Three US government weather-watching satellites have been scheduled to formally enter the end-of-life stage on June 16th by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA has announced that the satellites - 15, 18 and 19 - which are part of the Polar Operational Environmental Satellites, or POES system, will no longer be updated or repaired.
As quoted in the blog USradioguy.com, NOAA said that this means signals will continue to be transmitted but should not be used by anyone for purposes involving safety or other critical matters. Hobbyists will still be able to download weather satellite imagery either via Automatic Picture Transmission on 137 MHz with a V-dipole antenna or via High Resolution Picture Transmission on 1.7 GHz with a tracking dish antenna.
Like the other POES satellites, this trio had provided data that was used in monitoring the environment, forest fires, volcanic eruptions and global vegetation.
WEATHER-BALLOON WASTE CHALLENGES AUSTRALIAN COAST
Remnants of latex rubber weather balloons and foam boxes with scientific instruments washed up recently on the southwest coast of Victoria, where they were discovered by beach patrol crews. According to local media, the half-dozen or so balloons were carrying a radiosonde to measure temperatures, wind speed, wind direction and relative humidity. The balloons had been launched from Tasmania for a research project hosted by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and the US Department of Energy. The launch site on the northwest tip of Tasmania is considered the location of the planet's purest air, making it a preferred spot for scientists' climate studies.
Heath Powers, the project's operations manager, said in an Australian Broadcasting Corporation report that scientists are testing more eco-friendly ways to conduct these studies without creating such an impact on marine life.
FCC TO PUSH FOR US-BASED TESTING OF SOME IMPORTED ELECTRONICS
The FCC plans to tighten its requirements for the testing of electronic devices manufactured in countries such as China before they can be sold to US consumers. The commission will review an order this month that bans device-testing conducted by labs that are [quote] “owned, controlled or directed by entities that pose national security risks,” according to a statement by FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr. He identified China as one example of such a country,
He said it was important that US-based labs begin taking on the responsibility to certify such equipment. According to Carr’s statement, Chinese labs test about three-quarters of all electronics sold in the US.
The commission will consider the new order at its open meeting on May 22nd.
THIS ANTENNA'S ELEMENTS HAVE AN ELEMENT OF HISTORY
There are just 14 remaining elements from the original 32-element Alford Antenna that once worked its magic atop New York City’s Empire State building. When the antenna was decommissioned in 2019, some of the elements were offered - free for the taking - to interested parties. Now, however, the remaining elements are being put back to work for a cause. The Society of Broadcast Engineer’s NYC chapter is auctioning them off to raise money for the general scholarship fund of the society’s Ennes Educational Foundation Trust.
This is not your average vertical antenna. It is, in a way, the King Kong of antennas even though the Alford didn’t yet exist when the famous giant gorilla romanced the terrified actress Fay Wray in the classic 1933 film. This became the first master antenna system in the US when it was installed in 1965. At one time, as many as 16 FM stations used it, earning it the distinction of being the world’s largest combined FM station system. The antenna was relegated to auxiliary status in 1990 and by 2017, it was no longer needed.
Bidding, which ended on April 30th, started at $300 per element. It remains to be seen whether, like King Kong, those bids ascended to impressive heights. Winners will be asked to take delivery in New Jersey - at ground-floor level.
BBC RECHARTING COURSE BEFORE CHARTER EXPIRATION
With its charter set to expire in 2027, the BBC is using this year and next to examine its relationship with audiences across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. BBC account holders have begun receiving questionnaires to complete online to let the broadcaster know how they see its future. Tim Davie, BBC director general, said that the questionnaire, which takes about 10 minutes to complete, is the first of the BBC's two-part research process, to include later audience polling, and the results will contribute towards the BBC's Charter Review process.
The BBC says in its written introduction to the questionnaire: [quote] “The BBC belongs to all of us. That’s why it matters that we understand what you want the BBC to offer you and your family, and the UK overall." [endquote]
It is planned to publish the findings from the questionnaire later this year.
THREE BANDS OK'D FOR ITALIAN AMATEUR EXPERIMENTATION
Hams in Italy have been granted permission for experimental activity on three radio bands for the remainder of the year. The Italian regulator ARI made the announcement on the 18th of April that it was giving an eight-month extension to the previous period which ran from late August 2024 until the end of this past December.
Italian amateurs may operate with a maximum of 10 watts on 40.660 MHz to 40.700 MHz, 8 metres, the same range used for industrial, scientific and medical purposes. This permission coincides with the peak of the Sporadic E season.
Similar use was also granted for 70 to 70.400 MHz, 4 metres, and 1.810 to 1.830 MHz. The 8m band is expected to be the busiest of the three.
SILENT KEY: CHARLES KITCHIN, N1TEV, WRITER, "GURU" OF THE RE-GEN RECEIVER
Charles Kitchin, N1TEV, was a tinkerer and builder from an early age, when his enthusiasm for radio often split his attention between shortwave and amateur radio. A widely published author of technical articles and books, he earned the nickname among readers and followers as the “guru” of Re-Gen radios.
Charles became a Silent Key on March 17th. No cause of death was listed in his online obituary.
As with many hams, Charles combined his passion with his profession. After being discharged from the US Air Force he worked as a radio engineer at a classical music radio station WCRB and would also serve as recording engineer for the live broadcasts of the Boston Sympathy Orchestra at Tanglewood in Massachusetts and for other music ensembles. He later became a hardware applications engineer at Analog Devices Semiconductor Division in Massachusetts.
He was perhaps most widely known as the popular and prolific contributor to QST magazine and other publications sharing designs of his own creation.
Charles was 77.
TURNING 100, BELL LABS PREPS FOR RELOCATION
As it turns 100, Nokia Bell Labs is turning elsewhere to continue its important research in the field of technology and science The company announced that within the next two years it will relocate to a smaller but more modern facility in New Brunswick, New Jersey and out of the labs' longtime home in Murray Hill, New Jersey.
Over the years, Bell's scientists have been credited with developing the transistor, making advances in radio astronomy and being in the vanguard to usher in the digital age. The company has been the recipient of numerous Turing Awards and Nobel prizes. Its core business continues to be mobile and optical networks and network-system support. One of its most recent innovations was the development of circuit boards printed on glass. These are for use in beam-steering antennas to get less signal loss in point-to-point fixed wireless. This is considered an important development as wireless communications moves increasingly toward 6G.
FCC SAYS FLORIDA LPFM STATION EXCEEDED LEGAL LIMITS
Florida low-power FM station WZPP has been charged with boosting its licensed 100-watt signal on 96.1 FM to as high as 1,022 watts. According to an FCC notice of violation made public in late April, the station, known as the "Voice of the Caribbean," was operating at 811 percent of its authorized power when field agents from the enforcement bureau measured its signal strength in May of 2024. The station has been on the air since 2014 featuring sports, news, music and commentary that serves the Caribbean-American community.
The noncommercial station, which is operated by the Broward Jewish Alliance, has been told to respond to the FCC within 20 days of the notice's release date.
AMATEUR LEADS GROUP BEHIND NEW LPFM RADIO STATION
If you want to hear a limited sampling of what will soon be broadcast on Colorado's newest low-power FM radio station, you can tune in online for now. In early April, the FCC gave a green light to the Colorado Society of Wireless and Broadcast Engineering, a collective that described itself to the FCC as local university students, amateur radio operators and engineers. The group has proposed a 100-watt station on 107.1-FM. The website that previews some of the programming belongs to the society's founder, Vlad Fomitchev, KX4TH.
The station's December 2023 application was approved by the FCC after rejecting claims from the license-holder of a nearby translator station that the minimum separation distance between the translator and the proposed low-power FM station was not met.
According to a report on the Radio World website, the low-power station is designed to benefit its participants as well as its listeners by providing training in audio, computer, electrical and mechanical engineering. The group has also said that it hopes to present community programming, collaborative programming from the nearby university and will experiment with open-source digital HD Radio.
If you want to hear a preview of what will eventually be on the air, visit the link in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org
BRAZIL'S HAMS GAIN CB PRIVILEGES, LOSE CW REQUIREMENT
The Brazilian regulator will no longer require Morse Code for amateur licences under changes that have been under consideration since 2020. The regulator will update content in its exams for its three licence classes. This is one of several changes contained in a resolution released on April 28th by ANATEL. The resolution also grants hams the ability to operate on Citizens Band 11-metre frequencies. They must identify with their callsigns and are limited to 10 watts of power in AM and 25 watts of power in SSB. They must also stay within authorized channels.
The regulator expects to move ahead with these changes after a six-month period in which supplementary regulations will also be issued.
HIGH-FLYING ANTENNA TO HELP STUDY WORLD'S FORESTS
The Biomass probe that has been put into space by ESA is looking to log trees - but it's not the kind of logging commonly associated with forests. During the next five years, this antenna will be using P-band radar transmissions to collect data on how much carbon is stored in trees on a number of continents -- and thus gauge climate change as a result of deforestation According to a report by the BBC, this kind of satellite, with an antenna that is 12m in diameter, is he first of its kind for such a mission. The band's relatively long wavelength is an asset because it permits the signals to see deeply inside forests in a manner scientists have compared to how a CT-scan operates..
The idea was proposed by the National Centre for Earth Observation whose director, John Remedios, told the BBC that the goal is to [quote] "interrogate these forests." [endquote]
HAMS GO TO BAT FOR VANISHING BATS
Tricolored bats are tiny -- but the transmitters they are wearing so conservationists can track them, are even smaller.
Ashley Meyer from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is tracking the bats because of the appearance of an invasive fungal disease known as White Nose Syndrome. White Nose Syndrome has caused the bats' population to decline by 98 percent, making them candidates for the endangered species listing.
That's why some hams in the Adirondack Mountains are going to bat - for the bats. The state sent out a request to ham clubs asking for help in tracking the bats' signals being transmitted in 1 kHz steps between 150 and 151 MHz. Ashley said the Champlain Valley Amateur Radio Club responded. Club president Mark KD2RJP said that a dozen or so hams will be participating. Their job, according to Ashley, is to track where the bats spend the summer and record the distance they migrate.
Ashley said the bat tracking squad will also include agency staffers and bat specialists using ground telemetry. Ashley herself will be tracking bats from a plane during the night of the bats' release.
Everyone is motivated and excited but remember - since the bats aren't transmitting on the amateur frequencies, don't expect any QSL cards.
ASTRONAUT ANNOUNCES FRAM2HAM SSTV CONTEST WINNERS
The Fram2Ham SSTV competition was all about the successful reception of a number of different SSTV images that astronauts sent from the SpaceX capsule in early April during the Fram2 mission. The transmissions were sent over 2-metres, puzzle-style, by astronaut Rabea Rogge, LB9NJ/KD3AID as the 3-day mission undertook the first human spaceflight to orbit the planet over the North and South poles. When pieced together, the images formed a complete picture.
First-place winner was the Team ARISStocats with students in Lithuania, Italy, Switzerland and here in the US, California and Pennsylvania. Second place was awarded to Team W1HLO-LA1K!, comprising students in Norway, Germany and, here in the US, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Finally, third-place winner was the team known as GuufyFram! ["GOOFY FRAM"] with students from France, Greece and, here in the US, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and New York.
The astronaut said, in a statement: [quote] "Well done everyone – we loved to see that all the teams were very international. My hope is that some friendships have formed, the passion for technology has been kindled and that most of all everyone had fun." [endquote]
SOUTH AFRICAN HAMS FOSTER RADIO'S GROWTH IN SUB-SAHARA
With age comes wisdom - or so it's said - so as it prepares to mark its centenary in May, the South African Radio League has decided that it would be an especially wise move to nurture amateur radio's growth throughout sub-Saharan Africa. SARL president Nico van Rensburg, ZS6QL, told the website TechCentral that amateur radio is almost nonexistent outside of Egypt and Nigeria in the northern part of the continent and Namibia and South Africa in the south.
He said [quote] : "You have this middle part of Africa where there is nothing, absolutely nothing.” [endquote]
Finding a foothold for amateur radio in less-developed parts of the continent will be an ambitious agenda and SARL acknowledges that this kind of expansion will need political and financial support. SARL's Chris Turner ZS6GM, who has been active in amateur radio instruction and mentoring, has already had success with efforts in Mozambique. In that nation, ham radio operators are seen as an asset, especially when floods or other natural disasters require emergency communications.
SARL has already kicked off its next 100 years with a Centenary Marathon QSO Party that began on the 1st of January and will continue through to the 31st of December. Special event callsigns will include ZS100SARL.
HAMS GO WITH THE FLOW FOR "CANOE CHALLENGE" FUNDRAISER
The Northbrook Canoe Challenge taking place on May 3rd on Pennsylvania’s Brandywine River is actually three challenges in one. The first challenge is to help support the Cerebral Palsy Association of Chester County. The second is for the boaters to enjoy navigating the at-times challenging 9.5 miles of waterway, taking special care around a dam that they encounter midway through the course.
The third challenge is the one that will be facing amateur radio operators from the Chester County ARES/RACES group - to help ensure everyone's safety. The hams have provided communications for this charitable event for 23 of its 47 years. Like oars guiding the canoes through the challenging waters, the radio operators are guided by a net control station as they check in with real-time reports throughout the two-hour challenge using a system of four linked UHF repeaters with simplex backup.
While the hams pass traffic from the shore, the Chester County Dive Team keeps closer watch from the water itself. Jim Harris, WA3NOA, the hams’ technical lead and coordinator, is in touch with the head of the dive team, who communicates with him and the divers using the county’s extra rugged handheld P25 radios.
Jim told Newsline that it's not over until the final canoe - piloted by someone from the canoe company itself - comes by. Then everyone can be certain that no one has been left behind. He said that canoeing is popular in the county -- and on May 3rd, canoeing to raise funds is certain to keep the local Cerebral Palsy Association buoyant too.
HAM RADIO FRIEDRICHSHAFEN SELECTS "REMOTE" THEME
The weekend of June 27th will be devoted to the usual in-person contacts between old friends, with plenty of workshops, seminars and new-product displays in the mix of activities. The motto for this year's exhibition in Germany, however, is all about NOT being there. The theme of "Remote Radio - Connecting the World" focuses on how radio operators are no longer required to be in the same place as their equipment in order to transmit successfully. This kind of remote operation has already been demonstrated in a number of high-profile DXpeditions using the Radio-in-a-Box. These stations are controlled remotely over the Internet, opening up more opportunities for those who wish to experiment and allowing DXpeditions to take place in environmentally sensitive areas where human presence is forbidden or restricted.
Last year's event attracted more than 11,300 attendees from 58 nations. For full details about the programme and accommodation for Europe's largest ham radio trade fair, see the link in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org
REGISTRATION OPENS FOR HAM RADIO BOOTCAMP
On the 10th of May, the Nashua Area Radio Society is hosting its free Ham Bootcamp on the Zoom platform from 10 am to 6 pm Eastern Time. Demonstrations and tutorials will cover emergency communications, satellite operations, FT 8 and equipment for VHF/UHF operating.
Hams will also learn how to build a station so they can get on the air. In fact, one of the main purposes of the bootcamp is to help hams overcome many of the most common obstacles that keep them off the air - everything from how to select the right HT to participating in foxhunting or contesting.
For more details, visit the link in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org
WRTC BIDDING DEADLINE FOR SPONSORED TEAMS IS APRIL 30TH
If you're interested in competing in the World Radiosport Team Championship in the UK in 2026, you have until the 30th of April to submit your sealed bid in US currency. Two sponsored team positions are available. The two highest bidders will be selected for WRTC2026 after an auction of two rounds. The minimum bid is 20,000 US dollars.
Sponsored teams have participated in previous WRTC events and differ from qualifying teams in that they purchase their place in the competition.WRTC organisers consider this arrangement provides a valuable contribution to the event's budget. All teams are bound by the same operational rules.
Bidders will be notified by the 6th of May as to their standing in the first round and will become eligible to submit their final bid no later than the 31st of May.
For more details about the process, see the link in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org
PANCREATIC CANCER SPECIAL EVENT HONORS ITS FOUNDER'S MEMORY
This is the first year that special event station N3P is going on the air without Rich Ryba [pron: REE-BAH] WQ3Q. Rich conceived of the event three years ago to call attention to the work of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, or PanCAN, an organization that serves patients and families of patients suffering from pancreatic cancer.
Rich had lost his younger brother, Tom, to the disease years earlier and became a Silent Key from it himself last year. Bill Samek, W3BUW, said that he knew it was time for the Skyview Amateur Radio Society, the club Rich had belonged to, to fulfill the mission for him this year. Operators are putting N3P on the air on 25th, 26th and 27th of April, coordinated as always to the Purple Stride Walk benefit that takes place on Saturday, April 26th in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - one of several such walk-a-thons around the nation.
Yes, there will be QSL cards but these are not typical QSOs. As Rich himself told Newsline in an interview in 2023: [quote] “People want to talk, want to share their experiences with their family. We told our operators to sit and listen. It doesn't matter how long the contact takes if it serves a purpose of helping." [Endquote]
