eHam.net News

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DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #51:

Posted: 24 Dec 2015 06:49 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35855


This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
QRZ DX, the OPDX Bulletin, 425 DX News, The Daily DX, DXNL, Contest
Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and WA7BNM web sites.
Thanks to all.


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Just Ahead In Radiosport:

Posted: 24 Dec 2015 06:49 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35854


Just Ahead In Radiosport:


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North Korea On the Air for First Time in More than a Decade:

Posted: 24 Dec 2015 06:49 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35853


In an unexpected turn of events, Polish DXer Dom Grzyb, 3Z9DX, who
visited North Korea -- officially the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea (DPRK) -- this month in advance of a planned Amateur Radio
operation early next year, showed up on the air from the most-wanted
DXCC entity around 0000 on December 20. During a "demonstration" for
North Korean officials, P5/3Z9DX made nearly 800 DXers -- most of them
in Asia -- very happy over the couple of days he was on the air. Grzyb
operated mostly on 15 meters with some excursions on 20 and 10 meters,
SSB only. The P5/3Z9DX preview was the first from North Korea since the
2001-2002 operation by Ed Giorgadze, 4L4FN.


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FCC Proposes to Penalize CA Ham $25000 for Causing Intentional Interference

Posted: 24 Dec 2015 06:48 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35852


The FCC Enforcement Bureau has proposed fining William F. Crowell,
W6WBJ (ex-N6AYJ), of Diamond Springs, California, $25,000 for
intentionally interfering with other Amateur Radio operators and
transmitting prohibited communications, including music.


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Philippine Radio Amateurs Respond To Typhoon Threat:

Posted: 24 Dec 2015 06:46 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35851


The Philippine Amateur Radio Association (PARA) activated its Ham Emergency
Radio Operations
(HERO) on December 12 as Typhoon Melor -- locally called Typhoon Nona
-- threatened the Philippine archipelago. The storm boasted winds up to
and slightly in excess of 100 MPH. National Traffic System Chairman
Jojo Vicencio, DU1VHY, announced the activation during the
early-morning DU NET. HERO used 7.095 MHz for emergency traffic, and
other hams in the region cooperated in keeping the frequency clear.


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Preliminary CQ World Wide Survey Results Suggest Contesters Trending Older:

Posted: 24 Dec 2015 06:47 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35850


The CQ World Wide Contest Committee has posted the
preliminary results of its September survey of CQ WW participants. The
committee received 5117 responses from contesters around the world, the
greatest number -- nearly 2600 -- from Europe. An analysis of the
results showed that most survey participants were in the older age
brackets and that there were not many youth participants.


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US Applicants Move Into Next Stage of ARISS Contact Selection Process:

Posted: 24 Dec 2015 06:46 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35849


Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has announced that
the proposals of 17 schools
and organizations submitted during the recent application window will
move forward into the next stage of planning to host Amateur Radio
contacts with ISS crew members. Once scheduled, the contacts will take
place between July and December 2016.


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AO-85 Slow Scan TV Image Likely a Prank, Not a Test:

Posted: 24 Dec 2015 06:46 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35848


A Slow Scan TV (SSTV) image that a Brazilian radio amateur reported
receiving on December 13 from Fox-1A (AO-85) was most likely a prank,
not any sort of official test of the satellite's SSTV capabilities.
AMSAT Vice President for Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, said the Robot
36 image, which depicted a cartoon fox and the legend "Testing
Fox-1A/AO-85 AMSAT satellite," was of terrestrial origin and
transmitted via the AO-85 satellite's transponder.


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Straight Key Night is a New Year's Day Tradition:

Posted: 24 Dec 2015 06:45 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35847


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). The annual event
gets
under way a 000 UTC on January 1 (New Year's Eve in US time zones). The
24-hour event is not a contest but a day dedicated to celebrating our
CW heritage. Participants are encouraged to get on the air and simply
make enjoyable, conversational CW contacts, preferably using a straight
(hand) key or a semi-automatic key (bug). Activity traditionally
centers on CW segments in the HF bands. There are no points or
obligatory exchange. The only requirement is just to have fun!


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RTTY Roundup is a Good Way to Kick Off the 2016 Contest Calendar:

Posted: 24 Dec 2015 06:44 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35846


The ARRL RTTY Roundup over the
January 2-3 weekend is a veritable digital festival, so dust off those
keyboards! In addition to conventional Baudot, RTTY Roundup ops may use
ASCII, AMTOR, PSK31, and Packet (attended). It's very easy to get on
RTTY and other digital modes, and some late-model transceivers even
have RTTY and other digital capabilities built right into the radio.
Participation in this annual operating event has grown along with the
enthusiasm for digital modes, and newcomers are always welcome to join
the fray.


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Kids Day is Sunday, January 3:

Posted: 24 Dec 2015 06:45 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35845


The next Kids Day will be Sunday,
January 3, 2016, from 1800 to 2400 UTC. The twice-yearly event,
sponsored by the ARRL and The Boring (Oregon) Amateur Radio Club, is an
excellent opportunity to showcase Amateur Radio and Amateur Radio
satellites to youngsters and even to hand over the keys so they can get
some hands-on experience. Share the excitement with your own children
or grandkids or youngsters in the neighborhood!


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International DX Association Announces Humanitarian Fund:

Posted: 24 Dec 2015 06:44 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35844


The International DX Association (INDEXA) has
announced the formation of a fund -- "Hams with Hearts" -- to support
humanitarian projects carried out by DXpedition teams. Thanks to an
initial contribution by Zorro Miyazawa, JH1AJT, INDEXA will be able to
begin humanitarian support grants beginning in mid-January 2016, the
announcement said.


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Radio Broadcasting Remote Pickup Pioneer George Marti, W5GLJ, (SK):

Posted: 24 Dec 2015 06:43 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35843


George Marti, W5GLJ, who pioneered and manufactured remote pick-up
(RPU) technology to allow radio stations to originate broadcasts away
from the studio wirelessly -- and lobbied the FCC to authorize its use
-- died on December 13 at age 95. Marti lived in Cleburne, Texas, where
he had served as mayor for 12 years.


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In Brief...

Posted: 24 Dec 2015 06:43 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35842


ARISS Postpones Anniversary SSTV Event: The Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) Slow-Scan
TV event set for December 26-27 has been postponed due to
"complications in planning," ARISS has announced. ARISS now is
targeting mid-January as the next possible opportunity.


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Technician License Course In Oklahoma City:

Posted: 24 Dec 2015 06:40 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35841


The Oklahoma City Autopatch Association will conduct a Technician License
Course beginning on Thursday, 7 January 2016 running eight weeks to
Thursday 25 February 2016, 6-9 PM.


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Ministry-Eagle River Memorial Donate Space to Amateur Radio:

Posted: 23 Dec 2015 05:01 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35840


Recently the Vilas County Amateur Radio Club activated their first radio
repeater using tower space provided by Ministry Eagle River Memorial
Hospital. Hospital spokesperson Mark Dascalos says the hospital was glad to
help the ham operators... "....here in the Northwoods we have difficulty
with cell signals and probably equal-wise with radio signals and it was an
opportunity to use our tall antenna at the hospital to install a repeater
that would enhance(the club's) abilities in a ham radio aspect to be able
to communicate with other members...." Dascalos says during times of
natural disasters, ham radio often is still operating when other signals
are inoperable. Dascalos says club members intend to use the expanded
signal to provide communication support for bike tours, races and other
community events along with emergency communications. Hams are licensed by
the FCC and are well-known for helping government and non-government
entities in a time of need.


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Leeds Nostalgia: Broadcasts from the City:

Posted: 23 Dec 2015 05:00 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35839


In 1955 these members of the Leeds Amateur Radio Society were broadcasting
using low powered equipment and it wasn't long before the city's skyline
was altered with the advent of the Tinshill Radio Station.



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Description of Mechanism that Halts Solar Eruptions:

Posted: 23 Dec 2015 05:00 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35838


Among the most feared events in space physics are solar eruptions, massive
explosions that hurl millions of tons of plasma gas and radiation into
space. These outbursts can be deadly: if the first moon-landing mission had
encountered one, the intense radiation could have been fatal to the
astronauts. And when eruptions reach the magnetic field that surrounds the
Earth, the contact can create geomagnetic storms that disrupt cell phone
service, damage satellites and knock out power grids. NASA is eager to know
when an eruption is coming and when what looks like the start of an
outburst is just a false alarm. Knowing the difference could affect the
timing of future space missions such as journeys to Mars, and show when
steps to protect satellites, power systems and other equipment need to be
taken. At the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics
Laboratory (PPPL), researchers led by physicist Clayton Myers have
identified a mechanism that may halt eruptions before they leave the sun.
The finding, reported in the December 24-31 issue of Nature magazine,
provides a potentially important way to distinguish the start of explosions
from buildups that will fail. This work was supported by the DOE office of
Science. The violent eruptions, called "coronal mass ejections," stem from
a sudden release of magnetic energy that is stored in the sun's corona, the
outermost layer of the star. This energy is often found in what are
called "magnetic flux ropes," massive arched structures that can twist and
turn like earthly twine. When these long-lived structures twist and
destabilize, they can either erupt out into the solar system or fail and
collapse back toward the sun. The researchers found in laboratory
experiments that such failures occur when the guide magnetic field -- a
force that runs along the flux rope -- is strong enough to keep the rope
from twisting and destabilizing. Under these conditions, the guide field
interacts with electric currents in the flux rope to produce a dynamic
force that halts the eruptions. PPPL has discovered the importance of this
force, called the "toroidal field tension force," which is missing from
existing models of solar eruptions.