Eastern Iowans Rely On Ham Radio When Severe Weather Strikes 01/21/2021
A derecho with winds of 80 to 100 MPH struck eastern Iowa last August, disrupting power and telecommunications for some 400,000 residents. But, as ARRL member and Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) volunteer Scott Haney, N0GUD, recently explained to
The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, that’s when amateur radio shines.
Haney, the president of the Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club (
CVARC), was the focus of the January 19
feature, “2nd-largest per-capita group of amateur radio operators in the world calls Eastern Iowa home,” by Molly Rossiter.
“For some people, [amateur radio is] merely a hobby, but for a lot of us, it’s much more than that,” Haney said. “Ham radio operators are involved in emergency management, in large event management, in a large variety of things. A lot of times people don’t know we’re there, but we’re actually a large part of planning and carrying out many even
Contest University to Host Propagation Summit on January 23 01/20/2021
Contest University (
CTU) is holding a Virtual Propagation Summit on Saturday, January 23. The Zoom-platform event will get under way with introductory remarks from Tim Duffy, K3LR, and Ray Novak, N9JA, at 1600 UTC.
At 1605 UTC, Scott Jones, N3RA, and George Fremin, K5TR, will moderate a session “Update on the Personal Space Weather Station Project &
HamSCI activities for 2021” with Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF.
At 1700 UTC, Carl Luetzelschwab will discuss “Solar Cycle 25 Predictions & Progress.”
At 1800 UTC, Bill Fehring, W9KKN, and Marty Sullaway, NN1C, will moderate a session, “Maximizing Performance of HF Antennas with Irregular Terrain” with Jim Breakall, WA3FET.
01/17/2021
[Complete text of FCC Enforcement Advisory follows.]
FCC ENFORCEMENT ADVISORY
Released: January 17, 2021
WARNING: AMATEUR AND PERSONAL RADIO SERVICES LICENSEES AND OPERATORS MAY NOT USE RADIO EQUIPMENT TO COMMIT OR FACILITATE CRIMINAL ACTS
The Enforcement Bureau (Bureau) of the Federal Communications Commission issues this Enforcement Advisory to remind licensees in the Amateur Radio Service, as well as licensees and operators in the Personal Radio Services, that the Commission prohibits the use of radios in those services to commit or facilitate criminal acts.
The Bureau has become aware of discussions on social media platforms suggesting that certain radio services regulated by the Commission may be an alternative to social media platforms for groups to communicate and coordinate future activities. The Bureau recognizes that these services can be used for a wide range of permitted purposes, including speech that is protected under the First Amendment o
AMSAT/Vanderbilt RadFXSat-2/Fox 1E Set to Launch 01/11/2021
UPDATED 2021-01-12 @ 1902 UTC: Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne has scrubbed the Wednesday launch date and now says it will launch no earlier than Sunday, January 17. The vehicle will carry the AMSAT/Vanderbilt RadFXSat-2/Fox-1E CubeSat into space. The LauncherOne vehicle will carry 10 other satellites. RadFXSat-2/Fox-1E carries an inverting linear transponder, with uplink at 145.860 MHz – 145.890 MHz, and downlink at 435.760 MHz – 435.790 MHz. Telemetry will downlink on 435.750 MHz.
More information is on the Space Launch Now website. Thanks to AMSAT News Service/
AMSAT-UK
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the national association for amateur radio, connecting hams around the U.S. with news, information and resources.