PODCAST: This Week in Amateur Radio #1426

Joshua Marler (0:02)

Heard every week on amateur radio bands all around the world, broadcast on low-power AM and FM stations all across the United States, and one of the first podcasts on the internet. We are This Week in Amateur Radio, the worldwide premier amateur radio and technology news magazine and bulletin service of the year.

Here are the stories for release around the earth as we come to air with edition number 1426 of This Week in Amateur Radio.

George Bowen (0:30)

In this edition, we will attempt to answer, will RAID be replacing single sideband on the HF bands? We will remember four silent keys. Croatia will be hosting the World Radio Sport Team Championships. A nationwide test for the Emergency Alert System is planned by the FCC.

HHS and the FCC initiate new proceedings on RF exposure. Once again, AMSAT Oscar 7 or AO7 has captured amateur s attention 21 years later. And etiquette is not trivial on this net. We will tell you why in this week's report.

Joshua Marler (1:10)

These headline stories will come to you in a moment along with this week's special features. We will visit with Bruce Paige, Kk5Do and get an update from AMSAT and what's new with all those amateur satellites in orbit. Australia's own Onno Benshop, Vk6Flab and Foundations of Amateur Radio will take us through an emergency response reality check. Our own amateur radio historian, Will Rogers will be here with another new edition of A Quarter Century Of Amateur Radio.

We will stop by and visit with Bill Salyers, AJ8B and The DX Corner with all the latest on DXpeditions, DX, upcoming events, contest and much more. That's all straight ahead as North America's premier amateur radio and technology news magazine and bulletin service this week in Amateur Radio takes to the air right now.

George Bowen (2:05)

Reporting from our headquarters studio facility just outside of Albany, New York, where it is raining cats and dogs due to the nor'easter off the New York City coast, I'm George W2Xbs.

Rich Lawrence (2:20)

And reporting from our news bureau just outside Albany, New York in the Geek Cave studios, I'm Rich Lawrence, Kb2Mob.

George Lama (2:29)

And reporting from our news bureau just outside Rochester, New York, along the southern shore of Lake Ontario, this is George, Kilo Charlie 2, Oscar X-Ray Juliet.

Joshua Marler (2:39)

And reporting from the Hamshack TV studios in Knoxville, Tennessee, where I'm feeling a little bit under the weather, but we're still here bringing you the news. I'm Josh Marler, AA4Wx.

Eric Zittel (2:50)

And reporting from our Troy, New York news bureau where, yep, we're back. I'm Eric, Kilo Delta 2, Romeo, Juliet X-Ray.

Don Hulick (2:58)

And reporting from our amateur radio outpost in the heart of the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, where our first pumpkin harvest of the year has been delivered to the local food bank. I'm Don Hulick, K2Atj.

Will Rogers (3:12)

And reporting from our news bureau in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where autumn is finally peeking around the corner. I'm Will Rogers, K5Wlr.

George Bowen (3:23)

Hello everyone. Before we get into this week's newscast, I'd like to tell everyone that This Week in Amateur Radio now has its own Discord server. That's right. A place online where we can discuss everything technology and amateur radio. So join us. Just go to Discord on your computer or download the Discord app on your portable device and search for TWIAR or This Week in Amateur Radio. We look forward to seeing you on the new This Week in Amateur Radio Discord server.

Rich Lawrence (3:57)

It's been a half century since single sideband SSB, supplanted amplitude modulation is the most popular voice mode on HF, due largely to its spectrum efficiency, occupying roughly half the bandwidth of an AM signal. Now there's a new digital voice mode from FreeDV called Radio Autoencoder or RADE, that occupies half the bandwidth of an SSB signal and reportedly provides more natural sounding speech. According to Amateur Radio Digital Communications, which funded research and advanced RADE's development, FreeDV, RADE, combines machine learning with classical digital signal processing or DSP and can operate at signal to noise ratios as low as minus 2 dB.

Its design also addresses spectrum use, speech quality and power efficiency, all important considerations for voice communications over HF. Most significantly, ARDC reports that manufacturers are beginning to integrate the mode directly to their radios, starting with a module that can be downloaded and installed on certain flex radio models. Users of other transceivers may run the mode through computers connected to their radios. More details are available from FreeDV and on the ARDC website.

George Lama (5:13)

We are saddened to report this weekend on the passing of four well-known amateurs including two members of the extended ARRL family. Rich Mosteson, W2VU, is here with all the details in this report from League Headquarters.