Firmware Update Coming

Paul Opitz at Uniden posted the following announcement on Valentines Day:

Uniden expects to release a firmware update for the BCD396XT and BCD996XT near the end of February. This update is intended to improve reception and decoding of APCO 25 systems on many systems.

We've been developing and testing this update for a while, and are quite pleased overall with the improvements achieved.

Looking forward to getting this into your hands.

New Rules for 5 MHz (60 Meters) To Go Into Effect March 5

SB QST @ ARL $ARLB002
ARLB002 New Rules for 5 MHz (60 Meters) To Go Into Effect March 5

ZCZC AG02
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 2 ARLB002
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT February 3, 2012
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB002
ARLB002 New Rules for 5 MHz (60 Meters) To Go Into Effect March 5

On November 18, the FCC released a Report and Order (R&O), defining new rules for the 60 meter (5 MHz) band. These rules are in response to a Petition for Rulemaking (PRM) filed by the ARRL more than five years ago and a June 2010 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). In the February 3 edition of the Federal Register, the FCC announced that these new rules will go into effect on March 5, 2012.

Details can be found at,
https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/02/03/2012-2477/amateur-radio-use-of-the-allocation-at-5-mhz

In summarizing the new rules, the FCC explained that the new rules amend the current rules to facilitate more efficient and effective use by the Amateur Radio Service of five channels in the 5330.5-5406.4 kHz band (the 60 meter band): "Specifically, and
consistent with our proposals in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in this proceeding, the Commission replaces one of the channels with a less encumbered one, increases the maximum authorized power amateur stations may transmit in this band and authorizes amateur stations to transmit three additional emission designators. The Commission also adopts an additional operational rule that prohibits the use of automatically controlled digital stations and makes editorial revisions to the relevant portions of the Table of Frequency Allocations and our service rules."

The Amateur Radio Service in the United States has a secondary allocation on 60 meters. Only those amateurs who hold General, Advanced or Amateur Extra class licenses may operate on this band. Amateur stations must not cause harmful interference to -- and must accept interference from -- stations authorized by any
administration in the fixed service, as well as mobile (except aeronautical mobile) stations authorized by the administrations of other countries.
NNNN
/EX

USFS Southern Area Helibases

The following is a list of USFS Southern Area Helibases and frequencies.

State Base Name Frequency Latitude/ Longitude Agency Location Airport Identifier
AL Andalusia 169.325tx Tn.123.0 168.725rx 31 18.5 / 86 23.6 NF in Alabama Andalusia, AL 79J

AR Mena 168.650 Tn.110.9 34 32.7 / 94 12.2 Ouachita NF Mena, AR M39

AR Mt. Ida 168.650 Tn.110.9 34 31.8 / 93 31.6 Ouachita NF Mt. Ida, AR 7M3

AR Clarksville 168.650 Tn.110.9 35 28.2 / 93 25.6 Ozark NF Clarksville, AR H35

FL Ocala 169.175 Tn.131.8 29 06.3 / 81 37.8 Ocala NF Altoona, FL OCF

FL Tallahassee 164.125tx 164.825rx Tn.136.5 30 23.7 / 84 20.9 Apalachicola NF Tallahassee, FL TLH

FL Big Cypress 171.625tx 172.425rx Tn.103.5 25 51.27 / 81 02.04 Big Cypress NP Big Cypress, FL 9FL7

FL Everglades 171.625tx 172.525rx 35 23.28 / 80 41.09 Everglades NP Homestead, FL HST

FL Lake City 164.125tx 164.825rx Tn.167.9 30 10.8 / 82 34.5 Osceola NF Lake City, FL LCQ

FL Merritt Island 166.725tx 165.450rx 28 64.03 / 80 73.07 Merritt Island NWR Titusville, FL X21

GA Pogo 163.150tx 164.625rx tn.103.5 30 44.3 / 82 07.6 Okefenokee NWR Folkston, GA 3GE1

GA Glassy Mountain 168.650 tn.136.5 34 50.42 / 83 30.02 Chattahoochee NF Clayton, GA

GA Rock Eagle 168.150tx 171.975rx tn.186.2 33 24.3/83 22.54 Chattahoochee/Oconee NFs Rock Eagle Work Center

KY Big Swag 171.525 36 52.5 / 84 25.4 Daniel Boone NF Somerset, KY SME

LA Alexandria 168.650 Tn.110.9 31 19.6 / 92 32.9 Kisatchie NF Alexandria, LA AEX

MS Wiggins 168.750 30 50.6 /89 09.6 Desoto NF Wiggins MS M24

MS Forest 168.675 32 21.2 / 89 29.3 Bienville NF Forest, MS 2M4

NC Woodlawn 168.650 Tn.110.9 35 46.1 / 82 02.1 Pisgah NF Marion, NC

NC Cheoah Airport 168.650 Tn.110.9 35 20.2 / 83 49.5 Nantahala NF Robbinsville, NC

NC New Bern 168.650 Tn.110.9 34 59.4 / 76 58.9 Croatan NF New Bern, NC EWN

NC Alligator River 35 57.1 / 75 52.4 Alligator River NWR Manteo, NC MQI

NC Rich Mtn. 168.650 Tn.110.9 35 05.9 / 83 13.7 Nantahala NF Highlands, NC

SC Seed Orchard 164.125tx 168.675rx tn.136.5 33 06.48 /79 46.48 Francis Marion & Sumter NFs Huger, SC

SC Greenwood 164.125tx 168.675rx tn.123.0 34 14.9 / 82 09.5 Francis Marion & Sumter NFs Greenwood, SC GRD

SC Savannah River 168.650 Tn.110.9 33 21.57/81 41.05
Savannah River New Ellenton, SC AGS

TN Copperhill 169.925 tn.103.5 35 0.16 / 84 34.5 Cherokee NF Ducktown, TN 1A3

TN Greenville 169.875 tn.100.0 36 12 / 82 49 Cherokee NF Greenville, TN GCY

TN Bowman 169.875tx tn.100.0 36 10.33/82 31.33 Cherokee NF Jackson Farm, TN

TN Sevierville 168.650 Tn.110.9 35 51.5 / 83 31.7 Great Smoky Mts. NP Sevierville, TN GKT

TX Lufkin 168.750 tn.110.9 31 18.66/94 49.3 NFs in Texas Lufkin, TX LFK

VA Abingdon 171.575 36 41.2 / 82 02.0 GW/Jeff NFs Highland, VA VJI

VA Weyers Cave 171.525 38 15.8 / 78 53.8 GW/Jeff NFs Shenandoah Valley, VA SHD

A common fixed wing aircraft that I see on my Mode-S box from the USFS is N182Z
USDA Forest Service Southern Region Becch 200 N182Z A14A59

Russian Satellite Debris

The Phobos-Grunt That Wasn't A Roscosmos rendering of Phobos-Grunt approaching Mars and its moon Phobos. Roscosmos

Courtesy of Harry Baughn:

"As of Wednesday morning, the fragments of Phobos-Grunt are expected to fall January 15, 2012. The final date could change due to external factors," said spokesman Alexei Zolotukhin, quoted by the Interfax news agency.

In an embarrassing setback, the $165-million probe designed to travel to the Mars moon of Phobos and bring back soil samples, blasted off on November 9 but failed to leave the Earth's orbit.

Click here for the Space.com story

Mexico drug cartel Zetas have their own radio system

A member of the Mexican Navy stands next to seized telecommunications equipment, allegedly built by the Zetas drug cartel, during a media presentation in Veracruz, Mexico, Sept. 8.(Marco Ugarte/AP)

From The National Terror Alert Response Center:

NY Daily News reports that when convoys of soldiers or federal police move through the scrubland of northern Mexico, the Zetas drug cartel knows they are coming.

How?

The alert goes out from a taxi driver or a street vendor, equipped with a high-end handheld radio and paid to work as a lookout known as a “halcon,” or hawk.The radio signal travels deep into the arid countryside, hours by foot from the nearest road. There, the 8-foot-tall 2-meter-tall dark-green branches of the rockrose bush conceal a radio tower painted to match.

A cable buried in the dirt draws power from a solar panel. A signal-boosting repeater relays the message along a network of powerful antennas and other repeaters that stretch hundreds of miles kilometers across Mexico, a shadow communications system allowing the cartel to coordinate drug deliveries, kidnapping, extortion and other crimes with the immediacy and precision of a modern military or law-enforcement agency.

Click Here.

French Launching 4 Spy Microsats from Kourou Today

Courtesy of the Hearsat-L newsgroup and amsat21@free.fr:

Pour info, demain vendredi, il doit y avoir le lancement de quatre nouveaux microsats espions fr du nom de code "Elisa" pour le Radint, depuis Kourou.

D"après la vidéo ci-dessous le système d"analyse data et de tracking des sats est sous Gnu-Linux Red-Hat (bien visible pour un linuxien), voir en bas à gauche de certains écrans de PC (une forme de chapeau rouge dans un cercle noir, le logo type de la distro Linux américaine Red-Hat!), les autres PC étant tout simplement sous Win XP. Pour les links sats, pas de surprise, comme d"hab., downlink des signaux Elint en bande X et TLM + TTC en bande S. La vidéo montre les différents logiciels de simulations (anti-daté en 2012!) d"analyse des signaux Elint + TLM + tracking sat. Le logiciel de tracking sat, montre bien sans aucun doute possible que les quatre sats sont bien de type LEO.

Pour les paraboles en début de vidéo, c"est typiquement celles pour le tracking en bande X ou S, vu le petit diamètre de celles-ci (à la louche 3m maxi).

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xmvaav_elisa-a-l-ecoute-des-radars-ennemis_tech?start=134#from=embediframe

73

FYI, tomorrow, Friday, there must be the launch of four new Microsat spies from the code name "Elisa" for RADINT from Kourou.

D "after the video below the system of" data analysis and tracking of sats is under Gnu-Linux-Red Hat (clearly visible for a Linux user), see bottom left of some PC monitors (a type of hat red in a black circle, the logo type of the Linux distro American red-Hat!), the other PC is just under Win XP. Links for sats, no surprise, as to "pop., Downlink signals Elint X-band and TLM + TTC S-band video shows the different simulation software (anti-dated in 2012!) D 'analysis + + TLM signals Elint tracking sat. The satellite tracking software, shows beyond doubt that the four sats are like LEO.

Parables for early video, c "are typically those for tracking X-band or S, given the small diameter of these (with a ladle 3m max).

Tennessee turns to Motorola for P25 system

Three districts of the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) will replace its existing legacy radio network with a multiband P25 system from Motorola Solutions in the first phase of a communications upgrade that will cost $39.2 million, according to an announcement this week according to the Urgent Communications website.

Under the terms of the contract, Motorola Solutions will build a P25 hybrid system, with 700/800 MHz spectrum being used in metropolitan areas and VHF frequencies being used in more rural areas, said Jay Malpass, strategic projects manager for Motorola Solutions. With this in mind, the state plans to purchase multiband APX portable and mobile radios for its personnel and vehicle fleet, he said.

Phase I of the project will address upgrades in the Chattanooga, Fall Branch and Knoxville districts and is expected to be completed next year, Malpass said. State officials hope to solicit funding next year for the buildout of P25 technology in the other five districts in the state, he said.

You can read the rest of the article by clicking here.

Vinyl treasure found on Wake Island

Master Sgt. John Solane, a 611th Air Support Group Detachment 1 contracting quality assurance specialist, looks at a Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers Band album called “Sure Feels Like Love” at Wake Island Airfield, Alaska, recently. The yellow sleeves in the cubbies around Solane contain AFRTS-distributed records, which are copyrighted to protect the artists who gave the military authorization to use their recordings overseas for free. (U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Amy Hansen)

by Capt. Amy Hansen, 11th Air Force Public Affairs

WAKE ISLAND AIRFIELD, Alaska (AFNS) -- In a tale straight from an adventure book, contractors here recently stumbled upon a vinyl record collection with an estimated value between $90,000 and $250,000.

The 611th Air Support Group's Detachment 1 is now making a comprehensive effort to preserve the nearly 9,000 vintage vinyl records and ship them to their rightful owner, the American Forces Radio and Television Network in Alexandria, Va., according to Master Sgt. Jean-Guy Fleury, the detachment's infrastructure superintendent, who took over the project from the former Detachment 1 commander, Maj. Aaron Wilt.

No digging was required to access this treasure, as the records were cataloged and neatly organized on shelves in a small room on the second floor of the Wake Island Airfield base operations building. The door was conspicuously stenciled with the name of a radio station, KEAD, and a "restricted area warning" sign, which kept most people out.

"That's a locked room normally, but people in my department have known the records were there for years," said Colin Bradley, the communications superintendent with Chugach Federal Solutions, Inc. CFSI is the contractor that currently manages operations on Wake Island with the oversight of Air Force quality assurance personnel.

"Because of the completeness of the collection, I assumed it was quite valuable," Bradley said. "I have not run across a collection that well preserved or that intact in my career. It's a little time capsule."

The collection includes a variety of vinyl albums and records specially made for military audiences and distributed monthly by the American Forces Radio and Television Network as well as some commercially available records.

"In 1942, the American Forces Radio Service was started to get American music out to the troops overseas," said Larry Sichter, the American Forces Network Broadcast Center Affiliate Relations Division chief. "Some of the radio productions were original, like GI Jill and Command Performance, and have significant value."

The exact dates the low-powered AM station operated on Wake Island remain unclear, but Bradley shared his estimate.

"I would guess that (KEAD) started in the 60s due to the dates on the records," he said. "Also, the FAA controlled Wake Island until the mid-60s, so an armed forces radio station wouldn't have been here. I would guess it wrapped up maybe in the 70s or with the advent of satellite radio."

According to a 2007 entry by Patrick Minoughan on www.richardsramblings.com, KEAD was already around in 1963. Minoughan wrote that he was stationed on Wake Island from 1963 to 1964.

"On the second floor of the then-new terminal building was a very small AFRTS radio station," he wrote. "AFRTS had no personnel there but sent in monthly shipments of music. While I was there, one of the communications guys named Steve Navarro would do a daily show for a couple of hours. When it was unattended, anyone could go in and play the records, which were broadcast on the island."

AFRTS was able to get permission to use the work of many artists, and later actors, for free, Sichter said. Therefore, the records were copyrighted and only to be used for their official purpose of entertaining the troops overseas, and then returned to AFRTS.

Since Wake Island Airfield is a tiny 1,821-acre atoll located about 2,000 miles west of Hawaii and 2,000 miles east of Japan, it is possible that the cost and logistics of returning the records to the mainland were prohibitive at the time the radio station was shut down, officials said.

So now, about 30 years after the last record was spun on KEAD, Fleury is spearheading the operation to ship the records back to AFRTS. He has estimated that it will take approximately 75 16-inch-by-16-inch boxes, and a total of about $10,000 worth of specialized material to properly pack up the records. AFRTS is providing the materials and Detachment 1 will do the packing, he said.

The records will be used to fill any gaps in the American Forces Network local museum, Sichter said, and the rest of the collection will be entered into either the Library of Congress or the National Archives to become a permanent piece of U.S. history, accessible to all.

Georgia county starts P25 system deployment with Harris

Floyd County, Ga., recently conducted a groundbreaking ceremony on a new 10-site, 800 MHz P25 radio system built by Harris that will replace a legacy conventional system, according to a county official.

Located 60 miles north of Atlanta, Floyd County has a population of 96,000 and covers 518 square miles. The county currently uses a single-site conventional network, with various public-safety departments operating on disparate UHF and VHF bands — a system with flaws that were highlighted during a 2008 tornado, according to Scotty Hancock, Floyd County’s emergency management agency director.

By transitioning to a new P25 system that also will support public-safety departments in the cities of Rome and Cave Spring, Floyd County will avoid paying millions of dollars to narrowband its existing system, improve internal and external interoperability, and improve radio coverage and reliability, Hancock said.

You can read the rest of the story online at the Urgent Communications website by clicking here.

FCC Releases New Rules for 60 Meters

SB QST @ ARL $ARLB024
ARLB024 FCC Releases New Rules for 60 Meters

ZCZC AG24
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 24 ARLB024
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT November 23, 2011
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB024
ARLB024 FCC Releases New Rules for 60 Meters

On November 18, the FCC released a Report and Order (R&O), defining new rules for the 60 meter (5 MHz) band. These rules are in response to a Petition for Rulemaking (PRM) filed by the ARRL more than five years ago and a June 2010 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). In the R&O, the FCC replaced one of the channels in the band, increased the maximum authorized power amateur stations may transmit in this
band and authorized amateur stations to transmit three additional emission designators in the five channels in the 5330.6-5406.4 kHz band (60 meters).

The Amateur Radio Service in the United States has a secondary allocation on 60 meters. Only those amateurs who hold General, Advanced or Amateur Extra class licenses may operate on this band. Amateur stations must not cause harmful interference to -- and must accept interference from -- stations authorized by any
administration in the fixed service, as well as mobile (except aeronautical mobile) stations authorized by the administrations of other countries.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE CHANGES HAVE NOT YET TAKEN EFFECT. These new rules will take effect 30 days after they are published in the Federal Register. The ARRL will announce on its website when the rules are published. Additional information can currently be found on the web at, http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-releases-new-rules-for-60-meters.
NNNN
/EX

BC125AT New Scanner Announcement

In early 2012, Uniden will start shipping its newest scanner, the BC125AT. Touting 500 channels in 10 banks, the BC125AT includes full VHF and UHF coverage (see the frequency chart below), including Air and Military Air channels, as well as full alpha tagging for all channels. PC programmability makes it simple to quickly program up for events such as air shows, auto racing, boat racing, and more.

Close Call® RF Capture including Do-Not-Disturb makes capturing those unknown frequencies a snap. Plus, Uniden has extended the Do-Not-Disturb functionality to include Priority channels, so annoying interruptions from priority or Close Call checks is a thing of the past.

The BC125AT includes all the feature enhancements you've come to expect from Uniden, including Temporary Lockout, CTCSS/DCS decoding, per-channel dropout delay, and complete search features, all in a compact, easy-to-carry chassis. Weather priority and weather alert will also keep you informed as to the latest weather and other hazard as announced by the National Weather Service.

FEATURE Highlights

10 Channel Storage Banks - You can store up to 50 frequencies into each bank for a total of 500 frequencies so you can more easily identify calls.

Close Call RF Capture Technology - you can set the scanner so it detects and provides information about nearby radio transmissions

Close Call Do-Not-Disturb - checks for Close Call activity in between channel reception so active channels are not interrupted.

Close Call Temporary Store - temporarily stores and scans the last 10 Close Call hits in the 'Close Call Hits' system.

PC Programming - you can download information into the scanner and control the scanner via your personal computer.

CTCSS and DCS Squelch Modes - rapid search for CTCSS/DCS tones/codes used during a transmission. You can identify up to 50 CTCSS tones and 104 DCS codes.

Direct Access - lets you directly access any channel.

Lock-Out Function - lets you set your scanner to skip over specified channels or frequencies when scanning or searching.

Temporary Lockout - makes it easy to temporarily lock out any channel or frequency. The lockout is cleared when you turn power off, then back on so you don’t have to remember to unlock the channels later.

Triple-Conversion Circuitry - virtually eliminates any interference from IF (intermediate frequency) images, so you hear only the selected frequency.

Text Tagging - you can name each channel, using up to 16 characters per name.

Service Banks - frequencies are preset in 10 separate Police, Fire/Emergency, Ham, Marine, Railroad, Civil Air, Military Air, CB Radio, FRS/GMRS/MURS, and Racing banks to make it easy to locate specific types of calls and search any or all of these banks.

Priority Scan with Do Not Disturb - lets you program one channel in each bank (10 in all) and then have the scanner check each channel every 2 seconds while it scans the banks so you don’t miss transmissions on those channels. Do-Not Disturb keeps the scanner from interrupting transmissions during receiving.

Priority Plus Scan - you can set the scanner so it scans only the priority channels.

Scan/Search Delay/Resume - controls whether the scanner pauses at the end of the transmission to wait for a reply. You can set the Delay time for each Channel, Close Call Search, Custom Search, and Service search. You can also set a negative delay where the scanner stops on transmissions for a set time then automatically resumes.

Custom Search - lets you program up to 10 Custom Search Ranges and search any or all of these ranges.

Quick Search - allows you to enter a frequency and start searching up or down from that frequency.

Turbo Search - increases the search speed from 100 to 300 steps per second automatically for bands with 5 kHz steps.

Search Lockouts - you can lock up to 200 search frequencies: 100 temporary frequencies and 100 permanent frequencies in Custom Search, Service Search, Close Call Search, or Quick Search Modes.

Weather Alert Priority - the scanner scans active WX channels every 5 seconds to check for the presence of a 1050 Hz Weather Alert Tone.

Weather Alert Standby - the scanner allows you to monitor for weather alerts broadcast on NOAA channels.

Display Backlight - You can turn on/off the LCD backlight, set it operate on squelch only, keypress only, or both.

Signal Strength Meter - shows the signal strength for more powerful transmissions.

Flexible Antenna with BNC Connector - provides adequate reception in strong signal areas and is designed to help prevent antenna breakage. Or, you can connect an external antenna for better reception.

Memory Backup - keeps the frequencies stored in memory for an extended time if the scanner loses power.

Two Power Options - let you power the scanner using the included two AA rechargeable or alkaline batteries or the supplied USB cable.

Built-In Charger - allows you to charge Ni-MH batteries in the scanner using a USB port on any computer and the supplied USB cable.

Key Confirmation Tones - You can turn on/off a tone that sounds when you perform an operation correctly or if you make an error.

Key Lock - lets you lock the scanner's keys to help prevent accidental changes to the scanner's programming.

Battery Save - works when there is no transmission for 1 minute in Scan Hold Mode and any Search Hold Mode (without Priority Scan). This feature turns off RF power for 1 second and turns on it for 300ms to extend the battery life.

Battery Low Alert - the icon will blink in the display and a tone warns you every 15 seconds when the battery power gets low

Frequency Coverage:
25-54 MHz
108-174 MHz
225-380 MHz
400-512 MHz

Since an FCC Grant has not yet been issued for this scanner, it may not be offered for sale. Nothing in this post should be construed as an offer to sell the product. Any such offering will be contingent on receipt of a FCC Grant.

WD2XSH Experimental Stations to Be Active on November 3

SB SPCL @ ARL $ARLX007
ARLX007 WD2XSH Experimental Stations to Be Active on November 3

ZCZC AX07
QST de W1AW
Special Bulletin 7 ARLX007
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT October 26, 2011
To all radio amateurs

SB SPCL ARL ARLX007
ARLX007 WD2XSH Experimental Stations to Be Active on November 3

A number of the WD2XSH experimental stations will be on the air on
Thursday, November 3 to mark the 105th anniversary of the Berlin
International Radiotelegraphic Convention. According to ARRL WD2XSH
Coordinator, stations operating in the band from 495-510 kHz will
call CQ on 500 kHz and then QSY to complete the QSO. Stations
operating in the band from 461-478 kHz will call CQ on 474.5 kHz and
then QSY. Other stations may operate beacons with special messages
in the bands from 508-510 kHz and 476-478 kHz. For a complete list
of stations participating in the WD2XSH experiment, as well as
information on how to send your reports, please see the WD2XSH
website at http://www.500kc.com/.
NNNN
/EX

NPS Oceanography Faculty, Students Maintain, Utilize World's Largest Coastal Radar Network

By Amanda D. Stein, Naval Postgraduate School Public Affairs

MONTEREY, Calif. (NNS) -- Through a coastal network of transmitters and receivers dotting the coast of California, students and faculty at the Naval Postgraduate School are taking part in a West Coast research effort to map coastal current patterns.

The school maintains nine of the 54 stations, and has utilized the data in a number of far-reaching research projects.

The current maps are key for a number of institutions and agencies, including the State of California as they look at potential oil spill dispersion, and for the U.S. Coast Guard to help locate missing swimmers. The data is also made available to the public.

Since getting involved in current monitoring using high frequency radar back in 1993, NPS has acquired four observation stations with the support of the Navy, and also works in conjunction with the University of California, Santa Cruz to monitor the systems. NPS Professor and Chair of Oceanography, Dr. Jeff Paduan, explained that the technology gained momentum and attention from the state government, which allocated funds approved by Propositions 40 and 50 to get a larger network off the ground.

"In 2004 the state of California issued a call for proposals for creating a network of monitor stations that would help pollution and oil spill response," Paduan said. "At that point, NPS and several other campuses combined to create a consortium that responded to that proposal and was then funded to expand from Santa Barbara and Monterey out to the rest of the state."

NPS maintains the systems from Point Sur in the south to Half Moon Bay in the North, and is part of the much larger West Coast network commissioned by the state for coastal research. The land-based stations look a lot like simple metal antennas, with black boxes to house the electronics, and are stationed along the coast, near the shoreline. Their function is to house both a transmitter and receiver, which send out radio waves to be reflected off the surface of the water, delivering real-time data of the ocean's movement.

The system remotely transmits the data back to NPS, where it is then analyzed, and used as part of a number of student and faculty research projects. Student involvement has been key for not only NPS, but all of the partner institutions, in monitoring the data and finding real-world applications for it.

"We are not as interested in the real time data flow, as much as looking at the historical data to determine what the patterns of circulation are like in different seasons - for example, summer versus winter in the Monterey Bay," Paduan said. "So the analysis has a lot of impact on the local biology. The marine biologists in the area where the data are collected are very interested in seeing what the current patterns are like in the different seasons because a lot of the coastal species depend on the currents for larval dispersal."

The historical data can also provide valuable information to responders in the event of an oil spill or pollutant off the coast. In 2007, the current patterns and predictions from the West Coast Radar Network helped crews determine the dispersal path of over 53,000 gallons of oil when the COSCO Busan container ship hit the Bay Bridge.

John Largier, Professor of Coastal Oceanography at the University of California at Davis, explained that each of the key participants of the network has found a way to apply the data gathered. This collaboration of ideas and research has helped address local and statewide concerns.

"Developing the network required a co-investment of time and energy from the universities. NPS and San Francisco State University (SFSU) have done a lot to look at oil spills and Coast Guard search and rescue, where would the spill go," said Largier. "Down in Southern California, they look a lot at beach pollution and water quality. Up here in Davis we focus a bit more on the ecosystem aspects, marine protected areas and how they're connected in relation to salmon, larvae dispersal and things like that. There is a lot of added value in the local focus."

"Every place, like the data we have, you can see local everyday maps and currents off Bodega and San Francisco, and the people who go fishing out of Bodega will look at those maps, and they'll ask us about them," he continued. "Ecologists do work here, using the data to study dispersal or oil spill people will want to be looking at where the water is going. So I think the integrated component is very valuable, and then being integrated with each university means it will have local benefits."

Toby Garfield, director of the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies at SFSU, echoed that sentiment, noting that his institution is in the process of developing an app that would show local users the ocean current patterns near their location. Understanding ocean currents in the San Francisco Bay is important for recreational boaters and swimmers to safely enjoy the often-turbulent waters in the bay. It is also useful for biologists and environmentalists studying the local maritime environment.

In addition to the local projects fostered by the West Coast Radar Network, the thesis research conducted by Oceanography students at NPS has addressed larger issues of interest to the U.S. Navy, and its international partners. Oceanography student Lt. Ricardo Vicente, a Portuguese naval officer, explained how his thesis work with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) will help prepare him for his duties in the Oceanography department of the Hydrographic Institute in Portugal.

"My thesis will be an effort of characterizing SAR image features of the ocean as a function of wind speed," Vicente said. "To accomplish this, I'll overlap wave mode SAR images with High Frequency Radar data. By combining both remote sensing systems, the potential final product is a high resolution wind driven surface currents map, from the coastline to approximately 100Km.

"The ultimate goal is to develop our knowledge of the oceans. SAR and HFR systems create synergies that have a direct impact on a range of maritime operations such as search and rescue, oil spill tracking, ship routing, offshore engineering and fisheries."

RAI MW Time Signals Can be Decoded

Courtesy of our friend Patrick Lindecker, F6CTE - developer of Multipsk and the UDXF newsgroup.

"For information, Paolo (IZ1MLL) made a list of RAI frequencies. Normally each RAI transmitter transmits at the end of each hour a time signal (decodable with Clock the companion of Multipsk located in the Multipsk package):"

The updated situation of the italian RAI transmitters divided by frequency (kHz) and power (kW) is the following:

567 Bologna (60 kW), Caltanissetta (20)
657 Pisa (2x55), Napoli (50), Bolzano (25)
693 Potenza (20)
819 Trieste (20)
846 Roma (50)
873 Taranto (1)
900 Milano (600)
936 Venezia (12), Trapani (10)
999 Volpiano/Torino (50), Perugia (25), Rimini (6), Capo Vaticano (2)
1035 Pescara (10), Lecce (2)
1062 Cagliari (60), Catania (20), Ancona (10), Trento (2)
1107 Roma (6)
1116 Cuneo (20), Palermo (10), Bari (5), Aosta (2)
1143 Sassari (10)
1314 Matera (2)
1431 Foggia (2)
1449 Squinzano (50), Biella/Belluno/Bressanone/Brunico/Como/Sondrio (2), Cortina (1)
1575 Portofino/Genova (50), Gorizia (2), Campobasso/Nuoro (1)
1584 Terni (2)

Thanks Patrick for sharing this information with the rest of the radio community.

Draconid Meteor Outburst

Oct. 4, 2011: On October 8th Earth is going to plow through a stream of dust from Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, and the result could be an outburst of Draconid meteors.

"We're predicting as many as 750 meteors per hour," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "The timing of the shower favors observers in the Middle East, north Africa and parts of Europe."

Every 6.6 years Comet Giacobini-Zinner swings through the inner solar system. With each visit, it lays down a narrow filament of dust, over time forming a network of filaments that Earth encounters every year in early October.

"Most years, we pass through gaps between filaments, maybe just grazing one or two as we go by," says Cooke. "Occasionally, though, we hit one nearly head on--and the fireworks begin."

2011 could be such a year. Forecasters at NASA and elsewhere agree that Earth is heading for three or more filaments on October 8th. Multiple encounters should produce a series of variable outbursts beginning around 1600 Universal Time (noon EDT) with the strongest activity between 1900 and 2100 UT (3:00 pm – 5:00 pm EDT).

Forecasters aren't sure how strong the display will be, mainly because the comet had a close encounter with Jupiter in the late 1880s. At that time, the giant planet's gravitational pull altered the comet's orbit and introduced some uncertainty into the location of filaments it has shed since then. Competing models place the filaments in slightly different spots; as a result, estimated meteor rates range from dozens to hundreds per hour.

One respected forecaster, Paul Wiegert of the University of Western Ontario, says the meteor rate could go as high as 1000 per hour -- the definition of a meteor storm. It wouldn't be the first time. Close encounters with dusty filaments produced storms of more than 10,000 Draconids per hour in 1933 and 1946 and lesser outbursts in 1985, 1998, and 2005.

Meteors from Comet Giacobini-Zinner stream out of the northern constellation Draco--hence their name. Draconids are among the slowest of all meteors, hitting the atmosphere at a relatively leisurely 20 km/s. The slow pace of Draconid meteors minimizes their danger to satellites and spacecraft and makes them visually distinctive.

"A Draconid gliding leisurely across the sky is a beautiful sight," says Cooke.

Unfortunately, many of this year's Draconids will go unseen. Draconids are faint to begin with, and this year they have to complete with an almost-full Moon. Lunar glare will reduce the number of meteors visible from Europe, Africa and the Middle East by 2- to 10-fold. The situation is even worse in North America where the shower occurs in broad daylight—completely obliterating the display.

That isn't stopping a group1 of middle school and high school students from Bishop, California, however. They plan to observe the shower from the stratosphere where the sky is dark even at noontime.

Led by Science@NASA's Tony Phillips, the 15 students have been launching helium balloons to the edge of space since May of 2011. With more than 95% of Earth’s atmosphere below the balloon, the sky above looks almost as black as it would from a spacecraft—perfect for astronomy.

"The students are going to attempt to fly one of our low-light meteor cameras in the payload of their balloon," says Cooke. "I hope they catch some Draconid fireballs for us to analyze. They could be the only ones we get."

Stay tuned for results after Oct. 8th.

Author: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA

Radio Spectrum Jamming in Europe

From the Southgate Amateur Radio News website:

Ofcom has announced that jamming of radio spectrum will take place during 2 weeks in October.

Times: 0700Z 3 Oct 11 to 2000Z 17 Oct 11.

Location: The jamming events will take place throughout the UK FIR/UIR north of 51 degrees North.

GPS Jamming locations: Faraid Head - from N58° 36.2' W004° 46.4'. Loch Ewe B - from N57° 51.9' W005° 41.1'. Loch Ewe A – from 57.7869N 5.7917W.

Frequency: Radar – discrete spots within MOD allocated frequencies within Charlie / Delta (specifically avoiding IFF/SSR frequency bands), Echo / Foxtrot, Golf. India / Juliet (avoiding Marine Navigation Bands in conditions of poor visibility) and Kilo Bands.

Communications – Exercise JW discrete frequencies only in bands HF 2000-26500 KHz and V/UHF 137-400 MHz (avoiding international Distress, Emergency and Exercise Safety frequencies).

In all cases jamming will be avoided on the TABOO frequencies listed in the UK Procedures for the Control of Non-Operational Jamming (Annex B).

For further in formation contact
InfoGPS.Notices@ofcom.org.uk

Wiki - Flight Information Region (FIR) & Upper Information Region (UIR)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_information_region

EW letter bands
http://www.microwaves101.com/encyclopedia/letterbands.cfm

Global Navigation Space Systems: reliance and vulnerabilities
http://www.raeng.org.uk/news/publications/list/reports/RAoE_Global_Navigation_Systems_Report.pdf

NATS - GPS Jamming in July
http://www.ead.eurocontrol.int/eadbasic/pamslight-1401DD6358958D3A2101578467A542F6/7FE5QZZF3FXUS/EN/AIC/P/047-2011/EG_Circ_2011_P_047_en_2011-06-16.pdf

SatNav jamming in September and October
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/june2011/gps_jamming.htm

Graham Tanner, longtome member of the WUN/UDXF newsgroup pinned the following on the UDXF newsgroup this morning:

"It occurs to me what this is all about ... there is a big naval exercise around the northern UK for the next 2 weeks. The exercise is known as 'Joint Warrior', and there is plenty of info on the 'web if you just search for it.

"It involves maritime patrol aircraft, surface ships, and submarines; it also usually attracts the attention of some Russian long-range aircraft who come for a look-around and to make things 'interesting!'"

FCC ULS Ready to Accept Selected 8.33 kHz Spaced Licenses

Public Notice:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-11-1403A1.pdf

Third Report and Order referenced in Public Notice:
http://www.aerosupavionics.com/document/FCC-10-103A1.pdf

WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUREAU ANNOUNCES THAT UNIVERSAL LICENSING SYSTEM IS READY TO ACCEPT CERTAIN PART 87 AVIATION RADIO SERVICE APPLICATIONS

By this Public Notice, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (Bureau) announces that the Universal Licensing System (ULS) is now ready to accept applications for
new or modified aeronautical enroute and flight test stations for authorization to operate with 8.33 kilohertz channel spacing, and applications to assign or transfer aircraft station licenses. These changes were made to implement rules adopted by the Commission in the Third Report and Order in WT Docket No. 01-289.

8.33 Kilohertz Channel Spacing. In the Third Report and Order, the Commission amended its Part 87 rules to permit aeronautical enroute and flight test stations to
use 8.33 kilohertz channel spacing, in order to migrate voluntarily from 25 kilohertz channel spacing.

It concluded that the permissive introduction of 8.33 kilohertz channel spacing in the aeronautical enroute service would provide the aviation industry with the ability to greatly enhance spectrum efficiency and alleviate congestion, while avoiding the imposition of the significant compliance burdens that could result from a mandatory narrowbanding transition. It also concluded that narrowbanding would benefit flight test stations, which likewise face increasing frequency congestion in U.S. airspace. The Commission directed the Bureau to issue a public notice to alert applicants when the Bureau was ready to begin accepting applications for 8.33 kilohertz channel spacing.

The necessary modifications to ULS have been implemented. Aeronautical enroute stations (station class code FA) and flight test stations (station class code FAT) may now apply for VHF channels with 8.33 kilohertz spacing. Specifically, applications may be filed for the following aeronautical enroute frequencies in the 128.825-132.000 MHz and 136.500-137.000 MHz bands: the end frequencies, frequencies within those bands separated from the end frequencies by a multiple of 25 kilohertz
("channels with 25 kilohertz spacing"), and interstitial frequencies separated by 8.33 kilohertz from channels with 25 kilohertz spacing ("channels with 8.33 kilohertz
spacing"). Flight test stations may apply for the VHF frequencies listed in Section 87.303 of the Commission's Rules,3 and frequencies in the 123.125-123.575 MHz band separated by 8.33 kilohertz from the VHF frequencies listed in Section 87.303. The authorized bandwidth for channels with 8.33 kilohertz channel spacing is 8.33 kilohertz; for channels with 25 kilohertz channel spacing, applicants may request an
authorized bandwidth of either 8.33 kilohertz or 25 kilohertz.

Biggest Slar Flare in 4 years -- X-7

The Aug 9, 2011 eruption on the Sun that produced a X-7 class flare caused a temporary blackout of high frequency radio transmissions on the side of Earth covered in daylight. Navigation signals can be degraded in these instances. Credit: NASA/SDO/SOHO/Music: John Serrie

ARISSat-1 Finally Deployed from ISS

Space Bulletin 007 ARLS007
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington, CT August 4, 2011
To all radio amateurs

After a delay of almost four hours, cosmonauts Sergei Volkov, RU3DIS, and Alexander Samokutyaev, successfully deployed Amateur Radio's newest satellite: ARISSat-1/KEDR. The deployment -- originally scheduled to occur at 1457 UTC on Wednesday, August 3 --
was delayed due to antenna concerns.

According to US Mission Control in Houston, ARISSat-1 was supposed to have two antennas -- one 70 cm antenna and one 2 meter antenna -- but Volkov and Samokutyaev expressed concern when they saw only one antenna. After discussions between the cosmonauts, the payload manager and the ground teams in Houston and Moscow, it was decided to delay the deployment. At the time, it was uncertain if the satellite would even be deployed during this spacewalk. If ARISSat-1 was not deployed during today's spacewalk, the next opportunity for its deployment would be February 2012. "Instead of taking chances on the satellite not working properly once deployed, it has been decided to secure it for the time being," US Mission Control reported when the decision to delay was made.

After much consultation, Mission Control in Moscow told the cosmonauts that they were going to go ahead and deploy the satellite. At 1843 UTC, Volkov jettisoned ARISSat-1 from his position on the Pirs docking compartment on the ISS.

The loss of the UHF antenna means that the 435 MHz/145 MHz linear transponder may not be operational. According to US Mission Control, it can also mean that there may be loss in the data that can be downloaded from ARISSat-1, as well as a loss of control capability from the ground. Even so, radio amateurs will be able to copy voice, BPSK and SSTV messages.

According to ARISSat-1/KEDR Project Manager Gould Smith, WA4SXM, ARISSat-1 will be in high power mode (continuous transmission) when in the Sun. It will go into low power (intermittent) mode when in eclipse.

ARISSat-1 will be active on the following frequencies and modes:

* 145.950 MHz FM Downlink: FM transmissions will cycle between a voice ID as RS01S, select telemetry values, 24 international greeting messages in 15 languages, as well as SSTV images. If you successfully receive the SSTV transmissions, you are invited to upload your picture to the ARISS SSTV Gallery at, http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/SSTV/.

* 435 MHz - 145 MHz Linear Transponder: The linear transponder will operate in Mode U/V (70 cm up, 2 meters down). It is a 16 kHz wide inverting passband and the convention will be to transmit LSB on the 435 MHz uplink and receive USB on the 145 MHz downlink.

* 145.919 MHz/145.939 MHz CW Beacons: The CW transmissions will be call sign ID RS01S, select telemetry and call signs of people actively involved with the ARISS program.

* 145.920 MHz SSB BPSK-1000 Telemetry: The BPSK transmissions will feature a new 1kBPSK protocol developed by Phil Karn, KA9Q. When the CW2 beacon on 145.919 MHz is active, this indicates that the BPSK-1000 format is being transmitted. If the CW1 beacon on 145.939 MHz is active, the backup of BPSK-400 format is being transmitted.

AMSAT needs your telemetry from ARISSat-1/KEDR after deployment from the International Space Station. Since there are no "Whole Orbit Data" storage mechanisms onboard ARISSat-1/KEDR, listener submissions are the only way for AMSAT to collect the spacecraft telemetry and KURSK experiment results. Here's how you can help:

* Recorded ARISSat-1/KEDR and Kursk telemetry CSV files (in the ARISSatTLM folder) can be sent as via e-mail as an attachment to, telemetry@arissattlm.org.

* If you are running ARISSatTLM and receiving the signal "live" from ARISSat-1/KEDR, please enable the telemetry forwarding option.

* The latest telemetry can be seen live on your computer or cell phone at, http://www.arissattlm.org/mobile.

AMSAT has also posted an ARISSat-1/KEDR "How To" page on their
website with pointers concerning digital aspects, such as BPSK
telemetry reception, SSTV reception and more. The web site is,
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/ARISSat/ARISSatHowTo.php.

On this spacewalk, Volkov and Samokutyaev also installed laser
communications equipment and replaced experiments on the Zvezda
service module and retrieved a rendezvous antenna. They were unable
to perform the major job of the spacewalk -- relocating a boom
structure to aid future spacewalks -- due to time constraints. This
spacewalk was the third for Volkov, who performed two spacewalks as
Expedition 17 commander in 2008. This was the first spacewalk for
Samokutyaev.

Merritt Island Launch Annex had little known -- but important -- launch role

CAPE CANAVERAL — For 45 years, an unassuming tracking station tucked behind Kennedy Space Center provided critical data, telemetry and voice communication links to hundreds of launching rockets, circling satellites and landing shuttles.

But the station known as MILA -- short for Merritt Island Launch Annex -- supported its last mission this month with shuttle Atlantis' launch and safe return.

In a ceremony Thursday morning, NASA officially decommissioned the aging facility before some components are salvaged for other sites and the rest is demolished.

You can read the rest of the copyrighted article at: Florida Today article