Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (C)
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Jun 30 2023 02:24 pm
CHINESE TEAM DEVELOPING NEW LUNAR-ORBIT SATELLITE
NEIL/ANCHOR: In China, a development team is working hard on the
next satellite destined to enter lunar orbit with an amateur radio
payload. John Williams, VK4JJW, explains the project.
JOHN: The creators of the first amateur radio satellite to operate
in lunar orbit are in the process of developing a second one with
the hope of launching it in 2024 from Wenchang, China. The
development team consists of students at the Harbin Institute of
Technology in China and ham radio operators from around the world.
Known as Lunar OSCAR II, it will have telemetry, a digipeater with
a JT4G uplink and downlink along with a digital image downlink
from an infrared camera.
The satellite will also be useful for various amateur radio orbit
determination experiments and communications relay research.
Harbin Institute students built the first ham radio satellite to
operate in lunar orbit in May of 2018. The tiny satellite had a
big following among hams around the world who used it to download
images of the Earth and the moon.
This is John Williams, VK4JJW.
(AMSAT NEWS)
**
BREAK HERE:
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including
the N8NC repeater of the North Coast Amateur Radio Club in
Brunswick, Ohio, on Sundays at 8 p.m. during the weekly
information net.
**
FOLLOW THE RULES FOR NEWSLINE'S HAIKU CHALLENGE
NEIL/ANCHOR: We hope our listeners have been enjoying the Amateur
Radio Newsline haiku challenge. We certainly have! In the spirit
of fun and perhaps a little bit of literary adventure, we've been
inviting listeners to channel their most creative selves and share
the joy of ham radio in the form of a haiku. On our website,
arnewsline.org, you will find a submission form for sending your
most poetic offering. To qualify, you need to follow traditional
haiku form: The first line is five syllables, the second line is
seven syllables and the finishing third line has another five
syllables. We cannot accept any other formats.
Our team will pick from the best submissions that follow the 5/7/5
syllable rule and represent the love of amateur radio. Your prize?
For now, bragging rights -- and a featured spot for your haiku on
the Amateur Radio Newsline website. We may have a surprise for you
at the end of the year, however. So visit our website at
arnewsline.org and take a look at this week's winning ham radio haiku.
**
US NAVY TO UPGRADE HF RADAR SYSTEM
NEIL/ANCHOR: The US government's long-range surveillance system,
which operates on the HF bands, is in line for a major upgrade.
Andy Morrison, K9AWM, tells us to get ready.
ANDY: The United States Navy knows what almost every amateur radio
operator knows too: that sometimes the software that enhances your
transmissions on HF needs a major upgrade. In this case it's a
$87.5-million upgrade for the Navy and the work will be done on a
long-range surveillance system by Raytheon Technologies Corp. The
system is known as ROTHR, which is short for Relocatable Over-
the-Horizon Radar, and it detects and tracks surface ships and
aircraft by using long-range radar in the HF part of the spectrum.
The four-year contract will provide software enhancements,
maintenance, installation, removal, integration and testing, among
other things, and will be conducted mainly in Chesapeake,
Virginia, and Marlboro, Massachusetts.
Unlike hams, the Navy puts the ROTHR systems on the air for an
important enforcement mission: the systems have been used to track
drug-smuggling and are, in fact, considered the government's
primary form of surveillance in the war on drugs.
NEIL/ANCHOR: Congratulations to the National Institute of Amateur
Radio, which marked its 40th anniversary with a big celebration in
its Hyderabad (hydra-bod) headquarters. The NIAR is a non-
governmental organisation that holds training sessions and
workshops and advocates for India's radio amateurs. Founded on
June 21st, 1983, it is also home to an active club station VU2NRO,
which participates in contests and special events. The NIAR plays
a big role in helping individuals and learning institutions in
forming their own ham radio clubs throughout India. All the best
from us at Newsline for the next 40 years - and beyond.
(NIAR)
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32
* Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (432:1/112)
