‰  NOW 18 WPM transition file follows‰

The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators, NCVEC,
has announced the release of the 2018 to 2022 Amateur Radio Element
2 Technician class license question pool into the public domain.
Each question pool must be published and made available to the
public prior to its use as a question set, from which individual
examinations are developed.  Alert the NCVEC Question Pool Committee
to any necessary corrections or typographical errors via email at,
qpcinput at ncvec.org .  The new Technician license question pool
contains 428 questions. It will become effective for all Technician
class license examinations starting on July 1, 2018.  Federal
Emergency Management Agency Region 10, consisting of Alaska, Idaho,
Oregon, and Washington, will conduct a Communications Exercise, or
COMMEX, on January 17 and on the third Wednesday of subsequent
months during 2018, from 1500 to 2100 UTC. These exercises will use
the 60 meter channels and will test and exercise interoperable
communication with federal/state/local/tribal/Amateur Radio, for use
during a major disaster in which the conventional telecommunication
infrastructure has been significantly damaged or destroyed.  FEMA
Region 10 will use the call sign WGY910. Other stations that may
take part include, but are not limited to, other FEMA stations, DHS,
USCG, SHARES, DoD, and National Weather Service. Stations, both
federal and amateur, associated with agencies and organizations that
provide response support in accordance with the National Response
Framework are encouraged to participate.  The COMMEX will use all
five 60 meter dial frequencies, 5,330.5 kHz, 5,346.5 kHz, 5,357.0
kHz, 5,371.5 kHz, and 5,403.5 kHz as part of the exercise.  The
launch of AMSAT NAs Fox 1D CubeSat will take place from India on
January 12 UTC. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, or PSLV, flight
had to be rescheduled from December 30. AMSAT Vice President
Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, delivered Fox 1D to Spaceflight Inc
in Seattle last November for integration.  In addition to a Fox 1
U/V FM transponder, Fox 1D will carry several university
experiments, including a MEMS gyro from Pennsylvania State
University Erie, a camera from Virginia Tech, and the University of
Iowas High Energy Radiation CubeSat Instrument, or HERCI, radiation
mapping experiment. Fox 1D also carries the AMSAT L Band
Downshifter, which gives the option of utilizing a 1.2 GHz uplink
for the FM transponder. The Fox 1D downlink will be on 145.880 MHz,
and uplinks will be on 435.350 and 1,267.350 MHz, with a 67 Hz
CTCSS, switchable.  In addition to the Fox 1D Amateur Radio payload,
the PSLV will carry the French PicSat, which carries a V/U FM
transponder. PicSat will perform space observations. The transponder
uplink is 145.910 MHz, the downlink is 435.525 MHz. Some 30 smaller
secondary payloads from India, the US, and other international
entities will also be on the launch, AMSAT News Service has
reported.  AMSAT said it will release Fox 1Ds Keplerian elements on
its website as soon as they are known, and its seeking telemetry
data on the CubeSat to assist with commissioning.  Participation in
telemetry collection by as many stations in as many parts of the
world as possible is essential as AMSAT Engineering looks for
successful startup and indications of the general health and
function of the satellite as it begins to acclimate to space, AMSAT
said over the weekend. AMSAT advised those capturing telemetry using
the FoxTelem software to check the Upload to Server option and to
complete the Ground Station Params section. If AMSAT Engineering
sees nominal values from the telemetry gathered, Fox 1D will be
commanded from Beacon Mode to Safe Mode on the first good pass over
the US.  AMSAT said the on orbit checkout procedure could be
completed in a few days. AMSAT asks the Amateur Satellite community
to refrain from using the transponder uplink while on orbit testing
is under way.  Meanwhile, AMSAT UK reports that China will launch
Hunan Amateur Radio Societys constellation of five similar 6U
CubeSat spacecraft on January 17 from its Jiuquan Space Center.
Identified as TY 2 through TY 6, the satellites will carry out
ionospheric transmission detection experiments, in addition to
Amateur Radio HF/VHF/UHF re transmitting experiments in any narrow
band mode.

‰  END OF 18 WPM transition file ƒ