News for Amateur Radio Operators In and Around Hillsdale County

 

This month the Ham Breakfast will be held on Saturday, July 13 at 8am at the Hillsdale Rural Fire Department, 2323 W Bacon Rd just west of Hillsdale (map).  The fire department is hosting their second annual car show and benefit breakfast.  The cost for breakfast is $5 for all-you-can-eat either sausage and biscuits or pancakes and sausage.  Drinks included.  In case the HRFD breakfast is postponed due to weather, we will move our breakfast to Tastes of Life (formally Warners Family Restaurant), 3380 Beck Rd in Hillsdale (map).

 

 

Another Field Day has come and gone.  We had 25 participants total, 15 hams and 10 others.  We made 191 total contacts, including 156 phone and 35 digital.  Special congratulations to eleven-year-old Rachel Sprow, who made 23 contacts.  Thanks to Dan and Brenda for allowing the use of their home for our event.  Thanks to everyone that brought equipment, donated food and money and contributed in so many other ways.  A special thanks to Brenda, Angie and Kerry for all the work they did preparing the food.  It was great!  Be sure to mark your calendar for next year, when Field Day will be held on June 28-29, 2014.

 

 

Club membership stands at 18 as of July 1.  Two hams joined during Field Day.  Membership application is available here.

 

 

Volunteers are always needed to run the Monday Night Ragchew Net.  Check the Calendar page on the club website for the schedule and results.  And don’t forget to check in at 7pm every Monday on the 147.06 MHz repeater.

 

 

The Michigan ARRL Section Outing will be held on July 11-14 at the Woodlands Conference Center & Campgrounds in Hale (map).  It's a 4-day fun-filled event hosted by your ARRL Michigan Section Staff involving fun events for the whole family.  Camping, RVing, canoeing, horseshoes, volleyball, softball, boating, swimming facilities are available all day every day of the outing for your pleasure.  The event is free to attend, although campsites and beds in the Bunkhouse have a nominal charge.  Motels and Bed-and-Breakfasts are available just a short drive away.  Meals are potluck but a main course will be provided.  Donations are accepted to help cover costs.  You can stop by for just a day or stay for the entire event.  Click here for more information.

 

 

The Central Michigan Amateur Radio Club is holding their outdoor hamfest on Saturday, July 27 at 8am at the Holt Christian Church, 2424 S Washington in Lansing (map).  I don’t usually plug hamfests, but they asked real nice!  (hamfest flyer   ARRL info page)

 

 

The FCC is seeking comments regarding a proceeding to reassess the limits and policies governing exposure to radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields.  The comment period includes a special 60 day extension until November 1, due to the complexity of the proceeding and underscores the Commission’s desire for specific information on the costs and benefits related to the RF exposure issue.  (ARRL story)

 

 

A portion of the 33 centimeter band (902-928 MHz ) may become less useful to amateurs in urban areas as a result of an FCC Order.  The FCC has given Progeny LMS, LLC consent to begin commercial operation of its multilateration location and monitoring service (M-LMS) in the upper portion of the band.  According to the FCC, Progeny’s location service is designed to operate on approximately 4 megahertz, about one-half of the M-LMS portions of the band between 919.750 and 927.750 MHz, where Progeny holds licenses.  (ARRL story)

 

 

144 years after Samuel Morse sent the first telegram in Washington, the world’s final telegram will be sent in India on July 14, 2013.  Telegraph services ended in the United States seven years ago, but in India the century-and-a-half old communication medium is still widely used to send messages.  Once the world’s fastest form of communication, telegrams can no longer compete with text messaging and smartphones.  (Fox News story)

 

 

The FCC this week extended until July 24 the deadline to file reply comments in its proceeding to allow unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) devices at 5 GHz (ARRL story).  The FCC in February sought comment on making available an additional 195 megahertz of spectrum in the 5.35-5.47 GHz and 5.85-5.925 GHz bands for U-NII use (ARRL story).  Reply comments are responses to comments already filed in the proceeding.

 

 

A new version of Trusted QSL (TQSL) software for Logbook of The World (LoTW) is available to users.  TQSL v.  1.14.1 may be downloaded from the LoTW page.  (ARRL story)  The software had previously been released in May as v1.14 (ARRL story), but problems surfaced that are corrected in newest version (ARRL story).

 

 

The FCC is inviting public comments on a proposal from a Massachusetts ham to amend Amateur Service rules to permit encryption of certain amateur communications during emergency operations or related training exercises.  It will remain open for comment until July 7.  (ARRL story)

 

 

The GB3WGI Transatlantic 144MHz amateur radio beacon went live at 1600 GMT on the 4th of June in time for the peak of the 2013 Sporadic E season.  The beacon runs 100 Watts EIRP in CW and JT65b modes on 144.487MHz and is located in the West of Northern Ireland (IO64bl).  The plan is to apply for an increase in EIRP in due course.  The beacon's function is to provide an early warning of 144MHz Transatlantic propagation on the Europe to USA path as a complement to the existing 144MHz Transatlantic beacon network in the USA which provides alerts on the USA to Europe path.  (Southgate story)

 

 

FCC License Database Activity in Hillsdale County

None in June

 

 

FCC Enforcement News

The FCC cited an Omaha, Nebraska based online retailer for marketing unauthorized RF devices, including 10 and 12 meter amplifiers capable of putting out up to 8200 watts, in violation of FCC rules.  An FCC Citation and Order dated June 6 orders Enterprise Group Inc, doing business as ePowerAmps, to immediately stop advertising, marketing and selling “all unauthorized radio frequency devices, specifically modified Citizens Band (CB) radios and non-certified radio frequency (RF) amplifiers for use in the 10-12 meter bands.”   (ARRL story)

 

 

The FCC has assessed Remel Inc and its parent company Thermo Fisher Scientific Company Inc $30,000 for “willful and repeated” unlawful radio operations on a General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) frequency for more than 9 years.  GMRS is a land mobile radio service available to individuals for “short-distance, two-way communication to facilitate the activities of licensees and their immediate family members.”  GMRS licenses are only available to individuals.  (ARRL story)

 

 

Upcoming Events

July 11-14 – Michigan Summer Family Outing

July 13 – Ham Breakfast at Hillsdale Rural Fire Department

July 18 – Board Meeting

July 21 – Van Wert Hamfest

July 27 – CMARC Trunk Sales  (Flyer)