Radio Amateurs of Lebanon (RAL) elects a new board
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- Published on Saturday, 10 December 2016 20:31
- Written by Webmaster
The Radio Amateurs of Lebanon (RAL) at its general assembly meeting today elected a new Executive Board for a 3 years term. Results came as follows:
President &
RAL President & Official Representative : Hani Raad - OD5TE
Vice President & Emergency Coordinator : Elie Kadi - OD5KU
Secretary and QSL Manager: Rizkallah (Riri) Azrak - OD5RI
Treasurer : Mohamad Khalil - OD5UI
Accountant and Head of Membership Committee : Louisette Abou Jaoude - OD5YL
Board Member and IARU Liaison: John Gibran - OD5RW
Board Member and HF/VHF Coordinator: Michel Homsi - OD5TX
Board Member: Amin Habbal - OD5HP
IARU Coordinators are as follows: IARU Coordinator :John Gibran - OD5RW, IARU HF and VHF Manager : Michel Homsi - OD5TX, IARU Emergency Coordinator : Elie Kadi - OD5KU, IARU Monitoring System Coordinator: Rizkallah (Riri) Azrak - OD5RI
IARU continues preparations for WRC-19
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- Published on Thursday, 08 December 2016 19:44
- Written by Webmaster
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) prime roles are to work in the areas of spectrum privileges (gaining or retaining spectrum for the amateur radio services) and spectrum protection.
To do this IARU works in the international standards bodies (CISPR, CENELEC and ETSI), the Regional Telecommunications Organisations around the world (eg CEPT, CITEL, APT, ATU) and of course ITU. The ITU is the United Nation’s specialised agency for telecommunications. Its Web Site contains a considerable amount of material and documentation of interest to the amateur service, much of which can be downloaded from http://www.itu.int.
In the last month, IARU representatives have attended the CEPT Electronic Communications Committee (ECC) – the policy-making body of CEPT, one of the many CEPT committees at which IARU is present. IARU was also present at ITU Working Parties under Study Group 5, whose remit is to study matters relating to terrestrial radiocommunication services, which includes the amateur service. WP5A is working to prepare for the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2019 with a focus which includes the Amateur Radio Services.
RAL president awarded Yasme Excellence award
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- Published on Friday, 02 December 2016 15:50
- Written by Webmaster
Radio Amateurs of Lebanon, (RAL) president, Hani Raad, OD5TE, has been awarded with the 2016 Yasme Foundation Excellence award for his work advancing Amateur Radio in Lebanon and the Arabic speaking region. The success of amateur radio depends on there being active amateurs on the air, demonstrating its value in both technical excellence and public service.
More details on Yasme Foundation Awards and click 2016.
Well desered recogintion for Hani's devotion and contribution to Amateur Radio's advancement over the last 36 years. He is the current President of the Radio Amateurs of Lebanon (RAL), Lebanon’s National Amateur Radio Society, and was the Internaitonal Amateur RAdio Union Region 1 Vice President (2011-2014).
Hani holds Amateur Radio Licenses in Lebanon (OD5TE), Jordan (JY8HR), Switzerland (HB9ERL) and USA (AA3EI). He held numerous Amateur Radio related roles throughout the years including: The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 monitoring Service Coordinator, The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Maryland District of Columbia (MDC) Section Emergency Coordinator and official Observer, The George Washington University Amateur Radio Club President and MADRAS Vice-president.
He is a certified ARRL Chief Examiner and W5YI Commercial Radio Examiner and recipient of the DX-Century Award and various recognition awards through Amateur Radio Service from The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) for outstanding service to Amateur Radio Community and from The American Red Cross, US Marine Corps, US Army, Washington DC Office of Emergency Preparedness and Military district of Washington for outstanding service through Amateur Radio at time of disaster.
Hani is active from Beirut on most bands and mode. He holds a degree in Electrical Engineering for the George Washington University, Washington DC and is currently Cisco's General Manager for the Levant region.
David Sumner, K1ZZ appointed as IARU Secretary
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- Published on Friday, 18 November 2016 08:45
- Written by Webmaster
The ARRL Board of Directors has designated David Sumner, K1ZZ, to replace Rod Stafford, W6ROD as IARU Secretary effective 15 October 2016 following the retirement of Rod after seven years of service in that position. The IARU Constitution provides that the member-society serving as the International Secretariat, i.e. the ARRL, shall designate the Secretary.
Dave has served in this capacity twice previously, from 1982 to 1989 and from 1999 to 2009, while employed by the ARRL to manage its headquarters. Now retired from employment, he joins the other IARU officers and Administrative Council members in serving as a volunteer.
IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, has appointed Mr. Stafford as Emergency Communications Special Advisor. In this capacity he will represent the interests of the IARU and the global amateur radio community in the Development Sector of the ITU and will offer advice and counsel on matters relating to emergency and disaster response communications.
The IARU Administrative Council has also honored outgoing Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD, with the Michael J. Owen, VK3KI Memorial Award at the conclusion of his seven years of service in that office. Stafford was recognized for his more than three decades of devoted volunteer service to organized amateur radio, including five years as ARRL President and a decade on the IARU Region 2 Executive Committee that included three years as Region 2 President.
Source: IARU
RAL General Assembly and Executive Committee Elections
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- Published on Wednesday, 16 November 2016 21:13
- Written by Webmaster
Radio Amateurs of Lebanon (RAL) General Assembly and new Executive Committee (EC) elections will be held on:
Date: December 10, 2016 at 3:00PM
Location: Saint-Joseph University USJ, Mathaf, Human Sciences Campus, Bloc A, 3rd Floor, Room A311
Candidates interested in running fr office need to submit a completed candidadcy applicaton to RAL secretary (OD5RI) by November 30, 2016.
Lebanon Amateur Radio Exams
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- Published on Tuesday, 15 November 2016 13:02
- Written by Webmaster
On October 16, 2016, Lebanon's Ministry of Telecommunications (MOT) administered a long awaited Amateur Radio licensing exam at OGERO's training center in Beirut. Around 50 Amateur Radio enthusiasts went through the testing session with lots of thrill and excitement.
A special appreciation goes out to Dr. Abdel Moneim Youssef (MOT Secretary General) and the examination and organizing committee that included: Dr. Majid Abdulrahman, Dr. Khaled Mawass, Dr. Imad Abou Rached (OGERO), Eng. Antoine Aoun; Eng. Khaled Chaaban, Mr. Yasser Barham and Mr. George Andraos.
RAL members supported the session and had a booth and a demo Amateru Radio Station setup supported by OD5HP, OD5KU, OD5RI, OD5RW, OD5TE, OD5TX, OD5UE, OD5UI, OD5YL.
ARISS contact planned February 22, 2013
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- Published on Sunday, 24 February 2013 18:34
- Written by Webmaster
An International Space Station school contact has been planned February 22, 2013 with participants at Uplands Elementary School, Penticton, BC, Canada. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 19:36 UTC , which is 20:36 CEWT. Chris Hadfield KC5RNJ/VA3OOG will answer students’ questions.
The contact will be a telebridge operated by IK1SLD, located in Northern Italy. Interested parties in Europe are invited to listen to dowlink signals on 145.800 MHz FM. The contact will be conducted in English.
The contact will be broadcast on EchoLink AMSAT (node 101 377) and JK1ZRW (node 277 208) Conference servers, as well as on IRLP Discovery Reflector 9010. Read more.
Source: IARU-R1
The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy
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- Published on Saturday, 23 February 2013 09:55
- Written by Webmaster
The Universal Postal Union (UPU) introduces new International Reply Coupon (IRC)
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- Published on Sunday, 17 February 2013 23:22
- Written by Webmaster
The Universal Postal Union (UPU) has introduced the newest model of the International Reply Coupon (IRC): The Doha model -- so named for the 25th Universal Postal Congress that took place in Doha, Qatar in October 2012 -- will replace the current model, known as the Nairobi model.
The Doha model IRC will go on sale on July 1, 2013. It is valid for exchange it until the end of 2017. The Nairobi model -- first issued on July 1, 2009 -- remains valid until December 31, 2013. IRCs are exchangeable in every UPU member country for stamps representing the minimum postage for an ordinary priority letter-post item or airmail letter sent abroad for a reply. According to the UPU, 120 postal systems around the world worldwide had issued more than four million Nairobi IRCs with a total value of approximately $5 million as of October 31, 2012.
The Czech Republic has won the UPU's competition to design a new international reply coupon (IRC), beating 13 or countries. The work of Czech artist and graphic designer Michal Sindelar will display the theme "Water for Life", chosen to reflect the 2013 United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation in 2013. The new "Water for Life" IRC will go on sale on 1 July 2013. Postal customers will be able to exchange it until the end of 2017. It will replace the current coupon, known as the Nairobi model, which was first issued on 1 July 2009 and will remain valid until 31 December 2013.
How does it work?
When one writes to a stranger and requests a reply, it is considered polite to enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope. This works well when both persons live in the same country; however, if they are from different countries, the enclosed postage stamp will not be valid. This technical problem was solved in 1906 when the Universal Postal Union, during its Congress in Rome, introduced the International Reply Coupon service. As the service began before the days of airmail, the earliest coupons could only be redeemed for a single-rate ordinary postage stamp to a foreign country. In terms of today's UPU Convention, International reply coupons (IRC) are exchangeable in all member countries for the minimum postage of a priority item or an unregistered airmail letter sent to a foreign country.
The UPU's International Bureau processes several million coupons each year and deals with of all accounting aspects. The International Bureau does not sell IRCs directly to customers; they must buy them from their local post office. Although Posts are not obliged to sell IRCs, it is mandatory for Posts to exchange the coupons. If a Post does not sell IRCs, it is possible to purchase them in a post office located in a neighbouring country.
Ham Radio Deluxe V6.0 Released
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- Published on Tuesday, 12 February 2013 01:42
- Written by Webmaster
HRD Software, LLC announced the release of Version 6.0 of the Ham Radio Deluxe Software. The product will be available at noon on Friday, February 8th, 2013. This culminates more than a year of development with both the free 5.x versions and the new 6.0 versions.
Features include 8 new DX awards, 7 updated awards, QSL card label printing, support for new radios, true FSK for RTTY, RTTY for SuperSweeper (CW coming in an .0X release), support for AR and CC clusters, QSX support for select radios (more coming in a .0X release), new rotor support and much more. One of the spectacular new features for DXers is in the DX Cluster window. These new Worked Status Indicators (WSI) icons let you know if you’ve worked that spot on country, band, mode, band/mode, and/or leaderboard (for DXpeditions). The new cluster also has support for indicating if the spot is a member of LOTW or eQSL.
Videos for Version 6.0 are also provided on our YouTube channel | You can purchase and download the product at HRD website.
My second DV QSO
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- Published on Tuesday, 05 February 2013 06:10
- Written by Rizkallah Azrak - OD5RI
I replied to Elie but he couldn't make out my call. I tried several times and was about to give up when he called again with solid copy. Perhaps he had turned his beam my way. I tried calling one more time. This time he heard my reply and we had a good QSO with several periods of solid copy punctuated by occasional break-ups. These occurred when QSB took the digital signal down to near-invisibility in the FreeDV waterfall. I doubt that good SSB copy would have been possible at those times either. I managed to make a recording of the end of this QSO so you can get an idea of the audio quality. It was recorded off-air using my Olympus digital voice recorder, then played back using the mic input of the USB sound dongle to make an MP3 file.