EHAM      QTH     QRZ     ARRL      HRO      ICOM      KENWOOD    YAESU  ELBO ROOM

and she kows code!

FRICKEN COLD TUESDAY: It is some cold here on the rock they call Cape Ann, 0 degrees with the wind chill factor.....

Ham Operator Must Pay in First-Responder Interference Case

Arguing good intentions, Jason Frawley also said he can’t afford the penalty

A ham radio operator in Idaho must pay a record $34,000 penalty for causing interference with communications during a fire suppression effort.

That’s the ruling from the Federal Communications Commission in the case of Jason Frawley, licensee of amateur station WA7CQ.

When the commission issued its notice of liability 2-1/2 years ago, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wrote: “You can’t interfere with public safety communications. Full stop. So today we propose the largest fine of its type for this interference that put fire suppression and public safety itself at risk.”

Frawley acknowledged that he operated on a frequency without authorization but argued that he did not interfere with government communications and was trying to help. He asked for a cancellation or reduction but the commission has rejected his appeal.

It’s not clear why the FCC took so long to finalize the penalty.

When the forfeiture finally was adopted the day after Christmas, Commissioner Nathan Simington dissented but did not release a reason. Radio World has followed up with his office and will report any response.

The details

The FCC said that in 2021, Frawley willfully and repeatedly operated without authorization and interfered with radio communications of the U.S. Forest Service, which was attempting to direct operations of fire suppression aircraft working a 1,000-acre wildfire on national forest land near Elk River, Idaho.

The FCC said that over a two-day period, Frawley transmitted eight times without authorization on a frequency allocated to government use.

The Forest Service complained about transmissions on 151.145 MHz. According to its case summary, the frequency is in the Public Safety Pool that was being used by the Forest Service and the Idaho Department of Lands to coordinate the firefighting.

“The complaint stated that the individual had caused radio frequency interference to communications with the U.S. Forest Service firefighter’s fire suppression aircraft,” the FCC wrote.

“The complaint alleged that, on July 17 and 18, 2021, the individual had interrupted fire suppression activities and had begun advising the firefighters and aircraft personnel of hazards at a radio repeater site located at Elk Butte. The complaint also stated that the individual had identified himself on the radio as ‘comm tech’ and his location as the Elk River airstrip.”

The FCC said that on July 18, the fire operations section chief left the scene of the fire, drove to the airstrip and told Frawley to cease operations on the frequency.

In 2022 the FCC issued its notice of liability, as we reported at the time.

In response, Frawley did not contest that he had operated unauthorized on a government frequency.

But he said he made six transmissions, not eight; that the total duration of the transmissions including the firefighters’ responses was less than one minute; and that he did not cause interference to ongoing communications.

He said he made the transmissions with “good faith and non-malicious intent to help,” that he hadn’t been given a warning before being fined, that he had a history of compliance, and that he can’t afford to pay the penalty. He submitted tax forms as evidence.

Frawley said his actions should not be handled like those of someone who had malicious intent or deliberately jammed signals. Instead an admonishment would be more appropriate.

Decision upheld

But the FCC is unmoved: “We have fully considered the arguments and accompanying financial information set forth in Frawley’s NAL response and subsequent filings, but we find none of them persuasive,” the commission has ruled.

It said the base forfeiture is $10,000 per violation for each of the two days that Frawley operated without a license on 151.145 MHz and $7,000 for each of the two days that he caused interference to authorized stations. It added that it had actually chosen not to adjust the penalty upwards, as it has done in certain past cases.

Further, while the FCC acknowledged that one of its criteria for reducing a penalty is “good faith or voluntary disclosure,” it said it has no precedent for applying “good faith” intention in a case involving first responders. Even if it had, the commission ruled, this instance “was particularly serious and could have had significant negative consequences for first responders, who were fighting a significant wildfire.”

Also, “Frawley asserts that he is no longer engaging in unauthorized transmissions on public safety frequencies and, moreover, that the ‘wide publicity’ surrounding this matter has already deterred similar behavior by himself and others.” But the FCC said his case is different from those where a violator took affirmative steps to remedy an ongoing or persistent violation, like providing a missing application or installing missing equipment. “We decline to grant a downward adjustment based solely on a violator’s inaction.”

And the commission said that although Frawley’s financial documents on their own could support a reduction, “given the totality of the circumstances and facts before us, we find his ability to pay is outweighed by the nature of the violations themselves and their potential threat to public safety communications.”

 

MONDAY EDITION: Hmmm, 13 degrees here right now at 8am not mentioning the wind chill factor...I just got a nice pay raise, my social is going up 66% and retro for a year. I was one of the ones that fell under the WEP bill. If you had a government job for retirement, you lost 66 percent of your social, Biden signed a bill that eliminated WEP- he did one thing right....

ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio Launches Dream Station Sweepstakes

 555 Timers Bring Christmas Charm to Miniature Village

The miniature Christmas village is a tradition in many families — a tiny idyllic world filled happy people, shops, and of course, snow. It’s common to see various miniature buildings for sale around the holidays just for this purpose, and since LEDs are small and cheap, they’ll almost always have some switch on the bottom to light up the windows.

This year, [Braden Sunwold] and his wife started their own village with an eye towards making it a family tradition. But to his surprise, the scale lamp posts they bought to dot along their snowy main street were hollow and didn’t actually light up. Seeing it was up to him to save Christmas, [Braden] got to work adding LEDs to the otherwise inert lamps.

Now in a pinch, this project could have been done with nothing more than some coin cells and a suitably sized LED. But seeing as the lamp posts were clearly designed in the Victorian style, [Braden] felt they should softly flicker to mimic a burning gas flame. Blinking would be way too harsh, and in his own words, look more like a Halloween decoration.

This could have been an excuse to drag out a microcontroller. But instead, [Braden] did as any good little Hackaday reader should do, and called on Old Saint 555 to save Christmas. After doing some research, he determined that a trio of 555s rigged as relaxation oscillators could be used to produce quasi-random triangle waves. When fed into a transistor controlling the LED, the result would be a random flickering instead of a more aggressive strobe effect. It took a little tweaking of values, but eventually he got it locked down and sent away to have custom PCBs made of the circuit.

With the flicker driver done, the rest of the project was pretty simple. Since the lamp posts were already hollow, feeding the LEDs up into them was easy enough. The electronics went into a 3D printed base, and we particularly liked the magnetic connectors [Braden] used so that the lamps could easily be taken off the base when it was time to pack the village away.

We can’t wait to see what new tricks [Braden] uses tothe village alive for Christmas 2025. Perhaps the building lighting could do with a bit of automation?

FRIDAY EDITION: I loaded the trial edition of Ham Radio Deluxe and got it configured, it has a 30 day free trial and then it's $100 bucks. I think I will let this one go, I am not impressed....

9X2AW to be Active from Rwanda

DF2WO will be active in Rwanda as 9X2AW January 27th through February 15th. This is a single operator “holiday-style” activity. Interruptions may occur during the activation window. 9X2AW will be active from grid square KI48XB on 10 meters through 160 meters as well as on the QO-100 satellite.

See QRZ for more information.

Source: QRZ

Amateur Radio Daily – Read More

Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club’s Service Project Recognized Around the World

Since 2014 the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club has participated in the Stamps for the Wounded program.

Stamps for the Wounded (SFTW) is a service organization dedicated to providing comfort and stimulating activity to U.S. veterans through stamp collecting. SFTW sends stamps, covers, supplies and literature to enable veterans to begin, or continue to collect stamps. Stamp collecting is an activity that provides comfort, meaningful activity and social connections... it is not physically challenging and very stimulating.

SFTW has been helping veterans since 1942 and welcomes any U.S. veteran who would like to begin, or continue collecting stamps, to join our program to receive stamps and philatelic materials.

The Club originally got involved with the SFTW program when they received about 1000 QSL card requests following members participation in the annual 13 Colonies Special Event held each July. HARC’s Club call, WM3PEN, is a bonus station during that event. The question came up as to what, if anything, could be done with all of the cancelled stamps on the envelopes. Upon learning of the program club members began inserting a brief note about the program with the QSL card request.  Soon envelopes, both large and small, started to arrive from around the U.S. We even got packages from England and Germany. Stamps came from individuals, sports clubs, businesses, etc. Many asked how could their school or business get involved. Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, trustee of the WM3PEN callsign, says this has provided a way to introduce people to ham radio. Rich Shivers, K3UJ, who coordinates the shipping of the stamps to SFTW says that the Club has shipped about 74 pounds of stamps so far. That’s a lot of stamps when you consider stamps are shipped with about a ¼ inch border.

Rob Jenson, president of Stamps for the Wounded recently thanked HARC for “coordinating outreach among your members, and other amateur radio operators around the world. We have received donations from others who have seen info with your QSL cards and on your web site.”

Following a recent HARC shipment to SFTW, Jenson said “We gratefully acknowledge receipt of your box of US and foreign used stamps, and some US mint postage stamps. On behalf of our veterans, and our all volunteer staff, we thank you all for promoting us, and encouraging your members and other radio operators to send us stamps from QSL cards, which we forward to the veterans.”

He continued, “We have plenty of material to share, so if any of your members, or radio contacts are veterans or active-duty military who collect stamps or covers, or who are interested in adding stamp collecting to their hobbies, please point them to our web site at https://stampsforthewounded.org/for-veterans and we will get them set up.”

Some of the items the SFTW program can use include: Undamaged, used stamps from the USA or a foreign country except for common stamps that have “Non Profit” or “Bulk Rate” printed on them or stamps with the US Flag as their entire design. Other types of stamps and envelopes that are acceptable can be found on the stampsforthewounded.org website.

For further information contact Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO at WM3PEN@AOL.COM.

Amateur Radio Newsline Report

PARKER SOLAR PROBE 'TOUCHES' THE SUN

JIM/ANCHOR: The Parker Solar Probe, launched by NASA in 2018, ended 2024 by nearly touching the untouchable - the sun. We hear more from Travis Lisk N3ILS.

TRAVIS: On Christmas Eve - December 24th - NASA's solar probe set a record by flying 3.86 million miles, or 6.1 million kilometres, from the sun. That approach made the small probe the first - and fastest - object created by humans to come that close to the sun, according to a report in Forbes magazine. Its speed was clocked at 430,000 miles per hour, the equivalent of 692,000 kilometres per hour.

Nicola Fox, NASA's associate administrator for science missions, said in a Christmas Eve video that the probe had achieved the very mission it was intended for with its unprecedented flight so close to the sun.

This solar pass came as the probe made its 22nd approach since its launch more than six years ago. The probe is well-shielded for this latest plunge into the sun: More than four years ago it entered one of the most powerful coronal mass ejections ever recorded, according to NASA.

This is Travis Lisk N3ILS.

(FORBES.COM, NASA)

**
HANDIHAM PROGRAM LOOKS BACK ON GAINS, SUCCESSES

JIM/ANCHOR: In the US, the Handiham Program ended 2024 by reporting on gains and successes in its services and initiatives to disabled amateur radio operators. We hear about them from Kent Peterson KCØDGY.

KENT: The Handiham Program, which has served the disabled ham community since 1967, ended 2024 with a progress report to its supporters and on its website, outlining gains in its journey. The year included a number of new classes held virtually, including one in basic Morse Code and another for Technician Class candidates. Handiham said that its radio club also achieved gains, reaching a milestone membership level of 158. The Handiham program itself welcomed 65 new participants.

Program coordinator Lucinda Moody, AB8WF, summed the year up by calling it [quote] "a year of achievement and expansion." [endquote]

For more details about the program, visit handiham.org.

This is Kent Peterson KCØDGY.

(HANDIHAM)

**
STRAIGHT KEY MONTH IS HERE

JIM/ANCHOR: It isn't just January - it's Straight Key Month - and Randy Sly W4XJ is here to tell us what that means.

RANDY: Calling all CW operators! January is the month to put your paddle in the drawer and dust off your straight key. If you have cooties or bugs in your ham shack, you can use them, too! It’s time for the 19th annual Straight Key Month, hosted by the Straight Key Century Club.

Throughout the month, you’ll be able to work K3Y stations in all the US call areas, including Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico. In addition, stations from regions within the IARU membership in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America will also be on the air.

Taking their cue from the ARRL’s long-running Straight Key Night every January 1, the SKCC extends the event from the 2nd to the 31st of the month. Whether you’re a seasoned operator or just beginning your CW journey, you’ll find Straight Key Month to be a great deal of fun while increasing your skills. Information for this event can be found at skccgroup.com/k3y.

This is Randy Sly, W4XJ

**

SILENT KEY: JOSEPH HENRY STORMER, W3TL, EMERGENCY COMMUNICATOR

JIM/ANCHOR: An influential ham in the amateur radio community in Delaware has become a Silent Key. We hear more about him from Sel Embee KB3TZD.

SEL: In 2005, Joseph Henry Stormer, W-3-T-L, returned to amateur radio, the hobby he had loved as a teenager. He quickly deepened his involvement in both ham radio and the community. Joe joined the Sussex Amateur Radio Association in 2006 and became its president a year later. He also belonged to the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, the OM International Sideband Society, and served as an assistant emergency coordinator for the Amateur Radio Emergency Service of the ARRL. He was a team leader for the Beebe Bee Hospital's amateur radio operators' room.

As a Volunteer Examiner, Joe was also a team leader of the Delaware Amateur Radio Testing Team and certified volunteer examiner with the Laurel Amateur Radio Club. He let hams and prospective hams throughout Delaware know they were always welcome to contact him to arrange for a licensing exam.

According to his online obituary, he became ill last year. Joe died on December 22nd. He was 80.

**
GEORGIA CLUB DONATES RADIO BOOKS TO LOCAL LIBRARY

JIM/ANCHOR: The Jackson-Butts County Public Library in Georgia is QRV. A collection of 11 amateur radio books donated a month ago by the Amateur Radio Club of Butts County has been entered into the library's system and was placed on the shelves recently for circulation.

This is the latest partnership in the US of amateur radio clubs and their local libraries. Library manager, Cathy Kelly, told Newsline that the donation was made through the efforts of Buzz Kutcher, K3GWK and Nancy Phillips, K4NEP, from the club. The volumes include technical books, licensing guides and regulations from the Federal Communications Commission.

Cathy told Newsline: [quote] "We are hoping they will be useful to many. They're ready to go!" [endquote]

(THE JACKSON PROGRESS, CATHY KELLY)

**
CQ DX MARATHON RETURNS FOR YEAR-LONG RUN

JIM/ANCHOR: Lace up your running shoes and sit down in your shack - and get ready for an on-the-air marathon that encourages operators to go the distance through December 2025. Jack Parker W8ISH shares the details.

JACK: The CQ DX Marathon is back - and just as the marathon for 2024 comes to an end, the new one has begun. Avid DXers are already on the hunt through the end of December, hoping to work as many countries and CQ zones as possible. The idea, of course, is to see who can work the most countries, or DX entities, and CQ zones by the time 23:59 rolls around on December 31st. Keep in mind that contacts through repeaters and satellites do not count, nor do contacts with aeronautical mobile or maritime stations. Only the use of amateur radio frequencies is permitted.

Organizers made some changes in mid-December to rules that affect the awards, operating class and youth participation. For a full description of the rules and who is affected, see the link in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

This is Jack Parker W8ISH.


**
HAM CLUB AT DEUTSCHES MUSEUM CALLS QRZ FOR CENTENNIAL

JIM/ANCHOR: Amateur radio station DLØDM recently finished celebrating two anniversaries in December: the club's 75th year as a radio licensee and its 35th year of operating from its home at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. Now the ham radio station is getting ready for another celebration: the centennial of the museum, one of the world's major showcases of science and technology. Jeremy Boot G4NJH gives us the details.

JEREMY: The amateur radio club at Munich's Deutsches Museum is putting the callsign DL100DM on the air throughout 2025.

The museum is marking its 100th anniversary, a time particularly for amateurs to remember its longstanding connection to radio. Even before the ham radio club had established a permanent presence there, the museum was proudly featuring a 100-watt shortwave transmitter, that had been built by a student in 1938, which CW operators would occasionally put it on the air. The transmitter is still at the museum and it is on view in the electronics exhibition area.

The club station however isn't simply a part of the museum's exhibits and its daily demonstrations - it is a major part of the centennial celebration. Listen out all this year for their special call.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(DEUTSCHES MUSEUM, 425 DX BULLETIN)

**
CONVENTION TACKLES TOPIC OF DXPEDITION CHALLENGES

JIM/ANCHOR: The changing nature of challenges facing DXpeditioners is getting a closer look at the upcoming International DX Convention, as we hear from Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

RALPH: Organizers of the International DX Convention are calling the opening-day program on Friday, April 11th, a "first of its kind" event: It's a full day of discussions devoted to solving problems that have emerged as some top DX entities grow more expensive, more restrictive and more risky. Although new approaches, such as remotely controlled stations, have been employed for successful activations, DXers are seeking even more creative solutions.

The one-day program will take place on the first day of the three-day convention at the Visalia Conference Center in Visalia, California and will bring demonstrations and guest speakers into the spotlight. The topics will be of particular interest to DXers, DXpeditioners and contest station designers -- and any other hams hoping to sharpen their DXCC scores.

Registration for the conference has already opened. The conference itself concludes on the 13th of April.

This is Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

(DXCONVENTION.COM)

**
YEAR-LONG SPECIAL EVENT CELEBRATES BRITAIN'S RAILWAYS

JIM/ANCHOR: A year-long special event is under way to celebrate the railways that serve Britain. Jeremy Boot G4NJH gives us the details.

JEREMY: Train enthusiasts credit the modern railways with helping Britain's identity take shape over the decades. The British Railways Amateur Radio Society G4LMR has amplified that message on the air since it was formed in 1966 by a handful of railwaymen who were also amateur radio operators. Now its membership includes any amateurs with an interest in the railways.

A busy and active society with a full event calendar, the group is hosting a year-long special event station GBØLMR, to promote the message of celebration and mark 200 years of modern railway service. The station is on the air from January through to the end of 2025.

If you have an interest in trains, or just in history, this is just the ticket.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(QRZ.COM, BRARS.INFO)

**
WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, special event station CS2Ø25HNY is on the air from Portugal through to the 7th of January. Be listening on various HF bands for operators from the National Association of Portuguese Radio Amateurs. QSL via CT1REP.

Terry, GM3WUX will be marking the bicentenary of the development of the Braille system for the blind and vision-impaired by activating the special callsign GB2ØØLB. Find Terry on the air from the 4th through to the 31st of January using mainly CW. See QRZ.com for more details.

The South African Radio League is marking its 100 years anniversary with a special event callsign ZS1ØØSARL, for its marathon QSO Party that began on the 1st of January and runs through to the 31st of December. See QRZ.com for details.

Harald DF2WO will return to Rwanda as 9X2AW and be on the air from the 27th of January through to the 15th of February. Listen for him operating holiday style on 10 through 160 metres. He will also be making contacts VIA the QO-100 satellite. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

Listen for Singapore radio amateurs callsigns featuring the special prefix "S6Ø" in celebration of the 60th anniversary of Singapore becoming an independent republic. Members of the Singapore Amateur Radio Transmitting Society are using the special prefix instead of the standard 9V1 prefix through the 9th of August, which is the actual anniversary date.

The Czech DXpedition Group will be using the callsign C8K from Mozambique from the 17th of January through to the 2nd of February. Find them on 160 through 6 metres and via the QO-100 satellite. They will be using CW, SSB, FT8 and RTTY. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: WINNING NEWSLINE HAIKU CELEBRATES LIFE-SAVING RADIO

JIM/ANCHOR: Newsline marked 2024 as its second year of the Ham Radio Haiku Challenge. We've been impressed with what our listeners have come up with. Kevin Trotman N5PRE is here to tell us about this year's winner whose haiku was featured earlier this year on our website. He will share it now to close out this week's newscast.

KEVIN: The haiku submitted by Ray Chiste, KB2ZOB, of Cream Ridge, New Jersey, was featured on our website on the 18th of October. The haiku addresses the life-saving role ham radio often plays. Here's what he wrote:

Muddy nighttime search
Head lamped men with radios
Finally rescued

We congratulate Ray for his winning haiku and encourage our listeners anywhere in the world to submit their own creations at the website, following traditional haiku form. Visit arnewsline.org and look for the "Ham Radio Haiku" link at the right-hand end of the title bar. We look forward to another year of you exercising your poetic license as well as your ham radio license.

THURSDAY EDITION: I know most of you could connect your rig to  your computer like nothing, but nothing comes easy for me regarding ports and settings, drivers, etc. I spent 2 hours on YouTube fumbling around and finally got the rig control and wjst running. The main problem is the Icom usb driver does not work on Windows 11, the fix being to use the old Icom driver and all went well. I never would have figured it out except for my search on YouTube which explained the problem and the work around. I don't like FT8 but just thought it was a good challenge for me to get it setup. Today I am going to install HRD and see if I can get that to work, even an old dog can learn new tricks!

The ‘ham’ tradition lives on

Ham radio is like Yankee Doodle, and just as American.

When the Fort Myers Amateur Radio Club hosts its annual Hamfest at Florida Southwestern State College, members and visitors alike will embrace the term: “Ham radio.”

Both labels were once used by the powers that be to ridicule a group of people. But instead of reacting with anger at an insult, those people adopted it — “Yankee Doodle Dandy” in the case of colonial Americans revolting against British rule and taxation, or “ham radio” in the case of amateur radio operators.

According to the pros, amateur radio operators not only mangled the Morse code in a ham-fisted way when they tried to use it on air, but their poorly regulated signals sometimes interfered with other radio traffic. Thus, they were called ham radio operators.

To this day, however, they wear the term with pride — even if they can’t do Morse code with error-free impunity.

Dan Eaton, one of Hamfest’s organizers, is such a person — he never became particularly skilled at Morse code, which would have prevented him from getting himself licensed as a ham radio operator once upon a time.

“My uncle did this in Indiana when I was growing up, and Morse code might as well have been Latin for me,” Eaton said. “My ear or my brain did not work in dots and dashes. But when I found out you don’t need Morse anymore, I’m like OK, let’s do this.”

Now Morse code, created by some old dude named Samuel F.B. Morse in the 1830s for electrical telegraphy to speed up transmissions to something faster than a horse, can still be part of ham radio, but it’s not essential.

These days, anyone hankering to communicate independently over the air can do it with just a few skills, the first-level license called the technical license, and some basic equipment.

“The technical license basically allows you to do anything except bounce signals off the ionosphere,” Eaton said. That privilege and its uses come with the more advanced licenses: the general license or the “extra” license.

“The technician’s license is entry-level, so when you go to take the test, it’s more about regulations than other stuff. As you increase your knowledge, the licenses give you access to more bands only able to transmit on certain frequencies,” he said.

At Hamfest, organizers will not only provide the basic knowledge required to get the technical license, but they’ll offer the required test themselves at no charge for any who want to become hams.

Affordability is not the problem.

“Your basic hand-held radio is about $35,” Eaton said.

Describing the two-day Hamfest itself, “If you have ever been curious about amateur radio, a hamfest is the perfect place to dive in,” he explained. “A hamfest is essentially a gathering of amateur radio enthusiasts, or ‘ hams,’ where they come together to share knowledge, swap gear and celebrate all things amateur radio. Think of it as part tech fair, part flea market and part social event.”

If that sounds like a lot of fun, it’s probably expensive, right?

No. It’s $10 to get into Building U on campus on Friday, Jan. 10, from noon to 5 p.m. or Saturday, Jan. 11, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

And if it’s fun, ham radio also has some essential, even lifesaving uses.

“You’ll find educational workshops and live demonstrations that show you the basics of radio communication,” Eaton said. “It’s a hands-on way to learn about this fascinating hobby and see how it can be used in everyday life, from chatting with neighbors to supporting emergency communications during disasters.”

In and after Hurricane Ian, for example, ham radio operators made a huge difference.

“With that little storm, when it decided to take out some infrastructure in barrier islands, places such as Sanibel and Captiva, we could still maintain communications with Emergency Operations Center,” Eaton said. “Ham operators deployed to different areas in the county — they could be a hospital, fire department, police department — and they helped the EOC maintain a good understanding of the theater of operations, about what was happening.”

If ham operators can sometimes communicate when others can’t, they still rely on power, but “the majority of power is 12 volt, and a lot of people are using generators or solar panels. That makes it more efficient.

It can be efficient, and it can be fun.

“The other day, I was just talking to somebody in Serbia,” Eaton said. “I don’t really know what’s going on in that part of the world, so we talked mostly about things like the weather.”

And with advances in technology, as with everything else, the possibilities become broader.

In the conversation with a Serbian, for example, Eaton used “the handheld radio, connecting to a hotspot in the house, connected to the Internet, which goes to another hotspot in Europe or Serbia, and that person may be connected to the same network. It’s somewhat voice-over IT, but that’s easy.”

There are other examples, he added.

“There’s music with high frequency, where you’re bouncing radio waves off the high atmosphere to Eastern Europe, for instance.”

And children at the Canterbury School in Fort Myers have discovered something even more compelling — they can talk to people in space, in live conversations.

“They do amateur radio on the International Space Station,” Eaton said. “So we have a gentleman, a member of the club, with all the equipment. He puts it on his trailer, takes it to school, hooks it up and students can talk to astronauts on the International Space Station. It all has to be prearranged, and they only have about an 8-minute window when it’s going over. But, wow.”

You can imagine the conversations those kids have when they get home.

“Honey, what happened in school today?”

“Not much, Mom. Oh yeah, I talked to somebody going 17,500 miles per hour, 300 miles above me, in space.”

The interest might start there, but it ends up reaching people like Stephen Hoch and John Wells, who are also members of the club happy to share what they know at Hamfest.

“Before I became licensed in 2016, I belonged to an Amateur Radio Explorer Post affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America when I was much younger and enjoyed shortwave listening often. My interest in radios continued as I entered the U.S. Air Force and became a Radio Communications Analyst, which allowed me to have exposure to many different modes of communications,” Wells said.

He spent a career in law enforcement, before taking up amateur “ham” radio and putting it to some use — helping in emergencies.

“I have a strong interest in emergency communications,” he said, “and to that end, I completed the EC-001, EC-016 and numerous FEMA courses to further my understanding when utilizing amateur radio communications during emergencies.”

As for Hoch, once a Philadelphian who used his skills there, he’s even taught a high school elective course in ham radio — and he’s been doing it a while.

Need a mentor? “(I’ve been) licensed since February of 1978, (with my) original call: KA3MAO,” he said.

His tech talk is impressive, even if it is unintelligible to the uninitiated. He retired as a subway train operator in the City of Brotherly Love in 2016, he said, and now practices only a single vocation: “I’m a professional Lollygagger!… Radioactive with an FTM-100D on a Diamond X30. Remote thru Smartlink on the Flex 6500 in Philadelphia, Penn. Newly active on Allstar node #47929. Summer 2020 installed Kenwood 480HX into Hi-Q screwdriver antenna and Yaesu FTM 400 in new Dodge Ram 1500.”

We know what a Lollygagger is, and we know what a Dodge Ram 1500 is. Most importantly, perhaps, we understand this: “Member, Fort Myers Radio Club.”

Eaton put it this way: “Hamfests are incredibly social events. You’ll meet people who share your interest in technology, communication and problem-solving. Whether you’re looking for a mentor or just want to chat, it’s a welcoming environment for newcomers and veterans alike.”

And it’s not just for people who communicate on Allstar node #47929, either.

“Hamfests aren’t just for hardcore techies — they’re family-friendly and full of excitement,” he explained. “Some events even have food trucks, raffles and fun activities for kids.”

Kids of any ages. ¦

 

NEW YEARS DAY EDITIION: Whatever you say, don't say this year has to be better than last!....I have not had a radio on in days except for the scanner, it has been a nice break...I am a little bored in retirement and I am thinking of one real estate project this spring-summer, see if I still have it....I spent last year working on many projects at the radio club and we are all caught up wih the projects. so onward and upward...

TUESDAY EDITION: We had a great turnout for coffee and donuts at the club today, I decided to pay our $1700 per year premium on building insurance, no choice really. We looked high and low and nobody wants to insure a club building...so we got shafted with  a $300 increase in premium to stay insured. My house insurance and car and truck insurance took a good hike this year as well. DBA America...

Handheld Satellite Dish is 3D Printed

Ham radio enthusiasts, people looking to borrow their neighbors’ WiFi, and those interested in decoding signals from things like weather satellites will often grab an old satellite TV antenna and repurpose it. Customers have been leaving these services for years, so they’re pretty widely available. But for handheld operation, these metal dishes can get quite cumbersome. A 3D-printed satellite dish like this one is lightweight and small enough to be held, enabling some interesting satellite tracking activities with just a few other parts needed.

Although we see his projects often, [saveitforparts] did not design this antenna, instead downloading the design from [t0nito] on Thingiverse. [saveitforparts] does know his way around a satellite antenna, though, so he is exactly the kind of person who would put something like this through its paces and use it for his own needs. There were a few hiccups with the print, but with all the 3D printed parts completed, the metal mesh added to the dish, and a correctly polarized helical antenna formed into the print to receive the signals, it was ready to point at the sky.

The results for the day of testing were incredibly promising. Compared to a second satellite antenna with an automatic tracker, the handheld 3D-printed version captured nearly all of the information sent from the satellite in orbit. [saveitforparts] plans to build a tracker for this small dish to improve it even further. He’s been able to find some satellite trackers from junked hardware in some unusual places as well. Antennas seem to be a ripe area for 3D printing.

 

Blog – Hackaday Read More

 

MONDAY EDITION: Quiet here on the homefront, late start today with business stuff.....

Single Crystal Electrode Lithium Ion Batteries Last a Long Time

Researchers have been testing a new type of lithium ion battery that uses single-crystal electrodes. Over several years, they’ve found that the technology could keep 80% of its capacity after 20,000 charge and discharge cycles. For reference, a conventional cell reaches 80% after about 2,400 cycles.

The researchers say that the number of cycles would be equivalent to driving about 8 million kilometers in an electric vehicle. This is within striking distance of having the battery last longer than the other parts of the vehicle. The researchers employed synchrotron x-ray diffraction to study the wear on the electrodes. One interesting result is that after use, the single-crystal electrode showed very little degradation. According to reports, the batteries are already in production and they expect to see them used more often in the near future.

The technology shows promise, too, for other demanding battery applications like grid storage. Of course, better batteries are always welcome, although it is hard to tell which new technologies will catch on and which will be forgotten.

There are many researchers working on making better batteries. Even AI is getting into the act.

Blog – Hackaday Read More

ARRL Systems Service Disruption

 

WEEKEND EDITION: ARRL Straight Key Night will be January 1, 2025, from 0000 UTC through 2359 UTC. This 24-hour event is not a contest but rather a day dedicated to celebrating our CW heritage.

Darkness Unleashed: NASA’s Breakthrough Discoveries From the 2024 Solar Eclipse

The 2024 solar eclipse across North America spurred numerous NASA-supported research projects that observed the eclipse’s impact on the sun’s corona, Earth’s atmosphere, and radio communications.

Significant data were gathered from ground-based telescopes, aircraft, amateur radio transmissions, and student-launched high-altitude balloons.

Sweeping Solar Eclipse Across North America

On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse crossed North America, beginning on Mexico’s western coast, sweeping through the United States, and ending in northeastern Canada. To study the event, NASA funded several research projects and enlisted citizen scientists to explore how the Sun impacts Earth, particularly how its interactions affect the planet’s atmosphere and radio signals.

At a press briefing on December 10, scientists attending the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., shared early findings from several of these eclipse-related studies.

“Scientists and tens of thousands of volunteer observers were stationed throughout the Moon’s shadow,” said Kelly Korreck, eclipse program manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Their efforts were a crucial part of the Heliophysics Big Year – helping us to learn more about the Sun and how it affects Earth’s atmosphere when our star’s light temporarily disappears from view.”   ARTICLE

Amateur Radio Newsline Report

ROCKET'S SELF-DESTRUCTION ABORTS HAM SATELLITE'S JOURNEY

A much-anticipated ham radio satellite built by students in Taiwan never made it into orbit. The rocket self-destructed. Taiwan's PARUS T1A satellite was to become one of the newest FM repeaters in space but it never got a chance. The rocket launch was aborted by Japanese startup Space One right after liftoff on Wednesday, December 17th. The rocket destroyed itself, according to news reports. Engineer Mamoru Endo, a company executive, said that an autonomous safety mechanism triggered the destruction, likely after a first-stage engine or control system abnormality caused the rocket to become unstable.

Hams worldwide had anticipated the eventual orbit of 3U CubeSat which had an FM cross band repeater and an APRS digipeater on 145.825 MHz, the same frequency as the International Space Station's APRS channel. Meanwhile, the amateur satellite known as PARUS T1 is being scheduled for launch by SpaceX in January, carrying an APRS store-and-forward system. Both satellites were student projects at National Formosa University.

Jim Meachen ZL2BHF | (AMSAT NEWS SERVICE)

---

ISS HOSTING SPECIAL SSTV EVENT FOR HOLIDAY SEASON

Yes, there's a way to extend the holiday season for just a few more days. The International Space Station has been giving hams an opportunity to participate in an SSTV event that began Christmas Day, December 25th and runs through the 5th of January. It's an experiment known as Expedition 72 - the ARISS Series 23 SSTV Experiment. Transmissions of images are being sent via the ISS station, operating on 145.800 MHz using PD120 mode. Once you're done decoding the images, you can send them to ARISS and apply for an award. See the link in the text version of this week's newscast at https://arnewsline.org.
https://ariss-usa.org/ARISS_SSTV (ARISS, AMATEUR RADIO DAILY)

---

NEW OBSTACLE FOR BILL TO KEEP BROADCAST AM RADIO IN US CARS

Once again, as before, a bill to mandate AM broadcast radio in US vehicles has died without lawmakers taking action. Attempts have once again stalled for a measure that would require AM broadcast radio in all new vehicles sold in the United States. Despite the bipartisan support for it in the US Congress, the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act fell victim on the 17th of December to scrambling by lawmakers in Washington, D.C. Those members of Congress faced a deadline to pass a measure that would keep the government funded through March 14th and avoid a widespread shutdown.

CBS News reported that the lawmakers' stopgap spending measure reached mid-month would solve the greater issue but, in doing so, would cut several items, including the AM Radio mandate for vehicles. The National Association of Broadcasters was among those expressing disappointment since AM Radio is considered a valuable resource for transmitting public safety information during emergencies. The makers of some electric cars would like AM Radio eliminated, acknowledging that their vehicle's electronic systems interfere with AM reception. The bill is not dead, however. Many advocates plan to take the measure up in the next session of Congress in 2025.
Kent Peterson KC0DGY | (RADIOWORLD.COM, CBS)

---

CALIFORNIA HAMS TO ESTABLISH GMRS REPEATER FOR COMMUNITY

The cooperation between amateur radio and other radio services continues to grow. In fact, one ham club in southern California recently committed to making that happen - in a big way. The Mile High Radio Club isn’t just in favor of growing amateur radio as a public service; it wants to see radio in general become a public service asset. The club recently agreed to provide its mountain community with a repeater for General Mobile Radio Service, or GMRS so anyone with a compatible radio can pass along information or ask for help.

The repeater is to be located in Idyllwild, in a region often facing wildfires and earthquakes. Expanded GMRS service would prove useful not only during events such as those but to assist hikers who encounter emergency situations on the popular wilderness trails. Like amateur radio operators, GMRS users must be licensed but there is no qualifying test and one license can be used by all members of a family.
Ralph Squillace KK6ITB | (AMATEUR NEWS WEEKLY)

---

CONCERN OVER STORMS' IMPACT ON SATELLITES

A scholar from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has expressed concern about the impact of geomagnetic storms on space-traffic coordination among satellites. Two geomagnetic storms this year had a serious impact on low-earth-orbit satellites after increased atmospheric density created drag affecting satellites' orbits. The first storm was a solar event last May that made the aurora more visible at lower latitudes in the northern hemisphere.

The second storm was in October, most of the satellites affected by these storms were part of the Starlink constellation. William Parker of MIT told a meeting of the American Geophysical Union on December 9th that the shift in orbits was not easy to accurately track, posing a greater likelihood of collisions. He called the phenomenon a "mass migration" of satellites. He called for better forecasting of space weather and the use of better models, saying such requirements were "critical" to being able to move forward with these kinds of operations in space.
Dave Parks WB8ODF | (SPACENEWS.COM)

---

RADIO DARC SHORTWAVE PROGRAMMING TO DEBUT FROM ENGLAND

The new year is bringing changes for the Deutsche Amateur Radio Club's weekly shortwave broadcast. Listeners of the Deutsche Amateur Radio Club's weekly shortwave broadcast will be tuning their dials to 9670 kHz on Sunday the 5th of January as programming begins from a new location at a BBC property in Woofferton, England. The new year's move comes with the December shutdown of Austria's ORS Shortwave radio station in Moosbrunn, the former home of Radio Austria International. The new location is operated by a BBC subsidiary company, Encompass Media, and is home to 10 transmitters. The Austrian station had carried programming for the D. A. R. C. for about a decade.
Jeremy Boot G4NJH | (SWLING POST, RSGB)

---

HAM RADIO CALLING CQ AT AUSTRALIAN SCOUT JAMBOREE

In Australia, Scouts are getting ready for 10 days of adventure and yes, ham radio too. A small city will be springing up seemingly overnight, in Queensland, Australia, as thousands of Scouts set out for the Maryborough Showgrounds and Equestrian Park. Scouts Queensland will be hosting visitors from around Australia for the first Jamboree in four years, giving Scouts an opportunity during those 10 days to participate in activities that are as entertaining as they are educational, everything from rock climbing and archery to cooking and attending concerts.

Naturally, amateur radio will be involved. Scouts will be calling CQ with the special callsign VI 2025 AJ from the 5th of January through to the 16th. There will be two HF stations operating SSB and FT8. E-QSL cards will be sent at the end of each day, directly from the Jamboree site. This is your chance to get in on some of the adventure. The Jamboree is the 26th such event for the Scouts. Those who do not attend this time around will have to wait until 2029.
This is John Williams VK4JJW.

---

GROWING RESCUE GROUP IN NY GETS INFUSION OF NEW RADIOS

In northern NY State, a rescue group is experiencing a resurgence - and they've got a grant to help them update their emergency radios. Thirty is the magic number for members of Search and Rescue of the Adirondacks, an organization in the northern mountains of New York State. Known by the acronym, SARNAK, the group is marking its 30th year with a core group of 30 volunteers. It is also preparing for the arrival of 30 new radios - the result of a grant of more than $6,000 from the town of North Elba. This will enable SARNAK to continue its mission to support search and recovery missions by replacing its second-hand fire department radio with updated communication equipment.

The new radios will have longer-lasting batteries and a greater range than the 40-kilometer radius surrounding the local repeater. They will also have digital capability. Coordinator Jeff Berry, KE2DKA, told the Lake Placid News that SARNAK has been experiencing a resurgence since the challenges of the pandemic eased up and is now inspired to expand its community engagement. He said volunteers have already begun doing more local public-service activities, providing support to major races and other events, including the 90-mile Adirondack Canoe Classic.

SARNAK has had support too from local ham radio clubs, including the Adirondack Amateur Radio Association and the High Peaks Amateur Radio Group. Although SARNAK members such as Elena Lumby, KE2DJC and Joe Shoemaker, K2SHU, already have their ham licenses, the group plans to use the grant money to help fund training so that more search and rescue volunteers can become hams too. That will hopefully carry them and SARNAK's important work for at least another 30 years.
Andy Morrison K9AWM | (LAKE PLACID NEWS)

---

LOGS ARE DUE FOR CONTEST HONORING SO-50 SATELLITE

Satellite enthusiasts have until the 10th of January to submit their logs for contacts made during the global competition that celebrated the 22nd anniversary of the launching of SO-50, also known as Saudisat 1C. The low-earth orbit satellite was the centerpiece of the event organized by the Saudi Amateur Radio Society between the 13th and 22nd of December. Hams were challenged to make as many contacts as possible in different Maidenhead grid squares. To submit your logs, or get technical help see the email addresses in the text version of this week's newscast at https://arnewsline.org.

SUBMIT LOGS TO: log@sars.sa FOR OTHER INFORMATION, write to: hzldg@sars.sa

---

WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, listen for Billy, F4GJE, who will be in Africa through early January. He will be using the callsign C5RK from the Gambia on the 4th and 5th of January before moving onto Senegal. He will operate from Senegal on the 11th and 12th of January using the callsign 6W1RD. Billy will operate SSB and FT8/FT4 on 80-10 metres. All QSLs are via EA7FTR.

Aldir, PY1SAD, will be operating as 8R1TM from Georgetown, Guyana, from the 1st of January through to the 8th of February. He will be using CW, SSB and digital modes on all bands. He will also operate via satellite. See QRZ.com for QSL details. Listen for Earl, WA3DX, who is operating from Trinidad as 9Y4/WA3DX from the 29th of December to the 14th of January using FT8 and FT4. Find Earl on 40-10 metres. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

---

KICKER: SPECIAL EVENT GIVES VOICE TO THE MEMORIES OF SILENT KEYS

As the year draws to a close, it's only natural to look back on the moments that made up 2024. We also think of those whose signals have long since gone silent. That was the purpose of the K4S Silent Key Special Event which began at the time of the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US and ended just as December began. The hams in Georgia's Statesboro Amateur Radio Society remember them all - the radio operators who have come and gone from the air and from their lives but have left an enduring mark. Inspired by this season of gratitude and reflection, club member Gene Britt, KM4QQU, suggested that club members activate a special event station that wasn't just another activity but a big thank-you to the Silent Keys who shaped their lives.

Buddy Horne, AJ4BH, the club's repeater trustee and former secretary, told Newsline: "Just about every ham could relate to one or more Silent Keys who encouraged them."The week was filled with QSOs from CW and SSB contacts, but that wasn't .the end of it. Buddy told Newsline he made about a third of his contacts via Slow Scan TV and logged some international contacts on FT8 He said another club member, Anna Davis, KO4JKO, checked into a YL net on EchoLink that is based in India. She was able to hear remembrances - and make note of the callsigns - of influential Silent Keys of years past. Buddy said this special event isn't likely to be a one-time thing. Club members are already looking forward to bringing it back in 2025.
Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.

 

FRIDAY EDITION: I guess the tree comes down today until next year, I am going to miss the girls....

ARRL Awards Recognize Excellence in Ham Radio

ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® seeks nominations for awards.

It probably isn’t hard to think of someone you know in the hobby who goes above and beyond in service to amateur radio, their club, their fellow hams, or their community. Volunteers are the very core of the Amateur Radio Service, and that dedication is what carries the ARRL Field Organization. Excellence in on-air ope…

American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources – Read More

ARRL Straight Key Night: January 1, 2025

THURSDAY EDITIION: It's over, gifts received and given, great family dinner- now New Year's, it has to be a better than the last 4....I was listening to some ham on 75 tralking about open banding their $3-8K SDR radio's and Mercury amplifiers up. Why other than being a member of MARS would you do this? To talk to nitwits on CB? Hell their are more idiots on ham radio to qrm with, tune in to 7200 or 14313....

Hibernation scientists studying squirrels could get humans to deep space

In my hands is a squirrel-sicle, or close to it. I’m standing in a walk-in fridge, bathed in red light, cradling a rigid, furry body nearly as cold as ice. The thirteen-lined ground squirrel is hibernating and deep in torpor. It feels surprisingly dense and hard as the chill seeps from the tiny mammal through a latex glove and to my palm. 

In this state, I’m told the squirrels still breathe two or three times per minute, but despite squinting to catch the animal in my hand mid-inhalation, I cannot see its chest rise or fall. Rafael Dai Pra, a PhD candidate in his sixth year of studying hibernation, points out the occasional, involuntary micromovements of the squirrel’s leg–one of the only visible indicators it’s alive. “We think it’s some sort of spinal cord stimulus. You see the paw retracts,” Dai Pra says as he nudges it with a finger. The movement response is an oddity one of his colleagues, another graduate student Rebecca Greenberg, is studying. Dai Pra is investigating a separate marvel: How animals undergo sexual maturation in this deep state of metabolic and physiological depression.

Both graduate students are part of Elena Gracheva’s laboratory at Yale School of Medicine. The professor of cellular and molecular physiology and neuroscience leads a research group dedicated to unraveling the biological mechanisms that enable and regulate hibernation. It’s one of a handful of labs around the world keenly focused on hibernator physiology and what examining the extreme phenomenon can tell us about animals and enable for ourselves. 

Through this work following the seasonal cycle of squirrels, scientists have their sights set on possibilities that can sound like science-fiction: improved organ transplantation, pharmaceutical treatments for anorexia, safer open heart surgery, stroke recovery, and even inducing hibernation-like states in people. If science were to discover a method for safely and reversibly tamping down humans’ metabolic rate for extended periods, the applications would be multifold. Such an intervention might even help astronauts reach deep space. It’s a lot of potential piled atop small, squirrel shoulders and the biologists dedicated to understanding them better. 

Life on the brink

Picture a hibernating animal and you might imagine a slumbering bear, snores and Zzz’s emanating from its cozy den. But the reality is far beyond a snooze. It’s closer to death than sleep, Gracheva tells me during a conversation in her basement office. “It’s a state like suspended animation,” she says. 

Animals enter torpor through sleep, and in a way sleep echoes the metabolic reductions of hibernation. In sleep, human metabolism drops by around 15% and our body temperatures also fall a few degrees. But hibernation is far more extreme and plays a different role. Hibernation is a survival strategy evolved out of deprivation, present in animals as disparate as frogs and lemurs. When resources dwindle and the world becomes inhospitable, hibernators retreat from life and wait it out. Ground squirrels’ metabolic rate crashes by as much as 90-95%, says Gracheva. 

During the hibernation season, which lasts between six and eight months for thirteen-lined ground squirrels, the animals do not eat or drink anything. In the wild, they’d remain in small underground burrows for the duration. In the lab’s hibernaculum, they see it through in plastic bins dubbed hibernation boxes. While hibernating, the squirrels spend the bulk of their time in torpor interspersed with brief bouts of activity called “interbout arousals.” These IBA periods last hours to a couple of days, with each round of torpor spanning two to three weeks.

In torpor, their body temperature plummets to below 40 degrees Fahrenheit and their pulse and respiration rate to just a few beats each minute. Brain activity becomes startlingly low. Electroencephalogram (EEG) read-outs of the neural waves “just look flat,” says Kelly Drew, a professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks who began her scientific career as a neuropharmacologist and has become one of the world’s leading experts on mammalian hibernators. “It’s even less activity than a coma state,” she adds, agreeing that hibernating is more like dying than sleeping. “They’re just on the verge. They’re turning down the pilot light to where it’s right on the edge,” Drew says. 

XMAS DAY EDITION: Best of health for the coming year from our family to yours....

Lighting on a Budget with Cordless Tool Batteries

It’s perhaps not fair, but even if you have the best idea for a compelling video, few things will make people switch off than poor lighting. Good light and plenty of it is the order of the day when it comes to video production, and luckily there are many affordable options out there. Affordable, that is, right up to the point where you need batteries for remote shoots, in which case you’d better be ready to open the purse strings.

When [Dane Kouttron] ran into the battery problem with his video lighting setup, he fought back with these cheap and clever cordless tool battery pack adapters. His lights were designed to use Sony NP-F mount batteries, which are pretty common in the photography trade but unforgivably expensive, at least for Sony-branded packs. Having access to 20 volt DeWalt battery packs, he combined an off-the-shelf battery adapter with a 3D printed mount that slips right onto the light. Luckily, the lights have a built-in DC-DC converter that accepts up to 40 volts, so connecting the battery through a protection diode was a pretty simple exercise. The battery pack just slots right in and keeps the lights running for portable shoots.

Of course, if you don’t already have DeWalt batteries on hand, it might just be cheaper to buy the Sony batteries and be done with it. Then again, there are battery adapters for pretty much every cordless tool brand out there, so you should be able to adapt the design. We’ve also seen cross-brand battery adapters which might prove useful, too.

Blog – Hackaday Read More

TUESDAY EDITION: The Gloucester 145.130 repeater is working quite well, I talked to Dave- N1EDU from NH last night. Merry Xmas to Dave and the merry staff at Salem, NH HRO.....I ordered some crimp rings for double shielded cable, the ones I have for RG213 aren't big enough, I wanted to crimp the double shielded jumper for the duplexer but had to resort to soldering it, same result but the crimping is a lot easier and no chance of melting the inner core with excessive heat...

Experimental Station to Commemorate Fessenden Transmission December 24

Brian Justin, Jr., WA1ZMS, of Forest, Virginia, will operate experimental station WI2XLQ on 486-kHz AM for the Reginald Fessenden commemorative transmission starting approximately at 22:00 UTC on December 24, 2024.

Transmissions will last for at least 24 hours. A repeat transmission will take place on December 31, also starting approximately 22:00 UTC and running for 24 hours. All transmissions will consist only of the two Christmas songs claimed to have been played by Fessenden himself on his violin, as well as a brief Bible verse. WI2XLQ’s voice ID and transmission description is via computer-generated voice.

The story of Fessenden’s alleged first voice transmissions, using an Alexanderson alternator on December 24 and December 31 in 1906, has never been proven to have taken place. “While doubt remains that such a transmission ever took place, Fessenden did perform some crude voice transmissions over a few miles distance in early December of that year near Washington, DC, as a demonstration for the US Navy,” said Justin. Fessenden is credited for his early pioneering work of human speech using RF rather than the typical spark-generated Morse code of the time.

Long-wire antennas and a simple modern software-defined radio (SDR) are recommended to copy WI2QXL. SWL reports can be sent to WA1ZMS@ARRL.NET and e-mail confirmation of reports will follow. Audio samples of the reception are also welcomed.

American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources – Read More

Holiday SSTV Experiment from the International Space Station

ARISS will be conducting an SSTV experiment from the International Space Station (ISS) beginning December 25th and running through January 5th.

Officially titled Expedition 72 - ARISS Series 23 SSTV Experiment, interested listeners can receive SSTV images in PD120 mode from the ISS on 145.800 MHz. There will be 12 different images in the series coming from callsign RS0ISS. Received images can be uploaded to the ARISS SSTV gallery at https://ariss-usa.org/ARISS_SSTV/.

MONDAY EDITION: A productive Sunday at the repeater site, the noise culprit was found and the repeater is working pretty good. While we were injecting a signal through the duplexers we found touching the Y connection at the rear of the duplexers created a large burst of noise...moving it around we found it to be the cause of all our miseries. The braid was only connected by a few strands and no solder connections, it had been yanked probably moving the unit and pulled the connections away. I kind of knew it had to be the duplexers, I had swapped or replaced everything else! I blamed the National; Grid for a lot of it but they did replace a bad pole transformer....anyways we swapped the bad cable with a rg213 jumper that was too long for the time being. The duplexers have to run double shielded cable, we use RG214 and they have tobe the exact length from tip to tip as they were tuned with...so today I have to get out and make and install a the new jumper.

Taking my time with the double shielded cable..

How Ghost Radio Signals Could Hold the Key on Finding Missing Flight MH370:

Transmissions from amateur radio enthusiasts may hold the key to locating the wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines jet that vanished a decade ago in one of the greatest aviation mysteries. The Malaysian government announced on Friday that it had agreed to resume the search for the remains of MH370, the Boeing 777 that disappeared in March 2014 while carrying 239 people. Efforts will focus on a new area of seabed covering around 5,800 square miles - slightly bigger than Northern Ireland - according to Anthony Loke, the Malaysian transport minister. The search will be led by underwater exploration firm Ocean Infinity, which conducted the last sweep in 2018. This time around, the investigation is expected to draw on a new area of research involving so-called WSPR - pronounced "whisper" - transmissions from amateur radio operators. An acronym for Weak Signal Propagation Reporter, WSPR was designed as a way of sending and receiving low-power transmissions to test the capabilities of antennas used by amateur radio enthusiasts - known as radio hams - and the extent of their reach.

Rudolph’s Sleigh on a North Pole PCB

Each Christmas, [Adam Anderson], [Daniel Quach], and [Johan Wheeler] (meanwhile going by ‘the Janky Jingle Crew’)—set themselves the challenge of outdoing their previous creations. Last year’s CH32 Fireplace brought an animated LED fire to life with CH32V003 microcontrollers.

This year, they’ve gone a step further with the North Pole Circuit, a holiday project that combines magnetic propulsion, festive decorations, and a bit of engineering flair. Inspired by a miniature speedway based on Friedrich Gauss’ findings, the North Pole Circuit includes sleighs and reindeer that glide along a custom PCB track, a glowing village with flickering lights, and a buzzer to play Christmas tunes.

The propulsion system works using the Lorentz force, where vertical magnets interact with PCB traces to produce motion. A two-phase design, similar to a stepper motor, ensures smooth operation, while guard rails maintain stability on curves. A separate CH32V003 handles lighting and synchronized jingles, creating a cohesive festive display. As we mentioned in the article on their last year’s creation, going from a one-off to a full batch will make one rethink the joy of repetitive production. Consider the recipients of these tiny christmas cards quite the lucky ones. We deem this little gift a keeper to put on display when Christmas rolls around again.

This annual tradition highlights the Crew’s knack for combining fun and engineering. Curious about the details or feeling inspired to create your own? Explore the full details and files on their GitHub.

 

WEEKEND EDITION: