The IARU Region 3 Newsletter Issue 3/2006, September 2006 My term as a Region 3 Director will be ending soon. Hence this will be the last issue of the Newsletter under my Editorship and completes six years of publication consistently every quarter. The ovation at the WG1 at the recent 13th Regional Conference followed by the endorsement of the WG1 recommendation at the Plenary thanking "9V1UV for his outstanding contribution" erased all memories of the arduous efforts made to maintain the regularity of the Newsletter. My greetings and good wishes go to all amateur radio operators in Region 3. K C Selvadurai 9V1UV Director IARU Region 3 >>> ITU Matters <<< Towards a new report to the relevant Working Party in ITU on Software Defined Radio (SDR), the IARU has developed an interesting paper which highlights further contributions by amateurs in the field of radio technology. The draft says, inter alia, that amateur and amateur-satellite services have followed a path of experimenting with, and developing, computer-controlled radios and software defined radios. SDR implementations in the amateur services use platforms of personal computers (PCs), PC soundboards, digital signal processing (DSP) boards and several generations of dedicated software defined radios. While SDRs initially emulated the same functions as hardware radios, development has progressed to novel applications possible only with the adaptive capabilities of SDRs. Software for the different SDR platforms has been developed by volunteer programmers and exchanged electronically. Applications of SDR have not been limited to terrestrial amateur systems but include amateur satellites that are configurable by telecommand transmissions. SDRs may be easily reconfigured to adapt to new communication protocols and modulation techniques as they are developed. >>> 5 MHz Amateur Allocation at WRC-07 <<< In 1991, the IARU formalized a spectrum requirement for an Amateur Service band around 5 MHz. The reason was that there are times that the band starting at 3.5 MHz is below the lowest usable frequency (LUF) and the band at 7 MHz is above the maximum usable frequency (MUF) for a path. The frequency of 5 MHz is especially valuable for emergency communications within a country. The IARU spectrum requirement reads: "An allocation, even on a shared basis, is sought in the vicinity of 5 MHz to provide useable access to approximately 100 kHz to assist the amateur service in overcoming a number of difficulties." The exact band limits are under study but the most interesting part of the 5 MHz band is around 5.3 MHz. This is because the incumbent services around this part of the band are Fixed and Mobile, and not Broadcast, Aeronautical Mobile or Maritime Mobile. IARU is working to include the basis for a 5 MHz allocation in the Conference Preparatory Meeting report to the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference. The CPM meets in February-March 2007. Meanwhile, efforts are being made by some Member Societies to interest administrations in developing proposals for an Amateur Service allocation at 5 MHz. It can also be useful for Member Societies to petition their administrations for domestic allocations of a band or specific channels in the vicinity of 5.3 MHz. Paul Rinaldo, W4RI Expert Consultant to the IARU Administrative Council and Chief Technology Officer, ARRL >>> Administrative Council Meeting Aug 06, Bangalore <<< In regard to the future role and structure of the IARU, the Administrative Council (AC) confirmed that it desires the committee to continue its work and to provide a recommendation by the end of 2006 addressing the feasibility, budget and possible timetable for the implementation of a revised structure. Three humanitarian aid workers were named as the initial honorees for inclusion in the IARU Memorial for Amateurs Killed in Humanitarian Service. They are Pero Simundza, 9A4SP, Carlos Luis Caceres, KD4SYB, and Nadisha Yassari Ranmuthu, 4S7NR. An IARU exploratory committee was created to investigate ways to progress a commonly adopted amateur licence that would permit amateurs to operate in countries other than their own without the need for a permit issued by the Administration of the country visited. The IARU interest in an allocation in the 5 MHz band was discussed. It was noted that such an allocation is not to be a replacement of the frequency allocation in the 7 MHz band that is being sought for harmonization of that band. During the discussions, it was underscored that the greatest threat to amateur radio is frequency related. The International Secretariat (IS) agreed to undertake efforts to increase the visibility of IARU activities within the Amateur Radio community worldwide. In a side comment, it was observed that there was no lady on any of the Regional Committees. Region 3 was represented by K. C. Selvadurai, 9V1UV; Chandru Ramchandra, VU2RCR; and Peter Lake, ZL2AZ. >>> 13th Region 3 Conference Bangalore India 2006 <<< The Conference (7 - 11 August) hosted by ARSI was attended by 13 Societies in person with another 5 represented by proxy. As is the usual practice, the detailed discussions were carried out at Working Group (WG) level. WG1 dealt with policy matters whilst WG2 dealt with operational issues. A special WG which met when the other two WGs were not in session, dealt with the proposals to amend the R3 Constitution that had been proposed earlier. Some of the proposed amendments were adopted. The amended versions of the Constitution and General Regulations will be available on the R3 web site. Since amateur radio is increasingly being recognized as having an important role to play in providing emergency communications, a HARTS proposal that Region 3 should also have a regular Field Day for practice, with a simple get-on-and-operate approach was adopted by the Conference. It was agreed that a Field Day similar to the one held in Region1 be proposed to the R3 member societies and be held on the Region1 Field day. RST has long been a part of radio operating (circa: 1934), but it is unsuitable for modern digital modes of transmission. PC sound card technology has recently enabled easy low cost access to a broad range of digital modes for the radio amateur. Most HF digital mode programs provide a broad band waterfall or spectrum receive display. As a result, it is common practice for radio amateurs to monitor and even decode multiple signals when working a narrow band digital station. A visible measure of signal trace relative to noise is more meaningful than an S meter reading that averages the strength of all signals in the pass band. The recommendation to change to the RSQ system that will ensure reliable and accurate description of signals from digital modes was adopted. A new set of Directors were elected to office. They are Michael Owen VK3KI (Chairman). Shizuo Endo JE1MUI, Gopal Madhavan VU2GMN, Prof. Rhee-Joong Guen HL1AQQ and Peter Lake ZL2AZ. Keigo Komuro JA1KAB continues as Secretary. >>> Region 3 Directors Meeting August 2006 <<< A meeting of R3 Directors was held in Bangalore from 3rd to 5th and 12th August. In addition to receiving reports from the Secretary and Directors, discussion focused on preparations for the 13th Regional Conference. The Conference Structure, Committees and working Groups were considered. The Directors also studied and endorsed the Draft Triennial Budget for submission to the Conference. There was discussion on the proposals received for changes to the R3 Constitution. "Emergency centre of activity" frequencies To strengthen and expand initiatives for providing humanitarian assistance in disasters and emergencies, the Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference, (GAREC-2005), passed a resolution entitled "Establishing a Center of Activity Frequency for Emergency Traffic" on five Amateur HF bands. Following a recommendation by Region 1, Region 3 at its 13th Conference in Bangalore, India August 2006, adopted the following frequencies: 3 760 kHz, 7 060 kHz, 21 360 kHz, 18 160 kHz and 14 300 kHz. Please would all amateur radio operators in Region 3 make note of these frequencies which should be kept free for emergency communications. >>> Radio amateurs in India fill communication gap <<< After terrorists set off explosions on packed commuter trains in Mumbai (Bombay) during the evening rush hour of July 11, Amateur Radio operators helped pass health-and-welfare messages to family members and fill other communication needs. News accounts mentioned that with 8.5 million cell phones competing for the same spectrum, circuits quickly became overwhelmed, with passengers calling family members or vice versa. Ham radio operators stepped in to make the connection and, working with the Bombay Municipal Corporation, helped to keep authorities informed as well. The Region 3 Web Site Go to: http://www.iaru-r3.org/ Newsletter Editor: K C Selvadurai 9V1UV, Director IARU Region 3, kcselva@starhub.net.sg Publisher: The International Amateur Radio Union Region 3, P.O. Box 73, Toshima, Tokyo 170-8691, Japan. iaru-r3@jarl.or.jp Tel: +81 3 3944 3322 Fax: +81 3943 8282 The statements or opinions in this Newsletter do not, unless otherwise stated, necessarily reflect the views of IARU Region 3, the Directors or the Secretariat. Items from this Newsletter may be freely copied for publication by Member Societies of IARU. MS Word version of this newsletter is available at http://www.iaru-r3.org/news/r3nl-06-09.doc