wave mag mount at the intersection of Roosevelt Ave. & Page Blvd. in Springfield, MA. co-ordinates 42.14396, -72.55199 (see map below). Also I was able to wake the fox with only 5 watts just up from Teddy Bear Pools on East Street in Chicopee!

<…>

If the Fox can hear you and you can hear it, you will hear its very distinctive sound. It will transmit for 30 seconds, ID and then repeat 2 more times and then go back to sleep. You can make it transmit as often as necessary to find it.

You do not actually have to touch the box to claim finding it. Eyeball contact is sufficient but a photo showing the fox is helpful as long as it doesn’t give away it’s location. It is located less than 500 feet from a safe parking location. Announce here on this group that you found it and any comments other than its location. We want to know who has found it and who hasn’t.

Please do not post the frequency or PL on any social media, websites or email lists.

Happy Fox Hunting!

Ken, KD1KU

Transceiver Performance for the HF DX Operator

Please plan to attend Wednesday, September 30 Ham Radio Zoom session.
9:00 PM AST / 9:00 PM EDT / 8:00 PM CT / 7:00 PM MDT / 6:00 PM PDT / 5:00 PM AKDT / 3:00 PM HST
Topic: Transceiver Performance for the HF – DX Operator
Speaker: Rob Sherwood, NC0B, Sherwood Engineering www.sherweng.com/lab-p.html
Wednesday’s meeting will be OPEN for all to attend. Please feel free to invite others.
————————————————————–
  • This meeting will be recorded. By participating you consent to being recorded.
  • Please change your display name to your FirstName, Call Sign, and Location, e.g. Dan K7REX Idaho.
————————————————————–
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2128884758?pwd=cERaUkExS3Y2SDVHNFJhcVRpcWNjUT09

Meeting ID: 212 888 4758
Passcode: Receivers

One tap mobile
+13462487799,,2128884758#,,,,,,0#,,044011695# US (Houston)
+16699006833,,2128884758#,,,,,,0#,,044011695# US (San Jose)

Dial by your location
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
Meeting ID: 212 888 4758
Passcode: 044011695

Wellesley ARS “Parks On The Air” Activation, K-2427, September 26, 2020

[Wellesley (MA) Amateur Radio Society members] Steve Ciavarini, NQ1F, along with Rob Jaczko, WA1UMU, and Leandra Mac Lennan, AF1R, operated Parks On The Air as K-2427 on Saturday September 26, 2020 at Cochituate State Park in Natick, MA.After guidance from park rangers, Leandra set up her VHF Moxon beam antenna for 2m and a 20m Hamstick vertical; Rob set up his new Wolf River vertical with twelve 40-foot radials that Steve made, and Steve set up his home brew 6m beam he presented to WARS last week. Started operating around 3:30PM.

All in all, Rob and Leandra made around 60 contacts on 40M, 20M, and 2M, and one contact on 6M, which was absolutely dead.

The gang said it was good fun. Leandra wanted to do a POTA sometime, and when Rob invited she jumped at the chance. Leandra brought her Yaesu FT991 40AH battery, mini masts for the Hamstick and 2-meter Moxon antenna. Rob brought his Icom 7300, 20AH battery, and a Wolf River Coils antenna (https://www.wolfrivercoils.com). However there was a set of 50-foot radials with this antenna, which were all tangled up like a ball of twine. This took a frustrating hour to untangle, but once set up, the antenna was excellent on 40M.

[Full story]

ARRL Seeks Changes in FCC Proposal to Delete 3.4 GHz Amateur Band

From the ARRL web:

09/26/2020 – ARRL met via telephone with FCC staff members this week to emphasize its opposition to the FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in Docket 19-348 to delete amateur radio from the 3.3 – 3.5 GHz band. The FCC will take final action in the proceeding when it meets on September 30.

In comments filed earlier this year, ARRL urged that the secondary status for amateur radio in the band be continued. In a series of meetings with Commissioner legal advisors and staff members, ARRL explained how continued secondary use by radio amateurs will not impair or devalue use of this spectrum by future primary licensees, including those intending to provide 5G or other services. ARRL also stressed the various public-benefit uses of the spectrum by amateurs, including ongoing use of television and mesh networks on the west coast of the US as part of efforts to contain wildfires.

With regard to interference potential, ARRL stated that amateur radio operators using these bands are technically proficient and have a long history of sharing with primary users in this and other bands without causing interference.

FCC staff expressed concern that because amateur operations in the band are less clearly defined than those of other services also operating on a non-interference in the band, they would be difficult to locate should interference occur. ARRL Washington Counsel David Siddall, K3ZJ, noted that Section 97.303(g), an existing amateur rule, could be amended or used to craft a notification requirement, if the FCC concluded that relying on other methods would be insufficient. The FCC participants indicated that such a requirement, in place of deleting the secondary allocation, would be given serious consideration. (Section 97.303(g) contains specific frequency-sharing requirements for the 2200- and 630-meter amateur bands.)

Siddall also pointed out that the Amateur Television Network (ATN) filed an email with the Commission that included a letter from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) describing amateur radio’s contributions, specifically calling out the need for 3.4 GHz access GHz and explaining why other bands are not sufficient.

ARRL also argued that, in any event, continued operation in the band should be permitted until and unless an actual potential for interference exists in a specific geographic area. ARRL said the FCC should not intentionally leave spectrum capacity unused during a build-out period that the Commission’s own proposal indicates will last for at least 12 years in some areas.

The record in the proceeding is now closed. Please be reminded that there can be no calls, emails, or filings to the FCC with regard to the issues under consideration until a final FCC Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is released. Release is currently expected to be within a few days after the Commission’s September 30 meeting. At that time, ARRL will evaluate the impact on amateur radio of the Commission’s decisions and consider what further action, if any, may be merited.