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http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2016-09-08

The ARRL Letter

September 8, 2016
Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME

 *  Amateur Radio Volunteers on US East Coast Were Ready for Hermine
 *  SpaceX Falcon 9 Failure Prompts Postponement of Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D
    Integration
 *  More Countries Act on 60 Meter Amateur Allocations
 *  The Doctor Will See You Now!
 *  National Parks on the Air Update
 *  Gold! NPOTA Activation Set from Alaska's Klondike Gold Rush National
    Historical Park
 *  ISS Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, Breaks
    Time-on-Station Record
 *  ARRL September VHF Contest is September 10-12
 *  Search is On for Illegal 10 Meter GPS Buoys
 *  "Frequency Crunch" is ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference Sunday
    Seminar Topic
 *  NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative Opens Space to Educators, Nonprofits
 *  The K7RA Solar Update
 *  Just Ahead in Radiosport
 *  Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions



Amateur Radio Volunteers on US East Coast Were Ready for Hermine

Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and weather-spotting volunteers kept
close watch on the progress of Tropical Storm Hermine as it made its way up
the US Eastern Seaboard over the Labor Day weekend. The storm did most of its
damage as a category 1 hurricane, after making landfall along Florida's
northern Gulf Coast. Some strengthening was forecast after the center
subsequently moved offshore again, after passing over Georgia, but Hermine was
downgraded to a tropical storm on September 3, causing no significant weather
problems. The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN), which activated to gather
ground-level reports on the storm as it approached landfall, secured after 19
hours of continuous on-air coverage.

"[M]embers of the Hurricane Watch Net, operating under tough band conditions
on 20 and 40 meters -- mainly caused by a geomagnetic storm -- transmitted
advisories on Hermine to the affected area and received numerous weather
reports -- observed and measured," said HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV.
"Those reports were then forwarded to the National Hurricane Center by way of
WX4NHC." He thanked daily users of the net's frequencies --14.325 and 7.268
MHz -- for their cooperation in keeping a clear frequency.

Alerted to a tropical storm watch, ARRL New York City-Long Island Section
Emergency Coordinator Jim Mezey, W2KFV, asked all districts in the Section to
check their equipment and their availability. Connecticut ARES went on a Level
1 alert, to "be prepared for whatever it brings," Connecticut SEC Wayne
Gronlund, N1CLV, said.

The National Weather Service issued its final public advisory for Hermine on
September 6, when the storm -- by then referred to as a "post-tropical
cyclone" -- was some 120 miles south of the eastern tip of Long Island, with
maximum sustained winds of 50 MPH.

Graves noted that the last major hurricane to strike the US was Hurricane
Wilma in 2005. "The Hurricane Watch Net will be prepared for the next
hurricane to threaten land in the Atlantic Basin," he added.

Earlier this week the FMRE (Federaci¢n Mexicana de Radioexperimentadores)
Emergency Communication Net activated as Hurricane Newton approached the Baja
California peninsula.



SpaceX Falcon 9 Failure Prompts Postponement of Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D
Integration

As a consequence of the September 1 explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch
vehicle during a "static fire" test, AMSAT has announced that the planned
integration of Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D on the maiden voyage of the Spaceflight
SHERPA platform would be postponed. AMSAT said the impact of the incident on
the launch date is unknown at this time, however. Fox-1C and Fox-1D are
scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 between September 1 and November
30, and, if integration is rescheduled, they still could launch within that
time frame.

Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D carry university experiments from Pennsylvania
State--Erie, Vanderbilt, University of Iowa, cameras provided by Virginia
Tech, as well as Amateur Radio voice repeaters capable of U/V or L/V operation.

The Nayif-1 CubeSat, developed by Emirati students from the American
University of Sharjah, was expected to be put into orbit on the same launch as
Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D. Nayif-1 carries an inverting 435/145 MHz transponder
(FUNcube-5) for SSB/CW.

The Falcon 9 rocket destroyed on September 1 was to have put Israel's
Space-Communications Ltd Amos-6 satellite into orbit on September 3, as part
of an effort by Facebook to provide Internet access to parts of Sub-Saharan
Africa. The cause of the explosion at Cape Canaveral remains under
investigation.

In a statement, SpaceX said the launch vehicle was "vertical and in the
process of being fueled for the test." The company said the explosion appears
to have originated in the vicinity of the upper-stage liquid oxygen tank.

AMSAT has said it will provide schedule updates on Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D, as
further information becomes available.

Meanwhile, AMSAT has learned that the launch of RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E is set for
December 2017. RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E is a partnership opportunity between
Vanderbilt University's Institute for Space and Defense Electronics (ISDE) and
AMSAT. It is similar to RadFxSat/Fox-1B, which could launch in the next
several months, and both RadFxSat CubeSats will carry radiation effects
experiments.

The Fox-1E will feature a linear V/U (Mode J) transponder, instead of the
Fox-series standard FM repeater, installed on Fox-1A through Fox-1D. The
remaining Fox series CubeSats will go into space under the NASA Educational
Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) program.

Fox-1E will be the fifth in the Fox series that AMSAT has built. Fox-1A, now
AO-85, was launched in October 2015 and remains fully operational, providing
science data from its onboard experiments and FM transponder service for the
Amateur Radio community. -- Thanks to AMSAT News Service, Southgate Amateur
Radio News



More Countries Act on 60 Meter Amateur Allocations

Belarus and Latvia are among the latest countries to open Amateur Radio bands
at 5 MHz. The Belarus Federation of Amateur Radio and Radiosportsmen (BFRR)
announced recently that radio amateurs there now have access to a new
contiguous 15-kilohertz 60 meter band, consistent with the consensus reached
at World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15). Class A licensees in
Belarus may operate on 5351.5-5366.5 kHz on CW, SSB, and digital modes, on a
secondary basis with a maximum output power of 50 W. In Latvia, radio amateurs
also are now permitted to use 5351.5-5366.5 kHz, with a maximum power output
of 15 W EIRP. (Some Latvian hams now may also operate on the new 630 meter
band, 472-479 kHz, with a power of 1 W EIRP and a transmitted signal bandwidth
no greater than 800 Hz.)

Andorra returned to 60 meters earlier this summer under a new allocation of
5351.5-5366.5 kHz with a maximum power of 15 W EIRP, CW and USB, per consensus
reached at WRC-15. Temporary for now, the allocation will become permanent
starting in 2017. Andorra's previous 60 meter allocation was withdrawn last
fall after WRC-15.

The South African Radio League (SARL) reports that its recommendation for a
100-kilohertz-wide 60 meter allocation, presented to telecoms regulator ICASA
earlier this year, has received approval from the frequency spectrum
department, although it's not yet authorized for use. The SARL proposal seeks
the continued use of 5290 kHz for a WSPR propagation experiment and a
secondary allocation of 100 kilohertz that includes the WRC-agreed range of
5351.5-5366.5 kHz, with a power maximum of 400 W.

The SARL supported a 5350-5450 kHz allocation proposed at WRC-15 by the
International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). Opposition to that proposal resulted
in a compromise to allocate 5351.5-5366.5 kHz. Nonetheless, some countries,
including the Netherlands, have given their radio amateurs access to the
proposed 100 kilohertz.

Article 4.4 of the ITU Radio Regulations lets countries authorize frequency
assignments that are contrary to the international Table of Allocations, only
on a non-interference, non-protected basis.

Telecomunications regulators in more than 40 countries have authorized access
to 60 meters -- many, including the US, in the form of discrete channels -- on
a secondary basis.

IARU Region 1 (Europe and Africa) earlier this year agreed to a paper
presented by RSGB HF Manager Ian Greenshields, G4FSU, outlining a basic
provisional band plan for the new 5 MHz allocation agreed upon at WRC-15. IARU
Region 1 is hoping that its proposed 5351.5-5366.5 kHz usage plan will
eventually be adopted by all three IARU regions.

The Region 1 plan sets aside 5351.5-5354 kHz for CW and narrowband modes;
5354.0-5366 kHz for all modes, USB voice recommended, and 5366.0-5366.5 kHz
for "weak-signal narrowband modes."

The Region 1 plan strongly recommends that frequencies within the WRC-15
allocation only be used if there are no other frequencies available at 5 MHz
under domestic (ie, ITU-R Article 4.4) authorizations. "Local nets and long
rag-chew QSOs should not use the 5 MHz WRC-15 allocation but should instead
make use of the 3.5 MHz, 5 MHz domestic, or 7 MHz bands, where there is more
spectrum available," the plan advises.

The recent St Paul Island CY9C DXpedition operated on 60 meters, activating
that DXCC entity for the first time on that band.



The Doctor Will See You Now!

"Coaxial Connectors" is the topic of the latest episode of the "ARRL The
Doctor is In" podcast. Listen...and learn!

Sponsored by DX Engineering, "ARRL The Doctor is In" is an informative
discussion of all things technical. Listen on your computer, tablet, or
smartphone -- whenever and wherever you like!

Every 2 weeks, your host, QST Editor in Chief Steve Ford, WB8IMY, and the
Doctor himself, Joel Hallas, W1ZR, will discuss a broad range of technical
topics. You can also e-mail your questions to doctor@arrl.org, and the Doctor
may answer them in a future podcast.

Enjoy "ARRL The Doctor is In" on Apple iTunes, or by using your iPhone or iPad
podcast app (just search for "ARRL The Doctor is In"). You can also listen
online at Blubrry, or at Stitcher (free registration required, or browse the
site as a guest) and through the free Stitcher app for iOS, Kindle, or Android
devices.

If you've never listened to a podcast before, download our beginner's guide.



National Parks on the Air Update

As National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) participants make their contacts with
stations operating from the more than 480 eligible NPS units, special
attention is paid to logging the 59 bona fide National Parks. In order to
qualify for the National Parks Honor Roll certificate, Chasers must work 75
percent of the 59 National Park Service units activated during 2016. So far,
55 of the 59 National Parks have been visited by NPOTA Activators.

[NPOTA%20Logo.jpg] One of the four National Parks not yet activated is the
National Park of American Samoa. Located near the capital city of Pago Pago,
this National Park is closer to New Zealand than it is to the US, and it only
receives around 5000 visitors annually. Are there any intrepid NPOTA
activators willing to put this unit on the air before December 31?

Forty NPOTA units will be on the air between September 8-14, including the
Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site in New York, and San Juan Island
National Historical Park in Friday Harbor, Washington.

Details about these and other upcoming activations can be found on the NPOTA
Activations calendar. Keep up with the latest NPOTA news on Facebook. Follow
NPOTA on Twitter (@ARRL_NPOTA).



Gold! NPOTA Activation Set from Alaska's Klondike Gold Rush National
Historical Park

Mark Bowers, VY1MAB, from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, will activate the
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (HP21), for the National Parks on
the Air (NPOTA) program. A storm has forced postponement of his trip until
Saturday and Sunday, September 17 and 18.

The NPOTA unit has been only lightly activated this year, so it remains "a
rare one." VY1MAB/KL7 will begin operation at 1700 UTC on both days,
continuing for as long as he can on Saturday and wrapping up at 2100 UTC on
Sunday. He will run 100 W into a Buddipole and dipole antennas. Plans call for
operating SSB, PSK31, and WSJT modes.

Word that gold had been discovered in the region in 1897 started the Klondike
Gold Rush. Thousands of prospectors headed north hoping to cash in.

The park commemorates the bravery of these so-called stampeders by protecting
the trails, historic boom towns, and buildings of the Klondike Gold Rush era.



ISS Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, Breaks Time-on-Station
Record

NASA astronaut and International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 48 Commander
Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, and two of his space station crewmates returned safely
to Earth this week, following Williams' US record-breaking mission aboard the
ISS. Williams, Oleg Skripochka, RN3FU, and Alexey Ovchinin landed in a Soyuz
TMA-20M transporter early on September 7 in Kazakhstan. Now with four space
missions to his credit, Williams has logged 534 days in space, making him
first on the all-time NASA astronaut list in terms of time on station.
Skripochka has 331 days in space on two flights, while Ovchinin spent 172 days
in space on his first mission.

"No other US astronaut has Jeff's time and experience aboard the International
Space Station," Kirk Shireman, ISS Program manager at NASA's Johnson Space
Center, said. "From his first flight in 2000, when the station was still under
construction, to present day where the focus is science, technology
development, and fostering commercialization. Jeff even helped prepare the
space station for future dockings of commercial spacecraft under NASA's
Commercial Crew Program."

During his time on the ISS, Williams and Astronaut Kate Rubins, KG5FYJ,
ventured outside the space station on two occasions, to install a docking
adapter on the first spacewalk, and to retract a spare thermal control
radiator and install two new high-definition cameras on the second.

ISS Expedition 49 officially began with the departure of the Soyuz from the
station. Expedition 49 commander Anatoly Ivanishin and his crewmates -- Rubins
and Takuya Onishi, KF5LKS -- will operate the station for more than 2 weeks
until the arrival of three new crew members. Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD, Sergey
Ryzhikov, and Andrey Borisenko will head to the ISS from Kazakhstan on
September 23.



ARRL September VHF Contest is September 10-12

The ARRL September VHF Contest gets under way on Saturday, September 10, at
1800 UTC and wraps up on Monday, September 12, at 0259 UTC. This annual event
provides an opportunity for seasoned contesters and newcomers alike to
experience contesting on the VHF and UHF bands. The higher you go, the greater
the point value of contacts! The goal is to contact as many different stations
in as many 2 x 1 grid squares as possible on frequencies above 50 MHz while
operating from home, in the field, or as a "rover" -- traveling from grid
square to grid square to hand out contacts.

Six meters has seen E skip in recent days, along with increased tropospheric
enhancement. Scatter and auroral propagation are also possible. To follow
potential tropo enhancement see the updated Hepburn maps. For a more focused 2
meter real-time propagation map, check out the Mountainlake APRS site.

Spotting or other assistance is allowed before and during any ARRL VHF+
operating event, so participants can talk up their plans in advance and
observe and discuss contacts posted on chat and spotting pages. Participants
may not discuss the content of in-progress contacts, however.

Newest operating categories include Single Operator 3-Band (6 meters, 2
meters, and 70 centimeters), or Single Operator FM Only. More established
categories include Single Operator Portable, or Single Operator High Power/Low
Power. Using just a handheld transceiver from an elevated location or attached
to a small directional antenna can get you into the game. Utilizing
frequencies that only require smaller, lightweight antennas provides an
excellent opportunity to compete from an ideal operating location. Building
your own small Yagis is fairly easy.

SSB/CW or digital operators will find most activity at the bottom few hundred
kilohertz of the VHF+ bands. On 6 meters, most CW is found between 50.080 and
50.100 MHz, SSB between 50.125 and 50.250 MHz, and digital modes from 50.250
to 50.300 MHz. The frequencies between 50.100 MHz and 50.125 MHz are
considered a "DX window," so avoid US-to-US contacts in that part of the band.
On 2 meters, look for FM stations in the 146.40 to 146.57 MHz region (all FM
simplex calling frequency restrictions were removed in 2015), or look for SSB
around 144.200 MHz, with CW intermixed. Digital stations congregate around
144.140 MHz. On the higher bands, activity will focus around the "weak-signal"
or FM calling frequencies. Check band plans for details on all bands.

Rules and entry forms are on the ARRL website. All logs must be uploaded to
the web app or e-mailed (or mailed) no later than 0300 UTC on October 12.
Electronic logs are preferred. Send paper logs to September VHF Contest, ARRL,
225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.

For more information about the ARRL September VHF Contest, e-mail the ARRL
Contest Branch.



Search is On for Illegal 10 Meter GPS Buoys

Radio amateurs in Portugal this summer intensified their search for GPS buoys
that are illegally operating -- and intruding -- on 10 meters. A recent
International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 Monitoring System (IARUMS-R1)
report indicated that one such buoy was operating 24/7 on 28.100 MHz, using
F1B mode (RTTY), 51 baud, 270 Hz shift. IARUMS-R1 also has posted a lengthy
and growing list of intruding driftnet fisheries buoys, transmitting CW in
various parts of 10 meters. A group of Portuguese radio amateurs has
volunteered to identify the location of GPS buoy clusters that have been
transmitting "for years" on 10 meters, an exclusive Amateur Radio allocation.

"So far, we have had some success in determining the location of the few that
we can receive when propagation allows," said Paulo Teixeira, CT2IWW, the team
spokesperson. "The data suggest that these clusters are located in the
Atlantic, along the coasts of Africa and Europe, but it's possible that they
are present elsewhere."

The F1B transmissions consist of 3-second RTTY bursts. Individual
transmissions are 10 seconds apart, and the cycle repeats every 5 minutes.
Frequencies are between 28.000 and 28.120 MHz, at 5 kHz intervals.

"So far we detected them on 28010, 28025, 28035, 28050, 28065, 28075, and
28101 kHz," Teixeira said, "but we believe that other frequency ranges are
possible."

The group has asked radio amateurs living along the Atlantic coast, to look
for these transmissions and record them. Teixeira said poor propagation is
making it difficult to obtain additional samples.

"More recordings are needed in order to get greater consistency of the decoded
data and, possibly, work on an automated or semi-automated decoding solution,"
he said. He stressed the importance of indicating date, time (UTC), frequency,
and mode. Recordings should be at least 10 to 20 minutes long. E-mail results
to CT2IWW via his QRZ.com address.

Illegal buoys of all types -- fisheries, driftnet, GPS, and Datawell
"Waverider" wave measurement buoys -- remain very active on 10 meters,
according to Wolf Hadel, DK2OM, the IARUMS-R1 coordinator. The July IARUMS
newsletter included more than three dozen reports.



"Frequency Crunch" is ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference Sunday
Seminar Topic

"Spectrum (It's the frequency crunch for real)" will be the Sunday Seminar
topic at the ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC) September 16-18
in St Petersburg, Florida. Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, and Bob McGwier, N4HY,
will headline the tutorial.

"The Amateur Radio spectrum above 450 MHz is facing serious threats. The
demand for useful spectrum is large and growing," a presentation abstract
asserts. "We will explain why this spectrum is in demand and what you need to
know and do in order to defend it."

The presentation will offer a practical understanding of digital
communication, software-defined radio, codecs, protocols, and cognitive radio.
Thompson heads the AMSAT Ground Terminal Team, a component of the so-called
"five and dime (5 GHz and 10 GHz)" Phase 4B geosynchronous satellite project.
McGwier, an AMSAT stalwart, is chief scientist at the Hume Center for National
Security and Technology at Virginia Tech.

The Saturday night banquet speaker will be ARRL Chief Technology Officer
Brennan Price, N4QX. His topic will be "New Frontiers in Wireless: Challenges
to and Opportunities for Amateur Radio."




NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative Opens Space to Educators, Nonprofits

NASA is soliciting another round of CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI)
applications. The agency is inviting accredited education institutions,
nonprofit organizations, and NASA centers to join the adventure and challenge
of space while helping it to achieve its exploration goals. Many research
CubeSats launched as part of the CSLI have carried Amateur Radio payloads.
Applications are due by November 22.

The CSLI provides CubeSat developers with a low-cost pathway to space, in
order to conduct research that advances NASA's strategic goals in the areas of
science, exploration, technology development, education, and operations. The
initiative provides students, teachers, and faculty with a chance to get
hands-on flight hardware development experience, designing, building, and
operating these small research satellites. NASA will announce its selections
by February 17, although selection does not guarantee a launch opportunity.

Selected experiments are considered auxiliary payloads on NASA launches or for
International Space Station deployment starting next year and continuing
through 2020. Selected organizations are responsible for funding the
development of their CubeSats. To date, NASA has chosen 119 CubeSat missions,
and 46 of those have gone on to launch; another 29 are set to launch within
the next 12 months.

For this round of the initiative, NASA is particularly interested in
participation from organizations in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and
18 states not previously selected. These include Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia,
Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire,
North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Washington,
and Wyoming.

The NASA website offers more information on the CSLI. -- Thanks to NASA




The K7RA Solar Update

Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Average daily sunspot numbers were down
compared to the previous reporting week. This week, September 1-7, solar flux
increased, and geomagnetic indices were quite active.

The average daily sunspot number declined from 60.1 to 46.4, while the average
solar flux went from 87.9 to 95.1. The average planetary A index increased
from 8 to 26.6, while the average mid-latitude A index rose from 6.9 to 18.1.

The daily planetary A index on September 1-4 was 36, 39, 40, and 28. An echo
of the solar wind that caused this is expected on September 28-October 1, when
the predicted planetary A index is predicted to be 35, 38, 40, and 25.

Predicted solar flux is 92 on September 8-9; 90 on September 10-12; 85 on
September 13-14; 83 on September 15; 108 on September 16-19; 110, 105, and 110
on September 20-22; 112 on September 23-24; 108 on September 25; 105 on
September 26-27; 100 on September 28; 95 on September 29-October 1; 98 on
October 2-4; 95 on October 5-6; 90 on October 7-8; 95 on October 9; 100 on
October 10-11; 105 on October 12, and 108 on October 13-16. After October 16,
flux values meander from 105 to 112.

On September 5, predicted solar flux values for September 13-October 21 got a
big boost -- a predicted increase ranging from 18 to 30 points from the
September 4 prediction.

Predicted planetary A index is 8 on September 8, 5 on September 9-10; 8 on
September 11-14; 5 on September 15-16; 8, 5, 15, 12, and 8 on September 17-21;
5 on September 22-25; 12, 8, 35, 38, and 40 on September 26-30; 25, 20, and 12
on October 1-3; 10 on October 4-5; 5 on October 6-9, and 10, 8, 5, 5, and 8 on
October 10-14.

In this week's bulletin, look for an updated prediction and some auroral
observations from K2KA regarding activity observed on September 3.

Sunspot numbers for September 1 through 7 were 66, 50, 46, 59, 22, 32, and 50,
with a mean of 46.4. The 10.7 centimeter flux was 95.2, 94.6, 99, 97.4, 93.8,
92.4, and 93, with a mean of 95.1. Estimated planetary A indices were 36, 39,
40, 28, 17, 14, and 12, with a mean of 26.6. Estimated mid-latitude A indices
were 29, 24, 21, 20, 13, 12, and 8, with a mean of 18.1.

This weekly Solar Update is a preview of the Propagation Bulletin issued each
Friday. The latest bulletin and an archive of past propagation bulletins is on
the ARRL website.

Send me your reports and observations.

____________________________________________________________________________


Just Ahead in Radiosport

 *  September 10 -- Ohio State Parks on the Air (phone)
 *  September 10 -- FOC QSO Party (CW)
 *  September 10 -- Kulikovo Polye Contest (CW)
 *  September 10-11 -- WAE DX Contest (SSB)
 *  September 10-11 -- SARL Field Day Contest (CW, phone, digital)
 *  September 10-11 -- SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (CW)
 *  September 10-11 -- Russian Cup Digital Contest
 *  September 10-12 --ARRL September VHF Contest (CW, phone, digital)
 *  September 11 -- North American Sprint (CW)
 *  September 11-14 -- Classic Exchange (CW)
 *  September 14 -- RSGB 80 Meter Club Sprint (SSB)

See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. For in-depth reporting on
Amateur Radio contesting, subscribe to The ARRL Contest Update via your ARRL
member profile e-mail preferences.

____________________________________________________________________________


Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions

 *  September 9-11 -- New England Division Convention, Boxborough,
    Massachusetts
 *  September 10 -- Kentucky State Convention, Shepherdsville, Kentucky
 *  September 10 -- Virginia Section Convention, Virginia Beach, Virginia
 *  September 16-17 -- W9DXCC Convention, Schaumburg, Illinois
 *  September 16-18 -- ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference, St
    Petersburg, Florida
 *  September 17-18 -- Illinois State Convention, Peoria, Illinois
 *  September 23-24 -- W4DXCC Convention, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
 *  September 24 -- San Joaquin Valley Section Convention, Modesto,
    California
 *  September 24 -- North Dakota State Convention, West Fargo, North Dakota
 *  September 24 -- Washington State Convention, Spokane Valley, Washington
 *  October 7-8 -- Florida State Convention, Melbourne, Florida
 *  October 7-8 -- Pacific Northwest VHF Conference, Bend, Oregon
 *  October 13-15 -- Microwave Update Conference, St Louis, Missouri
 *  October 14-16 -- Pacific Division Convention, San Ramon, California
 *  October 16 -- Connecticut State Convention, Meriden, Connecticut
 *  October 21-22 -- Arizona State Convention, Maricopa, Arizona
 *  October 22 -- Wisconsin ARES/RACES Conference, Wisconsin Rapids,
    Wisconsin
 *  November 5 -- TechFest Convention, Lakewood, Colorado
 *  November 5-6 -- Georgia State Convention, Lawrenceville, Georgia
 *  November 12-13 -- Indiana State Convention, Fort Wayne, Indiana
 *  November 19 -- Alabama State Convention, Montgomery, Alabama

Find conventions and hamfests in your area.

____________________________________________________________________________


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Always Mount a Scratch Monkey

... If that makes any sense to you, you have a big problem.
---
 * Origin:  (1:3634/12.73)