AMSAT-HB has been Established

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AMSAT-HB has been Established

A new amateur radio satellite organization AMSAT-HB was formed in Switzerland on November 26, 2021

With QO-100, interest in amateur radio services via satellites has also risen sharply in Switzerland. But not only the geostationary satellite fascinate the radio amateurs: The ARISS project (space station ISS), low-flying satellites, tracking of scientific deep space missions, etc., are attracting more and more attention. More and more experiments are being carried out with SDR technology in these areas.

But the colleges and universities are also increasingly concerned with the topic and are looking for help from various radio amateurs in Switzerland. These and other radio amateurs were of the opinion that it was time to join forces in Switzerland. For this reason, the AMSAT-HB was founded on Friday, November 26th, 2021 in Nottwil / LU. The association has set itself the goal of promoting the amateur radio service via satellites in Switzerland, but also internationally.

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Ham Radio Exams in Austria Cancelled

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The pandemic has forced the cancellation of amateur radio exams in Austria as well as the popular Christmas Electronics and Radio Flea Market planned for 11th December 2021.

Exams planned for Vienna and Graz are among those that have been canceled due to the Covid pandemic.

Amateur radio exams in Austria are oral with amateurs asking candidates questions about the hobby. Unlike the UK, USA and Canada there is no capability to take the exam online.

Austria has 3 categories of license:

  • Class 3 Entry Level - 100 watts 144/430 MHz

  • Class 4 CEPT Novice - 100 watts 1.8/3.5/21/28/144/430 MHz

  • Class 1 CEPT HAREC 400w all bands, Clubs can run 1 kW

ÖVSV - https://tinyurl.com/IARU-Austria

Using an Arduino to Upgrade a 1970s Ham Radio

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Al Williams WD5GNR writes on Hackaday about upgrading the vintage Icom IC-245 with an Arduino

Old radios didn’t have much in the way of smarts. But as digital synthesis became more common, radios often had as much digital electronics in them as RF circuits. The problem is that digital electronics get better and better every year, so what looks like high-tech one year is quaint the next. [IMSAI Guy] had an Icom IC-245 and decided to replace the digital electronics inside with — among other things — an Arduino.

Video and Media Post - https://hackaday.com/2021/11/27/ham-radio-gets-brain-transplant/