YOTA Month Draws To A Close But Is Still Busy On The Air

Youngsters on the Air Month is nearly at a close. It has been filled with some brilliant activity from young people using the special callsign GB24YOTA. Thank you to everyone involved, from supervising young amateurs to contacting them on the air. Before the year ends, we still have some activity using GB24YOTA, so please continue to listen out. Tomorrow, Monday 23rd December 2024, Hilderstone Radio Society will be back on the air as it hosts the callsign for a final time this month.

On Sunday the 29th of December, Bushvalley Amateur Radio Club in Northern Ireland will be operating GB24YOTA, followed by Marlborough Scouts on Monday the 30th of December. If you have been involved with Youngsters on the Air Month and would like your activity to be in a special RadCom feature, email your photos and a short report to comms@rsgb.org.uk as soon as possible.

AM Bill Is Not Part of Congressional Stopgap Funding

It appears that the bill to require AM radio in new cars will not pass this Congress. The legislation was absent from a stopgap measure unveiled Tuesday to keep the government funded until spring.

“While we are disappointed the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act did not pass this Congress, the overwhelming bipartisan and bicameral support underscores the vital role AM radio plays in keeping Americans safe during emergencies and connected to their local communities”

— Curtis LeGeyt, president/CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters

The budget stopgap itself has not become law yet. According to CBS News, Congress has until Friday night to avoid a lapse in funding. “The new stopgap measure, with approval from the House, Senate and President Biden, would keep the government funded through March 14, giving lawmakers more time to reach agreement on new spending bills when the GOP controls both the House and the Senate,” CBS reported (read that story here).

But with the Christmas holiday rushing up fast, the AM bill appears out of options, for now.

LeGeyt thanked the AM bill’s sponsors and noted that it received bipartisan favor from “more than 125 supportive organizations, hundreds of thousands of listeners who contacted their lawmakers and more than 330 members of Congress who championed this effort.” He said NAB plans to work with the next Congress to pass the legislation.

Holiday SSTV Experiment from the International Space Station

ARISS will be conducting an SSTV experiment from the International Space Station (ISS) through to 5th January 2025.

Officially titled Expedition 72 - ARISS Series 23 SSTV Experiment, interested listeners can receive SSTV images in PD120 mode from the ISS on 145.800 MHz. There will be 12 different images in the series coming from the RS0ISS station.

Received images can be uploaded to the ARISS SSTV gallery - https://ariss-usa.org/ARISS_SSTV/