http://www.eham.net/ eHam.net Newsfeed http://www.eham.net/articles/22749 http://www.eham.net/articles/22749 JAKARTA, Nov 6 (Bernama) -- The Indonesian Amateur Radio Organisation (Orari) and the Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautic and Space (Lapan) will launch a satellite next year. However, Orari president Sutiyoso did not raveal the satellite's size or the orbit's distance from earth. "The satellite will expand the communication network to remote districts. Communication can't ensure victory at war but victory can't be achieved without communication. Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:40:30 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22748 http://www.eham.net/articles/22748 Most people scream to lift their voices higher than the din of 90,000-plus people gathered at a University of Georgia football game. But some men and women show up just to talk. thought about what happens if someone passes out, falls down the stairs or (hurts themselves at a game)," Kay McMann said. They arrive two hours early, scatter to Red Cross stations throughout Sanford Stadium, wear ear pieces, carry radios and monitor frequencies - as well as people. Don't expect to hear them, though. Unless something is wrong. "Until I did this, I never thought about what happens if someone passes out, falls down the stairs or (hurts themselves at a game)," Kay McMann said. McMann is an amateur radio hobbyist and volunteer communicator at Georgia home games. Often, she works as the "net coordinator," receiving and delivering messages from the dozen or so radio operators who join her throughout the season. Most work in tandem with Red Cross volunteers who staff emergency stations scattered throughout the stadium. The operators talk in a calm way, relating to McMann first-aid locations and calls for more help, if need be. Situations can vary from routine sickness, injury and supply requests to a critical need for emergency personnel. Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:40:24 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22747 http://www.eham.net/articles/22747 Kota Kinabalu: Marine police seized contraband alcohol and a van worth more than RM62,000 at Putatan, early Thursday. Police found an illegal amateur radio used by the culprits. The two men were arrested under the Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967 and under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:40:18 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22746 http://www.eham.net/articles/22746 The following is a Q-S-T. Georgia hams are given a $165,000 grant to build a D-Star rescue radio network, two hams help save a life on Catalina Iasland, the next Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference will take place in Curaco and two pre-teens come up with a cheap solution to the Digital Reception problem in the USA. Find out the details on Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1682 coming your way right now. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:55:28 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22745 http://www.eham.net/articles/22745 Thanks so much to Steve Nichols, G0KYA for writing the Propagation Forecast Bulletin last week. In addition to the sunspot group 1029, which graced us from October 23-30, a new one (1030) just emerged on Thursday. It is currently in a maximally geo-effective position (in other words, in the center longitudinal meridian as viewed from earth), and may provide some enhancement for the ARRL CW Sweepstakes Contest this weekend. On Thursday the daily sunspot number was 15. Of course, this is a new Cycle 24 spot. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:39:14 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22743 http://www.eham.net/articles/22743 Radio Hobbyists Annoyed By City's Tower Ruling: Ham radio operators who are looking for answers about transmission rights in Mustang said that all they're getting is static. City leaders said that residents can build radio towers but they can't use them to transmit signals. They said it interferes with radios, televisions and phones. "Why would I spend 15,000 to put up a tower and have all this equipment just to listen? You want to be able to transmit and enjoy the hobby," said Ham radio operator Richard Ridley. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:14:39 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22742 http://www.eham.net/articles/22742 This Week on the Radio: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:29:09 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22741 http://www.eham.net/articles/22741 Around 9:45 on the night of October 23, while attending an overnight event at the Boy Scouts' Camp Emerald Bay on Santa Catalina Island, Karl Tso, KI6PCW, and his wife, Deborah Ava, KJ6CRZ, of Topanga, California, decided to climb a hill to check out the view -- and to see if they could get into the repeater on the island with their handheld transceivers. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:28:52 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22740 http://www.eham.net/articles/22740 Around 5:30 on the morning of October 6, George E. Smith, AA2EJ, of Barnegat, New Jersey, got a phone call that changed his life: He had just found out he had won the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2009 "for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit -- the CCD sensor. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:28:32 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22739 http://www.eham.net/articles/22739 The W1AW Frequency Measuring Test (FMT) has taken several different formats over the past few years. This year, we return to the "classic" FMT -- measuring the frequency of an unmodulated carrier. Accurate frequency measurement is required of all hams for both regulatory compliance -- "stay in the band!" -- and operating convenience, particularly on the new digital modes. The W1AW FMT will run on November 12, 2009 at 0245 UTC (this is Wednesday evening, November 11, 2009 at 9:45 PM EST). Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:27:40 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22738 http://www.eham.net/articles/22738 Earlier this week, two more Congressional Representatives -- Andre Carson (D-IN-7), and C.W. Bill Young (R-FL-10) -- pledged their support for HR 2160, The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009, bringing the total number of cosponsors to 31, including original sponsor Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX-18). Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:27:20 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22737 http://www.eham.net/articles/22737 Earlier this year, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) named 13 men -- including three radio amateurs -- to the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame. The honorees were inducted last month at CEA's Industry Forum in Phoenix, Arizona. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:26:06 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22736 http://www.eham.net/articles/22736 This feature -- including convenient Web links to useful information -- is a concise monthly update of some of the things ARRL is doing on behalf of its members, such as a recent webinar concerning Amateur Radio and pecuniary interests, the Fourth Annual ARRL On-Line Auction, orientation for newly elected Section Managers and more. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:25:45 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22735 http://www.eham.net/articles/22735 A military institution designed to provide emergency communications has moved to new quarters in the Pentagon. On October 21, John G. Grimes, the former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration, cut the ribbon on the new Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) station, now located on the fifth floor of the Pentagon. The facility -- manned by the Pentagon Amateur Radio Club (PARC) -- is packed with amateur radios, radiotelephone patches, computers and data links. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:28:03 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22734 http://www.eham.net/articles/22734 More than 1000 visitors come to see ARRL and operate W1AW each year. Each visitor has a chance to tour ARRL HQ and meet and talk with staff, and see all that the League does to promote the Amateur Radio Service. When they go over to W1AW, some guests want to know if the station was once the home of Hiram Percy Maxim, cofounder and first President of the ARRL. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:26:47 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22733 http://www.eham.net/articles/22733 Last week, ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, told ARRL Letter readers about the long and proud history of the ARRL Sweepstakes, mentioning that at one point, The Philippines was a multiplier in the Sweepstakes, as was Cuba (as part of the West Indies Section). Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:26:29 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22732 http://www.eham.net/articles/22732 Registration remains open through Sunday, November 22, 2009, for these online course sessions beginning on Friday, December 4, 2009: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:25:26 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22731 http://www.eham.net/articles/22731 This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by NC1L, PS7YL, QRZ DX, the OPDX Bulletin, DXNL, 425 DX News, The Daily DX, Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and WA7BNM web sites. Thanks to all. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:51:49 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22728 http://www.eham.net/articles/22728 A small school at Sassafras about 40km east of Melbourne is the latest to have an amateur radio contact with a crew member on the International Space Station (ISS) and in doing so achieved a notable first for this activity. A total of 11 students from Sherbrooke Community School put questions to Astronaut Robert Thirsk, but in a spirit of friendship shared their experience with two other schools. The ARISS contact on Wednesday 28 October also included questions from Sherbrooke's sister schools - the Jiaolun Middle School in China and the Early Learning Centre at Thimphu in Bhutan. Seven of the Sherbrooke students involved are radio amateurs, each holding an Australian Foundation Licence (Christopher VK3FLAT, Emma VK3FERP, Sam VK3FSAM, James VK3FJAM, Oscar VK3FOSC, Callum VK3FSDP and Monique VK3FWPZ). They used their personal callsigns during the contact and will qualify for a personal QSL card when the crew returns to earth. ARISS Coordinator, Tony Hutchison VK5ZAI who helped facilitate the contact said the involvement of students who have their own amateur licence in the ARISS proram is rare. It previously occurred in 2002 with girls at the Harrogate Ladies College in the UK. had their ARISS contact. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:03:55 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22727 http://www.eham.net/articles/22727 Neil, G0CAS, our solar and propagation news reporter for GB2RS, has started a new messaging board service on solar activity and propagation. People are encouraged to take a look and ask any questions relating to the terms used in his weekly report, or find the latest news on solar, geomagnetic activity and propagation. The site is at http://spotsandflares.lefora.com. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:24:13 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22726 http://www.eham.net/articles/22726 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:24:22 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22720 http://www.eham.net/articles/22720 A CEPT Electronic Communications Committee report notes that Sweden has removed from the market some of the Powerline Networking equipment that pollutes the radio spectrum. The 54th meeting of the CEPT Working Group Spectrum Engineering in Bordeaux covered recent developments of the harmonised emission standard for IT equipment EN55022. Mention of the Swedish action in withdrawing polluting PLT equipment appears under '13 EMC' in the Working Group report. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:39:25 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22719 http://www.eham.net/articles/22719 Like many other volunteer communications organizations, District 10 of the Ohio Amateur Radio Emergency Service is joining thousands of Twitter users. New to Twitter? According to the website, "Twitter has grown into a real-time short messaging service that works over multiple networks and devices". The intent is to provide another great tool for ARES Leaders to reach out to people. There are people who do not read newsletters. There are hams who do not check into nets. There are radio operators who do not and/or cannot come to meetings. Why not take the opportunity to keep those people informed? Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:35:53 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22718 http://www.eham.net/articles/22718 Bhubaneswar, Oct. 29: Even as the Naveen Patnaik Government had failed to complete the reconstruction and rehabilitation work in the areas that were badly ravaged by a super-cyclone on this day exactly 10 years ago, in a face saving measure it announced the launching of a HAM Radio Communication network here on Thursday. "Better communication infrastructure is now in place. Apart from the Police VHF network, we have a dedicated civil wireless network system connecting 414 locations including district headquarters with blocks and disaster-prone gram panchayats. All district headquarters are equipped with satellite phones," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said at the state level function to observe the Odisha Disaster Preparedness Day and National Day for Disaster Reduction at Jayadev Bhavan. On the occasion, Patnaik also launched a HAM Radio Communication network comprising 21 HAM stations in vulnerable areas of the state. Even though thousands of houses under the Indira Awas Yojana had not completed in the cyclone-hit areas till date, Patnaik drew solace by highlighting that during the last 10 years his government concentrated on both structural and non-structural interventions to enhance the state's capabilities to face such disasters. Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:42:49 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22717 http://www.eham.net/articles/22717 Two feet of snow covered the Island, when suddenly every Vashon resident and business lost power. Phones went down; ferries stopped running, and the Island found itself gripped in a disaster unlike any it had faced before. That was the hypothetical disaster scenario that played out on Saturday, when 200 Islanders converged on Burton and Vashon town for a drill to put the Island's emergency procedures into action. They maneuvered downed trees and rescued carbon-monoxide poisoned dummies from a cabin at Camp Burton. They sent ham radio messages from fire station to fire station. They transmitted drill messages and news bulletins on Voice of Vashon, the local radio station, while informing listeners the dispatch was a drill, lest those who tuned in be caught up in a "War of the Worlds"-like hysteria. The hundreds who put the Island's emergency skills to the test found that Vashon is well prepared for a blizzard -- communication was nearly seamless, coordination among entities was similarly smooth, and each group performed its designated functions well, officials said. Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:42:01 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22716 http://www.eham.net/articles/22716 Awareness about AIDS and HIV through the Amateur Radio: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:53:40 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22715 http://www.eham.net/articles/22715 If you haven't accessed the amateur-radio-related Usenet newsgroups lately, things have much improved since the last major eHam thread on the subject from 2006: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:51:34 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22714 http://www.eham.net/articles/22714 Real life practice to get ready for natural disasters. That's what folks in Waldo County and elsewhere in Maine were doing today. As Meghan Hayward tells us, communications is a big key to success. "Update, Colonel Martin we'll work on filling this request and get back in touch with York County EOC." Folks at the Waldo County Emergency Operation Center and other counties across the state are holding mock disaster drills. Dale Rowley, Director of the Waldo County Emergency Management Agency, is busy doing what would need to be done if the disaster scenarios were real. "Basically it's my job to ensure that there's an emergency operation center for the county that is functional. So we do a lot of work before to get it up and running and then basically facilitate and manage it during the operation." Rowley says a crucial part of having a successful operation is knowing the different communication methods available. "We have internet capability so we're using some online portals for logging information. We're also ensuring when that's down we have telephone and fax. In the event phones and internet fail, they have ham radio as a back-up. "Ham radio basically is, they set up their own radio stations in a sense. And they can set them up just about anywhere. They use bans that have been authorized by the FCC. They are a lot more robust then CB radios and can go a lot further." Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:31:51 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22713 http://www.eham.net/articles/22713 An event is to take place next month which will see more amateur radio enthusiasts across the globe find out about their usefulness for emergency services. Organised by the region one branch of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), a global simulated emergency test will be activated on November 14th. The idea is to encourage amateur radio fans to pass simulated emergency traffic data using their own devices on a specific frequency with the format used by the National Traffic System. Doug Mercer, vice-president of field services at Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC), told the Southgate Amateur Radio Club (SARC): "This is a great opportunity for RAC members to observe and practice important traffic passing skills that are so important to the fundamentals of the amateur radio emergency service." Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:29:32 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22712 http://www.eham.net/articles/22712 TOPANGA - Two recently-trained volunteer radio operators on Catalina Island rescued a man after he fell more than 40 feet onto rocks below, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's sergeant said today. Karl Tso and his wife Deborah Ava, both of Topanga, are members of the Topanga Disaster Radio Team, a part of the Topanga Coalition for Emergency Preparedness, said Sgt. Tui Wright of the sheriff's Malibu-Lost Hills Station. The couple had climbed a hill on Catalina Island to check out a repeater, when they spied a 61-year-old man bleeding and moaning from a fall more than 40 feet onto rocks below, sai Wright. Fortunately, Tso and Ava had their hand-held HAM radios with them and used the equipment to make contact with other HAM radio operators on the mainland, who called 911 to report the emergency. The couple's quick thinking and knowledge of HAM radio frequencies helped save the injured man's life, said Wright. Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:26:58 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22701 http://www.eham.net/articles/22701 The Russell County (Va.) Amateur Radio Club, Inc. (RCARC, Inc.) will commemorate its 10th anniversary with an on-air event Saturday, November 7th in the east community room beside the town hall in Lebanon. The event will begin at noon and end at 6 pm. The public is invited to attend. Members of the club and guests will be on the amateur radio bands contacting stations from all over the U.S. and the world. A special callsign, W4R, will be used during the event. "We really hope that the public will come and join us for our 10th anniversary and see what ham radio is all about. It will be a lot of fun!!!" says Scott Boyd, Vice-President of the club. The club will operate in the general portion of the HF bands, primarily 40 meters. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:02:32 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22700 http://www.eham.net/articles/22700 Series Two Episode Twenty-Two of the ICQ Podcast has been released. Episode includes latest news, your feedback, Jota 2009 and the Hints, Tips and Tricks section. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:00:50 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22698 http://www.eham.net/articles/22698 Charles F. Denny, former Redding mayor and longtime educational leader, died late last week. He was 98. Denny also was well-known as an enthusiastic ham radio operator and golfer. But his main legacy is the planning and policy decisions that still define the city where he spent most of his adult life. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:58:33 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/22697 http://www.eham.net/articles/22697 ohn D. Hays, an IT manager in Edmonds, Wash., devotes most of his spare time these days to helping develop a communications system that's designed to integrate portable two-way radios with the global telephone network. The project's goal is to create a failure-proof voice communications infrastructure that can immediately connect first responders with the outside world. Wireless Definition and Solutions: "Individuals with radios in the field could interconnect with the telephone system even when their cell phones are shut down by an emergency," he says. This would be useful in all manner of disasters, from natural to man-made. Hays claims his research efforts wouldn't be possible if he wasn't a licensed amateur radio operator -- or "ham," the term he and his fellow hobbyists use to describe themselves. He says ham radio gives him "space and a choice of spectrum [in which] to experiment." He also values the hobby's largely self-policing regulatory structure and close-knit user community. "There are many others who would share your passion and provide [a] great opportunity for brainstorming and support," says Hays, whose ham call sign is K7VE. For IT professionals, ham radio can foster skills that are translatable into real-world wireless and wired networking applications. Hays says his hobby and profession have long been intertwined. His experimentation with TCP/IP over AX.25 (a ham-oriented data link layer protocol) on the radio in the late '70s and '80s "helped me understand the inner workings of networking protocols and the use of wireless transports," he says. "From this, I was able to write some widely read and popular internal papers on subjects such as TCP/IP over Ethernet verses token passing ring topology." Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:57:06 +0000