World
World news items
As part of the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America a number of historical merit badges were revived to help mark the occasion.
One such badge was for ‘signalling’ that required achievers, among other things, build a device that could send Morse code, with a 35 words at a rate of 35 letters per minute.
The badge requirements also include learning Semaphore code that involves flags.
Just when commentators had written off Broadband over Powerlines (BPL) comes news that Egypt-based SABA Electric is getting into the act.
It has formed a partnership with ISP LINKdotNET and has plans for easy access to the internet through BPL.
In a media statement SABA Electric said BPL is the technology it will use to provide to provide broadband data speed up to 8 Mbps that include a number of VoIP and video options.
On complete build out the network could reach over 300,000 residents.
The inventor of the screwdriver mobile antenna has died aged 91 after several months of illness.
Don W6AAQ adapted the motor from a cordless screwdriver to tune a mobile antenna, received a patent on the device resulting in him building and selling thousands of them.
The retired navy radioman and pilot was buried with full military honours at the National Cemetery in Dixon, California.
It was surprising when Radio Kuwait began operating on 7150 and 7190 kHz programming Arabic language broadcasts.
The transmissions lasted eight days last month before the broadcaster did the right thing and changed frequencies.
Among the many stations participating was VK3RAN on HMAS Castlemaine, a museum ship at Gem Pier Williamtown. Amateur Radio Victoria members Terry Murphy VK3UP and Michele VK3FEAT logged a total of 113 contacts on the day.
The number of stations active on the day from ships, aerodromes and other facilities was simply amazing and what began with an idea from Mike VK4MIK took off quickly and is set to be repeated next year.
The official toll following the 7.1-magnitude earthquake in Qinghai province in north west China as at 10am local time 18 April is 1706 deaths and 12,128 people injured. Local authorities estimate that up to 90 percent of buildings collapsed.
The Chinese Radio Sports Association (CRSA) reports that amateur radio rescue teams from An Hui, Qinghai, Beijing, Shandong, Jiangsu, Sichuan provinces have joined the disaster mitigation efforts.
The rescue and recovery efforts following the quake that occurred on 14 April are difficult in the area which is a mountainous plateau more than 4,000 metres above sea level that experiences with very low overnight temperatures.
The amateur radio teams have set up VHF and UHF repeaters to provide quick support communications, 7050kHz and 7060kHz are their main HF QRGs, and sometimes 14270kHz in 20 meter band has been used.
The CRSA is borrowing from its experiences gained in the Great Sichuan earthquake of two years ago. To a avoid traffic jam travelling to the earthquake centre area, the ham radio and other support teams are following the instructions set by the government.
While commercial communications recovered on 15 April in six counties of Yushu district, emergency amateur radio communications teams are continuing to assist the disaster mitigation.
The CRSA thanks those IARU member societies such KARL, JARL, MARS and HARTS and others who have given their support by translating Qinghai earthquake reports for their local websites and for all in helping keep the emergency frequencies clear.
(Report provided by Fan Bin BA1RB, CRSA Coordinator IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Conmmittee and Chairman Jim Linton VK3PC)
The Chinese Radio Sports Association (CRSA) has asked that the frequencies of 7050kKHz and 7060kHz be kept clear for emergency ham radio communications following a devastating earthquake in Yu Shu district, Qinghai province.
A number of radio amateurs are already active in supporting the rescue and recovery efforts including BG9UA, BG9UP and BG9UO.
The emergency communication team of Anhui amateur radio society, led by Mr Du BG6CEV was flying to Qinghai today (15 April) to bring communication equipment.
The earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Ritcher scale occurred on the morning of Tuesday has left 589 people dead, nearly 10,000 injured and 10,000 families needing to be resettled due to 99% of houses damaged.
Yu Shu located in a plateau with temperatures fall to -5 degrees (minus five degrees) making conditions bad for those without shelter as well as hampering rescue efforts. Water, electricity and other facilities are cut.
(Report provided by Fan Bin BA1RB, CRSA Coordinator of the IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Conmmittee via Jim Linton VK3PC)
When telephones failed in Lincoln Nebraska USA a total of 68 radio operators from the Amateur Radio Emergency Service swung into action.
They knew exactly what to do, and it was dust off the Millennium Bug or Y2K plan prepared for New Year's Eve 2000 when massive computer failures were expected to occur, but did not.
The telephone exchange switching failed disrupting phone calls including to the emergency number 911 in Lincoln and surrounding counties.
ARES was called out and its members set up a major intersections in case anyone need to call 911, which would have been relayed through a local 2-metre repeater. Luckily only a small number of calls had to be handled.
This year a number of stations will be operating either CW or AM on ANZAC Day including Turkey's TC Special Wireless Activity Team on air as TC57A from 22 to 25 April overlooking ANZAC Beach.
Other activity on ANZAC Day is expected include the Mareeba Warbirds Museum in Queensland, the ex-Royal Australian Navy and now museum ships HMAS’ Whyalla, Castlemaine and Diamantina.
No news yet about any activity planned in New Zealand.
For more information contact Mike Patterson VK4MIK vk4mike@yahoo.com.au
All magnetic hard drives will next year take on a new format giving them increased capacity.
For 30 years the HD format has been to have to blocks 512 bytes which was the size of the floopy disks – remember them?
Manufacturers are moving to a 4 kilobyte sector format that will not only greatly reduce the wasted space that sits between sectors while freeing up space for error correction technology.
The International Disk Drive Equipment and Materials Association reports that all hard drive makers are committed to adopting the new format by 1 February 2011.
