FCC Opens Door for Return of 'Expired' Hams, Remote Exam Sessions

Acting on several long-pending rule-making proposals, the FCC in early June made it easier for former hams to regain their licenses, and for hams/prospective hams in remote areas to take license exams.

When the new rules take effect (likely in mid-July), ex-hams who held General, Advanced or Extra Class licenses will be given credit for Element 3 and/or Element 4 (as appropriate) … BUT they will still need to retake and pass the Element 2 Technician exam. This puts them on the same footing with people holding expired pre-1987 Technician licenses (which then required passing the Element 3 written exam).

In addition, the FCC gave the green light to Volunteer Examiner Coordinators - at their discretion - to offer remote exam sessions, with VE supervision via audio/video links. This should increase exam opportunities in hard-to-reach locations. The Commission also decided against its own proposal to reduce the minimum number of Volunteer Examiners at a test session from three to two, to grant lifetime credit for Certificates of Successful Completion of Examinations (CSCEs) and to change the license renewal grace period and the timetable for making expired call signs available to the vanity call system.

Finally, the FCC approved the ARRL's request to specifically permit certain TDMA (Time Domain Multiple Access) modes on amateur frequencies.

NASA/NOAA Agree that Solar 'Mini-Max' is Here

Members of the joint NOAA/NASA Solar Cycle Prediction Panel are in agreement that we are currently at the peak of Solar Cycle 24, and that, according to NASA Science News, "it is not very impressive." In fact, says the report, "there are only a few Solar Maxima weaker than this one," and many researchers, it says, are calling this a "Mini-Max."

Nonetheless, the panel warned that significant solar events, "such as strong flares and significant geomagnetic storms," can be expected during the downward slope of any solar cycle, regardless of its strength.

WRTC Awards for the Rest of Us!

The main competition in this month's World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC 2014) is among the 59 teams from 38 countries who will be operating with special 1x1 call signs on the weekend of July 14-15. But recognizing that those teams need to work the rest of us, the WRTC organizing committee has put together a series of awards to encourage the general ham population to join in the fun.

Included are several levels of activity awards for contacting at least 30 of the 59 team stations, as well as an "Assistant Judge" award for hams who submit logs within six hours of the end of the contest to help in log-checking. For more information, visit <www.wrtc2014.org>. [Also see "Those Flying Finns…", Contesting, and "On the Cover" in this issue. - ed.]

FCC Again Going After 14.313

Two hams who frequent the frequently-unruly activity on 14.313 MHz have been cited by the FCC for violations related to station identification, and four others were told they would face enforcement action if they did not comply with formal requests to stay off of certain repeaters.

FCC Special Counsel Laura Smith cited Larry King, KI8NGS, of Michigan for operating on 14.313 for at least 20 minutes without identifying (FCC direction-finding was used to identify his station); and Tennessee ham Daniel Churovich, N9RSY, was cited for repeatedly communicating with a station on 14.313 who failed to properly identify himself. Smith noted that it is also a rule violation to communicate with an unidentified station, as that station may not be a licensed amateur.

In addition, according to the ARRL Letter, four hams in three states were warned in late March that the Commission expected them to "abide by the request of the trustee and/or control operator" of specific repeaters (or any others) not to operate on them.

'Baofeng' Becoming 'Pofung'

Having trouble correctly pronouncing the names of various Chinese radio manufacturers? Well, at least one of them feels your pain and is taking great pains to help. Baofeng announced recently that it is "rebranding" its products as "Pofung" in international markets in order to help customers pronounce the name correctly. In a news release on its website, the company says "Baofeng" is "a literal Pinyin translation of our Chinese character name," but that it "may be difficult for a hobbyist across the ocean to pronounce." The new name, it says, is easier to pronounce "while maintaining the phonetic symbolism of our brand." The company's website, www.baofengradio.com, will not be changed. The company also encouraged consumers only to purchase its equipment from authorized distributors, including amazon.com, radioddity.com and baofengtech.com. [Tnx WA6ITF]

Spain's Ham King Stepping Down

Courtesy of DXCoffee.com

King Juan Carlos of Spain, known on the ham bands as EA0JC, announced in early June that he would be abdicating the throne, thus making his son, Crown Prince Felipe, the new king. The announcement came via the office of the President of the Government. In accordance with the country's constitution, Spain's parliament must pass a law implementing the change. No date had been given for the transition.

Juan Carlos assumed the throne in 1975 after the death of former dictator Francisco Franco, and helped guide the country successfully into democracy. He is 76. (Maybe we'll be hearing EA0JC on the ham bands more frequently! - ed.)

Russia Blocks U.S. Access to Space Station

American astronauts scheduled to head to the International Space Station have become "collateral damage" in the escalating tension between the United States and Russia over the political situation in Ukraine. The ARRL Letter reported that after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia as a result of its annexation of Crimea, Russia responded by saying it would no longer provide transportation to the space station for U.S. astronauts. The U.S. has relied on Russia to carry crew members back and forth since the space shuttle program ended in 2011. NASA astronaut Steve Swanson is currently the only American on board the space station.

International Ham Satellite Cooperation May Be Restored

The U.S. government is reportedly easing restrictions on sharing technology with other countries that has virtually stopped U.S.-based AMSAT-NA from taking part in any multinational amateur satellite projects for the past 15 years. Newsline reported at the end of May that the State Department will be reclassifying satellites and related components so that they are no longer considered weapons subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, or ITAR. Violations of those rules carried the threat of jail time or huge fines.

Satellite Roundup

There's quite a bit of news from the world of amateur satellites this month, so we're providing a quick summary here, courtesy of the AMSAT News Service and the ARRL Letter:

* The launch of AMSAT-NA's Fox-1 satellite has been delayed from this December to next summer, due to scheduling changes made by the U.S. Air Force, which is providing the launch.

* KickSat, the crowd-funded satellite that was supposed to deploy thousands of tiny "sprites," each with its own experiment and radio transmitter, re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and burned up without deploying what would have been the smallest satellites ever orbited. An unexpected reset of the satellite's master clock was blamed.

* "FUNcube-2," a joint project of AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL in the Netherlands, has been scheduled for a June 19 launch. FUNcube-1 has been highly successful in promoting science and technology - along with amateur radio - in UK schools.

* The Japanese SPROUT satellite was successfully launched in late May. It operates on the 70-centimeter ham band and includes a slow-scan TV transmitter, a digitalker and a digipeater.

* Lithuania's LituanicaSAT-1 has been designated as LituanicaSAT OSCAR-78, or LO-78. It carries an FM transponder with a 2-meter uplink and 70-centimter downlink.

* Several hams are key players in private efforts to keep an old NASA satellite up and running. ISEE-3 was launched 36 years ago, repurposed as the International Cometary Explorer and then retired. The group hopes to bring it back to its originals orbit where it could again study the effects of solar weather on the Earth's magnetic field.

Congressional Committee Affirms Support for MARS, Repeats Call for Unified Leadership

The House Armed Services Committee has again noted its support of MARS, the Military Auxiliary Radio System, but is again calling for reforms in its leadership on a national level. According to the ARRL Letter, the committee's endorsement came in a report accompanying the National Defense Authorization bill for Fiscal Year 2015. However, it noted that recommendations made two years ago regarding MARS had not yet been acted on by the Pentagon. A key recommendation was to ensure standardization of policies and procedures among the three MARS branches (Army, Air Force and Navy-Marine Corps) by appointing a single manager to oversee all three programs. The report also urged the Pentagon to integrate MARS more fully into Defense Department plans and activities in order to take full advantage of its capabilities.

ARRL Offers Free Exam Review Website

The ARRL has been publishing amateur radio license manuals for decades, and it is now expanding its license preparation efforts to the Internet. The ARRL Letter reports that the League is now offering free practice exams on its website, made up of questions from the actual license exam question pools. ARRL membership is not required.

IARU Officers Re-Elected

The leadership of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) will remain stable for another five years, with the re-election of President Timothy Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA, and Vice-President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR. In addition, the ARRL Letter reported, IARU Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD, was re-appointed to his position by the ARRL in its capacity as IARU international secretariat. This is the second five-year term for both Ellam and Garpestad, providing continuity in the organization representing amateur radio interests to world bodies as the next World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) approaches next year.

CQ ANNOUNCES 2014 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

(Dayton, OH - May 16, 2014) -- CQ magazine today announced its 2014 Hall of Fame inductees, adding two members each to the CQ DX and Contest Halls of Fame, as well as eight new members of the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame.

CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame

Vice Admiral (Ret.) Scott Redd, K0DQ (R), receives CQ Contest
Hall of Fame plaque at induction ceremony from CQ WW DX
Contest Director Randy Thompson, K5ZD (L). (Photo courtesy
Bob Wilson, N6TV)

The CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame honors those individuals, whether licensed hams or not, who have made significant contributions to amateur radio; and those amateurs who have made significant contributions either to amateur radio, to their professional careers or to some other aspect of life on our planet. The 2014 inductees (listed alphabetically) are:

Clifford Berry, W9TIJ, who helped usher in the computer age as co-inventor of the Atanasoff-Berry computer (or ABC), the precursor of virtually all electronic computers.

Warren Bruene, W5OLY, prolific radio designer and innovator who designed many Collins radios and helped the company introduce single-sideband voice communications.

John Huntoon, W1RW, former ARRL General Manager, QST Editor, helped bring about international allocation of the 30-, 17- and 12-meter bands.

Mike Koss, W9SU, DXer and DXpeditoner; founder and owner of filter manufacturer ICE (Industrial Communications Engineers); key player in establishment of Indianapolis Motor Speedway Amateur Radio Club, W9IMS; organizer of special event station W87PAX at 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis.

Nancy Kott, WZ8C, former Editor of WorldRadio and WorldRadio Online and tireless promoter of Morse Code as U.S. coordinator of the FISTS CW Club.

Paul Laughton, N6BVH, software designer whose accomplishments include developing Apple's disk operating system and Atari's operating system.

Ralph Showers, ex-W3GEU, expert on electronic interference and leader of efforts to set national and international standards for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). He holds several awards from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Steve Wozniak, ex-WV6VLY and ex-WA6BND, co-founder of Apple Computers.

CQ DX and Contest Halls of Fame

The CQ DX and Contest Halls of Fame honor those amateurs who not only excel in personal performance in these major areas of amateur radio but who also "give back" to the hobby in outstanding ways.

The 2014 inductees to the CQ DX Hall of Fame are:

Joe Reisert, W1JR, a DXer and DXpeditioner since the 1950s, Joe has DXCC Mixed, Phone, CW, Digital and QRP with over 300 entities confirmed for each, along with 13-band Worked All States, 13-band Worked All Continents and CQ's USA-CA All Counties award. Joe is also a pioneer in 432-MHz EME (Earth-Moon-Earth) communications, ran his own antenna manufacturing company (Antennaco) and is a prolific writer and public speaker.

CQWW DX Contest Director Randy Thompson, K5ZD (L),
presents CQ Contest Hall of Fame plaque to 2014 inductee
Ed Muns, W0YK. (Photo courtesy Bob Wilson, N6TV)

David Collingham, K3LP, a leading DXer and DXpeditioner who is also focused on using amateur radio as an educational tool, at home and around the world. He has equipped a complete station at his hometown elementary school and has taught amateur radio to young people in Iraq, Ethiopia and Rotuma.

The 2014 inductees to the CQ Contest Hall of Fame are:

J. Scott Redd, K0DQ, is already a member of the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame for his service to our nation as an Admiral, Deputy Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and the first Director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Scott has always found time within his professional duties for amateur radio and his first love, contesting. He is one of only two people to have won the single-operator category of all of the world's major contests.

Ed Muns, W0YK, is a noted RTTY contester with 9 single-op all-band and one multi-two championships and six world records. Ed is also Director of the CQ World Wide RTTY DX and RTTY WPX Contests, and manager of the North American Sprint RTTY Contest. He is also very active in the Northern California Contest Club and is a past club officer and director.

Formal inductions to the CQ Contest and DX Halls of Fame were held at the respective Contest and DX Dinners at the Dayton Hamvention.® More detailed descriptions of inductees will appear in the official announcement in the July 2014 issue of CQ magazine.

Ten-Tec, Alpha Amplifiers, Merge

Two major American ham radio manufacturers are now one. RF Concepts, the company that manufactures Alpha power amplifiers, has purchased Ten-Tec, Inc. Both Alpha - based in Longmont, Colorado - and Ten-Tec - headquartered in Sevierville, Tennessee -- will continue to operate independently but under joint management, according a May 9 announcement from RF Concepts Chairman Michael Seedman, AA6DY.

Plans call for Alpha's manufacturing operations to move to Sevierville once a new operations facility is found, while engineering, technical and customer support services and many front-office operations will be based in Colorado. Ten-Tec President Jim Wharton, NO4A, and Alpha President Ken Long, N0QO, will remain in charge of their respective divisions.

"Last Man Standing" Renewed for 4th Season

Tim Allen stars as "Outdoor Man" Marketing Manager
and ham radio operator KA0XTT on the ABC-TV series,
"Last Man Standing," which has just been renewed for a
fourth season. (Courtesy "Last Man Standing")

"Last Man Standing," the ABC-TV comedy that stars Tim Allen as an outdoors store marketing manager who's also a ham, has been renewed for a fourth season, with 22 new episodes, according to Co-Executive Producer John Amodeo, NN6JA. 
 

Allen's character, Tim Baxter, has a ham station in his office as well as his basement, and it is often seen in the background. Amateur radio has played a significant role in two episodes so far. "Last Man Standing" airs Friday nights at 8 PM Eastern / 7 PM Central on ABC.

CQ Columnist Earns Presidential Service Award

CQ International Editor Tom Smerk, AA6TS, has been honored with a President's Volunteer Service Award for 2013. He received the award at a presentation in early May. The President's Volunteer Service Award recognizes Americans who perform a minimum of 100 certified hours of volunteer work in a 12-month period, or more than 4,000 hours of service over a lifetime.

The award was created by the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation (established by President George W. Bush) and today, the program is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

For more information, see <http://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov>.

ARRL Opposes FCC Move to Withdraw Protections from Licensed Services

In a case that is not directly related to amateur radio spectrum, the ARRL has strongly opposed a proposal by the FCC to expand the frequencies on which Globalstar mobile satellite phones may operate, "with the condition that customer handset users in the new allocation accept interference from unlicensed radio services now legally operating there." In a posting on it website, the League said its comments pointed out that this would be the first time that licensed users would not be protected from interference by unlicensed (Part 15 or Part 18) devices with which they shared spectrum. "This is untenable as a precedent," the comments concluded, "and it makes the entirety of the [NPRM] likewise untenable." The comments were filed on IB Docket 13-213 and RM-11-685.

"Ham Video" Up and Running on International Space Station

International Space Station
(Courtesy NASA)

International Space Station Commander Koichi Wakata, KC5ZTA, finished the "commissioning" process for the new digital amateur television transmitter aboard the ISS in mid-April, saying the ability to transmit pictures to school groups during Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contacts "will enhance space conversations between crew members and students." Video of the commissioning transmission maybe viewed on YouTube at <http://youtu.be/EpFzbKvK1pk>.

K9LA: "Grand Solar Minimum" May Be Starting

CQ Plus Propagation Editor Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA, told a webinar in late April that evidence is suggesting that we may be entering a "grand solar minimum," or extended period of low sunspot activity. But he says he is not convinced that we're heading for another "Maunder minimum," a 70-year period of few or no sunspots in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

(NASA Photo)

According to the ARRL Letter, Luetzelschwab told a webinar sponsored by the World Wide Radio Operators Foundation that "It sure looks like something inside the sun changed around the peak of Cycle 23," and that several weak cycles may lie ahead. However, he noted that many factors are involved in forecasting future solar activity and its impact on radio propagation, adding that "we need to gather some really good data" over the next decade to get a better picture of what may lie ahead.

Milsap Inducted into Country Music Hall of Fame

Country singer Ronnie Milsap, WB4KCG, has been named one of the newest inductees into the Country Music Association's Country Music Hall of Fame. The ARRL Letter reports that Milsap had 40 number-1 hits and sold more than 35 million albums at the peak of his career in the 1970s and '80s. He has also won six Grammy awards and - little-known fact - once worked as a session musician for Elvis Presley!

Good News, Bad News, on KickSat Launch

The AMSAT News Service reports that five CubeSats were successfully launched in mid-April aboard a SpaceX rocket. Among them is KickSat, which carried 104 tiny "Sprite" satellites - each the size of a cracker - and was supposed to deploy them once it achieved orbit. They would be the smallest satellites ever place in orbit. 
 

However, a May 5 posting on the ARRL website reports that, due to a technical glitch, it may not be possible for the sprites to be deployed before KickSat re-enters the Earth's atmosphere. Their deployment was to be based on a certain elapsed time from launch, but controllers reported that KickSat's master clock reset after reaching orbit, delaying the automatic deployment. In addition, low battery voltage is keeping controllers from overriding the pre-programmed settings. Check back here for updates.

VLF News from Canada and Down Under

Canada on May 1 opened 472-479 kHz to general amateur use, allowing any of that country's hams to operate on the 630-meter band. The move followed the grant of an experimental license last December to the Marconi Radio Club of Newfoundland. Radio Amateurs of Canada reports that it is a secondary allocation with a maximum power level of 5 watts EIRP.

How far can you talk on this band? The South African Radio League reports that on April 13, ZL1BPU in New Zealand (operating as ZL1EE) was heard in Western Australia by VK5ABN/8 (at a distance of 2100 miles) and then by VK6DZ, 3100 miles away. ZL1EE was using WSPR-2 with a 23-foot-high Marconi antenna.

Here in the US, several hams have been authorized to use the band under an experimental license, but the ARRL says the FCC has yet to act on its 2012 petition to allow all US hams on 630 meters.

WWV Briefly Returns to 25 MHz

Time and frequency station WWV in Fort Collins, Colorado.
(Photo via NIST website)

Responding to an e-mail from an Illinois amateur, the lead electrical engineer at time and frequency standard station WWV briefly returned the station's 25 MHz transmitter to the air in early April. WWV stopped regular transmissions on 25 MHz in 1977, according to the ARRL Letter, and said the surprise reactivation came after Dean Lewis, W9WGV, of Palatine, Illinois, lamented its loss in an e-mail toe WWV's Matt Deutch, N0RGT. Lewis reportedly told Deutch he relied on WWV's signals as propagation beacons and missed having the 25 MHz signal to let him know if 10 meters was open. Deutch responded by firing up the old transmitter for a series of tests, receiving reception reports from as far away as Scotland. No word on whether those tests may be repeated in the future.

Weekend FUNcube Fun and FUNcube-2 Launch

The amateur radio transponder aboard AO-73, better known as FUNcube, will be active full-time on weekends, according to the AMSAT News Service. Controllers (if available) will switch the satellite to full-time transponder mode during the first suitable pass over the UK each Friday, and then turn it off again either Sunday evening or Monday morning. 

Meanwhile, the ARRL reports that FUNcube-2 is now scheduled for launch on June 19, aboard the 3-unit UKube-1 spacecraft. Once operational, FUNcube-2 will feature an inverting SSB/CW transponder with a 20-kHz passband.

Ham Radio Featured on VOA Report

The ham radio station aboard the museum ship Queen Mary was the focus of a recent report on the Voice of America. The report is on the VOA website at <http://bit.ly/1rFR1Pw>.

HAARP Facility May be Dismantled

HAARP was the topic of a CQ article by WB6NOA about
five years ago. The facility has since been closed down
and may be dismantled.

The US government's High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, or HAARP, facility in Alaska may be decommissioned and torn down later this year, unless the Air Force can find a new contractor to operate the facility. The ARRL Letter, quoting the Alaska Dispatch, says the University of Alaska-Fairbanks is trying to put together a plan to save HAARP, but it currently costs about $5 million a year to run. The Air Force says current research projects there were set to wrap up in May and funds for the facility were not included in the Air Force's budget request for fiscal year 2015.

Arecibo, the world's largest radiotelescope, will soon
be home to a new ionospheric research facility.
(Photo courtesy Arecibo Observatory website)

 

 Meanwhile, work is under way at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico on a new ionospheric research facility that would be similar in some ways to HAARP in Alaska. 

However, the ARRL Letter says the new facility would be smaller in scale and have different research goals, specifically to study interaction between HF radio energy and ionospheric plasma. It is being built by the Electrical Engineering Department of Penn State University.

May 31 Deadline for Young Ham of the Year Nominations

Nominations for the Newsline Young Ham of the Year award - which CQ co-sponsors - are due by May 31. Now in its 28th year, the YHOTY program recognizes the achievements of radio amateurs age 18 or younger living in the US, its possessions or Canada. Qualifying candidates must have made a significant contribution to amateur radio or - through the use of amateur radio - to their communities or to the nation. 

Official nominating forms may be downloaded from <www.arnewsline.org/yhoty> or requested by mail (with a self-addressed stamped envelope) from Amateur Radio Newsline, Inc., Young Ham of the Year Award, 28197 Robin Ave., Santa Clarita, CA 91350.

The Very Strange Case of W9NTP and the FBI

Don Miller, W9NTP, is well-known in amateur radio as a pioneer in slow-scan TV techniques and a leader in promoting the use of the mode. Back in 1972, he was recognized for his efforts as Dayton's Radio Amateur of the Year. Don has also traveled extensively and in the course of his travels over the past eight decades, has amassed a huge collection of artifacts from all over the world. These artifacts, which had been stored at Don's home in Waldron, Indiana, are now in the hands of the FBI, which seized the entire collection in early April, trying to determine if any of the materials had been obtained or imported illegally. 
 

Several Indiana newspapers and TV stations showed photos of a massive FBI presence outside Miller's home, with tents set up around his property and a variety of vehicles. An FBI spokesman told CBS News.com that neither the total number of items in Miller's collection nor their monetary value had been determined, but said "the cultural value of these artifacts is immeasurable."

The FBI is cataloging each item and trying to determine where and when each one was obtained, which is important because some may have been collected before various laws and treaties regarding cultural artifacts took effect. As of our deadline, Miller had not been charged with any offense, and he told CBS he was cooperating with the FBI but maintained that he "absolutely" had rightful ownership of everything in his collection.

ARRL Calls for Quicker, More Visible FCC Enforcement

Responding to an FCC request for comments on improving how the Commission functions (GN Docket 14-25), the ARRL has called for more timely and visible enforcement of the FCC's rules, especially regarding the amateur service. 


According to the ARRL Letter, changes in FCC procedures over the past five years restricting the public release of information about enforcement actions has resulted in "a widespread, albeit inaccurate, public perception that there is no active enforcement in our service." That perception, said the League, has resulted in "unacceptable increases in rule violations" because people think they won't be held accountable.

QRM Costs Ham His License Plus $1,000

A few FCC enforcement actions have been announced recently, including a consent decree in which a Florida ham agreed to pay a $1,000 "voluntary donation" and gave up his license in return for terminating an enforcement action which could have cost him $25,000 in fines. 

The ARRL Letter reports that Terry Van Volkenburg, KC5RF, had been charged by the FCC with making unlicensed transmissions on a public safety frequency that interfered with the jail radio system of the Brevard County, Florida, Sheriff's Office.

In a separate action, Oklahoma ham Orloff Haines, KF5IXX, is facing a possible $12,000 fine for allegedly interfering with communications on CB channel 19. According to the ARRL Letter, Haines, an Extra Class licensee, admitted to transmitting a continuous carrier on channel 19, reportedly because area CBers were harassing his wife. Haines had the usual 30 days to pay the fine or make a written request to have it reduced or cancelled.

AMSAT VP Tony Monteiro, AA2TX, SK

AMSAT's Vice President of Engineering, Tony Monteiro, AA2TX, passed away on March 26 at age 55 after battling cancer. His many contributions to amateur satellite technology included designing the software for the Software-Defined Transponder (SDX) that was used on ARISSAT-1 in 2011. 

AMSAT announced the appointment of Jerry Buxton, NJ0Y, to succeed Monteiro as Vice President of Engineering; and Steve Coy, K8UD, a board alternate, has assumed Tony's seat on the AMSAT Board of Directors.

Political Intrigue Plays Out on Ham Bands

The political dispute between Russia and Ukraine is impacting the HF amateur bands, according to Newsline. The International Amateur Radio Union's Monitoring System newsletter reported recently that Ukraine's foreign intelligence service has been transmitting numbers and encrypted messages every Wednesday at 1010 UTC on 14.280 MHz, using full-carrier AM. In addition, the newsletter reported the Russian Air Force has been transmitting FSK signals on 7.018 MHz, which were also heard on harmonics of 14.036 and 28.072 MHz.

ARRL: Crimea is Not a New DXCC Entity

Crimea - NOT a new DXCC entity. (Map courtesy
CIA World Factbook)

The ARRL reminds amateurs that regardless of whether it is administered by Ukraine or Russia, Crimea is not and never has been a separate DXCC entity. 

In an announcement on April 10, Awards Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, reported that the ARRL Awards Committee had determined that the country status of Crimean stations would depend on how they identify their location and on which country had issued the call sign in use. "A QSL with a call sign issued by … Ukraine and showing the entity name as Ukraine counts as Ukraine," wrote Moore, while a QSL with a call sign issued Russia and showing the entity name as Russia counts as Russia. "A QSL that satisfies neither condition," he added, "does not count for either entity.

Voice of Russia Goes Silent on Shortwave

After months of conflicting reports, the Voice of Russia permanently ended its shortwave broadcasts at the end of March.

The station - formerly Radio Moscow - was a major propaganda tool of the former Soviet Union during the Cold War and was usually among the first stations tuned in by new shortwave listeners, as its powerhouse signals were hard to miss.

As with most other government broadcasters abandoning shortwave, the Voice of Russia cited budgetary problems as the reason for its decision to terminate shortwave broadcasts.

Transatlantic VLF Signals

Transmissions by U.S. amateurs involved in experimental very low frequency (VLF) operation have been monitored by amateurs in Europe. The ARRL Letter reports that transmissions by hams operating under the WH2XBA experimental license on frequencies of approximately 74 kHz and 29.5 kHz were received in both the UK and in Germany. The transmissions use very slow speed Morse code, with each "dit" lasting two minutes and each "dah" lasting six minutes (not exactly a mode for quickly transmitting large amounts of information - ed.).

The Letter also reports that the software being used to detect these signals is also being used by U.S. Navy personnel assisting in the search for missing Malaysian Flight 370 to listen for "black box" pings transmitted at 37.5 kHz.

Lithuanian President Sends Greetings via Amateur Radio Satellite

Lithuanian President Dalia
Grybauskaite (Courtesy
Government of Lithuania)

The President of Lithuania used amateur radio in March to transmit a message to that country's first satellite - LituanicaSAT-1 - which includes an amateur radio voice transponder and was deployed from the International Space Station at that end of February. 

The ARRL Letter reported that President Dalia Grybauskaite used a handheld radio and the call sign LY5N to transmit her message, "Greetings to all Lithuanians around the world," up to the satellite, which stored it on a memory chip and retransmitted it on March 22.
 
According to the Letter, Grybauskaite may be the first head of state to send a message via an amateur radio satellite.

New Ham Call Signs OKd for Vienna International Center

The UN's Vienna International Center
(Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

The Vienna International Radio Club, which operates 4U1VIC at the United Nations' Vienna International Center, has announced the release of two new call signs - C7A and 4Y1A - to be used from the center on various occasions. 

According to Southgate Amateur Radio News, the C7A-C7Z call sign block is allocated to the World Meteorological Organization, while 4YA-4YZ is allocated to the International Civil Aviation Organization. The calls will be used in connection with special events, such as World Meteorological Day or International Civil Aviation Day. For DXCC purposes, the calls will count as Austria, not the UN, according to the report.

Colvin Award Grant Goes to WRTC-14 Organizers

The group hosting this summer's World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) competition in New England is the latest recipient of a Colvin Award grant. WRTC2014, Inc., reported that the grant consisted of "a significant financial contribution," but did not specify its amount. 

The Colvin Award is funded by an endowment established by the late Lloyd Colvin, W6KG, to support amateur radio projects that promote international goodwill in the field of DX. It is administered by the ARRL. WRTC is a quadrennial competition among the world's top contesters, held during the IARU HF Championship contest in July. For more information, see <http://www.arrl.org/colvin-award-grants> and <http://www.wrtc2014.org>.

Katie Allen, WY7KRA, Named CQ Communications Sales and Marketing Manager

(Hicksville, NY -- March 28, 2014) – Katie Allen, WY7KRA, has been appointed Sales and Marketing Manager for CQ Communications, Inc., effective immediately, it was announced today by company President and Publisher Richard Ross, K2MGA. Katie will be responsible for advertising sales for CQ Amateur Radio magazine (including the CQ Plus digital supplement), as well as marketing efforts for all CQ Communications products.

An active DXer and contester who recently earned her Extra Class license, Katie entered the world of amateur radio as the ARRL's Membership Manager in the 2000s, earning her first ham license under the guidance of other League staff members. She then sparked an effort to revitalize the ARRL staff radio club and station, W1HQ, both of which had fallen into inactivity, and helped move ham radio into the world of multimedia by producing and posting various operating videos on You Tube. She currently lives in Sundance, Wyoming with her husband, Dwayne, WY7FD.

"I love ham radio and the ham industry and I'm beyond thrilled to be back in it," says Katie. "I know there are challenges ahead, but my successes over the years have been with new projects or revitalizations ... so perhaps I've come home again to my area of specialty."

"Katie's enthusiasm for amateur radio and everything relating to it, along with her track record marketing our hobby to newcomers and her experience in multimedia and social networking, put her in an ideal position to help manufacturers and retailers best match up their products with our readers," notes CQ Publisher Dick Ross, K2MGA. Ross adds that "the introduction of CQ Plus has expanded CQ's audience beyond its traditional base of active hams to the broader hobby radio community. Katie's ability to connect with both groups, and to reach out via new media, will help add to our advertisers' ability to do the same."

CQ Communications, Inc., based in Hicksville, New York, publishes CQ Amateur Radio, including the CQ Plus digital supplement, in addition to CQ books, videos and related products. It also sponsors a comprehensive series of operating awards and the world's most popular on-air contests. Its flagship magazine, CQ Amateur Radio, is currently in its 70th year of continuous publication, now in both print and digital formats.

Dayton Simultaneously Honors, Snubs, ARRL

The Dayton Amateur Radio Association honored two long-time leaders of the ARRL with its annual Hamvention® awards, but pointedly snubbed the organization itself in its announcement.

Larry Price, W4RA, ARRL President from 1984 to 1992 and president of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) from 1999 to 2009, is the recipient of the 2014 Amateur of the Year Award. This year's Special Achievement Award goes to ARRL CEO Dave Sumner, K1ZZ. Yet neither man's affiliation with the League is cited in the DARA announcement.

Price is recognized for his "significant and direct impact on the development of amateur radio throughout the world" in his role as IARU President, and Sumner is cited for his work as a member of the "IARU observer team" as well as his ongoing "efforts in crafting broadband over power lines (BPL) regulations in conjunction with the FCC to reduce (harmful BPL) emissions." The fact that he has led the ARRL for the past three decades is completely ignored.

Also honored this year are FLDIGI developer David Freese, Jr., W1HKJ, with the Technical Achievement Award, and the Gwinnett Amateur Radio Society in suburban Atlanta with the Club of the Year Award. All awards will be presented at the Dayton Hamvention® on May 16-18.

"HamTV" on the Air From ISS

One of the early digital ATV images downlinked from the
International Space Station as commissioning of the new
HamTV system got under way in March. (NASA photo)

The "HamTV" digital amateur television (DATV) transmitter aboard the International Space Station was installed on March 6, and initial transmissions on March 8 were successfully received on the ground and streamed over the Internet by the British Amateur Television Club (BATC). According to the AMSAT News Service, the project has been ten years in the making and its main mission is to allow space station crew members to include live video as well as audio in their contacts with school groups through the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program.

This is not the first time amateur television pictures have been transmitted from orbit. Back in 1985, Tony England, W0ORE, the second astronaut to operate from space, transmitted slow-scan TV pictures on his 2-meter downlink from the shuttle Challenger.

Here are some links for additional information and photos, courtesy of the AMSAT News Service:

Webstream of the TV transmissions http://batc.tv/ch_live.php?ch=4

HamTV overview by Gaston Bertels ON4WF http://tinyurl.com/HamTVoverview

ISS HamTV Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HamTV

ARISS-EU HamTV Bulletins http://www.ariss-eu.org/

HamTV on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Hamtvproject

RadioShack to Close 1100 Stores

Chances are there's a RadioShack store near you. But there's now about a one in five chance that there won't be one there much longer. The struggling electronics chain announced plans in early March "to close up to 1,100 underperforming stores," as it released financial reports showing it suffering a $400 million net loss in 2013, with nearly half of that coming in the fourth quarter alone.

Hams have long relied on the chain as a source for components, and in the past, for ham gear, shortwave receivers and scanners as well. In recent years, RadioShack has put a greater focus on mobile phones and accessories, a market that has softened recently, as new purchases have given way to replacements and upgrades. One recent bright spot for hams has been a new focus on kits and building, in response to the growth of the maker movement.

New Head of FCC Enforcement Bureau; ARRL to Seek More Amateur Enforcement

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has named Travis LeBlanc - a former Justice Department attorney - as acting
Chief of the Commission's Enforcement Bureau. According to an FCC announcement, LeBlanc is returning to Washington from California, where he has been a top deputy and senior advisor to the state's Attorney General, specializing in technology regulation, telecommunications, high-tech crime and cyber-security, among other subjects.

The ARRL is planning to use the arrival of new leadership at both the Enforcement Bureau and the Commission to try to bring top-level attention to bear on a perceived lack of enforcement in the Amateur Service in recent years. In an open letter to ARRL members in the Hudson Division, Division Director and ARRL Executive Committee member Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, noted that Chairman Wheeler, in announcing LeBlanc's appointment, said that "the credibility of the Commission's rules depends on its enforcement activities," said the League is planning to meet with FCC staff and commissioners to discuss enforcement issues and asked members to supply him with specific reports of rules violations that have been reported to the FCC but have not been addressed. Lisenco noted that the change in leadership provides "a golden opportunity to … attempt to change the current regulatory environment from being virtually non-existent to one that supports us."