eHam.net News

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Headwaters Amateur Radio Club Makes Air Waves:

Posted: 16 Feb 2014 04:10 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/31741


Technology is a great thing, but of course, sometimes it can have its
flaws. For instance, what if your car breaks down, but you can't call a tow
truck because there is no cell phone service? What if a large storm knocks
out all power and there are people who need help? The solution to the
problem, and many other communication related issues, is an easy one, and
one that may not be on the top of everyone's minds: amateur radios. Did you
know that, unlike cell phones, amateur radio (also known as ham radio) does
not require the use of additional equipment to bounce the signal from one
operator to another? Members of the Headwaters Amateur Radio Club, who meet
monthly at Charles Cole Memorial Hospital in Coudersport, know this fact,
plus many more. Many of the HARC members have been dedicated to the hobby
of ham radio for decades, both for personal use, and in times of
emergencies. According to HARC member Greg DiCesare, "Ham radio is known
for its portability. A small radio with an alternate power source and an
antenna can be sent up quickly at a moment's notice to pass messages."
DiCesare continued, "In a true emergency, main stream communication means
are not always reliable. They may rely exclusively on the power grid or a
brick and mortar location to operate. Ham radio lends itself to being
deployed anywhere at any time." President Jim Douglas added, "Amateur radio
is a lot like fire or police communications. The major difference is the
frequencies in use. Amateur radio utilizes different frequencies along the
radio wave spectrum to communicate over different distances."


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Cuban Spies Received Secret Messages by Old-Time Short-Wave:

Posted: 16 Feb 2014 04:10 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/31740


Even if you're not a Cuban spy, you too can receive secret messages sent by
Havana to its spooks in Miami, Washington and around the world. Every week,
one short wave radio station in Cuba broadcasts 97 messages coded in
fax-like tones. A computer program easily available to the public changes
the tones into numbers, and the Cuban spies then decode the numbers into
words. A second Cuban spy station transmits 16 messages per week in the
dots and dashes of the 175-year-old Morse code - secret messages to Havana
spies who may be older or less technologically savvy. Sixteen years after
the arrests in Miami of five Cuban spies who got their secret orders by
short wave transmissions, Havana is still using a system that fell out of
favor in the cloak-and-dagger world with the end of the Cold War. There are
many more modern and efficient ways of communicating secrets by using
satellites, burst transmissions, one-time emails and other means, said
Chris Simmons, a retired Pentagon counter-intelligence officer who
specialized on Cuban affairs. "But these Cuban transmissions may be for old
spies, dinosaurs who have been listening to (short wave) for so long, long
term agents, that they are comfortable with it and don't want or need a
change," Simmons added.