November 6, 2007 by kb3ljm.

The results from this year’s Field Day are now available online. ARRL Field Day Manager said Dan Henderson, N1ND, said, “I was most pleased to see the all-time record number of participants and reporting stations. Refarming of the bands and the elimination of the code requirements have helped renew on the air activity. Now the challenge for all of us in Amateur Radio is to keep the growth and momentum going.”

http://www.arrl.org/?artid=7827

Posted in ARRL Web Extra | Comments Off

November 6, 2007 by kb3ljm.

Fall has brought lower static and good propagation, making excellent conditions for the 500 kHz experimenters. The ARRL 500 kHz experimental license, WD2XSH, was issued in September 2006 and has 19 active stations. Project Coordinator for the ARRL-sponsored 500 kHz experiment Fritz Raab, W1FR, said, “We have been joined by a second US experimental license, WE2XGR, with five participants, as well experimenters in the UK, Germany, Sweden and the Czech Republic; operating modes include CW, QRSS, PSK-31, and others. Contacts have been achieved at distances up to 1234 miles. Signals have been received all over North America, Alaska, and Hawaii, and trans-Atlantic reports are not uncommon.” The best time to listen is between sunset and sunrise, Raab said. “The operating frequencies are:WD2XSH — 505.2-510 kHz; WE2XGR — 505-515 kHz; UK — 501-504 kHz, and SM, DL, OK — 505.0-505.2 kHz. Reception reports should be filed at the www.500kc.com Web site so that they become part of our data base.” Additional information can be found at the experiment’s Web site and also in the July/August 2007 issue of QEX.

http://www.arrl.org/?artid=7828

Posted in ARRL Web Extra | Comments Off

November 6, 2007 by kb3ljm.

The FCC has released their latest report summarizing the state of broadband in the US as of December 2006. It shows that in December 2006, Internet-access BPL has increased slightly over December 2005, but also shows that it has been decreasing slightly from a peak that occurred sometime around mid-2006. According to the report, BPL ended up with a deployment total of 0.006 percent of the total broadband lines in the US, compared to 0.011 percent at the end of December 2005.

http://www.arrl.org/?artid=7829

Posted in ARRL Web Extra | Comments Off

November 6, 2007 by kb3ljm.

According to a press release issued by Motorola, Motorola USA has announced its intention to “launch a tender offer to acquire a controlling interest in Vertex Standard Co, Ltd.” Vertex Standard is the parent company of Yaesu. Upon successful completion of the tender offer and subsequent restructuring process, Motorola will own 80 percent of Vertex Standard; Tokogiken, a privately held Japanese company, controlled by current president and CEO of Vertex Standard Jun Hasegawa, will retain 20 percent, forming a joint venture. The total purchase price for 80 percent of the outstanding shares on a fully diluted basis will be approximately ¥12.3 billion (approximately US $108 million). The bid will start November 6 and end on December 26. If the bid succeeds, shares of Vertex would be delisted from the Jasdaq Securities Exchange in Japan.

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2007/11/05/100/?nc=1

Posted in ARRL Web Extra | Comments Off