TWIAR News Feed

///////////////////////////////////////////
Snaggin the Waves (Indiana)

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 07:15 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2eqeMeN

For the preceding eight weeks, my senescent brain has been subject of an
onslaught detailing electronic theory, facts, figures, and technical data.

I cling to the prospect this cognitive effort may lend in delaying
Alzheimer’s grip. United with 29 other hopefuls, for three hours every
Tuesday evening, we have striven to attain the title of “Technician� in the
world of Amateur (Ham) radio.

As I type this, the lot of us are cramming for the “day of judgment,� when
FCC examiners put us through our paces in the final test. Class organizer
Bill McAlpin (WD9GIU) echoed the fact that we should study but needn’t
worry. Too late buddy, I’m losing sleep.

///////////////////////////////////////////
Ham radio in new Cuban/American movie

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 07:11 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2frkiQC

The Deadline site bring news of a new movie 'Sergio And Sergei' which
features amateur radio and the Soviet Mir space station

Believed to be the first Cuban/American co-production on a narrative film
in 60 years it is expected to be released in 2017.

///////////////////////////////////////////
Ministry Enlists Amateur Radio Enthusiasts' Help In Flood Aid (Malaysia)

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 06:23 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2friA1U

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Ministry has enlisted amateur
radio enthusiasts' help to facilitate communication should there be a
breakdown during the anticipated floods here.

In this regard, Deputy Minister Datuk Jailani Johari said the ministry
through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and
amateur radio associations would act as go-between in relaying information.

///////////////////////////////////////////
St Albans Sandringham School students' space chat with astronaut Tim Peake
earns them trip to Parliament (UK)

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 06:23 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2fH4XyK

Four students from a St Albans school showed off their engineering prowess
to politicians, policy makers and businesses in Parliament.

The Year 9 and 11 students from Sandringham School, on The Ridgeway - Sandy
Cairns, Polly Gupta, Stanley MacMurray and Emma Wilkinson - were invited to
the event on Monday after impressing judges with their engineering project
at the regional heats of The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers
Competition

Their amateur radio communication project saw them set up a radio to speak
with Tim Peake while he was aboard the International Space Station.

///////////////////////////////////////////
An abandoned 1960's U.S. satellite recently started transmitting
a 'ghostly' signal

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 06:23 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2eKIHPw

It might sound like the start of a low-budget sci-fi horror flick, but this
is for real.

A satellite that was abandoned back in 1967 and left for dead has come back
to life, and is now sending back what radio astronomers describe as a
“ghostly� signal. But it’s not quite as supernatural as it sounds.
According to The Vintage News, the satellite was put together by MIT to
test satellite communication techniques and launched in 1965, but it never
actually made it into the correct orbit. It was still usable for two years,
but was eventually written off as just another piece of space junk by 1967.

But hey, they just don’t make ‘em like they used to. The LES1 satellite was
one of nine satellites (LES1-LES9) launched as part of the project, and
after being dormant for the better part of 50 years it started transmitting
again. An amateur radio astronomer in the U.K. picked up a strange signal
in 2013, and eventually determined it was actually the LES1 sending back
intermittent signals. The satellite is apparently tumbling through space,
which leads to the solar panels getting juice every few seconds. That
creates what the astronomer described as a “ghostly sound,� as it sends
back signal flashes.

///////////////////////////////////////////
UBAKUSAT to carry ham radio transponder

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 06:23 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2eKMe0B

Turkey's 3U CubeSat UBAKUSAT carrying an amateur radio 145/435 MHz SSB/CW
transponder is planned to be deployed from the ISS in 2017

The linear transponder is almost the same as that on the TURKSAT-3USAT
which was launched on April 26, 2013.

The satellite is being developed by Istanbul Technical University, Faculty
of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Space Systems Design and Test Lab (SSDTL)
along with TAMSAT, GUMUSH and ERTEK Ltd, with some support of the RF lab of
ITU (RFL) and Ministry of Transportation, Communication and Maritime in
collaboration with the Japanese Government.

///////////////////////////////////////////
10 Forms of Off-Grid and Remote Communication

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 06:23 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2fH2PqU

Electronic communications can be limited when off-grid and/or remote.
Off-grid means you must generate your own electricity to power phones and
radios, while remote means you might be out-of-range to connect.

///////////////////////////////////////////
Hurricane Watch Net Honors Bermuda Radio Amateur

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 06:20 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2fLDwTQ

The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) has recognized one of its long-time members,
Antony “Tony� Siese, VP9HK. HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, announced on
October 20 that the net would confer upon Siese the title of “Honorary
Member,� in recognition of his 31 years of service. Graves said Siese is
the first non-manager to be named an Honorary Member.

VP9HK joined the HWN in 1985, although, he said, he took a “sabbatical�
last year. In 2003, his reports during Hurricane Fabian gave forecasters at
the National Hurricane Center valuable ground-truth information and insight
as to what the storm was doing in Bermuda, Graves said, earning Siese the
Message in a Bottle Award from W4EHW (now WX4NHC) for the 2003 Hurricane
Season.

///////////////////////////////////////////
Two Arrested in Georgia for Planning to Attack HAARP Facility in Alaska

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 05:58 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2eVvJBI

Authorities in Georgia recently arrested two men who said they were
planning to attack the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program
(HAARP) facility near Gakona, Alaska. Michael Vickers, a detective with the
Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, told Alaska Dispatch News that the pair
explained to authorities “that God told them to go and blow this machine up
that kept souls, so souls could be released.�

“Yes, that news caused a bit of a stir,� said Chris Fallen, KL3WX, a
faculty member at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks (UAF), which now
operates the HAARP facility. “I can also confirm that no souls are stored
at HAARP.�

Long of interest to the Amateur Radio community as well as a target of
various mind and weather-control conspiracies, HAARP is now operated as an
ionospheric research facility by the UAF, which took it over last year from
the US Air Force.

///////////////////////////////////////////
ARISS Packet System on Board the ISS Switched to UHF

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 05:20 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2fmI7sW

Due to the recent failure of the Ericsson VHF radio in the ISS Columbus
module, the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) APRS
packet system that normally operates 145.825 MHz has not been available.
Crew member Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD, has activated an ARISS UHF radio that
had been in storage on the ISS, and it is now operational on 437.550 MHz.

The packet system uses the same protocol as the VHF system. Operators using
the system should adjust for increased Doppler shift at UHF.

///////////////////////////////////////////
via HACKADAY: HFSat and The All-HF Amateur Radio Satellite Transponder

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 04:32 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2fkbVF0

One facet of the diverse pursuit that is amateur radio involves the use of
amateur radio satellites. These have a long history stretching back to the
years shortly after the first space launches, and have been launched as
“piggy-back� craft using spare capacity on government and commercial
launches.

Though a diverse range of payloads have been carried by these satellites
over the years, the majority of amateur radio satellites have featured
transponders working in the VHF and UHF spectrum. Most often their links
have used the 2m (144 MHz) and 70cm (430MHz) bands. A few have had
downlinks in the 10m (28MHz) band, but this has been as far as they have
ventured into the HF spectrum.

///////////////////////////////////////////
via the RSGB: Warning over out of band signals

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 04:32 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2fL6lQk

Delegates to the 19th International Amateur Radio Union Region 2 (IARU-R2)
General Assembly in mid-October adopted ARRL-proposed changes to the Region
2 (the Americas) band plan as well as other recommended revisions.
Representatives of 24 IARU member societies took part in the General
Assembly, held in Viña del Mar, Chile, either in person or by proxy. ARRL
President Rick Roderick, K5UR, headed the League contingent. Alternate head
of delegation and ARRL Second Vice President Brian Mileshosky, N5ZGT,
chaired the IARU Region 2 B/C Committee, which handled LF/MF/HF and VHF+
band-planning matters and proposals and made recommendations to the full
assembly — or plenary.

“The IARU Region 2 has established this band plan as the way to better
organize the use of our bands efficiently,� the introduction to the updated
document states. “To the extent possible, this band plan is harmonized with
those of the other regions. It is suggested that member societies, in
coordination with the authorities, incorporate it in their regulations and
promote it widely with their radio amateur communities.�

///////////////////////////////////////////
RSGB Criticizes TV Broadcast Portraying Radio Amateur as "Nightmare
Neighbour"

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 04:31 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2feoYaS

The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) has weighed in following the
airing of a Channel 5 TV Nightmare Neighbour Next Door episode [the program
may have been removed from the website — Ed.] that featured an Amateur
Radio operator. In the program, neighbors of 75-year-old Armando Martins,
M0PAM, of Kent, made unsubstantiated claims that RF radiating from his
30-foot vertical antenna was detrimental to their health.

“Unfortunately, the RSGB was not invited to be part of Channel 5’s
Nightmare Neighbour Next Door programme or to verify any facts,� the RSGB
said. “We have, of course, contacted Channel 5 about our concerns and have
highlighted the positive aspects of Amateur Radio. We have also offered our
expertise and input for future programmes where Amateur Radio is mentioned.�

///////////////////////////////////////////
ARRL President Emeritus Jim Haynie, W5JBP, SK

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 04:31 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2eVlbm0

ARRL President Emeritus Jim Haynie, W5JBP, of Dallas, Texas, died on
November 1. He was 73. His death followed a period of ill health. Haynie
was elected as the 13th President of ARRL on January 21, 2000, succeeding
Rod Stafford, W6ROD (ex-KB6ZV).

“Jim was a remarkable individual who made a huge personal commitment to
Amateur Radio and the ARRL,� said ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR. “He
had a great sense of humor that was often quite helpful as we addressed
some serious matters when Jim was President. His vision guided us to try
new things that are still helping Amateur Radio and the League to this day.�

A radio amateur for more than 40 years, Haynie was twice re-elected by the
ARRL Board to the ARRL’s top volunteer office, serving until January 2006,
when Joel Harrison, W5ZN, succeeded him. Prior to assuming the ARRL
presidency, Haynie was ARRL West Gulf Division Director during two
different periods — from 1987 until 1990 and from 1997 until 2000, and an
ARRL Vice President from 1990 until 1992.

///////////////////////////////////////////
National Geographic Channel Ham Radio Guide Supports Before MARS Prequel

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 04:31 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2eUC1kW

The National Geographic has produced A Guide to Ham Radio to support its
recently released digital short, Before MARS — a prequel to its upcoming
MARS series. The 33-minute prequel, which has a heavy Amateur Radio theme,
provides the back story of two principal characters in the upcoming MARS
global event series.

In the prequel, twin teenaged sisters Hana and Joon Seung are the new kids
in town, after their single mother relocates. In due course, they come
across old ham radio transceivers — one in an attic, the other in a thrift
shop — and use them to communicate with each other and with an older, local
ham.

Tuning about, Hana — whose character gets most of the attention — hears an
astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS) on her radio and
eventually makes contact, as Amateur Radio on the International Space
Station (ARISS) program participants do. In a touch of realism, the female
astronaut uses the NA1SS call sign.

///////////////////////////////////////////
630 Meter Special Event Set for Mid-November

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 04:31 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2eUsxpQ

Participants in the ARRL WD2XSH 630-meter experiment, Canadian radio
amateurs, and members of the Maritime Radio Historical Society (MRHS) will
participate in a special event on Sunday, November 13 (UTC) on 630 meters
(the evening of Saturday, November 12, in US time zones). The event will
commemorate the Berlin Treaty of 1906 that made 500 kHz the International
Distress Frequency. US Part 5 Experimental licensees will operate in the
472-479 kHz band, using CW for two-way contacts and beacons with
commemorative messages. There may also be some operation on 500 kHz.

“Canadian amateurs will also engage in QSOs in the 472-479 kHz band,� said
ARRL 630-Meter Experiment Coordinator Fritz Raab, W1FR. “They will also
participate in cross-band QSOs with amateurs operating on 160, 80, and 40
meters.�

///////////////////////////////////////////
via the RSGB: Reunification of Raynet

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 04:31 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2f99RRp

At the RAYNET AGM held in Cambridge on Saturday 29 October, RSGB President
Nick Henwood G3RWF and Cathy Clark G1GQJ, Chairman of the Radio Amateur’s
Emergency Network, signed the agreement between the two organisations, for
the reunification of RAYNET operations, as from 1 January 2017. Once the
formalities associated with the change of name to RAYNET-UK are finalised,
the merging of the emergency communications groups currently with the RSGB
into this new entity will begin.

An EGM of the Network at the Cambridge meeting voted unanimously to change
the name, and also to undertake various adjustments to the Network
constitution, to achieve this aim. This brings some three years of
negotiation and discussion, undertaken by members of the RSGB Emergency
Communications Committee, and the Network Committee of Management to a
conclusion, with the creation of a single structure for UK amateur
emergency communications.

///////////////////////////////////////////
via HACKADAY: Rotary Cell Phone: Blast from a Past that Never Was

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 04:31 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2ezbwOS

The 1970s called and they want their rotary dial cell phone back.

Looking for all the world like something assembled from the Radio Shack
parts department – remember when Radio Shack sold parts? – [Mr_Volt]’s
build is a celebration of the look and feel of a hobbyist build from way
back when. Looking a little like a homebrew DynaTAC 8000X, the brushed
aluminum and 3D-printed ABS case sports an unusual front panel feature – a
working rotary dial. Smaller than even the Trimline phone’s rotating finger
stop dial and best operated with a stylus, the dial translates rotary
action to DTMF tones for the Feather FONA board inside. Far from a
one-trick pony, the phone sports memory dialing, SMS messaging, and even an
FM receiver. But most impressive and mysterious is the dial mechanism,
visible through a window in the wood-grain back. Did [Mr_Volt] fabricate
those gears and the governor? We’d love to hear the backstory on that.

This isn’t the first rotary cell phone hybrid we’ve featured, of course.
There was this GSM addition to an old rotary phone and this cell phone that
lets you slam the receiver down. But for our money a rotary dial cell phone
built from the ground up wins the retro cool prize of the bunch.

///////////////////////////////////////////
New Russian Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radars Set for 2017 Startup

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 04:31 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2f1F9f9

According to media accounts, more long-range, new over-the-horizon (OTH)
radars that can identify aerial and sea targets hundreds of miles away are
scheduled to begin operation next year in the Russian Arctic. It’s
doubtful, however, that the news heralds the return of interference on the
level of that generated by the so-called “Russian Woodpecker� OTH radar,
which plagued Amateur Radio HF bands in the 1970s and 1980s.

Over the past couple of years, OTH radars, sans woodpecker, have become
increasingly commonplace intruders on Amateur Radio bands, according to the
International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 (IARU R1) Monitoring System
(IARUMS), which has noted OTH radars in Russia, China, Cyprus, Iran, and
Turkey. The frequency-hopping nature of the technology accounts for the
annoying interference that covers wide swaths of spectrum. The Russian
systems-intelligence “Konteyner RLS� OTH radar, transmitting from in the
Nizhny Novgorod region, is frequently spotted on 20 meters. While no
woodpecker, it transmits a broad, frequency-modulated CW signal at 50
sweeps per second with a bandwidth of 80 kHz or greater, accompanied by
signal splatter, IARUMS Coordinator Wolfgang Hadel, DK2OM, reported
recently.

///////////////////////////////////////////
via HACKADAY: Put That Amateur Radio License to Use on 915 MHz

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 04:31 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2f8Wsau

Amateur radio enthusiasts in the US will be interested in Faraday, an
open-source digital radio that runs on 915 MHz, which amateur radio
enthusiasts may know better as the 33 cm band.

You can transmit on 915 MHz without a license (in the US), taking advantage
of the Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) exemption. This means that
there’s commodity hardware available for sending and receiving, which is a
plus. But you can’t do so with any real power unless you have an amateur
radio license. And that’s what makes Faraday interesting — it makes it very
easy to transmit and receive digital data, with decent power and range, if
you’re licensed. The band is currently under-utilized, so go nuts!

///////////////////////////////////////////
ARISS-International to Mark 20 Years at Houston "Face-to-Face" Meeting

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 04:31 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2f4QTeV

ARISS-International will celebrate its 20th anniversary when it meets in
Houston on November 15. ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO,
noted that an international group interested in installing and operating an
Amateur Radio station on the International Space Station first met in
November 1996 at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, and the Amateur
Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program was born.

“And the rest is history!� he said.

///////////////////////////////////////////
"Spark" Behind Queen Mary W6RO Amateur Station Nate Brightman, K6OSC, SK

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 04:31 PM PDT
http://bit.ly/2eKy8fA

Nate Brightman, K6OSC, called the “spark� behind W6RO, the Amateur Radio
station aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, died on October
29. He was 99. An ARRL member, Brightman, who lived in Long Beach, had
served as the W6RO Wireless Room Manager for 34 years, plus another 10
years arranging for the GB5QM “Last Voyage� Amateur Radio operation and
establishing W6RO, which is licensed to the Associated Radio Amateurs of
Long Beach.

In 2013, Brightman reluctantly resigned as W6RO Wireless Room Manager,
citing recent illness and his advanced age as reasons for his decision. In
his farewell statement, Brightman said ham radio operations now aboard some
90 museum ships such as the Queen Mary have introduced Amateur Radio to
millions of people. “This means of introducing Amateur Radio to the public
is the biggest publicity stunt ever for Amateur Radio, and we should be
proud that it all started with W6RO!� he said.

///////////////////////////////////////////
via HACKADAY: Vintage Radio Transformed into Custom PC Case

Posted: 05 Nov 2016 04:31 PM PDT
http://ift.tt/2f4kKCL

We see a lot of old radio restoration projects around here, and we have to
admit to having mixed emotions about some of them. It seems a shame to go
through the effort to lovingly restore a vintage Art Deco case only to
stuff it with a Raspberry Pi and Bluetooth. Seems like if you’re going to
restore a radio, go all the way and bring the original electronics back to
life. But this radio “restoration� avoids that issue altogether by cleverly
concealing a full PC build in a vintage radio case.