Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1953 February 20 2015

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.


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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 www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-31417329 (BBC)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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 caroleperry@ix.netcom.com before April 1st. (WB2MGP)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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).


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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)


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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.