TWIAR News Feed

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Radio called WWII tool of control and freedom at library lecture

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 07:18 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2nKjNa2

Radio as a powerful expression of freedom was the theme Saturday at the
Warren Trumbull County Public Library, where about 30 people heard a
lecture and several members of the Warren Amateur Radio Association were on
hand to showcase the history of radio.

The event was part of the One Book / One Community program focused on “All
the Light We Cannot See,” a World War II-era novel by Cleveland native
Anthony Doerr. The radio and its effects on the war are a main theme of the
book.

Guest speaker was Max V. Grubb, Ph.D., a communications professional and
assistant professor of communications at Youngstown State University.

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FCC reforms outdated 800MHz band rules

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 07:10 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2nyEPrG

The FCC has decided to modernise its cellular licensing and power rules in
the 800MHz cellular band to provide millions of wireless customers with
greater access to networks at faster speeds

By updating various technical and service rules applicable to the 800MHz
cellular service band, carriers should now be better enabled to transition
cellular spectrum from 3G to 4G LTE technologies. The FCC is enabling
investments in and provisioning of mobile broadband services in the band
and it now permits wireless providers to offer LTE on their 800MHz mobile
networks, while protecting adjacent public safety systems.

“The legacy rules limit wireless coverage for companies that want to deploy
LTE,” said Ajit Pai, the FCC’s chairman. “This state of affairs changes
today. The reforms we are adopting will help wireless companies better meet
consumer demand for mobile connectivity and continue to innovate by
facilitating the use of cellular spectrum to provide advanced services such
as LTE.”

The adopted revisions will help to support providers “accommodate continued
skyrocketing demand for mobile broadband,” said an FCC statement, which
added it “will allow providers to use Cellular spectrum to provide mobile
broadband service to the public more efficiently, reduce barriers to
innovation and investment and ease administrative burdens. At the same
time, the rules will continue to safeguard public safety operations.”

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via HACKADAY: Vintage Transistor powers QRP Transmitter

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 07:07 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2oevbJc

[Pete Juliano, N6QW] built a 20 M QRP CW transmitter using just a handful
of parts. That in itself will not raise any eyebrows, until you find that
he built it using one of the very first RF transistors manufactured all the
way back in 1955. That’s from before the time most of us were born and not
many years after the invention of the transistor in late 1947.

QRP in HAM-speak technically stands for a request to “reduce power” or an
offer of “should I reduce power” when appended with a question mark. A QRP
transmitter is designed to transmit at really low powers. The accepted
upper power limit for QRP transmitters is 5 W, at least for modes like CW
using FM or AM modulation. [Pete]’s interest was piqued when he read about
a 10 mW 10 M QRP transmitter design in a vintage Radio magazine from the
late ’50’s and decided to replicate it. We aren’t sure, but it appears he
had a Philco SB-100 RF transistor lying around in his parts bin. The SB-100
was one of the first surface-barrier transistors and could output 10 mW at
frequencies up to 30MHz.

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Sunnyvale Ham Radio Outlet closes after 26 years (California)

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 05:58 PM PDT
http://bayareane.ws/2n3nxzC

The Sunnyvale Ham Radio Outlet signed off for the final time Wednesday
after 26 years as a hub for Silicon Valley’s amateur radio community.

Due in part to rising rent in the city, the outlet at 510 Lawrence
Expressway chose to close its doors and merge operations with its Oakland
location, according to shop employees.

Steve Gilmore, national sales manager for Ham Radio Outlet, stated on the
store website that changes needed to be made to its Northern California
locations.

“Some of the costs associated with operating in the Sunnyvale location have
absolutely skyrocketed, and the traffic and parking availability in our
current Sunnyvale location has become seriously problematic,” Gilmore’s
statement read.

Store manager Jon Kelly told this newspaper that the rising minimum wage in
the region also factored into the decision to consolidate stores.

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Alliston Historical Society learns about early days of radio (Ontario)

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 05:58 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2nhko0b

Alliston Historical Society members were treated to a nostalgic and
humorous talk from Harvey Hart. This gentleman not only was an informative
speaker about the early years in radio history, but entertained us with
many audio clips from well-known shows that were so popular that listeners
went to great lengths not to miss a single episode.

Many of us could rhyme off the names of these shows, ranging from Amos ‘n’
Andy to Our Miss Brooks, Edgar Bergen, Bob Hope and Dinah Shore. To listen
to some of these shows, visit www.archive.org.

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Amateur radio operators keep emergency communication lines open at area
hospitals (Illinois)

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 05:51 PM PDT
http://trib.in/2nywXqf

Andy Finick walks up the stairs and opens the door onto a roof at
Franciscan Health in Hammond. He points up to a higher roof at several
antennae that would — in an unthinkable emergency — provide communications
for the hospital.

In Northwest Indiana, Finick, a licensed amateur radio operator, helps
hospitals maintain communications when all other systems fail in an
emergency situation. He has radio equipment bolstered with a repeater
system and antennae squirreled away in hospitals throughout Lake County.

Finick's recent tour included a stop at Community Hospital to pay a call on
Gary McKay, co-chairperson/training officer of the District 1 Hospital
Emergency Planning Committee Inc. and chief manager of Emergency
Preparedness, Safety, & Bioterrorism Prevention for Community Hospital/St.
Catherine Hospital.

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'Hotbed' amateur radio waves getting bigger (British Columbia)

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 05:51 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2nywR1S

A “hotbed” of activity and “growth” membership are not the two words that
roll off the tongue when you think of amateur radio.

That is, however, exactly how the president of the Richmond Amateur Radio
Club (RARC), Urey Chan, describes the surprising movement taking place
within the confines of organizations across the Lower Mainland and Canada.

According to Chan, 40 per cent of the national growth in amateur radio
licenses is here in the Lower Mainland, where the interest in the activity
is matching pace with the increase in population.

And, although not known for being a sexy hobby by any stretch, the Richmond
president puts the majority of the recent rise in popularity in the
formerly dusty pastime down to people’s preoccupation with being prepared
for a natural disaster.

“The president of our national organization was in Vancouver recently and
he spoke of a demographic analysis, which showed that amateur radio is
actually on the rise in Canada,” said Chan.

- See more at:
http://www.richmond-news.com/communi....HwYphCCe.dpuf

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Icom America Selects SLAs Enterprise Secure Chat (ESChat) as Push to Talk
over LTE Partner

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 05:45 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2oezS5V

Icom America and SLA Corporation (SLA) today announced the selection of
ESChat as Icom's platform for Push to Talk over LTE. Icom America is a
leading manufacturer of Land Mobile Radio systems for commercial and
industrial markets. ESChat is the nation's leading carrier-independent and
secure PTT over LTE solution, and is used in the public safety,
transportation, utility and hospitality markets.

Icom America has integrated ESChat's network with its radio gateway
products allowing interoperability between the LMR and LTE systems. Icom
America will begin selling the ESChat product through its dealer channels
while the companies work together to develop advanced interoperability
options for future products.

"We are very excited to be partnered with Icom America" said Josh Lober,
President, SLA Corporation. "Icom is an iconic brand in the radio market
and a leader in the NXDN radio market. Icom has an impressive history of
providing reliable high quality LMR products. We look forward to working
with the Icom America team to expand their offering into the commercial,
industrial and railway markets."

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Radio operators help update regulations (British Columbia)

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 05:40 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2nhgbJy

Distracted driving conviction prompts Delta Amateur Radio Society to lobby
provincial gov't

After 18 months of lobbying, a group of amateur radio operators in Delta
has helped update a regulation in B.C.'s distracted driving law they say
helps clarify the rules around their operation.

Several members of the Delta Amateur Radio Society were caught using
hand-held microphones while driving in 2014. One was subsequently convicted
for distracted driving and fined $100.

Members researched the fines and found that a regulation in the Motor
Vehicle Act did, in fact, permit the use of handheld microphones for
drivers, but because the regulation was outdated and the pictures in the
RoadSafetyBC Guide did not reflect new technology, the judge might have
erred in the decision, said the group's secretary, Chris Scholefield.


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Moderate (G2) Geomagnetic Storm In Progress, G2 Warning Extended

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 04:08 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2navK5b

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) reports a moderate (G2) level
geomagnetic storm is in progress. The G2 threshold was reached on March 27
at 1948 UTC.

SWPC forecasters have extended the G2 Geomagnetic Storm Warning until March
28 at 0300 UTC, as coronal hole high-speed stream effects continue to
influence Earth. A large, Earth-facing canyon-shaped hole in the Sun's
atmosphere is spewing a stream of solar wind toward the planet.

Visible auroral displays could descend from the Arctic Circle to
northern-tier US states from New York to Wisconsin to Washington.

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UK Museum Wants to Hear from Those Who Remember Sputnik Launch

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 04:08 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2o9ZK2I

As part of an effort to tell the story of the International Geophysical
Year (IGY) 60 years ago, a Cambridge, England, museum wants to hear from
anyone who remembers the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4,
1957. Many radio amateurs and shortwave listeners (SWLs) of the era were
among those thrilled to receive the satellite’s 20 MHz beacon.

The Scott Polar Research Institute Polar Museum at Cambridge University
will mark the IGY anniversary later this year. The IGY was a global effort
to better map and understand the planet, and it put heavy emphasis on
Antarctica as well as studies of space and the atmosphere. The Polar Museum
exhibition recount the story of Sputnik, the establishment of scientific
bases in Antarctica, and the individuals involved in the IGY.

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'Useless' amateur radio? No such thing

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 04:08 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2o8zp8o

I’m skipping the “Why we prep” section this week. There were so many
responses to last week’s column on amateur radio that I needed all
available column space to reply.

For example, when I warned that a federally licensed amateur radio operator
was fairly easily identified, a poster decided to help prove my point:
“Pat’s either using a pseudonym for his writing, or he is unlicensed. One
of the two. (I checked the FCC database. …).”

Another commenter took me to task about my contention that crooks could use
the FCC license database to plan robberies: “I have never once heard of
someone getting their equipment stolen because they were talking on the
radio about a vacation. It never ever happens. Do you really think some
random thief will spend thousands of dollars on equipment and countless
hours learning to use it well, just to try and rip off people who live
hundreds of miles away?”


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ARRL Reiterates its Case for New Band at 5 MHz

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 04:08 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2mMdgb1

In comments filed on March 20 with the FCC on its own January Petition for
Rule Making (RM-11785), ARRL reiterated its case for a contiguous secondary
15-kHz wide 60-meter band of 5,351.5 to 5,366.5 kHz in addition to the four
existing discrete 60-meter channels that fall outside the requested band,
with a permitted power level of 100 W EIRP and retention of current
operating rules. More than 5 dozen comments, all supporting the proposed
allocation, were filed on the League’s petition, although some suggested
more spectrum or higher power, or a combination. ARRL said, however, that
it does not at this time favor any changes in its initial request for a new
band. The League proposal would implement a portion of the Final Acts of
World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) that provided for a
secondary international amateur allocation of 5,351.5 to 5,366.5 kHz at a
maximum of 15 W EIRP.

“Each component of this proposal is intended to maximize spectral
efficiency by permitting amateurs to operate throughout a band as
conditions and availability warrant; to give primary service operations
certainty as to where radio Amateurs will be located within the broader
fixed and mobile service band between 5.250-5.450 MHz; and it protects
those primary users with the same successful interference avoidance
techniques and protocols that have been used for the past 15 years
domestically, with which radio amateurs have the technical training and
experience to comply,” ARRL asserted in its comments.

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Mayors, Commissioners of Clark County, Nevada, Salute Amateur Radio

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 04:08 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2nYOUwg

Nevada mayors Carolyn Goodman of Las Vegas, John Lee of North Las Vegas,
and Andy Hafen of Henderson have joined the Clark County Board of
Commissioners in proclaiming March 26 to April 2 as “NVCON Week,”
recognizing the ARRL Nevada State Convention (NVCON), March 31-April 2.

The community leaders encouraged the citizens of their respective
localities to pay tribute to the area’s Amateur Radio operators. Nevada
radio amateurs will convene in Las Vegas for the NVCON. The state is home
to more than 7,600 radio amateurs, many of whom provide communication
support during emergencies, disasters, and public events.

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Cuba Institutes New Amateur Radio Regulations

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 04:08 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2o02HC4

Radio amateurs in Cuba are scrutinizing and debating the details of new
Amateur Radio regulations for the island nation. The Cuban Ministry of
Communications adopted the new regulatory scheme on February 28.
International Amateur Radio Union Region 2 (IARU-R2) posted the new Amateur
Radio Service regulations (in Spanish) as a PDF.

The detailed regulations governing hams in Cuba comprise 17 chapters and
182 articles and are said to include some significant changes from the
previous rules and regulations that affect authorized bands, license terms,
on-the-air practices, and the importation of equipment, antennas, and
accessories. The rules in Cuba require license applicants to be at least 18
years old “or authorized by parent or guardian” for prospective radio
amateurs older than age 12. Those older than 15 must at least be in ninth
grade.

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Virginia Engineering Students Tackle Satellite, Ground Station Projects

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 04:08 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2nKcn7w

The University of Virginia (UVA) reports that some of its engineering
students are among those at other Commonwealth schools working on Amateur
Radio satellites and matching ground stations to track them and collect
data. UVA said its student-built satellite is set to go into space late
next year aboard an International Space Station resupply vehicle for later
deployment from the ISS. The UVA project will be part of a joint mission
with other Virginia universities to conduct atmospheric density studies, to
gain a better understanding regarding the rates at which low-orbiting
spacecraft slow down and ultimately leave orbit when encountering the drag
of the atmosphere’s outer edges.

“We’re building our own version of NASA’s Mission Control, to communicate
with our own spacecraft,” said Christopher Goyne, a mechanical and
aerospace engineering professor who serves as faculty adviser for the
project. “Our students have a lot of work to accomplish prior to launch,
and during the 6- to 12-month flight mission.”

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Two-Way Radio Users Worried Californias Cellphone Ban Is Too Broad

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 04:08 PM PDT
http://cbsloc.al/2nffEXY

Back in January, it became illegal to hold your cell phone while driving.
But now some drivers say the law unfairly targets radio users as well and
they want that to change.

“I’m driving down the road and talking on this radio,” said Norm Lucas,
holding his high frequency radio microphone. “Doing that simple act while
driving is a $20 ticket.”

For Lucas, ham radio is more than a hobby. It’s been his lifestyle since he
was 12.

“It’s enjoyable,” Lucas said. “Somebody could come back to you from 40
miles away or 4,000 miles away.”

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via HACKADAY: Modern DIY FM radio

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 04:08 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2mSGntd

Back in the day, building a DIY radio was fun! We only had to get our hands
at a germanium diode, make some coils, and with a resistor and long wire as
an antenna maybe we could get some sound out of those old white earplugs.
That was back then. Now we have things like the Si4703 FM tuner chip that
can tune in FM radio in the 76–108 MHz range, comes with integrated AGC and
AFC, controlled by I2C, as well as a bunch of other acronyms which seem to
make the whole DIY radio-building process outdated. The challenges of the
past resulted in the proven solutions of the present in which we build upon.

This little project by [Patrick Müller] is a modern radio DIY tutorial.
With an Arduino Nano as the brains and controller for an Si4703 breakout
board, he builds a completely functional and portable FM radio. A small
OLED display lets the user see audio volume, frequency, selected station
and still has space left to show the current available battery voltage. It
has volume control, radio station seek, and four buttons that allows quick
access to memorized stations. The source code shows how it is possible to
control the Si4703 FM tuner chip to suit your needs.

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Talks on Possible 4U1UN Reactivation Continue

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 04:08 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2nJ8b7x

United Nations Headquarters Amateur Radio club station 4U1UN
representatives are still in talks with the UN Department of Public
Information with an eye toward permanently reactivating the station.
Although within the geographical confines of New York City, 4U1UN qualifies
as a separate DXCC entity.

“Hopefully we’ll have an opportunity to plead our case to the new
administration as well. Keep your fingers crossed,” said a post this week
on the club’s Facebook page. “4U1UN might be back on the air soon!”

Earlier in March, the club alerted its Facebook page visitors to reports
that a pirate identifying as 4U1UN was operating on RTTY. The station was
on the air for real in 2015. To commemorate the UN’s 70th anniversary that
fall, 4U1UN operated as 4U70UN from a station set up at a ground-level
garden area within the UN Headquarters complex.

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Noticing ham radio antennas years ago (Ohio)

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 04:08 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2nf3wGw

A recent drive on Lorain Road in Fairview Park managed to spark a feeling
of nostalgia in me (not terribly difficult to do).

Traveling westbound on Lorain Road from Cleveland I happened to recall a
very large amateur radio antenna, now long-gone, had once proudly presided
over the northwest corner of Lorain Road and one of its intersecting side
streets, near Fairview Park’s eastern limit. On my recent drive I didn’t
recall the exact side street. Clearly recalled from a significant amount
of time ago was the fact the amateur radio call sign of the antenna’s owner
was prominently displayed on its support structure.

Using the same sort of research techniques I’ve employed in writing
previous Westlake / Bay Village Observer submissions, I found just where
the antenna once stood and that the amateur radio operator who owned it was
once a very well known ham and long serving Fairview Park Fire Chief, of
which I had no idea.

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via HACKADAY: How Does a Voltage Multiplier Work?

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 04:08 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2mUKGoI

If you need a high voltage, a voltage multiplier is one of the easiest ways
to obtain it. A voltage multiplier is a specialized type of rectifier
circuit that converts an AC voltage to a higher DC voltage. Invented by
Heinrich Greinacher in 1919, they were used in the design of a particle
accelerator that performed the first artificial nuclear disintegration, so
you know they mean business.

Theoretically the output of the multiplier is an integer times the AC peak
input voltage, and while they can work with any input voltage, the
principal use for voltage multipliers is when very high voltages, in the
order of tens of thousands or even millions of volts, are needed. They have
the advantage of being relatively easy to build, and are cheaper than an
equivalent high voltage transformer of the same output rating. If you need
sparks for your mad science, perhaps a voltage multiplier can provide them
for you.

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AMSAT Reschedules Fox Series Launches

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 04:08 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2nrqyvl

AMSAT has announced that the launches of its Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D CubeSats
have been rebooked from a single launch to separate launches. Both
satellites initially were set to go into space on the Spaceflight
Formosat-5/Sherpa mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 (Sherpa is launched as a
rideshare program for small, low-budget satellites). Fox-1Cliff will launch
on Spaceflight’s SSO-A dedicated rideshare mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9
scheduled to launch from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base in late
2017 or early 2018. Fox-1D will ride into orbit on an Indian Polar
Satellite Launch Vehicle set to launch late this year.

“These moves will serve to expedite the launch of these two satellites,
both of which carry an Amateur Radio U/V FM repeater and an experimental
L/V FM repeater,” AMSAT said. “The satellites also carry scientific
experiments from university partners Penn State, Vanderbilt University
ISDE, Virginia Tech, and University of Iowa.”

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College Students in Belize Introduced to Amateur Radio

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 04:08 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2mJepEX

Not long after promoting Amateur Radio to Boy Scouts, the Belize Amateur
Radio Club (BARC) has introduced ham radio to University of Belize (UB)
engineering students. The BARC presentation included a summary of the
club’s educational goals, a short video, and a lesson on Amateur Radio
basics — such as propagation and the RF spectrum, and a question-and-answer
session.

BARC President Emil Rodriguez, V31ER, encouraged the students to take
advantage of the opportunities Amateur Radio offers to expand their skills
in their fields of study — mechanical and electrical engineering. The
introduction represented a first step toward establishing a partnership
between BARC and the UB Engineering Department, which envisions that
students will learn such skills as antenna construction, electronic
circuits, radio theory, and radio procedures necessary to obtain an Amateur
Radio license in Belize.

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ARRL Seeking Synergy with Maker Movement

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 04:08 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2n3MEE3

ARRL is reaching out to members of the Maker Movement to explore avenues of
cooperation and collaboration, and perhaps to recruit some new radio
amateurs. Considered an extension of the arts and crafts tradition, the
Maker Movement gained its own magazine, Make, in 2005. The philosophy of
the Maker Movement is reminiscent of an era when radio amateurs built their
own equipment rather than buying it off the shelf. Those considering
themselves makers have tended to focus on such areas as electronics and
computers, robotics, 3D printing, metal and woodworking, and even Amateur
Radio, among other avocations.

Recognizing the similar characteristics of radio amateurs and makers, the
Ham Radio exhibition each summer in Friedrichshafen, Germany, has shared
space with a Maker Faire, as maker gatherings are known, for the past few
years. Maker Faires in the US have attracted thousands more attendees than
even the largest hamfest; the Dayton of the Maker Movement takes place in
San Mateo, California, and ARRL will have a presence at events in the Bay
Area in May and in Chicago later this year.

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Ham-Astronauts Engaging in Series of Spacewalks; Two Heading Home Soon

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 04:08 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2o7vAQS

International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough,
KE5HOD, will take one more spacewalk on March 30 before he heads back to
Earth in a Soyuz MS-02 vehicle on April 10, joined by crewmates Sergey
Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko. The spacewalks are aimed at preparing the
station for the future arrival of US commercial crew spacecraft and
upgrading station hardware.

On March 26, Kimbrough and Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG, of the
European Space Agency, wrapped up a 6.5-hour spacewalk, during which, among
other things, they successfully disconnected cables and electrical
connections on the Pressurized Mating Adapter-3 in preparation for moving
it robotically from the Tranquility module. The PMA-3 provides the
pressurized interface between the station modules and the International
Docking Adapter, which will accommodate commercial crew vehicle dockings.