ARRL Kids Day a Success in Nebraska

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ARRL Kids Day a Success in Nebraska

The Bellevue Amateur Radio Club and the Science Club at Yates Illuminates teamed up to offer the youth in Omaha, Nebraska, with an opportunity to get on the air for ARRL Kids Day.

The event occurred on Saturday 6th January 2024, at Yates Illuminates, a former elementary school that is now a culture and community center. Amateur radio operators Dudley Allen, KD0NMD; Terry Gampper, N0BXQ; Frank Jozwiak, KB0EOR, and Mike Terneus, WB0BEE, served as volunteer operators and were extremely patient coaches who nurtured the kids' curiosities of talking on the radio. Dozens of youths as young as 4, as well as young-at-heart Bob Hutton, 91, used the event call sign to talk to amateur radio operators across the country and around the world.

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Mobile Stations to Expand Frequency use Worldwide

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One of the agreements to emerge from the recent World Radiocommunication Conference in Dubai is the expanded spectrum becoming available for use by certain mobile base stations internationally. The designated parts of the spectrum are at 700 to 900 MHz, 1.7 GHz and 2.5 GHz. This is intended to give greater flexibility to operators around the world making use of HAPS mobile broadband communication, also known as High Altitude Platform Station communication. According to the International Telecommunication Union, any fixed-point radio station situated 20 to 50 kilometres above the Earth is a high-altitude platform station.

The company that has led the spectrum-expansion proposal for the past few years is the SoftBank Corporation. The Japanese company has been studying international standardization for such use since the issue was put on the WRC 2023 agenda four years ago during WRC 2019. HAPS technology has also been recognised as useful for communications during disaster recovery, especially when storms or other events have left terrestrial networks damaged.

Hams Help Community Radio Station Get Back on Air

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Because of amateur radio, community radio station KNYO, is going to start the coming year very differently from the way it did this year. Eleven months ago, the low-power FM station in Fort Bragg, California lost its antenna after the collapse of the 70-foot pine tree which was being used as its tower. The FCC authorised a temporary fix that authorised the antenna to be installed on a mast one-third that height, putting the all-volunteer station back on the air.

Then an October thunderstorm struck and the signal went silent again. That's when hams from the Mendocino County Amateur Radio Communication Service, NC6MC, stepped in. After station volunteers could not determine what had gone wrong, the club's president Derek Hoyle, KE6EBZ, sent a team over to help investigate.

The hams discovered that lightning had struck the antenna during the storm. The lightning arrestor was damaged and several connectors had been knocked out. Repairs quickly got underway.

“The KNYO Ft. Bragg antenna saga serves as a testament to the power of community and the generosity of individuals who come together in times of need.”
— Bob Young

Hopefully, 2024 will begin with smoother operation - and better weather - for station KNYO. If not, amateur radio is standing by.