eHam.net News

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Propagation Forecast Bulletin #51 de K7RA:

Posted: 16 Dec 2016 04:50 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38251


Average daily solar indices over the past week were lower than the
previous seven days, with average daily sunspot number declining
from 40.9 to 13, and average daily solar flux dropping 10 points
from 82.2 to 72.2.


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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2042, December 16 2016:

Posted: 16 Dec 2016 04:52 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38250


The following is a QST. The FCC's chairman announces he'll resign. An
earthquake rocks Indonesia and hams step in. European radio operators put
the spotlight on PSK31 -- and amateur radio helps Christmas kick off in
Tennessee. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2042 comes
your way right now.


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DogparkSDR Version 1.06 Released:

Posted: 16 Dec 2016 04:51 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38249


Dog Park Software is pleased to announce that version 1.06 of
dogparkSDR has been released.


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Ham Radio at Yale, 85 Years and Going Strong:

Posted: 15 Dec 2016 06:24 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38248


Before the Internet and social media, there was amateur radio. Hobbyists
flocked to it, communicating with others from across the globe, or just
down the street. And then came, well, the Internet and social media - and
the whole ham radio craze quieted down a bit. But some technology doesn't
go away easily, and amateur radio is making a resurgence. Making its own
comeback is Yale's amateur radio organization, W1YU. Founded in the early
1930s, the Amateur Radio Club at Yale had a strong run for many decades,
but activity started quieting down by the 1980s and '90s "as other
technologies became shiny and new." But in recent months, the crackle, hiss
and chatter of amateur radio systems is springing back to life in the Yale
community and around New Haven. And indeed, the club has been going full
force in the last year or so: earlier this semester, it hosted a very
well-attended demonstration for Yale students at the Center for Engineering
Innovation and Design (CEID), and it now holds regular meetings for members
and prospective members in Dunham Lab. The club even recently received
press in QST, the premier magazine for amateur radio in the U.S. "In part,
this is happening because it's a good fit with the maker movement, and the
CEID is bringing together people from all different disciplines," said W1YU
President Scott Matheson, an associate law librarian for Technical
Services. "I think people are surprised at how much experimentation there
is."


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Enter to WIN!

Posted: 14 Dec 2016 04:00 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38247


Blow the dust off of those classic radios and get them out of the closet or
attic and Tune In to WTWW, for Bing Crosby, Mantovani, Dean Martin, Burl
Ives, Mannheim Steamroller and many more. There is nothing like the sound
of Christmas music coming out of the speaker of a classic shortwave radio.
And as you are listening for your Christmas favorites to air on WTWW, we
are asking for pictures of your shortwave radio(s) - the most festive
picture wins! Include the Christmas tree, yourself, friends and family, or
deck your radio with boughs of Holly and all things Christmas!


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Calling All Hams!

Posted: 15 Dec 2016 02:48 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38246


Spread International Goodwill Say "Hello, Merry Christmas and Happy New
Year" from your call sign, city and state and/or ARRL affiliation to radio
listeners all over the world.


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DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #51:

Posted: 15 Dec 2016 09:44 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38245


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: 15 Dec 2016 09:44 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38244


Just Ahead In Radiosport:


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Amateur Radio Parity Act Bill Unable to Overcome FL Senator's Objections:

Posted: 15 Dec 2016 09:43 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38242


The Amateur Radio Parity Act, H.R. 1301, suffered an unbefitting demise
on December 9 as the 114th Congress drew to a close. After passing the
House of Representatives on a unanimous vote earlier this fall, the
bill stalled in the Senate due to the intervention of only one member,
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL). The measure would have directed the FCC to
extend its rules relating to reasonable accommodation of Amateur
Service communications to private land-use restrictions, such as
covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CCRs) imposed by homeowners
associations.


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IARU Continues Preparations for World Radiocommunication Conference 2019:

Posted: 15 Dec 2016 09:44 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38241


Work already is under way by the International Amateur Radio Union
(IARU) to address agenda items of interest to
Amateur Radio during the run-up to the 2019 World Radiocommunication
Conference (WRC-19).
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
convenes WRCs every 3 or 4 years; the last WRC was in 2015.


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The Doctor Will See You Now!

Posted: 15 Dec 2016 09:42 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38240


"Antenna System Troubleshooting." is the topic of the latest (December
1) episode of the "ARRL The Doctor is In"
podcast. Listen...and learn!


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National Parks On the Air Update:

Posted: 15 Dec 2016 09:42 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38239


The ARRL National Parks on the Air (NPOTA)
program is on the verge of making history. With less than 2 weeks to go
until the program concludes on December 31, NPOTA Activators have made
more than 995,000 contacts from National Park Service units this year,
and it appears certain that the count will top 1 million before year's
end.


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Commemorative Special Event Reenacts 1921 Ham Radio Transatlantic Reception

Posted: 15 Dec 2016 09:41 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38238


Radio amateurs in the US and in Scotland have reenacted the first
successful transatlantic reception of a shortwave Amateur Radio signal
nearly a century earlier. Special event station N1BCG in Greenwich,
Connecticut,
and GB2ZE in Ardrossan, Scotland, completed contacts on SSB and on CW
during the December 11 event. ARRL, the Radio Society of Great Britain
(RSGB), and the Radio Club of America (RCA) partnered to support the
activity,
organized by ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, and Clark Burgard, N1BCG,
who loaned his history-rich call sign for the occasion.


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Radio Amateurs Assist in Wake of Indonesian Earthquake:

Posted: 15 Dec 2016 09:40 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38237


Radio amateurs provided emergency communication support during the
response to a December 7 magnitude 6.5 earthquake in Indonesia's Aceh
Province. The death toll was reported at 100, with nearly 300 injured.
The IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee's Dani Hidayat,
YB2TJV, reported that it took 2 hours for the ham radio group from the
Indonesian Amateur Radio Organization (ORARI), Aceh Region, to reach the
earthquake zone.


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ARISS Celebrates 20th Anniversary, Plans for Future of Ham Radio in Space:

Posted: 15 Dec 2016 09:39 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38236


ARISS-International delegates celebrated 20 years of Amateur Radio on
the International Space Station (ARISS) when
they met November 15-18 at the International Space Center Conference
Facility in Houston, Texas, to continue planning for the years ahead.
More than 50 delegates and guests from Russia, Japan, Italy, Germany,
the UK, and North America took part, and teleconferencing let
individuals unable to attend in person to join the proceedings. An
international group interested in installing and operating an Amateur
Radio station on the ISS first met in November 1996 at Johnson Space
Center, and ARISS was born as a result of that gathering.


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School Students' 'TubeSat' Set for ISS Deployment; Other Launches Pending:

Posted: 15 Dec 2016 09:38 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38235


The cargo ship carrying the Tancredo-1 "TubeSat" -- so called because
of its cylindrical form factor -- launched on schedule from Japan on
December 9. Built by 10- to 14-year-old middle schoolers in Brazil,
Tancredo-1 carries an Amateur Radio payload. Tancredo-1 went into space
inside the TuPOD TubeSat deployer, which is expected to be ejected into
space from the ISS on December 19 by the JEM Small Satellite Orbital
Deployer (J-SSOD). It will, in turn, eject Tancredo-1 into orbit on
December 21. Once in space, Tancredo-1 should start transmitting
telemetry.


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Mexico Not Yet Extending Operating Permission to Non-Mexican Radio Amateurs

Posted: 15 Dec 2016 09:37 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38234


Broad changes in Mexico's radiocommunication regulatory environment 2
years ago continue to hinder Amateur Radio licensing there and still do
not provide reciprocal permission for non-Mexican radio amateurs to
operate south of the border. Mexico's International Amateur Radio Union
(IARU) member society, the Federation of Mexican
Radio Amateurs (FMRE), has been working with
the new regulator, the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) to
craft more Amateur Radio-friendly licensing procedures and regulations,
and there has been a little positive movement. The new regulatory
regime considers the radio spectrum as an exploitable resource, and all
former Amateur Radio regulations have been deemed null and void.


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Getting It Right!

Posted: 15 Dec 2016 09:36 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38233


A photo caption in December 8 edition of The ARRL Letter incorrectly
identified the radio amateur holding the Worked All States certificate
he earned during the 2015 ARRL 10 Meter Contest. The op is Milt
Withers, AD5XD, of Richardson, Texas. Our apologies!


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In Brief...

Posted: 15 Dec 2016 09:35 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38232


ARRL Rookie Roundup CW is Sunday, December 18: The 2016 CW Rookie
Roundup is right around the corner
on Sunday, December 18. Rookies can take up their Morse keys (or
keyboards) and "pound some brass" in pursuit of Rookies and Non-rookies
alike. Rookies -- anyone licensed for 3 years or less -- get on the air
and call "CQ RR," so other participants can find them. Grizzled CW
veterans call "CQ R" (CQ Rookies).