Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1561 - July 13, 2007
William M. Pasternak
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1561 with a
release date of Friday, July 13, 2007 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a Q-S-T. Hams down-under
respond as flood waters rise, wildfires won't
stop the fall Amateur Radio Direction Finding
Championship and the FCC says no to special
military call sign designators requeasted by the
QCWA. Find out the details on Amateur Radio
Newsline(tm) report number 1561 coming your way right now.
(Billboard Cart Here)
**
RESCUE RADIO: VK HAMS VS. THE GIPPSLAND FLOODS
Ham radio proved to be an important channel of
communications as flood waters ravaged the
Gippsland area of Australia's Victoria
state. Jim Linton, VK3PC, of the WIA News has the details:
--
Providing communications support during the flood
disaster in eastern Victoria were seven radio
amateurs, members of RECOM the communications arm of the Australian Red
Cross.
John Patterson VK3ATQ of RECOM reports its role
was centered on emergency relief centers at
Paynesville, Sale, Bairnsdale and Lakes Entrance.
There the team registered 361 flood evacuees and
transmitted this information back to the Red
Cross Headquarters in Melbourne using data communications.
RECOM also provided other reliable communications
of administrative traffic for the Red Cross. The
operators involved included VK3ATQ, VK3AUO,
VK3BQS, VK3BPD, VK3EK, VK3GBJ and VK3XSW.
The floods at some locations cut power or put it
at risk and RECOM was fully prepared with self-reliant auxiliary power.
John VK3ATQ found himself being interviewed
numerous times by the ABC as part of its public
information coverage as the flood disaster unfolded.
The RECOM guys with their communications
'go-kits' and four wheel drive vehicles were
activated for five-days in the flood areas.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Linton, VK3PC.
--
According to VK3PC, RECOM began in Australia's
Victoria state. Its is now grown to become a
nation-wide service group with ever increasing recognition. (WIA News)
**
RESCUE RADIO: EAS MISTAKE IN ILLINOIS
Several hundred radio and television stations in
Illinois were affected by an E-A-S mistake the
morning of June 26th. This, when the Illinois
Emergency Management Agency was testing new
equipment in what was supposed to be a
closed-circuit test of the 10-minute presidential alert message from FEMA.
Between 7:30 and 8 a.m., depending on when each
station in the chain got the message, their
programming was taken over for 10 minutes. A
monthly test would have lasted for two minutes,
as opposed to the 10-minute presidential alert.
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency said it
had no advance warning of the test and that the
federal government used a hot or active code
rather than a test code for the test
message. Chicago, Rockford, Quincy, and
Springfield were among the affected areas.
FEMA says it's trying to upgrade EAS with
satellite delivery, and the snafu occurred in
Illinois because a contractor improperly
installed equipment and basically created an
open loop. The system was not supposed to be on
line at the time. (RW, listerner reports)
**
RADIOSPORTS: WILDFIRES WONT HAMPER ARDF CHAMPIONSHIPS
The recent wildfire near Lake Tahoe on the Nevada
and California border has not put an end to the
planning for this year's hidden transmitter
hunting championship games. They will take place
as planned. Amateur Radio Newsline's Joe Moell K0OV, has the story.
--
It's full speed ahead with preparations for the
Seventh Annual Championships of Amateur Radio
Direction Finding, or ARDF. This year's
championships will take place on the weekend of
September 14 through 16 in the El Dorado Forest
near Lake Tahoe. That's in the Sierra Mountains
near the California/Nevada border. Primary
sponsor is the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio
Club. Marvin Johnston KE6HTS is General Chair of the organizers.
Most of the competitors will be staying at Camp
Concord, a rustic but comfortable facility that's
two miles west of the city of South Lake Tahoe,
near the shore of Fallen Leaf Lake. Camp staff
will provide meals during the events, and
everyone can walk to the competition courses from there.
Registration opened in early June and plans for
the championships were proceeding. Then on the
afternoon of June 24, a forest fire broke out
south of Fallen Leaf Lake. Fanned by high winds,
it moved rapidly northeast into a nearby
residential area. Over 550 firefighters worked
diligently around the clock to slow the expansion
of the burn area and prevent further structure damage.
Full containment of the Angora fire, as it was
called, was achieved just before Independence
Day. It destroyed 3100 acres, 242 homes and 67
commercial buildings. Total loss has been estimated at 11.7 million
dollars.
Camp Concord is 1.6 miles from the edge of the
burn area and has reopened for the summer camping
season. The entire burn area is closed until at
least November 30 to protect the fragile
environment. But the forest land near the shores
of Fallen Leaf Lake has mostly been spared.
With a few minor map revisions, everything looks
good to go. Early Bird registration was
scheduled to end on July 14, but because of the
delay, that deadline has been extended to July 31
You and your family are invited to the
championships this year. Anyone with reasonable
physical abilities can participate. A ham
license is not required and there are no age
limits, but you must be able to run or walk
through the forest and carry your DF gear for
five to ten kilometers. You might even win a
spot on USA's team to the next ARDF World
Championships. Read more about the
championships, and international-style
transmitter hunting, at the usual
place: homingin.com. Homing In is entered as one word, homingin.com.
From southern California, this Joe Moell,
K-zero-O-V for Amateur Radio Newsline.
--
Again, this year's ARDF Championship games will
take place on the weekend of September 14 through
16 in the El Dorado Forest near Lake Tahoe. And
as Joe said, more is on-line at www.homingin.com. (K0OV, ARNewsline(tm))
**
RADIO SPORTS: IARU WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
The International Amateur Radio Union's High
Frequency World Championship operating event is
taking place as this newscast goes to air. RSGB
News Reader Jeramy Boot, G4NJH, has some
background on the event and how its scoring security is enforced:
--
Participation in the IARU HF World Championship
due to take place on 14 to 15 July has grown
steadily for the past four years, despite solar
activity trending in the wrong direction. The
creation of Low Power and QRP categories has
contributed to increasing both the popularity and
the competitiveness of the event.
A condition of entry in the IARU HF World
Championship is that each entrant agrees to be
bound by the provisions of the announced rules,
by the regulations of his or her licensing
authority. Also by the decisions of the ARRL
Awards Committee acting for the IARU International Secretariat.
Leading competitors should expect their entries
to be carefully scrutinised. If exceptional
results are claimed, entrants must be prepared to
explain how they were achieved.
Im Jeramy Boot, G4NJH
--
According to the ARRL Letter, the League
administers the High Frequency World Championship
on behalf of the IARU. (GB2RS)
**
REGULATORY NEWS: FCC TO RESCIND E-MAIL FILING SYSTEM
Starting this September, there will be no filing
at the FCC by fax or e-mail. Radio World reports
that the regulatory agency is doing away with
interim procedures it adopted in 2001 to allow
electronic filing of certain pleadings.
The procedure in question came into being
following an anthrax scare on Capitol Hill and
some U.S. Postal Service processing
facilities. This disrupted mail delivery and
required certain documents to be filed via fax or
e-mail, by an overnight delivery service other
than the U.S. Postal Service, or by hand-delivery
to the commission's Capitol Heights,
Maryland location. Since that time, mail
delivery in the Washington areas has improved and
the FCC has implemented its own processes to
combat the threat of contamination of incoming
mail. The commission also has expanded its online filing capabilities.
Based on this, the agency decided to rescind the
interim procedures effective September
25th. After that date, filings will no longer be
accepted by facsimile or e-mail unless otherwise
authorized by the FCC's rules. Its not clear if
this decision to revert back to the old system
will affect ham radio operators filing of rules
change requests or those making comments on them. (Published reports)
**
Break 1
From the United States of America, We are the
Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin
stations around the world including the AA5RO
repeater of the Alamo Area Radio Association, serving San Antonio Texas.
(5 sec pause here)
**
RERGULATORY NEWS: VEC MISTAKE LEADS TO PROPOSED
LICENSE DOWNGRADE
The FCC says that a clerical error made by the
W5YI VEC has resulted in Joseph K. Lewis, N1LNV,
being granted an un-earned upgrade. Now the
agency wants to take it back. And it will do so
unless Joseph K. Lewis files an objection to the
regulatory agency within the next several
days. Amateur Radio Newsline's Henry Feinberg, K2SSQ, has more:
--
According to an FCC release, back on April 10th
of this year the W5YI Volunteer Examiner
Coordinator sent an electronic data file to the
Commission, One requesting that Joseph K.
Lewis's operator license for station N1LNV be
upgrade to General Class operator
privileges. Based on this application, the
Commission granted the request the same day.
Then on dated May 16th, the W5YI V-E-C notified
the Commission that it had made a typographical
error in the April 10th data filing and that
Lewis had not qualified for a General Class
operator license. It urged the FCC to modify
Lewis's license to correct the Technician Class
operator privileges for which he was actually authorized.
The FCC says that right now the W5YI V-E-C's
request is most properly characterized as an
informal request for Commission action under
Section 1.41 of the Commission's
Rules. However, based on the information now
before it now, the FCC says that it appears to it
that the grant of General Class operator
privileges to Lewis was erroneous. This is
because he did not pass the examination necessary
to qualify for a General Class operator
license. Rather, he appears to be currently
authorized to operate with General Class operator
privileges only due to a typographical error made
during the application process.
So here's what happens now. The FCC says that it
believes that a modification of the license for
amateur station N1LNV to Technician
is appropriate. That said, it is giving Lewis
30 days to file a statement opposing this
action. If no objection is forthcoming from
Lewis, he will be considered having waived his
right to protest and will be deemed to have given
the FCC his consent for the FCC action to change
his license to Technician class to proceed.
For the Amateur radio Newsline, I'm Henry
Feinberg, K2SSQ, reporting from New York.
--
The FCC order proposing the license modification
was issued on July 9th. We will let you know the
outcome of this one in about a month. (FCC)
**
RADIO LAW: QCWA MILITARY CALL SIGN PETITION DISMISED
The FCC has dismissed a rules change request
asked by the Quarter Century Wireless
Association. One that would have permitted hams
who were currently a member of, or those who have
been honorably discharged member of the United
States military to include a unique indicator
with the station's call sign identification announcement.
In saying no to this one, the FCC noted that its
rules already permit the inclusion of indicators
with the call sign during station
identification. This, provided that no
self-assigned indicator conflicts with any
indicator specified by the Commission's rules or
with any prefix assigned to another country. As
such, the FCC says that Amateur Radio operators
who are in current service or who have been
honorably discharged already are permitted to
identify their stations in the way that the QCWA
suggests. As such, it deems this rule change as unnecessary. (FCC)
**
REGULATIORY NEWS: FCC WILL NOT CHANGE ID TIME PERIOD RULES
The FCC has said no to a pair of hams who sought
to change the time period in which it requires an
Amateur station to identify. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has more:
--
There were two I-D time limit filings. In the
first, Glen Zook, K9STH, of Richardson, Texas,
had asked the regulatory agency require that hams
transmit their callsign at the beginning and end
of each single transmission and at other times
involving short interval communications.
On the other side of the call sign issues was
Murray Green, K3BEQ, of Cheverly,
Maryland. Green had petitioned the FCC to reduce
the required frequency of station identification
period to every 30 minutes, rather than once every 10 minutes as it is now.
In denying both petitions the FCC said that the
present rule has not been shown to be burdensome
or unreasonable. The agency said that it agreed
with the comments that say that the problem of
operators who do not comply with the current
identification rule is better addressed by
enforcement rather than another rules change.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill
Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the studio in Los Angeles.
--
The bottom line: The FCC sees nothing wrong with
the current 10 minute I-D requirement and plans to keep it that way. (FCC)
**
RADIO LAW: A NEW PUSH FOR LPFM
Low Power FM station backers in Congress are
pushing again to make the FCC ease restrictions
on low-power stations. Proponents want the
commission to eliminate third-adjacent minimum
distance separation requirements between L-P-F-Ms
and other full power F-M stations.
Backers say that when Congress authorized the FCC
to issue L-P-F-M licenses in 2000, it attached an
unnecessary rule that limited these stations to
rural areas. Since then, thousands who submitted
applications with the FCC to operate their own stations have been blocked.
But proponents point out that the FCC's own MITRE
Study. In 2003 the Commission found that
increasing the number of Low Power FM stations
would not cause significant interference and that
the FCC then urged Congress to repeal the restrictions. (RW)
**
RADIO HELP: NEW SHORTWAVE TRANSMITTER USERS REMAILER
Stephen Lockwood of Hatfield and Dawson
Consulting Engineers has set up e-mail list
servers on the Society of Broadcast
Engineers Chapter 16 server to help shortwave
transmitter users. According to the National
Association of Shortwave Broadcasters, the
servers are a forum for suggestions for
maintenance and operation of Continental 418 and
Harris SW 100 transmitters. For questions e-mail
lock...@hatdaw.com. (Radio Remailer)
**
SPECIAL EVENTS: AIR VENTURE 2007 FROM WISCONSIN
Ham radio and flight will be coming together
later this month in Wisconsin. This, at one of
the worlds largest and best known fly-in
events. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jeff Clark, K8JAC, has more:
--
The Fox Cities Amateur Radio Club station ,W9ZL.
will once again run a special event
station. This. from Thursday July 26th through
Sunday July 29th from the grounds of the
AirVenture 2007 fly-in in Oskosh, Wisconsin.
The station will run from 1300 to 2100 U-T-C
each day on 14.270 and 7.250, as well as locally
on 146.520 and over the 146.760 repeater. The
latter requires a 100 hertz access tone. All
hams attending AirVenture are encouraged to stop
by to visit and be a guest operator at our station
A certificate will be sent to all High
Frequency contacts who QSL first with a 9" x 12"
Self Addressed Stamped Envelope. Send your QSL
info to Fox Cities Amateur Radio Club, Attn:
N9YMC at PO Box 5233, Appleton, Wisconsin, 54912.
--
Details about AirVenture 2007 are on-line at
www.airventure.org Information about the Fox
Cities Amateur Radio Club is in cyberspace at www.fcarc.us (N9MYC)
**
COMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS: BLOCKBUSTER SAYS YES TO BLU RAY DVD
Blockbuster Video rentals has chosen the Sony
backed Blu Ray high definition DVD as its next
generation video rental product. The move gives
significant weight to predictions that stores and
other retail outlets would begin to have a say in
the Blu Ray versus HD DVD format war.
Blockbuster came to its decision after test
marketing both emerging DVD formats in 250 of its
stores. After analyzing consumer response, it
decided to stock only Blu Ray disks in its next
1,450 stores to get high-def movies. HD DVD will
still be available online and at the locations
that Blockbuster used in testing rentals of both formats.
So far, the new high definition video disks
account for less than 1 percent of today's DVD sales. (Future Trends)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: AMSAT-UK SPACE COLLOQUIUM - JULY 20 - 22
AMSAT-UK will be holding its 22nd annual
International Space Colloquium at the University
of Surrey, Guildford, from July 20th to the
22nd. This years keynote speaker is Pat
Norris. Norris is the Chairman of the Royal
Aeronautical Society Space Group. His talk is
titled "Spies in the Sky: Surveillance Satellites in War and Peace."
Also, a Satellite Beginners Workshop will be held
on July 20th For further details take your web
browser to www.uk.amsat.org/Colloquium/. (GB2RS)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: DCC PAPERS DEADLINE JULY 31ST
Technical papers are solicited for presentation
at the 26th Annual ARRL and TAPR Digital
Communications Conference. That event is slated
to be held September 28th to the 30th in
Hartford, Connecticut. These papers will also be
published in the Conference Proceedings. Papers
will be published exactly as submitted and authors will retain all rights.
The submission deadline is July 31st. Please
send papers to Maty Weinberg, ARRL, 225 Main
Street, Newington, Connecticut, 06111. Or you
can make your submission via e-mail to: ma...@arrl.org (ARRL, TAPR)
**
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: NEW HIGH SENSITIVITY CAMERA CHIPS
A new image sensor could revolutionize the way
you take pictures. Even those you send via A-T-V. Jim Davis, W2JKD, has
more:
--
Eastman Kodak says it's developed a color filter
technology that will at least double the
sensitivity to sensors used in digital
cameras. Kodak expects to provide samples of the
new chips to a variety of camera manufacturers in the first quarter of 2008.
The new technology is likely to be quickly
incorporated into mass-market point-and-shoot
cameras and camera-equipped cellular telephones
phones beginning sometime next year.
I'm Jim Davis, W2JKD.
--
The new sensors are not quite see in the dark
devices, but are the next step in getting there. (Science On-Line)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AMSAT TO ELECT NEW LEADERS
Nominations for the 2007 AMSAT Board of Directors
have closed. The list of qualified candidates
includes Barry Baines, WD4ASW, Drew Glasbrenner,
KO4MA, Rick Hambly, W2GPS, Lee McLamb, KU4OS and Gunther Meisse, W8GSM.
The terms of four directors are up this
year. Ballots and biographical information
submitted by each candidate will be in the mail
to current AMSAT members by July 15th. Return
ballots are due back at the AMSAT office in
Silver Spring, Maryland no later than the close
of business on the 15th of September.
The winners names will be announced shortly
thereafter. Terms of the new directors start
upon certification of the election. AMSAT
Directors serve a two year term. (ANS)
**
WORLDBEAT - SWITZERLAND: HD RADIO DAYS IN OCTOBER
The second HD Radio Days event is taking place in
Lucerne, Switzerland in October. The gathering,
at Hotel Radisson SAS Lakefront, will include a
presentation of the final report on the Swiss HD
Radio field trial reported above. A variety of
test vehicles equipped with HD Radios will be on
hand for participants to drive. Separate
workshops will demonstrate a frequency assignment
simulation, plus receivers. A detailed program
and registration information will be posted in August. (Media Net)
**
WORLDBEAT - SOUTH AFRICA: NEW LOWER HAM TEST FEES
The cost of taking a ham radio test in South
Africa is going down, This, according to South
African Radio League President Graham Hartlett,
ZS6GJH who has announced a substantial reduction
in the cost of taking that nations Radio Amateur Exam.
According to Hartlett, the reduction has been
made possible because the nations
telecommunications regulator has agreed that the
South African Radio League, as the national body
for Amateur Radio, will be authorized to issue
the Radio Amateur Exam certificates. This takes
a major expense off the governments
shoulders. The new lower fee will include one
re-test should the candidate fail the first
attempt at the examination. (Southgate)
**
WORLDBEAT - UK: NEW IOTA WEBSITE OPENS
The RSGB's premier DX award program has launched
its new website. Devoted entirely to the Islands
on the Air or IOTA program, the spot in
cyberspace came on-line on Thursday, June 21st.
The new web pages feature many innovative
improvements including the ability to view one's
own record of island groups confirmed. In the
near future it will be possible for participants
to claim additional credits on-line and even to
claim credit for IOTA Contest QSOs without the need for QSL card
verification.
The site is located at www.rsgbiota.org. It was
developed by Dominic Smith, M0BLF, with Martin
Atherton, G3ZAY, acting as the liaison between
the project team and the IOTA Committee. (GB2RS)
**
WORLDBEAT - UK: ANALONG MAY END IN 2015
According to an article in the Sunday Telegraph
newspaper, commercial radio companies in the
United Kingdom are looking to set a firm end date for analog radio.
The industry body RadioCentre was expected to
approach the British broadcast regulator, Ofcom,
about setting a shutoff date for analog radio that could be as early as
2015.
An analog shutdown would mirror the transition
path being followed by the U-K television
industry, which will see an end to terrestrial analog broadcasting in 2012.
There is a concern, according to the Telegraph
report, that only a firm analog shutoff date will
ensure continued investment and development of
digital radio, although there are political
concerns about making millions of analog receivers obsolete. (RW)
**
WORLDBEAT - UK: NEW IOTA WEBSITE OPENS
In other news from around the world, word that
the RSGB's premier D-X award program has launched
a new website. Devoted entirely to the Islands
on the Air or IOTA program, the spot in
cyberspace came on-line on Thursday, June 21st.
The new web pages feature many innovative
improvements including the ability to view one's
own record of island groups confirmed. In the
near future it will be possible for participants
to claim additional credits on-line and even to
claim credit for IOTA Contest QSOs without the need for QSL card
verification.
The site is located at www.rsgbiota.org. It was
developed by Dominic Smith, M0BLF, with Martin
Atherton, G3ZAY, acting as the liaison between
the project team and the IOTA Committee. (Southgate)
**
DX
In DX, word that A multinational team lead by
Francesco, IK0FVC, will activate 1A0KM from the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta between July
12th to the 22nd. Activity is planned for 160 meters
through 23 centimeters on all modes. There will
be a possibility of some EME activity during the
first weekend of operations. QSL via IK0FTA.
Also, A25CF, and his team of operators are active
from Botswana until July the 20th. Activity is on
160 through 6 meters on CW and SSB, with
operations also on 6 and 2 meters along with 70
centimeter EME. QSL as directed by each operator.
Worldradio magazine editor Nancy Kott, WZ8C, and
several others are operating from the island of
Tortola through July 18th. The group is
participating in the FISTS CW Club summer sprint
on Friday July 13 and the IARU contest the
weekend of the 14th. Operation during the rest
of the time will be on SSB, RTTY and CW with an
emphasis on straight key operation. QSL via the FISTS bureau or W5PF
Lastly, listen out for EA1FCH, will be active
portable CU2 from Sao Miguel in the Eastern
Island Group from July 27th through August
5th. Activity will be on the lower bands and
WARC bands, mainly CW and the Digital modes. QSL
EA1FCH direct or via the bureau.
(Above from various DX newsletters and other sources)
**
THE NEWSLINE ON-LINE SURVEY: JUNE RESULTS AND A NEW ONE FOR JULY
And finally this week, we have the results of the
past months on-line Newsline website survey that
asked you what your favorite ham radio magazine
is. Coming in as the most read was the ARRL's
Q-S-T Magazine with 63.3% of the vote. In
second place among our listeners is
Worldradio. It garnered 18% of the vote. Third
place in went to CQ with 13.5%. The rest of you
voted "other" and accounted for 5.2% of those who responded.
As we have said in the past, these surveys are
not meant to be a scientific sampling. Rather,
it's a fun way for those of you interested to
tell the rest of the world your choice.
And in keeping with the fun theme of our surveys,
the new one now on-line asks a follow up
question. This one asks where in your home do
you read your favorite ham magazine.
Again, you have four choices. Please go to
www.arnewsline.org and cast your vote right now. (ARNewsline(tm))
**
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 and Australia's W-I-A
News, that's all from the Amateur Radio
Newsline(tm). Our e-mail address is
news...@arnewsline.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), P.O. Box
660937, Arcadia, California 91066.
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the
editors desk, I'm Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, saying 73
and we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.