Icom IC-9700 Firmware Update (Version 1.23)

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Icom Inc. has released a firmware update for the IC-9700 VHF/UHF/1200 MHz SDR Transceiver.

The following improvements have been made:

Changes from Version 1.21

  • Changed the screen drawing sequence to keep the previous frequency screen layout when exiting from a function displayed in full screen.

  • Fixed an issue where the standby beep may sound approximately two seconds after receiving a reply when pushing PTT to key up the repeater.

Changes from Version 1.22

  • Fixed an issue where the DV Gateway function may not work properly when it is turned off and then turned on again.

  • Fixed an issue where the RTTY DECODE screen was displayed while leaving the Mark Frequency and Shift Width settings at other than 2125Hz and 170Hz.

This firmware can be downloaded from the following URL from the Icom Inc website -  http://www.icomjapan.com/support/firmware_driver/2650/

Is April the month of Solar Minimum?

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Is April the month of Solar Minimum?

April 2020 could actually turn out to be a very significant month for us space weather watchers! The NOAA/NASA Solar Cycle prediction panel predicted back in December that solar minimum would likely occur in April of 2020! There is no guarantee that solar minimum will occur this month but it is very likely that we have passed solar minimum already or solar minimum has yet to come in the near future. There is a +/- 6-month margin of error when it comes to these predictions.

There is still a lot to learn when it comes to the inner workings of our Sun which makes it really hard if not impossible to predict solar activity and the development of the Solar Cycle in advance. We have to keep in mind that there are likely more months to come with no sunspot regions at all but high latitude sunspot regions belonging to Solar Cycle 25 will become more and more common as time goes by and the Solar Cycle 24 sunspot regions close to the equator will become more and more uncommon.

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RSGB - Impact of VDSL interference on Amateur Radio Service

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The RSGB has released an interim report - Determination of impact of VDSL interference on the Amateur Radio Service

The RSGB has been measuring the levels of Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) from VDSL broadband since 2014. Work has included measurements on test sites and at Amateur Stations where RFI was reported as degrading communication. A summary of the levels for 92 locations reported in 2016 recorded typical RFI levels for the VDSL bands. A detailed report covering eleven reported problem locations dated 28/9/2016 was produced, shared with and discussed with BT, Openreach and Ofcom.

As a result of this meeting, limited observations from Ofcom concluded that levels observed at amateurs’ premises did not constitute Harmful Interference. RSGB refuted this and a further set of tests were proposed.

RSGB Forum - VDSL Emission Investigation - http://www.thersgb.org/forums/index.php?threads/vdsl-emission-investigation.84/page-12#post-3406

VDSL Interim Report PDF - http://rsgb.org/main/files/2018/10/Impact-of-VDSL-RFI-on-the-Amateur-Radio-Service-Interim-report.pdf