Z3 - Macedonia on 60m by Damjan, Z35BY

Hello,

details about the preparing 60m band activity project in Macedonia arrived from Damjan, Z35BY. I would like to thanks to Damjan for prcised informations and his permission to post it over here:

1) No power or modes restricted in the PERMISSION, but expect maximum 100 W radiated power with voice, cw & digital modulation

2) Block of frequencies:
5250 KHz - 5254 KHz
5258 KHz - 5263 KHz
5285 KHz - 5290 KHz
5303 KHz - 5308 KHz
5312 KHz - 5317 KHz
5321 KHz - 5326 KHz
5330 KHz - 5335 KHz
5337 KHz - 5362 KHz
5366 KHz - 5371 KHz
5384 KHz - 5389 KHz
5402 KHz - 5407 KHz
5411 KHz - 5416 KHz
5420 KHz - 5425 KHz
5429 KHz - 5434 KHz

3) Permission is valid until 30 April 2015

4) Permission is given to RSM as organization - not to individuals. It is given for experimental work. Several Z3 stations will be involved in the project

5) Some preparations are still in progress so expect activity after 1st May 2014

It is very good news about this 60m band project ongoing in Macedonia. I hope that we will find our friends after 1st May 2014 on the air all modes.


73 - Petr, OK1RP
.../-.-

Prime user activity alert in UK by RSGB

Important update: 5 MHz Band in UK by RSGB

RSGB General Manager | April 8, 2014

 

Users of the 5 MHz frequencies will know that this portion of spectrum is allocated (by NoV only) for amateur use on a secondary basis, available on the basis of non-interference to other services inside the UK. Ofcom have indicated that, during the coming days, there may be temporary increased usage of the band by the primary user and thus particular care should be exercised to ensure that frequencies are not in use before calling CQ.

Source:
http://rsgb.org/main/blog/uncategorized/2014/04/08/important-update-5-mhz-band/


73 - Petr, OK1RP
.../-.-

ZS beacon on 60m by Paul, ZS6EHG

Hello,

 

info about the new beacon is coming from WSPR Net as follows:

Micro Beacon on 5,250 Mhz

Submitted by zs6ehg on Sat, 2014/03/15 - 07:05

 

"I am testing a 60m beacon with audio generated from a micro processor. Any information on the quality of my signal and speed of the CW at the end will be appreciated. 73 de Paul ZS6EHG"

Thank You also for info to Joe, W8GEX.


73 - Petr, OK1RP
.../-.-
 

S0 - Western Sahara on 60m band

Hello,
 
Naama, SØ1A will be QRV in the second half of this April after overcoming technical and installation of multiple antennas problems.

His apologize for the sporadic activity of March 9 because of an equipment failure.

Naama will operate on 60 meters, 5403.5 kHz in April as Naama has the license to operate on this band.

More info here:
http://saharadx.jimdo.com/


best good luck,

73 - Petr, OK1RP
.../-.-

The 320 CW Net date/time 60m schedule by Petr, OK1RP

Hi all,

I have with John, G4SRE in UK land been tweaking the freqs/times which hope it is ok for everyone for 320 CW Net activities.

The frequencies and date/time schedule proposal:

Tuesdays: 80m / 3545kHz / 19:30z
Thursdays: 60m / 5333 kHz TX and 5332kHz RX for OK land,
5333 kHz for TX/RX when only UK stations / 19:30z
Sundays: 40m / 7020kHz / 17:00z (alternatively 19:30z)

OK land does not have the same freqs which has the UKs...

Do not know what is the "320 CW Net"...?
 
The Clansman PRC-320 is a lightweight HF/SSB radio station designed as part of the British Army's Clansman range of radio equipments for combat use throughout the world. It was used by long-range patrols and Special Forces because of it's sky-wave range performance and hand generator system. SAS patrols in Falklands, Gulf etc. used this famous green radio and it is still working well after years.

http://radionerds.com/images/f/f8/UK-PRC-320_User_Handbook.pdf
http://www.armyradio.com/arsc/customer/product.php?productid=2252

If You are PRC-320 set owner and You would like to be in regular contact with other 320's users /CW preffered/ this 320 CW Net is determined.

Cu on the air.

73 - Petr, OK1RP
.../-.-
 

GB3WES 60m beacon - off air

Hello,

short info came from John, G3WGV about the off air status of GB3WES beacon on 60m band:

"The NoV for GB3WES is cancelled by Ofcom as of midnight on 31-Mar-2014 and as yet the requested renewal has not been forthcoming. I have therefore had no option but to turn the beacon off. Hopefully this is only a temporary close down." 73, John, G3WGV

I hope it will be solved quickly as it was very helpful tool for propagation check.

73 - Petr, OK1RP
.../-.-

US Ham Ops and Government Test HF Radio Communications by Joe, W8GEX

For immediate release: 27 March 2014

US Ham Operators and Government Test HF Radio Communications
 

Disaster Communications Compatibility Exercise Uses Automatic Link Establishment
 

Washington, DC, and San Francisco, CA – 27 March 2014 - US Amateur Radio operators (ham operators) and Federal Government radio stations are engaged in a nationwide test of their capability to communicate with each other by shortwave radio, in case of an emergency or disaster. They are participating in a 12-day joint readiness exercise running from 27 March through 7 April, covering all areas of USA, using a digital High Frequency (HF) radio system known as Automatic Link Establishment (ALE). This High Frequency Interoperability Exercise 2014 (HFIE-2014) runs concurrent with the federal National Exercise Program (NEP) 2014.
 

ALE is a standardized digital signaling protocol used by each radio service, ham and government, to establish HF communications between their own stations. For the first time, the government regulatory agencies (FCC and NTIA) have authorized these stations to communicate with each other using ALE. HF radio enables long distance communication independent of terrestrial communications infrastructure, internet, or satellites.
 

To facilitate the communication testing, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) secured temporary authority from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Federal Government radio stations and hams are allowed to communicate with each other using ALE during the exercise. Under existing rules, hams have secondary access to 5 HF radio channels on which Government stations are the primary users.
 

HF radios used by Federal Government stations have the ALE capability built into the hardware. Amateur Radio operators have implemented the same ALE protocols using their personal computers with ham radio equipment and software. The Special Temporary Authority allows for on-the-air testing of interoperability between the hardware and software-generated ALE implementations.
 

Participation in the interoperability exercise is open to all ALE-capable Federal Government radio stations and to all ALE-capable US Amateur Radio stations. While five channels are available if needed, the test plan calls for using only two of the channels in order to minimize impact on other stations not participating in the exercise. 

Specifics of the STA are as follows:

(1) Temporary modification of the authority granted at NTIA Manual section 7.3.8(4), which authorizes Federal Government stations to communicate with stations in the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, to allow communications with any Amateur Radio station utilizing Automatic Link Establishment, limited to the five channels in the 5 MHz band which are available to the Amateur Radio Service on a secondary basis, for the period March 27th through April 7th 2014.

(2) Concurrent waiver by the FCC of that part of FCC rule 97.111(a)(4) which limits communications with US Government stations to transmissions necessary to providing communications in RACES, limited to the five channels in the 5 MHz band which are available to the Amateur Radio Service on a secondary basis, for the period March 27th through April 7th 2014.

The HFIE-2014 is a semi-annual ham radio readiness exercise coordinated by the HFLINK organization http://hflink.com and the Global ALE High Frequency Network http://hflink.net

It is open to all ALE-capable ham radio stations. Technical and operational guidelines for ham and federal government stations are available at: http://hflink.net/hfie2014

National Exercise Program (NEP) 2014 is a complex emergency preparedness exercise with activities sponsored by government departments and agencies, designed to educate and prepare the whole community for complex, large-scale disasters and emergencies. As part of the National Preparedness Goal (NPG), it enables a collaborative, whole community approach to national preparedness that engages individuals, families, communities, the private and nonprofit sectors, faith-based organizations and all levels of government.