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********************************************
The ARRL Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League ********************************************

March 9, 2023

John E. Ross, KD8IDJ, Editor <news@arrl.org>

ARRL Home Page <http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Letter Archive <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> IN THIS ISSUE

- ARRL International DX Contest a Success
- 2023 Ulrich L. Rohde Award Call for Papers
- Amateur Radio Digital Communications Awards $420,000 to the FreeDV
Project
- Amateur Radio in the News
- ARRL Podcasts
- Announcements
- In Brief...
- The K7RA Solar Update
- Just Ahead in Radiosport
- Upcoming Section, State, and Division Conventions

ARRL INTERNATIONAL DX CONTEST A SUCCESS

Last weekend (March 4 - 5, 2023) was the phone segment of the ARRL International DX Contest.

Although the deadline to submit logs is 2359Z on March 12,
preliminary numbers already show an increase in submissions compared to
the same period last year. Conditions were favorable for much of the
world, and many operators took to social media to talk about their
wins.

Italian ham Chris Diemoz, IX1CKN, wrote in to express his gratitude for
the contest, saying, "I haven't come back to the US since 2001, but...
I [count last] Sunday afternoon [as] a true trip to the States, from
east to west." Diemoz made 80 contacts in the US.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnph3Cn9fK0>From his parked car in
Ozein, Itally, Diemoz operated during the contest using QRP power from
a Xiegu G90 transceiver and an Outback-1899 HF antenna. He enjoyed
making a lot of contacts on 10 and 15 meters, which are opening due to
Solar Cycle 25. He made a video with some of his QSOs and posted it to
YouTube. Click on the screenshot above or click here to view the
YouTube video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnph3Cn9fK0>.

2023 ULRICH L. ROHDE AWARD CALL FOR PAPERS

The Software Defined Radio Academy (SDRA) has issued a call for papers
for the 2023 Ulrich L. Rohde Award. This award, named after Dr. Ulrich
L. Rohde, N1UL, was created in 2022 and is presented to those who have completed innovative research in the field of software-defined radio
(SDR). It's a paper award that requires a written submission by
applicants. There are first - second - and third -place winners who are
awarded €500 ($527), €300 ($316), and €100 ($105) respectively.

All submitted papers are eligible for the award. The deadline for the
abstract submission is April 30, 2023, and the acceptance notification
date is May 15, 2023. The Award Committee for 2023 includes:

- Dr. Michael Hartje, DK5HH, HS Bremen

- Dr. Michael Niemetz, DG2RAM, OTH Regensburg

- Dr. HervÃ(c) Boeglen, Univ. Poitiers (European GNURadio Days)

- Dr. Jean-Michel Friedt, FEMTO-ST, Univ. Besancon (European GNURadio
Days)

Dr. Rohde is an avid amateur radio operator, holding several licenses
in the US and Germany. He has been licensed since 1956, and is mostly
involved in technology and systems. In 2015, he won first place in the
ARRL DX Contest in the Northern New Jersey Section. He also operates
N1UL/MM on his yacht, the Dragonfly, and is Trustee of the Marco Island
Radio Club, K5MI.

Rohde holds 50 patents, and in December 2016, he was invited to deliver
the Sir J.C. Bose Memorial Lecture on "Next-Generation Networks: Software-Defined Radio -- Emerging Trends," at the IEEE meeting in
Hyderabad, Telangana India, in the fourth edition of Communications
Receivers: Principles and Design, Rohde and his co-authors set SDR at
the core of modern communications systems design.

For additional information on the Ulrich L. Rohde Award, including how
to send an award for submission and other award categories, visit the
Software Defined Radio Academy <https://2023.sdra.io/pages/call-for-papers.html> website.

AMATEUR RADIO DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS AWARDS $420,000 TO THE FREEDV

PROJECT

Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) has awarded a $420,000
grant, one of the first for 2023, to develop and document FreeDV, an open-source amateur radio technology. The grant will be used to help
advance the state of the art in HF digital voice and promote its use.

FreeDV is a graphical user interface application for Windows, Linux,
and macOS that allows any SSB radio to be used for low-bit-rate digital
voice. Speech is compressed down to 1600 bits/second, then modulated
onto a 1.25 kHz wide 16 QPSK signal, which is sent to the microphone
input of an SSB radio. The technology was initially developed by David
Rowe, VK5DGR. Now, an international team of radio amateurs are working
together on the project.

Among the many opportunities for FreeDV, the ARDC grant will also
allow:

- Experienced digital signal processing developers to work with the
volunteer staff to improve speech quality and low signal-to-noise ratio operation, making FreeDV performance superior to SSB over poor HF
channels.

- Commercial HF radio companies to embed FreeDV into at least two
commercial radios, greatly reducing set up effort and latency.

- Widespread adoption of a truly open-source, next-generation digital
voice system for HF radio.

- A mature, open-source low-bit-rate codec that's useful for a variety
of amateur radio and commercial applications.

- A suite of high-performance, HF data modems for open-source data applications, usable by any radio amateur.

To learn more about the technical specifications of FreeDV, go to https://www.freedv.org <https://www.freedv.org/>.

ARDC <https://www.ampr.org/> is a California-based foundation with
roots in amateur radio and the technology of internet communication.

AMATEUR RADIO IN THE NEWS

ARRL Public Information Officers, Coordinators, and many other member-volunteers help keep amateur radio and ARRL in the news <http://www.arrl.org/media-hits>.

"Astronauts will be reached by students with Amateur Radio <https://www.khon2.com/local-news/astronauts-will-be-reached-by-students-with-amateur-radio/>"

/ KHON (Hawaii), March 5, 2023 -- The Lana'i High and Elementary
School.

"Steubenville-Weirton Amateur Radio Club donates books to library
system <http://www.heraldstaronline.com/news/community/2023/03/steubenville-weirton-amateur-radio-club-donates-books-to-library-system/>"

/ Herald - Star (Ohio), March 8, 2023. The Steubenville-Weirton Amateur
Radio Club is an ARRL Affiliated Club.

Share <newsmedia@arrl.org> any amateur radio media hits you spot with
us.

ARRL PODCASTS

On the Air
Sponsored by Icom <http://www.icomamerica.com/en/>

Radio orienteering (aka Amateur Radio Direction Finding, or ARDF) is a
radio sport like no other. It gets you out of your shack chair and
bounding through the woods or a park, using a handheld receiver and
directional antenna to find a transmitter that's located somewhere in
the vicinity. People of all ages and skill levels can have fun with
radio orienteering - and you don't even need a ham radio license to
join in. In this episode, we talk to USA ARDF Co-coordinator Charles
Scharlau, NZ0I, about how to get involved in what he calls, "the only
athletic radio sport."

ARRL Audio News
Listen to ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrl-audio-news>,
available every Friday. ARRL Audio News is a summary of the week's top
news stories in the world of amateur radio and ARRL, along with
interviews and other features.

The On the Air podcast is available on iTunes (iOS) and Stitcher
(Android). The On the Air podcast and ARRL Audio News are also on
blubrry -- On the Air <https://blubrry.com/arrlontheair/> | ARRL Audio
News <https://blubrry.com/arrlaudionews/>.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The 2023 QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo will be held on March 25 - 26, and registration is still open. The event is a fully interactive virtual
ham radio convention offering new content, networking opportunities,
and more than 50 amateur radio presentations on a wide variety of
subjects. Tickets are $15, and registration information can be found at
the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo <http://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/?mc_cid=cfa50a6bb8&mc_eid=d3e32f2624>
website. ARRL is a QSO Today Expo Partner.

IN BRIEF...

It is with deep sadness that we report that ARRL Michigan Section
Manager Les Butler, W8MSP, passed away on March 8, 2023. Butler, of
Gregory, began serving his first term as Section Manager in January
2022. "Les was attending Michigan's Statewide Interoperable
Communications Conference and, in the evening, became ill," reported
ARRL Great Lakes Division Director Dale Williams, WA8EFK, in a message
sent to Division members. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Les' wife
Karen, the family, and all of his many friends in amateur radio." More information will follow as it becomes available.

The National Capitol DX Association (NCDXA) Board of Directors has
appointed Jack Ference, W3KX, as the new ARRL Third Call Area (W3)
Incoming QSL Bureau Manager. He fills the position of the late Fred
Laun, K3ZO (SK), who passed away on January 3, 2023. There were some
delays in the transition, and QSLs that were forwarded to the old PO
Box were not able to be collected. Incoming QSLs that were sent between December 2022 and March 2023 were returned to the senders by the US
Postal Service. Please send any returned QSLs and new shipments to the
new address:

W3 QSL Bureau
NCDXA
PO Box 190
Glenelg, MD 21737-0190

Amateurs who are in contact with active foreign QSL bureaus or
international QSL managers are asked to pass this information along to
them. Foreign bureau managers and international QSL managers are asked
to contact Ference by email, so their mailing address and contact
information can be updated for future business. All questions and
inquiries sent to the new PO Box will be answered. Ference can be
contacted directly at: Jack J. Ference, W3KX, Bureau Manager, ARRL
Third Call Area Incoming QSL Bureau, W3KX@arrl.net.

THE K7RA SOLAR UPDATE

Tad Cook, K7RA, of Seattle, Washington, reports for this week's ARRL Propagation Bulletin, ARLP010:

So far this month, two new sunspot groups appeared on March 1, one
on March 2, three on March 3, one on March 5, two on March 6, and one
on March 7.

The average daily sunspot numbers rose from 126.3 to 143.6.

The average daily solar flux changed from 158.2 to 181.6.

The average daily planetary A index declined from 27.7 to 14.6, and the
average middle latitude numbers went from 18.9 to 10.7, reflecting the
quieter conditions following the upsets of the week before.

The Dominion Radio Observatory, the source for solar flux data, is way
up at 49.5 degrees north longitude in eastern British Columbia in
Penticton. For much of the year the sun is low in the sky, so all
winter they do their thrice daily readings at 1800, 2000, and 2200 UTC.
But on March 1, they shifted over to 1700, 2000, and 2300 UTC. The
local noon (2000 UTC) reading is the official solar flux for the day.

You can see the data and the dates here:

https://www.spaceweather.gc.ca/forecast-prevision/solar-solaire/solarflux/sx-5-flux-en.php


The vernal equinox, when the Northern and Southern hemispheres are
bathed in equal solar radiation, is less than 2 weeks away.

Predicted solar flux shows values peaking now, and again on March 16 -
19.

Flux values are expected at 178, 175, 172, and 165 on March 9 - 12; 170
on March 13 - 15; 175, 180, 180, 175, 170, and 165 on March 16 - 21;
160 on March 22 - 23; 155 on March 24 - 26; 150 on March 27 - 28; 145
on March 29 - 30; 140, 145, 150, 155, and 160 on March 31 through April
4, and 165 on April 5 - 8.

The predicted planetary A index is 8, 5, 8, 10, and 8 on March 9 - 13;
5 on March 14 - 15; 8 on March 16 - 17; 5, 8, and 16 on March 18 - 20;
5 on March 21 - 23; 12, 16, 26, 18, and 10 on March 24 - 28; 8, 24, and
16 on March 29 - 31; 20 on April 1 - 2; 16 and 8 on April 3 - 4, and 5
on April 5 - 10.

Dr. Tony Phillips of https://spaceweather.com
<https://spaceweather.com/> posted this animation of sunspot AR3245
splitting, which was captured by NASA's SDO:

https://www.spaceweather.com/images2023/07mar23/splitup.gif

AR3245 is seen in the SE quadrant (lower left).

Sunspot numbers for March 2 through 8 were 103, 133, 122, 137, 173,
191, and 146, with a mean of 143.6. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 168.8,
190.9, 181.6, 179.8, 188, 180.3, and 181.9, with a mean of 181.6.
Estimated planetary A indices were 9, 22, 15, 22, 15, 11, and 8, with a
mean of 14.6. The middle latitude A index was 8, 16, 10, 17, 11, 7, and
6, with a mean of 10.7.

Send your tips, questions, or comments to k7ra@arrl.net.

A comprehensive K7RA Solar Update is posted Fridays on the ARRL
website. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit <http://arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals> the ARRL Technical
Information Service, read
<http://arrl.org/the-sun-the-earth-the-ionosphere> "What the Numbers
Mean..." and check out <http://k9la.us/> the Propagation Page of Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA.

A propagation bulletin archive <http://arrl.org/w1aw-bulletins-archive-propagation> is available. For customizable propagation charts, visit the VOACAP Online for Ham Radio <https://www.voacap.com/hf/> website.

Share <k7ra@arrl.net> your reports and observations.

A weekly, full report is posted on ARRL News
<http://www.arrl.org/news>.

JUST AHEAD IN RADIOSPORT

Year-long -- ARRL Volunteers On the Air <https://vota.arrl.org/>
(VOTA). See the State Activations Schedule for weekly W1AW Portable
Operations <https://vota.arrl.org/w1awPortable.php> including:

- March 8 - March 15 -- Kentucky, W1AW/4

- March 8 - March 15 -- Idaho, W1AW/7

- March 15 - March 21 -- Virginia, W1AW/4

- March 15 - March 21 -- Ohio, W1AW/8

UPCOMING CONTESTS:

- March 11 -- YB DX RTTY Contest (digital)

- March 11 - 12 -- RSGB Commonwealth Contest (CW)

- March 11 - 12 -- EA PSK63 Contest (digital)

- March 11 - 12 -- South America 10 Meter Contest (CW, phone)

- March 11 - 12 -- SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (CW)

- March 11 -- AGCW QRP Contest (CW)

- March 11 - 12 -- Stew Perry Topband Challenge (CW)

- March 11 - 12 -- Oklahoma QSO Party (CW, phone)

- March 11 - 12 -- Tesla Memorial HF CW Contest (CW)

- March 11 - 12 -- Idaho QSO Party (CW, phone)

- March 12 -- North American Sprint, RTTY (digital)

- March 12 -- UBA Spring Contest, 2m (CW, phone)

- March 12 -- FIRAC HF Contest (CW)

- March 12 - 13 -- Wisconsin QSO Party (CW, phone)

- March 13 -- 4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint (CW, phone)

- March 13 -- OK1WC Memorial (MWC) (CW)

Visit the ARRL Contest Calendar <http://www.arrl.org/contest-calendar>
for more events and information.

UPCOMING SECTION, STATE, AND DIVISION CONVENTIONS

- March 18 | MARC St. Patrick's Day Hamfest <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/marc-st-patricks-day-hamfest-arrl-west-texas-section-convention>,

hosting the ARRL West Texas Section, Midland, Texas

- March 18 | Charleston Area Hamfest <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/charleston-area-hamfest-arrl-west-virginia-section-convention-1>,

hosting the ARRL West Virginia Section Convention, Charleston, West
Virginia

- March 24 - 25 | ARRL Maine State Convention and Hamfest <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/arrl-maine-state-convention-and-hamfest>­, Lewiston, Maine

- March 25 - 26 | QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo
<https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/> (online)

- April 7 - 8 | Green Country Hamfest <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/green-country-hamfest-arrl-oklahoma-section-convention>,

hosting the ARRL Oklahoma Section Convention, Claremore, Oklahoma

- April 8 | Raleigh Hamfest <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/raleigh-hamfest-arrl-north-carolina-state-convention>,

hosting the ARRL North Carolina State Convention, Raleigh, North
Carolina

- April 15 | Sussex Amateur Radio and Electronics Expo <http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/sussex-amateur-radio-and-electronics-expo-arrl-delaware-state-convention>,

hosting the ARRL Delaware State Convention, Georgetown, Delaware.

Search the ARRL Hamfest and Convention Database
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests> to find events in your area.

HAVE NEWS FOR ARRL?

Submissions for the ARRL Letter and ARRL News can be sent to
news@arrl.org. -- John E. Ross, KD8IDJ, ARRL News Editor
<news@arrl.org>

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Amateur Radio News and Information

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