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

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

March 16, 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

- St. Patrick's Day Radio Event
- Tornado Season and Amateur Radio
- Dayton Amateur Radio Leader Ron Cramer, KD8ENJ, Silent Key
- Amateur Radio in the News
- ARRL Podcasts
- Announcements
- In Brief...
- The K7RA Solar Update
- Just Ahead in Radiosport
- Upcoming Contests:
- Upcoming Section, State, and Division Conventions

ST. PATRICK'S DAY RADIO EVENT

The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) will host the annual Saint
Patrick's Day Award event beginning Thursday, March 16, 2023, at 1200
UTC through 1200 UTC on March 18.

The Saint Patrick's Day Award is described as 48 hours of
non-competitive fun and allows worldwide participation in all time
zones.

RSGB says everyone can participate, even if they are not licensed
amateur radio operators.

More details about the event and a registration form can be found on
the St Patrick's Day Award website. <https://www.stpatricksaward.com/>

TORNADO SEASON AND AMATEUR RADIO

Tornado season is fast approaching, and amateur radio operators will
again play a key role in helping the National Weather Service (NWS)
issue accurate and timely warnings. In fact, March through May is
considered the most active period for tornadoes to develop.

The NWS reports there have already been 255 preliminary filtered
reported tornadoes and 213 confirmed tornadoes in the United States in
2023. Worldwide, nine tornado-related deaths have been confirmed, all
of them in the United States.

January saw the third-highest number of tornado watches and confirmed
tornadoes of any January on record in the United States. Additionally,
the first two months of the year saw the fourth-highest number of
confirmed tornadoes for the first 59 days of any year on record.

The SKYWARN® (weather.gov) <https://www.weather.gov/skywarn/> Storm
Spotter Program is available to anyone interested in helping the NWS
track and report potentially dangerous weather. Anyone can become a
SKYWARN weather spotter, and the information is available at the
SKYWARN website. Most states have amateur radio networks that are
activated during severe weather. Trained volunteers use their radios to
report rapidly changing activity and share the information with local
weather offices. A list of the states that have scheduled special
weather awareness activities can be found at the NWS Awareness and
Preparedness Calendar (weather.gov). <https://www.weather.gov/safety/events_calendar>

The NWS Forecast office in Norman, Oklahoma, uses amateur radio as one
method of communicating with spotter groups and emergency management organizations. For decades, amateur radio operators have provided
invaluable service in support of the SKYWARN storm spotter program by
using their unique communications capabilities to share critical
information between the NWS, the local emergency management officials,
and storm spotter networks.

In 1999, the NWS, along with ARRL, founded SKYWARN Recognition Day to
honor the voluntary contributions of thousands of amateur radio
operators who play a critical role in keeping the public safe and
informed about severe weather conditions. The day is celebrated on the
first Saturday in December, and amateur radio spotters can earn awards
for participating.

The 2022 NWS Spotter of the Year Award was given to Bryan Loper,
WX5CSS, of Atlanta, Texas. The award noted that Loper is very active
with the amateur radio network and weather community within the Arkansas/Louisiana/Texas region, and is always reliably providing
weather reports. Loper is an ARRL member.

To learn more about amateur radio licensing and SKYWARN visit ARRL.org. <https://www.arrl.org/>

DAYTON AMATEUR RADIO LEADER RON CRAMER, KD8ENJ, SILENT KEY

Ron Cramer, KD8ENJ, of Dayton, Ohio, passed away on Saturday, March 11,
2023.

He was Vice President of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association
(DARA) and previously served as its President.

Cramer was General Chairman of Dayton Hamvention®, the world's largest
annual gathering of radio amateurs, from 2017 to 2018. In 2017, he was
among the Hamvention leadership and team who helped successfully
relocate the event to its current venue at the Greene County
Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia, Ohio, after 52 years at Hara
Arena. In 2019, the event would go on to host the ARRL National
Convention in Xenia.

"Ron was one of the most active members of DARA and Hamvention and was extremely well liked and respected," included a message from the DARA
Board. "Please keep him and his family in your prayers." Cramer is
survived by his wife of 49 years Liz (Ann Mergler).

"I was the Assistant General Chair of Hamvention (Ron's assistant) the
year we moved we moved it to Xenia," shared DARA President Jack Gerbs,
WB8SCT. "It was a stressful time but it was also a very exciting time
for the team. There is no way Ron can ever be replaced. He was a
hardworking, dedicated, wonderful person who had a positive impact on
everyone he encountered. His only fault was, he would never say no. I
am looking forward to catching up to Ron, in that great shack in
Heaven! Rest in peace my friend!"

"Ron was a good friend of ARRL, and one of the kindest and most
committed member-volunteers I've known throughout my years in amateur
radio," said ARRL Director of Marketing and Innovation Bob Inderbitzen,
NQ1R. "Ron supported many years of ARRL's participation at Hamvention.
Most recently, he coordinated Hamvention's interest in hosting the 2024
ARRL National Convention. He'll be close in the hearts and minds of
many of us as the convention is planned. I'll miss him dearly."

An obituary <https://www.bakerhazelsnider.com/memorials/ronald-cramer/5156236/index.php>
is available from Baker-Hazel & Snider Funeral Home, Dayton, Ohio.

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>.

"Free amateur radio instruction offered in Stillwater <https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/free-amateur-radio-instruction-offered-in-stillwater/ar-AA18iuO7#comments>"

/ Twin Cities Pioneer Press (Minnesota), March 6, 2023 -- The
Stillwater Amateur Radio Association is an ARRL Affiliated Club.

"Amateur radio system expands in Calvert County <https://www.somdnews.com/community/amateur-radio-system-expands-in-calvert-county/article_a5c9308d-167d-54fa-ba2e-a6a4f5d54766.htm>"

/ Southern Maryland News (Maryland), March 11, 2023 -- The Calvert
Amateur Radio Association is an ARRL Affiliated Club.

"Out of this world! Lanai kids get picked for live Q&A with ISS
astronauts <https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/03/14/out-this-world-lanai-kids-get-picked-live-qa-with-astronauts-international-space-station/>"

/ Hawaii News Now (Hawaii), March 14, 2023, --The Lanai Elementary
School.

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

National Vietnam War Veterans Day will be celebrated on March 29, 2023.
The event is sponsored by the American Legion Post 275 Amateur Radio
Team, N3TAL, based in Glenarden, Maryland. N3TAL will operate as a
special event station on 7.275 (+/-) MHz (LSB) on Wednesday, March 29,
2023, and will run from 1800 UTC (1300 EDT) until 2300 UTC (1700 EDT).
A special QSL card will be available after making a contact if you send
an SASE to:

American Legion Post 275 Amateur Radio Team

8201 Martin Luther King Jr. Highway

Glenarden, MD 20706

Visit the American Legion Post 275 Radio Team <https://www.glenardenmdpost275.org/supporting-units/amateur-radio-club> website for more information.

IN BRIEF...

Charamie Demarco, W5FRM, at Kittredge Magnet School in Atlanta,
Georgia, enjoys "first contact" with the International Space Station
and students in the Kittredge Magnet School Amateur Radio Club, KQ4KMS.
Demarco is a member of the ARISS-USA Education Committee, made an ARISS
contact in 2020, and enjoyed giving an ARISS keynote talk in 2022 at
the First-Class CW Operators' Club (FOC) Annual Dinner in Florida.

THE K7RA SOLAR UPDATE

Tad Cook, K7RA, of Seattle, Washington, reports for this week's ARRL Propagation Bulletin, ARLP011:

Six new sunspot groups emerged over the past week: two on March 9,
another on March 10, one more on March 12, and another two on March 14.

Sunspot numbers and solar flux declined this week.

Solar disk image taken March 16, 2023, courtesy of NASA SDO/HMI.

Average daily sunspot numbers softened from 143.6 to 118.7, and
average daily solar flux went from 181.6 to 153.6.

Predicted solar flux is 142, 150, 148, 146, 148, and 146 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; 165 on April 5-8; 170 on April 9-11, and 175, 180, 180, 175, 170,
and 165 on April 12-17.

Predicted planetary A index is 25 and 10 on March 16-17; 5 on March
18-19; 8 on March 20-21; 5 on March 22-23; 12, 16, 26, 18, 10, 8, 24,
and 22 on March 24-31; 16 on April 1-2; 14, 12, 8, and 10 on April 3-6;
8 on April 7-8; 5, 8, 22, and 8 on April 9-12; 5 on April 13-14, and 8
and 16 on April 15-16.

Before Friday's bulletin, check out the information on this DR2W
propagation modeling site, recently from WB6MPH and last fall, from
KB2S:

https://dr2w.de/dx-propagation/

Send your tips, reports, observations, questions, and comments to k7ra@arrl.net. When reporting observations, don't forget to tell us
which mode you were operating.

Sunspot numbers for March 9 through 15, 2023, were 155, 135, 126, 135,
87, 97, and 96, with a mean of 118.7. 10.7 cm flux was 178.8, 171.2,
157.4, 150, 143.3, 138.5, and 135.7, with a mean of 153.6. Estimated
planetary A indices were 17, 11, 7, 8, 3, 17, and 29, with a mean of
13.1. Middle latitude A index was 14, 10, 5, 6, 2, 12, and 19, with a
mean of 9.9.

73,

K7RA

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

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

- March 15 - March 21 Virginia W1AW/4

- March 15 - March 21 Ohio W1AW/8

- March 15 - March 21 Arizona W1AW/7

- March 22 - March 28 Tennessee W1AW/4

UPCOMING CONTESTS:

- March 16 -17 -- Walk for the Bacon QRP Contest (CW)

- March 16 -- NAQCC CW Sprint (CW)

- March 16 -- BCC QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)

- March 18 - 20 -- BARTG HF RTTY Contest (digital)

- March 18 - 19 -- Russian DX Contest (CW, phone)

- March 18 - 19 -- F9AA Cup, SSB (phone)

- March 18 -- AGCW VHF/UHF Contest (CW)

- March 18 - 19 -- Virginia QSO Party (CW, phone, Digital)

- March 19 -- UBA Spring Contest, SSB (phone)

- March 20 -- Bucharest Digital Contest (digital)

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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