If you would like to become a member of SELARC, please print out and complete the application/renewal form and return it with your check to: P.O. Box 1324, Hammond LA 70404. Thanks!

Election of the club Officers by members is at the first general meeting in July, planned for Tue. Jul 13, 2021 7pm. As outlined in the SELARC Constitution, the board is expected to provide a list of nominations. Additional nominations may be proposed by members at the next meeting or July meeting prior to the election.
Before nominations can be accepted: nominees are required to affirm intention to hold office if elected by the majority of SELARC members present.

==> FCC Reaffirms Nearly $3 Million Fine for Marketing Unauthorized Drone Transmitters
In a Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O) released June 17, the FCC denied a Petition for Reconsideration filed by HobbyKing of a $2,861,128 fine for marketing noncompliant RF equipment and for failing to respond to FCC orders in its investigation of the company's practices. In the same step, the FCC enforced its equipment marketing rules.
The fine resulted from an FCC investigation initiated by ARRL's January 2017 complaint that the HobbyKing equipment was "blatantly illegal at multiple levels." ...

==> WISA Woodsat Successfully Completes Stratospheric Test Flight
The world's first wooden CubeSat successfully completed a test flight into the stratosphere earlier this month. WISA Woodsat is constructed using birch plywood panels in a 1U configuration measuring 10 centimeters squared. Nine small solar cells will power the satellite, which will orbit at an altitude of 500 - 550 kilometers. The novel spacecraft will carry several amateur radio experiments,
as well as photo downlinking, including selfies. A goal of the project is to determine how well wood products will perform in space. ...

==> Russian Woodpecker Antenna Array Now a Cultural Heritage Site
The massive Duga-1 antenna array that transmitted the obnoxious and infuriating "Russian Woodpecker" HF signal from the 1970s until the late 1980s is now a cultural heritage site. The array, located near Chernobyl in Ukraine, was part of an over-the-horizon radar (OTH-R) system designed to detect and offer early warning of incoming ballistic missiles from the US. A complementary receiver site was located some 40 miles away. While the system was operating, its broad rat-a-tat signal, typically at a 10 Hz rate, caused severe interference in the amateur bands.
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster and the end of the Cold War preceded the end of the system and the interference it caused. NATO military intelligence discovered and photographed the structure, which it dubbed "Steel Yard."
Nearly 2,300 feet long and more than 450 feet tall, the steel beams of the radar array are in the Chernobyl exclusion zone tower above the surrounding forest. Seen from a distance, it appears to be a massive wall or the start of a cage. As Vice recently reported, the Association of Chernobyl Tour Operators was the first to announce that Ukraine had made Duga-1 a protected heritage site. The Russian Interfax news service later reported the official designation. ...

==> FCC Seeks Comments in Proceeding Involving 70 and 5 Centimeters
The FCC is soliciting a second round of comments on whether to authorize commercial space entities to obtain licenses for frequencies used exclusively during space launch activities.
The proposals include parts of the 70-centimeter (420 - 430 MHz) and 5-centimeter (5650 - 5925 MHz) bands. The federal government has allocated this spectrum on a primary basis and routinely uses it during space launches, but commercial space companies must obtain short-term Special Temporary Authority (STA) authorizations from the FCC to use it for the same purpose. ...

==> Youngsters On The Air First-Round Contest Claimed Results Posted, Next Round is July 18
The Youngsters On The Air (YOTA) Contest's first round is complete and the claimed results have been posted on the YOTA website, with final results coming soon. Worldwide participation was very good. In the YOTA-class categories, more than 100 entries were from contesters as young as 7 years old, and three entered as shortwave listeners (listen only). There were more than 600 entries of participants above the age of 25, with the oldest participant at age 87.
The next round will take place on July 18, 1000 - 2159 UTC. The event includes a 6-hour category (this is a change in date from the previously announced July 17) ...

==> W1AW/KL7 to Serve as ARRL Headquarters Station for IARU Event
W1AW/KL7 will be in Alaska to serve as the ARRL Headquarters (HQ) station for the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) HF World Championship competition on July 10 - 11. To provide radio amateurs an opportunity to work W1AW, as well as the state of Alaska, use of W1AW/KL7 has been authorized from 0000 UTC on July 8 to 2359 UTC on July 13.
NU1AW, the IARU Headquarters station, will be active as NU1AW/5, in a multioperator distributed operation from the ARRL West Gulf Division (Texas and Oklahoma). NU1AW/5 will be on CW and SSB, 1.8 - 28 MHz. W1AW/KL7 and NU1AW will be the only US HQ stations active. ...

==> ARDC Grant Will Support HAMNET Expansion in Europe
Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) has awarded a grant to support European expansion of HAMNET, a high-speed digital network that interconnects automated amateur radio stations using links in the 13-, 6-, and 3-centimeter bands, the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club (DARC) reports. This marks the first international grant from ARDC since it began awarding grants in 2019. ...

==> EASAT-2 and Hades Launch Delayed Again
Licensing issues have caused another postponement for the EASAT-2 and Hades satellites. The two amateur radio satellites built by AMSAT-EA (Spain) are planned to be carried aloft by a SpaceX launch vehicle. Spain's IARU member-society URE (Unión de Radioaficionados Españoles) said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US has rejected issuing a license to the integrator Momentus. The FAA denial stems from the company's capital structure, which, it says, could endanger US national security. The next launch opportunity won't come until December. ...