FCC Implements Two-Factor Authentication For Registration System

In an effort to make its online registration system more secure, the Federal Communications Commission is introducing two-factor authentication while signing on. As of the 29th of March, those wishing to access the Commission Registration System known as CORES will need to request a six-digit secondary verification code to be sent to their email address.

They will be required to enter the code into the system before they can go forward with logging in. This requirement will affect anyone looking to reset a password, request a new Federal Registration Number or to pay any application or regulatory fees.

Source - ARNewsline - https://www.arnewsline.org/

BBC Radio 4 Dropping AM/Medium-Wave in April 2024

Effective 15th April, Radio 4 will no longer be available on medium-wave. Medium-wave listeners will need to retune their radio to alternative platforms.

With these two terse sentences at the bottom of a related announcement, the BBC signalled the end of BBC Radio 4’s service on medium-wave, called AM in the United States and Canada. The service will still be available on FM, DAB, digital TV and online.

The frequencies were only being used to support its longwave service, which has been scheduled for closing this month since May of last year.

“MW transmission of Radio 4 is ending as there will no longer be a longwave variant of Radio 4’s schedule. There’s no Radio 4 service on MW, it has always been there to support LW. There are only nine transmitters in total providing very little coverage, and affected listeners will have access to Radio 4 on FM even if they don’t have a digital radio.”

— BBC spokesperson Laura Zetterberg

HamTV Returns to International Space Station

SpaceX CRS-30 recently returned the HamTV system back to the International Space Station after the system was sent back to earth for repairs in 2019. The Digital Amateur Television (DATV) equipment powering HamTV is typically used in conjunction with school contacts to send video and audio of the contact events to viewers on earth.

HamTV was originally operational in 2013 but failed 6 years later in 2019. With the equipment back on board the ISS, AMSAT expects the equipment to be operating in the coming weeks.

The British Amateur Television Club (BATV) has extensive documentation related to HamTV, including how to receive the DVB-S protocol transmitting from the ISS - https://batc.org.uk/