Courage Center Handiham System

We experienced a bit of a scare this week when four days went by without sunspots. That's right -- for the first time in three months, we saw more than a single day with a sunspot number of 0, and that last period was back during November 23-December 8. Until March 6, there were just three days since then without sunspots, each a bit less than two weeks apart: December 25, January 6 and January 19. Sunspot numbers for March 4-10 were 40, 35, 0, 0, 0, 0 and 12, with a mean of 12.4. The 10.7 cm flux was 81.3, 79.5, 78.3, 76.6, 76.3, 77.9 and 80.3, with a mean of 78.6. The estimated planetary A indices were 6, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2 and 7, with a mean of 3.9. The estimated mid-latitude A indices were 4, 1, 3, 3, 1, 2 and 6, with a mean of 2.9.

This week, Surfin' visits The DX Zone to find out what else you can hear on the Internet.

Welcome to Handiham World!

Recently I had a nice visit with another operator, and what do you think we talked about?

That's right - we talked about our stations! The conversation took a turn to receiver performance, and he mentioned that one of his radios has a much more sensitive but quieter receiver than the other. I wondered how he knew that, and he said that he had performed an "A-B" test. That's what today's essay is about - not receiver performance.

When we compare two pieces of equipment, we want to know which one performs the best. How many times have you heard someone make a claim on the air for one rig's superiority over another one? Or that one antenna works better than another? Whenever I hear such claims, I wonder if they are really backed up by testing. I know that most of us will never have a test lab full of instrumentation to run tests the way they are done at the ARRL product review lab, but that doesn't mean that we have no way to perform simple, but more meaningful testing.

Imagine these situations:

Scenario 1: I have two HF antennas in my back yard. One is a vertical and one is a dipole. The dipole is connected to my Icom IC-706M2G and the vertical is connected to my Icom IC-7200. I decide to see which antenna works best for DX, so I listen on 20 meters and I hear a European on 14.060 MHz. The station is easy to copy on the vertical antenna, and the S-meter reading shows S9. I listen on the dipole and the same station on 14.060 is only S5. Do I conclude that the vertical works better?

Scenario 2: I have two HF antennas in my back yard. One is a vertical and one is a dipole. I have both of them connected to an antenna switch, so that I can switch from the vertical to the dipole by turning the antenna switch. The antenna switch is connected to my Icom IC-7200 transceiver. I start my test by listening on the vertical. I hear a station on 14.060 MHz, and the S-meter reading is S9. Then, without changing anything on the radio, I flip the antenna switch to the dipole. I now have an S-meter reading of S9 + 10 dB. I quickly change the antenna switch back to the vertical and the signal drops back down to S9 again. Changing the switch once more to the dipole brings the signal back up. Do I conclude that the dipole works better?

In both situations, I was listening on one antenna and then the other, but the results in scenario 2 were different than those in scenario 1. What could have caused the difference?

Here is a basic rule about comparing two things: You must try to eliminate as many "variables" as possible so that you are really only comparing the two things you want to compare. This is how scientists and engineers perform tests related to theoretical concepts or engineering projects. To make this as simple as possible, let's make up a very basic example. Let's say we have a family argument about which sibling is taller. One brother says that he is growing faster and is taller than his brother. Of course as a parent you can easily make the two kids stand side by side and then you can easily see which one is taller. But what if one stands on his tiptoes? Or if one wears shoes and the other is barefooted? Or if one wears a hat and the other doesn't? As a parent who needs to be fair about deciding, you will have to insist that the variables of shoes, hats, and standing flat-footed are all eliminated so that the one variable you really want to measure, which kid is tallest, will not be affected by those other things.

Getting back to our scenarios about the antennas, we see that in the first situation we are using two different antennas, which is the variable we want to test, but we are also using two different radios. The difference between one radio and the other is a variable that we are not controlling, and that could account for the results we are getting instead of the choice of antenna. Perhaps the attenuator was turned on for one radio and not for the other. Maybe the antenna tuner was not activated for one radio. It could be that the run of coax between an antenna and one of the radios was defective. Do you see all these variables?

In scenario 2, we use only one radio, and we have an "A-B" antenna switch to make it easy to change from one antenna to the other, and to do so very quickly to eliminate changing band conditions or radio settings and radio performance as variables. Furthermore, we can change the switch back and forth several times to confirm our tests. Now we have performed a more scientific test, because we have eliminated as many variables as we could, at least the easy ones, so that we could really compare just the antennas.

I am convinced that there are a lot of folks out there who are simply talking baloney when they brag about how one piece of equipment is so much better than another one. As often as not, they have never performed a real A-B test and are relying on their impressions rather than empirical evidence. Building up a habit of eliminating variables and focusing on only the thing you really want to test is at the core of successful troubleshooting when you are trying to find a problem. It is essential to making sense of how things work in ham radio, as well as in so many other parts of life.

So think to yourself, "When I test my equipment, am I really testing just one thing?"

If you can answer yes, you are well on the way to solving all of your ham radio mysteries!

For Handiham World, I'm...

Patrick Tice, wa0tda@arrl.net

In January 2007, the FCC issued an Order to Show Cause to David L. Titus, KB7ILD, of Seattle, Washington, to justify why his General class Amateur Radio license should not be revoked and initiated a hearing process to determine whether Titus “is qualified to remain a Commission licensee” in light of a 1993 felony conviction at the age of 18 for “communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.” According to the FCC order, Titus received a 25-month prison sentence for this act, and the Seattle Police Department has identified him as a registered sex offender. On March 9, Administrative Law Judge Richard L. Sippel issued his Initial Decision -- saying that Titus “has been a law-abiding member of his community for many years” and ordered that Titus’ license should not be revoked based on the evidence presented by the defendant and witnesses on his behalf, as well as the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau failure to meet the burden of proof necessary for revocation. The FCC has said that The Communications Act of 1934, as amended provides that the Commission may revoke any license if conditions come to its attention that would warrant a denial of the licensee’s original application. In the past, the Commission has said that felony convictions, “especially those involving sexual offenses involving children,” raise questions regarding a licensee’s character qualifications. Sippel’s Initial Decision shall become effective and this proceeding shall be terminated 50 days after its release if exceptions are not filed within 30 days thereafter, unless the Commission elects to review the case on its own motion.

Senate Bill 1755 -- The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009 introduced in October 2009 by Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) -- has unanimously passed the US Senate and has been sent to the US House of Representatives for consideration and now sits in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The ARRL is asking its membership to contact the leadership of the Energy and Commerce committee, requesting support and action on moving S 1755 through the committee. S 1755 accomplishes the same things as HR 2160; HR 2160 was introduced in April 2009 by Rep Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18). Since S 1755 has already been approved by the Senate, moving it forward in the House will simplify the process.

The FCC has posted new Amateur Radio enforcement correspondence on its "Amateur Radio Service Enforcement Actions" Web page. Laura Smith, Special Counsel in the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, sent a letters to the Sacramento (California) Municipal Utility District and to Northwestern Energy of Helena, Montana; Northwestern Energy also received letters voicing these same concerns in March and September 2009. These letters concerned complaints that equipment operated by these utilities may be causing harmful radio interference to Amateur Radio operators. Direct all questions concerning the Amateur Radio Service Enforcement Actions Web postings via e-mail only to the FCC Enforcement Bureau.

H. Robert "Bob" Schroeder, N2HX, of Ewing, New Jersey, has been named the winner of the ARRL Foundation's 2009 Bill Orr, W6SAI, Technical Writing Award for his article "Electromagnetic Pulse and Its Implications for EmComm" that appeared in November 2009 issue of QST. The editorial staff commented on Schroeder's article, saying that "the topic of nuclear EMP is somewhat esoteric by itself, let alone discussing its impact on Amateur Radio, yet the author did an outstanding job of making the subject matter understandable even to the relatively non-technical ham. His writing is clear and to the point, offering practical advice not only for EMP mitigation as it applies to the unlikely event of a nuclear burst, but also extending the same principles to mitigation for lightning damage."

There are only a few days left to nominate individuals and clubs for the 2010 Dayton Hamvention® awards. While the Special Achievement Award, Technical Excellence Award and Amateur of the Year Award have been given for many years, Hamvention Awards Chairman Frank Beafore, WS8B, told the ARRL that in 2010, the Hamvention Awards Committee will also present a special award to the Amateur Radio Club of the Year. That award is tied to this year’s Hamvention theme, Amateur Radio Clubs Worldwide: The Lifeline. March 15 is the deadline for nominations for all four awards; winners will be notified in April and publicly honored at the 2010 Dayton Hamvention in May. Information on how to nominate a person or club for these awards is available at on the Dayton Hamvention Web site. Take this opportunity to recognize a special individual or club for their efforts on behalf of Amateur Radio.

We had a good response to the Second ARRL Homebrew Challenge -- here's a quick summary.

Radio Club de Chile (RCCH) President Dr Galdino Besomi, CE3PG, reports that the situation in Chile is “very complex” as the country suffers aftershocks registering 6.0 or higher after the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Chile on February 27. “Red Chilena Nor Austral de Servicio (RECNA) and RCCH networks are working in coordination whit the Army of Chile, handling information about people localization, condition of roads and support for the emergency administration,” IARU Region 2 (Area G) Emergency Coordinator Jorge Sierra, LU1AS, told he ARRL. He has asked the amateur community to keep the following frequencies free from non-essential, emergency traffic: 14.200, 7.050, 7.095 and 3.738 MHz. “Other frequencies could be in use, especially on 40 meters. Before using any frequency it is very important to make sure it’s free,” he advised. The RCCH has set up an e-mail address where people can request information concerning people affected by the earthquakes.

Two new sunspot groups appeared on March 1, numbered 1052 and 1053. The total number of sunspot groups appearing over the last month is 11. Looking at our 3-month moving average of daily sunspot numbers, the latest for December-January-February is 22.4, for the period centered on January. The average daily sunspot number for the month of February was 31. The fact that this is higher than the latest 3-month average is a welcome trend. The current 3-month average centered on January 2010 is very close to the 3-month average centered on January 2007, which was 22.7. That moving average has not been as high since. In fact, the closest it has been was February 2007, at 18.5. It was all downhill from there, and that average was below 10 from September 2007-October 2009. It now looks like we saw three minimums, which is why it was so easy to err when trying to locate the bottom. Several times we hit some low number, decided that things were improving, and then a few months later hit it again.

This week, Surfin' discovers yet another use for the Internet in the RF world.

The International Amateur Radio Region 2 conference -- held later this year in El Salvador -- brings together delegations from the national Amateur Radio Societies in the Western Hemisphere. One of the topics on the agenda will be the Region 2 HF band plan. This band plan is "harmonized with" -- spectrum management-speak for "very similar to" -- the IARU Region 1 and Region 3 band plans.

In mid-February, European amateurs first used a new, experimental digital mode known as ROS. On February 23, 2010 -- after FCC review of the original documents provided from the developer's Web site -- the FCC made the following statements on ROS:

Even though you might be an inveterate tinkerer and builder, it's occasionally a good idea to put down those hot irons, sweep off the workbench and turn off the test equipment. This quiz is for you!

In February 2010, the American Hospital Association (AHA) filed a request with the FCC for a blanket waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3) of the Commission's Rules "to permit hospitals seeking accreditation to use Amateur Radio operators who are hospital employees to transmit communications on behalf of the hospital as part of emergency preparedness drills." On March 3, the FCC issued a Public Notice -- WP Docket 10-54 -- seeking comments if the Commission "should grant AHA's request for a blanket waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3) to permit amateur operators who are hospital employees to participate in emergency drills that are conducted by hospitals for accreditation purposes and that are not government-sponsored."Section 97.113(a)(3) specifically prohibits amateur stations from transmitting communications "in which the station licensee or control operator has a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of an employer."

On Monday,March first, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard time, Tek Talk presents An interview with Joel Snyder, Director of American Council of the Blind’s Audio Description Project.

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Larry Skutchan introduces the latest generation Digital Talking Book player and Recorder, Book Port Plus from American Printing House for the Blind, Inc.
He explains that the combination of advanced hardware and innovative firmware combine to make this portable device an essential tool to nearly any student, professional, or even the casual DTB reader.
The presentation demonstrates playback and navigation of titles from NLS, RFBD, and bookshare.org and highlights the features that distinguish this device from the rest of the portable players including the following:

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While many in North America were fast asleep Monday morning, March 1, the AMSAT-OSCAR 51 satellite had a potentially dangerous encounter with another spacecraft known as Formosat 3D. OSCAR 51 is a popular Amateur Radio satellite that often functions as a crossband FM repeater, relaying brief conversations over hundreds of miles. Formosat 3D is part of a constellation of six remote sensing microsatellites that collect atmospheric data for weather prediction and for ionosphere, climate and gravity research. Both orbit at an altitude of approximately 500 miles.

At its January 2010 meeting, the ARRL Board of Directors decided to make the agendas of Board and Executive Committee meetings available on the ARRL Web site. The first opportunity to do so is for the Executive Committee meeting to be held March 13. The agenda is available here.