Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Thu Mar 11 2021 23:02:09 Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2263, for Friday, March 12, 2021 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2263, with a release date of Friday, March 12, 2021, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. A digital amateur TV experiment soars in Australia. Big changes for ham tests in France -- and hams troubleshoot an inoperable radio on the Space Station. All this and more, as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2263, comes your way right now. *** BILLBOARD CART ** EXPERIMENTERS LAUNCH AN EYE IN THE SKY STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We begin this week with the story of a long-awaited accomplishment: a successful high-flying experiment conducted by a group of innovative amateurs in Australia. Graham Kemp, VK4BB, has that story. GRAHAM: Members of the Amateur Radio Experimenters Group in Adelaide, Australia are celebrating the much anticipated launch of Horus 55, a high-altitude balloon sent aloft on the morning of March 7th with a digital amateur radio TV transmitter as its payload. As the balloon soared skyward, after a brief launch delay due to rain, it relayed its TV signal to YouTube in a livestream that was broadcast worldwide. The TV transmitter payload, which was the main experiment, required extensive testing before launch day, especially with regard to its tolerance for low temperatures. It utilised a Raspberry Pi Zero W which captured and compressed video for the modulation of a 445 MHz DVB-S transmission generated by a LimeSDR Mini. Team members Mark, VK5QI, Matt, VK5ZM, Pete, VK5KX, and Grant, VK5GR, shared the triumph of the project. According to the AREG website, the challenges included devising a transmitter system that could provide sufficient signal and still withstand the thin atmosphere at high altitudes. There was also the small detail of getting the signal from the high-performance receive system uploaded to the internet. Shortly into the one-hour flight, signal reports arrived from receiving stations from around the region, including Ian, VK5ZD, near Kapunda, and Joe, VK5EI, in Adelaide. Horus 55 also carried an experimental LoRaWAN tracking payload transmitted position data into TTN, the Things Network, which has receiver stations across Australia. It too was a success, according to the AREG website. Built by Liam, VK5LJG, its performance exceeded expectations. To watch the experiment unfold and soar, visit the YouTube site that appears in the script of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB. [FOR PRINT: DO NOT READ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vYcVRWrdhs] (AREG) ** ARISS RADIO TROUBLESHOOTING CONTINUES STEPHEN/ANCHOR: As Newsline went to production, astronauts aboard the International Space Station were preparing for two spacewalks to troubleshoot and restore the full functionality of the Columbus Interoperable Radio System for ham radio contacts. Technical issues - what ARISS is calling a "radio anomaly" - turned up on January 28th after a failed radio contact with students in Wyoming. At a press conference on Wednesday, March 10th, ARISS' Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and Oliver Amend, DG6BCE, outlined in detail how the investigation identified three probable areas where the failure may have occurred, including a break in one of the cables, trouble with one of the connectors or improper alignment of the connector with the system itself. Michael Hopkins, KF5LJG, and Victor Glover, KI5BK, were scheduled to continue the troubleshooting outside the ISS on Saturday, March 13th, and Sunday March 14 - work that was to include reinstalling the cable that had been swapped out during the January 27th spacewalk. Frank said that if there were still problems after the weekend, there were other options to investigate, including another possibly suspect cable or the radio itself. (ARISS) ** FRANCE OVERHAULS AMATEUR RADIO TESTING STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Regulators in France have announced major modifications to the nation's amateur radio exam. Ed Durrant, DD5LP, has the details. ED: There are big changes in amateur radio testing in France. The government's official journal has released an outline of the changes, which were eight years in the making. France's radio exam contains 40 questions, with a total time limit of 45 minutes, combining technical theory with rules and regulations. The material in France's only level of Amateur radio licence is compatible with CEPT HAREC full licence requirements, and a recent addition to the syllabus are questions on digital signal processing. Candidates need to get at least half of the questions correct in both the technical theory segment and the rules and regulations segment before they can attain a pass. The changes do not take effect for another three months. Meanwhile in the Netherlands, radio exams are returning for the first time since November of last year. The Radio Exams Foundation is permitting the tests to go forward. News reports say there is a backlog of about 200 candidates waiting. We wish them all luck. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Ed Durrant, DD5LP. (SOUTHGATE) --- SBBSecho 3.13-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (618:250/33) .