AMATEUR RADIO NEWS FROM THE NET

10396- 10428 of 10428 News Items

Mobile Event App will Help Dayton Hamvention Visitors to Navigate the Show Dayton Hamvention® 2019, host of the ARRL National Convention, will mark the debut of a free mobile event app to help attendees navigate the extensive Hamvention program, activities, and exhibits using their smartphones or tablets. A collaborative effort between ARRL and Dayton Hamvention, the app was developed by TripBuilder Media™. ARRL Convention and Event Coordinator Eric Casey, KC2ERC, has been readying the app, with content contributions from Dayton Hamvention Com RSGB Cricket World Cup Radio Marathon Set The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) has announced a Cricket World Cup Amateur Radio Marathon, from May 30 until July 14. The Cricket World Cup will take place in England and Wales. UK and international call signs will be active on nine HF bands on SSB, CW, and digital modes. Award certificates will be offered based on the number of contacts made with the special UK and international stations. Sponsors are inviting other countries to take part and to activate special call signs with the suffix "19CWC" or similar. A total of 31 special call signs will be on the air in the UK, with GB19CWC representing the 2019 Cricket World Cup Headquarters in England. Listen for other "GB19" prefix call signs. Teams will field special event stations as well. Details, including the rules for awards and a list of international call signs, are on the RSGB website. Follow your progress on the Ham Log website. Email for more information on the marathon. — Thanks to Nick Totterdell, G4FAL  Former Hamvention Home Hara Arena Damaged From Dayton Tornado A State of Emergency has been issued in the City of Trotwood due to severe damage of storms and suspected tornadoes hit the area Monday night. Hara Arena suffered extensive damage when tornadoes and severe storms moved through Monday night. Drone footage shows the roof and side of the structure blown off in several places. Trotwood schools are closed, and several homes and businesses have been severely damaged. Germany permits 50 MHz ham radio contest operation The DARC reports German radio amateurs are permitted to take part in Contest Operating in the 50 MHz band from May 1 until September 30. On-the-Air Activity to Mark 50th Anniversary of First Market Reef DXpedition The Aland Islands Postal Administration is issuing a postcard this year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first DXpedition to Market Reef, OJ0MR, in late December 1969 and its attainment of DXCC status. Soon after that initial operation, the permanent lighthouse keeper, Karl-Erik, OJ0MA, also hit the airwaves, and a stream of DXpeditions followed, establishing Market Reef as a dream location for hundreds of operators. The Northern California DX Foundation and the Finnish DX Foundation later assisted the Finnish Light House Society (FLS) to restore the remote DX outpost between the Aland Islands and Sweden. This year, many veteran DXpeditioners will return to Market Reef, including some up-and-coming young DXers from Finland and Sweden. The activity, which got under way on June 8, may even extend into the winter in order to catch the best low-band openings. OJ0A and OJ0Z will be on the air starting on July 6. Market Reef will also be active as OJ0B during the IARU HF World Championship Contest over the July 13 – 14 weekend. Youth Week will follow, with OJ0C on the air starting on July 15, followed by an Islands on the Air operation as OJ0DX, starting on July 27. For International Lighthouse/Lightship weekend, August 17 – 18, the call sign OJ0O will be active. Make: Magazine Going Dark Maker Media, which published Make: magazine and produced Maker Faire, has laid off its staff and is terminating operations due to financial problems. Maker Media CEO and founder Dale Dougherty confirmed to TechCrunch that the company was ceasing operations and that it had laid off all 22 employees, citing financial difficulties with publishing a magazine and the lack of corporate sponsorship. Orkney Islands DXpedition Announces Call Sign The Perseverance DX Group (PDXG) team planning the 2020 DXpedition to Orkney Islands will use the call sign VP8/VP8DXU. The team reports that radio and antenna strategies are complete, and work is under way on detailed project plans. Elecraft will provide K3S transceivers as well as amplifiers and panadapters for the adventure. Proposed WRC-23 Agenda Items Causing Concern Two proposals under discussion in Europe as possible World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23) agenda items "could impact important Amateur Radio frequencies," IARU Region 1 President Don Beattie, G3BJ, reported this week on the IARU Region 1 website. Included is a proposal from France to consider the 144 – 146 MHz band as a primary allocation to the Aeronautical Mobile service, as part of a broader consideration of spectrum allocated to that service. IARU has cautioned the amateur community against overreacting to the news. France will submit a paper containing a proposal for an agenda item for "new non-safety Aeronautical Mobile applications" at the June 17 – 21 Conference Preparatory Group meeting of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) in Prague. Beattie pointed out in his account that 144 – 146 MHz is a primary global Amateur and Amateur Satellite allocation. via the RSGB: High altitude balloon launches on 20th at 27th hi-impact will be launching two high altitude balloon flights this month, on the 20th and 27th of June. Working alongside Altrincham Prep School and South Wirral High School, they plan to launch from Welshpool at 11am, subject to any operational changes, which will appear on their Facebook and Twitter feeds, @hiimpactconsult. Both flights are HABDuino equipped, and assistance from amateurs and SWLs in receiving the data and feeding it into HABHUB via DL-FLDigi is appreciated. Over-the-Horizon Radars Continue to Plague Amateur Bands The International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 Monitoring System (IARUMS) reports a "new kind" of over-the-horizon (OTH) radar on 20 meters. The intruding signal, which appears to be emanating from the Far East, was monitored during May on 14.140 – 14.150 MHz. Another Chinese wideband OTH radar has been showing up on 15 meters, with a signal 160 kHz wide. An Iranian radar has appeared on 10 meters, centered on 28.860 MHz, and is audible in Europe during sporadic-E conditions. The signal is about 46 kHz wide. The Russian OTH radar "Konteyner" OTH radar centered on 14.127 MHz continues to be observed, with a 12 kHz wide signal. Radio Amateur to Lose License as Part of Enforcement Case Settlement A New Jersey radio amateur, David S. Larsen Sr., WS2L, of Highland Park, will surrender his Amateur Extra-class license and pay a $7,500 civil penalty as part of a Consent Decree with the FCC to settle an enforcement action. An FCC Enforcement Bureau Order released June 18 said Larsen violated the Communications Act of 1934 and Part 90 rules by operating on frequencies licensed to the Borough of Highland Park for public safety communication. SAQ transmission next weekend The annual SAQ VLF transmission on Alexanderson Day on 17.2kHz from the Alexanderson Alternator will take place Sunday, 30 June 2019. Two transmissions are scheduled.Tuning will start at 0830UTC for the message at 0900UTC, then 1130UTC for the transmission at 1200UTC. Both transmission events will be broadcasted live on YouTube. 2m crosses the Atlantic An historic contact was made on Sunday, 16 June 2019, when the Atlantic was spanned for the first time on 144MHz. D41CV on Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa managed to work FG8OJ in Guadeloupe on 144.174MHz using FT8. Online Contest Scoreboards Available for Field Day If your club wants to see how its Field Day efforts are faring in comparison with others in your category, check out the Contest Online ScoreBoard. It will be supporting ARRL Field Day. In addition, Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, has developed Score Distributor, which will relay your score to all scoreboards that support the event. Scoreboards can be very attractive to younger operators, in addition to enhancing the fun factor, and they can really motivate teams to keep on the air and active. via the RSGB: Update on 144MHz and 23cm threats The IARU was represented this week at the meeting of CEPT Project Team A—one of the groups leading WRC-19 preparations—which finished in Prague on Friday, 21 June 2019. Of particular interest were discussions on two proposed agenda items for WRC-23, concerning the sharing of the 1240-1300MHz band with the Galileo satellite navigation system and the proposal from France to study a range of frequencies, including the 144MHz amateur band, for future primary aeronautical applications. The meeting considered views that the Galileo issue did not currently warrant a WRC23 agenda item and should be first investigated within CEPT. However, regarding new aeronautical frequencies including 144MHz, the proposal was unfortunately not strongly opposed by other administrations; this has been carried forward to the higher level CEPT-CPG meeting in August. IARU Attends CEPT Project Team Meeting in Switzerland IARU was represented at a recent meeting in Switzerland of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) Project Team D. This was the last of the CEPT project team meetings preparing European Common Proposals (ECP) for a number of agenda items for World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19) this fall in Egypt. WRC-19 agenda item 1.1, which addresses the possibility of a "harmonized" Region 1 50 MHz allocation, was the key issue to be resolved. The Project Team agreed on the text of an ECP for WRC-19, which, if adopted by the delegates, would see an entry in the International Table of Allocations for Region 1 and allocate 50 – 52 MHz to Amateur Radio on a secondary basis. In addition, the team agreed upon the addition of a footnote to the International Table to permit individual CEPT countries to introduce a national primary allocation in the 50.0 – 50.5 MHz subband. 144 MHz and the WRC process RSGB has been a key part of a joint International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) effort and are working hard on both national and international levels to ensure a positive outcome for World Radio Conference-19 (WRC-19) items (50 MHz, Wireless Power, microwave bands etc) and WRC-23 Agenda proposals (144-146 MHz and 23cms). With regard to 144-146 MHz, for the avoidance of doubt we have been deeply engaged in the joint IARU effort regarding future agenda items (which has also included 23cm/Galileo). If adopted and agreed, a French proposal would add aeronautical mobile across the global Primary 144-146 MHz amateur and amateur satellite allocation. As proposed, it is not an eviction or re-allocation of amateurs, but nonetheless is unwelcome and presents significant challenges. Unlike some other bands where amateurs do share, aeronautical applications are amongst the most difficult due to the altitudes and long free-space distances involved. Restraint Urged in Response to 2-Meter Reallocation Proposal Representatives of International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) member-societies in Europe are advising restraint in the wake of a proposal to consider the allocation of 146 – 148 MHz to the Aeronautical Mobile Service (AMS) at World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23). France recently raised the prospect during a European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) meeting in Prague, held in advance of WRC-19. A WRC-19 agenda item would call for studying a range of frequencies for AMS applications, including 144 – 146 MHz, and a decision could be made at WRC-23. The French draft resolution seeks studies of possible new AMS primary allocations in several bands in the range from 144 MHz to 22.2 GHz on a primary basis, "while ensuring the protection of existing services in those bands and, as appropriate, adjacent bands, and not constraining future development of these services." The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) released a statement this week, in part pointing that as proposed, the French resolution "is not an eviction or re-allocation of amateurs, but nonetheless is unwelcome and presents significant challenges. Unlike some other bands where amateurs do share, aeronautical applications are amongst the most difficult due to the altitudes and long free-space distances involved." ARISS-International Delegates Meet in Montreal Nine nations were represented as Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) held its 2019 "face-to-face" meeting of international delegates at the Canadian Space Agency in Montreal, June 26 – 28. ARISS-Canada was the host for the gathering. A high point of the conference came when Kenwood software manager Shin Aota, JL1IBD, presented two Kenwood TM-D710GA transceivers to ARISS-Russia delegate Sergey Samburov, RV3DR. One of the TM-D710GA radios will replace aging Amateur Radio equipment currently in use on the International Space Station, while the other will remain on Earth as a spare for training cosmonauts. For more than a year, these radios have undergone detailed NASA qualification testing followed by final software configuration and verification. Historic Amateur Radio Contact Reported via Moon-Orbiting Satellite A contact between a radio amateur in Germany and China took place on July 1 via the moon-orbiting LO-94 satellite, DSLWP-B, launched in May 2018. The two-way exchange between Reinhard Kuehn, DK5LA, in Soerup, Germany, and Harbin Institute of Technology club station BY2HIT (operated by Wei Mingchuan, BG2BHC), in Harbin, China, occurred between 0551 and 0728 UTC, according to reports. The GMSK-to-JT4G repeater onboard DSLWP-B was used to make the contact, the first ever made via a lunar-orbiting repeater. via HACKADAY: The Backbone Of VHF Amateur Radio May Be Under Threat A story that has been on the burner for a few weeks concerns a proposal that will be advanced to the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference 2023. It originates with French spectrum regulators and is reported to be at the behest of the Paris-based multinational defence contractor Thales. The sting in its tail is the proposed relegation of amateur radio to secondary status of the widely used two-meter band (144 MHz) to permit its usage by aircraft. The machinations of global spectrum regulation politics do not often provide stories for Hackaday readers, but this one should be of concern beyond the narrow bounds of amateur radio. Nature Article Suggest a "Grand Solar Minimum" Lies Ahead A juried research paper in Nature, "Oscillations of the baseline of solar magnetic field and solar irradiance on a millennial timescale," suggests that a "grand solar minimum" — similar to the legendary "Maunder Minimum" — is approaching, starting as early as next year and lasting for three solar cycles. That would be bad news for HF enthusiasts, who are already struggling with marginal conditions. IARU President Offers Assurances Regarding French 144 – 146 MHz Allocation Proposal International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA, said his organization empathizes with the concerns of radio amateurs worldwide regarding a French proposal to allocate 144 – 146 MHz to the Aeronautical Service on a primary basis, essentially sharing it with Amateur Radio. The band is currently allocated to Amateur Radio on a primary basis around the world. Ellam this week offered assurances that the IARU is on top of the matter, which is still a regional issue, and is already working to keep the band in the hands of radio amateurs. While the issue could end up on the agenda of World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23), a lot would have to happen first. Chinese CAS-7B Satellite Carrying an FM Transponder to Launch Another Amateur Radio satellite is set to launch from China. CAMSAT CEO Alan Kung, BA1DU, reports that CAS-7B (BP-1B) is expected to launch on July 22 at 0500 UTC, on the Hyperbola 1 vehicle. CAS-7B is a spherical spacecraft, 500 millimeters (approximately 19.7 inches) in diameter with a mass of 3 kilograms (about 6.6 pounds). The CW telemetry beacon will be on 435.715 MHz. The V/U FM 16 kHz wide transponder downlink is 435.690 MHz, and the uplink is 145.900 MHz. The launch from Jiuquan will be into a 300-kilometer (approximately 186-mile), 42.7° inclination orbit. Special Event Stations to Commemorate 50th Anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing A number of Amateur Radio special event stations will be (or already are) on the air during July to mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969. HWN, WX4NHC at National Hurricane Center to Activate for Tropical Storm Barry Responding to Tropical Storm Barry, the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) and WX4NHC — the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami — have announced plans to activate. The HWN will activate today (July 12) at 2300 UTC on both 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz. "We will operate on 14.325 for as long as propagation allows and will suspend operations on 7.268 MHz at 0300 UTC," HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, said. "Net operations will resume Saturday morning at 1230 UTC (on both 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz) or as soon as the Waterway Net concludes operation." Graves said that once the net activates on Saturday, it will remain in operation until further notice. FAA Reauthorization Act Language Serves to Exclude Vast Majority of Amateur Radio Towers Responding to Tropical Storm Barry, the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) and WX4NHC— the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami — have announced plans to activate. The HWN will activate today (July 12) at 2300 UTC on both 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz. "We will operate on 14.325 for as long as propagation allows and will suspend operations on 7.268 MHz at 0300 UTC," HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, said. "Net operations will resume Saturday morning at 1230 UTC (on both 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz) or as soon as the Waterway Net concludes operation." Graves said that once the net activates on Saturday, it will remain in operation until further notice. RSGB Announces New FT4 Contests The Radio Society of Great Britain Contest Committee has announced a series of contests using the new digital mode FT4. The three short-duration events on 80 meters (dial frequency 3575 kHz USB) are aimed at offering experience to FT4 newcomers. "As this series is experimental, there are likely to be changes as we develop experience with this mode, so please check the rules prior to each event," the announcement said. The objective is to score as many points as possible based on the distance between stations (subject to a maximum score per contact). ARRL Field Day 2019 Attracts Nearly 3,100 Entries The 30-day deadline to submit ARRL Field Day entries via app upload and (timely postmarked) USPS mail is now past, and the ARRL Contest Branch reports 3,070 entries have been logged into the system. Last year saw 2,903 entries. ARRL Radiosport and Field Services Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, said the total does not include entries postmarked by July 23 and still in transit. A number of entries still show a status of "PENDING." These include 280 incomplete entries that are missing the required list of call signs by band/mode (also known as a "Dupe Sheet"), or a Cabrillo file. AMSAT 50th Anniversary Space Symposium Banquet Speakers Announced Tickets now are available for the AMSAT Symposium Saturday evening banquet on Saturday, October 19. A panel of guest speakers will present "The Foundations of AMSAT" followed by a question-and-answer session. Guest speakers will include Lance Ginner, K6GSJ (Project OSCAR); George Jacobs, W3ASK (author, diplomat); Perry Klein, W3PK (AMSAT founding president); Owen Mace (Australis-OSCAR 5 builder); Richard Tonkin (Australis-OSCAR 5 builder), and Jan King, W3GEY (founding AMSAT member and Australis-OSCAR 5 Project Manager). The 50th Anniversary AMSAT Space Symposium and General Meeting will be held October 18 – 20 in Arlington, Virginia, at the Hilton Arlington. Symposium registration is available for $60 until September 15. Banquet tickets are $55. Visit the AMSAT website for additional information. ARRL Board Pledges to Oppose French Proposal for 2 Meters At its July meeting, the ARRL Board of Directors resolved that "at the appropriate time" ARRL will oppose a proposal by France to include 144 – 146 MHz among spectrum to study for non-safety Aeronautical Mobile Service applications with an eye toward sharing the spectrum with the Amateur Services. The action came as the Board met July 19 – 20 in Windsor, Connecticut for its second meeting of 2019. The Board pointed out that 144 – 146 MHz is allocated globally to the Amateur Service on a primary basis and enjoys widespread use for emergency communication. It also pointed to the investment by radio amateurs of money and effort to build repeaters, beacons, space infrastructure, and propagation research systems that have global reach. The AMSAT and ARISS communities would be severely affected as many spacecraft use 2 meters to facilitate communication, the Board noted. ARRL International Affairs Vice President Jay Bellows, K0QB, recommended continuing to monitor the proposal. If it is added as an agenda item for study for WRC 2023, the Board should consider action, he advised. IARU prepares for Key CEPT meeting The final CEPT Conference Preparatory Group meeting prior to WRC-19 takes place from the 26th of August. Most of its papers are now available, including on current hot topics in the 6m, 2m and 23cm bands, where RSGB volunteers have been working hard to support the IARU. In summary:- At 50MHz IARU hopes that the European Common Proposal for WRC-19 will be supported, with as many administrations as possible signing the optional footnote to allow amateurs Primary access on a national basis in the lower part of the band. The 144-146MHz band is subject to the French proposal for a WRC-23 agenda item for aeronautical use. IARU and its Member Societies have been busy in recent weeks. IARU has submitted a paper to the meeting that includes background on amateur usage and regulatory concerns. It also includes a basic technical analysis showing the impracticality of such a proposal and believes there are much more appropriate parts of the spectrum for such an application. Amateur Radio Resources Ready as Dorian Poised to Become a Major Hurricane Amateur Radio resources organized this week as Hurricane Dorian threatened Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and worked its way through the Caribbean. A change in direction spared Puerto Rico — still recovering from hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 — from taking a direct hit; the Virgin Islands suffered downed trees and widespread power outages. As of August 29, Dorian was a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds near 85 MPH with higher gusts. According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Dorian was expected to become a major hurricane on Friday and remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through the weekend, reaching Category 3 or 4 by September 1. Heavy rainfall generated by Dorian could cause flash flooding, the NHC said. "The risk of devastating hurricane-force winds along the Florida east coast and peninsula late this weekend and early next week continues to increase," the NHC said on August 29. Dorian Gains Hurricane Status, Forecast to Strengthen into Major Storm Amateur Radio resources are in position as now-Category 1 Hurricane Dorian gradually moves away from the northeastern Caribbean. It is expected to become a "dangerous hurricane" in the western Atlantic, the National Hurricane Center said in its 2100 UTC update. Dorian is about 45 miles northwest of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, with maximum sustained winds of 80 MPH and moving northwest at 14 MPH. The storm could make landfall along the southeastern Florida coast. A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Vieques and Culebra, the US Virgin Islands, and the British Virgin Islands. A Hurricane Watch and a Tropical Storm Warning are in effect for Puerto Rico. "Dorian should continue to move near or over the US and British Virgin Islands during the next several hours and then move over the Atlantic well east of the southeastern Bahamas on Thursday and Friday," the National Hurricane Center said. "Dorian is forecast to strengthen and become a powerful hurricane during the next few days over the Atlantic waters." Major Hurricane Dorian Prompts Sustained Activations Hurricane Dorian, now a dangerous Category 5 storm, hit the island of Abaco in the Bahamas with 185 MPH winds and heavy rain. The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) on 14.325 MHz (7268 MHz alternate) and the VoIP Hurricane Net (EchoLink WX_TALK Conference) remain activated in conjunction with WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center to keep on top of ground-truth weather information and to handle emergen...