May/June 2009

Amateur Radio News and events happening May/June 2009

Amateur Radio

Possible International Space Station Contacts for Field Day 2009

ISS According to NASA ISS Ham Radio Project Engineer Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, there is a good possibility that groups participating in ARRL Field Day may be able to make a contact with one of the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

"Some of the crew members of the International Space Station plan to make contacts with operators on the ground during Field Day operations as time permits" Ransom said. "Since the ISS now has a multinational crew representing all five space agencies,

W1AW, WA6ZTY TO CONDUCT DUAL-TONE FREQUENCY MEASURING TEST IN JULY

The Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, W1AW, and WA6ZTY on the West Coast will conduct a summer Frequency Measuring Test (FMT) on July 1 at 9:45 PM EDT (0145 UTC on July 2)http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/fmt>.According to FMT Coordinator H. Ward Silver, N0AX, the format will be a "do-over" of the dual-tone test conducted in November 2008: "The timing glitches that occurred during the November test have been ironed out, so the format will be repeated to give everyone another opportunity to make me...
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National Hurricane Center's WX4NHC Sets On-The-Air Station Test

The annual WX4NHC On-the-Air Station Test from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami takes place Saturday, May 30, 1300-2100 UTC. "The purpose of this annual Station Test is to test all of our radio equipment, computers and antennas using as many modes and frequencies as possible. This is not a contest or simulated hurricane exercise. New equipment and software will be tested, and we will also conduct some operator training," said WX4NHC Assistant Amateur Radio Volunteer Coordinator Julio
...
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THE DOCTOR IS IN THE ARRL LETTER

This week, ARRL Letter readers are in luck! The ARRL's very own Doctor, author of the popular QST column "The Doctor Is IN," answers a question from his mailbag:

Question -- Mario Bedard, VE2FZH, of St-Andre de Kamouraska, Quebec, Canada, asks: Is an antenna tuner of any use in a receiving system with a long wire or dipole antenna? If not, should I disable it while strictly receiving?

The Doctor Answers -- This is one of those "that depends" kind of questions. A mismatched receive antenna will res
...
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Tennessee Teen Ham Responds to Emergency, Performs CPR

KI4FVU It was just another day, helping out at another event. It was the third year in a row that 16 year old Cody Anderson, KI4FUV, of Harriman, Tennessee, had volunteered to help out the Roane County Amateur Radio Club (RARC) with the Run for the Child event. But it was the first time that he would help save a life.

May 30 dawned with fog in the sky. Not too hot, but the temperature would reach the mid-80s before the Sun went down. All in all, a good day for a race. Anderson made his way to the race...
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WX4HNC Announces on-the-air test results

WX4NHC <http://www.wx4nhc.org/>, the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center <http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/>, conducted its annual On-The-Air Station Test on Saturday, May 30, 2009 <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/05/15/10821/>. According to Assistant WX4NHC Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, the station conducted the test to promote awareness of the 2009 hurricane season <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/06/06/10862/?nc=1> and to verify station equipmen

FCC LOOKS TO RAISE VANITY CALL SIGN FEES FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR

The FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order (NPRM) on May 14 seeking to raise fees for Amateur Radio vanity call signs <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-126A1.pdf>.
Currently, a vanity call sign costs $12.30 and is good for 10 years; the new fee, if the FCC plan goes through, will go up to $13.40 for 10 years, an increase of $1.10. The FCC is authorized by the Communications Act of 1934 (as amended) to collect vanity call sign fees to recover the costs

FCC LOOKS TO RAISE VANITY CALL SIGN FEES FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR

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