Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (B)
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Dec 18 2020 08:15 am
VIDEOS AVAILABLE FROM QRP VIRTUAL CONVENTION
NEIL/ANCHOR: If you weren't able to attend the convention of the G-QRP Club
this past September, there's still time to attend - virtually. Jeremy Boot,
G4NJH, tells us how.
JEREMY: The G-QRP Club, which devotes itself to low-power ham radio, is
making presentations from its two-day Virtual Convention available on its
new YouTube channel and on the 9th of December began uploading videos of
the various sessions.
Welcoming visitors to the opening session, Nick Bradley, G4IWO, called the
virtual event "a first for the QRP community" and called the attendance
overwhelming. It was a new experience for the club, which was founded in
1979 by the Rev. George Dobbs, G3RJV. George became a Silent Key in March
of 2019.
The club's call sign is G5LOW. Its virtual convention was the concept of
club chairman Steve Hartley, G0FUW, who said during the opening session
[quote] "I am proud we have been able to do something and see everyone turn
out." [endquote] This was one of the ham radio events to take its
activities online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Presentations covered such topics as HF propagation tools, going portable
QRP with SDRs, battery technology for QRP use and the FT4 and FT8 modes.
To find the archived presentations from the convention, visit the G-QRP
Club channel on YouTube.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH.
(G-QRP CLUB)
**
SOLAR CELL SETS UNPRECEDENTED EFFICIENCY
NEIL/ANCHOR: If you make use of solar energy when doing portable
operations, this next story may be a ray of sunshine - literally. Here's
Ed Durrant, DD5LP, with the details.
ED: An international team headed by scientists has announced the
development of a solar cell that has beat the world record for efficiency.
The research center Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin said that the development of a
perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell has created a 29.15 percent
efficiency, pushing it ahead of the existing maximum of 28 percent. This is
an important increase in the amount of energy produced using the same
amount of sunshine hitting the same surface area. The efficiency rating
means that these panels convert 29.15 percent of the incident light into
electrical energy.
The researchers are encouraged that they will reach their long-range target
of more than 30 percent.
Silicon cells are the global standard used in solar farms and it has been
developed separately from perovskite as a semiconductor for solar panels.
The researchers' published paper on the development calls the tandem solar
cells "a promising option." The researchers also noted that combining the
two semiconductors doesn't notably increase the cost of the panels'
manufacture.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ed Durrant, DD5LP.
(SCIENCE ALERT, SCIENCE MAGAZINE, HZB)
**
CHANGES TO NEW ZEALAND'S GENERAL USER RADIO LICENSE
NEIL/ANCHOR: In New Zealand, there have been some changes to the General
User Radio License, Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, gives us the details.
JIM: Recent changes by New Zealand regulators to the General User Radio
Licence now permit the use of an increased number of unlicenced low-power
wireless devices across frequencies that include the HF spectrum. The
changes permit the use of wireless microphones and Radio Frequency
Identification transmitters in the gigahertz bands and Radio Spectrum
Management is now allowing frequencies starting with the AM medium wave
band right up to 10 metres to be used for other low-power purposes, such as
wireless charging devices.
The devices must be used in a manner that does not cause interference to
licensed radio services, such as military, broadcast or amateur radio. If
that happens, the user must stop using the device.
The GURL requires use of equipment that complies with radio standards and
the technical parameters of the licence and mandates that each device carry
a label saying it is RSM-approved.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF.
(NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, SOUTHGATE)
**
BREAK HERE:
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the KV3B repeater in
Rockville, Maryland, on Sundays after the net at 7:30 p.m. local time.
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