Subj : 2 The ARRL Letter for February 1, 2018 To : all From : mark lewis Date : Fri Feb 02 2018 10:40:46 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) APRS packet system is currently not working. This is due to an as-yet unidentified anomaly involving the radio serving the system on board the ISS. A similar problem has occurred in the past, and steps taken to resolve the problem have proven to be only temporary. "The system may return to service as it has in the past, or it may have finally failed completely," ARISS said in a statement. "ARISS sees the delivery of the interoperable radio system as the true solution to securing our ARISS packet operation." The target for delivery and installation of the replacement system is this coming fall. In the meantime, ARISS said it's continuing to investigate the problem and attempting to fix it. ____________________________________________________________________________ The K7RA Solar Update Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Low solar activity continues, with no sunspots seen January 20-29, and a sunspot number of 13 for January 30-31. Average daily solar flux declined marginally from 70 to 69.1. Predicted solar flux is 69 on February 1-3; 68 on February 4-7; 70 on February 8-22; 69 on February 23-March 4, and 70 on March 5-17. The predicted planetary A index is 5 on February 1-3; 10 and 8 on February 4-5; 5 on February 6-8; 8, 12, and 8 on February 9-11; 5 on February 12-14; 8, 12, 8, 10, 5, 8, 10, and 8 on February 15-22; 5 on February 23-March 2; 8 on March 3-4; 5 on March 5-7; 8, 12, and 8 on March 8-10; 5 on March 11-13, and 8, 12, 8, and 10 on March 14-17. Joe Flamini, W4BXG, in Virginia wrote to report his surprise at hearing -- and working -- two mobile stations on 10 meters on January 27 at about 1500 UTC. "I reached out and had a 45-second QSO with them both before the link faded," he said. "That'll never happen again!" Sunspot numbers for January 25-31 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 13, and 13, with a mean of 3.7. The 10.7-centimeter flux was 70.3, 69.8, 68.8, 68.5, 68.2, 68.9, and 69.2, with a mean of 69.1. Estimated planetary A indices were 10, 8, 6, 4, 4, 5, and 7, with a mean of 6.3. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 9, 7, 5, 2, 3, 3, and 5, with a mean of 4.9. Send me your reports and observations! ____________________________________________________________________________ Just Ahead in Radiosport * February 1 -- NRAU 10 Meter Activity Contest (CW, phone, digital) * February 2-4 -- YLRL YL-OM Contest (CW, phone, digital) * February 3 -- FYBO Winter QRP Sprint (CW, phone, digital) * February 3 -- Minnesota QSO Party (CW, phone, digital) * February 3 -- AGCW Straight Key Party * February 3 -- FISTS Winter Slow Speed Sprint (CW) * February 3-4 -- Vermont QSO Party (CW, phone, digital) * February 3-4 -- 10-10 International Winter Contest (SSB) * February 3-4 -- Black Sea Cup International (CW, phone) * February 3-4 -- F9AA Cup (CW) * February 3-4 -- Mexico RTTY International Contest * February 3-4 -- British Columbia QSO Party (CW, phone, digital) * February 4 -- North American Sprint (CW) * February 5 -- RSGB 80 Meter Club Championship (SSB) * February 6 -- ARS Spartan Sprint (CW) * February 7 -- 3.5 UKEICC 80 Meter Contest See the ARRL Contest Calendar for more information. For in-depth reporting on Amateur Radio contesting, subscribe to The ARRL Contest Update via your ARRL member profile e-mail preferences. ____________________________________________________________________________ Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions * February 3 -- South Carolina State Convention, North Charleston, South Carolina * February 3 -- Virginia State Convention (Frostfest), Richmond, Virginia * February 9-11 -- Florida State Convention (HamCation), Orlando, Florida * February 16-17 -- Southwestern Division Convention, Yuma, Arizona * February 24 -- TECHCON Conference, Winter Haven, Florida * February 24 -- New Mexico TechFest, Albuquerque, New Mexico * February 24 -- Vermont State Convention, S. Burlington, Vermont * March 2-3 -- Alabama State Convention, Irondale, Alabama * March 3 -- Arkansas State Convention, Russellville, Arkansas * March 9-10 -- Louisiana State Convention, Rayne, Louisiana * March 9-10 -- North Carolina Section Convention, Concord, North Carolina * March 10 -- Nebraska State Convention, Lincoln, Nebraska * March 16-17 -- South Texas Section Convention, Rosenberg, Texas * March 17 -- Southern Florida Section Convention, Stuart, Florida * March 17 -- West Texas Section Convention, Midland, Texas * March 24 -- Utah Digital Communications Conference, Sandy, Utah * March 24 -- MicroHAMS Digital Conference, Redmond, Washington * March 24 -- West Virginia Section Convention, Charleston, West Virginia * March 30-31 -- Maine State Convention, Lewiston, Maine * March 31 -- North Carolina State Convention, Raleigh, North Carolina Find conventions and hamfests in your area. ____________________________________________________________________________ ARRL -- Your One-Stop Resource for Amateur Radio News and Information. * Join or Renew Today! 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