District 21
Departmental
Pages
Executive
D/Lt/C Frank Boerner, SN
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Here is a list of all the USCG rescue numbers for both coasts. You may find this handy sometime, and it may save someone's life. You should also list the appropriate emergency number on any float plan.
US Coast Guard Emergency Numbers:
Click here for list (25kb PDF)
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CONGRESS RESTORES 35-YEAR EXEMPTION FOR RECREATIONAL BOATS
FROM PROPOSED EPA PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS
NO NEW PERMIT FOR BOATS REQUIRED
ALEXANDRIA, VA, July 22, 2008 - In a remarkable display of bipartisan support for recreational boating, both the House and Senate today passed S. 2766, "The Clean Boating Act of 2008" which will permanently restore a long-standing exemption for recreational boats from permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act. The legislation now goes to the White House for the President's signature.
Congressional action was spawned by a U.S. District Court decision in September 2006 under which an estimated 17 million recreational boats would have fallen under Clean Water Act permit requirements effective September 30, 2008. The permit would have dictated maintenance and operation procedures and potentially subjected boaters to citizen lawsuits as well as a penalty system designed for industrial polluters.
"This is a fabulous victory for common sense and it just goes to show what can be done when the boating public, the marine industry and its representatives in Congress row together in a bipartisan way," said BoatU.S. President Nancy Michelman.
BoatU.S. Government Affairs Director Margaret Podlich was quick to shower praise on a boatload of legislators who did much of the heavy lifting including Sens. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representatives Jim Oberstar (D-MN), Steve LaTourette (R-OH), Candice Miller (R-MI) and Gene Taylor (D-MS). A complete listing of all legislators involved will be available at http://www.BoatUS.com/gov soon.
BoatU.S. has worked for more than a year with the National Marine Manufacturers Association and a broad coalition of stakeholders to resolve the problem before the permitting deadline.
"One of the real keys to success here was our collective ability to activate the grassroots," said Podlich, noting that tens of thousands of letters and e-mails were generated by boaters and anglers over the course of the past 12 months.
BoatU.S. is the nation's leading advocate for recreational boat owners with over 650,000 members.
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Here are 3 items that our Safety Officers may or may not know.
1. From the U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Division
As many of you may recall, the U. S. Coast Guard Infoline (a toll-free phone number formerly referred to as the Boating Safety Hotline) was discontinued October 1, 2006 due to budget shortfalls. At that time, the Coast Guard requested our partner organizations to remove the 800 number from active websites and customer assistance phone services, and to discontinue the use of the number in all printed material.
It has recently come to the Coast Guard’s attention that the CG Infoline 800 number (800-368-5647) has been privately reactivated and now leads to a secondary 800 number that is unrelated to boating safety when dialed. All Coast Guard field units have been directed to obliterate this number from all forms and publications where it appears. All replacement stock of these forms and publications no longer carry the CG Infoline number. ( I believe this is also referred to in the Boating Course )
Due to the fact that the boating public is still continuing to attempt to reach us at this number, we are asking for your assistance in ensuring that your membership is aware that the Coast Guard Infoline/Hotline is no longer in use and to discontinue the placement of the number in all publications and services. It is further requested that, where possible, you obliterate this number from any existing stock of materials in order to prevent any misdirection or confusion for the recreational boating public.
Your cooperation and assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated, and thank you for all you do to make recreational boating safer for our boating public.
2. For VHF DSC Radios.
USPS is now registering MMSI numbers for most recreational boaters. Details are available on the Marine Electronics web page
( http://www.usps.org/national/eddept/me/main.htm) or the USPS MMSI home page ( http://www.usps.org/php/mmsi/home.php).
3. "Waypoints" on line safety letter was discontinued as of April 2008. Use the web site for CG Boating Safety http://www.uscgboating.org/ to stay in tune with the latest information.
R/C Richard Frenz
RBSC
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REVISED PREDICTIONS TO SOLAR CYCLE 24
Reference: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/01/07/100/?nc=1
The first sunspot of Solar Cycle 24 was observed Friday, January 04, 2008 when a sunspot at 27 ° north latitude was seen according to two different sources: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) in Boulder, Colorado and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama. This observation coupled with the minimum number of sunspots occurring points to a particularly strong Solar Cycle 24.
Two solar scientists from the MSFC at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco during December presented a revised prediction for Solar Cycle 24. Cycle 24 will peak in December, 2010 with sunspot numbers between 135 and 185, which will make it the strongest solar cycle in recorded history. Consistent propagation on the 12 and 10 meter bands could be made toward the end of 2009. They reminded that over the past fifty years, four out of five solar cycles were very strong.
SWPC in May, 2007 was predicting that Solar Cycle 24 would begin between September, 2007 and September, 2008. Furthermore, Cycle 24 was predicted to peak either in October, 2011 with sunspot numbers between 120 and 160 (strong) or in August, 2012 with sunspot numbers between 80 and 100 (weak). Either prediction was given equal weight because Cycle 23 was declining so slowly.
The start of a solar cycle implies that the high frequency (HF) or shortwave band conditions will be improving. The stronger cycle not only will peak before the weaker one but also will have a larger number of sunspots. Solar cycles typically span eleven years based upon a twelve month moving average of the often volatile daily sunspot numbers. The sunspot numbers increase faster (4.5-years) than they decrease (6.5-years). During the peak, the monthly sunspot numbers can range between 75 and 155. The bottom of a solar cycle refers to the period of time when the sunspot numbers are the lowest.
During the solar minimum, sunspots occur from both cycles. Sunspots of the new cycle generally will appear at high (25 – 30°) latitudes. Sunspots from the prior cycle generally will appear near the equator.
Sunspots of the new cycle also have a reversed magnetic polarity from the prior cycle. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite, which was launched December 2, 1995 (http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov), provides magnetograms. The magnetograms show that Cycle 23 spots lead with black on the right side and white on the left and that Cycle 24 spots will lead with white on the right and black on the left.
The K7RA Solar Update is prepared by Tad Cook of Seattle, Washington and is posted every Friday to the American Radio Relay League’s (ARRL) web site (http://www.arrl.org). It is a great source for the solar conditions and the related ionospheric propagation information. Beginning in May, 2006, he began calculating and tracking a three month moving average of the daily sunspot numbers for spotting trends. The three month span gives some smoothing of the daily numbers.
Tad on January 4 reported that the bottom of Cycle 23 would occur between December, 2007 and April, 2008. This span is a narrower than what had been thought eight months earlier.
On January 25, Tad reported that October, 2007 could be the month of the minimum number of sunspots by making an assumption about the last 7-days of January. While sunspots were observed January 1 – 8, no sunspots were observed January 9 – 24.
On February 1, he reported that sunspots were observed again January 29 – 31 after a 20-day spotless run. The three month moving average of the daily sunspot numbers does increase after October as follows: July, 15.4; August, 10.2; September, 5.4; October, 3.0; November, 6.9; December, 8.1; and January, 8.5.
There were no sunspots as of February 22. The Sun has been blank for 17-days. One sunspot for a week was visible prior to this spotless period. Then, after another 20-day spotless run, sunspots were seen February 25 – 28 and disappeared over the eastern horizon of our Sun. The February 29 sunspot number was zero, and the three-month moving average of sunspot numbers was 8.5, slightly higher than for January. While these sunspot numbers are historically low, the Cycle 23 – 24 minimum appears to have occurred in October according to the K7RA Solar Update on March 7 and as shown previously on February 1.
On March 14, the K7RA Solar Update included comments from the SWPC and based on the twelve month moving averages. First, the prediction for the Cycle 23 – 24 minimum is 4.0-sunspots between December, 2007 and April, 2008. This prediction aligns to Tad’s three month moving averages.
Second, the prediction for the Cycle 24 peak is 124-sunspots between August and December, 2011. This prediction aligns to their stronger prediction in May and is slightly weaker than that from the MSFC in December.
Morse code was dropped in January, 2007 as a requirement for amateur radio licenses. If you would like to earn an amateur radio license, USPS has a supplementary course on amateur radio. It is available at most West Marine and BoatUS stores. Or, ask your Squadron’s Education Officer for assistance.
HF-marine communications, amateur radio, etc. are reviewed in Marine Electronics. If you have not received credit for Marine Electronics, consider taking this elective. Review the class schedule with your Squadron’s Education Officer.
D/21 Radio Technical Committee
P/C Bill Haddock, Jr., AP WA5EJQ
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There are two stories in the news that contain a marine electronics component. The first tells about a developing joint venture between two well know electronic equipment suppliers with a slant towards amateur radio and comes from the ARRL web site. The second story relates to nineteen lightning monitoring stations that can span nearly 31.4 million acres around Norman, Oklahoma.
The first story: Motorola to acquire controlling interest in Vertex Standard Co., Ltd.
According to a November 5 press release issued by Motorola, Motorola USA has announced its intention to "launch a tender offer to acquire a controlling interest in Vertex Standard Co., Ltd.” Vertex Standard is the parent company of Yaesu (amateur radio products) and Standard Horizon (marine electronics). Upon successful completion of the tender offer and subsequent restructuring process, Motorola will own 80 percent of Vertex Standard; Tokogiken, a privately held Japanese company, controlled by current president and CEO of Vertex Standard Jun Hasegawa, will retain 20 percent, forming a joint venture. The total purchase price for 80 percent of the outstanding shares on a fully diluted basis will be approximately ¥12.3 billion (approximately US $108 million). The bid will start November 6 and end on December 26. If the bid succeeds, shares of Vertex would be de-listed from the Jasdaq Securities Exchange in Japan.
According to Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV, Yaesu's Executive Vice President for Amateur Radio Sales in North America, "I thought that the happiest and proudest day of my 45-plus years in Amateur Radio was when I was offered the opportunity to lead the Yaesu North American sales effort; however, being able to now announce this news to my fellow Amateur Radio operators takes over as the top life thrill for me! I am certain the good fortune that put me in this leadership chair at Yaesu now promises opportunities for me to do more for the technological future of Amateur Radio than I ever dreamed possible. I do not pretend to know the full extent of the positive impact this Motorola/Vertex Standard business arrangement will have on Amateur Radio -- I just know it is going to be terrific for all of us who love Amateur Radio for its public service and entertainment value, as well as its potential for us to make lifelong friendships in our neighborhoods and around the world."
Saying that hams should not expect to see a line of Motorola Amateur Radio products, Motschenbacher said he sees the joint venture between Motorola and Vertex Standard "as a very good thing for Amateur Radio in general and Yaesu customers in particular. I hope our loyal customers will readily see this business venture for what it is, an opportunity to make a solid 50-plus year old Yaesu company even stronger and more formable than is already the case. There is absolutely no reason to have the slightest concern about equipment warranties and the continuation of support for our products. I am really excited to see what the joint engineering capabilities of these two huge communications companies will bring in the way of new technology advancement for the Amateur Radio service."
Motorola said that the joint venture "will develop and sell Vertex Standard branded products and develop select Motorola branded products. The Motorola brand will continue to focus on higher featured, higher tier products and continue to utilize existing Motorola distribution channels. Vertex Standard's strength in the Amateur, Marine and Airband (Avionics) segments will also provide Motorola with access to new business opportunities. In addition, Vertex Standard's solutions are highly complementary with Motorola's products and will add greater depth and breadth to Motorola's Government and Public Safety business."
According to Hasegawa, "The joint venture will give Vertex Standard access to Motorola's global distribution channels, presenting considerable opportunities for Vertex Standard to drive growth. We also expect to reduce costs, as we will benefit from Motorola's global scale and resources. With Motorola, Vertex Standard will be stronger and better positioned to deliver new and innovative 2-way radio solutions for professionals and consumers around the world."
Motschenbacher said, "There is a unique aspect of business that comes with Amateur Radio. It's not just about a radio. It's the relationship between the ham, the radio itself and the company that makes that radio. This relationship in Amateur Radio is far different than it is, say, between a buyer of a HDTV, the TV and the TV manufacturer. The relationship in Amateur Radio is far more personal and "bonding", per se. I am certain that we will do our utmost to ensure that Motorola understands this delicate bond. Since Motorola is leaving the day-to-day management of Yaesu in the hands of my boss, Jun Hasegawa, President of Vertex Standard, we can expect our longtime relationship with hams to remain intact."
Calling the joint venture "a good thing," Motschenbacher said, "Before working in the business side of Amateur Radio, my old business partner and I purchased a number of small companies in our line of business. More often than not, we found that bringing these new acquisitions into our existing family of companies added more to the overall success of the total group than expected. Therefore, I believe that this joint venture is not just a 1 + 1=2 equation -- I am positive that the outcome for our Amateur Radio customers is going to feel more like 1+1= 3 and that's a good thing!"
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2007/11/05/100/?nc=1
The second story: NASA awards grant for lightning study center.
The Oklahoman (11/6, David Zizzo) reports that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration awarded a $1.4 million, three-year grant "to establish the Center for Lightning Advanced Studies and Safety (CLASS) at" the University of Oklahoma. "The center will focus on improving ground-based observations of lightning by adding eight 'moveable' monitoring stations to an existing 'lightning mapping array' of 11 fixed stations operating in central Oklahoma." The existing stations "detect lightning locations by triangulating on the radio frequency emissions they produce.” They "cover an area about 250 miles in diameter" and "can produce three-dimensional profiles of lightning in an area 100 miles in diameter." With the added stations, the coverage area will increase and the data collection will improve. "Researchers will use the improved system to cross-check visual satellite lightning data, gaining what they hope will be new insight into the shapes, behavior and even predictability of lightning."
If you have not taken the Marine Electronics (ME) Elective Course, please check its availability this coming winter and/or spring with your Squadron Educational Officer. ME gives practical insight into the working and operation of the marine electronics that are available for your boat such as VHF-FM and HF-SSB radios, depth sounders, radar, and GPS receivers. Lightning protection and amateur radio also are reviewed in ME.
P/C William (Bill) S. Haddock, Jr. AP WA5EJQ
P/C M. M. (Ozzie) Osborne, N W5DXX
D/21 Radio Technical Committee
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RIVER CRUISING
Cruising in any form is not seen often on the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) web site. So, when I saw river cruising, my interest peaked. The ARRL announces special events for the radio amateurs. Special events generally commemorate an occasion and are not contests. The following special event caught my attention:
Aug 17-Sep 13, 1700 UTC-1700 UTC , Illinois River, Illinois. USS LST-325 Radio Club, WW2 LST. USS LST-325 Summer Cruise Up Through the Illinois Heartland. 14.300 14.040 7.040 3.540. QSL: USS LST-325 Memorial Ship, 840 LST Dr, Evansville, IN 47713. www.lstmemorial.org
The hams will recognize the single side band and Morse code frequencies. Except my apology for not bringing this to your attention sooner as this event now is about 50% complete.
The above LST Memorial web site contains some interesting stuff. This LST (Landing Ship, Tank) is an amphibious vessel designed to land battle-ready tanks, troops and supplies directly onto enemy shores. Ships of this type proved to be enormously useful during times of both war and peace. This particular LST was originally known as LST-325 during the Second World War (landing at Omaha Beach on D-day), USNS LST-325 during its arctic operations in the 1950's, and later L-144 ( A/G Syros) while it was in the service of the Greek Navy. It was acquired by The USS LST Ship Memorial, Inc., in 2000, and caught considerable public attention when our veteran crew brought it on a 6,500-mile journey from the Greek island of Crete in November, 2000 to Mobile, Alabama on January 10, 2001.
The 2007 Summer Cruise of the LST-325 begins and ends at Evansville, Indiana on the Ohio River. The itinerary includes Meredosia, Peoria and Henry, Illinois on the Illinois River as well as Alton, Illinois on the Mississippi River. It was at Peoria on August 20-29, Henry between August 29 and September 5, and Alton on September 6-11. This cruise immediately precedes the LST Week (4-days) in Evansville, Indiana on September 26-30.
If you know people that are in these ports, tell them to take time to see the LST-325.
A few reminders: the USPS and the ARRL have a partnering MOU. Both organizations were founded in 1914. Secondly, USPS has the Marine Amateur Radio Guide. If this guide is not available at your marine supply store, your SEO can order a copy for you. Lastly, amateur radio is reviewed in the Marine Electronics Elective. If you have not received credit for it, contact your SEO for the class schedule.
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The following article below may be of interest to the members of D/21 in that it confirms that G. Marconi additionally was into yachting.
Reference: http://www.arrl.org/?artid=7386
International Marconi Day event is April 28 (Apr 18, 2007) -- Special event stations will be on the air Saturday, April 28 (UTC), to mark International Marconi Day (IMD), a 24-hour Amateur Radio event commemorating the birth of wireless pioneer Guglielmo Marconi on April 25, 1874. Participants can qualify for awards by making contacts on 160 through 10 meters (CW, SSB and digital) with designated IMD stations operating on or near a site where Marconi carried out experiments or where Marconi equipment was used prior to his death in 1937. The sponsoring Cornish Radio Amateur Club (CRAC) will operate GB4IMD from Pendennis Castle, Falmouth, Cornwall, overlooking Falmouth Harbour where Marconi spent some 10 days aboard his yacht Elettra in April 1923. Additional IMD stations will be on the air from the UK, the US, Canada, South America, Australia and Europe. The IMD Web site has a list of IMD 2007 award stations.
The USPS has an Amateur Radio Learning Guide for those who would like to earn their FCC license. The FCC dropped the Morse code requirement in 1Q-2007, and there are record numbers of individuals applying to the Volunteer Examiners for high frequency privileges. Also, amateur radio is touched upon in the Marine Electronics Elective Course. Contact your SEO for availability and details.
P/C William (Bill) S. Haddock, Jr. AP
Radio Technical Committee
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Click here to read an article on Amature Radio and a Rescue off of the Chilean Coast (PDF 29kb)
from D/21 Radio Technical Committee
P/C William (Bill) S. Haddock, Jr. AP
william.haddock@kbr.com
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RETURN OF COASTAL RADIO
Sea Tow, Southold, NY acquired the marine VHF-FM coast radio stations which were formerly owned by Maritel. Maritel with barely 2-weeks notice ceased operations on Thursday, June 05, 2003, of the eight duplex Channels 24-28 and 84-86, which they had bought in the 1990’s. These channels in the FCC frequency plan are reserved for ship-to-coast public correspondence conversations and align to the frequencies between 157.200 - 157.400 for coast receive and 161.800 - 162.000 MHz for coast transmit. The marine VHF-FM coast radio stations provide a coastal cruiser with consistent contacts to land facilities. “Coastal” can extend seaward to 25 nm, which is far beyond cellular range in many areas.
Sea Tow has a national call center (800.4SEATOW) and a well developed internal VHF dispatch system. The marine VHF-FM coast radio stations by Sea Tow are called “Sea Smart VHF.” You can browse the details at www.seasmartvhf.com or call 800.732.8694. Sea Smart VHF is intended to be an improved alternative to cell phones and more affordable than satellite communications. A live operator can patch you through to the telephone service or can assist with a marine problem. The advertised costs with unlimited calls are $12/month for Sea Tow members or $17/month for non-members.
Sea Smart VHF is operational now off shore from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Sea Smart VHF will be off shore from Texas and Louisiana about August, 2007. Sea Smart VHF is expected to cover the entire U.S. coast by November, 2007.
Sea Smart VHF works with a marine VHF-FM transceiver with DSC capability. The fixed-mount VHF-DSC transceivers became available after Thursday, June 17, 1999. Seven years later, the VHF-DSC transceivers have easy-to-read displays, fog horns, hailers with listen back, etc. The VHF-DSC requires the encoding of a unique Maritime Mobile Service Identify (MMSI) number for your vessel. BoatUS or Sea Tow can assist in programming the MMSI into your VHF-DSC and in obtaining it for domestic usage. If cruising beyond the 25 nm zone, your MMSI has to be obtained from the FCC.
The USCG maintains the MMSI database at the Rescue Coordination Center. The USCG is struggling with the National Distress and Rescue System which was renamed “Rescue21” in September, 2002. This complex program is at least 2-years behind schedule, i.e. may not be completed until 2011. The current status of the Rescue21 system is found at www.uscg.mil/rescue21/about/impsched.htm. Rescue21 will include the western river district. Channel 16 voice signaling will remain in effect at least until the entire Rescue21 network is operational. The “distress” button on the VHF-DSC transceiver that is connected by a data bus, which can be a shielded twisted pair, to a GPS receiver will automatically bring assistance under Rescue21.
Learn more about radio procedures, DSC, NMEA-0183, etc. by contacting your Squadron Education Officer and enrolling in the Marine Electronics elective course.
D/21 Radio Technical Committee
P/C Bill Haddock, Jr., AP WA5EJQ
P/C Ozzie Osborne, N W5DXX
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