XPost: rec.radio.amateur.equipment, rec.radio.info

CQ Newsroom

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Ham Radio in Ukraine Shut Down in Face of Russian Invasion

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 11:23 AM PST http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2022/03/ham-radio-in-ukraine-shut-down-in-face.html


An emergency declaration by the government of Ukraine enacted as Russian
forces began their invasion in late February included "a ban on the
operation of amateur radio transmitters for personal and collective use," according to the ARRL Letter.

The initial emergency order was issued for a 30-day period on February 24
and could be extended as circumstances require. Nonetheless, CQ has heard reports of amateurs sending out information via Echolink and of Polish hams sending messages to relatives on behalf of Ukrainian refugees who sought shelter in Poland.

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ARRL Seeks Ham Exemption from New Forest Service Fees

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 11:21 AM PST http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2022/03/arrl-seeks-ham-exemption-from-new.html


The U.S. Forest Service is proposing a $1400 annual "communication facility fee" to be collected from any individual or entity maintaining a
communication facility on Forest Service lands.

The ARRL has filed comments requesting that amateur radio facilities be exempted from the fees, which it says are being proposed in response to a
2018 law requiring it to collect fees for issuing communications use authorizations "based on the cost to the agency for processing the applications, maintenance and other related activities." This fee would be
on top of rental fees already collected.
The League asked that amateur radio facilities be exempted on the basis of
the service's statutory non-commercial status, the fact that amateurs
maintain their own facilities and the public service provided by amateur
radio during fires, search-and-rescue operations and other critical
activities on Forest Service lands. The comment period extends through
March 31.

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3Y0J Bouvet DXpedition Shaping Up for Next January

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 11:19 AM PST http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2022/03/3y0j-bouvet-dxpedition-shaping-up-for.html


The organizers of the much-anticipated 3Y0J DXpedition to Bouvet Island
have set January 6, 2023, as the date on which they will set sail for the second-most-wanted DX entity. According to the ARRL Letter, the trip will
last 44 days, including 22 on Bouvet itself. The port of departure is still undecided.

The group is planning to operate up to 12 stations simultaneously, eight on
CW and/or SSB, and four dedicated to FT8. Interested DXers may keep track
of progress on the expedition's Facebook page, and donations are being
accepted via PayPal on the group's support page at <https://www.3y0j.no/funding>.

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Plans Firming Up for Solo DXpedition to Crozet

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 11:13 AM PST http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2022/03/plans-firming-up-for-solo-dxpedition-to.html

Thierry Mazel, F6CUK, says he expects to arrive on Crozet Island for his one-man DXpedition around Christmas, after making stops at other rare
islands, including Tromelin. The ARRL Letter entity, which was last
activated on the ham bands in 2009. No call sign has yet been announced for
the operation, and the Letter says it won't be announced publicly until
just prior to the operation in order to minimize potential problems with pirates. More information is available at <http://crozet2022.r-e-f.org/home.html>.

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Paging Arnold Schwarzenegger

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 11:10 AM PST http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2022/03/paging-arnold-schwarzenegger.html


Photo: Scott McIntosh via Twitter @swmcintosh"The Terminator" has arrived
on the Sun, giving another notch in the belt to the two solar scientists
who have been predicting that Cycle 25 "could have a magnitude that rivals
the top few since record-keeping began." Spaceweather.com reports that Drs. Scott McIntosh and Bob Leamon say that the "termination event" they have
been predicting has occurred, marking the complete end of Cycle 24 and
allowing Cycle 25 to move ahead without interference from remnants of the
old cycle. "Solar Cycle 24 was cramping Solar Cycle 25's style," Leamon
told Spaceweather.
According to McIntosh and Leamon, the termination event occurred in
December 2021, two years after the start of Cycle 25 but more importantly,
just a little less than 11 years after the previous terminator event in February 2011. The researchers say these events range in time from 10 to 15 years, and that shorter durations, such as this one, indicate that the new sunspot cycle will be stronger than average. The "official" forecast for
Cycle 25 predicts a relatively weak cycle, similar to the just-concluded
Cycle 24. McIntosh and Leamon think it will be much stronger and early
activity suggests that the sunspot numbers are tracking closer to their predictions than to the "official" one.


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Having a Blast on the Sun!

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 11:07 AM PST http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2022/03/having-blast-on-sun.html


Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE
AR-SA
This photo
by the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter
spacecraft on February 15, 2022, is the largest
solar prominence eruption ever observed in a
single image together with the full disc of the sun.
(European Space Agency photo)
A huge solar flare extending millions of miles into space was photographed
by the NASA/European Space Agency (ESA) Solar Orbiter spacecraft on
February 15. According to ESA, the photo represents the largest solar flare ever observed in a single image together with the full disc of the sun. A
flare consists of a dense concentration of solar plasma that is released
into space by the breakdown of a "solar prominence," which ESA describes as
a large structure "made of tangled magnetic field lines that keep dense concentrations of solar plasma suspended above the Sun’s surface and often take the form of arching loops." If directed toward Earth, the plasma blast
can disrupt radio communications and – if strong enough – damage satellites and even damage electrical grids on the surface. (A flare can also result
in stronger than usual auroras, a boon to weak-signal VHF enthusiasts.)
This flare, fortunately, was directed away from the Earth, but the rising sunspot cycle is likely to result in more flares as solar activity "heats
up" over the next few years.


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Milestones: Heil Sound Sold to Employees

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 11:03 AM PST http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2022/03/milestones-heil-sound-sold-to-employees.html


Bob Heil, K9EID, and his wife, Sarah, have sold the company they founded,
Heil Sound, to two longtime employees, Ash Levitt and Steve Warford. Levitt
was already serving as the company's Chief Executive Officer and Warford
was Director of Operations.

Best-known to amateurs for manufacturing high-quality microphones, Heil
Sound also serves the performance music industry with a variety of
microphones and other gear. An announcement from the company says that
Sarah Heil is retiring but that Bob will remain on board as CEO Emeritus
and will continue doing product design and public outreach in the ham radio sector. The only change evident so far is that the company's line of ham
radio microphones now has its own distinct website, <heilhamradio.com>.

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Milestones: WB4APR and K6SSS Are Silent Keys

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 11:01 AM PST http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2022/03/milestones-wb4apr-and-k6sss-are-silent.html

Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) developer Bob Bruninga, WB4APR,
became a Silent Key in February at age 73. According to the ARRL Letter, Bruninga succumbed to a combination of cancer and Covid-19. In addition to being a pioneer in packet radio, Bruninga had a long-standing interest in alternative power sources and was a retired senior research engineer at the U.S. Naval Academy. CQ Contest Hall of Famer and longtime CQWW DX Contest recordkeeper Fred Capossela, K6SSS, passed away in late December. Lifelong friend and fellow DXer and contester Joe Reisert, W1JR, recalled riding his bike to Fred's home in New York in the 1950s, operating with him from
Navassa Island in 1957 and contesting with him at one of the first contest superstations, K2GL in upstate New York. Fred was a professor of marketing
and advertising at Cal Poly University in California for30 years before retiring in 2007, the same year in which he was inducted into the CQ
Contest Hall of Fame. Fred was 84.

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ARRL Board Elects New Treasurer, Re-Elects Other Officers

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 10:57 AM PST http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2022/03/arrl-board-elects-new-treasurer-re.html


The top leadership team at ARRL will remain pretty much the same in 2022 as
it was in 2021, with all officers being re-elected except for longtime Treasurer Rick Niswander, K7GM, who had previously announced that he would
not seek another term. The board elected John R. Sager, WJ7S, to succeed Niswander.

The directors also re-elected President Rick Roderick, K5UR; First Vice President Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF; Second VP Bob Vallio, W6RGG; International Affairs VP Rod Stafford, W6ROD, CEO David Minster,NA2AA, and Chief
Financial Officer Diane Middleton, W2DLM.

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Supply Chain Issues Prompt Amateur Satellite Delay

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 10:55 AM PST http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2022/03/supply-chain-issues-prompt-amateur.html

AMSAT has withdrawn its GOLF-TEE (Greater Orbit, Larger
Footprint-Technology Exploration Environment) satellite from the manifest
for NASA's ELaNa-46 educational satellite launch mission, citing
Covid-related restrictions and supply chain disruptions.
GOLF-TEE had been selected to participate in NASA's CubeSat Launch
Initiative program, according to the ARRL Letter, for a launch scheduled
for sometime this year. The GOLF program is a key part of AMSAT's plans to high-altitude, elliptical-orbit, satellites that cover greater distances
and are "in view" for longer periods than the current generation of
low-Earth orbit (LEO) "easysats."

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Ham Charged With Reporting False Emergencies, Making On-Air Threats

Posted: 02 Mar 2022 10:47 AM PST http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2022/03/ham-charged-with-reporting-false.html

A ham from Erie, Pennsylvania, has been accused of reporting false weather emergencies and making bomb threats. Newsline reports that Richard Wagner, N3BWG, was charged in a criminal complaint with making false reports of
weather emergencies and threatening local hams who told him to stop. Wagner allegedly also used the radio to threaten to bomb public buildings in Erie.

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