Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A)
To   : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Thu Jul 20 2023 17:32:22

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2386, for Friday, July 21st, 2023

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2386, with a release date of Friday,
July 21st, 2023, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Changes in band access await hams in Australia. A 
much-loved electronics supplier is closing after 50 years -- and a ham 
marks a DXCC achievement of two lifetimes. All this and more as Amateur 
Radio Newsline Report Number 2386 comes your way right now.

**

BILLBOARD CART

**

BAND-ACCESS CHANGES AWAIT AUSTRALIAN AMATEURS 

JIM/ANCHOR: There are gains and losses for amateurs in Australia, as the 
nation's regulator moves ahead with proposed changes to spectrum access. 
Graham Kemp, VK4BB, has that story.

GRAHAM: Advanced amateurs in Australia and overseas equivalents will be 
losing their access to frequencies between 3.4 and 3.6 GHz, which have been 
identified for reallocation to commercial interests and for use by earth 
station protection zones. While proposing those changes, the Australian 
Communications and Media Authority is expanding standard amateurs and 
overseas equivalents access to frequencies between 50 and 52 MHz, in 
addition to the current 52 to 54 MHz. These modifications are contained in 
the Radiocommunications Licence Conditions Omnibus Amendment Instrument 
2023, Number 1.
 
The ACMA took its action following the submission of public comments to the 
consultation. The regulator said it received only six such comments, with 
the majority supporting the changes.

This is Graham Kemp, VK4BB.

(ACMA)

**

RSGB VIDEO EXPLAINS SWEEPING CHANGES AT OFCOM

JIM/ANCHOR: Meanwhile in the UK, hams are getting some help in 
understanding the changes that Ofcom has in the works. We have those 
details from Jeremy Boot, G4NJH.

JEREMY: As Ofcom undertakes the first sweeping changes in ham radio 
licensing and call sign policy in 25 years, the Radio Society of Great 
Britain has been hoping to make things simpler. The society is offering 
guidance on this consultation through a variety of materials that include a 
newly released video by Murray Niman, G6JYB, the society's spectrum and 
licensing expert.

The RSGB is hoping that clubs will share the video at their meetings and 
assist hams in understanding the work underway. The video can be found on 
the RSGB's YouTube channel or on the consultation web page of the society 
at the link found in the text version of this week's newscast.

The regulator is seeking feedback and has set a deadline of the 4th 
September for comment.

This is Jeremy Boot, G4NJH.

[DO NOT READ: rsgb.org/licencereview ]

**

SILENT KEY: COMPUTER HACKER KEVIN MITNICK, N6NHG

JIM/ANCHOR: A computer hacker who was once on the FBI's "most-wanted" list 
- and who described himself as possessing the world's most expensive 
amateur radio license, has become a Silent Key. Here's Sel Embee, KB3TZD,
to tell us about him.

SEL: Kevin Mitnick, N6NHG, whose computer-hacking skills landed him a 
federal prison term with hundreds of supporters pressing for his freedom, 
has become a Silent Key. Kevin died on Sunday, July 16th, of pancreatic 
cancer.

According to several online obituaries, by the time he was 16 years old, 
Kevin had already sharpened his software skills, gaining unauthorized 
access to computer systems. Ultimately, it was his illegal download of 
software from Digital Equipment Corporation in the 1980s that led to a 
massive manhunt, his conviction and five-year prison term.

Having become a ham radio operator at the age of 13, he wished to return to 
the air once he was released from prison and spent more than $16,000 in 
legal fees to petition the FCC for a license renewal. He succeeded, saying 
afterward that, as a result, he possessed the most expensive amateur radio 
license in the world.

Kevin was 59.

This is Sel Embee, KB3TZD.
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32
 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (454:1/33)

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