eHam.net News

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Teen Reaches Out to World via Airwaves:

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 05:12 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38937


Anna Veal honored for her work in radio technology: Anna Veal likes talking
to individuals around the world. But rather than using social media or a
cell phone to do so, she uses a radio. "It's learning about different
cultures," the 16-year-old said. "It's not just having a conversation over
the radio, it's having an experience." Tuning in over her handheld radio,
Veal has talked to a man in Germany about the weather and music. She's
talked to a girl in Russia about what school is like in the foreign
country. In the digital age, using a radio to communicate may seem
old-fashioned. But for Anna, it is a passion and hobby that has earned her
many recognitions, including, most recently, a Radio Club of America Young
Achievers Award. The award is presented to students in high school or
younger who have demonstrated excellence and creativity in wireless
communications, a media release says. Veal, a student at STEM School and
Academy, was 8 years old when she first received her amateur radio license.
Veal has participated in dozens of amateur radio contests and spoken at
several national events, including the Rocky Mountain ARRL Regional Meeting
in New Mexico. She has received many awards, including the 2015 Amateur
Radio News-Line Young Ham of the Year, determined by a judging committee,
that recognizes individuals for their accomplishments and contributions in
terms of public service.


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Amateur Radio Group Dislikes 30-Foot Limit On Antennas:

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 05:11 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38936


They're required to refer to themselves as "amateurs," but only because
they're absolutely prohibited from making any money from the hobby which is
their passion. When several local ham radio operators took turns making
comments to the Payette City Council at last week's regular meeting of city
government, the operators were quite comfortable explaining the technical
details at the heart of their argument that Payette's new ordinance
regulating tower heights is too restrictive. From Julie Bunker, who holds a
master's degree in civil engineering and is president of the local radio
operators group, to retired high school science teacher Jim Johnson, most
commenters had credentials or professional backgrounds that suited them
well to the conversation at hand. Payette passed Ordinance 1423 on Feb. 21.
The ordinance creates a new code section establishing, for the first time,
maximum building heights within the city's various zoning designations, and
also limiting structures to taking up no more than 80 percent of a lot's
area. Of greater interest to radio operators, though, is the ordinance's
inclusion of a new code chapter: "Wireless facility, spires, poles, antenna
steeples, towers and other such structures."


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Foundations of Amateur Radio -- #95:

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 04:35 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38935


Adding /QRP, /mobile or /portable to your
call sign. Every time you go on-air a new addition to
the stroke brigade finds its way into a call
sign. I'm /portable, /marine, /mobile, /QRP
and in a /helicopter eating a /bagel.


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DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #13:

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 12:14 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38934


This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
7Z1ES, PA3DFR, VE3AYR, 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: 30 Mar 2017 12:13 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38933


Just Ahead In Radiosport:


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FCC Issues Amateur Radio Service Rules for 630 Meters and 2,200 Meters:

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 12:12 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38932


The Amateur Service will officially get two new bands in the near
future. The FCC has adopted rules that will allow Amateur Radio access
to the 630 and 2,200-meter bands, with minor conditions. A Report and
Order was
released on March 29. The new rules become effective 30 days following
publication in The Federal Register. The Report and
Order, which also addresses
several non-Amateur Radio issues, allocates the 472-479 kHz band (630
meters) to the Amateur Service on a secondary basis and amends Part 97
to provide for Amateur Service use of that band as well as of the
previously allocated 135.7-137.8 kHz band (2,200 meters). The Report and
Order also
amends Part 80 rules to authorize radio buoy operations in the
1900-2000 kHz band under a ship station license.


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Ham Radio Links Search for Amelia Earhart's Plane with ISS Crew, Classroom:

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 12:13 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38931


One of the enduring mysteries of the 20th century was the 1937
disappearance of famed aviator Amelia Earhart and her flight companion
and navigator Fred Noonan, while she was attempting to circle the
globe. It appeared that Earhart's plane went down in the South Pacific
in the vicinity of Howland Island; her last-known radio transmission
came from there. On February 18, a team from Nauticos -- with stratospheric
explorer Alan Eustace
and aviation pioneer Elgen Long, W7FT -- departed Honolulu for the
vicinity of Howland Island, some 1,600 miles to the southwest, to
complete the Eustace Earhart Discovery deep sea search for Earhart's
lost Lockheed Electra. Nauticos provides ocean technology services to
government, science, and industry.


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NVIS Research Paper Available:

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 12:11 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38930


A thorough and fully annotated discussion of Near Vertical Incidence
Skywave (NVIS) is available in the research paper, "Radio
Communication via Near Vertical Incidence Skywave Propagation:


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The Doctor Will See You Now!

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 12:11 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38929


"Speech Equalization, Compression, and Processing" is the topic of the
just-released episode of the "ARRL The Doctor is In" podcast. Listen...and
learn!


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ARRL 2017 Teachers Institutes on Wireless Technology Accepting Applications

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 12:10 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38928


ARRL is accepting applications for summer 2017
Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology
sessions until May 1. This summer's sessions will be held in Dayton,
Ohio -- hosted by the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) -- and at
ARRL Headquarters in Newington,
Connecticut. (DARA also helps to sustain the program as a generous
contributor.") Past participants who have completed the introductory
(TI-1) course may consider signing up for the advanced (TI-2) session
on Remote Sensing and Data Gathering. These expenses-paid, intensive
professional development opportunities offer educators training and
resources to explore wireless technology in the classroom using Amateur
Radio.


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AMSAT Reschedules Fox Series Launches:

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 12:09 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38927


AMSAT has announced that the launches of its
Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D CubeSats have been rebooked from a single launch
to separate launches. Both satellites initially were set to go into
space on the Spaceflight FORMOSAT-5 Sherpa
mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 (Sherpa is launched as a rideshare
program for small, low-budget satellites). Fox-1Cliff will launch on
Spaceflight's SSO-A dedicated rideshare mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon
9 scheduled to launch from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base in
late 2017 or early 2018. Fox-1D will ride into orbit on an Indian Polar
Satellite Launch Vehicle set to launch late this year.


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Ham Radio Outlet Closes Silicon Valley Sto

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 12:08 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38926


On March 22, Ham Radio Outlet (HRO) closed
its Sunnyvale, California, store -- one of its first -- which served
the Amateur Radio community in the heart of Silicon Valley for more
than a quarter of a century. One of five California HRO stores, the
Sunnyvale store has been consolidated as a cost-saving measure with
HRO's Oakland operation.


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Talks on Possible 4U1UN Reactivation Continue:

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 12:08 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38925


United Nations Headquarters Amateur Radio club station 4U1UN
representatives are still in talks with the UN
Department of Public Information with an eye toward permanently
reactivating the station. Although within the geographical confines of
New York City, 4U1UN qualifies as a separate DXCC entity.


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The Netherlands Modifies 5 MHz Ham Radio Privileges to Conform with WRC-15:

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 12:07 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38924


Telecommunication regulators in the Netherlands have scaled back
considerably the liberal 60-meter privileges announced for radio
amateurs in that country just days after the conclusion of World
Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15). Since December 2015,
amateurs in the Netherlands have had access to a 100-kHz wide amateur
band at 5 MHz, with a maximum power of 100 W.


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College Students in Belize Introduced to Amateur Radio:

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 12:09 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38923


Not long after promoting Amateur Radio to Boy Scouts,
the Belize Amateur Radio Club (BARC) introduced ham
radio to University of Belize (UB) engineering students on March 22.
The BARC presentation included a summary of the club's educational
goals, a short video, and a lesson on Amateur Radio basics -- such as
propagation and the RF spectrum, and a question-and-answer session.


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UK Museum Wants to Hear from Those Who Remember Sputnik Launch:

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 12:07 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38922


As part of an effort to tell the story of the International Geophysical
Year (IGY) 60 years ago, a Cambridge,
England, museum wants to hear from anyone who remembers the Soviet
Union's launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957. Many radio amateurs and
shortwave listeners (SWLs) of the era were among those thrilled to
receive the satellite's 20 MHz beacon. The Scott Polar Research
Institute Polar Museum at
Cambridge University will mark the IGY anniversary later this year.


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Centennial of Amateur Radio Blackout for World War I Occurs on April 6:

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 12:09 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38921


World War I commenced in Europe in August 1914, and the US, under
President Woodrow Wilson, was determined to remain neutral. As the
fighting and the enemy's resolve intensified, and Germany began sinking
ships attempting to evade a naval blockade of England as well as
non-military vessels -- including the Lusitania with a loss of nearly
1,200 lives -- it became inevitable that the US would enter the fray.
Leaders of the newly formed American Radio Relay League encouraged the
organization's 3,000 members to be prepared.


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In Brief...

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 12:06 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38920


ARRL Receives Donation of Optimod 9300 from Orban Labs: Orban Labs Inc.
has donated an Optimod model 9300 audio-processing unit to ARRL.
Popular with AM broadcasters, the 9300 increases the loudness of a
station's audio without overmodulation, through the use of
sophisticated multiband limiting and clipping. The digital processing
also minimizes distortion and other unwanted side effects.