Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (C) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Dec 18 2020 08:15:55 SILENT KEY: COLIN HORRABIN G3SBI NEIL/ANCHOR: A well-known innovator, and the creator of a low-noise receive mixer known as the H-Mode mixer, has become a Silent Key. Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, tells us about him. JEREMY: Colin Horrabin, G3SBI, an amateur radio operator known for his development of the H-Mode mixer used in many HF radios, died in late November at his home in the UK, one month after being diagnosed with cancer. Colin, who was employed by the Daresbury Nuclear Physics Laboratory before retiring, had been a licenced ham since the age of 16. He held his current call sign since 1963. He notes on his profile page on QRZ.com that although he was enthusiastic about operating mobile SSB, his bigger interest was in CW, particularly on the LF bands. The board of the Radio Society of Great Britain awarded him the Bennett Prize in 1994 for his innovative contributions to the art of radio. According to the RSGB, his H-Mode mixer formed the core of the CDG2000 high-performance transceiver he co-designed with Dave, G8KBB, and George, G3OGQ. That design was recognised with the Ostermeyer Trophy from the RSGB in 2003. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH. (RSGB, ARRL, QRZ.COM) ** REMEMBERING FIRST HAM RADIO SATELLITE NEIL/ANCHOR: Happy 59th birthday OSCAR 1! OSCAR, which stands for Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio, became the first ham radio satellite following its launch on December 12th, 1961. Its orbit was a brief one, lasting only 22 days, but it was embraced by hams around the world. Though its orbit decayed quickly, more than 570 hams in 28 nations still had time to report their observations to AMSAT's predecessor, known as Project OSCAR. (AMSAT) ** NEW VHF HANDBOOK AVAILABLE FROM IARU NEIL/ANCHOR: A new edition of the International Amateur Radio Union's VHF Handbook has recently been published, and it's downloadable as a PDF. This is version 9 of the handbook and it is based on the actions taken at the 2020 IARU Region 1 virtual General Conference. It contains all the decisions made regarding the bands at VHF and higher. The handbook's band plan also shows changes made to 436-438 MHz and covers 145 MHz satellite allocations. You can find the link for downloading the handbook in this newscast's printed script at arnewsline.org [FOR PRINT ONLY: DO NOT READ] https://tinyurl.com/ANS-341-Handbook (AMSAT-UK) ** BRAZILIAN REGULATOR CLARIFIES EQUIPMENT APPROVALS NEIL/ANCHOR: Hams in Brazil who enjoy operating with vintage equipment are likely to breathe a sigh of relief at the latest government announcement. Jason Daniels, VK2LAW, explains. JASON: Regulators in Brazil have assured amateur radio operators that an approval process is in place to permit the continued use of older radio equipment past the end-of-year deadline. ANATEL, the national regulator, had been asked by Brazil's amateur radio organisation, LABRE, to ensure that an approval process will still continue after this year's December 31st deadline. Hams were concerned that no time period had been identified for that process. The fate of such equipment became unclear because in some cases, such radios and other devices lack an FCC-ID and are not included on the government's approved list. In a translation provided on Southgate News, LABRE wrote: [quote] "We now have the guarantee that old equipment will continue to be type approved in the current way indefinitely." [endquote] The approval process includes presentation of the manual for any equipment that lacks international certification. In making the announcement, LABRE reminded all operators that effective January 1st, everyone must still receive approval for continued use of older equipment. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jason Daniels, VK2LAW. (SOUTHGATE, LABRE) --- SBBSecho 3.11-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (618:250/33) .