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| 14 Mar 15 05:03:16 |
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1956 March 13 2015 Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1956 with a release date of Friday, March 13th, 2015 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1, The following is a QST. The European Space Agency to make camera on the Mars Express spacecraft available for public use in May; the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 is introduced in the House of Representatives; commentary cutoff looms in possible restructuring of 77 to 81 Ghz; lawmakers say activating FM receiver chips in smartphones a matter of public safety and a group of hams in Germany bring back part of an abandoned shortwave station for amateur radio. All this and more on Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1956 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here) ** RADIO IN SPACE: ESA OFFERING ELIGIBLE GROUPS USE OF MARS EXPRESS VISUAL MONITORING CAMERA IN MAY A webcam on board the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft will be available for public imaging requests in May and E-S-A is inviting schools, science clubs and youth groups to submit proposals for one of about eight opportunities to image another planet. We get the details from Heather Embee KB3TZD... [HEATHER:] The Visual Monitoring Camera or V-M-C is described as a simple, low-resolution device that was originally intended only to provide visual confirmation of Beagle lander separation. While it's not a scientific instrument the camera has the ability to deliver good quality pictures of intriguing martian features. In May, Mars will be in solar conjunction, meaning that line-of-sight radio signals between Earth and Mars Express will be disrupted by the Sun. As a result, the spacecraft's normal scientific payload will be switched off. This offers a first-ever, three-day period when the V-M-C camera can be freely pointed at almost any target on the planet from the spacecraft's 300 by 10,000 kilometer orbit. While any number of eligible groups may submit proposals, only the most promising will be selected, one slot per group, corresponding to about eight observation slots available. Proposals to make use of these slots must include the desired observation target, a brief note about why it's interesting and a description of the intended project that will fully exploit the images. Those with strong educational value and representing a cohesive team effort will have the best chances of being accepted. If selected, E-S-A expects that groups that are awarded a slot will use its image set in a scientific or artistic project that makes full, imaginative use of the visual information they contain. The V-M-C image sets will be downloaded on May 28th and then delivered to participating groups electronically. Projects should be completed by the end of the current academic year or July 31st, whichever comes first and will be later published in the V-M-C blog. The call for proposals runs through March 27th. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee KB3TZD, in Berwick, Pennsylvania. 
 [ANCHOR] Full details on the V-M-C Imaging Campaign timeline, eligibility and technical information is on the web at tinyurl.com/image-the-red-planet. The on-line registration form can be found at tinyurl.com/you-can-image-mars. (European Space Agency) ** SOLAR ACTIVITY: FIRST X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE OF 2015 CAUSES SHORT HF RADIO BLACKOUT The sun unleashed its first super powerful flare of 2015 on Wednesday March 11th with the intense eruption aimed directly at Earth. According to Space.com, the X-class flare, which is the strongest category possible, peaked at 16:22 GMT originating from a sunspot known as Active Region 12297. It registered as an X 2.2 sun storm on the scale. Scientists classify strong solar flares into three categories. These are C, M and X, with X flares bring 10 times more powerful than M flares. X2 and X3 flares are twice and three times as powerful as X1 flares. Active Region 12297 had previously fired off a number of medium-strength flares over the preceding few days. The event on March 11th caused at least an hour-long blackout in high-frequency radio communications over wide areas, according to scientists with the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured stunning video of this X-class solar flare as it erupted. More details including links to the space.com video and photos are on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/groups/ARNewsline (space.com, ARNewsline) ** RADIO POLITICS: AMATEUR RADIO PARITY ACT OF 2015 INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 known as H.R.1301 has been introduced in the US House of Representatives. The measure would direct the FCC to extend its rules relating to reasonable accommodation of Amateur Service communications to private land use restrictions. U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois introduced the bill on March 4 with 12 original co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle. Kinzinger also sponsored The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2014, which died at the end of the 113th Congress. H.R. 1301 is an essentially identical piece of legislation. (ARRL) ** RESTRUCTURING: COMMENTARY DEADLINE LOOMS IN POSSIBLE 76 TO 81 GHZ SPECTRUM REALLOCATION PROPOSAL The comments deadline is coming up on an FCC proceeding that could lead to expanded spectrum for various applications in a band that amateur radio shares with other services. Skeeter Nash N5ASH explains... [SKEETER:] The band 77.5 to 78 GHz is allocated to the Amateur and Amateur Satellite services on a primary basis, and to the Radio Astronomy and Space Research services on a secondary basis. The FCC released a detailed Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Reconsideration Order in ET Docket 15-26 on February 5th. The suggestions in the Docket include possible allocation changes as well as provisions to ensure that new and incumbent operations can share the available frequencies in the band. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Reconsideration Order was in response to a 2012 Petition for Rulemaking in RM-11666 from Robert Bosch LLC. Bosch's petition sought to modify the FCC's Part 15 rules to expand the operation of unlicensed vehicular radar systems from 76 to 77 GHz to the 76 to 81 GHz band to develop short-range radar applications. ET Docket 15-26 also addresses two petitions for reconsideration of the Commission's 2012 Report and Order concerning vehicular radar systems in the 76 to 77 GHz band by incorporating these earlier proceedings. Among many issues, the Commission seeks comment on the possibility of reallocating the Amateur Radio and Amateur Satellite services from 76 to 81 GHz, and it asks for suggestions on alternative spectrum that it might make available in this general region. Noting that it has previously recognized evidence of potential interference conflicts between amateur radio and vehicular radar systems in the 76 to 77 GHz spectrum the FCC said it believes the potential for similar compatibility issues could exist above 77 GHz. More than 10 years ago the FCC suspended Amateur Radio and Amateur Satellite operation in the 76 to 77 GHz segment and recently extended the suspension. Commentary cutoff is April 6th with reply comments due no later than April 20th. Interested parties may file comments in ET Docket 15-26 via the FCC Electronic Comment Filing System. For Newsline, I'm Skeeter Nash N5ASH in Topeka, Kansas. (ARRL, FCC) ** LICENSING STATS: US HAM RADIO NUMBERS REACH ALL-TIME HIGH Amateur radio growth in the United States continues unabated. At the end of 2014 the total number of radio amateurs in the FCC's Universal Licensing System database reached an all-time high of 726,725. The trend has continued into the first 2 months of 2015which saw the ham population rise to slightly more than 727,000.

Just under half of all U.S. licensees hold the Technician class license. The Technician class-which was originally introduced in the 1950's for VHF experimentation-today permits holders to operate 200 watts output on four High Frequency bands and up to 1500 watts output on all VHF, UHF and Microwave bands. (ARRL) ** DX UP FRONT: E30FB FROM ERITREA THROUGH MARCH 17 In DX up front, members of the Foundation for Global Children is again operating from Eritrea as E-30-F-B and will be there until March 17th. This as a part of thee "Eritrea Project 2015" which is conducting its DXpedition from the capital of Asmara with a multi national team of nine operators and four transceivers. Antennas are beams on 20 through 10 meters and verticals for 160 through 30. They say that they will try to work every area as much as possible. QSL's go via the their manager M-zero-U-R-X. (OPDX) ** BREAK 1 Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the including the WD6HFR repeater serving Palomar, California. (5 SEC PAUSE) ** RESCUE RADIO: LAWMAKERS SAY ACTIVATING FM CHIPS IN SMARTPHONES A MATTER OF PUBLIC SAFETY A couple of members of Congress are lobbying the head of the FCC over cell phone broadcast reception, as we hear from Stephen Kinford, N8WB... [STEPHEN:] United States Representatives Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and Peter DeFazio of Oregon say that activating the FM broadcast reception chips in many smartphones is a matter of public safety. In a recent note to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, the two lawmakers urged him to take every possible action to ensure that the public has every tool in the public alerts and warnings toolbox at its disposal. This should include access to FM radio through activation of radio chips already built into almost all smart phones. In their letter they noted that text based Wireless Emergency Alerts are limited to 90 characters, severely limiting their usefulness. In fact, one of the pieces of advice often contained in those 90 characters is to tune into local broadcasts for more information. Concluding their argument, they wrote that radio is a proven lifeline in times of emergency, connecting consumers to the information they need to stay safe. During times of emergency, it is critically important that Americans have access to broadcast radio, which would provide instant emergency, lifesaving information on-the-go. They also pledged to work with Wheeler to make it happen. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephen Kinford N8WB in Wadsworth, Ohio. (RBR-TVBR) ** RADIO CRIME: QUICK AREST IN WASHINTON STATE TRNSMITTER BURGLARY Authorities in Washington state recently arrested a 30-year-old transient man after he was caught with several thousand dollars in alleged stolen radio equipment. The Grant County Sheriff said the equipment was taken from an FM-radio transmitter tower north of the town of Quincy. Cherry Creek Radio had called the local electric company because the station's transmitter was out of service, possibly due to a power outage at the Monument Hill tower site. When lineman arrived they saw a man in a white Subaru apparently stealing radio equipment. They said the car fled southbound but Sheriff's deputies caught up with the vehicle and stopped it. In it they found about $10,000 in electronic components belonging to Cherry Creek Radio. 
A suspect was taken to the Grant County Jail on suspicion of second-degree burglary, and first-degree possession of a controlled substance. The latter charge came about after correction officers also found methamphetamine on him while he was being booked. (Published news reports) ** HAM SCOLARSHIPS: FOUNDATION FOR AMATEUR RADIO ANNOUNCES NEW CUTOFF DATE FOR SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS The Foundation for Amateur Radio has moved to April 15th the deadline to apply for the 2015 to 2016 academic year scholarships that it administers. Applicants must hold a valid Amateur Radio license and be enrolled or accepted for enrollment at an accredited university, college, or technical school. The preferred application method is to use the electronic form on the Foundation's website. Information entered on the form goes directly into an encrypted PDF file that is available only to the review committee. Those who are unable or unwilling to use the online application should contact Dave Prestel, W8AJR. The Foundation for Amateur Radio scholarship program is one of the largest of its type for amateur radio licensees in the United States. For the coming academic year it is administering 67 scholarships worth $125,500 in all. Individual awards range from $500 to $5000. More information is on-line at farweb.org/2015-scholarship-information. (FAR) ** HAM PRODUCTS UPDATE: PYQSO V0.2 RELEASED Version zero dot 2 of Py QSO was released on 7 March 2015. Py QSO is a simple contact logging tool that runs on Linux. This new version contains a number of fixes and updates to the user interface, and additional features such as an insert current date and time button and the option of specifying default values for the power and mode fields. More information is in cyberspace at pyqso.readthedocs.org (Southgate) ** RADIO BUSINESS: ICOM ANNOUNCES NEW DIGITAL LAND MOBILE RADIOS AT IWCE 2015 
Icom America is showcasing new land mobile radio and some of its ham radio equipment at the 2015 International Wireless Communications Expo slated for the Las Vegas Convention Center for March 16th to the 20th. During the event, the company will be showing new products promoting 6.25 kHz Digital, P25 and IP radio solutions. On the commercial radio side products on display will include the F1000D/F2000D and the F3200DEX/F4200DEX all of which belong to the Icom Digital Advanced System known as I-D-A-S. The company will also be exhibiting its 50th anniversary, limited edition IC-7850 High Frequency plus 6 meter amateur radio transceiver as well as the ID-5100A and ID-51A PLUS D-STAR radios at Booth 621 during exhibit hall hours. (PoliceOne.com) ** HAM HAPPENINGS: FIRST SYSTEM FUSION FORUM AT DAYTON HAMVENTION 
The first Yaesu System Fusion forum at the Dayton Hamvention has been scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Sunday morning, May17th in Forum Room 1. Planners will be working with Yaesu and hams active in the System Fusion community to schedule the agenda by mid-March. In the meantime, you can learn more about System Fusion-and the forum planning-by joining the System Fusion group at tinyurl.com/learn-system-fusion (WB9QZB) ** SHORTWAVE RADIO VIDEO: RADIO SWEDEN'S SW AND MW TRANSMITTERS A 2006 documentary video that gives a look at the Radio Sweden shortwave transmitters at Horby and the Solvesborg AM transmitter has been found on the web by Rob Wagner, VK3BVW. According to VK3BVW what is interesting about this video is the detailed view of the inside of the shortwave and medium wave transmitters. This as it offers some insight into the day-to-day work of an engineer for a large international broadcaster. The film produced by Kelly Lindman is 30 minutes long and is in memory of the late Hakan Widenstedt. Widenstedt was the Chief Engineer for Radio Sweden who passed away in 2011. While the audio track is in Swedish the video does have English subtitles. Its available for on-line viewing at tinyurl.com/radio-sweden-transmitters. (VK3BVW) ** RADIO VIDEO: WIDEBAND HF TRANSMISSIONS AT HFIA SLIDE SHOWS AVAILABLE A set of video slide presentations from the H F Industry Association Meeting held February 12th in San Diego, California, are now available online. Among the papers presented was one from Randy Nelson of Rockwell Collins which describes tests of full motion video in a 48 kHz bandwidth over a 900 mile path on a frequency of 14.965 MHz. Also, Alan Pilecki from Harris RF described the company's RF-7800H portable transceiver which covers 1.5 to 60 MHz and supports data rates of up to 120 kilobits per second in a 24 kHz bandwidth. Also included are presentations from the Thales Group, N-V-I-S Communications, Isode and Long Wave, Inc. You can download the individual slide shows from tinyurl.com/hf-slides. (Southgate) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: DANISH ASTRONAUT LICENSED AS KG5GCZ Some names in the news. First up is Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen who passed his ham radio exam on February 25th and has been licensed as KG5GCZ. 

Mogensen was selected as an ESA astronaut in May 2009 and completed basic space training program at the European Astronaut Center in November 2010. Since then he has been certified as a private pilot by the Lufthansa Flight School and is trained and qualified for spacewalks using both the American E-M-U and the Russian Orlan spacesuits. Mogensen will be the first astronaut of Danish nationality to go to space and will launch to the International Space Station in September along with British songstress and space tourist Sarah Brightman on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. (ANS) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: YASME FOUNDATION ADDS TWO DIRECTORS The Yasme Foundation has announced that it has elected Ken Claerbout, K4ZW, and Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T, to the board. This, effective with the forthcoming Annual Meeting to be held in Visalia, California in April. Claerbout was first licensed in 1977 and is an active DXer and contester. Blondeel Timmerman got his license in 1980 and is President and Board Member of the European DX Foundation. The Yasme Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation organized to conduct scientific and educational projects related to amateur radio, including DXing and the introduction and promotion of amateur radio in developing countries. This action brings the number of Yasme Foundation directors to nine. (N0AX) ** HAM RAIO NEAR SPACE: HABEX-10 TO LAUNCH APRIL 25 The HABEX-10 Mission is scheduled for launching on Saturday April 25th. HABEX is the acronym for High Altitude Balloon Experiment. This flight is part of the Global Space Balloon Challenge for 2015. More information about HABEX and its ties to amateur radio is on the web at www.habex.za.net (SARL) ** BREAK 2 This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline with links to the world from our only official website at www.arnewsline.org and being relayed by the volunteer services of the following radio amateur: (5 sec pause here) ** WORLDBEAT: FIRST ANALOG/DIGITAL DMR REPEATER COMES TO PORTUGAL The first compatible analog FM and Digital Mobile Radio repeater has come to Portugal. The CQ0UCSC is a UHF repeater recently put into service by the by the Associa‡ão de Radioamadores da Linha de Cascais. The new repeater is located near Lisbon and utilizes the Motorola Mototrbo system currently at 10 watts out. The repeater listens on 431.125 MHz and transmits on 438.725 MHz. When in analog FM mode access requires a 74.4 Hertz sub audible access tone. This allows its use both in conventional analog FM at 25 kHz or Mototrbo D-M-R. Its sponsors do note that CQ0UCSC it is not compatible with either ICOM or any other form of D-STAR gear or the C4FM System Fusion by Yaesu. Users require a Mototrbo compatible radio to make use of it for digital voice operation. (CT1FBF ** RADIO SCIENCE: VLF ENTHUSIASTS PLAN ECLIPSE EXPERIMENT 
Very Low Frequency or V-L-F enthusiasts, mainly those living in the United Kingdom and other Northern Hemisphere regions are planning some experiments during a solar eclipse on March 20th. A number of these V-L-F observers will be paying particular attention to received signal strengths during this period and comparing results afterwards, with the aim of compiling an in depth report. Of particular interest will be the NRK signal on 7.5 kHz from Iceland. They are also interested in any results from other V-L-F and Low Frequency stations.

For those planning to take part, measurements should be prepared in a .CSV format and with accurate time stamps. The exact arrangements are still to be finalized but will probably involve measurements for the same time period before and the day after the eclipse. If you would like to participate in this study contact Paul Hyde via e-mail to g4csd (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) u. (Space Blogspot, GB2RS, others) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: FOX-1A DELIVERY AND P-POD INTEGRATION SET FOR MARCH 25 Following the successful conclusion of vibration, thermal and vacuum testing the Fox-1 ham radio satellite now is stored in a clean environment waiting for launch. Fox-1 completed its Mission Readiness Review at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo California on February 24th before a review board of Cal Poly and NASA representatives. Integration of the satellite to its P-POD is now scheduled to take place on March 25th. P-Pod is a standard deployment system which helps in the effort to reduce the satellite development time for the CubeSat program. AMSAT Vice-President Engineering, Jerry Buxton, N-zero-J-Y says several required reports are being reviewed by the launch provider. Ongoing updates will be posted on the AMSAT web page, on the AMSAT North America Facebook page, in the AMSAT Journal and here on Amateur Radio Newsline. (ANS) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: SPACE STATION SSTV AND PACKET RADIO VIA SUWS WEBSDR Martin Ehrenfried, G8JNJ, reports excellent Slow Scan Television and Packet Radio signal reception from the International Space Station using the online Southampton University Wireless Society or SUWS WebSDR receiving station. The omni-direction helix antennas at the WebSDR were designed with high elevation satellites in mind. Comparisons with other WebSDRs show the SUWS antennas provide a 6 to 10dB better signal to noise ratio on similar passes. You can use the free online Southampton University Wireless Society Web Software Defined Radio from your PC or Laptop to receive the ISS and the many amateur radio satellites transmitting in the 144 to146 MHz or 435 10 438 MHz bands. It also provides reception of High Altitude Balloons in the 434 MHz band and coverage of the microwave 10368 to 10370 MHz spectrum as well. The Southampton University Wireless Society WebSDR is located at Farnham not far from London. You can listen to it at http://websdr.suws.org.uk (AMSAT-UK) ** THAT FINAL ITEM: GERMAN AMATEUR RADIO BASED GROUP RESCUES SHORTWAVE BROADCAST FREQUENCY And finally this week, a group of hams in Germany have brought back to life part of an international shortwave station and naming it Channel 292. Here is Bill Pasternak WA6ITF with the story... [BILL:] When the station Deutsche Welle decided to close down one of its 500 Kilowatt shortwave broadcast transmitters near Munich at the end of 2012, a group of radio amateurs applied for and were allocated the then-available short wave frequency of 6070 KHz. That came about in 2013. This group now has an operational 10 Kilowatt station on the frequency, using the driver stages from the old Deutsche Welle transmitter. The rest of the transmitter was built and is run by Rainer Ebeling, DB8QC. The license allow transmission 24 a day and 7 days a week, but Channel 292 currently it operates mainly on weekends. Initially there will be two programs. One called DARC Radio that will contain DX related items DXpedition News, reports and the like. That will be in German. The other is titled "English Amateur Radio News" which will be broadcasting the GB2RS News from the Radio Society of Great Britain in English along with other ham radio information services. Rainer Englert, DF2NU, is one of the group running the station and also the president of the Munich South section of the Germany's national amateur radio society D-A-R-C, the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club. He hopes to be able to broadcast more often once sufficient content is available. However there is one sour note. The hams say that they are already seeing other broadcasters such as Radio China moving onto the frequency in the evenings as those stations perceive 6070 KHz as a frequency free to use . The stations program schedule is at tinyurl.com/channel-292-on-air and it welcomes reception reports from listeners anywhere in the world. All will be answered with a QSL card sent via via the DARC QSL bureau. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak WA6ITF in Los Angeles. (DF2NU, DD5LP, WIA News) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Rain, the RSGB, the South African Radio League, the Southgate News, TwiT-TV, Australia's WIA News and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. Our e-mail address is newsline (at) arnewsline (dot) org. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio Newsline, 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350. Before we go, a reminder that Amateur Radio Newsline is seeking nominations for its 2015 Young Ham of the Year Award. For consideration, a nominee must have used amateur radio in some way that has benefited his or her community or encouraged technological development directly or indirectly related to communications. Nominees must be 19 years or younger, and reside in the United States including Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, and Puerto Rico or any of the Canadian Provinces. The individual must also hold a currently valid United States or Canadian Amateur Radio license. This award is not a contest. The person selected as 'Young Ham of the Year' is judged on his or her overall accomplishments and contributions. Any prizes awarded are secondary in nature. The deadline for submitting an application is May 30th 2015 and the decision of the judging committee is final. To obtain an application, send a self addressed, stamped envelope to 2015 Young Ham of the Year Award, in care of Amateur Radio Newsline, 28197 Robin Ave. Santa Clarita, CA 91350. You can also download a form in Microsoft Word format at www.arnewsline.org/yhoty, clicking on the word "here" and saving the file to print at a later time. Presentation of the 2015 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award will take the weekend of August 15 and 16 at the Huntsville Hamfest in Huntsville Alabama. For now, with producers Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in Los Angeles and Skeeter Nash, N5ASH, in Topeka, plus our news team world wide, I'm Hal Rogers KC8MD in Parma, Ohio, saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2015. All rights reserved. *** As a Service to the HAM Radio Community and HAM Operators all over the world, this Amateur Radio Newline(tm) message has been gated from the internet and posted to you by Waldo's Place USA, fidonet node 1:3634/12. We hope you enjoyed it! Please address all comments and questions to the ARNewsletter editor as described in this posting. If you have any specific questions related to the actual posting of this message, you may address them to hamfdn(at)wpusa.dynip.com. Thank you and good day! -73- ARNTE-0.1.0-OS2 build 42 (text/plain utf-8 base64) * Origin: (1:3634/12) |
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