The 34th Ham Radio meeting in Friedrichshafen closed last Sunday 28th June with 17,400 visitors having passed through the doors (previous year 17,100), and 195 exhibitors and associations from over 30 nations. Excellent results considering the world recession.

For three long days, visitors streamed into the Messe exhibition site from all over the world and celebrated at the same time the 60th Bodensee meeting of the DARC.

For the keen ones amongst us (no names !) .. you can make a note now of the dates of the 35th HAM RADIO for next year .. which are:-

25th, 26th and 27th June 2010

WADARC at Friedrichshafen 2009

Bob, Denis, Gordon, Tom, John, Andy & Phil with Neil behind the camera out for a meal with  Lake Constance in the background.

Tue 30th June 2009

Back from a long summer vacation, George and Tommy visit the Capitol City Hamfest and run into an old friend.

Peter shows us how to create a warm spot. Plus plenty of Amateur Radio news and Viewer email.

More Info at http://www.amateurlogic.com/blog/

Mon 29th June 2009

EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding made a speech last week 'Towards a European Strategy of High Speed Broadband for All'. It contained references to the recent Digital Britain report.

In her speech the Commissioner indicated that while Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) systems might deserve financial support, VDSL systems should not.

She said

"Third, co-operative arrangements with a view to joint deployment of networks are a fact of life.  We recommend that such arrangements deserve the regulator's support if they serve to diversify the initial investment risk into FTTH networks, or if they result in infrastructure-based competition by means of multiple fibre lines in FTTH roll-out. But I strongly believe that this support by regulators should not apply in a mere VDSL context. "

VDSL technology works by transmitting a broadband HF signal down the telephone line from the street cabinet to the home. This signal extends across HF Amateur and Broadcast bands.

Viviane Reding EU Telecoms Commissioner Towards a European Strategy of High Speed Broadband for All: How to Reward the Risk of Investment into Fibre in a Competitive Environment ECTA conference Brussels, 25 June 2009

Read her speech

Tue 30th June 2009

The EU has welcomed industry's commitment to provide a common charger for mobile (cell) phones.

The EU has said:

"Incompatibility of chargers for mobile phones is a major inconvenience for users and also leads to unnecessary waste.

"Therefore, the Commission has requested industry to come forward with a voluntary commitment to solve this problem so as to avoid legislation.  As a result major producers of mobile phones have agreed to harmonise chargers in the EU.

"In a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”), which was submitted to the Commission today, the industry commits to provide chargers compatibility on the basis of the Micro-USB connector. In addition new EU standards to ensure continued safe charger use will be developed to facilitate the implementation of the MoU.

"The first generation of new inter-chargeable mobile phones should reach the EU market from 2010 onwards."

Commission welcomes industry's commitment to provide a common charger for mobile phones

Read the full Report

Sat 27th June 2009

The RSGB reports that the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is moving towards requiring commercially produced, finished amateur radio equipment to conform to international standards for emissions.

We understand that the proposals will not affect kits or homebrew.

More details will be published in RadCom as they become known

  Source: GB2RS News

Wed 24th June 2009

From a BBC news item it appears that electronic construction is undergoing a renaissance in the UK.

The report, titled 'DIY gadgetry', appeared in the BBC News magazine and said:

"Paying for a much-loved electronic item to be repaired can cost a lot of money. Replacing them costs a lot too. And as for creating your own gadgets, most consumers would probably feel a little out of their depth.

"There's a group of people out there who just aren't having it anymore. Welcome to the "hack space", where amateurs are discovering the joys of homemade technology.

"Gadget makers, also known as hackers and tinkerers, have created an underground network that stretches from Argentina to New Zealand."

According to the report one of the groups London Hackspace has attracted more than 200 members since it launched in January.

Read the full BBC News Magazine item 'DIY gadgetry' at : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8107803.stm

BBC video - Meet the gadget hackers : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8108151.stm

London Hackspace : http://london.hackspace.org.uk/

Hackspace Foundation : http://hackspace.org.uk/

Wed 24th June 2009

In an article in the Times newspaper, published June 22, Libby Purves describes DAB technology as 'energy-guzzling' and queries the need to abandon the analog bands.

Libby Purves's article follows the Governments release of the Digital Britain Report containing plans to move UK radio broadcasters out of the AM and FM wavebands and force them to use VHF DAB.

As well as highlighting the waste in scrapping hundreds of millions of perfectly good radios, Libby also points out that DAB radios are 'energy-guzzling' and she reminds us that the UK version of DAB was rejected by everyone else in Europe except Denmark and Norway.

Read the article 'Radio revolution will leave listeners in silence' (Times June 22).

In the 1970's the UK Governments Protect and Survive programme recommended people took a battery radio with them into their shelter.

An AM or FM radio can last a long time on a set of batteries. For a DAB radio, a case full of spare batteries may be required as well !!

Sat 20th June 2009

The Government's recent Digital Britain report speaks of the importance of resilient communications networks and the need for regular tests of emergency communications systems.

Mention is made of a planned major test in late 2009 to manage and recover from a major loss of network capability.

The RSGB regrets that Government communications planners seem to have completely overlooked the valuable resource that RAYNET can offer in such emergency situations.

Unfortunately RAYNET does not seem to be completely integrated into the nation's emergency communications planning

 GB2RS News

Sat 20th June 2009

A present to the United States VHF and UHF ham radio community. This from both the broadcasters and the FCC as many of the nation's VHF television stations vacate many of the low VHF channels, go digital and lower the overall noise floor on 6 meters.

The big digital television change-out began at 00:01 EST on Friday, June 12th. Stations across the nation chose their own time to turn-off their analog transmitters and move their operations to their permanent digital channels.

Many of the low-band stations opted to move to the UHF band. A lot of them operated on Channel 2 just above the 6 meter ham band. And when those analog channel 2 transmitters went QRT, the noise level on 6 meters dropped in many locations.

Places like Chicago, where Keith Morehouse, W9RM, reported over the VHF Reflector that this is a big plus in Chicago where the long known Channel 2 audio spur is gone. That spur used to trash the WSJT meteor scatter calling
frequency 50.260 MHz.

In Milwaukee Ray Greiner, K9KHW, reports on the analog shutdown on VHF channels 4, 6 and 12. He reports that he found most of the VHF and UHF ham bands so quiet that he actually checked and see if his antennas were connected. He says that on 6 meters where the normal noise level was S-3 to S-4, its now zero.

But 6 meters is not the only band seeing a noise floor improvement. Steve Rutledge, N4JQQ, is in Memphis Tennessee. He says that when VHF channel 3 went to UHF and channels 5 and 13 went digital on their current assignments, that the noise he heard on the 222 MHz ham band when pointing his beam East is now completely gone.

He says that in the past, that the noise level was so high that it wiped out any signal from the east, even with a bandpass filter before his tower mounted preamp.

Even some of those living North of the United States and Canadian border are happy about the change.
Jordan Arndt, VE6ZT, in Calgary, Ontario says that he can hear the difference up in Grid Square DO-21.
This is especially true when the band is open.

Its going tro take a few weeks to really assess the impact that the digital television conversion will have on most of the VHF and UHF amateur radio bands, but so far the results seem very good indeed.

 ARNewsline, VHF Reflector

Fri 19th June 2009

The sun is in the pits of a century-class solar minimum, and sunspots have been puzzlingly scarce for more than two years. Now, for the first time, solar physicists might understand why.

A NASA report says:

At an American Astronomical Society press conference [June 17] in Boulder, Colorado, researchers announced that a jet stream deep inside the sun is migrating slower than usual through the star's interior, giving rise to the current lack of sunspots.

Rachel Howe and Frank Hill of the National Solar Observatory (NSO) in Tucson, Arizona, used a technique called helioseismology to detect and track the jet stream down to depths of 7,000 km below the surface of the sun.

The sun generates new jet streams near its poles every 11 years, they explained to a room full of reporters and fellow scientists. The streams migrate slowly from the poles to the equator and when a jet stream reaches the critical latitude of 22 degrees, new-cycle sunspots begin to appear.

Howe and Hill found that the stream associated with the next solar cycle has moved sluggishly, taking three years to cover a 10 degree range in latitude compared to only two years for the previous solar cycle.

The jet stream is now, finally, reaching the critical latitude, heralding a return of solar activity in the months and years ahead.

"It is exciting to see", says Hill, "that just as this sluggish stream reaches the usual active latitude of 22 degrees, a year late, we finally begin to see new groups of sunspots emerging."

  Read the full NASA story.

Tue 16th June 2009

The BBC say that the satellites it uses to broadcast in Persian were being jammed from Iran, disrupting its reports on the hotly-disputed presidential election.

The corporation said television and radio services had been affected from 1245 UTC Friday onwards by “heavy electronic jamming” which had become “progressively worse”.  Satellite technicians had traced the interference to Iran, it said.

The satellites its uses in the Middle East to broadcast BBC Persian television to Iran were being affected, meaning that audiences in Iran, the Middle East and Europe would likely experience disruption. BBC Arabic television and other language services had also experienced transmission problems, the corporation said.

“Any attempt to block BBC Persian television is wrong and against international treaties on satellite communication. Whoever is attempting the blocking should stop it now,” said BBC World Service director Peter Horrocks. “It seems to be part of a pattern of behaviour by the Iranian authorities to limit the reporting of the aftermath of the disputed election.

“In Tehran, (BBC world affairs editor) John Simpson and his cameraman were briefly arrested after they had filmed material for a piece,” he added. Iranian authorities today shut down the office of Arab news channel Al-Arabiya in Tehran for a week in the wake of the disputed election win by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the channel said.

(Source: AFP)

Reporters Without Borders adds: The blocking of access to foreign news media has been stepped up. In addition to the blocking of the BBC’s website, the Farsi-language satellite broadcasts of the VOA and BBC – which are very popular in Iran – have been partially jammed. The Internet is now very slow, like the mobile phone network. YouTube and Facebook are hard to access and pro-reform sites such as Khordadeno, AftabNews and Ghalamesabz are completely inaccessible.

Media Network's Andy Sennitt says: Two of the three sites mentioned above gave the message “bandwidth limit exceeded” when I checked at 1550 UTC, suggesting that DOS attacks may have been carried out.

 Source: Media Network

Tue 16th June 2009

On Monday, the UK regulator Ofcom published updates to its digital switchover transmitter frequency guides for the Border, Central and Granada regions.

Further details can be found at  http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/ifi/tech/dsodetails/

Technical guidance  http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/ifi/tech/

Sun  14th June 2009

On Friday, the UK regulator Ofcom published its fourth annual technology research report.

The report covers a number of spectrum management projects and highlights the communications infrastructure required to support future entertainment services.

The full report can be found here http://www.ofcom.org.uk/research/technology/overview/randd0809/

Sat 13th June 2009

The RSGB, in conjunction with the Lincoln Shortwave Club, announces a brand new national amateur radio show for the UK.

The National Hamfest has the full support of the major amateur radio traders and manufacturers and will take place on 2 and 3 October 2009.

The venue for the National Hamfest is the George Stephenson hall at the Newark and Nottingham showground.

Built in 2005, the spacious hall is well lit and provides great facilities for both traders and visitors. There is ample free parking and there will also be an amateur radio car boot sale and a flea market.

Full details of this event will be published in the July RadCom and can also be found online at www.nationalhamfest.org.uk.
 

Thu 11th June 2009

ScienceDaily.com reports on a new RF chip that could have applications in cognitive radios.

The report says:

MIT engineers have built a fast, ultra-broadband, low-power radio chip, modeled on the human inner ear, that could enable wireless devices capable of receiving cell phone, Internet, radio and television signals.

The RF cochlea, embedded on a silicon chip measuring 1.5 mm by 3 mm, works as an analog spectrum analyzer, detecting the composition of any electromagnetic waves within its perception range. Electromagnetic waves travel through electronic inductors and capacitors (analogous to the biological cochlea's fluid and membrane). Electronic transistors play the role of the cochlea's hair cells.

The analog RF cochlea chip is faster than any other RF spectrum analyzer and consumes about 100 times less power than what would be required for direct digitization of the entire bandwidth. That makes it desirable as a component of a universal or "cognitive" radio, which could receive a broad range of frequencies and select which ones to attend to.

Read the full ScienceDaily article.

Wiki - Cognitive Radio
 

Wed 10th June 2009

Following uncertainty surrounding the Donington Park venue, due to the re-development taking place to host the 2010 British Grand Prix, it has been decided to relocate the show.  As a result, it has also been necessary to move from the traditional Friday & Saturday to a Saturday & Sunday event, and also to move the date to the following weekend.

The 38th Leicester Amateur Radio Show will now be held at Loughborough University, Leicestershire on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th September from 9.30 each day, closing at 5.00pm on Saturday and 4.00pm on Sunday.

The Show will feature the usual Bring and Buy, Club stands, Convention, Flea Market and demonstration amateur radio stations as well as many electronic, radio and computer stands.

Loughborough University is situated 1 mile from junction 23 M1 motorway, 8 miles from East Midlands Airport and 1 mile from Loughborough  Midland mainline railway station.  (Post Code for SatNav LE11 3TU)

Further information is available by contacting Geoff Dover, G4AFJ, telephone 01455 823344, fax 01455 828273 or e-mail geoffg4afj@aol.com

The fox - (photo Phil G6IIM).

Thanks to Tom G4BKF and Simon G6XHF who acted as fox for the first club event of 2009, known as the 'Practice DF'.

Five teams took part and the results were as follows:-

21 Minutes M1EEV & G4EWJ team
22 Minutes G7TSX team
35 Minutes G3UVR & G8REQ team
41 Minutes G4OAR, G6IIM & G8MMM team
90 Minutes G4WUA & 2E0BDO team

The fox was located just behind The Dell, Rock Ferry, not with easy access as there was only one way in although you could get very close from a second direction and reach it on foot. (as indeed one team did) 

The event was followed by a D&W at the Chimneys, Hooton.

Thur 4th June 2009

Anacom, the Portuguese agency for the amateur radio service, has published new legislation which will impact on the callsign structure of Portuguese (Portugal, Madeira and the Azores) callsigns.

The new prefix block will be allocated starting with June 1, 2009. Each area will have four blocks (old calls under old legislation, new calls under new legislation, club calls and special calls):

Portugal:
block 1: CT1, CT2, CT4, CT5
block 2: CR7, CS7, CT7
block 3: CQ0, CS5
block 4: CQ7, CR5, CR6, CS2
Madeira:
block 1: CT3
block 2: CR9, CS9, CT9
block 3: CQ2, CS3
block 4: CQ3, CQ9, CR3
Azores:
block 1: CU1, CU2, CU3, CU4, CU5, CU6, CU7, CU8, CU9, CU0
block 2: CR8, CS8, CT8
block 3: CQ1, CS4
block 4: CQ8, CR1, CR2

Callsigns from block 1 (CT1/2/4/5, CT3, CU) will no longer be issued.

Current hams will keep these calls if they like or submit to a new exam to have the new prefixes (CR/CS/CT7, CR/CS/CT8, CR/CS/CT9).

New hams will have block 2.
Club stations will have calls in block 3 (CQ0/CS5, CQ2/CS3, CQ1/CS4) and special occasion and contest calls will be from block 4 (CQ7/CR5/CR6/CS2, CQ3/CQ9/CR3, CQ8/CR1/CR2).

More information at: http://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=944999

Last Sunday saw the local 'A' team arrive in Irby .. to remove the Versatower post at G4UDR.

Vic has decided it is time to change back to dipoles for HF, as servicing the tower and antenna farm has become more and more demanding.  Chris M1EEV with Paul and friends managed to cut the post off, and then spent some 'recovery time' enjoying the splendid cooking of Maria.

During the years Vic has been operating his Versatower and HF beam, he has been a consistently BIG signal around the world.  When club members first ventured to the Friedrichshafen Rally back in 1993 driving the 950 miles each way by camper van .. so consistent was Vic on 20 meters that it was like driving with SatNav as Vic relayed the directions to us from a large scale map he had in the shack !!  He was regularly the biggest signal on the band and certainly out of the United Kingdom.  If I know Vic, you won't miss his new station either .. when he gets the new dipoles fired up !!  Good Luck Vic.

Paul with the rotating hacksaw

The 'A' team recovering in style !

Tue 2nd June 2009

An international panel of experts led by NOAA and sponsored by NASA has released a new prediction for the next solar cycle.

Solar Cycle 24 will peak, they say, in May 2013 with a below-average number of sunspots.

The Nasa story quotes panel chairman Doug Biesecker of the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center as saying:-

"If our prediction is correct, Solar Cycle 24 will have a peak sunspot number of 90, the lowest of any cycle since 1928 when Solar Cycle 16 peaked at 78,".

Read the full NASA story at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/29may_noaaprediction.htm?list130845

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) http://www.noaa.gov/

Tue 2nd June 2009

The MoD has informed Ofcom of the following GPS jamming exercises taking place in September.

Dates: 7-11 September and 14-18 September 2009.

Times: limited periods between 09:00 and 17:00 hrs

Location: Within 5km of N52° 00.881’ and W003° 38.518’ (Sennybridge Training Area, Mid-Wales).

Contact: Trial Manager (during the trial) on 07766 134520 or the 24hr Sennybridge Operations point on 01874 635461

Sun 31st May 2009

The first noctilucent clouds (NLCs) of 2009 have been sighted over northern Europe.

Last night, May 29th, photographers recorded wispy electric-blue tendrils spreading across the twilight skies of Denmark, Northern Ireland and Scotland. This follows a similar display over Russia on May 27th.

These sightings signal the beginning of the 2009 NLC season, which is expected to last until late July.

Early-season NLCs are usually feeble, but these were fairly bright and vibrant, suggesting that even better displays are in the offing.

Check today's edition of http://spaceweather.com for photos.

Noctilucent clouds are an unsolved puzzle. They float 83 km above Earth's surface at the edge of space itself. People first noticed NLCs in the late 19th century. In those days you had to travel to high northern latitudes to see them.

In recent years, however, the clouds have been sighted in the United States as far south as Oregon, Washington and even Colorado. Climate change, space dust, and rocket launches have all been cited as possible explanations for the phenomenon.

Interestingly, low solar activity seems to promote the clouds, so the ongoing deep solar minimum could set the stage for a good season in 2009.

The best time to look for NLCs is just after sunset or just before sunrise when the sun is between 6 and 16 degrees below the horizon. That's when the geometry is just right for sunlight to illuminate the tiny ice crystals that make up the clouds. Observing tips and sample photos may be found in the 2008 Noctilucent Cloud Gallery:
http://spaceweather.com/nlcs/gallery2008_page10.htm

If you enjoy these news alerts and wish to support our efforts, please consider signing up for Spaceweather.com's astronomy alert service: http://spaceweatherphone.com .