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This Week in Amateur Radio News for Thursday 8 December 2016
TWIAR News Feed
/////////////////////////////////////////// Astronaut, Senator John Glenn passes away at 95 Posted: 08 Dec 2016 07:17 PM PST http://bit.ly/2h9yApe His legend is otherworldly and now, at age 95, so is John Glenn. An authentic hero and genuine American icon, Glenn died this afternoon surrounded by family at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus after a remarkably healthy life spent almost from the cradle with Annie, his beloved wife of 73 years, who survives. /////////////////////////////////////////// Bouvet Island 3Y0Z DXpedition Identifies Landing Zone Posted: 08 Dec 2016 07:14 PM PST http://ift.tt/2gfat6W The Bouvet Island 3Y0Z DXpedition Team reports that it has found “a suitable landing zone on Bouvet Island” and identified the apparent “best operating location in the area” for the early 2018 venture. The proposed site is approximately 600 feet above sea level on the Slakhallet Glacier on Bouvet’s northeastern quadrant, the DXpedition team said in a December 7 news release. An on-site inspection upon landing will determine the team’s ultimate operating location. The team has selected Antarctic shelters to house stations, sleeping quarters, and an eating and meeting facility. “These were selected to survive the high winds, precipitation, and temperatures expected on Bouvet,” the team said. /////////////////////////////////////////// Chinese, Turkish Amateur Radio Satellites Near Launch Dates Posted: 08 Dec 2016 07:10 PM PST http://ift.tt/2h0G1l5 China’s CAMSAT is reported to be working closely with a Beijing government aerospace contractor to build two microsatellites with Amateur Radio linear transponders — CAS-4A and CAS-4B. Each spacecraft will carry a 70-centimeter/2-meter (U/V) 100 mW SSB/CW linear transponder, a 2-meter CW 50 mW telemetry beacon, and an AX.25 4.8 kbps GMSK 100 mW telemetry downlink. The transponders will have the same technical characteristics, but will employ different frequencies for their 70-centimeter uplinks and 2-meter downlinks. The two spacecraft will also carry optical remote sensing missions. /////////////////////////////////////////// Rare Polar Openings Reported on 630 Meters Posted: 08 Dec 2016 06:27 PM PST http://ift.tt/2heH2CH John Langridge, KB5NJD/WG2XIQ, reports that “extremely rare polar openings” have been occurring the past three nights on 630 meters between a number of North American stations and Rolf Torvik, LA2XPA, in Norway. “This path is straight through the auroral oval, and quiet geomagnetic conditions have allowed signals to traverse the polar regions,” Langridge told ARRL. He said LA2XPA has “an amazing station on an isolated island and is using 500- to 700-meter long Beverages. It’s quite remarkable.” /////////////////////////////////////////// IARU Continues Preparations for World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 Posted: 08 Dec 2016 06:27 PM PST http://ift.tt/2haOuA1 Work is already under way by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) to address agenda items of interest to Amateur Radio during the run-up to the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19). The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) convenes WRCs every 3 or 4 years in Geneva; the last WRC was in 2015. The IARU’s prime focus is spectrum privileges — gaining or retaining spectrum for the amateur radio services and spectrum protection — making sure that amateur spectrum remains available for use and free from serious man-made interference. The IARU works within international standards organizations and with regional telecommunication organizations to accomplish its goals. In the past month, IARU representatives have attended the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) Electronic Communications Committee (ECC). This is CEPT’s policy-making body and just one of the many CEPT committees at which the IARU has a seat at the table. IARU was also present at ITU Working Parties under Study Group 5 (SG5), which is charged with studying matters related to terrestrial radiocommunication services. Working Party 5A met November 7-17, preparing for WRC-19 with a focus that included the Amateur Radio serv /////////////////////////////////////////// Radio Australia Shortwave Broadcasts to End on January 31 Posted: 07 Dec 2016 08:38 PM PST http://bit.ly/2gdecSi Another prominent shortwave broadcaster is going dark, “The SWLing Post” blog reports. Radio Australia has announced that it will cease its shortwave transmissions on January 31. The station, popular with SWLs, broadcasts in the 31-, 25-, 19-, and 16-meter bands. “The move is in line with the national broadcaster’s commitment to dispense with outdated technology and to expand its digital content offerings, including DAB+ digital radio, online and mobile services, together with FM services for international audiences,” the Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC) said in a news release. The ABC said it would put the money saved from ending shortwave broadcasting into other program distribution technology. Radio Australia programming will remain available via streaming, satellite, and other media. /////////////////////////////////////////// Mexican Highschoolers Launch 30 High Altitude Balloons Posted: 07 Dec 2016 08:31 PM PST http://ift.tt/2h1ateZ No matter whether you call them “picosatellites” or “high altitude balloons” or “spaceblimps”, launching your own electronics package into the air, collecting some high-altitude photos and data, and then picking the thing back up is a lot of fun. It’s also educational and inspirational. We’re guessing that 264 students from 30 high schools in Aguascalientes Mexico have new background screens on their laptops today thanks to the CatSat program (translated here by robots, and there’s also a video to check out below). imagen_1The package on each balloon was roughly similar — consisting of an Arduino with a custom shield, a GPS, accelerometer, temperature/humidity sensor, and a LoRA radio unit. (Full details on the technical page of the wiki — it looks like a great general-purpose setup.) Armed with this basic platform, the schools added cameras or built intricate capsules, or otherwise customized their payload, and then it was time to launch. /////////////////////////////////////////// Putting Innocent Americans on "Trial" Posted: 07 Dec 2016 08:16 PM PST http://bit.ly/2hmebN5 Seibler lists several other federal offenses that have appeared on the Twitter page “A Crime a Day.” These include: · Making it a crime for amateur radio operators to sell amateur radio equipment, and using amateur radio too often (47 USC §502 & 47 CFR §97.113). /////////////////////////////////////////// Pearl Harbor attack was 'hell,' survivor says (California) Posted: 07 Dec 2016 08:14 PM PST http://desert.sn/2hiyjn7 U.S. Navy veteran Ed Wise was aboard the battleship USS Tennessee when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor during the early morning hours of Dec. 7, 1941. The La Quinta man watched as the USS Arizona was destroyed during a morning that, in short, was "hell." Seventy-five years later, Wise recounted what he did during the attack at a ceremony in Palm Springs. The 95-year-old said Wednesday it was important to look back at the attack that left more than 2,400 people dead. /////////////////////////////////////////// Ham Radio in India now under Ministry of Communications Posted: 07 Dec 2016 08:13 PM PST http://bit.ly/2gmCexE The Indian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MoC&IT) has been split in two NDTV reports: A new Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has been created by the Government of India after bifurcating Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MoC&IT) to exclusively deal with Aadhaar [National ID number], promotion of internet and other related services. According to the decision, there will be two ministries - Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Further, the Ministry of Communications will have two departments - Department of Telecommunications and Department of Posts. The Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), which used to be in the erstwhile MoC&IT, will be under the new Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. /////////////////////////////////////////// Elves at OF9X Bring the Spirit of Christmas to Ham Radio Posted: 07 Dec 2016 08:13 PM PST http://bit.ly/2hiBgUI As in past years, Santa Claus will be spreading the spirit of Christmas via Amateur Radio, but this year the elves are taking over the show. Twelve elves are operating OF9X (“Old-Father-Nine-Christmas”) for the entire month of December, each with a 3-letter identification. Radio amateurs can work OF9X on all bands and modes, from 630 meters (where authorized) to 70 centimeters. Each contact is worth 1 point for stations in Europe and 2 points for stations outside Europe. The elves provide the multiplier — up to 12 — to determine your final score. Only contacts made in 2016 are valid. Logs are available on ClubLog, and the log will indicate which elf was worked, in case you miss the ID. The elves on the air and their 3-letter IDs are Arto, OH2KW (ART); Arttu, OH2FB (ATU); Jyri, OH2KM (JYR); Martti, OH2BH (MAR); Niko, OH2GEK (NIK); Pauli, OH5BQ (PAU); Pekka, OH2TA (PEK); Pertti, OH2BEE (PER); Raimo, OH2BCI (RAI); Tom, OH6VDA (TOM); Pertti, OH2PM (SIM), and Erik, OH2LAK (LAK). /////////////////////////////////////////// ISS Packet Digipeater is Now on 70 Centimeters Posted: 07 Dec 2016 08:11 PM PST http://bit.ly/2gXH19E The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) packet digipeater aboard the ISS has been active for several days now on 437.550 MHz. The UHF frequency means users will have to make adjustments for Doppler on both uplink and downlink. The change to 70 centimeters comes in the wake of a problem that has sidelined the Ericsson VHF transceiver, so the UHF model has been put into service. The digipeater operates just as it did when it was on its former 145.825 MHz frequency. /////////////////////////////////////////// Rare Polar Openings Reported on 630 Meters Posted: 07 Dec 2016 08:10 PM PST http://bit.ly/2hm6AOi John Langridge, KB5NJD/WG2XIQ, reports that “extremely rare polar openings” have been occurring the past three nights on 630 meters between a number of North American stations and Rolf Torvik, LA2XPA, in Norway. “This path is straight through the auroral oval, and quiet geomagnetic conditions have allowed signals to traverse the polar regions,” Langridge told ARRL. He said LA2XPA has “an amazing station on an isolated island and is using 500- to 700-meter long Beverages. It’s quite remarkable.” /////////////////////////////////////////// Ofcom refuse to act on Channel 5 TV show Posted: 07 Dec 2016 08:09 PM PST http://bit.ly/2h8buQ0 Ofcom claim the Channel 5 TV show Nightmare Neighbour Next Door "did not raise issues warranting investigation" The offending TV show was broadcast on October 27 and generated many Formal Complaints to Ofcom, perhaps a record number for any Channel 5 programme? The show gave extensive airtime to completely false claims about the amateur radio station of Armando Martins. These falsehoods were repeated time and again throughout the show giving the impression to viewers that they might have been true. /////////////////////////////////////////// Local ham operator team claims top spot in Maine Posted: 07 Dec 2016 08:08 PM PST http://bit.ly/2gEibZp An East Boothbay Ham radio team made more contacts than any other team during the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Field Day June 25. The team, consisting of Al Sirois of East Boothbay, his brother Ron, of Salem, Massachusetts, Will Brinegar of Southport and Ron Scribner of Pittston made more short wave radio contacts than the other 22 Maine teams during the 24-hour test period. The league sponsors the annual field day to prepare amateur short wave radio operators for coordinating emergency communications during an actual disaster. During past catastrophes like the 9/11 terrorist attack, Oklahoma City bombing and Maine Ice Storm, ham radio operators coordinated emergency rescue responses between local, state and federal rescue teams. /////////////////////////////////////////// An Amateur Radio Repeater Using An RTL-SDR And A Raspberry Pi Posted: 07 Dec 2016 08:07 PM PST http://bit.ly/2gEhXBs An amateur radio repeater used to be a complex assemblage of equipment that would easily fill a 19″ rack. There would be a receiver and a separate transmitter, usually repurposed from commercial units, a home-made logic unit with a microprocessor to keep an eye on everything, and a hefty set of filters to stop the transmitter output swamping the receiver. Then there would have been an array of power supply units to provide continued working during power outages, probably with an associated bank of lead-acid cells. More recent repeaters have been commercial repeater units. The big radio manufacturers have spotted a market in amateur radio, and particularly as they have each pursued their own digital standards there has been something of an effort to provide repeater equipment to drive sales of digital transceivers. /////////////////////////////////////////// Ham Radio - A Wide Band Aerial for VHF or UHF Bands Posted: 07 Dec 2016 08:06 PM PST http://bit.ly/2h8jbIv I was recently asked to help out a newly licensed radio ham with his VHF & UHF aerial system, he was finding that a Disc-cone aerial which he had been using for a number of years as a Short Wave listener was not doing a good enough job of transmitting his VHF l and U.H.F. signal. Here is a suggestion of how you can improve your Ham Radio aerials. The Disc-cone is a well-known wide band aerial used by many people who enjoy scanning the VHF and UHF part of the Radio Spectrum for commercial traffic and Ham radio transmissions. The Disc-cone works well if you are nearby to radio masts that repeat the broadcasts from commercial or Ham Radio bands but they vary in their bandwidth and sometimes fail to give adequate matching at ham allocations. I have seen Disc-cone S.W.R. (Standing Wave Ratio) readings at 5 to one on two metres or 144 Megahertz, this can severely impair both your output signal and received signal. |
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