This Week in Amateur Radio Edition #1075 Release Date: October 5, 2019 Here is a summary of the news trending this week. This weeks edition is anchored by Chris Perrine, KB2FAF, Don Hulick, K2ATJ, Will Rogers, K5WLR, Fred Fitte, NF2F, Rich Lawrence, KB2MOB, George Bowen, W2XBS, and Jessica Bowen, KC2VWX. Produced and edited by George […]
This Week in Amateur Radio is now available on Spotify and iHeartRadio! TWIAR was one of the first services to use podcasting to distribute its weekly bulletin service when the concept was just getting off the ground. Spotify and iHeartRadio are two of the more popular services for podcasting today! Along with these two new […]
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has published changes to the Amateur Radio license conditions, effective on September 21. According to the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA), all restrictions on emission modes have been removed for all licensees, and restrictions on permitted transmission bandwidths have been lifted for all licensees on all bands allowed […]
In Greene County, Ohio, one public official not only observed the ARES Simulated Emergency Test (SET) this month but participated in it with Greene County ARES (GCARES). Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer, KX8GCS (“Greene County Sheriff”), checked in when the Resource Net Control, Bob Baker, N8ADO, of Beavercreek, called for volunteers. Although the suggested scenario […]
ARES volunteers in Hawaii took the opportunity of the 2019 Simulated Emergency Test (SET) on October 6 (UTC) to test Winlink radio messaging to the US mainland, using the KH6YY (KH6J) contest station on O’ahu. One of the premier contest stations in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, KH6YY offers a commanding propagation path over […]
As we have reported before, the real time solar wind monitoring satellite Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) which is located at the Sun-Earth L1 point is being kept in a safe hold at the moment. A glitch in its position system triggered the safe hold and that means it does not transmit any data back […]
Due to the illness of a ZK3A Tokelau Islands DXpedition team member, the operation has shut down a couple of days ahead of schedule. “ALL TEAM MEMBERS ARE FINE!” said an announcement on the ZK3A website. “A person on the island is ill. So, they have sent the boat there early to get this person […]
One of the great things about ham radio is that isn’t just one hobby. Some people like to chit chat, some like to work foreign countries, some prepare for emergencies, and there are several space-related activities. There are hundreds of different kinds of activities to choose from. Just one is moonbounce, and [Ham Radio DX] […]
Lightning strikes are quite high energy events, and release plenty of radio frequency energy when they go off in the atmosphere. This makes them easy to detect, and the magnitude of the energy release means it can be done at impressive range. [Jay] decided to build a device of his very own, and was impressed […]
When she turned 80, Anna Brummer, N2FER, of Fort Edward, New York, predicted she would live to be 100. On September 27, she topped her own forecast by 5 years, as she celebrated her birthday at the Fort Hudson Nursing Center, surrounded by family and friends. The only thing she wanted was a drink of […]
Southern Rocker Larry “LJ” Junstrom, K4EB, died on October 6. He was reported to be 70. Junstrom was a founding member and bassist of Lynyrd Skynyrd, although he left the group before it recorded its first album. He’s better known as a member of another Southern Rock band, 38 Special, with which he performed from […]
ABC News article about radio amateur Tony Hutchison VK5ZAI says ‘NASA considers this 80-year-old radio buff part of the astronaut family’ To NASA personnel, he is VK5ZAI. To his neighbours at Pinks Beach, a small coastal town in South Australia, he goes by Tony. In his 30-year association with the US space agency, Tony Hutchison has been […]
The FCC has dismissed petitions for rule making filed in 2018 by three radio amateurs. All of the petitions were put on public notice earlier this year and comments invited. Edward C. Borghi, KB2E, of Farmington, New York, and Jeffrey Bail, NT1K, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, submitted very similar petitions seeking changes in how the […]
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Administrative Council (AC) met on September 28 and 29 in Lima, Peru, to conduct a final review of IARU preparations for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19). The Council’s annual meeting took place just ahead of the triennial IARU Region 2 (IARU R2) General Assembly. […]
It’s time to bid farewell to iTunes, the once-revolutionary program that made online music sales mainstream and effectively blunted the impact of piracy. That assumes, of course, that you still use iTunes — and many people no longer do. On iPhones, the functions have long been split into separate apps for music, video and books. […]
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations — individually or working together — to host an Amateur Radio contact with a member of the International Space Station crew. The deadline to submit a proposal is November 30. Proposal information and documents are on […]
The team from Belarus dominated the 16th High-Speed Telegraphy (HST) World Championship in mid-September, sponsored by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). Belarus came away with more than two-thirds of the medals, with several other countries’ teams sharing the rest. Representatives of 19 countries participated in the championship, which took place in Albena, Bulgaria, sponsored […]
The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) reports Australia’s communications regulator ACMA is reinstating the reciprocal arrangement for US Amateur Radio license holders. “The reinstatement follows a period of suspension of reciprocity precipitated by a complainant objecting to the granting of [Australian] licenses,” a WIA statement read. “The WIA believes that irrespective of the motivations o… […]
One problem with ham radio these days is that most hams live where you can’t put a big old antenna up due to city laws and homeowner covenants. If you’re just working local stations on VHF or UHF, that might not be a big problem. But for HF usage, using a low profile antenna is […]
When you start watching [learnelectronic’s] two-part series about making a radio transmitter, you might not agree with some of his history lessons. After all, the origin of radio is a pretty controversial topic. Luckily, you don’t need to know who invented radio to enjoy it. The first transmitter uses a canned oscillator, to which it […]
We all use antennas for radios, cell phones, and WiFi. Understanding how they work, though, can take a lifetime of study. If you are rusty on the basic physics of why an antenna radiates, have a look at the very nice animations from [Learn Engineering] below. The video starts with a little history. Then it […]