DELARANEWS

Ham Radio News

…because we don’t live in a vacuum

FAA's Proposed Remote

Identification Rules Would Affect

Drones, Hobby Planes

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing to require remote identification of so-called "unmanned aircraft systems" (UAS), which include drones and hobby aircraft. A growing number of radio amateurs utilize camera-equipped drones for aerial photography purposes, to examine antenna systems, and to operate hobby aircraft remotely on amateur radio frequencies. Comments on the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) in Docket FAA-2019-11, are due by March 2. "The remote identification of unmanned aircraft systems in the airspace of the United States would address safety, national security, and law enforcement concerns regarding the further integration of these aircraft into the airspace of the United States while also enabling greater operational capabilities," the FAA said in proposing the new requirements. The FAA defines remote identification, or Remote ID, as the ability of an in-flight unmanned aircraft "to provide certain identification and location information that people on the ground and other airspace users can receive." The FAA called the move "an important building block in the unmanned traffic management ecosystem." "For example, the ability to identify and locate UAS operating in the airspace of the United States provides additional situational awareness to manned and unmanned aircraft," the FAA said. "This will become even more important as the number of UAS operations in all classes of airspace increases. In addition, the ability to identify and locate UAS provides critical information to law enforcement and other officials charged with ensuring public safety." The FAA said it envisions that the remote identification network "will form the foundation for the development of other technologies that can enable expanded operations." With few exceptions, all UAS operating in US airspace would be subject to the rule's requirements and would have to comply, "regardless of whether they conduct recreational or commercial operations, except those flying UAS that are not otherwise required to be registered under the FAA's existing rules." To comment, click on the “Submit a Formal Comment” button on the top of the Federal Register page that includes the NPRM text. - ARRL-Ohio Journal

General License Classes Being

Offered

The Franklin County Ohio Amateur Radio Emergency Service group will offer classes to achieve a General Class license. Classes will be held at the Whitehall Branch public library at 4445 E. Broad Street, Whitehall, OH. Plenty of parking is available. Classes begin April 23 through May 21, Thursdays from 6 to 8:30 PM. This is a no cost course of study. Your only cost will be for a study guide and testing fee, depending on which organization you choose to test with. You do not need to be a member of the FCOHARES to participate. Course registration is required. Each student should acquire a study guide to begin familiarization with the material prior to starting the class. Although this is a mid-level technology course, no advanced level math is involved. Some demonstrations will be presented during classes. As this is an upgrade class, everyone should be a Technician class license holder. We will use the ARRL General 2019 – 2023 study guide. Start studying because we will hit the ground running come April 23rd. Pre-registration is required. Send email to John Buck at kd8rtp@arrl.net. Please include name, email address, phone/text number. I hope you can join us. Classes will be limited to 13 students due to room capacity, thus the need for preregistration.

Dayton Hamvention Officials

Keeping an Eye on Coronavirus

Situation

With Dayton Hamvention® 2020 a little more than 10 weeks away, Hamvention officials say they are closely following the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. Show organizers will post updates as the May 15 - 17 event nears, but they're optimistic that coronavirus will not be an issue. "At this time, the Hamvention Executive Committee has been in contact with the Greene County Public Health Department, and we do not anticipate any impact because of this issue," a March 3 Hamvention statement said. The Greene County Public Health Department reports that no cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Ohio. "Greene County Public Health is working closely with the Ohio Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and are prepared to respond, should there be a community spread of COVID-19," the Hamvention statement noted. "The current risk to the general public is very low. Travel advisories are in effect, and can change anytime, so please see the CDC Travel Advisory web page before traveling."\ - ARRL Letter

Motorola Wins Multi-million Dollar Theft of

Trade Secrets Case against Hytera

A jury for the US District Court of the Northern District of Illinois has awarded Motorola Solutions damages of $764.6 million in its theft of trade secrets and copyright infringement lawsuit against Hytera Communications of Shenzhen, China— the maximum Motorola Solutions had sought. In early 2017 Motorola filed complaints in federal court alleging that Hytera’s digital mobile radio (DMR) products employed techniques and systems that infringed on Motorola Solutions’ patents and trade secrets. Already known for its Land Mobile Radio Service products, Hytera entered the Amateur Radio DMR market in 2016. Its ham products include the Hytera AR482Gi digital mobile radio. Motorola alleged that proprietary and patented information was taken illegally by three former company engineers who went to work for Hytera, as “part of a deliberate scheme to steal and copy” its technology. The company said it would seek a global injunction to prevent Hytera from trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement, a Motorola spokesperson said following the verdict. “Today’s verdicts are a tremendous victory for Motorola Solutions and a clear repudiation of the illegal and anticompetitive tactics employed by Hytera over the last decade,” the company said in a statement. Motorola said technology features it developed started showing up in Hytera products soon after Hytera began hiring former Motorola engineers in 2008, according to the lawsuit. The court victory marks Motorola’s fourth legal win against Hytera. In 2018, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that Hytera had infringed several Motorola patents and issued an exclusion order preventing the importation, distribution, or sale of Hytera products found to be infringing the Motorola patents. Two courts in Germany also ruled that Hytera infringed on Motorola patents and implemented injunctions against those infringing products. In a statement, Hytera expressed disappointment and disagreement with the verdict. “Hytera believes the verdict is unsupported by the evidence presented at trial. Hytera will appeal the verdict and is prepared for the appeal procedures ahead, which may take multiple years. Hytera maintains its faith that the American justice system will ultimately provide a fair outcome in this matter,” the company said on its website. Hytera went on to say that it has “enhanced its corporate governance and added new policies and procedures related to intellectual property and the onboarding of new employees.” Hytera said it’s “engaged in an ongoing process of removing the affected source code from the products at issue and has been rolling out updated software to the marketplace.” -- ARRL-Ohio Journal

These are difficult to find!

Jump on it if you’re interested!

EMA-ICS300 Licking County May 19-21 This 21-hour course provides training for personnel who require advanced application of the Incident Command System (ICS). This course expands upon information covered in the ICS-100 and ICS-200 courses. This course is for individuals who may assume a supervisory role in incidents. Note: During a Type 3 incident, some or all of the Command and General Staff positions may be activated, as well as Division/Group Supervisor and/or Unit Leader level positions. These incidents may extend into multiple operational periods. Licking County EMA/911 783 Irving Wick Drive West Heath, Ohio 4305 EMA-ICS400 Licking County May 27-28 This training is a 15-hour classroom course that provides training for personnel who require advanced application of the Incident Command System (ICS). This course expands upon information covered in ICS-100, 200, 700, 800 and ICS-300 courses, which are the prerequisites for the ICS-400 course. The target audience for this course is senior personnel who are expected to perform in a management capacity in an Area Command or Multi-Agency Coordination Entity. Licking County EMA/911 783 Irving Wick Drive West Heath, Ohio 43056

Dayton Hamvention Names 2020 Award

Winners

Dayton Hamvention® has named five radio amateurs and one ham radio club as the recipients of its 2020 awards. Amateur of the Year Yasuo "Zorro" Miyazawa, JH1AJT, was named Amateur of the Year. Licensed in 1964 at age 15, Miyazawa became interested in DXing and, later in his life, international humanitarian activities. He was inducted into the CQ DX Hall of Fame in 2015. His many DXpeditions focus not just on handing out contacts but cooperating with the local population to implement needed humanitarian activities. In 2010 he established the Foundation for Global Children (FGC). "His efforts have helped revolutionize education in Japan by creating the learning systems for children who had difficulties in ordinary schools because of dyslexia, developmental disabilities, and other issues," the Hamvention Awards Committee said. Special Achievement Award Jordan Sherer, KN4CRD, of Atlanta, Georgia, is the recipient of the Hamvention Special Achievement Award. A software engineer by day and digital amateur radio operator by night, Sherer started his journey into ham radio in 2017, exploring PSK31, JT65, and, later, FT8. Fascinated by the ability to connect with others using low power, he set about developing a protocol for weak-signal mesh networking and communication. The result was JS8Call, a free, open-source platform inspired by WSJT-X and fldigi. It allows for keyboard-to-keyboard, store-and-forward, and network relay-based communication. Technical Achievement Award Hamvention bestowed its Technical Achievement Award on a group of three radio amateurs who have become well-known for their development of the WSJT-X digital software suite. The 2020 award recipients are Steve Franke, K9AN; Bill Somerville, G4WJS, and Nobel Laureate Joe Taylor, K1JT. Over the past 7 years, the trio has collaborated on all aspects of WSJT-X -- in particular the digital protocol FT8 and its contesting variant FT4. Introduced in July 2017, FT8 now accounts for a significant portion of all HF ham radio activity. Club of the Year The South Canadian Amateur Radio Society (SCARS) of Norman, Oklahoma, is the 2020 Club of the Year. An ARRL Special Service Club formed in 1977, the club has worked through its website, Facebook, YouTube channel, and weekly newsletter to expand its reach to thousands of hams from the local area to around the globe. The club takes emergency communication very seriously. NWS SKYWARN training and weekly ARES nets offer hams in central Oklahoma an opportunity to practice their skills before the next weather emergency. The club also sponsors an "Elmer Night" and monthly free license examination sessions, participates in community public service events, and works closely with the American Red Cross. Awards will be presented during Hamvention, May 15 - 17, at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia, Ohio. -ARRL Letter

DELARANews

Ham Radio News

…because we don’t live in a vacuum

FAA's Proposed Remote

Identification Rules Would Affect

Drones, Hobby Planes

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing to require remote identification of so- called "unmanned aircraft systems" (UAS), which include drones and hobby aircraft. A growing number of radio amateurs utilize camera-equipped drones for aerial photography purposes, to examine antenna systems, and to operate hobby aircraft remotely on amateur radio frequencies. Comments on the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) in Docket FAA-2019-11, are due by March 2. "The remote identification of unmanned aircraft systems in the airspace of the United States would address safety, national security, and law enforcement concerns regarding the further integration of these aircraft into the airspace of the United States while also enabling greater operational capabilities," the FAA said in proposing the new requirements. The FAA defines remote identification, or Remote ID, as the ability of an in-flight unmanned aircraft "to provide certain identification and location information that people on the ground and other airspace users can receive." The FAA called the move "an important building block in the unmanned traffic management ecosystem." "For example, the ability to identify and locate UAS operating in the airspace of the United States provides additional situational awareness to manned and unmanned aircraft," the FAA said. "This will become even more important as the number of UAS operations in all classes of airspace increases. In addition, the ability to identify and locate UAS provides critical information to law enforcement and other officials charged with ensuring public safety." The FAA said it envisions that the remote identification network "will form the foundation for the development of other technologies that can enable expanded operations." With few exceptions, all UAS operating in US airspace would be subject to the rule's requirements and would have to comply, "regardless of whether they conduct recreational or commercial operations, except those flying UAS that are not otherwise required to be registered under the FAA's existing rules." To comment, click on the “Submit a Formal Comment” button on the top of the Federal Register page that includes the NPRM text. - ARRL-Ohio Journal