eHam.net News

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Pumpkin Patrol will Watch Thruway Overpasses Sunday, Monday:

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 05:04 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37873


The New York State Thruway Authority has announced that on Sunday and
Monday, state police and citizen volunteers will conduct the 40th
annual "Pumpkin Patrol," aimed at preventing Halloween pranks and
protecting motorists along the Thruway. Troop T, whose members patrol the
Thruway exclusively, will support this effort along with local citizen band
radio clubs and amateur radio operators. More than 300 volunteers from 16
organizations in 20 counties will join in the initiative. Volunteers
assisting Troop T will monitor thruway overpasses and report any unusual
activity to state police or local law enforcement.


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Ham Operators Prepare for Emergencies:

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 05:04 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37872


Area ham radio operators will be participating in a Military Auxiliary
Radio System (MARS) exercise from October 30th through November 1st,
according to Amateur Radio Emergency Services Coordinator Jim Goodrich,
WA4VGZ. Goodrich noted, "The purpose of this quarterly exercise is train
amateur radio operator how to provide communications following a "very bad
day" scenario when traditional forms of communications will likely be
unavailable. While the simultaneous loss of all communications nation-wide
is not likely, for training purposes, we are assuming there has been a
massive nation-wide outage." One of the objectives of this exercise is to
continue the partnership with the amateur radio community to help provide
information about local conditions and send this information to the
Department of Defense to help understand what is happening around the
United States. During this exercise, Murfreesboro area amateur radio
operators will communicate on 60 meters, local VHF and UHF repeaters as
well as HF NVIS amateur radio bands. The group's goal is to have a
conversation about the local conditions in and around this county. During
the conversation, operators will be asking basic questions such as the
status of commercial power, public water systems, and road conditions.
These will be person to person conversations...you don't need to use any
digital modes or know any special messaging formats.


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Delhi Cops to Grill Duo on Ham Conversation:

Posted: 28 Oct 2016 01:16 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37871


Kolkata: Security agencies are questioning two north Kolkata-based
residents for their alleged involvement in a conversation picked up in
Urdu, Bengali and Hindi by amateur ham operators - popular in the spy
community for communication. Sources claimed that a Delhi Police crime
branch team is in Kolkata to question the duo. The city police's Special
Task Force (STF) denied any role in the matter. "A few people are being
investigated on certain communication patterns," clarified a senior
official. Sources said the suspects didn't have the mandatory licence to
use the frequency that ham operators use. Kolkata Police was informed of
these suspicious conversations by amateur operators about a week ago.
Sources said ham radio operators have been deployed in the area as a
precautionary measure. Alarmed over the conversations, the operators
informed the Centre, after which they were called to an international
monitoring centre (radio) and asked to track the signals. The amateur ham
operators now want cops to register all licensed operators and issue ID
cards to stop any spying options. "Though I have not picked up anything, I
have been asking for ID cards to be issued. I have submitted the same plea
before senior officers of Kolkata Police," said ham operator Arya
Ghosh. "The incident was highly suspicious. Whenever we tried to converse
with them, they stopped talking. After a while, they restarted their
communication in coded Bengali and Urdu," said Ambarish Nag Biswas,
secretary of Bengal Amateur Radio Club. Kolkata has already been put on
alert because of Kali Puja, Diwali and Chaat Puja. Twenty-one Quick
Reaction Teams and special divisional patrolling have been put in place. A
number of Kali temples, too, have been provided with special security
cover. Security agencies in Kolkata has picked up two north Kolkata
residents in order to question him on certain developments in the border
areas of Sunderbans and Basirhat. Sources said the questioning is in regard
to certain conversation picked up in Urdu, Bengali and Hindi by amateur ham
operators, an increasingly popular method among the spy community to
communicate among themselves.