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This Week in Amateur Radio News for Saturday 14 January 2017
TWIAR News Feed
/////////////////////////////////////////// Listen to this! Can you help? (UK) Posted: 14 Jan 2017 03:15 PM PST http://bit.ly/2jjG5Od Loughborough Library Local Studies Volunteers are planning to hold an exhibition acknowledging the work carried out by the "listeners" at Beaumanor Hall, Woodhouse, during the Second World War. Beaumanor Hall is regarded as the most important strategic intercept station of the War Office 'Y' Group. This group consisted of hundreds of secret listeners, many of them women, who would intercept enemy signals that were then sent on to Bletchley Park for decoding. The listeners, sworn to secrecy, were recruited through a variety of ways and many were amateur radio enthusiasts. They endured extreme conditions on a daily basis in order to supply the War Office with as much information about enemy activity as possible and helped alter the course of the war. /////////////////////////////////////////// Serving those across the globe (South Dakota) Posted: 14 Jan 2017 03:12 PM PST http://argusne.ws/2jc9NSH When Bill Huntimer retired from more than two decades in the military, his service to others didn’t end. An antenna stands out along the tree line near Huntimer’s Dell Rapids home, which is the tip of the iceberg for his ham radio setup that he uses to connect people. “I enjoy doing it and helping people out, making contact, especially in emergencies,” Huntimer said. Through Huntimer’s radio, he has spoken with people across the world from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica to presidential helicopters to destroyers floating in the ocean. Huntimer said he can communicate with radios on the other side of the globe and “patch” them with families via a phone line. /////////////////////////////////////////// Set for blast-off in Abu Dhabi Posted: 14 Jan 2017 03:03 PM PST http://bit.ly/2jjD4O3 The term broadcasting refers to sharing of information in the form of audio-video content to the end-user by the use of electronic mass communication medium. The GSC has its roots in the global space and satellite forum (GSSF), which has taken place in the Emirate since 2008. At its launch, the GSSF spearheaded the region’s space ambitions, bringing together stakeholders and creating awareness of the need for an organised space sector in the UAE. Another UAE educational space project is the Nayif-1 CubeSat. Engineering students from the American University of Sharjah (AUS) have built and will launch the UAE’s first CubeSat into space as part of a senior design project. A CubeSat is a nanosatellite with a standardised and simplified cubic design, weighing about 1kg and with sides around 10cm long. The student-built Nayif-1, which means “one that soars high above”, is scheduled to be lofted from Florida aboard a Falcon-9 rocket once SpaceX is confident it has overcome its recent launch issues. The CubeSat mission is a partnership between AUS, the Innovative Solutions in Space Company and EIAST. /////////////////////////////////////////// Bill Sacks Dies; Was Audio Innovator Posted: 14 Jan 2017 02:54 PM PST http://bit.ly/2jR6dkq Bill Sacks has died. He was an engineer, a consultant, a manufacturer and a hardware hot-rodder. A colleague described him as “a genius and nice guy, a combination rarely found,” and this is typical of the many remarks we’ve received so far about Sacks. Among other contributions to the industry he also played a part in the early years here at Radio World. According to a GoFundMe page created by his wife Kim, Sacks had been ill with cancer diagnosed after a recent fall. Sacks was a former broadcast chief engineer who went to work for Carl T. Jones Associates as a consulting engineer and founded Straight Wire Audio Inc., or SWA, in 1979. That year he also became the first audio editor of Radio World; longtime readers will remember his columns. Sacks was a former broadcast chief engineer who went to work for Carl T. Jones Associates as a consulting engineer and founded Straight Wire Audio Inc., or SWA, in 1979. That year he also became the first audio editor of Radio World; longtime readers will remember his columns. He worked as an SBE chapter chairman and did product design work for Henry Engineering. He also launched a business refurbishing classic analog Optimod processors, having been a longtime friend of Bob Orban. Many readers will have met him at industry trade shows over the years. /////////////////////////////////////////// via HACKADAY: Get Ready for the Great Eclipse of 2017 Posted: 14 Jan 2017 02:51 PM PST http://ift.tt/2igGzFi On August 21, 2017, the moon will cast its shadow across most of North America, with a narrow path of totality tracing from Oregon to South Carolina. Tens of millions of people will have a chance to see something that the continental US hasn’t seen in ages — a total eclipse of the sun. Will you be ready? The last time a total solar eclipse visited a significantly populated section of the US was in March of 1970. I remember it well as a four-year-old standing on the sidewalk in front of my house, all worked up about space already in those heady days of the Apollo program, gazing through smoked glass as the moon blotted out the sun for a few minutes. Just watching it was exhilarating, and being able to see it again and capitalize on a lifetime of geekiness to heighten the experience, and to be able to share it with my wife and kids, is exciting beyond words. But I’ve only got eight months to lay my plans! /////////////////////////////////////////// ARRL Reintroduces a Popular Classic - Experimental Methods in RF Design Posted: 14 Jan 2017 02:38 PM PST http://ift.tt/2ilHeFg ARRL has reintroduced the popular title Experimental Methods in RF Design as a classic reprint edition. Immerse yourself in the communications experience. Build equipment while understanding basic concepts and circuits. “This is a...classic, extremely good text on designing circuits for the ham,” ARRL Life Member Bob De Varney, W1ICW, a professional radio communication technician and avid experimenter said. “If you do any building at all and want to know the ‘why’ behind things, this is a very worthwhile addition to your bookshelf.” /////////////////////////////////////////// RST-Suffix Special Event Returning in March Posted: 14 Jan 2017 02:38 PM PST http://ift.tt/2inoZKI Members of the North Country DX Association (NCDXA) will be on the air during March 2017 from locations in Alaska, Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Greenland using RST-suffix fixed-station call signs. Expected to be active are KL7RST, VY1RST, VE8RST, VY0RST, and OX7RST. The goal is to promote Amateur Radio in northern North America. The 2017 event, the second annual RST operation, will feature the addition of OX7RST, as well as more rovers and fixed stations, new QSL cards, and certificates. Activity will be on all modes, 160 through 6 meters, including 30, 17, and 12 meters. SWLs may participate too. /////////////////////////////////////////// New Propagation Prediction Tool is Available Posted: 14 Jan 2017 02:35 PM PST http://ift.tt/2ik4SlD ITURHProp, a new point-to-point propagation prediction tool based on an ITU engine and developed by Gwyn Williams, G4FKH, is now available via the RSGB website (click on “Start Application”). The new web-based prediction tool is said to be more accurate than previous engines. ITURHProp calculates the path characteristics between two points on the globe to determine projected path maximum usable frequency (MUF) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Development on the project is ongoing. /////////////////////////////////////////// Nebraska Sesquicentennial Celebration QSO Party Set for February, March Posted: 14 Jan 2017 02:35 PM PST http://ift.tt/2jMXqj4 Radio amateurs in Nebraska will celebrate the state’s 150th anniversary during the Sesquicentennial Anniversary Celebration Week QSO Party, starting on Saturday, February 25, and continuing until Sunday, March 6. That time period includes the actual anniversary date, March 1. Nebraska amateurs may operate from their own stations or as part of Nebraska historical site activations, appending “/NE150” to their call signs. A Facebook page has been established. Nebraska stations transmit name, signal report, and Nebraska county (plus historical site, if appropriate). Non-Nebraska stations transmit name, signal report, and state, Canadian province, or DXCC entity. A special QSL card will be available with a self-addressed, stamped envelope and QSL to the Nebraska station contacted. /////////////////////////////////////////// Illegal Drone Transmitters Could Interfere with Air Traffic Control, ARRL Complaint Asserts Posted: 14 Jan 2017 01:45 PM PST http://ift.tt/2ikduE2 In what it calls an “extremely urgent complaint” to the FCC, ARRL has targeted the interference potential of a series of audio/video transmitters used on unmanned aircraft and marketed as Amateur Radio equipment. In a January 10 letter to the FCC Spectrum Enforcement Division, ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, said the transmitters use frequencies intended for navigational aids, air traffic control radar, air route surveillance radars, and global positioning systems. “This is, in ARRL’s view, a potentially very serious interference problem, and it is respectfully requested that the products referenced…be investigated and removed from the marketplace immediately and that the importers be subjected to normal sanctions,” ARRL’s letter said. Some of the transmitters operate on frequencies between 1,010 and 1,280 MHz. “These video transmitters are being marketed ostensibly as Amateur Radio equipment,” the League said, “but of the listed frequencies on which the devices operate, only one, 1280 MHz, would be within the Amateur Radio allocation at 1240-1300 MHz.” Even then, ARRL said, operation there would conflict with a channel used for radio location. /////////////////////////////////////////// More Countries Join the Growing 60-Meter Community Posted: 14 Jan 2017 01:45 PM PST http://ift.tt/2jzSI4c Radio amateurs in Kazakhstan now have access to the band 5,351.5-5,366.5 kHz on a secondary basis. The allocation came in the wake of a request by the Association of Amateur Radio Services in Kazakhstan (AARSK) to telecommunications regulators. Permissible power output has not yet been established. Radio amateurs in Slovenia and Niger also have been granted access to the new, 15 kHz 60-meter band, and others were expected to follow when the Final Acts of World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 went into effect on January 1. Hams in Slovenia may apply for a temporary 3-month authorization and must conform to the 15 W EIRP power output limit established at WRC-15. Telecommunications authorities hope to have operational rules ready in the interim. Operation in Niger will be under a footnote to the International Table of Frequency Allocations. /////////////////////////////////////////// "Hamvention - Same Friends, New Home" is Theme for 2017 Event Posted: 14 Jan 2017 01:14 PM PST http://ift.tt/2inRPxZ Reflecting its new venue, “Hamvention® — Same Friends, New Home” will be the theme when the event opens on May 19 at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Exposition Center in Xenia, Ohio. Last summer’s closure of Hara Arena forced the move to the new location more than 20 miles to the southeast. “Hamvention gives amateurs from all over a chance to get together with old friends,” Hamvention General Chair Ron Cramer, KD8ENJ, said. “We welcome them to our new home.” Noting that many Hamvention attendees turn out mainly to socialize with friends they’ve met on the air, Cramer said that camaraderie will continue — just the location has changed. The all-volunteer Hamvention Committee reports that it’s been dealing with the many tasks involved with defining new inside exhibit and flea market spaces and all of the other aspects involved with the monumental move to Xenia. Cramer said Hamvention website updates were occurring almost daily; mail order ticket sales are under way; and ticket, flea market, and inside exhibit purchases “will be available online as soon as possible.” /////////////////////////////////////////// Maxim Memorial Station W1AW Receives Equipment Donations from Heil Sound, Radiohaus/America Posted: 14 Jan 2017 01:14 PM PST http://ift.tt/2jFgewR Maxim Memorial Station W1AW has received equipment donations from Heil Sound and Radiohaus/America. Heil Sound recently gave W1AW a Gold Grill PR781G Studio Microphone, a PR40 Gold microphone, a couple of PRO7-DY headsets (pink and red), a PS Elite 6 PRO-SET Elite headset with HC6 element, three FS-3 single footswitches, two “Topless” mic booms, and replacement PRO-SET Plus cords and PS3 cables. W1AW Manager Joe Carcia said most of the gear will repair or replace items at the station that have seen a lot of visitor use over the years. /////////////////////////////////////////// ITF-2 CubeSat Set to Deploy from ISS Posted: 14 Jan 2017 01:14 PM PST http://ift.tt/2jqTTE1 Toshihiro Kameda, JJ3GRX/W3GRX, of the University of Tsukuba’s “Yui” satellite project in Japan, reports that the ITF-2 (“imagine the future”) CubeSat is set for release from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday, January 16, at 0910 UTC. The 1U ITF-2 was designed and built at the university. The Amateur Radio downlink is 437.525 MHz. Updated information will be announced on the AMSAT Bulletin Board. ITF-2 is the successor to the unsuccessful ITF-1, which launched in 2014 but was never heard. /////////////////////////////////////////// via the RSGB: SOS Radio Week imminent Posted: 14 Jan 2017 01:14 PM PST http://ift.tt/2jrFI1t SOS Radio Week starts at 0000UTC on 21 January and concludes at 2359UTC on the 29th. The event is open to every one to take part in and you can still enrol as a registered station and get on the air to raise awareness of the work of Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). If you work any of the registered SOS Radio Week stations then you can apply for the Worked SOS Radio Week award. Various levels of award are available. Further details are available at www.sosradioweek.org.uk. /////////////////////////////////////////// Apparent Pirate Station Transmitting SSTV on 10 Meters Posted: 14 Jan 2017 01:14 PM PST http://ift.tt/2inFgTh In what might be a “first,” the December edition of the IARU Region 1 (IARU-R1) Monitoring System newsletter includes a report of an apparent pirate station transmitting Slow Scan TV (SSTV) on 28.001.5 MHz. The station has been transmitting latitude and longitude coordinates as part of the image, which would put the offender in northeast Italy, although it’s not certain if these indicate the station’s actual location. Other intruders on 10 meters include a radar facility in Iran, transmitting on 28.500 MHz using frequency modulation on pulse (FMOP) with 225 and 334 sweeps per second and covering about 36 kHz with many spurious emissions. On 15 meters, Moroccan military traffic has been observed on USB on 21.000 MHz. Fishing crews also are said to be gravitating to the new 15 kHz 60-meter band, now becoming available in many countries. /////////////////////////////////////////// ARRL Asks FCC to Allocate New 5 MHz Band, Retain Channels and Current Power Limit Posted: 14 Jan 2017 01:14 PM PST http://ift.tt/2jJ4duj ARRL has asked the FCC to allocate a new, secondary contiguous band at 5 MHz to the Amateur Service, while also retaining four of the current five 60-meter channels and current operating rules, including the 100 W PEP effective radiated power (ERP) limit. The federal government is the primary user of the 5 MHz spectrum. The proposed action would implement a portion of the Final Acts of World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) that provided for a secondary international allocation of 5,351.5 to 5,366.5 kHz to the Amateur Service; that band includes 5,358.5 KHz, one of the existing 5 MHz channels in the US. “Such implementation will allow radio amateurs engaged in emergency and disaster relief communications, and especially those between the United States and the Caribbean basin, to more reliably, more flexibly and more capably conduct those communications [and preparedness exercises], before the next hurricane season in the summer of 2017,” ARRL said in a January 12 Petition for Rule Making. The FCC has not yet acted to implement other portions of the WRC-15 Final Acts. /////////////////////////////////////////// via the RSGB: RSGB Convention 2017 Posted: 14 Jan 2017 01:14 PM PST http://ift.tt/2jfB1u2 The RSGB Convention this year will be held on 13-15 October at Kents Hill Park Conference Centre, Milton Keynes. We are starting to identify speakers for the Convention and would particularly like to develop the HF and DXpedition content further. If you have suggestions for any topics or speakers you would like to hear, please send an outline to In addition, AMSAT will be organising some of the lectures as the AMSAT Colloquium will be incorporated into the RSGB Convention this year. |
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