The LEDThe newsletter of the Livingston Amateur Radio Klub (LARK)

Howell, Michigan

September 2018 Who 8 Darrell’s Spicy Bacon

W8DSB

Well the time of summer has come that brings cooler nights and early mornings. I will not dare say it's fall yet as I have a lot of stuff to do and I “need” more summer in my life.

Fall Ham Camp is coming up (not a club event but a local ham event). Lowersection of Bishop Lake campground. Please come out and camp or at least

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stop by and say hi. The advance crew will camp on 9/15 (getting there kind of late) and the last group will leave 9/20. Anytime between those dates you should be able to find a few hams in the area. Tim (WD8TD) and I (W8DSB)will be on Lot 63 9/15 (night) to 9/18 (morning). Best nights to catch “everyone” at the fire is 9/16 and 9/17 as these nights overlap with everyone’s stays. Known sites are Rich (W8VS) Lot 64, Ralph (KW8G) Lot 62, Paul (W8PBS) Lot 67, Joe (KE8CBW) Lot 107, and more I don’t in frontof me. This event happens twice a year and this spring we had 10 camp sites and about 30 visitors that signed in.

The new repeater controller is nothing short of a pain in the behind to program. I have spent more time on the phone with CAT then with my wife in the past month. That said it's running and will be installed very shortly. The new controller will aid net control during SKYWARN events, provide messages and reminders for the club meetings and net nights. Once it's installed and running I am sure it will need tweaks, but you need to start somewhere and see how it works.

The new repeater hardware is here and is burning in. Bob (K8VQC) was kindenough to tune the duplexers. They tuned OK but the isolation is not the best (55db). It’s what we own, so short of buying more equipment we will install as is and let it play. Rod (KI8A) did a site survey for the Klub and reported what we will need in terms of racks, coax and power cabling to get the equipment at the new site up and running. I have a few sections of coax to order then we will be ready to install. I hope to have the new equipment installed and running by the end of the month.

The Klub has a DMR talk Group. TG310195 was granted to the club for boththe repeater and our Klub members to meet on. If you’re into DMR try this talk group there are a bunch of us on each day.

73 de W8DSB

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Recent Ham Radio Case Law A ham in the State of Washington did the correct thing before he bought a house. After finding the house he wanted, he went to the local building department to inquire of the procedure for erecting a tall tower for his ham radio antennas. He was told that he would need a building permit, but that was it. No need for a cumbersome conditional use permit, or a zoning ordinance variance. He then went ahead with the purchase of the house, which sits on a 5 acre lot in Redmond, WA. Soon thereafter, he applied for and was issued a building permit for an 89 foot tower. The next door neighbors who eventually sued him noticed some cutting of trees and construction activity going on, then one day they saw thatthe tower with antennas had been erected, closer to their house than to the ham operator's house. Other neighbors made complaints about the tower, buta King County code enforcement investigation found that ham radio towers were permitted in all classes of property zones and were considered an accessory residential use. Further, the investigation found that licensed ham radio stations were specifically exempt from the more stringent development standards for “communications facilities”. The King County department which performed the investigation then closed the code enforcement inquiry, finding no violations. The next door neighbors then filed a lawsuit against both the ham and King County, claiming that the tower was a nuisance and asking the court to compel the County to enforce its ordinances and asking the court to require the removal of the tower. The trial court heard the case on what is known as a “summary judgment”,meaning that one party--or both—asked the court prior to trial to rule as a matter of law that one side or another should win. In this case, all parties hadfiled cross motions for summary judgment, and the trial court found in favor of the ham radio operator and the County, for the reason that the lawsuit was not timely filed, and dismissed the case. The neighbors then appealed to the Court of Appeals. The State of Washington has a land use decision statute, and the procedural requirements of a lawsuit dealing with a land use decision, “must be strictly met” under the statute according to the Court of Appeals' Opinion. This includes timely filing of the lawsuit. Since a decision to issue a buildingpermit falls within this statute, a lawsuit must be filed within 21 days of

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certain enumerated events, including when the building permit approval was posted on the King County department's website. The next door neighbors' lawsuit was filed too late, according to the decision. So, the neighbors lost. While the Court of Appeals' decision was based on timeliness of the filing of the lawsuit, the Opinion discusses at some length that the tower in questionwas exempt from the stringent requirements of “communications facilities” as described in the King County zoning regulations, since the regulations specifically exempted ham radio towers, just as the code enforcement investigation had found. Finally, the court also awarded attorney fees to the ham radio operator in the appellate proceedings, based as far as I can tell, on a court rule which would allow such a recovery. Normally, in the United States, attorney fees would not be recoverable by the winning side. There are some exceptions, including where court rules or statutes specifically allow. And, it seems as if only fees in the appeal were allowed, not on the prior trial court or pre-trial events. Since the result did not come about by a judge deciding that the the ham radio operator had every right to put up his tower, or in the alternative, that the next door neighbors didn't have to put up with what they considered an eyesore, some would say that the ham radio operator won “on a technicality”.But I think at least in Washington the legislature had decided to put up a roadblock to these types of lawsuits by insisting on very strict requirements, so whether a technicality was involved is no more than a layman's debate. The decision by the Court of Appeals of Washington was an “unpublished opinion”. I think that means the same thing as an unpublished opinion in Michigan, namely, that the opinion does not have “precedential value”. That means other Washington courts in other cases do not have to follow the decision, it only applies to that case. But, it may be persuasive to other courtsin the future. So, this case must be taken with “a grain of salt”. Certainly stringent statutes like Washington's are not in effect in other states (I know of nothing similar in Michigan). And since the case does NOT say that a ham has a right to put up an 89 foot tower under any circumstances, it is not one that will go into the arsenal of attorneys representing hams. The case is Kovsky v. Fanfant, Case no. 76142-1-I, (Court of Appeals of Washington, unpublished, Division 1)(decided April 16, 2018).

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submitted by Tom KT8Y (not intended as legal advice, consult your own attorney to have your specific facts evaluated)

For Hams Who Want to Get on HFSingle Band Dipoles

from ARRL.org-(article and diagram used with permission of ARRL)

You can enjoy Amateur Radio on the HF bands with nothing more than a copper wire strung between two trees. This is the classic dipole antenna. It comes in several varieties, but they all function in essentially the same way.Single-band dipoles are among the easiest antennas to build. All you need is some stranded, noninsulated copper wire and three plastic or ceramic insulators. A 1/2-wavelength dipole is made up of two pieces of wire, each 1/4-wavelength long. Calculating the lengths of the 1/2-wavelength wires is simple. Just grab a calculator and perform the following bit of division:

Length (feet) = 468/frequency (MHz)Actually, you should add about six inches to the results of your calculations. You’ll need that length margin to trim and tune for the lowest SWR. (SWR stands for Standing Wave Ratio. It is measured with a device known as an SWR meter. Many modern transceivers include SWR meters, or you can purchase them separately. An ideal SWR is 1:1. Join the two wires in the center with an insulator, then place insulators at both ends. Solder the center conductor of your coaxial cable feed line to oneside of the center insulator. (It doesn’t matter which side.) Solder the shield braid of your cable to the other side. Connect ropes, nylon string or whatever to the end insulators and haul your antenna skyward. Get it as high as you can and as straight as possible. Don’t hesitate to bend your dipole if that’s what it takes to make it fit.

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Once your dipole is safely airborne, fire up your transmitter and check theSWR at many points throughout the band. (It helps if you can plot the resultson graph paper.) If you see that the SWR is getting lower as you move lower in frequency, your antenna is too long. Trim a couple of inches from each end and try again. On the other hand, if you see that the SWR is getting higher as you go lower in frequency, your antenna is too short. You’ll need toadd wire to both ends and make another series of measurements.When you’ve finished trimming your dipole, you’ll probably end up with an SWR of 1.5:1 or less at the center frequency, rising to 2:1 or somewhat higher at either end of the band. Don’t expect a 1:1 SWR across the entire band. By carefully trimming the antenna you can move the low-SWR portion to cover your favorite frequencies.

Editor's note: You can certainly build your own dipole and your editor highlyrecommends using hard drawn copper wire (not copperweld or steel), such asthe hard drawn copper wire sold by The Wireman (https://www.thewireman.com/antennap.html) part no. 541 or Davis RF http://www.davisrf.com/antenna-wire/aerial.php part no. WM541. Center insulators are numerous, but your editor prefers porcelain insulators of good quality (look for them at Swaps). If you want to use a balanced line feedline instead of coax (preferred highly by your editor—and if you have an antenna tuner designed for balanced line) then your editor recommends 450 ohm “window line” or “ladder line” sold by The Wireman and others, and the WA1FFL “Ladder-loc” http://www.wa1ffl.com/ladderloc.html center insulator, sold by lots of vendors. Or, if you want a dipole already assembled, there are a ton of vendors, but most only use wire using steel, or funky center insulators, or so called “G5RV” antennas which, contrary to popular opinion, are NOT magical and consist of a weird matching system. They are very compromised antennas.

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DX everyone would like to have

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A Call for New ARRL Members

In his recent Michigan Section Report, our ARRL Michigan Section Manager (who is also a former LARK President and is a current LARK member), Jim Kvochick K8JK, has called for 100 new ARRL members from the Michigan Section by the end of the year.

I call on each LARK member who is NOT a current ARRL member to pleasejoin! Joining is as simple as going to ARRL.org and clicking on the “Join/Renew” tab, which will take you to the page to join. Membership in the ARRL is $49 per year and opens the door to a wealth of information, including a subscription to QST.

From what I understand, the LARK has gotten close to full ARRL membership, but if you have not yet signed on the dotted line, please give strong consideration to doing so. And if you know of someone who has let his/her membership lapse, please give them a prod.

Submitted by KT8Y

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Civil War Photo by Matthew Brady of Professor Lowe's balloon Intrepidused to survey the Battle of Fair Oaks--an early use of technology.

Courtesy Library of Congress

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Civil War Telegraph Repairman c. 1862-courtesy of Library of Congress

Old Time Radio: a Zenith Transoceanic in a minimalist shack

DXing in Poor Sunspot Conditions in the “Old Days”

The page at the end of this newsletter was taken from the January 1986QST (with permission of the ARRL)(and why is it at the end of the newsletter?

Because your editor cannot figure out his software program to put it where it oughta be). I wentlooking for a page to see what the popular “How's DX” editor had to say

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about poor band conditions a couple of sunspot cycles ago. All you have to read, really, is the first paragraph. Sounds like today. A couple of other observations from that page. Remember that the internet did not exist (not so long ago, huh?) and us DXers subsisted on local DX Cluster networks (think packet radio and local 2 meter simplex) and certain publications, like my favorite, The W6GO/K6HHD QSL Manager List. That rag really kept on top of how to get a QSL card. I do not recall ever failing to get a card using that list. It came monthly in a newpaper type of print, and I forget now how much it cost, but it was worth it. It is mentioned in the QST article. So are a number of other publications that old time DXers like me were familiar with.

I'll bet at that stage of the DX game I probably had 75 countries confirmed, maybe less. By 1986 I had purchased and built a Heathkit SB-221 amplifier (two 3-500Z tubes), and had a little old dipole strung up in the backyard. I went back over my 1986 logs and I see that in that poor sunspot year, I worked (and got QSL cards from) all the following new countries:

ZP5JCY ParaguayON6KD BelgiumHK6GBJ ColombiaS90AS Sao Tome and PrincipeHB0CZS LiechtensteinSV7AS Greece4K1J Antarctica (Russian Druzhnaya base)C31LBB Andorra (in fact, I worked 3 Andorra stations that year)HZ1HZ Saudi Arabia (Sheikh Ahmad Zaidan-- SK—his daughter now has this call) JJ1TZK/NH8 American SamoaZK1XR New Zealand9J2LC Zambia (famous DXers Lloyd and Iris Colvin of YASME)VK9NS Norfolk IslandTR0A GabonFO8JP French Polynesia

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FO0XA Clipperton IslandHC8A Galapagos Islands

So, not so bad under what we consider today to be “poor” conditions. Like I say, there's always DX out there. Submitted by Tom KT8Y

FCC Announces Nationwide Test of the Wireless EmergencyAlert and Emergency Alert Systems

Please take note that on September 20, 2018, at 2:18 p.m. EDT, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau of the FCC and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will conduct a test of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. At that time, FEMA will send a wireless emergency alert test message (WEA) to WEA-capable wireless devices throughout the United States and territories. Audio and text messaging will be used, in both English and Spanish. There is a “backup” date of October 3, 2018. If you wish to read the full announcement, and wish to review a whole bunch of government acronyms, go to https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-18-754A1.pdf Thanks to Jim Kvochick K8JK for this information.

Upcoming DX

According to DX-World.net, some upcoming DXpeditions will be:

9X, RWANDA The Italian DXpedition Team is planning to be active from Rwanda between September 26 and October 10 as 9X0T. For FT8 DXpedition mode the call 9X0Y will be used. Operation from 160 to 10 meter using CW and SSB with 3 stations. RTTY will be used only on 20 meter. QSL via I2YSB. Real-time logsearch and OQRS

C2, NAURU Lance, W7GJ will go on a 6 meter DXpedition as C21GJ between September 28 and October 14. He will arrive on 28 September in

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the evening; plans are to be QRV by moonrise on 30 September, to tear down around 11 or 12 October and depart for home on the 14th. This will be a 6m EME DXpedition: "I urge you to gain experience with JT65A", he says, "and especially review the QSO procedure that I use most effectively on these DXpeditions". When "not aimed up at the moon", he adds, "I very well may be on CW or SSB, or FT8 mode. For FT8, I will beusing 50.313 MHz". QSL direct only to home call.

5W, SAMOA YJ, VANUATU Stan LZ1GC will be operating from September 28 until October 14 as 5W0GC. Operation from 160 to 10 meter using CW, SSB and RTTY with a focus on low bands. After this, Stan and Lubo OM5ZW will be QRV as YJ0GC between October 15 and November 4. Activity nonstop from 160 to 10 meter with focus on low bands.

3B8, MAURITIUS Hans, PA3HGT will once again be operating as 3B8/call from September 4 until September 24. Operation in ‘holiday-style’ on 40, 20 and 10 meter using mostly SSB with some CW and digital. QSL via home call, direct or bureau.

3DA0, KINGDOM of Eswatini (SWAZILAND) Pista HA5AO will arriveon 14 September, late afternoon. He plans to operate during his free time between 16 – 28 September from the Mountain Inn Resort at Mbabane. He received the 3DA0AO license and a LotW certificate. Pista will operate 80–10 meters using a Hustler 6 BTV vertical antenna with 17 and 12 meter add-on elements, CW, RTTY and FT8. He is bringing an ElecraftK3 with the KPA 500 amplifier. Logsearch will be available on HA5AO.com. His plans include testing a new feature of the PDXG QSL Management Platform, the uploading of QSOs in real time. While in-country he will travel to rural areas visiting villages, schools and orphanages to deliver school supplies to orphaned children. He is interested in making a long term donation agreement to pay school fees for several orphaned children. Pista is paying all expenses from personal funds. However he would appreciate donations through his website. Any donations received will be used only for humanitarian purposes.

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3W, VIETNAM Jacek, SP5APW will be active as 3W9JK from Hoi An between September 22 and September 27. Activity from 20 to 6 meter using SSB. QSL via home call, direct or bureau and Club Log OQRS.

7Q, MALAWI Alex, IW5ELA will be QRV as 7Q7ELA from September 17 until September 26. Operation on HF using mainly CW. QSL via home call. Activity from these locations: September 17-20 Game Haven Lodge, September 20-23 Mvuu Camp and September 2326 Makokola Retreat.

8Q, MALDIVES Christian, OE3DEC will be active as 8Q7EC between September 14 and September 23. QSL via home call.

8Q, MALDIVES Gabor, HA3JB will be operating as 8Q7IP from Hulhumale Island between September 19 and September 30. QRV from 80 to 10 meter using CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8. QSL via home call.

E6, NIUE The Quake DXpeditioners are pleased to announce their next trip to Niue between October 6 and October 16. Operation from 160 to 10meter using CW, SSB, RTTY and maybe FT8. QSL via ZL3PAH, direct or bureau, LoTW and Club Log OQRS.

FH, MAYOTTE The Czech DX Team will be operating between September 20 and October 6. Activity from 160 to 10 meter using CW, SSB and digi with a focus on the low bands. QSL via OK6DJ, OQRS andLoTW.

JW, SVALBARD Torsten DL4APJ and Peter DJ2AX will be operating asJW/calls between September 20 and September 25. Operation on HF. QSL via home call.

SV5, DODECANESE Claudio, HB9OAU will be operating as SV5/call from Amoopi, Karpathos Island. Activity from September 8 until

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September 20 from 80 to 10 meter using SSB and FT8. QSL via home call.

T32, EAST KIRIBATI Uli, DL2AH will be operating as T32AH from September 12 until October 1. QRV from 80 to 10 meter using SSB, RTTY and FT8. QSL via home call.

VK9X, CHRISTMAS ISL A team with A65DC, A65DR and VE7HDW will be QRV as VK9XT from September 29 until October 6. Operation from 160 to 10 meter using CW and SSB. QSL via N4GNR, direct or bureau, LoTW and OQRS.

White House proposes to eliminate WWV, WWVH andrestrict WWVB

The ARRL has issued a warning in its August 22, 2018, Letter that the White House has proposed elimination of funding for WWV and WWVH,and the atomic clock operation of WWVB from the next fiscal budget of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), part of the Department of Commerce, which would save only $6.3 million. This recent development has spawned a petition by W7NSS, Tom Kelly II, of Portland, Oregon. If you would like to sign the petition, go to https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/maintain-funding-nist-stations-wwv-wwvh The ARRL also recommends contacting your congressmen and asking to keep the funding. For its part, the ARRL quotes NIST as saying that the operation can no longer continue in light of new technology and measurement science research that lies outside its core mission space, and because of “facility deterioration”.

Who is your congressman? Go to https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Who is your senator? Go to https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm

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ARRL Announces Election of New Chief Executive Officer

The ARRL Board of Directors has announced the election of Howard E. Michel, WB2ITX, of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, to be its new Chief Executive Officer, starting on October 15. Michel (his name rhymes with "nickel") is currently Chief Technology Officer at UBTECH Education, and Senior Vice President of UBTECH Robotics, a $5 billion Shenzhen, China, artificial intelligence and robotics company, according to the ARRL's news release. See the ARRL website for more details.

ARRL Announces New Contest Portal

The ARRL Contest Branch has announced a new ARRL Contests Portal. ARRL Contest Branch Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, calls it "a one-stop shop for all of your ARRL contest interests, offering access to everything from the starting bell of a contest to your post-event hard-fought certificate of accomplishment." A recent look at the portal has a few items, with many more promised. Take a look at the ARRL website. http://www.arrl.org/contests

Great Lakes Hamcon Cancelled

Some of you may not have heard the news that the Great Lakes Hamcon scheduled in October at Michigan Speedway was cancelled last month, and that the listing and advertisement in the September 2018 QST is now of no effect. The ARRL in its August 9 Letter stated:

“In announcing the cancellation, sponsors said failure to come to a final agreement for the use of the Speedway led to the difficult decision to cancel the event.”

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The sponsors referred to were not identified. It is hoped that in the interest of transparency a more meaningful explanation will be forthcoming.

Contests Upcoming

September 8 ARRL VHF Contest. Details at www.arrl.org/september-vhf

September 9 North American Sprint-CW details at ncjweb.com . This is a popular one among contesters, including for the reason that it is a short, 4 hour, fray. It is sponsored by the National Contest Journal. If you are a contester or “wannabe” contester, a subscription to this magazine is a must.

September 15 ARRL 10 Ghz and Up Contest. Details at www.arrl.org/september-vhf This is a terrific contest for the microwave heads out there. Your editor looks up to these guys as those who really know their business.

September 15 Collegiate QSO Party. A new contest designed for College operators, sponsored by the ARRL's Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative. All are welcome. For full information go to www.gatorradio.org/collegiate.html

September 16 North American Sprint RTTY. Details at ncjweb.com

September 29 ARRL EME Contest. Details at http://www.arrl.org/eme-contest This one is for the real techies, although life has become easier thanks to software inventions courtesy of Joe Taylor K1JT.

For info on tons of other contests go to http://www.contestcalendar.com/

New in National Contest Journal

The September/October 2018 issue of the National Contest Journal features how some of the Big Guns out there arrived at their choices of

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transceivers. The reasoning goes well beyond the Sherwood Engineering evaluations and may influence your next choice.

Also, NCJ interviews Vice Admiral Scott Redd, K0DQ, an avid contester and Naval Academy graduate, who tells several interesting anecdotes about his development as a Big Gun station operator. Scott sounds like a very interesting guy, who has also had the opportunity to operate from some exotic locations thanks to his Navy assignments.

Although the NCJ is devoted to contesting, it seems as if most serious DXers are subscribers. Or, hams who want to learn about more sophisticated, multifaceted station design and operation. Recommended.

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Ken N8KC, Editor of the USECA newsletter, requested this to be published

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Upcoming SwapsCourtesy of Dale Williams WA8EFK

9/8/18 GRAHamfest Grand Rapids, MI9/9/19 Findlay Hamfest Findlay, OH9/16/18 Adrian Hamfest Adrian, MI

9/22/18 GMARC Trunk Swap Shelby Twp, MI10/20/18 Muskegon Color Tour Muskegon, MI10/21/18 Kalamazoo Hamfest Kalamazoo, MI

Solar Cycles & Radio PropagationLarry Kube KD8VKW

Here you are, attempting to get onto the HF bands with the radio, & all you get is loud static that is burying all signs of anyone out there and you hear almost no one of any distance. Everyone says we are at the height of the solarcycle and we won’t get good DX conditions for a few years yet. Just what is the Solar Cycle and what does this mean for radio.

The first thing to realize, is the sun emits electromagnetic radiation and matter as a consequence of the nuclear fusion process. Electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths of 100 to 1000 Angstroms (ultraviolet) ionizes the F region, radiation at 10 to 100 Angstroms (soft X-rays) ionizes the E region, and radiation at 1 to 10 Angstroms (hard X- rays) ionizes the D region. Solar matter (which includes charged particles--electrons and protons) is ejected from the sun on a regular basis, and this comprises the solar wind.

The sun's solar wind significantly impacts Earth's magnetic field. Instead of being a simple bar magnet, Earth's magnetic field is compressed by the solar wind on the side facing the sun and is stretched out on the side away from thesun (the magnetotail, which extends tens of earth radii downwind).[1]

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All this affects radio propagation. HF radio communications of various formsincluding two way radio communications, maritime mobile radio communications, radio broadcasting, amateur radio communications, and in fact any form of radio communications that uses the HF bands and ionospheric radio propagation is very dependent upon the state of the ionosphere. The higher the levels of radiation received from the Sun, the greater the levels of ionisation in the ionosphere and in general this brings better propagation conditions for HF radio communications.

It is found that the number of sunspots on the Sun has a considerable effect on the levels of radiation emitted and hence impacting on the ionosphere. In turn this has a marked effect on radio communications of all forms. Sunspots are therefore of great interest to anyone involved in HF radio communications, as it affects the radio propagation conditions so significantly.[2]

The Solar Cycle: The sun is a creature of habit. It likes to create sunspots (and vary its output and activity) on a regular basis. In fact, sunspot occurrence rises and falls on an 11 year cycle. The periodic peak of sunspot activity is called the solar maximum, and the periodic lull in activity is called the solar minimum.

The Bottom Line: Now you have a better idea of how the sun affects our ham radio fun. The bottom line effects can be summed up as follows:

The higher HF bands (10m – 17m) will be most effective for skip propagation during the solar maximum, occurring approximately every 11 years. Some of these higher HF bands may not be open during the lower activity portions of the solar cycle.

The higher the band frequency, the greater the dependence on high solaractivity for the band to open (for signals to be bent back to earth by the ionosphere).

Sunspots produce increased UV radiation that intensifies the ionosphereand improves skip propagation. Sunspots vary with the 11-year solar cycle, becoming more prominent during solar maximum.

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Solar flares and eruptions can temporarily enhance the D-layer absorption of RF, significantly reducing HF skip propagation across the bands.

The current solar cycle (2009 – 2019) is a relatively low activity solar cycle that is under-performing the scientific predictions.

But do not fret! There’s plenty of HF, VHF, UHF, and microwave radio actionto be had, even in a relatively low solar cycle.[3]

So where are we at currently? Propagation guru Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA, says that, while conditions on 12 and 10 meters will pick up as they always do in the fall, F2 propagation on those bands will decline thereafter, with onlysporadic E during the summer months as a possible saving grace. On the other hand, the lower bands — 160, 80, and 40 meters — should be good going forward, and 20 and 17 meters will be the mainstays of daylight HF propagation. Luetzelschwab made these observations during an August 23 World Wide Radio Operators Foundation (WWROF)-sponsored webinar “Solar Topics — Where We’re Headed.” He said data suggest that Cycle 24,

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the current solar cycle, will bottom out in 2020.[4]

Sunspots come and go in an approximate 11-year cycle. The rise to maximum(4 to 5 years) is usually faster than the descent to minimum (6 to 7 years). At and near the maximum of a solar cycle, the increased number of sunspots causes more ultraviolet radiation to impinge on the atmosphere. This results in significantly more F region ionization, allowing the ionosphere to refract higher frequencies (15, 12, 10, and even 6 meters) back to Earth for DX contacts. At and near the minimum between solar cycles, the number of sunspots is so low that higher frequencies go through the ionosphere into space. Commensurate with solar minimum, though, is less absorption and a more stable ionosphere, resulting in the best propagation on the lower frequencies (160 and 80 meters). Thus, in general, high SSNs are best for high-frequency propagation, and low SSNs are best for low-frequency propagation.[5]

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We're about half way down in the waning years of Cycle 24. We're currently on a 9 day stretch with zero sunspots, the first such stretch since 2010.

With the number of sunspots dwindling, we've seen little F layer propagation on frequencies above 25MHz in the last 2 months, and that downward trend is likely to continue. As we approach minimum in 2018(ish), frequencies above 15MHz will only open sporadically

For short-term predictions, the use of the effective SSN (SSNe) may be helpful. In this method, an appropriate SSN is input to the propagation prediction software to force it to agree with daily ionosonde measurements.[5]

Various numbers are used to predict propagation:

SSNThe smoothed monthly number results from an averaging of monthly mean values over the 13 months, from 6 months before to 6 months after a base month. All months are weighted equal except for the extreme ones, which areweighted by 1/2. This is expressed by the formula:

Rs= (0.5 Rm-6 + Rm-5 + Rm-4 + Rm-3 + Rm-2 + Rm-1 + Rm + Rm+1 + Rm+2 + Rm+3 + Rm+4 + Rm+5 + 0.5 Rm+6 ) / 12In signal processing jargon, this would be called a "tapered box-car" smoothing function..

A IndexThe A Index is a daily average of data (from observatories around the world) that reflects the state of the Earth's magnetic field for the preceding 24 hours. The index can be revealing because geomagnetic disturbances due to phenomena such as recurring coronal holes tend to recur at 27-day intervals as the Sun rotates.

K IndexThe K Index broadcast by WWV reflects the instability of the geomagnetic field at Boulder, Colorado, over the last three hours. Such frequent updates can indicate K Index trends. A decreasing K Index is good, especially for propagation paths at greater than 30° latitude. Some VHF operators like to see an increasing K Index, because aurora is possible at K Index values of 3 and greater. Such values also warn that conditions associated with degraded

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HF propagation were present in Boulder, Colorado. Note: the K Index is a Boulder measurement-it may not correlate well to conditions in other areas.

The A Index range is from 0 to 400, while the K Index ranges from 0 to 9. Lower indices indicate better HF propagation conditions. Tables relating index readings and geomagnetic activity appear in an earlier QST discussion of WWV and WWVH propagation broadcasts.[3]

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[1] Mike Gruber, WA1SVF, “Here Comes the Sun!”, Website Title, ARRL, TheNational association for Amateur Radio, Web. 29-Aug-2018, http://www.arrl.org/here-comes-the-sun

[2] “HF Radio Propagation and Sunspots”, electronicsnotes. Web. 29-Aug-2018, https://www.electronics-notes.com/articles/antennas-propagation/ionospheric/sunspots-cycle-activity.php

[3] “Sunspots and Propagation”, Ham Radio School.com. Web. 29-Aug-2018,https://hamradioschool.com/sunspots-and-propagation/

[4] Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA, “Higher Bands Will Pick Up this Fall, Data Suggest Smaller Solar Cycles Lie Ahead”, Website Title, ARRL, The National association for Amateur Radio, 8-Sep-2016, Web. 29-Aug-2018, http://www.arrl.org/news/higher-bands-will-pick-up-this-fall-data-suggest-smaller-solar-cycles-lie-

ahead

[5] Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA, “The Sun, the Earth, the Ionosphere:”, Website Title, ARRL, The National association for Amateur Radio, 10-Oct-2017. Web. 29-Aug-2018, http://www.arrl.org/the-sun-the-earth-the-ionosphere

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Klub Financialssubmitted by Stacy Black N8NYK, Klub Treasurer

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Editorial—Get on the Low Bands!by KT8Y, Editor, LED

I want to repeat something I brought up at the last Klub meeting. If any of the Klub members want any assistance in getting on HF for the first time, I would be happy to help. We are coming up to the best antenna building weather (in the fall when the leaves are dropping off so you can get those ropes up and over the trees). Don't expect me to help put up a tower, but you really don't need one to get a decent signal on the low bands.

I think working HF is at the heart of ham radio, and it has been the most rewarding part of my ham radio career. I feel that those who have obtained a license and have purchased (or been given) a hand held 2 meter/70 cm radio may have had some fun with it, but there is so much more to enjoy in the hobby than that. I can safely say that you really don'tknow what you are missing.

So, if you need help, particularly if you don't have the foggiest notion of where to begin, I would be happy to help, and I'll bet I can get some other Klub members to help as well. So, don't be shy. Contact me at one of the upcoming meetings or get me at KT8Y@ARRL.NET

Next Klub Meeting

The next Klub meeting will be Wednesday, September 12, 2018, at the Livingston County EMS, located at 1911 Tooley Rd, Howell, MI 48855, at 7:30 PM. Members and friends are welcome. Klub meetings typically are held on the second Wednesday of each month at this location. Informal gathering of the troops occurs sometime around 7:00 PM, for the swapping oflies and insults. Please participate in the 50/50 drawing and prize drawing, which are held at the conclusion of the meeting. Tickets to be purchased

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from the Klub treasurer as soon as she arrives and sets up. A special mystery person will select the winning tickets.______________________________________________________________

LARK Two Meter Net

The LARK two meter net is held on Thursday evenings at 8:00 PM on the Klub's two meter repeater, 146.68 Mhz (negative offset, 162.2 hz CTCSS).______________________________________________________________

LARK Breakfasts

LARK members and friends meet Saturday mornings for breakfast at the Americus Grill, located at 9836 E. Grand River Ave., Brighton MI 48116.Breakfast is ordered at or about 8:00 AM, however, coffee is consumed in great quantities by early risers beginning at 7:00 AM. Your editor has begun to lag behind and is only infrequently there when the doors open at 7. Wide-ranging discussions include all radio topics, construction tips, upcoming events, gossip, politics, antennas (a bottomless topic), DX, RV's and how to fix 'em, operating etiquette and guns. Lies and insults are de rigueur. Seating is non-assigned and members are encouraged to sit in different areas and converse with different members. Except for K8JK, president emeritus, who anchors the same seat every morning.______________________________________________________________Michigan ARRL representatives

Dale Williams WA8EFK, Great Lakes Division DirectorThomas Delaney W8WTD, Great Lakes Division Vice DirectorJim Kvochick K8JK, Michigan Section Manager______________________________________________________________

Livingston Amateur Radio KlubP.O. Box 283 Howell, Mi 48844 www.W8LRK.orgKlub Call: W8LRK

Board Members of the LARKDarrell Black W8DSB PresidentMark Bennett K8ACM Vice President

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Stacy Black N8NYK TreasurerTodd (Dante) Kube KD8WPX SecretaryReece Albright KB0KSU Director (Member at Large)Jason Biehl W8JMB Technical DirectorLarry Kube KD8VKW Program Director

Klub Meetings: Second Wednesday each month at the Livingston County EMS Facility, 1911 Tooley Rd., Howell, MI 48855

Committee ChairpersonsRepeater Trustee: Jim Kvochick K8JKVE Coordinator: Jim Kvochick K8JK Public Info Officer: TBA Web Site: Reece Albright KB0KSU CERT Coordinator: Bruce Pollock N8WWXLED Editor: Tom Auth KT8Y

Repeater: Livingston Amateur Radio Klub owns and maintains the 146.680 (negative offset, 162.2 CTCSS) repeater in Livingston County.

Volunteer Examiner Testing for amateur radio licenses sponsored by the LARK is conducted the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM, in the Jeff Boyd Conference Room at the Livingston County EMS Facility, located at 1911 Tooley Rd., Howell, MI 48855. Please contact the VE Coordinator, Jim Kvochick K8JK, for any questions. All testing for Amateur Radio licenses is FREE.

The Livingston Amateur Radio Klub, Inc., is a Michigan Nonprofit Corporation and is a 501(c)(3) organization.______________________________________________________________Please send any articles, photos, information or want ads for inclusion in the LED to KT8Y@arrl.net

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