Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Jan 24 2020 11:36 am
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2204, for Friday, January 24th, 2020
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2204, with a release date of
Friday, January 24th, 2020, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. There's a new CEO at the ARRL. An antenna deal
goes bad for the U.S. military -- and software-defined radio and AM
radio get their own tributes on the air.
All this and more, as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2204, comes
your way right now.
**
BILLBOARD CART
**
ARRL VOTE OUSTS CEO HOWARD MICHEL WB2ITX
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In our top story this week, a new chief executive is in
place at the American Radio Relay League. Ralph Squillace, KK6ITB, has
that report.
RALPH: In a move that has generated a buzz throughout some of the amateur
community, the board of the American Radio Relay League voted against
re-electing Howard Michel, WB2ITX, as chief executive officer. Effective
Monday, January 20th, Barry Shelley, N1VXY, became interim CEO of the
league. This is Barry Shelley's second tour as interim CEO. The league's
chief financial officer for 28 years, he was also chosen as interim CEO
following the retirement of Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, in 2018.
Howard Michel's short tenure as CEO began in October of 2018.
As speculation continues on a successor, a search committee has been
created to review candidates.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ralph Squillace, KK6ITB.
(ARRL)
**
U.S. MILITARY REPORTEDLY SCAMMED BY ANTENNA DEAL
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: If you've ever bought a piece of radio equipment that
turned out NOT to be quite what you'd ordered, you're in good company
with some folks at the Pentagon. Kent Peterson, KC0DGY, has that story.
KENT: The United States Navy's Special Warfare Command thought it was
buying 450 VHF/UHF ultra-light wearable body antennas, for use by its
elite Navy SEAL teams. Instead, it got scammed by a delivery of cheap
knockoff antennas, according to federal officials quoted in a recent
report on the website Quartz.
The Navy had been shopping last year, specifically for antennas made by
the New York-based company, Mastodon Design. The antennas were to be
delivered by a small business authorized to be a dealer or reseller of
Mastodon products. The winning bid was submitted by California-based
Vizocom which -- according to the Navy's account of the deal -- instead
delivered lower-cost substitutes that had been provided with fake spec
sheets and serial numbers identifying them as Mastodon products.
It cost the Pentagon $165,000, but according to investigators' review
of the company's purchase order, Vizocom paid little more than $12,000
for the antennas. Details in a government search warrant of Vizocom's
premises in December said that when the special operations force
received the antennas, their poor quality was evident, and they looked
different from previous Mastodon products used by the SEALs.
According to Quartz, the investigation is still under way. No official
charges have been filed.
Vizocom has done more than $30 million in recent business with the U.S.
government, much of it with the military.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kent Peterson, KC0DGY.
(QUARTZ)
**
YEAR-LONG EVENT CELEBRATES THE DAWN OF SDR
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: For most of 2020, hams will be marking the anniversary
of a groundbreaking development more than 3 decades ago. Ed Durrant,
DD5LP, has the details.
ED: What began in a lecture given in 1985 by Ulrich L. Rohde,
DJ2LR / N1UL, has since transformed much of the amateur radio
landscape. His talk came at the dawn of digital signal processing
via Software Defined Radio, or SDR. SDR is now considered the standard
when it comes to generating or decoding radio signals - and Ulrich Rohde
is considered a pioneer. In 1982, he was part of a team working at RCA
under a U.S. Department of Defense Contract, which led to the first
software-defined radio's development.
Special event station DL35SDR, which began activity this month, is
marking the 35 years since he delivered his lecture in London at a
conference on HF communications. The special event station will be on
the air throughout much of the year, operating from the greater Munich
area where Ulrich's family busines, the test-equipment company Rohde
and Schwartz, is based.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ed Durrant, DD5LP.
