Special Event Station Host for YOTA Required

Following on from the success of last year’s event, applications to host a Special Event Station for Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) Month in December are now open. The RSGB Youth Committee has managed to secure the callsign G15YOTA (and its regional variations) for use in December, thanks to Ofcom’s continued support.

The aim of the month long event is to promote amateur radio to younger audiences and to encourage them to get on the air. Special event stations will be active from countries all over the world, with each Special Event Station identifiable by its “YOTA” suffix. An award scheme also exists to encourage amateurs to work as many YOTA stations as possible throughout the event in December.

If your club or organisation would like to host the G15YOTA callsign in December, the only requirement is that the station is operated by young people (<26 years old) and a full licence holder is able to hold the NoV and supervise the station at all times. The RSGB Youth Committee will be administering all applications and each successful applicant will be given a time slot in which to use the callsign during December.

Applications close on the 30th September 2015 and allocations will be made by the 16th October 2015. However, it is recommended to apply as soon as possible to secure your preferred date of operation.

To apply, send an e-mail to YOTA@rsgb.org.uk or for more information on YOTA month, visit http://www.ham-yota.com/december-yota-month/ or http://rsgb.org/main/about-us/committees/youth-committee/youngsters-on-the-air/

SignaLink and Other USB Digital Interfaces – Huge Bug + Fix for Amateur Radio Digital Modes

US Amateur / Ham Radio operator Jon, KD9DAL has discovered a bug which affects digital performance of nearly all amateur / ham radio equipment that uses USB connections to a computer.

Devices include but not limited too

• All Icoms with built in USB Audio
• All Kenwoods with built in USB Audio
• All Yaesus with built in USB Audio, as well as the SCU-17 Interface
• All Signalink USB’s

Jon has reported a with the USB audio chipset used in many ham radio sound interfaces that occurs in windows vista and later. The affected chipset is the TI PCM2900 series PCM2904 and below, pre-C revisions.

• All Icoms with built in USB Audio
• All Kenwoods with built in USB Audio
• All Yaesus with built in USB Audio, as well as the SCU-17 Interface
• All Signalink USB’s

If using one of this devices on Windows Vista or later, your performance is reduced due to this bug even if you think the device working fine.

This is confirmed by Texas Instruments, who never recommended this chip set for use on windows Vista and later in the first place, and also tested with more than 50 hams who gained massive receive performance after the fix.

The bug is very odd and has some quirks that bring it back very often even after the fix so I made a detailed video linked below demonstrating the bug, the fix, and showing real measurements of the affected audio on a scope and several meters, and also demonstrating how to properly level your audio in the analog domain and in windows for maximum dynamic range and minimal noise after you fix the bug.

The bug is that this line of TI chipsets identify themselves to Windows Vista and later as microphone devices via the Input Terminal String, even though they are being used as Line In devices. This makes windows add 30db to 50db of gain digitally to the input, clipping your incoming signal. A lot of people I’ve worked with have “worked around” this bug without knowing it by lowering the level slider in windows recording properties panel to very low levels, or by turning their Signalink RX knob nearly all the way down, or a combination of both.

This is very bad, it reduces the dynamic range of your incoming signal pushing it into the noise floor, and most importantly, does not solve the already clipped and distorted waveform due to the unnecessarily added gain. Nothing will return your incoming signal to the pure undistorted sine wave besides the “fix” outlined below, even if you think it’s working well enough now. Trust me, we’ve verified with 50+ people on different setups and radios that performance on modes like JT will double.

For the fix and video demonstrating the problem - http://k3rrr.com/signalink-and-other-usb-digital-interfaces-huge-bug-fix-for-amateur-radio-digital-modes/

Bogus Ofcom Email targets UK Amateur Radio Operators

UK Amateur / Ham Radio Operators hit by spoof message with dodgy payload claiming to be from Ofcom’s Spectrum Licensing Division (spectrum.licensing@ofcom.org.uk)

The email has a document attached that contains malware!

Ofcom has responded directly to those who have posted on twitter that they have received the mail.

“While Ofcom says that it is not aware of a data breach, the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) says that the problem seems to be quite widespread and many of its members contacted them to ask about the message.” Ofcom

The likely source of the email is Russia, with the attached Word document containing a malicious macro which then downloads malware executable from the South African-registered website naturallyconvenient.co.za (which appears to belong to a US-based manicurist firm, though there is no suggestion the company is aware of what is being done with their domain).

The malware then phones home to a Russian IP address - Please do not open this message if received!