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Canada ending 136 kHz and 5 MHz special authorizations
In accordance with an agreement between Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC)
and Industry Canada -- that country's telecommunications regulatory agency -- special authorizations allowing
some Canadian radio amateurs to conduct experiments at 136 kHz and 5 MHz will terminate June 30. "These experiments
have had, as one objective, the provision of data that would support the objectives of RAC and the
IARU for possible new allocations to the Amateur Service at these frequencies,"
the RAC said. Future special authorizations will depend on the outcomes of World Radiocommunication Conference 2007
(WRC-07), which gets under way October 22, the RAC added. New, worldwide, secondary amateur allocations at 135.7 to
137.8 kHz and in the 5 MHz range are up for possible consideration at WRC-07. RAC Newfoundland-Labrador Section
Manager Joe Craig, VO1NA, described some of his LF experiences in "The Transatlantic
on 2200 Meters," which appeared in July 2005 QST. Craig also has been in the forefront of 60-meter
experimentation in Canada through the Marconi Radio Club of
Newfoundland. In 2003, club station VO1MRC worked N1RL in Massachusetts for the first Canada-US two-way
amateur contact on 60 meters. There's more information on the
VO1MRC 5 MHz Experiment Web pages.
Intel’s Flash-memory Chip Falls Flat
Intel’s new flash memory chip was supposed to rev up PC performance and sales. But a month after its release, Intel’s so-called Turbo Memory appears to be having trouble getting up to speed. The technology is getting the cold shoulder from some PC vendors, most notably from Hewlett-Packard , the world’s No. 1 PC maker, which has declared that it’s not interested in Turbo Memory right now. The lukewarm reception is in contrast to the praise Intel has received for the string of new chips it has unleashed over the past year, which has allowed the company to regain market share from rival Advanced Micro Devices and sent its stock up more than 30% in the past 12 months. The slow start also raises questions about the long-awaited marriage between NAND flash memory and the PC, something Intel was expected to inaugurate with the introduction of Turbo Memory. “It’s pretty fair to say that the whole flash-enhanced [PC] performance … story has lost a lot of momentum,” says Richard Shim, an analyst at industry research firm IDC.He cites the newness of the technology in PCs and the corresponding difficulties in how to properly measure its performance, as well as the rock-bottom prices of alternatives like DRAM memory, for Turbo Memory’s struggles. Turbo Memory is based on NAND flash, a type of memory that is popular in gadgets such as MP3 players and digital cameras. Inside a PC, the thinking goes, NAND flash can speed up the time it takes for software to boot up, as well as offer longer battery life.
AMSAT at Dayton
The AMSAT booth enjoyed a visit from Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, ISS Expediton 12 Commander who was at the Hamvention
in support of planned ARRL activities. The first speaker was Rick Hambly, W2GPS, President, AMSAT-NA who presented
the "Summary of AMSAT-NA Activities in 2007".Rick reminded everyone in attendance of AMSAT's vision of HEO
Satellites are our primary mission. AMSAT will assist LEO efforts undertaken by the educational community
and other amateur radio groups. Rick continued with a list of achievements for 2006 including the following:
- AO-51 has now passed 2 years of continuous operation. Software upgrades and testing are now in progress to further improve this satellite and the operator's experience.
- SuitSat-1 captured the world's attention and helped promote amateur radio.
- SuitSat-2 development is currently underway and will feature an SDR transponder.
- AMSAT-NA support for AMSAT-DL's P3E provides funding, and staffing for design, testing, and integration.
- Eagle satellite development is on-going concurrently with P3E and the satellites will both share common modules and software.
- AMSAT's education outreach provides mentoring to students who are designing, building, and launching satellites.
- The AMSAT Lab in Maryland was opened. The clean room equipment is currently being installed.
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