eHam.net News

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Diwata 2's Payload Includes Amateur Radio:

Posted: 19 Jan 2017 04:06 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38470


The whole world is again set to witness come 2018 a third-world country
launching into space another microsatellite -- this time with an amateur or
ham radio included in the payload. An amateur radio is a communication
technology that allows its operators to talk or send messages to other
people, especially first responders, planners and government agencies whose
own communications have been knocked out, in time of disasters and
emergencies. Diwata 2 -- the Philippines' second microsatellite that is
currently being developed by the Department of Science and Technology
(DOST), the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, Hokkaido
University, and Tohoku University in Japan -- has this technology, along
with a telescope and cameras.


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Amateur Radio Club Holds 1,250th Breakfast:

Posted: 19 Jan 2017 04:06 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38469


Correction: This was not the 1250th WARS meeting, as stated in this
article. It was the 1250th breakfast, where some members of WARS often get
together at Lumberjack's Restaurant in Willits to have breakfast and enjoy
each other's company. The headline has been changed to reflect the correct
information. The Willits Amateur Radio Society was founded on Mar. 23,
1992. It adopted a constitution and elected officers, and welcomed all
amateur radio operators and anyone interested in participating. "We are
just a social group. We meet, have coffee and talk," said WARS secretary
and webmaster Joyce Cader at the 1,250th meeting on Saturday. "We just want
to encourage and teach new hams (amateur radio operators)."
According to the National Association for Amateur Radio, amateur radio
(also known as ham radio) is a popular hobby and service that brings
people, electronics and communication together. People use ham radio to
talk across town, around the world, or even into space, all without the
internet or cell phones. Although amateur radio operators get involved for
many reasons, they all have in common a basic knowledge of radio technology
and operating principles, and pass an examination for the FCC license to
operate on radio frequencies known as the "Amateur Bands." These bands are
radio frequencies allocated by the FCC for use by ham radio operators.


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Outback Workers Fight ABC Decision to Ditch Shortwave Radio:

Posted: 19 Jan 2017 04:06 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38468


People that live out in contracting camps or mustering stock camps or
outstations, and even a lot of the people who live in the bush on cattle
stations, spend probably 100% of their waking hours out on the land and
have very minimal contact with other human beings," says Tracey Hayes, the
chief executive of the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association. "You can
imagine how isolating that would be without having access to the outside
world via radio during the day while you're out in the workplace. But I
don't think they took that into consideration." Hayes is referring to a
recent announcement by the ABC that, at the end of January, it would
terminate its shortwave radio service, which broadcasts to the NT, Papua
New Guinea and some parts of the Pacific region. It said the move was "in
line with the national broadcaster's commitment to dispense with outdated
technology and to expand its digital content offerings". For some people
living and working in the outback, shortwave is the only way they can
listen to the ABC.


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DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #3:

Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:54 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38464


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: 19 Jan 2017 08:53 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38463


Just Ahead In Radiosport:


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New Amateur Radio Parity Act Bill Introduced in US House of Representatives

Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:53 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38462


H.R. 555 -- a
new "Amateur Radio Parity Act" bill -- has been introduced in the U.S.
House of Representatives. The bill's language is identical to that of
the 2015 measure, H.R. 1301, which passed in the House late last summer
but failed to gain the necessary support in the waning days of the US
Senate.


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ARRL Asks FCC for New 5 MHz Band, Retain Channels and Current Power Limit:

Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:53 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38461


ARRL has asked the FCC to allocate a new, secondary contiguous band at
5 MHz to the Amateur Service, while also retaining four of the current
five 60-meter channels and current operating rules, including the 100 W
PEP effective radiated power (ERP) limit. The federal government is the
primary user of the 5 MHz spectrum. The proposed action would implement
a portion of the Final Acts of World Radiocommunication Conference 2015
(WRC-15) that provided for a secondary international allocation of
5,351.5 to 5,366.5 kHz to the Amateur Service; that band includes
5,358.5 kHz, one of the existing 5 MHz channels in the US.


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ARRL Board if Directors to Meet in Connecticut:

Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:52 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38460


The ARRL Board of Directors will convene January 20-21 in Windsor,
Connecticut. The full Board gathering will be preceded by new Director
and Vice Director orientation and meetings of the Programs and Services
and Administration and Finance committees.


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Hamvention Ready to Deal with Anticipated Traffic Flow at New Venue:

Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:50 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38459


Hamvention is ready to deal with the
anticipated heavy traffic flow when the event opens on May 19 at its
new location, the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia,
Ohio. Mike Kalter, W8CI, said the all-volunteer Hamvention organizers
have turned to professionals to address this aspect of the event.
Kalter, who is treasurer of the sponsoring Dayton Amateur Radio
Association (DARA), was interviewed last
week by DX Engineering's Tim Duffy, K3LR.


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Hams Upset as New Hotel Owner Wants Repeaters Removed from Roof:

Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:51 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38458


A controversy has erupted on New York's Long Island, where the owner of
the Islandia Marriott -- soon to become a casino -- wants two Amateur
Radio repeaters and antennas removed from the roof of the hotel that's
been their home for nearly 30 years. Town of Babylon ARES Emergency
Coordinator and RACES Radio Officer John Melfi, W2HCB, said removing
the repeaters would severely hamper the ability of Long Island radio
amateurs to support communication in the event of a disaster or
emergency.


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The Doctor Will See You Now!

Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:51 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38457


"Meteor Scatter" is the topic of the latest (January 12) episode of the
"ARRL The Doctor is In" podcast.
Listen...and learn!


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Maxim Memorial Station W1AW Receives Equipment Donations:

Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:50 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38456


Maxim Memorial Station W1AW has received equipment donations from
Heil Sound and Radiohaus/America.


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Nebraska Sesquicentennial Celebration QSO Party Set for February, March:

Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:49 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38455


Radio amateurs in Nebraska will celebrate the state's 150th anniversary
during the Sesquicentennial Anniversary Celebration Week QSO Party,
starting on Saturday, February 25, and
continuing until Sunday, March 6. That time period includes the actual
anniversary date, March 1.


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German Regulator Acts on More than 6,000 Instances of Interference in 2016:

Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:48 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38454


German telecoms regulator the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur
-- BNetzA) reports that it investigated and resolved more than 6,000
cases of radio interference in 2016. The agency reported that the
caseload was about the same as 2015's.


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Ulrich Rohde, N1UL, Recognized for Pioneering Work on SDR:

Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:47 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38453


Ulrich L. Rohde, N1UL, of Synergy Microwave Corp was invited to deliver
the sixth Sir J.C. Bose Memorial Lecture at the IEEE Hyderabad Section
on December 2 during a joint session of the IEEE MTT, AP, and EMC
Societies in Hyderabad, India. Rohde's talk was "Next Generation
Networks: Software Defined Radio -- Emerging Trends."


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Harry K. Wolf, W6NKT, SK at 107; May Have Been World's Oldest Active Ham:

Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:47 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38452


Harry K. Wolf, W6NKT, of Morro Bay, California, has died just a couple
of weeks short of his 108th birthday. Wolf may have been the oldest
active radio amateur in the US, if not in the world, although no
official records are maintained. Licensed since 1936, Wolf was an ARRL
member and a Life Member of the Quarter Century Wireless Association
(QCWA). Wolf was on the air daily, mostly on
40-meter CW.


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In Brief...

Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:46 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38451


VHF Propagation Guru, DXer Patrick J. Dyer, WA5IYX, SK: VHF DXer and
propagation expert Pat Dyer, WA5IYX, of San Antonio, Texas, died in
mid-December. Licensed in 1963 and an ARRL member, he was 69. "Pat
contributed greatly to our understanding of sporadic E propagation,
through both his professional research at the Office of
Telecommunications in Boulder, Colorado, and later through his personal
observations," Les Rayburn, N1LF, said in a post to the VHF Contesting
reflector.