Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Sep 06 2019 04:17 pm
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2184, for Friday, September 6th, 2019
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2184, with a release date of
Friday, September 6th, 2019, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Hurricane Dorian sweeps in, and hams respond.
The first Emirati astronaut preps for QSOs from space -- and a special
event station honors America's military heroes. All this and more, as
Amateur Radio Newsline Number 2184, comes your way right now.
**
BILLBOARD CART
**
HAMS RESPOND TO HURRICANE DORIAN
NEIL/ANCHOR: Our top story this week is Hurricane Dorian. As Newsline
went to production, the Atlantic storm was blasting toward Florida and
the Carolinas in the United States, with wind speeds of more than 105
mph, or 165 km/h, after having battered the Caribbean. Bobby Graves,
KB5HAV, manager of the Hurricane Watch Net, reported that the net was
in continuous operation since Saturday, the 31st of August, and had
open-ended plans to remain active on 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz. He said
the net planned to provide back-up communications for the Red Cross,
storm shelters, and government agencies as needed. He said the net
would also provide Federal Emergency Management Agency officials at
the National Hurricane Center with information about damages caused
by the storm. With the National Hurricane Center Amateur Radio Station
WX4NHC activating, the VOIP Hurricane Net was seeking reports from hams
in areas affected by Dorian. Dorian made its trip north, having already
left a devastated Caribbean in its wake, leaving what Prime Minister
Hubert Minnis called a "historic tragedy" that left at least 20 dead.
**
FCC TEMPORARY WAIVER PERMITS PACTOR 4 ON HF
NEIL/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, in the U.S. the FCC took a special action to
accommodate hams active in storm relief. For those details, we turn to
Kent Peterson, KC0DGY.
KENT: To accommodate ham radio stations actively assisting with
preparedness for Hurricane Dorian, the FCC granted a temporary waiver
allowing use of the PACTOR 4 digital protocol on the HF bands. The FCC
issues such waivers infrequently, having done so recently for hams
preparing for typhoon relief in Hawaii, and during the 2017 relief
effort following Hurricane Maria.
The FCC waiver was issued at the request of the ARRL, exempting hams
from rules that limit digital data transmission speeds for amateur
stations. Hams operating below 28 MHz are limited to a symbol rate of
less than 300 bauds. Hams in the 10 meter band are limited to a symbol
rate of no more than 1200 bauds.
The PACTOR 4 protocol is a high-speed data transmission mode that would
have been forbidden without the waiver. The waiver applied only to those
amateurs directly involved in hurricane relief efforts in the mainland
United States, and it does not apply to non-emergency communications. It
was to remain in effect until Friday, September 6th. The ARRL had
requested a 30-day waiver originally, and the FCC did not preclude
issuing an extension if needed.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kent Peterson, KC0DGY.
**
BATTERY DONATION TO BOOST DOMINICA CLUB HAMS' RESPONSE
NEIL/ANCHOR: In the storm-battered Caribbean, a mobile phone company's
donation to an amateur club is expected to go a long way. John Williams,
VK4JJW, has those details.
JOHN: With Atlantic hurricane season well under way, the Dominica
Amateur Radio Club has been given a donation of 150 batteries from
Digicel Dominica, the Caribbean-based mobile phone network. The company
had already made a public commitment last year to assist with the
island's rebuilding, following the destruction left by Hurricane Maria.
The ham club's president, Roger Blanchard, J73R, assured company
executives that the batteries will help amateur radio operators stay
on the air when calamity strikes, knocking out the power grid and
conventional communications. The company's network engineering manager,
Glenford St. John, told Dominica News Online, that Digicel was committed
to helping the hams stay active throughout hurricane season.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams, VK4JJW.
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