Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1859 with a release date of March 29 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a Q-S-T. The Wireless Institute of Australia takes a bold stand to try to keep part of the 2300 MHz band; the Nelson New Zealand City Council sides with a ham in a tower dispute; the UK to phase out AM broadcasting by 2016, the FCC grants hams Special Temporary Authority to use TDMA technology; and a special April 1st report on the emerging science of flavored mini-computers. All this and more on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number 1859 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here) ** RESTRUCTURING: WIA DECIDES TO FIGHT TO RETAIN PART OF 13 CM IN FACE OF MANDATED REALLOCATION Australia's national ham radio society says that it's not going to give up the 13 centimeter amateur band without a fight. This after The Australian Communications and Media Authority - the A C M A - proposes to withdraw the 2300 to 2302 MHz segment of the band as of July 2015 so that it can be re-allocated for other uses. Roger Harrison, VK2ZRH, of the WIA News has the details: -- The driver behind the ACMA's proposed move is to create a tidy 100 MHz wide band from 2300 to 2400 MHz for the purpose of Spectrum Licensing by auction. The 13 cm Amateur band has only a secondary service status at 2300 to 2450 MHz. Primary user status goes to the fixed, mobile and radiolocation services. The 2300 to 2302 MHz segment has been used for narrowband, weak-signal working and this is reflected in the WIA band plan for 13 cm. In the face of the ACMA's proposal; the WIA intends to fight back. The WIA is preparing a submission that strongly argues for the retention of a 150 kHz-wide allocation at 2300 MHz on at least a co-primary basis. A 150 kHz-wide "line in the sand", you might say. Some have suggested that the Institute should bargain the loss of 2 MHz in the 13 cm band for more spectrum elsewhere - like the 80 metre DX window, or securing exclusive access to 50 to 52 MHz, for example. However, the WIA Board has adopted the stance that this is no time to roll over and die on the 13 cm issue, to use the loss of 2 MHz as a bargaining chip when it comes to issues affecting other bands or for that matter, bargaining for a new band elsewhere in the radiofrequency spectrum. Each issue really has to be addressed on its own merits. This is Rodger Harrison, VK2ZRH. -- The decision of the Wireless Institute of Australia to stand its ground to keep at least a small part of the 13 centimeter band is not as unusual as it may at first seem. As broadband expands and other services are displaced from their spectrum many are looking for bandspace to relocate. As such the ham radio bands at 420 MHz and above are quickly becoming a prime target of these outsiders. Because of this more and more national ham radio societies are finding that there are only two ways to fight back. The first is to become politically active in their nation. The other is to do what the Wireless Institute of Australia is doing by literally drawing a proverbial do-not-cross line in the sand. (WIA News) ** RADIO LAW: NELSON NZ CITY COUNCIL BACKS HAM RADIO TOWER INSTALLATION Some good news for a ham radio operator in Nelson, New Zealand who was being hounded by a neighbor to take down his antenna. This because she said it interfered with her view of the surrounding landscape. The Town Council says that the antenna can stay. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, has this follow-up report: -- According to information supplied by Andrew Mackie, ZL2HZ, the Nelson City Council has no intention to proceed with the complaint filed against a ham radio antenna installation owned by Rick Kiessig, ZL2HAM. As reported last week, the complainant Dallas Woods had appeared before the City Council alleging that Kiessig's tower and antenna interfered with her landscape overlay view. Among other things she asked council members to change the rules so that amateur radio antennas are no longer a permitted activity in residential zones. But in a phone call from Rachel Reese on behalf of the entire Nelson City Council, Mackie was told that the council does not intend to proceed with the complaint from Wood's at this time. Nor is it proposing to make any immediate changes to the district land use regulations that permit antenna systems such as that of ZL2HAM. Rather, at some time in the future and only if the land use regulations come up for review, it might possibly take another look at amateur antennas, but limited to geographic areas where the view is perceived to be important. According to Mackie, this is a major step towards maintaining the good relations between the Nelson City Council and the areas amateur radio community. It also ensures that continued cooperation in areas of Civil Defense and other activities will not be adversely affected. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, in Nelson, New Zealand. -- The bottom line is that the Nelson City Council agrees that Kiessig's tower and antenna installation complies with all relevant regulations and as such and he is free to enjoy his hobby without further outside interference. (ZL2HZ) ** RESCUE RADIO: UK SAYS AM RADIO TO GO AWAY BY 2016 On the other side of the globe, broadcast AM radio for emergency alerts appears to be on its way out in the United Kingdom. This even though at present it remains the quickest and easiest way to reach the masses in time of national crisis. Jason Law, VK2LAW, has the details: -- UK Government reports indicate an intention to abandon AM broadcast radio for emergency communications and to phase- out AM broadcasting from 2016. The report Impact of a Radio Switchover on the Government's Emergency Communications Policy says that the coverage of AM services are near universal across the UK, delivered by a small number of transmitters which could more easily be restored in the event of a national disaster. However, while AM services are universally available, the number of households which both have access to and choose to access such services is on the decline. The declining value of the AM platform is best displayed in the case of the National Attack Warning System or NAWS. The use of the BBC Radio 4 Long Wave frequency to broadcast emergency information nationally in the case of a nuclear attack or similar disaster was formalized through the NAWS arrangements between the BBC and the Cabinet Office. However, as a result of the limitations of this system in the present day, from the falling numbers of Long Wave receivers in homes, to the delay incurred from having to restore transmitters following an attack, the Cabinet Office has since cancelled their NAWS arrangements with the BBC. I'm Jason Law, VK3LAW, reporting. -- For those interested in some heavy reading, the complete report on the proposed United Kingdom abandonment of AM broadcasting can be found on line at tinyurl.com/uk-am-going- away (WIA News) ** RADIO RULES: FCC GRANTS ARRL REQUEST FOR STA PERMITING USE OF TDMA Some good news for those involved in digital voice communications as the FCC says it is OK for hams to use TDMA Technology. At least they can for now as we hear from Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP: -- The FCC has granted a request from the ARRL for a temporary waiver to sections 97.3(c)(5) and 97.307(f)(8) the Commission's rules. This to allow amateur stations to use additional emission types including Single and Multiple Time-Slot Time Division Access better known as TDMA. In granting the ARRL request the FCC agreed that such a waiver was warranted so as to permit hams to transmit communications on amateur bands above 30 MHz using single time-slot Time Division Multiple Access systems currently on the market and used by stations in other services. This pending the resolution of a related rulemaking proceeding. The FCC order also dismissed as moot a previously-filed request from ARRL for clarification of the rules as they apply to TDMA digital emissions. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, in Scottsdale, Arizona. -- Those interested can read the entire text of the FCC decision to grant this waiver on-line at tinyurl.com/fcc- arrl-tdma. (FCC) ** BREAK 1 From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the KC6OCA repeater serving Lake Isabella California. (5 sec pause here) ** RADIO LAW: CHANGES COMING TO THE LEADERSHIP AT THE FCC Big changes are coming to the Federal Communications Commission. This as Chairman Julius Genachowski announces his plans to step down from his post in the coming weeks. Genachowski, a Democrat, was nominated by President Obama and confirmed for the post by the Senate in 2009. The announcement of his departure comes only a few days after Commissioner Robert McDowell announced he was stepping down from his FCC post. McDowell was the first Republican appointed to an independent agency by President Obama. According to the on-line newsletter Politico, Genachowski's decision was predicted for months and was likely to come the same week McDowell was to announce that he was resigning. Politico added that since nominations for agencies like the FCC are paired by political party, leaving one seat on the commission for a Democrat and one for a Republican would smooth the path for the new nominees. The FCC is led by five commissioners who are appointed by the President and must be confirmed by the Senate. They each serve a five year term. (Politico.com and other news sources) ** LEGAL FINDING: SUPREME COURT SAYS FIRST SALE DOCTRINE NOT GEOGRAPHICALLY LIMITED The United States Supreme Court has ruled that the "First Sale" doctrine covers a copyrighted work legally made abroad and imported into the United States without the copyright owner's permission. In doing so it overturns a Second Circuit decision that said it did not. The case was Kirtsaeng versus John Wiley & Sons. Supap Kirtsaeng is a Thai-born U.S. student who imported and resold in the United States less expensive copies of Wiley textbooks manufactured for sale abroad. Wiley took Kirtsaeng to court claiming that the doctrine of First Sale forbids his actions. But in a split 6 to 3 decision, the Supreme Court Justices concluded that there is no geographical limitation on the First Sale doctrine that would limit its application to copies made abroad with the copyright holder's permission. This decision appears to limit a copyright owner's ability to control geographic distribution of publishing his, her or a company's works. The First Sale doctrine simply means where a book is first printed versus where it's first sold. (B&C) ** WITH THE LEAGUE: ARRL ANNOUNCES A CAMPAIGN FOR ITS SECOND CENTURY The ARRL, which celebrates its Centennial in 2014, has launched an unprecedented $10 million fundraising initiative. This for the purposes of building the ARRL Endowment and strengthening the organization's financial future. Mary Hobart, K1MMH, is the ARRL Chief Development Officer. She says that the vision of the ARRL Second Century Campaign is to secure significant financial resources that will open a path to passionate involvement in Amateur Radio for new generations. Hobart goes on to say that this will provide opportunities for educational enrichment, community service and personal achievement through the exploration and use of the magic of radio communication. The Second Century Campaign is being led by the ARRL Board of Directors and an eight-member committee headed by David W. Brandenburg, K5RQ. The campaign has already raised more than $4 million toward the $10 million dollar goal. Plans are to reach the $10 million mark by the end of ARRL's Centennial Year in 2014. More details on the campaign can be found at tinyurl.com/arrl-second-century. (ARRL, Southgate) ** EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: NEW HEADPHONES SCAN YOUR BRAIN AND PLAY THE MUSIC IT WANTS TO HEAR A new scientific communications breakthrough of sorts is being reported by Discovery News. It says that the task of building a perfect play-list for your smart phone or other private listening device has just gotten a lot easier thanks to a new brainwave scanning device called the Mico headphones. Amateur Radio Newslines Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, has more: -- Mico (pron miko) headphones are a development of a company called Neurowear. The rather interesting looking headphones have what the company calls a electroencephalograph sensor that protrudes to scans the wearers brain patterns to match a person's mood with an appropriate song. When plugged in to a smart device running Mico's app, its claimed that the headphones will detect the wearer's state of mind and select a "neuro-tagged," mood-fitting song from Neurowear's database and play it. The sides of the ear pieces illuminate when music plays and even show symbols correlating to the wearers state of mind such as if the user is sleepy, stressed or highly focused. Currently, the headphones are still in the prototype phase. They made their debut at the recent South by Southwestr Conferences and Festival in Austin, Texas, but the Mico Headphones inventor was optimistic they'll be on the market in what they term as the near future. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, in Zion, Illinois. -- You can read more about this latest development in wearable consumer electronics at tinyurl.com/brain-scanning- headphones. The company's website is simply http://neurowear.com. And before you ask, no, these new earphones cannot locate that rare DX station you are hunting for on 20 meters. Well, at least not yet. (Discovery News, Mashable.com) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: G4CNV WINS AF HARVEY ENGINEERING RESEARCH PRIZE Some names in the news. The Institution of Engineering and Technology reports that Professor Hugh Griffiths, G4CNV, has been awarded the A.F. Harvey Engineering Research Prize. The organization says that Griffiths is one of the leaders in research into bistatic radar where the transmitter and receiver are located separately, rather than using a single antenna. The �300,000 pound check that comes with this honor will enable Griffiths to continue his investigations in bistatic radar. 300,000 British Pounds is about $456,000 United States dollars. More on bistatic radar and the award to G4CNV is on line at tinyurl.com/uk-radar-award. (Southgate) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: REP. GREG WALDEN W7EQI TO DELIVER REMARKS AT NAB SHOW Sequestration not withstanding, the National Association of Broadcasters has announced that U.S. Representative Greg Walden, W7EQI, will be a speaker at this year's NAB Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. Walden, who chairman of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, will discuss his career in broadcasting and legislative issues as one of the speakers at the convention's opening session on Monday, April 8th. By way of background, Greg Walden has represented Oregon's Second Congressional District since 1998. He also spent more than two decades as a radio station owner and uses his small business and technology experience as chairman of the House committee he serves on. In November 2012, W7EQI was unanimously elected to serve as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. (TV Technology) ** HAM HAPPENINGS: AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR'S RECEPTION AT NAB LAS VEGAS Heil Sound Ltd. will once again be one of the major hosts for this year's Amateur Radio Operator's Reception, to be held in conjunction with the 2013 National Association of Broadcasters Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Amateur Radio Operator's Reception is traditionally a big draw for hams attending the NAB show. It also attracts those who may have never touched a push-to-talk button or learned Morse code. This is because the nature of broadcasting and of ham radio are both communication. The 2013 reception will be held on Wednesday, April 10th from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time in Ballroom B of the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. Typically, between 700 to 800 people pack the ballroom, each hoping he will be the lucky winner of one of the door prizes. Everyone attending the reception is eligible to win a door prize, and is handed a raffle ticket upon entering. This year there are more than 140 prizes to be given away. In addition to those from Heil Sound, others have been donated by broadcast equipment manufacturers, engineering consulting firms, retailers and the American Radio Relay League. The NAB say the 2013 prize list already has a value of more than $14,000. Again that's the 2013 NAB Amateur Radio Operator's Reception in Ballroom B of the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino on Wednesday, April 10th from 6 to 8 p.m.. Bob, K9EID, and company president Sarah Heil say that that they hope to see you there. (ARNewslineT, Heil Sound, NAB) ** RADIO HAPPENINGS: RADIO CLUB OF AMERICA WELCOMES ABSTRACTS FOR 2013 WIRELESS TECHNICAL SYMPOSIUM The Radio Club of America is inviting the submission of abstracts for consideration of presentation at its upcoming Wireless Technical Symposium to be held on Saturday November 23rd in Orlando Florida. The club is seeking papers dealing with numerous areas of telecommunications ranging from antennas, broadband, land mobile satellite, semiconductors and amateur radio to name just a few. If you are interested in being a presenter at this year's symposium, you need to submit a 1 to 3 paragraph abstract by July 1st. Include the title, authors and contact information, a synopsis of the work to be presented, and why you think the work is interesting or important to the wireless industry. Also please keep in mind that the conference planners are looking for specifically technical papers and not marketing presentations and that participants will have to fund their own travel to the Orlando event. Those that are selected will be given a 20 to 45 minute presentation opportunity on November 23rd, and your paper of any length will be made available on the RCA Website and at the event. Those interested should send their presentation abstracts to the Tech Symposium Chair John Facella at techsymposium (at) radioclubofamerica (dot) org. If you missed that e-mail address it will be in the on-line text edition of this week's Amateur Radio Newsline report. (Radio Club of America) ** 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: EVELYN GARRISON, WS7A, - SK We are very sad to report the passing of one of the most beloved people in the world of amateur radio and in the amateur radio supply industry. This with word that Evelyn Garrison, WS7A, of Sammamish, Washington, passed away in her home on February 26th following a long battle against Cancer. Best known in ham radio circles as one of the early sales representatives for Icom America, Evelyn went on to form her own organization known as Evelyn Garrison and Associates. Among other things, she and her company were responsible for making Alinco a known and highly respected part of the world ham radio marketplace. More recently she was the marketing representative for Jetstream amateur radio products and introduced the Jetstream brand to all of North America. Originally from Porter County, Indiana, Evelyn held an Extra class license. In addition to her love of amateur radio, WS7A was an accomplished painter and also enjoyed calligraphy. And no major hamfest or convention was complete without Evelyn's smile and always up-beat conversation to make attendees feel as if they were a member of her own family. Evelyn Garrison, WS7A, is survived by her four children, four grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. Services were held on Saturday, March 2nd in Issaquah, Washington. An on-line commemorative to her with a guestbook where friends and associates can pay their respects is at tinyurl.com/ws7a-memorial. (ARNewslineT) ** CHANGING OF THE GUARD: 220 REPEATER PIONEER WALTER DIEM, K6PEA - SK One of the early pioneers of FM and repeaters on the 220 MHz band has left us. This with the passing of Walter "Walt" Diem (PRON: DEEM), K6PEA, of Laguna Hills, California on February 25th. A career staff member at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, Diem, then WA6PEA got deeply involved in ham radio through the JPL Amateur Radio Club. In 1976 he became interested in VHF and UHF repeater technology. Due to lack of 144 and 440 MHz frequencies available in the Southern California area he decided to break new ground by establish the club's repeater on 220 MHz. That system went on the air in March of 1977. In 1979, with the split of the Southern California Repeater association into two smaller organizations, Diem became a member of the 220 MHz Spectrum Management Association. There he served on the organizations Technical Committee during the group's formative years. After his retirement from JPL Diem moved to Laguna Hills, California, to be closer to his son. When the FCC made vanity calls available, Diem briefly held W6CWD, but then realized most people remembered him for the letter P in his original call and so traded W6CWD for K6PEA. This was the call which he held at the time of his passing. A memorial celebration of Walt Diem's life was held on Tuesday, March 19th. (W6EJJ, KW6J) ** WORLDBEAT: WIA NATIONAL FIELD DAY WEEKEND APRIL 13 - 14 From down-under, word that registrations are just starting to be received for the 2013 Wireless Institute of Australia National Field Day takes place on the weekend of April 13th and 14th. This happens to falls adjacent to the IARU World Amateur Radio Day that falls on Friday, April 18th. The Wireless Institute of Australia National Field Day is not a contest. Rather its aim is to introduce amateur radio to the general public and hopefully to attract more people into the hobby. At the same time it presents an opportunity for VK hams to hone their emergency communications skills. Details on the 2013 Wireless Institute of Australia National Field Day can be found on line at tinyurl.com/WIA-NFD (VK2JI) ** WORLDBEAT: BBC WORLD SERVICE REDUCES SHORTWAVE BROADCASTS A new schedule with reduced shortwave transmissions begins on the BBC World Service on April 1st. As part of the change shortwave and medium wave transmissions in English will be reduced to a minimum of 6 hours in total each day. You can read the full BBC announcement at tinyurl.com/BBC- World-English, (Southgate, BBC) ** RADIOSPORT: THE DAY OF THE YLS CONTEST The third annual "Day of the YLs' Contest" sponsored by the European Radio Amateurs Organization will be held May 18th and 19th. This purpose of this weekend event is to get as many YL's and XYL's to take to the airwaves at the same time as is possible. Various awards will be available. For more information, frequencies and operating times please see tinyurl.com/yl-contest on the World-Wide-Web. (Southgate) ** WORLDBEAT: INTERNATIONAL MARCONI DAY And a reminder that International Marconi Day will take place on April 20th. For more information and to see which stations are taking part in this event please take your web browser to www.gb4imd.com. (IARU) ** DX In DX, JR1IZM will be active as 9X0ZM from Rwanda until March 2014. He plans to operate on 80 through 6 meters. QSL via JO1CRA. VA3QSL is heading to the Caribbean and will be on the air as 8P9HI from Farther Away Cottage, Bayfield, St. Philip, Barbados between April 6th and the 13th. His operation will be holiday style on the High Frequency bands. QSL via his home callsign, direct or via the Bureau. DF8DX will be on the air from Tanzania as 5H1DX between from April 20th to the 28th. His operation will include the activation of several Islands on the Air entities. Listen out for him on the High Frequency bands and also some Earth-Moon-Earth weak signal operation. If you make contact QSL direct to DF8DX. Down the calendar a bit K3LP has announced on his Web page that he will be operating from the Antarctica; Port Stanley, the Falkland Islands; Chile, Argentina and Uruguay between February 2nd and 16th of 2014. This is a family vacation so he plans only to be on the air for a few hours at each location. QSL will go via his home callsign Lastly, Bill Moore, NC1L, at the ARRL DXCC Desk reports that the 2013 9X0ZM operation from Rwanda has been approved for DXCC credit. Cards may now be submitted for this one. (Above from various DX news sources) ** THAT FINAL ITEM: A NEW CROP OF FRUIT FLAVORED MINI COMPUTERS ON THEIR WAY And finally this week, as most hams know the big thing these days in tiny computers is the Raspberry Pie, spelled Pi. This is a computer on a credit-card sized circuit board that's finding a variety of ham radio applications. So as we approached the first of April, our roving reporter, Pierre Pullinmyleg, set out with his trusty 20 meter SSB HT and 33 foot rubber-duckie antenna to unravel the mysteries of the device and to find out if this `pi indeed are square:' -- When we first tried zee raspberry pi, we found it to be very crunchy even though ve were expecting a more mousse-like consistency. Then ve learned it was a computer and had to spit it out, bit by bit. Some investigative reporting led us to a secretive group working on new devices similar to zee Rasperry Pi. Calling themselves zee "Pi R Round Consortium," members of this group are designing several specialized devices, such as zee Pecan Pi, which will control automated nutcrackers. Also in zee works is Cherry Pi, designed for use in lie detectors, and Apple Pi, which will be very expensive and do very little, but is still expected to be highly successful. Finally, an offshoot of the group in Italy is sticking with the traditional "Pi R Square" formula and has designed a Sicilian Pi, which will make you an offer you cannot refuse. All of these new devices will be introduced to zee amateur radio community at this year's Dayton Hamvention. Hams there are expected to gobble them up as tasty alternatives to Hara arena hot dogs. In zee Pie Safe aboard the Good Ship Lollipop, zis is Pierre Pullinmyleg reporting for Newsline. -- Pierre says that if you found that story a bit hard to swallow, he recommends a little whipped cream and a broad smile. He adds that more about this may or may not be found on-line at tinyurl.com/well-maybe. (Pierre Pullinmyleg April 1st News Service) ** 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, Australia's WIA News and of coarse roving April 1st reporter Pierre Pullinmyleg, 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 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, from Florida's Sunshine Coast saying 73, a very happy April 1st and we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.
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