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Broadcasters moving away from the 7MHz amateur allocation
Sunday 29 March will go into the records as a landmark date for the amateur radio service in the greater
part of the world. Following on from the decision made during the World Radio Conference in 2003, the
amateur service becomes the primary user in the HF segment between 7100 and 7200kHz in ITU and
IARU Regions 1 and 3. In layman's terms, this represents everywhere except the Americas, who have
always enjoyed this segment as part of the 7 to 7.3MHz allocation in Region 2. Although this date also
coincides with the start of the HF broadcasting schedule, it would be naïve to think the segment might
be completely clear of broadcasting stations on the start date, however a number of international
broadcasters have already moved nearer to 7.5MHz. In addition, a large number of countries have
reserved their position in respect to fixed service stations by way of footnotes to the relevant Radio
Regulation. It is not anticipated that these stations will cause any major problems. While in the UK we
have been fortunate in having special permission to use this part of the band since the 31 October 2004,
the recommended IARU Region 1 40m band plan from 29 March can be found in the February RadCom
or on the internet at www.rsgb.org/spectrumforum/bandplans.
American to add Wi-Fi service to domestic flights
Being online while being airborne is fast becoming reality for U.S travelers. American Airlines (AMR)
is announcing on Tuesday that it's joining rival Delta Air Lines (DAL) in making Wi-Fi Internet connections
available to most domestic passengers American, No. 2 in the world in passenger traffic after Delta
acquired Northwest Airlines last year, says it will equip more than 300 planes used primarily in the
U.S. with high-speed Wi-Fi capability. Delta said in December that it would offer the service on its planes
by the end of this year and on newly acquired Northwest planes by the end of next year. Virgin America
expects to have its fleet of 28 planes outfitted for Wi-Fi by the end of June. American's service will cost
laptop users $12.95 on flights longer than three hours, and $9.95 on shorter ones. Travelers using
handheld devices, such as smartphones and PDAs, will pay $7.95 no matter the length of the flight.
The service will be available only after planes reach 10,000 feet so it doesn't interfere with communi-
cations between the cockpit and air traffic control. International flights aren't being equipped with
American's Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi system developed by Aircell because it operates on ground-to-air
signals from cellular towers. Southwest is experimenting with a satellite-based system that would allow
access on international flights, though it flies only domestic routes. Despite the airlines' push to keep
customers connected while flying, there's one service passengers shouldn't expect soon: cellphone
service. Carriers are reluctant to make cellphone connections available during flights, partly for
technical and bandwidth reasons and partly to avoid problems between passengers seeking quiet and
those talking loudly to be heard above flight noise.
Looking at the Earth from the ISS
You can view live Space Station video that includes Earth views from external cameras on the International
Space Station during crew off-duty periods. Also available form the NASA website are selected in-cabin
views of crew activities during the crew on-duty periods and a graphical world map that depicts the station?s location in orbit above the Earth using real-time telemetry sent to Mission Control from the station. The video
stream is accompanied by audio of communications between Mission Control and the astronauts when
available. During times when the shuttle is docked to the station, the stream will include video and audio of
those activities. Since the station orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes, it sees a sunrise or a sunset every
45 minutes. When the station is in darkness, the external camera video may appear black, but also may
provide spectacular views of city lights below. In addition, satellite coverage may be intermittent and result
in a display of colour bars. Colour bars or a black screen do not necessarily indicate a problem with the
video stream. The streaming video is being webcast as part of NASA's celebration of the 10th anniversary
of the space station in orbit. See www.nasa.gov/station.
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