March 21, 2008 by kb3ljm.

We are sad to note the passing of writer Arthur C Clarke. While not a licensed amateur, his technical and literary work influenced many in the amateur world. He was well respected by many amateur organisations, notably AMSAT, and was once President of the British Amateur Television Club. [RSGB]

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March 17, 2008 by kb3ljm.

Improvements have been made to the 5.76GHz beacon on Bell Hill, near Blandford in Dorset. GB3SCC has been given a high stability GPS locked frequency standard and DFCWi keying. The beacon now maintains its nominal frequency of 5760.905007MHz to anaccuracy of a few Hertz. Reception reports will be gratefully received by G0API, whose address is correct in the RSGB Yearbook. Alternatively, visit the web site of the South Coast Repeater and Beacon Group at www.scrbg.org, where full details of all their beacons can be found. [RSGB]

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March 17, 2008 by kb3ljm.

he D-Star system has become accessible to many more UK stations thanks to several newly operational two meter repeaters. These include GB7DG in Glasgow, GB7YD in Yorkshire, GB7MI in Manchester and GB7DE in Fife. D-Star repeaters have already become well established on the 70cm band but these VHF units will considerably broaden access to the network. An overview of D-Star was published in the March edition of RadCom, and coverage information can be found at www.ukrepeater.net Barnsley’s new 70cm D-Star repeater has been forced off the air because interference on its input from unlicensed devices. GB7YD dash C on 433.9125MHz has been removed from service until an alternative frequency can be found. This part of the band is used by a large number of licence-exempt micro power consumer electronic devices. These include vehicle keyless entry systems, wireless door bells and data links for home weather stations. [GB2RS]

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March 17, 2008 by kb3ljm.

Last month’s VP6DX Ducie Island DXpedition logged nearly 183,700 contacts. This included nearly 7,000 on top band and more than 10,000 using digital modes. They made an almost equal number of CW and SSB contacts at around 87,000 each. By the time the south Pacific operation finished on 27 February, the group had broken several records. One was for the largest number of contacts made by any radio expedition. Further detailed information is on the web at www.vp6dx.com

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February 11, 2008 by kb3ljm.

There is good news this week for those experimenting on the MF band 501 to 504kHz.

Following representations made by the RSGB, OfCom have extended the validity of all Notices of Variation by one year to 28 February 2009.

At the same time the maximum permitted power has also been increased to 1W ERP from 100mW ERP.

The full statement from Ofcom, including details of how to apply for a Notice of Variation, can be found on the Ofcom web site. [GB2RS]

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February 5, 2008 by kb3ljm.

The Greenlandic telecom administration has announced seven 5MHz frequencies for OX operators to use SSB, CW and digimodes. They now have 5260, 5280, 5290, 5368, 5373, 5400 and 5405kHz.

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February 5, 2008 by kb3ljm.

A new UK record is claimed by Angus Young, M0IKB, after working a nAmerican by moonbounce on two metres. Angus achieved the 500,000 mile contact with KB8RQ using just 25 watts to an indoor, homebrew 7 element beam. 2m EME is a well established practice, but usually requires large aerial arrays and high power. Angus said, “I was really shocked when I picked up the signal, it was brilliant.” [GB2RS]

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February 1, 2008 by kb3ljm.

The Yasme Foundation in the USA has announced the winners of their first ever Excellence Awards. These are given for service and dedication to amateur radio as recognized by the foundation’s Directors, and are in the form of a plaque and a monetary award. The Yasme Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation organised to conduct scientific and educational projects related to amateur radio. This includes DXing and the introduction and promotion of amateur radio in underdeveloped countries. There were five winners this year. Joseph L Arcure Junior, W3HNK, got his Excellence Award for his long service to DXers as a QSL manager. Sheldon C Shallon, W6EL, gained recognition for his work with propagation prediction software. James Brooks, 9V1YC, was honoured for organising DXpeditions and making professional videos of similar events. Lastly, Jukka Salomaa, OH2BUA, and Antti Kantola, OH5TB gained their awards for conceiving, operating, and maintaining DX Summit, the first widely-used web-based spotting network portal. [RSGB]

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February 1, 2008 by kb3ljm.

Investigators are trying to find out why a huge tower in Arkansas collapsed. At 2000 feet high it was once the second highest structure in the world. No one was seriously injured when the tower fell but crews working to strengthen the tower had been just minutes away from climbing it to replace cable. Initial reports suggest that work on high level guy wires caused the top section to fail, which then damaged other guy wires on its descent. Built in 1965, the tower held transmitting antennas for local TV and radio stations. [RSGB]

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January 28, 2008 by kb3ljm.

The Belgian national society UBA has received notice from their licensing authority BIPT that Belgian amateurs can use the segment 501-504kHz on a secondary basis. Only CW is permitted but this can be at any speed, so it includes QRSS. The power limit is 5 watts ERP. [RSGB]

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