March 12, 2010 by kb3ljm.

The New Zealand government has granted New Zealand amateurs temporary access to a slice of the 600m spectrum. The new allocation, 505 to 515kHz, was previously used for Morse code communications with ships. There are a few restrictions to the use of these frequencies. If these frequencies are allocated to other services, amateurs must not cause interference to these services but must accept any interference from them. Radiated power must not exceed 25 watts EIRP and the bandwidth of transmissions must not exceed 200Hz. It is hoped that this allocation will, eventually, be made permanent. [RSGB]

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September 9, 2009 by kb3ljm.

The IARU is encouraging amateurs to get on the air and use CW on the 7MHz band. This is because Portuguese fishermen are abusing 7000.4kHz using USB every morning from 0700 - 0900UTC and later. These fishermen are located off the North of Portugal. Use this frequency for CW traffic, says the IARU.

http://www.rsgb.org/news/

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July 23, 2009 by kb3ljm.

Belarus has gained access to the extended 40m band. In the 7.1 - 7.2MHz frequency range it is allowed to use SSB and CW with 500W max and, as always, up to 1kW in contests under a special authorisation. In the same decision of the State Commission for Radio Frequencies that was dated May 14 but just recently released, the 160m band has also been extended for Belarus amateurs. The frequencies accessible are now 1.810 to 2.000MHz. On 27 June, the French administration announced that 7.1 - 7.2MHz will be available to the amateur service. Unfortunately another signature is needed before publication.

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July 22, 2009 by kb3ljm.

The Eighth IARU Region 3 ARDF Championships, originally scheduled for 29 October to 3 November 2009 near Bangkok, Thailand, have been cancelled due to concerns for the safety and convenience of participants. This announcement was made on June 26 by JA1HQG, chair of the IARU Region 3 ARDF Committee. In his announcement, he added that there was insufficient time to make arrangements to hold the championships in another country of Region 3 this year. [RSGB]

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May 8, 2009 by kb3ljm.

Watch the RSGB News Online on ATV:
Website: http://www.batc.tv/
Roy, G8CKN reads the rsgb news every Sunday at 0830 GMT on amateur television. It can be watched live by anyone in the world on the batc streamer under the members stream callsign: g8ckn.
http://www.batc.tv/
A recording is also available at: http://www.superiorsignals.co.uk/gb3hv.com/gb2rs.html
It will also be available soon on the batc web site tv streamer under film archive:
http://www.batc.tv/
73 Ian G3ZHI

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March 21, 2009 by kb3ljm.

You can view live Space Station video that includes Earth views from external cameras on the International Space Station during crew off-duty periods. Also available form the NASA website are selected in-cabin views of crew activities during the crew on-duty periods and a graphical world map that depicts the station’s location in orbit above the Earth using real-time telemetry sent to Mission Control from the station. The video stream is accompanied by audio of communications between Mission Control and the astronauts when available. During times when the shuttle is docked to the station, the stream will include video and audio of those activities.

Since the station orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes, it sees a sunrise or a sunset every 45 minutes. When the station is in darkness, the external camera video may appear black, but also may provide spectacular views of city lights below. In addition, satellite coverage may be intermittent and result in a display of colour bars. Colour bars or a black screen do not necessarily indicate a problem with the video stream. The streaming video is being webcast as part of NASA’s celebration of the 10th anniversary of the space station in orbit. See www.nasa.gov/station.

http://www.rsgb.org/news/

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March 9, 2009 by kb3ljm.

Following proposals from the RSGB, Ofcom have extended existing NoVs (NOVs =Notices of Variation = temporary license) for 501 to 504kHz until 28 February 2010. Letters are being set to all NoV holders. The extension of the NoV also authorises an ERP of up to +10dBW.

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October 13, 2008 by kb3ljm.

The wait for better DX conditions continues and it could be a longer wait than originally projected. Astronomers who count sunspots have announced that 2008 is now the “blankest year” of the Space Age. NASA Science News says that, as of September 27, the sun had no visible sunspots on 200 days of this year. To find a year with more blank suns, you have to go back to 1954. That’s three years before the launch of Sputnik. It’s also the year that the sun’s disk was devoid of sunspots 241 days. But there is better news. For the first time in months, a significant sunspot is emerging on the sun. It is a fast-growing active region with two dark cores, each larger than Earth. The magnetic polarity of the sunspot identifies it as a member of new Sunspot Cycle 24. This new sunspot is an encouraging sign that the 11-year solar cycle is indeed progressing, albeit slowly. [RSGB]

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September 8, 2008 by kb3ljm.

Ian Waters, G3KKD, has been involved in ATV for 60 years and in his video on the BATC TC website, he reflects on how ATV has changed. Go to www.batc.tv and click on film archives, then use the select drop down menu to watch the video. [RSGB]

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May 12, 2008 by kb3ljm.

The RSGB has completed its relocation to Bedford and is fully operational. The new mailing address
is 3 Abbey Court, Priory Business Park, Bedford, MK44 3WH. The phone number is unchanged,
0870 904 7373. Email addresses also remain the same. For the time being, QSL Bureau cards should continue to be sent to PO Box 1773, Potters Bar, EN6 3DP. They are being forwarded to the new QSL handler, Norcomm Services. The Bedford office is purely administrative and will not be open to visitors. A purpose-built visitors’ centre, the RSGB Pavilion, will be set up at Bletchley Park. It will include the National Amateur Radio Library and Museum and the GB3RS shack. Details will be published in RadCom and on GB2RS as they become available. [GB2RS]

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