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2005 Emergency Telecommunications Handbook (Nov. 11 2005) The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has released the 2005 Emergency Telecommunications Handbook. This Handbook is written to serve as a close companion to those involved in the work of providing as well as using telecommunications for disaster mitigation and relief. While this handbook is meant to be simple, it is comprehensive, compact and contains useful factual information that is concise and organized for easy access especially by practitioners. The Amateur service, through the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) is one of the major partners in disaster response, mitigation and prevention. For more information on the book and associated training take your web browser to www.iaru.org (ARNewsLine)
Great Britain...New threat to amateur bands (Nov. 11 2005) The European Radiocommunications Office has announced plans to hold a public consultation into ultra wide band – a technology that potentially poses a threat to the amateur radio microwave bands. Ultra wide band is a wireless version of the popular USB technology used to connect devices such as keyboards and mice to personal computers. UK communications regulator Ofcom is keen for ultra wide band to use the 3.1-10GHz spectrum, But this could interfere with the microwave bands used by radio enthusiasts. Amateur groups such as AMSAT-UK, the UK Microwave Group and the British Amateur Television Club are fighting Ofcom's proposals. The European Radiocommunications Office meanwhile is proposing to protect the 5-6GHz band and use interference mitigation techniques below 5GHz. Amateurs are urged to respond to the European Radiocommunications Office consultation, if only to offset the views of commercial organisations keen to use 3.1-6GHz for ultra wide band. (RSGB2)
Australia Revamps Amateur Radio Licensing (Nov. 11 2005) At least 1,000 new radio amateurs are expected in Australia over the next 12 months with the introduction of the new entry level Foundation Licence. VK is abuzz with excitement as the first Foundation Licences are issued - they have a distinctive four-letter callsign suffix. Have you heard any yet? This all comes in the wake of recent research that confirmed a serious decline in amateur radio in Australia for the past 15 years. An estimated 450 people are queued up for the new licence, and that's purely by word-of-mouth without any media publicity. The Foundation Licence requires candidates to study basic electronics, radio theory, safety and the regulations. The Wireless Institute of Australia has published a 90-page licence manual study book. Training courses are popping up around the nation. Candidates are tested by a written 30 question combined theory and regulations paper, plus a 40 minute practical assessment that involves recognition of station components, assembling them into a working station, knowledge of IRLP DTMF, CTCSS, and interference mitigation methods. They must demonstrate how to use bands plans referenced to their licence conditions. The licence restructure in Australia that occurred last month has resulted in five previous licence grades being amalgamated into two - the top level Advanced, and middle level Standard. A result is much more on air activity being heard, with the former band restrictions on some licensees now lifted - many are taking to the 20-metre band for the first time. All in all, things are looking up downunder due in no small measure to the enormous effort by the Wireless Institute of Australia which has set up the new system. It's even now fielding questions from other radio societies eager to learn about the Aussie approach, to kick-starting amateur radio. The United Kingdom was the first to try a Foundation Class as a means of boosting that nations ham radio ranks. Its was a big success. So much so that administrations around the world have taken notice. (VK3PC) (ARNewsLine)
Australia...BPL Interfernce...The Battle Continues (Nov. 12 2005) Australia's electronics magazine Silicon Chip this month describes broadband over powerlines (BPL) as a flawed technology flying in the face of Electromagnetic Compatibility regulations. With a report on this development, here's Jim Linton VK3PC. The cover story "BPL is coming here ." by staff technical writer, Ross Tester said BPL has been a pipe-dream for years. However, the wires to carry the broadband signals are stretched in the air and make "magnificent antennas radiating interference" right across the spectrum. The article said, "Whether by fiendishly clever design or simply dumb good luck (we'll leave you to make up your mind which) BPL has avoided heavy-use areas of the spectrum where there could be huge public outcry." Silicon Chip's Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Leo Simpson in an editorial said, "Just imagine every street in every major city and town in Australia blanketed with BPL signals ranging from just above the AM broadcast band to just below the FM band. "This will play merry hell with all radio (and TV) services in that range. In fact, it would mean the end of any useful radio services in that range." It is incredible that the trials have even started. It makes a huge mockery of all of the EMC compliance regulations that all electronic equipment must now meet. Why have EMC compliance when the power authorities will be able to blast interference out to everyone. It just beggars the imagination. The Editor-in-Chief concluded: "BPL in its present form is a very bad idea. It might at first appeal to the non-technical populace but when the true ramifications take hold, there will be hell to pay." I'm Jim Linton VK3PC and you're listening to VK1WIA. (W1A News)
Nov. 11 2005 Tad Cook K7RA Solar
Update
Geomagnetic conditions should be fairly active today. Predicted planetary A index for Friday through Monday, November 11-14, is 15, 8, 5 and 5. The Prague Geophysical Institute predicts unsettled to active conditions on November 11 and 12, unsettled conditions on November 13, quiet to unsettled on November 14 and 15, and quiet conditions November 16-17. Remember that for good HF propagation we want these geomagnetic numbers to be low, with sunspot numbers as high as possible. For more information concerning propagation and an explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin see the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page. An archive of past bulletins is on the ARRL Web site. Sunspot numbers for November 3 through 9 were 24, 22, 18, 34, 31, 38 and 13, with a mean of 25.7. 10.7 cm flux was 76.8, 77.4, 79.3, 81.7, 79.4, 79.4, and 78.1, with a mean of 78.9. Estimated planetary A indices were 24, 20, 10, 10, 6, 3 and 3, with a mean of 10.9. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 19, 16, 10, 12, 6, 2 and 1, with a mean of 9.4. (ARRL News Service)
Europe
Flare activity continues to be low or very low, although, for the first time in nearly a month, a couple of smallish C-class flares were reported. The solar flux has been almost stationary, varying only between 78 and 82, averaging 79 - three points higher than last week. The 90-day average was unchanged at 84. The x-ray flux averaged A4.0, a slight improvement on last week's A2.9. The geomagnetic field was active through last weekend and the first part of the week, as a result of a high-speed coronal stream. However, the Ap index did not rise above low double figures and fell to only 3 on the 8th and 9th, averaging under 6 units. The ACE spacecraft reported solar wind speeds of up to 756 km/sec on the 5th, reducing by the 10th to 345km/sec. Particle densities were in low single figures throughout. The relatively small variations in most of the key factors affecting propagation meant that band conditions also changed very little - though the impact of shorter periods of daylight is increasingly obvious. There is now little HF propagation before 0700UTC, while the bands are closing around 1800 or even before. Openings do occur on the higher bands but they tend to be shorter and less stable than even four weeks ago. There were no reports of VHF aurora. During the week ahead solar flare activity will continue to be low or very low. There are currently no spots on the Sun that look as if they have the potential to cause us problems - or provide any excitement. That does not mean that the current low level of flare activity will necessarily continue right through solar minimum - due around the end of next year. An upsurge could come with very little warning. All that it needs is one active sunspot region while the rest of the Sun remains featureless. Meanwhile, however, the solar flux will stay in the 70s or low 80s. The geomagnetic field may initially be slightly unsettled but quiet levels should subsequently prevail. MUFs at equal latitudes should reach 24MHz in the South on most days and 21 MHz in the North. Darkness hour lows will stay in the region of 7MHz. Paths to the Middle East should have a maximum usable frequency of 27MHz - with a good probability of 28MHz openings on several days. The optimum working frequency, with a ninety percent success rate, should be about 21MHz. The path will be at its best between 0900 and 1400UTC. And a reminder that the Leonids meteor shower occurs this week, peaking on the 17th. But a vintage year is not expected..
Nearly Every Day is "Casual Friday" Aboard ISS, Japan Youngsters Learn (Nov. 9 2005)
"It is very, very comfortable," McArthur said. "Normally we just wear short pants and short-sleeve shirts and socks." And, when those clothes get dirty, he said in response to another youngster's question, the crew simply throws them out and puts on fresh clothing. While ISS crews generally dress casually, there are occasions--such as during televised news briefings and change-of-command ceremonies--when ISS crew members suit up in their uniforms. Some of the youngsters were curious about how well the ISS crew could spot landmarks on Earth from their perch 220 miles high in space. "We cannot see the Tokyo Tower with just our eyes," McArthur responded to one questioner, "but sometimes we can see such objects through a telephoto lens on a camera or with binoculars." He also told the kids that he had not yet seen the Great Wall of China from the ISS but "we have taken pictures of the Great Wall of China from space." McArthur said the crew frequently has to do repair and maintenance work aboard the ISS. "Yesterday, I helped my Russian crewmate Valery [Tokarev] replace a pump inside the space station," he told his young listeners. Answering the seemingly obligatory "food question," McArthur said his favorite space lunch is "a big can of Russian lamb and vegetables." McArthur and Tokarev this week completed their mission's first spacewalk to install a new camera on the station's exterior. The pair has been onboard the ISS for a little more than a month. They'll return to Earth in April after 182 days in space, McArthur told the youngsters. The Kawachi contact occurred the same week NASA was celebrating five years of continuous human habitation of the ISS. The ISS Expedition 1 crew came aboard November 2, 2000. McArthur was able to answer 19 of the youngsters' questions during the nearly 10-minute contact. The control operator for the Kawachi event was Kazuma Maekawa, JA4HCG/AG6J, who said "good-bye" to McArthur in Japanese, Russian and English as the ISS went out of range. An audience of more than 100 parents and relatives and representatives from five TV stations--including national network NHK--and three newspapers was on hand for the occasion. Satoshi Yasuda, 7M3TJZ, served as the ARISS mentor for the contact. He's posted audio and video clips on the Web. ARISS
is an international educational outreach with US participation by ARRL,
AMSAT and NASA
(ARRL News Service)
SSETI Express is now OSCAR 53 (Nov 10, 2005) AMSAT-NA has designated the now-problematic SSETI Express satellite as OSCAR 53--XO-53 for short. Launched October 27, the satellite, which carries an Amateur Radio package and deployed three ham radio cubesats, went silent after about five orbits. Based on telemetry received during its short period of operation, SSETI Express Project Manager Neil Melville has cited an apparent onboard power system anomaly. The spacecraft went into a "safe mode" due to an undervoltage caused by battery charging problems, Melville has said, adding that ground-based hardware tests confirm the possibility of a further failure mode of the specific component that would allow the batteries to charge and the spacecraft to resume operation. In thanking AMSAT's Bill Tynan, W3XO, and the AMSAT Board for notifying the project of the designation, Melville remained upbeat. "As you are no doubt aware XO-53, to use its new designation, has some significant problems right now," he said. "However, we remain vigilant and hopeful, perhaps it can be recovered." Graham Shirville, G3VZV, says analysis of the actual cause of SSETI Express's problems continues, and a full review will take place later this month. Shirville says a number of automated ground stations have been set up in Europe to listen for SSETI Express on 437.250 MHz. He also invites valid reception reports via e-mail from the Amateur Radio community, "and if you do hear it first we can promise you a bigger prize than just a special T-shirt!" he added. "We believe that there is a small but finite chance of recovery, so your efforts could be very worthwhile." (ARRL News Service)
SA AMSAT to build Amateur payload for South Africa's New Satellite (Nov. 12 2005) SA AMSAT will be building the amateur payload to be incorporated in South Africa's new satellite recently announced by the Department of Science and Technology. The SA AMSAT committee met this week via teleconference and decided to file a proposal to the Department for an amateur payload comprising a FM mode J Transponder and a digitalker. Mode J has an uplink on 2 metres and a downlink on 70 cm. The Digitalker will announce the satellite ID and offer opportunities to upload 30 seconds of audio and repeating it back to earth. The digitalker operating on 2 metres will be an ideal promotion tool for taking amateur radio into schools. The time frame for designing and building the amateur payload is 6 months with the launch scheduled for December 2006. The Department of Science and Technology will make the final selection of which payload will fly in earl December. In anticipation of a positive decision by the Department of Science and Technology, SA AMSAT is calling for volunteers to work on the project and to build the amateur payload. If you are interesting in taking part please send full details of your experience and the time you can make available. A project team of this nature needs engineers, persons with construction experience including the application of micro-technology, software and drafting expertise. Mail the details to saamsat@intekom.co.za. Visit the www.amsatsa.org.za for more information. In addition to the satellite payload, SA AMSAT is also looking for persons to design and build 70 cm converters to give as many as possible amateurs access to the satellite. (SARL)
Indecency and Obscenity complaint jump (Nov. 11 2005) The number of radio and television broadcasting complaints received by the FCC has increased significantly between the 2nd and 3rd quarter of the year. There were 6,429 complaints filed in the 2nd quarter of 2005. That number skyrocketed to 26,368 in the 3rd quarter. The biggest increase occurred in the Indecency and Obscenity category, up from 6,161 to 26,185. (CGC) (ARNewsLine)
Somalia: Beware of Pirate SOS Calls (Nov. 11 2005) Pirates on the not-so-high seas are using phony distress calls to lure unsuspecting victims. According to the San Diego Union Tribue, the pirates operating off the coast of Somalia are known to send out S-O-S messages pretending that they have a problem and ask anyone hearing the signal to come to assist them When the rescue boat arrives the law-breakers board it at gunpoint and hold anyone on board for ransom. Three well organized pirate groups are known to be operating with impugnity off Somalia's 1,880 mile coastline. That African nation has had no effective government since opposition leaders ousted a dictatorship in 1991 and then turned on each other, leaving the nation of 7 million a patchwork of warlord fiefdoms. Hams and SWL's in Africa might want to keep their ears open for distress calld and report them to local authorities. (W6VR, published news reports) (ARNewsLine)
North American Collegiate ARC Championship--CW (Phone, Nov 19-20). This is a competition based on Sweepstakes results between club stations at institutions of higher education beyond the high school level. Clubs enter Sweepstakes in any of the valid entry categories. Separate champions will be determined for CW, Phone and Combined scores. For more information: www.collegiatechampionship.org. Japan International DX Contest--Phone, from 0700Z Nov 12-1300Z Nov 13 (see April QST, p 99, or http://jidx.org/jidxrule-e.html). Worked All Europe DX Contest (WAEDC)--RTTY, from 0000Z Nov 12-2359Z Nov 13. Same rules as WAEDC Phone and CW, except everyone works everyone. QTC can only be exchanged between continents (see August QST, p 94, or www.waedc.de). OK/OM DX Contest--CW, sponsored by the Czech Radio Club (CRC) from 1200Z Nov 12-1200Z Nov 13. Frequencies: 160-10-meters. Categories: SOAB-HP (>100 W), SOSB-HP, SOAB-LP, SOSB-LP, SOAB-QRP (<5 W), MS, SWL, packet spotting allowed for all categories. Exchange: RST plus serial number or OK/OM district. QSO Points: EU to OK/OM--1 pt, non-EU to OK/OM--3 pts. Score: QSO points × OK/OM districts (OK/OM stations use WPX prefixes) counted once per band. For more information:http://okomdx.radioamater.cz. Logs due Dec 1 to okomdx@crk.cz or OK-OM DX Contest, CRK, PO Box 69, 113 27 Praha 1, Czech Republic. CQ WE (Western Electric)--CW/Phone/Digital, from 1900Z Nov 12-0500Z Nov 14. Frequencies: 160-70 cm (no repeater contacts). Categories: SOAB (Bell and non-Bell). Exchange: Call, name, Bell location, Years of Bell service (non-Bell send ZZ and 1). QSO Points: equal to years of service. Score: sum of QSO points × location codes for each mode (locations counted once only). For more information: http://cqwe.cboh.org. Send logs to cyaffey@columbus.rr.com or Carl L. Yaffey, K8NU, 435 Walhalla Rd, Columbus, OH 43202. LZ DX Contest--CW/SSB, sponsored by the Bulgarian Federation of Radio Amateurs from 1200Z Nov 19-1200Z Nov 20. Frequencies: 80-10-meters with 10-minute mode change rule. Categories: SOAB (CW, Phone, Mixed), SOAB-QRP Mixed, SOSB-Mixed, MS-Mixed, SWL. Exchange: RST + ITU zone or 2-letter LZ district. QSO Points: same continent--1 pt, different cont--3 pts, LZ station--10 pts. Score: QSO points × ITU zones + LZ districts counted once per band. For more information: www.qsl.net/lz1fw/contest. Logs due 30 days after the contest to lzdxc@yahoo.com or BFRA, PO Box 830, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria. RSGB 1.8MHz Contest--CW, from 2100 Nov 19-0100Z Nov 20 (see Feb QST, p 102). For more information: www.rsgbhfcc.org. Logs due 16 days after the contest to 2nd160.logs@rsgbhfcc.org or RSGB--G3UFY, 77 Bensham Manor Rd, Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 7AF, England. CQ World Wide DX Contest--CW, from 0000Z Nov 26 to 2400Z Nov 27 (see Oct QST, p 101 or http://cqww.com). (ARRL News Service)
To honor the memory and efforts
of military veterans Arlington Heights, IL
CQ Veterans Day Nutley, NJ.
Celebrating Veterans Day from
Butler VA
Veterans Day from the Grand Rapids
Home for Veterans
Veteran's Day. Baton Rouge,
LA.
Union League of Philadelphia.
Veterans Day. Topeka, KS.
Coral-Gold II--San Antonio Radio
Club's 86th birthday party San
Antonio, TX.
60th anniverary of the Rosland
ARC Roseland, NJ.
"Return of the Snowbirds" to South
Texas
75th anniversary of the DVRA West
Trenton, NJ
Anniversary of the Loss of USS
Juneau and the 5 Brothers Waterloo, IA
(ARRL)
EGYPT, SU. Gab, HA3JB
will be QRV again as SU8BHI from July 01 to December 31. He
will be active on all bands using CW, RTTY, SSTV, PSK and some SSB during
many of the major upcoming contests. QSL direct only via
HA3JB (Kutasi Gabor, P.O. Box 243, H-8601
Siofok, Hungary).
Nov. 10 2005 ARRL DX News This week's bulletin was made possible
with information provided by QRZ DX, the OPDX Bulletin, The Daily DX, 425DXnews,
DXNL, WA7BNM and
UGANDA, 5X. Vlad, UA4WHX is QRV as 5X1VB. Of late he has been active on 40 and 30 meters using CW and on 20, 15 and 12 meters using SSB. His length of stay is unknown. QSL to home call. SENEGAL, 6W. Dimitri is QRV as 6W1SA and has been active on 30 meters around 2230z. QSL via F4BIT. ZAMBIA, 9J. Brian, 9J2BO is normally active on 80 meters using CW around 0330z. QSL via G3TEV. KUWAIT, 9K. Kees, PA5CW is QRV as 9K2/PA5CW until November 30. Activity is on all bands using CW. QSL to home call. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, A6. Witek, SP9MRO will be QRV as A61/SP9MRO from Dubai from November 15 to 26. Activity will be on 20, 15 and 10 meters. He may also be active from the university station A61AX. QSL to home call. SAINT MARTIN, FS. Jean, F5AHO is QRV as FS/F5AHO from the main Saint Martin island, IOTA NA-105, until November 13. Activity is on 20 and 17 meters using SSB. QSL to home call. SWITZERLAND, HB. Yves, HB9AOF and other will be QRV as HE1G from Paquis Lighthouse, ARLHS SWI-001, on Lake Geneva from November 12 and 13. Activity will be mainly on 40 and 20 meters. QSL via HB9AOF. PALMYRA AND JARVIS ISLANDS, KH5. Kimo, KH7U and Mike, KH6ND are QRV as KH7U/5 and KH6ND/5, respectively, until November 19. Activity is on 80 to 10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. The operating times are limited to their late afternoons and evenings given they are doing work for the Nature Conservancy group. QSL KH7U/5 via AH6NF and KH6ND/5 via K2PF. MALYJ VYSOTSKIJ ISLAND, R1MV. A multi-national team of amateurs will be QRV as R1MVW from November 15 to 28. This includes being active as R1MVC in the upcoming CQ WW CW contest. Activity will be on 160 to 10 meters, including some VHF Meteor-Scatter activity during the Leonids Meteor showers. QSL direct to DK4VW. SEYCHELLES, S7. Denise, F6HWU is QRV as S79WU from Praslin Island, IOTA AF-024, until December 2. She will be using mostly CW. QSL direct to home call. ANTARCTICA. Paul, VK2JLX is located at Davis Station and is here while working with ANARE through December 2006. He will be QRV as VK0JLX generally on 80, 30 and 20 meters. Graham, VK0AG is also active. QSL via operators' instructions. COCOS-KEELING ISLAND, VK9C. Charlie, W0YG is QRV as VK9CG until November 21. He is active mostly on 160 and 80 meters, with some low band CW and RTTY as well. Charlie will soon be joined by Burt, W0MY. QSL direct via W0YG. NORFOLK ISLAND, VK9N.
Jim, VK9NS is generally QRV on 80 meters and has been active around 1800z.
QSL direct. Meanwhile, Ron is QRV as
MEXICO, XE. Christian, DL6KAC is QRV as XE1/DL6KAC until February 2006. He is active on 80 to 10 meters using SSB, RTTY and PSK31 generally during the weekends. QSL to home call. NICARAGUA, YN. Mike,
K9AJ and Bruce, KD6WW plan to be QRV as H79W/YN4 from the Caribbean Sea
Coast North Group, which is a new
ZIMBABWE, Z2. Dudley, Z22JE has been active using PSK31 on 20 meters around 1800 to 1830z. QSL via operator's instructions. THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO.
The ARRL EME Contest, The Worked All Europe RTTY Contest, Japan International
DX Phone Contest, OK/OM DX CW Contest, SARL Field Day Contest and the CQ
WE (Western Electric) contest are all scheduled for this weekend.
Please see November
(ARRL News Service)
Nov. 11-25 2005 I.C.P.O. Bulletin Islands, Castles & Portable Operations - I.C.P.O. 11/11/2005:
NA-199 FS/F5AHO TINTAMARRE ISLAND -
13/11/2005:
NA-199 FS/F5AHO TINTAMARRE ISLAND -
13/11/2005:
JA/H.C.'s JAPAN -
14/11/2005:
OC-010 V6A POHNPEI -
14/11/2005:
OC-040 ZK2LU NIUE -
15/11/2005:
OC-019 KH6/AE6PP, KH6/OH3SR HAWAII -
17/11/2005:
EU-117 R1MVI MALYJ VYSOTSKIJ ISLAND -
17/11/2005:
OC-029 V73JY & V73KJ MAJURO ISLAND -
18/11/2005:
A52CDX BHUTAN -
19/11/2005:
AE6PP, W6/OH3SR SAN FRANCISCO -
19/11/2005:
OC-086 KH2VL/KHØ SAIPAN -
19/11/2005:
OC-010 V63 POHNPEI ISLAND -
20/11/2005:
NA-032 FP/H.C.'s ISLAND OF MIQUELON -
20/11/2005:
OC-009 T88LY & T88YU PALAU -
22/11/2005:
NA-080 C6A/W6SJ & C6AWS BAHAMAS -
22/11/2005:
OC-003 VK9AA COCOS-KEELING ISLAND -
23/11/2005:
AF-032 5H1CM ZANZIBAR ISLAND -
23/11/2005:
NA-096 HI7/DL1JFI DOMINICAN REPUBLIC -
23/11/2005:
NA-106 KP2/K3MD U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS -
23/11/2005:
PZ5PA, PZ5WP & PZ5C SURINAM -
23/11/2005:
NA-100 V26K ANTIGUA -
23/11/2005:
NA-104 V47CJ ISLAND OF ST. KITTS -
24/11/2005:
5Z4LS KENYA -
24/11/2005:
AS-053 HSØT KO LANTA YAI -
24/11/2005:
NA-106 KP2/K3CT & KP2/K3TEJ USVI -
25/11/2005:
OC-026 KH2/JA3EGZ & KH2/JA3PPH GUAM -
25/11/2005:
TZ5A MALI -
25/11/2005:
NA-104 V47CJ ISLAND OF NEVIS -
26/11/2005:
NA-097 6Y5/KH5H JAMAICA -
26/11/2005:
OC-133 9M6NA LABUAN ISLAND -
26/11/2005:
EU-003 CU2A SAN MIGUEL ISLAND -
26/11/2005:
EU-004 EA6IB BALEARIC ISLANDS -
26/11/2005:
AF-004 EA8EW CANARY ISLANDS -
26/11/2005:
NA-105 FS/K7ZUM ST. MARTIN -
26/11/2005:
EU-116 GD6IA ISLE OF MAN -
26/11/2005:
HSØZCW THAILAND -
26/11/2005:
AF-018 IH9P PANTELLERIA ISLAND -
26/11/2005:
EU-001 J45A DODECANESE -
26/11/2005:
EU-013 MJØASP ISLE OF JERSEY -
26/11/2005:
SA-036 P4ØA ARUBA -
26/11/2005:
NA-145 PJ5NA ST. EUSTATIUS -
26/11/2005:
SU8BHI EGYPT -
26/11/2005:
NA-005 VP9I BERMUDA -
26/11/2005:
ZL1CT/MM PACIFIC OCEAN -
28/11/2005:
AS-003 4S7PAG SRI LANKA -
28/11/2005:
P4, PJ2 & PJ4 NETHERLAND ANTILLES -
73 and Good
Hunting!
Home of
ICPO:
www.qsl.net/va3rj
Note: A complete list of Prefixes assigned by International Telecommunications Union can be found on the Trans Provincial Website: www.tpn7055.ca/callsign.html
ARRL Frequency Measuring Test Returns November 17 UTC (Nov. 9 2005) Returning to the airwaves November 17 at 0245 UTC (Wednesday, November 16 in US time zones), the 2005 ARRL Frequency Measuring Test (FMT) will repeat the challenge of last year's successful event. This year's FMT again calls on participants to measure the frequency of an audio tone modulating the carrier. "Measuring the tone frequency, as opposed to that of the carrier, reinforces the understanding of the relationship between carrier frequency and the actual components of a transmitted signal," Engineer and ARRL Contributing Editor Ward Silver, N0AX, says in "Tune In the 2005 Frequency Measuring Test," in November QST. "With the carrier largely suppressed for SSB signals, only the sideband components remain. A single modulating tone results in a single transmitted component." But, Silver notes, the frequency of the absent carrier is what the operator sees on the radio's display. The FMT signals will emanate from Maxim Memorial Station W1AW this year on 160, 80 and 40 meters. The 20-meter transmission has been dropped this year because of the generally poor conditions during evening hours on that band. The frequencies will be 1855, 3990 and 7290 kHz, and all transmissions will be on lower sideband (LSB). The FMT will replace the W1AW phone bulletin normally transmitted at 0245 UTC on November 17 (November 16 in US time zones). Participants may utilize either direct or indirect techniques to determine the tone frequency. "Direct measurements assume a carrier frequency and measure the audio tone frequency directly," Silver explains. "Indirect measurements obtain the transmitted frequency of the tone component at RF, then compute the difference between the published carrier frequency and measured frequency." Silver notes that a frequency counter display of the audio tone frequency using direct measurement techniques also will include receiver carrier-frequency errors as well as errors from noise and ionospheric Doppler shifts. "Please note that since the exciters are independent units (and not fed with a single local oscillator), expect the measured tone frequency to be slightly different on each band," he advised. His article "The ARRL Frequency Measuring Tests," includes additional details on indirect and direct measurement methods. Silver recommends that FMT participants listen to the W1AW CW or digital bulletin transmission prior to the FMT to determine which band will provide the best conditions for reception and measurement purposes. The test itself will consist of three 60-second tone transmissions on each band, followed by a station identification. The whole test will run for about 15 minutes and will end with a station ID. Submitted report should include the time of reception and the tone frequency. "If you used an indirect method of measurement, show your calculation of the tone frequency," Silver requests. Participants should include name, call sign and location in their reports, and they may submit separate reports for each band. A Certificate of Participation is available to all entrants. Those entrants coming closest to the measured frequency as determined by the ARRL Laboratory will be listed in the test report and will also receive special recognition on their certificate. Entries must be received via e-mail or postmarked by December 16, 2005. Send hard-copy entries to W1AW/FMT, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. The ARRL resurrected the FMT--an ARRL staple for nearly 50 years--in 2002. The first FMT, held in October 1931, employed three transmitting stations--W1XP at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, W9XAN at Elgin Observatory in Illinois and W6XK at Don Lee Broadcasting System in Los Angeles--and drew more than 200 measurement reports. The increasing technical quality of amateur gear was one of the primary reasons that the FMT was suspended in 1980. Even so, the fact that operators continue to stray occasionally outside the amateur bands suggested a need to revive the FMT. (ARRL News Service)
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