HF International Emergency Operating Procedure

1. General
Amateur radio is one of the radio communication services set up by the International Telecommunication Union. In all these services emergency traffic has absolute priority over their normal operation.

Emergency operation requires an efficient forwarding of traffic. Efficiency of communication is not self-evident in amateur radio so each operator has to think about how he should react in case of emergency and should obtain as much preparedness as possible.

2. Measures in case of emergency

If you hear the word "emergency", "welfare-traffic" or the abbreviation QUF - stop transmitting and listen.

If you receive such traffic - stand by, observe it and write down all you hear.
don't leave the frequency before you are sure that you cannot help and somebody is helping.

Don't transmit before you are sure that you can help.
Follow the instructions the traffic controlling station (if there is one) is giving you. The traffic is controlled by the station in emergency or the station appointed by the station in emergency.

Keep messages short - don't transmit useless information.

In case of interference by other stations, the traffic controlling station or other stations appointed by it should transmit the word "emergency", "welfare-traffic","stop sending" or the abbreviation QUF to the interfering station....read on

Ham Radio Emergency Ops

The Man Who Trains Astronauts To Be Hams

Since 1983 many orbital space missions have taken along amateur radio gear.

The first ham in space was Owen Garriott, W5LFL. He was followed by Tony England, W0ORE, after which ham radio in space was formalized. First, under the title of the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment or SAREX and today as ARISS or Amateur Radio on the International Space Station. And with amateur radio a part of the astronauts training, someone on the ground has to teach them.

Recently, Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, had a chance to meet and talk with the man who really is the ham behind the ham radio operators in space: Nick Lance, KC5KBO:

Do you remember where you were when NASA embarked on the Apollo space program that culminated with U.S. astronauts landing on and exploring the moon? Nick Lance, KC5KBO, does.

He joined NASA at the Johnson Space Center in Houston at the time of Apollo 7 in the late 1960s. He was there through that historic Apollo 11 mission and worked for some 40 years for the space agency until his retirement Aug 1.

Space Station on Ham Bands

Are Sunspots Disappearing?

TWO ASTRONOMERS PREDICT SUNSPOTS WILL SOON COMPLETELY DISAPPEAR!

Are sunspots disappearing for good? Two solar researchers say this is the case. Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP, has more:

Most hams users know that there is a direct correlation between sunspots and high frequency propagation conditions. In general, the more sunspots there are, the more DX you will be able to work. This usually happens in 11 year cycles with the last solar maximum having taken place in 2000.

The current Solar Cycle which is Cycle 24 should peak in roughly next year in 2010. Only one problem. There have been few sunspots this year and very little easy to work DX. And now there may be an answer as to why.

Spaceweather.com reports that astronomers Bill Livingston and Matt Penn of the National Solar Observatory in Tucson, Arizona, have found that sunspot magnetic fields are definitely waning. Not only that. They say that sunspots could completely disappear within decades.

Livingston and Penn have been measuring solar magnetism since 1992. Their technique is based on a complex system called the Zeeman splitting of infrared spectral lines emitted by iron atoms in the vicinity of sunspots. They reached their conclusion by extrapolating their already collected data into the future.

Where has all the DX gone?

Radio Hotline Launched

Most often than not, amateur radio operators have come to people’s rescue during natural or manmade disasters, providing relief to those marooned during floods, earthquakes, building collapse and others.

To provide this reliable mode of communication, the Amateur Radio Society of India and the Indian Red Cross Society have joined hands to establish a radio hotline here on Wednesday. It was inaugurated by Governor of Karnataka, H R Bhardwaj in the premises of the Red Cross Society here.

K N Rajaram, Secretary of Amateur Radio Society said the need of amateur radio during the crucial golden hour is invaluable in rescue missions.

Emergency Ham Radio help in India

Amateur Radio Station Featured in National Commercial

WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, Florida, is featured in a 60 second radio spot for Duracell batteries.

The commercial, which begins airing this month, highlights the efforts of an all-volunteer army of ham radio operators for WX4NHC.

Narrated by actor Jeff Bridges, it describes the important role that radio amateurs play during severe weather conditions -- enabling communications with emergency medical teams, police and fire departments -- when the power goes out.

The narration underscores the importance of a reliable battery to power the portable ham radios, which are crucial to WX4NHC's work.

WX4NHC National Hurricane Centre

Prepare for the Perseids!

On the night of August 11 and well into the next day, Earth will make its annual passage through the bulk of the debris shed by a comet known as Swift-Tuttle.

Much of the debris is composed of dust-sized grains, but when these fragments come plunging into our atmosphere they can create a dazzling meteor display. Not only are the meteors fascinating to watch, they also leave short-lived streams of ionized gas in their wake. As hams have known for years, these meteor trails are excellent reflectors of radio waves.

The Swift-Tuttle meteor showers are known as the Perseids because they appear to come from a point in the sky that lies within the constellation Perseus.

This year's shower is forecast to be especially active because we're about to pass through a somewhat thicker filament of dust that boiled off Swift-Tuttle in 1862.

Radio Hams are ready on 2m & 6m

Brunei Hosts 5th Radio, Cyberspace Scout Jamboree

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Brunei Darussalam Scouts Associations (PPNBD) is the host to the 5th Asia-Pacific Region Jamboree on the Air/Internet (JTA/JOTI) aimed at fostering closer ties among scout members in the region and as a preparation for the World JOTA and JOTI scheduled for October.

Some 30 Rover Scouts participated in the two-day event organised by Singapore Scouts Associations which ended yesterday.

The JOTA and KM utilises the Amateur Radio through the scout's call-sign V85BS, and the Internet, with which the participants communicate with other scouts on current events, get introduced to new members. Having discussions and promoting Brunei's tourism, according to Aliyous -Tea a Rover Scout.

"Not a lot of people know where Brunei is. All this while we have been promoting the country as tourists' location," he said.

Brunei Scouts limber up for World Jamboree

Bletchley Park History

With the declaration of peace, the frenzy of codebreaking activity ceased.

On Churchill's orders, every scrap of 'incriminating' evidence was destroyed. As the Second World War gave way to the Cold War, it was vital that Britain's former ally, the USSR, should learn nothing of Bletchley Park's wartime achievements.

The thousands who had worked there departed. Some continued to use their remarkable expertise to break other countries' cyphers, working under a new name: the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).

The site became home to a variety of training schools: for teachers, Post Office workers, air traffic control system engineers, and members of GCHQ. In 1987, after a fifty-year association with British Intelligence, Bletchley Park was finally decommissioned.

For decades, the codebreakers would remain silent about their achievements. It was not until the wartime information was declassified in the mid-1970s that the truth would begin to emerge. And the impact of those achievements on the outcome of the war and subsequent developments in communications still has not been recognised fully.

Amateur Radio at Bletchley Park

Space Shuttle Endeavour Deployed Student-Built Satellites

The space shuttle Endeavour landed Friday, July 31, but before it left orbit it deployed four student-built satellites, all with telemetry downlinks in the 2 meter, or 70 cm, amateur bands.

The twin spherical satellites -- named Castor and Pollux -- were designed by students in cooperation with the Naval Research Laboratory as part of the Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment (ANDE).

Both satellites will transmit 1200-baud packet radio telemetry on 145.825 MHz. Hams are encouraged to submit telemetry reports with special QSLs and mission patches planned (check the ANDE Web site for updates).

Radio Amateur Satellites Transmitting

More wired Chinese tuning into Amateur Radio

BEIJING (Reuters Life!) - When it comes to high-tech, China has it all. But in the country with the most Internet users in the world, some are choosing to stay in touch through an older device: the radio.

Armed with antennas, transmitters and receivers, a growing number of Chinese amateur radio operators, or radio hams, send out encoded messages and simple broadcasts in the hope of getting a response.

Of the world's three million amateur radio operators, up to 90,000 are in China, according to the Chinese Radio Sports Association which oversees licensing for hobbyists in the world's most populous country.

The number has been steadily growing in recent years, the association said, despite mobile phones and the Internet becoming commonplace in nearly all the country.

Chinese Hams grow in numbers

EI2GBW/GB2EI Celebrate Maritime Return

Fastnet Line reinstitutes ferry service between Cork and Swansea beginning in 2010.

The Ei2GBW and GB2Ei special event stations celebrate the return of this historical link between Ireland and Wales. The service provided by six ferry ships each named Innisfallen began in 1896.

Pictured above (see link below) is the third Innisfallen, which served the route from 1948 to 1967 (I've sailed on it myself, Radio Guy). This ship, known affectionately to locals as D'Innis, brought a new style and class to the route.

The sixth Innisfallen, pictured in link below, is an even larger 21,699 gross tons and begins regular service on 1 March 2010.

Special Event Station Swansea-Cork Ferry