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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2208 for Friday February 21st 2020
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2208 with a release date of Friday February 21st 2020 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. Motorola wins millions in DMR lawsuit. A college radio station turns 100 -- and a satellite's mission comes to an end. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2208 comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** MOTOROLA WINS $765 MILLION IN LAWSUIT AGAINST HYTERA STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In our top story this week, a jury rules in favor of Motorola in a lawsuit against a Chinese rival. With those details, here's Kent Peterson KC0DGY. KENT: A jury in Chicago has awarded Motorola $765 million in the company's lawsuit against Hytera Communications Corporation. The award, announced on Friday February 14th, is the full amount the company had been seeking and includes $345.8 million in compensatory damages and $418.8 million in punitive damages. Motorola claimed the Chinese company stole its trade secrets along with its copyrighted source code for the manufacture of its digital two-way radios. Its original complaint was filed in March 2017. Hytera attorneys said they plan to appeal. The Chinese company filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Motorola in December 2017, accusing Motorola in driving out the competition in the DMR marketplace. Hytera, a former distributor of Motorola radios, has acknowledged hiring engineers who formerly worked there. Hytera has said however it developed its radios independently. Meanwhile, Motorola's attorneys have vowed to seek an order halting sale of Hytera radios in the United States. The company is also planning to ask for a worldwide injunction preventing Hytera from further copyright infringement and use of stolen trade secrets. Motorola Solutions also has a patent-infringement case pending against Hytera. That trial is expected to commence later this year or early next year. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kent Peterson KC0DGY. (BLOOMBERG BUSINESS NEWS, BUSINESS WIRE, HYTERA WEBSITE) ** FCC'S COMMENT DEADLINE ON 5.9 GHz IS MARCH 6 STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Time is short for you to share your thoughts on the future of the band at 5.9 GHZ, as we hear from Jack Parker W8ISH. JACK: The FCC is taking a second look at the 5.9 GHz band, where it has proposed two changes. The agency would like to make a 45MHz sub-band from 5.850 to 5.895 GHz available for unlicensed operations such as Wi-Fi. The agency is also hoping to reserve 5.895 to 5.925 GHz for communications related to transportation and vehicle safety. Amateur radio has a secondary status between 5.650 and 5.925 GHz and the FCC has indicated it has no plans to change that. Hams wishing to weigh in on this proposal, known as the Notice of Proposed Rule Making in WT Docket 19-138, will have until the 6th of March to file their initial comments. Reply comments must be submitted no later than April 6. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jack Parker W8ISH. (FCC.GOV) ** CHECKING IN WITH A MARATHON CHALLENGE STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Ever served as net control for what seemed like forever? One ham in Canada is turning that experience into a marathon in just a few weeks. Here's Heather Embee KB3TZD with that story. HEATHER: Martin Swinimer VE1KLR is in training to become a marathon man. At least that's what he hopes to be after serving as net control in April on the 420hamradio dot network (420hamradio.network). On April 20th, Marty will be calling for check-ins for at least 24 consecutive hours. He told Newsline in an email he'll be starting at 0:00 Atlantic Standard Time on that date and is looking to set a world record for the longest single-operator net. Marty is the operator of the 420HamRadio.Network which was created as an extension of the EchoLink Node VE1KLR-L. He told Newsline he would love to have as many check-ins as possible, especially among newcomers to amateur radio. As he told Newsline [quote] "as amateur radio operators we all enjoy a good ragchew." [endquote] In fact, Marty said ragchews are always welcome - even when he's not trying to set a new record. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Heather Embee KB3TZD. ** AMSAT'S OSCAR 85 REACHES END OF ITS MISSION STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Goodbye AMSAT-OSCAR 85. While satellite optimists still believe its life may not be over completely, AMSAT reports that it believes AO-85's batteries have deteriorated and can no longer power its transmitter. According to Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA (pronounced: Kay Oh 4 Em Ay), AMSAT's vice president for operations, the first AMSAT cubesat is officially at the end of its mission. He noted: [quote] "Should some future event cause a cell to open, it is possible the satellite may be heard again." (AMSAT) ** THIS BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION IS A MAINE EVENT STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The celebration in Maine is not even a month away, but marking a bicentennial takes time, as we hear from Jim Damron N8TMW. JIM D: The Wireless Society of Southern Maine and two hams from the PenBay Amateur Radio Club have put together an event that gives special recognition to the state's original 9 counties. It's a bicentennial celebration that runs from March 16th to March 22nd. Special stations will also be on the air for the town of Portland as K1P, Jameson Tavern in Freeport as K1J and the nearby city of Boston as K1B - all recognizing contributions each locale had made to Maine's statehood. Maine had been a province of Massachusetts until 1819, when legislators in Massachusetts granted Maine its statehood, which became official in 1820. Stations will operate on HF, 6m, 2m, and 70cm using CW, SSB, and the Digital modes. Certificates will be awarded for operators as well as chasers. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jim Damron N8TMW. ** COLLEGE RADIO CLUB MARKS CENTENNIAL STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Who's 100 years old this year and still popular on a college campus? Andy Morrison K9AWM tells us. ANDY: Congratulations and happy 100th birthday to W5YD. That's the call sign for the Mississippi State University Amateur Radio Club. The club received a permit with the call sign 5YD from the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1920. The "W" was added later by the federal government when it brought all U.S. radio stations into compliance with agreements on station identification around the world. That history makes W5YD one of the oldest, continuously active ham radio clubs in the United States. There's another call sign that's carries significance in this club's history. It's W5EPW and it once belonged to school alumnus William P. Gearhiser. Before becoming a Silent Key in 2004 at the age of 93, he had been a licensed ham for more than 75 years and was at one time the faculty sponsor for the club. As a tribute to him for helping make club what it is today, club members designated their on-campus meeting room the W.P. Gearhiser Ham Radio Club Room. That honor came just a year before his death. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Andy Morrison K9AWM. (MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY) ** PROGRESS FOR STUDENT-BUILT SATELLITE IN ARIZONA STEPHEN/ANCHOR: A student satellite project in Arizona is about to benefit from a half-million dollars' worth of support in a newly inked contract. Neil Rapp WB9VPG has details. NEIL: An inflatable high-gain satellite antenna project built by students at the University of Arizona is moving forward toward its launch next year. The ultra-lightweight antenna is actually for a nano-satellite known as CatSat and is based on work done at the university. It was developed by FreeFall Aerospace, a company founded in Tucson, Arizona as a spinoff from the university. The university recently signed a contract worth an estimated $465,000 with the North American subsidiary of GomSpace Group AB for support and satellite elements in connection with the project. The payload will also include a compact Software Defined Radio from Rincon Research. Known as an AstroSDR, it will establish a high-bandwidth telecom link with the Earth and perform high-rate signal and HD image-processing. The mission was chosen last year by NASA's Cubesat Launch Initiative for launch in early 2021. According to the NASA website, the mission will include deployment of a whip antenna to measure the Earth�s ionosphere. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Neil Rapp WB9VPG. (SPACEWATCH.GLOBAL, NASA) ** PHOENIX CUBESAT NEEDS HAMS TO TRACK ITS PATH STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, members of the Phoenix CubeSat team in Arizona are asking hams to be listening on 437.35 MHz following their satellite's successful deployment from the ISS on Wednesday, February 19. Project manager Sarah Rogers KI700Y (pronounced: Kay Eye Seven Oh Oh Why) asks that amateurs help track the spacecraft, which is the school's first student-led CubeSat in space. You'll find a link on how to decode packets - and other details - in the printed version of this week's newscast on our website arnewsline.org [for print only, do not read: http://phxcubesat.asu.edu/content/amateur-operations] (SARAH ROGERS KI7OOY) ** BREAK HE Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline heard on bulletin stations around the world including the K5DUR repeater in Rowlett Texas on Sundays at 7 p.m. local time. ** SILENT KEY: GERALD KLATZKO ZS6BTD, ARISS TELEBRIDGE OPERATOR STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The ARISS program has lost a ham who had been a mainstay of its earliest contacts between the ISS and schools. Gerald Klatzko ZS6BTD of Parklands South Africa became a Silent Key on the 1st of February. Gerald served often in those early years as a radio telebridge operator, providing a direct radio link so schools could make successful contacts with astronauts even without an amateur radio operator on site. Gerald Klatzko was 95. ** AM QSO PARTY IS A HIT WITH HAMS STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Hams who participated in an AM QSO Party are among those rediscovering the joys of radio's first voice mode. Kevin Trotman N5PRE has that story. KEVIN: Challenging band conditions did not discourage fans of AM from showing up for the annual AM QSO Party held by the Antique Wireless Association February 15th and 16th. The activity is a celebration of this easy-listening mode which many hams are rediscovering - or discovering for the first time, regardless of the age of the equipment they're using. According to Ron W8ACR, who was one of the organizers, many hams said it was their first taste of this operating mode, the original voice mode for amateur radio. Everyone was listening to get W2AN in their log. That's the official call sign of the Antique Wireless Association, which included the station at the AWA museum in Bloomfield New York and the station operated by Ron in Knox, North Dakota. Although not all the logs are in yet, Ron said three lucky hams in North America also made at least one DX contact, logging Kevin M0XLT (pronounce: Em ZERO X L T) from across the Pond. Don't worry: The party's not over. The AWA has other operating events throughout the year and holds weekly nets. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kevin Trotman N5PRE. (RON W8ACR) ** MUSEUM RAISES FUNDS AND RADIO-CONSCIOUSNESS STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Now here's an inventive way to raise money for a museum: help non-radio people learn what radio is all about. Mike Askins KE5CXP has those details. MIKE: If you're anywhere near Bellingham in Washington State on the last weekend in February, you might consider joining a celebration of radio discovery and invention to benefit the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention. The museum's artifacts need no words to tell the story of the emergence of radio: the collection includes items dating back to the 17th century through to the Golden Age of Radio. There are Leyden jars, a Hughes telegraph, Edison light bulbs and early telephones as well as thousands of radios that include the early "Herzian wave" models. There is also a massive collection of various 19th century electromagnetic devices. The museum is hosting its third annual fundraiser and auction on the 29th of February on the campus of Bellingham Technical College. Organizers are calling the program "Ignite the Night" and hope it allows the museum to continue inspiring the next generation of citizen scientists. Perhaps one day it will be their innovations joining the collection. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Mike Askins KE5CXP. (SPARK MUSEUM) ** MANITOBA AMATEUR HONORED FOR RADIO EFFORTS IN CANADA STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Radio Amateurs of Canada has named its latest Amateur of the Year. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us about him. JEREMY: Congratulations to Cary Rubenfeld, VE4EA who was named Amateur of the Year by the board of directors of Radio Amateurs of Canada. In making the announcement, the RAC called Cary "the face of VE4 on the international scene." He has been a strong presence both at Dayton Hamvention and at the 2018 World Radiosport Team Championship event held in Wittenberg, in Germany. An avid DXer and contester, Cary is a founding member of Radiosport Manitoba which he helped to create in his home province in 2013. He has been its vice president and education coordinator as well as a major player and organiser for Field Day at the Winnipeg Amateur Radio Club of which he is also a member. The RAC board notes that he recruited top contesters from around Canada to be present to mentor newcomers to HF who were experiencing their first Field Day. In 2016, Cary helped with the presentation of "The HF Experience," designed to entice amateurs at all levels of experience to participate in more activity on thosebands. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH. (RAC) ** CONSIDER A LIGHTHOUSE QTH ON PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND STEPHEN/ANCHOR: You may think August is far off on the calendar but guess again. Some hams on Canada's Prince Edward Island are already getting ready for the annual event that celebrates the province's lighthouses. Dave Parks WB8ODF explains. DAVE: The Maritime Lighthouse Amateur Radio Group isn't looking for company on the air during the International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend this summer. The hams want company in the lighthouses where they'll be activating VY2PLH on August 22nd through the 24th. Those lighthouses include Point Prim, the province's oldest lighthouse and possibly Cape Bear, which is also home to a Marconi museum. Those locations will be among the more than 500 entries from around the world in this popular event where the only prize is the satisfaction in being with other hams in a picturesque location talking to other radio operators. The club is extending a welcome to hams everywhere to visit Prince Edward Island and help activate one of the lighthouses in the province. The Prince Edward Island Lighthouse Society lists more than 50 eligible sites. If you want to make one of them your QTH for the August's event, contact George Dewar VY2GF at vy2gf at rac dot ca ) or d e w a r g at bellaliant dot net ). For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Dave Parks WB8ODF. (GEORGE DEWAR VY2GF) ** WORLD OF DX In the world of DX, Pat N2IEN, Lee WW2DX, Rock WW1X and Ray W2RE are active as FJ/ their home call signs, respectively, from St. Bart's in the Caribbean until February 22nd. Activity will be holiday style on various HF, VHF and UHF bands using CW, SSB, RTTY, EME and satellites. QSL via the operators' home call-signs. Willy, ON4AVT, is on the air as 6W7/ON4AVT from Senegal until March 27th. He is mainly on 60/40/20 and 10 meters using mostly FT8/FT4, with some CW and SSB. Send QSLs via the Bureau. Also in Senegal, listen for Dani, EA4ATI, operating as 6W1/EA4ATI from Dakar until February 26th. Dani will be on 40/20/15 and 10 meters using SSB. QSL to EA4R or via LoTW. (OHIO PENN DX) ** KICKER: FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF FLIGHT STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Our final story this week is about traveling fast. The speed of radio waves and of airplanes. Here's Ralph Squillace KK6ITB. RALPH: Radio waves: they travel at the speed of light. But something special sometimes happens at the speed of FLIGHT. The flight in this case is British Airways Flight 112 which made the trip from New York to London on February 8th in a heart-stopping 4 hours and 56 minutes. That trip set a new record for subsonic flight. The stellar performance in the sky, accomplished by surfing the jet stream, shortened the journey, which had the bonus that it exposed passengers to 30 percent less cosmic radiation than usual. This isn't the first such achievement: A Norwegian passenger plane made a record-setting flight in January of 2018 when it went from New York to London at 779 mph. Virgin Atlantic topped that last year, going from Los Angeles to London at 801 mph. All thanks to the jet stream. Of course hams may not all be that impressed. We regularly travel at the speed of light which - at least in a vacuum - is 186,282 miles per second - or 299,792 kilometres per second. What about the radiation? Well, hopefully that's safely reduced too if our rigs and antennas are properly installed and shielded. Take THAT, airline industry! For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ralph Squillace KK6ITB. (SPACEWEATHER.COM) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Amateur News Weekly; the ARRL; Bloomberg Business News; Business Wire; David Behar FCC.GOV; Hytera Website; NASA; shortwaveradio.de; Radio Amateurs of Canada; Ron Skipper W8ACR; Southgate Amateur Radio News; SpaceWeather.com; SPARK Museum; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; the U.S. Marine Corps; the Wireless Institute of Australia; WTWW Shortwave; SpaceWeather.com; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. Please send emails to our address at . More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's only official website at arnewsline.org. For now, with Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news desk in New York, and our news team worldwide, I'm Stephen Kinford N8WB in Wadsworth Ohio saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2020. All rights reserved. |
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