The ARRL Rookie Roundup is designed to help newly licensed amateurs build their operating skills on HF. It is a contest specifically for those new to Amateur Radio, similar to the ARRL Novice Roundup that ran from 1952 until 1995. The Rookie Roundup brings the fun and Elmering of the old Novice Roundup into the 21st century. Three Rookie Roundups will be held each calendar year: SSB in April, RTTY in August and CW in December.

The Rookie Roundup will be scored 100 percent in real time through the www.getscores.org scoring system. There are three ways to participate: by using your favorite logging software with the real time scoring support, by downloading a simple logging program from the www.getscores.org Web site or by logging your contacts directly into a www.getscores.org Web page. No separate logs are required -- it all happens online in real time and final scores will be available online within hours of the end of the contest! More information is available on all of these options at www.getscores.org. Of course, you can get on the air and make contacts without logging them, but you won't have as much fun!

Who Can Participate?
Any ham licensed for 3 years or less qualifies as a Rookie. If you were licensed in 2008, 2009 or 2010, you can compete in the 2010 Rookie Roundup. Non-Rookies may only work Rookies, while Rookies may work everybody. A major part of the success of this contest will be non-Rookies getting on the air and working the Rookies, just as in the Novice Roundup. Just like in the Novice Roundups of years past (when Novices could work anyone and non-Novices could only work Novices), Rookies may work anyone, be they Rookie or non-Rookie; however, non-Rookies are limited to only working Rookies.

Entry Categories
Single Operator Rookie, limited to a maximum of 100 W. Spotting assistance or using call sign and frequency alerting systems is allowed, but self-spotting or asking somebody to spot you is not. All Rookies must identify themselves as a rookie. Example: "Kilo Bravo One Quebec Alfa Whiskey, Rookie." Non-Rookies only need give their call; no designation is needed.

Awards
Certificates will be available for all participants to download. The top five high scores from each US call area, Canadian province and Mexican call area will be recognized on their certificate. No national winners will be recognized.

Go to www.getscores.org for more information on how to participate. Be sure to check out the April 2010 issue of QST for complete rules and other information. The Rookie Roundup -- a fun event for all amateurs!

Beginning Monday, March 15, W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, will alternate the digital modes used for its digital bulletin transmissions. While Baudot, PSK31 and MFSK16 still make up the digital mode complement, W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, says that the schedule will be altered to give more exposure to PSK31 and MFSK16. "Because of time constraints and the varying lengths of digital bulletins, there were many instances where only Baudot was used," he said. "With the new schedule, amateurs preferring either PSK31 or MFSK16 will find these modes no longer secondary."

The regular callup will be made using the mode that is transmitted first. The digital bulletin times remain at 6 PM and 9 PM (Eastern Time) daily. The Tuesday and Friday Keplerian data bulletins will continue to be sent using just Baudot and PSK31.

The new digital schedule is as follows:

• Monday: Baudot, PSK31, MFSK16
• Tuesday: PSK31, MFSK16, Baudot
• Wednesday: MFSK16, Baudot, PSK31
• Thursday: Baudot, PSK31, MFSK16
• Friday: PSK31, Baudot, MFSK16

(NPRM) -- WT Docket 09-209 -- seeking to amend the Commission's Amateur Radio Service rules to clarify certain rules and codify existing procedures governing the vanity call sign system, as well as revise certain rules applicable to club stations.Interested parties may make comments on the NPRM in the following ways: via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at, http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#home, or via the FCC's Web site at, http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/.

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2010 Technician (Element 2) Question Pool. Upon further review of the pool, members of the QPC found and corrected more than 50 minor typographical errors and clarified the questions and answers, making them easier to understand.These adopted changes are now incorporated in a revised question pool. The errata list, as well as the revised Technician question pool, is available on the NCVEC Web site at, http://www.ncvec.org/.The previously released pool dated January 4, 2010 is invalid for use. The newly revised Technician 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 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.

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June 1, 2009 marked the culmination of a project that had begun over 2 years earlier. In a truly impressive display of cooperation between federal, state, commercial and ham radio organizations the means to provide timely communication from trained weather spotters in the field back to the NWS in Peachtree City, Georgia has been restored.

Over 3 years ago, the Fayette County Amateur Radio Club (FCARC) learned they would lose the use of their 190 foot tower, which stood on private property. The tower supported the FCARC flagship repeater and the hub repeater for the Peachtree City NWS SKYWARN linked repeater system. Numerous hours were spent scouting viable sites to relocate these critical repeaters. The hard work of David Benoist, AG4ZR, Fayette-Coweta County Emergency Coordinator (EC); Robert Burton, KD4YDC, District EC, NWS, Peachtree City, Georgia, and Captain Pete Nelms, Fayette County Emergency Management Coordinator, paid off.\

Location, Authorization and Capitalization

A site was found on Ellis Road just north of the previous location and would provide the necessary coverage for the NWS. Initial efforts to put private Amateur Radio equipment on a state owned tower met with resistance due to the unprecedented nature of the request. To get the project rolling, Lans Rothfusz, KD5EJN, Meteorologist in Charge (MIC) of the Peachtree City office of the NWS, reframed the request as a collaboration between the federal (NWS) and state (Georgia Technology Agency, GTA) entities. That request was approved and, working closely with Jim Mollohan and Ralph Bevins of GTA, we were successful in obtaining permission to put SKYWARN and ARES® repeaters on a 300+ foot state tower.

Having secured permission, we now had to find a way of financing this project. At the suggestion of Captain Nelms, Assistant EC Lynn Bianco, KN4YZ, wrote a grant request for $10,000. We secured letters of support from the federal level (Lans Rothfusz), state level (Charlie Dawson, Director of Operations, Georgia Emergency Management Agency) and the county level (Captain Nelms). Our first try met with failure. A little disappointed, we tried again. This time, we were successful. The Coweta-Fayette EMC Trust came through for the full amount requested.

The next step was actually planning what hardware to install, where on the tower and what incidentals would be necessary. A planning committee was formed consisting of David, AG4ZR; Robert, KD4YDC; Lynn, KN4YZ; Huey Kenmar, KI4NGD; Assistant DEC Jim Burchfield, W4JB; RF Spectrum Engineer Jim Burchfield, W4JB; Brian Haren, FCARC President, and Chuck Federonis, KD4VW, our tower expert. After much discussion and careful planning by Chuck a formal plan was developed. Since it was a state tower, a professional crew was hired for the job. We now have a total of six antennas located at the 200, 250 and 300 foot levels.

Opening Day

A ribbon-cutting ceremony that officially opened the new site on June 1, 2009 was attended by many of the individuals who made this all possible. These new repeaters and associated hardware provide the necessary communication for numerous activities. Most important is the hub repeater for the SKYWARN program. This repeater links 22 other Amateur Radio repeaters to provide storm spotter reports from north and central Georgia to the NWS. These repeaters also support numerous local events, including The March of Dimes Walk America, Peachtree International Triathlon, Tri-PTC Triathlon, American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure and the Peachtree City Classic Road Race.

Service to the community does not end there. SKYWARN and ARES members stand ready to provide backup communication under the direction of the Emergency Management Agency (EMA). We used part of the SKYWARN network to provide emergency communications in 2008 for the American Red Cross (ARC) during the Hurricane Gustav evacuation by linking their Atlanta headquarters with shelters in LaGrange and Gwinnett counties and welfare centers on I-20 and I-85. Locally, we have Amateur Radio backup in the Emergency Operations Center, 911 Center and Piedmont Fayette Hospital.

“SKYWARN is a vital component of the severe weather operations for the National Weather Service,” said NWS Meteorologist in Charge Lans Rothfusz “and this repeater will extend our effective reach throughout the state, helping us keep more citizens better protected from the ravages of severe weather. I commend all the partners for realizing this and working together to make Georgia a safer place.”

For more information about the Georgia SKYWARN Linked Repeater System, please visit www.georgiaskywarn.com. More photos can be seen at fcaresrepeaters.tk.

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