eHam.net News

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Propagation Forecast Bulletin #4 de K7RA:

Posted: 27 Jan 2017 01:42 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38528


Average daily sunspot number rose from 22.6 to 52.7 (from 0 two
weeks ago) and solar flux from 77.1 to 83.9, for the January 19-25
reporting week. In addition to this recent uptick, the first sunspot group
of Cycle
25 (12620) appeared on December 18. Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA has an
excellent article about this in the next (February) issue of the
Northwest Indiana DX Club newsletter.


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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2048 for Friday, January 27, 2017:

Posted: 27 Jan 2017 01:45 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38522


The following is a QST. There's a new leader at the helm of the FCC. The
Amateur Radio Parity Act scores a victory in the House -- and in Missouri,
state lawmakers consider their local version of the federal bill. All this
and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2048 comes your way right now.


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DogparkSDR Version 1.07 Released:

Posted: 27 Jan 2017 01:44 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38521


Dog Park Software is pleased to announce that version 1.07 of
dogparkSDR has been released. dogparkSDR is the first Native Mac client for
the Flex Radio
Systems Signature series SDR Radios.


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MacDoppler Version 2.23 Released:

Posted: 27 Jan 2017 01:43 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38520


Satellite tracking software for Mac: Dog Park Software is pleased to
announce that MacDoppler
Version 2.23 has been released and can be downloaded from:


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EBU Readies for .radio Launch:

Posted: 26 Jan 2017 04:00 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38519


Organization says the project is a community TLD and will be run for the
benefit of the entire radio industry: The European Broadcasting Union is
launching a new top-level domain name -- .radio -- for the radio community.
The EBU will manage .radio, which it says can be used for web and email
addresses, with the support of other world broadcasting unions, including
ABU, AER, AIB, AMARC, ASBU, AUB, CBU, EGTA, IAB, NABA, OTI and URTI.
According to the organization, this project is a community TLD and is run
for the benefit of the whole radio industry and amateur enthusiast and
reserved for people and companies with active interest in the radio sector.


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DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #4:

Posted: 26 Jan 2017 12:03 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38518


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: 26 Jan 2017 12:02 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38517


Just Ahead In Radiosport:


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Amateur Radio Parity Act Speeds to US House Passage, Heads to US Senate:

Posted: 26 Jan 2017 12:02 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38516


Just 10 days after being introduced in the 115th Congress, the 2017
Amateur Radio Parity Act legislation, H.R. 555,
passed the US House of Representatives on unanimous consent under a
suspension of House rules. The bill's language is identical to that of
the 2015 measure, H.R. 1301, which won House approval late last summer
after attracting 126 cosponsors, but failed to clear the US Senate last
fall as the 114th Congress wound down. The new bill, again sponsored by
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), was launched on January 13 with initial
cosponsorship by Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) and Rep. Greg Walden, W7EQI
(R-OR), who chairs the influential House Committee on Energy and
Commerce.


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New FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Praises House Action on H.R. 555, Other Bills:

Posted: 26 Jan 2017 12:01 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38512


The FCC's new chairman, Ajit Pai, this week praised US House action on
H.R. 555 and other
telecommunications-related legislation that cleared the chamber the
previous day.


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CEPT Meeting Makes Progress on WRC-19 Agenda Items Affecting Amateur Radio:

Posted: 26 Jan 2017 12:00 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38510


Progress was made regarding World Radiocommunication Conference 2019
(WRC-19) agenda items of interest to Amateur Radio when European
Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT)
Conference Preparatory Group Project Team D
(PTD) held its second meeting January 10-12 in Helsinki, Finland. According
to International Amateur
Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 President Don
Beattie, G3BJ, experts discussed WRC-19 Agenda Item 1.1, which proposes
a 50-54 MHz allocation in Region 1 in order to create a global 6-meter
band. Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T, is the CEPT coordinator for this
agenda item.


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The Doctor Will See You Now!

Posted: 26 Jan 2017 12:00 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38509


"Meteor Scatter" is the topic of the latest (January 26) episode of the
"ARRL The Doctor is In" podcast.
Listen...and learn!


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Second Annual Midwinter 630-Meter Activity Night Set for February 4-5:

Posted: 26 Jan 2017 11:59 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38508


US and Canadian radio amateurs and Part 5 experimental stations will
take part in the second annual Midwinter 630-Meter Activity Night,
which will begin on February 4 at 0000 UTC and continue through
February 5 at 2359 UTC. Radio amateurs in the US will be able to make
cross-band contacts with Canadian participants.


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CIA Declassified Database Includes Information About Soviet-Era Ham Radio:

Posted: 26 Jan 2017 11:59 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38507


Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports
relating to Amateur Radio in the former Soviet Union (including the
Baltic States) and Warsaw Pact countries are among documents
declassified to a new searchable online database,
the CIA Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Electronic Reading Room.
Documents cover translations and assessments of Amateur Radio clubs;
training; monitoring Sputniks; technology and equipment; QSL cards, and
ruminations on a plan to monitor US ham radio transmissions for
activities "of interest" to the intelligence community. Searches on
"Amateur Radio" or "ham radio" will yield multiple documents, some
heavily redacted.


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US Naval Academy HFsat Coordinated for 15- Meter to 10-Meter Transponder:

Posted: 26 Jan 2017 11:58 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38506


The US Naval Academy has received IARU satellite frequency coordination
for HFsat, a 1.5 U CubeSat carrying a 15
to 10-meter inverting linear transponder with a 30 kHz bandwidth
(uplink 21.4 MHz, downlink 29.42 MHz). The Mode K configuration is
reminiscent of the old "RS" series of Russian satellites. The CubeSat
will also carry an APRS digipeater on 145.825 MHz. The US Naval
Academy's Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, said HFsat is designed to demonstrate
the viability of HF satellites as a back-up communication system,
taking advantage of HF radios found in a typical Amateur Radio
installation or frequently used to support disaster and emergency
response communication.


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FEMA Region X Reports Another Successful HF Interoperability Exercise:

Posted: 26 Jan 2017 11:57 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38504


Participation appears to be growing in the monthly Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) Region X HF interoperability exercises, which
take place on 60 meters (center channels 5,332 and 5,348 kHz) on the
third Wednesday of each month. Check-ins include state, tribal,
federal, and Amateur Radio stations, to test HF interoperability in an
emergency or disaster response. FEMA Region X is made up of Alaska,
Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, but all stations are welcome.


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Tickets Now Available for Dayton DX, Top Band, and Contest Dinners:

Posted: 26 Jan 2017 11:58 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38502


Tickets are now available to the 2017 DX Dinner, Top Band Dinner, and
Contest Dinner, held in conjunction with Hamvention in May.


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New Mexico Radio Amateur Marks 80 Years as a Licensee:

Posted: 26 Jan 2017 11:57 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38501


"Made it! 80 years a ham." That's how ARRL member Paul Elliott, W5DM,
of Hobbs, New Mexico, recently posted his milestone on the Top Band
reflector. Growing up during the Great Depression in Kingsville, Texas,
Elliott got his ham ticket at age 14 as W5GGV. Now 94, Elliott
eventually worked his way to the top rung -- Amateur Extra -- back in
the day when that license offered no additional privileges, just
prestige. It did later allow him to apply for a two-letter suffix call
sign, though, and he became W5DM.


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In Brief...

Posted: 26 Jan 2017 11:57 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38500


QRP ARCI Four Days in May Event Registration Open: Registration is open for
Four
Days in May (FDIM), the QRP Amateur Radio
Club International (QRP ARCI) annual convention held in conjunction
with Hamvention.


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W4HM Daily HF Radio Wave Propagation Forecast:

Posted: 26 Jan 2017 10:55 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38498


Feel free to redistribute this "not for
profit" solar, space and geomagnetic weather
discussion and HF radio wave propagation
forecast, as long as you redistribute it in
it's entirety and give me credit for it.


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Foundations of Amateur Radio -- #86:

Posted: 26 Jan 2017 10:56 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/38496


A nifty idea looking for a purpose in 1947
changes the world as we know it... You use this thing every day, in fact to
read
this, you're using it right now. How does it
work? What is inside and what does water have
to do with a transistor radio?