Congressman Calls for FCC Action

New York Congressional Representative Peter King has asked the FCC to put some Enforcement Bureau heat on those interfering with various radio communication services, including Amateur Radio, in the New York City Metropolitan Area

ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, and General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, recently met with King, a Republican representing New York’s 2nd District, whilst visiting Capitol Hill to discuss the Amateur Radio Parity Act. The group discussed the issue of inference with King who is one of 118 co-sponsors of the Amateur Radio Parity Act (H.R. 1301)

“Rep King, a long-time supporter of Amateur Radio who is also very concerned about the malicious interference of licensed services, offered to send a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler on our behalf,” Lisenco said. “Like many areas of the country, the Hudson Division has been plagued with malicious interference on our VHF and UHF repeaters for years. There has been no relief from the FCC, despite repeated pleas for remedy made by ARRL. All requests for help have consistently fallen on deaf ears.”

Full Story - 
http://www.arrl.org/news/congressman-intercedes-with-fcc-chairman-on-amateur-radio-interference-concerns

LIDS - The 'Less Involved Data Society'

LIDS CW is a loose group of radio amateur whose aim is to promote the use of morse and foster an environment that is supportive and encouraging as well as light hearted. 

The group is free to join and members use Twitter chat about ham radio, not just CW and aim to involve hams from around the world.

The group have recently updated their website to include awards and resources for those looking to make best use of their new year's resolution in learning CW. The group can support with slow morse (QRS) skeds and the offer of regular on air practice sessions to get you up to the speed you want to get to.

LIDS - http://lidscw.org

Morse code: A staple in the Navy IW toolkit

US naval students have been learning Morse code while attending the first revised Basic Manual Morse Trainer (BMMT) course at the Center for Information Dominance (CID) Unit Corry Station 

““Morse code continues to be an inexpensive and efficient means of communication for many states throughout the globe. Manual Morse operators here at Corry Station are learning a skill set that has stood the test of time. Many of our most senior CTRs began their careers as Manual Morse operators.””

— Senior Chief Cryptologic Technician (Collection) (IDW/NAC/SW/AW) Tony Gonzales, CTR rate training manager for CID headquarters.

Morse code is just one tool that cryptologic technician (collection) Sailors use as members of the Navy’s Information Warfare (IW) community to perform collection, analysis and reporting on communication signals.

The latest Manual Morse software used by the Department of Defense was tested out in a nine-week pilot course that concluded in September. The self-paced course provides basic instruction and practical application in the interception of Morse-type communications. 

Full story - 
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/187384/morse-code-staple-navy-iw-toolkit