eHam.net News

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St. Nick On the Air from Finland Again this Christmas:

Posted: 21 Dec 2015 04:08 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35832


A group of dedicated Finnish radio hams are marking the 30th year of Radio
Santa - in which the Jolly One broadcasts from his traditional home in
Lapland, near the Arctic Circle. Operating two stations, OF9X and OH9SCL,
Santa and his helpers are proving to be a popular attraction on shortwave
frequencies again this holiday season. The ham operators making it happen
are members of Radio Arcala, a Finnish radio club that helps children talk
to Santa, while raising money for World Vision, a charity to benefit
youngsters in Albania and eastern Europe. Radio Arcala boasts one of the
largest ham radio antenna arrays in the world, covering more than 40 acres
with seven massive towers in the aurora belt of the Arctic Circle. Since
1986, more than a dozen volunteers have made sure the voice of Santa has
reached thousands of people, while promoting the benefit of helping
underprivileged kids.


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Amateur Radio Operators Convert to Digital Television -- Part 1:

Posted: 21 Dec 2015 04:08 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35831


Some now on-the-air in high definition: ALEXANDRIA, VA.-- Radio amateurs,
or "hams," have been involved in one way or another with television
practically ever since commercial entities began developmental work in the
medium during the 1920s. And many TV engineers have held ham licenses and
performed their own share of experimental work in their off-duty hours.
Early on, at least one manufacturer offered camera pickup tubes at
discounted prices to encourage experimentation by the radio amateur
community. Ham TV has evolved right along with the rest of the industry,
moving from mechanical scanning to all-electronic operation, then color,
and eventually to digital video and most recently, high-definition imaging.
And while commercial television entities have routinely spent hundreds of
thousands of dollars in retrofitting analog plants for digital
broadcasting, hams -- being an ingenious and creative lot -- have managed
to go digital on the cheap.