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http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/?issue=2021-04-01

April 1, 2021

Editor: Rick Lindquist, WW1ME

ARRL Home Page

ARRL Letter Archive

Audio News

• Celebrate World Amateur Radio Day 2021 on April 18

• FT8 Accounts for Nearly Two-Thirds of HF Activity

• ARRL Podcasts Schedule

• IARU Region 1 Workshop to Focus on the Future of Amateur Radio

• ARRL Learning Network Webinars

• IARU and European Commission Meet on Wireless Power Transfer

for Electric Vehicles

• Bureaucracy Raises Licensing Concerns in Brazil, France Announces

Long-Awaited Exam Changes

• Announcements

• Traditional Amateur Radio Contesting Faces a Demographic Cliff

• In Brief...

• The K7RA Solar Update

• Just Ahead in Radiosport

• Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions

Celebrate World Amateur Radio Day 2021 on April 18

Sunday, April 18, is World Amateur Radio Day (WARD), with this year

marking the 96th anniversary of the International Amateur Radio Union (

IARU), which was founded at the 1925 International Radiotelegraph

Conference in Paris. ARRL cofounder and first president Hiram Percy

Maxim, 1AW, was there, and today ARRL is the International Secretariat of

the IARU. ARRL has resources members can use to celebrate World

Amateur Radio Day, including graphics for social media posts and radio club

websites, as well as a printable flyer.

IARU has chosen "Amateur Radio: Home but Never Alone" as the theme for

World Amateur Radio Day 2021. The theme acknowledges

that during our physical distancing

to reduce the spread of COVID-

19, amateur radio stands out as a

welcome respite for its variety of

activities and opportunities.

Amateur radio experimenters were

the first to discover that the HF

spectrum was not the wasteland

experts of the time considered it to

be, but a resource that could

support worldwide

communication. In the rush to use

these shorter wavelengths,

amateur radio was "in grave

danger of being pushed aside,"

IARU history has noted,

prompting the founding of the

IARU. At the 1927 International

Radiotelegraph Conference,

amateur radio gained allocations

still recognized today -- 160, 80,

40, 20, and 10 meters. Over the

years, the IARU has worked to

defend those allocations and to give all radio amateurs new bands at 136 kHz,

472 kHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 18 MHz, 24 MHz, and 50 MHz.

The 25 countries that formed the IARU in 1925 have grown to include more

than 160 member-societies in three regions. The International

Telecommunication Union ( ITU) has recognized the IARU as representing

the interests of amateur radio.

On World Amateur Radio Day, all radio amateurs are invited to take to the

airwaves to share global goodwill with other amateurs. ARRL encourages

members to promote the value of amateur radio to family and friends, and in

their communities. Many volunteer ARRL Public Information Officers and

Public Information Coordinators throughout the US use the run-up to WARD

as an opportunity to reach out to the media to share information about

amateur radio.

"The amateur radio community has a great story to tell on the occasion of

World Amateur Radio Day," ARRL Product Development Manager Bob

Inderbitzen, NQ1R, said. "While the pandemic has kept many of us at home,

radio amateurs have still been able to get on the air."

"Over the last year, many ARRL-affiliated radio clubs and in-person ham

radio events have moved their group activities online. This has helped to keep

radio amateurs active and involved in the common pursuit of skill, service,

and discovery in radio communication and radio technology," Inderbitzen

added.

Coincidentally, the SSB running of the ARRL Rookie Roundup falls on

World Amateur Radio Day (1800 - 2359 UTC). The event is aimed at hams

licensed for 3 years or less. Take the opportunity to wish participants "Happy

World Amateur Radio Day 2021" on the air. Read an expanded version.

Some WARD 2021 Activities Around the Globe

• Bahrain: The Bahrain Amateur Radio Society will operate

A91WARD April 14 - 18, 2021 using SSB, FT8, and DMR modes.

ARRL member Anne Frank,

KD9LRB, of Deer Park, Wisconsin, is

featured on ARRL's World Amateur

Radio Day poster.

• Canada: Radio Amateurs of Canada are sponsoring a "Get on the Air

on World Amateur Radio Day" special event.

• Germany: The Deutscher Amateur Radio Club is operating

DA21WARD for World Amateur Radio Day through June 30. World

Amateur Radio Day is April 18. WSL to DK5ON.

• New Jersey: The Fair Lawn (New Jersey) Amateur Radio Club will

operate club station W2NPT on CW and phone throughout the day on

April 18. In support of the theme of this year's event, the operators

will share information about the Health and Welfare Net that the club

is running during the pandemic.

• Alabama: The Disaster Communication Action Team will operate

club station KD1CAT on April 18 in support of World Amateur Radio

Day. Operation will be on all HF bands.

• VOIP/ECHOLINK *ROC-HAM* Conference node #531091, April

18 - 19, 1300 -- 0500 UTC via VOIP/ECHOLINK *ROC-HAM*

Conference node #531091/Allstar #2585. W2JLD, VO1UKZ,

GW8SZL, 2W0KYH will be net controllers. All stations from around

the world are encouraged to check in. A QSL card will be available

via SASE.

FT8 Accounts for Nearly Two-Thirds of HF Activity

Since zooming to prominence after its debut in mid-2017, the popular FT8

digital protocol has become the mode of choice for some 60% of HF

operators, according to Club Log's latest activity report compiled by Michael

Wells, G7VJR. FT8 is one of the protocols in the WSJT-X suite of free

programs. Wells says FT8 activity level sits at nearly 85% on 6 meters. The

dramatic FT8 upswing has come at the expense of phone, CW, RTTY, PSK,

and other modes. Over the same period, the number of FT8 contacts logged

each year per active call sign has continued to climb to about 60% between

2015 and 2021, with the most dramatic increase being nearly 29% in the past

year. The use of all other modes has continued to flutter downward since the

advent of FT8, which occupies vastly less spectrum than the more traditional

ham radio operating modes. (Click for larger image.)

Between 2015 and 2020, the number of contacts logged per day by Club Log

users has trended steadily upward, regardless of mode. The report draws on

data of more than 84,000 logs uploaded to the Club Log site -- some 730

million contacts in all.

Wells reported that in 2025, the "typical call sign" logged 620 CW contacts,

558 SSB contacts, and 372 data (digital) contacts. Five years later, the

statistics were 500, 300, and 1,700, respectively.

ARRL's Logbook of The World (LoTW) does not typically report this level

of detail as far as mode usage is concerned, but the statistics available

certainly confirm FT8's increasing popularity. The rocketing usage of FT8

over the past few years may be demonstrated most dramatically by a

comparison in contacts-by-mode statistics between March 2017 and March

2018, when FT8 contact numbers in the hundreds shot to some 2.6 million

contacts by the following year -- an increase of nearly 1 million percent.

From mid-2019 to mid-2020, FT8 usage appears to have slumped slightly to

50% before climbing back to 60%. FT8 usage peaked at just over 65% in late

2020 and has held steady at 60 - 65% since.

The same period saw SSB usage dip by 15%, CW activity by 10%, and

RTTY by 29%. Introduced later, FT4, the contest mode of FT8, also showed

an initial fast upward trajectory, before steadying at 5 - 8%.

Named after its developers, Steven Franke, K9AN, and Joe Taylor, K1JT,

FT8 indicates the mode's eight-frequency shift-keying format. Tones are

spaced at 6.25 Hz, and an FT8 signal occupies just 50 Hz.

ARRL Podcasts Schedule

The latest episode of the On the Air podcast (Episode 15)

features an interview with propagation expert Carl

Luetzelschwab, K9LA, about what to expect in the new

solar cycle.

The latest edition of the Eclectic Tech podcast (Episode 30)

features a conversation with Clark Burgard, N1BCG, about

the current state of AM in amateur radio.

The On the Air and Eclectic Tech podcasts are sponsored by Icom. Both

podcasts are available on iTunes (iOS) and Stitcher (Android), as well as on

Blubrry -- On the Air | Eclectic Tech.

IARU Region 1 Workshop to Focus on the Future of Amateur Radio

International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 (Europe, Africa, the Middle

East, and Northern Asia) and its member-societies have begun preparing for a

fall 2021 workshop to study the future of amateur radio. Topic areas will

focus on amateur radio today, how it's changing, where tomorrow's radio

amateurs are, how others view amateur radio, and

what amateur radio needs to do going forward.

"The message being shared in this session is clear,"

IARU said. "IARU societies are losing members,

[and] loss of members in some societies is

remarkable over the last 10 years, even with good

licensing throughout." IARU acknowledges that

individuals holding leadership roles in member-

societies are getting older, and some member-

societies have no individuals younger than 35 in

leadership positions.

The IARU Region 1 Executive Committee (EC)

believes it's time for change and member-societies

need to move forward by "working together and

changing the current trends. We need to refocus our

thinking and way of operating."

The Region 1 EC is calling upon its member-

societies to take an active role by nominating individuals with a future-

oriented mindset and to prepare for the workshop, "Facing the Future." The

EC hopes to be able to hold an in-person workshop in Novi Sad, Serbia, in

October, hosted by the Amateur Radio Union of Serbia (SRS). "[The] key

will be to include new people into the discussion, hoping to reach new ideas

and new ways of thinking," the IARU EC said. An alternative virtual

workshop will be prepared as well.

ARRL Learning Network Webinars

Visit the ARRL Learning Network (a members-only benefit) to register,

check upcoming webinars, and to view previously recorded sessions.

The Art and Science of Operating Ultra-Portable -- Mike Molina,

KN6EZE, on Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at 8 PM EDT (0000 UTC on Friday,

April 7)

Ultra-portable operation is quickly growing in popularity. Whether for

SOTA, POTA, backcountry survival, or just spending time in nature, learning

how to operate ultra-portable is a fun

and rewarding experience. In this

presentation, Mike, KN6EZE, covers

the basics for new and experienced ham

radio operators.

Finding and Fixing RFI -- Paul

Cianciolo, W1VLF, RFI Engineer,

ARRL Laboratory on Tuesday, April

20, 2021 at 1 PM EDT (1700 UTC)

Radio frequency interference (RFI) --

from natural and manmade sources --

has been a problem for hams and

shortwave listeners since the radio

hobby began. Things have changed in

the last 20 years with the advent of widespread solar power, LED lighting,

grow lights, and computers. Learn all about finding and fixing RFI in today's

world.

HF Noise Mitigation -- ARRL Northwestern Division Director Mike Ritz,

W7VO, on Thursday April 22, 2021 at 3:30 PM EDT (1930 UTC)

An educational seminar to help new and experienced amateurs who are on HF

and finding themselves plagued with noise. We'll learn what "noise" is, talk

about the various noise sources, and discuss how to mitigate those noises

using a variety of techniques.

These Learning Network presentations are sponsored by

The ARRL Learning Network schedule is subject to change.

IARU and European Commission Meet on Wireless Power Transfer for

Electric Vehicles

International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 (IARU-R1) President Don

Beattie, G3BJ, has reported a meeting between the IARU and the European

Commission that discussed potential RF interference from wireless power

transfer for electric vehicles (WPT-EV) systems. At the request of the

European Commission, IARU met

on March 25 with representatives

of the automotive industry,

standards bodies, and the

European Commission to review

the current position on the

development of an emission

standard for WPT-EV.

There was a frank exchange of

views, during which IARU made

clear the technical basis for its

concerns about unwanted

emissions from WPT-EV. WPT-EV developers presented their case, based on

the tests they had undertaken. After exploring the issues, the European

Commission determined that further joint tests should be arranged and asked

the European Committee for Standardization/European Committee for

Electrotechnical Standardization (CEN/CENELEC) to facilitate these. IARU

confirmed it was content to participate and welcomed the initiative, stressing

that the tests needed to be conducted in an electrically quiet environment.

Another meeting will take place once the relevant tests have been completed,

with a view to making progress toward an emission standard.

In attending the meeting, IARU was clear that it viewed the discussions as

being without prejudice to the ongoing work in the European Conference of

Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), Comité

International Spécial des Perturbations Radioélectriques (CISPR), and

International Telecommunications Union (ITU) on the same topic. -- Thanks

to IARU Region 1

Bureaucracy Raises Licensing Concerns in Brazil, France Announces Long-

Awaited Exam Changes

Brazil's International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) member-society LABRE

has written to telecommunications regulator

ANATEL expressing its concern about the

bureaucratic problems in becoming a radio

amateur. On February 23, LABRE wrote

ANATEL commenting on a change in the

necessary procedures to become a radio

amateur.

"Despite the excellent new online tests, many

radio amateurs have faced difficulty in

obtaining the much-desired license to enable

them to operate legally on our bands,"

LABRE said. "There has been difficulty with

the ANATEL systems and website, the need to register on several different

systems, each with different requirements, excessive delay, and lack of

communication by ANATEL, among many other problems." LABRE said

radio amateurs who have gone through a license upgrade process have also

reported similar problems.

LABRE reiterated its support of ham radio and said it was willing to work

toward clearing any obstacles to licensing. "Our goal is that both radio

amateurs and those who intend to join the service can enjoy our hobby in a

much more simplified and less bureaucratic way," LABRE told the regulator.

In France, after an 8-year wait, a new amateur radio decree has been

published in the French government's Official Journal. The most significant

change involves the way amateur radio exams are graded.

France has one amateur radio exam, which is equivalent to the European

Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT)

HAREC (Harmonised Amateur Radio

Examination Certificate) or all three UK

exams combined. The French HAREC

exam comprises 40 questions to be

completed in 45 minutes, with 15

minutes allowed for the 20 rules and

regulations questions and 30 minutes for

the 20 technical theory questions.

How these exams were graded was

unusual, with three points given for a correct answer but one point deducted

for each wrong answer.

Under the new rules, candidates will receive one point for a correct answer,

and no credit for wrong answers. To pass, a candidate must get at least 50%

of the questions correct in both sections of the exam. Questions involving

digital signal processing (DSP) are also being added to the exam, and some

changes will be made relating to call signs. -- Thanks to the Official Journal

and Southgate Amateur Radio News

Announcements

• A presentation that Lance Collister, W7GJ,

did for the Cherryland Amateur Radio Club in

Michigan provides a live demonstration of

moonbounce (EME) on 6 meters. The club

program is available as a video. W7GJ used

the new Q65 protocol from the WSJT-X suite

and worked 11 stations.

• The ARRL Executive Committee will meet in virtual session on

Monday, April 5, at 1500 UTC.

• Call sign allocations for three jurisdictions -- British Antarctic

Territory (Antarctica), South Georgia, and South Sandwich -- are

under consideration. New law is required to allow issuance of the

licenses, and new, unique prefixes may be

issued.

• An amateur radio balloon launched by

K7HAK from Yakima, Washington, is being

tracked via APRS. As of March 30, it was

above the Gulf of Alaska after crossing the

Atlantic.

• Hams in India's West Bengal State are

providing communication support during

voting on April 1. Special permission was given for the West Bengal

Amateur Radio Club to operate AU2ECI, the suffix standing for

Election Commission India.

Traditional Amateur Radio Contesting Faces a Demographic Cliff

Frank Howell, K4FMH, followed up his two-part National Contest Journal

(NCJ) series, "The Demographics of Contesting," with a post to his "Social

Circuits" blog, called "Lemmings over a Demographic Cliff?" (His original

articles appeared in the July/August and September/October 2020 issues of

NCJ.) Howell points to data showing that radio contesters are older than the

average ARRL member. Taking into account information from the Bureau of

Labor and Statistics on Leisure Time Use, Howell opines that this should be

expected.

"Leisure pursuits are highest during youth and young adulthood but

dramatically taper off about ages 25 - 34 until age 55 and over," Howell said.

"This hollowing out of leisure and sport time is a predictable outcome of

competing and more important activities." According to Howell, the main

competitor to radio amateurs engaging in on-the-air or workshop activities is

television (now more broadly referred to as "screen time").

A Brookings Institution study on the topic using the 2005 - 2015 Time Use

Survey documents how "free time became screen time." Around 2007, screen

time (not just TV) surpassed other active leisure activities in the average time

spent category. By 2015, the gap favoring screen time was more than 1 hour,

The US population pyramid. [Graphic courtesy of the US Census]

reflecting an average of some 11 hours per week of activity. Howell argues

that formats of major radio contests may serve the leisure interests of

established contesters -- those on the far end of the demographic spectrum --

but may not offer the best experience for contesting newcomers.

"Traditional radiosport is facing a demographic cliff of aging ham

contesters," Howell asserts. "Those highly invested in the status quo won't be

around to experience the diminishing [number of] participants, [but] they now

have the political clout to direct strategic actions."

The ability for single operators to compete at a high level in a major contest

requires time, equipment, and skill that are probably beyond many in the

"caterpillar" stage, ARRL Contest Update Editor Brian Moran, N9ADG,

recently observed. He suggests that most school-aged operators don't have the

time to stay in the chair all weekend.

"Those fortunate to be able to join seasoned teams of multioperators at well-

equipped stations have a different contesting experience than those plugging

away solo," Moran said. "With the opportunity for mentorship, camaraderie

of a group effort, and a chance to be part of something bigger, they'll be more

likely to emerge from their expected dormancy period as a contest butterfly."

Howell argues that demography does not have to be destiny. "It does require

taking the blinders off tradition and evaluating it for what it is today and what

it means for the future," he concluded. -- Thanks to The ARRL Contest

Update

In Brief...

The 2021 in-person HAM RADIO exhibition in

Germany has been called off. The in-person HAM

RADIO international amateur radio exhibition in

Friedrichshafen, Germany -- typically held in late June -

- has again been canceled due to the COVID-19

pandemic, but online events are scheduled. "This [is] not

unexpected, as COVID-19 infections are currently on

the rise again in Germany, whilst vaccinations are only

happening at a very slow pace," the announcement from the Friedrichshafen

Fairgrounds said. Our preparations for an online conference event -- HAM

RADIOnline -- with presentations, discussion forums, virtual meeting places,

and vendor information are making excellent progress." The next in-person

HAM RADIO is expected to be June 24 - 26, 2022.

Several satellites operating in bands allocated to

the Amateur Satellite Service went into orbit on

March 22. Most have been coordinated by the

International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Satellite

Frequency Coordination Panel. They include BeeSats

-5, -6, -7, and -8; FEES; SMOG; GRBAlpha; KSU

Cubesat; DIY-1; STECCO; CubeSX-HSE; CubeSX-

Sirius-HSE; Orbicraft-Zorkiy, and NanoSatC-BR2. Operating in Amateur

Satellite spectrum without IARU frequency coordination is KMSL.

Additional satellites may follow. The IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination

Panel has declined coordination for UNISAT-7 and WildTrackCube-Simba.

It's reported that the UNISAT-7 platform has deployed DIY-1 - Arduiqube,

which is coordinated. Further information, including IARU-coordinated

frequencies, is on the IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination page.

-- Thanks to AMSAT News Service

Past ARRL San Diego Section Manager (SM) and

Southwest Division Vice Director Tuck Miller, NF9T

(ex-NZ6T), of Danville, Illinois, died on March 10. An

ARRL Life Member, he was 67. Miller served as San

Diego SM from 1998 until 2002, when he was elected as

Southwestern Division Vice Director. He was re-elected as

San Diego SM in 2006 and served briefly before having to

resign for health reasons. Miller was a barber, disc jockey

(DJ), police officer, and firefighter, before settling into a

job with San Diego Transit driving a trolley for 25 years. After retirement, he

returned to Illinois.

The K7RA Solar Update

Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Average daily sunspot numbers declined

this week from 17.9 to 11.9. This was because on the final 2 days of the

March 25 - 31 reporting week, sunspots disappeared, so we're back to a blank

sun again, unfortunately.

Spaceweather.com reported on Wednesday that we may soon see a potential

sunspot that's currently on the far side of the sun.

Average daily solar flux dropped from 78.6 to 77.4. Geomagnetic indicators

softened as well, with average daily planetary A index declining from 13.3 to

8.9, and middle latitude A index from

10.4 to 7.7.

Predicted solar flux over the next month

does not look promising, with values way

down in the 70s. Expect the 10.7-

centimeter flux at 75 on April 1; 70 on

April 2 - 7; 72 on April 8; 73 on April 9 -

13; 74 on April 14 - 16; 76 on April 17 -

24; 75 on April 25 - 27, and 74, 73, and

72 on April 28 - 30.

Predicted planetary A index is 5 on April

1 - 4; 8, 12, 10, 15, 18, and 20 on April 5

- 10; 5 on April 11 - 15; 20 and 18 on

April 16 - 17; 8 on April 18 - 19; 5 on

April 20 - 21; 8 on April 22 - 24; 12 on April 25; 8 on April 26 - 27, and 5 on

April 28 - 30.

Sunspot numbers for March 25 - 31 were 24, 24, 11, 11, 13, 0, and 0, with a

mean of 11.9. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 78.8, 79.6, 80.4, 75.1, 74.4, 79.5,

and 73.8, with a mean of 77.4. Estimated planetary A indices were 18, 12, 9,

6, 4, 3, and 10, with a mean of 8.9. Middle latitude A index was 18, 11, 7, 4,

3, 4, and 7, with a mean of 7.7.

A comprehensive K7RA Solar Update is posted Fridays on the ARRL

website. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL

Technical Information Service, read "What the Numbers Mean...," and check

out K9LA's Propagation Page.

A propagation bulletin archive is available. For customizable propagation

charts, visit the VOACAP Online for Ham Radio website.

Share your reports and observations.

Just Ahead in Radiosport

• April 2 -- K1USN Slow Speed Test (CW, 20 WPM maximum)

• April 3 - 4 -- PODXS 070 Club (PSK 31)

• April 3 - 4 -- Louisiana QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)

• April 3 - 4 -- Mississippi QSO Party (CW, phone, digital)

• April 3 - 4 -- Florida State Parks on the Air (CW, phone, digital)

• April 3 - 4 -- SP DX Contest (CW, phone)

• April 3 - 4 -- EA RTTY Contest

• April 4 -- North American SSB Sprint

Contest

• April 4 -- DARC Easter Contest (CW,

phone)

• April 5 -- 144 MHz Spring Sprint (CW,

phone, digital)

• April 6 -- Worldwide Sideband Activity

Test

• April 6 -- ARS Spartan Sprint (CW)

• April 6 -- RTTYops Weeksprint

• April 7 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test

• April 7 -- VHF-UHF FT8 Activity Contest

• April 7 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test

• April 7 -- UKEICC 80-Meter Contest (phone)

• April 8 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test

Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions

Many conventions and hamfests have been canceled or postponed due to the

coronavirus pandemic. Check the calendar of canceled events on the ARRL

website.

Find conventions and hamfests in your area.

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