Text 6691, 921 rader
Skriven 2014-11-29 16:37:49 av Roy Witt (1:387/22)
Kommentar till en text av Y'all
Ärende: Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1946 - November 28 2014
==============================================================
Greetings Y'all!
Amateur Radio NewslineT 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; FunCube 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, others)
**
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 ONE CELEBTRATES FIRST BIERTHDAY ON ORBIT
The United Kingdom's FunCube 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 KP15 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 MILLION 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 coin 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 NewslineT is Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I didn't hear anyone screaming abut not having a ARNletter last week, so
this may be the last one.
Have a day!
R\%/itt - K5RXT
--- GoldED+/W32 1.1.5-31012
--- D'Bridge 3.99
* Origin: K 5 R X T (Really Xtra Terrific) San Antonio, TX (1:387/22)
|