eHam.net News

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Lancaster Hams to Help Students Contact Space Station:

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 04:39 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36250


An international consortium of amateur radio organizations and space
agencies, including NASA, the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium at SUNY
Buffalo State and the Lancaster Amateur Radio Club, will be helping some
Buffalo public school students contact astronauts on the International
Space Station via amateur radio. Elementary students at PS 97 Harvey Austin
are scheduled for the rare opportunity at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 1. PS 97
was one of only 20 schools worldwide selected for the event. Pam Ware, a
member of the Lancaster Amateur Radio Club and the holder of an Amateur
Extra license, is the liaison for the team of radio operators in providing
hands-on experience and training for the students.


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Cherryville Repeater Association 'Hamfest' Set for March 12 in Flemington:

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 04:38 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36249


More than 30 vendors are expected for radio, electronics, and accessories
at bargain prices to fill the North Hunterdon Regional High School
cafeteria on Route 31, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., on Saturday, March 12, for
the annual Cherryville Repeater Association "Hamfest." The Hamfest has been
presented for more than a decade at North Hunterdon High School. According
to the organizers, it's a "flea market" of bargains for amateur radio
hobbyists, complete with attendance by KJI Electronics for major equipment
sales. KB Cubed will provide a seminar and equipment sales of Digital
Mobile Radio (DMR) technology. There will also be an operating Flex Radio
station at the Hamfest to provide hands on operation of Software Define
Radio (SDR) technology. Software-defined radio (SDR) is a relatively new
development wherein many of the traditional radio circuits are simulated by
software programs, giving the radio features and capabilities that are
either difficult, more expensive, or impossible to achieve in traditional
radios. Door prizes will be awarded, and food will be for sale. The
Cherryville Repeater Association II, Hunterdon's Amateur Radio Club, is a
nonprofit organization of more than 40 "ham" radio operators dedicated to
offering their communications skills to the Hunterdon County community for
more than 40 years.


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Mount Wellington Mine Celebrates St Piran's Day with Ham Radio Broadcast:

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 04:37 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36248


A CORNISH mining landmark will be celebrating St Piran's Day on Saturday,
March 5 with a special broadcast by the Cornish Radio Amateur Club, or CRAC
for short. The club has obtained a special events station licence making a
one-time-only broadcast at Mount Wellington Mine to activate it as an
amateur radio station. CRAC will use a special "K2" locator in the call
sign, which has been licensed to Cornish stations by OFFCOM for only one
year. The station will use a HF (high frequency) set-up, which will
broadcast to UK and foreign amateur radio (ham) users and a VHF set-up, to
cover local users as far as north Devon. The call sign for the club is
GX4CRC and can be Googled for more information.


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Fond du Lac Teen Aces Ham Radio Exam:

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 04:36 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36247


A Fond du Lac seventh grader wowed the local amateur radio club recently by
acing his test for a ham radio license. Test takers must show understanding
of electronics and know the federal radio regulations. "To get your ham
radio license is quite an accomplishment. When you are only 13 years old,
it's an incredible accomplishment," said Joe Scheibinger, a member of the
Fond du Lac Amateur Radio Club. People use amateur radio to talk locally,
nationally and around the world to one another without use of the Internet
or cell phones, Scheibinger said.


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DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #8:

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 11:04 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36246


This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
QRZ DX, OPDX, 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: 25 Feb 2016 11:04 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36245


Just Ahead In Radiosport:


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FCC Invites Comments on ARRL Petition that Seeks 80/75 Meter Adjustments:

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 11:04 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36244


The FCC has put the ARRL's January Petition for Rule Making (RM 11759) on
public
notice and invited interested parties to comment on what the League has
called "minimal but necessary changes" to 80 and 75 meters. The ARRL
petitioned the FCC to fix a "shortfall in available RTTY/data spectrum"
that the Commission created when it reapportioned 80 and 75 meters 10
years ago. The League's petition asked the FCC to shift the boundary
between the 80 meter RTTY/data subband and the 75 meter phone/image
subband from 3600 kHz to 3650 kHz. The proposed change received strong
support from ARRL members, and the ARRL Board of Directors adopted it
as policy at its July 2015 meeting. At that time the Board also agreed
to seek RTTY and data privileges for Novice and Technician licensees
within their current 15 meter CW subband, and to do the same on 80
meters, depending on the outcome of the 80/75 meter subband revision.


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Ballots Counted, Results Announced In Three ARRL Section Manager Contests:

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 11:02 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36243


The ARRL Pacific, San Diego, and Louisiana Sections will get new
Section Managers, and five incumbent SMs will begin new terms in their
respective sections on April 1. The results of three contested
elections in the winter election cycle were announced February 23,
after ballots were tallied at ARRL Headquarters.


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ARRL to Offer ARES Forms Training Webinar:

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 11:04 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36242


On Tuesday March 1, ARRL Headquarters staff will offer a free training
webinar on three critical Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) report
forms. This webinar is intended for Emergency Coordinators, District
Emergency Coordinators, Section Emergency Coordinators, Assistant ECs
at all three levels, and Section Managers.


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ARES Team Leverages Radio Services, Local Media, Internet in MO Flood Watch

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 11:02 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36241


Members of Ste Genevieve County ARES in Missouri pulled together a
variety of resources to pitch in when the Mississippi River threatened
to crest at a record level in late December. Ste Genevieve County
Emergency Coordinator Norm Gallup, KD0HHM, reached out to the county's
emergency manager to offer the ARES group's assistance,
and the ARES team was tasked with patrolling the north levee. Gallup
was familiar with the system of levees and earthen dams that keep the
river from overflowing its banks.


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FCC Seeks Comments On Petition to Grant Lifetime Amateur Radio Licenses:

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 11:02 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36240


The FCC is seeking comments on a Petition for Rule Making (RM 11760) that
asks the
FCC to grant lifetime Amateur Radio licenses. Mark F. Krotz, N7MK, of
Mesa, Arizona, filed his request with the FCC last November. He wants
the FCC to revise 97.25 of its rules to indicate that Amateur Radio
licenses are granted for the holder's lifetime, instead of for the
current 10-year term. Krotz noted that the General Radiotelephone
Operator License (GROL) already is issued on a lifetime basis, and he
maintained that not having to renew licenses would lighten the FCC's
workload.


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National Parks On the Air Update:

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 11:01 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36239


Since the creation of the Manhattan Project National Historic Site by
the National Park Service (NPS) in mid-November 2015, activating one of
the three sites comprising this unit has been impossible, in large part
because gaining access to active Department of Energy sites is
exceptionally difficult. The only site of the three with any hope of
regular public access is Oak Ridge, Tennessee.


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AMSAT Seeks Volunteers to Support Phase 4 Ground Terminal Effort:

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 11:00 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36238


Established less than 1 year ago, AMSAT's all-volunteer Phase 4 Ground
Terminal team has made significant
strides in developing an ensemble of solutions to support the so-called
"Five and Dime" (5 GHz and 10 GHz) strategy AMSAT has embraced for
microwave satellite projects. Prompting the effort is the planned
launch of a geosynchronous military satellite in the 2018 time frame,
which could play host to an Amateur Radio payload operating on the two
microwave bands. The overarching project, which also includes a
complementary Phase 4 Space team, is exploring new territory and
innovative solutions, and it's seeking volunteers from among the
technically savvy
within the Amateur Radio community.


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Satellite DXCC Nearly 20 Years In the Making:

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 11:01 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36237


It took nearly 20 years, but AMSAT Vice
President of Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, finally qualified for
Satellite DXCC. Glasbrenner submitted the requisite number of QSLs for
checking at the Orlando HamCation February
12-14, and ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X,
verified KO4MA's achievement.


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Article Profiles First African-American Radio Amateur, Rufus Turner, W3LF:

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 10:59 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36236


The computer hardware/software/do-it-yourself blog Hackaday has
profiled Rufus Turner, W3LF (ex-K6AI) -- believed to be the first
African-American radio amateur and one of the more fascinating
personalities in US history. Born on December 25, 1907, in Houston,
Texas, Turner "became fascinated by crystal diodes and published his
first article about radio when he was 17," according to Hackaday. He
went on to build what Hackaday described as "then the world's smallest
radio set" in 1925, while still a teenager.


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Hurricane Watch Net, Maritime Mobile Service Network Stalwart W7GOX, (SK):

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 10:58 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36235


A veteran of the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) and the
Maritime Mobile Service Network (MMSN), Capt
David Lefavour, W7GOX, of Los Lunas, New Mexico, died on February 8. He
was 82. Lefavour served for more than 28 years in the US Navy as a
fighter pilot and later worked in law enforcement. An ARRL member, he
was a member of the HWN for more than 20 years, serving as the net
manager from 2006 until 2009 and receiving manager emeritus status in
2013. He also was a net controller for a similar tenure for the MMSN.


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In Brief...

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 10:57 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36234


February 27-28 Maintenance to Interrupt ARRL Website Services: The ARRL
Information Technology Department will conduct overnight maintenance on
its network during the February 27-28 weekend, and some or all website
systems and services will be temporarily unavailable. The work will
start at 0100 UTC on February 28 (the evening of Saturday, February 27,
in US time zones) and be completed by 1100 UTC on Sunday, February 28.
The ARRL website will remain up, but online processing of membership
applications and renewals and the ARRL Store will not be available.
E-mail also will be unavailable, but all messages will be queued for
later delivery. We apologize for any inconvenience.