Amateur Ham Radio Communications for Hospitals

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In Mississippi, a George County hospital director wants to tap into amateur radio technology in order to assist in emergency communication 

George Regional Health System assistant safety director is a recently licensed Amateur / Ham Radio Operator Harold Murphy (KG5HGT), achieving his Technician licence in April 2015, and has recently upgraded to a General Licence.

Amateur_Radio_Ham_Communication_Hospitals

Murphy said he knows the importance of alternative communications during major disasters, as he has worked as a safety professional in several states and experienced almost everything that mother nature send. 

His experiences include devastation from snowstorms, floods, hail, earthquakes, fires, mudslides, ice storms and tornadoes. He also weathered hurricanes Katrina and Ivan.

“Throughout all of my experiences, one thing stands out — the integral piece in the response process: communication”
— Harold Murphy (KG5HGT)

IRTS Amateur Radio Contests

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There are two IRTS (Irish Radio Transmitters Society) contests coming up over the next few weeks.

IRTS_Amateur_Radio_contests

Firstly, the Two Metres Counties Contest will take place on Sunday 30th August 2015, followed by the SSB Field Day the following weekend, Saturday and Sunday 5th & 6th September 2015.

The Two Metres Counties Contest is always a popular event, with plenty of activity from fixed and portable locations; the contest provides a good opportunity to activate or work summits for the Summits On The Air programme.

There is a new Restricted / 6 hour section in SSB Field Day, which the IRTS hope will attract individuals or groups who may not be interested in an overnight operation. 

Note that pre-registration is required for the 24 Hour Open and Restricted sections, but not for the new 6 hour section. 

ITTS Amateur Radio Contest Rules - http://www.irts.ie/contests

Do not Digipeat via PCSAT

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The PCSAT spacecraft, launched over fourteen years ago and has, due to an on-board power system issue, started to transmit APRS on 144.390 MHz 

Although this is the correct frequency for APRS operation in IARU Region 2, it is not compatible within the Region 1 bandplan which has this part of the band designated for weak signal and particularly Meteor Scatter operation.

The orbit of this spacecraft means that sometimes it is in full sunlight and, at other times, it is eclipsed for a major percentage of the orbit. As the on-board batteries have lost their ability to hold a charge, the problem can only occur when it is in sunlight.

Various methods to mitigate this problem are presently under active consideration but in the meantime it is important that no amateur / ham radio operator in Region 1 should attempt to digipeat through this spacecraft. Additionally Ham Radio Operators on the east coast of the American continent are also requested not to attempt to activate the spacecraft when it can be “seen” from Europe.

At IARU level, further work is being undertaken to reduce the risk from future spacecraft potentially causing similar problems. Such problems could result from developers not following the globally agreed band plans for amateur satellite operations.

In particular the IARU Satellite Coordinator has been requested to make urgent contact with the team responsible for XW-2(CAS-3) mission of nine satellites from China. Some of the proposed frequencies do not respect the internationally agreed Region 1 Bandplan for 2 metres.