*************** The ARRL Letter Vol. 25, No. 15 April 14, 2006 *************** IN THIS EDITION: * +Despite claims to the contrary, Virginia BPL system still interfering * +ARRL urges more support for BPL resolution in US House * +League inaugurates vanity license renewal program * +It's a wrap for ISS Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR * +ISS crew swap is successful * +ARES, SATERN participate in major New York City disaster drill * +Activity from top-10 most-wanted DXCC entity VU4 to start April 18 * Solar Update * IN BRIEF: This weekend on the radio ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration +It's a photo contest! World Amateur Radio Day 2006 certificate FCC statistics suggest minuscule market share for BPL VUCC basic operating area expanded for 50 through 1296 MHz First call for presenters, papers for 2006 AMSAT-UK Colloquium DXCC Desk approves operation for DXCC credit +Available on ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> =========================================================== ==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!): letter-dlvy@arrl.org ==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl@arrl.org =========================================================== NOTE: ARRL Headquarters is closed Friday, April 14. There will be no W1AW code practice or bulletin transmissions that day. This week's editions of The ARRL Letter, ARRL Audio News and the propagation bulletin are being distributed Thursday, April 13. ARRL Headquarters will reopen Monday, April 17, at 8 AM EDT. We wish all our members a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend! =========================================================== ==>MANASSAS BPL SYSTEM STILL INTERFERING DESPITE CLAIMS TO THE CONTRARY Interference from the Manassas, Virginia, BPL system persists on ham radio frequencies, radio amateurs there say. Their reports fly in the face of an April 7 news release from system operator COMTek that a recent engineering survey found "no interference unique to BPL" in the amateur bands. On April 6, COMTek filed a report <http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/files/COMTek.pdf> with the FCC in response to an earlier interference complaint from Dwight Agnew, AI4II. COMTek said it does not believe the Manassas BPL system caused the interference Agnew and other Manassas ham radio operators have heard. Agnew told the ARRL this week that the BPL interference continues. "Yes, it's still there," Agnew said. "Some days it will blow your ears off, other days not," he explained. "It varies. That's what's so aggravating about it." Another Manassas amateur, George Tarnovsky, K4GVT, who's also complained to the FCC of BPL interference, echoed Agnew's report. He told the ARRL the BPL signal still can be heard along "miles of road" on 40 meters as well as 20, 17 and 15 meters. "It's everywhere," Tarnovsky said. He points out the interference level varies based on how heavily the system's approximately 900 customers are using the system. In its April 6 filing with the FCC, COMTek--which operates the BPL system for the city--said it takes interference complaints seriously and is conducting "an ongoing investigation" to determine whether the "alleged interference" is coming from its equipment. The Manassas system uses Main.net equipment on frequencies between 4 MHz and 30 MHz, according to the BPL database. On March 7, FCC Spectrum Enforcement Division Chief Joseph P. Casey requested the city and COMTek to follow up on Agnew's January 19 complaint citing harmful BPL interference along Virginia Business Route 234. The Commission told the city to test its system to be sure it complies with FCC Part 15 rules and to "resolve any continuing harmful interference." COMTek's FCC filing included a test report by Product Safety Engineering Inc of Dade City, Florida, outlining BPL system measurements made on 40 meters at one location on Route 234. Product Safety Engineering tempered its report, however, by saying its measurements "were not intended to qualify the system or BPL equipment with respect to compliance with the FCC rules." They were intended to "assist the client in gaining an understanding of the interference potential" of the BPL equipment at "a specific location," the engineering firm said. Conceding that the engineering firm's report was interim and "not fully compliant with the FCC's new measurement guidelines," COMTek told the FCC it would supply a complete survey by April 14. The ARRL already has called on the FCC to shut down the Manassas system until it complies with FCC Part 15 rules. ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, says COMTek's April 6 FCC filing failed to provide what Casey had requested last month. That included making measurements at multiple locations Agnew described in his January complaint. The engineering report also gives no indication that the tests were performed during peak system usage hours, as the FCC had required. "No explanation was provided as to why COMTek was unable to comply with the FCC requirement to resolve the interference complaint and to report within 30 days," Sumner said. "Yet on April 7, COMTek issued a news release that claimed 'rigorous FCC-mandated testing' had been completed. In fact, the testing completed as of that date failed to comply with FCC requirements, as acknowledged by COMTek itself." Sumner said "the test results are meaningless" as a measure of the radio interference emanating from the Manassas BPL system. "Using the test equipment described in the test report to check for radio interference is like using an oven thermometer to check for a fever." Sumner reiterated the League's request that the FCC order the Manassas BPL system disabled "until its operation is able to comply fully with the FCC rules and instructions." ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, charged COMTek with "trying to fix interference problems with press releases." ARRL's technical analysis of the testing indicates COMTek cannot show that it's able to meet FCC-required emission limits, Hare said, and doesn't even demonstrate that its system is not causing harmful interference. Hare said BPL manufacturers and providers whose technology can operate compatibly with Amateur Radio have been working closely with the ARRL and local amateurs. "Those that cannot are taking preliminary test results and turning them into 'everything-is-wonderful now' news releases," he said. "From a technical point of view, that moves us further from solutions, not toward them." ==>SUPPORT STILL NEEDED FOR HOUSE RESOLUTION 230 The ongoing BPL battles in Manassas, Virginia, and Briarcliff Manor, New York, underscore the need for better FCC rules to protect radiocommunication systems from BPL interference. House Resolution 230 (H Res 230), introduced by Rep Mike Ross, WD5DVR, of Arkansas, calls on the FCC to "conduct a full and complete analysis" of radio interference from BPL, particularly with regard to public safety radio systems. "Members of Congress need to hear constituents' concerns about BPL interference while they are in their home districts this week and next," ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, observed this week. "Rep Ross has been joined by six co-sponsors, but more support is needed to move this legislation along." H Res 230 recently received a boost when the March issue of NPSTC Spectrum, the newsletter of the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council, carried an article, "Ham Radio and Public Safety Ask for FCC Reevaluation of Broadband over Power Lines." The article notes "significantly high levels of potential interference in the VHF low band 30 to 50 MHz range" in several test locations. A sample letter <http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/filings/hres230/HRes230-SampleLtr.doc > is available for ARRL members to use as a starting point in contacting their congressional representatives. ARRL members logging onto the Members-Only portion of the ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/members-only/> will see contact information for their Member of Congress. Alternatively, visit http://www.house.gov/. When writing, please send a copy of your letter to ARRL's Government Relations firm: Chwat & Company Inc, ATTN: Eric Heis, KI4NFC, 625 Slaters Ln--Suite 103 Alexandria, VA 22314; Fax 703-684-7594; <eric.heis@chwatco.com>. ==>ARRL VEC ANNOUNCES VANITY CALL SIGN LICENSE RENEWAL PROGRAM The ARRL VEC now can process license renewals for vanity call sign holders for a modest fee. The service is available to ARRL members and nonmembers, although League members will pay less. Routine, non-vanity renewals continue to be processed at no cost for ARRL members. In addition, ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, points out that trustees of club stations with vanity call signs may renew either via the Universal Licensing System (ULS) or through a Club Station Call Sign Administrator, such as ARRL VEC. "2006 is an appropriate year for the ARRL VEC to implement this service, since the licenses of the many radio amateurs who obtained their vanity call signs as a result of the FCC program that went into effect in 1996 will expire this year," Somma said. The first of those licenses are due to expire in June. "As the FCC has already noted, licensees who want to keep their vanity call signs must pay the regulatory fee, currently $21.90 for the 10-year license term, when renewing their licenses," Somma noted. "Licensees who don't want to pay the mandatory regulatory fee to retain a vanity call sign may request a sequentially issued call sign at the time of renewal." The FCC has proposed to reduce the vanity call sign regulatory fee to $20.10 for the 10-year license term. The new fee, if adopted, would go into effect in August or September. Amateur Radio licensees may file for renewal only within 90 days of their license expiration date. All radio amateurs must have an FCC Registration Number (FRN) before filing any application with the Commission. Applicants can obtain an FRN by going to the ULS <http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/> and clicking on the "New Users Register" link. You must supply your Social Security Number to obtain an FRN. Those holding specifically requested call signs issued prior to 1996 are exempt from the vanity call sign regulatory fee. That's because Congress did not authorize the FCC to collect regulatory fees until 1993. Such heritage call sign holders do not appear as vanity licensees in the ULS Amateur Radio database. Somma says the ARRL's new license renewal/modification Web pages contain complete information on license-filing procedures, including step-by-step instructions on how to renew or update a license using the FCC's ULS site and a schedule of fees. League members should visit the "ARRL Member Instructions for License Renewals or Changes" page <http://www.arrl.org/fcc/memberlicenseinstructions.html>. The "Instructions for License Renewals or Changes" page <http://www.arrl.org/fcc/licenseinstructions.html> covers general renewal procedures for nonmembers. There's additional information on the ARRL VEC's "FCC License Renewals and ARRL License Expiration Notices" page <http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/renewals.html>. ==>McARTHUR CALLS IT A WRAP; BRAZIL'S PONTES COMPLETES ONE QSO Even as he was preparing to depart the International Space Station April 4, Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, took time out to talk one last time from NA1SS with some excited students on Earth. The following day, McArthur's traveling companion on his April 9 trip home--Brazil's first astronaut Marcos Pontes, PY0AEB--answered questions put to him via ham radio in two languages by youngsters in Rio de Janeiro. McArthur told students at Robert McQueen High School in Reno, Nevada, that ISS Expedition 12 would be his last space mission. "This will be my last flight into space, and I hope to work to help folks with future missions," McArthur explained, "and I would very much like to be involved with supporting the first mission to go back to the moon and the first mission to Mars." The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was the 38th and final QSO during Expedition 12, which began last October. McArthur handled 37 of the school contacts--a mission record. McArthur said his time aboard the ISS has been "awfully exciting" and he's never gotten bored. But, besides his family, he does miss some things. "What I miss most are beverages with ice in them," McArthur said. "We have no ice up here, and so our beverages are never that cold--I miss that quite a bit." He said he also misses the smell of coffee, since the crew must drink beverages from a bag to keep the liquid from dispersing in the microgravity environment. Darrell Upson, W6ADZ, served as the control operator for the Reno event. Upson said student Jordan Anise, KD7OAT, approached him more than 3 years ago about arranging a contact with the ISS. The event attracted some media coverage, including at least one TV news report. Despite his busy research schedule, Brazil's Pontes--who arrived aboard the ISS April 1 with Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov, RV3BS, and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ--was able to talk with youngsters April 5 at The American School in Rio. The contact was conducted in English and Portuguese, and Pontes answered 17 questions. "We use our free time mostly to view the earth," Pontes told the students. "Very beautiful! It's really beautiful!" Pontes said he'd thought about becoming an astronaut since he was a child, "but my chance was when I was in Monterey studying for my PhD," he said. All of his mission was "very exciting," he added, especially getting to talk to students on Earth via ham radio. Because of his hectic schedule, Pontes was unable to make a second scheduled contact with youngsters at a school in Portugal. ARISS-Brazil Team coordinator Tadeu Fernandes, PY1KCF, served as the control operator for the contact with PY0AEB. The contact attracted considerable media attention in addition to a sizeable audience. Contact audio was retransmitted via ham radio on HF and VHF as well as via EchoLink. ARISS <http://www.rac.ca/ariss> is an international educational outreach, with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA. ==>EXPEDITION 12 CREW PLUS ONE RETURN SAFELY TO EARTH After orbiting Earth more than 3000 times during their six months aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev have returned to the planet. With them on the return trip was Brazilian astronaut Marcos Pontes, PY0AEB, who had been the third passenger onboard the Soyuz "taxi flight" that carried Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov, RV3BS, and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, to the ISS April 1. The Soyuz spacecraft with McArthur, Tokarev and Pontes onboard landed in central Kazakhstan just before midnight UTC April 8. McArthur and Tokarev will remain in Star City for post-flight debriefings. The most active radio amateur ever to serve aboard the ISS, McArthur worked all continents--including Antarctica--on both VHF and UHF from NA1SS during is nearly 190 days in space. He also racked up QSOs with 130 DXCC entities and worked all states. The last QSL he needed to confirm WAS--from Wyoming--arrived at ARRL Headquarters not long before the end of McArthur's duty tour. In all, he put more than 1750 contacts into the NA1SS log. Since the WAC, WAS and DXCC programs don't provide for space contacts, his certificates will be honorary. Pontes flew to the space station as part of a commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos and conducted experiments during his eight days on the ISS. Vinogradov and Williams will spend this week getting better acquainted with their new home for the next six months. No ARISS school contacts are on the NA1SS schedule until the week of April 24. During their duty tour, Vinogradov and Williams will perform two spacewalks and--if all goes according to plan--greet two space shuttle crews. Scheduled to join Expedition 13 this summer on the shuttle Discovery's STS-121 mission will be European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter, DF4TR, of Germany. He'll also be flying under a commercial agreement with Roscosmos. Reiter will remain aboard the ISS when Expedition 14 begins in October, to help provide some crew continuity aboard the ISS.--some information from NASA and ARISS ==>ONLY A TEST: NEW YORK CITY ARES, SATERN TAKE PART IN DISASTER DRILL Members of the New York City District Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) team and the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) participated in a mass casualty disaster drill March 26. Dubbed "Operation Trifecta," the exercise got under way with the mock explosion in Maspeth, Queens, of a chemical bomb aboard a freight train that occurrs just as a commuter train passes. The scenario called for 100 people dead or wounded. Police academy recruits covered in blood acted as victims. The elaborate simulation involved 1500 emergency workers. ARES supported the American Red Cross. "We were an integral part of the Red Cross response, and the folks in charge were duly impressed with our capabilities and deeply grateful for our participation," said NYC ARES District Emergency Coordinator Mike Lisenco, N2YBB. ARES' role was to provide communication support for the Red Cross at its emergency operations center, its on-site command vehicle--making its inaugural run--and a shelter set up to care for area residents affected by the incident. ARES also maintained liaison with SATERN, Lisenco said, "and we had additional volunteers standing by had there been a request for more operators." Operation Trifecta referred to the fact that, during the seven-hour drill, responders not only had to deal with the explosion and hazardous materials but potential saboteurs hiding in the railroad freight cars. Roger Rischawy, who directs The Salvation Army's Greater New York Division-Emergency Disaster Services with assistance from Carlos Varon, K2LCV, reports the division assembled two canteen crews, three staff vehicles and a SATERN emergency communications van. Greater New York SATERN Amateur Radio Liaison Officer Jeff Schneller, N2HPO, managed communication activities for The Salvation Army's response. In the wake of Amateur Radio's emergency communication role following last summer's Gulf Coast hurricanes, emergency responders once again are looking to ham radio volunteers as "a resource that is desperately needed in a disaster situation," Lisenco said. "To that end, the Red Cross here in New York City has redoubled its efforts to maintain a strong working relationship with ARES." He said NYC District ARES also has strengthened its relationship with The Salvation Army. "We have become an important cog in the response wheel, acting as the communications provider for our clients," Lisenco said. "That is what we train to do. Nothing more, nothing less. We are ready when all else fails." ==>ANDAMANS (VU4) TO BE ACTIVATED IN A BIG WAY STARTING APRIL 18 Enthusiasm and anticipation have been building within the DX community this week as the radio window is about to open once again on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (VU4). The National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR) in Hyderabad, India, will sponsor a first-of-its-kind event, "Hamfest - (VU4) India - 2006," April 18-20 in Port Blair on South Andaman Island. Dozens of VU4 stations are expected on the air. India's telecommunication authorities have issued a number of short-term licenses to both nationals and foreigners, and operations reportedly will extend beyond the three-day festival to April 26. The most recent VU4 DXpedition, led by Bharathi Prasad, VU2RBI, in December 2004, turned into a disaster communication operation after the devastating South Asia earthquake and tsunami. Prasad and others involved in the 2004 VU4 DXpedition are expected to be active during the Andamans hamfest activity. All call signs for this event will bear the VU4AN prefix followed by an India mainland call sign. There will be no operation from Nicobar Island and, so far, no operation on 30 meters. According to The DX Magazine's 2005 survey of DXers Andaman and Nicobar Islands was the 10th most-wanted DXCC entity. There's more information on the NIAR Web site <http://www.niar.org/>.--The Daily DX <http://www.dailydx.com/> ==>SOLAR UPDATE Sunspot seeker Tad "Hoppin' Down the Bunny Trail" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: Average daily sunspot numbers for the week were up more than 12 points to 70.7. March 30 through April 5, the daily sunspot number at the start of the period was 35, and it rose to 88 by the seventh day. April 6 it rose to 105, dropping the next day way down to 65, then 57, then 46 last Sunday. By Wednesday, April 12, it had risen again to 79. Geomagnetic disturbances accompanied the rising solar activity. A solar windstream from a coronal hole met the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) which was pointing south, and this leaves Earth vulnerable. On April 9 the mid-latitude A index was 27, and the K index rose to 4 and 5. The planetary A index was 39, with the planetary K index reaching 5 and 6. A condition similar to that of April 9 occurred four days earlier on April 5. But at that time Sunspot 865 was still visible. This is the biggest sunspot seen the year, and it has since rotated out of view. There is a nice peppering of sunspots on the side of the sun facing Earth, but they are small. We could see another period of geomagnetic disturbance Saturday, April 15. Planetary A index predicted for the next few days, Thursday, April 13, through Sunday, April 16, is 10, 25, 40 and 25. Sunspot numbers may rise again later in the month--perhaps over 100 again. This would most likely occur around April 24 through May 4. Sunspot numbers for April 6 through 12 were 105, 65, 57, 46, 70, 73 and 79, with a mean of 70.7. The 10.7 cm flux was 98.9, 94.5, 91, 89.2, 88.7, 89.7, and 81.1, with a mean of 90.4. Estimated planetary A indices were 10, 3, 5, 39, 18, 5 and 2, with a mean of 11.7. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 6, 2, 3, 27, 11, 3 and 1, with a mean of 7.6. __________________________________ ==>IN BRIEF: * This weekend on the radio: The TARA Skirmish Digital Prefix Contest, the Holyland DX Contest, the ES Open HF Championship, the EU Spring Sprint (SSB), the Michigan and Ontario QSO parties, the EA-QRP CW Contest and the YU DX Contest are the weekend of April 15-16. The ARLHS Annual Spring Lites QSO Party is April 15-23. The Run for the Bacon QRP Contest and the Low Power Spring Sprint are April 17. The 432 MHz Spring Sprint and the RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (Data) are April 20. The Thursday NCCC Sprint Ladder is April 21. JUST AHEAD: The DX Colombia International Contest, the SP DX RTTY Contest, and the Florida and Nebraska QSO parties are the weekend of April 22-23. The Thursday NCCC Sprint Ladder is April 28 (UTC). See the ARRL Contest Branch page <http://www.arrl.org/contests/> and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more info. * ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration: Registration remains open through Sunday, May 7, for these ARRL Certification and Continuing Education (CCE) Program on-line courses: Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 2 (EC-002), Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 3 (EC-003), Antenna Modeling (EC-004), HF Digital Communications (EC-005), VHF/UHF--Life Beyond the Repeater (EC-008), and Radio Frequency Propagation (EC-011). Classes begin Friday, May 19. To learn more, visit the CCE Course Listing page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or contact the CCE Department <cce@arrl.org>. * It's a photo contest! Have you ever wanted to see a photo of yours in QST, the annual ARRL Amateur Radio calendar or another ARRL publication? Well, here's your chance! Not only will your photographic skill be propagated far and wide, but we're offering a $100 prize to the winning entry. The winning photo and three runners-up will be published in QST. All submitted photos will also be considered for the 2007 ARRL calendar. Photos must be received at ARRL Headquarters by May 31, 2006. Subject matter must relate to Amateur Radio and be in good taste. Photos will be judged on overall quality and composition. Digital images or color prints are acceptable, but digital, images must have at least 300 dpi resolution. E-mail <upfront@arrl.org> digital images of up to 2 MB or copy to a CD and mail to ARRL Photo Contest, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. All entries must include caption information describing where the photo was taken, along with the names and call signs of anyone appearing in the photograph. Photos submitted become the exclusive property of the ARRL, and decisions of the judges (QST editorial and production staff) are final. Only one entry per person is allowed. Good luck in the contest! * World Amateur Radio Day 2006 certificate: World Amateur Radio Day, Tuesday, April 18, commemorates the founding of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) in Paris in 1925. The 2006 theme is "Amateur Radio: A gateway to information and communications technologies for today's youth." With support from PZK, the Polish Amateur Radio Union, MK QTC, the Polish radio amateurs' journal again will sponsor the World Amateur Radio Day (WARD) certificate <http://ward-award.prv.pl/>. To qualify, stations must complete 10 HF contacts or 5 VHF contacts on April 18 between 0000 and 2400 UTC. To obtain the full-color certificate, send a log extract including the list of QSOs and $6 US (?5) to: The Radio Amateurs' Journal MK QTC, Suchacz-Zamek - Wielmozy 5b, 82-340 Tolkmicko, Poland, on or before May 31, 2006. The World Amateur Radio Day certificate also is available to SWLs who log the same number of reports. * FCC statistics suggest minuscule market share for BPL: The latest FCC statistics on the status of high-speed Internet services indicate a minuscule market share for broadband over power line (BPL). The FCC Wireline Competition Bureau report, "High-Speed Services for Internet Access: Status as of June 30, 2005," puts at 4872 the number of business and residential "Power Line and Other" connections that deliver at speeds greater than 200 kbps in at least one direction. The total number of high-speed lines for all technologies is 42,866,469--the vast majority DSL, cable and traditional wireline connections. This puts the share for "Power Line and Other" at a bit more than 0.01 percent of the total. The number of residential BPL "advanced services" lines--greater than 200 kbps in both directions--is 3916 out of 34,259,411, the FCC report indicates. Although some data have been withheld as proprietary, the FCC report indicates there are 18 "Power Line and Other" high-speed providers nationwide. Facilities-based broadband providers must report the number of high-speed connections in service to the FCC twice a year. * VUCC basic operating area expanded for 50 through 1296 MHz: The ARRL Membership Services Department has announced an increase in the size of the basic operating area for VUCC contacts made between 50 MHz and 1296 MHz. Effective immediately VUCC rules allow stations to submit confirmations for contacts made from different locations, provided no two locations are more than 200 km (124 miles) apart. The VUCC operating area for SHF operation remains unchanged. The change results from a recommendation of an ad hoc VHF/UHF Study Committee, appointed by the then-Membership Services Committee, chaired by ARRL New England Division Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI. The ARRL Awards Committee recently added its approval to the change. * First call for presenters, papers for 2006 AMSAT-UK Colloquium: AMSAT-UK has issued a first call for speakers and papers for its 21st Colloquium, July 28-30, at Surrey University, Guildford, Surrey, UK. AMSAT-UK seeks presentations about Amateur Radio space activities and related topics. Speakers/authors also are also invited to submit papers for publication in the conference Proceedings. Submit complete documents by June 15 to David Johnson, G4DPZ, <g4dpz@amsat.org>. AMSAT-UK also invites suggestions for program topics. More information on this year's event will be available on the AMSAT-UK Web site <http://www.uk.amsat.org/Colloquium/default.php>.--AMSAT-UK * DXCC Desk approves operation for DXCC credit: The ARRL DXCC Desk has approved this operation for DXCC credit: TT8PK, Chad, March 15 to May 27, 2004, and December 27, 2005, to October 3, 2006. For more information, visit the DXCC Web page <http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/>. "DXCC Frequently Asked Questions" can answer most questions about the DXCC program. ARRL DX bulletins are available on the W1AW DX Bulletins page <http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/dx/>. =========================================================== The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American Radio Relay League--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 news of interest to active amateurs. The ARRL Letter strives to be timely, accurate, concise, and readable. Visit ARRLWeb <http://www.arrl.org/> for the latest news, updated as it happens. The ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/> offers access to news, informative features and columns. ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> is a weekly "ham radio newscast" compiled from The ARRL Letter. 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 and The American Radio Relay League. ==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!): letter-dlvy@arrl.org ==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl@arrl.org ==>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 The ARRL Letter is available to ARRL members free of charge directly from ARRL HQ. To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your address for e-mail delivery: ARRL members first must register on the Members Only Web Site <http://www.arrl.org/members/>. 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