Until October 1, WWV and WWVH are broadcasting a US Department of Defense message to mark the centennial of WWV and to announce the WW0WWV special event http://wwv100.com/. The message will air at 10 minutes past the hour from September 28 until October 2 from the WWV transmitter site near Fort Collins, Colorado. Kevin Utter, N7GES, a member of the WW0WWV Centennial Committee, recorded the audio track for the announcement. Utter has been an integral part of the Committee and is a highly respected member of the Northern Colorado Amateur Radio community. -- Thanks to Paul English, WD8DBY
A CubeSat with an FM-to-Codec-2 transponder has been launched. The Taurus-1 (Jinniuzuo-1) CubeSat carrying an Amateur Radio FM-to-Codec-2 transponder was launched on September 12 from China's Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. The CubeSat was developed by Aerospace System Engineering Research Institute of Shanghai for youth education and Amateur Radio. The transponder is similar to that used on the LilacSat-1 (LO-90) CubeSat and can use the same software, once frequencies are changed, receiving FM with 67 Hz CTCSS on 145.820 MHz and retransmitting it as Codec-2 9,600 bps BPSK digital voice on 436.760 MHz. The telemetry downlink is 435.840 MHz. In addition to the transponder, the satellite also carries a drag sail. For more information on the transponder type, see "Digital Voice on Amateur Satellites: Experiences with LilacSat-OSCAR 90 https://tinyurl.com/y6jzoful," which appeared in the January/February edition of The AMSAT Journal. -- Thanks to AMSAT News Service
North Korea is said to be testing digital broadcasting on 80 meters. Radio World reports https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/north-korea-resumes-drm-broadcasts that the People's Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) has resumed testing digital radio broadcasting on the 80-meter amateur band after a 2-year absence. North Korea is transmitting with the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM http://www.drm.org/) protocol. The latest transmissions on 3.560 MHz began in mid-August. "It appears unclear at this time, however, whether the current series of transmissions will soon end or be the start of a regular service," Radio World said. "According to radio enthusiasts in the region, the signal has been clear and very audible." Radio World says Voice of Korea, the North Korean international broadcasting service, has conducted DRM trials off and on since 2012.
