CONTEST UNIVERSITY 2023 ACCEPTING REGISTRATIONS
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The course outline and professor biographies aren't up on
the website yet but you can still register for Contest University, which
is being held this coming spring during Dayton Hamvention in Ohio. Contest
University will take place on Thursday May 18th from 7 am to 5 pm at the
Hope Hotel, the day before Hamvention itself opens its doors. The Hope
Hotel will be the center of all activities related to contesting. Bookmark
the website contestuniversity.com - that's one word "contestuniversity" -
to keep track of the curriculum for the weekend and the roster of
instructors. Visit the website and register now.
(CONTEST UNIVERSITY)
**
PROPOSAL WOULD ELIMINATE FCC'S SYMBOL RATE LIMITS
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: A proposal called the Amateur Radio Communications
Improvement Act hopes to overhaul rules affecting data transmissions.
Kent Peterson, KC0DGY, brings us that report.
KENT: Saying that federal regulations need to keep pace with advances in
amateur radio technology, a United States lawmaker has proposed updating
rules governing data transmissions over the amateur bands. The proposed Amateur
Radio Communications Improvement Act would eliminate the current symbol rate
limits set by the FCC. The lawmaker, Debbie Lesko, an Arizona Republican,
writes on her website that regulation of symbol rates has
become outdated because newer technology permits the spectrum to handle greater
amounts of data. The proposed update of the FCC rules removes the symbol rate
limit and sets a 2.8 kHz bandwidth limit, which is already in place for
amateurs using 60 meters.
The ARRL previously pressed the FCC to remove HF symbol rate limits
claiming that, among other things, it was an obstacle to experimentation.
Although the FCC has previously questioned the need for any bandwidth
limit at all, the ARRL has said there is a need for such limits because digital
protocols could be developed that have excessively wide bandwidths.
The ARRL issued a statement saying the league hoped the FCC would remove
the restriction on its own without waiting for the bill to be passed.
With lawmakers in Washington DC concluding the 117th Congress, there was
no further action taken on the bill.
This is Kent Peterson, KC0DGY.
(DEBBIE LESKO WEBSITE, ARRL)
**
LAWMAKER CHALLENGES ANTENNA RESTRICTIONS
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In another action in Washington, DC, one lawmaker
introduced a bill just before Christmas that proposes protection for
amateurs and their antennas - the same protection already available to
other forms of wireless communication such as television, satellite and
internet. That update comes to us from Jim Damron, N8TMW.
JIM: An Ohio congressman is seeking to provide relief for home-based
amateur radio operators who are unable to easily operate in private residential
neighborhoods such as condominiums, gated communities and some single-family
subdivisions. The measure introduced by Congressman Bill Johnson, a Republican,
would grant hams the same pre-emption given in 1996
to consumers of broadcast TV antennas, satellite dishes, multichannel
multipoint distribution services and wireless internet. The American Radio
Relay League has previously urged the Federal Communications Commission to give
the same relief to hams but the FCC has told the league that such
action can only come from Congress. John Robert Stratton, N5AUS, noted on
the ARRL website that a joint resolution by members of Congress in 1994
supported the use of ham radio from private residences, recognizing it as
a public benefit in keeping with the Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness
Act.
This is Jim Damron, N8TMW.
(BILL JOHNSON WEBSITE, ARRL)
**
SHORTWAVE SIGNALS USED IN PROBE OF ASTEROID
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: When is it better to transmit on the shortwave bands than
on microwave? Ralph Squillace, KK6ITB, has the answer.
RALPH: It was only a test transmission but the signals being transmitted
from Gakona, Alaska to the West Coast of the United States were being done with
a specific purpose. Before the receiving antenna arrays near Socorro,
New Mexico and Bishop, California were to receive the chirping signals
transmitted at around 9.6 MHz, they were bounced off an asteroid known as
2010 XC15 (twenty-ten XC15). With the asteroid twice as far away as the
moon is from Earth, this was more challenging a feat than moon bounce.
The longer-wavelength-than-normal transmissions on December 27th were from
the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program, or HAARP, in Alaska.
It was HAARP's first involvement in probing the interior of an asteroid,
something NASA had hoped would be possible as part of preparation for the
anticipated arrival of a much larger asteroid coming closer to Earth, in
2029. Scientists say that the best way to successfully hit and deflect an
oncoming asteroid and protect the Earth from damage is to learn how the
asteroid's mass is distributed.
Hams and amateur radio astronomers were invited to listen and submit their
reception reports to HAARP. QSL cards were to be sent to those who emailed
their findings. Now that's some rare DX.
This is Ralph Squillace, KK6ITB.
(U OF ALASKA GEOPHYSICAL INSTITUTE, QRZ)
--- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
* Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (454:1/33)
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