eHam.net News

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Radio Deluxe Version 6.3.0.466 Released:

Posted: 18 Dec 2015 07:45 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35821


HRD Software, LLC announces the release of
Version 6.3.0.466 as a maintenance
release. Everyone that has purchased HRD
since February 2012 will get the fixes at
no charge.


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Radio Club Runs Test:

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 05:48 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35817


On Dec. 6, the Tryon Amateur Radio Club conducted its annual Simulated
Emergency Test. A S.E.T. is a test of backup emergency communications at
the county level that is recommended by The American Radio Relay League of
Newington, Conn., said a news release, "Last year's S.E.T. focused on
finding areas in Fulton County that we could not communicate from using
radios similar to public service agencies like police, fire and EMS. We
found those areas and this year's goal was to go to those same locations
and setup shortwave radios to see if we could send messages from areas that
were not usable last year," said club president Don Gifford. The annual
test is organized by the Fulton County Amateur Radio Emergency Service
Coordinator Steve Kuck. According to the news release, Kuck reported this
year's test to be a success. "Fulton County is very tough to cover with
radio signals due to the hills and mountains between the cities and
villages that we live in. Fire, police and EMS have a few different paths
they take to cover the county," said Kuck in the news release. "Amateur or
ham radio becomes important when something happens that takes down the
primary method of communications like the widespread power outages as we
saw in 2003 when 45 million people in eight states were without power for
an extended period of time. Fulton County was affected by this outage and
ham radio is quick to setup and entirely self contained. Most everyone in
the Tryon ARC have the means to set up with their own power to provide
backup communications for any length of time."


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Ham Operators to Visit Storm-Hit Bengal to Assess State's Preparedness:

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 05:48 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35816


A team of 10 Ham or amateur radio operators from south India who worked
tirelessly to coordinate relief efforts during the recent Chennai floods
will visit areas in south Bengal ravaged by cyclone Aila in May 2009. The
team, comprising members from Chennai, Bangalore and Kerala, will try to
assess the communication infrastructure and preparedness in the event of a
large-scale disaster. Their research assumes significance after the floods
in Tamil Nadu where the modern communication network blinked but amateur
radio, often called Ham radio, helped people keep in touch with their
marooned relatives and friends. It is both a hobby and a service in which
participants, called Hams, use various types of radio communications
equipment to communicate with fellow amateurs through airwaves for public
services, recreation and self-training. An estimated 3 million people
throughout the world are regularly involved in amateur radio transmissions.
Ham operators have worked during catastrophes such as cyclone Aila and the
2001 Bhuj earthquake. The team will explore whether it is possible to set
up amateur radio communication bases in cyclone-prone areas, what kind of
shelter exists and what disaster management system the state has. It will
also see the range of modern communication, including Internet, available
in remote areas. "The team had first-hand experience in dealing with the
Chennai floods, setting up communication bases and providing relief. It
will visit various areas of North and South 24 Parganas which were hit by
Aila," said Ambarish Nag Biswas, a licenced amateur radio operator for the
past 18 years and a member of the West Bengal Radio Club (Amateur Club).


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FCC Commissioner Questions Enforcement Actions:

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 05:46 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35815


Remarks made last week by FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai will likely fuel
concern among broadcast industry observers who doubt the Federal
Communication Commission's commitment to enforcement. In his address to the
PLI/FCBA 33rd Annual Institute on Telecommunications Policy and Regulation
in Washington, Commissioner Pai acknowledged the trend of fewer FCC
enforcement actions and specifically mentioned the lack of attention given
to pirate radio complaints. The FCC commissioner said an email he obtained
from an unidentified whistleblower within the FCC's Enforcement Bureau
dated Oct. 28, 2014, included the following instructions from the bureau's
Northeast Regional Director to field agents: "We are scaling back our
response to pirate operations. Barring interference to a safety service,
pirates should not be given a high priority. If there's interference to a
safety service, it's not a pirate case but instead a safety case."


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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1990, December 18, 2015:

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 05:48 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35814


The following is a QST. A gun battle in Afghanistan kills a ham, another
typhoon hits the Philippines, the new and improved FCC website goes live,
it's almost time for Quartzfest, an update for Newsline's EchoProducer
users and part 2 of our remembrance of Bob Ferrero, W6RJ. All this and
more in Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1990 coming your way right now.


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DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #50:

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 09:23 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35813


This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
QRZ DX, the OPDX Bulletin, 425 DX News, The Daily DX, DXNL, Contest
Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and WA7BNM web sites.
Thanks to all.


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Just Ahead In Radiosport:

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 09:23 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35812


Just Ahead In Radiosport:


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ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, to Keynote ARRL National Convention Banquet:

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 09:23 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35811


ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, will deliver the
keynote banquet address at the 2016 ARRL National Convention, held in
conjunction with Orlando HamCation.


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Radio Amateurs of Canada Honors Past ARRL, IARU President Larry Price, W4RA

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 09:22 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35810


Larry Price, W4RA, a President Emeritus of ARRL and of the
International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), has
been appointed as the inaugural honorary member of the Canadian Amateur
Radio Hall of Fame.


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Florida Ham Agrees to Penalty for Failure to Identify:

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 09:23 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35809


The FCC Enforcement Bureau has entered into a consent decree with a
Florida radio amateur to resolve an investigation into whether the
licensee violated Sections 97.113(b) and 97.119(a) of the FCC rules by
transmitting one-way communications and failing to identify.


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New Section Manager Appointed In Alaska:

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 09:21 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35808


Alaska will soon have a new ARRL Section Manager. Ray Hollenbeck,
KL1IL, of Wasilla, Alaska, has been appointed to succeed Jim Larsen,
AL7FS, effective on January 1. Hollenbeck's appointment will be in
effect for the first half of 2016. He has served as an ARRL Emergency
Coordinator for nearly 7 years.


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Nominations Solicited for Six ARRL Awards:

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 09:22 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35807


The ARRL is inviting nominations for awards that recognize educational
and technological pursuits in Amateur Radio. Nominations are also open
for the League's premier award to honor a young licensee.


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ARRL Rookie Roundup Is Just Ahead:

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 09:21 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35806


The 2015 CW Rookie Roundup is
Sunday, December 20. Rookies can take up their Morse keys (or
keyboards) and "pound some brass" in pursuit of Rookies and Non-rookies
alike. Rookies -- anyone licensed for 3 years or less -- get on the air
and call "CQ RR," so other participants can find them. Grizzled CW
veterans call "CQ R" (CQ Rookies).


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Astronaut Tim Peake, KG5BVI, to Host First ARISS Video Contact:

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 09:21 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35805


European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Tim Peake, KG5BVI, who just
arrived on board the International Space Station, will be the first ISS
crew member to use the HamTV digital Amateur Radio TV (DATV) system
during an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
contact. Peake, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra, KE5UDN, and Russian cosmonaut
Yuri Malenchenko, RK3DUP, launched in a Soyuz spacecraft on December 15
from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, and arrived at the ISS about 6 hours later.


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Ohio Amateur Radio Club Donates to Help Needy Families:

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 09:20 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35804


The Portage County Amateur Radio Service (PCARS) in Ohio recently donated
nearly $4000 to
support the efforts of the Center of Hope in Ravenna.


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SAQ to Carry on Tradition of Christmas Eve VLF Transmissions:

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 09:17 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35803


Alexanderson alternator transmitter station SAQ at the World Heritage
Grimeton site in Sweden will continue a holiday tradition
begun 10 years ago when it takes to the airwaves on Christmas Eve,
December 24. There will be a CW transmission from the Alexanderson
alternator on 17.2 kHz from Grimeton Radio/SAQ at 0800 UTC on December
24, with transmitter tune-up starting at 0730 UTC.


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Fessenden Christmas Eve Commemorative Transmissions Set:

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 09:19 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35802


Brian Justin, WA1ZMS, will again put his 600 meter Experimental Station
WG2XFQ on the air on for a Christmas Eve commemorative transmission.
WG2XFQ will transmit on 486 kHz from Forest, Virginia, to mark the
109th anniversary of Reginald Fessenden's first audio transmission.
Historic accounts say Fessenden played the violin -- or a recording --
and read a brief Bible verse. It's been reported that other radio
experimenters and shipboard operators who heard Fessenden's broadcast
were astounded.


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UK Telecoms Revokes 500+ Ham Radio Licenses Not Revalidated By Holders:

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 09:19 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35801


Ofcom, the UK telecommunications regulator, has revoked the first batch of
Amateur Radio licenses that had not been "revalidated" by their
holders. Ham licenses in the UK used to expire annually, but in 2006,
Ofcom began issuing lifetime licenses, which remain in effect until the
agency takes specific action to revoke them. Ofcom has canceled some
Amateur Radio licenses in the past, when the licensee has specifically
requested, but revocation is a different administrative process
altogether.


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Spanish Radio Amateur Dies in Afghan Violence:

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 09:17 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35800


Isidro Gabino "Gabi" San Martin Hernandez, EB1BT, of Leon, Spain, died
on December 11 as the result of a 9-hour shootout in Kabul,
Afghanistan. He was 48 and the father of four. San Martin was part of a
police contingent guarding the Spanish Embassy in Kabul when a car
bomb, believed set by the Taliban, exploded at the Embassy Guest House
gate. The bombers then entered the compound, and a gun battle erupted.
At least seven members of the diplomatic staff were killed, including
San Martin and another police officer who died in the residential block
of the embassy.


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In Brief...

Posted: 17 Dec 2015 09:16 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35799


Santa Claus Arctic Circle Team Active: The Santa Claus Arctic Circle
Team will be active as OH9SCL (Santa Claus Land) and OF9X (Old Father 9
Christmas) from the Finnish Lappland above the Arctic Circle during
December. OH9SCL and OF9X have been on the air each holiday season for
the past 30 years. Activity will be mostly on the HF bands, on all
modes. The activity is organized by the Radio Club of the Arctic
Circle, OH9AB, and the Radio Club of Pusula, OH9W, and supported by
Radio Arcala, OH8X. QSL via OH9AB.