eHam.net News for Thursday 27 October 2016
 

eHam.net News

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DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #44:

Posted: 27 Oct 2016 08:44 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37860


This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
ON4EI, VE2EVN, 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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Rule Making Petition to FCC Calls for Vanity Call Sign Rule Changes:

Posted: 27 Oct 2016 08:10 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37859


The FCC is inviting comments on a Petition for Rule Making
(RM-11775) from a Nevada radio amateur that seeks changes to the
rules governing the Amateur Radio Vanity Call Sign Program.
Christopher LaRue, W4ADL, of North Las Vegas, is proposing that any
licensee obtaining a vanity call sign be required to keep it for the
full license term. LaRue contends in his petition that excessive and
frequent vanity call sign filings are hampering the ability of other
qualified licensees to obtain vanity call signs in one of the more
desirable 1 x 2 or 2 x 1 formats. LaRue said that since the FCC
dropped the fee to file for a vanity call sign, some applicants are
taking advantage by regularly obtaining new call signs, thereby
keeping them out of circulation.


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Just Ahead In Radiosport:

Posted: 27 Oct 2016 08:10 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37858


Just Ahead In Radiosport:


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Philippine Hams Team up to Confront Back-to-Back Typhoons:

Posted: 27 Oct 2016 08:09 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37857


Philippine Amateur Radio Association (PARA)
Ham Emergency Radio Operations (HERO) network volunteers were ready for
Super Typhoon Haima, which struck the northeastern Philippines on
October 19 with winds peaking at more than 180 MPH prior to landfall --
a category 5 storm. Roberto Vicencio, DU1VHY, reported that HERO had
already activated its net on 7.110 MHz for an earlier category 3 storm,
Typhoon Sharika, which hit Luzon Island before moving west and
weakening. But the powerful Haima forced thousands of residents to
flee. More than a dozen deaths in the Philippines were blamed on the
storm.


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Ecuador Radio Club Recognizes ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager, Ham Aid:

Posted: 27 Oct 2016 08:09 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37856


ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U, was recognized by
the Guayaquil Radio Club (GRC) of Ecuador for coordinating the work of
ARRL and several other radio amateurs to provide Ham Aid equipment to
Ecuador this past spring,
following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in April.


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Broadcasters, Jammers Wreak Havoc On Amateur Radio Frequencies:

Posted: 27 Oct 2016 08:08 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37855


The battle continues between Radio Eritrea (Voice of the Broad Masses)
and Radio Ethiopia, which is said to be jamming the Eritrean
broadcaster with broadband white noise. The problem for radio amateurs
is that the battle is taking place in the 40-meter phone band -- 7.145
and 7.175 MHz -- with the jamming signal reported by the IARU Region 1
Monitoring System (IARUMS) to be 20 kHz wide on each channel.


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ARISS Radio Failure Prompts Shift to ISS Russian Service Module Ham Gear:

Posted: 27 Oct 2016 08:08 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37854


The International Space Station (ARISS) program
has announced that the Ericsson MP-A VHF handheld transceiver that
astronauts had been using to speak via Amateur Radio with students and
educational groups around the world for more than 16 years recently
began displaying an error message, rendering it unusable, at least for
now. While the ARISS technical team is looking into how to restore
operation from the ISS Columbus module, it will support ARISS contacts
from NA1SS using the 25 W Kenwood TM-D710 transceiver in the Russian
Service Module. Cosmonauts have been using that radio to carry out
their ARISS school contacts from RS0ISS. For the time being, the packet
digipeater, which relied on the Ericsson transceiver, will be
unavailable. Switching to the 70-centimeter capability in the Columbus
module for some operations is being coordinated. New ISS ham gear is on
the way, though.


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The Doctor Will See You Now!

Posted: 27 Oct 2016 08:08 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37853


"HF Mobile Antennas" is the topic of the latest (October 20) episode of
the "ARRL The Doctor is In" podcast.
Listen...and learn!


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National Parks On the Air Update:

Posted: 27 Oct 2016 08:07 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37852


Amateurs taking part in the ARRL National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) program
are making a serious push to
complete 1 million contacts from eligible NPS units before December 31.
NPOTA crossed the 750,000 mark last week, and in just 7 days, more than
25,000 new contacts were uploaded to Logbook of the World, putting the
year-to-date total at 778,000. Every US radio amateur can help NPOTA
break the 1 million mark by getting on the air and working the
Activators at parks, or by going out and activating an NPOTA unit!


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Georgia Section Manager Changing on November 1:

Posted: 27 Oct 2016 08:07 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37851


Georgia Section Manager Gene Clark, W4AYK, of Albany, has announced
that he's stepping down at the end of October, after serving since
October 2009. David Benoist, AG4ZR, of Senoia, has been appointed as
Georgia Section Manager, effective November 1, to complete the current
term of office, which extends until September 30, 2017.


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'Sweeps' Time is Upon Us!

Posted: 27 Oct 2016 08:06 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37850


The very popular ARRL November Sweepstakes (SS) operating events take place
in
November on separate weekends for CW (November 5-7) and SSB (November
19-21). The contest period for each contest begins at 2100 UTC on
Saturday and continues through 0259 UTC on Monday. Stations may operate
for 24 hours out of the 30 hours available. Logs are due 15 days after
each event. SS is a "domestic" contest that not only has broad appeal,
but is within the reach of stations with modest equipment and antennas.
Many stations enjoy operating in the QRP category each fall (5 W or
less output).


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Battleship Missouri Serves as Amateur Radio Licensing Class, Testing Venue:

Posted: 27 Oct 2016 08:06 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37849


The ARRL-affiliated Emergency Amateur Radio Club (EARC) in Honolulu held
the first-ever Amateur Radio
licensing classes and test session on board the battleship USS
Missouri, now a World War II memorial berthed in Pearl Harbor. The
October 8 test session was the culmination of 5 weeks of classes and a
tour of KH6BB, the ship's club station. Eight
applicants passed the Technician exam, and two of them went on to pass
the General class test as well.


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ARES/RACES Supports Office of Emergency Mgmt. During Presidential Debate:

Posted: 27 Oct 2016 08:05 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37848


ARES/RACES volunteers stepped up to support communication for the Clark
County, Nevada, Office of Emergency Management (OEM) during the third
US presidential debate in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 19. Clark
County OEM Chief John Steinbeck asked ARES/RACES to activate and
support the county's Multi-Agency Coordination Center (MACC).


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Bangladesh Border Ham Band Signals Now of Interest to Indian Intelligence:

Posted: 27 Oct 2016 08:04 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37847


What have been called "highly suspicious" VHF transmissions along the
Bengal-Bangladesh border now are being considered signals of interest
to India's Intelligence Bureau. After several days of monitoring,
Ambarish Nag "Raju" Biswas, VU2JFA, told
The Indian Express that he and his team have determined that the
transmissions, taking place on Amateur Radio frequencies, are coming
from the area of Basirhat in West Bengal. The voice communications have
been heard at night.


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In Brief...

Posted: 27 Oct 2016 08:02 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37846


"Contest Giant," Honor Roll DXer Paul Obert, K8PO, SK: An operator who
provided the Maine multiplier for many participants in the ARRL
November Sweepstakes and other
operating events has gone silent. Paul T. Obert, K8PO, of Union, Maine,
died
on October 21. He was 72.


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ETH041 -- Morse Code:

Posted: 27 Oct 2016 05:39 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37845


Hello everybody and welcome back to the
Everything Ham Radio Podcast! In this
episode we are going to be talking about
CW or Morse Code, the South Canadian
Amateur Radio Society in Norman, OK, some
upcoming events/contests and Hamfest a for
the next two weeks and wrap it up with
some news from around the hobby!