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This Week in Amateur Radio News for Sunday 4 December 2016
TWIAR News Feed
/////////////////////////////////////////// Skywarn Amateur Radio Recognition Day (Wisconsin) Posted: 04 Dec 2016 12:06 AM PST http://bit.ly/2gBIp1q The National Weather Service Station held their annual Skywarn Amateur Radio Recognition Day on Saturday. The day was developed in 1999 when weather service communication programs developed tremendously in order to celebrate the contributions that the volunteer radio operators make for the National Weather Service. National Weather Service meteorologists say that they rely on amature radio operators all around the nation when bad weather is occurring in order to get a feel about what is physically happening outside. /////////////////////////////////////////// Amateur radio operator's call sign silenced (Pennsylvania) Posted: 04 Dec 2016 12:05 AM PST http://bit.ly/2gUJ9N2 Arthur J.”Barney” Barnhart had a lifelong love of amateur radio, starting as a 16-year-old growing up in Mt. Pleasant Township and continuing throughout his life, his family said. “He passed his knowledge and love of ham radio onto others, who became ham operators with the help of my dad,” said his daughter, Annette Barnhart of Lexington Park, Md., who became an amateur radio operator herself as a teenager. “He loved it to the end,” said his wife of 55 years, Dolores A. Novotny Barnhart. /////////////////////////////////////////// When power's out and phones are down, who you gonna call? (Australia) Posted: 04 Dec 2016 12:03 AM PST http://bit.ly/2h6QCvF The Wireless Institute Civil Emergency Network have been busy preparing to combat any wild weather that rolls in this storm season. WICEN is a division of the Bundaberg Amateur Radio Club and has collaborated with the SES to ensure communications remain operational in the event of major storms, floods or other natural disasters. "While we aren't the first responders or the people suspended from helicopters, WICEN members are the behind-the-scenes people who work to keep communications going,” Gail Lidden, deputy controller for WICEN Bundaberg, said. /////////////////////////////////////////// UK Radio Amateur Receives Sir Arthur Clarke Award for Astro Pi Work on "Principia" Mission Posted: 03 Dec 2016 11:58 PM PST http://bit.ly/2fVfYw3 News site Cornwall Live in the UK reports that radio amateur David Honess, M6DNT, of Penzance, Cornwall, is the recipient of a Sir Arthur Clarke Award in recognition of this Astro Pi work with the recent Tim Peake, KG5BVI/GB1SS “Principia” mission on the International Space Station. Clarke, who died in 2008, was a science and science fiction writer and futurist. The award was presented on behalf of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation and the British Interplanetary Society in the “Space Achievement-Industry/Project Individual” category. The Astro Pi project installed two Raspberry Pi computers (“Izzy” and “Ed”) on the ISS as platform for students to run their own computer code in space and to speak with Peake. Honess was described as “the driving force” behind procuring the two UK-designed and manufactured Astro Pi computers. /////////////////////////////////////////// BridgeCom Systems BCD Duplexers Press Release Posted: 03 Dec 2016 11:54 PM PST http://bit.ly/2fYHBj8 BridgeCom Systems, Inc is pleased to announce the availability of the BCD line of duplexers for the amateur and commercial radio markets. Introducing the New BCD line of duplexers. There are five duplexers available: BCD-144/440, BCD-220, BCD-144250 and BCD-440250. The BCD-144/440 is a small mobile style duplexer available in either VHF or UHF frequency Bands. It covers VHF (136-174 MHz) or UHF (400-520 MHz) frequencies, requires 5-8 MHz frequency split for up to 50W with 80 dB isolation. It's small size allows it to mounted inside the BCR repeaters for a compact installation. The BCD-220 is made for VHF (210-230 MHz) which includes the 220 MHz (1.25m) Amateur Radio band. It requires a 1.3-1.6 MHz frequency split and will handle up to 125W with 85 dB isolation. The BCD-144250 is made for VHF (136-174 MHz). It requires 0.6-15 MHz frequency split and will handle up to 250W. It has 90 dB of isolation and is rack mountable. /////////////////////////////////////////// DIY space explorer gleans dramatic pictures from GoPro balloon rig (Texas) Posted: 03 Dec 2016 11:53 PM PST http://bit.ly/2fV70PF You might have thought Josh Ward’s do-it-yourself obsession reached its apex two years ago when he rigged up a camera to a balloon and launched it into near space. Turns out, that was just the warm-up. On Saturday morning, the Waco technology enthusiast launched “Starduster II,” a refined version of the original experiment, this time collecting better data and photos with the help of a small army of shortwave radio operators. And Ward said he is already thinking about the next launch. /////////////////////////////////////////// Hytera Enters USA Amateur Radio Market Posted: 03 Dec 2016 11:51 PM PST http://bit.ly/2fYELuE GigaParts announced today the release of five new models of amateur radios manufactured by Hytera. Highly regarded in land mobile radio for their quality, durability and innovation, Hytera dominates the DMR and Tetra markets in the US and the rest of the world. Hytera is the largest radio manufacturer to enter the amateur radio market in North America. With nearly 1,000 amateur repeaters already on the air in North America, DMR infrastructure is well established and is on pace to surpass D-STAR and System Fusion in 2017. DMR’s growing popularity in amateur radio is due, in part, to its technical capabilities, solid reliability and compatibility across several brands. One advantage of DMR over other the other digital modes is its spectrum efficiency. By using two “time slots,” DMR allows two voice transmissions to happen simultaneously on the same 12.5 kHz channel. DMR is also known for its superior audio quality and ability to maintain voice communication at the fringe of a repeater’s coverage area. /////////////////////////////////////////// via the RSGB: Shake-up for RSGB contests Posted: 03 Dec 2016 11:45 PM PST http://ift.tt/2gQ6JdK Starting in the New Year, some significant changes are being made to RSGB contests. This is as a result of the Presidential Review of Contesting and detailed consultation with the contest community. A summary of the changes is in the January edition of RadCom, which should start arriving with RSGB Members from Wednesday onwards. The RSGB Contest Committee website is in the process of being updated to reflect the changes. /////////////////////////////////////////// Battleship Iowa Special Event to Commemorate Pearl Harbor Attack Posted: 03 Dec 2016 11:45 PM PST http://ift.tt/2grgIbr Members of the Battleship Iowa Amateur Radio Association (BIARA) will mark the 75th anniversary of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Wednesday, December 7, 1600-2359 UTC, operating shipboard from the Iowa as NI6BB. The primary BIARA team will staff SSB and CW stations on 20 through 10 meters, commensurate with conditions. Suggested frequencies are 14.041, 18.078, 21.041, 24.896, and/or 28.041 MHz on CW, and 14.341, 18.141, 21.441, 24.941, and/or 28.441 MHz on SSB. The “gray radio gang” will operate the ship’s c1980s radio gear on 40 meters, SSB, 1800-2300 UTC, on 7.241 MHz. The transmitters are on Deck 3, and the receivers are on the Main Deck, so stations should ensure they are on frequency before call in. There will be a delay between transmit and receive, due to the receiver recovery time. /////////////////////////////////////////// via HACKADAY: Lost Moon Found: The Satellite That Came Back to Life Posted: 03 Dec 2016 11:45 PM PST http://ift.tt/2fPpWKG The late 1950s and early 1960s were a tumultuous time in world history. The Cold War between the East and the West was in full-swing, driving the new fields of nuclear weapons and space exploration and giving the period its dual monikers of “Atomic Age” and “Space Age.” Changes in these fields often went hand in glove, with developments in one requiring responses in the other. In 1958, the US conducted nuclear tests in the Pacific that effectively destroyed the ionosphere over the test site and shut down high-frequency communications to places like Hawaii and New Zealand. The strategic implications of this were clear, and the US began looking for ways for the military to reduce its reliance on HF communications and ionospheric skip by using space-based assets to communicate at much higher frequencies. /////////////////////////////////////////// ARRL Issues Urgent Last Call to Press for Senate Passage of Amateur Radio Parity Act Posted: 03 Dec 2016 11:45 PM PST http://ift.tt/2gM3YKv It’s now down to the wi ARRL has issued a last call for members to urge their US Senators to support the Amateur Radio Parity Act (H.R. 1301) when it comes up during the “lame duck” session of Congress that adjourns in a couple of weeks. The House of Representatives approved the bill in September, and the Senate must follow suit if the bill is to succeed. If it fails in the Senate, the entire process will have to be repeated in the new Congress. The legislation is now in the Senate in two forms — as H.R. 1301 and alternately in the packaged bill S. 253 “We are on our final push for the Amateur Radio Parity Act before Congress adjourns,” said ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR. “The grassroots effort by the Amateur Radio community has been outstanding. Since September, over 110,000 emails have been sent to legislators in Congress. Thanks to everyone who has helped, but we can’t stop now. Please, keep the e-mails coming and also work the phones down the stretch. Call your Senators! We are almost there. Let’s get it done!” /////////////////////////////////////////// ARRL Expands Initiative to Fire Up Collegiate Amateur Radio Clubs Posted: 03 Dec 2016 11:45 PM PST http://ift.tt/2gHhIc3 A growing number of campus radio clubs and student radio amateurs have begun to share ideas and suggestions on the ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative (CARI) Facebook page, which is aimed at sparking renewed participation, activity, and idea-sharing among this special sector of the Amateur Radio community. The now-expanded initiative stemmed from two well-attended ARRL New England Division Convention forums for radio amateurs attending college, one hosted by the Amateur Radio clubs at Harvard (W1AF) and Yale (W1YU). As the forum explained, the activity level at campus Amateur Radio club stations can vary wildly from one year to the next, as students graduate and newcomers arrive. “The most common difficulty stems from uneven interest over time,” said ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, in his “Second Century” editorial, “Cheers for College Amateur Radio: Sis-boom-bah!” in December 2016 QST. “Even the strongest leaders in college Amateur Radio graduate every 4 years, sometimes leaving their clubs without adequate continuity or leadership succession.” /////////////////////////////////////////// FCC Special Counsel Laura Smith Says Amateur Enforcement Will Be Aggressive Posted: 03 Dec 2016 11:45 PM PST http://ift.tt/2g6VPiX FCC Special Counsel Laura Smith told a standing-room-only audience at the ARRL Pacific Division Convention (Pacificon) in October that, despite FCC cutbacks, Amateur Radio enforcement will not be compromised. Smith spoke for nearly an hour and a half on a variety of FCC issues related to Amateur Radio, and the entire presentation is available on YouTube, thanks to Bob Miller, WB6KWT, and his son Robert, KA7JKP, who recorded the forum. Smith said that with the FCC set to shut down 11 field offices across the country in January, the Enforcement Bureau has reorganized into three US regions, and she does not anticipate any significant issues for the Amateur Service as a result. “The amateur community will go forward,” she said, noting that amateurs have “an incredible ability to self-police.” In light of the field office closings, she has been working with ARRL to revamp the Official Observer (OO) program. /////////////////////////////////////////// via HACKADAY: Demystifying Amateur Radio Callsigns Posted: 03 Dec 2016 11:45 PM PST http://ift.tt/2g6L5Rm Regular Hackaday readers will be familiar with our convention of putting the name, nickname, or handle of a person in square brackets. We do this to avoid ambiguity as sometimes names and particularly nicknames can take unfamiliar forms that might be confused with other entities referred to in the text. So for example you might see them around [Bart Simpson], or [El Barto]. and occasionally within those brackets you’ll also see a capitalised string of letters and numbers after a name. For example the electronic music pioneer [Bob Moog, K2AMH], which most of you will recognise as an amateur radio callsign. Every licenced radio amateur is issued one by their country’s radio authority as a unique identifier, think of it as similar to a car licence plate. From within the amateur radio bubble those letters and numbers can convey a significant amount of information about where in the world its user is located, when they received their licence, and even what type of licence they hold, but to outsiders they remain a mysterious and seemingly random string. We’ll now attempt to shed some light on that information, so you too can look at a callsign in a Hackaday piece or anywhere else and have some idea as to its meaning. |
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