30 Jan 2009

Good Google News...

I'm a big fan of Google. Sure, they'll own all of my info and try to take over the world with it someday, but in the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy their cool little web services.

I've been a sometime-user of gmail and google docs (as well as blogger and youtube) and particularly like the docs feature that allows you access and edit your items offline. Basically if you have a laptop and are online, you can upload a document or start a new one within your web browser - see docs.google.com - and work away on it. Any changes you EVER make to that document will be saved. So you can revert back to a saved version from weeks ago, and you'll never lose a document again.

But here comes the offline-sweetness. If you only have internet access at work, you can take your laptop home, where there's no internet, edit your documents, and when you go back into work and online again, the changes will be saved. You'll always have your stuff.

Cool huh?

And the best news I've heard all day: it's now available on gmail!

off-gmail

So you can reply to emails, edit, delete, archive them on your laptop while you have no internet access and changes will be reflected as soon as you go back online again.

Pretty cool if you only get your lappy online once a day.


27 Jan 2009

Radio Amateur's can help NASA

Chris St. Cyr of the Goddard Space Flight Center says that experienced ham radio operators can participate in the historic STEREO mission to see the far side of the sun by helping NASA capture STEREO's images.

The following is from the press release - NASA Sees the 'Dark Side' of the Sun - at http://science.nasa.gov/
headlines/y2009/23jan_darkside.htm?list157891

St. Cyr notes that experienced ham radio operators can participate in this historic mission by helping NASA capture STEREO's images.

The busy Deep Space Network downloads data from STEREO only three hours a day. That's plenty of time to capture all of the previous day's data, but NASA would like to monitor the transmissions around the clock.

"So we're putting together a 'mini-Deep Space Network' to stay in constant contact with STEREO," says Bill Thompson, director of the STEREO Science Center at Goddard.

The two spacecraft beam their data back to Earth via an X-band radio beacon. Anyone with a 10-meter dish antenna and a suitable receiver can pick up the signals. The data rate is low, 500 bits per second, and it takes 3 to 5 minutes to download a complete image.

So far, the mini-Network includes stations in the United Kingdom, France and Japan—and Thompson is looking for more:

"NASA encourages people with X-band antennas to contact the STEREO team. We would gladly work with them and figure out how they can join our network."



100 MOST NEEDED COUNTRIES - WORLD WIDE



THE 2008 DX MAGAZINE 100 MOST NEEDED COUNTRIES SURVEY

was conducted in September and October 2008.

The complete breakdown by continent is available in

January/February 2009 Issue of THE DX MAGAZINE.

A breakdown by mode will be published in the March/April 2009 issue.

Editor Carl, N4AA, states, "The listing shows the top 100 World-Wide 'weighted' mixed mode results. It also includes the ranking for 2007, for comparison. Some 2007 rankings are shown as 'NA' which only means that particular country was NOT on the list for 2007.

The Top 100 results, broken down by continent and NA time zone, are published in the January/ February 2009 issue of THE DX MAGAZINE. A further breakdown will be published in the March/April 2009 issue. That listing will include the top 50 for CW, SSB, Digital and this year a listing for Low Bands (160-30 meters.)"

The survey that most DXers go by is now available at: http://dxpub.com/dx_news.html


The "Top Ten Most Wanted" are as follows:

2008 PREFIX / COUNTRY 2007
---- ---------------- ----
1 P5 NORTH KOREA 1
2 7O YEMEN 2
3 KP1 NAVASSA 3
4 FR/G GLORIOSO 4
5 ZS8 MARION ISLAND 6
6 KP5 DESECHEO 7
7 3Y/B BOUVET 5
8 VK0H HEARD ISLAND 10
9 FT5W CROZET 9
10 FT5Z AMSTERDAM 11

26 Jan 2009

A new glass half full production - love it!

Those krazy kats at kadburys... :)

UPDATE

3DA0 DXpedition - operators needed

The scouts in Swaziland will be running an
International camp at their national camp site near
Manzini from July 31st until 11th August 2009. They
have requested that an amateur radio station be run at
this camp. It appears that it may be possible to
provide the station as requested but a team of
operators would be needed to run the station.

The team would probably request the callsign 3DA0SS
which was used for their JOTA station last October. The
station would comprise a FT1000MP with IC2KL linear
into a hf log periodic antenna on a mobile tower
provided by African DX Safaris. Anyone interested in
joining the team should make contact by email as soon
as possible.

David GI4FUM/EI4DJ/3DA0DJ Email: CDXC /at/ yahoogroups.com



This week in History


1904 The first military experiments with radio at the
Eiffel Tower took place by French Army.

1912 First Act to Regulate Radio Communication in the
USA.

1915 Bell opens the first US transcontinental
telephone service.


Radio Rallies

The Spring Radio Rally season gets under way shortly,
starting with the Coolmine Rally on Sunday 15th
February. The venue is the Coolmine Community School,
Clonsilla, Dublin 15, and doors open at 9.30 a.m.

Rallies during March include the Radio Hobbies and
Electronics Fair in the Limerick Radisson SAS Hotel on
Sunday 8th March, The Lagan Valley Amateur Radio
Society Rally in Hillsborough, Co. Down on Saturday
14th March and the Lough Erne Amateur Radio Club Rally
in Lisnaskea, Co. Fermanagh on Sunday 29th March.

The big event in April is the IRTS AGM Weekend, on
Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th April. This takes place
in the Shamrock Lodge Hotel, Athlone. Weekend events
include the IRTS Annual Dinner, a Radio Rally and the
IRTS Annual General Meeting.

More details of these events are also available on the IRTS web site
at www.irts.ie/rallies

DXFC EI/GI Activation


The DXFC award differs from the DXCC award in that the
letter F in means that scoring is made by setting FOOT
in the DXCC entity and not by having a QSO with it.
Extra points are scored by being active and completing
at least one QSO from the DXCC listed entity. It is an
informal friendly competition and scoring is based on
trust and honesty

On Saturday 17th January, Roger (G3SXW) and John
(G4IRN) activated EI and GI in the same day. They both
arrived from the UK by Ryanair and were met by Declan
(EI6FR) at Dublin airport and driven to Jonesboro where
they operated /M from GI on HF.

Having completed a few CW contacts, Declan chauffeured
the two operators to Howth where they both operated
with an EI prefix using the radio equipment at EI0MAR
in the Vintage Radio Museum. Pat Herbert, the museum
curator, Tony (EI5EM) and Paul (EI5DI) were waiting to
greet the two DXFC operators and assisted them in their
operation. Having completed their QSOs, John and Roger
were driven by Declan back to the airport for their
return trip to the UK having successfully notched up a
further two DXFC entities on their score sheet.

DXFC website : www.dxfc.org Vintage Radio Museum’s
website : www.ei0mar.org


LoTW Reaches New Milestone: 200 Million QSOs

On January 16, Vic Kean Jr, K1LT, of Carroll, Ohio, uploaded four years' worth of logs -- about 25,000 QSOs -- to ARRL's Logbook of The World (LoTW). Somewhere in that batch, the LoTW counter crossed the 2 million mark. To celebrate Kean's submission of the 200 millionth QSO, the ARRL has awarded him lifetime free LoTW credits and free ARRL Awards as he qualifies for them.

"When I uploaded all of my contest logs since moving to my current location," Kean said, "I was really surprised at the number of the contacts that were immediately confirmed -- about 30 percent -- especially DXpeditions. I've been very laggard about responding to QSLs that I get. The last batch I did was by printing some card stock on a laser printer."

Kean, who mainly enjoys operating CW on 160 meters, said that he enjoys what he calls "success at contesting through technological superiority," as opposed to superior operating ability. "In other words," he said, "I work at improving my station with technology, and then test those improvements in a contest. I attempt to achieve awards by trying to get into one of the 'Top 10 boxes' in the contest results. Somewhere I have a Worked All States certificate from my youthful days. I worked about 160 countries but never got around to submitting any cards for DXCC." Kean said that he still intends to try and get at least one QSL card from every country.

"Even though we knew that Logbook of The World would explode in its popularity, 201 million QSOs in roughly the first five years of its existence show that LoTW's concept and ideas have worked beyond our expectations," said ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Department Manager Dave Patton, NN1N. "Vic's log contributes not only to the bottom line, but to the overall embrace of the technology and further bolsters our commitment to continue to improve and expand the system."

Kean said that he believes Amateur Radio will certainly continue to change as time goes on, "but I don't expect the hobby to ever completely go away. With cognitive radio coming, there is plenty of opportunity to experiment, even by just writing software. In the long run, I think the rules of spectrum allocation will change, but hopefully the change will benefit people in general, rather than corporations. If so, there will still be a role for communications experimenters. Man versus the ionosphere will still be interesting, no matter what the spectrum rules are."

When asked if he would encourage other hams to try Logbook of The World, Kean was enthusiastic: "If someone asked me about Logbook, I would tell them, 'Don't worry about it. Logbook of The World works, and it seems to be enjoying much greater popularity than you know.' At least, that's what I just found out!"



22 Jan 2009

DX News

EA5GVH will be on the air from Aruba as P40PZ from
January 12th to the 28th. He will operate 80 through
6 meters using SSB and the digital modes only. QSL
via EA5GVH.

G3NKC, G4XUM and MD0CCE will be active as MD4K from the
Isle of Mann during the CQ 160-Meter CW Contest, on
January 24-25.The trio will operate as a Multi-Op
entry. QSL via G3NKC and be sure to include sufficient
return postage with your QSL request.

Palestine update

The E44M Palestine operation is now QRT. you can either
QSL direct or via the bureau. An online log search is
available at:
http://www.hamradioweb.org/e44mlogsearch.html

PLEASE NOTE: The QSL Manager for BUREAU QSL CARDS is
SP3DOI. The QSL Manager for DIRECT QSL CARDS is IZ0BTV.
Also, BUREAU QSL CARDS can be requested via E-mail at:
QSLE44M /at/ gmail.com

Your request must be clear and complete with all the
details (your callsign, time, RST, date, mode...).
Please don't send them multiple E-mails for each QSOs,
only one (with all your QSOs listed) will be enough.
Any incomplete E-mails without these will be ignored.
BUREAU cards will be managed after the direct ones. For
updates, watch the following Web pages. The E44M Web
page at: http://www.dxcoffee.com/e44m





Falkland Islands YL operation

An international group of YLs will activate the
Falkland Islands (SA-002) between January 17-31st.
Each operator will be signing with the callsign
VP8YL*, where the third letter of the suffix will be
assigned to each YL operator at beginning of the
operation. YL operators mentioned at present include:
Janet VP8AIB, Chantal PA3GQG, Unni LA6RHA, Jeanie
WA6UVF, Mio JR3MVF, Liz M0ACL, Victoria SV2KBS*, Nicky
M5YLO and Ruth IT9ESZ.

The YL team will fly into the Falklands on January
17th. Together with Janet, VP8AIB, and other YLs from
Falkland will all activate VP8YL* for 14 days. All the
YLs coming from around the world will be getting their
VP8 callsign on Monday, January 19th.

During the first weekend they will operate as VP8YLC
which is the YL club's callsign on Falkland.



Radio Rallies


The Spring Radio Rally season gets under way shortly,
starting with the Coolmine Rally on Sunday 15th
February. The venue is the Coolmine Community School,
Clonsilla, Dublin 15, and doors open at 9.30 a.m.

Rallies during March include the Radio Hobbies and
Electronics Fair in the Limerick Radisson SAS Hotel on
Sunday 8th March, The Lagan Valley Amateur Radio
Society Rally in Hillsborough, Co. Down on Saturday
14th March and the Lough Erne Amateur Radio Club Rally
in Lisnaskea, Co. Fermanagh on Sunday 29th March.

The big event in April is the IRTS AGM Weekend, on
Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th April. This takes place
in the Shamrock Lodge Hotel, Athlone. Weekend events
include the IRTS Annual Dinner, a Radio Rally and the
IRTS Annual General Meeting.

More details of these events will be given in later
bulletins, and are also available on the IRTS web site
at www.irts.ie/rallies




Revised Bandplans now on RSGB site


The 2008 IARU Region 1 General Conference held in
Cavtat resulted in some changes to the bandplans which
are now available on the RSGB site. For further
Information regarding Bandplans see the following
website: www.rsgb.org/spectrumforum/bandplans/


Bermuda Anniversary Callsigns

2009 is the 400th anniversary of the settlement of
Bermuda by Sir George Somers. Most local organisations
are having an event of some kind during the year. The
Radio Society of Bermuda has been issued with a special
call sign that can be used all year, it is VP9400/xx.

The xx suffix is the operator's call sign, i.e.
VP9400/LP. There are a few novice licence holders who
have a 3 digit suffix, i.e. VP9400/NMT.Special
pictorial postcards will be used to QSL.





New threat to Amateur Satellite operations on 24 GHz

There is potentially a new threat to Amateur and Amateur Satellite operations in the 24 GHz band.

The European Commission is undertaking this public Call for Input to collect views of interested stakeholders in order to prepare the fundamental review of EC Decision 2005/50/EC of 17 January 2005 on the harmonisation of the 24 GHz range radio spectrum band for the time-limited use by automotive short-range radar equipment in the Community.

The use of this band for automotive (car) Short Range Radars (SSR) was for a strictly limited period with the intention that they would be replaced by the use of more appropriate frequencies in 79 GHz band which had been identified by CEPT as the most suitable band for long term development and deployment of automotive short-range radar.

This review could provide an opportunity for commercial interests to extend, possibly indefinately, the inappropriate use of 24 GHz for SRR applications.

The closing date for comments is 2 February 2008. Comments are to be sent to the Radio Spectrum Committee Secretariat email: infso-rsc@ec.europa.eu

Radio Spectrum Policy
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/
radio_spectrum/index_en.htm

Call to stakeholders for input in the fundemental review of Commission decision 2005/050/EC
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/radio_
spectrum/docs/ref_docs/srr_call_for_input_02feb09.pdf

European Commission Decision 2005/50/EC
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?
uri=OJ:L:2005:021:0015:0020:EN:PDF

Ofcom statement on 24 GHz Automotive Radar
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/february2008/
ofcom_24ghz_automobile_radar.htm

Ofcom Wireless Telegraphy Licence Exemption - Automotive Short Range Radar
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/srr/

Joint response from the Radio Society of Great Britain, UK Microwave Group, Amsat-UK to Ofcom 2007 SRR Consultation
http://www.microwavers.org/papers/
Dec-2007-Joint-24GHz-SRR-reply.pdf




New date for Amateur Satellite Launch

Masa JN1GKZ reports on the AMSAT Bulletin Board that the new launch date for five new Amateur radio satellites is Friday, January 23rd between 0354-0416z

Links providing details of the new satellites can be found at
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/january2009/
five_new_cubesats.htm

AMSAT Bulletin Board AMSAT-BB
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/maillist/

IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination pages
http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/
finished_detail.asp?serial=115

AMSAT-UK produce a quarterly newsletter OSCAR News full of satellite information. Join online at https://secure.amsat.org.uk/subscription/

AMSAT-UK website
http://www.uk.amsat.org/


12 Jan 2009

UPDATE


DX News

HB9CRV has announced that as of December 31st, 2008, he
is no longer the QSL manager of CT3BX. No new QSL
Manager has been found and the logs are closed.

EA5GVH will be on the air from Aruba as P40PZ from
January 12th to the 28th. He will operate 80 through
6 meters using SSB and the digital modes only. QSL
via EA5GVH.

G3NKC, G4XUM and MD0CCE will be active as MD4K from the
Isle of Mann during the CQ 160-Meter CW Contest, on
January 24-25.The trio will operate as a Multi-Op
entry. QSL via G3NKC and be sure to include sufficient
return postage with your QSL request.



Radio Rallies


15th February 2009 Coolmine Radio Rally,

The Coolmine Radio Rally, run by the Phoenix Radio Club
will be held in the Coolmine Community School,
Clonsilla Dublin 15 on Sunday 15th February 2009. Doors
open 9.30 am for table bookings and information please
contact Tony 087-2439997 or Tom 01-8211043 See map on
www.coolminecs.ie/locationmap.php



Launch Alert for Seven Small Satellites on January 21

Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL sent a Cubesat launch alert for seven amateur
radio satellites planned as secondary payloads when Japan launches
its GOSAT IBUKI satellite on January 21, 2009 at 03.54 UTC.

GOSAT - Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite is an environmental
monitoring satellite which will be launched from Japan's Tanegashima
Space Center aboard the H-IIA F15 booster.

Information about the primary mission can be found on-line at:
http://www.jaxa.jp/countdown/f15/overview/ibuki_e.html
http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/gosat/index_e.html

Information about the launch vehicle can be found on-line at:
http://www.jaxa.jp/countdown/f15/overview/h2a_e.html

The small satellite palyload will consist of:

Satellite Downlink Beacon Mode Callsign
--------- ----------- ----------- -------- --------------
KAGAYAKI 437.375 437.375 FSK9k6/CW
STARS 437.485/465 437.305/275 FM/CW JR5YBN/JR5YBO
KKS-1 437.445 437.385 AFSK/CW JQ1YYY
PRISM 437.425 437.250 AFSK/GMSK/CW JQ1YCX
SOHLA-1 437.505 437.505 AFSK/CW
SPRITE Scientific observation satellite
SDS-1 Small demonstration satellite

(Ed. note - this table and all links can also be found on the
main AMSAT web page http://www.amsat.org - see the bottom story.)

Masa, JN1GKZ reported that the small satellites are technically not
CubeSats since they are larger in size and each platform is a unique
design. He provided the following links to provide more information
about each satellite.

Kagayaki 31x31x35cm, 28kg
http://www.sorun.co.jp/kagayaki/top.html (sorry, Japanese only)

STARS - Space Tethered Autonomous Robotic Satellite
KU (Mother Satellite) 16x16x25cm
KAI (Daughter Satellite) 16x16x15cm
http://stars1.eng.kagawa-u.ac.jp/english/index.html

KKS-1 Kouku-Kousen-Satellite-1 15x15x15cm, 3kg
http://www.kouku-k.ac.jp/~kks-1 (sorry, Japanese only)

PRISM Pico-satellite for Remote-sensing and Innovative Space Missions
20x20x40cm, 8kg
http://www.space.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/prism/main-e.html

SOHLA-1
http://www.sohla.com/docs/index.php

They will be launched into a sun synchronous orbit to an altitude of
660km with an inclination of 98.1 degrees. The orbital period is
estimated to be 98 minutes.

[Thanks to Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL and Masa, JN1GKZ for the
above information]



VE3NPC and G3VZV Complete Transatlantic AO-51 Mode V/S Contact

Clare, VE3NPC and Graham, G3VZV completed a transatlantic contact
via AO-51 running an uplink of 145.880 MHz FM and downlink of
2401.200 MHz FM at 10:11 UTC on January 9, 2009. Clare reported
the elevation at 5 degrees and a range of 2700 km. The two stations
completed a short QSO with clear signals.

Clare says his equipment consists of a 52 turn helix with reflector
cup into a DEM preamp and downconverter into SatPC32 controlled
FT-736 for 13cm receiving on 2401.200 MHz. He used an FT-847 with
2 watts into 2 x 6 el quagis for 2m for his uplink. Complete infor-
mation on the 52 turn helix was published in the September/October
2008 AMSAT Journal.

At the other end of the contact Graham, G3VZV says he was operating
with an IC910 barefoot. The antennas included WIMO circular polarised
VHF (10 dBd) and UHF (12 dBd) crossed quad antennas and the famous
G3RUH 600mm/2 foot dish and patchfeed with a Kuhne DB6NT preamp at the
feed left over from AO40 operating. The antennas are all at about 40
feet. The satellite reached around 3 degrees elevation. Graham
says he did all doppler tuning correction by hand.

In other AO-51 news, AMSAT-NA VP Operations, Drew KO4MA provided
updates to the AO-51 Operating Mode Schedule to better support a
hamfest operation, and a DXpedition to Namibia.

January 12 - January 18

FM Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM
Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM

FM Repeater, L/U
Uplink: 1268.700 MHz FM
Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM

January 19 - January 25

FM Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM
Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM

9k6 BBS, L/U
Uplink: 1268.700 MHz 9k6 FM
Downlink: 435.150 MHz 9k6 FM

January 26 - February 1

FM Repeater, L/S
Uplink: 1268.700 MHz FM
Downlink: 2401.200 MHz FM

SSTV Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.860 MHz FM SSTV
Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM SSTV

The full AO-51 schedule and Command Team News can be found on-line
at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/ControlTeam.php. The AMSAT
main web page will also provide a quick status update when the infor-
mation changes. Operating mode requests can be sent via e-mail to
ao51-modes@amsat.org .

[Thanks to Drew, KO4MA, and congratulatulations to Clare, VE3NPC, and Graham, G3VZV for the above information]



Costa Rican Emergency Frequencies


On Thursday, January 8 at 1921z, an earthquake
measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale struck the Central
American country of Costa Rica. The earthquake, with
an epicentre located about 22 miles northeast of San
Jose. This Earthquake comes after a series of almost
60 seismic events that have rocked the country since
early this week

The Radio Club de Costa Rica (RCCR) -- that country's
IARU Member-Society -- is monitoring local repeaters
and 7090 kHz.

IARU Region 2 Emergency Communications Coordinator
Cesar Pio Santos,HR2P, requests that 7090 kHz be kept
clear of non-essential traffic due to possible
emergency communications dealing with the earthquake.
The ARRL encourages all amateurs to be aware of the
emergency operations on this frequency.


FREE Contest Log Mapping Tool

Some exciting news about EI8IC's unique Contest Log Mapping Tool - its now completely FREE to use, and its just been updated with the results of 35 new contests.

Working from an online database of about 970,000 W/VE callsigns past and present, LogView plots the QSOs in a Cabrillo-format contest-log on to one of 8 different maps of North America.

Essentially a post-contest log-visualisation tool for analysing contest performance, LogView is also useful in defining gaps in your antenna coverage, by comparing the positions of entrants to the contest against those entrants actually contacted.

You can step through the log manually, or animate the contest at a range of speeds and watch QSOs build up in the order that you made them. Each spot can be annotated with a callsign-label, and you can keep a running check of Multipliers worked, position - distance - bearing information for each QSO, and a variety of other information, whilst choosing which bands are currently displayed.

All the maps you create can be saved for offline viewing and detailed future analysis - full details on the website.

The following contests are supported by LogView: ARRL-10 ARRL-160 ARRL-DX-CW ARRL-DX-SSB ARRL-RTTY ARRL-SS-CW ARRL-SS-SSB ARRL-VHF-JAN ARRL-VHF-JUN ARRL-VHF-SEP ARRL-UHF-AUG CQ-160-CW CQ-160-SSB CQ-WPX-CW CQ-WPX-RTTY CQ-WPX-SSB CQ-VHF CQ-WW-CW CQ-WW-RTTY CQ-WW-SSB IARU-HF NAQP-CW NAQP-RTTY NAQP-SSB RSGB-IOTA STEW-PERRY TARA-RTTY

LogView also has a separate, dedicated Results-Viewer, that lets you create a map of the published contest results for any one of over 120 different contests, and compare them to the results of other contests in the database.

To start using LogView on your own contest logs, visit:
http://www.mapability.com/ei8ic/logview

Thanks Tim EI8IC for the above information.



BLACKMAIL ON CQ WW CONTEST COMITTEE

Some hams are labling the operation of HK3RA by Russian amateur Dimirti Kryukov RA3CO
as a hijacking, or the unauthorized use of a callsign not assigned to the operator. In his defense, Dimitri
claims that he was lent the callsign by its actual owner, Wolfgang Torres, who is reportedly not
a contester. Regardless, Colombian law does not permit amateurs to lend their callsign to another person.

A group of Colombian hams, led by Juan Camilo Rodriguez, HK3CQ, have filed a formal complaint
to CQ WW CC .

Further complicating the matter are the actions of another Colombian station, HK1AR, a.k.a. Tony
Rogozinski (W4OI), who permitted Kryukov and others to rent his QTH and operate his station in
the 2007 CQ WW Contest. Also named in the complaint is Girts Budis, YL2KL as an HK1AR callsign "user".


The bottom line is that a group of Colombian operators are asking that the prohibition against
"callsign lending" be strictly enforced in their country and that RA3CO and YL2KL be prohibited from
conducting further operations in Colombia and to be DQed .

For more details see these links:

http://contesting.at-communication.c...l_k3est_hk3ra/


Namibian VHF DXpedition logs 89 EME contacts on first night



The DXpedition is operating with the call of V5/KT6Q and the first contact was made in the early evening on 8 January at around 18:15 local time by the KT6Q license holder Dan, HB9CRQ, with his large EME station back home, HB9Q.

Operation continued through the night until 4 in the morning when the moon finally sank into the Atlantic.

When the activities of the day were totaled there were 89 contacts in the log which included Glenn, ZS2GK, near Umtata. With no access to previous statistics this is a remarkable feat of EME operation from a relatively small portable station. Although most stations contacted were in Europe and Asiatic Russia, they were scattered among 27 DXCC entities which also included Japan, Canada and the U.S.A.

The Diaz Point location can only be described as perfect but not everything was a great start. The first priority was the 144 MHz station and the four Yagi antenna array mounted on the trailer. At the same time the 144 MHz station was being assembled and tested but when the time came for a "Smoke Test" they got just that, smoke, as the weary FT-736R of ZS6WB produced clouds of it.

After a bit of equipment chopping and changing the IC-910, that had been destined for 432 MHz, was pressed into service and the 144 MHz station was ready to be put into operation just after moonrise, late Thursday afternoon.

Them team was assured that reliable power was available at Diaz Point but this turned out to be completely untrue and it was necessary to rent a generator capable of handling their power requirements. This of course has added an additional burden to the budget that is already stretched well past the breaking point.

Visit www.sarl.org.za for the full story.



4m Band News - Denmark Increase Allocation.

Bo,OZ2M reports

As of 1 January 2009 Danish radio amateurs can also use the 70,225 MHz channel, i.e. the segment 70,2125-70,2375 MHz. This also means that two smaller segments are now joined into one segment 100 kHz wide.

For more details see the Danish bandplan: www.70mhz.org/bandplan_oz.htm

7 Jan 2009

UPDATE


80 metres Counties Contest

The IRTS 80 metres Counties Contest, held on New Year'sDay, was well supported this year. Based on theexchanges heard on air, the scores this year areexpected to be higher than in previous years. Itremains to be seen whether all 32 EI and GI countieswere represented, but initial reports suggest thatstations from every county were indeed active.
Band conditions were as good as could be expected on 80metres - with noise levels rising from time to time,but reasonably good propagation nevertheless.
Contest participants should submit their logs as soonas possible to the Contest Manager at QTHR, or betterstill by email to contestmanager /at/ irts.ie



ENGINEERED...A WEEK OF WONDER!

Engineers Ireland will host a ''week of wonder'' forPrimary and Post Primary students in February 2009.IRTS in collaboration with Engineers Ireland will run anumber of workshops at Engineers Ireland's Dublinheadquarters. These will consist of a two-hour, handson, programme which will act as in introduction tocommunications and radio technology.
The Society also intends to package the programme sothat clubs around the country will be able to runsimilar workshops. We have already approached a numberof clubs and they have indicated their willingness toparticipate by running one or more workshops in theirarea. Engineers Ireland will provide clubs with localpartners such as technical schools or libraries who areanxious to participate.
The Society would urge clubs to commit to becominginvolved as soon as possible. There are obviousbenefits for all involved. With the programme packsprovided by the Society, clubs would need three or fourpersonnel to run the workshop. If your club or groupare interested in helping out, contact Paul EI2CA on087 2523908 or by email to paul /at/ comma.ie



New VHF Packet and Winlink Node

There is a new VHF Packet and Winlink Node currentlyunder test in Waterford, more details can be had bycontacting either EI7IG or EI8JA


Special Event Station

Terry, GM3WUX, will be QRV as GB2HLB from Dec 26until Jan 22.
This is to remember Louis Braille who was born 200years ago on Jan 4, 1809. Braille invented the embossedprinting used by the blind.
Each QSO will be remembered with a special QSL card.
Check-out the following weblink:
http://www.justgiving.com/louisbraille


New Canadian Prefix’s

From January 1st until February 28th 2009 you may behearing new Callsigns from Canadian Amateur Radiooperators.
The prefix Commemorates Galileo's first use of anoptical telescope and the subsequent discoveries hemade in his lifetime. It also is the inaugural,International Year of Astronomy a global effortinitiated by the International Astronomical Union andUNESCO to help the citizens of the world rediscovertheir place in the Universe through the day - andnight-time sky, and thereby engage a personal sense ofwonder and discovery..
The Prefix you may hear are:
CG for VE's CF for VA's CH for VO's CI for VY's
For more information on this project you might like tovisit
http://www.hamiya2009.info/


Escape2Adventure 9-14 January 2009

The 14th Australian Venture, 'Escape', will take placein January and Amateur Radio will be a part of it.
It is a major National youth event of the Venturersection (14-18 years old) of Scouts Australia.Venturers and Guides from all over Australia and aroundthe world will be taking part.
The Amateur Radio Shack will be on-air from Friday 9thJanuary until Wednesday 14th January 2009 using thecallsign VK6SAA
Operation will be on HF will be on or near the ScoutCalling Frequencies: Sked can be arranged via email:vk6scouts@westnet.com.au



Orlando HamCation 2009

Orlando Amateur Radio Club organizes the 63rd HamCationsm Amateur Radio and Computer Show in Orlando, FloridaThe theme for the 2009 Orlando HamCationsm: ‘Amateur Radio – Always a challenge’The Central Florida Fairgrounds is the center of activities February 13, 14 and 15 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) 2009, for people interested in Amateur Radio and electronics. Admission is $10.00. Organized by theOrlando Amateur Radio Club. Site: Central Florida Fairgrounds, 4603 West Colonial Drive (SR-50), Orlando, Florida 32808. Driving directions: I-4 Westbound Exit 83C, I-4 Eastbound Exit 83B. Go to SR 50 (West Colonial Drive). RV $22 per night, no reserved spots. General parking free. FCC license Exams administered Saturday, pre-registered only.Talk-In amateur radio frequencies: Repeaters 146.760 (-600) no tone, back-up 147.015 (+600) 103.5 tone.

Information: www.hamcation.com, email: hamcation@oarc.orgMort & Roberta Cohen, hamcation@aol.com, (407) 814-0434Orlando HamCation(sm) P.O. Box 547811, Orlando FL 32485-7811.


Sable Island DXpedition postponed

Sable Island DXpedition postponed reluctantly, due to the current US economic situation, the DXpedition team has decided to postpone the CY0 DXpedition planned for 2009.
The team are hopeful to reorganize the DXpedition (possibly for 2010), The sabledx.com website will remain functional for the time being.


WebSDR on six bands

WebSDR on six bandsFor a limited period the popular web-based HF radio receiver WebSDR has been replaced by a more advanced one that covers 6 bands totaling 1.2 MHz of bandwidth.Run by the University of Twente's amateur radio club in the Netherlands, the system allows users to tune across several Amateur bands.What makes this system different from other web-based receivers is, that thanks to the use of Software-Defined Radio technology, this receiver can be tuned by multiple users simultaneously.
To use the HF radio receiver go tohttp://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/


Rallies
15th February 2009 Coolmine Radio Rally,
The Coolmine Radio Rally, run by the Phoenix Radio Clubwill be held in the Coolmine Community School,Clonsilla Dublin 15 on Sunday 15th February 2009. Doorsopen 9.30 am for table bookings and information pleasecontact Tony 087-2439997 or Tom 01-8211043 See map on
www.coolminecs.ie/locationmap.php


Happy New Year From EI5IX
I would like to wish everyone a Happy and Peaceful 2009.