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Book on Amateur Radio's "Golden Age" Now Available from ARRL
Many consider 1930 to 1980 as the "golden age" of American radio technology. A time of extraordinary
innovation driven by pioneering engineers and entrepreneurs, this 50 year span saw the introduction
of rigs that would become famous throughout the world. The newest addition to the ARRL Library,
50 Years of Amateur Radio Innovation -- Transmitters, Receivers and Transceivers: 1930-1980, highlights theses treasured favorites in a way that has never been seen before.
FCC Responds to ARRL Petition Against Experimental License using 40 Meter Band
On Monday, October 20, the ARRL filed a "Petition for Modification or Cancellation of Experimental Authorization"
(Petition) with the FCC with respect to WE2XRH. According to the FCC, this experimental license -- issued to Digital Aurora Radio Technologies (DART) -- proposes to "test digital transmissions in 4.50-5.10 MHz, 7.10-7.60 MHz and 9.25-9.95 MHz for a terrestrial digital radio service to the citizens of Alaska." The League's protest was prompted by the certainty that high-power operation in the frequency range 7.10 to 7.30 MHz would cause unacceptable and harmful interference to the Amateur Radio Service in this part of the 40-meter band, which is an exclusive amateur allocation in ITU Region 2 (North and South America).
On October 24, the FCC responded by issuing an amended license that redefined one of the station's frequency ranges to eliminate conflict with the Amateur Radio Service. The amended license narrows the range to 7.30 to 7.60 MHz and gives as the reason for the change, "operation in the band 7.1-7.3 MHz will cause harmful interference to Amateur Radio Service licensees."
"We are delighted that the FCC acted so promptly to correct this error and are pleased that the matter has been resolved," said ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ.
WE2XRH will be using a 20 kHz bandwidth digital emission at a transmitter output power of 100 kW and an ERP of 660 kW within a radius of 1500 kilometers of Delta Junction, Alaska. According to the amended license, the transmissions will take place in the frequency ranges 4.4 to 5.1 MHz, 7.3 to 7.6 MHz and 9.25 to 9.95 MHz.
Surfin': Going ATV Digitally
By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU
Contributing Editor
October 03, 2008
This week's Surfin' considers Web sites where Amateur Television (ATV) is going digital.
Surfin Scrrenshot 2008 October 03
What Exactly Is 8-Vsb Anyway? answers many of your questions concerning digital television.
If you watched television during the past months, you could not miss the barrage of announcements concerning the switch from analog to digital broadcasting over the airwaves that will occur next year on February 17. If you use an analog television to receive broadcast signals over the air and not from a satellite, cable, or telephone company, then you will need a converter to receive broadcasts after Presidents' Day 2009.
David Sparano has written an excellent article, "What Exactly Is 8-Vsb Anyway?", that according to Nick Sayer, N6QQQ, has the best and most accessible description of 8VSB (8-level vestigial sideband modulation) that he has ever found.
Nick is working on setting up an 8VSB transmitter. His goal is to get as close to an ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee)-compatible ATV station as he can get. He recommends the article to anyone who wants to get started in digital ATV.
By the way, Nick has a Web page and a blog where you can read about his adventures in ATV.
Another by the way -- if you search the Internet for digital ATV information, you will find European
Web sites dedicated to the topic, but note that Europeans use DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) Standards that North American television receivers cannot demodulate.
Until next time, keep on surfin'!
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