March 26, 2007 by kb3ljm.

For the past 10 days we’ve observed no sunspots at all! Periods like this — or longer – are expected at the bottom of the sunspot cycle. As mentioned in a recent “Solar Update,” the latest projection for smoothed sunspot numbers from the NOAA Space Environment Center puts the solar minimum at February through April 2007, with a smoothed sunspot number of 11. You can see the table on page 10 of the Preliminary Report and Forecast. Another way to look at it is that the minimum is projected between December 2006 and July 2007, with a smoothed sunspot number of 12 or lower.

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2007/03/23/100/?nc=1

Posted in K7RA Solar Update, ARRL Web Extra | Comments Off

March 26, 2007 by kb3ljm.

The FCC has again refused to consider extending the limited protections for amateur antennas that it has imposed on local and state governments to private homeowners’ associations. In rejecting a petition from a group known as Hams for Action (HFA) for the Commission to override covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) that prevent amateurs from installing antennas, the FCC repeated its stand from a 2001 decision that state and local laws are different from CC&Rs in that the latter are agreed to voluntarily. “We conclude that HFA has not presented grounds for the Commission to revisit this policy,” said a letter from Scot Stone, Deputy Chief of the Wireless Telecommunication Bureau’s Mobility Division. The letter also reiterated the FCC’s stand that if hams are able to persuade Congress to mandate the inclusion of CC&Rs under the limited pre-emption policy commonly known as PRB-1, then the Commission would “expeditiously act to fulfill its obligation thereunder.”

Posted in CQ News Service | Comments Off

March 26, 2007 by kb3ljm.

The FCC’s decision to drop Morse code tests from all classes of amateur licenses is apparently prompting thousands of people to join the amateur service for the first time, even though there has been no code test for the Technician license since 1991. The ARRL reports a huge upsurge in the number of new Technician Class licensees — sometimes 60 or 70 from a single test session, according to the ARRL Letter, with large numbers of upgrades as well. The number of exam session is way up as well. The ARRL VEC, which normally sponsors about 450 test sessions a month around the U.S., reported nearly 800 sessions had been scheduled for March, with another 600 on tap for April. And, according to VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, “it doesn’t look like test session activity will be slowing down anytime soon.”

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March 26, 2007 by kb3ljm.

The government of Iraq has shut down amateur radio operations in the country until the security situation there improves. Diya Sayah, YI1DZ, President of the Iraq Amateur Radio Society, reported in an e-mail that “all activities of amateur radio in Iraq will be suspended for unknown date or time,” and that the shutdown applies both to Iraqi citizens and to foreign hams who have been operating with YI9 callsigns. Sayah told the ARRL he had requested a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to try to clear up any “possible misunderstanding on the part of government officials as to the nature and purpose of Amateur Radio.”

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March 26, 2007 by kb3ljm.

The ARRL DXCC Desk has approved these operations for DXCC credit: DX0JP (Spratly Islands, 2007 operation), 9M4SDX (Spratly Islands, 2007 operation), 9U9Z(Burundi, 2007 operation), YW0DX (Aves Island, 2007 operation) and 1A4A (Sovereign Military Order Of Malta, 2007 operation). For more information, visit the DXCC Web page. “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/?artid=7315

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