Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1864 - May 3 2013

[William M. Pasternak]

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1864 - May 3 2013

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1864 with a release date of May 3
2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Region One of the International Amateur Radio
Union meets in Vienna; a coalition of groups announces its attempting
to arrange a DXpedition to North Korea; the exemption for ham radio
remains as part of Hawaii's new distracted driving law; lots more news
on the upcoming Dayton Hamvention and NASA to launch mission to study
Equatorial electric storm propagation. Find out the details are on
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1864 coming your way right
now.


(Billboard Cart Here)


**

RADIO RULES: IARU REGION 1 MEETS IN VIENNA

IARU Region 1 held its Interim Meeting in Vienna Austria the weekend of
April 20th through the 21st. Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, of the RSGB news
reports:

--

H-F topics included preparations for the WRC15, which includes the
possibility of a worldwide amateur allocation at 5MHz. Other proposals
included trying to align some of the High Frequency band plans between
Regions and the DXpedition Code of Conduct.

A number of other papers covered contest matters, support for newcomers
via scouting's Jamboree on the Air, operation of unmanned stations, and
discussions on a possible band plan for the new 472 to 479 kHz amateur
allocation.

For VHF and microwaves, there were a total of 34 papers covered
technical, operating, band planning and contest matters. Areas of
focus were improvements to IARU contests and accommodating digital
voice, beacon and TV developments.

Band plans at 4m, 2m and 70cm came under particular scrutiny. Pressure
on spectrum, notably at 2.3GHz, was also discussed. Several topics are
expected to be further developed in time for the next Region 1
Conference in the autumn of 2014.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot. G4NJH, reporting from
Nottingham in the United Kingdom.

--

The minutes and recommendations of the Interim Meeting will be
published shortly, once approved by the Region 1 Executive Committee.
(IARU - R1, GB2RS)

**

BREAKING DX NEWS: DX GROUP ATTEMPTING TO ARRANGE OPERATION FROM NORTH
KOREA

A well known group of DX'ers say that they are working on getting
permission to operate from North Korea which is the most wanted DXCC
entity in the world. Amateur Radio Newsline's Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK,
reports:

--

The Intrepid-DX Group, in partnership with the World-Wide DX Group says
that for the past four years that they have been working with
professionals in the business and tourism industries who are actively
doing business in North Korea.

In a widely circulated press statement the organizations note that they
have prepared a comprehensive, multi-faceted proposal, which has been
delivered it to the North Korean officials via their emissary located
in Chinese. Also that several members of the combined groups
leadership and advisory team have made multiple visits to the region
and are advising the overall groups accordingly.

The DXers say that they are using the same techniques that were
successful in opening up Kurdistan, the South Sudan and Yemen to
DXpedition activity. They add that they are leveraging their ideas and
contacts towards the goal of a major DXpedition over a four week period
from within the North Korea border. As we go to air, no date for such
an operation to take place has even been speculated.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, in Zion,
Illinois.

--

We will have more DX related news later on in this weeks Amateur Radio
Newsline report. (Intrepid-DX Group release)

**

RADIO LAW: HAWAII DISTRACTED DRIVER LAW WITH HAM RADIO EXEMPTION SENT
TO GOVERNOR FOR SIGNATURE

House Bill 980, dealing with mobile cellular telephone law for the
State of Hawaii that contains an exemption for mobile ham radio
operation has been transmitted to the Governor and is awaiting his
signature.

Like many other states, the new law in Hawaii states that no person
shall operate a motor vehicle while using a mobile electronic device,
however the use of a mobile electronic device for the sole purpose of
making a "911" emergency communication is permitted. The Hawaii law
provides that no person under eighteen years of age can operate a motor
vehicle while utilizing even a hands-free mobile electronic device,
except, once again for the sole purpose of making a "911" emergency
call.

According to Ron Hashiro, AH6RH, in addition to radio amateurs, also
exempted from the law will be emergency responders using a mobile
electronic device while in the performance of their official duties and
those operating under FCC Part 90 Land Mobile Radio rules.

Not exempted are those using Family Radio Service, users of the General
Mobile Radio Service, Citizens Band radio operators, marine radio, the
aviation band, text messaging and of coarse those making non emergency
calls using hand held cellular telephone.

Penalties include a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $200
for a first violation. A second violation within that occurs within
one year brings with it a fine of not less than $200 and not more than
$300. For a violation that occurs within two years of two prior
violations and for the fourth and each subsequent violation regardless
of when they were committed, a fine of not less than $300 and not more
than $500 can be assessed.

If signed by the Governor, the new Hawaii distracted driving law will
take effect on July 1st. The full text is on the web at
tinyurl.com/hawaii-cell-final. (AH6RH via Facebook and other published
news reports)

**

RESCUE RADIO: TEXT ALERTS ISSUED AFTER BOSTON MARATHON BOMBINGS

Boston officials did use cellphone text messages, known as Wireless
Emergency Alerts in the aftermath of the marathon bombings. That's
according to Rick Wimberly of alerting consultancy Galain Solutions.

The former broadcaster and current consultant to FEMA told Radio World
that the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency or MEMA has the
ability and authority to issue imminent threat Wireless Emergency
Alerts messages and did do on April 19th. Specifically, MEMA issued a
shelter-in-place order, by tweeting out a message to that effect.

According to Wimberly, Wireless Emergency Alerts complement EAS system
because the text messages remind users to tune in to their local
broadcast stations for more detailed information. Whether or not the
EAS system itself was placed into formal use in the marathon bombing
aftermath is still open to debate. (RW)

**

COMMUNICATIONS LAW: COMMISSIONER WANTS FCC TO LOOSEN OWNERSHIP RULES

FCC commissioner Ajit Pai says that if the FCC proceeds to count some
Joint Sales Agreements toward local TV station ownership caps, it would
be an error. This is because Pai believes that the Commission must
treat broadband as a complement, not replacement, for broadcast use of
spectrum.

His remarks came in a recent speech to the Media Institute. In it, Pai
wants the FCC to loosen the local ownership rules, and found it amazing
that the proposal currently on the table would tighten them by adding
the Joint Sales Agreements and possibly shared service agreements.

Pai pointed to a Joint Sales Agreement between two stations in his home
state of Kansas. There, a Univision affiliate and an Entravision
station were able to create the only Spanish-language newscast in the
state. Another he cited was in Missouri between the broadcasters
Nexstar and Mission that allowed for expanded news coverage.

A Joint Sales Agreement sometimes known as a Limited Sales Agreement is
an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or
television station owned by another license holder. In essence, it is
a sort of lease or time-buy arrangement. (Multichannel News,
Wikipedia)

**

BREAK 1

>From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world including the KC8LMI
repeater serving Aurelius, Michigan.

(5 sec pause here)


**

WORLDBEAT: WEB RADIO EXECS MEET IN BRUSSELS FOR RAIN SUMMIT

An Internet radio summit is coming to Europe next month. Amateur Radio
Newsline's Jeff Clark, K8JAC, has the details:

--

Internet radio executives from across Europe will meet in Brussels on
Thursday, May 23rd for the second annual RAIN Summit Europe. This is
according to Kirk Hansen who is the publisher of the RAIN Radio and
Internet newsletter.

RAIN Summit Europe will take place at the Hotel Bloom. The conference
will be a daylong event featuring panels and presentations along with
speakers and other opportunities for European networking executives to
consider the future of radio in the digital world.

RAIN conferences are educational and networking events for the Internet
radio and on-line audio industries. For the past decade these
conferences have been presented several times each year in North
America and feature top speakers and panelists from around the world.

I'm Jeff Clark, K8JAC.

--

For those who may be wondering these conferences are not in any way
connected with Hap Holly, KC9RP's weekly RAIN Report based in Chicago.
(RW)

**

ENFORCEMENT: COMMISSION UPHOLDS $17,000 FINE AGAINST BROADCASTER

Turning to regulatory enforcement, word that the full commission has
upheld a decision by the Enforcement Bureau and has ruled that Mt.
Rushmore Broadcasting owes $17,000 for violations of the agency's EAS
and public file rules.

Earlier, the bureau denied the company's 2011 petition to reconsider
the fine levied for failing to ensure the operational readiness of the
station's EAS gear, failing to maintain a complete public inspection
file for stations and failing to operate the Studio to Transmitter Link
from its licensed location.

Now in its final judgment in this matter the full Commission says that
Mt. Rushmore Broadcasting did not dispute the facts or that the
violations took place. Rather that the broadcaster had only
substantially reiterated all of the arguments previously considered and
rejected. The FCC also noted that Mt. Rushmore Broadcasting did not
demonstrate that the Enforcement Bureau made an error in its findings.
Nor did it provide financial documentation to support its repeated
request that the fine be reduced or eliminated.

The full commission upheld the Enforcement Bureau's original order and
said payment is due within 15 days. In the meantime, the government
filed a complaint in federal district court against Mt. Rushmore
Broadcasting to recover the money. That case will be dismissed if the
licensee makes the payment, according to the agency.

Mt. Rushmore Broadcasting is the licensee of KRAL-AM, KIQZ-FM, and
Studio to Transmitter link WHB734, in Rawlins, Wyoming. (FCC, RW)

**

INDUSTRY NEWS: SPX DIELECTRIC TO CEASE MAKING ANTENNAS

One of the nation's best known manufacturers of broadcast and two-way
antenna systems, transmission lines and associated products is closing
its doors. Amateur Radio Newsline's Skeeter Nash, N5ASH, reports:

--

SPX Communications Technologies, formerly Dielectric Communications,
will cease its broadcast television, radio and wireless antenna
manufacturing operations effective June 29th. Dielectric as it is
still better known had already begun letting customers know that it
plans to get out of the antenna business.

The company was started in 1942 as Dielectric Products Corp., which
specialized in developing transmission lines for wartime radar system
use. The company has been located in Raymond ME since 1954. It
installed its first Digital TV broadcast antenna in 1994 and provided
more than 1200 broadcasters with Digital Television transmission
solutions.

SPX acquired Dielectric in 2001. According to the CGC Communicator,
over the years Dielectric produced some of the finest broadcast
antennas made in the United States, and its closure represents a
significant blow to U.S. manufacturing capabilities.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Skeeter Nash, N5ASH.

--

More on the shuttering of this historic company is on the web at
tinyurl.com/dialectric-closes. (RW, CGC)

**

RESCUE RADIO: ETON ZONE GUARD RECEIVER

Eton Corporation has a new product that may well be of interest to hams
involved in emergency response operations or those who live in regions
where getting accurate emergency alerts are a necessity.

Called the ZoneGuard, it is a portable battery-powered AM/FM radio that
receives NOAA weather and Specific Area Message Encoding or S.A.M.E.
local emergency messages. The ZoneGuard radio will also flash an
internal 3 level High-visibility color alert light bar and emit warning
sounds when local warning messages are activated. On top of that, it
is also programmable so multiple geographic areas can be programmed
into it for emergency message reception. Best of all is the price for
this little gem at under $40 street and available where most consumer
electronics are sold.

And less we forget, the radio also carries a Red Cross identification
brand on it and a portion of sales profits goes to that organization.
(RW)

**

RADIO READING: SPRING 2013 5MHZ NEWSLETTER NOW AVAILABLE

The Spring 2013 edition of The 5MHz Newsletter is now available for
free download. This edition features news about 5 MHz amateur band
allocations, the latest update of the Worldwide Amateur 5 MHz
Allocations Chart, plus stories on 5 MHz Web Software Defined Radios
and much more. You can download your copy at tinyurl.com/dxlpgyj.
(GM4WO, Southgate)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS: 4 DAYS IN MAY CONCURRENT WITH HAMVENTION 2013

The 18th annual Four Days in May the QRP and Homebrew mini-convention
held concurrently with the Dayton Hamvention beginning on Thursday May
16th. The venue is once again the Holiday Inn located in Fairborn,
Ohio which is just about twenty minutes to the east of the Hara Arena.

Guest speakers this year feature Roy Lewallen W7EL, Rick Campbell KK7B
and George Dobbs G3RJV, and others. Thursday evening will include a
presentation from Ten-Tec at which there will be a new product
announcement. Events on Thursday and Friday evenings are free of
charge. More information along with tickets for the seminars, the
Buildathon and Grand Banquet can be bought online at
www.qrparci.org/fdim. (W4DU, G4GXL)

**

HAMVENTION 2013: ARRL AWARD CHECKING AT HAMVENTION

Bill Moore, NC1L, says that the ARRL Awards Staff will be present at
the 2013 Dayton Hamvention to check applications for all ARRL awards.
These include DXCC, WAS, VUCC, WAC and the Extra Class Certificate.

A detailed PDF file is available to help guide you through the card
checking process so that everything proceeds smoothly at
tinyurl.com/arrl-awards-dayton-2013. If, after reviewing the PDF file
and you have questions, send an e-mail to Bill Moore, NC1L, at
bmoore(at)arrl(dot)org. (NC1L)

**

HAMVENTION NEWS: TECHNICIAN LICENSE CLASS AT HAMVENTION 2013

A Technician level Ham Radio Class will be held at the Dayton
Hamvention on Saturday, May 18th.

The session runs from 9AM until 4PM and will be held at the Hara Arena
Hamvention venue. Immediately following the conclusion of the class a
team of Volunteer Examiners will be on-hand to administer the
Technician class exam.

You must pre-register for the class and yes, there is homework. Info on
what's in the class and how to enroll can be found at
http://www.hamclass.net/hamvclass.htm

Interested students should not delay as there is limited room and once
the class fills, enrollment will be closed.

The class will be again sponsored by Mitch Stern, W1SJ. If you have any
questions please contact him at w1...@arrl.net

Stern tells Amateur Radio Newsline that this will be his 4th year of
providing these classes at the Dayton Hamvention but that he has
actually been teaching 1 and 2 days classes for 21 years. (W1SJ)

**

HAMVENTION 2013: W9FIZ ANNOUNCES HE CANNOT PROVIDE ELECTRONIC
EQUIPMENT TEST STATION

Barry Gose, W9FIZ, who had previously announced a number of free
services at Hamvention 2013 has been forced to cancel a few of them.
This after he was advised by a fellow ham who is an attorney that since
he is not licensed, bonded, or insured to test electronic equipment
that he would be exposing himself self to considerable liability. Gose
says that based on this that he will not be unable to offer any service
that involves testing electronic devices of any kind in any way shape
or form. However, W9FIZ still plans to attend and both his free
advertisement board and 2 meter paging service will still be available.
(W9FIZ)

**

BREAK 2

This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. From the United
States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline with links to the
world from our only official website at www.arnewsline.org and being
relayed by the volunteer services of the following radio amateur:

(5 sec pause here)

**

CHANGING OF THE GUARD: W9JUV - S.K.

The changing of the guard in our world of amateur radio continues with
the sad news of the passing of our longtime friend and colleague Joseph
J. "Joe" Schroeder, Jr. W9JUV on Tuesday, April 30th. Bill Pasternak,
WA6ITF, is here with more on the life of this truly dedicated ham radio
operator:

--

When he passed away at age 83, Joe Schroeder, W9JUV, was perhaps best
known as the founding editor of the weekly H-R Report newsletter
published in the 1970's by Ham Radio Magazine. This was the first
independent amateur radio news source other than the ARRL's W1AW
broadcasts and its Directors Letters. In addition to HR Report, Joe
was also a member of the Ham Radio Magazine editorial staff from its
inception and continued with it for many years. He also served as a
reporter for this news service during its formative days as the
Westlink Radio News.

Joe was licensed as W9JUV since 1946. An accomplished DXer, he was
active on all bands from 160 meters through 432 MHz. His ham radio
achievements included being on the DXCC Honor Roll since early 1970's;
achieving 6 Meter DXCC, Worked All Continents and Worked All States.

W9JUV was a life Member ARRL, AMSAT and the QCWA. Over the years he
had held various positions with ARRL, AMSAT and the Old Old Timers
Club. He was also a member of the PJ2T Contesting Group, the Northern
Illinois DX Association, and the Radio Club of America.

Professionally W9JUV was a former Motorola engineer and Managing Editor
of Electronic Instrument Digest magazine. He was the founder of the
Chicago area-based firm Consultek Consulting as well as being an
authority on firearms history and gun collecting. In the latter he was
the owner of Handgun Press Publishing Co. and wrote or edited many
books and articles in that field. A private pilot since 1956 he was
also active with Civil Air Patrol.

And less I forget to mention, Joe was a close friend of this reporter
for the better part of 40 years and will never be forgotten. There are
some special people who touch ones life, and for me, Joe Schroeder,
W9JUV, ranks at the very top.

I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in Los Angeles.

--

Joe Schroeder, W9JUV is survived by his wife of 55 years Janet, N9LGI;
his son Brad, daughter Elizabeth Anderluh and two grandchildren.
Speaking for the family, Joe's daughter Elizabeth says that a memorial
service will be held for him at some point in the near future. In lieu
of flowers, memorials may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society,
651 W. Washington Blvd., Suite 400, Chicago, Illinois 60661 or Cal's
Angels, 721 Aston Lane South, Elgin, Illinois 60177. (ARNewsline(tm))

**

ON THE AIR: FIRST CLASS CW OPS CLUB CELEBRATES 75 YEARS

Members of the First Class CW Operators Club will take to the air in
May with many using special calls. This to celebrate the 75th
anniversary of that organization.

Nearly 50 special FOC suffix calls, and 6 calls with unique prefixes
will be on the bands throughout the month. The special call GB75FOC
will be activated by a group of English members each day in May and
special versions of the club call G4FOC will be used in non-English
U.K. countries. In addition, the call M0RSE will be on the air as
well.

An FOC 75 award will be available at the three levels of bronze, silver
and gold. For full information about the award as well as QSL routing
to stations involved in this celebration, simply take your web browser
to www.g4foc.org and then follow the link to FOC 75th Anniversary.
(KR3E)

**

ON THE AIR: CELEBRATING ST CYRIL AND METHODIUS DAY

Now here' a rather interesting one. A special event station signing
LZ2013KM will be activated by members of Bulgarian Federation of Radio
Amateurs between May 1st and the 31st.

This operation is to celebrate a national holiday known as St. Cyril
and Methodius day. Operation will be on all the High Frequency bands
with QSL's going only via the LZ bureau.

And who were St. Cyril and Methodius you ask? Well they were the
creators of the Cyrillic alphabet, and we thought you might like to
know. (Z1BJ)

**

DX

In DX, JA9LSZ is reported as being currently active from Nepal as
9N7SZ. His operation is on the High Frequency bands only. If you work
him please QSL to JA9LSZ.

According to SQ8X posting on the FT5XM Web page the group hopes to set
sail for Amsterdam Island on January 15, 2014 and arrive on the 24th.
Landing operations will begin as soon as the sea conditions and weather
allow. Once the team is ashore, they will have 18 days to set up,
conduct the DXpedition, and tear down for departure. You can follow
developments at www.amsterdamdx.org

JJ8DEN was to be active from Puka Puka Atoll in French Polynesia From
April 30th through May 7th. This will be followed by an operation from
Raivavae Island in the Austral Island group as KH0PR stroke FO from May
8th to the 15th. He will be active on High Frequency bands using CW ,
RTTY and PSK. QSL via JJ8DEN.

Members of the Dutch Society of Radio Amateurs will be active as 9H25
from Qawra, Malta between May 20th and June 4th. This in celebration
of the groups 25th Holiday DXpedition to that nation. Operations will
be on 80 through 6 meters using CW and SSB. QSL via PI4KGL

Lastly, a DXpedition made up of members of the Oceania DX Group will
activate Norfolk Island as VK9NT between May 3rd and the 13th. They
plan to have 4 stations covering 80 through 10 meters operating CW, SSB
and RTTY. An "Online QSL Request Service" will be available for
bureau, and direct cards on ClubLog which is the preferred method. If
for some reason you cannot use the ClubLog or Logbook of the World,
paper QSL can go direct to VK2CA.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

RADIO IN SPACE: NASA MISSION TO STUDY EQUATORIAL ELECTRICAL STORM
PROPAGATION

And finally this wee, a NASA funded sounding rocket mission will launch
from an atoll in the Pacific in the next few weeks to help scientists
better understand and predict the electrical storms in Earth's upper
atmosphere. These severe weather outbursts can interfere with
satellite communication, the global positioning system and other
space-based communications including some used by radio amateurs.

The mission is called EVEX which stands for the Equatorial Vortex
Experiment. It will consist of the launch two rockets from the
Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands for a twelve minute information
gathering journey through the equatorial ionosphere above the South
Pacific. The twin spacecraft will measure events in two separate
regions of the ionosphere to see how they work together to drive the
ionosphere from placid and smooth to violently disturbed. Such
information could ultimately lead to the ability to more accurately
forecast this important aspect of space related weather.

The launch window for EVEX runs through May 10th. More on this
propagation study mission is on-line at tinyurl.com/nasa-storm-rocket
(Space Daily)

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC Communicator, CQ
Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain,
the RSGB, the Southgate News, TWiT-TV and Australia's WIA News, that's
all from the Amateur Radio Newsline(tm). Our e-mail address is
newsline (at) arnewsline (dot) org. More information is available at
Amateur Radio Newsline's(tm) only official website located at
www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur
Radio Newsline(tm), 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350

A reminder that the nominating period for the 2013 Amateur Radio
Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award is now open. Full details and a
nominating form are on our website at www.arnewsline.org/yhoty.

For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors' desk, I'm Jim
Davis, W2JKD, on Frorida's Sunshine Coast saying 73 and we thank you
for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.