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eHam.net News

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WIA: US Technician Class Licence -- Reciprocal Arrangements:

Posted: 24 May 2016 05:09 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/36833


The ACMA is seeking comments about the reciprocal arrangements for the US
Technician Class Licence. The knowledge requirements for the US Technician
Class Licence have changed over the years, and is now considered to relate
more closely to the Australian Foundation Licence.


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Scientists One Step Closer to Improved Space Weather Forecast:

Posted: 24 May 2016 05:08 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/36832


Washington: A team of US researchers has discovered new evidence about how
the Earth's magnetic field interacts with solar wind -- a finding that can
improve forecasts about space weather. Although invisible to the naked eye,
space weather can have serious, detrimental effects on modern technological
infrastructure, including telecommunications, navigation and electrical
power systems. The researchers from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University (Virginia Tech) for the first time observed that
regardless of the hemisphere or the season, the polar ionosphere is subject
to a constant electrical current, produced by pressure changes in the solar
wind. "It's a bit of a surprise because when you have a current, you
usually expect a voltage relationship, where resistance and current are
inversely related -- high resistance equals small current; low resistance
equals large current," explained Robert Clauer, professor in Virginia
Tech's Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "The
finding is a new part of the physics that we need to understand and work
with," he added. The space weather observations allow researchers to watch
how the behaviour of the Sun and the solar wind -- an unbroken supersonic
flow of charged particles from the sun -- changes over time and how the
Earth's magnetic field responds to solar wind variations. The observations
help build a detailed, reliable model of space weather. They hope that
eventually, space weather forecasting will become as reliable as today's
winter storm warnings.


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The Shack Is Back:

Posted: 24 May 2016 05:07 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/36831


Back in February 2015, Radio Shack filed for bankruptcy. Many of us feared
that we had lost a popular source of electronic products and parts. Well,
in case you didn't get the memo, Radio Shack is alive and well as a new
company. It did not come out of bankruptcy as is the usual case. Instead,
Standard General, a New York hedge fund, bought the assets and brand and
formed a new company under the ownership of General Wireless with the name
Radio Shack. It retained about 1,700 of the original 4,000-plus stores.
Roughly 1,400 of the 1,700 are co-branded with Sprint and the
telecommunications giant will sell cell phones and subscriber plans
on-site. Radio Shack is now a greatly scaled-down company and more focused
on building a new business model around its stores and a greatly expanded
online presence. It will continue to sell popular consumer electronics
items, but also will take advantage of the growing DIY/Maker niche. Look
for a growing number of Radio Shack smaller electronic kits in stores in
the months to come. What they really need is a few signature larger kits to
generate some significant buzz and dollars. Drones and robots come to mind,
but that has been done. How about more radio products? Why not ham radio
products, as this is a known and growing market? Besides, the former ham
kit company Heathkit is not doing anything.


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Annual Pre-Hurricane Season Station Test at WX4NHC Set for May 28:

Posted: 24 May 2016 11:51 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/36830


Now in its 36th year, WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center (NHC)
in Miami, will conduct its annual NHC Station Test on Saturday, May
28. The event, which gets under way at 1300 UTC and wraps up at 2100
UTC, is conducted each year in advance of hurricane season.


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Hamvention Recap Tonight:

Posted: 24 May 2016 11:52 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/36829


Tune in tonight on Amateur Radio Roundtable
and see a recap of the Dayton Hamvention. The
show is every Tuesday night at 8 PMCT or
(0200 UTC Wed) on W5KUB.COM.