Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Thu Jan 30 2020 11:38 pm
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2205, for Friday, January 31st, 2020
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2205, with a release date of
Friday, January 31st, 2020, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. An earthquake rocks Turkey. A grieving
DXpeditioner thanks the world's hams - and get ready for an
Amateur Radio Newsline special event. All this and more, as
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2205, comes your way,
right now.
**
BILLBOARD CART
**
HAMS STEP IN TO ASSIST AFTER TURKEY'S EARTHQUAKE
PAUL/ANCHOR: We begin this week's report with the earthquake that
rattled Turkey on Friday, January 24th. Local hams played an
important role here, as we hear from Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF.
JIM M: Buildings collapsed, people ran for cover, and rescue efforts
got under way following the earthquake, even as aftershocks began to
strike in eastern Turkey. Although no foreign assistance was
immediately called in to aid in the disaster, hams made sure
communication was not hampered, according to Aziz Sasa, TA1E, who
is involved as a Telecommunication Service Group Solution Partner
in the National Emergency Response Plan. Aziz told Newsline in an
email that amateurs conducted tactical communication in the affected
area, and supported the Ministry of Health. They installed a repeater
on one of the mountaintops, and got it operational. Aziz noted that
there was no need at the time for any immediate deployment from
Region 1 of the International Amateur Radio Union.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF.
PAUL/ANCHOR: As Newsline went to production, the region was still
bracing for more disturbance. A 4.8 magnitude quake was recorded
in western Turkey on Tuesday, January 28th. Officials there
reported no further damage or losses at that time.
(CNN, ASSOCIATED PRESS, AZIZ SASA TA1E)
**
TURKEY'S QUAKE BELIEVED TO SHAKE UP PROPAGATION FOR NET
PAUL/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, the Friday quake was felt in a very different
way in parts of North America, where hams were just about to check
into a popular Net.
ANDY: The powerful and deadly earthquake that struck eastern Turkey on
January 24th, left at least 30 people dead, and caused numerous
buildings to collapse. Tremors were also reported in nearby Iran,
Lebanon, and Syria.
The magnitude 6.8 quake was also recorded officially by the United
States Geological Survey -- but hams preparing to check into the
popular Noontime Net in North America on 7.2835 MHz had their own
unofficial indicator that something had gone very wrong somewhere.
The quake, which was reported at 17:55 UTC, created an attenuation
of the amateur bands, disrupting the 40 metre net. The informal part
of the net begins at 10 a.m. local Pacific Time. The advent of the
quake had actually been detected by seismograph at 16:30 UTC, more
than an hour before the tremors started in earnest.
Researchers have been studying the impact quakes have on propagation
with evidence growing that there may be ways to detect impending
earthquakes by reviewing changes in the ionosphere. One NASA
physicist quoted in an earthmagazine.org article said that in the
time preceding a quake, stresses on rocks located along faults are
known to release positive ions into the atmosphere. Those ions rise,
causing anomalies in the ionosphere.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Andy Morrison, K9AWM.
(NASA.GOV, QRZ.COM)
**
PILOTS ON ALERT DURING U.S. NAVY JAMMING EXERCISE
PAUL/ANCHOR: Deliberate signal jamming is more than just a bad
practice on the amateur radio frequencies. For the U.S. military,
it's sometimes a deliberate, and even required practice on the air.
Kevin Trotman, N5PRE, tells us about a recent exercise by the
U.S. Navy.
KEVIN: If you were the pilot of a small plane in the southern United
States recently, you might have wanted to pay special attention to
an advisory issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The
warning alerted pilots to an exercise by U.S. Navy Carrier Strike
Group 4, which was conducting GPS jamming from its Norfolk, Virginia
station. The government told pilots to be aware the training exercises
might render their GPS signals unreliable -- or just plain
unavailable.
According to an article in the Military Times, the GPS interference
testing is mandatory. Similar flight warnings for testing were also
issued in areas affected by exercises out of Fort Bragg, North
Carolina, Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, Yuma Proving Grounds
in Arizona, and Fort Hood, Texas. The government was not expecting
any interference with ground-based GPS systems, such as those used
by motorists.
Warren Morningstar of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
said in an internet report on January 14th: [quote] "Well, here we
go again," [end quote]. He told pilots that if this latest test
caused flight safety issues, that they should contact air traffic
control immediately. He said [quote] "ATC will tell the military to
knock it off." [endquote]
While these latest Navy exercises proceeded as usual, we should note
that the FCC website declares intentional GPS jamming to be illegal.
The website says: [quote] "Operation of a jammer in the United States
may subject you to substantial monetary penalties, seizure of the
unlawful equipment, and criminal sanctions including imprisonment."
[endquote]
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kevin Trotman, N5PRE.
(FCC.GOV, THE AVIATIONIST, MILITARY TIMES)
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