Fly Me to the Moon

/
Fly Me to the Moon

The first Bitcoin transaction using the moon was conducted in April when Brazilian researchers sent morse code radio signals to deflect off the moon down to Earth, and completed a Bitcoin transaction.

Imagine that you are without an Internet connection, in an isolated region and without communication. A small HT radio, a cell phone, or notebook with a bitcoin wallet, and a few meters of copper wire to mount a dipole antenna is what you will need to trade your coins freely, across the planet.

But, what if the other person who is going to receive it has no knowledge of radio amateurism and electronics?

Read More

International Space Station to be in Cross-Band Repeater Mode for Field Day

/

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) cross-band repeater will be available for ARRL Field Day, 26-27 June 2021. Contacts will count toward Field Day bonus points as satellite contacts and Field Day contacts.

Field Day rules limit stations to one contact on any single-channel FM satellite. Note that contacts made during Field Day by ISS crew would only count for contact credit, but not for satellite bonus points. ISS cross-band repeater contacts are also valid AMSAT Field Day satellite contacts.

The ARISS cross-band repeater uplink is 145.990 MHz (67 Hz tone), with a downlink of 437.800 MHz.

ARISS suggests that those unfamiliar with the ISS repeater may want to practice with it prior to Field Day. ARISS had planned to switch modes to the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) during the second week of June, but this won't happen until after the first ARISS school contact following ARRL Field Day.

The ARISS ham station will be off-air during spacewalks on 16th June and 20th June 2021.

IARU Workshop Future of Amateur Radio - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

/
IARU Workshop Future of Amateur Radio - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

IARU Region 1 and its Member Societies continued the Workshop addressing the Future of Amateur Radio. Member Societies prepared SWOT analysis (including Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) on amateur radio. To get a significant outcome, many asked their members for extensive input. These results were shared in the meeting, showing that, over the Region, there are many common issues but also differences, dependent on the particular environment in which the society operates and its geographical location. To understand the differences on a more detailed level, South Africa (SARL), Serbia (SRS), Tunisia (ARAT) and Spain (URE) shared their findings in a more extensive manner.

Read More