eHam.net News

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Ham Radio Club Open to Bi-County Area:

Posted: 19 Apr 2016 05:13 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/36613


TENNESSEE RIDGE, Tenn. -- Whenever the internet, telephone lines and all
other forms of communication fail in an emergency situation, there's always
amateur radio, or "ham radio." Ham radio enthusiasts started the Wells
Creek Basin Ham Radio Network, open to all enthusiasts or even those who
want to learn about radio, for anyone in Houston and Stewart County. "Ham
radios have a considerable history and have, historically, been used
throughout the world by amateur radio operators for communications in peace
and war times," said Chris Barker, president of the organization. "When all
other forms of communication fail, ham radio is there to the rescue."
Barker said his participation with Amateur Radio Emergency Services is an
example of this, where operators use their radios through local emergencies
and storms. "It's amazing to see what can be done with ham radios in
circumstances where all the power and telephone lines are down and no cell
communications are possible," Barker said. "When the world goes, a ham
operator can grab his radio, throw a wire up into a tree, attach a battery
and talk to the entire world. We serve as communication for everyone when
everything hits the fan."


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Hampi History is Being Broadcast Through Hams:

Posted: 19 Apr 2016 05:12 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/36612


April 18, 1336. Six hundred and eighty years ago, the Vijaynagara Empire
was founded, and named after the capital city of Vijayanagara, whose ruins
surround present day Hampi. The historical UNESCO World Heritage site is
almost a forgotten story, but not for a group of amateur radio enthusiasts
who have gathered in Kishkinda, set up an exclusive station and are
communicating with HAM radios across the globe telling a story of the glory
of Hampi.Vijayanagara, whose ruins surround present day Hampi. The
historical UNESCO World Heritage site is almost a forgotten story, but not
for a group of amateur radio enthusiasts who have gathered in Kishkinda,
set up an exclusive station and are communicating with HAM radios across
the globe telling a story of the glory of Hampi. At the highest point in
the region, close to the Tungabhadra dam, a special rig has been set up,
with a call sign AU6HAP, where a team of seven amateur radio operators are
busy getting in touch with stations worldwide. After obtaining clearance
from Union ministry of information and broadcasting for this special call
sign and also permission from the archaeological department, the team went
live in Hampi from April 17 and will operate till Wednesday. The event not
only coincided with the 680 years of Vijayanagara Empire but also with
World Heritage Day on April 18. The target is to get in touch with nearly
1,500 stations all over and in the last three days, several countries in
Europe, US and Australia have been covered through around 400 stations.
Once the communication is established with another ham/station, the team
narrates a short story about Hampi. The gist of the story communicated goes
thus - This activity to operate amateur radio from Hampi is to tell the
world the glory and prosperity of this great forgotten kingdom. Hampi was
the capital of Vijayanagara Empire during the period 1336 AD to 1556 AD.
Hampi is situated on the southern bank of river Tungabhadra in Karnataka
state in India. It has many hundreds of monuments, temples, ancient
irrigation projects, palaces and buildings spread over 26 sq km.


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Radio Hobbyists Neet Up at Museum's Spring Flea Market:

Posted: 19 Apr 2016 05:11 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/36611


HUNTINGTON - Radio enthusiasts gathered to browse, swap and bid on
electronic equipment from brand-new to fixer-upper status Saturday during
the Huntington Radio and Technology Museum's annual spring flea market and
auction. A hodge-podge scattering of equipment from decades of production,
ranging from the smallest cathode tube to boxy novelty entertainment
systems went up for sale as radio fans met to haggle, sell, buy and chat
with like-minded hobbyists.


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Collectors, Enthusiasts Tune In to Tri-State Radio Fest:

Posted: 19 Apr 2016 05:10 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/36610


Collectors perused merchandise at a Sunday morning flea market in Center
Township searching for the perfect find among aisles of wooden radios
operated with the ginger twist of a knob, ham radio sets, crates of classic
vinyl records, and assorted tubes, coils and transistors. Center Stage
Banquet Hall transformed into an audio time capsule Sunday at the
Pittsburgh Antique Radio Society and the Phonograph Club of Akron's 12th
annual Tri-State Radio Fest, where vendors and collectors from across the
region gathered for a flea market and auction specifically for radios and
audio equipment of the past. The all-day event began with a flea market at
8:30 a.m., followed by an auction at noon. The radio fest is one of the
group's largest annual fundraisers, and usually from 300 to 400 people
meander in throughout the day, PARS president Chris Wells said. Flea market
tables were packed with professional antique dealers, hobbyists displaying
lovingly acquired collections and groups seeking recruits, like the Beaver
Valley Amateur Radio Association. The BVARA is one of the oldest ham radio
clubs in western Pennsylvania and, because radio is the only reliable
communication channel during a natural disaster, has helped the county
during tornadoes and power outages.


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Roger So Far, Say Ham Radio Enthusiasts:

Posted: 19 Apr 2016 05:10 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/36609


To ensure free flow of information from places where mobile phone reception
is poor, the Election Commission has deployed ham radio operators, an
unprec-edented move in West Bengal. "The District Magistrate and the
district relations officer of North 24 Parganas have accepted our proposal
to provide ham radio communication from 24 polling stations, spanning seven
Assembly seats," said Ambarish Nag Biswas, secretary of the West Bengal
Radio Club (Amateur Radio).


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Solar Power, Boats, Ham Radio to Aid Voting in the Sundarbans:

Posted: 19 Apr 2016 05:09 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/36608


Kolkata: Amped up with ham radio broadcasts, solar lights and fleets of
boats, launches and steamers, the world's largest mangroves, the
Sundarbans, is gearing up to vote in the West Bengal assembly polls
notwithstanding connectivity issues stemming from the archipelago's
remoteness and wild terrain. From ham radio operations to solar lights,
officials are going the extra mile to ensure the electorate gets a chance
to exercise their voting rights, a chance for them to elect representatives
who will help them realise basic needs such as strengthening embankments in
the globally famous region ravaged with natural disasters and perils of
climate change. Criss-crossed with tidal water systems, the Sundarbans
delta covers approximately 10,000 square kilometres, most of which is in
Bangladesh with the remainder in India. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is
home to around 42 lakh people and 76 endangered Royal Bengal Tigers. The
102 islands of the archipelago come under 13 assembly constituencies
administered by two separate Bengal districts: North 24-Parganas and South
24-Parganas. While North 24-Parganas goes to polls on April 25, its
southern counterpart will see voting on April 30.


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Scientists Capture High-Resolution Images Of Solar Flare As It Unfolds:

Posted: 19 Apr 2016 05:09 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/36607


A team of scientists from the New Jersey Institute of Technology's (NJIT)
Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) captured amazing high-resolution images
of a recent solar flare - an explosion of magnetic energy that affects
space weather - that includes bright flare ribbons and "coronal rain,"
which refers to the plasma that condenses after the flare, and reveals the
visible surface of the sun. The findings shed light on one of solar
physics' biggest puzzles - how energy is moved from one region of the sun
to another during and after a solar flare. "We can now observe in very fine
detail how energy is transported in solar flares, in this case from the
corona where it has been stored to the lower chromosphere tens of thousands
of miles below it, where most of the energy is finally converted into heat
and radiated away," said Ju Jing, a research professor at NJIT and the lead
author of the study. The new observations reveal that despite the
traditional view of electron beams as a major player in the transportation
of flare energy, the spatial scale of energy transport is also a very
important factor.


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Communicating Without Wires:

Posted: 19 Apr 2016 03:36 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/36606


Amateur radio was essentially the Internet before the Internet. With an
amateur radio station, you can communicate anywhere without relying on the
Internet or cell services. With many ham radio operators, It's all about
the thrill of the contact and the international comradery. The term "ham
radio" was first used in a derogatory sense to describe amateur radio
operators in the early 19th century. Sort of like "ham-fisted" or "ham
actor". The term was also used for bad wired telegraph operators. John
Setzler (AK4FM), Bo Walker (K1BO) and Gene Fulbright (KC4FM) are all local
ham radio operators. Walker started in ham radio when he was 14. Setzler
worked in electronics and he "got hungry to play with it when he got out of
manufacturing." Fulbright has been an amateur ham operator for a long time
but can't remember how he got into it. All three men operate from amateur
radio stations in their homes and have mobile stations as well. An amateur
radio station usually includes a transceiver and one or more antennas.
While not a requirement for radio communications, most fixed amateur radio
stations are equipped with one or more computers, which serve tasks ranging
from logging of contacts with other stations to various levels of station
hardware control. Fixed stations are generally powered by electricity and
most are able to run off low voltage DC for use in emergencies. It is
thought that amateur radio began in the early 1900s. It was unregulated
until 1912 when Congress passed the Radio Act of 1912 which mandated that
all radio stations in the United States be licensed by the federal
government. It limited private stations (amateur radio operators) to 200
meters or lower. This law also mandates that seagoing vessels continuously
monitor distress frequencies. The Radio Act of 1912 was passed after
investigation following the sinking of the Titanic. Interference from ham
radio operators was blamed on slowing down rescue efforts. Whether the
interference is true or not is a point of disagreement among historians.
The tragedy is "often cited inaccurately as the reason for drawing the
Radio Act of 1912," writes broadcast regulation scholar Marvin R.
Bensman. "The subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee had actually
completed its work on this bill and the bill had been reported out prior to
the Titanic disaster." Despite what may or may not have happened with the
Titanic, ham radio operators are known for saving lives during disasters.
In January of 1909, Jack Binns was aboard the Republic, when it collided
with the Florida off the coast of Nantucket. Both ships carried passengers.
Over the course of three days Binns repaired his damaged wireless apparatus
that was damaged during the collision and Morse coded for help. He is
credited with saving almost 1,500 passengers on both vessels who otherwise
might have drowned. Ham radio operators are able to communicate even if
there is no electric power, satellites or cellular service. They have
helped in many modern disasters including 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.


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Academic Recommends Use of Amateur Radio:

Posted: 19 Apr 2016 03:35 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/36605


TELECOMMUNICATION breakdown during natural disasters can be a thing of the
past thanks to the discovery and utilisation of amateur radio. University
of the South Pacific marine biologist algal taxonomist lecturer Dr Antoine
de Ramon N'Yeurt says amateur radio is a very simple equipment which runs
on sustainable energy and can provide vital links and communication service
that can save lives in times of natural disaster. "It is a very powerful
resource that has been overlooked in the Pacific," Dr N'Yeurt said. He said
compared with the rest of the world, Pacific Island countries were the
least users of this form of technology and the handful of operators that
they had at present would not be sufficient for good coverage on national
emergency networks in times of natural disaster.