TWIAR News Feed

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Ministry enlists amateur radio enthusiasts' help in flood aid (Malaysia)

Posted: 29 Oct 2016 12:44 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2eTTKt0

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Ministry has enlisted amateur
radio enthusiasts' help to facilitate communication should there be a
breakdown during the anticipated floods here.

In this regard, Deputy Minister Datuk Jailani Johari (pix) said the
ministry through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission
(MCMC) and amateur radio associations would act as go-between in relaying
information.

"The amateur radio associations will be the link between us and the
community as sometimes when a flood occurs, there would be communication
disruption in certain areas," he told reporters after visiting ailing
residents at Kampung Dusun here yesterday.

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Modified Google Glass can teach you Morse code in four hours

Posted: 29 Oct 2016 12:44 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2ePWAN5

Morse code is one of the more remarkable languages that humans have ever
created. Designed in 1836, shortly after the telegraph was invented, it had
a huge influence on early electronic communication as well as aviation and
warfare.

Today Morse has largely been replaced by bits and bytes when it comes to
sending messages over great distances. But it's still popular among amateur
radio operators and people with motion disabilities. And now it's also
being used to prove that people can learn while not actively paying
attention.

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have built a system that
can teach people morse code while they're concentrating on something else
entirely. To do it, they modified a set of Google Glass (remember that?),
which has a built-in speaker and bone-conduction transducer that simulates
the experience of being tapped on the side of the head.

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Scouts make radio contact (South Africa)

Posted: 29 Oct 2016 12:44 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2emkizI

The annual Jamboree-on-the-Air and Jamboree-on-the-Internet (Jota-Joti)
took place and was attended by the Cubs and Scouts of the Sandton District.

Jota-Joti is the largest Scouting event in the world with more that one
million participants across 150 countries. It was started in 1958 and the
idea is to encourage Cubs and Scouts to converse with each other via
amateur radio and the internet to make new friends.

Marion Halstead of the 1st Parkmore Scout Group and one of the event
organisers said, “The idea of learning about other related technologies was
included to help the Cubs complete some of the requirements towards their
projects interest badge.�

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Central Kiribati T31W DXpedition Called Off, Contributions to be Returned

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 07:33 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2ffWlPH

The Perseverance DX Group (PDXG) and T31W team have canceled plans to
activate Central Kiribati (Kanton Island) in 2017. The DXpedition
organizers pointed out that a three-person European team has already
activated the rare DXCC entity this year, making some 30,000 contacts. The
same group announced its intention to return to T31 in 2017 to finish the
job.

"Based on these events, it makes no sense for us to commit personal or
donated funds to continue the project," the PDXG said in a news release.

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Welcome Mat Out for New Amateur Radio Licensees in Lebanon

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 07:33 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2e6qTRi

The Ministry of Communications in Beirut, Lebanon, conducted the first
Amateur Radio licensing exams in 13 years on October 16 at the offices of
OGERO, a telecoms provider. Some 50 applicants sat for the exams; it's not
yet known how many passed. Ghassan Afif Chammas, AC2RA, who posted the news
to QRZ.com, credited OGERO Director General Abdul M. Youssef; engineer Toni
Aoun; Hani Raad, OD5TE/AA3EI; Michel Homsi, OD5TX, and Elie el Kadi, OD5KU,
for facilitating the test session.

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Austrian Moonbounce Enthusiast Demonstrates Success with Small-Scale Setup

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 07:33 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2eQXGL5

Hannes Fasching, OE5JFL, of Braunau am Inn, Austria, has demonstrated that
you don’t need a huge antenna system to operate EME (moonbounce)
successfully. Fasching fired up for the October 22-23 weekend of the ARRL
EME Contest, using a small horn antenna on 1.2 GHz.

“Because of other commitments I had only a few hours to be QRV in the first
part of the ARRL EME Contest,� he said in a Moon-Net post on October 26.
“As tests with my recently built 23-centimeter horn antenna were promising,
I decided to give it a try to work some stations.� Fasching placed the horn
on his balcony with an 80 W solid-state amplifier.

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Local Ham Operators Prepare For Emergencies (Tennessee)

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 07:32 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2f17caW

Area ham radio operators will be participating in a Military Auxiliary
Radio System (MARS) exercise from October 30th through November 1st,
according to Amateur Radio Emergency Services Coordinator Jim Goodrich,
WA4VGZ.

Goodrich noted, "The purpose of this quarterly exercise is train amateur
radio operator how to provide communications following a "very bad day"
scenario when traditional forms of communications will likely be
unavailable. While the simultaneous loss of all communications nation-wide
is not likely, for training purposes, we are assuming there has been a
massive nation-wide outage."

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Delhi cops to grill duo on HAM conversation (India)

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 07:30 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2ffW27v

Security agencies are questioning two north Kolkata-based residents for
their alleged involvement in a conversation picked up in Urdu, Bengali and
Hindi by amateur HAM operators - popular in the spy community for
communication. Sources claimed that a Delhi Police crime branch team is in
Kolkata to question the duo.
The city police's Special Task Force (STF) denied any role in the
matter. "A few people are being investigated on certain communication
patterns," clarified a senior official. Sources said the suspects didn't
have the mandatory licence to use the frequency that HAM operators use.
Kolkata Police was informed of these suspicious conversations by amateur
operators about a week ago.

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Amateur Radio Keeps "Phantom" in Touch with the Outside World from the
Skull Cave

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 07:30 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2eYSvqe

The venerable comic strip “The Phantom,� originally inked by Lee Falk
starting in the 1930s, has recently resurrected Amateur Radio as a plot
device. “The Ghost Who Walks� has resorted to ham radio in the past, dating
to the early days of the strip, when the Phantom needed to get a vital
message through — on one occasion using a phone patch.

In the current story thread, the Phantom goes into a rather retro-looking
ham shack in the ancient Skull Cave, the jungle hideaway he shares with his
wife, Diana Palmer. They’re now empty nesters, and the Phantom wants to
assuage his wife’s fears that their now college-age son, Kit, indeed has
arrived at his monastic school in an unspecified Himalayan country (a
daughter, Heloise, is away at college in the US).

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FCC Orders Seller to Halt Marketing RF Power Amps

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 07:25 PM PDT
http://ubm.io/2f1doQk

On September 23, 2016, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) ordered
a seller of RF power amplifiers to cease marketing unauthorized models. The
FCC issued a citation against SMCS Inc. The amplifiers in question are
manufactured by UK-Based BW Broadcast, and cover the company's PA series of
FM power amplifiers. These amplifiers are sold as components of FM
transmitters, which are FCC certified for sale in the U.S. The issue,
according to the citation, is that although the FM transmitters containing
the amplifiers are FCC certified, the power amplifiers don't have such
certification on their own and are not authorized for sale.

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Rule Making Petition to FCC Calls for Vanity Call Sign Rule Changes

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 07:24 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2fpbf5i

The FCC is inviting comments on a Petition for Rule Making (RM-11775) from
a Nevada radio amateur that seeks changes to the rules governing the
Amateur Radio Vanity Call Sign Program. Christopher LaRue, W4ADL, of North
Las Vegas, is proposing that any licensee obtaining a vanity call sign be
required to keep it for the full license term. LaRue contends in his
petition that excessive and frequent vanity call sign filings are hampering
the ability of other qualified licensees to obtain vanity call signs in one
of the more desirable 1 × 2 or 2 × 1 formats. LaRue said that since the FCC
dropped the fee to file for a vanity call sign, some applicants are taking
advantage by regularly obtaining new call signs, thereby keeping them out
of circulation.

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Naval Hospital Bremerton HAM Radio Provides Capable Connecting Communication

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 07:19 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2ekuwjX

Naval Hospital Bremerton (NHB) knows that talking about communication can’t
just be idle chatter when it concerns emergency response capability during
a disaster.

The Cascadia Rising 2016 earthquake exercise held in June throughout the
Pacific Northwest tested the emergency management ability of multiple
government agencies, and the recent Washington State assessment from that
disaster drill - the largest ever conducted - was that the area still has
work to do to be adequately prepared, especially concerning communication.

NHB’s full scale training exercise Operation Cascadia Rumble held in
conjunction with Cascadia Rising 2016 specifically tested the command’s
ability to communicate.

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Internet Pioneer, Acoustics Genius, Former Radio Amateur Leo Beranek, SK

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 07:19 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2e6thrf

Internet pioneer, acoustics genius, and academic Leo Beranek, who became
fascinated with radio and electronics as a youngster and held an Amateur
Radio license in the 1930s, died on October 10. He was 102.

Beranek was instrumental in the birth of Arpanet — the precursor to the
Internet. He was the former president of Bolt, Beranek and Newman (now BBN
Technologies) and authored the classic textbook, Acoustics, updated in
2012. His firm designed the acoustics for UN Headquarters as well as for
the Lincoln Center and Tanglewood concert venues.

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How Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) is Essential for New Recruiters or
Transmitters

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 07:19 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2f1957O

You must have heard a lot about Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) nowadays, but are
we fully aware of what this term is all about?

Ham Radio is a service, which is all about fun and entertainment.
Especially for those who loves to talk and to make new contacts with the
people who are 100 km away from you. The best feature about Ham Radio,
which makes people involved is, it is one safe and reliable source to
communicate with people all around the globe, if you have no other mode to
communicate, Ham Radio will be there for you!

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Amateur radio provides critical communications when all else fails (New
York)

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 07:19 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2ekr8Wx

A catastrophic blackout could takeout modern modes of telecommunications.

And that could spell big trouble for people and agencies that rely on power
to communicate via the Internet or cellphones.

“It’s a very big concern throughout the country and the world, said Adam
Cohen, special agent in charge of the Buffalo FBI office.

There’s been increased public attention surrounding the possibility of an
electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, which could overload the power grid and
produce widespread blackouts.

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KC0W Regroups in Wake of Pacific Island Theft

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 06:56 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2dVoo0y

Tom Callas, KC0W, who was forced to abruptly cancel the rest of his “Cows
Over the World� Pacific DXpeditions after his belongings were stolen in
Kiribati, has been regrouping.

“I will be in the Philippines from October 26-November 25, and the call
sign will be 4I7COW,� Callas said on his QRZ.com profile. “This unique
prefix has never been issued before, so it should generate some good
interest.� Callas said he’s canceled his planned TG/KC0W DXpedition to
Guatemala in favor of pending DXpeditions to Equatorial Guinea and Annobon,
following his Philippines activity.

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3 Sure-Fire Tips To Win Your Next HAM Radio Contest

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 06:56 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2ekt1Tf

Believe me or not, the winners of HAM radio contest are not super-humans!
In fact there is no magic trick or spell that they make to win these
competitions. All you need to do is to stay perseverant and diligent. You
must be thinking that perseverant and diligence in a DX contest? Seriously?
Yes, you have read it right, but to understand it, you need to read along!
CALLING CQ
If you want to make a whole pool of contacts, you need to call CQ (a code
that radio operators use before communicating). In the contest, unlike
other stations you should start with calling rather than tuning. Look for a
clear frequency, and make sure that it’s not being used, and shoot!

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Scouts fascinated by worldwide shout out (UK)

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 06:56 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2eYRCy2

The JOTA-JOTI event, which is Jamboree on the Air and Jamboree on the
Internet, took place last weekend.

Broadcasts were made from the District Scout Headquarters in Central Drive
and the 39 Club as part of the worldwide event.

Organiser Evelyn Cooke said: “Across the three amateur radio sites
available, a total of 130 Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and Young
Leaders took part in the initiative to shout out around the world.

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Broadcasters, Jammers Wreak Havoc on Amateur Radio Frequencies

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 06:40 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2dVq3U9

The battle continues between Radio Eritrea (Voice of the Broad Masses) and
Radio Ethiopia, which is said to be jamming the Eritrean broadcaster with
broadband white noise. The problem for radio amateurs is that the battle is
taking place in the 40 meter phone band — 7.145 and 7.175 MHz — with the
jamming signal reported by the IARU Region 1 Monitoring System (IARUMS) to
be 20 kHz wide on each channel. The on-air conflict has been going on for
years; Ethiopia constructed new transmitting sites in 2008 and is said to
use two or three of them for jamming purposes. The interfering signals can
be heard in North America after dark. According to IARUMS Region 1
Coordinator Wolf Hadel, DK2OM, Radio Eritrea is airing separate programs on
each frequency. He said in the IARUMS September newsletter that
telecommunications regulators in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland have
been informed, so they could file official complaints.

Other AM broadcast intruders on 40 meters include Radio Hargeisa in
Somaliland on 7.120 MHz, which, Hadel said, is even audible in Australia
and Japan. He further reports that the Voice of Iran’s signal on 7.205 MHz
is splattering up to 5 kHz on either side of its channel, while Radio
France International, which operates on the same frequency, is splattering
down to 7.185 MHz.

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Ecuador Radio Club Recognizes ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager, Ham Aid

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 06:40 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2dQbVAt

ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U, was recognized by the
Guayaquil Radio Club (GRC) of Ecuador for coordinating the work of the ARRL
and of several other radio amateurs to provide Ham Aid equipment to Ecuador
this past spring, following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in April.

“It was quite a surprise and honor,� said Corey, who was quick to share the
credit. “The recognition really goes to the team that made it all happen —
here at ARRL Headquarters, Ken Bailey, K1FUG; Sean Kutzko, KX9X, and Tom
Gallagher, NY2RF — In South Florida Jeff Beals, WA4AW, and Kenny
Hollenbeck, KD4ZFW — and most of all, Gunter Chanange, HC2CG, and the
members of the Guayaquil Radio Club, who did the real work.�

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In honor of tinkering: Mini Maker Faire in Redding covers whole north state
(California)

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 06:40 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2fp11Si

The Shasta County Mini Maker Faire scheduled for Nov. 12 at the Redding
Civic Auditorium will be a family-friendly event showcasing invention,
creativity and resourcefulness from throughout Northern California, in
arts, crafts, engineering and science.

Maker fairs feature projects and products from hobbyists, engineers,
science clubs, students, educators, tinkerers, food artisans, farmers,
amateur radio enthusiasts, blacksmiths, woodworkers, mathematicians and
crafters.

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Philippine Hams Team Up to Confront Back-to-Back Typhoons

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 06:40 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2eWHSVq

Philippine Amateur Radio Association (PARA) Ham Emergency Radio Operations
(HERO) network volunteers were ready for Super Typohoon Haima, which struck
the northeastern Philippines on October 19 with winds peaking prior to
landfall at more than 180 MPH — a category 5 storm. Roberto Vicencio,
DU1VHY, reported that HERO had already activated its net on 7.110 MHz for
an earlier category 3 storm, Typhoon Sharika, which hit Luzon Island before
moving west and weakening. But the powerful Haima forced thousands of
residents to flee. More than a dozen deaths in the Philippines were blamed
on the storm.

“Considering the limited access to other communication channels, ham radio
is being used to support affected communities to communicate with their
loved ones and provide feedback to their evolving needs,� the UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report.

Typhoon Haima left in its wake a path of debris, destroyed infrastructure,
some 46,000 damaged homes and businesses, flooding, and landslides. The
storm also impacted agriculture and fishing. Haima was the latest of a
dozen storms to hit the Philippines archipelago this year.

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Ham 2 Last (India)

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 06:40 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2eQSw1N

After days of toil, Biswas and his team found out the location of the radio
communications to be Basirhat area in North 24 Parganas and Sunderbans in
South 24 Parganas.
"Such communications take place at night and the source is the bordering
Indo-Bangla areas," he said.
The Ham or amateur radio operators are under the Union Ministry of
Communications and are licenced card holders to conduct such communication
under specific radio frequencies.
When asked how he found the communications suspicious, Biswas said during
2002-03 too he had overhead such communication and later on police after
tracking the signals had arrested six extremists from Gangasagar in South
24 Parganas.

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Suspicious signals at India-Bangladesh border, Ham radio users put on job

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 06:40 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2dQakKE

Suspicious signals in coded Bengali and Urdu languages along the
India-Bangladesh border in past few months have raised suspicion over
extremists using this unconventional mode of communication, prompting
authorities to deploy Ham radio operators on round-the-clock duty.

The incident first came into light in June after amateur Ham radio
operators picked suspicious radio signals and unauthorised radio
communications in coded Bengali and Urdu in Basirhat and Sunderbans region.
Alarmed over the incident, the operators informed the Centre following
which they were called to an international monitoring centre (radio) and
asked to track the signals.