Disruption of SOTA Services Possible from Volcanic Eruption

November 15, 2023Andy (MM0FMF), a member of the SOTA Management Team, communicated the potential for disruption of SOTA services such as the SOTA Cluster and SMS services should a volcanic eruption occur in Grindavik, Iceland. The data center containing SOTA services is located just outside the town of Grindavik.

With thousands of small earthquakes occurring and large cracks appearing on roads over the past few days, experts warn that a volcanic eruption is possible.

Source: SOTA open_in_new

FCC Adopts New Rules for Amateur Radio, Drops Symbol Rate for HF

November 14, 2023

The Report and Order adopted today eliminates the baud rate limitation—the rate at which the carrier waveform amplitude, frequency, and/or phase is varied to transmit information—in certain amateur radio bands. Instead, the Commission establishes a 2.8 kHz bandwidth limitation in the applicable amateur radio bands. The changes will enable the amateur radio community to operate more efficiently, including in support of emergency situations when appropriate, and foster experimentation, which is a core principle of the amateur radio service.

The FCC also adopted a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which proposes and seeks comment on the removal of the baud rate – sometimes called the symbol rate—limitation in the VHF and UHF bands and in the 2200 meter and 630 meter band…

The full Report and Order is available for viewing in PDF format.

Source: FCC open_in_new

The Communicator November – December Issue Available

November 13, 2023Surrey Amateur Radio Communications has published the November – December issue of The Communicator, a popular and content-rich bi-monthly newsletter. This issue includes:

• The Orca DX and Contest Club
• Fuses and the ‘crowbar’ circuit
• A Yaesu FT-857D off-grid portable kit
• Antenna adventures
• ARDF World Championships—Team Canada

And more! Direct PDF download link.

Source: SARC open_in_new

New Satellite Distance Record set with SO-50

November 12, 2023

Jérôme LeCuyer, F4DXV, set yet another distance record on October 15th when he worked Scott Richardson, N1AIA, on SO-50. Jérôme was located in JN14ch while Scott was in FN43rh, a distance of 5,645.3 km. This eclipses the previous record of 5,548 km set by KE9AJ and MI0ILE in May.

Source: AMSAT open_in_new

Special Event Celebrates First Transatlantic Amateur Contact

November 11, 2023The Swiss Air Force Museum HAM Radio Club will be on the air with callsign HB8DELOY to celebrate the first transatlantic contact between two amateur radio operators.

[On] 27 November 1923, at 9.30pm EST, two-way short-wave radio contact took place for the first time between radio amateurs on either side of the ocean, between Hartford, Connecticut, USA and Nice, in the south of France.

The special event will run through the end of December this year.

Source: Swiss Air Force Museum HAM Radio Club open_in_new

Special Event Celebrates Father of Wireless Communication

November 7, 2023Special event station AU2JC will be paying homage to the Indian scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose November 23 through December 11 2023.

Considered the “Father of Wireless Communication,” Bose was a pioneer in microwave optics, and demonstrated wireless communication as early as 1895.

The special event will operate on the following modes and frequencies:

• 10M: 28545, 28510, 28490, 29700
• 21M: 21235, 21310, 21350, 21360
• 20M: 14210, 14250, 14310
• 40M: 7040, 7150
• 80M: 3710
• 6M FM: 50800, 51500

Source: AU2JCB open_in_new

Popular Satellite Image Decoder SatDump Gains Notable Updates

November 6, 2023SatDump, a popular piece of software used to decode imagery from weather satellites such as NOAA-18 and others, has gained significant updates to the way it processes and projects received images on maps. Imagery projections are much more accurate as a result of recent code refactors. A detailed deep-dive into the changes have been published.

SatDump is available for all major platforms.

Source: SatDump open_in_new

New SMS Gateway Revives Text Messaging via APRS

November 5, 2023With SMSGTE shutting down services due to increased spam and regulations requirements, the world of ham radio lost its interface to SMS text messaging via APRS. Recently, NA7Q has stepped in with an updated solution to reintroduce the ability for hams to send SMS text messages through APRS.

While the service has yet to be assigned an official name, details on how to get started may be viewed at http://theconnectdesk.com/SMS/.

Hat tip to Zero Retries for surfacing this valuable service.

Source: NA7Q open_in_new

Bruce Kelley 1929 QSO Party

November 4, 2023

The Bruce Kelley 1929 QSO Party is an annual AWA-sponsored event where participants either have acquired or have built their own transmitters using 1929 or earlier designs, techniques and tubes from 1929 or earlier. Special event stations W2ICE and W2AN will be on the air again in 2023.

The event takes place November 11-12 & 18-20 and is sponsored by the Antique Wireless Association.

Source: Antique Wireless Association open_in_new

Hedy Lamarr Day 2023

November 3, 2023The 2023 Hedy Lamarr special event net will take place on November 9 to celebrate her technological advancements in Ham Radio.

The net takes place at 17:00 UTC on the following digital services:

• EchoLink on the ROC-HAM Conference Server Node 531091
• AllStarLink Nodes 2585, 47620, 47918, 531310
• DMR TGIF Talk Group 2585
• DMR Extended Freedom Network Talk Group 2585
• Extended Freedom Network SIP Portal 2585

An HF net will take place on 20 Meters at 14.313.

Source: N9H open_in_new