QRZ Forums - Amateur Radio News
///////////////////////////////////////////
Amateur radio based group rescues released broadcast frequency
Posted: 23 Feb 2015 02:18 AM PST
http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php...y&goto=newpost
Amateur radio based group rescues released broadcast frequency
When the 'Deutsche Welle' decided to close down one of
their 500 KW short wave broadcast transmitters near Munich at the end of
2012, a group containing some German radio amateurs applied for and were
allocated the then available short wave frequency of 6070 KHz in 2013.
This group now have an operational 10KW station on the
frequency, using the driver stages from the old Deutsche Welle
transmitter. The rest of the transmitter was built by and is run by Rainer
DB8QC . The licence allow transmission 24/7 but at present most
transmissions are on a weekend during daylight hours.
Content is mainly provided by existing Internet Radio
stations wanting to get their material "on-the-air" this includes several
soceities that remember the days of the Pirate Radio pop music stations in
the North sea between England and Holland and a lot of their music content
is from the 60's and 70's.
Additional content is being sought and at only 15 Euros
an hour, this is not a corporate big business rather a facility where
smaller groups can afford to buy time to transmit their content. One such
group is the Deutsche Amateur Radio Club, the National Amateur Radio
Soceity in Germany, who hope to have a weekly 2 hour slot on the station
from mid-March to send a DX orientated program, probably from 6pm local
time on Sundays.
The DARC DX magazine will be in the German language and
targeted towards German speaking listeners. Amateur radio is an
international medium however so there are thoughts of also producing an
international / English hour in addition, to reach out across Europe not
only to radio amateurs but also to short wave listeners and the general
public.
When I talked with another Rainer DF2NU who is one of
the group running the station and the president of the Munich South
section of the DARC, he told me that they hope to be able to broadcast
more often once sufficient content is available however they are already
seeing other broadcasters such as Radio China moving onto the frequency in
the evenings as those stations percieve 6070 KHz as a free frequency.
Rainer told me that currently "Channel 292" has airtime
bookings for 20-25 hrs a week, mostly on weekends at which times it runs
at 10 kW output. When the station is idle (as there is no booking), the
transmitter power is reduced to 1kW and transmits an infinite music-loop
with no actual program. Late evenings, after 8pm local, the transmitter is
switched off completely in order to save energy costs. Rainer stressed
that the license is for 24/7 so they can use the frequency at any time
when they have content.
With a current rate of EUR 15,-- per hour airtime you
cannot earn any money. This broadcast station is an extenion of the
amateur radio hobby and the group seek to simply cover their costs.
Thinking back to the very start of amateur radio, Hams
were allowed to transmit music, news and entertainment programs, so it's
nice to see some of this coming back onto the short wave bands thanks to
the efforts of groups like this one.
I wonder as we see more and more broadcasters leaving
the short wave bands in favour of Internet broadcasting, whether we'll see
more licences and surplus transmitters being picked up by amateur radio
groups? This seems to be somewhat of a repeat of the situation when it was
said 200 metres and up is useless for broadcasting - give it to the
amateurs. We all know what then followed.
Perhaps amateur Radio groups around the world can put
new life into released shortware broadcast frequencies?
For program information about "Channel 292" simply go to their website at
www.channel292.de
Why not give 6070KHz AM a listen?
Channel292 coverage map
The Channel292 station covers a lot of Western Europe but has also been
heard in Russia and the US
coverage_map.jpg
Follow Southgate News on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Attached Images
coverage_map.jpg
(178.9 KB)
///////////////////////////////////////////
Stunning results from ISS SSTV
Posted: 23 Feb 2015 02:09 AM PST
http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php...V&goto=newpost
Stunning results from ISS SSTV
The ISS Slow Scan Television
transmissions have already produced some great pictures, more will be sent
Monday on 145.800 MHz FM until 2130 UT
On the AMSAT Bulletin Board (AMSAT-BB) Clint Bradford
K6LCS posted:
Receiving SSTV from the ISS really CAN be simple:
For my first time ever, I simply fired up a $3 iOS app, and held my iPod
touch near my Yaesu FT-60R's speaker, and downloaded one of the images
from the ISS.
I didn't think there was too much left in the hobby to excite me - but I
was WRONG!!!
Greg KO6TH said “I’ve never received a clearer SSTV picture from
anywhere, let alone outer space!”
Twelve different images depicting space pioneer Yuri Gagarin - the first
human to orbit Earth - are being sent on 145.800 MHz using the SSTV mode
PD180, with a 3-minute off time between transmissions.
The transmitter on the ISS uses 5 kHz deviation FM. If your rig has
selectable FM filters (most mobiles do) make sure you choose the wider
setting designed for 20 or 25 kHz channel spacing, usually marked FM or
FMW.
Images received so far by radio amateurs world-wide are at
http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/
Find out more about receiving these transmissions and
links to decoding software at
http://amsat-uk.org/2015/02/11/more-iss-slow-scan-tv/
ISS SSTV image 2 - Andrew Garratt M0NRD 20150222-1731Z.jpg
ISS SSTV received by Andrew Garratt M0NRD
Follow Southgate News on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Attached Images
ISS SSTV image 2 - Andrew Garratt M0NRD 20150222-1731Z.jpg
(60.7 KB)
///////////////////////////////////////////
S8 E4 ICQPodcast - Q and A and Repair Tips has been released.
Posted: 22 Feb 2015 10:10 AM PST
http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php...d&goto=newpost
Series Eight EpisodeFour of the ICQ Amateur / Ham Radio Podcast - Q and A
and Repair Tipshas been released.
In this episodeMartin M1MRB / W9ICQ is joined by Ed Durrant DD5LP and
MartinRothwell M0SGL to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news.
ColinM6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episodes feature Q and
Aand Repair Tips.
Newsstories include:-
Essex 2m Activity Day March 2015
Rotary Celebrates its 110th birthday
Cansat - Rocket Launched Instruments in a 330ml Can
New Open Source Data Mode FSQ
D-STAR, DMR and C4FM Repeater Maps
WG2XPN 70 MHz Beacon update
Amateur Radio Based Group Rescues Released Broadcast Frequency
Indoor Marijuana Growers caught due to radio interference
Radio Astronomy and SDR Dongles
TheICQPODCAST can be downloaded from http://www.icqpodcast.com
///////////////////////////////////////////
Dayton Hamvention System Fusion Forum Announced
Posted: 21 Feb 2015 12:15 PM PST
http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php...d&goto=newpost
The first System Fusion forum at the Dayton Hamvention has been scheduled.
The System Fusion Forum will be Sunday morning, 5/17 at 10:30 am in Forum
Room #1
We understand that Sunday morning is not exactly an optimal time, but it
will be a good start for the first forum.
We'd like thank the Hamvention & the Forums Chairman for making the time
available for the forum since the forum was requested at a late date.
We have been assured that future System Fusion forums will be scheduled on
Friday or Saturday in a large room.
We will be working with Yaesu and hams active in the System Fusion
community to schedule the agenda by mid-March.
We look forward to your attendance at the forum and if you would like to
present at the forum please reach out to me directly as soon as possible.
In the meantime, you can learn more about System Fusion by joining the
System Fusion group at:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/...temFusion/info
See you at the Hamvention!!
73, Mark, WB9QZB
System Fusion Group Moderator
Email:
Attached Images
System Fusion Logo.jpg
(50.1 KB)
///////////////////////////////////////////
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1953 February 20 2015
Posted: 20 Feb 2015 08:32 PM PST
http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php...5&goto=newpost
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1953 February 20 2015
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1953 with a release date of Friday,
February 20th, 2015 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. The International Amateur Radio Union Region One
Executive Committee meets to discuss issues affecting the future of ham
radio; the ARRL tells a broadband company to use caution experimenting on
the High Frequency bands; a radio club in Canada gets a government grant
to expand its emergency repeater network; the K1N Nevassa Island DXpedition
comes to an end, so now, which DXpedition moves up on the Most Wanted
list? All this and more on Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1953
coming your way right now.
(Billboard Cart Here)
**
RADIO POLITICS: IARU-R1 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING IN FRANKFORT
The future of amateur radio is discussed at the annual IARU meeting.
Here's Jeremy Boot G4NJH with more...
[Jeremy:] The Executive Committee of Region 1 of the International Amateur
Radio Union held its annual meeting on February 7 and 8 in Frankfurt,
Germany. During the two day session, the committee discussed the strategic
priorities for the region, the financial report and budget. Spectrum
matters discussed in the External Relations Committee included High
Frequency and VHF reports, core issues such as electromagnetic
compatibility, the member society and its regulator, activities involving
young people and the Support To the Amateur Radio Service program.
In the discussions about activities involving young people, the Executive
Committee agreed that proper child protection policies and practices must
be in place. A child protection policy has been drawn up and will soon be
made available across the region. Amateur Radio in disputed geographic
areas and second societies were also discussed.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH reporting from
Nottingham in the U.K.
(IARU-R1, SARL)
**
RADIO CONFRONTATION: ARRL WARNS MITRE OVER HF BROADBAND EXPERIMENT
INTERFERENCE POTENTIAL
The ARRL has asked the Massachusetts company that plans to conduct
experimental transmissions over wide portions of the High Frequency
spectrum either to avoid Amateur Radio allocations or to announce the times
and frequencies of their transmissions in advance.
Last fall the FCC granted MITRE Corporation of Bedford, Massachusetts, a
2-year Part 5 Experimental License, WH2XCI. This allows MITRE to operate
21 transmitters at 10 fixed New York and Massachusetts sites.
MITRE plans to test wideband HF communication techniques on a variety of
bands between 2.5 MHz and 16 MHz. But in a February 12th letter to MITRE,
ARRL Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, says that it will not be possible for MITRE
to operate these transmitters within the Amateur Radio Service allocations
without causing harmful interference to a large number of Amateur Radio
operators on an ongoing basis. Imlay added that if MITRE does not agree to
avoid ham radio bands or to announce times and frequencies of transmissions
ahead of time, it will ask the FCC to rescind the company's Experimental
License or to impose a prior notification requirement in real time for each
and every use of the transmitters authorized at each site.
More is on the ARRL website at tinyurl.com/arrl-vs-mitre (ARRL)
**
RESCUE RADIO: CANADIAN CLUB GET $25000 GOVERNMENT GRANT FOR EXPANDED
REPEATER NETWORK
The Government of Canada will provide over $25,000 to the Saint Lucia
Amateur Radio Club to improve amateur radio coverage and communication in
the event of a disaster. Using the funds the club plans to install two
repeater systems including solar back-up power, train 90 radio operators
and increase coverage for all 18 districts.
The Saint Lucia Amateur Radio Club secured support for this project
through the Canada / Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Fund, part of
Canada's Caribbean Regional Program. The Repeater System for the Saint
Lucia Amateur Radio Club will provide enhanced two-way communications
during normal and disaster conditions, allowing for amateur radio coverage
in all communities, especially in the known high-risk areas. (WIA News)
**
RESTRUCTURING: MALTA HAMS GET 4 METER ACCESS
Hams on Malta have been given access to the popular European 4 Meter
band. The permission was effective as of Monday, February 16th in the
spectrum from 70 and 70.5 MHz. Use by hams is on a secondary basis and was
included in the National Frequency Plan as published by the Malta
Communications Authority on February 13th. (9H1GB, Southgate)
**
DX UP FRONT: NAVASSA 2015 DXPEDITION QRT
The long awaited K1N Navassa Island DXpedition is now QRT.
[Don:] The operation came to an end at 11:30 UTC on Sunday, February 15th
after the team of highly skilled operators had spent a week on the
island. And what a historic week it was for ham radio as the team ranked
up big QSO totals on all bands, as well as conducting operations on 60
meters, 6 meters and some satellites.
According to co-Team Leader Glenn Johnson, WZ0GJ, the final helicopter
flight left the island at 1500 UTC on the 15th carrying the last three team
members who overnighted to keep stations operational until the last
possible moment. Johnson reports that there was an excellent opening to
Asia and Oceania during the last 24 hours.
While these numbers are preliminary, the K1N QSO log showed they made
138,409 QSOs with 35,702 unique callsigns. Of these 71,297 were on CW,
54,801 on SSB, 12,111 were accomplished using RTTY and 29 were on FM. More
detailed information can be found in their oQRS on ClubLog at
tinyurl.com/navassa-log-2015. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Don
Wilbanks AE5DW in south Mississippi.
There are several ways to QSL the K-one-N operation. Paper cards go
either via the bureau or direct to the Navassa 2015 DXpedition, in care of
Bob Schneck, N2OO at Post Office Box 345, Tuckerton, New Jersey 08087.
Electronic QSL's go via Logbook of the World. (OPDX, navassadx.com)
**
DX UP FRONT: VK0EK HEARD ISLAND DXPEDITION
With the K1N Navassa Island operation now over, Heard Island appears to be
the next up as far as top 10 Most Wanted entities in the DXCC Program's
list. With the story from Down Under, here is Graham Kemp VK4BB...
[Graham:] Heard will also rise to number 4 in the DX Publications Most
Wanted List, but this is, of course, always subject to change due to those
who participate in the poll each year. It will be number five in the
Clublog Most Wanted List but this also changes based on those who upload
their log files,.
Based on this need, the next Heard Operation sponsored by Cordell
Expeditions is tentatively scheduled for the 2015 southern hemisphere
summer. The voyage to the island is scheduled for November 10th to
December 22nd with actual operation running from about November 22nd to
December 8th. The callsign to be used will be VK0EK.
Heard Island was last activated eighteen years ago back in 1997. Before
that an operation from Heard was part of a 1980's era scientific expedition
chronicled in the Australian theatrical motion picture to the White
Volcano. On that expedition the scientific team relied totally on the ham
radio operators for communications with the outside world.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp VK4BB reporting from
Queensland. (KY6R, ARNewsline)
**
BREAK 1
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world including the W8HVG repeater
serving Southern Michigan.
(5 sec pause here)
**
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS: HAMVENTION WEEK AUXCOMM COURSE REGISTRATION NOW
OPEN
The Department of Homeland Security s Office of Emergency Communications
will again offer its Auxiliary Communications or AuxComm course May 12th to
the 14th in Dayton, Ohio, just prior to Hamvention 2015.
The intensive 3 day course provides facilitated lectures, student
exercises, and interactive discussions. Applicants must meet all
prerequisites and provide documentation to attend this class. The class is
limited to 50 qualified students.
More than 1000 Amateur Radio operators have completed the course, which
trains qualified hams to assist local, county, and state government with
emergency back-up communication. Details and registration requirements are
available on the web at hamvention.org. (W8HJR, Hamvention 2015)
**
ENFORCEMENT: UK TEENAGER CHARGED WITH WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY ACT OFFENCES
Police in Edinburgh, Scotland, have arrested and charged an 18 year old
with some twenty violations committed under the Wireless Telegraphy Act.
The crimes, which included offensive remarks, took place between June 2014
and January 2015. They related to interference with communications on
private radio networks that caused disruption to various locations in the
city.
Those involved in the five-month long investigation included British
telecommunications regulator Ofcom, the British Transport Police and a
local Community Policing team. A search was conducted on Monday, February
9th, resulting in the seizure of radio equipment at the location. The
matter was then reported to a prosecutor for further action.
More is on the web at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...-fife-31417329 (BBC)
**
ENFORCEMENT: ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CB RADIO HARASSMENT
Meantime from down-under comes word that an Adelaide, Australia man has
admitted using a citizen band radio to abuse other people using the
channels.
[Jim:] The Australian Broadcasting Corporation news reports that
46-year-old John Alexander Kiss was due to stand trial but instead pleaded
guilty to operating a radio communication device to harass and two counts
of possessing a radio communication device without a license when he
appeared at the District Court.
Kiss was accused of using CB radios to make harassing and offensive
comments about people, including users of the service, between April and
June 2013. It was also alleged he caused substantial disruption or
disturbance to the citizen band radio station 477.400 MHz by operating the
station in a way that precluded other users from transmitting on the
frequency.
He was charged after an investigation by the Australian Communications and
Media Authority into allegations of abuse on the service. Sentencing
submissions will be heard in April.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF, reporting from
Marybank, Nelson, in New Zealand. (ABC Australia News)
**
RADIO REGULATIONS: NAB SAYS MORE SPECTRUM NEEDED FOR WIRELESS MICS
The National Association of Broadcasters wants the FCC to preserve some
exclusive spectrum space for wireless mics, which have already had to do
with less following the Digital TV transition.
Currently, there are two reserved channels in each market for wireless
mics for a total of 12 MHz, and sometimes local broadcasters need even more
spectrum than that. Under the FCC's incentive auction proposal, there is
no spectrum reserved exclusively for wireless mics, though there is
spectrum in whats called the duplex gap between wireless upload and
download spectrum that wireless mics can use. That is, provided that the
mics can operate successfully sharing with numerous other unlicensed
devices.
The Radio Television Digital News Association has said that using the
duplex gap poses potential interference issues, particularly in emergency
situations when the media's ability to disseminate information is
critical. There is also the situation where some TV stations may have to
be relocated in the gap. In these cases there will be no exclusive
wireless mic spectrum.
The National Association of Broadcasters wants the FCC to find a new band
for wireless mics given the impact of repacking and unlicensed use on the
current band, and do so before the May incentive auction. They also
believe that they should also be able to keep using the 600 MHz band until
the FCC has identified new spectrum space and wireless bidders are actually
ready to deploy. (B&C)
**
PUBLIC SERVICE: THE ANNUAL ASHLAND HALF-MARATHON AND 5K RACE
Hams in and around Boston, Massachusetts take note. The annual Ashland
Half-Marathon, 5K Race and Walk takes place on Saturday, March 21st and
ham radio operators are needed to supply communications for the event. A
good dual band H-T with an extended length antenna is required. If you
are in the area and interested in volunteering please contact Mark Richards
K1MGY by e-mail to kmalittl1(at) gmail (dot) com. (KG1H)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF SELMA
The Alabama Section ARRL will be conducting a special event to commemorate
the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights March on March
7th and 8th.
Pending FCC approval, the call sign used will be W4F which stands
for "Walk for Freedom." Operation will be on 75, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters.
Exact frequencies will be announced closer to the actual date.
This event coincides with the weekend of the Birmingham Hamfest and
operators all over the state are being asked to participate. If you wish
to take part please contact K4LIA by e-mail to k4lia (at) hotmail (dot)
com. (Facebook)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: PALM SPRINGS HAMFEST 2015
The 2015 Palm Springs California Hamfest will be held at the Palm Springs
Pavilion, near the Palm Springs Baseball Stadium on Saturday, March 14 from
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This years keynote speaker is Gordon West, WB6NOA, of
Radio School and Ham Nation. Parking is free and the hamfest will offer a
VE testing session before the opening of the regular event. Full details
are at palmspringshamfest.com (Via e-mail)
**
HAM HAPPEINGS: CETRAL STATES VHF SOCIETY CONFERENCE PUTS OUT CALL FOR
PAPERS
The Central States VHF Society is calling for the submission of papers,
presentations and posters for the upcoming 49th Annual Central States VHF
Society Conference. Suggested topics include but are not limited to
antennas, propagation, satellites, test equipment, digital modes,
contesting and the like.
Non-weak signal topics, such as FM, Repeaters, packet radio and other
utility communications modes are generally not considered acceptable,
however, there are always exceptions. Please contact the Proceedings Chair
John Maxwell if you have any questions about the suitability of a topic.
His e-mail is w0vg (at) arrl (dot) net.
The Central States VHF Society Conference is slated for July 23rd through
the 26th in Denver, Colorado. Registration is online now at
www.csvhfs.org. (Central States VHF Society Conference)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: ARRL FIELD DAY 2015 PACKETS VAILABLE
The ARRL 2015 Field Day packet is now online.
ARRL Field Day is the most popular on-the-air event held annually in the
US and Canada. On the fourth weekend of June, more than 35,000 radio
amateurs gather with their clubs, groups or simply with friends to operate
from remote locations.
Participants are encouraged to register their Field Day operations using
the FD Site Locator. Field Day gear will be available by March 1st. There
are no rule changes for 2015. This years Field Day takes place June 27th
and the 28th. (ARRL)
**
PUBLIC RELATIONS: NEW TV ADD FEATURES HAM RADIO AND ISS
The latest advertisement from Internet service provider MTN Global
features amateur radio and the International Space Station. The commercial
tells the story of a little boy who discovers, via the internet, that it is
very simple to build a homemade radio that will allow him to actually speak
to an astronaut in space. He tries and fails and tries again, using the
internet to embark on a journey of discovery that takes a rather unexpected
and very positive turn. We don't want to spoil the happy ending for you so
take your web browser to tinyurl.com/mtn-global-iss and enjoy the moment
for yourself. (Southgate)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: THE YOUNG HAM LENDS A HAND CONTEST
Some names in the news. Carole Perry, WB2MGP, has announced the opening
for nominations for the "Young Ham Lends A Hand" contest. Any licensed ham
18 years or younger is eligible. A simple e-mail to Carole detailing why
the nominated youngster should win is all that is required.
The young ham should be someone who is meeting one of our amateur radio
basic tenets of giving back and service. Among the possibilities are such
activities as helping other youngsters to get licensed, reading to a senior
citizen, helping military personnel in some way, providing communications
at a local community event, or other volunteer service to the community.
The winner will be announced at the 2015 Dayton Hamvention Youth Forum
where he or she will receive $100. The youngster need not be present to
win.
All nominations should be by e-mail sent to
before April 1st. (WB2MGP)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: ZR6KF APPOINTED AS NEW SARL YOUTH COORDINATOR
Koos Fick, ZR6KF, has been appointed as the new South African Radio League
Youth Coordinator. Koos is a 16 year old in the 11th grade at the
Helpmekaar secondary school in Johannesburg. He has been the net
controller for South Africa's Youth Net since last November and operated
special event station ZS9YOTA during December 2014. Fick replaces Mitchel
Mynhardt, ZS6YH, who is resigning as he is in the last year of school and
needs to concentrate on his schoolwork. (SARL)
**
WORLDBEAT: GULF WAR RADIO STOLEN IN THE UK
A camouflage British army radio used in the Falklands and Gulf wars was
recently stolen from the back of a car parked in Northampton, England. The
distinctive radio, which is carried in a large camouflage backpack is now
more usually used by amateur radio enthusiasts.
If you see this unit show up on an on-line auction site or hear of it
being offered for sale please contact the call Northamptonshire Police or
the independent charity Crimestoppers. You can do the latter anonymously
using the form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org. (GB2RS)
**
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)
**
HELP WANTED: AMSAT ENGINEERING KICKING OFF GROUND STATION DEVELOPMENT
AMSAT Engineering is looking for hams interested in developing ground
station equipment for future satellites. This as part of the recently
approved technology funding the development of an inexpensive L-Band uplink
converter for Low Earth Orbit or LEO satellites.
If you are interested in helping in this or other space related projects
please contact AMSAT Engineering by completing the form on the website to
tell Jerry Buxton, N0JY, the Vice President of Engineering, how you can
assist. The form is at tinyurl.com/amsat-engineering-volunteer (AMSAT)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: MORE ISS SLOW SCAN TV ACTIVITY ANNOUNCED
The Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos has announced another round of
amateur radio Slow Scan Television activity will soon take place from the
International Space Station. As part of it twelve images depicting space
pioneer Yuri Gagarin will be sent on 145.800 MHz using the SSTV mode PD180.
The equipment used on the ISS will be the Kenwood D710 transceiver located
in the Russian Service Module. It is thought the transceiver is producing
about 25 watts output which should provide a very strong signal.
The D710 uses 5 kHz deviation FM. If your rig has selectable FM filters
make sure you choose the wider setting designed for 20 or 25 kHz channel
spacing, usually marked FM or FMW. There will be a three minute off time
between transmissions. Additional details including exact dates and times
will be released as soon as information is made available. (AMSAT-UK,
Roscosmos)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AMSAT-BR FORMED IN BRAZIL
There's a new AMSAT organization in South America, with the formation in
Brazil of AMSAT B R.
AMSAT BR is said to have three specific goals. These are are to better
organize the Brazilian amateur satellite activities, to better represent
that nations amateur radio community to organizations developing CubeSat
projects and to attract more amateurs in different regions of the country
to join in space related activities..
AMSAT BR is a special interest group under Brazil's national amateur radio
society LABRE. LABRE in turn is registered as a member of the
International Amateur Radio Union. (IARU).
**
RADIO FROM SPACE: NASA ANNOUNCES SUBMERSIBLE TO EXPLORE OCEANS OF TITAN
NASA has announced that it will develop a new nuclear robotic submersible,
which they could use to explore the oceans on Saturn's frozen moon Titan
and radio its findings back to Earth. With more on this story, Jim Damron
N8TMW...
[Jim D.:] Describing the submarine in a recently released PDF document,
the space agency said it was proposed as a way to explore Kraken Mare, a
body of liquid on Titan spotted by the Cassini spacecraft in 2007. Kraken
Mare is believed to be the largest sea or lake in the northern portion of
Titan.
Powered by a radioisotope Stirling generator power source, the submarine
would be efficient enough to complete a 90-day, 2000-kilometer under sea
journey.
Researchers working on this project admit that they are concerned that it
would be hard for the submarine to send signals from under the liquid on
Titan back to Earth, as the direct transmission. They believe that doing
so would require a large antenna and one option being considered is
concealing it in the submersible vehicle's fin.
The submarines design will be unveiled at the 46th Lunar and Planetary
Science Conference in March. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Damron
N8TMW, in Vero Beach, Florida. (PerfScience.com)
**
SWL CORNER: VOICE OF GUYANA BACK ON THE AIR
From the SWL corner comes word that radio technician, Jamie Labadia has
repaired the shortwave transmitter and antenna at Radio Guyana and has
brought the station back on the air. Listen out for it to be broadcasting
on 3 dot 290 MHz at 1 kilowatt double sideband full carrier AM.
(SWLING.com)
**
ON THE AIR: SPECIAL CALLSIGNS FOR COOK ISLANDS
Resident amateurs in the Cook Islands have been issued E50 single letter
suffix callsigns instead of the usual E51 two letter to celebrate 50 years
of self governance. The seven residents may opt to use them for all or
part of 2015 in place of their regular E51 two letter suffix call signs.
Visitors to the Cooks will still be issued the standard visitor E51 triple
letter callsigns. The mail out of specially designed QSL cards won't
start until late March at the earliest. The Cook Islands are Islands on
the Air reference OC-013. (Press release)
**
ON THE AIR: GB1BST CELEBRATING BRITISH SUMMER TIME 2015
Woody's Top Youth Hostel in Lincolnshire will be the venue for the 2015
GB1BST Special Event Station, celebrating the start of British Summer
Time. Radio operations are scheduled to start late on March 27th with
test transmissions on the 40, 20, 17 and 2 meter bands all of which will
be used during the two day celebration. (WIA)
**
DX
In DX, JR1JYR will be active as V63JYR from Phonpei in the Federated State
of Micronesia between March 5th and the 11th. Operation will be on 20
through 10 meters including 17 and 12 meters using mainly CW, SSB and the
digital modes. QSL via JR1JYR direct or electronically using Logbook of the
World.
7K2TTJ will be operational as T88YD from Palau between March 14 and 18th.
Activity will be on the HF bands. QSL via his home callsign.
DL9NBJ will be active stroke PJ2 from Curacao through March 10th using an
Elecraft KX3 with 12 watts into a vertical wire dipole. Listen out for him
on the High Frequency bands operating CW and SSB. Skeds are possible by
making arrangements using E-mail or Echolink. Logs will be uploaded to
ClubLog. QSL via his home callsign, direct or via the bureau.
DF2WO will be on the air signing XT2AW from Burkiuna Faso between May 20th
and June 25th. Activity will be holiday style on CW and SSB. QSL via
M0OXO.
Lastly, Members of the Belgian International Police Association Radio Club
will be active as HB0 stroke OO6P from Lichtenstein between June 21st and
the 26th. Their operation will be on 160 through 6 meters using SSB, RTTY
and PSK. QSL 's go via ON6ZV.
(This weeks DX report courtesy of the Ohio-Penn DX Newsletter)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: DUST DEBUNKS DETECTION OF COSMIC INFLATION SIGNAL
And finally this week a follow-up on a story dealing with a discovery made
by the BICEP2 researchers at the South Pole. BICEP2 is a microwave
polarimeter designed specifically to target the B-mode signature of
inflation in the cosmic microwave background polarization. In other words
it looks for certain cosmic signal anomalies from the edge of space. Hence
the acronym BICEP2.
In 2014 researchers had claimed that after conducting the BICEP2
experiment at the South Pole that they detected swirly polarization
patterns called B-modes in the cosmic microwave background. However, a new
analysis has debunked the discovery, showing foreground dust led the
researchers to misread the signal.
When the researchers made the earlier announcement about the discovery, it
created a sensation in the scientific community as it seemed to provide
evidence that the universe ballooned rapidly a split-second after its
birth. This phenomenon is also known as cosmic inflation.
But now, Brian Keating of the University of California, San Diego, a
member of the BICEP2 team, has claimed that the detection was flawed.
After the new analysis was conducted by BICEP2 researchers and scientists
who worked with the European Planck satellite, it was determined that there
was a high possibility that the source of the signal likely came from dust
in our galaxy, faltering the evidence BICEP2 had claimed last year.
During the new analysis, the BICEP2 Keck and Planck teams combined forces.
The team made it clear in a paper published on January 30th that the cosmic
claim was flawed, as it could have been explained by our galaxys own dust.
According to the researchers, only half of the observed signal could have
been made by gravitational waves from inflation, at most.
A 400 square degree patch of sky near our galaxys south pole is a region
free of much of the dust that fills the solar disk. It was observed by
BICEP2 and the Keck Array for the revised analysis. The complete story is
on the web at tinyurl.com/space-theory-revised. (Uncover Michigan, Science
OnLine)
**
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, for producer Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF in Los Angeles and our news
team world wide, I'm Skeeter Nash, N5ASH, in Topeka saying 73 and as always
we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2015.
All rights reserved.
///////////////////////////////////////////
HamRadioNow: CQ 'Comes Clean'
Posted: 20 Feb 2015 05:37 PM PST
http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php...n&goto=newpost
HAMRADIONOW.tv
Episode 189:
3 Years Ago in OrlandoHamRadioNow launched 3 years ago with a series of
programs at the Orlando HamCation. I returned this year with a little less
ambition (and no hernia), but I did get some good video. Episode 189 is a
short tour that looks at a new full-fledged QRP SDR from Elad in Italy, and
a prototype of the FreeDV Speaker-Mic. I also give Chairman Peter Meijers
some grief about a hamfest that hits Friday the 13th and Valentine's Day in
the same weekend.
Episode 190:
CQ 'Comes Clean'
Click-bait is a deliberately provocative title that gets you to click the
link and, maybe, read the story. I did talk (at length) with CQ editor Rich
Moseson W2VU, and he was generally candid about the state of CQ and its
potential future. I don't think he reveals much that we don't already know,
but it's good to hear it from the source. Watch this episode here.
Watch all our programs on our web page:
HAMRADIONOW.tv
HamRadioNow is supported by viewer contributions
If you enjoy the programs, visit www.HamRadioNow.tv and "click the pig"
THANK YOU to all our contributors!