TWIAR News Feed

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HAM radio operator offers yule dispatch (Utah)

Posted: 26 Dec 2016 02:19 PM PST
http://bit.ly/2ixVtTc

A Christmas message excerpt that has been transmitted from HAM radio
station KC7NCH to various volunteer radio networks in the region: KC7NCH
with official traffic from the community, the following is a special
holiday message from letters received by me from people whose lives were
directly impacted by a tragedy or have come to know in other ways the
sacrifice made in they’re stead, with the request that I forward them on to
simply “the many emergency people I know.�

To: full-time and volunteer responders generally, as well as, 1st, 2nd,
3rd, 4th, 5th, responders, volunteer fire depts., C.E.R.T., power, water,
gas, utility operators, snow removal operators, facilities operators, and
the widows, children and other family members impacted by the loss of
responders specifically.

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Microsoft finally admits that its malware-style Get Windows 10 upgrade
campaign went too far

Posted: 26 Dec 2016 02:08 PM PST
http://bit.ly/2hs29pN

From mid-2015 to 2016, Microsoft ran two simultaneous experiments. First,
it made Windows 10 free and available to anyone running Windows 7 or
Windows 8. Second, it began an aggressive campaign to push people to
upgrade. First Windows 10 became a “Recommended� download instead of an
optional one. As time passed, reports of people being ‘accidentally’
upgraded to the new OS increased, while Microsoft made various changes to
the “Get Windows 10� app that emphasized the need to upgrade and downplayed
the idea that customers had a choice. The issue came to a head when
Microsoft issued a Get Windows 10 update that completely changed how the
program worked. For the previous 10 months, declining an upgrade was as
simple as clicking on the red X in the upper right-hand corner of the
message box. After Microsoft’s update, clicking the red X did nothing.
Users who thought they had dismissed the upgrade option woke up a few hours
or days later to find their systems running an operating system they hadn’t
intended to install. The people most likely to be affected by the problem
were those who had spent 10 months actively avoiding Windows 10, which only
added fuel to the fire.

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RSGB Questions UK Regulator Ofcom Regarding New Interference Control
Regulations

Posted: 26 Dec 2016 02:08 PM PST
http://ift.tt/2hHdmPp

The Electromagnetic Compatibility Committee of the Radio Society of Great
Britain (RSGB) still has wide-ranging questions for UK telecommunications
regulator Ofcom concerning new Wireless Telegraphy Act Section 54
regulations that address radio-frequency interference (RFI) from in-service
equipment. RSGB said that while its latest response “largely reiterates�
points it’s already made, it “still believes that a number of issues need
resolution.� For starters, RSGB has asked the regulator to better define
what the new regulations mean by “apparatus.�

Among other questions, RSGB wants to know “what is needed to get Ofcom to
enforce against serious interference to Amateur Radio.� The Society pointed
out that Ofcom has acknowledged its enforcement powers with respect to
undue interference, but the agency has said that compliance regulations
must be in place in Section 54.

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Ring in the New Year with ARRL Straight Key Night, AMSAT CW Activity Day

Posted: 26 Dec 2016 02:08 PM PST
http://ift.tt/2ivLeCP

Every day is a good day to operate on CW, but set some time aside on New
Year’s Eve and Day to enjoy Straight Key Night (SKN) or to do some CW on
the satellites during AMSAT CW Activity Day.

The annual SKN gets under way at 0000 UTC on January 1, 2017 (New Year’s
Eve in US time zones). The 24-hour event is not a contest but a day
dedicated to celebrating Amateur Radio’s CW heritage. Participants are
encouraged to get on the air and simply enjoy conversational CW contacts,
preferably using a straight (hand) key or a semi-automatic key (bug).