The National Association for Amateur Radio®, as part of its mission to protect Amateur Radio, has filed comments against a proposal that would introduce high-power digital communications to the shortwave spectrum that in many instances is immediately adjacent to the Amateur HF bands.

The “Shortwave Modernization Coalition” (SMC), which represents certain high-frequency stock trading interests, filed the petition with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). (Previous coverage can be found on ARRL News.) ARRL responded on behalf of its members and the 760,000 licensees of the Amateur Radio Service in the US.

The ARRL Laboratory performed a detailed technical analysis over several months to determine if the proposed rules would affect operations on the bands allocated to Radio Amateurs that are inter-mixed with the Part 90 bands in the spectrum in question.

Thanks to Chris Leviston, M0KPW, ten children at Ireleth St Peters (ISP) CofE Primary School in Cumbria have achieved their Radio Surfer Awards.

Chris recently started an after-school club at ISP, and over the five weeks that it ran, the children enjoyed a range of amateur radio activities, leading to them each being presented with their certificates at the final assembly of the year. With a key part of the club being to pass greetings messages, the RSGB Awards Manager tweaked the scheme to allow a point to be awarded for this.

The children were introduced to the phonetic alphabet, call signs across Europe, QSL cards and the basics of a dipole antenna. They practised Morse code on oscillators and keys, as well as using PMRs.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is looking for qualified applicants for Field Agents in five local offices across the United States. From the FCC posting:

The FCC has openings for Field Agents in the following FCC Field Offices: New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles & San Francisco.

Operates and understands all technical equipment typically used in the Field including RF spectrum analyzers, field strength meters, RF Field survey meters, and radio receivers. Maintains contacts with and assists other Federal agencies, foreign counterparts, and local law enforcement organizations concerning interaction and utilization of the radio spectrum for both authorized and unauthorized activities.