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Hams to Activate Midway Atoll as K4M in October 2009
Earlier this year, US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
announced that they would open
Midway Atoll to Amateur Radio operations for two
weeks only, from October 5-19, 2009. Tom Harrell, N4XP, of Monroe, Georgia, and Dave Johnson, WB4JTT, of Aitkin,
Minnesota, have put together a team of 19 operators from all over the world to
activate Midway Atoll for a 10 day period as K4M.
This the first time that USFWS has allowed amateurs to operate from the wildlife refuge since 2002.
US Coast Guard to Discontinue LORAN Stations
Last month, the US Coast Guard announced that due to economic
conditions, they would be closing down the 24
LORAN-C
(Long Range Aid to Navigation) stations operated under the auspices of the USCG. LORAN stations
provide navigation, location and timing services for both civil and military air, land and marine users.
According to the USCG, LORAN-C is approved as an en route supplemental air navigation system for both Instrument
Flight Rule (IFR) and Visual
Flight Rule (VFR) operations.
The LORAN-C system serves the 48 continental states, their coastal areas and parts of Alaska.
Burghardt to No Longer Sell Amateur Radio Equipment
On March 16, Jim Smith, W0MJY, owner of Burghardt Amateur Center in Watertown, South Dakota, announced
that the company will no longer sell Amateur Radio transceivers and accessories. The company, now called
Burghardt Radio Repair, has canceled all backorders. In an e-mail, Smith blamed the current economic conditions
for the change that forced the company "to re-evaluate our goals and direction. We will continue to provide radio
repair service as it has become a very busy business. Our technicians are very experienced and parts inventories are
good. Thank you for your support in the past and we look forward to continuing our relationships through our
servicing facility." Jim Smith's son, Mike Smith, KC0FTM, told the ARRL that even though the company has had to
lay off employees in the past couple of months, "Burghardt will concentrate on service, just like we have been
doing since 1973."
Amateur radio club losing its Hall of Science signal
AN AMATEUR radio club that has been doing volunteer demonstrations at the New
York Hall of Science for more than 35 years may soon be in search of a new home.
The Corona museum is undergoing extensive renovations and no longer has enough
space to host the club, museum officials said.
Though nothing has been finalized, the club has been talking to other museums
about finding a permanent home.
"It looks pretty likely to me that we'll leave the museum by the end of June,"
said New York Hall of Science Amateur Radio Club President Tom Tumino.
His group started an online petition in December to protest the move. It has
garnered more than 1,300 signatures to date.
"We're 96 volunteers who paid and volunteered their time to maintain an
exhibit," Tumino said. "I can't imagine why the museum would ever want us to
leave."
ARRL Releases Experimental Methods in RF Design
The revised first edition of Experimental Methods in RF Design
is now available from the ARRL. Co-written and updated by Wes Hayward, W7ZOI, Rick Campbell, KK7B, and Bob Larkin, W7PUA,
Experimental Methods in RF Design explores wide dynamic range, low distortion radio equipment, the use of direct
conversion and phasing methods and digital signal processing. Use the models and discussion included in the book to
design, build and measure equipment at both the circuit and the system level.
This edition explores wide dynamic range, low distortion radio equipment, the use of direct conversion and phasing
methods as a serious communications architecture.
| April, 2009 | |
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