Snohomish County ARES

Bob Schroeder, N2HX, Awarded 2009 Bill Orr, W6SAI, Technical Writing Award
H. Robert "Bob" Schroeder, N2HX, of Ewing, New Jersey, has been named the winner of the ARRL Foundation's 2009 Bill Orr, W6SAI, Technical Writing Award for his article "Electromagnetic Pulse and Its Implications for EmComm" that appeared in November 2009 issue of QST. The editorial staff commented on Schroeder's article, saying that "the topic of nuclear EMP is somewhat esoteric by itself, let alone discussing its impact on Amateur Radio, yet the author did an outstanding job of making the subject matter understandable even to the relatively non-technical ham. His writing is clear and to the point, offering practical advice not only for EMP mitigation as it applies to the unlikely event of a nuclear burst, but also extending the same principles to mitigation for lightning damage."

Hamvention® Awards Deadline Is March 15
There are only a few days left to nominate individuals and clubs for the 2010 <a href="http://www.hamvention.org/" target="_blank">Dayton Hamvention</a>® awards. While the Special Achievement Award, Technical Excellence Award and Amateur of the Year Award have been given for many years, Hamvention Awards Chairman Frank Beafore, WS8B, told the ARRL that in 2010, the Hamvention Awards Committee will also present a special award to the Amateur Radio Club of the Year. That award is tied to this year’s Hamvention theme, Amateur Radio Clubs Worldwide: The Lifeline. March 15 is the deadline for nominations for all four awards; winners will be notified in April and publicly honored at the 2010 Dayton Hamvention in May. <a href="http://www.hamvention.org/awards.php" target="_blank">Information</a> on how to nominate a person or club for these awards is available at on the Dayton Hamvention Web site. Take this opportunity to recognize a special individual or club for their efforts on behalf of Amateur Radio.

The ARRL Second Homebrew Challenge -- And the Winners Are...
We had a good response to the Second ARRL Homebrew Challenge -- here's a quick summary.

Radio Club de Chile Lists Emergency Frequencies, E-mail Address
Radio Club de Chile (<a href="http://www.ce3aa.cl" target="_blank">RCCH</a>) President Dr Galdino Besomi, CE3PG, reports that the situation in Chile is “very complex” as the country suffers aftershocks registering 6.0 or higher after the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Chile on February 27. “Red Chilena Nor Austral de Servicio (<a href="http://www.ce3aa.cl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38&Itemid=40" target="_blank">RECNA</a>) and RCCH networks are working in coordination whit the Army of Chile, handling information about people localization, condition of roads and support for the emergency administration,” IARU Region 2 (Area G) Emergency Coordinator Jorge Sierra, LU1AS, told he ARRL. He has asked the amateur community to keep the following frequencies free from non-essential, emergency traffic: 14.200, 7.050, 7.095 and 3.738 MHz. “Other frequencies could be in use, especially on 40 meters. Before using any frequency it is very important to make sure it’s free,” he advised. The RCCH has set up an <a href="javascript:location.href='mailto:'+String.fromCharCode(115,101,99,114,101,116,97,114,105,97,64,99,101,97,97,46,99,108)+'?'">e-mail address</a> where people can request information concerning people affected by the earthquakes.

The K7RA Solar Update
Two new sunspot groups appeared on March 1, numbered 1052 and 1053. The total number of sunspot groups appearing over the last month is 11. Looking at our 3-month moving average of daily sunspot numbers, the latest for December-January-February is 22.4, for the period centered on January. The average daily sunspot number for the month of February was 31. The fact that this is higher than the latest 3-month average is a welcome trend. The current 3-month average centered on January 2010 is very close to the 3-month average centered on January 2007, which was 22.7. That moving average has not been as high since. In fact, the closest it has been was February 2007, at 18.5. It was all downhill from there, and that average was below 10 from September 2007-October 2009. It now looks like we saw three minimums, which is why it was so easy to err when trying to locate the bottom. Several times we hit some low number, decided that things were improving, and then a few months later hit it again.

Surfin': Using the Internet as a Public Service Radio Scanner
This week, Surfin' discovers yet another use for the Internet in the RF world.

ARRL Seeks Input for New IARU Region 2 Band Plan
The International Amateur Radio Region 2 conference -- held later this year in El Salvador -- brings together delegations from the national Amateur Radio Societies in the Western Hemisphere. One of the topics on the agenda will be the Region 2 HF band plan. This band plan is "harmonized with" -- spectrum management-speak for "very similar to" -- the IARU Region 1 and Region 3 band plans.

FCC Reaffirms Statement on ROS
In mid-February, European amateurs first used a new, experimental digital mode known as ROS. On February 23, 2010 -- after FCC review of the original documents provided from the developer's Web site -- the FCC made the following statements on ROS:

Amateur Radio Quiz: Workbench Wisdom
Even though you might be an inveterate tinkerer and builder, it's occasionally a good idea to put down those hot irons, sweep off the workbench and turn off the test equipment. This quiz is for you!

FCC Seeks Comments for Blanket Waiver to Allow Amateur Radio in Hospital Emergency Drills
In February 2010, the American Hospital Association (AHA) filed a request with the FCC for a blanket waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3) of the Commission's Rules "to permit hospitals seeking accreditation to use Amateur Radio operators who are hospital employees to transmit communications on behalf of the hospital as part of emergency preparedness drills." On March 3, the FCC issued a Public Notice -- WP Docket 10-54 -- seeking comments if the Commission "should grant AHA's request for a blanket waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3) to permit amateur operators who are hospital employees to participate in emergency drills that are conducted by hospitals for accreditation purposes and that are not government-sponsored."Section 97.113(a)(3) specifically prohibits amateur stations from transmitting communications "in which the station licensee or control operator has a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of an employer."