eHam.net News
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This Was Then: Dave Noble, W1SGL:
Posted: 12 Feb 2015 04:05 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34054
David Noble came to Martha's Vineyard in 1933 as a patient at the Marine
Hospital in Vineyard Haven. Formerly employed on an oil tanker, Mr. Noble
was slowly freezing up; he suffered from a creeping debility which
ultimately left him almost completely paralyzed. By the time he turned 40,
Mr. Noble was unable to leave the bed in the small home on Mount Aldworth
that he shared with his sister Olive. Unable to walk, sit up, or even turn
his head, he couldn't even read because of eyestrain and his inability to
hold a book or magazine. He only had full use of his right hand and his
voice. In 1949 Mr. Noble turned to ham radio. Friends set up a radio set
and transmitter for him, cleverly adapted to accommodate his disabilities.
He quickly earned his amateur radio license and call sign -- W1SGL -- and
went on to become a familiar voice on the airwaves, speaking with hams from
all over the earth, and tracking his conversations on the world map he hung
on his wall. Vineyard hams would gather each week in his home in an
informal club meeting, and Noble began to collect QSL cards -- personalized
postcards traditionally traded by hams after each new contact. This
photograph became Noble's QSL card. His niece Kathie Noble Case of
Edgartown, who moved to the Island with her family in her childhood to care
for her uncle, writes, "He did radio right up until his death in '68. It
was what we believed kept him alive all those years."
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Thank You for the Radio:
Posted: 12 Feb 2015 04:04 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34053
If memes are to be believed, then it is true when it is said, 'Home is
where the wifi is.' Wifi signals have become almost synonymous with one's
connect to the world. But before all this came, there was only the humble
radio. Be it entertainment or news, that was the world's only medium to
know what was happening elsewhere. It is World Radio Day. A day formally
announced by UNESCO in 2011, after a suggestion put forward by Spain to
celebrate this important means of communication. While we fret and fume
with weak wifi or 3G connectivity, in some parts of the world, radio still
remains an important lifeline to the outside world. The need to celebrate
Radio day is all the more important because as a site says, "In remote
farming communities in Australia, children learn their school work through
radio. In poor communities in Africa, villages gather around the radio each
evening to keep up to date on national news and hear music and speeches.
Radio has been superseded by the internet and satellite communications for
large parts of the world, but for millions of less fortunate people, radio
is still a miracle of technology." For some, radio as an instrument might
just be a nostalgic piece but even today there are people who feel radio
has more potential than the internet or any other networking medium. When
the floods ravaged Visakhaptnam and every network including electricity
failed, it was the radio that connected and helped rescue work, points out
Farhan Ashhar, convenor of Hyderabad Amateur radio. Farhan, who also
restores and collects radios, has more than nostalgic moments to
share. "Worldwide, radio is seeing resurgence. More and more smaller radio
stations are coming up, primarily with governments making it easier to get
licenses and setting up a studio and transmitter with modern technology.
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Nebraska Artist Sends Kansas City a Valentine In Lights:
Posted: 12 Feb 2015 04:04 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34052
Flashing lights are sending a message from the windows of downtown Kansas
City, Mo., buildings. In Morse code, a signal taps out "LUV U." The light
installation, in eight locations from City Hall to the Central Library, is
called Message Matters. The project by Nebraska-based artist Jamie
Burmeister, first appeared at the Bemis Center of Contemporary Art in
Omaha, Neb. "They had just installed new windows on the upper floors of the
building," says Bermeister. "I was just thinking of the simplest way to
activate the building, so I thought of these lights ... and Morse code
became a way of sending a message."
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Army Radio Used In Falklands and Gulf Wars Stolen from the Back of a Car:
Posted: 12 Feb 2015 04:03 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34051
The distinctive radio, which is carried in a large camouflage backpack, was
stolen from a car parked in Kingsland Avenue, Kingsthorpe, sometime between
6pm on Sunday, February 8 and 2.15pm the following day. The type of radio
which was stolen was previously used in the Falkland and Gulf wars. They
are now more usually used by amateur radio enthusiasts.
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DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #6:
Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:43 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34049
This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
WX3P, 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: 12 Feb 2015 10:42 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34048
Just Ahead In Radiosport:
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FCC Seeks Comment on Radar Sharing that Could Displace Ham Radio 76-81 GHz:
Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:42 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34047
The FCC is seeking comment on issues involving expanded use of various
radar applications in the 76-81 GHz band, which Amateur Radio shares
with other services. The band 77.5-78 GHz is allocated to the Amateur
and Amateur Satellite services on a primary basis, and to the Radio
Astronomy and Space Research services on a secondary basis.
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Navassa: Turn Off Those Speech Processors! K1N Tops 100,000 Contacts:
Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:40 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34046
The pressure to work K1N on Navassa Island
continues. The DXpedition has topped 100,000 contacts, but demand seems
insatiable, as it enters its final few days. The pileups continue to be
fierce with little letup, K1N team member Glenn Johnson, W0GJ, said
in a February 10 media release.
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John Bigley, N7UR, Appointed as Nevada Section Manager:
Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:39 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34045
John Bigley, N7UR, of Las Vegas, has been appointed ARRL Nevada Section
Manager, succeeding the late Gary Grant, K7VY, of Reno, who
died February 1 after a period of ill health. Field Services and
Radiosport Manager Dave Patton, NN1N, consulted with Pacific Division
Director Bob Vallio, W6RGG, and made the appointment effective on
February 5.
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ARRL Field Day 2015 Field Day Packet Now Online:
Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:41 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34044
The complete 2015 ARRL Field Day packet
is now online. There are no rule changes for 2015. Field Day 2015 takes
place June 27-28.
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ARRL International DX Contest 2015 CW Event is February 21-22:
Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:41 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34043
CW, DXing, and contesting come together and go global February 21-22
for the 2015 ARRL International DX CW contest. This HF contest season has
seen
incredible high-band conditions and record entry numbers, and as it
draws to a close, this is a terrific opportunity to get on the air and
get in on the fun. It's the US and Canada working the world in this
event.
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Another Round of International Space Station SSTV Activity Set for Late Feb
Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:38 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34042
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program has
announced another round of Amateur
Radio slow-scan television (SSTV) activity from the International Space
Station will take place later this month. Transmissions will be from
RS0ISS.
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Polish Radio Amateurs Receive 3D-Printed ARTSAT2: Despatch QSL Card:
Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:39 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34041
SQ5KTM, and a Polish team of radio amateurs who
received signals from the ARTSAT2: DESPATCH
(FO-81) spacecraft while it
was more than 1.68 million miles from Earth have been rewarded with a
QSL generated by a 3D printer. Zawada reported that the team heard
FO-81 on December 9. One half of the "card" is a 3D depiction of the
sculpture ARTSAT2 carried into deep space; the other half is a printed
reception confirmation.
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Denying Permission for FCC Station Inspection Nets FL CBer a $3000 Fine:
Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:38 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34040
The FCC Enforcement Bureau has imposed a reduced fine of $3000 on a
Florida, CB operator for failing to allow FCC agents inspect his
station. The Commission issued Tommie Salter of Jacksonville a
Forfeiture Order on February 5.
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Radioshack Enters Chapter 11 'Debtor-In-Possession' Bankruptcy:
Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:37 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34039
Electronics retailer RadioShack, which once supplied Amateur
Radio equipment and has continued to maintain an inventory of
electronics components, has reached an asset purchase agreement with
General Wireless Inc, an affiliate of RadioShack creditor Standard
General, to acquire up to 2400 of RadioShack's more than 4000
company-owned stores.
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'Gray Radio Gang' Reactivates Vintage Battleship Iowa HF Transmitter:
Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:37 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34038
It's a massive project on a number of levels, but the so-called "Gray
Radio Gang" that's been working to restore some of the vintage US Navy
radio gear on board the Battleship Iowa
(BB-61), docked in Los Angeles,
recently fired up one of the vessel's transmitters for the first time
in about 25 years. Restoration team member Jim Jerzycke, KQ6EA,
recounted on his "Every Blade of Grass" blog how the group was finally
able to get 950 W into a dummy antenna from one transmitter on 20
meters.
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Hamvention Week AuxComm Course Registration Now Open:
Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:36 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34037
The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Emergency
Communications will offer its Auxiliary Communications (AuxComm) course
May 12-14 prior to Hamvention 2015 in
Dayton, Ohio. More than 1000 Amateur Radio operators have completed the
course, which trains qualified hams to assist local, county, and state
government with emergency backup communication.
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In Brief...
Posted: 12 Feb 2015 10:36 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/34036
World Radio Day, February 13, Will See Inauguration of Special 4U0ITU
Call Sign: ITU International Amateur Radio Club station 4U1ITU in
Geneva will mark World Radio Day on Friday, February 13. This event
also kicks off the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) 150th
anniversary. International Amateur Radio Union President Tim Ellam,
VE6SH, will inaugurate special call sign 4U0ITU at 0900 UTC. He will be
accompanied by ITU Secretary General Houlin Zhao, other elected
officials, and VIPs. The IARC will use the 4U0ITU call sign until World
Radiocommunication Conference 2015, November 2-27, 2015. World Radio
Day commemorates the first broadcast of UN Radio in 1946. All 4U0ITU
contacts will be confirmed.