Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1946 - November 28 2014
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1946 with a release date of
November 29th 2014 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a Q-S-T. The Department of Homeland Security says
that ham radio is an important part of its new Emergency Communications
Plan; NASA to sponsor $5 million Cube Quest Challenge; the Northern
California DX Foundation announces a major contribution to the January
2015 Navassa Island DXpedition; estate of former ham makes $1.4 million
bequest to journalism school; Fun Sat One celebrates its first year in
space and where are all the pay phones going in the Big Apple. Find
out the details are on Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1946 coming
your way right now.
(Billboard Cart Here)
**
RESCUE RADIO: HOMELAND SECURITY PLAN INCLUDES AMATEUR RADIO
Ham radio will be a part of the Department of Homeland Security's 2014
National Emergency Communications Plan as we hear from Bill Pasternak,
WA6ITF:
--
The ARRL reports that the latest United States Department of Homeland
Security's 2014 National Emergency Communications Plan. or NECP,
formally incorporates Amateur Radio. This, in its blend of media
outlets that could support and sustain communications in a disaster or
emergency situation.
According to the new plan, amateur radio operators can be important
conduits for relaying information to response agencies and personnel
when other forms of communications have failed or have been severely
disrupted.
The document also describes changes that lie ahead for other forms of
emergency communication such as 9-1-1 systems. It notes that the Next
Generation 9-1-1 will enhance the capabilities of current networks by
permitting the transmission and reception of photos, videos, and text
messages. This says the agency would provide additional situational
awareness to dispatchers and emergency responders.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in Los
Angeles.
--
The ARRL says that the 2014 National Emergency Communications Plan is
the first update since the original plan was released in 2008. It was
made public on November 12th with the complete text is on the web at
www.dhs.gov/necp (DHS, ARRL, Southgate)
**
RADIO INCOMPATIBILITY: VDSL VS. HAM RADIO - ROUND 1
A post on the RSGB EMC Committee forum acknowledges that the group is
carrying out an investigation of the significance of interference to
amateur radio from leakage from VDSL systems. VDSL is an acronym for
Very High Speed Digital Subscriber Lines which transmit data in the 13
to 55 Megabytes Per Second range over short distances between 1000 and
4500 feet of twisted pair copper wire.
As the final length of cable into the home or office, VDSL connects to
neighborhood Optical Network Units which in turn connect to the central
office's main fiber network backbone. This architecture allows VDSL
users to access the maximum bandwidth available over normal phone
lines.
According to committee member Robin Page-Jones, G3JWE, the emissions
from VDSL are continuous and can be indistinguishable from white noise.
As such they may go unnoticed for some time. Most problems are seen
when the connection to houses in the area is by overhead cables. The
band that is affected the most depends on distance of the house or
business from the street VDSL cabinet. (Southgate)
**
RADIO INTO SPACE: NASA ANNOUNCES $5 MILLION CUBESAT QUEST CHALLENGE
NASA has announced a mini-satellite or Cube Sat design contest that
will see participants competing for $5 million in prize money and a
chance to have their winning satellite flown to the moon by the space
agency.
Called the Cube Quest Challenge, the objective of the competition is to
design, build and deliver to NASA a flight-qualified small satellite,
or CubeSat capable of advanced research in the vicinity of our moon and
beyond.
The competition consists of three separate challenges, with the prize
monies divided between them as outlined by NASA. The first of these
will be comprised of four ground tournaments to determine which entries
are capable of being carried to space. This will have a prize of
$500,000.
A Lunar Derby will be a $3 million competition for establishing the
capability to put a CubeSat into a stable orbit around the moon and
demonstrating both its durability and communication capabilities while
there.
There will also be a Deep Space Derby for demonstrating a CubeSat's
durability and communication at distances up to 10 times the distance
beyond that of the moon. It will bring with it a prize of $1.5
million.
A NASA release says that the prize purse in the Cube Quest Challenge is
the largest cash prize the agency has ever offered. The winning Cube
Sat will be launched as a secondary payload on the first integrated
flight of NASA's Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket.
Full information about the completion including entry requirements are
at tinyurl.com/nasa-cubesat-challenge (NASA, TechTimes, Phys.org,
others)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: NEW HAM OPERTOR ARRIVES AT THE ISS
Ham radio has returned at the International Space Station. This with
the arrival of European Space Agency Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti,
eye-zed-one-U-D-F, after a 5 hour and 45 minute trip that began at the
Bikenour Cosmodrone in Kazakhstan.
Cristoforetti made the trip along with United States Astronaut Terry
Virts and Russian Cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov. The three new arrivals
were welcomed to the orbiting outpost by Commander Barry Wilmore along
with Cosmonauts Yelena Serova and Alexander Samokutyaev. Virts,
Shkaplerov, and Cristoforetti will remain aboard the station until
mid-May. The current crew I slated to return to Earth in early March.
(ESA)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: UPDATE - NO MODE J TRANSPONDER ON TWIN JAPANESE
HAMSATS
Two Japanese amateur radio satellites, will be headed into space, but
there wont be a Mode J SSB and Morse transponder on board either of
them after all.
As reported last week, Japan's Shin'en 2 was slated to carry a ham
radio transponder with a Lower Sideband uplink between 145.940 to
145.960 MHz and a UHF downlink from 435.280 to 435.260 MHz on Upper
Sideband. Shortly after we went to air word arrived that the
transponder had been scrapped. No reason for the decision to not carry
the transponder was given but speculation was that it had to do with
the amount of power that it would require to operate.
While the satellites will still ride into space with the Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency's Asteroid Mission, one will carry a CW
beacon on 437.505MHz and WSJT telemetry on 437.385MHz. The second
satellite will have a CW beacon at 437.325MHz.
With a November 29th scheduled launch date, the two birds could be
on-orbit by the time you hear this newscast. (various)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: FUNCUBE 1 CELEBRATES FIRST YEAR ON ORBIT
The United Kingdom's Fun Cube One ham radio satellite is celebrating
its first birthday in space as we hear from Jeremy Boot, G4NJH:
--
FUNcube-1, otherwise known as AO73, has celebrated its first birthday,
having been launched at 07.10 GMT on 21st Nov 2013.
The satellite has been performing very satisfactorily with the battery
voltage keeping above 8 volts and is fully charged within about 7 to 10
minutes after re-entering sunlight from eclipse.
AMSAT-UK would like to thank all those who download telemetry and
forwarding it to the warehouse and who use the transponder. This
telemetry data is invaluable, both as an educational resource and to
see how the spacecraft systems are performing and surviving. So far
almost 400MB of unique data via stations from all around the world has
been collected.
I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, in Nottingham in the UK.
--
Fun Cube One is expected to remain on-orbit for years to come. (GB2RS)
**
DX UP FRONT: NCDXF GRANTS K1N NEVASSA ISLAND $35000 ASSISTANCE
In DX up front, the Northern California DX Foundation has announced a
major contribution of $35,000 to the K1N Navassa Island DXpedition
planned for January of 2015.
Navassa is an environmentally fragile area which since 1996 has had
access strictly controlled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As
such no DXpedition has been approved since that time. This in turn has
made it the number one most sought after entity on Club Logs 2014 most
wanted list.
The KP1-5 Project has been working for over 12 years to obtain
permission to operate from Nevassa. There are strict limitations to
the number of visitors and the time allowable on the island.
Planners say that access has been granted for two weeks in January, as
that month has the least bird nesting. However, January weather makes
access by sea all but impossible.
For safety, the Fish and Wildlife Service requires a helicopter
landing for all personnel and equipment raising the cost of the
operation considerably. Details of the DXpedition are at
www.navassadx.com (NCDXF)
**
BREAK 1
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the
WA6YNT repeater serving Anaheim California.
(5 sec pause here)
**
RESCUE RADIO: UTAH RADIO CLUB MEMBERS IN SIMULATED RESCUE EVENT
Members of Utah's Sinbad Desert Amateur Radio Club participated in a
wilderness based rescue training exercise on November 3rd through the
6th,. This, in conjunction with National Guard Civil Support Teams
from New Mexico, Colorado, Idaho and Oklahoma.
The Training took place among the high rocks and deep canyons of Utah's
San Rafael desert in eastern Utah. The exercise consisted of multiple
medical rescues, from one of the many canyons that are favored by
climbers and hikers.
Emery County Sheriff's Office brought their emergency response vehicles
to the desert deep canyon site. This included the recent addition of
their Amateur Radio Public Safety Communications trailer.
Amateur contacts were handled on 40 meter SSB and 2 meter FM, the
latter utilizing the clubs two meter repeater system. Exercise
organizers and evaluators stated that communications during this
exercise were the best they have ever been in this remote location and
called the Sinbad Desert Amateur Radio Club a valuable asset to Emery
County and the State of Utah.
You can read the entire story at tinyurl.com/Utah-Emcomm-Exercise. More
about the Sinbad Amateur Radio Club is at sdarc.us. (Emery County
Progress)
**
RADIO READING: AUTUMN 5 MHZ NEWSLETTER NOW AVAILABLE
The latest edition of The 5 MHz Newsletter is now available for free
download. The autumn 2014 edition features a number of stories,
including 60 meter spectrum changes in Dominica, several items on W-R-C
2015, South African beacon changes and NVIS observations, and much
more. Your free copy is on the web at from tinyurl.com/jvjrtn6 (G4MWO)
**
WORLDBEAT: CHELMSFORD CALLING ADD FINLAND SW RELAY
The recently announced Chelmsford Calling World Service produced by Jim
Salmon 2E0RMI has added a shortwave relay from Finland.
Chelmsford Calling is currently relayed on shortwave on 9.955 MHz by
Radio Miami International on the 2nd Friday of each month at 2300 UTC.
The additional relay will be by Scandinavian Weekend Radio which is
located in Virrat City, Finland.
The show European shortwave broadcast will take place the first
Saturday of the month starting on December 6th. Frequencies announced
are 1.602, 5.980, 6.170, 11.690, 11.720 and 94.90 MHz. The later 94.90
MHz transmission likely being local FM for the immediate area while all
the others being AM for worldwide transmission.
The Chelmsford Calling Network calls itself a station promoting radio
technology and celebrating our wireless heritage. More is on the web
at chelmsfordcalling.com (Southgate)
**
WORLDBEAT: MUNICH OLYMPICS SHORTWAVE STATION DEMOLISHED
Germany's national ham radio society, the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club
says that a bit of communications history came to an end on November 4
with the demolition of the Wertachtal shortwave transmitter towers. The
shortwave station using these towers came into operation for the Munich
Olympics in 1972. At the time it was the largest shortwave transmitter
in Europe with 29 masts up to 125 meters in height high. The first test
transmissions began on April 10, 1972, using several 500 kilowatt
transmitters. The demolition of the facilities started in May and the
plant will be completely gone by the end of the year. (WIA News)
**
WORLDBEAT: RUSSIAN FEDERATION LAUNCHES RADIO SPUTNIK BROADCAST SERVICE
Russia has gotten into the terrestrial broadband news and information
game. This with word that it has launched a media brand called
Sputniknews dot com with modern multimedia centers in dozens of
countries
It appears the streaming station, website and mobile phone apps purpose
is to counter the news outlets of English speaking nations such as
Voice of America and the BBC. Sputnik hopes to broadcast in 30
languages, with over 800 hours of programming covering over 130 cities
and 34 countries by the end of next year.
Sputnik's actual broadcasting will use modern formats, such as digital
DAB, DAB+, HD-Radio, FM radio as well as mobile phones aps along with
Internet broadcasting around the clock. In a 2013 interview with R-T
News, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his wish to break the
Anglo-Saxon monopoly on the global information streams.
Radio Sputnik went live on November 10th. More about the new
multi-platform service is on the web at
tinyurl.com/russia-radio-sputnik (RT News, Southgate,
SPUTNIKNEWS.COM)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: M0PHI NEW CHAIR OF RSGB TRAINING AND EDUCATION
COMMITTEE
Some names in the news. The Radio Society of Great Britain has
announced the appointment of Philip Willis, M0PHI as the new Chairman
of its Training and Education Committee Willis succeeds Steve Hartley,
G0FUW. (GB2RS)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: TWO SILENT KEY HAMS INDUCTED TO CANADIAN AATEUR
RADIO CANADIAN HALL OF FAME
The Board of Trustees of the Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of Fame has
announced the induction of the late Don Dashney, VE3RM, and George
Spencer, VE3AGS, to the Hall of Fame for 2014. The families of the two
appointees will receive this posthumous award in early 2015. A summary
of their contributions to amateur radio will be published in The
Canadian Amateur magazine. (RAC, VE7EF)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: UALR JOURNALISM SCHOLOL RECEIVES $1.4 GRANT FROM
FORMER HAM
Back here in the USA, the names of two Arkansas radio pioneers will be
on a new scholarship set up at the University of Arkansas at Little
Rock's School of Mass Communication. This as the school announces that
it has received a $1.4 million bequest from the Johnnie A. Winn
Revocable Trust.
Johnnie Winn died last year at age 100. In making the announcement the
school said she was the first licensed amateur radio operator in the
state of Arkansas but a search of records available on the Internet has
not revealed her call sign.
Her husband Dan who died in 1998 at age 86 helped put 30 radio stations
on the air. He was also a past chairman of the Arkansas Emergency
Broadcast System.
The gift sets up the Dan and Johnnie Winn Memorial Scholarship with
preference given to students in journalism or radio. The announcement
of the grant and scholarship was made on Tuesday, November 25th. (ULAR,
published news reports)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: FOUR NEW SECTION MANAGERS ELECTED
ARRL members in the Western Pennsylvania Section have elected contester
Tim Duffy, K3LR, as their new Section Manager. Duffy, who lives in
West Middlesex has been a radio amateur and an ARRL member for 42 years
and has served for 4 years as the Atlantic Division representative to
the ARRL Contest Advisory Committee. K3LR also has been an active
member of ARES and RACES and has extensive net and traffic-handling
experience.
In Eastern Massachusetts, Tom Walsh, K1TW, of Bedford, will take the
helm of that ARRL Section. Walsh has been an Assistant Section Manager
and was the only candidate for the Section Manager's job. Current
Section Manager Phil Temples, K9HI, who has served as Eastern
Massachusetts SM since 2011, decided not to run for a new term of
office.
Taking over the top leadership role in the Southern New Jersey Section
will be Thomas Arey, N2EI, of Beverly. Arey has been the Affiliated
Club Coordinator in Southern New Jersey. Incumbent SM George
Strayline, W2GSS, opted not to run for another term after serving since
2009.
In the West Central Florida Section, Darrell Davis, KT4WX, of Fort
Meade, will be the new SM starting in the New Year. He was the only
candidate for the position. Davis brings to the office his experience
as an Assistant Section Manager, ARES Emergency Coordinator, and
Technical Specialist.
Several incumbent Section Managers faced no opposition and they will
continue with new terms of office starting January 1, 2015. They are
Missouri's Dale Bagley, K0KY; Matt Anderson, KA0BOJ of Nebraska; Jim
Mezey, W2KFV who serves the New York City-Long Island area; Tom Dick,
KF2GC for Northern New York and Marc Tarplee, N4UFP of South Carolina.
Two-year terms for all successful candidates will begin on January 1,
2015. (ARRL)
**
BREAK 2
This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline with links to the world from our only official website
at www.arnewsline.org and being relayed by the volunteer services of
the following radio amateur:
(5 sec pause here)
**
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: DUTCH FIRM RELEASES EUROPEAN POLICE RADIO DETECTOR
A Dutch company has introduced a radio-based detection system that can
alert drivers if a police officer or other emergency services official
is using a two-way radio nearby At least it can in Europe. Amateur
Radio Newsline's Hal Rogers, K8CMD, reports:
--
According to a United Kingdom's Sunday Times article the unit called
Blu Eye monitors frequencies used by Europe's TETRA encrypted
communications networks used by most government agencies. It doesn't
allow the user to listen in to the actual transmissions, which is
illegal and would require advanced decryption capabilities, but can
detect a radio in operation up to one kilometer away.
Even if a message isn't being sent, TETRA radios transmit pulses out to
the network every four seconds that the Blu Eye unit can also receive.
A dashboard-mounted monitor uses lights and sounds to alert the driver
to the proximity of the source, similar to a radar detector.
Im Hal Rogers, K8CMD.
--
Needless to say the device is causing quite a stir on the other side of
the Atlantic. More about it is on the web at
tinyurl.com/europe-blu-eye and blu is spelled BLU. (UK Sunday Times
Driving)
**
EMERGING THECHOLOGY: BROADBAND HAMNET RELEAES NEW SOFTWARE
Broadband-Hamnet has announced a new firmware release titled 3 dot zero
dot zero. This latest version includes the Ubiquiti M9-series airMAX
devices, giving Hams use of the 900 MHz band for mesh networking. This
latest release builds on a series of advancements that build on the
Ubiquiti firmware released for the 2.4GHz and 5.8 GHz Ham bands earlier
this year. More is on the web at broadband-hamnet.org. (Broadband
Hamnet)
**
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: NEW RASPBERRY PI PICO COMPUTER
A new and inexpensive Raspberry Pi pico-computer christened the model
A+ has been released.
Selling at only about $20 US depending on where you buy it, this is a
truly updated version that features among other things a 700 MHz
Broadcom CPU with 256MB RAM; a 4 pole Stereo audio output, a composite
video port and a full size HDMI connector. Also included are ports for
connecting a CSI camera and Raspberry Pi screen display that are sold
separately.
The Raspberry Pi A+ measures only 56 by 65mm with standard mounting
holes already drilled into the PC board. A full article on this latest
single board tiny computer at tinyurl.com/raspberry-pi-model-a (G7VFY)
**
WORLDBEAT: UK NOV FOR 2300 MHZ NOW AVAILABLE
Word that holders of the United Kingdom's Full class license can now
apply for a Notice of Variation. This, to permit them to operate a
fixed station in 2300 to 2302 MHz band. This particular Notice of
Variation is applicable to U-K hams residing in the United Kingdom
only. It does not cover to British radio amateurs holding United
Kingdom licenses but who reside in Crown Dependencies such as the Isle
of Man, Guernsey and Jersey to name only a few. A Notice of Variation
in the United Kingdom is similar to a Special Temporary Authority
granted here in the United States by our FCC. (RSGB)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: UAE'S FIRST CUBESAT NAYIF-1 ANNOUNCED
The Dubai based Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and
Technology in partnership with American University of Sharjah are
developing the nations first CubeSat named Nayif-1. A report in
Satellite Pro magazine says students will take part in the program as
their Senior Engineering Design project. They will be responsible for
the design, assembly, integration and testing of the completed CubeSat.
The planners hope to launch the completed cubesat on a Space X Falcon 9
lift vehicle by the end of 2015. No word on the type of transponder,
beacons, modes of operation or operating frequencies are known at this
time. (Press release)
**
AN THE AIR: EXPLORE 30 METER DIGITAL PARTY DECEMBER 20 TO 21
On the air, the European Radio Amateurs' Organization, together with
the 30 Meter Digital Group, have announce a new QSO party with the
motto: 'Be digital, explore 30 meters." The party will be held the
weekend December 20th and 21st from 00:00 to 24:00 UTC. This is not a
contest but rather a radio meeting with a few simple recommendations to
follow. You can find them at tinyurl.com/explore-30-meters. (ERAO)
**
DX
In DX, F6BLP will be active as 6W7SK from Senegal between January 10th
and February 15th of 2015. This will be a holiday style operation
mainly using C-W on 80 through 10 meters with the possibility of 160 if
things work out. QSL to F6BLP, either direct or via the bureau.
W8GEX and W8CAA will be active as C6ADX and C6AYL respectively, from
the Island of Exuma through December 3rd. Listen out for them on 60
through 10 meters using SSB and RTTY. QSL to their home callsigns.
KL7SB will be operational as E51RAT from Rarotonga through December
6th. Activity will be limited as time permits, but look for him on 80
through 10 meters, primarily on CW with some SSB, RTTY and some digital
modes. QSL via NI5DX.
OE4AAC will be operational as S79AC from Mahe and Praslin Islands in
the Seychelles Island group between January 17th and February 10th of
2015. Activity will be holiday style on 40 through 10 meters on CW
only. QSL OE4AAC, direct, by the bureau or ClubLog's Oh QRS.
Lastly, K6REF is currently active stroke KC4 from the United States
Camp at Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The team is there for both
survival training and seismometer installation. Late word is that they
should be there for another week or more. Ham radio operation has been
on 20 meter SSB around 14 dot 243 MHz around 1900 UTC. More is on the
web at waponline.it
This weeks DX news courtesy of the Ohio-Penn DX Newsletter)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: PAY PHONES MAY DISAPPEAR IN DA BIG APPLE
And finally this week, a legendary device that pre-dated the cellphone
and the smart phone appears to be on its way to oblivion in one of the
world's largest cities as we hear from Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim
Damron, N8TMW:
--
Pay phones on New York City streets would become a remnant of the past
under a plan that would replace them with stand-alone devices offering
free Wi-Fi and nationwide phone calls as well as mobile phone charging
capability.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio calls the project LinkNYC. He
describes it as a plan proposed by a group of companies working
together under the name CityBridge that have been selected to replace
the old pay phone system.
Up to 10,000 column-like devices would be placed in all five boroughs
starting next year if the plan is approved by the city's Franchise and
Concession Review Committee. The devices, along with Wi-Fi, would also
have touch screens for users to access city agencies and digital
displays for advertising and announcements. These devices would
replace 8,400 pay phones around the city. The only phones left would be
three booth-style pay phones on New York's Upper West Side that would
be preserved as pieces of New York City history.
Mayor De Blasio noted that the plan would not cost city taxpayers
anything. He said the money to cover the cost would come through
revenues from the advertising. New York City leaders claim that
advertising revenue from these new devices would bring in $500 million
over the next 12 years.
Im Jim Damron, N8TMW, reporting.
--
Likely the thing most New Yorkers will miss is the ringing bells each
time a oin is inserted into a pay phone. What they won't miss is
searching through their pockets in the cold of winter looking for those
coins. (Future Technology)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the
Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Rain, the RSGB, the South African Radio League,
the Southgate News, TwiT-TV, Australia's WIA News and you our
listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. Our e-mail
address is newsline (at) arnewsline (dot) org. More information is
available at Amateur Radio Newsline's only official website located at
www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur
Radio Newsline, 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350..
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors' desk, I'm Skeeter
Nash, N5ASH, wishing listeners in the United States a belated Happy
Thanksgiving, and to all of you world wide, 73 and we thank you for
listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm)is copyright 2014. All rights reserved.