Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1839 - November 9 2012

[William M. Pasternak]

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1839 - November 9 2012

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1839 with a release date of
November 9, 2012 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. The German Space Agency nixes a ham radio
mission to Mars but AMSAT-DL is not giving up on launching the probe.
Also Ireland's national amateur radio society takes a stand against a
proposed pan-European broadband over powerline standard and a Los
Angeles radio personality says he will donate a kidney to a station
engineer. Find out the details are on Amateur Radio Newsline(tm)
report number 1839 coming your way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here)


**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: GERMAN SPACE AGENCY REJECTS AMSAT DL MARS MISSION

Germany's space exploration plans will not support a proposed ham radio
mission to the red planet. We have more in this report:

--

After five years of discussions and negotiations with the German space
agency, AMSAT-DL reports that nation's space exploration group has
withdrawn its support for the amateur satellite organization's plan to
send a ham radio satellite to Mars. This is the so-called P 5 or Phase
5 satellite mission.

According to the AMSAT News Service, the agency advised the group that
P5's mission was not financially feasible. Also that compared with the
current Mars missions the scientific attraction was simply not there.
You can read that as being of insufficient interest to the formal
scientific research community.

The decision by the German Space Agency also affects plans for a
geostationary Earth-orbiting ham radio satellite. This being the so
called Phase 3 E which was to be part of the overall P 5 program. None
of this is good news for amateur radio's future exploration of the
final frontier.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Burt Hicks, in Los Angeles.

--

AMSAT-DL officials sat that they are not giving up hope for these
missions. They note that their organization recently had some
interesting meetings in China adding that if it cannot do rocket
science in Germany, that it will have to look for other countries.
(ANS)

**

RADIO POLITICS: IARU REGION 3 CONFERENCE IN HO CHI MINH CITY

Delegates are likely preparing to return home from the International
Amateur Radio Union Region 3 conference that was held in Ho Chi Minh
City from November 5th to the 9th. This 15th triennial conference was
hosted by the Vietnam Amateur Radio Club and was themed emergency
communications as reflected in the frequent disasters that involve
amateur radio communications.

In seeking to standardize privileges and licensing, the organizations
directors have asked that consideration be given to one of their
papers. This is one that explores issues facing amateur radio
societies in working with their administration in the 21st century.

There were also reports from the IARU Region 1 and 2, from Region 3
member societies, Amateur Radio Direction Finding interests, the IARU
Monitoring Service, along with beacon and satellite representatives.
The delegates also talked about regional finances and the organizations
constitution. (VK3PC)

**

RADIO LAW: IRTS ANNOUNCES OPPOSITION TO PROPOSED EUROPEAN PLT STANDARD

Ireland's Irish Radio Transmitters Society is the latest national ham
radio organization to line up in opposition to a newly proposed
pan-European draft digital Power Line or PLT transmission standard.
Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, has more:

--

Following the news last week that the German National Society, DARC,
now opposes a new pan-European draft Power Line Transmission standard,
we have heard that the Irish Radio Transmitters Society, like the RSGB,
also opposes the standard.

In their magazine they say that "the draft Standard accepts that the
PLT devices do not, in effect, meet the essential requirements of the
EMC Directive as it prescribes measures to mitigate interference by
permanently or dynamically excluding frequencies in the amateur,
aeronautical mobile and broadcast bands."

The IRTS Committee took the unanimous view that it would not be
appropriate to support a draft Standard that sought only to protect
selective sensitive frequencies in the HF spectrum without regard to
the levels of interference that could be caused by the equipment
concerned on the remainder of the HF spectrum.

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

--

As previously noted here on Amateur Radio Newsline, this new standard
concerns the devices that people install in their homes to run data
over their house wiring. It has nothing to do with PLC or BPL data
that is carried over the over company powerline networks. (GB2RS)

**

RESCUE RADIO: CANADIAN RADIO CLUB WANTS WEATHER TRANSMITTER IN MINDEN

A Canadian amateur radio club is lobbying for a new severe weather
alert transmitting station in the county it serves. The Minden Times
reports that on October 26th the Minden Amateur Radio Club members of
the club which is one of the oldest in Haliburton County, gathered for
their weekly meeting. At that time club President Dorian Young,
VE3YBG, put forth the idea of getting a transmitter in Minden for the
purpose of emergency weather alert situations.

One of the special guests at the gathering was Gord Maybee of
Weatheradio Canada who connected the group via a conference call to
Denis Paquette of Environment Canada. Paquette told the group the
average amount of time it takes to get a transmitter is two years,
after specifics such as scouting a location and installation are
factored in.

At the meeting VE3YBG noted that there have been two weather
emergencies in the past few years, one being a massive snowstorm and a
the other wind storm. He noted that with Minden hosting the Pan Am
Games in 2015 it would be a wonderful addition to have a weather
transmitter in the area. Young added that the radio club is eager to
make this happen.

Currently, the closest transmitter is in Orillia, however, members of
the club argued Haliburton County does not receive adequate or timely
information from that location. While there used to be a transmitter in
nearby Algonquin Park that unit is no longer operational.

More is on-line at tinyurl.com/minden-weather-radio (Minden Times,
Minden Amateur Radio Club)

**
RESCUE RADIO: CLARK COUNTY NEVADA DROPS HARRIS DESERT SKY RADIO SYSTEM

After two years of battling dropped calls and dead zones in the
department's new radio system, Nevada's Clark County Sheriff Doug
Gillespie has opted to drop the Harris Desert Sky police radio system.

On October 11th, Gillespie informed the Chief Executive Officer of
Harris Corporation that his company's Desert Sky radio system cannot
meet his department's needs.

Unveiled in the summer of 2010, the $42 million Desert Sky digital
system is based on Harris' OpenSky digital communications technology.
While Desert Sky's data capabilities have seen mixed results, the voice
communication between officers is the bigger problem. Gillespie says
that while things have improved in the past two years, the system still
is not up to the standard for an agency whose officers talk on the
radio 50,000 times every day.

The most common complaints are common among patrol officers who say the
faulty system endangers their lives. In his statement Sheriff
Gillespie noted that he believed that his department had given Harris
every opportunity to make the system work, but it's just not reliable.
The full story is on-line at tinyurl.com/DesertSkyDumped. Clark
County, Nevada encompasses the city of Las Vegas and surrounding areas.
(CGC, Las Vegas Review Journal)

**

INTERNATIONAL LAW: INTERNATIONAL REPLY COUPONS MAY SOON BE PASSED OUT
IN THE USA

International Reply Coupons may soon be a thing of the past. At least
here in the United States with word that the U.S. Postal Service has
proposed doing away with them due to what it says is a very low demand.

The Postal Service says that even if it stops selling International
Reply Coupons that it will continue to accept those purchased in
foreign countries and presented at its U.S. facilities.

International Reply Coupons have long been a staple in the DX community
used to help offset the cost of DX'ers to provide QSL cards especially
from some of the words rarer DX locations. They have also been used to
assist hams in nations where sending in foreign currency is not
allowed. (USPS, QRZ)

**

BREAK 1

>From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world including the Cal-Net Link
serving all of California.


(5 sec pause here)


**

RESCUE RADIO: HAMS SHOULD NOT SELF DEPLOY FOR HURRICANE SANDY RELIEF

The ARRL is warning hams who want to assist those regions affected by
Hurricane Sandy to not self-deploy to those areas. According to the
League there are many ARRL Sections involved and each has different
requirements as to how they locate, credential and deploy volunteers.
If a need for manpower is identified that cannot be met locally or in a
given ARRL Section, its leadership may contact other ARRL Sections for
assistance. If the need is still not met, Section leadership may then
contact ARRL Headquarters for the needed assistance. But the bottom
line is that you not go to any devastated area unless you are
specifically asked to do so. (ARRL)

**

RESCUE RADIO: UNSUNG HEROES OF THE VoIP HURRICANE NET

Some of the most important messaging during Hurricane Sandy or any
other hurricane was handled by the unsung heroes of the VoIP Hurricane
Net. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is here with
their story:

--

They truly are the unsung heroes of ham radio that few in the hobby
know about. But they do the kind of volunteer work that is needed to
assist the National Weather Service and other served agencies when
disaster is near. And during Hurricane Sandy their contributions were
immense. Take a listen:

--

Net audio: "WB1BOX from N1OU. Seeing a dramatic increase in the
amount of wires down, trees taking out transformers and powerlines here
in the city of Meriden Connecticut."

--

That's the sound of the sound of the VoIP SKYWARN and Hurricane Nets.
Their primary objective is to help save lives and property thru the
identification and field evaluation of threatening or dangerous weather
conditions. At the same time facilitate the timely gathering and
dissemination of this information.

--

Net audio: "We are very concerned about Rhode Island for coastal storm
surge flooding basically from the Dartmouth -New Bedford area West is
our big concern coming up here. So we are going to try to do the best
we can to try to get some data. A lot of those areas are going to be
closed off so we are going to see what we can come up with to gather
data there that I know is extremely critical."

--

The VoIP SKYWARN and Hurricane Nets operate by combining both Echolink
and IRLP linked repeater networks over the Internet. This they say
provides for more efficient and effective utilization of available
resources while handling critical wide area communications during major
severe weather events.

To learn more about the efforts of the VoIP Hurricane Net, you are
invited to join the VOIP-WXNET Yahoo Group or visit voipwx.net on the
World Wide Web.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the
newsroom in Los Angeles.

--

More on Hurricane Sandy and ham radio relief efforts in future Amateur
Radio Newsline reports. (ARNewsline)

**

RADIO LAW: FCC TURNS DOWN PETITION TO CHANGE RESPONSIBILITY OF CONTENT
IN MESSAGE FORWARDING SYSTEMS

The FCC has denied a petition to change Part 97.219 of the Amateur
Service rules filed by Rolan O. Clark, W3FDK, of Adamstown, Maryland.
This regarding the responsibility of control operators in message
forwarding systems for retransmitted messages that violate the
Commission's rules. Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather Embee, KB3TZD, has
the details:

--

In his rule making request, Rolan O. Clark, W3FDK, had asked that the
phrase - quote -- "except as noted in paragraph (d) of this section,
for stations participating in a message forwarding system" be removed
from Section 97.219(c) and that Section 97.219(d) be removed
completely.

In his filing, Clark stated that he believed that the control operator
of the first forwarding station in a message forwarding system - quote
-- "should have the same standing as the control operator of a repeater
that inadvertently retransmits communications that violate the rules.
This, because the intent to accomplish communications consisting of
text and/or voice communications is the same.

Clark also claimed that Section 97.219 (d) is ambiguous as it gives no
direction to the method and degree of processes and or procedures
needed to define the degree of authentication. He said that it implies
that there would have to be a visually obtainable copy of the suspected
violation otherwise it becomes hearsay.

Clark proposed to address these differences between a message
forwarding system and a repeater by conforming Section 97.219 to
Section 97.205(g). Specifically, he suggested requiring that the
originator of a message that is entered into a message forwarding
system be the only licensee responsible for its content.

But in its November 5th ruling turning down Clark's rule change
petition the FCC noted that it had considered and rejected requirements
such as he proposed when it adopted the message forwarding system rules
back in 1994. It went on to say that Clark's present petition did not
demonstrate or even suggest that any relevant circumstances have
changed such as to merit reconsideration of this decision. As such
the Commission says that Clark's current proposal does not demonstrate
that revising this rule would provide the ongoing oversight of message
forwarding systems that must be present. To the contrary, the
regulatory agency suggests that Clark's proposal asks for an
accommodation for message forwarding systems that commenter's said
should not apply to these systems.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD, in Berwyck,
Pennsylvania.

--

At airtime its unknown if Clark plans to appeal the Commissions
dismissal of his rule making request. (FCC)

**

RADIO PRODUCTS: NEW HT WITH GSM PHONE NOT LEGAL IN USA

A mainland China company called Puxing has announced what might be the
ultimate in hand held two-way gear, but the chances are that you will
never see one in the United States. At least not legally and the
reason for this is simple.

The PX-D03 combines a GSM cellular telephone with a dual-band two-way
radio and as a bonus can also be used as an MP3 player for your
favorite tunes. And under the current FCC rules, combining a two-way
radio with a cellphone makes the unit illegal to import, buy, sell or
use in the U-S-A or its possessions.

According to the specifications posted on-line by one China-based mail
order retailer, the PX-D03 covers 136 to174 and 400 to 470 MHz as a
full dual band two-way transceiver with a total of 128 memory channels.
It can be computer programmed and features what Puxing calls a
human-based operational interface.

On the cellphone side, the GSM-based unit carries dual S-I-M cards, has
text messaging, and a built-in front-facing camera. And if that were
not all, the unit also contains an FM radio that receives the 87.5 to
108 MHz broadcast band, the afore mentioned MP3 player plus other
entertainment including several games.

As being advertised, the PX-D03 comes with a 3.7v Lithium-Ion battery,
a charging stand and power supply for the country the purchaser lives
in; two antennas, a soft case and a remote plug in earpiece. According
to one of the websites advertising the unit, the total cost is $151
shipped world-wide. (Southgate)

**

RADIO FUNDING: DX MAGAZINE ASKS HOW TO GET INCREAEED FUNDING FOR
RXPEDITIONS

The current issue of DX Magazine features an article titled Dealing
With the Skyrocketing Costs of DXpeditions and is is asking its readers
for their ideas on how to increase the level of funding for future
major DX operations

Carl Smith, N4AA, is the Editor and Publisher of the DX Magazine. He
says that major DXpeditions to entities in the top ten most wanted list
can cost $500,000 or more to activate. This poses a major fund raising
challenge to organizers, especially with costs rising rapidly for such
big ticket items as transportation, licensing, and permits.

Specific costs are documented in the article appearing in the
November-December issue. Smith said that DXer's and others are invited
to send their ideas to the DX Magazine, which will be reporting the
results in a future issue. All suggestions are welcome, and may be
either anonymous or identified by the contributor's name and call.

If you want to lend your thoughts to solving this problem please send
your ideas and comments to the DXpedition Costs Survey, % Dee Logan,
W1HEO, 9901 Cypress Circle, Mentor, Onio, 44060. E-mail submissions to
deverelogan (at) gmail (dot) com are also welcome. (DX Magazine,
Southgate)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: NEWSLINE'S WA6ITF TO APPEAR ON ECHOLINK NET NOV. 17

Amateur Radio Newsline producer Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, will be the
featured guest on the Saturday night, November 17th edition of the
Echolink Newsline Net. The net meets every Saturday at 9 p.m. Eastern
on the Dodropin conference server which is Echolink Node number 355800.
According to Steve Sercrest, W8WFO, this is not the original name for
the gathering. Rather, because it's been running our weekly report for
such a long time that those signing in began calling it the Amateur
Radio Newsline or Newsline network.

Again, you are welcome to join in the net conference at Echolink node
355800 on Saturday night, November 17th at 9 p.m. Eastern to hear
Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, talk about numerous things in ham
radio and do is best to answer your questions. Bill says he hopes to
meet many of you there. (W8WFO)

**

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)

**


EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: MORE TESTING AT WWVB

WWVB, the 60 kHz station most often used as our nation's time and
frequency standard, is continuing to test its phase modulated mode and
may switch between their legacy AM mode and their new phase modulated
mode in the days and weeks ahead. Stay tuned and keep listening on 60
kHz for their ongoing experiments. (CGC, WWVB)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: OZ7IGY NEXT GENERATION 6 AND 2 METER BEACONS ON
THE AIR FROM DENMARK

The first two Next Generation Beacons have come to the airwaves. On
October 30th the latest two OZ7IGY came to 6 and 2 meters from
Slettebjerg, Denmark.

OZ7IGY is the world's oldest beacon system in the world having begun
operation in the International Geophysical Year in 1957. From its start
on 144 MHz it has ever since been on air continuously. Now the newest
beacons can be heard on 50.46973 MHz and 144.46973 MHz respectively.

And by way of background, the Next Generation Beacon platform is open
to other users and the software can easily be adapted to other
modulation types and sequences. And as the new platform is frequency
and time locked to GPS signals the frequency accuracy is better than 5
milli-Hertz.

More information is on the web at www.oz7igy.dk. (GB2RS)

**

RADIO IN SPACE: SPOT THE ISS SERVICE FROM NASA

A new service from NASA called Spot the Station will send you a text
message when the International Space Station is within visual range of
your house.

The service will only notify users if the station is easily visible
above trees, buildings, and other objects. Spot the Station will
calculate the station's proximity to more than 4,600 positions on
Earth, updating its information several times each week.

The International Space Station is usually at peak visibility at dawn
and dusk. When skies are clear, it typically appears as fast-moving
point of light.

You can sign up for the service on line by visiting
spotthestation.nasa.gov. (NASA, N6ZXJ)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: STILL NO SIGNAL FROM F1 CUBESAT

There have still been no confirmed reception reports since the F-1
amateur radio CubeSat was deployed from the International Space Station
on 4th October. Its command team is now focusing on reception of the
backup UHF transmitter on 437.485 MHz, plus or minus 10 kHz Doppler
shift.

This FM beacon should transmit Morse code for 20 seconds every minute
during the satellites daylight. The team would appreciate any reports
of the beacon be sent by email to thuvt (at) fpt (dot) edu dot) vn.
Further information on F1 can be found at www.amsat-uk.org. (Southgate)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: FIRST TIME EVER INDIA TO ISS STUDENT CONTACT

A group of students in Gujarat, India will reach out to the stars. For
the first time in that nation's history about 500 students will have a
live chat with Sunita Williams, KD5PLB, the Indian-origin astronaut
aboard the International Space Station, using an amateur radio station
at the Science City facility in Ahmedabad.

Ravi Saxena is an Assistant Chief Secretary of the Department of
Science and Technology. He says that because Williams has roots in
India, it is all the more special to them.

The contact is currently slated for November 14, celebrated as
Children's Day in India. To arrange this Q-S-O, India's scientific
community from the state of Ahmedabad contacted NASA soon after
Williams set off for her record-breaking journey in July of this year.
(WIA)

**

ON THE AIR: THE 850 BIRTHDAY OF CHINGGIS

On the air keep an ear open for special event callsigns with a J-U-850
prefix that will be on the air November 14th to the 21st from Mongolia.
This to celebrate 850th birthday emperor Chinggis Khan.

A Chinggis Khan Award will be issued free to those who make three
contacts with three different event callsigns. These include JU850AA,
JU850DA, JU850DN and can be made using any mode on any band. If you
make contact with any of the commemorative JU850 stations please QSL
via the information found for each call on QRZ.com.

By way of background, Chinggis Kahn, called in some parts of the world
as Genghis Khan, came to power by uniting many of the nomadic tribes of
Northeast Asia. In the year 1207 he was the founder and great leader
of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in
history after his demise in 1227. (JT1CS)

**

DX

In DX, word that JH1AJT will be on the air from Bhutan through the 15th
of November as A5A He will be active on 40 through 10 meters using
various modes. QSL via home call

ARRL Awards Branch Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, has announced that the
August 2012 VU7M Lakshadweep Islands and the ZD9UW operation from
Tristan Da Cunha and Gough have been approved for DXCC credit. If you
worked them feel free to submit your cards for DXCC checking for these
two.

R4WAA will be active from Dominican Republic November 21st to the 30th
signing stroke HI7. He will be working on 40 through 10 meters and will
definitely be on for the CQ World Wide DX CW Contest November 24th and
25th. QSL via home call call direct or via the bureau.

G7COD will be on the air 8Q7AK from Embudu Island in the Maldives for
three weeks in February of 2013. He's expected to be operating holiday
style on 30, 17 and 12 meters using CW and SSB. QSL him also via his
home callsign, direct or via the bureau.

DF2WO is currently operational from Cape Verde as D-44-T-W-O. He is
reported to be active on the High Frequency Bands. QSL via his home
call

Lastly, SP5EAQ will be active from Tongatapu Island in the Kingdom of
Tonga 26 from March 26th to April 16th as A3EAQ He will be operational
on 80 through 10 meters using SSB. QSL via SP5EAQ.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: A TRUE ACT OF TRUE HUMANITY

And finally this week, it isn't often that you hear a story like this,
but when you do it makes one proud to be a member of the human race.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW reports:

--

Gene "Bean" Baxter is a personality of CBS Radio's KROQ-FM in Los
Angeles. He has entertained L.A. audiences since 1990 alongside
on-the-air partner Kevin Ryder, as part of the "Kevin and Bean" morning
show team.

In addition to making a multitude of over the air friends, Bean, as he
is known, has also created longstanding relationships with those inside
the KROQ offices. In that vein he recently announced that he will
become a kidney donor to help a longtime staffer. The recipient of
Bean's generosity will be Scott Mason, N1CBS, who is the Director of
Engineering for CBS radio on the West Coast, and who has been with the
company in a variety of capacities since 1979.

On November 13th, the two will go to Cedars Sinai Medical Center which
is one of only four hospitals in the country that have the ability to
match Mason's blood type to that of Bean and give him the much needed
organ. Bean then plans to take a few weeks off from work, and expects
his remaining kidney to function at about 80%.

Out of this whole process, Bean hopes that people will see how easy it
is to become an organ donor. He also believes that if he recovers
quickly and is back to work in a short time, it may deliver an even
stronger message, changing the minds of some and raising awareness of
organ donation.

This will be the second transplant for Mason, who has had kidney
problems for most of his adult life. He underwent a previous
transplant from a cadaver in 1999 that lasted about 10 years. He
currently undergoes daily dialysis and calls Bean's decision to donate
a kidney to him as a game changer. Bean Baxter calls it a no-brainer.

Wishing them both Mason and Bean a quick recovery from this upcoming
and life changing surgery, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles.

--

Scott Mason has been on a waiting list for a kidney, which sometimes is
a six to 10 year wait, when Bean offered his kidney. For Bean Baxter,
it was an educational process and a decision based on math, not
emotions. He said that Mason has zero kidneys and that he has two. You
can hear the full discussion with Bean Baxter and Scott Mason on Kevin
and Bean audio archive at tinyurl.com/radio-kidney-donation

(RBR, KROQ Audio Archive, ARNewsline)

**

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

For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors' desk, I'm Jim
Davis, W2JKD, in Vero Beach, Florida, saying 73 and we thank you for
listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.