The following is a closed circuit and is not necessarily for
air. With a report on the Amateur Radio Newsline current
financial picture here's our producer Bill Pasternak,
WA6ITF:
--
Well, the last time I was on here with a financial report I
told you that I thought we had enough in the bank to
hopefully hold us over the summer months June, July and
August, and that I would not be asking for any contributions
unless the sky was falling. Sadly, the sky is falling this
year. This is mainly because we did not get some of the
larger donations that we have come to count on to keep us
going over the lean summer months when people are away on
vacation.
Right now, we only have a couple of hundred dollars left in
our bank account. Most of that will vanish as we pay off
our financial obligation in regard to presenting this years
Young Ham of the Year Award and the outstanding bills for
the month of August which are quickly piling up. And unlike
the years up through October 2009 when I retired from full
time employment, I'm now living on fixed income and honestly
cannot afford to underwrite the cost of bringing these
newscasts to you.
To be candid, I do not like to lead off a newscast with an
appeal such as this, but we have no other method of getting
the word out to you that we need your financial assistance
to keep Amateur Radio Newsline on the air, and that we need
it now. To all of us involved, each donation is looked upon
as an ongoing vote of confidence in the quality of the news
and information that we provide each week. And for this I
add my personal thank you.
Remember, Amateur Radio Newsline is a 501c3, not for profit
corporation and your donations are tax deductible. The
easiest way to donate is by going to our website at
www.arnewsline.org and clicking on the Pay Pal button. Or
you can mail a donation to the address you will hear at the
end of this weeks newscast.
Whichever method you choose, the all volunteer Amateur Radio
Newsline team says thank you so much for caring. We promise
to do all that we can to continue bringing you the news and
information you want to hear about amateur radio and
personal communications in the coming years.
Thank you. I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, and now this weeks
newscast.
--
Thanks bill. Now, Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1829
with a release date of August 31 2012 to follow in 5-4-3-2-
1.
The following is a Q-S-T.
Amateur radio assists as Hurricane Isaac hits the U.S. Gulf
shore; the London Olympics ham radio station may have set a
world record and a star is found devouring a planet. Find
out the details on Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1829
coming your way right now.
(Billboard Cart Here)
**
RESCUE RADIO: HAM RADIO WAS READY FOR HURRICANE ISAAC
Amateur radio first responders along the United States Gulf
shore were ready when Hurricane Isaac slammed ashore on
August 28th and 29th. We have the more in this report:
--
As Hurricane Isaac made its way across the Gulf of Mexico
and then made landfall several miles West of New Orleans,
Louisiana, members of the Hurricane Watch Net took to the
air to track its approach:
--
(Ham in Florida) ".Victor-Radio-4-Golf. The handle here is
Bill and Im located in Pensacola, Florida and we've had some
winds gusts up to about 44 miles an hour. We went out for a
ride along the beach this afternoon and they do now have
some roads closed and water was coming over the sand dunes
and starting to flood some of the roads, over"
--
While band conditions on 20 and 40 meters were not the
greatest, the net continued and began passing storm
conditions to the National Hurricane Center in Miami:
--
(Ham in New Orleans: ".we have wind gusts of about 70 to 75
miles per hour right now. Its really coming bad on us but
my antenna is located in the attic."
--
One report was rather interesting from a scientific point of
view:
--
(Ham in New Orleans) "The Mississippi river at the Carrolton
gate in New Orleans is flowing backward."
--
Also taking reports for the National Hurricane Center was
the V-O-I-P Hurricane Watch net. This group gathers
information mainly from local repeaters within the storm
area and also passes it along to the National Hurricane
Center:
--
(VoIP Net Audio) "K3-November-Foxtrot-Uniform in Slidell,
Louisiana. Estimated winds of 30 and no rain as of this
time."
--
Hams on the V-O-I-P net also provided ongoing damage
assessment:
--
(VoIP Net Audio) "I was informed that the power has hone out
in mid-city New Orleans, Louisiana near the steets of Murat
and Bowden."
"Roger. I have Murast and Bowden. Did I copy correctly
that was mid-city New Orleans?"
--
As this report is being prepared, Issac has been downgraded
from a category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm but is
soaking Louisiana and surrounding states for yet another
day. As such, the job of ham radio operators in coping with
the storm is far from over.
With thanks to K3VR for the recordings of the 20 meter
Hurricane Watch Net, Im Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the
newsroom in Los Angeles.
--
We will have more on the role of amateur radio in the wake
of Hurricane Isaac in upcoming Amateur Radio Newsline
reports. (ARNewslineT with audio from Hurricane Watch Net
and VoIP Hurricane Watch Net.)
**
RADIO LAW: IARU SAYS IT WOULD WELCOME DOT RADIO DOMAIN
The International Amateur Radio Union says that it will back
the European Broadcasting Union proposal that the top level
Internet domain dot radio be used to help to create a global
radio community. IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, says that
his organization believes that the proposal, to be submitted
by the European Broadcast Union, could provide a unique
opportunity to standardize radio domain names on the
Internet.
In a recently made public letter, VE6SH said that he
recommends that the dot radio domain proposal be approved by
the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
European Broadcast Union Director General, Ingrid Deltenre
said the International Amateur Radio Union comments are an
expression of confidence in the proposal. The complete
story on the new dot radio domain and how it will impact all
spectrum users is on-line at tinyurl.com/iaru-dot-radio
(IARU, VK3PC)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: LONDON OLYMPICS COMMEMORATIVE STATION MAY
HAVE SET WORLD RECORD
The Radio Society of Great Britain reports that the team
at 2O12L, the amateur radio station for the London Olympic
and Paralympic Games, believe that they have now broken the
world record for the number of Q-S-O's by a Special Event
Station. As of 21:42 UTC on August 21st, 2O12L had logged
contact number 47,791.
2O12L goes QRT on September 9th at the end of the Paralympic
Games closing ceremony. As such the operators are fairly
confident that they can achieve their target of 60,000
contacts.
It is believed the previous standing record for a ham radio
Special Event station was held by the group that operated
DQ2006X during the 2006 World Cup. That station was on the
air from May 13th through July 16th of 2006 and made 47,790
contacts.
More on the operation of 2O12L is on-line at www.2O12L.com.
(RSGB)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: APRS TO ASSIST VULTURE 2 SPACEPLANE
TRACKING
The Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator Vulture 2 space
plane will carry an amateur radio Automatic Packet Reporting
System or APRS system.
The UK newspaper the Register reports that Anthony Stirk, M-
Zero-U-P-U, who was involved in the Raspberry Pi In The
Sky mission, is working on the custom control board for the
Vulture 2 space plane.
As of now, the communications subsystem has a Radiometrix
300 milliwatt HX1 144 MHz band module for APRS and a
Radiometrix 10 milliwatt NTX2 433 MHz band module for RTTY.
More information on frequencies will ve announced at a later
date.
More on this upcoming near to space adventure can be read on-
line at tinyurl.com/vulture-2. And we will have more ham
radio space related news later on in this weeks newscast.
(UK Register)
**
BREAK 1
From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world
including the W9RCA repeater serving Indianapolis, Indiana.
(5 sec pause here)
**
RADIO LAW: VOTE ON ADDING ENGINEERS TO COMMISSION STAFF
SEEMS STALLED IN CONGRESS
Legislation working its way Congress that would add a
technical expert to the staff of each FCC commissioner may
not come up for a vote this fall. This is because the House
and Senate versions of the bill to allow each of the five
commissioners to hire one additional staff engineer are
still in committee. Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley,
KI7UP, has the details:
--
Maine Republican Senator Olympia Snowe introduced S. 611 in
May 2011. The measure seeks to amend the Communications Act
of 1934 to provide commissioners additional technical
expertise. However Snowe's intention to retire at the end
of this year has led supporters to push for a vote before
the end of this Congressional term.
The companion House companion measure is H.R. 2102: FCC
Commissioners' Technical Resource Enhancement Act. The
Society of Broadcast Engineers better known as the SBE is a
major supporter of these two pieces of legislation. In a
recent press statement, SBE President Ralph Hogan said that
his organization has scheduled a trip to Washington to meet
with key members of Congress in Washington, This to further
groups efforts to move the bills through the House and
Senate before the end 2012.
However, SBE General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, acknowledged
in a column that appeared in the August edition of the SBE
publication "The Signal" that time is of the essence.
According to Imlay, the SBE's last chance this fall to get
H.R. 2102 through the House is `on suspension.' That means
the measure is without the usual hearing and report
procedure.
To move a bill along in these cases normally requires that
the bill have a large number of cosponsors. Imlay says that
in an election year, this is not easy, noting that there are
only four co-sponsors for the House bill now.
Currently, FCC commissioners can appoint only three legal
advisors to counsel the Commissioners on the wired, wireless
and cable media. As part of its legislative agenda, the
Society of Broadcast Engineers has sought greater technical
expertise on the commission for several years.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, in
Scottsdale, Arizona.
--
Passage of these measures is important to the ham radio
community as it will put technical expertise to the highest
level of the Commission which for decades has lead primarily
by members of the legal profession rather than technologists
and engineers. This could lead to a better understanding of
our needs than is possible right now. (SBE, RW)
**
ENFORCEMENT: RAC ACTS TO PREVENT UNLAWFUL USE OF 2 METERS
BY PARAGLIDING COMPETITION
Radio Amateurs of Canada took action after a Paragliding
competition in British Columbia told its contestants to
communicate using a frequency in the 2 meter amateur band.
Bob Holowenko, VE7WNK, has more:
--
Radio Amateurs of Canada received a report by a British
Columbia ham who notified them of what appeared to be the
use of the two meter band for the operation of a paragliding
competition. Dave Cameron, VE7LTD, witnessed this radio
traffic and I was able to talk with him over the phone.
-
VE7LTD: "I was at a local repeater site helping the locals
there by doing a sweep trying to find a source of
interference. I had my HP8920A Service Monitor and I was
monitoring around the band trying to find what the sources
of intermod could be, and I noticed a few spikes in the ham
band. Knowing that there is not a lot of VHF activity in the
Pemberton area, I decided to tune into each of those and one
was on 146.415 simplex where I heard lots of
intercommunication between both paragliders in the air and
some kind of race coordination on the ground."
-
This "race coordination" which Dave was hearing was the
Canadian Paragliding National Championships held in
Pemberton, BC. Dave reported this to The Radio Amateurs of
Canada who became extremely concerned about the organizers
assertion that all participants must use a VHF radio tuned
to 146.415 Mhz for launching and landing.
Southern BC is popular for paragliding and hangliding thrill
seekers, and the ham community here knows many of those who
take part in these events are licensed hams, however it has
become apparent that many are not.
-
VE7LTD: "There was never a call sign used, and never any
identification used. Although the communication was very
structures, you could tell it was not by ham operators"
-
Dave did go on to say that of the registered Canadian
participants at the event, at least 40% of their names were
found in the Ras=dio Amateurs of Canada database.
RAC has been in contact with representatives from the
Paragliding community and has also requested enforcement
action to be taken by government officals at Industry
Canada.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bob Holowenko, VE7WNK,
in
Vancouver, British Columbia.
--
According to Radio Amateurs of Canada, protecting the ham
radio spectrum from intruders is all in a days work for the
group. (RAC, VE7WNK)
**
HELPING HAMS: RFINDER.NET SEEKS INPUT FROM FREQUENY
COORDINATORS
The on-line repeater directory RFinder is inviting Frequency
Coordinators to use the World Wide Radio Directory help them
in conducting their work. The hams who operate RFinder say
that they have already heard from several frequency
coordinators who have told them that being able to see the
repeaters across borders is very helpful. As such, RFfinder
says that frequency coordinators in several countries are
using RFinder/Web as a tool in their activities. They are
also looking to compile a wish list from the coordination
community to build a special portal for them to have the
tools they need to make frequency coordination easier. If
you are a coordinator who wants to contribute to this wish
list please send your thoughts by e-mail to w2cyk (at)
rfinder (dot) net. You lraen more about RFinder and the
services that it provides all who use repeaters on-line at
www.rfinder.net. (RFinder)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: ARRL CENTENNIAL CONVENTION IN HARTFORD CT
On the ham radio social scene, the ARRL has announced the
organization will hold its 2014 national Centennial
Convention in Hartford, Connecticut, from July 17th to the
20th. The Convention will mark 100 years of the ARRL's
founding that took place in the city of Hartford. The theme
for ARRL's Centennial year is Advancing the Art and Science
of Radio Since 1914. More information is on-line at
www.arrl.org/expo. (ARRL)
**
RADIO HAPPENINGS: NRCDXAS SWITCHING FROM TAPE TO CD
MAILOUTS
According to Amateur Radio Newsline's Fred Vobbe, W8HDU, the
September and October issues of the National Radio Club's D-
X Audio Service will be the last to issue on cassette tape.
Beginning in November these reports will switch distribution
to CD's after 27 years of tape mailouts.
Fred asks that if you know someone who is blind or otherwise
visually impaired, and who loves the topic of broadcast
radio, to please tell them about the DX Audio Service. More
information about it can be found on-line
at www.nrcdxas.org. (W8HDU)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: BRITISH SOPRANO SARAH BRIGHTMAN MAY BE
THE NEXT SPACE TOURIST
A world famous entertainer may be the next to travel to the
International Space Station. Amateur Radio Newsline's
George Bowen, W2XBS, has the details:
--
British soprano Sarah Brightman could become the next space
tourist to visit the International Space Station. This
according to a senior official at the Russian Space Agency
who hinted on August 22nd that the 52 year old songstress
best known for her creating the role of Christine Daae' in
the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical The Phantom of the Opera is
being considered as candidate for such a trip.
The Interfax news agency cited a space industry source as
saying that the name of the next space tourist, who will
most likely fly to the ISS in 2015, will be officially
announced in around a month. The source also told Interfax
that Brightman visited Russia around a month ago and was
given the go-ahead by the medical commission to train at the
Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City outside
Moscow.
Previous space tourists visiting the ISS have included the
Canadian founder of the Cirque du Soleil, Guy Laliberte, and
computer game creator Richard Garriott, W5KWQ. As most of
you know, Richard Garriott is the son of retired Astronaut
Owen Garriott, W5LFL, who was the first radio amateur to
ever operate from space. This on shuttle mission STS-9.
Iranian-American entrepreneur Anousheh Ansari is so far the
only woman to make the trip to the I-S-S.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm George Bowen, W2XBS, in
Albany, New York.
--
More about Sarah Brightman's proposed trip to Earth orbit is
on-line at tinyurl.com/brightman-iss. (Interfax, AFP)
**
BREAK 2
This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. From the
United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline
with links to the world from our only official website at
www.arnewsline.org and being relayed by the volunteer
services of the following radio amateur:
(5 sec pause here)
**
THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD: MIRAGE AND RF CONCEPTS FOUNDER
EVERETT GRACY, WA6CBA - S.K.
The man responsible for many pieces of equipment in the
shacks of so many hams has become a silent key at age 91.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Carlson, KQ6FM, brings us the
story of Everett Gracey, WA6CBA.
--
On Sunday morning, August 26, the Amateur Radio world lost a
gentle giant, as Everett Gracey, WA6CBA became a silent key.
For the many of us who knew Everett, it is loss unlike any
other. We have lost a great source of knowledge, but most
of all, a dear friend. For everyone else who did not know
him, the word "giant" is not adequate to describe him. His
contributions to the Amateur Radio world were immeasurable.
For those of you who ever owned a piece of gear with the
name RF Concepts or Mirage Communications on it, you held a
piece of his life and legacy, since he was a co-founder of
both companies, which he started with Ken Holaday, K6HCP.
Later in life Everett became a consultant to LDG
Electronics, who, according to Everett put out one of the
greatest automatic antenna tuners on the market, and are
sold world wide.
Everett spent most of his life in and around Reno, Nevada,
where he married his wife Dorothy on July 6, 1940. He was
devoted to her, since she was always first and foremost in
his mind. He took care of her in their later years, and
finally, it was his concern for her well being that prompted
his move from Reno to Grass Valley, California, so that her
care could be shared with medical professionals.
Everett was also a decorated veteran, who fought in with the
Army in Europe during WWII, and was awarded both the Bronze
Star and Silver Star for bravery in Germany. He was also
recipient of the Purple Heart. He was also author of
several books, "From A 13 year old Hobo to an Entrepreneur"
"My 20 Years of RV Adventures" and "Buying and Selling Real
Estate by Owner". One of my most treasured possessions is
an autographed copy of his autobiographical book, "From
Freight Trains to Airplanes", published in 1999.
Everett was always ready to lend a friendly hand with a good
piece of advice, Elmering and plenty of wisdom which helped
many a ham in need, and always seemed to have exactly what
they needed to complete the project, or get back on the air.
He even gave away parts used for fixing antennas and gear,
at no charge.
As a dear mutual friend of Everett's and mine said of his
passing, Everett, "I will miss you.you rascal..Oh, and while
you are winging your way around the heavens, and you had
best not tamper with my RF signal when I am attempting to
work DX, or someday, you and I will have a long discussion
about that!".
With sincere thanks to Joe Wolfe, WA6RKN for his informative
help, for the Amateur Radio Newsline, this is Don Carlson,
KQ6FM in Reno.
--
Per his request no service or memorial will be held.
Instead his ashes will be placed next to his wife Dorothy.
Everett and Dorothy Gracey had been married 70 years.
(KQ6FM, WA6RKN)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: KEPLARIAN ELEMENTS CHANGE WITH ISS
HIGHER ORBIT
Space-Travel.com reports on August 22nd that a European ATV-
3 unmanned supply spacecraft was used to raise the
International Space Station's orbit to about 261 miles. The
orbit adjustment was done in two stages, with the ATV-3
engines firing for 348 seconds to lift the orbit to 257
miles followed by another burn four hours later that brought
the space station to its final altitude.
The maneuver was conducted to prepare for the return to
earth of Russia's Soyuz TMA-04M manned spacecraft on
September 17 and the docking of the Soyuz TMA-06M manned
spacecraft with the ISS on October 15th. For amateur radio
space enthusiasts this means that you will have to readjust
your Keplarian elements when tracking the I-S-S at its new
higher altitude. The complete story of this orbital
maneuver is on-line at tinyurl.com/ISS-Reboost. (ANS, Spece-
Travel.com)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: REGISTRATION OPEN FOR 2012 AMSAT SPACE
SYMPOSIUM
AMSAT says that registration for its 2012 Space Symposium is
now open on-line. To register over the World-Wide-Web
simply take your computer to store (dot) amsat (dot)
org/catalog and click on the "AMSAT 2012 Symposium" item in
the top left box.
A mail-in option is also available for those who wamt to
register the old fashioned way. A downloadable paper
registration forms in MS-Word and PDF format are available
on the 2012 Symposium page at tinyurl.com/amsat-2012-reg.
This years AMSAT Space Symposium takes place October 26th
through the 28th at the Holiday Inn Orlando-International
Airport in Orlando, Florida. This hotel is located at only
one mile north of the Orlando International Airport. at 5750
T.G. Lee Blvd, in Orlando. (AMSAT)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: CPUT CUBESAT TO LAUNCH END NOVEMBER
A CubeSat designed and built by students at the Cape
Peninsular University of Technology in Bellville, South
Africa, will be launched towards the end of November.
Still known by its engineering name ZA Cube-1, the satellite
will be shipped in the next few weeks to Holland. There it
will be integrated with two other CubeSats in the launch
carrier before being shipped for integrating with the
rocket.
ZA Cube-1 is rare for a ham radio bird in that it carries a
High Frequency transmitter operating on 14.099 MHz in the 20
meter band. Also on-board is a small camera and a telemetry
transmitter. (SARL)
**
DX
In DX, N6MW and possibly 1 or 2 other operators will be
active stroke KH8 from American Samoa between November 8th
and the 19th. Operations will be on 160 through 10 meters
using mainly CW, but some SSB and RTTY. QSL via Logbook of
the World.
A group of radio amateurs from Poland will be on the air
as 5T0SP from Mauritania between November 24th and December
10th. Their activity will be on 160 through 10 meters using
CW, SSB and the Digital modes. As of airtime no QSL route
has been announced
Bill Moore, NC1L, at the ARRL says that the 1998 X-U-one-A
operation from Cambodia has been approved for DXCC Credit.
Moore says that if you have had QSLs rejected please send an
e-mail to bmoore (at) arrl (dot) org to be placed on the
list for update. If you remember the submission in which you
included the QSL please note this to expedite the search for
the rejected QSO.
Lastly, SM0JHF reports that he has retired and can no longer
afford sending out QSL cards automatically. He notes that
for the past 50 years that he has personally filled out and
shipped more than 100,000 QSL cards for his activities using
numerous past callsigns. He says that he will clean house
and dispose of blank cards by the end of this year. If you
need a card for any of his calls please contact him by e-
mail to sm0jhf (at) gmail (dot) com. A complete list of his
operations over the years is under SM0JHF on QRZ.com
(Above from various DX news sources)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: STAR FOUND DEVOURING PLANET
And finally this week, radio and radio astronomy have
brought some new light on the way nature works out in the
cosmos. Amateur Radio Newsline's Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, takes
us to the far reaches of space:
--
Astronomers have found evidence of a planet being devoured
by its star, yielding insights into the fate that will
befall Earth several billions years in the future.
The team uncovered the signature of the planet that had been
absorbed by looking at the chemistry of the host star. They
also think a surviving planet circling this star may have
been kicked into its unusual orbit by the destruction of a
neighboring world.
The US-Polish-Spanish team made the discovery when they were
studying the star BD+48 740 - which is one of a stellar
class known as red giants. Rising temperatures near the
cores of red giants cause these elderly stars to expand in
size. This in turn results in any nearby planets to be
absorbed by the expanding star or otherwise destroyed.
It's the way of the universe now brought to us thanks to the
art of radio and the science of Astronomy.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, in
Zion, Illinois.
--
Details of the work have been published in Astrophysical
Journal Letters. The complete story is on-line at
tinyurl.com/planet-hungry-star. (ScienceToday, BBC,
others)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC
Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX
Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the RSGB, the Southgate
News, TWiT-TV and Australia's 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 Jim Damron, N8TMW, wishing you a safe and enjoyable
Labor Day weekend. 73 and as always, we thank you for
listening.
Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2012. All rights
reserved.
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