***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 24, No. 17
April 29, 2005
***************
IN THIS EDITION:
* +Ham-congressman wants FCC to evaluate BPL's interference potential
* +Texas lawmakers ignore ham radio's BPL bill concerns, ARRL SM says
* +New school QSO record set during Expedition 10
* +Ham-astronaut describes ISS experience for Senate subcommittee
* +FCC chairman queried during hearing on Amateur Radio's BPL fears
* Solar Update
* IN BRIEF:
This weekend on the radio
ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course registration
+FCC adopts digital broadcasting standard
+Dr William W. McGrannahan, N0ZL (ex-K0ORB), SK
+Philip Morrison, ex-W8FIS, SK
+ARRL accepts Horace Mann "Friend of Education" Award
California RACES ATV demonstration gets high marks from fire officials
"Enigma machine" special event, reactivation set
CQ announces annual "DX Marathon"
Final WRTC 2006 rules now available
+Available on ARRL Audio News
===========================================================
==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!):
letter-dlvy@arrl.org
==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl@arrl.org
===========================================================
==>US HOUSE RESOLUTION CALLS ON FCC TO EVALUATE BPL INTERFERENCE, REVIEW
RULES
Rep Michael Ross, WD5DVR, of Arkansas, has introduced a resolution in the US
House of Representatives calling on the FCC to "conduct a full and complete
analysis" of radio interference from broadband over power line (BPL). The
resolution, H. Res 230, says the Commission should comprehensively evaluate
BPL's interference potential incorporating "extensive public review and
comment," and--in light of that analysis--to "reconsider and review" its new
BPL rules, adopted last October. If approved by the full House, the
non-binding resolution, introduced April 21, would express the requests as
"the sense of the House of Representatives."
"We are grateful to Congressman Ross and his staff for taking a leadership
position in recognizing that the BPL interference issue deserves more
careful consideration than the FCC was willing to give it under former
Chairman Powell," said ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ. The resolution has been
referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, on which Ross
serves.
The resolution's prime focus is on BPL's potential to disrupt critical
public safety radiocommunication. It cites National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA) studies that "have determined that
broadband over power line creates a 'high risk' of radio wave interference,
and that harmful interference to public safety mobile radio receivers can be
expected at distances of 75 meters from the power line where broadband over
power line is in operation, and at distances of up to 460 meters from fixed
stations, such as VHF police or fire dispatch communications facilities."
The resolution notes that the same NTIA study determined that BPL
interference to aeronautical and airline travel communications "could be
expected at distances up to 40 kilometers from the center of the broadband
over power line system, and that interference to outer marker beacons for
airline instrument landing systems could be expected at great distances as
well."
Many public safety agencies and support services, including emergency
medical services, fire, and law enforcement, utilize Low-Band VHF (30-50
MHz), the resolution points out. According to the resolution, at least 13
states--California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi,
Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia
and Wyoming--use the band for state police operations. It's the primary
public safety radio band in nine states.
The resolution further notes that the Association of Public Safety
Communications Officials Inc (APCO), and the National Public Safety
Telecommunications Council (NPSTC), urged the FCC to withhold final action
in the BPL proceeding for at least a year, pending a "conclusive
determination" of BPL's potential to interfere with public safety and other
licensed radio systems operating below 80 MHz. It also cites comments filed
by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which uses a statewide radio system
with more than 1400 Low-Band VHF users. The Missouri State Highway Patrol
commented that the overall effect of BPL implementation would be "a
potentially significant increase in interference to the mission of critical
public safety communications," the resolution says.
The resolution recounts that the FCC has struggled for years to resolve
widespread harmful interference to the radiocommunications of first
responders on 800 MHz and "should not have proceeded with introduction of a
technology which appears to have substantial potential to cause destructive
interference to police, fire, emergency medical services, and other public
safety radio systems" without first conducting a comprehensive evaluation.
ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, has urged ARRL members to contact their US
representatives to support the resolution. A sample letter is available on
the ARRL Web site
. Members are encouraged to express their support in their own words. If
you're not sure who represents your congressional district, visit the United
States House of Representatives Web site .
To expedite delivery, send all correspondence bound for Members of
Congress--preferably as an attachment--to or fax it to
703-684-7594. The ARRL will bundle correspondence addressed to each Member
of Congress for hand delivery.
A copy of HRes 230 is available on the ARRL Web site
.
==>TEXAS LAWMAKERS IGNORING AMATEUR RADIO CONCERNS IN BPL BILL, ARRL SM SAYS
A bill aimed at amending the Texas utilities code to "encourage the
deployment of BPL" by electric utilities could soon be up for a vote by the
Texas Senate. The measure, SB 1748, recently received unanimous approval
from the Senate Business and Commerce Committee. Sen Troy Fraser, the
sponsor of the measure, also chairs the panel. After reporting the bill out
of committee following an April 21 hearing, the panel voted to put it on the
"consent agenda" to expedite its passage in the Senate. ARRL North Texas
Section Manager Tom Blackwell, N5GAR, says the BPL bill was added to the
committee's hearing agenda at the last minute "so we would have the minimum
amount of time to submit input." At the hearing itself, "everything was well
scripted in advance," he said, and radio amateurs' concerns about the
measure have fallen on deaf ears.
"Those who opposed this and made phone calls, sent letters or e-mail or who
made personal visits to the staff members or senators themselves were
summarily ignored," Blackwell said. He suggests that his constituents would
make better use of their time at this point by contacting members of the
Texas House--the bill's next stop.
"I know there are amateurs who want their views considered on this bill,"
Blackwell said. "Amateurs deserve respectful treatment and consideration
from these elected officials who will decide the outcome of these issues."
One radio amateur showed up prepared to testify on the originally scheduled
hearing date of April 5. Fraser then announced that the committee would not
be accepting testimony on the bill that day, and the hearing subsequently
was rescheduled.
As drafted, the bill establishes a state regulatory framework for electric
utilities, municipally owned utilities and electric cooperatives to develop
and deploy BPL systems in Texas. It would allow utilities to lease their
power lines to other concerns to operate BPL systems. The measure also would
authorize a utility to recover its BPL investment from ratepayers. A utility
offering BPL would only have to consider 40 percent of its BPL revenues as
income in rate proceedings.
Fraser asserts that his measure, introduced March 11, will prove "especially
important to rural Texas, where high-speed Internet service is not readily
available." But he conceded in a statement issued after the bill's favorable
committee report that BPL "is still in the early stages of development." His
bill also makes BPL secondary to the delivery of electric power and requires
that BPL not affect the reliability of power delivery.
An Irving, Texas, BPL pilot project that was the target of an ARRL complaint
shut down in March and removed its equipment. There's been no word from TXU
as to why it shut down the system and removed its equipment, but the League
has withdrawn its complaint.
==>EXPEDITION 10 COMMANDER RACKS UP SCHOOL QSO RECORD
As he wrapped up his last successful Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station (ARISS) school group contact before heading home, Expedition
10 Commander Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, also set a new ARISS record. Chiao's
contact April 19 with youngsters at Schulhaus Feld 1 in Richterswil,
Switzerland, marked his 23rd ARISS school group contact. That tops the
previous record of 22 QSOs set by Expedition 3 Crew Commander Frank
Culbertson, KD5OPQ, in 2001-2002. Chiao safely returned to Earth with
crewmate Salizhan Sharipov and ESA Astronaut Roberto Vittorio, IZ6ERU, on
April 24. During the contact between NA1SS and HB9IRM, Chiao told the eight,
nine and ten-year-old youngsters that the ISS is still growing.
"There will be a few more modules added to the ISS. As soon as the shuttle
starts flying again, we'll resume major construction," Chiao explained.
"There will be a European module, the Columbus, of course, and also the
Japanese module, the JEM module, and a few other smaller ones." NASA
announced this week that it's postponed the space shuttle "return to flight"
mission to a date no earlier than mid-July.
The last ARISS school group contact of Chiao's duty tour was the first for
Switzerland. Chiao told the youngsters that he had a nice view of the Swiss
Alps and the Zurich region from his vantage point some 350 km above Earth.
Before the ISS went out of range, Chiao was able to answer all 20 questions
the Richterswil pupils had prepared. As he went over the horizon, he wished
the students "all the very best of luck," and--as he'd urged other school
groups in previous contacts--told them to "reach for the stars and keep on
dreaming." At least two newspapers published reports of the Richterswil
contact.
Chiao, who said he enjoyed getting to answer questions about life in space
posed by students on Earth, shifted into an accelerated schedule of ARISS
school contacts as his duty tour drew to a close. His penultimate school QSO
occurred April 15 with students at Fort Ross Elementary School in Cazadero,
California, some 90 miles north of San Francisco. The school has an
enrollment of just 50 students in kindergarten through grade 8.
Apparently the forest of tall redwoods surrounding the small school blocked
signals, causing a slight delay in the start of the Fort Ross event as the
ISS came over the horizon. Once contact was established, however, signals
were reported to be excellent, and seventh and eighth graders at Fort Ross
managed to get 15 of their 20 questions asked and answered. During the
direct VHF contact between NA1SS and WA6M, students wanted to know--among
other things--how small an object Chiao could view from the ISS, how high
the spacecraft was flying and how many space walks he's done.
Bob Dickson, WA6M, served as the Earth station control operator, with
assistance from David Horvitz, KD6BPS, and John Sperry, KE6IRX. The ARISS
contact received news coverage in the Independent Coast Observer.
Chiao and Sharipov will spend several weeks in Star City, Russia--near
Moscow--for debriefings and medical examinations. Now aboard the ISS is the
Expedition 11 crew of Commander Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, and NASA ISS Science
Officer John Phillips, KE5DRY. The ARISS school group schedule is on hiatus
until May 4 while the new team settles in.
ARISS is an international educational outreach with US participation by
ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.
==>HAM-ASTRONAUT SAYS SMALLER ISS CREWS WORKING HARDER, SMARTER
International Space Station Expedition 9 crew member Mike Fincke, KE5AIT,
told a US Senate subcommittee last week that two-person ISS crews such as
his have been able to accomplish a lot. NASA cut back the ISS crew
complement from three to two after it was forced to ground the space shuttle
fleet following the 2003 Columbia disaster. Testifying April 20 before the
US Senate Commerce Committee's Science and Space Subcommittee hearing on
International Space Station research benefits, Fincke recounted his more
than six months in space with Russian cosmonaut and crew commander Gennady
Padalka, RN3DT.
"With only two people, it was kinda tough," Fincke told the panel, chaired
by Texas Sen Kay Bailey Hutchison. "We had to maintain the space station,
they threw in a couple of extra spacewalks for us and, even so, we were
able--with ingenuity, with working together--to get a lot of work done."
That included maintaining a strong science program aboard the space station,
he added, despite being one person short. Fincke, who served as NASA ISS
Science Officer while in space, said the experience made the Expedition 9
team more self-sufficient.
"We learned how to fix things--like our spacesuits, our oxygen generator,"
explained Fincke, who wore a NASA flight suit for his Senate appearance. "We
need to know how to do those things for the moon." Many of the questions
subcommittee members put to Fincke and others in the NASA delegation dealt
with the Bush administration's stated goal of reaching the moon, Mars and
beyond in the coming decades.
Responding to another line of questioning, Fincke credited the Expedition 9
crew's rigorous and regular exercise program onboard the ISS for his minimal
bone loss and generally good physical shape at the end of his mission.
"Because I exercised, I came back strong, I came back feeling healthy and
with minimum--but still some--bone loss," he remarked. Fincke said he and
Padalka worked out for two and a half hours a day using resistive and
cardiovascular exercise. Determining the physiological mechanisms for bone
loss in space, Fincke said, is critical to the success of long-term space
ventures such as to the moon and Mars.
"I felt, even though we were in space for more than 187 days, that I could
have walked off the Soyuz spacecraft," Fincke said referring to his return
to Earth last fall. "I was feeling very good, very strong." The only problem
he experienced was a slight loss of balance, he said. Since NASA grounded
the shuttle fleet, ISS crews have been relying on the Russian Soyuz vehicle
to transport crews to and from the ISS, and on Russian Progress rockets to
supply food, supplies, oxygen and water.
During his duty tour, Fincke conducted 14 Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station (ARISS) school group contacts from NA1SS and also achieved
Worked All Continents.
Presiding over her first subcommittee hearing as chair, Hutchison expressed
her view that "this important, impressive facility"--the ISS--"cannot be
allowed to be used simply as a tool for moon and Mars exploration-related
research." She is promoting the idea to pursue a national laboratory
designation for the ISS.
==>CONGRESSMAN QUERIES FCC CHAIR ON AMATEUR RADIO'S BPL CONCERNS
Following the prepared testimony of FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin before the
US House Appropriations Committee April 26, Rep Rodney Alexander of
Louisiana raised the topic of broadband over power line (BPL) and how it was
hurting the Amateur Radio community. Again acknowledging the concerns of
radio amateurs regarding BPL's interference potential, Martin responded that
the Commission is aware of the good work that radio amateurs do and that the
FCC would attempt to strike a balance with the amateur community with
respect to its BPL concerns.
When the FCC unanimously adopted new BPL rules last October, Martin also
took note of Amateur Radio's concerns, said he would take them seriously,
and expressed confidence that the Commission would take the necessary steps
to address interference.
Martin succeeded Michael K. Powell as FCC chairman in March. His
Appropriations Committee appearance--his first as FCC chairman--was to
discuss the Commission's fiscal year 2006 budget request.
==>SOLAR UPDATE
Astral aficionado Tad "Who can make the sun shine, on a cloudy day?" Cook,
K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: Solar flux and sunspot numbers continue
their lull. This week the daily sunspot number on average dropped 25 points
to 25.9, and the average daily solar flux increased a little more than 2
points to 84.
A new sunspot appeared--number 756--appeared April 25 and is growing
quickly. The resulting sunspot numbers for April 26-28 were 20, 45 and 71.
Predicted solar flux values for this weekend, April 29-May 1, are 103 on all
days. Flux values should rise above 105 by Monday, May 2.
Predicted planetary A index for April 29 through May 3 is 8, 8, 20, 40 and
15. A planetary A index of 40 indicates a major geomagnetic storm, which is
expected from the reappearance of a recurring coronal hole and associated
high-velocity wind stream.
Sunspot numbers for April 21 through 27 were 22, 34, 35, 0, 25, 20 and 45,
with a mean of 25.9. The 10.7 cm flux was 77.1, 77.2, 79.3, 82.3, 86, 90.9
and 95.3, with a mean of 84. Estimated planetary A indices were 4, 9, 6, 10,
11, 5 and 4, with a mean of 7. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 2, 7,
5, 5, 9, 2 and 1, with a mean of 4.4.
__________________________________
==>IN BRIEF:
* This weekend on the radio: The SBMS 2 GHz and Up WW Club Contest is the
weekend of April 30-May 1. The May CW Sprint and the AGCW QRP/QRP Party are
May 1. The RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (SSB) is May 2. JUST AHEAD: The
New England, Nevada, Indiana and Oregon QSO parties, the MARAC County Hunter
Contest (CW), the US IPARC Annual Contest (CW). the 10-10 International
Spring Contest (CW), the Microwave Spring Sprint, the ARI International DX
Contest and the US IPARC Annual Contest (SSB), are the weekend of May 7-8.
The RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (Data) is May 11. See the ARRL Contest
Branch page and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar
for more info.
* ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration:
Registration for the ARRL RFI (EC-006), Antenna Design and Construction
(EC-009) and Analog Electronics (EC-013) courses remains open through
Sunday, May 1. Classes begin Friday, May 13. Antenna Design and Construction
students will, among other things, learn about basic dipoles and ground
planes, and how to assemble combinations of these into more complex
antennas. Students also learn about transmission lines, standing wave ratio,
phased arrays and Yagis. Students participating in the RFI course will learn
to identify various interference sources. Analog students will learn about
the use of instrumentation, Kirchhoff's laws, diodes, rectifier circuits,
bipolar and field effect transistors, various amplifier configurations,
filters, timers, op-amps, and voltage regulators. To learn more, visit the
ARRL Certification and Continuing Education (C-CE) Web page or contact the
ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Program Department cce@arrl.org.
* Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course registration: Registration
for the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level I on-line course
(EC-001) opens Monday, May 2, 2005, 1201 AM EST, and will remain open until
all available seats have been filled or through the May 7-8
weekend--whichever comes first. Class begins Friday, May 20. Thanks to our
grant sponsors--the Corporation for National and Community Service and
United Technologies Corporation--the $45 registration fee paid upon
enrollment will be reimbursed after successful completion of the course.
***ACT NOW! THIS IS THE FINAL YEAR OF THE GRANT-SUBSIDIZED CLASSES!*** Radio
amateurs age 55 and older are strongly encouraged to participate. During
this registration period, seats are being offered to ARRL members on a
first-come, first-served basis. To learn more, visit the ARRL Certification
and Continuing Education Web page . For more
information, contact Emergency Communications Course Manager Dan Miller,
K3UFG, cce@arrl.org; 860-594-0340.
* FCC adopts digital broadcasting standard: The FCC has adopted the Digital
Radio Mondiale (DRM) standard for US HF Broadcasting Service (HFBC) digital
transmission. DRM is capable of providing near-FM quality sound within
current AM emission bandwidths. Adoption of the DRM standard was among
several actions the FCC took in a wide-ranging Report and Order (R&O) in
response to World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03)--ET Docket
04-139. The FCC authorized both digital audio broadcasting and datacasting.
It said channels using digitally modulated emissions may share the same
spectrum or be interleaved with analog emissions in the same HFBC band,
provided the protection afforded to the analog emissions is at least as
great as that currently in place for analog-to-analog protection. The
Commission authorized double-sideband (DSB), single-sideband (SSB), and
digital transmissions in HF bands between 5900 and 26,100 kHz, and it set
minimum HFBC power levels of 50 kW PEP for SSB. In the same proceeding the
FCC also reallocated the 7100-7200 kHz band to the Amateur Service on a
co-primary basis and reallocated the 7350-7400 kHz band to the HFBC Service
on a co-primary basis with the fixed service until March 29, 2009, after
which it will be allocated exclusively for broadcasting.
* Dr William W. McGrannahan, N0ZL (ex-K0ORB), SK: Past ARRL Midwest Division
Vice Director and Director Bill McGrannahan, N0ZL (ex-K0ORB), of Kansas
City, Missouri, died April 24. He was 83. A Charter Life Member of the ARRL,
McGrannahan was serving as vice director of the Midwest Division when
Director Paul Grauer, W0FIR, resign for health reasons in 1993. McGrannahan
assumed the directorship for the next six months, but that fall he lost a
close election for a full term as director. McGrannahan also served on the
Quarter Century Wireless Association Board of Directors. A dental surgeon,
he retired in 1986. Survivors include his wife Virginia and their daughter
and son. There will be no formal service. The family requests memorial
donations to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation
or to Children's Mercy Hospital
.
* Philip Morrison, ex-W8FIS, SK: Philip Morrison, ex-W8FIS, a world-famous
physicist who helped develop the atomic bomb and later became an outspoken
critic of nuclear war and arms proliferation, died April 22. He was 89. SETI
League Inc Executive Director Paul Shuch, N6TX, says he best remembers
Morrison as a friend and mentor who co-authored the world's first serious
scientific paper on SETI--the search for extraterrestrial intelligence--a
1959 paper "Searching for Interstellar Communications" in the British
science journal Nature. Shuch called Morrison "a pioneer in the search for
extraterrestrial intelligence through radio communication" who also chaired
NASA's early study groups on SETI. According to Shuch, Morrison's boyhood
interest in Amateur Radio motivated his interest in exploring the
feasibility of microwaves for interstellar communication. In addition to
being a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Morrison was
a prolific author of books and articles and well as a TV producer and
lecturer. He also authored the jacket blurb for Shuch's ARRL hypertext book
Tune In The Universe!.
* ARRL accepts Horace Mann "Friend of Education" Award: ARRL Midwest
Division Director Wade Walstrom, W0EJ, has accepted the Missouri National
Education Association's (MNEA) Horace Mann Award in the category of
"Contribution to Public Education in the Field of Civic Organizational
Achievement" on behalf of the League. The presentation took place April 23
in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, during the MNEA's Spring Representative
Assembly. More than 300 Missouri educators attended. "These teachers are now
more aware of the League's Field and Educational Services department and the
'Big Project!'" said Midwest Division Assistant Director Ron Ochu, KO0Z, who
was on hand for the occasion. Making the presentation to Walstrom was MNEA
President Greg Jung.
* California RACES ATV demonstration gets high marks from fire officials:
Huntington Beach, California, Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES)
communications volunteers recently demonstrated an amateur television (ATV)
system newly installed in the city fire department's hazardous materials
(HAZMAT) unit. The ATV system enables live, real-time video images for
"visual reconnaissance" to supplement voice-mode communications and accident
scene descriptions. For the April 5 demo, RACES communications volunteers
were stationed in the HAZMAT vehicle and in a Huntington Beach Police
Department (HBPD) helicopter to operate the ATV equipment. HAZMAT personnel
interfaced with the police helicopter via a radio link to direct and request
images from the airborne ATV system. Said Huntington Beach City Fire
Battalion Chief Bill Reardon, "Our RACES team is really showing the fire
department how valuable they are to the city with this new and exciting
technology." The RACES volunteers used local a repeater system to ensure
reliable communication during the demonstration. The Huntington Beach Fire
Department Emergency Services Office administers the RACES team, one of 18
in Orange County, California.
* "Enigma machine" special event, reactivation set: As a tribute to the work
of England's voluntary interceptors (VIs) during World War II, the
Scarborough Special Events Group (SSEG) will operate special event station
GB2HQ from GCHQ--Government Communications Headquarters--in Scarborough. VIs
intercepted encrypted Enigma messages transmitted in Morse code; these were
passed to code breakers at Bletchley Park who were attempting to crack the
German Enigma code. The GB2HQ special event will take place over the May 7-8
weekend, with activity on SSB, PSK and CW (around 3515 or 7015 kHz). A
souvenir QSL card showing an Enigma cipher machine and an HRO receiver will
commemorate the occasion. GCHQ has provided a working Enigma machine for use
by the SSEG, and Ofcom--the UK telecommunication regulator--has authorized
transmission of an enciphered Enigma message in Morse code on the amateur
bands for this event only. The Enigma message will be transmitted Saturday,
May 7, 1100 UTC (repeated at 1300 and 1900 UTC), at a speed of 15 WPM.
Listeners are invited to submit a copy of the Enigma message, and
certificates are available for those achieving 100-percent copy. Entries and
QSLs go to G0OOO, Scarborough Special Events Group, 9 Green Island, Irton,
Scarborough YO12 4RN UK. Further details are on the SSEG Web site
.
* CQ announces annual "DX Marathon": CQ magazine has announced the revival
of its long-dormant CQ DX Marathon, which last ran in 1948. The new CQ DX
Marathon will essentially be a year-long DX contest, with stations competing
to contact as many different countries ("entities") and CQ Zones of the
World as possible over a full year, then starting again at zero at the
beginning of the next year. The first running of the event will be in 2006.
The new CQ DX Marathon is aimed at reinvigorating DXing. CQ outlined the
program April 16 at the International DX Convention in Visalia, California.
Scoring will consist of the total number of DXCC entities and CQ zones
contacted over the course of a year. There will be no multipliers, and each
country/entity and zone counts only once. Rules for the new CQ DX Marathon
will be on the CQ Web site and in the May
issue of CQ magazine.
* Final WRTC 2006 rules now available: Atilano de Oms, PY5EG, reports final
rules for World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) 2006 participants are
now available on the WRTC 2006 Web site
. WRTC 2006 will
take place July 7-10, 2006, in Southern Brazil. The Liga de Amadores de
Radio Emissão (LABRE) and the Araucária DX Group (GADX) are sponsoring the
event. WRTC 2006 will bring the world's top operators together in a single
geographical area to showcase Amateur Radio competition at its highest
level. The on-the-air portion of the event is held in conjunction with the
International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) HF World Championship. WRTC
stations all run 100 W and have comparably modest antenna systems.
Two-person teams from all over the globe will compete for gold, silver and
bronze medals. The contesting duo of Jeff Steinman, N5TJ, and Dan Street,
K1TO, took home the WRTC gold for the third time in the 2002 event in
Finland. Teams for the 2006 event have not yet been announced.
===========================================================
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