eHam.net News

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Youth 'Scout' the Airwaves with Ham Radio:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 05:15 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37711


Helping a little old lady across the street, arts, search and rescue and
merit badges have a new patch of distinction in Navasota -- Ham operations.
The newly formed Grimes County Amateur Radio Group (GCARG) is sponsoring
Navasota Boy Scout Troop 361 and the Adventure Crew 361. Members of the
troops will be learning ham operations and earning a patch in ham radio
operations. Over a four- to six-week period, middle-school and high-school
young people will learn about ham operations and how to build a receiver as
part of their foray into the decades-old art of communication via band
waves.


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Drill Highlights Ham Successes:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 05:11 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37710


A Category 3 Hurricane hit the coast causing wide spread damage and a
massive exodus of residents north by those living in the storm's path: This
was the scenario for the South Texas Section Amateur Radio Emergency
Services (HAM operators) Fall 2016 Simulated Emergency Test Exercise this
past weekend began. Throughout the half-day Amateur Radio Emergency Service
(ARES) drill, HAMs from around the state of Texas met to test their
abilities to connect to one another and to relay messages to others in safe
locations. The Grimes County Amateur Radio Club Group (GCARCG) joined
manpower with the Brazos County ARES members to learn and participate in
the mock emergency drill. Had it been a true drill, each club would be
expected to meet (deploy), if possible, to their County Emergency Operation
Command Center. For the Brazos County ARES group, that would be an
underground bunker in Bryan; however, for the Grimes County Club, that
would be in Anderson. Each area has access to a strong signal tower called
a Repeater and other antennas and equipment. The taller the Repeater the
farther the signal and messages can transmit to other towers and users.


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Walton County ARES Assists in Hurricane Relief:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 05:10 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37709


As residents and emergency responders prepare for Hurricane Matthew's
landfall, amateur radio operators are pitching in to help. They're manning
an emergency network for the duration of the storm. "When all else fails,
radio always works," said T.H. Merritt, the PIO for Walton County ARES.
Merritt says he feels obliged to help out, especially since Hurricane
Hermine put Northwest Florida in the same position just a few weeks
ago. "Radio traffic will increase greatly as operators begin to give
reports about road conditions, how the evacuation routes look," said
Merritt. "We're able to assist other parts of the state when they need
communications."


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Foundations of Amateur Radio -- #70:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 05:16 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37708


Propagation is everywhere you care to listen.
Rather than work the DX station, what about
listening to the pile-up?


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Amateur Radio Enthusiasts Ready for Emergencies:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 11:35 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37707


In his Pacific Grove bedroom, with an American flag proudly hanging and
symbols of a future military career adorning the walls, Nick Carswell shows
off his amateur radio equipment. His mentor, retired U.S. Army major Rick
Lagerstrom, looks on approvingly until Carswell powers up his system and
electronics throughout the house start buzzing with interference. "We gotta
fix that Nick," Lagerstrom says, eyebrows raised, to the 17-year-old. The
teenager, looking bemused, starts recounting a story he heard of an amateur
radio operator who inadvertently drove his elderly neighbor insane. "The
lady started hearing voices and that pushed her over the edge," Carswell
says with a grin. "It turned out that her hearing aids were just picking up
interference from her neighbor's ham radio." Lagerstrom interjects to keep
his young friend on message. Hams -- the century-old nickname given to
amateur radio operators -- are people who keep the world connected in
absence of telephone lines, Wi-Fi and cell service, he says. "Hams run
event communications at the California International Airshow Salinas, hams
are at the Soberanes Fires keeping various agencies and communities
connected," Lagerstrom says. "There's so much you can do with amateur
radio. Its applications are limitless."


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DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #41:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 11:24 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37706


This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
WB0TEV, 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: 06 Oct 2016 11:23 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37705


Just Ahead In Radiosport:


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Statewide ARES Activation Declared In Florida for Hurricane Matthew:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 11:23 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37704


The entire State of Florida was placed under an Amateur Radio Emergency
Service (ARES) Level 1 -- or full -- activation on October 6, as
Hurricane Matthew headed for landfall in the US. The category 4 storm
has already caused more than 100 deaths, most of them in Haiti, as it
moved northward through the Caribbean. The Northern Florida ARES Net
was called up on 3950 or 7252 kHz -- depending upon propagation -- and
will remain operational for the duration of the threat.


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ARRL Gauging Impact of Revised California Distracted Driving Law:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 11:23 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37703


California has upped its game in cracking down on distracted driving,
and radio amateurs there are concerned that a recent revision to the
state's Motor Vehicle Code could affect Amateur Radio mobile operation.
The old law, which included an Amateur Radio exemption, already
prohibited motorists from using electronic wireless communication
devices to write, send, or read a text-based communication while in
motion, unless the device was configured for voice-operated and
hands-free operation. The revised law does not exempt Amateur Radio.


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ARRL to be Represented at IARU Region 2 Conference, Emergency Workshop:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 11:21 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37702


ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, will head a contingent of League
representatives at the 19th International Amateur Radio Union Region 2
(IARU-R2) General Assembly in Viña
del Mar, Chile. The conference, hosted by the Radio Club of Chile, gets
under way on October 10 and continues through October 14. An emergency
communications workshop will be held on October 11 in conjunction with
the IARU event. Attending on behalf of ARRL, in addition to President
Roderick, will be Technical Relations Specialist Jon Siverling, WB3ERA;
ARRL Second Vice President Brian Mileshosky, N5ZGT, and Emergency
Communications Manager Mike Corey, KI1U. ARRL International Affairs
Vice President Jay Bellows, K0QB, also will attend in his role as IARU
Region 2 Area B Director.


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The Doctor Will See You Now!

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 11:22 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37701


"Bits vs. Baud" is the topic of the latest (October 6) episode of the
"ARRL The Doctor is In" podcast.
Listen...and learn!


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National Parks On the Air Update:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 11:22 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37700


ARRL's National Parks on the Air (NPOTA)
program remains on track to break 800,000 contacts from eligible NPS
units before the end of the year! Some 1,200 Activators have made just
over 700,000 contacts from nearly 460 of the 489 NPOTA units. With just
under 3 months to go, there is still time for you to get in on the
NPOTA hunt or to plan your own activation! The NPOTA page on the ARRL
website has all the
information you need to get started.


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LoTW Password Checking Change Causes Problems for Some Users:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 11:22 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37699


An upgrade to the password checking mechanism that authenticates
Logbook of The World (LoTW)
users has caused log-in problems for some clients. Under the system in
place prior to approximately 2300 UTC on September 19, the LoTW log-in
system ignored the case of any characters in a password when checking
for a match, storing them all as lowercase. The new system is
case-sensitive, however. While passwords once were randomly generated,
the ARRL IT staff recently implemented a new LoTW password mechanism
that lets users choose their own passwords. Under this new system, when
users first log in, their passwords are encrypted.


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Sarratt and Tiritilli Declared Elected In ARRL Southeastern Division:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 11:21 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37698


Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, has been declared elected as Director of the ARRL
Southeastern Division, to take office at noon Eastern Time on January
1, 2017.


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Interim Section Manager Appointed In Eastern Pennsylvania:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 11:20 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37697


Bob Wiseman, WB3W, of Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, has been appointed
as the Interim Section Manager for the ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania
Section. He is fulfilling the current term of office that was declared
vacant by the ARRL Executive Committee of the ARRL Board of Directors
this past June. Wiseman's interim appointment continues through March
31, 2018.


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'Overview of Army and Air Force Mars' Webinar Set for October 25:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 11:20 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37696


Registration is open
for the webinar "Overview of Army and Air Force MARS," October 25 at 8
PM ET (0000 UTC on October 26).


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New England Forum to Demystify Tax-Exempt Status for Ham Radio Clubs:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 11:19 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37695


Most radio clubs are set up as non-profit corporations, but this does
not mean that they are tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax code. Some changes that took place
in 2014 simplified the process for smaller organizations with less than
$50,000 in annual gross revenues and reduced the amount of red tape.


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AO-7 Still Going Strong After Almost 42 Years In Space:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 11:19 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37694


In a little more than a month, the venerable AO-7 Amateur Radio satellite
will mark
42 years in space. AMSAT says AO-7, the oldest ham radio satellite
still in operation, is now switching between Mode A and Mode B on a
daily basis, after coming up in Mode A on September 30.


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Shore Station KPH Call Sign to Return to the Airwaves on October 8:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 11:18 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37693


Nearly 20 years after shore station KPH in California went dark, that
call sign will be back on the air on Saturday, October 8, for a
commemorative transmission, opening its doors to the public for the
occasion. KPH will be operating from its original home on its original
frequencies using its original transmitters, receivers, and antennas,
"and even some of the original operators!" said Richard "RD" Dillman,
W6AWO, of the Maritime Radio Historical Society (MRHS). Dillman explains
that KPH began as
station "PH" in San Francisco's Palace Hotel in 1905.


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ETH038 -- The RST Reporting System:

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 11:17 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37692


In this episode we talk about the RST
Reporting System. What each letter stands
for, how to use them and the importance of
filling out a QSL with the RST box
correctly.