XPost: rec.radio.amateur.moderated, rec.radio.amateur.policy, rec.radio.info

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2309 for Friday January 28th, 2022

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2309 with a release date of Friday
January 28th, 2022 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. There's progress in restoring some of Tonga's communications. Researchers create a new transistor that uses sound
waves - and hams in the UK prepare for the Queen's platinum jubilee.
All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2309 comes
your way right now.

**
PROGRESS IN RESTORING TONGA'S COMMUNICATIONS

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Our top story this week takes us to the struggling
island nation of Tonga, which is still cut off from the world following back-to-back natural disasters. Hams continue to keep a watchful eye.
Jim Meachen ZL2BHF picks up the story from here.

JIM: Efforts have been ongoing to restore communications to Tonga,
where an undersea volcano left a vital fibre-optic cable broken beneath
the ocean, isolating the island nation. According to a BBC report, 2G
wireless service has been set up on the archipelago's main island with
the help of a satellite dish from the University of the South Pacific.
Other than the intermittent service of satellite phones, however,
outside contact has been limited as the country struggles with a
contaminated water supply and other concerns brought on by a subsequent tsunami.

Tonga apparently has no active amateur radio operators and hams in the immediate Pacific region have reported that the amateur HF bands are
presently unusable. Some marine VHF bands are said to be active. Hayden Honeywood VK7HH is among those amateurs using YouTube and other social
media channels to provide updates whenever possible. One of Hayden's
most recent accounts came from Roly ZL1BQD whose friend in Tonga
operates a 1-kilowatt broadcast radio station at 91.3 FM. The station
was unaffected by the tsunami and is carrying public service messages.


Meanwhile, New Zealand's ministry of foreign affairs estimate it will
take at least a month, if not more, before the cable can be fixed.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

(HAYDEN HONEYWOOD VK7HH, BBC)

**
FAA SETTLES INTERFERENCE ISSUE WITH MAJORITY OF AIRCRAFT

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The US FAA has made major progress on the issue of
interference between 5G transmissions and airline altimeters. Kent
Peterson KC0DGY brings us this update.

KENT: For some models of Boeing, Airbus and Embraer aircraft, radio interference isn't just an annoyance; it has the potential for deadly consequences. That was at the root of the US Federal Aviation
Administration's concern about 5G cell phone signals, which use the
same C-band spectrum as some of the airliners' altimeters.

The FAA said planes landing in low-visibility conditions risked
interference from mobile phones, naming Verizon and AT&T as two of the carriers. Now, in a dramatic turnaround of its position, the FAA has
said that more than three-quarters of planes have altimeters that can
filter out 5G transmissions and are in the clear. Some telecom and
consumer advocates, such as attorney Harold Feld, publicly criticized
the FAA for taking too long to evaluate altimeters after the FCC
approved the cellular carriers' use of the C-band in 2020.

According to an article on the ArsTechnica website, the FAA only began
vetting the altimeters in February 2021 once the FCC had auctioned off
the spectrum to the carriers. The ArsTechnica article said that in 40
other countries where C-band spectrum is in use for cellular service,
there have been no reports of 5G causing trouble with altimeters.

In the US the FCC standards place a 200 MHz guard band between the
cellular carriers and the frequencies used by the altimeters.

More approvals are expected soon.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Kent Peterson KC0DGY. (ARS TECHNICA)

**
PORTUGAL CRACKS DOWN ON RADIO INTERFERENCE

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, the Portuguese communications regulator
cracked down late last year on what it called abuse and interference on
a number of frequencies, including maritime mobile and amateur bands.
IARU Region 1 reported that ANACOM, the Portuguese Communications
Authority, in partnership with the Maritime Police, sought to verify
the proper and legal use of radios by conducting inspections on vessels
between the ports of Caminha and Peniche. According to the report,
unauthorized use of frequencies was the most common violation. The
report indicated that such practices, in addition to being illegal, can
cause interference, especially to radios being used for emergency
response. ANACOM noted in the report that it was leaving the matter of sanctions to the Maritime Police. (SOUTHGATE, IARU REGION 1)

**
HAMS IN UK PREP FOR PLATINUM JUBILEE SPECIAL EVENT

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: There will be big celebrations everywhere in the UK
this year for the queens' platinum jubilee. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us
how ham radio is getting involved.

JEREMY: Hams in the UK who are planning to operate this June in
celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee should keep their eyes on
the website of the Radio Society of Great Britain. Ofcom has granted
permission for callsigns to include the special regional secondary
locator letter Q but its use will require a Notice of Variation. The
website rsgb.org will carry those details shortly. Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II is Britain's longest reigning monarch and thus the first
to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee. Special use call signs have been used
by hams for previous occasions, including the Queen's Golden Jubilee in
2002 and her Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(RSGB)

**
HAMS JOIN FCC'S TECH ADVISORY COUNCIL

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The two newest members of the FCC's Advisory Council
are radio amateurs. Sel Embee KB3 T Zed D has the details.

SEL: When the Federal Communications Commission's Technical Advisory
Council holds its first meeting of the year on Feb. 28, two amateur
radio operators will be part of the proceedings for the first time.
Greg Lapin, N9GL, chairman of the ARRL's RF Safety Committee, and
Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, CEO of the Open Research Institute, have
joined the council following their appointment by FCC Chairwoman
Jessica Rosenworcel. The FCC relies on the council's advice on a number
of issues including artificial intelligence, emerging wireless
technologies and advanced spectrum-sharing technologies.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Sel Embee KB3TZD.

(ARRL)

**

DEADLINE NEARS FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT NOMINATIONS

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: If you know a software innovator who's devoted to
helping amateur radio operations improve, you still have a little time
to submit their name for the Amateur Radio Software Award. The deadline
is February 14th. The international award is given each year to
developers of creative open-source programs that follow good
development practices and are available free to users. Previous winners
have included Jordan Sherer KN4CRD for JS8Call and Anthony Good K3NG
for the K3NG Arduino CW Keyer.

For details and to find the official nomination form, visit arsaward
dot com (arsaward.com). The winner will be announced in April.

(ARS AWARD WEBSITE)

**

BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including
the VK3HJQ repeater in Victoria, Australia, and the EchoLink Conference
Server 69556 and IRLP Node 9556 on Sundays at 9 a.m. local time.

**
SILENT KEY: SPACE ADVOCATE CHUCK BIGGS SR., WA5GNB/KC5RG

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: A Texas amateur known for his devotion to NASA programs
and to the Military Auxiliary Radio System, or MARS, has become a
Silent Key. Chuck Biggs Sr., WA5GNB and KC5RG, died on January 18th in
hospice care in Houston. The Arkansas native was a US Air Force veteran
who took a civilian position with NASA's then-new Manned Spacecraft
Center, which was later to be renamed the Johnson Space Center. His
three decades of effort with NASA led him to ultimately become vice
president of the Manned Space Flight Education Foundation. Chuck had
also been involved in SAREX, the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment and
OSCAR, the Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio programs. The
Space Center named him ham radio operator of the year in 1987. A bronze
plaque hangs at the Space Center today, bearing his name and likeness.
Chuck was 84.

(LEGACY.COM)

**

RESEARCHERS' TRANSISTORS OPERATE USING SOUND WAVES

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Imagine a transistor that uses sound waves. Researchers
have done more than imagine it: they've created it. Andy Morrison K9AWM explains.

ANDY: They're called acoustic topological transistors and unlike
devices presently in use, they operate using sound waves, not
electrons. Researchers say that one of the transistors' key assets is
its ability to function with almost no dissipation of energy. The
electrons are designed to flow with no resistance.

According to a January 19th post on the IEEE Spectrum website, the
creation of these transistors was made possible with the use of
acoustical topological insulators. This follows the development in 2007
of something related: electronic topological insulators. These
insulators protect electrons' flow from any disturbances. Oxford
University researcher Harris Pirie said the development of these newest transistors will find applications in such fields as one-way acoustic propagation, ultrasound imaging, acoustic noise reduction,
echolocation, acoustic cloaking and acoustic communications.

He said that because the physics of sound waves and the physics of
light waves are so alike, the same design principles that scientists
used for creating acoustic topological transistors would be useful as
well for similar devices using light.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Andy Morrison K9AWM.

(IEEE SPECTRUM)

**

CYBERATTACK HITS GERMANY RADIO CLUB WEBSITE

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Hams in Germany are being reassured that their personal
data has not been affected by a cyberattack on the DARC website. Ed
Durrant DD5LP tells us more.

ED: The Deutscher Amateur Radio Club is reassuring hams in Germany that
a cyberattack on the group's website, which exploited the vulnerability
of a plug-in, does not appear to have compromised any members' data.
The DARC said it successfully halted the January 15th attack and will
not restore the full website to online status until it is convinced the
site is completely secured again. A statement by the DARC board
reaffirmed to members that their personal data is kept in folders that
are distinct from the website and members' passwords to the website
itself are stored encrypted. The board said it believed the attack was automated and was not launched specifically to collect members' data. Meanwhile, an IT company has been asked to conduct a forensic
investigation.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP.

(DARC)

**

**
NORDIC RADIO SOCIETY PLANS FOR LATEST HF CONFERENCE

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The Nordic Radio Society's HF Conference promises to be
an international event as we hear from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

JEREMY: Thirty-three years after their first HF Conference, the Nordic
Radio Society is preparing to host a return to FÃ¥rÃPara., [pronounced:
Foor-ô ] the small Swedish island in the Baltic Sea where all previous
such events have taken place.

This year's conference is scheduled from 15th to 17th August and
should, as usual, draw a substantial international attendance; they
have been held consistently every three years. Organisers note on their
webpage that the popularity of the programme has grown substantially
since the first in 1986, the agenda now including exhibits and talks,
with participants from all around the world. The society encourages
interested attendees to submit presentation papers now, the deadline
being 15th February. Previous conferences have addressed such subjects
as propagation, building resiliency for HF networks, achieving higher efficiency using low bandwidth links, and robust communications through
HF skywave channels using a filter bank spread spectrum technique.

To learn more about the conference, visit the link that appears in the
text version of this week's newscast.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

https://www.nordichf.org/

(NORDIC RADIO SOCIETY)

**

WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, from the Maldives, listen for Henry, LU4DXU,
operating as 8Q7AH between February 8th and 15th. Henry will be using
various HF bands. QSL direct to his home callsign.

Listen for Mathias, DL4MM, active as P4/DL4MM from Aruba until the 2nd
of February. He will be on various HF bands, focusing on the lower
bands and 30, 17 and 12 metres. Mathias will be using CW, SSB and FT8.
QSL via DL4MM, direct or via the Bureau Club-Log or LoTW. Listen for
him in the CQ 160m CW Contest on January 28th through the 30th, where
he will be using the callsign P40AA.

Alex, OE3DMA, will be operating as OE19AAW from Altenburg, Austria
during the 19th Antarctic Activity Week taking place between February
21st and 27th. Send QSLs to his normal callsign.

Listen for Thaire, W2APF, on the air as VP2MDX from Montserrat Island
until February 18th. Listen on 80-10 metres for Thaire using CW and
SSB. Send QSLs to his home callsign.

If you've been chasing operators in Italy for the WRTC Award, this
scheme resets every month. With the start of February, you have a
chance to work all the Italian special event WRTC stations again
starting February 1st and see how far up the monthly ranking tables you
can get. Full details are in the rules atWRTC2022.IT.

(OHIO PENN DX)

**
KICKER: NO MORE 'PI' IN THE SKY FOR 'ED AND IZZY'

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Our final story is about a changing of the guard, of
sorts, aboard the International Space Station. Ed Durrant DD5LP tells
us what's been happening up there.

ED: After nearly six years of loyal service, Ed and Izzy have been told
their services are no longer needed. European Space Agency astronaut
Matthias Maurer KI5KFH / DP0ISS broke the news to them recently aboard
the International Space Station where the two AstroPi computers have
operated for a half-dozen years. Matthias completed the installation of
their replacements, which had been brought to the ISS in December on
board a Falcon 9 supply rocket.

The units comprise Raspberry Pi 4 Model B hardware, a 12.3MP camera,
and a range of sensors. The AstroPi units are capable of uploading code submissions from two programs: Mission Zero and Mission Space Lab, both
of which are used to nurture students' coding skills. The new units
have greater capacity than Ed and Izzy and are expected to outperform
them dramatically.

Now, this changing-of-the-guard should have come as no surprise to Ed
and Izzy, who were originally installed on the ISS by British ESA
astronaut Tim Peake KG5BVI / GB0ISS. The ESA gave a very public preview
of their replacements in September of last year, calling the
replacements essential - adding that the original batteries were due to
expire soon.

There was no word as to whether Ed and Izzy would be given a formal
farewell or even offered severance pay. The names of the new AstroPis
have yet to be disclosed.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Ed Durrant DD5LP.

(SOUTHGATE)

**
NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to the the ARRL; Ars Technica website; the
ARS Awards Website; the BBC; CQ Magazine; the DARC; David Behar K7DB; DX-World.net; Hayden Honeywood, VK7HH; the IEEE Spectrum; Nordic Radio
Society; QRZ.com; Radio Society of Great Britain; Southgate Amateur
Radio News; shortwaveradio.de; Wireless Institute of Australia; and you
our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. You can
write to us at newsline@arnewsline.org. We remind our listeners that
Amateur Radio Newsline is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that
incurs expenses for its continued operation. If you wish to support us,
please visit our website at arnewsline.org and know that we appreciate
you all.

For now, with Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT at the news desk in New York, and
our news team worldwide, I'm Stephen Kinford N8WB in Wadsworth Ohio
saying 73. As always we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2022. All rights reserved.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)