Amateur Radio assists with communications in Malaysia.

Malaysian floods get MARTS emcomm help

Severe flooding described as the worst for a long time in the north of Malaysia during the monsoon season, has taken five lives with about 160,000 people evacuated.
Johnny Tan 9M8DB of the Malaysian Amateur Radio Transmitters' Society (MARTS) says emcomm operators are active on 7.110 MHz, with 3.600MHz likely to be tested for late night links to maintain links to handle disaster traffic.
MARTS asks all to avoid causing QRM of these centre-of-activity emergency frequencies. He reports that the 50w stations are in Kuala Lumpur, Kuantan, Kemaman and Bachok with 50 watts using NVIS propagation.
Johnny 9M8DB says initially VHF/UHF repeaters were used, but severe flooding had affected power supply and batteries with the switch to HF being made.
Official recognition has received including permission for the MARTS emcomm operations to carry third party traffic.
In some places rescuers are faced with rows of house rooftops popping up from muddy water. Seasonal flooding hits Malaysia this time each year, but experts describe it as being the worst since at least 2004, and communications have also been badly hit.
Meanwhile in neighbouring Thailand, disaster zones have been declared in eight southern provinces after floods there killed at least 13 people with 184,000 households affected.

Jim Linton VK3PC
Chairman IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee

I'm not ignoring you, I'm listening 10 up

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Many thanks to Southgate Amateur Radio News for this article.

A rarther cynical view of Amateur Radio activity on 10 Meters

Do you play on 10 Meters each Sunday morning?

Amateur Activity

Don't eat too much turkey before you transmit during Christmas festivities!

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An interesting wind map.

Would you like to know in advance when your tower needs to be taken down or when its too windy to play radio from the local mountain - if so take a look at this interesting world map of the wind.

Wind Map

Radio Amateurs spend their leasure time with Psychopaths!!

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Thanks to 'cqdx.ru" for this post

Amateur Radio Advanced Examination

The British Advanced Amateur Radio Examination can only be taken on fixed dates and times, this schedule is set out in the RSGB Instructors' newsletter and the following timetable covers the next 2 years:

 

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DX From IRAN (EP6T)

After some considerable time and many negotiating meetings the Rockall DX Group are to operate from Iran in January 2015. For further information and facilities to donate to the group please go to their website:

EP6T

12 indian cities and towns have their names changed.

The Hindu (Indian news paper) reports that from 1st November 12 cities will change their names as follows:

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Your logbook details may may need new spellings after contact with Indian station.

146 -147 MHz Bandplan (UK only)

The RSGB have now issued a Bandplan for 146-147 MHz.

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CQ change their policy on Crimea callsigns

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Signal Identification

Using modern SDR equipment the waterfall in your software often shows signals you are not familiar with; this useful web page helps you identify the signal by its waterfall image and sound.

SIGNAL IDENTIFICATION

Maidenhead Converter

A nice little app for your iPad is now available called the "Maidenhead Converter" it is written by Donald Hays and is very useful for those mobile operators who wish to report their current location.
The app is free but you can pay a small fee to remove the adverts.

New allocation on 146-147 MHz - but not on the Isle of Man!

The RSGB VHF manager (G4SWX) recently presented information about the new allocation of 146-147 MHz to be allowed for UK licence holders; but it seems that this allocation will not be allowed to the Isle of Man, Guernsey or Jersey.

It seems like we are considered to be on the "High Seas".

http://tinyurl.com/146MHz-Allocation

The latest number of British licences (Oct 2014 - OFCOM information)

How many British Amateur Radio licence holders are there and how many actually operate on the bands?
This question has always been unknown but OFCOM (the licencing authority) issue regular information; here are their latest figures.

Dominica on 5 MHz

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(Many thanks to Southgate ARS News for this information)

Carrot Morse Key

A lovely product for all the vegeterian fans out there:

Carrot Morse Key

A nice video introduction to Data modes in Amateur Radio.

Data Modes

Many thanks to G0POT for this fine video.

JOTA (SCOUTS) on the air

Have you registered your JOTA station yet? this World wide event brings millions of scouts in contact with amateur radio. I hope you will join them on the air!

17-19th October 2014

JOTA

UK/British bandplans from RSGB

Are you familiar with the latest UK/British band plans, if not have a look at the RSGB online facility. All you do is select the band of interest and you will see the latest bandplan.


Band Plans

The future of IOTA

Plans to bring up to date the IOTA programme and ensure its continuation for the next 50 yrs are now being considered by RSGB. Read the interesting article on this matter:

RSGB_IOTA

Why Amateur Radio is growing in the USA

An interesting perspective on the growth of Amateur Radio in the USA.

ARRL

Thanks to ARRL for this article.

The latest 5MHz news letter

5MHZ News

Russian Military splattering all over 14 MHz Band

The IARU monitoring report for July 2014 makes interesting reading and clearly demonstrates how the Amateur Bands are abused by many countries.


IARU Report

The growing 630 meter band made available in Canada.

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Listen out for GB1418WAR throughout August 2014.
This Callsign will be active for the whole months on 1.8 to 28MHZ Bands, predominantly SSB but with the occasional CW. There will be no DATA operation.
The Callsign is a tribute to all those who suffered and lost their lives in the War.
The QSL Card is of special importance to the Operator as it shows his great uncle who himself ldied whilst serving his Country in the First World War.
The fastest way to receive any QSL Card I manage is to request them via M0OXO OQRS


GB1418WAR

Pages visited by Internet users from Turkey?

Over the last few days I have seen visits to the blog from Turkey, it seems that TA...... callsigns are taking a sudden interest in the Isle of Man Amateur Radio Blog?
I wonder why - please let me know in the comments section.
Regardless of the reason you are very welcome!

Free ATV magazine to download

Worth a look at if you are interested in ATV.

ATV

Use your callsign as an alternative name on Facebook

 

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Following an amateur radio petition to Facebook you can now use your callsign as personal identification.

Go to your Home page click on the down arrow and select "settings"
Click on "edit name"
Complete "Alternative Name"
Tick to include this on your Timeline
Save the changes with your Facebook password.
Your callsign will appear in brackets after your name.

Going to Moldova for your holiday? take your radio.

RESTRUCTURING: MOLDOVA HAS JOINED CEPT LICENSES

International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 reports that Moldova has signed the pan-European CEPT Novice and Class 1 amateur radio license agreement.

The CEPT Radio Amateur License Class 1 corresponds to the United States Extra and United Kingdom’s Advanced and Full licenses. The CEPT Novice License is closely compatible to the Unites States General and UK Intermediate license.

There is also a CEPT entry class license which equate to the United States Technician and United Kingdom Foundation class, however Moldavia is not joining in that entry level system. At least not at this time. (IARU-R1)

Changes to Licence Conditions for Thailand and Germany

 

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Commonwealth Games special event station.

 

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More visitors to German Amateur Radio event this year.

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UK regulator OFCOM will now permit CB users to transmit SSB with 12W

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Many thanks to Southgate ARS for this news.

Examination dates for 2014/15

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Thinking of taking the full British Licence, above are the examination dates you need to be ready for.

CQ Magazine at a great price via "Zinio"

Just purchased CQ Magazine at a bargain price (£7.99) for 12 issues from Zinio.com.
They have a vast range of digital magazines with some very good offers.

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Cuba to get 5 Mhz licences.

Cuba will be allowed to use 60m, but will only be allowed to talk to each other; international contacts will not be permitted.

Harry MD0HEB an old friend passed away this morning.

Harry Blackburn MD0HEB a very close friend, passed away in the early hours of this morning, A silent key who will be missed by many in the Amateur Radio World. R.I.P Harry.

Wessex Contest Group Visits the Isle of Man

The Wessex contest group are here using the callsign MT0WCB, have a look at their station and their happy faces.


Wessex Contest Group

GT8IOM comes in the top 10 for the 2013 ARRL DX contest (Phone)

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GT8IOM makes the headlines once again!

Well done to the Island operators who obtained good results in this World wide phone contest.

Google "arrl dx phone contest 2013" for the PDF file containing all the results.

WAB Squares on the Isle of Man

It seems a long time since I have been asked for my WAB Square, but it happened tonight and I could not remember the square. Some years ago I created a map which marked out the WAB Squares on the Island and having searched and found it I thought I should share the information.

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WAB

The latest CQ-DATV magazine - free of charge and good reading.

Goto No 11 May 2014:

CQ-DATV

Do you ever have problems erecting an antenna?

You may learn how not to do it from the following!
Antenna problems

The UK's first TV show for Amateur Radio

TX Factor is a new TV show produced by broadcast professionals who are also radio amateurs.
The programme is free to view and can be streamed to your smart TV, PC, Tablet or Phone.
This is a very high quality show well worth watching.

TX Factor

Russian illegal invasion of Crimea does not make it a new DXCC entity.

(Thanks to ARRL for this information)

A message from our repeater keeper.

The following information has been received from the Isle of Man repeater keeper Dave GD4HOZ.
Repeaters IOM

"On Monday and Tuesday of next week (14-15 April 2014), the DHA (Government) will be carrying out routine electrical inspection work at Snaefell.  This will necessarily involve the isolation of the mains supply to site users’ equipment including ours.

Last summer I installed a range of new equipment on Snaefell to protect us from power failures, and to provide a means to remotely control the power to various items of equipment. This can be seen in the photo attached.

The Compaq UPS is rated at 1500VA and should easily power ‘GD and ‘IM for the duration of the planned outage. Ordinarily, the UPS will only need to cover the interval between mains failure and the startup of the generator, which should be less than a minute. On this occasion, the outage will be up to half an hour, so the batteries will get a good run!

With these facilities in place, I do not anticipate any downtime but it’s as well to let people know."

Amateur Radio software being used to detect radio signals from missing aircraft.

 

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Many thanks to ARRL for this news.

 

Microsoft stops support for windows XP and Office 2003

Microsoft’s support for two major products ends today: Windows XP and Office 2003. As a result, the company will no longer release security updates for either of the two, and it recommends users who still use either to get a newer version.
If you’re wondering why April 8, 2014 is the date support for both of these products ends, it’s really quite simple. Microsoft releases regular patches on Patch Tuesday, the second Tuesday of every month.
Microsoft supports its products for many years, and depending on when service packs as well as successors are released, the company eventually announces, in advance, when it will cut off support. April 8 happens to be the last Patch Tuesday for both products, meaning if security holes are found after today’s date, they won’t be plugged.

If you are still using these products now is the time to think about upgrading and becoming less vulnerable to attack. 

Ofcom to take away some of the spectrum used by amateur radio.

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Contest Group are to visit the Isle of Man

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The Isle of Man is a great place for a DXpedition and we hope the group have a good trip and lots of good contacts.

Their facebook page is:

Contest Group

Ofcom (UK) allows Short Range Devices to use 870-876 and 915-921 MHz spectrum licence free.

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Canadian hams attempt to cross the pond using 2 Metres.

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Is the USA bringing back compulsary Morse Code? (posted on the 1st April)

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UK repeaters will be switched off over night due to lack of use.

The Leicestershire Repeater Group have taken the decision at their most recent committee meeting, due to falling membership, to limit the hours of operation of the repeaters GB3CF (2m), GB3GV (23cm TV),  GB3LE (70cm) and GB3UM (6m)  to conserve funds. As a result, the repeaters are now switched off overnight between the hours of 22.00 to 05.00. The beacons GB3LEX and GB3LES continue to operate 24 hours a day.
 

$12,000 fine for keying on ch 19 CB Radio

An American CB user faces a large fine for keying over Ch 19 with his CB radio.

 

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Many thanks to ARRL for this news item.

Ham Radio now - Band Planning for Digital Radio

Here is a very interesting discussion about band planning for the future digital modes and further discussion about the possible future of amateur radio.

Well worth watching and spending an hour of you precious time!

Ham Radio Now

UK Amatures may be getting an extension to the 2m band?

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(Thanks to Southgate ARS News for this information)

Current UK band plan overs

144.000 – 146.000MHz

Voice of Russia to stop broadcasting on shortwave

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Radio Amateur makes a voluntary donation to Government and gives up his Ham Licence

 

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(Thanks to ARRL for this news item)

A welcome note from our repeater keeper (Dave gd4hoz)

Last week, the communications division rigger was able to reinstate our antenna at its temporary location on the west leg of the Snaefell tower. Today (17-03-04), the final termination of the cable was completed and the two repeaters – GB3GD and GB3IM-S – were once again back on the air at about 14:30.
Signals appear to be good so far, with a couple of Irish stations heard shortly after we came back on the air. 
DX, in the shape of 2D0FHG operating from his porch, was also heard on ‘GD!
We still have some intermod problems with GB3GD, and we plan to visit the site again once the trams are running in order to attempt an investigation.
It is hoped that the summer will afford an opportunity to have the antenna re-located to a more favourable position.

In the meantime, thanks are due to those who helped to get us going again.

This is very good news for the Isle of Man and amateur radio around our location; we all look towards lots of enjoyable repeater use.

 

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St. Patrick Day special event station (Republic of Ireland)

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Amateur radio plays a part in support communications for the missing Malaysian aircraft emergency.

Following the mysterious disappearance of the Malaysian Airline Boeing 777-200ER jetliner with 239 passengers aboard, the airline’s Emergency Management Centre (EMC) at Kuala Lumpur Airport provided hotel accommodations for next of kin. 
The Malaysian Amateur Radio Transmitters' Society (MARTS) President, Mohd Aris Bernawi, 9M2IR, said his organization was asked to provide a link between the airport and the hotel.
MARTS quickly set up a station, led by Zanirul Akhmal Zanirun, 9M2PRO, with Azizi Samsuri, 9W2ZZE, as the airline’s team leader. 
The Negeri Sembilan Amateur Radio Club (NESRAC) provided volunteers for the station at the EMC. MARTS set up a cross-band VHF/UHF link to avoid any unnecessary interference to and from public service communications, and an HF link was added later. During the callout 11 Amateur Radio volunteers were at the EMC and 23 volunteers at the hotel.
9M2IR, who oversaw the entire process, said MARTS — an IARU member-society — was pleased to be able provide the communication link as the search for flight MH370 continues. — Thanks to Jim Linton, VK3PC, Chairman IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee

Why not try the Irish Amateur Radio Examination Paper

Using the following link will take you to a PDF file giving a sample Irish examination.
Why not give it a go and see how many questions you can answer.

Irish Examination Paper

A new website about the history of a USA amateur.

I wonder if anyone knows this callsign, the QSL card is to be found on a new historical Amateur radio web site in the USA.

W5RG

Use it or loose it!!

I wonder how many local Amateurs would be better loosing their licence and having a listening only licence?

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G3VA Pat Hawker - Silent Key.

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World Amateur Radio Day - 18th April 2014

 

Thanks to ARRL for this information