***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 28, No. 15
April 17, 2009
***************

IN THIS EDITION:

* + When Vandals Strike Infrastructure, Hams Provide Communications Support
* + ARRL Comments on Broadband Provisions in Recovery Act
* + Look for the May Issue of QST in Your Mailbox
* + California Teen Is 2009 Goldfarb Scholarship Recipient
* + Hams in Southeastern US Provide Spotting Assistance to NWS
* + Forum Schedule Announced for 2009 Dayton Hamvention
* Solar Update
* IN BRIEF:
This Week on the Radio
ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration
+ No ARRL Audio News April 24
+ Italy Discontinues HF Earthquake Net

+Available on ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/

================================================== =========
==Delivery problems: First see FAQ http://www.arrl.org/members-only/faq.html#nodelivery, then e-mail
==Editorial questions or comments only: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
================================================== =========

== WHEN VANDALS STRIKE INFRASTRUCTURE, HAMS PROVIDE COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT

Just after midnight on April 9, someone climbed down four manholes in the San
Jose, California area and cut underground fiber optic cables. The sabotage
led to widespread disruption of phone service -- including tens of thousands
of land lines, an undetermined number of cell phones, Internet access and 911
emergency service -- in southern Santa Clara County, as well as in Santa Cruz
and San Benito counties. San Jose is the county seat of Santa Clara County.
With the infrastructure disabled, local Emergency Management officials called
on ham radio operators in their communities to provide back-up
communications. According to the "San Jose Mercury News," Santa Clara County
called a local state of emergency, "but worst-case scenarios were
successfully avoided through use of ham radios, door-to-door checks and
extra-vigilant patrols"
http://www.mercurynews.com/centralcoast/ci_12121118?nclick_check=1.

In Santa Cruz County, just over the Santa Cruz Mountains from San Jose, Santa
Cruz County District Emergency Coordinator Cap Pennell, KE6AFE, was awoken
just after 5 AM on April 9 by uniformed police at his door. Sent by Dominican
Hospital President Nanette Mickiewicz, the police officers escorted Pennell
to the hospital for a brief on this situation: The fiber optic lines that had
been cut in San Jose had affected the Santa Cruz hospital's communications
infrastructure, cutting off communications from the hospital to the outside
world. Santa Cruz is located on the northern edge of the Monterey Bay, about
70 miles south of San Francisco.

"While I was meeting with hospital department heads, Bob Wolbert, K6XX, had
started our ARES Resource Net on the W6WLS/W6MOW linked repeaters," Pennell
told the ARRL. "During the briefing, the hospital determined to implement
HICS/SEMS for this emergency. There hadn't been telephones or Internet
anywhere since about 2:30 AM. The hospital's phone system did work, but only
within the hospital. Their internal computer local area network wasn't
working either, so they were instantly on a 'paper system.'"

By 6:15, Pennell said they had established tactical radio links on the
K6BJ/KI6EH linked repeaters between the Dominican Hospital Emergency
Operations Center in Santa Cruz and the Watsonville Community Hospital
emergency room; Watsonville is about 15 miles south of Santa Cruz via the
Pacific Coast Highway. "We established HEARNET 155.385 simplex between both
hospital ERs and County 911; HEARNET is the Hospital Emergency Administrative
Radio Network. Once HEARNET (ER staff) and K6BJ repeater (hams) were staffed
and operating at both hospitals, I left the hospital to become our initial
ham operator at the County Emergency Operations Center and operated as
ARES/ACS shift supervisor from there for the rest of the day," Pennell
reported.

Throughout the day, Pennell said that hams -- including some in Monterey
County who had been working telephones -- helped dispatch ambulances,
conferred with the Poison Center on a children's poisoning case, ordered
replacement blood supplies for two hospitals from San Jose Red Cross, relayed
a complex major "whole hospital" day's food order to the supplier out of
county, tracked down various doctors for emergency consultations and shared
status updates from our area. "We did all this while in unity with the County
government, public safety agencies and California Emergency Management
Agency's Coastal Region," he said. "Greg Smith of Cal-EMA
http://www.calema.ca.gov/ spent the day in the Santa Cruz EOC with us." All
service was restored by 12:15 AM on Friday, April 10.

NETCOM, the dispatch center for most police and fire agencies in Santa Cruz
County, was able to receive 911 calls placed from land lines, but could not
receive calls placed from cell phones, said Santa Cruz County Senior
Dispatcher Stephanie Zube. "Because the only phone number many land line
phone owners could call was 911," she said the center received "countless
calls" regarding the blackout: "At least several people attempted to call 911
before driving themselves to the emergency room. A lady in Gilroy fled her
home when a robber broke in, and couldn't call 911 before fleeing to a nearby
firehouse."

Vandalism Takes Out System

San Jose and San Carlos police are joined in their investigation of the cut
fiber optic cables -- now considered by authorities to be a coordinated act
of sabotage -- by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office and the FBI. The
investigation also includes members of AT&T's security force, a handful of
trained investigators working for the company. Authorities said on April 10
that evidence collection was complete, but would not elaborate on what
exactly what they are examining or whether new security measures are in place
to prevent similar acts of destruction.

San Jose police reported receiving about 10 tips concerning the sabotage; San
Carlos police told the "Mercury News" that they were examining video
surveillance of a major intersection near one of the four locations where
AT&T's underground fiber-optic cables were sliced early Thursday morning.

On April 11, AT&T issued a $100,000 reward for information, but bumped up the
reward to $250,000 the next day when it discovered that the damage was more
serious than originally thought. According to the Daily Tech, some banks in
the area were forced to close temporarily, while all service was disabled and
hand-written receipts were offered to customers. Many businesses also were
forced to either accept cash or close for a few hours, since credit card and
ATM transactions were unavailable
http://www.dailytech.com/Vandals+Cut...or+50K+Peop l
e+911+Services/article14821.htm.

Authorities say the communications sabotage occurred in two separate
incidents, one at 1:30 AM in south San Jose and the other two hours later in
San Carlos. Several companies, such as Verizon, "piggy back" on the
AT&T-owned cables. AT&T spokesman John Britton told the "Mercury News"
http://www.mercurynews.com/centralcoast/ci_12115324?nclick that it appears
vandals opened a manhole and climbed down at least 8 feet to cut four or five
fiber optic cables along Monterey Road just north of the Blossom Hill Road
exit. The second vandalism was along Old County Road near Bing Street in San
Carlos. San Jose police spokesman Sergeant Ronnie Lopez said the manhole
covers are heavy and would take quite an effort to lift, perhaps even
requiring a tool. Investigators do not have a suspect yet, he said, but have
learned "to expect the unexpected. We have some obvious clues and can assume
some things," but a motive remains elusive
http://www.mercurynews.com/valley/ci_12142268.

Community Leaders Praise Hams

Gilroy, the southernmost city in Santa Clara County, was also affected. City
Administrator/Director of Emergency Services Thomas J. Haglund expressed his
thanks to the Amateur Radio operators who assisted with communications
support, saying, "This particular emergency situation underscores that our
reliance on technology should be balanced with maintaining the very types of
capabilities that you provided to us. Communication is an obvious key to
adequately responding to any emergency and the efforts of the Mutual Aid
Communicators and the Gilroy Police VIP's provided the necessary
communication and public visibility in this instance and demonstrated just
how important your training and skill is to our community. Thank you very
much for your dedication and expertise."

Gilroy Police Chief Denise Turner echoed Haglund's comments: "We truly
appreciated all of your help during this challenging event! Each of you
played a key role in a successful operation. I feel better knowing we have
dedicated volunteers like you that will come to our aid in time of need!
Thank you!" -- Some information provided by "The San Jose Mercury News" and
"The Daily Tech"

== ARRL COMMENTS ON BROADBAND PROVISIONS IN RECOVERY ACT

On March 24, 2009, the FCC invited comments from interested parties
concerning the Commission's consultative role in the broadband provisions of
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act)
http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Da...A-09-668A1.pdf
. In the Recovery Act, Congress assigned grant and loanmaking
responsibilities to the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Department of Agriculture's
Rural Utilities Service (RUS). On April 13, the ARRL, through General Counsel
Chris Imlay, W3KD, submitted comments
http://www.arrl.org/news/files/BroadbandDefinitionDocket09-40.pdf that
expressed concern as "the threshold for what constitutes 'broadband' is a
critical determination that will inevitably determine the success or failure
of the [Broadband Technologies Opportunities Program] BTOP
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandgrants/ program going forward."

In the League's comments to the FCC, the ARRL asked the Commission to adopt
as the definition of broadband "those technologies capable of the minimum
threshold bidirectional speeds [as recommended in the ARRL's comments],
without variation among the type of broadband technology under consideration,
as a minimum threshold in order to be considered for grants or loans of
public funds."

While the FCC has no funds under the Recovery Act for grant or loanmaking, it
does, however, have what the Commission describes as "an important role to
play in providing expert, technical advice to the NTIA" as it establishes the
BTOP, "and the Commission may also provide expert, technical advice to RUS as
it proceeds with its own programs."

Imlay pointed out to the Commission that the ARRL actively participates in
the Committee for Communications Policy of the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers-USA (IEEE-USA CCP), "which has engaged in considerable
discussion of universal access to high-speed broadband networks, and in
particular, broadband definitions and target goals for broadband deployment"
http://www.ieeeusa.org/volunteers/committees/ccp/.

He told the Commission that the ARRL "wholeheartedly concurs" with that
organization's views on broadband technologies, as detailed in its position
statement, 'Nationwide High Speed Broadband Data Services,' that says "The
most important short-term goal is broadening ubiquitous availability [of
broadband]. Data rates should be sufficient to provide the equivalent of
several channels of bidirectional, high resolution video, achievable by
expanding the capabilities of current technologies"
http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/positions/broadband.pdf.

The IEEE also says that it "initially advocates" the achievement of at least
20 Mb/s bidirectional speed with 90 percent availability throughout the
nation within five years. "The wide penetration of such speeds will achieve
most of the expected benefits and accommodate numerous simultaneous
applications per household or small business. Of course, greater speeds can
be had by those with greater needs. We further advocate the achievement of at
least 100 Mb/s bidirectional speed with availability to all businesses and
households within 10 years. The technology necessary to meet this goal is
scalable to almost any future need at inexpensive upgrade costs."

Imlay said that IEEE-USA's position statement concludes that there are "two
overarching goals for nationwide high-speed broadband networks: widespread
availability and high performance." In providing public funds to achieve
widespread availability, Imlay stated that the FCC, NTIA and the RUS should
ensure that high performance should not be set aside to achieve that goal.
"This," he told the Commission, "to ARRL, means the establishment of a floor
for throughput of at least 20 Mb/s bidirectional speed for funding of
broadband systems to be developed between now and 2014, and 100 Mb/s
bidirectional speed for those systems to be implemented between 2014 and
2019. Expenditure of public funds should be limited to the technologies that
can meet these goals."

The IEEE-USA statement also notes, Imlay explained to the Commission, that
the FCC's recently adopted definition of broadband speed "is a series of
tiers, starting as low as 768 kb/s. As noted in the statement, this is
woefully inadequate to perform even current computing applications." Imlay
called for an elimination of tiers "at least for purposes of determining what
broadband technologies should be funded with public funds."

Imlay, in his comments, said that the "most urgent" of the FCC's
"consultative issues with the NTIA" involve defining just what broadband is.
"The Commission is obligated pursuant to the Recovery Act to consult with
NTIA on the establishment of a national broadband service deployment and
expansion program, and the NTIA is obligated, through the BTOP program, to
provide access to broadband service to consumers residing in unserved areas,"
he said. "It is not useful in the expenditure of large sums of Recovery Act
funds to promote broadband technologies that do not include the capabilities
needed by individuals and businesses located in rural or underserved areas.
Therefore, the threshold for what constitutes 'broadband' is a critical
determination that will inevitably determine the success or failure of the
BTOP program going forward."

The ARRL recognizes that the FCC has struggled with this definition for some
time, Imlay wrote: "Indeed, in the Notice of Inquiry in Docket 09-51, FCC
09-31, released April 8, 2009 (at ¶15-16), the Commission stated that
'Broadband can be defined in myriad ways. In order to ensure that all people
of the United States have access to broadband capability, we must make sure
that the Commission appropriately identifies goals and benchmarks in this
regard...In addition, to the extent that broadband is defined by 'speed,'
should the Commission consider raising the speeds that define broadband?
Should we distinguish among the various broadband technologies?"
http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Da...CC-09-31A1.pdf


Imlay said that it is the ARRL's position that the definition of "broadband"
should include an "absolute lower threshold, minimum bidirectional speed. It
should not be a variable concept determined by technology. To do otherwise is
to provide grants and loans of public funds to technologies whose benefits
are, in the medium term, inadequate and which might, for example, render
businesses in rural areas less competitive than those located in urban areas.
It is, in other words, not useful to fund the creation of infrastructure that
will be obsolete in the near term or less useful than other technologies
which provide greater speeds. That simply perpetuates the status quo, where
there will still, going forward, be adequately served and underserved areas.
The status quo is quite obviously unacceptable to Congress, and it should be.


== LOOK FOR THE MAY ISSUE OF QST IN YOUR MAILBOX

The May issue of QST has left for the printer and is speeding toward your
mailbox. This issue -- with its cover featuring the 2009 ARRL National
Convention and the Dayton Hamvention -- is jam-packed with all sorts of
things that today's Amateur Radio operator needs. From product reviews to
experiments to contesting, the upcoming issue of QST has something for just
about everyone.

In the May issue, Dwight Merkley, N7KBC, shows a way to see what's happening
at night on your mobile radio in his article "See Your Mobile Controls at
Night with Superbright LEDs." Discover another way to talk on your radio in
"A Cell Phone Headset Adapter for Amateur Radio" by Geoff Haines, N1GY. Is
your antenna beam pointed at the best possible elevation for the contacts you
want to make? Find out in the article "What's the Best Height for My HF
Beam?" by Steve Hunt, G3TXQ.

If you're excited about the 2009 ARRL National Convention and the Dayton
Hamvention, you're definitely not alone! Catch up on all the latest
happenings at these events in S. Khrystyne Keane's, K1SFA, article,
"Something for Everyone at the 2009 ARRL National Convention." ARRL ARISS
Program Manager Rosalie White, K1STO, gives readers a glimpse into the life
of Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, son of US astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL. Find
out in the May QST how you can meet Richard in Dayton at the ARRL EXPO.

If you like the competitive spirit of radiosport, but you have a hankering
for the big outdoors, why not try ARDF, or Amateur Radio Direction Finding?
ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, explores the world of ARDF in
"This Month in Contesting." According to Kutzko, all you need to get started
in competitive ARDF is "your running shows, a set of headphones attached to a
receiver, a map or compass and a small handheld directional receiver. Now run
through a course in a forest or on a trail, and try to find several hidden
transmitters as fast as possible." Kelly Taylor, VE4XT, reports on the
results of the 2008 ARRL CW Sweepstakes in this issue.

ARRL Contributing Author Gary Pearce, KN4AQ, reviews Kenwood's RC-D710
Control Head/TNC. According to Pearce, the RC-D710 "upgrades the TM-V71A
transceiver to add packet radio and APRS capabilities identical to Kenwood's
TM-D710A transceiver, and it can be used with other radios as a stand-alone
TNC." Be sure to also check out the reviews by ARRL Technical Advisor Bruce
Prior, N7RR, on portable dual-lever keyer paddles, also in the May issue.

Of course, there are the usual columns you know and love in the May QST:
Hints & Kinks, The Doctor Is IN, How's DX, Vintage Radio, Hamspeak and more.
Look for your May issue of QST in your mailbox. QST is the official journal
of ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio. QST is just one of the
many benefits of ARRL membership. To join or renew your ARRL membership,
please see the ARRL Web page http://www.arrl.org/join.

== CALIFORNIA TEEN IS 2009 GOLDFARB SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

In April, the ARRL Foundation Board of Directors http://www.arrlf.org voted
unanimously to award the prestigious William R. Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship
to Dean LaBarba, KI6CUX, of Long Beach, California. LaBarba will graduate
from Woodrow Wilson High School this year with a GPA of 4.0. According to
ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH, upon graduation, LaBarba
will more than meet the course requirements with 50 hours of honors and
Advanced Placement credits.

LaBarba holds a Technician class license that in 2005 led him to
participation in the Amateur Radio Emergency Communication (AREC) team at his
high school; since 2007, he has served as president. The mobile Amateur Radio
station at Wilson High School is the only high school emergency team in Long
Beach. Hobart said that LaBarba took the "extra initiative" to display and
demonstrate the mobile radio station at the district science fair, explaining
to the public the role that Amateur Radio plays in community safety. LaBarba
also spends considerable time coordinating Amateur Radio activities,
including Field Day, with the local community.

In addition to his Amateur Radio activities, LaBarba is active in the
Symphony and Symphonic Orchestra where he is seated as principal trombone. He
also participates in the school speech and debate team. From an early age,
LaBarba -- who will be attending Westmont College http://www.westmont.edu/
in Santa Barbara, California -- has had a keen interest in medicine and
intends to pursue a career in neurology.

The Goldfarb Scholarship is the result of a generous endowment from the late
William Goldfarb, N2ITP. Before his death in 1997, Goldfarb set up a
scholarship endowment of close to $1 million in memory of his parents, Albert
and Dorothy Goldfarb. Awarded to one high school senior each year, the
Goldfarb Scholarship assists the recipient to receive a four-year
undergraduate degree in engineering or science or in the medical or
business-related fields. The terms of reference of the generous Goldfarb
scholarship award require that recipients demonstrate financial need and
significant involvement with Amateur Radio, in addition to high academic
performance. The seventh Goldfarb Scholarship winner, LaBarba continues the
tradition of prior recipients, demonstrating superior academic performance,
outstanding leadership and extraordinary Amateur Radio and community service.


More information on the Goldfarb Scholarship is available on the ARRL Web
site http://www.arrl.org/arrlf/. Applications for the Goldfarb Scholarship
and other ARRL Foundation Scholarships are accepted each year beginning
October 1 and ending February 1 for the academic year that starts the
following August/September.

== HAMS IN SOUTHEASTERN US PROVIDE SPOTTING ASSISTANCE TO NWS

As tornados swept through the southeastern part of the country on April 10,
hams in Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas and Georgia were on the air providing
assistance to the National Weather Service (NWS) http://www.nws.noaa.gov/.

In Alabama, hams in Madison, Shelby and Calhoun Counties activated SKYWARN
Nets. According to Madison County Emergency Coordinator Rolf Goedhart, K4RGG
storm spotters in that county were quite active on their Net. "At 12:37, at
the request of the Madison County Emergency Operations Center and in response
to a tornado watch, we formally activated the Madison County Emergency Net,"
Goedhart told the ARRL. "For about an hour and a half, there was virtually no
dead air, either on the SKYWARN net or the Madison County Emergency Net. In
fact, reports were flowing fast enough to make one pause, deciding when or
even whether to call NCS with a report." Goedhart said that Hilton, at the
Huntsville NWS amateur station, estimated handling more than 200 reports from
the northern counties of the state in the nine hours that the Net was open.

In Tennessee, members of the Heart of Tennessee (HOT) ARES
http://www.hotares.com/ started an NWS SKYWARN Net at 12:18 PM as the
storms approached. "Amateur operators relayed storm damage information to NWS
for evaluation in determining tornado strength in the area," Rutherford
County Emergency Coordinator Keith Miller, N9DGK, told the ARRL. "ARES
members were monitoring the developing line of storms as watches and warnings
were issued in the adjacent counties in the Middle Tennessee area."

Miller said that since primary communications for police departments, fire
departments, Emergency Medical Service, County Sheriff or County Emergency
Management Agency were not lost, backup communication was not required per
the County EMA Director. His ARES group did not receive any requests to staff
emergency shelters.

ARRL Georgia Section Emergency Coordinator Gene Clark, W4AYK, told the ARRL
that hams in Gwinnett County activated a SKYWARN Net at 4:30 PM on April 10.
"According to plan, a de-centralized Net Control function was used, with the
Net Manager coordinating weather spotter reports to the NWS office in
Peachtree City," he said. "Forty-one amateurs reported seven different
reportable weather situations to the NWS."

In Newton County, Emergency Coordinator Charles Davis, WA4UJC, activated a
weather Net at 8 PM. Ten operators from different areas of the county, as
well as from adjacent counties, participated in the Net, reporting golf
ball-sized hail and heavy rain. "When power went out for three hours due to a
broken power pole on the west side of the county, the Net continued with hams
using mobile transceivers and backup power," Clark explained. "The power
outage caused us to lose repeater capabilities, so the hams relied on
simplex. Using backup power, they contacted a linked repeater system and
maintained communication with the NWS*until securing at 11:15 that night."

Arkansas hams were busy with the storm, too. At 7:24 PM CDT, the NWS issued a
tornado warning for areas north of the Arkansas town of Mena in Polk County;
at 8:01 PM CDT, the warning was extended into Mena. Nine minutes later, an
EF-3 tornado struck the city, killing three people.

According to ARRL Arkansas Section Emergency Coordinator John Nordlund,
AD5FU, members of the Central Arkansas UHF Group (CAUHF)
http://www.cauhf.org/weather/ provided real-time reports to the National
Weather Service office in North Little Rock and to media outlets around the
state. "The Group used the AR-Links SKYWARN net and the WarnIM system,"
Nordlund said. WarnIM is a SKYWARN instant messenger system serving to give
those with or without ham radio access, or those who are in remote areas an
additional means of communication in times of emergencies or severe weather
events. Its features include live chat and access to updated radar data
directly from the NWS.

"When the net closed at the end of the severe weather outbreak, NWS Warning
Coordination Meteorologist John Robinson stated on the WarnIM system that the
North Little Rock NWS office had never had so much timely storm report
information before," Nordlund said.

Nordlund visited Mena on April 11 and noted that the local ham operators are
participating in any emergency tasks that are assigned to them -- based on
their training and certifications -- and are using simplex ham radio
frequencies primarily to avoid additional loading of public safety
frequencies as they carry out those assignments. "The damage path [of the
tornado] is a striking example of the power of nature," he said. "The
recovery effort of community volunteers is inspiring. This is another fine
example of a local ham group that has their ducks lined up and on parade when
it really counts."

== FORUM SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED FOR 2009 DAYTON HAMVENTION

One of the many highlights at Dayton Hamvention is the myriad of educational
and fun forums that take place the entire weekend at Hara Arena. The Dayton
Amateur Radio Association has coordinated 45 unique programs that encompass
nearly 80 hours of programs and activities for the thousands of people
expected to attend these programs. Hamvention, the largest event of its kind,
will be May 15-17 at Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio. Please keep in mind that the
schedule may change before Hamvention.

Friday, May 15
9:15-11:15 -- TAPR Digital Forum (Room 1)
9:15-10:15 -- Engineering Manuals (Room 2)
9:15-10:15 -- Kit Building (Room 3)
9:15-10:15 -- QRP (Room 5)
10:30-12 -- Drake Forum (Room 2)
10:30-12 - Teachers Workshop (Room 3)
10:30-11:30 -- ARRL Field Day (Room 5)
11:30-12:30 -- APRS Forum (Room 1)
11:45-12:45 -- QSL Cards (Room 5)
12:15-1:15 -- ARRL, The Doctor Is IN (Room 2)
12:15-2 -- Ham Radio and the Law (Room 3)
12:45-2:15 -- D-STAR Forum (Room 1)
1-2:15 -- Alternative Energy Forum (Room 5)
1:30-2:30 -- ARRL, Public Relations (Room 2)
2:15-3:30 -- Gordon West (Room 3)
2:30-5 -- Antenna Forum (Room 1)
2:30-5 -- Software defined Radio (Room 5)
2:45-3:45 -- Foxhunting Forum (Room 2)
3:45-5 -- Techniques of the Best Operators (Room 3)
4-5 -- County Hunting Forum (Room 2)

Saturday, May 16
9:15-11:15 -- Contesting Forum (Room 1)
9:15-10:15 -- SATERN Forum (Room 2)
9:15-10:15 - Lightning Grounding Forum (Room 3)
9:15-11:00 - VHF/UHF/Microwave Forum (Room 5)
10:30-11:30 -- ARRL Members Forum (Room 2)
10:30-11:45 -- Heil Sound (Room 3)
11:15-1:30 -- AMSAT Forum (Room 5)
11:30-1:15 -- Youth Forum (Room 1)
11:45-2 -- Newsline Town Meeting (Room 2)
12-1 -- RTTY Forum (Room 3)
1:15-2:15 -- ARRL, Digital Contesting (Room 3)
1:30-2:30 - ARRL Presents Richard Garriott, W5KWQ (Room 1)
1:45-3 -- SSTV Forum (Room 5)
2:15-3:15 -- FCC Forum (Room 2)
2:30-3:30 -- ARES Forum (Room 3)
2:45-5 -- DX Forum (Room 1)
3:15-5 -- MARS Forum (Room 5)
3:30-5 -- ATV Forum (Room 2)
3:45-5 -- Collins Forum (Room 3)

Sunday, May 17
9:15-10:15 -- Red Cross Forum (Room 1)
9:15-11 -- QCWA Forum (Room 2)
9:15-10:15 -- Volunteers and EmComm Forum (Room 3)
9:30-11:15 - Bicycle Mobile Forum (Room 5)
10:30-11:30 - When All Else Fails, South Carolina Is Ready (Room 1)

For more information on forums at the 2009 Dayton Hamvention, please visit
the Dayton Hamvention Web site http://hamvention.org/forums.php.

==SOLAR UPDATE

Tad "The Sun is hot on my neck as I observe" Cook, K7RA, this week reports:
Still no sunspots, and again we saw a prediction for slightly higher solar
flux slip away. Sunspot numbers for April 9-15 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 and 0
with a mean of 0. The 10.7 cm flux was 70.1, 69.4, 69.3, 69.3, 68.4, 69.4 and
69.4 with a mean of 69.3. The estimated planetary A indices were 12, 8, 9, 8,
4, 2 and 3 with a mean of 6.6. The estimated mid-latitude A indices were 9,
6, 7, 4, 3, 1 and 2 with a mean of 4.6. For more information concerning radio
propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html. To read this week's Solar
Report in its entirety, check out the W1AW Propagation Bulletin page
http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/. This week's "Tad Cookism" brought to you by
Edna St Vincent Millay's "Spring"
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=173994.

__________________________________

==IN BRIEF:

* This Week on the Radio: This week, the NCCC Sprint Ladder is on April 17.
Be sure to check out the Holyland DX Contest, the TARA Skirmish Digital
Prefix Contest, the ES Open HF Championship and the Feld Hell Sprint on April
18. The Michigan QSO Party, the Ontario QSO Party and the YU DX Contest are
April 18-19. The Run for the Bacon QRP Contest is April 20. The SKCC Sprint
and the 432 MHz Spring Sprint are April 22 (the 432 MHz Sprint is local
time). Look for another NCCC Sprint Ladder next week on April 24. The Florida
QSO Party, the Nebraska QSO Party and the SP DX RTTY Contest are all on April
25-26. All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest
Branch page http://www.arrl.org/contests/, the ARRL Contest Update
http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/ and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar
http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html for more info. Looking for
a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the ARRL Special Event Station
Web page http://
www.arrl.org/contests/spev.html.

* ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration: Registration remains open
through Sunday, May 3, 2009 for these online course sessions beginning on
Friday, May 15, 2009: Antenna Modeling and Radio Frequency Propagation. Each
online course has been developed in segments -- learning units with
objectives, informative text, student activities and quizzes. Courses are
interactive, and some include direct communications with a Mentor/Instructor.
Students register for a particular session that may be 8, 12 or 16 weeks
(depending on the course) and they may access the course at any time of day
during the course period, completing lessons and activities at times
convenient for their personal schedule. Mentors assist students by answering
questions, reviewing assignments and activities, as well as providing helpful
feedback. Interaction with mentors is conducted through e-mail; there is no
appointed time the student must be present -- allowing complete flexibility
for the student to
work when and where it is convenient. To learn more, visit the CCE Course Listing page http://www.arrl.org/cep/student or contact the Continuing Education Program Coordinator .

* No ARRL Audio News April 24: There will be no ARRL Audio News on Friday,
April 24. The ARRL Letter will be distributed that day. The ARRL Audio News
will return for May 1 and 8, but will be on hiatus on May 15 due to the
Dayton Hamvention. The Audio News will resume regular distribution on May 22.


* Italy Discontinues HF Earthquake Net: On April 10, Italy's Dipartimento
della Protezione Civile announced they had closed down all organized
emergency communications support on HF frequencies that had been set up after
the April 6 earthquake that struck the town of L'Aquila. The ARRL reported
that two HF frequencies -- 7045 and 3640 kHz -- were being kept clear of
regular traffic so that they could be utilized for any communications support
needed in the aftermath of the quake
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/04/06/10757/?nc=1. "There do not
appear to be any other emergency groups using [7045 kHz]," said IARU Region 1
Emergency Communications Coordinator Greg Mossop, G0DUB, "so it is
appropriate to return it to normal use and let normal amateur procedures
apply: Listen before transmitting, and if you hear any station passing
emergency traffic, leave the frequency clear and avoid causing interference."
Mossop said that a large number of Amateur Radio responders are st
ill present from the different emergency communications groups in the country.

================================================== =========
The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American
Radio Relay League: ARRL--the national association for Amateur Radio, 225
Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259;
http://www.arrl.org. Joel Harrison, W5ZN, President.

The ARRL Letter offers a weekly e-mail digest of essential and general news
of interest to active radio amateurs. Visit the ARRL Web site
http://www.arrl.org for the latest Amateur Radio news and news updates. The
ARRL Web site http://www.arrl.org/ also offers informative features and
columns. ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/ is a weekly
"ham radio newscast" compiled and edited from The ARRL Letter. It's also
available as a podcast from our Web site.

Material from The ARRL Letter may be republished or reproduced in whole or in
part in any form without additional permission. Credit must be given to The
ARRL Letter/American Radio Relay League.

==Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!):
==Editorial questions or comments: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA,
==ARRL News on the Web: http://www.arrl.org
==ARRL Audio News: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/ or call 860-594-0384

==How to Get The ARRL Letter

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The ARRL Letter also is available to all, free of charge, from these sources:

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Copyright 2009 American Radio Relay League, Inc.
All Rights Reserved