[continued from previous message]   
      
   INTERNATIONAL NEWS is with thanks to Amateur Radio Daily, ARRL, DX-WORLD,   
   eHam, Hackaday, IARU, ICQPodcast, IRTS, NEWSLINE, NZART, RAC,   
   Radioworld.com, RSGB, SARL and the World Wide sources of the WIA.   
      
   The UK is poised to have the first European telecommunications system that   
   enables standard smartphones to send and receive signals from space. The   
   system, known as "direct-to-device" technology, connects smartphones   
   wirelessly to satellites. A similar permission was recently authorised in the   
   US by the Federal Communications Commission.   
      
      
   The UK regulator, Ofcom, is proposing to allocate radio frequencies for use   
   in the UK, especially for rural and other currently underserved communication   
   network areas and is inviting comments from the public until 20th of May.   
      
      
   Recent efforts by the Trump administration to defund and shut down   
   international news organizations like Voice of America have hit some   
   roadblocks. A Manhattan federal judge temporarily blocked the White House   
      
   from silencing VOA, according to a blog post by legal news service Law360.   
      
   U.S. District Court Judge J. Paul Oetken issued a temporary restraining order   
   saying the funding cut by the U.S. Agency for Global Media, VOAs parent   
   company, was a classic case of arbitrary policymaking.   
      
      
   A group including six VOA journalists filed a federal lawsuit on March 21 to   
   halt the cuts by USAGM, which is the federal agency overseeing all U.S.   
   civilian international media. The plaintiffs in their suit cited the   
   lawlessness and discriminatory animus of USAGMs actions as reason for the   
   courts needed intervention.   
      
      
   Also Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, one of the government-run news   
   services marked for dismantling by the White House, cannot be terminated.   
   The US District Court said that the news services' continued operation,   
   serving listeners overseas, was "in the public interest." According to a   
   report on the Radio Wold website, the judge's ruling concluded that   
   irreparable harm would result from any shutdown.   
      
      
   Although the US administration is attempting cuts to the parent agency of   
   Voice of America and other international news services, the Voice of America   
   Museum in West Chester, Ohio is assuring visitors that it is not affected by   
   these government decisions. The museum is a standalone not-for-profit entity   
   that relies on support from the public - not federal funding.   
      
      
   As always, the museum looks forward to seeing hams from around the world   
   during Hamvention this coming May. Amateur radio station WC8VOA will be on   
   the air so bring a copy of your license. (Easier said than done for we VKers)   
      
      
   Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for new technology designed to support   
   AM radio in electric vehicles through a hybrid solution, as first reported by   
   the website Ford Authority.   
      
      
   According to Ford Authoritys Brett Foote, Ford filed the patent in 2023 and   
   it was published on March 27. The patent is available to view here. Radio   
   World has reached out to Ford for further comment on its plans for the   
   technology.   
      
      
   The core idea behind the systems concept is to avoid being bound to a single   
   radio tuner. Instead, Ford describes a communication system that relies on a   
   remote vehicle entertainment server to deliver content.   
      
      
   Specifically, the communication system generally includes at least one tuner   
   (e.g., FM tuner, cellular receiver, and/or GNSS receiver, among others), the   
   patent says. However, a tuner is not provided for a designated radio   
   transmission medium, such as an AM tuner for receiving the AM frequency band.   
      
      
   Ford also describes a digital AM radio module capable of obtaining content   
   for a single station from multiple sources, including cellular networks,   
   over-the-air broadcast and V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communication.   
      
      
   The patent outlines what happens when a tuner is unresponsive to a first   
   radio transmission medium. In such cases, the vehicle sends a radio content   
   request to a remote server, which then receives the station content from a   
   source and stores it in a staging memory, before transmitting it to the   
   vehicle. This would likely involve streaming the stations live feed.   
      
      
   The system can switch sources dynamically if the quality of the content from   
   the first source degrades.   
      
      
   Ford Authority noted that AM functionality was removed from the 2023 edition   
   of the F-150 Lightning, despite having been previously standard. Its decision   
   was based on the concern the drivetrains of electric vehicles interfere with   
   AM radio. However, following public and regulatory pressure, Ford restored AM   
   radio to its 2023 EVs and included it in its 2024 line-up.   
      
      
   Now, Ford Authority reports, this new patent presents a potential long-term   
   solution to mitigate AM radio interference in future EVs  while still   
   offering access to AM content.   
      
      
   United Airlines said the Federal Aviation Administration has approved its   
   first Starlink-equipped aircraft type and that the first commercial flight is   
   planned for May   
      
      
   The Chicago-based airline plans to add the high-speed Wi-Fi technology to   
   around 40 regional jets per month and expects all 300 planes of the type will   
   be completed by the end of the year.   
      
      
   United said it will work with Elon Musk's Starlink to secure FAA approval to   
   install Starlink on more than 16 United aircraft models. Starlink Wi-Fi   
   service will eventually be available on all its flights.   
      
      
   Last year, United signed a deal with Starlink to provide in-flight internet   
   services across its entire fleet of over 1000 aircraft over the next several   
   years. Starlink, a unit of SpaceX, has deals with multiple airlines to   
   provide in-flight internet services as it seeks to expand its reach beyond   
   consumers and households in rural areas around the world with little to no   
   internet access.   
      
      
   We amateurs world wide are renown for giving a helping hand when needed.   
      
   Mike Gormley, amateur radio call sign WA8VEC, who serves the Florida Trail   
   Association, wearing several different "hats". Mike drives about 100 miles to   
   service "water caches" along 31 actual miles of trails. This involves making   
   sure that hikers have fresh drinking water at various locations along the   
   Florida Scenic Trail and that those water caches are replenished with fresh   
   water every couple of weeks.   
      
      
   Mike knew there was a need for radio communications along the Micco Trail as   
   cellphone reception can be spotty. Using his knowledge of amateur radio, he   
   approached Barbara and Rich Quinn, event coordinators, about having ham radio   
   operators at both ends of the trail with three operators, at checkpoints   
   along the trail, checking/logging/monitoring the progress of each hiker.   
   (Medical staff would be at the check points if needed.) Mike's offer was   
   quickly accepted.   
      
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   OPERATIONAL NEWS - A FELIX VK4FUQ PRESENTATION   
      
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   --------------   
   NOW CONTEST WISE:- 2025   
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   ON NOW   
      
   The RSGB FT4 International Activity Day is taking place this weekend   
   Saturday April 5 and Sunday April 6. It is a six-band, 24-hour contest   
   to allow entrants to experience FT4 in a competitive context.   
      
   (irts)   
      
   --------   
      
   The IARU 100th Anniversary Centennial QSO Party.   
      
   The IARU CQP will be held for nine days, beginning Saturday 12 April and   
   ending Sunday 20 April.   
      
   (sarl)   
      
   ------------------------   
      
   Each Tuesday evening in April sees the ZL2GVA Memorial Sprints on 80m.   
   30 minutes each of CW, SSB and FT4.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)