Friday, June 21, 2013

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1871 - June 21 2013

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1871 with a release
date of June 21 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST.  Hams in Poland reach agreement with
government on mutual aid in time of crisis; South Africa ham
radio rules correction remains on hold; Canada makes
powerline interference information contacts available on the
Web; UK hams may soon loose access to several UHF bands and
Major Edwin Armstrong is honored by his hometown.  Find out
the details are on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number
1871 coming your way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here)


**

RESCUE RADIO:  HAM RADIO EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AGREEMENT
IN POLAND

Polish radio amateurs have signed an agreement with that
nation's government regarding emergency radio
communications.  Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather Embee,
KB3TZD, has the details:

--

On May 7th, what might best be described as a mutual aid
agreement was signed between Poland's Minister of
Administration and Digitization, Michal Boni, and the
Chairman of The Polish Amateur Radio Union, Jerzy
Jakubowski, SP7CBG.  The accord promises cooperation between
that nations amateur radio service and the Polish government
in support of actions that provide information on natural
disasters and other events that threaten public safety.

The new agreement encourages cooperation between the
Ministry and the Polish Amateur Radio Union in the support
of actions relating to the creation of back-up radio
communication in the Republic of Poland.  This in emergency
situations or when normal communications methods such as
telephones and the internet are overloaded or have failed.

Cooperation and coordination between The Ministry of
Administration and The Polish Amateur Radio Union will be
the responsibility of The Planning Department of Civil
Emergency Management and Emergency Notification System.
Participation in the agreement is voluntary and financial
investment is not obligatory unless the parties agree to it
at a local level.  This could include renting or purchasing
equipment or providing staff during training exercises as
well as in the event of an actual emergency callout.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm heather Embee, KB3TZD,
in Berwick, Pennsylvania.

--

The agreement was first drafted in 2011 by the Polish
Amateur Radio Union with the cooperation of the former
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration.  (IARU-R1)

**

RADIO RULES:  SOUTH AFRICA RADIO RULES CORRECTION STILL ON
HOLD

The long sought after correction to the South African
regulations regarding amateur radio will take a bit longer.
This according that nations national society the South
African Radio League.

In a news release that national society says that the
subject of corrections to the rules published on April 1st
of 2011 is on the agenda of every joint meeting between
itself and regulator the Independent Communications
Authority of South Africa.  The problem is that the matter
must remain in limbo pending the outcome of a court case
between the regulatory body and a cellular telephone
company.

The corrected regulations are ready in draft format.  They
address the issue of power for both class A and Class B
licenses on certain bands and a few other issues.  The draft
still has to be approved at the ICASA council.  But until
the pending matter between ICASA and the cellular provider
is adjudicated no progress can be made.  (SARL)

**

RADIO LAW:  CANADA MAKES POWER LINE INTERFERENCE CONTACT
INFORMATION AVAILABLE

Telecommunications regulator Industry Canada has just posted
contact information on where to report Power Line Radio
Interference.  The cyberspace location is tinyurl.com/Canada-
interference-report.

This information at the website covers all the major Power
Line companies in Canada and is being provided with the
cooperation of the Canadian Electricity Association and its
member power utilities.   Hams in Canada are encouraged to
use this contact information and report a problem when
confronted with suspected power line interference. (VE3LC)

**

RESTRUCTURING:  UK HAMS MAY LOOSE 2310-2450 AND 3450-3475
MHZ BANDS

UK Telecommunications regulator Ofcom has published a Notice
of Proposed Rules Making which in Great Britain is called a
Consultation.  In this case relating to amateur use of the
2310 to 2450 and 3400 to 3475 MHz bands.

According to the Consultation document, these frequencies
are within, and adjacent to, spectrum planned for release by
the Ministry of Defense or MoD.  The Ministry intends to
free up 40 MHz of spectrum between 2350 and 2390 MHz and an
additional 150 MHz from 3410 to 3600 MHz for new civil uses.
The technical and regulatory aspects of this release will be
the subject of another Consultation in the future, but in
advance of this, Ofcom is looking at proposals to make
changes to the United Kingdom Amateur Radio License for
these bands.

According to Ofcom, it is likely that the released Ministry
of Defense spectrum will be used for wireless broadband
using 4G Long Term Evolution or L-T-E advanced technology.
Based on its technical analysis Ofcom believes that the
impact and likelihood of harmful interference being caused
by amateur uses to new users in the 2350 to 2390 and 3410 to
3600 MHz spectrum is sufficiently severe to preclude
continued ham radio use following the reallocation taking
place.

Ofcom is also looking at proposals for the adjacent bands at
2310 to 2350, 2390 to 2400 and 3400to 3410 MHz.  In those
cases Ofcom's current thinking is that amateurs should
continue to be granted access to these adjacent bands
although with additional terms in the license which amend
the current terms of access to these bands.  Continued
access would be on the basis that interference may not be
caused to new and existing uses in the release and adjacent
bands and that no protection from interference from those
new uses can be expected.

UK hams have until July 22nd to file in response to the
consultation on this matter.  (Southgate)

**

HAM TECHNOLOGY:  MOON BOUNCE FROM ANTARCTICA TO ENGLAND

The exploits of Craig Hayhow, VK0JJJ, in bouncing radio
signals off the moon from Antarctica has been written about
in the Australian Antarctic Division science newsletter.

VK0JJJ achieved a 742,000 kilometer hop when he made an EME
contact with Peter Taylor G8BCG at Cornwall in England, on
May 4th.  Two nights later he contacted Bo Nilsson, SM7FJE,
in Sweden through another EME contact.

The newsletter hailed these as a first from an Australian
Antarctic station.  It also notes that the equipment and
software has now been proven and that more EME contacts will
be made.  (VK3PC)

**

DIFFERENT DX:  4 METER UK DXPEDITION TO LA MOYE JERSEY

A DX operation of a different kind.  This with word that the
United Kingdom's North Wakefield Radio Club will be active
as GJ4NOK on the pan-European 4 meter band from La Moye in
Jersey on July 5th to the 8th.

The operators will be on for at least 8 hours on July 5th
and 6th and 16 to 18 hours on the 77th and 8th using CW, SSB
and FSK44.  The activity also coincides with VHF National
Field Day so the station is sure to be in demand.

The operation is sponsored by The DX shop which is loaning
the DXpedition  a yagi antenna and amplifier and HA1YA who
is providing one of their ME4T-PRO 4m High performance
transverters.  Operators are M0RCX, M6MWP and G0RUZ.  QSL as
directed on the air.  We will have more DX news later on in
this weeks newscast,  (WRC, Southgate)

**

BREAK 1

From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world
including the KC2DAA repeater serving Mt. Beacon New York.

(5 sec pause here)


**

RESTRUCTURING:  NEW USER ON THE 903 MHZ BAND

According to the ARRL, a portion of the 902 to 928 MHz or 33
centimeter band may become less useful to radio amateurs in
urban areas as a result of a recent FCC Order.  Amateur
Radio Newsline's Stephen Kinford, N8WB, reports:

--

The FCC as given Progeny LMS, LLC permission  to begin
commercial operation of its multilateration location and
monitoring service known as an M-LMS in the upper portion of
the band 33 centimeter band. According to the regulatory
agency, Progeny's location service is designed to operate
using approximately 4 megahertz or about one-half of the M-
LMS portions of the band between 919.750 and 927.750 MHz
where the company holds its licenses.

In its June 6th release, the FCC stated that Progeny is
deploying a wide-area positioning system to provide more
precise location services in areas where Global Positioning
System and other existing services may not work effectively.
This is particularly true of indoor locations or in urban
canyons.

The FCC opened the 33 centimeter band to ham radio on a
secondary basis in 1985, provided hams did not interfere
with the Automatic Vehicle Monitoring service, which the
Commission subsequently expanded into the M-LMS.  While M-
LMS operations, at least on paper, have a higher priority
than unlicensed Part 15 devices on the band, Progeny had to
demonstrate through field testing that its network would not
cause unacceptable levels of interference to such Part 15
devices as cordless telephones and baby monitors.  This was
a result of an FCC policy to promote co-existence in the
band, while not elevating Part 15 devices to co-equal status
with M-LMS systems.

The FCC says that Part 15 devices will adapt to Progeny's
operations because they are designed for operation in an
interference environment.  However the effect on ham radio,
especially any attempts at weak signal operations will
likely be hampered severely by this new entry into the band.

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

--

Progeny LMS, LLC develops technology for homeland security
and first responder communications using the wireless
location and monitoring service spectrum. The company was
founded in 1999 and is based in Indianapolis, Indiana.
(ARRL, FCC, Progeny LMS)

**

RESCUE RADIO:  FORT LEE N.J. BEGINS CITY EMCOMM ALERT AM
STATION

Fort Lee, New Jersey has launched its own emergency
broadcast radio station for alerting the public in times of
disaster.  Put on the air by the mayor Mark Sokolich office
and the Fort Lee City Council, residents can tune into the
new emergency station on 1630 Kilohertz for real-time
updates and safety tips during events like Hurricane Sandy.

The station will operate out of the Fort Lee Municipal
Building with generator backup.  Aside from emergency
announcements, city officials may use the station for
traffic updates and to broadcast City Council meetings.

Fort Lee also used a separate $10,000 private donation to
buy more than 250 hand-cranked or wind-up emergency radios.
These will be distribute at municipal buildings, communal
spaces and large residential complexes.  (NJ Journal)

**

RESCUE RADIO:  NAB HONORS BROADCASTERS ASSISTANCE IN WAKE OF
OK TWISTERS

The National Association of Broadcasters has issued a
special Oklahoma edition of its Licensed to Serve community
service newsletter.  This to salute Oklahoma broadcasters
and others who have been assisting in the wake of the
tornadoes that recently struck the state.

According to the newsletter, across Oklahoma stations led
efforts to assist citizens affected by the severe weather.
Some examples include Ponca City's KPNC-FM and KLOR-FM)
raising $27,000 for the Red Cross while the whole town put
together four truckloads of supplies in the wake of the
Moore tornado.

But it was not just stations in Oklahoma that helped out.
Radio broadcasters and broadcast groups across the nation
made special efforts to raise funds or collect supplies.
Cumulus Media put the call out to its 500 plus stations and
received almost $4 million in a variety of efforts,
including involvement in the Healing in the Heartland
concert by its country music formats.  Clear Channel
Communications also pitched in on the Healing in the
Heartland benefit.

Other fund raising or direct relief efforts took place in
Dallas Texas, St. Louis Missouri and Terra Haute, Indiana to
name only a few. (RW)

**



HAM HAPPENINGS:  ICOM TO SPONSOR HAMSTUDY.ORG ON THE WWW

Icom America has announced sponsorship for HamStudy.org.
This is a new website that offers free learning tools for
existing and potential amateur radio operators.

HamStudy.org users studying for an amateur radio license
exam can choose from three online learning modules for each
ham radio license class.  These are technician, general or
extra. FCC Commercial Element 1, 3, 5 and 6 study modules
are also available.

Educational materials include flash cards, question lists
and practice tests.  Users who register for a free account
can access personalized study history and submit
explanations to amateur radio questions.  Website
registrants may also choose to log into their account using
their Google or Facebook credentials.

HamStudy.org was created by Richard Bateman KD7BBC, Rich
Porter and Michael Stufflebeam KV9G.  It is optimized for
mobile phones and tablets.  Additional features are planned
be integrated to the website in the near future.

Facebook users can receive regular site updates and study
tips by "liking" HamStudy.org at www.Facebook.com/HamStudy.
The website is directly accessible at www.hamstudy.org.
(Icom Release)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS:  MAJOR ARMSTRONG HONORED BY HIS HOMETOWN

It took nearly 60 years after his death, but the inventor of
FM radio has finally been recognized on the street where he
lived.   Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF,
has the details:

--

On Monday, June 17th, city officials of Yonkers, New York in
joined with radio enthusiasts to unveil a new plaque
honoring Major Edwin Howard Armstrong.  This for his
numerous accomplishments in the area of radio
communications.

The bronze plaque in Hudson-Fulton Park is just a block away
from the site of Armstrong's home on Warburton Avenue.  It
overlooks the Hudson River and across to the unique tower
that Armstrong built in the near by town of Alpine, New
Jersey back in 1937 through 1938.

The plaque was the brainchild of Steve Klose.  He is a New
Jersey resident who learned of Armstrong because of their
shared interest in fast motorcycles.  Klose became
fascinated by Armstrong's story and ended up leading a
fundraising campaign that generated more than $4,000 in
contributions to pay for the plaque.

Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano and several city council members
were on hand for Monday's ceremony, joined by two Armstrong
descendants.  The ceremony was broadcast live on WA2XMN, the
experimental Armstrong Memorial Station that transmits on
Armstrong's old 42.8 MHz frequency from the Armstrong's
Alpine tower.

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

--

This plaque may not be the last commemoration of Armstrong
in his native Yonkers.  City officials are now working to
get a replica made of a bust of Armstrong statue now on
display at Columbia University.  There is also discussion
ongoing of renaming part of Warburton Avenue in Major
Armstrong's honor.  (RW, published news reports)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS:  RCA SOLICITING NOMINATIONS FOR BOD

If you are a Radio Club of America member, listen up.  This
is for you.

The Radio Club of America annually elects eligible club
members to serve as its officers and directors.  According
to a news release from the group, as a member of the club,
your help in nominating candidates is appreciated.

You may propose any member in good standing even yourself.
In order to complete the nomination process in time for the
annual fall election, the Nomination Committee needs to
receive all in by July 1st.

If you wish to make a nomination, you are asked to download
the official nominating form available at
www.radioclubofamerica.org.  You then must complete it fully
and send it to the Club's Executive Secretary by e-mail to
pat (at) radioclubofamerica (dot) org.  Or if you prefer you
can submit it by U-S- mail to 170 Kinnelon Road - Suite 33,
Kinnelon, New Jersey 07405 or fax to 973-838-7124

Again, the cutoff for nominations is July 1st.  (RCA)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS:  TEXAS CITY HAMFEST 2013 JULY 13

The Tidelands Amateur Radio Society will hold its 26th
annual hamfest on July 13th in Texas City, Texas.  The venue
will be the Doyle Convention Center with the gathering
running from 8:00 AM until 2:00 PM Central Daylight time.
Talk-in 147.14 MHz and requiring a 167.9 Hz CTCSS tone.
Advance registration is welcome at tinyurl.com/tidelands-
hamfest.  (Tidelands ARC)

**

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 TECHNOLOGY: LAND BASED TELEGRAPH IN INDIA ENDS JULY
15

It's the end of an era for an old but reliable form of
communications in India.  Amateur Radio Newsline's Cheryl
Lasek, K9BIK, tells us what's going away:

--

The newspaper the Hindu reports that as of July 15th that
telegraph service will come to an end in India.  This is
because of financial constraints that have forced
telecommunications provider B-S-N-L to wind down the
service.

India's first telegraph message was transmitted live between
Calcutta and Diamond Harbor on November 5, 1850.  That was a
distance of about 50 kilometers.  The service was opened for
use by the general public in February 1855 with a Radio-
telegram system between the UK and India established in
1927.

Over the years, B-S-N-L made several technical upgrades in
the telegraph service, with the latest being the
introduction of a web-based messaging system in 2010.
However, growing Internet penetration and cheaper mobile
phones in the last decade have kept people away from the 182
telegraph offices still in operation across that country.

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

--

It appears as if more modern technology such as Instant
Messaging and social media sites have taken their toll on
another communications technology of times gone bye.  (The
Hindu)

**

RADIOSPORT:  14TH EUROPEAN YOUTH ARDF CHAMPIONSHIP HELD

93 young people up to 16 years of age attended the European
Amateur Radio Direction Finding Championship held in the
Czech Republic June 12th to the 16th.  The Czech national
amateur radio society C-R-C organized this year's
competition that was held in the village Tri Studne or Three
Cold Springs.

Both the 80 and 2 meter were used during the event.  A
report on the championship was expected to be featured on
Czech TV on Thursday, June 20th.  More on the European Youth
A-R-D-F Championship is on-line at www.eyac2013.com  (LZ1US,
Southgate)

**

RADIOSPORT:  HAMVENTION 2013 CONTEST UNIVERSITY VIDEOS

Still with contesting news, word that several videos of the
2013 Contest University sessions from this years Dayton
Hamvention now are available on the Word-Wide-Web.  Icom, a
Contest University sponsor, posted the videos to YouTube.
To find them simply take tour web browser to
www.youtube.com/user/IcomAmericaInc.  Then simply scroll
down to the bottom of the page to Contest University at
Dayton Hamvention and choose the video or videos that you
wish to play. (Various)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE:  AMSAT ON FIELD DAY SATELLITE CONTACTS

SaudiSat-Oscar-50 will be the only operational FM
transponder satellite for this years Field Day.  AMSAT notes
that if you are considering only FM voice operating for your
space contacts Field Day focus the single uplink and
downlink channels will be extremely challenging.

AMSAT says that as in prior years, this intense congestion
on FM Low Earth Orbit satellites drives the limitation in
the rules allowing their use to one-QSO-per-FM-satellite.
This includes the International Space Station.  You will be
allowed one QSO if the I-S-S is operating Voice. You will
also be allowed one digital QSO with the I-S-S or any other
digital, non-store-and-forward, packet satellite if one is
operational.

This year's AMSAT Field Day will take place from 1800 UTC on
Saturday June 22nd through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 23.  They
hope to hear you on the birds.  (ANS)

**

ON THE AIR:  ORIGINAL 13 COLONIES SPECIAL EVENT 2013

On the air listen out in early this summer for a number of
stations to  be operational July 1st to the 6th.  This to
commemorate the first thirteen colonies that came together
to form the United States.

Called the 13 Colonies stations, they will be operational
from 1300 UTC on July 1st to 0400 UTC on July 7th. There
will be at least two special event stations per colony
state.  Also included will be several super contest
stations, multi-operator Club stations and husband and wife
teams.

The theme for 2013 will be Banners of the Revolution.  A
commemorative certificate will be available printed on heavy
card stock.  More information including QSL routing is on
the web www.13colonies.info
(Via Press Release)

**

DX

In DX, W6JKV will be active as V31IV from San Pedro Belize
between June 20th and July 1st.  Operations will be on 80
through 6 meters and he will probably focus on 6 meters CW.
QSL via his home callsign.

The 4M5DX Group is planning a DXpedition to Aves Island
sometime between November 1st of this year and February
28th, 2014.  The callsign mentioned is Y-W-Zero-A.  More
information will be released at a future date.

ZS6AYU will on be operational as C91GR from Mozambique
between July 19th and the 23rd.  Activity will be holiday
style on CW only.  QSL via ZS6AYU, either direct or via the
bureau.

DL4SDW will be active stroke HI3 from the Dominican Republic
between June 17th and July 26th.  Operations will be limited
to his spare time on the HF bands, using mainly CW, but some
SSB and digital modes. QSL via his home callsign with cards
sent via the bureau preferred.

ON6DSL will be operational stroke as SV9 from the Island of
Crete between August 12th to the 21st.  Activity will be
holiday style on 40 through 15 meters using QRP SSB only
using a Yaesu FT817ND into a homemade multiband dipole.  QSL
via his home callsign either direct or via the UBA Bureau.

Lastly, LA8DW will be on the air as JW8DW from the JW5E club
station on Spitsbergen Island.  This, between September 25th
and October 3rd. Activity will probably be on 80 through 10
meters using CW and SSB. Also there is the possibility of
some RTTY and PSK31. QSL via his home callsign, direct, via
the Bureau or electronically via Logbook of the World.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM:  A NEW PSA FOR FIELD DAY AND BEYOND

Lastly, just in case you are wondering about a new ham radio
public service spot being broadcast on some radio stations
this past week, yes that is Newsline's Jim Davis, W2JKD.
Jim and our producer Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, put it together
in less than 8 hours after reading requests from hams on
Facebook about not having anything new to help publicize
Field Day this year.  As it was to close too Field Day
weekend to get national distribution, the decision was made
to keep it a bit generic so that it could be used at any
time of the year.  And this was the result:

--

"Amateur Radio, often called "Ham Radio" is really many
hobbies and passions under one name.  From studying the
stars to creating new computer applications to practicing
their emergency communications skills every June on Field
Day weekend, hams enjoy serving the community in many ways.
To find an amateur radio group near you, go to
www.arrl.org/find-a-club"

--

No, there is no music bed nor video version and for good
reason.  Adding music requires obtaining clearances and in
some cases paying per play use fees.  And a video version
would simply have taken to long to produce and even longer
to get any meaningful airplay.  With little time to get it
out before Field Day weekend, the decision was made to keep
it simple and that seems to have worked.

The spot was originally distributed over the ARRL's Public
Relations Remailer to those in a position most likely able
to get it on the air quickly.  It is currently available on
our website at www.arnewsline.org and will be there for
another couple of days.  If you want to download a higher
fidelity copy of it, just go to the site, scroll down a bit
and follow the simple instructions you will find there.  We
hope you will find it of use in publicizing the greatest
hobby in the world.  (ARNewslineT)

**

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 W-I-A 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 Jeff Clark, K8JAC, saying 73 and we thank you for
listening.

Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2013.  All rights
reserved.

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