Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2406 for Friday December 8th, 2023

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2406 with a release date of Friday
December 8th, 2023 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. HAMSCI releases its first solar eclipse
findings. AMSAT Canada arrives on the satellite scene -- and meet
Newsline's International Newsmaker for 2023. All this and more as
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2406 comes your way right now.

**
HAMSCI RELEASES FIRST SOLAR ECLIPSE FINDINGS

PAUL/ANCHOR: Our top story this week comes to us from the citizen
science effort known as HamSCI. Its groundbreaking ionospheric research
during the October 14th annular [ann-YOO-lar] solar eclipse has already
begun to yield the first of many new insights. Patrick Clark K8TAC
brings us the details.

PATRICK: If you participated in the Solar Eclipse QSO Party this past
autumn, yours is among the 300 logs that are helping yield data for the
HamSCI team led by Nathaniel Frissell [Frizz-Zell] W2NAF. The QSO Party
helped flesh out the overall picture, along with data collection from
more than 7 million QSOs spotted on the air and a variety of
experiments to study the solar eclipse's effects on the ionosphere. As
HamSCI prepares for another QSO Party and more observations during the
total solar eclipse over North America on April 8th, the team has
released its earliest findings from October. The detailed technical
document contains a variety of charts and graphic elements that expand
on these observations. Please visit our website, arnewsline.org, and
click on the tab that says "EXTRA." You will find the full illustrated
HamSCI document there.

This is Patrick Clark K8TAC.

(HAMSCI)

**
FCC ISSUES WARNINGS TO LAND OWNERS FOR SUPPORT OF RADIO PIRACY

PAUL/ANCHOR: The FCC has issued warnings to land owners for what the
agency says is their support of radio piracy in Boston. Andy Morrison
K9AWM has that story.

ANDY: In the US, land owners in Boston, Massachusetts have received
nine warnings - and a threat of more than $2-million in fines - from
the Federal Communications Commission for permitting illegal radio
broadcasts on their premises. This is the latest action, taken on
December 1st, to be taken under the 3-year-old PIRATE ACT, which stands
for Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement. The act gives
the FCC the power to impose fines of up to $2-milion if the broadcasts
continue. The agency also has the power to seize equipment.

As a number of media outlets, including RadioWorld,com, have reported,
the FCC has no further ability to act against the illegal stations and
has no responsibility for collecting the actual fines.That is the
purview of the US Department of Justice, which is also responsible for
fines imposed in the cases of violent crimes and drug cases. In a Nov.
24th story on RadioWorld's website, an FCC representative said [quote]
"We do not release non-public information about our ongoing
investigations, which includes whether a forfeiture is paid or not."
[endquote]

This is Andy Morrison K9AWM.

(FCC, RADIOWORLD)

**
AMSAT-CA INCORPORATES, JOINS PROPOSED SATELLITE PROJECT

PAUL/ANCHOR: Canada has taken an important first formal step toward
supporting and developing the growth of amateur radio in space through
the incorporation of a nonprofit membership-based organisation,
AMSAT-CA.

AMSAT-CA's first venture will be a European and Canadian geosynchronous
amateur radio satellite over the North Atlantic, a future venture
proposed by the European Space Agency. A technical group is being
assembled to present a Canadian position paper for the project.

AMSAT-CA's website is still under development but visitors to amsat dot
ca (amsat.ca) can view a video from Frank Zeppenfeldt, PD0AP, of the
ESA, at the AMSAT-UK colloquium, describing the geostationary microwave
amateur payload proposal.

(AMATEUR RADIO DAILY, AMSAT-CA)

**
AMATEUR RADIO IN SPACE MARKS 40 YEARS OF QSOS

PAUL/ANCHOR: Congratulations to all the men and women in space and all
the students and educators who have connected with them over the years.
In November, amateur radio communications between space and the Earth
marked its 40th year. These dialogues began in 1983 with the program
known as the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment, or SAREX. SAREX was
replaced in the year 2000 by Amateur Radio on the International Space
Station. According to NASA, these high-flying QSOs have touched people
in 49 US states, 63 nations and every continent, drawing participation
of more than 1 million students, opening up the world of science,
technology, engineering and mathematics to them.

(NASA)

**
IRISH HAREC SYLLABUS AVAILABLE AS FREE DOWNLOAD

PAUL/ANCHOR: Hams in Ireland who are seeking their Harmonised Amateur
Radio Examination Certificate.have a new resource to turn to, as Jeremy
Boot G4NJH tells us.

JEREMY: The Irish Radio Transmitters Society has published its new
study guide for the Irish HAREC exam syllabus, covering technology
regulations and radio theory. The free 400-page guide is available as a
downloadable PDF and is considered to be comprehensive, with more than
450 footnotes to assist with learning. Even hams who already have the
licence may find the publication useful in helping to update their
knowledge of antenna safety or SDR technology. The guide is designed
for those who prefer self-study but it is also compatible with use in
classroom lessons. The IRTS expressed its thanks to Rafal EI6LA and
members of the National Short Wave Listeners Club, among the many other
authors.

To download the 25 MB file, see the link the text version of this
week's newscast at arnewsline.org

[DO NOT READ: https://irts.ie/guide ]

(IRTS)

**
DOCUMENT HELPS HAMS ADDRESS NEIGHBORS' RF SAFETY CONCERNS

PAUL/ANCHOR: Hams need to be effective communicators, not just with
other hams but often with their neighbors. The ARRL's RF Safety
Committee, the Swedish Society of Radio Amateurs, the Radio Society of
Great Britain and the Irish Radio Transmitters Society have developed
guidelines to help hams address neighbors' concerns about RF exposure
from their stations. The ARRL's chairman of the RF Safety Committee,
Greg Lapin, N9GL, announced the availability of the guidelines in a
downloadable PDF from the website. In making the guidelines available,
Greg urged hams to perform exposure assessments for their stations to
ensure they comply with the FCC's RF exposure regulations. Find a link
to the downloadable PDF in the text version of this week's newscast at
arnewsline.org

[FOR TEXT ONLY, DO NOT READ: https://tinyurl.com/bdzknyun ]

(ARRL, KB6NU BLOG)

**

SEASONED SOTA OPERATOR TO SURVEY YL INTERESTS IN SUMMITS

PAUL/ANCHOR: Is it lonely at the top for some YLs? Maybe that might be
true a little bit in SOTA. But one YL in Illinois hopes to get more YLs
involved in the awards scheme that has activators hiking and climbing
to their destination.

SEL: Paula K-9-eye-R is a proud Mountain Goat in the SOTA awards
scheme. Three years ago, she had a tally of 1,000 points earned from
more than 150 summit activations, qualifying her for the award. Two
years later, she achieved her second Mountain Goat designation.

It shows her commitment to traveling to recognized summits and it shows
her effectiveness achieving the required number of contacts to qualify
a summit. Writing on the SOTA reflector, Paula announced recently that
a number of events are planned for the coming year that focus
specifically on YLs. She is reaching out to YLs who are activating
summits now or have an interest in trying it out. She announced that a
survey will be going out shortly to find out what events in particular
would get more YLs into SOTA, with the hope of re-engaging those YLs
who are no longer active or not active yet. As she says on her page on
QRZ.com, with its combination of radio operating and outdoor activity,
SOTA can be considered a "biathlon for geeks," and as we know the
winter Biathlon season is just starting.

This is Sel Embee, K-B-3-T-Zed-D.

(SOTA REFLECTOR)

**
SCHOLARSHIP FUND FOR HAMS AND RADIO TECHNOLOGY TOPS $2.1 MILLION

PAUL/ANCHOR: Grants for scholarships, ham radio clubs and technology
classroom teachers are available in excess of $2.1-million as a result
of combined funding from Amateur Radio Digital Communications and the
ARRL Foundation. The grant program, which is known as the ARDC
Scholarship at the ARRL Foundation, is expected to create more than 200
scholarships during the next three years, providing sums of between
$5,000 and $25,000 for higher education. The program has supported
nearly 100 scholarships since it was created three years ago.

(ARRL)

**

BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline heard on bulletin stations around the world including
the KB9LPP repeater in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin on Saturdays. The repeater
is DMR enabled on the Brandmeister Network.

**
SPECIAL EVENT CELEBRATES NEW "WILLY WONKA" MOVIE

PAUL/ANCHOR: When you get your amateur license, it's been said that
you've gotten your ticket. But what does it mean if you receive a
"golden ticket?" One ham in Minnesota has organized a special event
station that answers the question. Kent Peterson KC0DGY tells us what
it's all about.