Friday, January 18, 2013

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1849 - January 18 2013




Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1849 with a release
date of January 18 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T.  Developers of free D V digital
audio say a change in the FCC Amateur Service rules is
needed; the Sun wakes up and hurls a large C-M-E toward
Earth; the ARRL holkds it first Board of Directors meeting
of 2013 and the FCC to hold open hearings on the impact to
communications caused by hurricane Sandy.  All this and more
on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number 1849 coming your
way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here)


**

EMERGING HAM RADIO TECHNOLOGY:  DEVELOPERS OF CODEC 2
DERIVED FREE DV SAY A RULES FCC PART 97 RULES CHANGE IS
REQUIRED

The Codec2 digital voice project has developed a new program
called FreeDV.  This is a system to encode digital voice on
any two-way radio using only 1.125 KHz of bandwidth.  But
says Codec 2 researcher Bruce Perens, K6BP, FCC regulations
aren't up-to-speed with the challenges of software-defined
radio and Open Source architecture:
--

K6BP:  "One of the changes we (need to) make is bandwidth
based regulation.  Rather than what (the) FCC does today in
that it grants permission piecemeal permission to use a
different modulation letter (suffix) and if you change the
letter you have to go back to FCC for permission."

--

According to Perens there will be a filing of a 24 page
request to the FCC that will propose the regulatory agency
make several changes to the Part 97 rules.  Among this will
be to allow all digital modulation schemes and all published
digital codes on the ham radio bands.  It will also push for
a change to bandwidth-based regulation of the Amateur
Service rather than the mode segmented way that the hobby is
governed today.  And he points to our neighbor to the North
and its success with Regulation by Bandwidth:

--

K6BP:  ".Now contrast this to Canada.  Canada (regulators)
say here's 6 kHz, do what you want with those 6 kHz.  Makes
more sense today."

--

You might remember that it was only a few years ago when the
ARRL proposed a similar bandwidth based regulatory change
that was widely criticized by many of its members as well as
the overall United States ham radio community.  At that time
the League said that its petition would provide the Amateur
Radio Service the flexibility to experiment with new digital
transmission methods while permitting present operating
modes to continue to be used for as long as there were hams
who wish to use them.

Back then the overall ham radio community shouted the idea
down.  But this is 2013 and technology has reached a point
where some change may be desired to accommodate digital
telephony on the High Frequency bands as well as on VHF and
UHF.  It will be interesting to see where this takes ham
radio in the months and years ahead.  (Codec 2 - FreeDV)

**

PROPAGATION:  SUN EMITS LARGE CME ON JANUARY 13

A huge sun eruption on Sunday January 13th at 07:24 GMT
unleashed a wave of solar plasma aimed at Earth that may
amplify the planet's northern lights displays and possibly
cause difficulty in High Frequency radio communications.
Amateur Radio Newslines Stephan Kinford, N8WB, has the
latest:

--

The solar eruption, called a coronal mass ejection or CME
was expected to take about three days to reach Earth
bringing it in sometime between midday Wednesday the 16th
and when this newscast goes to air.  The good news is that
scientists say that this particular event is not strong
enough to interfere with satellites on-orbit or electrical
systems on Earth.

Observations from NASA's twin Solar Terrestrial Relations
Observatory or STEREO spacecraft showed that the CME moved
away from sun at speeds of 275 miles per second.  This
equates to about 990,000 miles per hour.

NASA officials said that solar eruptions at this speed are
fairly typical and have not caused substantial geomagnetic
storms in the past.  They explain that geomagnetic storms
occur when the charged solar particles interact with the
Earth's magnetic field.  At that point they hold the
potential to cause problems for satellites in space,
communications systems , and terrestrial power grids.

Two particularly active sunspot regions, called AR 11652 and
AR 11654, have produced four low-level M-class flares since
January 11th.   NASA says that the sun is in an active phase
of Solar Cycle 24 and is expected to reach its peak sometime
this year.

The bottom line is that should you find the High Frequency
bands kind of dead for a few days you might want to switch
to 6 or 2 meters and beam North.  When these solar storms
hit, you never know what signals you might hear through
Auroral Propagation.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Stephan Kinford, N8WB, in
Wadsworth, Ohio.

--

The most powerful solar eruptions are X-class flares.  They
have the most significant effect on Earth because they can
cause long lasting radiation storms in the Earth's upper
atmosphere and trigger severe radio blackouts.  But solar
storms similar to this eruption mostly produce
supercharged northern and southern polar lights and possibly
short lived communications blackouts on the high frequency
bands while possibly bringing enhanced communications at 50
MHz and above.   (spaceweather, others)

**

LEADERSHIP:  ARRL BOD MEETS IN NEW ORLEANS JAN 18 - 19

The ARRL Board of Directors will be holding its first annual
meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana beginning on Friday,
January 18th and likely continuing through Saturday, January
19th.

The ARRL Board meets twice a year and from the looks of the
agenda for this January gathering it appears as if the
leadership of the United States national amateur radio
society has a lot of work cut out for it.

You can see the entire agenda at tinyurl.com/arrl-january-
2013 and we will have more on the outcome of this conclave
in future Amateur Radio Newsline reports.  (ARRL)

**

RADIO LAW:  FCC TO FREE UP 5 GHZ FOR EXPANDED BROADBAND

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski says that the commission
will begin a government-wide effort to increase broadband
speeds and alleviate Wi-Fi congestion at major hubs, such as
airports, convention centers and large conferences.  In
addition, this would also increase speed and capacity for Wi-
Fi in homes where multiple users and devices are often on a
network at the same time.

Genachowski made the announcement at last weeks Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.   There he said that
the FCC will take the first steps next month to free some
195 MHz of spectrum in the 5 GHz band.  This will be the
largest block of spectrum to be made available for expansion
of broadband since 2003.

According to the FCC, this effort should increase spectrum
available for ultra-high-speed, high-capacity Wi-Fi by up to
35 percent.  This should enable higher data speeds and
greater capacity that will likely be most notable in the
area of improved High Definition video distribution. (RW)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY:  SPRINT AGREES TO MAKE SOME PHONES FM
RADIO RECEIVERS


Sprint says it has come to preliminary arrangement with the
radio industry to enable an FM radio receiver chip to be
included in some Android and Windows smart phones.  In
announcing the agreement Sprint said that FM radio could be
delivered through the NextRadio tuner application or other
radio apps or services.

Currently, radio stations can be streamed over phones, but
the inclusion of this technology would allow the phones to
receive over-the-air broadcasts.  This is something
broadcasters have been pushing for both radio and digital
TV.

The company made the announcement at the recent Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Sprint says that it
will begin including this feature over the next three years.
This agreement marks the first time a United States wireless
carrier will offer the ability to access local FM radio on a
broad array of its devices. (B&C)

**

RADIO FROM SPACE:  RUSSIA TO LAUNCH MOON PROBE IN 2025

Russia appears to be getting back into the space-race.
According to published news reports, that nation will resume
its long dormant program to explore the moon by sending an
unmanned probe there in 2015.

The spacecraft will be called Luna-Glob which translates to
Moon-Globe in English. According to the Interfax news
agency, Roskosmos director Vladimir Popovkin said says the
exploration payload will be carried by the first rocket to
blast off from a new facility that Russia is building in its
far eastern Amur region.

Popovkin is the head of Russia's space agency.  He and other
Russian space officials have said Luna-Glob would consist of
an orbital module and a probe that would land on the moon.
Once there it will radio back information about samples it
takes from the Lunar surface.

The last successful Russian launch of an unmanned probe to
the moon was in the 1970s.  Unfortunately that nation has
suffered setbacks in its space program in recent years,
including unsuccessful satellite launches and the failure of
a Mars probe in 2011.  More is on the web at
tinyurl.com/russia-moon-mission and we will have more space
related news for you later on in this week's Amateur Radio
Newsline report. (Published news reports)


**

BREAK 1

From the United States of America, we are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world
including the VU3MGH repeater serving Madurai City, India

(5 sec pause here)


**

RADIO LAW:  FCC TO HOLD HEARINGS IN WAKE OF HURRICANE SANDY

In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, Federal Communications
Chairman Julius
Genachowski announced plans to convene a series of field
hearings.  These to examine challenges to the nation's
communications networks during natural disasters and in
other times of crisis.  Amateur Radio Newsline's Buill
Pasternak, WA6ITF, has the details:

--

The FCC says that these first hearings will facilitate a
wider national dialogue about the resiliency of
communications networks by focusing on the impact of
hurricane Sandy.  It will also help form recommendations and
actions to strengthen wired and wireless networks in the
face of such large-scale emergencies.

The first of these hearings are slated for February 5th from
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern time at the Alexander Hamilton U.S.
Customs House in New York City.  This will be followed by an
afternoon session from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Stevens
Institute of Technology located in Hoboken, New Jersey.

The FCC adds that it will attempt to accommodate as many
attendees as possible; however, admittance will be limited
to seating availability.  The Commission will provide audio
or video coverage of the meeting over the Internet from the
FCC's Web page at www.fcc.gov/live.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF,
in the Newsroom in Los Angeles.

--


As this report is being prepaid its unknown if
representatives of any of the numerous ham radio groups
involved in providing emergency communications during and
after hurricane Sandy plan to attend.  (FCC)

**


PUBLIC SERVICE:  HAM RADIO AND THE EAGLE CAP EXTREME SLED
DOG RACE

Amateur radio will once again be providing communications
for the Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race through the rugged
Wallowa Mountains in Northeastern Oregon.  This year two
systems are to be linked to cover the race area.

The Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race first utilized amateur
radio as its primary means of communication around the race
course in 2009.  The technology provided by the volunteer
radio amateurs gave a big boost to logistical and strategic
planning plus an extra measure of safety for volunteers,
race officials, spectators, and the sled teams.

This years Eagle Cap Extreme is slated for January 23rd to
the 26th and been described as challenging, fun and
beautiful by participants and fans alike.  If you can't be
there in person, be advised that all communications during
the event can be heard on the DAWGGONE Echolink conference
provided by the DODROPIN conference server permitting those
who want to listen in.

More is on-line at www.eaglecapextreme.com/  (KB7DZR)

**

PUBLIC SERVICE:  CANADIAN SKI MARATHON 2013 LOOKING FOR
RADIO OPERATORS

Also, the Canadian Ski Marathon is spooling up with ham
radio an important part of this evwent. The race is slated
for the weekend of February 9th and 10th and it depends on
ham radio volunteers to provide timely safety and logistical
communications for the benefit of the skiers.

The event runs between Lachute and Buckingham in western
Quebec regardless of weather conditions. This year is the
47th anniversary for the marathon and the 40th year for
Amateur Radio supporting the event.

If you would like to volunteer this year, please email
Harold Hamilton, VA3UNK to radio1 (at) admin2 (dot) ca or
va3unk (at) gmail (com) com.
More information is on-line at the Canadian Ski Marathon
amateur radio webpage.  Its in cyberspace at www.radio-1.ca.
(VA3UNK)

**

RADIO LAW:  ILLINOIS GUARANTEES BROADCASTERS ACCESS IN
EMERGENCIES

Broadcasters in Illinois have been guaranteed the right to
serve the public in times of crisis.  Amateur Radio's Cheryl
Lasek, K9BIK, reports:

--

A new law assuring Illinois broadcasters and cable operators
that they will have the emergency credentials necessary to
gain access to their operations while also allowing the
delivery of fuel to power emergency generators during
disasters has unanimously passed both Illinois houses of the
Illinois legislature. The bill titled Illinois HB-5528, was
sponsored by Representative John Bradley in the Illinois
House and Senators Antonio Munoz and Kirk Dillard in the
Senate.

The Illinois state measure recognizes the important role
local broadcasters serve in times of emergencies and
disasters and ensures that key personnel needed to keep
stations operational during times of emergencies will have
access to their facilities. It also insures fuel needed to
power emergency generators will be allowed to be delivered.

Dennis Lyle is the President of the Illinois Broadcasters
Association. He credited law enforcement officials as well
as the Illinois Emergency Management Agency for supporting
the passage of the bill. Also crucial was a lack of
objections from the City of Chicago, the Illinois Sheriff's
Association or the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.

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

--

The Illinois Broadcasters Association says that it will now
work with the states Emergency Management Agency to design a
training curriculum that personnel must complete before
being issued emergency access credentials.  (RW)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS:  N3A TO CELEBRATE 2nd INAUGURATION OF
PRESIDENT OBAMA

The District of Columbia Amateur Radio Society has announced
that it will be activating special event station N3A.  This
for the inauguration of Barack Obama on his second term as
President of the United States.

The station will be operational through January 22nd
operating from the District of Columbia, Maryland and
Virginia.  Listen out for N3A on SSB, CW, RTTY and various
digital modes.  There is no fixed operating schedule, so
please check the various on-line sources for activity.  QSL
electronically via Logbook of the World or by the U.S.
Postal Service mail and include an SASE.  (W3DQ)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS:  EARLYBIRD REGISTRATION FOR DAYTON CONTEST
UNIVERSITY

Early bird registration is now open for 2013 Dayton Contest
University to be held all day on Thursday May 16th at the
Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dayton, Ohio.  2013 will be the
seventh year in a row for Contest University in Dayton.
Early signups will have the opportunity to help select this
years class outline topics.  A list of suggested topics as
well as registration information is on the web at
contestuniversity.com
(K3LR)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS:  DAYTON CONTEST DINNER TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE

The North Coast Contesters have announced that the 21st
Annual Dayton Contest Dinner will be held on Saturday night,
May 18th also at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.  Master of
Ceremonies is CQ Contest Hall of Fame member and World Wide
Radio Operators Foundation Chairman, John Dorr, K1AR.  Dr.
Robert G. Cox, K3EST, will be the featured speaker.  The CQ
Contest Hall of Fame inductions for 2013 will take place at
this dinner.  Tickets are only available for pre-purchase
only on-line at contestdinner.com.  There will be no tickets
for sale at the door.  (K3LR)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS:  KO0Z NAMED CQ BEGINNERS EDITOR

Ron Ochu, KO0Z, of Girard, Illinois, has been named
Beginners Editor of CQ Amateur Radio magazine, Ochu will
begin writing the "Learning Curve" column as of the April
2013 issue. Ochu succeeds Rich Arland, K7SZ, who stepped
down after a decade of writing various columns for several
CQ Communications magazines.  (CQ)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS:  AUSTRALIAN HAM GIVEN AN AMSAT ACCOLADE

Tony Hutchisson VK5ZAI, has received an award from AMSAT
North America.  THis for the voluntary work he has done for
the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
program.

Hutchisson is the Australian ARISS Coordinator and a
Telebridge Earth Station involved in many contacts between
the International Space Stations and schools taking part in
the program.  In accepting the award VK5ZAI said it was a
very nice honor which made him feel humble.
(VK3PC)

**

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: FORMER ABC ENGINEERING SUPERVISOR AND
QST TECHNICAL EDITOR STU COHEN N1SC - S.K.

Yet another changing of the guard in amateur radio.  This
with the sad news that former QST Technical Editor Stuart
Cohen, N1SC, of Colbert, Washington, passed away January 4th
following a long battle with cancer.

Better known as Stu Cohen, he was first licensed in 1954 as
K2IOC, Cohen enjoyed operating CW and chasing DX on 40 and
20 meters.  He also was active on 75 meters AM.

Cohen came to ARRL Headquarters in 2002 after a highly
successful career in television broadcasting.  Prior to his
service with the League, Cohen was an Emmy winning
Engineering Supervisor at ABC-TV in Los Angeles where he
worked from 1974 to 1993.  After leaving the ARRL in 2005,
he continued his relationship with the League, becoming a
Technical Advisor.

Services for Stu Cohen, N1SC, were scheduled to take place
on Wednesday, January 9th at the Charles Francis Adams
Memorial Chapel in Portland, Oregon.  At the time of his
passing he was age 70.  (ARRL)

**

WORLDBEAT:  LED LIGHTS JAM CITY BUSES

The Swedish national amateur radio society the S-S-A reports
on a case of LED lights in a shop jamming the VHF radio used
by buses.  The lighting in shop windows at a business called
Punkt House jammed the city bus system which uses 167.0375
MHz for communications and dispatch.

The lights causing the problem were LED spotlight lamps.  It
was found they did not conform to the regulations on
Electromagnetic Compatibility and they are now being
replaced.  The full story in Google English is on-line
at tinyurl.com/LED-VHF-Interference,   (Southgate)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE:  SA AMSAT ACCELERATING CUBESAT PROJECT

South Africa AMSAT has decided to accelerate its CubeSat
project and expects to have the first prototype version of
the transponder and control system on the table for testing
by end February.

As part of South Africa's contribution to the African
Resource and Environmental Management Constellation of
satellites, the South African National Space Agency or
SANSA, in collaboration with local industry and academic
experts, have been in discussions on the specifications for
the new satellite called Zed A-ARMC1.  Specifically in
regard to its benefits for South Africa and the continent.
South Africa AMSAT is making a presentation to SANSA to have
an amateur payload included in the project.

Deon Coetzee, ZR1DE, last year demonstrated a locally
designed space frame. He is currently working on the second
prototype.  Full details are on the web at
www.amsatsa.org.za.  (SARL)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE:  NEW ARISS ISS CONTACT SCHEDULING

A reminder that a new process is in place for schools in the
United States to schedule a ham radio contact with crew
members on the International Space Station.  For a US school
to have an ARISS contact, it must fill out a proposal,
submit it to NASA, and see if it is approved.  Once a school
gets the go ahead, it will be put on
the list and an ARISS mentor will be assigned to assist.

NASA will have two open windows a year for schools to submit
a proposal.  A school or whomever is representing the school
must first go to NASA to get the proposal material.  To do
so, contact Teaching From Space to JSC-TFS-ARISS (at)
mail.nasa.gov.  (ANS)

**

DX

In DX, members of the 'Buddies in the Caribbean' suitcase
mini-DXpedition group are going to Barbados and will be
active between January 29th and February 6th. All members
will use Buddipole portable antennas at 100 watts or less.
Several teams will be battery-only, field portable either
from Barbados beaches or from scenic mountain tops and will
sign their own call stroke P.  QSL via Logbook of the world
or direct to each operator with an SASE.

KX9X will be operational stroke 4 from Dewees Island on
Friday, February 1st from 1500 to 2000 hours UTC. Dewees
Island counts as SC-042 in the US Islands program, is part
of NA-110 for Islands on the Air and has never been
operational according to the US Islands website.  He will
operate QRP with portable antennas on SSB and CW only.  QSL
as directed on the air.

Bill Moore, NC1L, ARRL Awards Branch Manager, reports that
the current 8Z1Z operation is from the Republic of the South
Sudan has been approved for DXCC credit.  This operation
began on January 8th.  Also approved was the 3D2C operation
from Conway Reef that took place back in 2012.

G3PJT will be on the air from Grenada from March 5th to the
20th as J34G and active on High Frequency bands.  QSL via
his home call.

N3ME and W3UR will be active from the island of
Dominica through February 11th operating as
J76A and J77A respectively.   They will be on 160 through 6
meters using CW, SSB and RTTY.  QSL J76A via N3ME and J77A
via W3UR.  Both will also accept electronic confirmation
using Logbook of the World.

Lastly, WN3R will be on the air from Grand Cayman
Island February 20th to the 26th as ZF2RW.  Listen out for
him on 40 through 6 meters and QSL via WN3R.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM:  PACK YOUR HAM GEAR AND MOVE TO MARS

And finally this week, you might want to call this the
ultimate one-way DXpedition.  While not specifically
directed to the ham radio community, the Netherlands based
nonprofit organization Mars One, has released its basic
astronaut requirements setting the stage for a televised
global selection process that will begin later this year.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP, has the
details:

--

Mars One hopes to put the first settlers on the red
planet by 2023.  The organization is not looking for
scientists or former jet jockeys as colonists.  Rather
anyone who is at least 18 years old can apply to become
a Mars pioneer.

Officials at Mars One say that the most important criteria
are intelligence, good mental and physical health and
dedication to the project.  Those selected as its astronauts
will undergo eight years of training before launch.

Norbert Kraft is Mars One's chief medical director and a
former NASA researcher.  He is quoted as saying that gone
are the days when bravery and the number of hours flying a
supersonic jet were the top criteria.  Kraft says that now a
days space exploration planners are more concerned with how
well each astronaut works and lives with the others, in the
long journey from Earth to Mars and for a lifetime of
challenges that would lie ahead.

Mars One plans to launch a series of robotic cargo missions
between 2016 and 2021.  These would be used to build a
habitable outpost ahead of the arrival of the first four
colonists in 2023.  More settlers would then arrive every
two years thereafter. And less we forget to mention, this
will be a one way trip as there are no plans to return the
pioneers to Earth.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP,
staying on this side of any RF pile-up here on Planet Earth
in Scottsdale, Arizona.

--

If you think you have the right stuff to help colonize Mars
you can learn more about the selection process at
www.thenextgiantleap.com. And if we might speculate a bit,
it will be interesting to see if anyone from the world wide
ham radio community will pack up their station and take
advantage of this truly rare and exotic DX location.  And we
also  guess all QSL's would go electronically on this one.
(Mars One, space.com, others)

**

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 NewslineT.  Our e-mail address is newsline
(at) arnewsline (dot) org.  More information is available at
Amateur Radio Newsline'sT only official website located at
www.arnewsline.org.  You can also write to us or support us
at Amateur Radio NewslineT, 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 NewslineT is Copyright 2013.  All rights
reserved.

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