eHam.net News for Tuesday 8 March 2016
 

eHam.net News

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Ham Operators Eager to Provide Robust Network in Amaravati:

Posted: 07 Mar 2016 04:24 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36317


Amaravati, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh, and its surrounding areas may
soon witness a robust network of Ham Radio operators. Despite immense
potential of the amateur radio services that could be effectively tapped
during emergencies, not much has been done over the years to encourage
operators of Ham equipment, resulting in a sense of discontentment among
the fraternity. But the good news now is that Krishna district Collector
Babu A. has responded favourably to a plea by Arza Ramesh Babu, coordinator
of the now-defunct Ham Radio Training Centre in the district, to grant
permission for installation of a Ham Radio Repeater on top of the Gunadala
hill. Informing the Collector that the Repeater, along with all the
relevant equipment purchased a few months ago, had been lying idol for want
of permission, Mr. Ramesh Babu said installation of the Repeater would pave
the way for active network of Ham Radio operators in the region.


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Forecasters Harness Enthusiasm of Amateur Spotters for Weather Intel:

Posted: 07 Mar 2016 04:24 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36316


Tricia Clarke stood on a Lakeway hilltop, winds threatening to snatch the
ball cap from her head, and pointed across miles of rolling, scrub-covered
limestone countryside, past the distant blue line of Lake Travis, to a spot
nearly 55 miles away. That's where one of the region's main Doppler radars
sits at Fort Hood. Another, at the National Weather Service's New Braunfels
office, is 46 miles away in the opposite direction. Radar, Clarke said,
accomplishes a lot, but "radar doesn't pick up everything close to the
ground." "That," she said, "is where spotters like me come in." Clarke is
part of an experiment the National Weather Service is trying in Central
Texas and a few other places around the country as it adjusts to the age of
social media. The age is both a blessing and a curse: Weather authorities
have more ways than ever to acquire the "ground truth" that is invaluable
in the still-young science of forecasting.


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Poldhu Ham Radio Club Spreads Cornwall St Piran's Day Message Around World:

Posted: 07 Mar 2016 04:26 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36315


RADIO enthusiasts gave a special 'hello' from Cornwall all around the world
for St Piran's Day on Saturday. Poldhu Amateur Radio Club operates from the
Marconi Centre on the cliff above Poldhu Cove near Mullion and members were
busy most of the day, making more than three hundred contacts with fellow
radio hams. The club's honorary secretary Keith Matthew, from Helston,
said: "Radio conditions were good and early in the day four Japanese
stations were contacted using Morse code. "Many Asiatic Russian stations
called in and over twenty Canadian and US amateurs talked with us. "A
surprising number claimed a bit of Cornish in their ancestry." Cornish
radio amateurs have been allowed to add an extra K-for-Kernow to their
callsigns for this year only to celebrate the recent granting to Cornwall
of national minority status. Welsh amateurs have had a 'W' in their
callsigns for many years, and the club us hoping, due to its popularity,
Cornwall will be allowed to keep the 'K' permanently. Poldhu Amateur Radio
Club is using GK3MPD for this year and many amateurs were pleased to record
it in their logs.


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First Look: Tytera TYT MD-390 HT:

Posted: 07 Mar 2016 04:27 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36314


The Tytera TYT MD-390, the successor of the popular Tytera TYT MD-380 DMR
HT, has arrived. Jason Johnston, KC5HWB, unboxes the upgraded DMR HT in the
latest episode of his show, Ham Radio 2.0: LIVE! From The Hamshack. "I
think I'm the first one to have them listed online, but that won't last
long," says Johnston. Like the MD380, the TYT MD390 is 400-470MHz, features
1000 channels, and is DMR Tier 1 and 2 compatible. New to the MD390 is an
IP67 dust/water ingress protection rating (immersion up to 1m).