The dates for the Global Simulated Emergency Tests in 2010 have been set as:

• 15th May 2010 0400-0800 UTC
• 13th November 2010 1100-1500 LOCAL TIME

The timing for the event is planned to change in November to reduce the possibility of interference between IARU Regions as propagation conditions improve.Other changes may be introduced following the GAREC conference in October. Rules and lists of participating stations in the event will be available on the IARU Region 1 website at http://bit.ly/1tritU . Please check frequently for updates.

The IARUMS Newsletter March 2010 is now available! Click here!

An ARISS school contact is planned with participants at Abramowski School in Katowice. Edward Abramowski Technical and Comprehensive Schools Complex no. 3 in Katowice was established in 1945 as a secondary school with one faculty – photography and technology. Later it was incorporated into the Silesian Technology Centre in Katowice. It was only in 1950 that the school became a separate teaching unit with graduates from the faculty of photography. Courtesy of intensive efforts of its headmaster and teachers, in the year 1956 the school received its own bulding in the district Katowice-Piotrowice which remains in its posession until today.

Presently, the school offers the students two faculties: Photography and IT Electronics. The Schools Complex is formed not only by the Technical High School, but also a Comprehensive School with teaching programmes covering mathematics and IT as well as journalism and photography. On the other hand, the Technical High School has classes specializing in electronics and photography profiles.

Abramowski School is a modern institution with a well-qualified staff, boasting excellent educational base and equipment. They regularly modernize the facilities. Students take new challenges very willingly. They take part in many knowledge-based competitions and contests, where they often win high positions. Abramowski School also has a tradition in the field of radio contact. The School Amateur Radio Club SP9ZHQ was established in 1999 and since then has been active on many bands.

Presently the school has 440 students and 50 teachers. The direct ARISS contact is scheduled Monday 12 April at 06:53 UTC, which is 08:53 CEST.

Tuesday, 6 April 2010 at 10:47 UTC, i.e. 12:47 local time, Alcide De Gasperi School at “Cittadella Mediterranea della Scienza”, promoted by University of Bari, Italy established a direct radio contact with NASA astronaut Timothy J. Creamer KC5WKI on board the International Space Station.

Mr. Michele Mallardi, IZ7EVR operated the radio contact. The questions were read by pupils and one teacher of De Gasperi School in Noicattaro, near Bari, South Italy. The contact site is located at ”Cittadella Mediterranea della Scienza”, promoted by University of Bari. The “Cittadella Mediterranea della Scienza” is a permanent structure whose main aim is to diffuse scientific culture and related technologies. An audience of more than 100 students, teachers, visitors and media assiste to the contact. Before the contact, ARISS mentor Francesco De Paolis, IK0WGF introduced the event and ARISS activities with a presentation.

At 10:47 UTC, contact with NA1SS was established by station IZ7EVR. Astronaut Timothy J. Creamer KC5WKI answered 22 questions. The signals from the ISS were loud and clear all the time.

Local media and newspapers covered the event. The audio and video of the event was distributed by webcast on http://it.justin.tv/cittadella and http://www.cittadellamediterraneadellascienza.it/ - about 500 contacts by webstreaming through Europe and America.

Congratulations to University of Bari staff and ARISS Italy team!

Six months after bringing V53ARC online, the second WSPR beacon in Africa got into service. 5X7JD went online today. The beacon is hosted by Jack, 5X7JD who is located in Masaka, Uganda.

The system has 1W output and cycles through 80,40,30,20,17,15,12 and 10m, so one can hear the WSPR signal returning every 16 minutes. Antenna is an HyGain Av 18VS multi-band vertical. The beacon hardware is an embedded system based on a PIC 18F2455 MCU, an Analog AD9851 DDS chip and a MOSFET PA with selectable filters. Time and location information are derived from an attached GPS receiver. This beacons will be available as a kit soon and we are looking for hosts in interesting locations. Please visit: www.oe1ifm.at

The beacon will be permanently online delivering up to date propagation information from East Africa. You can read more about the on-site station at http://www.hamradiosafari.com

Licensing of the amateur services in the Kingdom of Bahrain has taken a major step forward with the release of new regulations by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.

New additions for General Class licensees include 135.7-137.8 kHz with a power limit of 10W (10 dBW), an extension of the 160M band changing the upper limit of 1850 kHz to 2000 kHz, the inclusion of the 40M band extension up to 7200 kHz plus the 30M band.  Above 30 MHz new additions include 50-52 MHz and improved access to bands at 430 MHz and above.   With the exception of the segment 50-50.5 MHz which is Primary all new allocations have been granted on a secondary basis Permitted power to the antenna on all bands except 136 kHz is 1500W (32dBW).

A new Intermediate Class licence has also been introduced which permits operation at 28 MHz and above with power output to the antenna of 100W (20 dBW).

Aeronautical Mobile, Maritime Mobile, Mobile and Portable operations are also permitted within the terms of the new licence. Congratulations should be offered to those who negotiated these new regulations.   Negotiations continue for the use of other bands in use within Region 1.

Members of the IARU Region 1 ERC will take part in two separate CEPT European Communications Office meetings that will take place in Istanbul over the coming weeks.   Panayot Danev LZ1US will represent IARU Region 1 at the annual Civil/Military meeting of the Frequency Management Working Group (FMWG) that takes place over the 30th and 31st March 2010 and this will be closely followed by a meeting of the WRC-12 Conference Preparatory Group Project Team C which takes place between the 6th and 9th April 2010.

While there are no immediate matters to concern the amateur services during the Civil/Military meeting it is always a good opportunity to have a presence in case matters arise that could affect our interests.   The fact that the meeting Chairman is Russian and Panayot speaks the language is an added bonus.

The Project Team C (PT-C) meeting will discuss, amongst other things, WRC-12 Agenda Item 1.23 which is the IARU proposal for a secondary frequency allocation around 500 kHz.   Ulrich Mueller DK4VW the Region 1 HF Manager will represent DARC in the German delegation while John Gould G3WKL will be in the UK delegation as the RSGB representative.   The CEPT Coordinator for this agenda item is Colin Thomas G3PSM.   There will also be a number of other licensed radio amateurs within their respective delegations representing either their administrations or organisations.

Perhaps this is a good opportunity to remind readers who are members of their national societies and have an interest in this agenda item that a 500 kHz discussion forum does exist within this website.   If you are interested in taking part in these discussions and can provide a technical input to prepare for WRC-12 please contact us via the "Contact Us" menu on the left side of this page.