PNWDX Convention:

The following weekend, August 9-11 was the PNW DX Convention held in Everett, WA. hosted by the Western Washington DX Club. 130 or so fellow DXers and contesters from in and out of the Northwestern Divison gathered and took in a full day of presentations. A highlight of the day was a live tour via ZOOM of the ship at the N5J, Jarvis Island DX-pedition. Two of the “remote” operators, teenage brothers Angus and Ewan, were logged into the station on Jarvis from the back of the convention room. The ZOOM tour included a shot of the computer they were connected to making FT8 contacts from the Island. We believe this was perhaps the first time not only a live tour from a DX-pedition was done at a convention but also a first where a remote operator was also in the room.

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Along with all that happened during the weekend, 2nd VP Ritz and I took the opportunity, on behalf of President Roderick, K5UR, to present Vice Director Sterba with his Certificate and lapel pin which should have happened at the July Board Meeting. If you remember from last month, we had some “travel issues” and Michael was not able to make the meeting. It was a surprise to him and an honor for me to present it.

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ARRL system update:

As many of you have read in the last update that went out on Wednesday the 21st, most of the systems are back up and running, including the contest page. It is up to date and working normally. DXCC is, as of this writing, still having an interface issue with LoTW and the member database. HQ staff has reiterated this is one of the top priorities for the IT folks. An updated notice is on the main LoTW page on the left side and is included below.

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Aug 20, 2024: ARRL Service Disruption - Current estimated DXCC System restoration has been extended - more files affected by Cyber Attack require attention! --

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The ARRL Awards System has (3) flow processes: One process is Logbook; one process is Paper Applications by Mail; and the last process bring Logbook and Paper Applications together in a Master DXCC Processing System. At present, while the Logbook program is now allowing customers to submit/complete Award applications online (this began about July 1st), the Master DXCC Processing System remains offline, therefore we are not yet able to fully complete final processing of any DXCC applications at this time. As soon as the Master DXCC Processing System is back on line, we can then finish the final processing of Paper or Logbook applications received.

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Worked All States (WAS) applications, endorsement stickers and certificates are able to be processed and certificates are able to be printed and mailed, as they do not flow through the Master DXCC Processing System.

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VUCC applications are being processed and completed, certificates and endorsement stickers are being mailed.

Please also note that as the "Online DXCC" application system is not yet operational - it too is tied to the Master DXCC Processing System currently offline.

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Here I come Alaska:

The MARA Hamfest in Big Lake Alaska is on the 7th of September and I am looking forward to seeing all the Anchorage, Wasilla, and surrounding area Hams again this year.

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ARRL Foundation:

The ARRL Foundation has started the review process of the 110 club grant applications received this year. I am on the review committee along with 8 others. We are targeting the end of September to have all our scoring done and then final review will be done by the full committee. The foundation has five-hundred thousand dollars to award this year.

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900 MHz:

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) accepted for public comment a Petition for Rulemaking filed by NextNav Inc., a licensee in the 900-MHz Location and Monitoring Service (LMS), to completely reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band and replace the LMS with high-powered 5G cellular and related location services.

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The FCC Notice requested comment on the effects that NextNav’s proposals would have on amateur radio operations in the band. ARRL? The National Association for Amateur Radio? is preparing comments urging protection of existing and future amateur uses in this band and urges all amateurs to file their own comments describing their activities in this band and the expected effect of the proposed changes. .

The full ARRL news story can be found here:

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“W1AW QSY”

If you missed the notice, the W1AW CW bulletin transmissions on the 17-meter band will QSY to 18077.5 starting on September 6th to avoid other activity on the band.

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Perseid Meteor Shower:

Vice Director Sterba notes, “I did manage to squeak out a little time for some fun trying my hand at MSK-144 during the Perseid Meteor Shower. While I’m by no means a big gun, I did have success at the 700-800 mile range on 6 Meters. If you have interest in this or other modes used on VHF/UHF, please peek at the web pages for PNW VHF Society . This group has a wealth of experience and information.”

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That is about it for this month. As always, if you have questions or comments, please feel free to email or call either of us.

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***REMINDER*** The system at HQ taking Hamfest sanctioning requests is not functioning and notifying HQ staff. If your club has applied after the attack in May, it has not been seen. The system does email you back a reply with your information. If you have that, but have not heard anything from ARRL HQ, please forward me the email and I will get things back on track for you. Sorry for the inconvenience

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Confirmed ARRL sanctioned Hamfests and Conventions: (that we know about, see above)

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August 24th Kenai Peninsula HAMFEST, Kenai, AK.

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September 7th, MARA 2024 Hamfest in Bik Lake AK.

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October 19th, Swaptoberfest 2024 at Polk Co. Fairgrounds, Rickreall OR. (NOTE This is an updated web address)

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October 19th, Kitsap County ARC Hamfest, Bremerton, WA.

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Check the N7CFO Pacific Northwest Hamfairs & Events webpage often for the most up to date information. or and click “PNW Events”