Radio Hams keep 'Queen Mary' wireless on the Air

The Queen Mary, an ocean liner that once sailed the North Atlantic, is now permanently berthed in Long Beach, California, where it's a tourist attraction and hotel. In one of the rooms aboard the ship, the tradition of ship-to-shore wireless operations is continued and visitors are introduced to the hobby of ham radio.

A young visitor recently got an introduction to Morse code, the system of dots and dashes once used for wireless communication.

The Queen Mary was the pride of the Cunard Line after its 1936 launch, and is now a popular tourist attraction.

The wireless room preserves the ocean liner's communications hub.

Queen Mary Commodore Everette Hoard said “it was a lifeline in emergencies, providing two-way messages -- ship to shore. “And not only did they carry several transmitters for transmitting the ship's business, they also, even in 1936, had radio-telephone service,”

Today, volunteers from the local amateur radio club show off old equipment and operate new gear, as they talk to hams around the world.

Full article - http://www.voanews.com/content/radio-hams-keep-queen-mary-wireless-on-the-air/1904153.html

Ofcom RF spectrum map

Ofcom’s Interactive RF Spectrum Map is an easy way to browse and search how different spectrum bands are used in the United Kingdom

Use the dashboard to find out how spectrum is being used, by sector and by product/application. The map covers spectrum from 8.3 kHz to 275 GHz.

Visit - http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/spectrum/map.html

Taking Amateur Radio to near the world's roof top

A devotee of the Summits On The Air (SOTA) program in set to use portable Amateur Radio as he joins others on one of the most popular trekking routes in the Himalayas.

Allen Harvie VK3HRA, will walk from Nepal to the Southern Everest Base Camp, travelling through the Sagarmatha National Park (9NFF-007), which is on the World Wide Flora and Fauna list.

Allen has gained a permit to take and operate a QRP radio. Due to weight and size needs, only 20-metres CW will be possible from 6 -9 May 2014, during local sunset to sunrise.

Sherpas are elite mountaineers serving as guides at the extreme altitudes in the region. Supplies are carried by them on animals, usually yaks, to replenish the Everest Base Camp that attracts thousands of trekkers each year.

The base camp becomes the end of a journey for most, and those going higher in altitude take two days of rest by for acclimatization before climbing Mt Everest.