FCC Drops Morse Code

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Washington, D.C. – Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration (Order) that modifies the rules for the Amateur Radio Service by revising the examination requirements for obtaining a General Class or Amateur Extra Class amateur radio operator license and revising the operating privileges for Technician Class licensees. … Read more

The FCC and the Jamming of Cellphones

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CellAntenna, a manufacturer of cellular radio communications solutions, has filed suit in U.S. District Court to force the FCC to allow broader sale of RF jamming equipment (CNET News.com article here). At first look, the argument is compelling: terrorist bombs can be detonated by remote control using cell phones, so let’s jam the phones. Currently, … Read more

Shuttle Discovery (STS-116) Scheduled to Launch Dec 7th

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The space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to launch on December 7th with the radio amateurs on board: Sunita Williams, KD5PLB; Christer Fuglesang, KE5CGR/SA0AFS; Nicholas Patrick, KD5PKY. See the ARRL news article here. Detailed information from NASA is available on their space shuttle page. You’ll be glad to know (?) that NASA is improving the quality … Read more

Satellite Operation from Bonaire PJ4/K0NR

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As mentioned in a previous post, I was in Bonaire on vacation, so I took along some ham radio gear and did a PJ4/K0NR Mini-DXpedition. Well, maybe it is more like a Micro-DXpedition. Everything had to be transported via airline, so the radio gear needed to be compact, which included HF and satellite gear. The … Read more

PJ4/K0NR Mini-Dxpedition to Bonaire

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PJ4/K0NR NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. Bob K0NR will be active as PJ4/K0NR from Bonaire (IOTA SA-006) from Oct 28 to Nov 9th, SSB and PSK31 on 30M through 6M. Also active on FM OSCAR satellites (Grid FK52). QSL to home call. The AO-51 schedule has it configured for modes that I cannot work portable, so I will … Read more

Use MP3 Player for Portable Logging

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In the past few weeks, I’ve refocused on portable satellite operations using a station consisting of a dualband handheld radio and the Arrow II antenna. One of the challenges with this kind of operation has been the logging. Sometimes I’d have someone jot down the information on paper as I worked the various stations. This … Read more