February, 2007

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New Earth-Moon-Earth distance record claim
Two radio amateurs from New Zealand and Portugal have achieved what they claim is a new Earth-Moon-Earth distance record. On 6 December, Nick Wallace, ZL1IU, in New Zealand and Joe Kraft, CT1HZE, in Portugal completed a 2m EME contact using the JT65B digital modes. The ZL ham was running 500W to 4-by-12 Yagis, while CT1HZE was putting 1.5kW into 4-by-11 Yagis. The EME contact spanned a terrestrial distance of 19,685km. [RSGB]

DXCC Desk approves operation for DXCC credit
The ARRL DXCC Desk has approved this operation for DXCC credit: 5X1RI (Uganda), operation May 5, 2005-February 3, 2006. For more information, visit theDXCC Web page. "DXCC Frequently Asked Questions" can answer most questions about the DXCC program. ARRL DX bulletins are available on the W1AW DX Bulletins page.

Elementary, Junior High Schoolers Talk with ISS Commander from Japan
Youngsters from an elementary and a junior high school at Kashiwabara Community Center in Sayama, Japan -- some 30 km from Tokyo -- spoke via ham radio December 27 with International Space Station Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria, KE5GTK. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program arranged the direct VHF contact between 8J1K in Japan and NA1SS in space. Lopez-Alegria told the youngsters that one of the most important characteristics of a good ISS crew member is being a team player who works well with others. The crew's duties are varied, he said.

Bulgarian amateurs celebrate EU membership
Radio amateurs in Bulgaria are celebrating their country’s membership in the European Union with a special event station. Bulgaria became a full member of the European Union on January 1. Special event station LZ2007EU is operating from the headquarters of the Bulgarian Federation of Radio Amateurs until April 30.

World Scout Movement announces centenary of scouting ham radio award
The World Scout Bureau is sponsoring the "Scouting 100 Radio Award" for contacting Scout stations via Amateur Radio during 2007 -- the centenary of Scouting. This international award is also available to short-wave listeners (SWLs). Stations may be worked/logged on all bands and modes including EchoLink and IRLP, and endorsements are available for special modes or bands, such as "All Satellite Contacts" or "All QRP Contacts." Award activity will focus around the international Scout frequencies (in the Americas, use 7270 kHz as the 40-meter SSB frequency; on 80 meters, avoid RTTY/digital DX on 3590 kHz). Contact Scout and Guide stations for points: Ordinary Scout stations are one point, special event Scout stations are 2 points and World Jamboree, Gilwell Park and Brownsea Island stations are 5 points. Logs should be verified as accurate by two other local radio amateurs. Logs should include name, Scout details and age of operator contacted. Female operators may send "YL" instead of age. Participants should submit age when applying for awards. Complete details are on the Scouting 100 Radio Award Web site.

The Amateur Radio frequency allocation chart
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/bands.html and the ARRL Band Plans http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/bandplan.html on the ARRL Web site have been updated to reflect the band changes. Revised FCC Part 97 Amateur Service rules reflecting all changes detailed in the FCC Report and Order in WT Docket 04-140, also are available http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/news/part97/.

February, 2007

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