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Ärende: Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1849 - January 18 2013
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Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1849 - January 18 2013
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1849 with a release date of January
18 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a Q-S-T. Developers of free D V digital audio say a
change in the FCC Amateur Service rules is needed; the Sun wakes up and
hurls a large C-M-E toward Earth; the ARRL holkds it first Board of
Directors meeting of 2013 and the FCC to hold open hearings on the impact
to communications caused by hurricane Sandy. All this and more on Amateur
Radio NewslineT report number 1849 coming your way right now.
**
EMERGING HAM RADIO TECHNOLOGY: DEVELOPERS OF CODEC 2 DERIVED FREE DV SAY
A RULES FCC PART 97 RULES CHANGE IS REQUIRED
The Codec2 digital voice project has developed a new program called
FreeDV. This is a system to encode digital voice on any two-way radio
using only 1.125 KHz of bandwidth. But says Codec 2 researcher Bruce
Perens, K6BP, FCC regulations aren't up-to-speed with the challenges of
software-defined radio and Open Source architecture:
--
K6BP: "One of the changes we (need to) make is bandwidth based
regulation. Rather than what (the) FCC does today in that it grants
permission piecemeal permission to use a different modulation letter
(suffix) and if you change the letter you have to go back to FCC for
permission."
--
According to Perens there will be a filing of a 24 page request to the FCC
that will propose the regulatory agency make several changes to the Part
97 rules. Among this will be to allow all digital modulation schemes and
all published digital codes on the ham radio bands. It will also push for
a change to bandwidth-based regulation of the Amateur Service rather than
the mode segmented way that the hobby is governed today. And he points to
our neighbor to the North and its success with Regulation by Bandwidth:
--
K6BP: ".Now contrast this to Canada. Canada (regulators) say here's 6
kHz, do what you want with those 6 kHz. Makes more sense today."
--
You might remember that it was only a few years ago when the ARRL proposed
a similar bandwidth based regulatory change that was widely criticized by
many of its members as well as the overall United States ham radio
community. At that time the League said that its petition would provide
the Amateur Radio Service the flexibility to experiment with new digital
transmission methods while permitting present operating modes to continue
to be used for as long as there were hams who wish to use them.
Back then the overall ham radio community shouted the idea down. But this
is 2013 and technology has reached a point where some change may be
desired to accommodate digital telephony on the High Frequency bands as
well as on VHF and UHF. It will be interesting to see where this takes
ham radio in the months and years ahead. (Codec 2 - FreeDV)
**
PROPAGATION: SUN EMITS LARGE CME ON JANUARY 13
A huge sun eruption on Sunday January 13th at 07:24 GMT unleashed a wave
of solar plasma aimed at Earth that may amplify the planet's northern
lights displays and possibly cause difficulty in High Frequency radio
communications. Amateur Radio Newslines Stephan Kinford, N8WB, has the
latest:
--
The solar eruption, called a coronal mass ejection or CME was expected to
take about three days to reach Earth bringing it in sometime between
midday Wednesday the 16th and when this newscast goes to air. The good
news is that scientists say that this particular event is not strong
enough to interfere with satellites on-orbit or electrical systems on
Earth.
Observations from NASA's twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory or
STEREO spacecraft showed that the CME moved away from sun at speeds of 275
miles per second. This equates to about 990,000 miles per hour.
NASA officials said that solar eruptions at this speed are fairly typical
and have not caused substantial geomagnetic storms in the past. They
explain that geomagnetic storms occur when the charged solar particles
interact with the Earth's magnetic field. At that point they hold the
potential to cause problems for satellites in space, communications
systems , and terrestrial power grids.
Two particularly active sunspot regions, called AR 11652 and AR 11654,
have produced four low-level M-class flares since January 11th. NASA
says that the sun is in an active phase of Solar Cycle 24 and is expected
to reach its peak sometime this year.
The bottom line is that should you find the High Frequency bands kind of
dead for a few days you might want to switch to 6 or 2 meters and beam
North. When these solar storms hit, you never know what signals you might
hear through Auroral Propagation.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Stephan Kinford, N8WB, in Wadsworth,
Ohio.
--
The most powerful solar eruptions are X-class flares. They have the most
significant effect on Earth because they can cause long lasting radiation
storms in the Earth's upper atmosphere and trigger severe radio blackouts.
But solar storms similar to this eruption mostly produce supercharged
northern and southern polar lights and possibly short lived communications
blackouts on the high frequency bands while possibly bringing enhanced
communications at 50 MHz and above. (spaceweather, others)
**
LEADERSHIP: ARRL BOD MEETS IN NEW ORLEANS JAN 18 - 19
The ARRL Board of Directors will be holding its first annual meeting in
New Orleans, Louisiana beginning on Friday, January 18th and likely
continuing through Saturday, January 19th.
The ARRL Board meets twice a year and from the looks of the agenda for
this January gathering it appears as if the leadership of the United
States national amateur radio society has a lot of work cut out for it.
You can see the entire agenda at tinyurl.com/arrl-january-2013 and we will
have more on the outcome of this conclave in future Amateur Radio Newsline
reports. (ARRL)
**
RADIO LAW: FCC TO FREE UP 5 GHZ FOR EXPANDED BROADBAND
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski says that the commission will begin a
government-wide effort to increase broadband speeds and alleviate Wi-Fi
congestion at major hubs, such as airports, convention centers and large
conferences. In addition, this would also increase speed and capacity for
Wi-Fi in homes where multiple users and devices are often on a network at
the same time.
Genachowski made the announcement at last weeks Consumer Electronics Show
in Las Vegas, Nevada. There he said that the FCC will take the first
steps next month to free some 195 MHz of spectrum in the 5 GHz band. This
will be the largest block of spectrum to be made available for expansion
of broadband since 2003.
According to the FCC, this effort should increase spectrum available for
ultra-high-speed, high-capacity Wi-Fi by up to 35 percent. This should
enable higher data speeds and greater capacity that will likely be most
notable in the area of improved High Definition video distribution. (RW)
**
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: SPRINT AGREES TO MAKE SOME PHONES FM RADIO RECEIVERS
Sprint says it has come to preliminary arrangement with the radio industry
to enable an FM radio receiver chip to be included in some Android and
Windows smart phones. In announcing the agreement Sprint said that FM
radio could be delivered through the NextRadio tuner application or other
radio apps or services.
Currently, radio stations can be streamed over phones, but the inclusion
of this technology would allow the phones to receive over-the-air
broadcasts. This is something broadcasters have been pushing for both
radio and digital TV.
The company made the announcement at the recent Consumer Electronics Show
in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sprint says that it will begin including this
feature over the next three years. This agreement marks the first time a
United States wireless carrier will offer the ability to access local FM
radio on a broad array of its devices. (B&C)
**
RADIO FROM SPACE: RUSSIA TO LAUNCH MOON PROBE IN 2025
Russia appears to be getting back into the space-race. According to
published news reports, that nation will resume its long dormant program
to explore the moon by sending an unmanned probe there in 2015.
The spacecraft will be called Luna-Glob which translates to Moon-Globe in
English. According to the Interfax news agency, Roskosmos director
Vladimir Popovkin said says the exploration payload will be carried by the
first rocket to blast off from a new facility that Russia is building in
its far eastern Amur region.
Popovkin is the head of Russia's space agency. He and other Russian space
officials have said Luna-Glob would consist of an orbital module and a
probe that would land on the moon. Once there it will radio back
information about samples it takes from the Lunar surface.
The last successful Russian launch of an unmanned probe to the moon was in
the 1970s. Unfortunately that nation has suffered setbacks in its space
program in recent years, including unsuccessful satellite launches and the
failure of a Mars probe in 2011. More is on the web at
tinyurl.com/russia-moon-mission and we will have more space related news
for you later on in this week's Amateur Radio Newsline report. (Published
news reports)
**
RADIO LAW: FCC TO HOLD HEARINGS IN WAKE OF HURRICANE SANDY
In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, Federal Communications Chairman Julius
Genachowski announced plans to convene a series of field hearings. These
to examine challenges to the nation's communications networks during
natural disasters and in other times of crisis. Amateur Radio Newsline's
Buill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has the details:
--
The FCC says that these first hearings will facilitate a wider national
dialogue about the resiliency of communications networks by focusing on
the impact of hurricane Sandy. It will also help form recommendations and
actions to strengthen wired and wireless networks in the face of such
large-scale emergencies.
The first of these hearings are slated for February 5th from 9 a.m. to 1
p.m. Eastern time at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Customs House in New York
City. This will be followed by an afternoon session from 2:30 to 6:30
p.m. at the Stevens Institute of Technology located in Hoboken, New
Jersey.
The FCC adds that it will attempt to accommodate as many attendees as
possible; however, admittance will be limited to seating availability.
The Commission will provide audio or video coverage of the meeting over
the Internet from the FCC's Web page at www.fcc.gov/live.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the
Newsroom in Los Angeles.
--
As this report is being prepaid its unknown if representatives of any of
the numerous ham radio groups involved in providing emergency
communications during and after hurricane Sandy plan to attend. (FCC)
**
PUBLIC SERVICE: HAM RADIO AND THE EAGLE CAP EXTREME SLED DOG RACE
Amateur radio will once again be providing communications for the Eagle
Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race through the rugged Wallowa Mountains in
Northeastern Oregon. This year two systems are to be linked to cover the
race area.
The Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race first utilized amateur radio as its
primary means of communication around the race course in 2009. The
technology provided by the volunteer radio amateurs gave a big boost to
logistical and strategic planning plus an extra measure of safety for
volunteers, race officials, spectators, and the sled teams.
This years Eagle Cap Extreme is slated for January 23rd to the 26th and
been described as challenging, fun and beautiful by participants and fans
alike. If you can't be there in person, be advised that all
communications during the event can be heard on the DAWGGONE Echolink
conference provided by the DODROPIN conference server permitting those who
want to listen in.
More is on-line at www.eaglecapextreme.com/ (KB7DZR)
**
PUBLIC SERVICE: CANADIAN SKI MARATHON 2013 LOOKING FOR RADIO OPERATORS
Also, the Canadian Ski Marathon is spooling up with ham radio an important
part of this evwent. The race is slated for the weekend of February 9th
and 10th and it depends on ham radio volunteers to provide timely safety
and logistical communications for the benefit of the skiers.
The event runs between Lachute and Buckingham in western Quebec regardless
of weather conditions. This year is the 47th anniversary for the marathon
and the 40th year for Amateur Radio supporting the event.
If you would like to volunteer this year, please email Harold Hamilton,
VA3UNK to radio1 (at) admin2 (dot) ca or va3unk (at) gmail (com) com.
More information is on-line at the Canadian Ski Marathon amateur radio
webpage. Its in cyberspace at www.radio-1.ca. (VA3UNK)
**
RADIO LAW: ILLINOIS GUARANTEES BROADCASTERS ACCESS IN EMERGENCIES
Broadcasters in Illinois have been guaranteed the right to serve the
public in times of crisis. Amateur Radio's Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, reports:
--
A new law assuring Illinois broadcasters and cable operators that they
will have the emergency credentials necessary to gain access to their
operations while also allowing the delivery of fuel to power emergency
generators during disasters has unanimously passed both Illinois houses of
the Illinois legislature. The bill titled Illinois HB-5528, was sponsored
by Representative John Bradley in the Illinois House and Senators Antonio
Munoz and Kirk Dillard in the Senate.
The Illinois state measure recognizes the important role local
broadcasters serve in times of emergencies and disasters and ensures that
key personnel needed to keep stations operational during times of
emergencies will have access to their facilities. It also insures fuel
needed to power emergency generators will be allowed to be delivered.
Dennis Lyle is the President of the Illinois Broadcasters Association. He
credited law enforcement officials as well as the Illinois Emergency
Management Agency for supporting the passage of the bill. Also crucial was
a lack of objections from the City of Chicago, the Illinois Sheriff's
Association or the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, in Zion,
Illinois.
--
The Illinois Broadcasters Association says that it will now work with the
states Emergency Management Agency to design a training curriculum that
personnel must complete before being issued emergency access credentials.
(RW)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: N3A TO CELEBRATE 2nd INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT OBAMA
The District of Columbia Amateur Radio Society has announced that it will
be activating special event station N3A. This for the inauguration of
Barack Obama on his second term as President of the United States.
The station will be operational through January 22nd operating from the
District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Listen out for N3A on SSB,
CW, RTTY and various digital modes. There is no fixed operating schedule,
so please check the various on-line sources for activity. QSL
electronically via Logbook of the World or by the U.S. Postal Service mail
and include an SASE. (W3DQ)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: EARLYBIRD REGISTRATION FOR DAYTON CONTEST UNIVERSITY
Early bird registration is now open for 2013 Dayton Contest University to
be held all day on Thursday May 16th at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dayton,
Ohio. 2013 will be the seventh year in a row for Contest University in
Dayton. Early signups will have the opportunity to help select this years
class outline topics. A list of suggested topics as well as registration
information is on the web at contestuniversity.com
(K3LR)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: DAYTON CONTEST DINNER TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE
The North Coast Contesters have announced that the 21st Annual Dayton
Contest Dinner will be held on Saturday night, May 18th also at the Crowne
Plaza Hotel. Master of Ceremonies is CQ Contest Hall of Fame member and
World Wide Radio Operators Foundation Chairman, John Dorr, K1AR. Dr.
Robert G. Cox, K3EST, will be the featured speaker. The CQ Contest Hall
of Fame inductions for 2013 will take place at this dinner. Tickets are
only available for pre-purchase only on-line at contestdinner.com. There
will be no tickets for sale at the door. (K3LR)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: KO0Z NAMED CQ BEGINNERS EDITOR
Ron Ochu, KO0Z, of Girard, Illinois, has been named Beginners Editor of CQ
Amateur Radio magazine, Ochu will begin writing the "Learning Curve"
column as of the April 2013 issue. Ochu succeeds Rich Arland, K7SZ, who
stepped down after a decade of writing various columns for several CQ
Communications magazines. (CQ)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: AUSTRALIAN HAM GIVEN AN AMSAT ACCOLADE
Tony Hutchisson VK5ZAI, has received an award from AMSAT North America.
THis for the voluntary work he has done for the Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station program.
Hutchisson is the Australian ARISS Coordinator and a Telebridge Earth
Station involved in many contacts between the International Space Stations
and schools taking part in the program. In accepting the award VK5ZAI
said it was a very nice honor which made him feel humble.
(VK3PC)
**
CHANGING OF THE GUARD: FORMER ABC ENGINEERING SUPERVISOR AND QST TECHNICAL
EDITOR STU COHEN N1SC - S.K.
Yet another changing of the guard in amateur radio. This with the sad
news that former QST Technical Editor Stuart Cohen, N1SC, of Colbert,
Washington, passed away January 4th following a long battle with cancer.
Better known as Stu Cohen, he was first licensed in 1954 as K2IOC, Cohen
enjoyed operating CW and chasing DX on 40 and 20 meters. He also was
active on 75 meters AM.
Cohen came to ARRL Headquarters in 2002 after a highly successful career
in television broadcasting. Prior to his service with the League, Cohen
was an Emmy winning Engineering Supervisor at ABC-TV in Los Angeles where
he worked from 1974 to 1993. After leaving the ARRL in 2005, he continued
his relationship with the League, becoming a Technical Advisor.
Services for Stu Cohen, N1SC, were scheduled to take place on Wednesday,
January 9th at the Charles Francis Adams Memorial Chapel in Portland,
Oregon. At the time of his passing he was age 70. (ARRL)
**
WORLDBEAT: LED LIGHTS JAM CITY BUSES
The Swedish national amateur radio society the S-S-A reports on a case of
LED lights in a shop jamming the VHF radio used by buses. The lighting in
shop windows at a business called Punkt House jammed the city bus system
which uses 167.0375 MHz for communications and dispatch.
The lights causing the problem were LED spotlight lamps. It was found
they did not conform to the regulations on Electromagnetic Compatibility
and they are now being replaced. The full story in Google English is
on-line at tinyurl.com/LED-VHF-Interference, (Southgate)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: SA AMSAT ACCELERATING CUBESAT PROJECT
South Africa AMSAT has decided to accelerate its CubeSat project and
expects to have the first prototype version of the transponder and control
system on the table for testing by end February.
As part of South Africa's contribution to the African Resource and
Environmental Management Constellation of satellites, the South African
National Space Agency or SANSA, in collaboration with local industry and
academic experts, have been in discussions on the specifications for the
new satellite called Zed A-ARMC1. Specifically in regard to its benefits
for South Africa and the continent. South Africa AMSAT is making a
presentation to SANSA to have an amateur payload included in the project.
Deon Coetzee, ZR1DE, last year demonstrated a locally designed space
frame. He is currently working on the second prototype. Full details are
on the web at www.amsatsa.org.za. (SARL)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: NEW ARISS ISS CONTACT SCHEDULING
A reminder that a new process is in place for schools in the United States
to schedule a ham radio contact with crew members on the International
Space Station. For a US school to have an ARISS contact, it must fill out
a proposal, submit it to NASA, and see if it is approved. Once a school
gets the go ahead, it will be put on
the list and an ARISS mentor will be assigned to assist.
NASA will have two open windows a year for schools to submit a proposal.
A school or whomever is representing the school must first go to NASA to
get the proposal material. To do so, contact Teaching From Space to
JSC-TFS-ARISS (at) mail.nasa.gov. (ANS)
**
DX
In DX, members of the 'Buddies in the Caribbean' suitcase mini-DXpedition
group are going to Barbados and will be active between January 29th and
February 6th. All members will use Buddipole portable antennas at 100
watts or less. Several teams will be battery-only, field portable either
from Barbados beaches or from scenic mountain tops and will sign their own
call stroke P. QSL via Logbook of the world or direct to each operator
with an SASE.
KX9X will be operational stroke 4 from Dewees Island on Friday, February
1st from 1500 to 2000 hours UTC. Dewees Island counts as SC-042 in the US
Islands program, is part of NA-110 for Islands on the Air and has never
been operational according to the US Islands website. He will operate QRP
with portable antennas on SSB and CW only. QSL as directed on the air.
Bill Moore, NC1L, ARRL Awards Branch Manager, reports that the current
8Z1Z operation is from the Republic of the South Sudan has been approved
for DXCC credit. This operation began on January 8th. Also approved was
the 3D2C operation from Conway Reef that took place back in 2012.
G3PJT will be on the air from Grenada from March 5th to the 20th as J34G
and active on High Frequency bands. QSL via his home call.
N3ME and W3UR will be active from the island of Dominica through February
11th operating as J76A and J77A respectively. They will be on 160
through 6 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL J76A via N3ME and J77A via
W3UR. Both will also accept electronic confirmation using Logbook of the
World.
Lastly, WN3R will be on the air from Grand Cayman Island February 20th to
the 26th as ZF2RW. Listen out for him on 40 through 6 meters and QSL via
WN3R.
(Above from various DX news sources)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: PACK YOUR HAM GEAR AND MOVE TO MARS
And finally this week, you might want to call this the ultimate one-way
DXpedition. While not specifically directed to the ham radio community,
the Netherlands based nonprofit organization Mars One, has released its
basic astronaut requirements setting the stage for a televised global
selection process that will begin later this year. Amateur Radio
Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP, has the details:
--
Mars One hopes to put the first settlers on the red planet by 2023. The
organization is not looking for scientists or former jet jockeys as
colonists. Rather anyone who is at least 18 years old can apply to become
a Mars pioneer.
Officials at Mars One say that the most important criteria are
intelligence, good mental and physical health and dedication to the
project. Those selected as its astronauts will undergo eight years of
training before launch.
Norbert Kraft is Mars One's chief medical director and a former NASA
researcher. He is quoted as saying that gone are the days when bravery
and the number of hours flying a supersonic jet were the top criteria.
Kraft says that now a days space exploration planners are more concerned
with how well each astronaut works and lives with the others, in the long
journey from Earth to Mars and for a lifetime of challenges that would lie
ahead.
Mars One plans to launch a series of robotic cargo missions between 2016
and 2021. These would be used to build a habitable outpost ahead of the
arrival of the first four colonists in 2023. More settlers would then
arrive every two years thereafter. And less we forget to mention, this
will be a one way trip as there are no plans to return the pioneers to
Earth.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, staying on this
side of any RF pile-up here on Planet Earth in Scottsdale, Arizona.
--
If you think you have the right stuff to help colonize Mars you can learn
more about the selection process at www.thenextgiantleap.com. And if we
might speculate a bit, it will be interesting to see if anyone from the
world wide ham radio community will pack up their station and take
advantage of this truly rare and exotic DX location. And we also guess
all QSL's would go electronically on this one. (Mars One, space.com,
others)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC Communicator, CQ
Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the
RSGB, the Southgate News, TWiT-TV and Australia's WIA News, that's all
from the Amateur Radio NewslineT. Our e-mail address is newsline (at)
arnewsline (dot) org. More information is available at Amateur Radio
Newsline'sT only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You can
also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio NewslineT, 28197 Robin
Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors' desk, I'm Jim Davis,
W2JKD, in Vero Beach, Florida, saying 73 and we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.
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