Ofcom take action in Cambridge

Ofcom have assisted with an arrest in Cambridge, UK over an alleged radio threat to emergency helicopters.

A 44-year-old man is alleged to have created or used a homemade radio capable of sending messages to police or medical helicopters.

The arrest and seizure of radio equipment from an address in Cambridge took place on 17 June 2015, following a joint investigation by police and the communications regulator Ofcom.

Cambridgeshire police confirmed a man had been arrested on suspicion of "establishing or using a wireless telegraphy station without the appropriate licence".

Cambridge News story - http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Man-arrested-using-illegal-wireless-radio/story-26767942-detail/story.html

Disabled Teen Helped by Ham Radio

Dots and dashes have changed the life of 17-year-old Zachary Barnum KK4RUT from Fredericksburg, Virginia

Zachary, who is legally blind in one eye due to optic nerve hypoplasia and has a form of bipolar disorder (manic depressive illness), has built his self-confidence and a worldwide social network by learning Morse Code and becoming an amateur radio operator.

His love for CW / Morse Code can be traced to second grade, when he and his father built a makeshift telegraph, and to eighth grade, when he earned a Boy Scout amateur radio merit badge.

““After that, I started studying to get an amateur radio operator license. I passed the test on my first try at age 15. Amateur radio gave me an escape and brought me more friends. I developed contacts with people all over the world.””

— Zachary Barnum, KK4RUT

“After that,” Barnum said, “I started studying to get an amateur radio operator license. I passed the test on my first try at age 15. Amateur radio gave me an escape and brought me more friends. I developed contacts with people all over the world.

Barnum has an amateur radio operator friend of his was developing a program for young people with certain disabilities, like autism, to become more active in the amateur radio operator community.

Full Story - http://www.newbernsj.com/article/20150627/LIFESTYLE/150629068/

WSPR station with RF Board and Raspberry Pi

A campaign has been launched on Kickstarter for an RF breakout board for the Raspberry Pi.

The Raspberry Pi has been a huge hit with radio amateurs and other hobbyists since its launch in 2012.

Every Raspberry Pi has a programmable clock generator on board which can be used as a frequency synthesiser up to 250MHz with a logic level output capable of delivering 10mW without any amplification.

The Kickstarter kit provides a breakout board that brings the Raspberry Pi clock generator out to a BNC socket with a prototyping area for your own circuits. Building a QRP WSPR beacon is as simple as adding a low pass filter and downloading the Raspberry Pi WSPR software.

Kickstarter Project - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2001938575/rf-breakout-kit-for-the-raspberry-pi