San Antonio Hams

Congress passed ,and today the President signed into law, a bill dictating that a minimum of 27 sunspots will appear each month for the duration of this century.

When asked how the federal government could guarantee sunspots, An unnamed source from the White House said “The amateur radio community represents a large voting block in America, and when polled indicated that they prefer sunspot days over spotless days. We also think it is unfair that some hams get their ticket in the down years and some in the up years…we want it fair for all, especially since it is so simple to sign a law and give the citizens what they desire.

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ARRL (Apr 1, 2009) — The FCC announced April 1 that the scheduled mandatory changeover of SSB and AM HF voice communications in the Amateur Radio Service has been delayed for one year; originally scheduled to begin April 1, 2009, the new changes will now take effect April 1, 2010.

Under the plan, originally approved by Congress during the Clinton Administration, all Amateur Radio voice communication in the HF spectrum (3-30 MHz) will adopt digital voice technologies, reducing the bandwidth of typical QSOs from an average of 2.4 kHz to an average of 1.5 kHz. No particular protocol is specified — amateurs can use any method they desire as long as it is digital.

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