SILENT KEY: JIM TIEMSTRA K6JAT, ARRL PACIFIC DIVISION DIRECTOR
NEIL/ANCHOR: A prominent radio amateur on the U.S. West Coast has become a
Silent Key. Ralph Squillace, KK6ITB, has that story.
RALPH: ARRL members on the West Coast have lost a leader: The ARRL's
Pacific Division Director, Jim Tiemstra, K6JAT, has become a Silent Key.
The Oakland, California amateur died on October 30th.
Before becoming director in 2018, Jim had served as vice director from 2009
through 2017. He also served on a variety of committees and had a number of
board assignments. An ARRL Life Member, Jim became a ham in 1970 in his
Chicago, Illinois hometown where with the call sign WN9ELU he was president
of his high school radio club. Jim was best known for his enthusiasm for
contesting and DXing and his commitment to public service and emergency
response. He belonged to the Oakland Amateur Radio Emergency Service Group
and was part of the team responding in 1989 to the Loma Prieta earthquake
and in 1991 to the Oakland Hills firestorm.
Jim, a retired attorney, was the first president of the Oakland Radio
Communication Association, which he incorporated in 1998 and served as a
founding director. He was trustee of the club's call sign WW6OR.
Jim Tiemstra was 65.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ralph Squillace, KK6ITB.
(ARRL)
**
TURNING TO VINTAGE PUBLICATIONS ABOUT VINTAGE GEAR
NEIL/ANCHOR: Because radio waves are as old as nature itself, even the
oldest books rarely go out of style - just out of print. However one ham in
Romania is making them available as free digital downloads. Ed Durrant,
DD5LP, picks up the story from here.
ED: There are hams who enjoy vintage rigs and antique straight keys but how
about hams who appreciate historic publications about radio? Iulian Rosu, YO3DAC
/ VA3IUL, an accomplished QRP contester in Romania who loves
homebrew in addition to QRP operating, is one of those enthusiasts. Now he
is sharing free downloadable PDFs of some old books about radio that date
back as much as 100 years.
The titles include "The Wireless Experimenters Manual," by E. Bucher, published
in 1920, and "Radio, Miracle of the 20th Century," by F. Drinker
and J. Lewis, published in 1922. He also has a collection of old radio
magazines in downloadable format - publications such as the archive
collection of Radio Times, dating to 1923 and The Wireless Constructor,
from 1926. There's even a General Electric handbook on sideband, first
published in 1961.
They are all there -- for the curious as well as the collector -- the
website URL appears in the printed version of this newscast on our website
at arnewsline.org
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ed Durrant, DD5LP.
[FOR PRINT ONLY: DO NOT READ -
https://www.qsl.net/va3iul/Files/Old_Radio_Frequency_Books.htm]
(SOUTHGATE, QSL.NET)
**
FCC OKS DIGITAL OPERATIONS FOR COMMERCIAL AM RADIO
NEIL/ANCHOR: Hams who have great enthusiasm for various modes of digital
operation are getting some more company on the air - just in a different
part of the spectrum. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has told
commercial AM radio stations that they will be allowed to convert to an
all-digital broadcast if they are presently using analog or a hybrid of
analog and digital signals. The stations' changes are to be voluntary.
The FCC's late October announcement clears the way for AM stations to
provide an all-digital signal that gives better coverage over a wider area
of listeners and enables the signal to carry additional information, such
as the title and artist for a particular song -- details that are visible
on a compatible digital radio receiver.
The stations are required, however, to notify the FCC at least 30 days
before making their change. They are still required to be a part of the
Emergency Alert System.
(FCC)
**
IRELAND'S 1st SATELLITE SEEKS AMATEUR RADIO INPUT
NEIL/ANCHOR: Ireland takes particular pride in the fact that it is
launching its first satellite in 2021 - but the team behind it is looking
for some amateur radio help. Here's Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, to explain.
JEREMY: The Educational Irish Research Satellite 1 or EIRSAT-1, will be
launched sometime early next year, carrying three science experiments on behalf
of students at University College Dublin and other researchers. The
Low Earth Orbit CubeSat was designed by engineering and space science
students and academic staff as part of the European Space Agency's Fly Your
Satellite programme.
Hams are being asked to help out with signal acquisition shortly after the
satellite's launch on the Vega rocket. Hams, scanner, listeners and others
are being asked to help with ground station operations. In a recent visit
to the South Dublin Radio Club, David Murphy EI9HWB, and Fergal Marshall of the
EIRSAT-1 team explained the satellite's operations and how hams can assist.
Their talk is available on YouTube where the two explain the uplink and
downlink schemes and the role amateurs can play.
To see the video, visit the club's website at southdublinradio club dot
weebly dot com (southdublinradioclub.weebly.com). Then get ready for the
new year when Ireland's first satellite will make history.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH.
(SOUTHGATE, EIRSAT-1)
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