Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2422 for Friday March 29th, 2024

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2423 with a release date of Friday March 29th, 2024 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Illegal sales of radio jamming equipment found in the US. An Australian amateur is honored for discovering new comets -- and our April Fool's correspondent, Pierre Pullinmyleg, is back with a special report on antennas you can grow. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2423 comes your way right now.

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BILLBOARD CART

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NETWORK NEWS REPORT DISCLOSES RETAILERS' SALE OF ILLEGAL JAMMERS

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Our top story comes from a US broadcast network, which reported recently about illegal sales of radio jammers in the US. Kent Peterson KCØDGY brings us up to date.

KENT: In the US, the Federal Communications Commission has revealed that the agency has been investigating a number of online retailers and other sellers over possible marketing of wireless radio frequency jammers, which are illegal under federal law.

The disclosure by the FCC's Will Wiquist came following a report by NBC News that wireless jammers that were being offered for sale were being marketed as devices to interfere with the operation of drones. Federal law prohibits both the sale and use of devices that deliberately interfere with the signals of GPS units, mobile phones and other consumer devices. Such jamming devices have the potential to interfere as well with security cameras, Wi-Fi and emergency communications.

The FCC posts an explanation of its policy on its website, saying: [quote]: “Unlike other radio transmitting equipment, jamming equipment cannot be authorized by the FCC because the main purpose of jamming equipment is to interfere with radio communications." [endquote]

The FCC made its revelation about conducting probes only after the news network released its own report about the sales of the jammers by more than a dozen companies.

This is Kent Peterson KCØDGY.

(NBC, CNN, FCC)

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POTA COMPLETES GLOBAL PARK RELABELING, CHINA RETURNS TO PROGRAM

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The Parks on the Air program had a welcome announcement recently for fans of portable operation. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF shares this development.

JIM: There's good news for POTA hunters: As POTA completes its conversion of labels to conform to the ISO-3166-2 standard, China has returned to participating in Parks on the Air. China's re-entry follows a number of discussions to resolve what POTA describes as "simple language barriers." According to documentation on the POTA website, the misunderstanding over POTA's reorganisation of its code system resulted in an unfortunate breakdown in communications because of these language issues

On Monday, March 25th, POTA announced on its website: [quote] "We are happy to be able to reactivate China so quickly!" [endquote]

This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

(POTA)

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SILENT KEY: HAMVENTION 2022 AWARD RECIPIENT, ADAM FARSON VA7OJ/AB7OJ

ANCHOR: An amateur who was a respected re for technical expertise on a wide range of HF transceivers and amplifiers - and was honored at Hamvention two years ago -- has become a Silent Key. We hear about him from Jack Parker W8ISH.

JACK: Hams everywhere sought out the wisdom and expertise of Adam Farson, VA7OJ/AB7OJ, whether they needed guidance on buying a particular HF radio or an amplifier. Adam's website and his array of published articles in different journals, contained years of his wisdom and hard work. Adam died on the morning of March 12th. A friend, Matt Erickson, KK5DR, wrote in a QRZ.com forum that Adam had been in failing health since the 1st of January, complicated by a relapse of pneumonia.

Much of Adam's technical expertise is shared on his website, which he created more than three decades ago. Matt said the site would continue to be maintained online for a time by the North Shore Amateur Radio Club where Adam was a longtime member. The retired telecomm engineer was a senior life member of the IEEE and was first licensed in 1962 with the callsign ZS1ZG while studying at the University of Cape Town.

In 2022, Adam received the Technical Achievement Award at Hamvention and was celebrated for his published work and for providing one of the internet resource amateurs turn to most for high technical details about a variety of radios.

This is Jack Parker W8ISH.

(QRZ.COM, ARRL)

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NASA SUNGRAZER PROGRAM HONORS HAM FOR COMET-HUNTING SUCCESS

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: NASA's Sungrazer program is honoring an amateur radio operator in Australia for having tracked down previously unknown comets by studying spacecraft imagery. We hear about him from John Williams VK4JJW.

JOHN: Congratulations to Peter Berrett, VK3PB, who has been recognised by the NASA Sungrazer programme as one of the top successful volunteer comet-hunters. Sungrazer is a NASA-funded citizen science programme that encourages anyone to participate in the discovery and reporting of previously unknown comets. According to Sungrazer, Peter was the first to locate a comet in imagery from the Parker Solar probe launched by NASA in 2018. Using a computer programme he wrote for this purpose, he has also identified comets in archived images that were collected by four spacecraft.
 
NASA Sun & Space made the announcement about Peter earlier this month on social media. Viewers of Amateur Logic TV may be most familiar with Peter through his previous appearances there.

This is John Williams VK4JJW.

(STARGAZER PROJECT)

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SKYWARN TEAM TESTS RESILIENCE OF SIMPLEX OPERATION

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In western Pennsylvania, a team of SKYWARN operators has been testing the resilience of simplex operation to prepare for emergencies. Randy Sly, W4XJ, spoke to one of the organizers.

RANDY: What would you do if you wanted to check into the local SKYWARN net with a severe storm report and the repeaters in your area suddenly went down? The obvious answer is working simplex...but how and where?

The Southwest District Skywarn Team Of Western Pennsylvania has started working on a more strategic answer by conducting a monthly series of simplex drills to coordinate frequencies and best operating practices in case of a scenario like this. Eddie Misiewicz (Mi-shé-vitz - short e), KB3YRU, president of the group, told AR Newsline, <quote> “We are working on and improving a communications plan one step at a time. In addition to improving radios, mast height and antennas, we have also learned to assign portable and mobile stations to strategic locations and positions.” <endquote> He said the hilly terrain and ridges in the area are presenting some significant challenges for an effective solution to ensure better simplex coverage.

The Southwest District SKYWARN team is also spreading the word at hamfests and other events about using simplex in emergency situations. They are inviting their fellow amateurs to prepare ahead of time for severe weather events while developing the right equipment and skills for successful simplex operations whether HF, VHF or UHF. The next drill is scheduled to be held Saturday, April 13th at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.

This is Randy Sly, W4XJ

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IOTA GRANT PROGRAM EXPANDS TO MORE LOCATIONS

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Island on the Air has expanded a program that will help fund activations of more rare locations. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us what this means.

JEREMY: The Islands on the Air DXpedition Fund created last year to support activations in rare locations with no activity for at least 15 years has expanded its qualifications to include additional islands and island groups.

The fund's original announcement last September said it would provide grants to assist operations from IOTA references confirmed by fewer than one-quarter of IOTA members in the last decade. This has now been broadened to include operations to those locations confirmed by fewer than 30 percent of IOTA members on IOTA's Most Wanted List. Both categories must have had no activations for at least 15 years.

IOTA Ltd. believes that having two categories will provide an advantage for DXpeditions to an estimated 250 IOTA groups. Applicants should note the rarity of the IOTA reference they plan to activate, how long they will be there, how many operators they will have, the estimated number of contacts they expect to log, the bands to be used and, of course, the estimated cost of the DXpedition.

For an application and more details, visit the IOTA website using the link in the text version of this week's Newsline script.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

[DO NOT READ: https://www.iota-world.org  ]

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BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the Utah Amateur Radio Club's W7SP repeater on Sundays as part of the club's 9 p.m. net.

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FCC IMPLEMENTS TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION FOR REGISTRATION SYSTEM

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In an effort to make its online registration system more secure, the Federal Communications Commission is introducing two-factor authentication while signing on. As of the 29th of March, those wishing to access to the Commission Registration System known as CORES will need to request a six-digit secondary verification code to be sent to their email address. They will be required to enter the code into the system before they can go forward with logging in. This requirement will affect anyone looking to reset a password, request a new Federal Registration Number or to pay any application or regulatory fees.

(ARRL, FCC)

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FCC AUCTION PROGRAM RECEIVES EMMY AWARD

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The Emmy Awards, best known for their celebrity recipients, has a new well-known recipient among the ranks: The US Federal Communications Commission. That report comes to us from George Zafiropoulos KJ6VU.

GEORGE: In the US, the Emmy Awards bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, are best known for acknowledging stellar achievements in the television industry. This year, however, a somewhat unconventional award recipient stood out among the more typical award-winners in entertainment and sports programming.

The Federal Communications Commission, the US government regulatory agency, was the recipient of a Technology & Engineering Emmy Award for having held a broadcast auction. The auction, which took place over several years, opened the door for TV stations to receive incentive payments in exchange for their return of underutilized parts of the broadcast spectrum. The funds the stations received enabled them to reinvest in their own operations while the newly available spectrum was auctioned off to wireless broadband carriers, to use for 5G or other services.

The auction brought in a gross total of $19.8 billion in US currency. Fifty broadcasters received a total of $10.05 billion in payments. Another $7.3 billion went into the US Treasury to help reduce the federal deficit.

This is George Zafiropoulos KJ6VU

(FCC)

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NOMINATE OUR NEXT YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Do you know a promising young radio amateur who'd be a good candidate for the Bill Pasternak Memorial Young Ham of the Year award? Let Newsline know! Candidates must live in the continental United States and be 18 years of age or younger. Tell our judges about your nominee's talent, promise and commitment to the spirit of ham radio. This is your chance to help honor and acknowledge that person who will, no doubt, go on to teach and inspire others. Find the nomination form on our website arnewsline.org under the "AWARDS" tab. Nominations close on May 31st.

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HAMSCI HOLDS WEEKEND WORKSHOP FOR CITIZEN SCIENTISTS

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Just two weeks ahead of its Solar Eclipse QSO Party, members of HamSCI - the ham radio citizen science investigation organization - met with STEM educators, researchers and ham radio operators for its seventh annual workshop. It was hosted on March 22nd and 23rd on the campus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and online. Workshop topics ranged from a review of ionospheric data collected during last year's annular solar eclipse to various aspects of space weather. A major topic of the weekend was "Alignments between the Sun, Moon and Earth," in preparation for the April 8th total eclipse of the sun over North America. 

(HAMSCI, ED WILSON, N2XDD)

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HAMS PREP FOR WORLD AMATEUR RADIO DAY

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: What are you doing on April 18th? There's something to celebrate, as Graham Kemp VK4BB tells us.

GRAHAM: Twenty-five countries formed the International Amateur Radio Union in Paris in 1925. There are now three regions across the world and 160 member societies. World Amateur Radio Day is being marked on April 18th and this year's celebration has been given a theme in anticipation of the IARU reaching its centenary next year. Organisers are calling it "A Century of Connections: Celebrating 100 Years of Amateur Radio Innovation, Community and Advocacy." The name acknowledges that ham radio became popular even before the IARU was created as an advocate for hams' roles in global communication and to defend amateur frequency allocations.

On April 18th, be listening for amateurs across Canada operating official stations ending in the suffix RAC, for Radio Amateurs of Canada. A more expanded on-air celebration is planned in Greece, where the Radio Amateur Association of Greece will be using the callsign SZØWARD to mark the occasion from April 15th to the 30th. Be listening around for other organisations in other nations and regions as they join the global celebration.

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(IARU)

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WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, be listening for ER3ØARM, a special callsign marking the 30th anniversary of the  Amateur Radio Society of Moldova, ER1KAA.  Operators will be on the air until the 30th of April. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

Felipe, CE3SX, is active as CB0ZIX from the Juan Fernandez islands until the 4th of April. You can hear him on 6 metres SSB and FT8 in fox-hound mode. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

Pete, GØTLE is using the callsign V4/GØTLE from St Kitts, IOTA Number NA-104, until the 5th of April, operating CW and SSB on 40-10m. QSL details can be found on QRZ.com.

Listen for Torsten, DL9GG, active as ZD7GG from St. Helena Island, IOTA Number AF-022 until the 30th of March. Torsten is using CW and some SSB on 160-10 metres. QSL via home call, or eQSL.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

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KICKER: SEEDS FOR YAGIS AND DIPOLES? ANTENNAS ARE A GROWTH INDUSTRY

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We end this week's newscast with a special report from our April Fool's Day correspondent, Pierre Pullinmyleg. Pierre has spent the last several decades as an investigative reporter for Newsline and he has a groundbreaking report that will change the lives of hams living in communities that impose antenna restrictions. This report is a Newsline exclusive. Pierre?

PIERRE: Ah, cherie, we must rejoice: After years of research and experimentation zee famous French scientist, Jacques N. d'Beanstalk, has created not just ham radio's best engineered antennas but ham radio's first genetically engineered antennas - zeese are antennas you can grow from seed! You can now plant Yagis, hex beams, quads and longwires and as zay spring up from zee earth, zeese will all look like zee green beans, zee sunflowers, zee Big Boy tomatoes. Zee homeowner association president, ah, she will never know you are growing a true antenna farm! Zeese Brussels sprouts can get you DX in Brussels! Zeese tall French green beans will get you a contact with.........Moi, Pierre Pullinmyleg, living just outside of Marseille, where I am growing my own crop of tender end-fed half-wave dipoles. Ah, and if after trimming your antenna, you still cannot get good SWR, simply keep trimming and turn your antenna into a salad!!!!! Ooooh! Oooh! Ooooh la lah! Now Pierre is so very hungry. Au revoirs, mes amis, I must go fricassee my J-pole.

This is Pierre Pullinmyleg.

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DO YOU HAIKU?

Don't forget the Amateur Radio Newsline haiku challenge. If you're not too busy tuning your antennas or chasing the latest DXpedition, pick up a pencil and share your experience by sending an original haiku to us here at Newsline. Use the entry form on our website, arnewsline.org and please follow the rules for writing your three-line haiku -- sorry but we cannot accept any entries that aren't written in traditional haiku form. Share with fellow listeners the poetry that is inspired by your ham radio experience!

NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Amateur Radio Daily; ARRL; CQ Magazine; CNN; David Behar K7DB; DXNews; DXWorld; Ed Wilson, N2XDD; FCC; 425DXNews; NBC; HamSCI; Islands on the Air; Parks on the Air; QRZ.com; shortwaveradio.de; Stargazer Project; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline.  We remind our listeners that Amateur Radio Newsline is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that incurs expenses for its continued operation. If you wish to support us, please visit our website at arnewsline.org and know that we appreciate you all. We also remind our listeners that if you like our newscast, please leave us a 5-star rating wherever you subscribe to us. For now, with Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT at the news desk in New York, and our news team worldwide, I'm Stephen Kinford N8WB in Wadsworth Ohio saying 73. As always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.