Message:23608 In: ARNR.WW
From: PY2BILDate: Fri, 05 Jun 26 13:59:00 Z
Newsgroups: ARNR.WW
Subject: Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2536 for Friday, June 5th
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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2536 for Friday, June 5th, 2026
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2536 with a release date of Friday,
June 5th, 2026 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. A plea to halt Canada's shutdown of its shortwave
time service. There's a new crew aboard China's space station -- and
the FCC once again warns a repeat offender about jamming. All this and
more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2536 comes your way right
now.
**
BILLBOARD CART
**
HAMSCI ASKS CANADA TO RECONSIDER SHORTWAVE SHUTDOWN
JIM/ANCHOR: Our top story takes us to Canada, where the popular shortwave
time service, CHU, has been marked to go off the air later this month.
A major citizen-science organization has asked officials to change their
minds, as we hear from Travis Lisk N3ILS.
TRAVIS: The citizen science investigation organization HamSCI has asked
Canadian officials to halt their planned shutdown later this month of
its shortwave time-signal station CHU, saying it has unique and irreplaceable
value to researchers and the international scientific community.
A statement on HamSCI's website praises CHU for its longstanding role
as a resource in auroral research. Its unprecedented citizen-science
study of the 2024 solar eclipse over North America also relied heavily
on CHU's capabilities.
The statement says, in part: [quote] "The use of time standard beacons
as ionospheric signals of opportunity dates back more than a century
to the earliest days of radio science. Today, this time-tested approach
is supercharged by inexpensive single-board computers, software defined
radios, and the participation of the global amateur radio and shortwave
listener community, who have built a growing meta-instrument that spans
the continent of North America and points beyond." [endquote]
HamSCI’s flagship project, the Personal Space Weather Station Network,
is also closely intertwined with CHU and its remote-sensing capabilities.
There was no statement released in response by the recipient, Dr. Marina
Gertsvoff of the NRC.
This is Travis Lisk N3ILS.
(HAMSCI)
**
NEW CREW BOARDS CHINA'S SPACE STATION
JIM/ANCHOR: Astronauts from one mission have returned to Earth and a
new crew has arrived on board China's space station. We hear more from
Jason Daniels VK2LAW.
JASON: Astronauts from China's Shenzhou-21 mission have returned to earth
just days after the three-member Shenzhou 23 crew's arrival at the Tiangong
Space Station. The Shenzhou-23 mission feature a first for any Chinese
astronaut: one of the crew members is scheduled for an extended stay
on board - remaining there for a year. In six months, the Tiangong station
crew will also welcome an astronaut from Pakistan with the launch of
the Shenzhou-24 mission. The Beijing-trained crew member will be the
first international astronaut to visit the Chinese space station.
Tiangong is considered an important steppingstone in China's goal to
land astronauts on the moon by 2030. The US space program is in a race
with China's in the hopes of returning astronauts to the lunar surface
in 2028.
Meanwhile, amateur radio is already there: In 2024, Japan's ham radio
station, JS1YMG, became the world's first licensed ham radio station
on the lunar surface.
This is Jason Daniels VK2LAW.
(SPACE NEWS, NPR, NASA)
**
UNLICENSED RADIO OPERATOR GETS NEWEST WARNING FROM FCC
JIM/ANCHOR: An unlicensed radio operator who has been convicted of jamming
a local repeater several times has just been issued yet another FCC warning,
as we hear from Kent Peterson KCØDGY.
KENT: Acting on several interference complaints from amateur radio operators
in California, the US Federal Communications Commission has issued a
warning to a radio operator who has a long history of unlicensed, disruptive
and illegal transmissions on a local repeater.
The FCC sent a notice of unlicensed operation in late May to Jack Gerritsen
of Bell, California, saying that in March, agents with direction-finding
equipment had verified reports of his 2-meter transmissions on a local
repeater. The FCC said that agents heard him make statements over the
air, using the phrase "Jack is back," identifying himself.
Over the past two decades, Gerritsen's encounters with the the legal
system and FCC have landed in him court -- and prison. He received a
one-year sentence in 2000 following his conviction in state court of
interfering with the highway patrol's radio system. Upon his release,
he took and passed his Technician level exam, receiving the amateur radio
callsign, KG6IRO. The FCC revoked the license grant days later, in November
2001, after realizing Gerritsen had been convicted of public safety interference
and that the license was granted mistakenly. According to various reports,
he remained an on-air presence despite that. FCC records show he was
later sent a forfeiture order of $21,000 for interfering with Coast Guard
Auxiliary Communications with a sailing vessel in distress.
He was convicted in September of 2006, at the age of 70, for malicious
interference with radio and unlicensed transmissions. He was fined and
sentenced to seven years in prison.
The latest notice from the FCC, dated the 28th of May, gives him 10 days
to respond and orders him to immediately halt all transmissions.
This is Kent Peterson KCØDGY.
(ARRL LETTER, SEPT. 22 2006, FCC)
**
NEW QUESTION POOL FOR TECHNICIAN CLASS EXAM
JIM/ANCHOR: This is a reminder to any candidates studying for the Technician
Class Exam: A new pool of questions takes effect on the 1st of July.
The question pool is to be used for any Technician exams being given
after that date. The ARRL and the National Conference of Volunteer Examiner
Coordinators reports that all major study materials have been updated
to reflect the content of the new questions, which were released earlier
this year.
(ARRL, NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF VECS)
**
DOUBLE CENTENNIAL FOR HAM RADIO IN JAPAN
JIM/ANCHOR: There's a lot to be said about being 100 years old and in
Japan, amateur radio operators plan to say plenty on behalf of amateur
radio, which is about to reach its centennial. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF tells
us about plans for the celebration.
JIM: This year and next year are milestone years for ham radio operators
in Japan. The Japan Amateur Radio League marks its 100th anniversary
this month. The issuing of the callsign JXAX to Japan's first licensed
amateur radio station marks its own centennial next year. In September
of 1927, JXAX went on the air as an experimental shortwave radio telegraph
and telephone station.
Now hams are setting aside the next 16 months to mark both moments in
history. A full range of commemorative activities are planned from this
month through to the 30th of September 2027. Operating events, awards
and both the 2026 and 2027 Tokyo Ham Fairs, the world's largest ham radio
event, are part of the plans, along with a commemorative publication
and an opening ceremony.
So turn your attention, and maybe your antennas, toward Japan. Things
are about to start happening.
This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.
(JARL)
**
BREAK HERE:
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the Northeast
Arkansas Radio Club K5NEA repeater in Jonesboro, Arkansas on Tuesday
nights at 6 p.m. Central Time, just before the 6:30 p.m. weekly net.
**
REGISTRATION OPENS FOR MICROWAVE UPDATE CONFERENCE
JIM/ANCHOR: Many consider DXpeditioners to be the ultimate in radio adventurers
and while that may be true in terms of geography, there is another landscape
where radio adventurers are active and thriving - and welcoming newcomers.
Andy Morrison K9AWM introduces them.
ANDY: The radio adventure that awaits beyond the realm of VHF and UHF
can be found at 900 MHz and above -- on the microwave bands. Later this
year, it will find a home off the air, for a few days, in Rochester,
New York, where the Rochester VHF group is hosting Microwave Update,
an international conference that draws 100 or more attendees. Registration
began recently for the conference, which will be held on the weekend
of October 23rd in a spacious state-of-the-art facility being made available
at the L3Harris Conference Center in Rochester, New York.
Dave Hallidy, K2DH, one of the organizers, said that if you've had your
eye on that higher part of the spectrum, now's the time to plan to attend
the conference, which is hosted every year in a different city. He told
Newsline [quote] "It's a friendly atmosphere. Everyone there are buddies."
[endquote] Bill Rogers, K2TER, head of the committee, said there is also
a lot of expertise and support among microwave veterans. In fact, in
Rochester, many of them are current or former employees of L3Harris.
In addition to talks, there will be a tune-up clinic, and representatives
from Keysight Technologies will be on site with their test equipment.
This is the Rochester VHF Group's third year hosting the conference,
said another organizer, Ron Panetta, WB2WGH, and guests can take advantage
of what the region has to offer. Less technical activities will take
place at the nearby Doubletree by Hlton Hotel for a banquet and a flea
market - and there will be a sidetrip on Thursday, October 22nd, to the
Antique Wireless Museum.
To register, visit microwaveupdate dot org. That's microwaveupdate -
one word - dot org. (microwaveupdate.org)
This is Andy Morrison K9AWM.
(ROCHESTER VHF GROUP)
**
YOUNGSTERS PREPARE FOR IARU REGION 1 CAMP
JIM/ANCHOR: Young operators are getting ready for Youngsters on the Air
summer camp in Region 1 of the IARU. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has an update.
JEREMY: Applications in the UK increased by 200 percent this year for
a place in the Youngsters on the Air Summer Camp to be held in the Austrian
Alps, according to the Radio Society of Great Britain. This year's session,
organised by IARU Region 1's Youth Committee and the Austrian Amateur
Radio Society ÖVSV [pron: "uhe fow ess fow"], will be held from the 25th
of July through to the 1st of August. It is the 14th annual such camp,
designed to build radio skills, foster international friendships and
ensure a robust future for the next generation of hams. The RSGB has
announced that it will be sending three campers: Tom, M1TJM, the 25-year-old
team leader, with team members Filip, M7SZW and Milo, M9ILO, who are
16 and 17 respectively.
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