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ARRL New Licensees Privileges Request!

ARRL Requests Expanded HF Privileges for Technician Licensees

02/28/2018ARRL has asked the FCC to expand HF privileges for Technician licensees to include limited phone privileges on 75, 40, and 15 meters, plus RTTY and digital mode privileges on 80, 40, 15, and 10 meters. The FCC has not yet invited public comment on the proposals, which stem from recommendations put forth by the ARRL Board of Directors’ Entry-Level License Committee, which explored various initiatives and gauged member opinions in 2016 and 2017.

“This action will enhance the available license operating privileges in what has become the principal entry-level license class in the Amateur Service,” ARRL said in its Petition. “It will attract more newcomers to Amateur Radio, it will result in increased retention of licensees who hold Technician Class licenses, and it will provide an improved incentive for entry-level licensees to increase technical self-training and pursue higher license class achievement and development of communications skills.”

Specifically, ARRL proposes to provide Technician licensees, present and future, with phone privileges at 3.900 to 4.000 MHz, 7.225 to 7.300 MHz, and 21.350 to 21.450 MHz, plus RTTY and digital privileges in current Technician allocations on 80, 40, 15, and 10 meters. The ARRL petition points out the explosion in popularity of various digital modes over the past 2 decades. Under the ARRL plan, the maximum HF power level for Technician operators would remain at 200 W PEP. The few remaining Novice licensees would gain no new privileges under the League’s proposal.

ARRL’s petition points to the need for compelling incentives not only to become a radio amateur in the first place, but then to upgrade and further develop skills. Demographic and technological changes call for a “periodic rebalancing” between those two objectives, the League maintains.

“There has not been such a rebalancing in many years,” ARRL said in its petition. “It is time to do that now.” The FCC has not assessed entry-level operating privileges since 2005.

The Entry-Level License Committee offered very specific, data- and survey-supported findings about growth in Amateur Radio and its place in the advanced technological demographic that includes individuals younger than 30. It received significant input from ARRL members via more than 8,000 survey responses.

“The Committee’s analysis noted that today, Amateur Radio exists among many more modes of communication than it did half a century ago, or even 20 years ago,” ARRL said in its petition.

Now numbering some 378,000, Technician licensees comprise more than half of the US Amateur Radio population. ARRL said that after 17 years of experience with the current Technician license as the gateway to Amateur Radio, it’s urgent to make it more attractive to newcomers, in part to improve upon science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education “that inescapably accompanies a healthy, growing Amateur Radio Service,” ARRL asserted.

ARRL said its proposal is critical to developing improved operating skills, increasing emergency communication participation, improving technical self-training, and boosting overall growth in the Amateur Service, which has remained nearly inert at about 1% per year.

The Entry-Level License Committee determined that the current Technician class question pool already covers far more material than necessary for an entry-level exam to validate expanded privileges. ARRL told the FCC that it would continue to refine examination preparation and training materials aimed at STEM topics, increase outreach and recruitment, work with Amateur Radio clubs, and encourage educational institutions to utilize Amateur Radio in STEM and other experiential learning programs.

“ARRL requests that the Commission become a partner in this effort to promote Amateur Radio as a public benefit by making the very nominal changes proposed herein in the Technician class license operating privileges,” the petition concluded.

Check it out here

http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-requests-expanded-hf-privileges-for-technician-licensees

 

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Next Club Meeting

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uBitx radio kit

www.morristownhamfest.com

Buy It Now!

The uBITX is a general coverage HF SSB/CW transceiver kit with features you NEED for operating ease, convenience and versatility. If works from 3 MHz to 30 MHz, with upto 12 watts on SSB and CW with a very sensitive receiver. It features digital tuning, dual VFOs, RIT, CW Keyer and more.  The uBITX is a general coverage HF SSB/CW transceiver kit with features you NEED for operating ease, convenience and versatility. It works from 3 MHz to 30 MHz, with upto 12 watts on SSB and CW with a very sensitive receiver. It features digital tuning, dual VFOs, RIT, CW Keyer and more.

Operating

The uBITX is a joy to operate. Press the tuning control to access all the features. Dual VFOs, RIT, CW speed, sideband selection. etc. are all accessible from a single menu. The transceiver automatically selects the proper sideband for you (you can override it too).

Technical Specifications

The uBITX is an understandable radio. The complexity is kept to a minimum so you can always repair and make changes if you so desire.

The the uBITX has a carefully thought out operator interface. The tuning knob features a number of menu options on a click. From RIT, to dual VFOs, to the keyer and many more featuers are all accessible from the tuning knob by simply tapping on it.There are intelligent defaults everywhere (these are easily overriden). Example : below 10 MHz, it auto-selects LSB and vice versa. To operate CW, you just press the morse key.

Architecture The uBITX uses upconversion to the first IF of 45 MHz. This eliminates the need for a large number of band pass filters, keeping the design simple and virtually image free. The roofing filter at 45 MHz is 15 KHz wide. The signal is then down-converted to 12 MHz where a low ripple SSB filter with 8 crystals is used to provide a sparkling audio.

The transmitter has push-pull PA using two IRF510s for a clean output. The low cost IRF510s are not  a bother to replace should you ever blow them up.

Receiver :

  • Sensitivity a 0.2uv signal is clearly audible
  • Selectivity 2.4 KHz,  low ripple SSB filter with 8 crystals
  • RIT (Receiver Incremental Tuning)
  • Continuous coverage from 500 KHz to 30 MHz
  • Sideband selection
  • Dent-less encoder tuning. Tunes with larger step rates when tuned quickly

Transmitter

  • More than 10 watts upto 10 MHz, 7 watts upto 21 MHz, 2 watts on 28 MHz
  • CW transmit with the built-in keyer
  • Uses   IRF510s  x 2 as PA and  2N3904 x 4 drivers in push-pull mode for low distortion transmission. Blown IRF510 are inexpensive to replace

Raduino Features

This is a small board with an Si5351 clock generator, an Arduino Nano and a 16×2 LCD display. It plugs into the main radio board. The software that controls the radio is written in Arduino’s C langauge.

All the features are available implemented in Raduino software. The menus are accessible by pushing the button on the tuning encoder. You can add more features by hacking through the open source code available on https://github.com/afarhan/ubitx

  • Dual VFOs
  • RIT
  • Manual override of LSB/USB selection
  • CW Keyer Speed and tone selection

µBITX

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Hamfest Builders Fest anouncement

Come out and see in person a µBITX at the

www.morristownhamfest.com

Morristown Hamfest Builders Fest on Jan 6, 2018, also see MiscDotGeek’s Multiband BitX40, and WB5YYM’s Expandable boards in his All Homebrew 40m Station- BitX40, and maybe take one home (BitX40) for Best in Show, Bring your Homebrew, W8TEE talking about Homebrewing, and sitting down at the Roundtable…see you there.

                            
advancing Amateur Radio Amateur Radio Club antennas Ardunio ARRL ARRL Field Day Bitx Bitx40 Bitx building Builders Group Club event cw digital Modes Elecraft Electronics event Feed Line Field Day Field Day 2017 forty9NR HeathKit Icom K1T K1T Special Event Kenwood LARC Amateur Radio Club learning License logging Meeting Info operating Pixie radio programming propagation Radio Repeater Study Sessions Test Sessions VE Testing at meetings VE Testing Monthly Ve Testing National Weather Service wspr wsprnet Yaesu
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CountDown to something great

There is something behind that STOP sign, and at 1pm today it will be removed. Get Ready

www.morristownhamfest.com

 

Lakeway Amateur Radio Club Builders Group
The purpose of this group is to foster and accommodate the art of DIY in Ham Radio. The group is available to new and experienced hams in the Lakeway Area in East Tennessee. Projects vary from simple antenna construction to projects using
microprocessors such as the PIC and Arduino.

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September Meeting Program

Come join us for an interesting program at our September’s meeting at the Jefferson City Library. September 28th, 2017.

WSPRNET 

we’ll be covering details of equipment used, software, antennas, computers, why it’s helpful, ways to use it! Get ready for another tools to use with Amateur Radio

WSPR (pronounced “whisper”) stands for “Weak Signal Propagation Reporter”. It is a computer program used for weak-signal radio communication between amateur radio operators. The program was initially written by Joe Taylor, K1JT, but is now open source and is developed by a small team. The program is designed for sending and receiving low-power transmissions to test propagation paths on the MF and HF bands.

WSPR implements a protocol designed for probing potential propagation paths with low-power transmissions. Transmissions carry a station’s callsign, Maidenhead grid locator, and transmitter power in dBm. The program can decode signals with S/N as low as -28 dB in a 2500 Hz bandwidth. Stations with internet access can automatically upload their reception reports to a central database called WSPRnet, which includes a mapping facility.

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Lakeway Amateur Radio Club puts ARRL Handbook for Radio Communications on Jeff City Library Shelf

Recently, Lakeway Amateur Radio Club – Builder’s Group, was searching for an additional meeting space for its group building sessions. After looking at the new library in Jefferson City it was discovered that there were no Amateur Radio books on the shelf.

Jefferson City Library Director – Anjanae Brueland with new ARRL 2016 Handbook for Radio Communications.

 

So, a careful preflight inspection was done: Large Conference Room seats 100 at capacity.

Full multi-media facility with wifi, computers, projector, drop down large media screen, sound system.  They even let us solder our radio kits (when we are very careful).

We even found a large back porch with really comfortable reading chairs, under the large ceiling fans, and as you can see: the back porch is shaded in the afternoon.

So, shaded in the afternoon in summer, and a large fireplace for the winter? So, for reading or operating radios or soldering on the back porch during a Builders Group Session, this venue is hard to beat.

Lakeway Amateur Radio Club – giving back to the library.

Lakeway Amateur Radio Club – Board Member, Craig Thibodeaux KM4YEC presenting Jefferson City Library – Director, Anjanae Brueland, the ARRL 2016 Handbook for Radio Communications.

So, Lakeway Amateur Radio Club – Builders Group – WeCanHams at work, assembling a HF (High Frequency) 40 Meter Band – 7 MHz kit Radio at one of our 3rd Saturday of each month Building Sessions.  Whether you call it a Builders Group, Homebrewing, Makers, Tinkering, Hacking, or just having fun, the Jefferson City Library is where its at!

And don’t forget the back porch, whether you curl up with your favorite book (maybe that ARRL Handbook) or join the Builders Group (WeCanHams.com) for some afternoon relaxation.

Many Thanks to Jefferson City Library and its very helpful and friendly staff.

Happy Hams and Happy Librarians. Library Director – Anjanae Brueland on the left and Library Assistant – Alexa Lee on the right, holding up ARRL Handbook from Lakeway Amateur Radio Club.

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