February 2023 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:34613] High power RFI threat to HF operations now? From today's IEEE Spectrum insider newsletter
by RBFamiglio＠verizon.net 23 Feb '23

23 Feb '23

Wireless Chargers Reach for the Megahertz Range This excerpt today from a respected source is not really that surprising. You IEEE members on the board likely subscribe to this e-publication. We have recognized a threat to HF operations from early very high power wireless chargers. Now they are working on 1 MHz to 20 MHz frequencies at hundreds of watts of RF power. That should be fun. These systems will likely be much more ubiquitous than solar panel systems. >From the much longer article:. But the groundwork still needs to be laid for bigger, more power-hungry electronics, and Hui and his colleagues plan to keep forging ahead. "We are currently looking for an industrial partner to develop and evaluate the ultrafast gate-drive circuits [we developed] that allow power inverters to operate up to at least 20 MHz," says Hui, noting his team has also filed a patent for a printed WPT resonator with an operating frequency in the range of 1 megahertz to tens of megahertz, which could help electronics transfer wireless power in the range of hundreds of watts. This is inevitable, but how they will contain this RF energy to a few meters if produced on a widespread basis is a troublesome question. I know our RFI committee is likely aware of the trends. But, we thought BPL was a problem? Attacks on spectrum come in all sizes and shapes. Resale to commercial interest or RFI. Bob Famiglio, K3RF Director - ARRL Atlantic Division 610-359-7300 Serving NNY, WNY, WPA, EPA, SNJ, DE and MD/DC sections <http://www.qrz.com/db/K3RF> www.QRZ.com/db/K3RF

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[arrl-odv:34612] Friendly Reminder
by Middleton, Diane, W2DLM (CFO) 22 Feb '23

22 Feb '23

Good morning, Just a friendly reminder to get your expense reimbursement requests in for the Board meeting if you have already. Thank you. Diane Middleton, W2DLM Chief Financial Officer ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio(r) 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111 (860)594-0225 [cid:image001.png@01D94688.49D6A2C0]

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[arrl-odv:34608] Fwd: Comment from Amateur Radio Community
by Mark J Tharp 20 Feb '23

20 Feb '23

Fyi some insight from an active balloon op. .. hdx currently in idaho.. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Steve Potter <spotter(a)superfreshgrowers.com> Date: Sun, Feb 19, 2023, 10:33 AM Subject: Re: Comment from Amateur Radio Community To: Mark J Tharp <kb7hdx(a)gmail.com>, Simpson, Monte, W7FF (SM, WWA) < w7ff(a)arrl.org> Cc: Ritz, Mike, W7VO, (Dir, NW) <w7vo(a)comcast.net>, Tharp, Mark KB7HDX (VD, NW) <mtharp(a)arrl.org> All of the launches that I have done that were high altitude ones that went 115k ft or so I filed a NOTAM with the FAA and called YKM tower if the flight path went over any normal flight paths. Legally I wasn't required to do anything since the payloads met the part 101 requirements set by the FAA but I felt it was still the responsible thing to do. The balloon that was shot down in the jet stream was most likely a pico balloon which ive flown before as well and those come in around 12-16 grams so way under what the FAA is concerned about and those I normally don't notify anyone about since it's the equivalent of a kid letting go of his birthday balloon. What I don't understand is there are 2 websites that are publicly available, one that is amateur balloons only and then another that is radiosondes and amateur balloons that everyone uses including the national weather service to monitor jet stream directions, speed at altitude, pressure, temp ect and NOAA uses that data (including amateur) for their high split modeling. It's something in my mind they should of been able to use to tell if this was a benign scientific balloon or if it was a threat. We operate 110% within the legal parameters and I fear without some media correction the administration is going to have some knee jerk reaction and kill the STEAM education and interest into this hobby and ham radio in general. High altitude balloon is what pushed me to get my license and I've gone on to be what I think is an asset to the community because of it. Let me know if you wanna go over any of it I'm more than willing to help in anyway I can. K7HAK Get Outlook for Android <https://aka.ms/AAb9ysg> ------------------------------ *From:* Mark J Tharp <kb7hdx(a)gmail.com> *Sent:* Sunday, February 19, 2023, 6:42 AM *To:* Simpson, Monte, W7FF (SM, WWA) <w7ff(a)arrl.org> *Cc:* Ritz, Mike, W7VO, (Dir, NW) <w7vo(a)comcast.net>; Tharp, Mark KB7HDX (VD, NW) <mtharp(a)arrl.org>; Steve Potter <spotter(a)superfreshgrowers.com> *Subject:* Re: Comment from Amateur Radio Community [External Sender] Steve, what if anything did you have to do with those you all flew? Any notifications to anyone? On Sat, Feb 18, 2023, 9:02 PM Simpson, Monte, W7FF (SM, WWA) <w7ff(a)arrl.org> wrote: > Mike, Mark, > > > > The following comments are from Ray Orien, N7KPT, regarding a Popular > Mechanics article in social media: > > > > “*The Air Force May Have Actually Shot Down a Wholesome Ham Radio Balloon* > ” > > > > > https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a42952566/air-force-shoots-down-h… > > > > > > RAYMOND C ORIEN, N7KPT > > 16410 84th Street NE > > Lake Stevens, WA 98258 > > > > ray.orien(a)gmail.com > > > > “I wonder if the ARRL might want to chime in on the present situation? > Perhaps they could reach out to work with the > > F.A.A., FCC, ITU, and IARU to establish interim Ham Balloon “Flight > plan/launch reporting requirements, maybe with > > transponder / GPS “squak” requirements to lower ADIZ panic, save $ from > unnecessary shoot downs.” > > > > Balloon, tethered/untethered and rockets operations are regulated by FAA > regulations 14 CFR Part 101: > > > > https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-101 > > > > I don’t see a nexus between the ARRL and balloons even if they are owned > by amateur radio operators or contain amateur > > radio equipment. What is your opinion on the subject? > > > > Regards, > > > > Monte > > > > >

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[arrl-odv:34604] Director of Development
by Middleton, Diane, W2DLM (CFO) 18 Feb '23

18 Feb '23

Good afternoon, I am pleased to introduce the arrival of our new Director of Development, Kevin Beal, K8EAL. He brings a significant background in nonprofit administration. Over 17 years, he has managed large-scale projects and teams, requiring coordination among various internal stakeholders, and managing external constituent requirements. His previous experience includes various roles supporting nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions in program management, events, donor engagement, and fundraising. Please help me make him feel welcome. 73, Diane Middleton, W2DLM Chief Financial Officer ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio(r) 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111 (860)594-0225 [cid:image001.png@01D942E9.68F2DC20]

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[arrl-odv:34601] Notes from the Radio Orienteering Committee
by Phil Temples 17 Feb '23

17 Feb '23

To offset the bad news of the day (apparently, our "hobby" balloons are under attack by the Air Force) I wanted to share with you some uplifting news from one of the lesser-known corners of our hobby: Radio Orienteering—also known as Amateur Radio Direction Finding. I'm proud to serve as Board Liaison to the RO Committee. A lot of folks think that Radio Orienteering is just fox hunting, but that's simply not true. In fact, it's an organized, well-recognized sport in Europe and other parts of the world. >From arrl.org/ro: "Radio Orienteering (aka, Amateur Radio Direction Finding, or ARDF) brings radios into the great outdoors with maps and compasses, providing a uniquely enjoyable way to learn new radio skills. This radio sports activity deals with the taking of radio bearings to navigate through wooded areas in search of transmitters. It involves constructing direction-finding equipment, training amateurs in the rules of the sport, and organizing events in the USA and other IARU countries." In the USA, the sport is beginning to make progress in promoting itself with regional and national competitions. In fact, the 22nd Radio Orienteering Championships will be held April 19-23, 2023 in John Robert's territory, near Dallas, Texas. I wanted to share with you the Committee's "State of the Sport Address," authored by Charles Scharlau, NZØI, for your reading pleasure. 73, Phil Temples, K9HI -- I congratulate all the committee members on your privileged positions in serving the great sport of Radio Orienteering. Our efforts and vision for the future of the sport might well prove crucial for guiding the sport in this country beyond its position as a niche radio sports activity. *Our Progress* Just three years and one pandemic ago, the ARRL Board of Directors recognized our committee as the body to guide this sport in the USA. Since that time, the ARDF Committee has seen the sport through a very challenging time. Yet, with much help from the Backwoods Orienteering Klub of Raleigh, North Carolina, we managed to hold safe and successful USA ARDF Championships every year, the only exception being the cancellation of the 2020 championships planned for Boston, Massachusetts. During the pandemic years, the committee established baseline rules and sanctioning documents and agreed on an informal interim approach to team selection. In addition, committee members developed and tested designs for modern radio orienteering transmitters and established a cache of equipment earmarked for use at the annual USA Championships and used locally at other times. In 2022 we introduced, and successfully executed, the concept of remote hosting. Remote hosting involves having the championship’s hosting club negotiate using another orienteering club’s (the remote club) maps and local expertise to hold a USA Radio Orienteering Championships. The remote club typically receives compensation for using its maps, tied to the number of starts during the championships. The concept was used successfully in 2022, with BOK as the host and QOC as the remote club. The concept is being used again in 2023 with NMO and NTOA as host and remote clubs, respectively. Remote hosting promises to open up many exciting new venues for future championships. This year, we anticipate officially announcing the 2024 USA Radio Orienteering Championships venue at the 2023 Championships in April. Historically, it has been rare for a championships venue to be named a year in advance. Many thanks go to Joe Burkhead for stepping up to the task of Event Director in 2024. We are also looking forward to progress on the various initiatives that 2023 committee members are heading up. *The Three Pillars* Our hard work notwithstanding, several chronic challenges remain, preventing the sport’s growth in our country. These challenges have existed from the sport’s arrival in North America and cannot be resolved quickly. Yet, with all our efforts, a path toward growth is becoming clear. I believe three pillars are required to support radio orienteering’s growth in the USA: 1. Accessible, good-quality, affordable equipment 2. Instruction opportunities led by knowledgeable instructors and online resources 3. Regular practices and competitions The order of the three pillars is intentional. While all three are essential to having a healthy and growing sport, equipment is at the top because, without it, neither instruction nor competition can happen. Today, quality receivers and transmitters can be acquired from foreign sources at significant cost and effort. While it is practical and helpful for large clubs to acquire a supply of transmitters and “loaner” receivers, that does not address the core issue: widespread propagation of the sport requires that small clubs and individuals can readily acquire the essential equipment. To lower this barrier to entry, the sport needs domestically-available, moderate-cost, reliable, good-performance transmitters and receivers. When equipment is available, instruction, the second pillar, will be more easily constructed. YouTube videos will no longer be merely theoretical learning exercises: ordinary individuals will be able to acquire what they need to follow along, apply their knowledge, and advance in the sport. Graduates of beginner radio orienteering classes will know where to obtain their own equipment to continue in the sport, regardless of whether a local club has any equipment to lend. The third pillar, regular practices and competitions, is essential for nurturing the competitive spirit. Competitors must frequently experience the challenge of good courses and measure their performance against others. Historically, practices are where we have focused our efforts in the USA, hoping that folks who experience a competition will “catch the bug” and continue in the sport. But, by all measures, we have not achieved much growth with that approach. Most newcomers to radio orienteering need instruction and available equipment before they can enjoy the sport and consider it a desirable pastime or a worthy competitive endeavor. *Where To Start* Major equipment manufacturers will only offer radio orienteering equipment once they see a sizable market for those products. So we see that our sport is in a classic catch-22 situation: we can’t grow the sport without the equipment, and we can’t have commercial equipment without a large target market. So we must sidestep the commercial manufacturers, at least for now. How, then, do we address the equipment issue? Radio orienteering equipment in kit form seems like a reasonable alternative to commercially-built equipment. The emphasis on STEM education, and the maker movement, have resulted in a growing population of electronics “makers.” While makers seem like a possible source of ad hoc manufacturers, engaging them will require more than a schematic diagram and an article in QST. Makers are probably not a perfect fit for an outdoor athletic navigation sport. But suppose those kits can offer more applications than just radio-O. In that case, the market for such kits might be expanded sufficiently to gain the interest of distributors such as SparkFun, AdaFruit, Jameco, Digi-Key, and perhaps the ARRL online store. To keep the cost down, the physical size small, and the performance up will require extensive use of surface mount devices (SMD) in the kit. While a few kit builders might take on the challenge of laying down salt grain-size components, realistically, the kit must incorporate a factory-populated printed circuit board. There are quite a few competing small-batch manufacturers of such assembled “PCBA” circuit boards, so their prices can be affordable. The remainder of the kit must consist of easy-to-solder through-hole parts, and not too many of them. The simpler the kit, the more folks who will be qualified to build it. Our goal should be to make it a good kit for scouts, maker clubs, new hams, intrepid orienteers, and ARRL Teacher Institute attendees. Such a kit would also be attractive to freelance kit builders wishing to market their services to those who want the product but not the building experience. A small manufacturer might eventually use the kit as a model for a fully-assembled product. *Our Task* So, my fellow radio orienteers, I am proposing that before next year is over, we successfully place two simple, affordable, good-quality radio orienteering kits into at least one distributor’s retail channels: one transmitter and one receiver. They will be used on 80 meters and suitable for foxoring, sprint, and small classic radio orienteering courses. When we achieve that, we will have substantially lowered the most significant barrier to the growth of our sport and cleared the path toward establishing the final two pillars. We should do it not because it is easy, but because it is hard, and that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, and unwilling to postpone. While I’m making it sound like a moonshot, much of the groundwork has been laid in the past three years. And although JFK didn’t say it, the project should also be very interesting and rewarding. Before the project is over, I expect that many on this committee will contribute to it in one way or another. I hope that you will all give it your support. Everyone who is keen to contribute to any aspect of these kits, please let me know. As always, your comments, questions, and observations are welcome and encouraged. Jerry and I look forward to working with all of you in 2023 as you accomplish your targeted committee tasks. A spreadsheet will be distributed shortly, listing the committee task assignments. -- Phil Temples <phil(a)temples.com>

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[arrl-odv:34600] Balloon story
by Minster, David NA2AA (CEO) 17 Feb '23

17 Feb '23

Here's an update on the balloon story you've been hearing about... We have been engaged with multiple parties surrounding this story that has made it way out to the internet. There is a key word that shouldn't be lost on people: "MAY" This MAY have been an amateur balloon that MAY have been launched by a group in metro-Chicago that MAY have gone silent sometime around the time that jets were scrambled to engage the UFO. The club in question was interviewed, extensively, by the FBI. The FBI concluded that they were well within their rights and privileges to have launched their balloon supported PICO project. This was only one interview the FBI has undertaken in a sweeping investigation that led to the talking points in the President's address yesterday. The club president, who Sierra has now had many calls with as he tries to decide how to deal with the national press, has stated repeatedly that they are not sure it is their balloon. There were communications issues with the balloon prior to complete LOS. The club has a father with kids who were involved in the project who wants to be a celebrity and put a face on this military SNAFU, but no one seems to be interested since there's no confirmation it was an amateur radio school project that was shot down. Sierra has many contacts with the press. Our message has been: unless and until there's proof of what this thing is, it isn't an amateur radio story. We would encourage you not to get involved in a dialog based on pure speculation. The end of the story MAY look very different than an amateur radio story. Thanks David

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[arrl-odv:34599] If Private Land Use Restrictions Weren't Enough, Now They Are Shooting At Us?
by John Robert Stratton 17 Feb '23

17 Feb '23

See https://www.rtl-sdr.com _______________________________________ John Robert Stratton N5AUS Director West Gulf Division Office:512-445-6262 Cell:512-426-2028 P.O. Box 2232 Austin, Texas 78768-2232 *_______________________________________***

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[arrl-odv:34598] Is the Train Running Well? Membership Stats and Candidate Statements Update
by Richard Norton 16 Feb '23

16 Feb '23

We are already half way through February, and the membership information on the ODV portion of arrl.org still has not been updated with the February numbers. This used to take place a day or two into a new month. I would expect something so routine and straightforward would be on autopilot, and not require prodding from a member of the Board of Directors. Also, in the January A&F Committee meeting, it was pointed out that the Candidate Statements on the ODV portion of the site had not been updated in years. I may have incorrectly implied that it would be updated but a month later, nothing seems to have happened. 73, Dick, N6AA

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[arrl-odv:34596] Fwd: Thanks - VOTA
by Michael Ritz 14 Feb '23

14 Feb '23

(Climbing onto soapbox.) See below. IMHO VOTA is turning out to be a GREAT event, and I want to thank ARRL staff for coming up with the concept. We again ran a second station during the CQ WPX RTTY contest strictly on VOTA Phone, and ended up the weekend with 764 VOTA contacts. Of those, 557 were on 10 meters, in the Technician sub-band. I'm sure many were Techs too. The pileups were again HUGE, akin to being a DXpedition from one of the Clublog Top Ten most wanted countries. We will be doing a rinse and repeat next weekend for ARRL CW, and again for the ARRL phone weekend. I'm expecting a LOT of QSL card requests, as it seems quite a few new Tech hams need OR for WAS. Here is why this is all important: It's pretty cheap marketing for the ARRL, and I'm sure we will get a few more members out of it. I ran into several ops that said they were former League members, and are now considering renewing. Several mentioned that they have always meant to join, but will now make it a priority. Many I ran into that were not familiar with ARRL at all were directed to our website to get the detailed information on VOTA. All good stuff! Let's get those red badges out there and "on the air!" (Off soapbox..... ;-) 73; Mike W7VO > ---------- Original Message ---------- > From: Shubh Bhattacharya <atlanpura(a)gmail.com> > To: w7vo(a)arrl.org > Date: 02/11/2023 2:28 PM > Subject: Thanks - VOTA > > > Hi Michael, > > Thanks for hosting the Vota today on 10m. > > I was super excited to get my very first HF contact (via Skywave) with your station today and great to see that my gear gets me all the way to the West!! > > I uploaded the QSO to LOTW and hopefully you can QSL on that. > > 73, > Shubh > https://www.qrz.com/db/K4VTZ > >

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[arrl-odv:34595] Board Minutes
by Middleton, Diane, W2DLM (CFO) 13 Feb '23

13 Feb '23

Dear ODV, The January Board minutes have been posted to the website. The Membership email with the link will be going out later today. Thank you. Diane Middleton, W2DLM Chief Financial Officer ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio(r) 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111 (860)594-0225 [cid:image001.png@01D93F98.BD397AE0]

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