Friday, October 25, 2013

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1889 - October 25 2013

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1889 with a release
date of October 25 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST.  Hams in Australia respond to
massive wildfires; Amateur radio operators in India are set
to assist in tracking Comet ISON; the Babnaba Island T33A
DXpedition targets November 5th as its start-up date; the
FCC says no to expanding Technician class phone operations
on 10 meters and UK telecommunications regulator Ofcom
takes a new look at pirate radio.  Find out the details are
on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number 1889 coming your
way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here)


**

RESCUE RADIO:  AUSTRALIA WICIN RESPONDS TO NEW SOUTH WALES
BRUSHFIRES

Hams who are members of Australia's WICEN have been
activated as fires rage in an area called the Blue Mountains
threaten to expand.  Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim Meachen,
ZL2BHF, reports:

--

According to Jim Linton, VK3PC, who is the IARU Chairman
Region 3 Disaster Communications Committee, already some 200
homes have been lost as wildfires rage in the Blue Mountains
of the Australian state of New South Wales not far from the
city of Sydney.  News reports attribute one death to the
wildfires.  A State of Emergency has been declared for the
area and fire fighters worry that up to four separate blazes
could potentially combine to form a single massive fire
front.

Compton Allen, VK2HRX, is the president of WICEN in New
South Wales.  He says that an official activation has begun,
drawing on the resources of the emergency communications
group.  Currently the mobilization is to support the
declared State of Emergency with manpower in the Lithgow
area to the west of Sydney.

About 1,200 firefighters were battling blazes across the
state.  New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner
Shane Fitzsimmons said personnel had volunteered to help
from all across Australia, and as far away as here in New
Zealand.  The ground effort is being backed with more than
eighty aircraft which were dropping water and fire retardant
on the flames.

VK3PC says that evacuations of tens of thousands of people
are possible if hotter weather conditions combine with fire
fronts already burning.  This is a scenario that is
literally changing minute by minute and we will have more on
it in future newscasts.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF,
across the Tasman Sea in Nelson, New Zealand.

--

WICEN in Australia is comparable to a combined RACES and
ARES here in the United States.
(VK3PC, News 10, euronews.com)

**

RESCUE RADIO:  PHILIPPINE EARTHQUAKE FOLLOW-UP

A follow-up to last weeks report on a devastating earthquake
that hit the Bohol region of the Phillipines.  According to
Roberto Vicencio,  DU1VHY reporting via QRZ.com, due to the
shaker both the communication and electrical power
infrastructures in the disaster area were initially
crippled.  He notes that to date over 140 fatalities have
been recorded on the island of Bohol and about 10 on the
island of Cebu adding that numerous buildings were damaged
due the severity of the shaker.

DU1HVY notes that as of his latest posted report that hams
were still passing information to and from the island and to
the National Capital Region.  Communications was taking
place on 7.095 MHz on the 40 meters plus VHF, Echolink and
using the social media.

John Hays is DW5HT on the island of Leyte.  Hays, who is
also WB0HZL notes that in the Philippines there are
approximately 5000 licensed hams in a country with a
population of about 103 million.  He notes that the land
mass is about the size of Oregon but the country is long,
thin and made up of numerous islands.  As such, the
Philippines do not have the extensive repeater systems so
commonly found here in the United States. There, the
National Emergency High Frequency calling channel is 7.095
MHz and Hays says that this works very well for
communication throughout the country on a 24 hour a day, 7
day a week basis.

(DU1VHY, WB0HZL/DW5HT via QRX.com)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE:  INDIA'S HAM RADIO OPERATORS SET TO HELP
IN TRACKING COMET ISON

Astrophysicists in India are joining with amateur radio
operators to track and read data comet ISON which is
scheduled to pass nearest to Earth on November 28th.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather Embee, KB3TZD, has the
details:

--

With the assistance a ham radio operators, scientists at
India's Institute of Astrophysics will send a neon gas
filled balloon about 130,000 feet in into the stratosphere
in late November to gather data on comet ISON.

Ram Mohan Suri, VU2MYH, is the director of India's National
Institute of Amateur Radio.  He says that the Institute of
Astrophysics has joined forces with Dhruva Space and his
organization for the project.

Suri says that this type of joint mission has never been
attempted before but that trial runs have proven to be quite
successful.  He notes that an amateur station has been set
up at the Institute of Astrophysics.  He says that it and
two mobile units will track the balloon and monitor its
instruments as they record data from comet.  Specifically
the instrument package will take detailed readings of ISON's
mass, composition, inert gases and other aspects of its
nucleus and tail.

Once the balloon bursts and the instruments parachute back
to Earth it will be a team of amateur radio operators that
will track and retrieve it from anywhere in India or abroad,
presumably using APRS.

The location of the payload and balloon will be posted
online in real time, so that amateur radio operators
throughout the world can follow the mission.  This says Suri
will be helpful if the balloon falls back to Earth out of
the geographical border of India.

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

--

Comet ISON is classified as a sungrazing comet discovered in
September of 2012, by Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok.
Studies presented at the American Astronomical Society's
Division for Planetary Sciences meeting suggest that ISON's
nucleus measures somewhere between 1 to 2 � miles across and
it has a distinct green glow at its tail.  (Hindu Times)

**
RADIO LAW:  FCC SAYS NO TO EXPANDING TECH PRIVILEGES ON 10
METERS

The FCC has dismissed a Petition for Rule Making from the
Toledo Mobile Radio Association that sought to expand
Technician class operating privileges on 10 meters.  This to
permit holders of Technician class tickets access to the FM
portion of the band from 29.52 to 29.7 MHz

Under current rules, Novice and Technician licensees may
operate from 28.0 to 28.5 MHz but are limited to CW, RTTY
and other data modes from 28.0 to 28.3 Mhz.  They also have
limited SSB phone privileges from 28.3 to 28.5 MHz.

Last June the Toledo Mobile Radio Association had asked the
Commission to expand the spectrum available to Technician
licensees on 10 meters to include operating privileges in
the FM portion of the band.  It asserted that that
amending the rules would bring Technician voice privileges
on 10 meters in line with technical advancement that had
taken place since those rules were put in place.

But in its October 17th decision denying the rules change
request the FCC said that the Toledo Mobile Radio
Association had not presented any new evidence to warrant
the Commission revisiting the question of Technician class
licensees operating privileges.  The regulatory agency  went
on to note that Technicians can already transmit through
repeaters licensed to a General class or higher licensee
that have an output channel in the 29.52 to 29.7 MHz
segment.  The caveat is that the input of the repeater must
have an input on 2 meters or above and be under the control
of a higher class licensee. In other words, a cross-band
linked system or remote-base rather than a conventional 10
meter in-band repeater.

Also that contrary to Toledo Mobile Radio Association
assertion, the FCC says that its rules do not prevent
Technician Class licensees from taking advantage of such
technological developments as IRLP or Echolink.  Nor does it
prevent them from exchanging voice communications with other
stations in the 29.52 to 29.7 MHz segment of the 10 meter
band but again as long as the Technician operator is using
spectrum allowed to that license class.

You can read the entire FCC decision in this matter on the
web at tinyurl.com/no-new-tech-frequencies.  (FCC)

**

BREAKING DX NEWS:  T33A BANABA ISLAND HOPES TO BE ACTIVE
NOVEMBER 5 - 18

Some breaking news from the world of DX.  The T33A
DXpedition to Banaba Island is fast approaching and is
expected to be active from November 5th to the 18th.

It was reported on the T33A Blog Page on October 17th by co
team leader Jay Kobelin, W2IJ, that the container carrying
the gear for the operation has departed Suva, Fiji and was
now on its way by sea to Tarawa.  Also that the operations
advance team will arrive in Tarawa on October 31st to attend
to picking up provisions as well as to get the container
unsealed and cleared through customs.  They will then make
certain that it is loaded onto their vessel in preparation
for a November 3rd departure to Banaba Island.

It was also mentioned that the T33A operations main sponsor
is Elecraft, which is supplying six K 3 Transceivers and
five KPA-500 Amplifiers.  Also that the T33A team will be
using the DXA interface for their operation. DXA is an
innovative Web site that allows DX'ers to view the status
and activities of a DXpedition in near-real-time.

For more details about this DXpedition please visit
www.t33a.com.  We will have more DX related news later on in
this weeks report.  (OPDX)

**

BREAK 1

Time for you to identify your station.  We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world
including the Las Vegas Amateur Radio Club repeater serving
Las Vegas Nevada.


(5 sec pause here)


**


RADIO LAW:  FCC EXTENDS FILING DATES ON VARIOUS ITEMS

The FCC has set new deadlines for filings with the agency on
various issues.  This after the agency re-opened for
business in mid-October following the partial 16 day
government shutdown. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant,
K6PZW, has the details:

--

As reported in the trade publication Radio World, in
general, filings that would have been due between October
1st and 6th became due on Tuesday, October 22nd.  That date
is now past.   Filings that would have been due October 7th
to the 16th are now due 16 calendar days after the original
filing date.  Again, some of those day's have now passed.
Also, if the new date falls on a weekend or holiday, those
filings are due at the FCC on the following business day.

Regarding public comments that were due on various issues
during the shutdown, of interest to our listeners are the
proposed RF exposure changes.  Reply comments are now due
November 18 for "Reassessment of Exposure to Radiofrequency
Electromagnetic Fields Limits and Policies."  For that you
file to ET Dockets 03-137 and 13-84.

Three other issues of interest to the hobby radio community.
Regulatory and enforcement filings that would have been due
on October 17th are now due on November 4th.  Special
Temporary Authorities that expired between October 1st to
the 22nd have been extended to November 4th and low-power FM
station applications are now due November 14th.

As to the processing of new and renewal Amateur Service
license applications, the only information made public so
far comes from the ARRL V-E-C.  It said that it had
approximately 250 sessions and over 1500 forms in the queue
as the FCC reopened on October 17th.  By the end of the day,
the League's V-E-C staff had dispatched its entire backlog
to the Commission for processing.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in
Los Angeles.

--

So it looks as if things are getting back to normal at the
FCC, albeit a bit slower than some might have envisioned.
(RW, ARRL)

**

RADIO POLITICS:  CONFIRMATION OF NEW FCC CHAIRMAN HELD UP IN
SENATE

Republican Senator Ted Cruz, the conservative who helped
prompt the recent government shutdown, has blocked the
Senate from voting on the nomination of Tom Wheeler to be
Federal Communications Commission chairman.  The Senate was
scheduled to vote on Wheeler, a Democrat and telecom
industry veteran, late on Wednesday. October 16th.  Cruz
held up the vote over questions about the FCC's power to
enforce disclosures of who sponsors political television
advertising.

The Senate also has yet to vote on the nomination of
Republican Michael O'Rielly to fill the fifth and final open
FCC commissioner position.  O'Rielly has spent nearly two
decades as a staffer in Congress, most recently serving as a
top aide to Senator John Cornyn of Texas. (Published news
reports)

**

RADIO LAW:  ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION CHALLENGES
PERSONAL AUDIO LLC

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a petition with
the Patent and Trademark Office challenging the claims of
Personal Audio LLC.  This is the company claiming to hold
key patents for podcasting technology. Amateur Radio
Newsline's Stephan Kinford, N8WB, reports:

--

The Electronic Frontier Foundation said in a press release
that its petition filed in this matter shows that Personal
Audio did not invent anything new, and, in fact, other
people were podcasting years before Personal Audio first
applied for a patent.

The Foundation notes that in preparation for its filing,
that it solicited help from the public to find prior art, or
earlier examples of podcasting and cites three examples of
what it discovered.  These are Internet Pioneer Carl
Malamud's `Geek of the Week' online radio show along with
online broadcasts by CNN and the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation.

From the release, Electronic Frontier Foundation Staff
Attorney Daniel Nazer said that as shown in our petition,
Personal Audio is not the true inventor of this technology
and should not be demanding a payout from today's
podcasters.  The petition goes on to note that because
Personal Audio's business model is entirely based on
leveraging its patents and it does not do any podcasting
itself, the company fits the definition of a non-practicing
entity.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stepen Kinford, N8WB, in
Wadsworth, Ohio.

--

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a nonprofit foundation
dedicated to keeping modern media technologies minimally
regulated and hindered.   (EFF, RW)

**

PUBLIC SERVICE:  WASHINGTON HAMS HONORED FOR COMMUNITY
PREPAREDNESS

An all-volunteer amateur radio organization has been
recognized by King County, Washington for its commitment to
emergency preparedness and response

The Renton Emergency Communication Service was chosen for
this accolade based on a record of service that stretches
back long before their formal incorporation by two groups of
amateur radio operators in 2008.  Over time the volunteers
have evolved to become a key asset to Renton's Fire and
Emergency Services Department, especially during disasters.

Each of the group's members is trained to staff the Renton
Emergency Operations Center and carry out communication
responsibilities.  During the snow and ice storm of January
2012, they performed critical functions, including call-
taking, managing radio and social media, and providing real-
time weather and road information gathered from around the
City of Renton. When power was lost to hundreds of homes,
Renton Emergency Communication Service members were deployed
to Renton's network of Neighborhood Information Centers,
where they posted information on shelter and food
distribution locations delivered to them by radio.

Mark Peterson is the Fire Chief of Renton.  He says that the
dedication and commitment shown by the Renton Emergency
Communication Service volunteers is making a real difference
in his departments ability to better serve the community.
Peterson added that the hams provide timely and critical
communications and information before it is needed.  More on
this story is on the web at tinyurl.com/renton-hams-honored.
(Kings County Executive News)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS: AMERICAN LEGION TAKES TO AIRWAVES IN SALUTE
TO VETERANS

Indianapolis Legionnaires will honor their fellow veterans
in a special on-the-air tribute on Veterans Day, November
11th.  That when members of The American Legion Amateur
Radio Club will operate using the special event call sign
W9L on 20 meters, 2-meter simplex, a Central Indiana
repeater and connect world wide via IRLP beginning at 9:00
a.m. through 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

Frequencies in use will include to 14.275 MHz upper sideband
on 20 meters, 146.46 MHz on 2 meter simplex, the 145.17 MHz
repeater in Hamilton County and IRLP Node 4816.  Those who
make contact with W9L will be eligible to receive an
attractive full color commemorative certificate.  More about
this event including QSL routing is on the web at website
www.legion.org/hamradio  (K9JM)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS: HAMS IN BAHRAIN CELEBRATE ARAB CYCLING
CHAMPIONSHIP

Ham radio operators in the Kingdom of Bahrain are on the air
in celebration of the 2013 Arab Cycling Championship being
held in that nation through October 31st.  A Special Event
Station using the call A91ACC will be active on all of the
High Frequency bands during the event.  All confirmed QSO's
will receive an award signed by the president of Bahrain
Cycling Association.  QSL's go via IZ8CLM.  Planners say
that participation by ham radio operators in this event
shows the increasing interest in Amateur Radio in the
Kingdom of Bahrain and encouragement from its officials.
(A91ACC)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS:  ERIN KING AK4JG NAMED ONE OF THE WORLDS
50 SMARTEST TEENS

And congratulations to 2012 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham
of the Year award winner Erin King, AK4JG, who has been
named one of the 50 smartest teens in the world by
TheBestSchools.com.

King was selected for this honor based on her early
acceptance to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
her then hacking of her acceptance letter tube.  This she
converted into a spacecraft payload that she flew to over
90,000 feet.  Once recovered using A-P-R-S tracking Erin
took the video captured by the onboard Go Pro camera and
produced a stunning documentary of the creation of the
payload and the actual flight itself.

This past summer recess she spent with Google working on
their Project Loon.  This is a communications experiment
that looks to use a global network of high-altitude balloons
to connect people in rural and remote areas of the world who
currently have no Internet.

TheBestSchools.org bills itself as a leading resource for
campus and online education.  You can read Erin's story and
that of the forty-nine others selected for this distinction
at tinyurl.com/fifty-smartest-teens.  (TheBestSchools.com)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS:  RAC ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIPS AND COMMUNITY
GRANT

Radio Amateurs of Canada has announced the granting of three
academic scholarships and one community grant.

The individual recipients are Paulyn Mulles, VE3PJM who is
attending Carlton University, Jason Deglint, VE7TJD who is a
student at University of Victoria, and Liam Bindle, VE5LRB
who is attending the University of Saskatchewan. Each of
these young Amateurs will receive a $500 academic
scholarship to assist their further studies in Electrical
Engineering.

Shaftesbury High School in Winnipeg will also received a
$500 community grant to assist them to become the only
permanent Amateur Radio ARISS Telebridge Station in Canada.
This, under the guidance of Mr. Robert Striemer, VE4SHS.
(VE3XT)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS:  NEW FREE E-BOOK ON IMAGE COMMUNICATIONS

And word that Martin Bruchanov, OK2MNM, has written a Free e-
book for hams and SWL's interested in special communication
modes for image transmission and reception.  This includes
such modes as SSTV, Digital SSTV and radio facsimile to name
only a few.  You can download the entire book or view on
line at www.sstv-handbook.com  (Southgate)

**

BREAK 2

This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur.  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: INTEL NEW BROADWELL CHIPSET DELAYED TO
EARLY 2014

Intel, the world's biggest computer chip maker, has said the
production of its next-generation PC chip, Broadwell, will
be delayed by a about three months past its scheduled
release date. This due to a technical glitch according to
Chief executive Brian Krzanich.

The Broadwell chips are expected to succeed the firm's
Haswell line of processors, and are touted to be more power-
efficient and faster.  Intel is the leading PC chip-maker
and its updated products typically spur on new laptop and
desktop sales.  It will now begin production on Broadwell
chips in the first quarter of 2014 rather than later this
year.  (Intel, c-net, Techradar)

**

WORLDBEAT:  UK REGULATOR OFCOM VS. PIRATE RADIO

United Kingdom communications regulator Ofcom has published
some new information about putting an end to pirate radio
operations.  Basically it appears as if they want to license
these stations.

Currently in London alone there are over two dozen pirate
stations operating in the 88 to108 MHz FM broadcast band.
Many operate 24 hours a day, 7days a week so are not exactly
difficult for Ofcom to locate if they wished to do so.

But on its In the Pirate Radio web page Ofcom points out
that they have issued Community Radio licenses to former
pirate radio stations such as Rinse FM and Kane FM.  The
inference that may be taken is Ofcom would like more pirate
radio stations to apply for community radio licenses.

Although Ofcom has occasionally raided pirate stations
operating in the FM broadcast band, such enforcement actions
have been few and far between.  And following the 2008
through 2009 fiscal year, Ofcom stopped publishing its
Prosecution Formal Warning Statistics and subsequently
removed all prosecution statistics from their website.

Some speculate the reason the statistics no longer appeared
was because Ofcom had stopped undertaking enforcement
action.  Heres what Ofcom has to say about the situation in
its own words at tinyurl.com/uk-pirate-unenforced.
(Southgate, BDXC)

**

RADIO FROM SPACE:  THE FERRARI OF SPACE TO SOON DE-ORBIT

A European Space Agency a scientific research satellite
dubbed the "Ferrari of Space" based on its sleek, finned
looks will shortly run out of fuel and fall to Earth after a
successful mission.

Launched in 2009, the Gravity Ocean Circulation Explorer
orbits at an extremely low altitude of just 160 miles where
there are still some molecules of atmosphere.   The
satellite's main payload is the Electrostatic Gravity
Gradiometers to measure the gravity field of Earth.  These
are arranged in three pairs of ultra-sensitive
accelerometers arranged in three dimensions that respond to
tiny variations in the 'gravitational tug' of the Earth as
it travels along its orbital path.

Other payloads include an onboard GPS receiver used as a
Satellite-to-Satellite Tracking Instrument; a compensation
system for all non-gravitational forces acting on the
spacecraft. The satellite is also equipped with
a laser retro-reflector.  This to enable tracking by ground-
based lasers.

To reduce drag, the Gravity Ocean Circulation Explorer has
an arrow-like octagonal shape and two fins to provide extra
aerodynamic stability.  This is a radical departure from the
box like form of many satellites that operate in the
complete vacuum of space.

Keeping it aloft is an ion engine that began with about 90
pounds of fuel but was now down to about 4.4 pounds at the
end of September.  While no exact date could be given
controllers say that fuel will be exhausted by the beginning
of November at which time most of the 17 foot long
spacecraft will break up and burn when it tumbles into a
denser portion of the Earth's atmosphere.  (Space OnLine,
ESA)

**

RADIOSPORTS: RADAR CONTEST COMING NOVEMBER 2

Turning to radiosports, the 2013 RaDAR-America Contest is
coming November 2nd starting at 14:00 UTC and ending at
18:00 UTC.

RaDAR stands for Rapidly Deployable Amateur Radio and the
event is aimed at promoting this type of operation
throughout North and South America.

This competition is open to all licensed radio amateurs.  A
choice is made prior to the contest to participate in one of
the defined categories.

The points system is so structured as to encourage portable
operation, especially moveable stations.  In fact, the rules
are very close to those created by the founder of the
contest Eddie Leighton, ZS6BNE and the ZS RaDAR competition
will take place at the same time in South Africa as it will
here in the Americas.

Marcus Kessler, NX5MK, is the RaDAR-America Contest manager.
The complete rules can be found at tinyurl.com/radar-america-
contest.  You can see a promotional video on the Amateur
Radio Today page at www.sarl.org.za. (Southgate, SARL,
others)

**

ON THE AIR:  4U0WFP AT WORLD FOOD PROGRAM IN ROME

On the air, the Ohio-Penn DX newsletter reports that 4U0WFP
is an amateur radio station located at the United Nations
World Food Program headquarters in Rome, Italy.  Currently
the operators are S53R and S53T who were recently heard on
21 dot 023 MHz at around 13:25 UTC.  Give them a call and
learn about what World Food Program does to fight the hunger
worldwide.  More about the group is at www.wfp.org. QSL via
the information for 4U0WFP found on QRZ.com.  (OPDX)

**

ON THE AIR:  ROYAL AIR FORCE PERMANENT SPECIAL EVENT
STATIONS

The United Kingdom's Royal Air Force station G3ELV and the
Royal Air Force Signals Museum station GB4SMH, will be
operational under a permanent Special Event permit effective
November 1st.  Normal operating times for both locations
will be 10:00 to 16:00 local time on each Tuesday and on the
first Saturday of each month.  If you make contact, please
QSL only via the bureau.  (Via e-mail)

**

DX

In DX, the ARRL DXCC desk has announced that the 2013 T6JR
operation from Afghanistan has been approved for DXCC
credit.  Cards are now being accepted for that one.

RK4FF will be on the air as 6V7S from Senegal through
November 27th. Activity is on 80 through 10 meters excluding
the WARC bands using CW, SSB and RTTY.  His log is available
on ClubLog.  QSL via RK4FF.

DF1YP is now active stroke FO from Moorea Island French
Polynesia.  He reportedly will be there until November 6th.
His operation has been mainly on 20 meters using SSB. QSL
via his home callsign.

G4IRN will be active as D44TWQ from Cape Verde between
November 5th to the 12th.  His operation will be holiday
style on the 30, 17 and 12 meters and on CW only. QSL via
his home callsign either direct or via the bureau.

N7OU will be operational from the South Cook Islands until
9th of November.  He has reactivated his E51NOU callsign on
all bands from 10 to 160 meters operating CW only. QSLs go
via his home call.

DL7AFS and J7ZG will be active as D44TXT from Ilha de Sao
Tiago, until November 7th.  They will be on the 80 through
10 meters using SSB, RTTY, PSK31 and PSK63. QSL via DL7AFS,
either direct or via the bureau.

N0HJZ is active as C6ARW from Grand Bahama, through October
29th using on 30, 17 and 12 meters as well on CW and RTTY on
other bands. QSL via N0HJZ, either direct or via bureau.

Lastly, a real Christmas present of sorts.  This as DH3WO
announces that he will be operational from Lesotho as 7P8WO
from December 22nd to the 24th.  He plans to be active on
all of the High Frequency bands though no operating times or
frequencies have yet been announced.  QSL's go via home
call.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM:  NASA DEEP IMPACT SPACECRAFT - SK

And finally this week, after nearly nine years in space, 4.7
billion miles traveled and an untold number of radio
transmissions of data, NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft has met
an unexpected end.  This, after mission controllers say that
they lost contact with the spacecraft.  Amateur Radio
Newsline's Jim Damron, N8TMW, reports:

--

Though Deep Impact was unable to complete its latest
assignment, the comet-hunting spacecraft led a far longer
life than expected with several career changes after its
first encounter with comet Tempel 1.

Launched in 2005, the spacecraft first traveled about 268
million miles to the comet Tempel 1, where it shot a probe
into the comet's path. The resulting collision blasted
material out from beneath the comet's surface, which
researchers were then able to study, giving them an
unprecedented look into a comet's inner workings. The
mission also provided researchers with an up-close and
personal look at these icy tailed comets which are in effect
time capsules of the young solar system's chemical makeup.

Having wrapped up its planned mission in six months, NASA
then put the spacecraft to work on a new mission with a
brand new acronym called EPOXI.  Not the glue but rather a
combination of two mission names/  These were the Extrasolar
Planet Observations and Characterization and the Deep Impact
Extended Investigation.  For the latter portion of the
mission, the control team sent the Deep Impact spacecraft
back past Earth to get close to the comet Hartley 2.  It
also stayed busy during its travels observing half a dozen
different stars to confirm their planets' motions.

The spacecraft also took pictures of Earth, the moon and
Mars. These findings helped confirm the existence of water
on the Moon, and they attempted to look for methane on Mars.
This particular task was in vain, as the Curiosity rover's
findings recently revealed.

The spacecraft then went on to study the comet Garradd, in
2012 and took distant images of the comet ISON this year.
But around the time the mission was supposed to take close-
ups of ISON, controllers lost contact with the spacecraft
and spent several weeks trying to reactivate its systems.
They finally announced that they have been unsuccessful and
have abandoned any further attempts.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Im, Jim Damron, N8TMW.

--

Deep Impact may now be lost in space, the data it radioed
back to Earth has contributed greatly to mankind's
understanding of the final frontier.  (NASA)

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC
Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX
Bulletin, 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 Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, in Southern Mississippi saying 73
and we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2013.  All rights
reserved.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1888 - October 18 2013

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1888 with a release
date of October 18 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T.  Ham radio responds as a major
cyclone hits India and an earthquake hits the Philippines;
the IARU Monitoring Service says that Russia is again
intruding into 15 meters; Sweeden gives its hams access to
472 kilohertz; AMSAT to celebrate 30 years of manned ham
radio in space operations and a bit of early DX history from
down-under.  Hear it all on Amateur Radio NewslineT report
number 1888 coming your way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here)


**

RESCUE RADIO:  AMATEUR RADIO ON SCENE AS CYCLONE PHAILIN
HITS INDIA

Amateur radio operators in India were ready to respond when
cyclone Phailin roared up the Bay of Bengal, carrying winds
of 155 mph at landfall.  But proper planning on the part of
India's emergency services kept casualties to a minimum as
ham radio operators braved the weather to make sure
communications kept flowing.  Amateur Radio Newslines Mark
Abramowicz, NT3V, has the rest of the story:

--

India's National Institute of Amateur Radio put as many as
200 operators on alert and many of those volunteers came
through and were dispatched as needed once the cyclone hit
Odisha, along the country's eastern coast.

And, news accounts are praising government officials in the
country for acting quickly to evacuate some half-a-million
people living along lowland coastal areas to get them out of
harm's way.

Early accounts put the death toll in the teens.

The storm is believed to be the strongest to hit the region
since 1999 when a tropical storm washed ashore causing 9,000
deaths and extensive damage.

Power is still out in many areas in the wake of this storm.

Radio operators are staying on duty at shelters and other
areas in many of the coastal districts where flood and wind
damage to the infrastructure was the most extensive.

News accounts are reporting many of the mud homes and farms
in the coastal region hit by the storm were destroyed and
roads remain blocked by uprooted trees.

Jay, VU2JAU, was helping to coordinate storm relief activity
on 40 meters, along with a team that included VU2DPI, VU3BHI
and VU2AOR.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V.

--

During the height of the storm VU2JAU put out a world-wide
request that the frequency of 7 point 145 MHz on 40 meters
be kept clear for disaster communications. As we go to air,
some ham radio emergency communications is reported to still
be ongoing as the clean-up effort in the aftermath of the
cyclone continues.  (IARU R-3, other published news sources)

**

RESCUE RADIO:  HAMS RESPOND AS AN EARTHQUAKE HITS THE
PHILIPPINES

The Philippine Amateur Radio Association has activated its
Ham Emergency Radio Operators group.  This, following a
Magnitude 7.2 earthquake that hit the province of Bohol at
8:12 a.m. local time on Monday, October 14th.

At airtime the death toll stands near 110 and could rise.
Dozens of people are reported as missing, and authorities
were checking into reports of people trapped in collapsed
buildings in both Cebu and Bohol.

Roberto Vicencio is DU1VHY in Mandaluyong City.  He has
passed along word that all radio amateurs are being asked to
keep 7 dot 095 MHz on 40 meters clear until further notice.
This frequency is being used for both damage assessment and
other ongoing relief work.

Meantime, a state of calamity was declared in both the Bohol
and Cebu areas.  This prompted the closure of schools and
other structures until officials can determine the safety of
buildings and bridges.  The initial jolt was followed by two
aftershocks, each measuring more than 5.0 in magnitude.
(PARA, VK3PC, Pacific News)

**

RESCUE RADIO:  HISTORIC VK LIGHTHOUSE SAVED FROM FIRE

A bushfire on the Australian coast recently threatened the
historic Barrenjoey Lighthouse at Palm Beach, on the
northern most point of Sydney.  The New South Wales Rural
Fire Service reports the building sustained some roof damage
but is mostly fine after fire swept through the area.  This
is good news, particularly to the Manly Warringah (PRON: WOR-
RING-A) Radio Society which has activated this lighthouse as
VK2MB in the 2013 International Lighthouse and Lightship
Weekend. (VK3PC)

**

INTRUDER WATCH:  RUSSIAN MILITARY BACK ON 21 MHZ

The IARU Monitoring Service newsletter reports on a possible
Russian military station that has been using the amateur
radio 21 MHz band.  It says that encrypted voice traffic has
been operating on 21000.0 kHz on USB.  Also that the in-band
synchronizing signal was always audible and quite strong.
The transmitter sending out these transmissions is believed
to be located in or near Nizhny Tagil in Russia but its
purpose is unknown.  The newsletter also reports that the
Russian military have also been using other frequencies in
our 7, 14 and 21 MHz bands and have been operating an Over
The Horizon radar between 3500 and 3800 kHz.  (IARUMS, IARU-
R-1)

**

RESTRUCTURING:  SWEDISH HAMS GET ACCESS TO THE 472 KHZ BAND

Some good news for radio amateurs and other spectrum users
in Sweden.  Hams get a new band and commercial entities are
given limited use of unlicensed devices. Amateur Radio
Newsline's Heather Embee, KB3TZD, reports:

--

As of October 1st Swedish Telecom is permitting that nations
radio amateurs access to the 472 to 479 kHz band.  Like in
some locations the maximum radiated power is one watt as
opposed to the five watts permitted by some nations.

The Swedish Telecom paper also reports that also on the same
date that new rules concerning exemptions from the
requirement for radio transmitters to have an operating
license came into effect.

Most transmitters in Sweden still require a license but for
the sake of simplicity, the telecommunications regulator may
allow exceptions in cases where this is little risk of
interference.  One new exclusion applies to vehicle
communication transmissions in the 63 to 64 GHz band.  Other
exemptions are associated to Radio Frequency Identification
use in the 2446 to 2454 MHz range for sales and inventory
control.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Heather Embee, KB3TZD, in
Berwick, Pennsylvania.

--

All in all it appears to be a win-win decision for everyone.
(Southgate)

**

RESTRUCTURING:  UK ISSUES RULE MAKING TO LEGALIZE AM AND SSB
ON CB

Twenty-eight months after the European Commission published
a decision aimed harmonizing CB radio across the European
Union, United Kingdom telecommunications regulator Ofcom has
announced a consultation on legalizing 27 MHz double
sideband A.M. and Single Sideband transmissions.  Jeremy
Boot, G4NJH, is in Nottingham, in the UK with more:

--


Ofcom has published proposals to amend current arrangements
for Citizens' Band radio in the UK, to allow the use of a
wider range of transmission standards.

Ofcom is proposing to allow amplitude modulation, double-and
single sideband transmissions on CB radio, which will bring
the UK in line with other European countries.

The consultation will close on 8 November.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeramy Boot, G4NJH, in
Nottingham in the UK.

--

11 meter CB radio was first introduced into the United
Kingdom around 1972 as an F.M only service.  In the late
1970's James Bryant, G4CLF, who was then the President of
the UK Citizens Band Association, campaigned for the
legalization of AM and SSB operation for use in that
service.  Now some 36 years later it looks as though it may
finally be achieved.  (RSGB)

**

WORLDBEAT:  IARU ANNOUNCES THEME FOR WORLD AMATEUR DAY 2014

The IARU has chosen its theme for World Amateur Radio Day,
2014.  Graham Kemp, VK4BB, of the WIA news is here with the
details:

--

Each year on 18 April is World Amateur Radio Day, which
celebrates the founding of the International Amateur Radio
Union in 1925.  The theme "Amateur Radio: Your Gateway to
Wireless Communications" has been chosen for the day in
2014.

In 100 years it has evolved from crude spark-gap technology
to digital signal processing and software-defined radios.

The IARU understands that the date is close to Easter. It
encourages activity earlier or later to gain as much
exposure and publicity as possible for modern and easily
accessed amateur radio.

Only six months to go. Will you be involved?

For the AmateurRadio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB, of
the WIA News in Australia.

--

Most if not all of the worlds national ham radio societies
will be taking part in World Amateur Radio Day 2014.  Check
with yours to find out its celebration plans.  (IARU, WIA
NEWS)

**

BREAK 1

Time for you to identify your station.  We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world
including the N7KSO repeater system serving northwest
Arizona.

(5 sec pause here)


**

BREAKING NEWS:  CONGRESSIONAL IMPASSE SETTLED - FCC REOPENS

I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP with breaking news.

The House and Senate votes on Wednesday, night October 16th
to at least temporarily restore all government operations
until January 15th and permit the US Treasury to extend its
debt ceiling limit through February 7th have passed and been
signed into law by the president.  This means that the FCC
and other government agencies should now be getting back to
work, but that does not mean things will be back as they
were before the partial government shutdown began.

Even though the FCC is technically back in operation, you
have to remember that matters concerning services such as CB
radio, the Mult-Use or MURS Radio Service, GMRS and even
Amateur Radio are going to take a back seat to more
important subjects.  This includes but is not limited to
broadband expansion and broadcast related issues.

While the good news is that the stalemate is over for now,
it could take a bit more time before the FCC takes any
matter under advisement that is important to ham radio such
as several requests for rule making from the ARRL.  And as
you will hear in a few moments, the FCC could even face a
paperwork deluge of monumental proportions in the coming
days.

So for now the two key words are "be patient."
(ARNewslineT)

**

RADIO LAW:  MASSIVE BACKLOG COULD HIT FCC WHEN IT REOPENS

Don't expect miracles in the handling of any matter by the
FCC when the government shutdown ends.  That's
the prediction of attorney Mitchell Lazarus from the law
firm of Fletcher, Heald and Hildreth.

According to Lazarus, everything that would have come due
during the shutdown instead will all be due on the same day.
Not the day the FCC reopens, but the day after that.

And as to filings due on the day of reopening?  They likely
will also be put off till that same - the next day.  As
such, Attorney Lazarus believes that this creates the
possibility of a massive accumulation of filings, including
the last-minute crunch when the electronic databases becomes
accessible and updated again.

The commission said right before the shutdown if its systems
become overwhelmed upon reopening, it will issue further
guidance.  Presumably that includes extending filing
deadlines, but until that happens nobody can be sure.

The bottom line says Lazarus:  "The longer this goes on, the
worse the chaos will be when it ends." (RW, commlawblog.com)

**

ENFORCEMENT FOLLOW-UP:  ALLEGED INDIANA POLICE IMPOSTER
CHARGED

A follow-up to our recent story about an Indianapolis area
ham who was arrested after authorities say he impersonated a
cop during the funeral of an Indianapolis police officer
killed in the line of duty.  Court documents say that 38
year old Minh van Nguyen, now faces three felony charges
including two counts of impersonation of a public servant
and theft.

Nguyn holds the call sign KB9WDY.  As reported, on the day
of the funeral of officer Rod Bradway, KC9PFW, police say
that Nguyen showed up in police uniform with police patches
and a badge.  Later, when investigators searched Nguyen
home, they recovered among other items, including a 37-
millimeter grenade launcher, a number of assault rifles,
shotguns, handguns and several thousand rounds of
ammunition.  Officials said he also had body armor, several
uniforms belonging to area police agencies and numerous
badges.  This included one that belonged to Indiana State
Police.

If tried and convicted, Nguyen faces up to three years in
prison.  And if convictions were to be reported to the FCC's
Enforcement Bureau the regulatory agency could call for a
show cause hearing as to whether Nguyen should be permitted
to retain his Amateur Service license.  But as time has
shown, such an action by the FCC is likely down the road at
least several years.  (Published news reports)

**

ENFORCEMENT:  FCC WARNS STATIONS ABOUT UNLICENSED OPERATION

Some unlicensed operators have caught the eye of FCC
Enforcement counsel Laura Smith.   On July 8, Smith warned
James E. Richburg against unlicensed radio operation in the
Amateur Radio bands.  According to Smith it had come to the
FCC's attention that at multiple times in the last several
months Richburg had made radio transmissions in the amateur
bands for which a license is required and that Richburg did
not possess such a permit.

Then in August Smith sent notices to Charles W. Johnson and
Mark W. Althaus, warning them of unlicensed operation on
26.735 MHz.  In this letter Smith underscored that
transmitting outside of authorized frequencies violates
Section 301 of the Communications Act.  As such, this could
lead to the imposition of substantial fines and seizure of
radio equipment as well as possible criminal action up to
and including imprisonment.

In all three cases Smith directed that unauthorized
operation of their  radio station must cease immediately.
She also gave Richburg, Johnson and Althaus 10 days from the
date each received her letters to respond to their
respective warning notices.  Each was instructed to state
what specific actions had been taken to comply with the
FCC's rules.  (FCC, ARRL)

**

RADIO BUSINESS:  SMALL WONDER LABS TO GO QRT

QRP kit supplier Small Wonder Labs is closing its doors
permanently.  According to owner Dave Benson, K1SWL, he is
going into retirement and has discontinued sales of the
popular RockMite.

Benson says that he will ship out the last several dozen
orders shortly and that he will continue to support requests
for missing or replacement RockMite parts from existing
customers, but only over the short term.  He also hopes to
keep the Small Wonder Labs website active for a year, and it
will maintain documentation for his earlier products

However QRP enthusiasts should not despair.  According to
the rumor mill at least one other QRP kit supplier is
interested in taking over supplying the RockMite and there
could be an announcement at any time now.

For more on Dave Benson's future plans please visit
smallwonderlabs.com on the world-wide-web.
(smallwonderlabs.com, others)

**

WORLDBEAT:  POLAND NATIONAL PUBLIC BROADCASTER ADOPTS DAB+

National public broadcaster Polish Radio has begun
transmitting in the DAB+ digital audio transmission system.
The Director and Editor-in-Chief of Polish Radio 4 said that
adopting the digital standard enables the it to increase its
coverage area, improve sound quality and disseminate
programming nationwide. (RW)

**

WORLDBEAT:  WW2 GERMAN ENIGMA MACHINE TO BE AUCTIONED

A rare German Enigma encoding machine used by the Nazis to
send secret messages during the Second World War will go on
sale in the United Kingdom later this month.  The machine,
built in 1944, was part of the German intelligence operation
thwarted by British counter-intelligence working out of
Bletchley Park.

Engima machines were used through the war by the German
military, but this was a later model which sent out even
more heavily encrypted signals than earlier versions.  A
specialist from London auctioneers Bonhams said the
untouched and unrestored device is especially valuable
because it still has many of its original parts, and was not
modified after the war.

The unit comes with an original ebonite plugboard, which
when added to the Engima would swap pairs of letters.  For
example, pressing the F key would send a letter B to be
scrambled at the Enigma's rotors.  This of coarse would
require a matching device at the other end to make sense of
the message.

If you want to own this prize World War 2 relic be prepared
to shell out at least $80,000.  More is on the web at
tinyurl.com/enigma-for-sale.  (Daily Mail)

**

WORLDBEAT:  APPLE VS EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTS ON PROPRIETY
CONNECTORS

Apple may be forced to abandon its proprietary 30-pin dock
charger, at least on the other side of the Atlantic, if
European politicians get their way.  This after members of
the European Parliament's Internal Market Committee voted
unanimously for a new law mandating a universal mobile phone
charger.

The Member of the European Parliaments want all radio
equipment devices and their accessories, such as chargers,
to be interoperable to cut down on electronic waste.
Germany's Member of the European Parliaments Barbara Weiler
said she wanted to see an end to what she terms as cable
chaos.

This is not the first attempt to set a standard for
universal phone chargers.  In 2009 the European Commission,
the International Telecommunications Union and leading
mobile phone manufacturers drew up a voluntary agreement
based on the micro USB connector.  However Apple, which sold
nine million units of the iPhone 5s and 5c's in just three
days has not adhered to the agreement despite signing up
with it.
(euexaminer.com, networkworld.com)

**

PUBLIC SERVICE:  HAM RADIO SUPPORTS BETHANY BEACH TRIATHLON

The Bethany Beach Delaware First Responders Triathlon
featured ham radio as one of its key components.  This as
the Sussex County Amateur Radio Emergency Service provided
communications support to the event.

Twenty amateur radio operators supported the triathlon.
They were located at strategic points throughout the course
of the bike and run events.  The hams radio volunteers
reported through a net control at the Bethany Beach Fire
Station.  Status on the progress of the participants as well
as any emergency or medical needs were routed to the
appropriate authorities using ham radio.

The event which was held back on September 22nd included a 6
tenths of a mile swim, an 1 mile bike and a 4.3 mile run.
More than 800 participants took part.  Planners say that it
was a very successful effort for the first responders as
well as the Amateur Radio Emergency Service communications
team.  The complete story is on the web at
tinyurl.com/bethany-triathlon-hams.  (CapeGazette.com,
eHam.net)

**

BREAK 2

This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur.  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)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE:  AMSAT CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF
AMATEUR RADIO INVOLVEMENT IN HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT

A special highlight of this year's AMSAT Space Symposium and
Annual Meeting will be the celebration of the 30th
anniversary of amateur radio involvement in human space
flight.  This as it evolved into a successful program on
board the International Space Station that we all know as
ARISS.  Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is
in the newsroom with more:

--

The AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting takes place
November 1st to the 3rd in Houston Texas.  And in
recognition of the 30th anniversary of manned ham radio in
space, a specially invited panel featuring former Astronaut
Owen Garriott, W5LFL, and other key individuals who
initiated this amazing program will take place on Saturday
evening, November 2nd as a part of the symposium's grand
banquet.

The event will be moderated by Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, who is
AMSAT Vice President of Human Space Flight.  The
presentation includes not only remarks by Garriott and
others, but also video highlights of amateur radio
participation in the first ever manned ham radio operation
from space as well as several other shuttle flights.

Owen Garriott, W5LFL flew on shuttle flight STS-9 in
November 1983.  He was the first astronaut to utilize
amateur radio to communicate with those on the ground.  This
in turn permitted the general public to speak with a United
States astronaut from space, doing so outside of NASA
communication channels.  Garriott's operation from the space
shuttle Columbia was commemorated in the video "Amateur
Radios Newest Frontier" produced and hosted by the late NBC
newsman Roy Neal, K6DUE.

According to AMSAT, holding this celebration in Houston
makes it all the more special.  This is because it will
permit non-AMSAT personnel and others involved with placing
amateur radio on the space shuttles and later onto the
International Space Station a chance to participate in the
celebration.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF,
looking skyward and remembering where I was when STS-9 flew
overhead here in the City of Angels.

--

The 31st Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting
takes place at the Houston Marriott South at Hobby Airport.
Details about the symposium and this celebration are on the
web at www.amsat.org.  (AMSAT - NA)

**

ON THE AIR:  SPECIAL EVENT STATION II8IDXC CELEBRATES ITALYS
IDXC 2015

On the air, listen out for special event station II8IDXC to
be active between November 2013 and May 2015.  This
operation is to help publicize the 10th anniversary of
Italy's "International DX Convention" that will be held in
the city of Paestum in April of 2015.  Operations will be on
the High Frequency bands plus 6 meters using CW, SSB and the
Digital modes.  The events QSL manager is IZ8EDJ.  More
information is on the web at www.dxitalia.it  (Southgate)

**

ON THE AIR:  CELEBRATING THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY

Members of Turkey's Special Wireless Activity Team have been
active with the special event TC suffix callsigns for some
years now to celebrate the anniversary of the Republic of
Turkey.  This year the celebration runs through October 31st
and the group will be operational as TC90TC through then.
More details will be available on QRZ.com in the coming
days.  (Southgate)

**

DX

In DX, K4ZIN and N4WDT will be on the air from Sierra Leone
from October 15th to the 22nd using the callsign 9L1JT.  No
operating times or modes were stated.  QSL via K4ZIN.

SM1TDE is currently on the air from Uganda as 5X8A on High
Frequency bands.  No specific modes or operating times
mentioned.  QSL via his home call.

Five operators from Japan will be active from Grenada Island
operating as J34J from November 20th to the 29th.  Their
operation will include the CQ World Wide DX CW Contest.  If
you make contact please QSL via JA1HGY

W9NJY will be active from Curacao from November 19th to the
25th signing stroke PJ2.  He will be operational on 160
through 10 meters on CW only. QSL via WD9DZV either direct
or electronically using Logbook of the World.

JA1FUF and JF1CCH will be on the air from Kiribati from
November 28th to December 4th as T30NK and T30TS.  Listen
out for them on 40 through 6 meters using CW, SSB and PSK31.
QSL each operator via his home call.

Lastly, M1AYI will be active from Falkland Islands October
20 through November 19th as VP8DNY.  He plans to be
operational an all of the High Frequency bands  on SSB only.
QSL via his home call.

**

THAT FINAL ITEM:  CELEBRATING THE FIRST ZL DX
ACCOMPLISHMENTS

And finally this week, October marked the beginning of a
celebration in New Zealand of the earliest days of DX.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, has the
details"

--

After World War 1 and with the relocation of radio amateurs
to the supposedly useless shorter wavelength bands an
amazing period of radio exploration took place.  Ham radio
operators all over the world soon realized that far from
being useless these wavelengths allowed  communication over
long distances than previously thought.

Amateurs in New Zealand were among those at the forefront of
this activity with the first Zed-L to Australia QSO in April
1923.  This was followed by what were then world record
distance QSO's between New Zealand and Argentina in May
1924, New Zealand and California in September 1924, and
Connecticut on the US east coast just weeks later.  And then
the ultimate early Zed-L DX contact of Frank Bell, Z4AA and
his QSO with Cecil Goyder, G2SZ, in London, England on
October 18 1924.

To commemorate the 90th anniversary of the record breaking
activities of these early pioneers of Amateur Radio, ZM90DX
will be on the air between October of this year through
October 31st of 2014 on all bands 1.8 MHz to 1.2 GHz and
beyond using all modes.  Activated by the Kiwi DX Group
which is an informal group of DX'ers and contest
enthusiasts, ZM90DX will be used by stations around New
Zealand and a special commemorative QSL card will be
available as well as an award program for contacts with this
nation during this period.

Not only will ZM90DX be active at expected times and on
expected bands, but in the spirit of those early pioneers
the operators will also be calling CQ on bands and in
directions one may not necessarily expect.  This, with the
intention of exploring the boundaries of radio propagation.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF,
down-under in Nelson, New Zealand.

--

This will be an unparalleled opportunity for Amateurs all
over the world to work Zed-L while celebrating the exploits
of those early trail blazers whose work paved the way for
radio communications as we know it today.  Further details
can be found on zm90dx.com and gb2nz.com.  (NZART)

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC
Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the NZART, 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 Jin Davis, W2JKD, in Vero Beach, Florida, saying 73 and
we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2013.  All rights
reserved.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1887 - October 11 2013

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1887 with a release
date of October 11 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST.  The 2013 Scouting Jamboree on the
Air takes to the air on October 18th; Complaints pour in
about closed government websites; Several hams receive
warning notices from the FCC; The South African Radio League
announces its young scientist expo winner and the Dayton
Hamvention puts out a call for its 2014 awards.  Find out
the details are on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number
1887 coming your way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here)


**

SCOUTING:  JOTA 2013 TO AGAIN INVOLVE HAM RADIO

The 2013 Scouting Jamboree on the Air is slated for October
18th to the 20th.  Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark Abramowicz,
NT3V, is here with the rest of the story:

--

Jamboree on the Air, or JOTA as it is known by those who
participate, is the largest Scouting event in the world.

James Wilson, K5ND, is the national Boy Scouts of America
coordinator for JOTA in the United States.

"Typically, about 700,000 Scouts get on the air from 6,000
stations and roughly 14,000-15,000 radio amateurs are making
things happen around the event," Wilson says.

"It's a huge deal worldwide and that's part of its
excitement. It's not just, gee let's check out the fun,
technology and the magic of amateur radio. But, let's get on
and talk to other Scouts.

"It might be in another state, it might be across the
country, or they could be around the world. And, a lot of
fun interaction happens reaching out to Scouts who are from
a completely different culture but still enjoying Scouting
and being introduced to amateur radio."

Jamboree on the Air is coordinated by the World Organization
of the Scout Movement out of the World Scout Bureau in
Geneva, Switzerland.

The activity is in its 56th year.

Wilson says JOTA operations in the U.S. range from home
stations where a den of Cub Scouts or a patrol of Boy Scouts
might be introduced to the event by an operator to set-ups
on an outdoor or larger scale...

"There are troops, for example, that are going out on a
campout. One of the dads or maybe a Scoutmaster is an
amateur radio operator and they're setting up, probably a
fairly simple station at the campout and getting it on the
air," Wilson says.

"And, then there are large camporees or merit badge
universities or what have you where they're setting up
multiple stations and planning to get literally hundreds, if
not thousands, of Scouts in front of the radio during
Jamboree on the Air."

This year marks the end of an era for one well-known
station, HB9S, the station based at the World Scout Bureau.

"This year will be it's last year because the World Bureau
is relocating its offices," Wilson says. "It's moving out of
Geneva, pretty much it's moving out of Europe. They don't
know exactly where, but they do know it will be taking place
in 2014.

"And, so, this will likely be the last time that HB9S is on
the air from Switzerland."

If you're looking for more information about JOTA and want
to participate, the best place to look, Wilson says, is
www.scouting.org/jota

"That gives a list of frequencies which includes Echo Link
and D-Star and those nodes as well so it really provides a
great deal of information about Jamboree on the Air," Wilson
says.

"That also, that same site, scouting.org/jota, has a link to
register your station. And, once you register your station,
you'll be added to an email list and you'll be updated on
Jamboree on the Air on all what we call Radio Scouting
activities which is the broad sweep of amateur radio
activities within Scouting."

Station registration is still under way and Wilson says it's
not too late to get involved.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V,
in Philadelphia.

--

The complete history of the event can be read on Wikipedia
at tinyurl.com/scouting-worldwide.  (NT3V, ARNewsline)

**

RADIO LAW:  LAWYERS AND OTHERS COMPLAIN ABOUT GOVERNMENT
WEBSITE SHUTDOWNS

Lawyers and others are accusing several Federal regulatory
agencies of unnecessarily blocking access to websites during
the government shutdown.

Agencies including the Federal Communications Commission and
the Federal Trade Commission have entirely shut down their
websites, preventing the public from accessing regulations,
filings and other documents.  Other federal agencies
including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and
Drug Administration and the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration have stopped updating their
websites during the shutdown but old information is still
available.

The the Federal Trade Commission shutdown guide does not
directly address whether the website should be kept
available during a shutdown.  Instead, it directs the agency
to retain up to six information technology employees to work
to ensure the integrity and security of the agency's
information infrastructure and its availability for use by
exempt employees pursuing excepted and essential law
enforcement actions during the shutdown.  The FCC's shutdown
plan also did not mention cutting off access to its website.
According to the plan, the agency retained four employees
for critical information technology issues.

Congressional Republicans have accused the Obama
administration of maximizing the pain of the shutdown to
increase Democrats' leverage in negotiations.  Because of
the shutdown, the FTC and FCC were unable to comment.  More
on this story can be found on the web at
tinyurl.com/government-websites-down.  (The Hill)

**

GOVERNMENT HALTED:  MOST OF ARMY MARS STILL OPERATIONAL

The US Army MARS gateway station at Fort Huachuca, Arizona,
is operating on its normal schedule during the government
shutdown, but routine administrative activity is on hold.
This is because computer systems are down and no membership
paperwork can be processed for the duration of the fiscal
crisis.

As a civilian contractor not covered by the shutdown,
Operations Officer David McGinnis, K7UXO, is completing
final preparations for the November 3rd to the 4th national
communications exercise.  Also, the MARS national net is
still functioning normally.  (US Army MARS, ARRL)

**

GOVERNMENT HALTED:  NIST CLOSED AND AFFILIATED WEB SITES NOT
AVAILABLE

While the tick and the announcements over WWV and WWVH are
still available over the airwaves, the current deadlock in
Washington over the Federal budget has shut down the
National Institute of Standards and Technology or NIST.  It
has also closed most NIST and affiliated web sites until
further notice.  As a result, the NIST is warning that its
time signals may not be 100% accurate until staffing
returns.

The National Vulnerability Database and the NIST Internet
Time Service web sites will continue to be available.  A
limited number of other web sites may also be available.
Take a look at tinyurl.com/2dt3l7 to see whats on-line and
whats not.  A notice will be posted at www.nist.gov once
operations resume. (NIST)

**

BREAKING DX NEWS:  GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN PUTS WAKE ISLAND
COMMEMORATIVE ON HOLD

According to news reports the partial Federal shutdown is
preventing a group of radio amateurs visiting Wake Island to
commemorate a WWII massacre.

A dozen operators using the special call sign K9W were
supposed to be on Wake Island as this newscast goes to air.
They were working to assemble their gear in Hawaii for
transport to Hickam Air Force Base and then on to Wake
Island.  Instead, after months of preparation, the trip is
on indefinite hold because of a paperwork delay the group
attributes to the partial federal shutdown.

The operators still hope to make the trip once the
government funding crisis is solved.  Please keep an eye on
wake2013.org for the latest details and we will have more DX
news for you later on in this weeks report.  (wake2013,
various other sources)

**

BREAK 1

Time for you to identify your station.  We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world
including the Xerox Amateur Radio Club system WD6CZH in El
Segundo and Long Beach, California.

(5 sec pause here)


**

ENFORCEMENT:  HAMS SENT WARNING NOTICES BY FCC

According to the ARRL, the FCC's Enforcement Bureau recently
made public warning letters to several individuals.  This
for alleged infractions of the Part 97 Amateur Service rules
or Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934.  Amateur
Radio Newsline's Heather Embee, KB3TZD, has the details:

--

Back on June 24th, FCC Special Counsel Laura Smith sent
identical warning notices to Eric J. Christianson, KNZ0CW,
and Thomas E. Barnes, N7OVC, of Reno, Nevada.  This, to
inform them that the trustee of the WA7DG repeater in
Sparks, Nevada, had requested that they refrain from using
his system.

In her notices, Smith said that the written request was
issued as a result of the failure of the two hams to follow
operational rules set forth by the licensee and control
operators of the repeater system for their users.  She went
on to note that the Commission requires that repeaters be
under the supervision of a control operator.  Also that it
not only expects, but requires that such control operators
be responsible for the proper operation of the repeater
system.  As such, control operators may take whatever steps
they deem appropriate to ensure compliance with the repeater
rules.

Smith then advised the two licensees that the FCC expects
them to abide by the repeater owner's request and any
similar requests by other repeater licensees, control
operators or trustees of other systems.  She also said that
continued use of the WA7DG repeater could subject the two
hams to severe penalties, including monetary forfeiture, a
modification proceeding to restrict the frequencies upon
which you may operate or even license revocation.

On August 9th, Smith took on a High Frequency band issue.
This in a letter to Jack Hartley, K4WSB, of Tampa, Florida.
In it, Smith cited evidence received from members of the
Amateur Auxiliary Official Observers that Hartley had
operated outside of his Advanced class privileges on four
separate occasions while attempting to contact a station on
Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific.

Smiths letter to Hartley noted that According to the
Official Observer's, the Kwajalein operator refused the
contact noting that Hartley was not authorized to be
operating in that part of the band.  She noted that after
sending Hartley three previous notices the O-O's contacted
the Commission and asked it to remind K4WSB that his
continued attempts to contact the operator on Kwajalein
Atoll constitute a violation of the Amateur Service rules.
Smith cautioned Hartley that continued operation outside the
parameters of his license could lead to enforcement action
that could include revocation or suspension and fines.  The
three prior instances noted by the Official Observers
occurred in 2007 and 2008.

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

--

The FCC also sent warnings to several non hams for operating
without a license.  That part of the report next week.
(ARRL, FCC)

**

ENFORCEMENT: ALLEGED UNCERTIFIED TRANSMITTER SUPPLIER CITED
BY FCC

The Federal Communications Commission's Los Angeles
Enforcement Bureau has cited a company known
as FCCFrequency for marketing unauthorized RF devices in the
U.S..  Amateur Radio Newsline Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF,
reports:

--

The case began when the Los Angeles Office received
complaints alleging that FCCFrequency was selling and
installing non-certified low-power FM transmitters that
could be used in LPFM stations.  In addition, the company
was also reportedly selling and installing the gear to
individuals and entities that had no FCC authorization to
operate the devices.

The company'name:  FCCFrequency.  That's FCCFrequency
spelled as one word.  It came to the FCC's attention when
the agency was inspecting an unlicensed station in the Los
Angeles suburb of Arleta.  At that time the operator showed
agents the purchase contract for the 100-watt transmitter
manufactured in the Dominican Republic that he bought in
March for around $6,000 from FCCFrequency.

The regulatory agency noted that at the time of its
investigation that the company's  website said that it
specializes in Low Power FM Radio Station equipment sales
and installation, and encouraged nonprofit organizations to
install their own Low Power FM  Radio Station.  The website
also advertised that the company will help applicants to
file for new L-P-F-M's and major changes to existing
stations in the upcoming filing window, which is supposed to
open on October 15th.  A check of the website on October 9th
now only shows an almost blank page with the short message
that reads "new.FCCFrequency.com is coming soon."

In its citation the FCC told FCCFrequency that it must stop
marketing the unauthorized devices and avoid any recurrence
of the alleged misconduct. The company must also inform the
FCC within 30 days of the date of the citation who it sold
RF equipment to since January of 2012.  It must also supply
contact information on each purchasers and copies of sales
contracts.  Not responding in 30 days could result in
further sanctions.

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

--

More on this story is on the web at tinyurl.com/transmitter-
supplier-cited.  (FCC, RW)

**

RESCUE RADIO:  FCC SEEKS COMMENTS ON EAS FIXES

It is nearly two years since the first-ever nationwide test
of the Emergency Alert System and the FCC is now ready to
look at making some procedural changes based on what it
learned November 9, 2011.   This as the agency begins
accepting public comments on several equipment and
operational issues.  The FCC says the goal is to create a
dialogue with broadcasters and equipment companies to
develop a list of recommendations for what action the agency
needs to take. Obviously nothing much is going to happen
until Congress passes a measure that fully funds the
government's agencies but more on this issue is on the web
at tinyurl.com/eas-revisited  (Inside Radio)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS:  SARL SPONSORED EXPO FOR YOUNG SCIENTIST
AWARD

The South African Radio League sponsored Expo for young
scientist award has won by Justin Boyce, a student at St.
John's College in Johannesburg.  Boyce set out to predict
future Solar Coronal Mass Ejection activity by proving a
correlation between the number of C-M-E's and the sunspot
cycle.  His findings were that Coronal Mass Ejections and
the sunspot cycle are both caused by intense activity in the
Sun's magnetic field and therefore strong correlations can
be expected.  Also that predictions on the future of CME's
can be made using the repetitive pattern of the solar
sunspot cycle.  The press release from the South African
Radio League did not say if Boyce was or was not a radio
amateur.  (SARL)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS:  K6OSC RESIGNS AS W6RO QUEEN MARY
WIRELESS ROOM MANAGER

So0me names in the news.  First up comes word that Nate
Brightman, K6OSC, stepped aside as the W6RO Wireless Room
Manager aboard the Queen Mary museum ship, anchored in Long
Beach, California.

Brightman, now 96, was the W6RO Wireless Room Manager for 34
years.  Prior to that K6OSC devoted a decade arranging for
the GB5QM "Last Voyage" Amateur Radio operation from the
Queen Mary.  He then was responsible for establishing W6RO
as the club station of the Associated Radio Amateurs of Long
Beach.

K6OSC cited his recent illness, hospitalization and his
advanced age as reasons for his decision to step aside
effective October 1st.  He is succeeded as W6RO Station
Manager by David Akins, N6HHR.  (ARRL, ARALB)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS:  THE PSYCHOLOGY OF A QRMER BY JAMES
MILNER WB2REM

The Psychology of a QRMer is the title of a feature article
authored by James Millner, WB2REM.  In it, Millner who is a
licensed Psychologist with 35 years of experience delves
into the thinking of those who cause problems for their
fellow hams.

Without giving away any of the plot so as to speak, we will
say that Milner is very meticulous in separating
unintentenional from intentenional interference.  This, as
he looks into the underlying factors of operators who cause
these kinds of problems on the amateur bands.

The Psychology of a QRMer makes good reading, especially if
you have ever been the intentional target of a jammer.   You
will find it beginning on page 44 of the October issue of CQ
Magazine.  (ARNrewslineT)

**


BREAK 2

This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur.  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:  THE OTHER EFFECT OF THE SOLAR CYCLE

As almost every ham knows, the number of sunspots rises and
falls in a regular cycle that repeats every 11 years, but
there's a lot more to the story.  Here's Amateur Radio
Newsline's Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, with that part of the story:

--

Sunspots are among the least dramatic activities in a solar
cycle.  This is because they are easy to count and closely
correlated with flares and other indications of solar
activity.  As such astronomers and scientists have used them
for centuries to monitor variations in the sun's activity.

But it is Solar Flares and Coronal Mass Ejections that pose
the biggest risk to power grids and communications systems
here on Earth.  These take place when billions of tones of
solar plasma erupt from the surface of the sun and are flung
out into space at speeds up to millions of miles per
second.

Variations in the amount of heat and light reaching the
Earth's surface as a result of the changes in the 11 year
cycle are tiny.  Total solar output reaching the surface
varies by just 1.3 Watts per square meter or 1/10th of 1
percent between the maximum and minimum phases of a solar
cycle.  However some researchers say that even this
miniscule variation has profound impacts on climate and
weather.  They note that rainfall, cloud formation and river
run-off are all strongly correlated with the sun's 11-year
cycle.

All in all, the impact is far smaller than the warming
associated with other sources of climate change.

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

--

One thing that solar activity cannot explain long-term
trends in global temperatures such as those associated with
global warming.  That said there are some researchers
believe that it may have a noticeable impact over shorter
timescales.  (macedoniaonline.eu)

**

RADIO IN SPACE:  LADEE SPACECRAFT GOES INTO LUNAR ORBIT

NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer or
LADEE spacecraft fired its engines Sunday morning, October
6th, slowing it enough to be captured by lunar gravity and
placing it into orbit around the Moon.  Once given the green
light the spacecraft will begin its mission to study the
Moon's exotic and almost transparent atmosphere, which is
highly affected by space weather.  That information will be
sent by radio back to Earth for further analysis.
(Spaceweather)

**


HAM RADIO NEAR SPACE:  HABEX BALLOON TO FLY NOVEMBER 30

Plans to launch an unmanned high altitude balloon called
HABEX have received the approval of South Africa's Central
Airspace Management Unit.  The launch will take place from
the Klerksdorp Airport between 06:00 and 08:00 local time on
Saturday, November 30th.  The payload is expected to reach
an altitude of about 130,000 or more feet before the balloon
bursts and returns to the ground.

Chris Gryffenberg, ZS6COG, is coordinating the project.  He
says that the mission will carry an Automatic Packet
Reporting System which will allow the monitoring of the
balloon trajectory via the internet at aprs.fi.

HABEX is a joint project of the Gauteng Department of
education and the South African Radio League.  It is
specifically aimed at getting young people involved
scientific activities as a precursor to following a career
in communication and electronics.  (SARL)

**

WORLDBEAT:  VOICE OF RUSSIA MAY GO QRT JANUARY 1 2014

North American and Western European international shortwave
broadcasters aren't the only one's feeling todays financial
squeeze.   RIA Novosti reports that the Voice of Russia will
cut its shortwave service as of January 1st, 2014.  However,
the government shortwave broadcaster, originally known as
Radio Moscow, has not confirmed this plan of action,
according to The SWLing Post.  The station has been
broadcasting since 1922.  (SWL Post)

**

DX SUPPORT:  NCDXF ANNOUNCES ESTABLISHMENT OF W7OO
CONTRIBUTION CHALLENGE

The Northern California DX Foundation has announced the
establishment of the W7OO Contribution Challenge.  From
October 15th through the end of December long-time DXer Bill
Everett, W7OO, will match contributions received by the
Northern California DX Foundation.  For those contributors
who file United States income tax returns, contributions to
Northern California DX Foundation are tax-deductible under
Section 501(c)(3) as an entity with the IRS.  More
information is at www.ncdxf.org.  (W0GJ)

**

DX

In DX, word that CT2HPM is once again on the air from Angola
operating as D2CT.  He plans to be there through November
15th operating PSK31 and RTTY on 20 through 10 meters
including the WARC bands.  QSL via CT2HPM.

W1CDC will be operational from Guyana as 8R1A between
October 13th and November 1st.  Activity will be holiday
style on 80 through 10 meters using CW and SSB.  QSL via his
home callsign, direct or by the bureau.

YB9WZJ and YD9RQX will be active using their home calls
stroke P from Waigeo Island between October 16th and the
22nd. Operations will be on 40, 20 and 15 meters using SSB
only. QSL only via their home callsigns.

Members of the Andorran Amateur Radio Union will again be
active as C37NL from Andorra during the CQWW DX SSB Contest.
The dates are October 26th and the 27th. QSL via C37URA.

N0HJZ, will be active as C6ARW from Grand Bahama Island
between October 22nd to the 29th.  Operations will be on 30,
17 and 12 meters using CW and RTTY. QSL via his home
callsign, direct (with sufficient postage) or by the Bureau.

Lastly, AA1AC will be on the air stroke 6W from La Somone,
Senagal between December 8th and the 14th. No information on
times or frequencies was given.  QSL direct or by the Bureau
to his home callsign.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM:  HAMVENTION 2014 OPENS AWARDS NOMINATION
SEASON

And finally this week, the Dayton Hamvention has announced
that it is soliciting nominations for its awards for the
2014 Amateur of the Year, Special Achievement, Technical
Excellence and Club of the Year.  Amateur Radio Newsline's
Stephan, Kinford, N8WB, has the details:

--

The Amateur of the Year Award goes to an individual who has
made a long-term, outstanding commitment to the advancement
of amateur radio.

The Special Achievement Award honors someone who has made an
outstanding contribution to the advancement of amateur
radio.  This is usually someone who has spearheaded but bit
necessarily limited to spearheading a significant project.

The Technical Excellence Award is for the person who has
made an outstanding technical advancement in the field of
amateur radio.

Last but by no means least, the Club of the Year award goes
to an organization which has made a significant contribution
to the advancement of amateur radio.

The Hamvention Awards Committee makes its decision on all
awards based in part upon the information it receives and
not on the number of nominations submitted for a given
candidate.  Documentation that informs the Awards Committee
of a nominee's accomplishments may include magazine
articles, newsletters, newspaper clippings, and even videos.
These materials become the property of Hamvention and will
not be returned.

The winners will be recognized at the 2014 Hamvention, which
runs May 16th to the 18th.  To be considered, nominations
must be received by January 17, 2014.  Additional details on
these awards and a nomination form are available on the
Dayton Hamvention Web site at tinyurl.com/hamvention-awards-
2014.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephen Kinford, N8WB,
not far from Dayton in Wadsworth, Ohio.

--

Once again Forms and other information are on the web at
tinyurl.com/hamvention-awards-2014.  The last day for a
nomination to be postmarked is January 17, 2014.
Nominations may be sent by e-mail to the awards at
Hamvention dot org or mailed to Dayton Hamvention Awards,
P.O. Box 1446, Dayton, OH 45401-1446 in the USA.  (DARA)

**

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 Damron, N8TMW, in Charleston, West Virginia, saying
73 and we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2013.  All rights
reserved.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1886 - October 4 2013

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1886 with a release
date of October 4 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T.  The FCC in shutdown.  How will it
affect ham radio?  A new report says that faulty radio
communications may have led to deaths of 19 firefighters in
Arizona; Hams in Pakistan stand ready to assist following
devastating earthquakes; The IARU Administrative Council
looks for ways to work with non member societies; D-Star
comes to 40 meters down-under and rappelling off a 367 foot
hotel was all in a days work for a California ham.  Find out
the details are on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number
1886 coming your way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here)


**

RADIO LAW:  GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AFFECTS THE FCC

With the government shutdown that came into affect on
October 1st, one of the many agencies affected is the FCC.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in the
newsroom and takes a look at how this will affect the United
States world of Amateur Radio:

--

Until the government shutdown actually occurred on October
1st, no one was quite sure which FCC services required by
Amateur Radio would be affected.

A widely circulated FCC shutdown plan suggested only
essential personnel mandated by law would remain on duty
until the budget situation is resolved.

Automated services such as license processing and address
changes were unavailable as anyone who attempted to access
the FCC's Website on October 1st were quick to learn,

The landing page at FCC.gov said in part: "We regret the
disruption, but during the Federal Government-wide shutdown,
the FCC is limited to performing duties that are immediately
necessary for the safety of life or the protection of
property. FCC online systems will not be available until
further notice."

After giving a short list of links to cancelled meetings and
actions, the statement continued:

"If you need to contact the FCC to address an emergency
situation, please call: (202) 418-1122 or email:
FCCOPCenter@fcc.gov."

The Network Outage Reporting System remains open for
telecommunications providers to report network outages.

There is no way to access the U-L-S pages; no way to file
license applications, updates or changes or report rules
violations. Simply put, the physical and electronic doors to
the FCC are closed -- and won't re-open until Congress ends
the budget impasse.

Commission employees who remain on call are ready to act
should there be an actual crisis. As many as 16 have been
retained to handle emergencies, including staffing the FCC
Operations Center and 8 others to conduct emergency level
interference detection, mitigation and disaster response
operations.

So if you are waiting for a license or other paperwork from
the FCC to show up in your mailbox, you will simply have to
keep on waiting.

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

--

As this newscast goes to air its unknown how long it will
take both ides of the political aisle to come to terms on
this latest government funding crisis.

**

PROPAGATION:  SOLAR ERUPTION HURLS CME INTO SPACE

On September 29th, a long magnetic filament in the sun's
northern hemisphere erupted producing what some observers
are calling a magnificent Coronal Mass Ejection.  NASA's
Solar Dynamics Observatory or SoHo photographed the C-M-E
leaving the sun at a speed of close to 2 million miles per
hour.  Although the event was not aimed at our planet, it
was expected to receive a glancing blow from the plasma
cloud beginning on or about October 3rd.  Keep an eye on
spaceweather.com for the latest updates on this and other
solar events that could impact on radio communications here
on planet Earth.

(Published news reports)

**

RESCUE RADIO:  FAULTY RADIO COMMUNICATIONS MAY HAVE LED TO
DEATHS OF 19 FIREFIGHTERS IN ARIZONA

An investigation into the deaths of nineteen firefighters in
Arizona on June 30th has found that inadequate communication
may nave played a significant role in their fate.  The dead
men, all members of an elite unit called the Granite
Mountain Hotshots died when they were overrun by a wildfire
near the town of Yarnell.  Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark
Abramowicz, NT3V, takes a look at what the report has to
say:

--

It is a sobering and detailed report that investigators put
together to try to ascertain what happened, why it happened
and to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again.

Because there were no survivors, investigators relied on
recordings of radio transmissions, eyewitness accounts of
fire incident managers and neighboring crews, including
pilots flying tankers dropping flame retardant and
helicopter pilots.

The report's key findings on communications:

"Radio communications were challenging throughout the
incident. Some radios were not programmed with appropriate
tone guards. Crews identified the problem, engaged in
troubleshooting, and developed workarounds so they could
communicate using their radios.

And, this telling conclusion:

"Radio traffic was heavy during critical times on the fire."

Did it mean the Hot Shots trying to escape to what they
thought was a nearby safe zone - a ranch - weren't able to
cut in on the traffic?

Here's more, quoting from the 122-page investigation report:

"Although much communication occurred among crews throughout
the day, few people understood Granite Mountain's
intentions, movements, and location, once they left the
black."

The black is considered a safe zone.

Quoting again from the report:

"The Team believes this is due to brief, informal, and vague
radio transmissions and talk-arounds that can occur during
wildland fire communications.

"Based on radio conversations, Operations and other
resources had concluded the Granite Mountain IHC was located
in the black, near the ridge top where they had started that
morning. This resulted in confusion about the crews actual
location at the time of search and rescue."

Finally, the investigative team made some key
recommendations to the state of Arizona and the National
Wildfire Coordination group.

Among them, increasing resource tracking, communications and
real time weather information.

And, putting together an interagency task force to conduct a
further analysis of what happened, as well as examining the
human factors and wildland fire communications.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V.

--

The report describes radio communications during the time of
the fire as being very challenging.  (K7DB, Yarnell Hill
Fire Investigation)

**

RESCUE RADIO: PAKISTANI HAMS READY TO ASSIST FOLLOWING
QUAKE

The toll mounts in south-western Pakistan after it was hit
by the 7.7 scale earthquake on Tuesday, September 24th.

Mujtaba Haider Imran AP2MI, is the president of the Pakistan
Relief.  He says that government officials put the death
toll at 349 and rising.  Other news sources put the number
of deaths so far at 515 with more than 600 injured. Few of
the mud and homemade brick houses in the area
survived. Since then tens of thousands of people have been
sleeping under the open sky or tents.

The disaster took place in a remote and thinly populated
area.  Pakinstan Amateur Radio Society members say that they
are prepared to provide any emergency communications support
to as needed.  A-P-2-M-U-T is already on the scene and
involved with gathering information on the devastation and
needed relief supplies.

Pakistan Relief has so far donated 2500 jerry cans, 1500
mosquito nets, an unknown number of first aid kits and other
essential equipment.  The coordination process is underway
with Pakistan Air Force to airlift and drop these goods in
the worst hit areas.

A second 7.2 magnitude quake in the same region on the 28th
caused further damage to the regions infrastructure.
(VK3PC, the Guardian, other news sources)

**

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS: IARU ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL LOOKS TO
WORK WITH NON IARU MEMBER SOCIETIES

The International Amateur Radio Union Administrative Council
is looking into ways to work with non-IARU Amateur Radio
organizations.  This in nations where the IARU member-
society may not be representing all of that country's radio
amateurs.

The issue came under discussion at the annual IARU
Administrative Council meeting held September 21st to the
23rd in Cancun, Mexico.  According to a news release from
the gathering, in many of these countries, there are other
non-IARU member-societies.  The Administrative Council is
studying ways to work with the non-IARU societies to ensure
that the interests of all the amateurs are represented in
those countries where the IARU member-society fails to do
so.  (IARU, ARRL press releases)

**

BREAK 1

Time for you to identify your station.  We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world
including the Peak Radio Association repeaters of Corvallis,
Oregon.

(5 sec pause here)

**


ENFORCEMENT:  HAM ARRESTED IN INDIANAPOLIS FOR ALLEGEDLY
IMPERSONATING A POLICE OFFICER

An Indianapolis area ham has been arrested after he was
allegedly spotted pretending to be a cop at the funeral of a
police officer who was being laid to rest.  Amateur Radio
Newsline's Jack Parker, W8ISH, has the details:

--

News of the death of an Indianapolis police officer shot and
killed while responding to a domestic dispute made headlines
all last week.  But, on the afternoon of his funeral another
man in uniform stole the headlines.  As law enforcement
officers, friends, family and media gathered at the cemetery
another man in blue was arrested for impersonating a police
officer.

As it turns out these two men had more in common than first
thought.  They are both Indianapolis based Amateur Radio
Operators.  Arrested is 38 year old Minh Nguyen, callsign
KB9WDY.  He was arrested as he waited with Westside
residents and other police officers as the miles long
funeral procession neared the west side district
headquarters when deceased officer Rod Bradway was assigned.

Rod Bradway was killed last week while attempting to save a
woman and her child from an armed domestic partner.
Bradways Amateur Radio call sign is KC9PFW.  Authorities
don't believe the two men knew each other.  The police badge
and uniform was the common link to this sad commentary.

According to the arrest report, Police say Nguyen was taking
photographs from a black 2012 Dodge Charger equipped with a
siren, flashing lights and a two-way radio.  Police found an
AR 15 rifle in his car and later found guns, police uniforms
and police equipment at his the home.

Police say he has had prior arrests on similar and other
unusual behavior.  The report said Nguyen also had "property
stolen from the city of Indianapolis," including property
room slips and envelopes that the public does not have
access to.

Minh Nguyen faces felony charges of impersonating a public
servant and theft, which carries a sentence of six months to
three years in prison.  A conviction could also lead to
revocation of his Amateur Radio license by the FCC if they
choose to review the case.

Reporting from Indianapolis, this is Jack Parker W8ISH.

--

The public and law enforcement officers were not aware of
the Nguyen arrest until after Officer Rod Bradway, KC9PFW,
was laid to rest following a full honors ceremony at Crown
Hill Cemetery on Indianapolis north side.  (ARNewsline,
W8ISH)

**

ENFORCEMENT:  PUBLIC RADIO STATION FINED $12000 FOR 6 YEARS
OF MISSING PAPERWORK

The FCC has proposed a $12,000 fine and a shorter license
renewal term for Gallup Public Radio.  This based on some
missing documents from its public file.

New Mexico station KGLP -FM admitted it was missing nearly
six years' worth of issues and programs lists from the file.
In its reply to the FCC the station indicated it has now
reconstructed the missing documents.

However the FCC's Media Bureau said in its decision the
station is still responsible for the lapse.  The commission
found the violations to be "extensive," occurring for nearly
six years of an eight-year license term.  For that reason
the agency raised the proposed monetary forfeiture from the
base $10,000 to $12,000 and also granted the station a
shortened, four-year, license renewal term.

Gallup Public Radio was given the usual 30 days from
imposition of the fine to pay the amount in full or to file
a further appeal.  (FCC, RW)

**

DIGITAL AUDIO:  D-STAR EXPERIMENTAL NET ON 40 METERS FROM VK
LAND

If you have interest in digital audio on the High Frequency
bands you might want to tune your D-Star equipped
transceiver to 7.215 MHz at noon UTC.  This to see if you
can take part in a D-Star test net operating from Australia
most mornings.

The net control is Brian Farrar, VK2AH, in New South Whales
who says the best contacts so far have been from his
location to the city of Horsham about 550 miles away. Farrar
says that net participants have tried other bands with no
much success but 40 meters seems promising.

VK2AK is not only on for the net but also tries 40 meter D-
Star at other times of the day as well.  While operating he
also monitors D-Star Reflector REF003 and does put out
alerts when he is looking for D-Star contacts from his QTH
down-under.  (VK3TOM, D-Star Remailer)

**

RADIO HAPPENINGS:  NIKOLA TESLA MONUMENT UNVEILED IN NEW
YORK

The president of Serbia has traveled to the United States
where he recently unveiled the Nikola Tesla Monument at
Tesla's former laboratory in Long Island.  In a press
statement prior to the actual ceremony, Serbian President
Tomislav Nikolic said that it was the strength of Tesla's
vision is what influences how the public speaks about Nikola
Tesla with respect some 70 years after he died.

Nikola Tesla who passed away on January 7, 1943 was a
Serbian-born and later inventor, electrical engineer,
mechanical engineer, physicist, and futurist.  He is perhaps
best known for his contributions to the design of the modern
alternating current electricity supply system.

For decades The Tesla Science Center  has been trying to set
up a commemorative museum at the site of Nikola Tesla's old
laboratory,  Now those behind the project and who managed to
raise over a million dollars in an internet crowd funding
campaign can celebrate the fact that their goal is finally
starting to become a reality.  (IntelliHub)

**

RADIO HAPPENINGS:  NEW RCA EXHIBIT AND STUDY CENTER TO OPEN
AT NJ COLLEGE

A new exhibit highlighting the Radio Corporation of
America's rich history across the 20th century will open
shortly at the College of New Jersey, in Ewing Township.
The display will draw from the more than 6000 artifacts that
the college inherited after the David Sarnoff Library, which
at one time was RCA's main technical archive and museum,
closed in 2009.  The new exhibition covers the development
of radio, television, and broadcasting, as well as RCA's
work in liquid-crystal displays, electron microscopy, solid-
state physics, and computers.  The Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers  Foundation funded the new Sarnoff
Study Center which is connected to the exhibition.  The
Center will serve as the central educational component of
the Sarnoff Collection.  More is on the web at
tinyurl.com/rca-exhibit  (Artscom NJ)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY:  THE INDESTRUCTIBLE LDMOS FET

A new Laterally Diffused Metal Oxide Semiconductor or LDMOS
type Field Effect Transistor designated as type BLF578XR has
been developed by NXP Semiconductor.  This for use as an RF
power amplifier in broadcast and industrial applications.

The new device is rated at 1400 Watt output, 50 Volts DC
with a gain of 23.5 dB and an efficiency of 69%.  Even more
amazing, it is designed to survive a 125 to 1 or higher VSWR
and as such it is literally almost indestructible.

The current priced of a single unit BLF578XR transistor is
230 Euros or about 300 U-S dollars but like most
semiconductors, it should come down in price over time.
(SARL)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS:  GB2RS MANAGER TO RETIRE

Some names in the news.  First up this week is Gordon Adams,
G3LEQ whom after 35 years of unbroken service, is to retire
as manager of the Radio Society of Great Britain's GB2RS
bulletin broadcast service.  The Society says that GB2RS has
always been a much valued part its news service and every
week nearly 100 volunteer newsreaders give of their time to
broadcast the material to all parts of the UK.   According
to the RSGB, Adams has agreed to continue in post until a
successor is found.  (RSGB)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS:  MARNICK JOINS UK REGULATOR OFCOM

British telecommunications regulator Ofcom has announced the
appointment of Philip Marnick as its new Group Director in
Charge of Spectrum.  Marnick comes to the agency with 27
years' experience in the wireless communications industry
including a stint at U K Broadband where he served as Chief
Technology Officer.  He will join Ofcom in November and will
lead the Spectrum Policy Group. This is organizations arm
responsible for setting and implementing the strategy for
managing spectrum, which involves clearing, awarding and
licensing it.   (Southgate)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS:  WA2OJK NAMED HEAD OF CQ ADVERTISING DEPT

CQ Communications has announced that effective immediately.
Jon Kummer, WA2OJK, has been appointed to head the company's
advertising department.  Kummer is no stranger to CQ or to
many in the hobby radio industry.  In years past WA2OJK sold
advertising for CQ Amateur Radio, Popular Communications and
WorldRadio Online, as well as Modern Electronics and
Electronic Servicing & Technology when the latter were CQ
publications.  Jon Kummer may be reached by e-mail at jon
(dot) kummer (at) cqcomm (dot) com or by phone to 516-883-
1641 during normal weekday hours Eastern Time.  (CQ)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS:  TWO HAM ASTRONAUTS DEPART NASA

NASA astronauts Gregory Chamitoff, KD5PKZ, and Ronald Garan,
KF5GPO, are leaving the agency.  Chamitoff is joining the
faculty of Texas A and M University in College Station,
Texas, and the University of Sydney in Australia.  Garan has
said that he plans to work on a range of new entrepreneurial
and humanitarian efforts.  (Southgate)

**

BREAK 2

This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur.  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)

**

THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD:  NOISE REDUCTION INVENTOR RAY
ROLBY - SK

The technologist who literally invented electronic noise
reduction has passed away.  This with word that Dolby
Laboratories founder Dr. Ray Dolby died September 12th at
his home in San Francisco at age 80.

Early in his career, Ray Dolby was employed by Ampex
Corporation where he was chief designer of the electronic
aspects of the first practical videotape recording system.
In 1965 he founded Dolby Laboratories, whose major
accomplishments include the development of electronic noise
reduction and surround sound technologies.

According to a company spokesperson, in recent years, Ray
Dolby had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease.  Then
last July he was diagnosed with an acute form of leukemia.

Ray Dolby is survived by his wife, Dagmar, his sons, Tom and
David and their spouses.  A celebration of his life will be
held at a later date.  The family asks that, in lieu of
flowers, donations be made to the Alzheimer's Association,
1060 La Avenida Street, Mountain View, California, 94043, or
the Brain Health Center, % CPMC Foundation, 45 Castro St.,
San Francisco, California, 94117.  (Dolby Labs, RW,
ProSound, twice.com)

**

ON THE AIR:  5P14EHC TO CELEBRATE THE EUROPEAN HANDBALL
CHAMPIONSHIP NEXT JANUARY

Keep an ear open early next year when members of the Danish
Radio Amateurs group as they activate the special event
callsign 5P14EHC.  This station will be operational
throughout January of 2014 in celebration of Denmark hosting
the European Handball Championship for Men.  Look for
operation of 5P14EHC to be on all bands including the 30, 17
and 12 meters.  Activity will likely encompass all modes
available, but will exclude cross-mode, cross-band contacts
and those made via repeater, repeater interties and
Echolink. All QSOs will be verified electronically via
Logbook of the World and eQSL.  Paper QSL's will also be
available as well.  (Various)

**

DX


In DX, The Martello Tower Group is returning to Herm Island
from October 4th to 9th using the callsign GP0PKT.  Their
operation will be 80 through 10 meters including the WARC
bands using SSB and RTTY.  Although Herm is part of the
Guernsey Islands on the Air group, it isn't activated very
often and the GP0 prefix usually attracts some interest.
All QSOs will be uploaded to Logbook of The World.  Direct
or bureau cards should be sent via G6NHU.

K7ZO will be active from Nicaragua during the CQ World Wide
DX SSB Contest from October 26 to the 27th as a Single-
Operator All-Band entry using the callsign YN5Z.  QSL to
K7ZO direct, via the bureau or electronically using Logbook
of the World.

DJ7RJ will be on Reunion Island signing stroke FR until
November 2nd.  Listen out for him on 160 through 10 meters
SSB and CW with a focus on the lower bands.  QSL via DJ7RJ
either direct or via the bureau.

WP3A will be active as ED8P from Santa Cruz de Tenerife in
the Canary Islands also during the CQ World Wide  DX SSB
Contest.  He will enter as a Single-Operator, 15 meter
Single Band Low Power Assisted entry.  His QSL's go via
NP3O.

DL4VM will be operating stroke OZ when he returns back North
Jutland.  He will be there through October 19th.  QSL via
DL4VM either direct or via the bureau.

DK8LRF is reportedly operational from Columbia as HK3JCL
through November 23rd.  His activity will mostly be on 20
and 40 meters using SSB.  QSL to his home callsign via the
bureau.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM:  WALKING DOWN THE SIDE OF A LANDMARK HOTEL

And finally this week, its not every ham that gets to rappel
down the side of a 35 story landmark, but it was all in a
days work on Friday, September 27th, for Tony Buittitta,
KD6AJG.  Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, has
the rest of the story:

--

By profession, Tony Buittitta, KD6AJG is a news photographer
for KTTV Fox 11 television.  He is also a member of the Los
Angeles Sheriff's Department Search and Rescue team.  So
when reporter Bob De Castro, decided to walk down the side
of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel to raise money for the Boy
Scouts of America through the Los Angeles Council "Over the
Edge IV" rappelling demonstration, Tony, who is fully
trained and qualified in this area was a natural to
accompany him down the side of the building:

--

KD6AJG:  "The station asked me if I would be interested in
being part of that and I was really excited.  I just
couldn't wait to do it.  So it was like `yeh, no problem.'"

--

Oh yes, in addition to going along for the 367 foot vertical
walk, Tony had another duty.  That was to bring some live
television pictures of both of them as they made their way
down:

--

KD6AJG:  "I've done lots of rappels; come out of helicopters
and (off) mountains and stuff like that.  That kind of stuff
does not bother me.  I'm really comfortable with my skill
level as far as that goes.

"But the night before this, I couldn't sleep (because) I was
trying to figure out the technical part of it.  How to do
all this and then put it on live TV."

--

We asked Tony to tell us a bit about the technology involved
to make it all happen.  It turned out to be rather complex:

--

KD6AJG: "Lots of microwave links (and) some new technology
using broadband called Live View in my balk-pack.  Se we had
a camera on the roof on the reporter going back via Live
View broadband technology.  I had a GoPro (camera) on my
head and then in the back pack I had all kinds of converters
sp we could get audio into the GoPro and then a portable
microwave link one on frequency that was bouncing from my
back up to the rooftop where we had dangled some receive
antennas over the side.  Then from the output of that
receiver into another receiver which was hitting Saddle Peak
where the station would pick us up.

"Then in addition to all those microwave links and broadband
we had our helicopter on another microwave frequency
hovering right over us.  So there was quite a bit going on
and actually on the air it all cut together seamlessly with
no problem."

--

And did he enjoy the experience?

--

KD6AJG: "Oh, I had a blast.  My responsibility was to try to
keep the reporter in frame, but shooting on the GoPro stuck
to your head you really never know where you are pointing.
If I could do it again I probably would like to have done a
test and see what the shot looked like.

"I was able to get him in there quite a bit; try to keep up
with him and to try to stay level with him.

"I wish I could do it again and make a few changes to the
camera but for the most part I did OK.  I got some good
stuff and it was fun, that's for sure."

--

If you want to know what its like to venture 367 feet down
the side of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel you can do so
vicariously.  That's because Bob and Tony's walk was
televised live on the stations Good Day L.A. morning program
and is on line at tinyurl.com/rappel-over-the-edge.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in
Los Angeles.

--

And one more thing.  While we are not 100% sure, it appears
as if KD6AJG may have inadvertently become a sort of a
record holder.  This  as being the first ham radio operator
to ever rappel down the side of the Westin Bonaventure
Hotel, even though he had no way to get on the amateur radio
airwaves at the time.  (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 Skeeter Nash, N5ASH, near Houston, Texas, saying 73 and
we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2013.  All rights
reserved.