A man from Yemen accepted a plea bargain in connection with a high-seas piracy attack this past February that left three US hams and another American dead. According to Newsline, 23-year-old Mounir Ali pled guilty to taking part in the armed hijacking of the yacht Quest off the coast of Oman. Ali had claimed that he and four other Yemenis were hijack victims themselves, but US prosecutors said he willingly joined the pirates in exchange for a share of any ransom money. They also said Ali was not directly involved in the shootings of the four Americans. Sentencing is scheduled for October 21.
CQ Communications, Inc.
Friday, July 22, 2011
End of Shuttle Program Marks End of Era in Ham Radio As Well
The landing of Atlantis in mid-July marked the end of the U.S. space shuttle program, but it also marked the end of a nearly-30-year association between ham radio and the shuttle program. The first ham radio operation from space was conducted aboard the shuttle Columbia in 1983 by then-Astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL. The ongoing tradition of ham radio contacts between astronauts in orbit and children at schools around the world began on the shuttle as SAREX, the Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment, which has since morphed into ARISS, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station.
On the topic of ARISS, the ARRL reports that four astronauts and astronaut candidates recently passed their ham radio license exams, and one astronaut upgraded from Technician to General.
Tentative Schedule Released for ARISSat-1
An on-board test of the ARISSat-1 satellite is tentatively scheduled for July 30-31, with a possible launch from the International Space Station on August 3, according to the AMSAT News Service. The launch is tied to the scheduling of a spacewalk, as the satellite is to be hand-launched by space station crew members during that spacewalk ... currently scheduled for August 3. The launch has already been delayed several times.Space Weather Broadcasts to Continue on WWV/WWVH
In July, we reported that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) was planning to end its broadcasts of solar information on WWV and WWVH. It appears that user feedback was significant enough to persuade officials to change their minds. NOAA now says it "plans to continue this service for the foreseeable future," and that content updates are being made "as a result of the feedback process."
Two Summer Films Feature Amateur Radio

Amateur radio is prominently (if not accurately) portrayed in two of this summer's major movies, "Mr. Popper's Penguins" and "Super 8." The ARRL Letter reports that two of the main characters in "Mr. Popper's Penguins" communicate using what appears to be ham radio, but use handles instead of callsigns and the 15-meter frequency to which the radio is tuned (21.246 MHz) was not available as a voice frequency to US hams in the years in which the film is supposed to occur. In "Super 8," a ham tells of strange noises on his receiver and sheriff's deputies follow up by decoding the signals and learning vital information. Unfortunately, their "receiver" is a Heathkit Seneca VHF-1, which was actually a transmitter.Hurricane Watch Looking for New Members
The Hurricane Watch Net is looking for new members who can "effectively communicate with Central America and the Caribbean, Mexico and South Texas on the 20-meter band," according to the ARRL. The net is also looking for more members who are bilingual, especially those fluent in both Spanish and English. The Hurricane Watch Net operates on 14.325 MHz when tropical storms or hurricanes are within reach of land. More information is available on the net's website at <www.hwn.org>.ARRL Renews MoU with National Weather Service
The ARRL and the National Weather Service have updated and renewed their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), continuing a formalized relationship that extends back to 1986. Under the agreement, volunteers in the ARRL field organization are encouraged to contact NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologists and work with them to establish and maintain SKYWARN networks in which trained spotters observe and report weather conditions during storms.
RFI Workshop for Utilities
The ARRL recently hosted a two-day RF interference workshop for utility company employees. Four (yes, four -- ed.) people attended from different parts of the country. The ARRL Letter reports they were treated to a comprehensive mini-course on identifying, tracking and resolving RFI run by Mike Martin, K3RFI, owner of RFI Services, a company that is dedicated exclusively to RFI tracking and training.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
August 2011 Edition of WorldRadio Online Is Live on the Web
The August 2011 edition of WorldRadio Online magazine is live and posted on the Web. Many of your favorite columnists and special features are in this edition. And it's all free. Check it out at: http://www.WorldRadiomagazine.com/
Thursday, July 14, 2011
South Sudan Added to CQ DX Countries List
The Republic of South Sudan is the newest addition to the CQ DX Award Countries List, CQ DX Awards Manager Billy Williams, N4UF, announced today. It is #342. Verifications confirming contacts after July 14, 2011 (the date of its admission to the United Nations) are acceptable for credit. No award credit is available for southern Sudan contacts made during the 1980s and 90s.
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| The Republic of South Sudan (Courtesy CIA World Factbook) |
The new addition will be reflected in CQ DX Honor Roll totals to be compiled near the end of September. The July listings will not include the new addition and will be based on 341 active countries. (See paragraphs 21 through 24 on the CQ DX web page <http://home.earthlink.net/~bfwillia/page3.html>. Note in paragraph 24 that "the Award Manager will allow at least 30 days between the date of his announcement and any Honor Roll revisions that reflect the new maximum count.")
Verifications may be checked by a CQ Checkpoint or sent to the Award Manager. Include return postage or SASE with updates if you send cards or desire a reply. Updates are accepted only via postal mail.
The CQ DX Award Countries List contains 342 entities including Kosova. Endorsement stickers for 340 are not yet available. When stickers are available, an announcement will be posted on the CQ DX web page (see URL above). As of this time, the International Telecommunication Union has not yet issued a callsign prefix block for South Sudan.
For purposes of the CQ DX Field Award, most of South Sudan is in field KJ; small northern portions (above 10 degrees north latitude) are in field KK. More information on the CQ DX Field Award is available at <http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/cq_awards/cq_dx_awards/cq_dx_field_award/cq_dx_field_award.html> and at <http://home.earthlink.net/~bfwillia/gridfield.html#CQ DX FIELD AWARD RULES>.
In addition, South Sudan will count as a country (entity) multiplier for the CQ DX Marathon, the CQ World Wide DX Contest and any other CQ contests that use country multipliers.
ARISSat-1 Test Set for July 30-31; Depolyment Possible August 3
During the International ARISS teleconference July 14, Sergey Samburov, RV3DR, announced that the ARISSat battery will be charged late in July.A test of the system will be conducted on the International Space Station from 1915 UTC on July 30 to about
1200-1400 UTC on July 31.
The standard ARISSat-1/KEDR 2-meter downlink band plan should be transmitted as well as the FM signal - also downlinked on 437.55 MHz. More information as it becomes available.
"Today we are looking at an August 3 date for EVA 29 and the ARISSat-1/KEDR deployment. This is all subject to change," the release noted. "ANS thanks Gould Smith, WA4SXM, for this latest information." - AMSAT News Service
Monday, June 27, 2011
New SATERN Director Named
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| Retired SATERN National Director Maj. Pat McPherson, WW9E (Courtesy www.satern.org) |
McPherson applauded the choice, saying Shirran "has been a long time proponent of Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services and its SATERN component. He understands well the culture of amateur radio and The Salvation Army, and he has proven … expertise in every field of disaster endeavor."
Portuguese Edition of CQ to Debut in Brazil
A new Portuguese-language edition of CQ is due to be launched this August in Brazil. The new edition will be published by Radiohaus, a major Brazilian amateur radio dealer. It will be published bi-monthly and will contain a mix of articles translated from the U.S. edition and original material written specifically for the Brazilian ham audience. This is the same arrangement that CQ has with the publishers of its Spanish edition, CQ Radio Amateur.
Management Change for Arecibo Observatory
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| (Courtesy Arecibo Observatory) |
FCC Chief Visits Hamvention®
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| FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski (L) was escorted around the Dayton Hamvention® by 2011 show chairman Mike Kalter, W8CI. (Photo courtesy K0NEB) |
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski made a surprise visit to the Dayton Hamvention® during an unplanned layover in Dayton. According to Hamvention officials, Genachowski was flying back to Washington on Friday, May 20, when his plane was diverted to Dayton because of severe weather in the Midwest. He was told he might have trouble finding a hotel room because of all the ham radio operators in town. After finding a room, he decided to visit the show on Saturday morning before returning to Washington. He spent about two hours at Hara Arena, talking with hams and checking out the equipment displays.
Astronaut Wheelock Praises Ham Radio at Dayton
A planned guest at this year's Dayton Hamvention® was Astronaut Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC -- a callsign he's never used! "I call that my gravity callsign," Wheelock told Newsline. "My real callsign is NA1SS from the space station ..." He said that ham radio provided a great way to relax and decompress as he and his crewmates worked to fix a pump failure that required three spacewalks to repair. Plus, he said, "(h)aving you guys as an emergency contact for us around the globe was a warm, warm feeling for me as a commander…"
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| Astronaut Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC (NASA Photo) |
New Access Rules for QRZ.com
Users of the QRZ.com callsign database must now be registered and sign in before getting access to any name or address data. Owner Fred Lloyd, AA7BQ, explained in a posting that routine access to the database was being slowed down by a growing number of automated systems trying to harvest massive amounts of data at one time. Registration is free; ham users may access a maximum of 150 callsigns/day (not including their own); non-ham users are limited to 25 lookups per day, and QRZ subscribers will continue to have unlimited access.
Progress, But No Changes Yet, in HR-607
| Rep. Greg Walden, W7EQI (L), with House Speaker John Boehner. The next step for HR-607 is in Walden's hands. (House of Representatives photo) |
Meanwhile, in the Senate, Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and John McCain (R-AZ) introduced a companion bill to HR-607 -- S-1040 -- that does not call for auctioning off any spectrum below 1675 MHz. However, it would require the FCC to not renew current public safety licenses below 512 MHz unless the licensee can show that:
(A) that migration to a different spectrum band will cause considerable economic hardship to the State or local government jurisdiction in which such licensee is located;
(B) migration to a different spectrum band would adversely impact the ability of the licensee to protect and serve the community in which such licensee is located; or
(C) there are an insufficient number of frequencies above the 700 MHz band to support the land-mobile communications needs of the licensee.
New HF Radar Proposal Could Impact Ham Bands
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) -- which regulates federal government spectrum usage and advises the president on telecommunications matters -- has proposed establishing oceanographic radar allocations at several HF frequency segments, including the 60-meter amateur band and immediately adjacent to the 20-meter ham band. According to the ARRL, the recommendation to propose these allocations at next year's World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12) came as a surprise to those members of a U.S. WRC working group set up by the FCC - including an ARRL representative - that had proposed different sets of frequencies and concluded that sharing between these radars and amateurs would be difficult at best. Apparently, there has not yet been an explanation of why NTIA made these specific proposals or why it disregarded the working group's advice. More to come on this one…
Japan Drops All Amateur Code Tests
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| (Courtesy CIA World Factbook) |
Back in the 1950s, Japan became the first country to issue an amateur license that did not require a Morse code exam, the so-called Class 4 license. However, it has continued to require code tests for the Class 1 and Class 2 licenses, even as most of the rest of the world has ended amateur code test requirements. Now, according to Newsline, effective October 1, Japan will no longer require code tests for any class of amateur license. Interestingly, on an issue about which so many hams have been so passionate for so many decades, a request for comments on the proposed rule change drew only 39 responses.
NWS Launches New Lightning Safety Program
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| (Courtesy NOAA) |
"When thunder roars, go indoors!" is the slogan of a new lightning awareness and safety program launched by the National Weather Service. The community-based program is aimed at increasing awareness of lightning dangers out of doors, and will provide signs and other educational materials that communities can post or distribute. (For a first-hand report on a too-close-for-comfort outdoor lightning encounter, see KB1OGL's article, "A Striking Story," in the August issue of CQ.)
LightSquared Agrees to QSY to Protect GPS
A wireless broadband internet company that received a waiver from the FCC to set up operations on frequencies immediately adjacent to those used by the Global Positioning System (GPS) has agreed to start up its operations on a different band.
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| A GPS satellite (Courtesy US Air Force) |
Both LightSquared and the FCC had been sharply criticized by aviators - especially private pilots who rely on GPS for precise navigation - as well as public safety officials, members of Congress, and the Federal Aviation Administration for inadequate testing to determine how much interference to GPS might result from having high-speed internet service right next door. The National Journal reported on June 20 that LightSquared had agreed to move its initial service to a different block of frequencies below the GPS band, "a solution which ensures that tens of millions of GPS users won't be affected by LightSquared's launch," according to the company's CEO.
RadioShack Wants Your Advice
RadioShack is trying to respond to the needs of a growing community of builders, both among hams and "maker" groups around the country. In a video on its blog page, the company is looking for input from builders on what types of parts they should stock to meet customers' needs. The video, as well as comment space, may be found at <http://blog.radioshack.com/post/2011/05/19/RadioShack-And-The-DIY-Community-You-Talked-Were-Listening.aspx>.
Cornell Students Seeking Ham Listeners
| The Cornell-designed "Sprite" chip satellite (courtesy Cornell U. news release) |
Students at Cornell University are involving ham radio and hams in a project designed to collect information about the atmosphere of Saturn. The AMSAT News Service reports that students at Cornell have developed fingernail-sized satellites designed to be sent to Saturn, where they will flutter down through its atmosphere, reporting on chemistry, radiation and particle impacts. The so-called "Sprites" transmit on the 902 MHz ham band. A group of them is now being tested on board the International Space Station, attached to a panel on the outside of the station. Hams are invited to listen for these very low-powered beacons. For more information, see <http://tinyurl.com/3fs5ks7> or <http://www.spacecraftresearch.com/blog>.
Ham Radio Rides West Point Balloon to Edge of Space
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| Cadets from the U.S. Military Academy's Amateur Radio and Astronomy Clubs Launch a Balloon Satellite in May. (Photo by Mike Strasser, West Point Public Affairs) |
Cadets from the U.S. Military Academy's astronomy and amateur radio clubs used the last day of this year's spring semester to launch a "balloon satellite" to the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere. Still and video cameras aboard the craft shot photos as it rose to an altitude of more than 85,000 feet and then descended. An Automatic Packet Radio System (APRS) transmitter allowed students to track the payload throughout the flight and to later recover it, the instruments "still cold from their journey to space," according to a West Point news release. The release also described the APRS system as "an ad hoc network of ham radio operators that run a nationwide communications utility as a public service." The launch also highlighted inter-service cooperation in the military, as the West Point group has been collaborating with the aeronautics department at the U.S. Air Force Academy and APRS was developed by Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, who teaches at the U.S. Naval Academy.
New Russian Prefixes on Air
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| New Russian Prefixes are on the air. (Map courtesy CIA World Factbook) |
Telecommunications authorities in the Russian Federation have made changes recently in the assignment of amateur radio callsign prefixes. The ARRL Letter reports that, among other things, calls with the numeral "2" are no longer limited to Kaliningradsk (now RA2 and UA2-UI2 with "F" or "K" as the first letter of the suffix), certain calls with "8" or "9" as the numeral may now be in European Russia, and new blocks of temporary callsigns have been designated for operations in Antarctica, Franz Josef Land and Malyj Visotskij Island.
Friday, June 17, 2011
July 2011 WorldRadio Online Magazine Now On the Web - FREE
The July 2011 edition of WorldRadio Online magazine is live and posted on the Web. Many of your favorite columnists and special features are in this edition. And it's all free. Click here to link directly to the WRO Welcome Page. Or check it out at: http://www.WorldRadiomagazine.com/
Friday, June 3, 2011
Pop'Comm Live Online Chat Session is Sunday, June 5
You're invited to join Popular Communications editor Richard Fisher, KI6SN, for the magazine's first-ever live online chat session.It's Sunday, June 5 beginning at 4 p.m. Eastern time.
The session promises to be casual, friendly and lots of fun. We'll also be conducting some instant online polls.
Radio enthusiasts from everywhere are invited to join in.
To access the session, at chat time click on the Cover It Live box on the PopComm On the Web homepage:
< http://www.PopCommMagazine.blogspot.com/ >
You can sign-up there now for an email reminder, as well.
Monday, May 23, 2011
FCC Chairman Surprise Hamvention Guest
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| (FCC Photo) |
2011 Hamvention Successful Despite Challenges
Another Dayton is in the history books, and while we don't have any numbers yet from the organizers, it was by all accounts a very successful show for both buyers and sellers. Lots of happy faces were seen accompanying lots of big boxes and assorted smaller goodies through the halls of Hara Arena. As always, the forums were well attended and one this year's most popular speakers was astronaut Col. Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC.
| An unusual addition to this year's Dayton flea market was a plumbing crew working to unclog Hara Arena's sewer lines and plug a leak into the flea market area. |
Along with the usual challenges of organizing for such a large number of people came the unusual challenge on Saturday of a major sewer backup resulting in the closure of most of the restrooms inside Hara Arena and a sewage leak into the flea market area. Attendees managed by using portable toilets already set up outside and stepping gingerly through portions of the flea market. Everything was restored to normal by Sunday morning.
While the weather for Hamvention was about as good as it could be, severe weather across the nation's midsection on Sunday caused travel challenges for many attendees who were flying home or driving to the west from Dayton. Many attendees, including some CQ staff members, didn't get home until Monday afternoon.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
NOAA Predicts Above-Normal Atlantic Hurricane Season
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting a higher-than-normal Atlantic hurricane season for 2011. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center says it is likely that there will be 12-18 named storms this year, six to ten of which could become hurricanes. Of those, the center predicts that three to six may become major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5). Each of these ranges, says NOAA, has a 70% likelihood, and indicate that activity will exceed the seasonal average of 11 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes.
FEMA Head Praises Hams
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| FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate (DHS Photo) |
Amateur radio clearly has a friend at the top of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In a speech at an FCC forum on earthquake communications preparedness in early May, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate listed amateur radio as one of four broad areas, "all equally important," that are critical to the mission of meeting the needs of disaster survivors. The other three are public safety communications, broadcast radio and TV, and personal wireless communications.
Calling hams "the ultimate backups" and "our last line of defense," Fugate noted how amateur radio often provides the first communications out of stricken areas, "getting the word out in the critical first hours and first days as the rest of the systems come back up." There is a tendency, he said, to dismiss hams because our other communication systems generally are very reliable and "that we can never fathom that they'll fail. They do. They have. They will." He urged including "a strong amateur radio community" in emergency planning because, "when you need amateur radio, you really need 'em."
Satellite Image Shows Tornado's Path
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| NASA Photo |
The path of destruction left behind by the EF-4 tornado that roared through Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on April 27 is clearly visible in a satellite image from NASA's ASTER satellite system. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer is part of NASA's earth-observing Terra satellite. According to NASA's Science News, the photo shows the "tearing up" of vegetation along the twister's path.
As always, ham radio was a key element of the response to the outbreak of tornadoes in the southeast in late April and early May. For a comprehensive report on amateur activities, see the "Public Service" column in the upcoming July issue of CQ.
WWV/WWVH to Drop Space Weather Reports
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| WWV (NIST Photo) |
The Space Weather Prediction Center will discontinue its regular geophysical alert messages on WWV and WWVH as of this coming September 6, according to the ARRL Letter. These messages include solar flux readings, A and K indices and reports on current and predicted space weather storms. The reports, which currently air on WWV at 18 minutes past each hour and on WWVH at 45 minutes past, will continue to be posted on the SWPC's website. Comments and questions may be directed by e-mail to <swpc.wwv@noaa.gov>.
Lifetime Credit Sought for Amateur Exams Passed
The Anchorage VEC, one of 14 Volunteer Examiner Coordinators in the United States, has petitioned the FCC to grant lifetime credit for all amateur examination elements passed, even if the license associated with them has been expired for more than two years. Currently, only Technician exams passed before 1987 are granted lifetime credit. According to the ARRL Letter, the group says it is unfair to grant element credit for some applicants but not for others. At press time, the FCC had not indicated whether it would post the petition for public comment.
FCC Wants Another 90 Cents for That Vanity Call
The FCC is proposing a 90-cent increase in the fee for obtaining or renewing a vanity amateur radio callsign, from the current $13.30 for a 10-year term to $14.20. The fees tend to vary slightly from year to year. According to the ARRL, they have ranged from a low of $11.70 to a high of $70. The FCC says it estimates that it will receive more than 14,000 vanity callsign requests or renewals in the upcoming fiscal year.People in the News…
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| Meredith Attwell Baker (FCC Photo) |
… FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker stepped down from the Commission on June 3 -- about a month before the end of her term -- to take a job with Comcast as its Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for NBC/Universal. President Obama will have to name a Republican to replace her, as the law permits no more than three members of one political party on the five-member commission.
… Julio Ripoll, WD4R, Assistant Coordinator of the amateur radio station at the National Hurricane Center, was honored in April at the National Hurricane Conference. The ARRL Letter reports that Ripoll was awarded the National Weather Service's Distinguished Service Award for "exceptional service in providing emergency communication during hurricane events over three decades while leading (the) WX4NHC Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center."
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| W2BXA (Courtesy Bill Hellman, NA2M) |
… The first post-war recipient of CQ's Worked All Zones (WAZ) award has become a Silent Key at age 97. Ben Stevenson, W2BXA, of Colonia, New Jersey, qualified for the award in mid-1947, using all postwar contacts. Prior to World War II, only three hams had qualified for WAZ. Stevenson also held Satellite DXCC #1, mixed DXCC #6 and phone DXCC #6. He was also a founding member and first president of the North Jersey DX Association and active on amateur satellites. The AMSAT News Service reports that W2BXA and W2RS made the first-ever multisatellite contact in any radio service, linking up via AO-6 and AO-7 in 1975.
Second Ham Station Installed on ISS
The International Space Station now has two active amateur stations. In late April, according to Newsline, Astronaut Cady Coleman finished installing the Ericsson radio used for early ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) contacts, in the Columbus Orbital Laboratory. Astronaut Paolo Nespoli then checked it out for proper operation in time-honored amateur fashion -- by making contacts with hams on the ground. At least one school contact has since been made using the new/old station.Battery Issues Beset Ham Satellites
The failure of a much-ballyhooed activation of the ARISSat-1 satellite from on-board the International Space Station in April to mark the 50th anniversary of the first manned space flight has been blamed on a nearly dead battery. The AMSAT News Service reports that the Russian space agency told a teleconference that the battery had been charged only once on the ground and was then used for a variety of tests. Since the battery can only be recharged a limited number of times aboard the ISS, it was decided not to recharge it before the Yuri Gagarin commemorative event. But the battery was nearly discharged at the start of the activation, no one on the ground heard the satellite and it was turned off after six hours to prevent excessive discharging.![]() | |
| AO-51 Prior to Launch (AMSAT Photo) |
It also appears that the batteries aboard the AO-51 satellite are failing. AMSAT officials report that the batteries are in very poor condition and that the satellite will not retain the upload of flight software during eclipse periods when no sunlight is hitting its solar panels. The AMSAT News Service says it is uncertain when, or whether, the satellite will be able to return to normal operation.
Senators Seek Protection for GPS
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| Sen. Ben Nelson |
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| Sen. Pat Roberts |
Bob Heil to Host Ham Show on TWiT.tv
Microphone manufacturer and showman Bob Heil, K9EID, will host a new ham radio show on an internet-only network known as TWiT.tv (This Week in Technology). His program, to be called "HamNation," was slated to debut on May 24, with Bob's good friend, rock legend Joe Walsh, WB6ACU, as the first guest. Joe also wrote the show's theme music, according to a news release. There is no indication as to how frequently new episodes will "air."
Crimestoppers…
… The FCC upheld a $4,000 fine levied on a Philadelphia ham for "freebanding." According to RadioWorld, Jose Torres, N3TX, had been cited in 2008 for allegedly operating illegally on 26.71 MHz. Torres had appealed the initial Notice of Apparent Liability for $4,000, claiming he wasn't home at the time of the alleged transmissions and that he couldn't afford to pay the fine. The Commission was not persuaded by Torres's arguments and affirmed the initial fine.
… Hams in Indiana are exempted from the new statewide ban on talking and texting while driving. The Lafayette Journal and Courier reports that the new law bans the use of any telecommunications device to type, transmit or read text messages or e-mails while operating a motor vehicle. However, it says that amateur radio equipment operated by licensed hams, as well as radio gear in large commercial vehicles, are specifically exempted.
… Also in Indiana, police in Muncie discovered a new twist in the old problem of crooks trying to evade capture by listening to police radio transmissions. The Muncie Star-Press reports that the accused getaway driver in a botched robbery was listening to them on his smart phone, using a downloadable scanner "app." The suspect was charged with felony robbery and unlawful use of a police radio. Smart phone. Dumb robber. (Indiana law prohibits possession of a "police radio" by the general public, with exemptions for hams, journalists and several other categories.)
Sunday, May 1, 2011
WorldRadio Online Live Chat is Sunday, May 1
You're welcome to join WRO Editor Richard Fisher, KI6SN, for WorldRadioOnline magazine's monthly live online chat Sunday, May 1 at 3 p.m. Eastern time. At chat time, simply click the Cover It Live box at: <http://www.WorldRadioOnline.blogspot.com/ >. It's casual and friendly. Come as you are. Hope to see you there.
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