CQ Newsroom: Second Bouvet Attempt Unlikely This Year; Donations to be Partially Refunded

[CQ Newsroom via rec.radio.info Admin]

CQ Newsroom

///////////////////////////////////////////
Second Bouvet Attempt Unlikely This Year; Donations to be Partially Refunded

Posted: 04 May 2018 11:59 AM PDT
http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2018/05/second-bouvet-attempt-unlikely-this.html

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE
X-NONE
The organizers of the 3Y0Z Bouvet
DXpedition – which was aborted one mile offshore due to weather and engine
trouble on their transport ship – say it now appears unlikely that the trip
to what's called the world's most remote island can be rescheduled in the
2018-2019 southern hemisphere summer. According to the ARRL, the team
leaders are having trouble finding suitable and affordable transportation
to the island in the coming year. They say they are planning to make
pro-rata refunds of donations, once the books are closed on the original
attempt. They note that the process will be complicated, may take several
months, and ask for donors' patience while all the loose ends are wrapped
up.

///////////////////////////////////////////
FT8 DXpedition Mode Tests Show Promising Results

Posted: 04 May 2018 11:57 AM PDT
http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2018/05/ft8-dxpedition-mode-tests-show.html

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE
X-NONE
In what is believed to be the
first transatlantic contact on 2200 meters by a U.S. ham operating under
The shack at N1BUG
(From N1BUG.com)FCC Part 97 rules, Paul Kelley, N1BUG, made a successful
two-way contact on 137 kHz with Chris Wilson, 2E0ILY, in the United
Kingdom, in late March. The ARRL Letter reports that the two used a mode
known as DFCW60, or dual-frequency CW, 60-second dit length, and that the
contact took four nights to complete! Their exchange included complete call
signs, signal reports and acknowledgements. Canadian hams, who had access
to the band sooner than U.S. amateurs, have reported several transatlantic
contacts in the past.

///////////////////////////////////////////
Online Status Monitor for LoTW

Posted: 04 May 2018 11:53 AM PDT
http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2018/05/online-status-monitor-for-lotw.html

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE
X-NONE
Hams using the ARRL's Logbook of
the World (LoTW) electronic confirmation system can now get real-time
status information for the system at any time. The ARRL Letter reports
that the status monitor shows if the system is running or down; overall
uptime statistics and other quick stats. It can be accessed at
<www.arrl.org/logbook-queue-status>.

The addition of LoTW support for CQ's Worked All Zones (WAZ) award has
proven very popular in its first month of availability, with very high
levels of activity. See our FAQ guide in the June issue of CQ.

///////////////////////////////////////////
Clyburn Stepping Down as FCC Commissioner

Posted: 04 May 2018 11:51 AM PDT
http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2018/05/clyburn-stepping-down-as-fcc.html

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE
X-NONE
Democratic FCC Commissioner Mignon
Clyburn announced in mid-April that she would be leaving the FCC
Commissioner Mignon Clyburn
(FCC photo)Commission prior to its May 10 scheduled meeting. According to
Politico, Clyburn made the announcement at the Commission's April meeting.
She has served since 2009, focusing her attention on the communications and
internet needs of low-income and minority communities.

By law, the FCC's five commissioners are split between the major political
parties, with the party of the President holding three seats. A Democrat
would need to be nominated to fill Clyburn's seat, and the President
traditionally accepts the recommendation of the Senate Minority Leader in
making opposing-party appointments. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
has already recommended the appointment of Geoffrey Starks, an assistant
chief of the FCC Enforcement Bureau, according to the Politico report.
Enforcement in a ham radio case has caught the attention of another FCC
commissioner. Michael O'Rielly used the long-running case William Crowell,
W6WBJ (formerly N6AYJ), as an example in his efforts to abolish the FCC's
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) system. According to the ARRL Letter,
Crowell - who was fined $25,000 in 2016 for intentional interference and
other rules violations – has been battling the FCC for a decade over the
renewal of his license. Crowell had repeatedly asked that his case be
transferred to a different law judge, claiming that the judge hearing his
case is biased against him. O'Rielly says the ALJ system is flawed and
needs to be replaced.

///////////////////////////////////////////
Milestones: KM4LAO Receives RCA "Young Achiever" Award

Posted: 04 May 2018 11:49 AM PDT
http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2018/05/milestones-km4lao-receives-rca-young.html

Ruth Willet, KM4LAO
(Photo via Michiganradio.org website)
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE
X-NONE
The Radio Club of America has
named Ruth Willet, KM4LAO, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, at the 2018 recipient
of its "Young Achiever" award. Willet, 19, is a student at Kettering
University in Michigan, where she is double-majoring in mechanical
engineering and engineering physics, and is president of the school's
recently reactivated amateur radio club. According to the ARRL, Willet went
to the Caribbean island of Saba in 2016 with the Dave Kalter Youth DX
Adventure program, wrote about her experience, was a speaker at last year's
Dayton Youth Forum and was the keynote speaker at last year's Dayton DX
dinner. The award was presented to her at the International Wireless
Communications Expo in Orlando this past March.

///////////////////////////////////////////
Milestones: W6OBB, N8UG, SKs

Posted: 04 May 2018 11:47 AM PDT
http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2018/05/milestones-w6obb-n8ug-sks.html

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE
X-NONE
Iconic radio broadcaster and
active ham Art Bell, W6OBB, became a Silent Key in April. Known to a Art
Bell, W6OBB (SK)
(From the Midnight in the Desert website)worldwide radio audience through
his syndicated "AM Coast to Coast" program, which focused on UFOs and
paranormal events, Bell was also an AM aficionado on the ham bands.
According to Newsline, Bell's program was carried on more than 500 stations
at the peak of his popularity in the 1990s. Bell was a member of the
National Radio Hall of Fame, the Nevada Broadcasters Association Hall of
Fame and the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. He was 72.
Press Jones, N8UG (SK)
(From The Wireman website)

Pressley "Press" Jones, N8UG, known to the ham community as "The Wireman,"
passed away in April at age 89. Jones was a fixture at hamfests, keeping
hams well-stocked with wire, cable, connectors and more. The company he
founded continues to serve the amateur and professional radio markets.

///////////////////////////////////////////
ARRL's Online EmCom Course in Limbo

Posted: 04 May 2018 11:44 AM PDT
http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2018/05/arrls-online-emcom-course-in-limbo.html

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE
X-NONE
The ARRL suspended registrations
April 30 for its course, "Introduction to Emergency
Communications," after being notified by the course's online platform
provider that it was shutting down. According to the ARRL, "fiscal
challenges" facing Connecticut and its state college system forced Charter
Oak State College to dissolve the Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium
as of July 1. People who signed up for the course set to begin on May 30
will receive refunds. The League says it is looking for a new host site and
is using this opportunity to develop new course content as well.

///////////////////////////////////////////
Man Convicted of Murdering Ham Gets Life Term

Posted: 04 May 2018 11:43 AM PDT
http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2018/05/man-convicted-of-murdering-ham-gets.html

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE
X-NONE
A judge in Minnesota has sentenced
28-year-old Isaiah Thomas to life in prison for the 2016 murder of
95-year-old Albert Loehlein, W0HNW, of Anoka, Minnesota. According to
Newsline, Thomas beat the retired broadcast engineer to death while
burglarizing his home on Thanksgiving Weekend of 2016. He was a World War
II veteran and father of six. Thomas could be eligible for parole in 30
years.

///////////////////////////////////////////
Slow-Scan From Space

Posted: 04 May 2018 11:42 AM PDT
http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2018/05/slow-scan-from-space.html

(NASA photo)
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE
X-NONE
The crew of the International
Space Station activated its slow-scan TV system in April to commemorate
Russia's Cosmonautics Day. An image of the RS0ISS QSL card was transmitted
in PD-120 format and was received by SSTV-equipped hams around the world.
There is no indication of when the crew might next activate the SSTV
system, but it continues to make voice contacts with school groups through
the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program.

///////////////////////////////////////////
HAARP Plans Return to Full Power by Summer

Posted: 04 May 2018 11:39 AM PDT
http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2018/05/haarp-plans-return-to-full-power-by.html

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE
X-NONE
The University of Alaska-Fairbanks
High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) resumed research
activities for the season in April, with the former Air Force facility
running at 80% power. Officials told the ARRL Letter that they plan to
bring the array back to 100% power by summer. The facility is used for a
variety of ionospheric research activities, obviously focusing on phenomena
surrounding the Aurora Borealis.

///////////////////////////////////////////
How to Get Licensed in Cambodia: Get a U.S. License First

Posted: 04 May 2018 11:32 AM PDT
http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2018/05/how-to-get-licensed-in-cambodia-get-us.html

Flag of Cambodia
(Courtesy CIA World Factbook) Normal 0 false false
X-NONE
We don't normally report on FCC
license exam sessions, especially when there are only three candidates. But
this session was held in Cambodia, which, according to the ARRL Letter, has
no structure for granting amateur radio licenses to it citizens. People
holding foreign licenses, however, may be granted reciprocal licenses and
XU callsigns.

In April, a VE team consisting of U.S.-licensed hams administered FCC
license exams to three Cambodian nationals affiliated with the National
Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia. Two earned Technician Class licenses and
one, a professor, went all the way to Extra Class.

They will now be able to apply for reciprocal licenses in their own
country. Examiner Mike Adams, KH0AS/XU7AJA, said he hopes this will help
persuade government officials that there is a demand for amateur radio
licenses among Cambodians.

///////////////////////////////////////////
Canadian Hams Get Expanded 60-Meter Band

Posted: 04 May 2018 11:29 AM PDT
http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2018/05/canadian-hams-get-expanded-60-meter-band.html

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE
X-NONE
Canada's telecommunications
regulator has authorized amateur operation on 5351.5-5366.5 kHz, with a
maximum power of 100 watts effective radiated power. The ARRL reports that
these new frequencies – which were adopted worldwide at the 2015 World
Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) – are in addition to the "spot
frequencies" already available to Canadian hams, like those in the U.S. The
FCC has yet to act on a 2017 petition by the ARRL to make the worldwide
allocation available south of the border as well. All amateur usage on 5
MHz is on a secondary, non-interference, basis.

///////////////////////////////////////////
Bet You Haven't Done This: WA1ZMS Has Made Contacts on 30 US Ham Bands

Posted: 04 May 2018 11:27 AM PDT
http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2018/05/bet-you-havent-done-this-wa1zms-has.html

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE
X-NONE
In fact, we'll bet you didn't even
know we had 30 different bands available to us!
The ARRL Letter reports that Brian Justin, WA1ZMS, of Forest, Virginia,
made a 2200-meter contact in April with K3MF in Pennsylvania to have at
least one two-way contact on each amateur band from 137 kHz to 322 GHz.
Brian informs us that he has since added a contact on 403 GHz!
WA1ZMS's upper microwave transceiver. A pair of these
radios (which he built) was used to make record-setting
contacts on 241, 322 and 403 GHz! (WA1ZMS photo)
For some of the higher microwave bands, he needed to build two radios and
give one to a friend to take to a different location to set up a contact.
He used the North East Weak Signal (NEWS) Group standard of one-kilometer
minimum separation to be counted as a valid contact. Justin began the
effort in 2002 and made confirmed contacts on all bands from 160 meters to
300 GHz within a year. The addition of our two newest bands – 630 and 2200
meters – as well as realignment of some microwave bands, required
additional contacts over the years, setting several world DX records in the
process, as well as making the first-ever amateur contact on
less-than-one-millimeter bands, 322 GHz and 403 GHz.

///////////////////////////////////////////
FCC Looking to Streamine Licensing for "Small Satellites"

Posted: 04 May 2018 11:18 AM PDT
http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2018/05/fcc-looking-to-streamine-licensing-for.html

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE
X-NONE
The FCC wants to remove some of
the red tape involved in getting a license to launch and operate a "small
satellite" that meets certain criteria, including limited orbital lifetime,
low risk of leaving behind orbital debris and the ability to share spectrum
with other users. The AMSAT News Service reports that the FCC's Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) applies at this time only to satellites licensed
under Part 25 of its rules, which covers commercial and scientific
satellites. It is uncertain at this time how – or whether – any potential
rule changes might affect amateur satellites, which operate as part of the
Amateur Satellite Service under Part 97. AMSAT and other concerned groups
will be monitoring progress on the NPRM.