From the ARRL, original post here – 4/12/2016

The first-ever satellite to carry a D-STAR (Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio) Amateur Radio payload into space is expected to launch on April 22 from Guiana.  The OUFTI-1 (Orbital Utility For Telecommunication Innovations) CubeSat is one of three CubeSats developed by student teams under the European Space Agency (ESA) Education Office “Fly Your Satellite!” program, which is aimed at training the next generation of aerospace professionals.  The satellites arrived in South America on March 25, followed by the student teams a few days later.

On March 30 the students pulled the so-called “Remove Before Flight” pins and successfully verified that their CubeSats were ready for launch before replacing the access ports on the P-POD, which will secure the CubeSats prior to and during launch and then will release them into orbit.  The next time the students will have contact with their respective CubeSats will be through their spacecraft’s communication link, once the CubeSats have been deployed into orbit.  Once thermal-optical tape has been applied to the P-POD to shield the CubeSats from extreme thermal radiation during the launch phase, the P-POD will be integrated with the Soyuz launch vehicle.

Constructed by students at the University of Liege in Belgium (ULg), OUFTI-1 will be the first satellite to carry an Amateur Radio D-STAR transponder.  Developed by the Japan Amateur Radio League, D-STAR enables the simultaneous transmission of voice and digital data as well as call sign-based roaming via the Internet.  “The OUFTI-1 D-STAR repeater will be available either as a direct communication repeater between two users, and as an extension of the ULg D-STAR repeater,” explains the article “D-STAR digital amateur communications in space with OUFTI-1 CubeSat” by Jonathan Pisane, ON7JPD; Amandine Denis, ON4EYA, and Jacques Verly, ON9CWD, all of ULg.  The CubeSat’s frequencies are 145.950 MHz (FSK AX.25 and D-STAR down, with an uplink at 435.045 MHz.  OUFTI-1 will carry a CW beacon transmitting on 145.980 MHz.

The other two CubeSats are from Italy and Denmark.  The CubeSat e-st@r-II from the Polytechnic of Turin, Italy, will demonstrate an attitude control system using measurements of Earth’s magnetic field.  It will transmit CW and 1.2 k AFSK on 437.485 MHz. AAUSAT4 from the University of Aalborg, Denmark, will operate an automated ocean vessel identification system.  It will transmit on 437.425 MHz.

From the WIA, original post here.

Date : 13 / 04 / 2016 
Author : Roger Harrison – VK2ZRH

In early April, the Board finalised the WIA’s submission to the ACMA on future amateur licence conditions, addressing a wide range of issues currently affecting licensees, and establishing some key principles and policies for amateur radio licensing in the future.

The 22-page submission includes an extensive two-page preamble, setting out the context in which amateur radio operates in Australia, developments in the radiocommunications industry and the WIA’s desire to reduce the regulatory burden for both licensees and the ACMA, and for future amateur licensing to accommodate emerging innovation in wireless technologies and applications, to enable the hobby to develop in whatever direction current and future licenced radio amateurs light lead it.

The submission came ahead of a scheduled meeting between the WIA and ACMA, held on Tuesday 12th April.  See the news item here.

A key purpose of the submission is to enable greater self-determination for the amateur service, along with proposing updates to the licence conditions for all licence grades in order to ensure amateur radio remains relevant in the digitally connected age.  Key proposals include:

• enabling use of digital modes for Foundation licensees
• access to more bands for Foundation and Standard licensees
• relaxing permitted bandwidths for all license grades
• removing mode restrictions
• enabling DIY construction for Foundation licensees
• review of Foundation callsigns
• increased maximum power for all licensees
• early access to the 5.3 MHz (60m) band.

The WIA proposed the licence conditions be addressed in two stages: priority changes first (as above), with proposed changes to frequency bands later, in line with the consultation process for the upcoming review of the Australian Radiofrequency Spectrum Plan.

View the WIA ACMA LCD Submission here.

From the WIA, original post here.

Date : 13 / 04 / 2016 
Author : Roger Harrison – VK2ZRH

Amateur radio in Australia will be both familiar and different in the future, under the new radiocommunications licensing scheme being initiated with the new Radiocommunications Act to be considered by the federal parliament later this year.

On Tuesday 12th April, the WIA met with four senior executives of the ACMA to scope the work to be done to design new licence conditions for amateur radio, and to discuss a variety of issues being progressed over the past year.

Three WIA Board members attended – President Phil Wait VK2ASD, Vice President Fred Swainston VK3DAC and Roger Harrison VK2ZRH, along with the WIA’s Regulatory Counsel, Peter Young VK3MV.

There was a very full agenda for the meeting, which included 10 specific topics for discussion.  All agenda topics were completed comfortably within the three hours allotted.

The ACMA advised that the exposure draft of the new Radiocommunications Bill will be published by the government around June, and input from the public will be sought.

Ahead of the meeting, the WIA provided the ACMA with a comprehensive 22-page submission on Future Amateur Licence Conditions, which readers can download from here.

The ACMA was impressed with the scope and vision for future amateur licensing set out in the WIA’s submission, and indicated that there were few, if any, real impediments to achieving substantive reform to meet the emerging opportunities that will arise from the new Radiocommunications Act.  However, there will be a lot of work to do, some of which will necessarily involve advice from the ACMA’s engineering branch.

In addition to seeking improved licence conditions, and requesting early access to the 5.3 MHz (60m) band allocated to amateurs at the recent World Radio Conference, the WIA outlined its proposals to the ACMA for extending frequency access in existing bands at 1.8 and 3.5 MHz, seeking additional bands at 70 MHz and 920 MHz, acquiring primary status for 50-52 MHz and securing better access to UHF and microwave bands in the face of threats from spectrum demands of the mobile broadband telecommunications industry and the NBN.  Various means of sharing spectrum will be a feature of the new Radiocommunications Act, but seeing exactly how such arrangements will pan out for amateur radio will have to wait.

The ACMA indicated that public consultation on the review of the Australian Radiofrequency Spectrum Plan will occur around the third quarter of 2016, during which the WIA’s proposals concerning frequency access will be able to be considered in detail.

We have begun the journey towards a new, less restrictive regime of licence conditions that will enable all amateurs to explore, experiment and learn about any and every facet of radiocommunications – to adapt, adopt and innovate with new and emerging technologies as the fancy takes them.

The meeting agreed that the revised and updated Deed and Business Rules for services performed by the WIA for the ACMA can now be finalised, having been under development and discussion between the WIA and the ACMA over the past year.

Other agenda items discussed included the WIA’s approach to amateur radio’s possible roles in science, technology, engineering and maths education; licence renewal issues, some of which have been resolved and others are being addressed; interference/RF pollution issues were discussed – particularly from NBN installations and BPL/PLT products, to be addressed through the current review of equipment standards.  The review of overseas operator qualifications will continue, the WIA working with the ACMA to determine reciprocal licensing arrangements in the future.  Repeater and beacon licence application delays were discussed and issues affecting them will continue to be addressed, with the aim of reducing delays.

The ACMA and WIA agreed that it was a very productive meeting.

To progress the WIA’s proposals on licence conditions and frequency bands, the ACMA suggested that we meeting again around August-September, when more will be known about the shape of things to come with the new Radiocommunications Act and the Australian Radiofrequency Spectrum Plan update.

From the WIA, original post here.

Date : 13 / 04 / 2016 
Author : Jim Linton – VK3PC

Training for the popular Foundation Licence in Australia is now available as an App for iOS and Android smart phones and tablets downloadable from iTunes or Google Play.  The software was developed by Ron Bertrand VK2DQ who heads up the Radio & Electronics School (R&ES) with support from the WIA, fills an unmet need in this niche market of mobile device users.

The App goes through the Foundation Licence syllabus step-by-step, with 17 tutorials, and for the Practical Assessment covers each competency in 20 tutorials.  While formal theory, regulation and practical classes suit most people, it leaves those unable to attend for a number of reasons not able to easily access the necessary training.  Established in 1997 the R&ES provides structured mentoring for aspiring radio amateurs.  The volunteer not-for-profit organisation believes the course, via the new App, can be completed in a few days.

When ready, direct contact is needed with a WIA Assessor and these are on the WIA website.  If you live remotely and/or have a disability a special assessment can be requested via a Nominated Assessor appointed by the WIA.  The iOS (Apple) version is ‘Amateur Radio (Foundation) Course’ with the one for Android called ‘Ham Radio (Foundation)’ to comply with naming conventions.

Ron VK2DQ believes it to be a first of its kind in the world, although a few practice question drills are available.  He explained that a number of a logistical problems had to be overcome in the development and testing phase to make them more user friendly, including being available to use off-line.  The App is designed so that if there are changes to the syllabus new videos can be uploaded using the existing menu structure.  The on-line course recommends purchasing a copy of the WIA publication ‘Your Entry into Amateur Radio, The Foundation Licence Manual’, to be used and studied in conjunction with the App.

The WIA/RES App should give more people the opportunity to enter and enjoy an exciting hobby, and maybe this will lead to career opportunities. 

iOS Foundation course: Link 
Android Foundation course: Link 
R&ES contact at: admin@res.net.au 
WIA App Webpage: Link

from China.org.cn, original post here.

Illegal radio broadcasts first began filling China’s airwaves back in 2013.

Since then, they’ve become rampant, normally blasting listeners with various types of content, ranging from sketchy medical infomercials to lewd and pornographic content.

Law enforcement officials say for the exception of Tibet, these types of illegal broadcasts have been noted all over China.

Chen Shiqu with the Ministry of Public Security says their campaign has focused on getting to the root of the problem.

“We’ve been trying to target the business operations which set up the illegal broadcasts.  We’ve also been targeting those who produce and sell the equipment used for the broadcasts.  Those who purchase airtime on them to spread their illegal information are also being targeted.”

Authorities estimate it can cost around 50-thousand yuan a month to set up and maintain the illegal transmitters, which are normally set up in residential areas.

However, some of the larger operations are reportedly able to make millions of yuan in profits through the sale of their air-time.

While the transmitters themselves are often poorly made, many of them are high-powered.

Li Changwei with the Civil Aviation Administration of China says these high-powered broadcasts have the potential to interfere with vital communication channels.

“These shadowy radio frequencies severely affect the operations of our control towers at airports.  Sometime, pilots and the air traffic controllers are unable to communicate effectively, impacting flights.”

A six-month, nationwide crackdown on illegal broadcasts began in February.

So far, over 400 illegal radio operations have been shut down cross the country.

To help with the crackdown, authorities are using drones with radio-wave sensors to track their targets.

Song Qizhu is with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

“We can now very accurately and effectively monitor and locate these illegal broadcasts.  We have built a comprehensive wireless monitoring network to alert us when these broadcasts are spotted.”

Under Chinese law, anyone caught setting up illegal broadcasts is subject to fines and up to 7 years in jail.