Reminder: Pacificon 2021 is Friday through Sunday, Oct. 15-17, 2021. Details are here — http://www.pacificon.org/ […]
News
Practicing for Outages With Emergency Radio
Santa Cruz County ARES rehearses for 911 information relay points in case of Public Safety Power Shutoffs and other disastersBy Allison Hershey (KM6RMN), PIC, Santa Cruz County ARES People in the South San Francisco Bay area were caught by surprise when communications failed after a short time during early Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS). Many […]
Radio Club of Haiti President Reports
Radio Club of Haiti President Reports Significant Structural Damage from Earthquake08/17/2021 In the immediate aftermath of the magnitude 7.2 earthquake on August 14, Radio Club of Haiti President Jean-Robert Gaillard, HH2JR, reported significant structural damage in the region. At this time, it is not known if amateur radio volunteers have been part of the recovery. […]
FCC Application Fees Unlikely to Go into Effect Until 2022
FCC Application Fees Unlikely to Go into Effect Until 202208/16/2021 The schedule of FCC amateur radio application fees likely will not go into effect before 2022. FCC staff confirmed during a recent virtual meeting with Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (VECs) that the agency is still working on the necessary changes to the Universal Licensing System (ULS) […]
ARUMS Intruder Watch Reports “Burst Signal” from China
ARUMS Intruder Watch Reports “Burst Signal” from China The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 Monitoring System (IARUMS) reports that in addition to the already well-known intruders, some new or rarely heard signals have been spotted, including a burst signal from an over-the-horizon radar (OTH-R) in China. The IARUMS July newsletter reported that this […]
Intrepid-DX Group Takes Itself Out of the Running to Activate Bouvet Island
Intrepid-DX Group Takes Itself Out of the Running to Activate Bouvet Island08/13/2021 In a brief statement this week, Intrepid-DX Group President Paul Ewing, N6PSE, said his team is pulling out of the race to activate Bouvet Island and looking elsewhere. “We now find ourselves the number three team in line to go to Bouvet,” the […]
July Volunteer Monitor Program Report Released
July Volunteer Monitor Program Report Released08/12/2021 The July 2021 activity report of the Volunteer Monitor (VM) Program has been released. This program is a joint initiative between ARRL and the FCC to enhance compliance in the Amateur Radio Service. Technician-class licensees in Spring Valley, Smith River, and Nipomo, California; Oneonta, New York; Idaho Falls, Idaho, […]
ARRL Now Provides Free RF Exposure Calculator
ARRL Now Provides Free RF Exposure Calculator08/05/2021 The FCC has adopted guidelines and procedures for evaluating environmental effects of RF emissions. Under the new FCC rules, some amateurs need to perform routine station evaluations to ensure that their stations comply with the RF exposure rules. This can be as simple as running an online calculator […]
The Steady Analog Pulse of the Famed Russian Woodpecker
1970s-era radio amateurs will remember the steady analog pulse of the famed Russian Woodpecker, which pelted many stateside HF QSOs, CW and otherwise, in that era. Here’s a fascinating reference, courtesy ARRL: Russian Woodpecker Antenna Array Now a Cultural Heritage Site The massive Duga-1 antenna array that transmitted the obnoxious and infuriating “Russian Woodpecker” HF signal […]
Discussion Specific to Radio Direction Finding
Here’s a fascinating discussion specific to radio direction finding, using the Kiwi SDR. This reference courtesy the Ham Radio Crash Course. https://youtu.be/dtICIDDvnPw […]