HamDisk now in Beta testing

HamDisk is an amateur radio study aid that uses the questions from the public domain Question Bank on the NZART website

HamDisk uses a public domain question bank to help students study for their amateur / ham radio licence.

Explanations have been added to enhance the learning process.

Being cloud-based you never have to install or update anything on your computer (or device). HamDisk should run perfectly with any device that has a browser and is connected to the internet.

New Zealand has just one class of amateur licence (1 kW RF output). There are no practical tests to take just a single 60 question multiple choice paper. 40 questions must be answered correctly to achieve a pass. All the questions and answers are made available online to assist memorizing.

HamDisk (currently in development) - http://qsl.net/hamdisk/

NZART Exam Generator and Question/Answer bank - http://www.nzart.org.nz/exam/download-examination-files/

VK9 going on a DXvacation

A JA team is planning to be active from Christmas Island (VK9X) and Cocos-Keeling Island (VK9C) sometime between late July and early August 2014

Operators mentioned are Mars JA3FVJ, Ichiro JA3QWN, Ikuo JA3TJA, Masa JF3PLF and Taka JH3FUK.

The teams tentative schedule is as followings:

• VK9EC (Cocos Keeling) - between July 29th and August 2nd; IOTA OC-002
• VK9EX (Christmas Island) - between August 2-8th; IOTA OC-003
• Activity will be holiday style on 160-6 meters using CW, SSB, FM,
• RTTY and PSK31.

QSL via JF3PLF, direct or by the Bureau (within one year of operation!). Uploads to LoTW or ClubLog will be available after their operation (Highly recommended).

More information - :http://vk9.nobody.jp/index.html

Spain's ham radio king to abdicate

King Juan Carlos of Spain, who holds the amateur radio callsign EA0JC, has announced his intention to abdicate, after nearly 40 years on the throne.

"A new generation must be at the forefront... younger people with new energies," the 76-year-old king said in a televised address.

His son, Crown Prince Felipe, 45, will take over the throne.

For much of his reign, Juan Carlos was seen as one of the world's most popular monarchs, but recently many Spaniards have lost confidence in him, after a series of lavish expenditures and alleged corruption involving his daughter and her husband.