MAN ARRESTED AFTER EMERGENCY-CHANNEL INTERFERENCE

Police in central New York State have arrested a man and charged him with interfering with emergency radio channels by transmitting false statements over equipment he was unauthorized to use,

Local media reports said police stopped Chad Potter of Sherburne, New York, on the 31st of March while he was driving in a vehicle equipped with a number of radios tuned to frequencies where, according to police, he has been disrupting emergency services.

A report on WBNG/News 12 said that an investigation into the reported radio interference dates back to 2021. Police said that fire, EMS and law-enforcement operations were disrupted several times by his messages. The WBNG news report described one transmission as [quote[ "shots fired, shots fired" [endquote] - which reportedly caused concern and confusion among first-responders and the public.

On the day Potter was arrested on the radio-related charges, city police had pulled him over in relation to a traffic stop. Investigators said his vehicle was equipped with aftermarket lighting that made it look like he was an emergency-responder. Police issued citation to him for the lighting.

GRATITUDE ON THE AGENDA AT KENTUCKY CLUB'S MEETING

Communicating under difficult circumstances is a big part of what the Amateur Radio Community Services, KY4ARC, is all about. Earlier this month, the hams were recognized for their readiness in the January winter storm by Paintsville/Johnson County emergency management director Paul Burchett.

In a presentation of certificates at the club's monthly meeting, Burchett said that club president, John Hager, N4KJU, and others provided relays of critical information to other emergency managers at important times throughout the storm.

He told members of the club that [quote] "we greatly appreciate everything you all do and everything you do for us." [endquote]

With the storm now simply a chapter in history, club members are still ensuring the lines of communication stay open. Rain, shine, or whatever the weather they continue to check in with one another every night at 10 P.M. local time.

HAWAII'S RACES HAMS ACTIVATE FOR THIRD "KONA LOW" STORM

With memories still fresh from historic storm-related flooding in March, hams in Hawaii were back on the air early this month after the same kind of storm, known as a “kona low” struck the region.

The activation, which began on the 8th of April, focused on the same cooperation as before between city and county emergency communicators and Hawaii's Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, or RACES, operators. Staying at their radios overnight into the 9th of April, the RACES hams ensured that traffic could be passed via voice and Winlink email on both 2 metres and the HF bands. An additional overnight shift carried the operation through to its conclusion on the 10th of April.

Throughout the activation, the hams were able to pass situational awareness traffic and assist with response coordination, making the necessary adjustments in response to varying conditions. When interference disrupted their original channel, the hams had to QSY to a new 80-metre frequency to keep long-range communication viable.

The storm, known as the Kona Low 3 weather system, came only weeks after back-to-back Kona Low storms led to Hawaii being declared a federal disaster area.

HY-GAIN, CUSHCRAFT RETURN TO MARKET AFTER MFJ'S SALE

Production of the Hy-gain and Cushcraft antennas and antenna products popularized by MFJ Enterprises will be going forward under new ownership and in a new home in Linton, Indiana.

The Indiana-based manufacturing and engineering business, ITU Corporation, has purchased both brands from Martin F. Jue, K5FLU, president and founder of MFJ Enterprises. MFJ, which Martin founded in Starkville, Mississippi, halted production in the spring of 2024.

Manufacturing of the two brands will resume at a property that formerly housed the National Guard Armory. The 15-acre site is being repurposed for the production.

In a statement announcing the deal, Martin expressed confidence that ITU would honor both brands’ tradition of service to the amateur radio community. He said that he was certain that ITU’s Dave and Kambi Carpenter: [quote] “share our commitment to American-made quality and customer satisfaction. They bring the engineering expertise and manufacturing passion necessary to keep these products and these trusted American high-performance antennas on towers worldwide for years to come!" [Endquote] The Carpenters are also the owners of the electronics supply store TekShack.

ITU, which has its company headquarters in Duggar, Indiana, has also purchased MFJ’s designs, tooling, specialized equipment, manufacturing and marketing rights for use in the Linton location. The company plans to move all manufacturing operations there from Mississippi, a transition that is expected to take about two months.

HAM TUNES UP - AND PLAYS SOME TUNES - IN THE SMOKY MOUNTAINS

Zach Thompson, KM4BLG, believes there's something lyrical about the regional hamfest hosted by his club, the Western Carolina Amateur Radio Society. It's a day that's popular with local families and attracts those from Tennessee, South Carolina and beyond who gather each year at the Smoky Mountain Event Center in Waynesville.

This year's event on July 25th is shaping up to be even more lyrical because it actually has lyrics - its own promotional theme song set to bluegrass music. Zach told Newsline that while he's a music-lover. he's not a musician so he got some help with the writing and composing. He outsourced both tasks to "AI." Even the song's performance on the amateur radio society's YouTube channel is by a fictional group called CQ DX and the 73s - again, created by AI.

What he got are lyrics like this: "Coax coil shining in the Carolina sun." "Antennas reaching like pines to the sky." That's the kind of magic that happens when AI meets RF. Besides, not everything here is artificial: The event itself offers very real feelings of fellowship and the beauty of the Smoky Mountains.

Zach told Newsline that he was so surprised at how well the song turned out that he partnered up with AI to generate a tribute to Parks on the Air. It can be found on his KM4BLG YouTube channel. The same fictional musicians are back with more lyrical inspiration that, according to the YouTube blurb, will [quote] "have you wanting to drop everything and go activate." [endquote] Best of all, getting out and doing POTA isn't something you can do using AI - at least not yet.

COSMONAUTS CALL CQ IN TRIBUTE TO YURI GAGARIN

A pair of cosmonauts, each in their own time, brought value to the realm of space exploration for their country. Alexander Volkov, U4MIR, now retired, is a veteran of three launches who later served as commander of the cosmonaut detachment at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre. Roscosmos cosmonaut, Alexander Grebenkin, R3HP, who has a radio communications engineering background, served as a mission specialist for SpaceX Crew 8 in 2024.

Now the two are adding value to an event here on Earth that pays tribute to Yuri Gagarin and the trip 65 years ago that made him the first man in space. Both cosmonauts will be among the activators seeking QSOs with chasers on the 11th and 12th of April as part of an international DX contest honouring the Soviet cosmonaut and bearing his name.

Contacts will be on HF via CW and SSB. The cosmonauts aren't just worth double multipliers for chasers but earn them QSL cards bearing their autographs.

DEAL WILL UPGRADE EMERGENCY-RESPONSE PHONE NETWORK

A mobile phone network created to provide public safety agencies around the United States with reliable emergency communications, is poised for service upgrades after reaching an agreement with the federal government and the network’s private-sector partner AT&T.

Under the deal, AT&T, which built and maintains the network known as FirstNet, will cover the cost of $1 billion worth of the network’s improvements. At the same time, AT&T will reduce its bill to the federal government by another $1 billion for its continued support to FirstNet. The government selected AT&T to build the network in 2017, when the service was first known as the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network. Its creation was driven by the breakdown in emergency communication for public safety agencies and first responders in the aftermath of the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001.

RED CROSS NVIS NET DRAWS IMPORTANT REGIONAL RESPONSE

Using the properties of the Near Vertical Incident Skywave antenna to their best advantage, members of the Red Cross of Southeast Pennsylvania have been running a successful monthly net enabling other EmComm stations, municipal emergency centers and interested radio operators to check in. The calls come from as close by as the immediate region and from as far away as northern New Jersey, Delaware and the Greater New York area.

The net is, in fact, all about check-ins. Participants ask for callsign, name, location and an accurate signal report. According to Cliff Hotchkiss, KC3PGT, the regional lead for the American Red Cross' Disaster Services Training in southeast Pennsylvania, these important records have been logged on this NVIS net since its startup almost a year and a half ago.

Using the southeast Pennsylvania Red Cross callsign, WA3ARC, the net operates from its communications trailer and welcomes anyone who wants to check in. Cliff told Newsline: [quote]: "We started it for a dual purpose. First, we need to exercise and practice setting up our NVIS antenna and operating from our communications trailer. Second, we wanted to establish a frequency range and protocol to communicate with our neighboring Red Cross regions in case of a widespread communication outage."

Like so many other NVIS nets around the country, this net relies on the antenna's ability to establish connections with local and regional stations and has a maximum range of about 400 miles. Cliff said that it is useful for emergency communications on HF because unlike UHF/VHF nets, it does not rely on repeaters.

The net takes place on the third Thursday of every month which, this month, will be April 16th. Calls for check-ins begin at about 10 a.m. Eastern Time on 40 meters, on or below 7.235 MHz.

SILENT KEY: ARGENTINE BROADCAST JOURNALIST CARLOS ALMIRÓN LU7DSY

Carlos Almirón, LU7DSY, enjoyed a long and busy career on both the professional and amateur sides of radio. Over the years, he became well-known as a TV and radio journalist for a number of media outlets in Argentina. A former sports journalist, he later moved on to covering news and had served as a war correspondent in the Falklands. Across oceans and continents, the radio amateur became known as a successful DXer and DXpeditioner. He was a member of the DXCC Honor Roll.

Locally, Carlos' talents were put to good use during the annual American Lighthouse Weekend organised each February by members of the Radio Club Grupo DX Bahia Blanca, which he helped found.

Carlos became a Silent Key on the 21st of March. He was 79.

SILENT KEY: TEACHER RITA WRIGHT, KC9CDL, LED 1ST SCHOOL ISS QSO

Rita Bauer Wright, KC9CDL, taught math and science for 38 years at District 111 in Burbank, Illinois, USA, where she always encouraged her students to reach for the stars.

Rita wrote educational materials for NASA, so in 1988, she challenged her students to come up with a name for the next space shuttle. Her student projects also included solar-powered cars and robot prototypes for Mars exploration.

But it was on December 21st, 2000, that Rita led 14 elementary school students to make the first school contact by ham radio with the International Space Station.

It took years to coordinate through the ARISS application and ARRL educational proposal processes. Leading up to the set date, the suburban Chicago school was covered with space-themed projects made by kids in all classrooms from kindergarten to eighth grade.

The first attempt was set for December 19th, with Charles Sufana, AJ9N. assisting the contact with Commander William Shepherd, KD5GSL. aboard the ISS. That didn’t go as planned. A successful re-try came two days later. Rita wrote in her post-contact report that:

“At 20:28 UTC, Bill Shepherd and the ISS came up over the horizon for what turned out to be a near direct overhead pass! Charlie and his team made a connection within seconds and continued up to 20:39 UTC.”

All fourteen students chosen to ask questions got their chance. Chicago-area students were greeted by their teachers in the morning, and by the afternoon were welcomed aboard the ISS.

Rita is survived by her loving OM of 68 years, Billy, KC9HRM and a member of the Chicago-area STARS Radio Club. Thanks to president Dennis Calderone KC9DSP for helping Rita keep her license active in recent years, and for sharing her legacy.

Rita Wright became a Silent Key on the 8th of March.

STATION'S EXPERIMENTS EXPLORE USE OF 4M and 8M BANDS

In the hope of gaining insights into seasonal propagation trends, Sporadic-E, Trans-Equatorial Propagation and low-band VHF path behavior, the experimental station WQ2XDM has been conducting experiments using the digital weak-signal modes WSPR and FT8 on the 4 metre and 8 metre bands. The license was granted to John K9JMS, who is asking fellow hams to monitor reception and send him reports for data collection. He recommends using PSK Reporter and station logs and screenshots to record time, SNR, grid and frequency details while monitoring FT8 on 40.680 MHz.

The station's website says John will publish a final white paper and an open dataset. The location in Florida is key to the experimental activity because of the region's recurring tropospheric ducting in the Gulf/Atlantic region. Florida's low latitude makes it especially suitable for capturing Trans-Equatorial Propagation and equatorial ionospheric phenomena.

According to the station's page on QRZ.com, the project is aimed at strengthening the case for more interest in and access to 8 metres. Unlike hams in a number of other countries, such as Ireland, Slovenia and South Africa, licensed amateurs in the US do not have access to either 8 metres or 4 metres.

Signal reports or queries can be sent to John at the email address WQ2XDM.fl@gmail.com.

FCC REVIEWS GROWING SPACE SECTOR'S NEED FOR SPECTRUM

Expecting that orbital laboratories, inhabitable spacecraft, in-space repairs and many other related uses are going to have a need for greater access to the RF spectrum, the Federal Communications Commission is seeking comment on ways to make that happen. The agency voted last month to address new ways to support tracking, telemetry and command for a variety of on-the-horizon initiatives.

The FCC published the proceeding on its website, referring to the uses as [quote] “weird space stuff.” [endquote] The agency said that the proposed rulemaking is part of a larger effort to modernize policies in support of the quickly growing space sector. It encouraged comments in particular from companies involved in different aspects of lunar missions, satellite-servicing or related operations.

One of the potential frequency ranges referenced in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is frequency range 2305 MHz to 2315 MHz, which overlaps part of the amateur radio allocation on 13cm. The proposal is Docket Number 26-54.

A SYMPHONY OF SIGNALS IN TIME FOR APRIL FOOL'S DAY

Responding to pressure from a dozen American symphony orchestras and a group of internationally celebrated virtuosos, the FCC is setting aside part of the 20 metre band to let licensed amateur radio operators play their violins, flutes, bassoons and other instruments -- or to sing opera. In fact, opera-singing hams in search of DX contacts will be encouraged call Q-R-Zed by singing compositions by Mozart, Verdi or Strauss.

To prepare for these repurposed frequencies, the FCC will now require music recitals to be part of the VE sessions. After completing the written part of the test, each candidate must present a 10-minute performance on the instrument of their choice - or they may sing. Starting in June, all FCC license-preparation classes will include six months of music lessons. Knowing your harmonics is, after all, so very important, mes amis.

Ah, but NO drummers are welcome on this new part of 20-metres. Percussion instruments will be sent to the CW portion!!!

Already there has been protest from some amateur radio clubs around the US who are asking why violinists and opera singers are being allowed on 20 metres but no rock 'n rollers, no banjo players and not even a single hip-hop artist. The FCC has taken up the question and is reportedly considering part of the 2 metre band next.....or perhaps 7200.

This is Pierre Pullinmyleg with a song in my heart -- and on the radio too.

'QUEENS OF THE MOUNTAINS' ACTIVITY BACK FOR 3RD YEAR

Activators in the third annual Queens of the Mountains YL SOTA special event will be competing for the same certificates as before - but this year, chasers are getting a new chance for recognition. The new award is designed for chasers who contact at least three YL activators in different countries or different US states.

This is the second year the activity has drawn global participation, so once again, YL to YL DX QSOs will be recognized with a WWW-World Wide Women's certificate.

The organizers, Amy AG7GP, and Paula, K9IR [KAY NINE EYE ARR], announced the event's return on the SOTA Reflector and have set the event to start at 0000 UTC on June 13th and end at 2359 UTC on June 14th.

NEW ENTRY LEVEL LICENSES FOR NORWEGIAN AMATEURS

The Norwegian Communications Authority has approved an entry-level licence for amateurs in that country as one of several changes taking effect. The entry-level, or "limited" 10-watt licence covers the 80, 40, 20, 17, 15, 10, 6 and 2-metre bands as well as the 70-centimetre band. Other changes include the removal of limitations to hams wishing to operate stations remotely, especially in Norway's overseas territories. The changes also affect the 23cm band, which will now follow IARU recommendations more directly.

VOICE OF AMERICA MUSEUM TO EXTEND HOURS FOR HAMVENTION

The National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting is welcoming Hamvention guests by offering extended hours from Thursday May 14th through to Sunday May 17th. The museum and the West Chester Amateur Radio Association, which is headquartered there, will be sharing a wide variety of exhibits that include a disc jockey's setup from a vintage radio station, vintage ham and shortwave equipment and the Voice of America's first transmitter, dating from 1942. The club's ham radio station, WC8VOA, will be sharing access to its shack - so come with your license and be prepared to get on the air. Admission is $10 at the door. For each day's extended hours and for directions on how to find the museum from Xenia, visit the website voamuseum.org or wc8voa.org

The independent, nonprofit museum in West Chester, Ohio, is not affiliated with the US government's Voice of America service.

IRELAND'S SOLE 10M REPEATER IN SERVICE AGAIN

The repeater in Carndonagh, County Conegal - EIØIPG - is no longer silent. Storms had taken the nation's only 10-metre repeater out of service until recently. According to a report by the Irish Radio Transmitters Society, the repeater, which is maintained by the Carndonagh Amateur Radio Club, is receiving an especially hearty welcome among experimenters because an increase in solar activity promises a greater likelihood of trans-Atlantic and continental FM communication.

Its frequencies are 29.580 MHz input and 29.680 MHz output, with a 67 Hz CTCSS tone.

The repeater also offers access via Echolink Node 29007.

AZORES AMATEURS HOSTING THEIR FIRST 10M REPEATER

On São Miguel Island, the largest island in the Azores off the coast of Portugal, a new 10-metre FM repeater stands ready for QSOs. This is the first 10-metre repeater for the association, which is marking the 50th year since its founding.

The 50-watt repeater transmits on 29.630 MHz, with a -100 kHz shift, giving it a receive frequency of 29.530 MHz. It has a CTCSS tone of 88.5 Hz.

Bruno, CS8ABG, told Newsline that challenges in installation prompted the group to install the receiver and transmitter separately. The transmitter is located in the center of the island and the receiver is about 20 km away on the western side. Both are at an altitude of 900 metres.The sites are connected using 5 GHz Wi-Fi links.

The site holds promise for other connections too, according to Bruno. There is a Raspberry Pi system with a private AllStarLink connection that may someday provide a link to the group's VHF repeaters that are part of the Azores AllStarLink network.

Bruno told Newsline that the east-west radiation pattern of the dipoles favour propagation between Europe and North America so DXers, of course, are very welcome.

SSTV FROM ISS MARKING MAJOR MOMENTS IN SPACE

The 65th anniversary of the first human space flight by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the 45th anniversary of the first Space Shuttle flight and the 100th anniversary of the world's first liquid-propelled rocket launch by Robert Goddard. These are three of several space achievements being commemorated by Amateur Radio on the International Space Station through its selection of images to be transmitted as part of SSTV Series 31. The SSTV Mode will be Robot 36 and there will be two minutes between transmissions. Transmissions will begin on the 10th of April and continue through to the 14th of April. The frequency will be 437.55, plus or minus Doppler shift.

FCC CHARGES AMATEUR WITH EMERGENCY-SERVICE INTERFERENCE

The FCC's Enforcement Bureau has charged a ham radio operator in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania with interfering with UHF frequencies used by 9-1-1 emergency services.

The FCC identified the ham as David Knudtson, KD3ASC. According to the agency, the Pittsburgh amateur was transmitting on 470.4375 MHz from a handheld transceiver last July, prompting a complaint from the county's Emergency Services that there was interference on its dispatch channel. Using direction-finding, the bureau's enforcement agents tracked the signal to Knudtson's home where, they said, he showed them a Baofeng BTech UV-Pro HT - which he surrendered to them.

The handheld radio is capable of transmitting on VHF and UHF amateur radio bands as well as private land mobile radio bands. The FCC said that the radio had been programmed to monitor the EMS channel and that the "audio relay” was enabled, permitting traffic from one channel to be retransmitted on another.

The FCC notice is dated March 25th. Knudtson must respond to the Enforcement Bureau within 10 days of that date.