H. Robert "Bob" Schroeder, N2HX, of Ewing, New Jersey, has been named the winner of the ARRL'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."

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.

Registration remains open through Sunday, March 21, 2010, for these online course sessions beginning on Friday, April 2, 2010: Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 1; Antenna Modeling; Radio Frequency Interference; Antenna Design and Construction; Ham Radio (Technician) License Course; Propagation; Analog Electronics, and Digital Electronics.

After the 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the island nation of Haiti on January 12, many Amateur Radio operators asked how they could volunteer their time and service to assist with communications support. When Project Medishare -- a partnership between the University of Miami Medical School (UM) and physicians and health officials in Haiti -- needed help with their communications, Amateur Radio operators were quick to respond.

The emergency communications support provided by Amateur Radio and MARS operators to the University of Miami Medical Center's Project MEDISHARE in Haiti has concluded, as normal communications links are re-established after a 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, killing thousands and wiped out the island nation's communication infrastructure.

Earlier today, IARU Region 2 President Reinaldo Leandro, YV5AMH, spoke via telephone with Radio Club de Chile (RCCH) President Dr Galdino Besomi, CE3PG. “He informed me that soon after the earthquake, an Emergency Net was activated in the whole country-- first on VHF and then on HF. All the RCCH Board and club members are actively working in close coordination with civil and military authorities,” Leandro posted to the IARU Region 2 e-mail reflector. “Three days after the earthquake, the requests for news about people in the affected areas is one of the main activities occupying the Chilean radio amateurs.”

On Saturday, February 27, 60 Amateur Radio operators participated in a tsunami radio net that operated throughout the island State of Hawaii. More than 25 real-time reports from observers around the state were relayed simultaneously to the State Emergency Operating Center (EOC) and the four county EOCs, providing timely information via Amateur Radio on sea level changes to emergency management officials.

Dr David Toth, VE3GYQ -- President Emeritus of Tucson Amateur Packet Radio (TAPR) -- passed away Friday, February 26after a long battle with cancer. He was 55. A resident of Spencerville, Ohio, Toth served as a Director and Executive Vice President of TAPR in the 1980s and was elected President of the organization in September 2005. With his advancing illness, he decided not to stand for re-election last October and was instead named President Emeritus with Steve Bible, N7HPR, taking the reins as TAPR President.

This feature -- including convenient Web links to useful information -- is a concise monthly update of some of the things ARRL is doing on behalf of its members. This installment covers the month of February.

The winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award for February is Paul Christensen, W9AC, for his article "An SWR Null Meter." Congratulations, Paul! The winner of the QST Cover Plaque award -- given to the author or authors of the best article in each issue -- is determined by a vote of ARRL members on the QST Cover Plaque Poll Web page. Cast a ballot for your favorite article in the March issue by Wednesday, March 31.