Ron Hashiro

For information on COVID travel information for the State of Hawaii, click on this link.

For information on the State of Hawaii law regarding using electronic while mobile, click on this link.

For information on the Amateur Radio VHF/UHF Repeaters in Hawaii, click on this link.

For information on the Amateur Radio emergency communications in Hawaii, click on this link.

For information on the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) in Hawaii, click on this link.

The FCC amended Part 97 of the Commission's Amateur Radio Service Rules to Permit Greater Flexibility in Data Communications. Click on this link for details. Click on this link for the proposed rulemaking. Click on this link for ARRL's news report.

For information on this rule making WT Docket No. 16-239, RM-11708, click on this link.

HONOLULU — The Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) on Wednesday posted an interactive map showing the location of 418 alert and warning sirens across the state, as well as their operational status as of the most recent monthly test.

For information on this news release, click on this link.

From Carter Davis, KH6FV

As many of you know, a Nationwide Emergency Alert Test will be conducted by FEMA/FCC on Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at approximately 8:20am HST. I thought this would be another great opportunity for amateur radio operators in Hawaii to use Winlink and the Hawaii Siren report to show who and where the messages were received.

Open Winlink and select a new message. Then under the SELECT TEMPLATE dropdown menu in the Hawaii section select the Hawaii Siren report. Leave the message check marked as a monthly test. provide your county and location. The big change is select "Other w/Remarks in Comments", then place in the comments section how you got the alert: cell phone (include your cell phone carrier), TV (include the station call letters), AM/FM Broadcast Radio (include the station call letters). If by 9:20am HST (1 hour later), you did not receive any alert, please send a "Did not Hear Siren" report and place in the comments, FEMA National Test and what means (cell phone, TV, AM/FM radio) you were monitoring.

This Winlink reporting is only being done in Hawaii using the Hawaii Siren Report. Do not send a report from a non-Hawaii location.

Mahalo for practicing sending Winlink messages, participating and reporting you received this national test.

Carter, KH6FV

Test Messages Will be Sent to All TVs, Radios and Cell Phones

WASHINGTON -- FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) this fall.

The national test will consist of two portions, testing WEA and EAS capabilities. Both tests are scheduled to begin at approximately 2:20 p.m. ET (8:20 am HST) on Wednesday, Oct. 4.

The WEA portion of the test will be directed to all consumer cell phones. This will be the third nationwide test, but the second test to all cellular devices. The test message will display in either English or in Spanish, depending on the language settings of the wireless handset.

The EAS portion of the test will be sent to radios and televisions. This will be the seventh nationwide EAS test.

The purpose of the Oct. 4 test is to ensure that the systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level. In case the Oct. 4 test is postponed due to widespread severe weather or other significant events, the back-up testing date is Oct. 11.

October 2023 IPAWS Test Results

Ron KH6D reported that the cellular phones alerts were activated at 8:18 am HST. The radio and TV alerts were activated at 8:20 am HST. The regular local broadcast stations that were on the air had a banner at the top of the screen carrying the text of the alert. For the channels on the Spectrum Cable TV system, two text pages containing the alert message was displayed on the screen a total of three times. The Spectrum Cable alerts overrode the local broadcast station programming and alert that was in progress at 8:20 am.

Carter Davis KH6FV reported the following results. A total of 33 stations reported via Winlink. 30 stations were on Oahu, 3 from the Big Island, 6 from Kauai and 3 from Maui. All stations except one from Kailua-Kona on the Big Island reported receiving at least the cell phone text message alert. The Kailua-Kona station reported getting no cell phone test alert.

The Winlink generated maps have orange pins for stations reporting at least a cell phone test alert. The single red pin reported receiving no cell phone test alert.

The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) will be conducting a research campaign/experiment on December 27, 2022, with transmissions between 1100 - 2300 UTC (0100 - 1300 HST).

This experiment will reflect HAARP transmissions off of Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) 2010 XC15, and the echo will be received by the Owens Valley Radio Observatory Long Wavelength Array (OVRO-LWA) at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and by the University of New Mexico's Long Wavelength Array (UNM-LWA). The target asteroid will be roughly two lunar distances away from Earth at the time of transmission. Characterizing the interior structure and composition of NEAs is critical for advancing the understanding of solar system evolution and aiding in planetary defense.

Actual transmit times are highly variable based on real-time ionospheric conditions and all information is subject to change. Currently, the Asteroid Bounce (2010 XC15) experiment will take place Dec. 27, 2022, from 1100 UTC to 2300 UTC; 9.6 MHz, LFM (linear FM), 0.5 Hz WRF (waveform repetition frequency), 30 kHz bandwidth. Reports recording echo are encouraged; demodulated recordings in .wav or .mp3 are recommended.

For information on this event, click on this link.

Congressman Bill Johnson (OH-6) introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R.9670) on Thursday, December 22, 2022, to eliminate private land use restrictions that prohibit, restrict, or impair the ability of an Amateur Radio Operator from operating and installing amateur station antennas on property subject to the control of the Amateur Radio Operator.

The exponential growth of communities subject to private land use restrictions that prohibit both the operation of Amateur Radio and the installation of amateur station antennas has significantly restricted the growth of the Amateur Radio Service. These restrictions are pervasive in private common interest residential communities such as single-family subdivisions, condominiums, cooperatives, gated communities, master-planned communities, planned unit developments, and communities governed by community associations. The restrictions have particularly impacted the ability of Amateur Radio to fulfill its statutorily mandated duty of serving as a voluntary noncommercial emergency communications service.

For information, click on this link.

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