Possible new threat to Amateur Radio spectrum

Over the last few weeks there have been quite a few news items and on-line discussions brewing over a possible threat to Amateur Radio 2M spectrum allocation. More specifically, a new proposal that will be advanced to the ITU World Radio Communication Conference 2023. It originates with French spectrum regulators and is reported to be at the behest of the Paris-based multinational defense contractor Thales. The concern is the proposed relegation of amateur radio to secondary status of the widely used two-meter band (144 MHz) to permit its usage by aircraft.

All Amateur Radio enthusiasts should have concern over these proposals as the connected world pushes to gain more spectrum for 100's of new types of mobile communications devices.

...and to quote from Hackaday.com:
"Why should this bother you? If you are a radio amateur it should be a grave concern that a band which has provided the “glue” for so many vital services over many decades might come under threat, and if you are not a radio amateur it should concern you that a commercial defense contractor in one country can so easily set in motion the degradation of a globally open resource governed by international treaties penned in your grandparents’ time. Amateur radio is a different regulatory being from the licence-free spectrum that we now depend upon for so many things, but the principle of it being a free resource to all its users remains the same. If you have an interest in retaining the spectrum you use wherever on the dial it may lie, we suggest you support your national amateur radio organisation in opposing this measure".

Read more here: http://www.arrl.org/news/restraint-urged-in-response-to-2-meter-reallocation-proposal

It's been a great run!

 Back on May 13^th 2012, CNY Hams had the opportunity to become part of a 6 meter repeater experiment. That was the day the KD2SL 53.67 mhz repeater came on the air with a unique antenna! The former Television Channel 3 Turnstile antenna (a casualty of the analog TV shutoff in 2009) had come back to life supporting amateur radio in Upstate NY. It was an interesting time on 6 meters as many of us played "can you hear me now" from various locations around CNY.

 Things changed this past week, (June 27^th, 2019), the 53.67 repeater was switched from the “Batwing” Turnstile TV antenna to a lower communications antenna mounted at approximately 700’. The change was necessitated by the FCC mandated television frequency repack (read more about the repack here: https://www.multichannel.com/news/fcc-frees-up-more-money-for-tv-station-repack  ) which is driving major changes to TV transmitters and antennas all over the country.

Balloon Launch: SSTV & APRS from "near-space"

A hobby group in Binghamton, New York, Triple Cities Makerspace is planning to launch a balloon with amateur radio payloads on Saturday June 29th, 2019.

The group is launching a high altitude balloon to near space (100,000 feet) and transmitting photos of the atmosphere during the flight.

The Triple Cities Makerspace launch will take place on June 29th around 10:30 AM, tentatively depending on weather. The balloon will be tracked by amateur radio and also live photos during the flight will be transmitted back to the ground via amateur radio.

The group hopes that many radio operators will participate by listening in and uploading photos they receive to the project’s website: https://reachfornearspace.com/

The flight is expected to last around 2.5 hours and the coverage area of reception within 500 miles.
Gary Dewey, an amateur radio operator (callsign KD2PYB) and member of the Triple Cities Makerspace, is leading the project. “I’ve always dreamt of going to space, but this could be the next best thing – building something that goes to (near) space. I hope this project inspires others to experiment and reach for their dreams.”

They are using the MicroTrak-2001 from Byonics for APRS and will be transmitting on 144.390 MHz with the call sign KD2PYB-11. For SSTV, they are using a raspberry pi zero with the pi camera, a pHAT dac for a sound card interface and inexpensive Baofeng brand radio for the transmitter. They will be transmitting on 145.600 MHz.

Read more at: https://hvdnnotebook.blogspot.com/2019/06/upcoming-balloon-launch-sstv-aprs-from.html

Fulton Field Day 2019 at Fort Ontario

Members of the Fulton Amateur Radio Club, with the support of Oswego County Emergency Communicators R.A.C.E.S. ( Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) & Oswego County Office of Emergency Management will be participating in the national Amateur Radio Field Day exercise, June 22 – 23, at Fort Ontario, Oswego New York.

Since 1933, ham radio operators across North America have established temporary ham radio stations in public locations during Field Day to showcase the science and skill of Amateur Radio. This event is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend. For more than 100 years, Amateur Radio — also called ham radio — has allowed people from all walks of life to experiment with electronics and communications techniques, as well as provide a free public service to their communities during a disaster or emergency, all without needing a cell phone or the Internet.


Lots of Upstate NY Field Day events/sites here: https://www.upstateham.com/2019/05/field-day-2019.html

RAGS Hamfest - Syracuse - Sat. July 13th 2019

Parks on the air!

KD2KUB; Andriy, will be camping at Sampson State Park from Friday May 31st until June 2nd. He will be activating the park, K-2133, in support of Parks on the Air. Please support POTA and his Activation. 

Monitor RAGS Facebook page and POTA spotter page for period of activation.  Will be on 20m and 40m Phone and CW.  

https://www.facebook.com/groups/W2AE.RAGS.CLUB/?ref=share

https://pota.us/#/

THX ES 73 DE KD2KUB

--ANDRIY

Field Day 2019

Field Day is coming soon........June 22nd and 23rd, 2019 

If you want to meet some friendly hams or experience some different operating modes, why don't you stop by one of the many Field Day events taking place in our area. You will see various antenna and radio setups along with operators trying to share their knowledge and score some points making contacts through out the weekend.

 Its a lot of fun - so we hope to see you out there on field day!

What is Field Day?

Field Day is part educational event, part operating event, part public relations event – and ALL about FUN!  link: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Field-Day/2019/2019%20FD%20Flier%20-%20What%20is%20FD.pdf

ARRL Field Day locator:  http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator

Check out one of the following LOCAL Upstate NY groups below:
(*please also send us your groups listing)

Hamilton Ontario - Summer Swap June 15th, 2019

more info at: http://www.hamiltonarc.ca/

Cortland Hamfest - June 8th, 2019

The Cortland Hamfest, sponsored by the Skyline Amateur Radio Club of Cortland, will be held Saturday June 8 from 7 AM 'till noon!


Free outdoor flea market, 25 indoor flea market spaces available at $5.00 per 10' space, first come first served.

VE testing will begin at 9 AM sharp.

Breakfast provided by the 4-H Teen Council.

Talk-in on 147.180 + PL 71.9.

For details e-mail k2iwr@arrl.net.

The Skyline Amateur Radio Club of Cortland welcomes Gene & crew from KJI Electronics to the Cortland Hamfest on Saturday June 8 from 7 AM 'till noon! KJI is a full service distributor of Kenwood, Yaesu and many other great lines.

We also welcome Glenn and Sue Alvino from Al-Tech Electronics, specializing in end-lots, close-outs and just great bargains.

Travel directions {signs will be posted}: I-81 to exit 12; turn left on to Route 281 South. Turn left again on to Fisher Ave, (8/10 mile) then right on to Fairgrounds Drive.

From Ithaca: Route 13 North to Route 281 North. Turn right onto Fisher Ave, then right on to Fairgrounds Drive.

For your GPS: 4849 Fairgrounds Dr. Cortland, NY 13045

-- 

~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - 

Andrew C. Slaugh KB2LUV

Secretary, Skyline Amateur Radio Club of Cortland, NY

145.490 Repeater PL 71.9 Cortland, NY

ANNUAL ARMED FORCES DAY CROSS-BAND TEST (SAT. MAY 11th 2019)

The Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard are co-sponsoring the annual Military/Amateur Radio Crossband Communications Test. Although Armed Forces Day had traditionally been celebrated on the third Saturday in May -- this year it will be on May 11th 2019 as to not conflict with the Dayton Hamvention.

The annual celebration features traditional military-to-amateur crossband communications SSB voice and Morse code tests. These tests give Amateur Radio operators and short wave listeners an opportunity to demonstrate their individual technical skills and to receive recognition from the appropriate military radio station for their proven expertise. QSL cards will be provided to stations making contact with the military stations.

ROC City Hamfest 2019 - 8/24/19

more info at:
http://roccitynethamfest.com/

Toroids and Baluns - RaRa Academy Workshops Sat. 5/11/19

RaRa Academy Workshops

Toroids and Baluns — Theory and Construction

 

49:1 TRANSFORMER FOR EFHW ANTENNA

May 2019 — Toroids and Baluns, Theory and Construction — May 11 (10AM to Noon)

BALUN TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION:

•   Baluns — What do they do?

•   1:1, 4:1, 49:1 What ratio do I need?

•   What Toroid Core should I use?

•   Applications for various Baluns, UNUNs and Transformers

•   End Fed Half Wave, Random wires, Dipoles

BALUN BUILD:

•   Presentation and Discussions are Free to all Hams

•   Fabricate your own Balun or Transformer on a FT240-43 core

•   Fabrication Cost $10 (for a core and 14ga wire)

•   An Additional core available for $5

This Session will be hosted by Pete Schuch, WB2UAQ and Larry Brightenfield, W2LB.

Location: Session will be held at the Monroe County EOC, 1190 Scottsville Rd. Suite #201, Rochester, NY 14624. Use the rear parking lot. Enter at the rear entrance; proceed down the hall to the front lobby. Go up stairs to the EOC Media Room.

You can sign up for Academy Workshops by emailing education@rochesterham.org.

Please take advantage of the RaRa sponsored training and operating opportunities.

Timothy Brown,
FCC Callsign: WB2PAY
RaRa Education Coordinator

email: education@rochesterham.org

Rochester Hamfest, Sat. June 1st, 2019

More info at: https://www.rochesterham.org/hamfest.htm

2019 Ripley Hamfest

2019 RIPLEY NY - HAMFEST - SUNDAY MAY 5, 2018

RIPLEY - FIRE HALL SOUTH OF US RT 20 ON NY RT 76 TURN SOUTH @ TRAFFIC LIGHT PARKING LOT JUST SOUTH OF FIRE HALL AND NORTH OF RAILROAD TRACKS

VENDOR SET-UP 7:00 AM
DOORS OPEN TO PUBLIC 8:00 AM ENDS @ NOON
ADMISSION ONLY: $3.00
(1) TABLE INCLUDING ADMISSION $5:00
ADD'L TABLES $2:00 EA

HAM RADIO, RELATED ELECTRONICS & COMPUTER RELATED ITEMS COFFEE, BREAKFAST ITEMS ETC WILL BE AVAILABLE TO RESERVE TABLES CONTACT:
FRED KRAUSE N2LXD @716-708-9830 or BOB FULLER N3LBI @ 814-898-1115

From the ARRL email notice

Finger lakes Balloon launch on Sunday 4/28/19

The Amateur Radio Club at Cornell, W2CXM, is planning a high altitude balloon flight on Sunday, April 28, 2019 between 10am – 1pm.   Our Rain Date is the following Sunday, May 5 at the same time.   The picture above is representative of imagery we capture on these flights.  It was captured from a launch we did from the Rochester Hamfest in 2017.  Lake Ontario and Rochester are visible.
This year’s payload will include a typical set of cameras as well as a cross-band repeater, which you are welcomed to try.  The transmit side of the repeater is a very simple VOX activated affair, so you will want to make a moment of noise to wake it up before speaking.

In addition to the cameras and repeater, we will also have a special DTMF activated payload with its own tracker which we will drop on command.  This is just to add some additional fun and technology to the experiment.

We generally launch the balloon somewhere West of Ithaca so that it descends into farm country just Northeast of Ithaca.  It’s a little early to know the exact launch location, but typically it’s in the Dansville area.  Here’s a typical flight pattern, though we won’t know for sure until the day before launch. In this example, the balloon bursts over Seneca lake, at about 100,000 feet, and the payload descends by parachute to land Northeast of Ithaca.

The payload will include three APRS trackers.  We’ll also have chase vehicles.

                W2CXM-11:        Main Payload

                W2CXM-12:        Main Payload backup (on 144.990)

                W2CXM-13:        Drop payload

                KD2EAT-9:           Main Payload Chase

                KD2JEE-9:            Drop payload Chase

                WB2EMS-7:        Airborne reconnaissance (weather permitting)

Our cross-band repeater will be configured as follows:

                

Repeater receives on:                   144.580 PL 103.5               (takes about ½ second to wake up Vox)

             

Repeater transmits on:                 447.025 at 100mw

More details for the flight are on our web site, w2cxm.org.  We will continue to update the content there as the flight nears.

Mike Hojnowski / KD2EAT
Advisor, Amateur Radio Club at Cornell

......These guys always do some pretty cool stuff! Good luck and Thanks for the update Mike!