This is a short video “preview” of the Product Review section of the February issue of QST.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz6aBjmFRRU

This is great seeing the continued growth of Amateur Radio over the past five years!

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This past year was a banner year for new Amateur Radio licensees. According to ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, the FCC issued more than 30,000 new ham radio licenses. “In 2009, the demand for Amateur Radio exam sessions remained elevated and is still running at a higher rate than before the FCC’s restructuring of the license requirements in 2007,” Somma said. “This high level of exam session activity has produced an elevated influx of new applications, far outpacing recent years.”
[caption id="attachment_1715" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="In 2009, the FCC issued more than 30,000 new Amateur Radio licences -- an almost 3 percent increase in the number of new licenses issued in 2008. At the end of 2009, there were 17,084 Novices, 334,245 Technicians, 150,970 Generals, 60,795 Advanced and 119,403 Amateur Extra class licensees."][/caption]
A total of 30,144 new licenses were granted in 2009, an increase of almost 7.5 percent from 2008. In 2005, 16,368 new hams joined Amateur Radio’s ranks; just five years later, that number had increased by almost 14,000 — a whopping 84 percent! The ARRL VEC is one of 14 VECs who administer Amateur Radio license exams.

“When looking at the statistics over the last 10 years, these are some the highest numbers we’ve seen,” Somma explained. “Additionally, our total number of licensees across all three classes has grown each year.” Currently there are 682,500 licensed Amateur Radio operators in the US, an almost 3 percent rise over 2008. In 2008, there were 663,500 licensed amateurs; there were 655,800 in 2007. Broken down by license class, at the end of 2009 there were 17,084 Novices, 334,245 Technicians, 150,970 Generals, 60,795 Advanced and 119,403 Amateur Extra licensees.

“The ARRL VEC has been busy meeting the needs of the Amateur Radio community by helping people to become radio amateurs or upgrade their existing licenses,” Somma said. “In 2009, ARRL VEs administered 44,595 exam elements at 6369 ARRL VEC-sponsored exam sessions. The number of amateurs who want to be Volunteer Examiners and who want to teach Amateur Radio classes is also going up — we’ve seen a spike in the number of applications from General and Extra class radio amateurs who want to give back to their community by serving as ARRL examiners and instructors.”

Somma applauded all the volunteers whose “hard work and contribution of countless hours of time helps to ensure the future of Amateur Radio. The ARRL VEC thanks our 32,411 VEs from around the world whose dedication and service helped to contribute to the success of Amateur Radio. I am delighted by these important achievements. 2009 was a very good year for Amateur Radio and I am excited by the promise of 2010.”

Source: ARRL

Here is a follow-up to the post on “Technician Class – Question Pool Updated” that I made last week about the Technician Question Pool.

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NCVEC Releases New Technician Class Question Pool (Jan 4, 2010) — The Question Pool Committee (QPC) of the National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) released the new Technician class (Element 2) question pool on Monday, January 4. This new question pool will become effective for all examinations administered on or after July 1, 2010; it will remain valid until June 30, 2014. The current Technician question pool that became effective July 1, 2006 will expire June 30, 2010. The new Technician pool contains approximately 400 questions, from which 35 are selected for an Element 2 examination; it will contain graphics and diagrams, something new for this element. The current General class question pool was effective July 1, 2007 and is valid through June 30, 2011. The current Amateur Extra class pool was effective July 1, 2008 and is valid until June 30, 2012.
Link to this item

Source: ARRL

Unless you plan to take the Technician class license examination before
July 1, 2010, don’t use study guides based on the question pool that
became effective July 1, 2006. The 2006 pool will be replaced by a
2010 question pool effective July 2010. The 2006 pool and study
materials used for it are useable for Technician exams to be given as
late as Jun 30, 2010.

Beginning July 1, 2010 Tech exams will be based upon the 2010 question
pool. This pool will be available to the public in early January.
People wishing to obtain a printed copy of the pool or a study manual
based on it should watch for announcements in ham publications or on
the web. Of course, www.arrl.org and ARRL bulletins will be a good
source of information on these.

Source: Jim Weaver, K8JE (ARRL Great Lakes Division Director)

Don’t forget the ARRL 10 Meter Contest is this weekend. Technicians can now operate in this band, so this is a good opportunity to make some HF contacts! Contest starts at 2400 Z Friday and ends at 2399 Z on Sunday.

I have included the ARRL write-up on the contest below.

73, Steve

The Doctor Is IN: Focusing on 10 Meters

By S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL News Editor
k1sfa@arrl.org

December 09, 2009

Now with the ARRL 160 Meter Contest come and gone, it’s time for me to focus on the opposite end of the HF Spectrum: 10 meters. You guessed it — I’m gearing up for the 37th running of the ARRL 10 Meter Contest. This contest has a bit of a twist to it: Operators have the choice of using CW only, SSB only or they can mix it up and use both. So as I prepare this week for the ‘test, I went to ask the Doctor what is so special about 10 meters. Is there anything I need to be aware of and watch out for this weekend when I’m on the air?

The Doctor — who chortled and wondered about my fascination with this band that everyone claims is all but dead — told me that the 10 meter band is a very interesting band. Sometimes it shares propagation modes with 6 meters, the “magic” band. At other times, it can sound like 20 meters, but with less noise and stronger signals. During the current state of the sunspot cycle, the 20 meter-like occurrences are few and far between, but there are still almost always some kind of medium to long haul propagation modes available, such as sporadic E, transequatorial and the like.

He told me that he has always found the 10 meter contest the most fascinating in terms of showing what the band can do. His belief is that the band is often open to some exotic spot, but no one is on to notice. People turn on the receivers, hear nothing and then switch to 17 or 20 meters where there are some signals. During the 10 meter contest there are signals on from all over the world. If you tune the band you will hear signals from somewhere else. What’s fascinating is that the far end changes rapidly as the contest progresses — you might hear stations from southern Africa, but not northern Africa, a while later from Europe or South America and nowhere else. He said he knows the same propagation quirks are happening when it’s not the contest, but no one notices.

So why not give 10 meters a try? Hopefully you will get a great feel for this great band. Now that Technician class licensees can enjoy the fun, there will be even more signals. As with all operations, antennas can make a big difference, but when 10 is really open, you will be able to get to distant spots with almost anything. If you have yet to try your hand on the 10 meter band, a contest like the ARRL 10 Meter Contest might be just the ticket. Do you have a question or a problem for the Doctor? Send your questions via e-mail or to “The Doctor,” ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 (no phone calls, please). Look for “The Doctor Is IN” every month in QST, the official journal of the ARRL.

The Fall ARRL OH Section Journal has been published. Click here to view this newsletter from the OH Section.

The ARRL Field Day Results are available. Field Day 2009 Results

MARC scored 5,014 points in the 2009 Field Day Competition. We operated as the Class 3A so you can search the pdf file for “W8MRC” on look under3A and go total point section until you come to 5014.

Everyone that came out to help and operate did a great job. I had to miss the past two years events due to one of my daughters getting married in Colorado last year and this year all my daughters and grandkids were in Chicago for Father’s Day. Maybe next year!

We did a great job in placing this year and appears we were 3rd in Class 3A for the Great Lakes Region.

Contacts 1339
Participants 21
Total Points 5014

[caption id="attachment_749" align="alignleft" width="45" caption="ARRL"][/caption]Bill Moore, NC1L, ARRL Awards Branch Manager, reports: “This is a reminder that the cut-off date to have submissions in for the 2009 DXCC Annual and Honor Roll Listings is December 31, 2009. Applications must be postmarked by this date.

“December is expected to be a heavy period so applicants are encouraged not to wait until the last minute to get their submissions in. Also, with the holiday season approaching mail handling will sharply increase.

“Applicants are strongly encouraged to check the ‘List of DXCC Applications Received’ link on the DXCC web site to assure that their applications were logged in for 2009. With the mail being heavy in DXCC, last minute applications received after December 31st, may get logged in for 2010. Also, the USPS postmarks are often unreadable so this could also affect last minute submissions.

“If you find on this page that your 2009 submission was logged in for 2010, you must contact DXCC by February 1, 2010, to get this corrected. DXCC is not responsible for 2009 applications that are logged in for 2010 after February 1, 2010.

“We expect for December that the turnaround will increase in excess of 12 weeks. This is normal for this time of year and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to get all 2009 applications completed.

“The 2009 DXCC Yearbook is expected to be in the mail by late May or early June 2010. Please remember that in order to receive the free copy you must:
- Be a member of ARRL
- Submit an application within the 2009 calendar year, or
- Be current on the DXCC Honor Roll (329 current entities
or higher).

“If you did not qualify for the yearbook, copies will be avaliable from the ARRL catalog. Send questions to: dxcc@arrl.org ”

Source: ARRL

The Fall ARRL OH Section Journal has been published. Click here to view this newsletter from the OH Section.

(Jan 30, 2007) — “Ham Radio . . . Getting the message through for your family and community” is the theme of the League’s 2007 public relations campaign. The “Emergency Radio” Web site debuted this week. ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, says the 2007 emergency communications initiative pick up the momentum ARRL public information officers started during the just-ended “Hello” campaign. More info.