Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1836 - October 19 2012

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1836 - October 19 2012

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1836 with a release
date of October 19 2012 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST.  A case to be heard by the U.S.
Supreme Court could limit or curtail your ability to resell
your personal property including used ham radio gear; the
Department of Homeland Security to provide emergency
communications training at Hamvention 2013; ham radio gets
new responsibilities from Army MARS; the FCC asks assistance
in tracking down cellphone and GPS jamming devices.  We will
look into that and more on Amateur Radio NewslineT report
number 1836 coming your way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here)


**

LEGAL WRANGLING:  SUPREME ASKED TO RULE THAT PUBLIC HAS NO
RIGHT TO RESELL OWNED GOODS

How would you feel if there was a law that kept you from
selling or even giving away a piece of ham gear or anything
else you think you own without first getting permission from
the original manufacturer?  Sound crazy?  Well this is a
legal precedent that the United States Supreme Court has
been asked to rule on as we hear from Amateur Radio
Newsline's Mark Abramowicz, NT3V:

--

Imagine, if you possibly can, the Dayton Hamvention, the
Orlando Hamcation or the Huntsville Hamfest with no flea
market.

Or, what about ham gear disappearing altogether from eBay or
Craigslist.

Some fear this could be a real possibility, depending on how
the U.S. Supreme Court rules in a case that could impact a
nearly 104-year-old doctrine recognized by the high court
that allows us to resell items without fear of a copyright
holder coming after us.

The doctrine essentially says the copyright holder had
control only over the first sale.

But a case decided last year in the U.S. Court of Appeals in
the Second Circuit in New York has the potential to re-set
that doctrine.

The case involves a man from Thailand who came to the United
States in 1997 to enroll in Cornell University in Ithaca,
N.Y.

The student found that the same textbooks they were asking
him to buy in the book store could be had for much less in
Thailand.

The man asked his relatives there to help him buy the books
and send them back overseas to him in New York.

Later, the man got some entrepreneurial spirit and court
documents in the case show he decided to start selling
textbooks on eBay. There's some dispute as to how much the
man made on the sales.

So, the publisher of the books objects and brings a suit
against him.

The publisher admits it was charging less for books sold
overseas, but it claims the man was guilty of copyright
infringement. But the man counters his sales are covered by
that first-sale practice.

The federal appeals court in New York upheld a lower court
decision saying, no, that doctrine only applies to stuff
produced in the United States and not to anything made
overseas.

That court's ruling, in the view of some constitutional
scholars, could now throw into jeopardy the whole idea of
what you buy at flea markets, or yard sales and on-line
sales of used goods.

Polk Wagner, a law professor at the University of
Pennsylvania Law School here in Philadelphia, isn't ready to
push the panic just yet with that conclusion.

Wagner says in this case, it's about copyrights...

"So the question here that the Supreme Court has got to
wrestle with is to try and figure out how these two
provisions of the copyright act - one that says that you
can't import anything that's copyrighted without the
permission of the copyright owner and also one that says
lawful owners of books are allowed to do what they want with
the copies of the books that they purchase," Wagner says.

He says there's a bit of conflict here...

"So, the legal question is how those two provisions of the
Copyright Act work together or don't as the case may be,"
Wagner says. "Courts have wrestled with this for the last 5
or 10 years and have not reached any satisfactory
conclusions. So, hence, the Supreme Court is going to take
it up."

eBay has filed a brief on the issue warning that the Second
Circuit's ruling would have significant consequences for
trade and ecommerce. And, in a broader reach, the company
says it could hurt small businesses and consumers and cost
jobs in the U.S.

Wagner, the University of Pennsylvania law professor, says
there's another area and it may involve patents.

For example, he says in cases involving ham gear, it's legal
to buy overseas and import the gear. And, there's nothing
under the patent laws that prevents you from reselling the
gear.

However, Wagner says there's another matter and it has to do
with software that may be included or needed to operate the
gear.

And, while most companies or software developers will sell
you a license to use their software, it's not the same thing
as selling you a book. And, while Wagner says that's not at
issue here it eventually it could be sorted out by the
courts in the future.

Stay tuned.

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

--

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the
case on October 29th.   If it does rule with the appellate
court, it's likely that the matter would be brought to
Congress to force a change in law.  However that could take
months if not years or even decades.   Until then,
consumers, including ham radio operators would be stuck
between a rock and a hard place when trying to resell their
belongings without breaking the law.

(Marketwatch, other published reports)

**

RESCUE RADIO:  DHS TO TEAM UP WITH DAYTON HAMVENTION ON
EMCOMM TRAINING

Department of Homeland Security's Office of Emergency
Communications is teaming up with the folks in Dayton to
provide free emergency communications training in
conjunction with Hamvention 2013.  Amateur Radio Newsline's
George Bowen, W2XBS, reports:

--

The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Emergency
Communications will be on hand at the next Dayton
Hamvention.  This to conduct its nationally recognized
NIMS/ICS compliant Auxiliary Emergency Communications
course.

The course itself focuses on a number of important aspects
of emergency communications.  These include auxiliary
communications interoperability, emergency operation center
etiquette, on-the-air etiquette, FCC rules and regulations,
auxiliary communications training and planning,
certification and accreditation to mention only a few.  The
objective of the training is intended to supplement and
standardize an operator's basic knowledge of emergency
amateur radio communications in a public safety context.

This Office of Emergency Communications workshop is designed
for auxiliary emergency communicators who volunteer to
provide backup emergency radio communications support to
public safety and emergency response professionals and their
agencies.  Typically this includes amateur radio
communicators from groups such as MARS, ARES, RACES, SATERN
and the like.  The course will actually be held just prior
to Hamvention, but still in the Dayton area and as part of
Hamvention 2013.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm George Bowen, W2XBS, st
the North-East Bureau in Albany, New York.

--

Details on any pre-required training for this free course is
on-line at www.hamvention.org.  Information on for
registering for this special free course will be posted at
the same site in the near future.
(Hamvention.org)

**

ARMY MARS:  MORE RESPONSIBILITY FOR HAM RADIO VOLUNTEERS

Stephen G. Klinefelter, Chief of the Arrmy's Military
Affiliate Radio System better known as Army MARS has
announced a major leadership realignment.  This,  at a
conference of the auxiliary's Region Directors held Sept.
12th to the 14th in Dallas, Texas.

Under the new terms, volunteer ham radio operators have
assumed day-to-day management responsibility previously
exercised from the MARS headquarters at Ft Huachuca,
Arizona.  Each of the auxiliary's 11 regions will be under
command of its director.  Together the 11 directors will
form a policy-making Governance Executive Board for the
auxiliary as a whole.

This is a striking revision of the military's traditional
top-down chain of command.  It was symbolically activated at
the first national leadership conference in the Military
Auxiliary Radio System's 87-year-history.

Army MARS reports to the Network Enterprise Technology
Command which manages Army computer networks and
communications systems worldwide.  Chief Klinefelter, who
retired as a full colonel in the Signal Corps after 31
years, returned to the Network Enterprise Technology Command
as a senior civilian employee and is Deputy Operations
Officer G3.  He added the MARS post last spring.

An in-depth article on the changes to Army Mars authored by
those involved is on the Web at www.eham.net/articles/29106.
(Army MARS, QRZ.com)

**

BREAK 1

From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world
including the K4LJP repeater serving West Palm Beach,
Florida.

(5 sec pause here)


**

ENFORCEMENT:  FCC SAYS THAT UNREGULATED PART 15 DEVICES
INTERFERING WITH AVIATION WEATHER SYSTEM

The FCC has acted to curb interference to aviation Terminal
Doppler Weather Radars Systems coming from unlicensed Part
15 devices.  Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP
reports:

--

The FCC's Enforcement Bureau recently took action against
several companies for operating devices that caused
interference to Terminal Doppler Weather Radars maintained
by the Federal Aviation Administration.  Terminal Doppler
Weather Radars systems operating in the 5600 to 5650 MHz
band are used by the FAA to obtain quantitative measurements
for gust fronts, wind shear, microbursts, and similar
information.

Investigations have been conducted by the FCC, the FAA, and
the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration in several areas of the United States and
Puerto Rico.  These have revealed that much of the
interference stems from wireless devices sharing the same
band as Terminal Doppler Weather Radars systems, and
operating outdoors in the vicinity of airports at high
elevations that are line-of-sight to the radar
installations.  Also that most are operating inconsistent
with the FCC Part 15 Rules.

The Enforcement Bureau and the FAA are continuing to
investigate additional areas where interference is reported
to Terminal Doppler Weather Radars systems.  The FCC says
that it will continue to take appropriate enforcement action
as necessary.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, in
Scottsdale, Arizona.

--

More information on this matter is available in FCC release
DA 12-459 released on September 27th and FCC Enforcement
Asdvisory 2012-07 released on the same date.  (FCC)

**

ENFORCEMENT:  FCC CREATES TOLL FREE NUMBER TO REPORT
CELLPHONE AND GPS JAMMING

The FCC wants your help in locating anyone who is using a
cellular telephone or GPS jamming device and to do this the
Commission's Enforcement Bureau has launched a dedicated
jammer tip line at 1-855-55-NOJAM or 1-855-556-6526.  This,
to make it easier for the public to report the use or sale
of illegal cell phone, GPS or other signal jammers.

As has been said many times before, it is against the law to
use, import, advertise, sell or ship a cellular telephone or
GPS jammer or any other type of device that blocks, jams or
interferes with authorized communications, whether on
private or public property.  As such, members of the public
are being asked to call the FCC's toll free Jammer Tip Line
immediately if you are aware of the ongoing use of a cell,
GPS, or other signal jammer.  Also please call if an
employer operates a jammer in a workplace; you observe a
jammer in operation at a school or college; you observe an
advertisement for a jammer at a local store or you observe a
jammer being operated on your local bus, train or other mass
transit system.

One warning.  This number is only for use to report
cellphone or GPS jamming devices.  Please do not call it to
report that your favorite repeater is being jammed or that
your QSO on 20 meters is being interfered with.  Those
matters will not be handled on this telephone line and will
be of no interest to those taking cellphone or GPS jamming
device calls.

Once again, the number where to report the use of cellphone
or GPS jamming is 1-855-55-NOJAM or 1-855-556-6526.  And
calling that number is toll free.  (FCC)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS:  K6H - HAM RADIO CELEBRATES HOLLYWOOD FROM
CBS STUDIO CENTER STAGE 9

Ham Radio Celebrates Hollywood will be a special event
operation held on Sunday, October 28th from 1600 to 2000
hours U-T-C.  Sponsored by Southern California's PAPA
repeater system, the event using the callsign K-6-H will
originate from the Stage 9 of the CBS Studio Center facility
in Studio City, California.

The historic Studio Center has been the production facility
for such hit programs as Will and Grace, That 70's Show,
Malcolm in the Middle, Spin City, Just Shoot Me, and
3rd Rock From the Sun.   Nine seasons of Seinfeld were
filmed on Stage 9 except for the first four episodes, which
were shot at at another facility.  Stage 9 is currently the
home of ABC TV's Last Man Standing, starring Tim Allen.   As
such, several of the hams who work on Last Man Standing will
be hand to host the PAPA operators.

A number of R-F and non-RF paths will be available to
contact the stage 9 commemorative operation.  These include
HF, VHF, UHF, D-STAR, Echolink and IRLP.  The operation will
also be monitoring the Broadcast Employees Amateur Radio
Society ABC and Disney interconnected amateur repeater
system.  This links W2ABC in Manhattan, New York, WD4WDW in
Orlando, Florida and WB6AJE in Los Angeles. The BEARS system
can be accessed on Echolink at WD4WDW-R.

A schedule of operating times and frequencies will be
published on the PAPA website at www.papasys.com.  To
facilitate contacts during the event, operators will blog in
real-time at www.facebook.com/KA0XTT and on @NN6JA on
Twitter.  A special, limited edition QSL card will be issued
to all confirmed contacts during this fun national event.
(NN6JA)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY:  ALL DIGITAL AM HD TESTING ON ITS WAY

Information is surfacing regarding NAB Radio Technology
Committee plans to test all-digital AM H-D Radio technology
on an existing full carrier AM radio station.

The committee has been meeting since last November to
discuss technical options for the revitalization of AM.
Testing would quantify both indoor and outdoor coverage. In
general, the goal is to verify whether the station coverage
and robustness are improved with an all-digital signal in
both day and night transmission.  Also to quantify any
change. There's little technical data in the public arena
for all-digital AM operation.

Glynn Walden is CBS Radio Senior Vice President of
Engineering.  He  said during the fall NAB Radio Show that a
test station has been chosen with testing likely to begin
right after the presidential elections.  Walden and other
committee members declined to identify the facility but some
believe it will be a CBS station in an area that could be
characterized as a medium sized market.  You can read more
about this AM broadcast digital experiment on-line at
tinyurl.com/all-digital-am.
(CGC, RW)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS:  2012 AMSAT SPACE SYMPOSIUM REMINDER

And a reminder that the 2012 AMSAT Space Symposium will be
held on Friday, October 26th through Sunday, October 28th at
the Holiday Inn Hotel at Orlando-International Airport.
Downloadable paper registration forms in MS-Word and PDF
formats are available at tinyurl.com/amsat-2012-reg.  The
Symposium Schedule web page has been updated with links to
find more information about the planned activities.  You can
find it in cyberspace at tinyurl.com/symposium-program.
More on the overall event is at www.amsat.org  (AMSAT)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS:  RAC COLLECTING CLUB MEMBER BIOS FOR 2012
MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY

If you are a member of the Radio Club of America, please
listen up.  RCA is in the process of collecting data for the
organizations 2012 Membership Directory that will include
biographies.  If you are a club member who has not yet done
so, please go to tinyurl.com/rca-survey-2012 and fill out
the online form.  Also, please be certain to keep all
biographical information on the form as space is limited.
(RCA)

**

AWARDS:  CQ INTRODUCES 40 CQ ZONES ON 160 PLAQUE

CQ has announced the availability of a special plaque for
those who have achieved contact to all 40 CQ zones on 160
meters.  This is considered the most difficult of all
amateur radio awards to earn and because of this the Worked
All Zones 160 Meter Plaque recognizes that receiving it as
one of the elite Top Band DXers.  If you believe you
qualify, please contact W-A-Z Award Manager Floyd Gerald,
N5FG, by e-mail to n5fg (at) cq-amateur-radio (dot) com for
further details.  (CQ via Facebook)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS:  DX SUMMIT APP

Some names in the news.  Kevin Schutz has released a
freeware application he calls code.google.com/p/dxer/.  Its
primary purpose is gather information from DX Summit.
Schutz says that with this data and his application, you can
easily find out if you already have made a contact or not
with that country.  More is on-line at the shortcut of
tinyurl.com/dx-summit-app.  (Via e-mail)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS:  W2ML ORAL HISTORY VIDEO RELEASED

And Steve Mendelsohn W2ML, who passed away earlier this
year, was an extremely active, enthusiastic member of the
ham radio community.  Among other things, he was an ARRL
Vice-President and ran the ham radio communications for the
New York Marathon.  Professionally he was a broadcast
engineer for CBS and ABC, and did frequency coordination for
the National Football League spending 13 years as the Game
Day Coordinator for the New York Jets.  Then tragedy struck
as he was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and given only a
short time to live.

Knowing that he had a vibrant story to tell, his lifelong
friend Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, interviewed Steve at the 2011
Pacificon hamfest.  Steve was the conventions guest of honor
and it gave them what would be a final opportunity to video
record an oral history of Steve's life.

Steve Mendelsohn passed away early in the morning of May
23rd.  It was decided that the anniversary of the date of
the interview would be apropos for its public release.  As
such it's now available at two locations.

Gary Pearce, KN4AQ, who edited the production, has it
available at his HamRadioNow website at tinyurl.com/w2ml-
video.  It's also on YouTube at tinyurl.com/w2ml-life-story.

Even if you knew W2ML, and many hams did, you may yet learn
a few things you did not know.  If you didn't, then take
this rare opportunity to hear the story of someone that many
call a true trendsetter in the hobby and whose legacy will
remain with us for decades to come.  (ARNewslineT)

**

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)

**

WORLDBEAT:  QATAR TO HOST FIRST MIDDLE EAST HAM RADIO
FESTIVAL

The city of Doha will host the Qatar's first International
Festival for Amateur Radio in December.  This according to H
E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, who is the Chairman of the
Administrative Control and Transparency Authority and the
vice-chairman of the US Amateur Radio Society.

Al Attiyah, who is also chairperson of the board of
directors of the Qatar Amateur Radio Society says that the
festival will include a contest between amateur radio
operators from all over the world.   About 100 hams from
across the globe will be invited to the festival to take
part in the competition.  The Qatar Amateur Radio Society
will also establish five amateur radio stations in different
parts of Doha during the festival, including the society's
office and the festival venue itself.

Announcement of an exact date for this event is expected to
be announced shortly.  The festival is being dubbed as the
first of its kind in Middle East and will take place in
conjunction with the Qatar National Day celebrations.

Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar and is
located on the coast of the Persian Gulf.  (The Peninsula)

**

WORLDBEAT:  INDIA TO ADD 839 NEW FM BROADCASAT STATIONS

India's public service broadcaster, Prasar Bharati
Broadcasting, plans to soon set up 839 new FM stations in
290 cities in that nation.  According to India's Secretary
of the Union Information Broadcasting Ministry, these new
radio stations will be a part of the country's expanding
private sector.  The regions of Jammu and Kashmir are to be
the focal points for what is being termed as this new
broadcasting initiative.  (Hindu Business Line, The
Statesman, RW)

**

WORLDBEAT:  HOW SOLAR STORMS CREATE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

The British Broadcasting Corporation has released a short
video that explains in laymen's terms how solar storms
affected the Earth's magnetic field to create the Aurora
Borealis.  The news story features Professor Dag Lorentzen
who uses a simple diagram drawn in the snow to explain how
this phenomenon of nature takes place.  The story was taped
in Svalbard and you can see it on line at tinyurl.com/bbc-
aurora-story.
(Southgate, BBC)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE:  HAMS ASKED TO HELP FIND MISSING F1
CUBESAT

An article published on the AMSAT-UK website reports that
the F Space team at the F-P-T University in Viet Nam are
requesting Amateur Radio operators continue to listen for
their F-1 CubeSat.  The mini satellite went missing shortly
after it was deployed from the International Space Station
on October 4 but never heard on Earth.

F 1 was expected to begin transmitting beacon alternatively
on its main and backup channels 30 minutes after deployment.
Its operating frequencies are on 437.485 MHz while in
daylight and 145.980 in satellite darkness.

More information and guide to download F-1 telemetry decoder
can be found at tinyurl.com/f1-info.  Decoded data can be
submitted on using a File Transfer Protocol client to thuvt
(at) fpt (dot) edu Dot)vn. Audio recordings are highly
appreciated.  (F1 Cubesat Team)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE:  ISRAELI GPS CUBESAT BEING BUILT

Israel is planning to launch a student built ham radio
microsat.  The Space Duchifat-1 is an experimental and
educational CubeSat being developed and built by students at
the Space Laboratory of the Herzliya Science Centre.

The CubeSat will carry an APRS digipeater operating on
145.825 MHz and a UHF/VHF 1200 bps B-P-S-K transceiver that
can provide a CW beacon and an FM to DSB transponder.

The main mission of the satellite is to transmit real-time
information via packet radio from a Low Earth Orbit using
the Automatic Position Reporting System protocol.  The
satellite will allow remote traveler's to access the bird
for worldwide position, status reporting and messaging.
This using simple handheld or mobile radios with omni-
directional whip antennas.

The project is directed by Dr. Ana Heller with support from
the Herzliya city municipality and the Israeli Amateur Radio
Club.  At this moment no launch date or orbit details are
available.  (ANS)

**

ON THE AIR:  SAQ TO TRANSMIT ON UNITED NATIONS DAY

On the air, word that the Alexander Association will
activate the giant SAQ radio-wave alternator on Wednesday,
October 24th.  This, in recognition of United Nations Day.

Transmissions will begin at about 10:10 UTC, and a special
commemorative message will be sent at 10:30 UTC using CW on
17.2 kHz.  Unfortunately, reports from the transmission
cannot be confirmed by QSL card.

The Alexander Association is a group of European radio
enthusiasts who preserve and demonstrate the old ultra long
wave Alexanderson electro-mechanical transmitter located at
Grimeton, Sweden.  The site houses the only working
Alexanderson rotating alternator radio transmitter in the
world and is classified as a World Heritage Site.

More on the transmitter is at the society Website at
www.alexander.n.se
(Association Alexander)

**

ON THE AIR:  CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF THE PACIFIC RAILWAY
ACT

And the Union Pacific Amateur Radio Club will sponsor
Special Event UP150 on December 1st.  The operation
commemorates the 150 years since President Abraham Lincoln
signed the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and directed the
Union Pacific and the Central Pacific to construct a
transcontinental railroad.  The event will use the call sign
WOUPR.  It will begin at 6am Central and end at 8 pm
Pacific.  Many present and past Union Pacific employees are
expected to operate during that time frame in hope of
talking with you.  A special QSL will be available.  More
information is on-line at  www.pocatelloarc.org/uprr. (Union
Pacific ARC)

**

DX

In DX, F1NGP will be active stroke FG from Saint Francois
Island in Guadeloupe through October 26th.  He will be
operational on 40 through 10 meters on CW , SSB , RTTY QSL
via his home call.

G3RWF who was expected to be active this month from Uganda
5X1NH has announced that his trip is now postponed.  No
reason was given.

WJ2O will be operational as 8P9DF from St. Philip, Barbados
between November 21st and the 28th.  Activity will be on all
HF bands using mainly CW and as an entry in the CQ World
Wide DX CW Contest on November 24th and 25th.  Outside of
the contest, he will be on 30, 17 and 12 meters. QSL via
WJ2O.

HB9OAU will be on the air from the Maldives as 8Q7AU between
November 26th and December 11th.  Activity will be holiday
style on 80 through 10 meters SSB only.  QSL via his home
callsign, direct or by the Bureau.

N3IQ will be operational as C6AQQ from Nassau's Providence
Island between October 25th to the 31st.  Activity will be
mostly on the lower bands.  QSL via N3IQ, direct, via the
bureau or electronically using Logbook of the WQorld or
eQSL.

Lastly, ZL1LC planning to be operational from the Chatham
Islands hrom March 21st to the 27th of 2013 as Zed-L-7-L-C.
He planning to be active PSK only.  No times, frequencies or
QSL route have yet been announced.

Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM:  WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE PRINCIPALITY OF
SEALAND

And finally this week, do you remember Sealand?  That's the
self-proclaimed principality that also once claimed to be a
DXCC entity.  Well its still there but changes are in the
wind.  Amateur Radio Newsline's Cheryl Lasik, K9BIK, takes a
look back into recent history:

--

Sealand is a former United Kingdom anti-aircraft tower
legally known as Roughs Tower. Its located in the North Sea
some 7 nautical miles off the shore of Suffolk, England. In
1967 the tower was occupied by a retired army major named
Paddy Roy Bates along with his family in 1967. On September
2nd of that year Major Bates declared the fort an
independent sovereign state from the UK and renamed it
Sealand. He went on to establish Sealand as a nation in
1975.

Sealand had its own constitution, flag, national anthem,
stamps, passports and currency. There were even a few
DXpeditions to Sealand. This included a operation by a group
of German DX'ersin 1982 using Sealand's self proclaimed and
unofficial callsign prefix of S-1-A. Later, in 2000 there
was the Dutch-lead 1SLA1 operation, but neither of these was
awarded DXCC status.

Now comes word that Major Bates passed away on October 9th,
in a senior care home Essex England at the age of 91. This,
after a long battle with Alzheimer's.

But the Sealand saga is far from over. His wife Joan is now
expected to take over the rule of the self proclaimed
nation. Also, with Sealand is managed by the Bates family as
if it were a recognised sovereign entity, and they are its
hereditary royal rulers. Bates son is known as "His Royal
Highness Prince Michael." He has also been referred to as
the "Prince Regent" by the Bates family since 1999. In this
role, he apparently serves as Sealand's acting "Head of
State" and also its "Head of Government". Also, at a micro
nations conference hosted by the University of Sunderland in
2004, Sealand was represented by Michael Bates' son James,
who was referred to as "Prince Royal James".

Butr whomever takes on the leadership of Sealand, one thing
is fairly certain. Mounting a DXpedition to Sealand in the
hope of establisghing it as a new DXCC entity, woyuld likely
be a very expensive waste of time.

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

--

According a Wikipedia, the Sealand News says that a movie
about Sealand is currently in development and scheduled to
be released in 2013.  More about this interesting location
is on-line at www.sealandgov.org and also at wikipedia.com.
(OPDX, Wikipedia)

**

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

Before we go, a quick word of congratulations to Amateur
Radio Newsline's Heather Butera-Howell who is now Heather
Embee.  Heather and her new husband Jason Embee were married
last weekend in Pennsylvania.  Please join with us in
wishing Heather and Jason many, many years of happiness and
all good things together.

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.

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reserved.