eHam.net News
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Amateur Radio Service Supports Bethany Triathlon:
Posted: 11 Oct 2013 05:04 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/31021
The Bethany Beach First Responders Triathlon was held Sept. 22. The event
included a .62-mile swim component, an 18-mile bike and a 4.3-mile run. The
Sussex County Amateur Radio Emergency Service provided communications
support to the event. ARES provides emergency communications during natural
and man-made disasters and works closely with other local governmental and
civic agencies providing services during such disasters. ARES also serves
the community by providing communications support to local events such as
the First Responders Triathlon.
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Ham Radio Operators Geared Up for Cyclone Phailin:
Posted: 11 Oct 2013 05:04 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/31020
HYDERABAD: Ham radio operators have swung into action gearing up to offer
their services for communication with the dangerous threat of Cyclone
Phailin looming large. Two amateur radio operators -- experts who have
rendered their services in several disasters in the country and abroad over
the years -- are rushing to Odisha. The National Institute of Amateur Radio
(NIAR) which was set up with the initiative taken by Rajiv Gandhi in 1983
has trained several ham radio operators so far in the country. In Odisha,
as many as 200 trained ham radio operators have been put on alert to rise
to the occasion. Ham radio operators help in rescue operations when other
means of communications may or may not be working. "Ham volunteers not only
in Odisha, but all over the country have been asked to be available if
their services are needed. As many as 40 have already volunteers have
offered to go to any place if needed," NIAR director S Ram Mohan told The
Times of India. For now VU2JOS Jose Jacob and VU2MCW Mukesh Kumar Gola will
reach Odisha by Saturday. "Since the training for the ham operators in
Odisha has been given over the years, the job would mainly be to see that
there are no technical glitches," Ram Mohan said. The amateur radio
operators from NIAR had helped the Odisha government in critical times when
the state was hit by the super cyclone in 1999. Even when the chief
minister's residence was without power supply and all telecommunications
had got cut, ham radio operators came to the rescue helping the state be in
contact with the outside world.
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Ham Gets Sliced During Shutdown:
Posted: 11 Oct 2013 05:04 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/31019
Amateur radio operator gets caught up in gov't boondoggle: The shutdown is
affecting Pocono Record readers in ways both offbeat and unexpected. Here's
a story as told by reader Douglas Gontz of Stroudsburg: I will be ordering
a new piece of ham radio equipment. The item is manufactured in Japan and
will be shipped to a Virginia-based company that sells radio equipment. The
piece of equipment is a linear amplifier, something commonly used by ham
operators. The function is to take the signal from the transmitter and
amplify that signal. The particular piece of gear I am purchasing is a new
item produced by a company in Japan called Tokyo Hy-Power. The USA reseller
informs me that these cannot get through U.S. customs in Dulles, Va., until
the government shutdown is finished.
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The Fight Against the KRPI Radio Towers Hits a Snag:
Posted: 11 Oct 2013 05:03 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/31018
Swamped with form letters in support of relocating the KRPI radio towers to
Point Roberts and boosting the Punjabi radio station's signal, county
planner Suzanne Bosman wants to shut the door on further general
comments. "I need solid stuff now," Bosman said. "I'm still open to
receiving pertinent, study-related evidence," regarding possible
environmental, health, interference and aesthetic effects of locating the
towers on the Point. The county is reviewing a conditional use application
from BBC Broadcasting LLC to install an array of five 150-foot lattice
radio towers at the corner of Tyee Drive and McKenzie Way. The facility
will broadcast the Richmond, B.C. radio station Sher-e-Punjab operating as
KRPI 1550 AM. While prior to October 3 only one out of 100 comments
received by Whatcom County supported the application, Bosman said she now
has approximately 150, received in four packets, from the Punjabi community
on both sides of the border. Strong opposition to the project has come from
residents of Point Roberts and Tsawwassen, a dozen of whom attended the
October 8 meeting of the Point Roberts Community Advisory Committee (PRCAC)
where efforts to defeat the proposal were the core of the agenda. "We need
to continue to push and let them know there are a great number of people in
Tsawwassen as well as Point Roberts who are strongly opposed," said
Tsawwassen resident Nancy Beaton. Beaton said a meeting was planned for
Wednesday, October 23 at 7 p.m. in the South Delta Secondary School theatre
to discuss community concerns about the project. Vicki Huntington, a member
of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, has committed to attend, as
well as environmental advocate Milt Bowling, whom Beaton described as an
expert in electric and magnetic fields (EMF). "Our only goal is to prevent
a nuisance from pouring over the border," said Steve Graham, another
Tsawwassen resident. That nuisance is radio frequency interference. KRPI is
currently located in Ferndale, where there have been loud complaints from
residents about radio interference affecting cordless phones, computers,
baby monitors and HAM radios.
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Propagation Forecast Bulletin #41 de K7RA:
Posted: 11 Oct 2013 12:22 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/31017
Solar activity picked up over the seven days of our reporting week,
October 3-9, and the outlook has improved somewhat. There now are no
predictions for the solar flux dropping below 100 in the next 45
days. October 6 was the date of the last forecast predicting any
flux values below 100. These predictions were for periods later in
October and again in November.