AMATEUR RADIO NEWS FROM THE NET

10711- 10745 of 10853 News Items

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... Storm Watch Continues Along Southeastern US Coast As of 1500 UTC, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) was reporting that a hurricane warning has been extended northeastward along the North Carolina coast. The storm was located 90 miles east-northeast of Daytona, Florida, and 205 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina. A Category 2 storm, Dorian is packing sustained winds of 105 MPH.The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) activation statu... Tracking Dorian: Hurricane Watch Net Hunkered Down for the Long Haul The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) has been in continuous operation for Dorian since last Saturday at 2100 UTC, and it plans to remain in operation on 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz until further notice, HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, said. The storm, then a Category 5 hurricane, made landfall on Grand Bahama Island with maximum sustained winds of 180 MPH, where it stalled for a day and a half. Only on... ARRL Seeking Emergency Management Director ARRL is seeking an emergency management director to oversee a team responsible for supporting ARRL emergency communication programs and services, including the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and National Traffic System (NTS), and to work with staff to develop standards, protocols, and processes designed to support the Field Organization. This is a full-time, exempt position at ARRL Hea... Report: North Korea Testing Digital Broadcasting on 80 Meters Radio World reports that the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) has resumed testing digital radio broadcasting on the 80-meter amateur band after a 2-year absence. North Korea is transmitting with the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) protocol. The latest transmissions on 3.560 MHz began in mid-August.“It appears unclear at this time, however, whether the current series of transmiss... FCC Readies for Hurricane Dorian As Hurricane Dorian nears the US southeast coast, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai reports the agency been working throughout the weekend to finalize preparations for the storm and coordinate with federal and state partners."Our staff has reached out to wireless carriers and broadcasters to offer assistance," Pai said in a statement. "With our government partners, including FEMA, we have worked to ensure... Tokelau Islands ZK3A DXpedition Ceases Operation Early Due to the illness of a ZK3A Tokelau Islands DXpedition team member, the operation has shut down a couple of days ahead of schedule.“ALL TEAM MEMBERS ARE FINE!” said an announcement on the ZK3A website. “A person on the island is ill. So, they have sent the boat there early to get this person medical help. The team has ceased operations and [is] packing up all equipment to get on that boat, bec... New Amateur Radio License Conditions in Effect for Australian Radio Amateurs The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has published changes to the Amateur Radio license conditions, effective on September 21. According to the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA), all restrictions on emission modes have been removed for all licensees, and restrictions on permitted transmission bandwidths have been lifted for all licensees on all bands allowed for each lic... Space Weather Update: DSCOVR not to come back online until early 2020 As we have reported before, the real time solar wind monitoring satellite Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) which is located at the Sun-Earth L1 point is being kept in a safe hold at the moment. A glitch in its position system triggered the safe hold and that means it does not transmit any data back to Earth. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel for DSCOVR. IARU Administrative Council Steps Up Efforts to Combat Radio Spectrum Pollution The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Administrative Council (AC) met on September 28 and 29 in Lima, Peru, to conduct a final review of IARU preparations for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19). The Council’s annual meeting took place just ahead of the triennial IARU Region 2 (IARU R2) General Assembly. Responsible for IARU p... FCC Proposes Fining New York Radio Amateur $17,000 for Deliberate Interference A New York Radio Amateur — Harold Guretzky, K6DPZ, of Richmond Hill — is facing a $17,000 fine imposed by the FCC. Guretzky was issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) on October 3 for causing intentional interference on a local repeater and preventing other radio amateurs from using it.“Given his history as a repeat offender, this violation warrants a significant penalty,” the FCC said in the NAL. Lynyrd Skynyrd Founding Member Larry Junstrom, K4EB, SK Southern Rocker Larry “LJ” Junstrom, K4EB, died on October 6. He was reported to be 70.Junstrom was a founding member and bassist of Lynyrd Skynyrd, although he left the group before it recorded its first album. He’s better known as a member of another Southern Rock band, 38 Special, with which he performed from 1977 until retiring in 2014.“The Big Man on the Big Bass has left us,” said a sta... via the RSGB: WRC-19 Day-0: Being Prepared After four years of preparation, studies and proposals, the start of the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference is at hand. Opening on Monday Oct-28, and running for four weeks. The recent pattern of WRCs has been every three to four years (WRC-12, WRC-15 and now WRC-19). Most recent events have been held at ITU HQ in Geneva. This time however, Egypt is making a great effort and hosting it in the very glossy Sharm el-Sheikh International Conference Centre (SHICC).