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The ARRL Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League
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October 19, 2023

John E. Ross, KD8IDJ, Editor <news@arrl.org>

ARRL Home Page <http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Letter Archive
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>Audio News
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> IN THIS ISSUE

- Using Amateur Radio to Play Chess
- 2023 Chicago Marathon Supported by Amateur Radio
- A POTA Book for Park Activators and Hunters!
- Amateur Radio in the News
- ARRL Podcasts
- Announcements
- In Brief...
- The K7RA Solar Update
- Just Ahead in Radiosport
- Upcoming Section, State, and Division Conventions

==> USING AMATEUR RADIO TO PLAY CHESS

Playing chess using amateur radio? The concept may have begun in 1912
when a group of college students from Case Western Reserve University
(CWRU) wanted to challenge chess players at The Ohio State University
(OSU). Though the official origin is still debated, clippings from a
1912 issue of The Case Tech, one of CWRU's former student newspapers,
reveal that the challenge was made when the CWRU Wireless Club procured
a Morse code transceiver.

Faculty Advisor to the Case Amateur Radio Club, W8EDU, David Kazdan,
AD8Y, said there are no official records of the match, so the challenge
was re-proposed this year by the Case Amateur Radio Club
<https://www.facebook.com/W8EDU/>. With the with the help of OSU's
Amateur Radio and RF Club <https://u.osu.edu/w8lt/>, W8LT, the game was
on. It started on September 26 as a round-robin tournament with other
schools and is now moving into an elimination phase. The setup is the
same as any chess game except the players are in different locations.

Case Amateur Radio Club, W8EDU members and Case Western Reserve
University Chess Club members (left to right) Jonah Barnett, KO6BGI;
Duncan Lu; Andrew Stappenbeck; Zach Baldwin, KE8ZDJ and Tobias Heller
KE2BWUplaying HAMCHESS. [Adam Goodman, W7OKE, photo.]

Chess moves are relayed over the air either by voice or Morse code.

CWRU started the tournament strong with a win against Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute (RPI), but they lost the long-anticipated game
against OSU.

W8LT President Arvcuken Noquisi, KE8MXF, said the tournament is a
series of test games to determine the best way to incorporate amateur
radio into what is now referred to as HAMCHESS.

"Now we are using EchoLink through a Cleveland, Ohio, repeater with
algebraic chess notation relayed by voice," said Noquisi. "In the
future, each chess team will determine what method works best for them
based on skill level and participation."

Noquisi added that blending the school's chess and amateur radio clubs
makes for a great campus experience and opportunity for community
involvement.

W8EDU President Adam Goodman, W7OKE, said collegiate amateur clubs are
still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, and HAMCHESS is a great
way to reenergize amateur radio clubs and involve other college
organizations.

In 1945, the United States and the USSR squared off in a radio chess
tournament using CW. In the 1980s, Chess and Amateur Radio
International, a club with more than 200 members, used 20-meter SSB in
a match between five US players and five players in Oceania, a
geographical region spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres.

Today, more than a dozen college amateur radio and chess clubs are
participating in HAMCHESS events. College and university radio clubs,
including those participating in the chess tournament, regularly
network with each other through the ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio
Program <http://www.arrl.org/WeWantU>.

==> 2023 CHICAGO MARATHON SUPPORTED BY AMATEUR RADIO

On October 8, 2023, more than 140 amateur radio operators from five
Midwest states assisted 2,000 volunteer medical personnel at the Bank
of America Chicago Marathon. This is the 15th consecutive year that
amateur radio operators have helped coordinate medical responses and
arrange for medical resupplies at the Chicago Marathon. About 49,000
runners entered this year's event.

The city-wide marathon uses six main repeater channels and deploys four
temporary repeaters. New this year was official use of the

A group of amateur radio volunteers at the 2023 Bank of America Chicago
Marathon. [Rob Orr, K9RST, photo.]

Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) after organizers trialed it
at their other events, including the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle
and the Chicago 13.1. APRS radios were deployed to amateur
communication teams in Chicago's Grant Park after the race was
finished.

A total of 30 radio operators worked in various capacities before and
after the race. Also, there were 100 ham radio operators stationed at
each of the 20 course medical tents and the medical hub. In Forward
Command, 10 amateur radio operators served as net controls, traffic
handlers, logging specialists, and expediters.

Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications has been
nationally recognized for its ability to fully integrate all available
resources, and amateur radio operators have been publicly recognized by
Federal Emergency Management Agency observers for their performance
during the event.

President of Ham Radio Chicago and former president of the North Shore
Radio Club Rob Orr, K9RST, said that amateur radio has an important
seat at the communications table. "Amateur radio is important to the
event. However, it is just one small component [of] a very complex
event that requires more than 10,000 volunteers to be successful.
Amateur radio has a unique role and works alongside the other many
specialty service groups required to support an event of this
magnitude," he said. "This event has shown that amateur radio is very
much alive and doing well.

==> A POTA BOOK FOR PARK ACTIVATORS AND HUNTERS!

ARRL has a new book to help radio amateurs enjoy one of the fastest
growing communities within the hobby.

Participants in Parks on the Air® (POTA) have built one of the most
vibrant on-air communities in contemporary ham radio.

Park hunters comb the airwaves for activators operating from the lawns
of sprawling public mansions, stoops at urban historic sites, forest
glades, rocky mountaintops, seaside beaches, and just about any state
or federal park in the country -- and many entities abroad.

The Parks on the Air Book
<https://home.arrl.org/action/Store/Product-Details/productId/2013464221>
gives you a look at the setups and processes of 14 operators from a
variety of skill levels and backgrounds and offers advice and
motivation for taking your radio out to a park. Each chapter includes a
detailed gear list so you can see exactly what your fellow operators
are using, whether they're leaders of the pack like Kerri Wright,
KB3WAV, and Clint Sprott, W9AV, or folks just getting started with
Parks on the Air. Setups cover satellite operating, QRP, urban backpack
portable, activating tailgate-style, wire antennas for POTA, and more.

Whether you want to plan a multistate rove, toss a wire into a tree at
a nearby park, or hunt activators from the comfort of your home
station, The Parks on the Air Book provides insight and expertise in a
beautiful, full-color format, brimming with photos that celebrate ham
radio and the wonderful, shared resource of our state and national
parks.

The Parks on the Air Book
<https://home.arrl.org/action/Store/Product-Details/productId/2013464221>,
ARRL Item No. 1748, ISBN: 878-1-62595-174-8, $22.95 retail; special
ARRL Member price $19.95.

==> AMATEUR RADIO IN THE NEWS

ARRL Public Information Officers, Coordinators, and many other
member-volunteers help keep amateur radio and ARRL in the news
<http://www.arrl.org/media-hits>.

"Fruitful Partnerships are Paying Off
<https://easttexasnews.com/polk-county-news-breakout/5237-fruitful-partnerships-are-paying-off>"

/ East Texas News (Texas) October 5, 2023 -- Upper Alke Livingston
Wireless Association ARES®.

"Man Stands Outside with a Strange Antenna and Repeats This Phrase -
Minutes Later He Gets a Call Nobody Expected
<https://www.westernjournal.com/man-stands-outside-strange-antenna-repeats-phrase-minutes-later-gets-call-nobody-expected/>"

/ The Western Journal (Arizona) October 11, 2023 -- KB8M makes contact
with the International Space Station.

"10-4 Boy Scouts: Local amateur radio club helps scouts participate in
event
<https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/news/10-4-boy-scouts-local-amateur-radio-club-helps-scouts-participate-in-event/article_dc191bb8-691e-11ee-a801-9b3280007b46.html>"

/ Daily Journal (Minnesota) October 12, 2023 -- The Lake Region Amateur
Radio Club is an ARRL Affiliated Club.

"How Ham Radio Operators Do Eclipse Science
<https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/ham-radio-eclipse-citizen-science/>"
/ Science Friday (New York) October 13, 2023 -- The University of
Scranton Amateur Radio Club, W3USR.

"Stafford radio operators plan park event
<https://fredericksburg.com/news/community/stafford-radio-operators-plan-park-event/article_44e04544-67a4-11ee-b192-5fc83cabcb53.html>"