Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1868 with a release date of May 31 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a Q-S-T. Ham radio stands down following response to Oklahoma Tornadoes; Louisiana implements ALERT FM system state-wide, Expedition 36 arrives at the International Space Station; Ham Nation celebrates its 100th netcast and a final wrap-up on Hamvention 2013. All this and more on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number 1868 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here) ** RESCUE RADIO: OKLAHOMA ARES RELEASES TORNADO RESPONSE TEAMS GO HOME Hams in Oklahoma who volunteered when tornadoes hit that state have gone home. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, reports: -- Amateur Radio Emergency Service operators have been released from assisting the American Red Cross with communications during the response to the Moore, Oklahoma tornado recovery. This, according to Kevin O'Dell, N0IRW, who is the ARRL Oklahoma Section Manager. Odell says that all ARES volunteers were released from scheduled duty and have returned to volunteer status. He noted that some 25 local hams volunteered their help along with over 15 out-of-state radio operators who also offered their services. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the newsroom in Los Angeles. -- More information can be found at the Oklahoma ARES website. It's in cyberspace at aresok.org. (KC5FM) ** RESCUE RADIO: LOUISIANA IMPLEMENTS ALERT FM STATE WIDE The Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness has announced that the it has completed the implementation of the ALERT FM and GSSNet systems. This as a way of improving the method used to deliver voice and text emergency notifications to the public. Louisiana will use ALERT FM to send out its emergency alerts, as will emergency managers from all 64 parishes and 42 colleges and universities across the state. ALERT FM is an FM radio-based emergency notification system that will help Louisiana better keep citizens, schools, businesses, and first responders informed of critical information during natural or man-made disasters. ALERT FM delivers emergency messages using the data subcarrier of local FM radio stations. The use of this pre- existing network of FM broadcasters provides overlapping and redundant signal coverage for the state. Around 90 FM stations will participate in the Louisiana ALERT FM network. This overlapping coverage will ensure message distribution over a large footprint and gives emergency managers the ability to reach their intended recipients. More on this Louisiana state wide implementation of ALERT FM is on line at tinyurl.com/louisiana-emergency-alerting. (RBR) ** RESCUE RADIO: HAMS RESCUED FROM FLOODED CAMPGROUND THANKS TO THEIR HOBBY Two hams have been rescued from a flooded campground thanks to their hobby. Sunday morning, May 19th at about 4:40 a.m. Eric Heaton, KF4LJN, and Henry Miller N4VG, were awakened by a flooding situation at Lake Chinabee in Munford, Alabama east of Birmingham. The two had been camping when Miller noticed water getting into his tent. Miller and Heaton moved their cars several times to stay above the flooding line. They soon realized that the only road out of the area was submerged in 2 to 3 feet of water and impassable. So Miller made contact with a ham in Talladega, Alabama, over the Mt. Cheaha 147.69/ .09 repeater. That ham in turn notified authorities of the two trapped radio amateurs. The Cleburne County Sheriff's Rescue Squad was dispatched and both Heaton and Miller were soon brought to safety by boat. There was very poor cellphone coverage in the area but thanks to ham radio everyone is safe. (KB4KCH) ** RADIO POLITICS: REP. GREG WALDEN W7EQI CONTINUES TO LOOK TOWARD FCC REFORM House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, W7EQI of Oregon has praised interim FCC Chair Mignon Clyburn. But he also told C-SPAN's "The Communicators" last weekend he has some concerns about Tom Wheeler. Wheeler is President Obama's pick for chairman of the regulatory agency. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Rockefeller has said he plans to hold nomination hearings in June for Wheeler who is a former telecommunications industry lobbyist. Walden is concerned about Wheeler's position on some past telecommunications deals. He told C-SPAN that the commission shouldn't use the extraordinary power it has to approve or deny a merger to exercise market changes it can't do through a regulatory environment. Walden has let it be known at Commission reform is still on his agenda. While he praised former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski for some of his moves to modernize the agency he also noted that the FCC needs more checks to keep it on schedule and make sure the it doesn't loose sight of the progress it's made as it transitions to new leadership. Walden plans to reintroduce an FCC reform measure containing shot clocks for decisions on proposed transactions and on other agency processes. He also wants to relax the ban that prevents all the commissioners from getting together to discuss pending issues. (RW, C-SPAN) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: EXPEDITION 36 ARRIVES AT ISS Three new crew members have arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) after launching from Kazakhstan. The Soyuz rocket carrying Fyodor Yurchikhin, Karen Nyberg and Luca Parmitano, KF5KDP, lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 20:31 GMT on Tuesday, May 28th. They arrived at the orbiting space outpost five hours and 46 minutes later. To speed up their ascent, the Soyuz capsule was using a new flight profile that dramatically reduces the rendezvous time from the traditional two days. It is technically more difficult and requires some very precise orbital adjustments, but it is deemed to be easier on the crew. This is because it means they do not have to spend so long inside the cramped launch vehicle. Yurchikhin and Nyberg have both been into space before. Parmitano is a first-timer on-orbit. The trio, whose designation is Expedition 36, was greeted by the current three member crew already on the ISS. They are Russians Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin, along with American Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR. Yurchikhin, Nyberg and Parmitano will be on the ISS until November. (Published news reports.) ** HAM CELEBRATION: HAM NATION CELEBRATES SHOW NUMBER 100 The popular Internet television program Ham Nation celebrated its 100th netcast on Wednesday, May 29th. We have more in this report: -- It's a voice that so many in ham radio know and on Wednesday, May 29th, ham radio's Mr. Audio, Bob Heil, K9EID, celebrated the 100th consecutive week of his video podcast Ham Nation. And this is the way it sounded when he opened the show: -- Heil: "Good evening everybody. It's a very special historic night. It's the 100th broadcast of Ham Nation from the TWiT network, and we are so happy; so thrilled and a little bit surprised that we made it this far and that its turned out so well. Its because of one thing and that's the team behind us. "This started out with Leo's dream of having a ham radio show and he said `you do it.' "I of coarse am not the show. We started picking on the great people who make ham radio happen and that's what goes on. And we continued to add people as you will see tonight some of the great people behind the scenes." -- Leo of coarse if Leo Laporte, W6TWT, who owns the TWiT TV network. The others alongside Bob are Gordon West WB6NOA, and George Thomas, W5JDX. Also on hand for this 100th episode, albeit pre-recorded, was Ham Nation's first guest and the person who wrote and performed the shows theme song: Famed Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, WB6ACU: -- Walsh: I want to wish everybody at Ham Nation a very happy 100th anniversary and I'm glad that I could help to get it started." -- Other guests included 38 Special bass player Larry Junstrom, K4EB along with Ham Nation post show net control stations Dale Puckett, K0HYD and Al Matthews K1LTJ. Also on hand was Don Wilbanks AE5DW, to introduce and narrate the shows news segment and Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK who hosts the shows on-line chat room. Like all previous Ham Nation episodes, number 100 is available to both watch and listen to at www.twit.tv/hamnation. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, watching from Scottsdale, Arizona. -- Our congratulations to Bob Heil, K9EID, Gordon West WB6NOA, George Thomas, W5JDX and of coarse TWIT TV founder Leo Laporte, W6TWT, on this milestone. (ARNewslineT) ** BREAK 1 From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the Southern Suburbs Amateur Radio Club UHF Repeater Network serving South Africa. (5 sec pause here) ** RADIO LAW: VANITY CALL FEE MAY BE GOING UP The price of a vanity call sign may be going up. This as the FCC releases a Notice of Proposed Rule Making in which it requests a very modest 20 cent increase in the cost of a vanity call over its 10 year term. Currently the free for a vanity call is $15. That would go to $15.20 if the measure is approved and acted into law. As you know, The FCC is authorized by to collect vanity call sign fees to recover the costs associated with administering that program. (FCC) ** RADIO AND LAW: UK POLICE LOOKING FOR VEHICLE WITH HAM ANTENNA IN ROAD RAGE INCIDENT Dorset England police are trying to locate what they describe white VW transporter van with a large amateur radio aerial on the roof that was recently involved in a road rage incident. Investigators allege that the van overtook a silver Audi driven by a Portland man. Police said the van driver and a passenger approached the driver of the Audi and threatened him. They then took the automobiles keys and threw them down the road. No one was injured in the incident, which took place at around 6 p.m. local time on Thursday, May 16th. An unidentified 35-year-old male was subsequently arrested and released on bail pending further enquiries. (Dorset Echo) ** ENFORCEMENT: MAJOR FINES AFFIRMED TO A PAIR OF MIAMI UNLICENSED BROADCASTERS Two Miami Florida unlicensed broadcasters have been ordered to pay some rather stiff monetary forfeitures. Jim Davis, W2JKD, reports: -- The higher fine was levied against Gary Feldman for operating an unlicensed transmitter on 97.9 MHz in Miami. The FCC originally proposed a $25,000 penalty in February after tracing the source of the unlicensed transmissions to an FM antenna mounted on the roof of Feldman's residence. According to the commission Feldman during an inspection admitted to FCC personnel that he was the only one operating the station. But it did not end there. In June of 2012 FCC agents found he stopped broadcasting from his home but continued to do so on 97.9 MHz from a commercial building. The FCC also dug through its records and found Feldman had previously been fined for operating an illegal station in Tampa and had not paid that $10,000 fine. The FCC Feldman didn't respond to them about the original penalty which the agency has now reaffirmed. And as the result of the evidence before it the higher amount has been affirmed as well. The commission has also upheld a $15,000 fine proposed in February against Bernard Veargis for operating an unlicensed station on 91.7 MHz in Miami. In that case, FCC agents traced the source of an unlicensed signal to an FM antenna mounted to the roof of a commercial building. In response to a complaint from the FAA about interference to Miami International Airport departure frequency 119.45 MHz, agents found the source was the same antenna. The FCC agents soon linked the transmitter ownership to a website for "Chico the Leo Grown Folks Radio Miami." The site and a Facebook page listed the same number for Veargis that the property owner had provided to the FCC. He also told agents that Veargis installed the transmission equipment in the building, which Veargis later admitted to the agents. However the Enforcement Bureau says Veargis never respond to the earlier notice, and that's why it reaffirmed the fine. Im Jim Davis, W2JKD. -- Both Feldman and Veargis have 30 days from the May 16th of release of the orders to pay up or file an appeal. (FCC) ** RADIO BUSINESS: HEATHKIT LAUNCHES NEW SURVEY After the apparent final demise of the Heathkit Company last year hams on several websites are reporting that they were surprised to learn of a new consumer survey from whomever now owns the company name. The fairly lengthy on-line survey asks responders to relate what is important to them, their kit-building interests, their thoughts about the many vintage Heathkits and their interest if any in amateur radio. It also requests thoughts and ideas about Heathkit while offering the opportunity to sign up to join a mailing list. The opening page instructions note that Customer privacy is very important to them. As such that they do not release personally-identifying customer information outside our company as explained in it's Privacy Policy. As such, those responding to the survey can choose which questions that they wish to answer. You can find more on-line at tinyurl.com/new-heathkit- survey. (G3ZOD, others) ** NEW PRODUCT: DIRECT ANTENNA CONTROL FROM QUATTRO While not directed at the ham radio market, those who run mega DX and contest stations may find this new product of interest. The Direct Antenna Control system from Swiss firm Quattro identifies any type of malfunctioning, even partial damage, in antenna array systems used for radio and television broadcasting. Comprising a series of a series of sensors that are placed on each branch of an antenna's array, the Direct Antenna Control system, measures the direct and reflected power values of the relevant coaxial supply line compared to its standard levels. Any deviations from the standard supply values of the direct power measurement indicate a problem above the sensors threshold while the deviation of reflected power reveals a problem below the sensor. A combination of these signals identifies the part of the antenna that has malfunctioned. The system then converts the corresponding signals of power transmitted and power received into lines with low sensitivity to radiation fields. The lines, which are protected from external interference, are transmitted by a unit that collects all of the signals arriving from the individual sensors of the various antennas. The unit also collects the pre-processing and formatting information in order to allow for the transmission through a network to a router that then renders the data available both locally and remotely. More information should soon be available at www.dacsystem.ch. (RW) ** HAM HAPPENINGS: INDIA SMALL SATELLITE WORKSHOP FEATURES HAM RADIO A Small Satellite Developer Workshop featuring Amateur Radio is now slated for July 8th to the 13th in Chennai, India. The amateur radio segment is being conducted by the National Institute of Amateur Radio with topics to be discussed to include Software Designed Receiver design and Basics of Spacecraft Technology among others. Further details are on the web at www.spaceschool.co.in. (NAIR) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: LOOKING FOR WW2 SWL LOGS Some names in the news. First up is Helena E. Wright, Curator of Graphic Arts National Museum of American History. She reports that David Hochfelder, a Professor of History at the State University of New York at Albany, together with his wife Anne Pfau, are searching for letters, or other documents about American shortwave radio listeners during WWII. Specifically from those who were hoping for news of Prisoners of War. The two have already located some radio logs about listening activities but need much more. If you can help in this research project, please contact processor Hochfelder by e-mail to dhochfelder (at) albany (dot) edu. (W3BE) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: SSB USING A RASPBERRY PI Guido Pen Dolle, PE1NNZ, has released the code to enable the Raspberry Pi computer board to generate SSB on the 7 and 14 MHz bands. According to PE1NNZ, the computer code he has written generates SSB modulation just by controlling a Phase Locked Loop or PLL based carrier. He says that he has applied this method on the RapsberryPi PLL, and made several contacts with it on 40 and 20 meter bands. To find out more on how PE1NNZ makes this happen, please visit his blog at tinyurl.com/raspberry-ssb. (WIA News) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: UK ASTRONAUT ASSIGNED ISS DUTY IN 2015 The United Kingdom's Guardian newspaper reports that Major Tim Peake has been selected to fly on a five-month mission on the International Space Station in 2015. Peake, from Salisbury in Wiltshire, was chosen for astronaut training in 2009. Since then has been undergoing mission preparation in a number of locations around the world including Star City in Russia and the Johnson Space Center in Houston in Texas. He had previously served in the army for 18 years primarily flying Apache helicopters and has seen active service in Afghanistan. The Guardian newspaper says that the 41-year-old Peake has been assigned a lengthy stay in orbit. He will be transported to the ISS space on a Russian Soyuz launch vehicle in November of 2015 where will be able to take part in spacewalks and other complex scientific activities. Currently it does not appear that Peake is a licensed radio amateur, but instruction in ham radio is still a part of Astronaut and Cosmonaut training. This is so that those serving on an ISS mission will be familiar with the amateur gear aboard the orbiting outpost and can use it for recreational and educational purposes as well as a back-up communications system should all other gear fail. A detailed article about Peakes assignment to the ISS is on line at tinyurl.com/British-Astronaut-ISS. (AMSAT-UK) ** 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) ** DXCC UPDATE: E51WL WAS THE PREVIOUS ZK1WL AND GOOD FOR DXCC If you are DXCC hunting and has a card for E51WL for North Cook Island rejected, here's some good news. According to Bill Moore at the ARRL DXCC Desk, it turns out that the operator is a native of the island and that his previous ZK1WL had previously been approved. The bottom line is that this is just a callsign change, so if you had E51WL rejected in a recent submission send an e-mail to bmoore (at) arrl (dot) org for an update to your record. (NC1L) ** DX In DX, W5JON will be operating as V47JA from his Calypso Bay, St. Kitts, West Indies vacation home from July 9th until August 10th. Listen out for John on 160 through 6 meters using SSB, RTTY and several digital modes. He will also be using his newly issued contest call V49J in the IARU and Islands on the Air contests on SSB. Johns wife Cathy, W5HAM, may get on the air occasionally operating as V47HAM. All QSL's go direct or via Logbook of the World to W5JON. PA3A, PD1AEG, PA8AD and PA8AN will be active from Congo September 28th to October 11th as TN5MS. They will be active on H-F Bands. QSL via PA3AWW, either direct, or Logbook of the World. ZL2JU is currently active from Rarotonga in the South Cook Islands as E51JJU. He is operational on most of the High Frequency bands but no exact schedule of operating times is mentioned. QSL via home call. OO9O will be on the air portable LX from Luxembourg from June 17th to the 20th. He plans to focus on 30 meter CW and PSK. QSL via home call, or electronically using eQSL or Logbook of the World. Five operators will be active using the call will be active from Ustica Island from July 24th to the 29th signing IE9 stroke IK6JRI. They also plan to take part in the RSGB sponsored Islands on the Air contest that takes place during their stay. If you make contact please QSL via IK6JRI Lastly, G0MGX is currently working in Qatar and has obtained a permit to operate stroke A7. He says to listen out for him during evenings and some weekends primarily using RTTY and JT65. He adds that the Qatar Amateur Radio Society has made him feel very welcome and that he is very grateful to them for the support and help they have given to him. He adds that he has provided the ARRL with the necessary documents of licensing for all his callsigns and uploads to Logbook of the World regularly. QSL as directed on the air. (Above from various DX news sources) ** HAMVENTION 2013: PART 2 - WRAPPING IT UP And finally this week we conclude our coverage of the 2013 Dayton Hamvention by looking at activities that do not usually fall into the spotlight. Also a quick glimpse of the concurrent Four Days in May event. Here's Amateur Radio Newsline's Stephan Kinford, N8WB: -- While most tend to report on the Dayton Hamvention based on number of attendees and new equipment released or at least previewed, there is a lot more to this annual gathering. This is also a place where braking news is first reported and according to AMSAT North America President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, hams involved in space communications had at least two things to smile about. The first was the announcement of a launch commitment for one of the group's newest birds: -- Baines: "The biggest project we are doing is called Project Fox. It's a 4 inch by 4 inch cube that will weight about three pounds that will be an amateur radio repeater plus carry a scientific payload that will be flown into orbit. We have learned this week that NASA is assigning us to a launch opportunity to be flown in November of 2014 so that's when we expect Fox 1 to be flown". -- Baines also told Newsline that it looks as if there will soon be some good news on the cooperation front with other AMSAT groups around the world. This, thanks to a pending change in US laws: -- Baines: "Congress in 1999 passed a law called ITAR, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations that decided that satellites no matter what their purpose or how sophisticated or unsophisticated their purpose was is are considered to be a munition and subject to regulation. So under ITAR we cannot have collaboration with foreign nationals on evolving technology that's being developed. We can only talk about it with foreign nations once its completed placed in the public domain. So we publish what we do and then we can talk about it after the fact. "Congress passed a bill called the National Defense Authorization Act last December which gives the President at his discretion to transfer items from ITAR to a less restrictive category under Export Arms Regulations. We are now waiting for the Department of State to come out with revised rules." -- Also at Hamvention 2012 were representatives from our neighbors to the North in a delegation representing Radio Amateurs of Canada. Its President is Geoff Bawden, VE4BAW, said that they were happy to be there once again: -- Bawden: "It's really good to be here in Dayton. We have been here at Dayton three times in a row raising our profile within the States and also to (serve) the many Canadians that come down here. It's not only a mecca for United States radio amateurs but also for many Canadian amateurs from across Canada who come down. So it's not only a chance to shake hamns with out friends the Americans but also to meet with our colleagues and neighbors across Canada." -- But the Hamvention was not the only happening in the Dayton area that weekend. Only a few miles away was a smaller show devoted to low power operation and kit building. Its called Four Days in May and who better to explain it than the kit- building master himself, Joe Eisenberg, K0NEB: -- Eisenberg: "Four Days in May for those who don't know of it is a QRP convention that kind of wraps around the Hamvention. It doesn't block anything going on at the Hara Arena. "It just operates in the evenings when the Hamvention itself is closed and the main day which is the day before Hamvention on that Thursday. And during the day on Thursday we have seminars all day long as well as an evening where we have a vendors night where we have a lot of kits and where a lot of QRP stuff is traded and sold. There are some pretty amazing bargains there as well." -- Joe tells Newsline that some of the most interesting highlights came in kit form: -- Eisenberg: "One is a very sensitive RF voltage probe called the Acu-Probe. There were other kits including an antenna analyzer which is simply a Dip Meter. All you do is that you tune it until the light goes out and that tells you what frequency your antenna is resonant on." -- Meanwhile, back at the Hara Arena the 2013 Hamvention came to end midday on Sunday May 19th with the long awaited prize drawing. From there it was off to the open road, the rail station or the airport for the short ride or long flight home. Hamvention 2013 was now history with planning for Hamvention 2014 already underway. From ham radio city USA, I'm Stephan Kinford, N8WB, for the Amateur Radio Newsline. -- And those dates for the next Dayton Hamvention are May 16, 17 and 18 of next year. We hope to see you there. (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 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 Before we go a word that if you are hearing this newscast after May 30th that the nominating period for the 2013 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award has closed. It's now up to the committee to do its work. We should have more information for you within a few weeks. For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors' desk, I'm Skeeter Nash, N5ASH saying 73 from near Houston, Texas, and we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1868 - May 31 2013
Friday, May 24, 2013
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1867 - May 24 2013
Please note that this is an extended Amateur Radio Newsline report and contains three breaks. Newscast begins after the tone. -- Tone -- Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1867 with a release date of May 24 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a Q-S-T. Ham radio joins other services in responding to tornadoes in the Great Plains; Israeli hams get limited access to 5 MHz, a distracted driving law that exempts ham radio is signed by Hawaii's governor; a major DXpedition to Heard Island is delayed and an in-depth look at Hamvention 2013. All this and more on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number 1867 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here) ** RESCUE RADIO: RADIO SERVICES RESPOND TO MIDWEST TORNADOES Several radio services including broadcasters and hams responded as several days of severe weather including tornadoes hit the Central Plains. Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, is here with what we know so far: -- The pictures seen on cable and network news channels of the devastation in Oklahoma have been gut-wrenching. But emergency officials are saying the warnings and local broadcast coverage by radio and television probably saved hundreds if not thousands of lives. Amateur radio played a part in the initial hours after the tornado went through the community of Moore in the Oklahoma City area. Kevin O'Dell, N0IRW, is the American Radio Relay League section manager for Oklahoma. He tells Newsline in an interview that the real call-up came through the Amateur Radio Emegency Service for operators to assist the Red Cross chapter. "We've had one specific request of ARES to assist with the Red Cross in communications between the chapter office and their feeding area down at the incident command post and we secured from that." O'Dell says the operation secured Wednesday night. "I do know of a couple of instances where there have been some other folks that have been involved not for any real length of time. Once Comm-El got their systems up and running, everything was in pretty good shape." O'Dell, who lives about 75 miles north of the tornado- affected region of the state, says while the devastation is vast, it is confined to a narrow area. And that enabled emergency crews to keep police, fire and emergency radios up and running and restore wireless service rapidly. "What a lot of people don't understand is that this is a 17- mile-long tract but it's only a couple of miles wide," O'Dell says. "You get outside of that and things work pretty well. So, just the communication within that strip is the only thing that's been really in question." O'Dell says the Oklahoma City-Moore area has lots of experience dealing with tornadoes.... "This isn't their first rodeo," O'Dell says. "These people know what they're doing, they're very good at it. The communications systems because of this and because of events they've had in the past, especially the May 3, 1999 storm that went basically through a very similar part of Moore, a lot of the communications systems have been hardened a whole lot. "And, have also been decentralized. So that the infrastructure issue isn't quite as big a deal as you would have in a much broader situation." O'Dell describes the people of Oklahoma as resilient. Although he concedes there are a couple people who lost their homes in 1999 and on the same site in the most recent tornado. O'Dell says he wouldn't be surprised if some of them took this second hit as a divinely-inspired message to move elsewhere. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V. -- As this newscast is being prepared rescue workers are still sifting through the rubble of the twisters that brought death and destruction to the area. Meantime ham radio operators remain on alert in case they are needed. (ARNewslineT) ** PROPAGATION ALERT: M5 X-RAY FLARE OF MAY 22, 2013 Some breaking propagation news. I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF CQ Magazine reports via Facebook that a strong M5.0 solar flare occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd at around 13:32 UTC. Its origin was on the sunspot 1745, on the west side of the Sun. A CME or coronal mass ejection was projected into space and is clearly visible in the images of NASA SOHO spacecraft. If the plasma is directed Earthward the CME could soon trigger aurora and other geomagnetic activity including some level of High Frequency radio degradation. If you are on Facebook be sure to "Like" the CQ Magazine to have alerts like this show up in your timeline. More information on this event, as well as sunspots and solar flares is on-line at SunSpotWatch.com I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF. Jim. (CQ via Facebook) ** RESTRUCTURING: ISRAELI AMATEURS GET LIMITED 5 MHZ TEMPORARY ACCESSES The Israel's radio regulator has decided to grant temporary permissions on an individual application basis for use of eight discrete frequencies between 5298.5 and 5.047 MHz. These channels are available to General and Extra Class license holders. The maximum power allowed is 100 Watts Peak Envelope Power measured at the Transmitter rather than Effective Radiated Power from the antenna. The Israel Amateur Radio Club is that nation's national amateur radio society. It says that it's main goal in obtaining this allocation is to experiment for local short range emergency communication readiness and that long distance activity is a side product. The validity of this temporary authority is from a given applications approval date until mid March 2014 but it appears this could be extended. Operation is on a secondary status and was coordinated with the Spectrum Committee representing primary and other relevant spectrum users. More information is on-line at tinyurl.com/Israel-5-mhz. (IARC, RSGB) ** RADIO LAW: HAWAII CELL LAW EXCLUDING HAM RADIO SIGNED BUY GOVERNOR Mobile ham radio operations have received an exclusion as Hawaii Governor Neal Ambercrombie signed House Bill 980 on Monday May 20th. . This is the State's new law that takes effect on July 1st and enforces a ban on the use of mobile electronics and places strict limitations on text messaging while operating a motor vehicle. Specifically, with certain exceptions, House Bill 980 prohibits the use of cellphones and other mobile electronic devices while operating a vehicle statewide. It specifically prohibits activities such as texting, instant-messaging, gaming and e-mailing, which take a driver's eyes and mind off the road and hands off of the steering wheel. The use of hands-free devices remain permitted but a new change is a restriction for those under 18 years of age. According to Ron Hashiro, AH6RH, the exemption for mobile amateur radio use which was already available in four counties has survived the 2013 State Legislature and remains in effect state-wide. Hashiro, who is the Hawaii State Civil Defense ARES Emergency Coordinator and the State Civil Defense RACES Coordinator praised the amateur radio operators who since 2009 who have been involved in the legislative effort to preserve mobile amateur radio operating privileges. More is on the web at tinyurl.com/hawaii-cell-law-signed (AH6RH) ** BREAKING DX NEWS: HEARD ISLAND DXPEDITION RESCHEDULED Some breaking news in the world of DX. This with word that a planned Cordell Expedition operation from Heard Island has been postponed until January of 2015. According to expedition organizer Robert Schmieder, KK6EK and co-planner Rich Holoch, KY6R, the primary reason for the delay was the cost of using the preferred vessel, the Marion Dufresne, to put the team on the island for the required time. In note to the Ohio Penn DX Newsletter and republished by the Southgate News, KK6EK and KY6R say that despite extensive negotiations and rescheduling of the cruise, it became clear that the cost of using this vessel will exceed $1 million. Therefore the total cost for the project would be about $1.5 million and that even increasing the team size to 50 to partially cover this cost was not enough. So the planners reluctantly concluded that sponsorship at this level would be impossible. KK6EK and KY6R say that they have therefore decided to delay the expedition to the early 2015 date to allow more time to restructure the project. It will also give them the ability to locate a more suitable vessel and bring the cost more in line with projected available resources. According to Club Log, Heard Island is Number 7 on its DXCC Most Wanted List. The operations website is at www.heardisland.org. A detailed account of the problems being incurred in planning this important expedition is on line at tinyurl.com/Heard-Rescheduled and we will have more DX related news near the end of this week's newscast. (OPDX, Southgate) ** BREAK 1 From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the N8URW repeater serving Jackson, Michigan. (5 sec pause here) ** HAM HAPPENINGS: A LOOK AT HAMVENTION 2013 The 2013 Dayton Hamvention will likely go down in the amateur radio history books as one of the best. And while it will be a while before we know the actual number of those attending, all indictors say that it was again a banner year. Amateur Radio Newsline's Stephan Kinford, N8WB, reports: -- It was rather foggy on Friday, May 17th when the doors opened at the Hara Arena for the 2013 Dayton Hamvention. But the gloom outside was quickly replaced by crowds of hams inside the showplace ready for three days of ham radio fun. One of these was Hollywood producer Dave Bell, W6AQ: -- Bell: "So the first thing I do is go down the ramp to deposit my ticket stub; my winning ticket stub which has never won. And then down into the main arena which I call the `snake pit' because it is always full and this Friday it was even fuller than usual. It was packed/ "I turned around and went out the the way I came in and into a relatively empty hallway to go around to where the rest of the merchants were and it was busy over there too. I think the merchants must have done a gangbusters business this time." -- According to several long time attendees, numbers appeared good for an opening day as its been the past two or three years. The ARRL reports that its Expo area drew a substantial crowd with popular activities such as the W1AW 75th anniversary exhibit, the Youth Lounge and spectral purity testing provided courtesy of the ARRL Lab. And as usual, lines formed immediately for DXCC card checking. There were several new products introduced at Hamvention 2013 and while we do not have time this week to cover all of them, perhaps one of the most interesting was Yaesu's new High Frequency transceiver. Tim Phactor, KT7F, of Yaesu described the new entry: -- Phactor: "Weve come out with a very new HF rig which is called the FTDX-1200 which is an entry level TFT screen radio. "Last year you may remember that we came out with the FTDX- 3000 which was an opportunity for those who liked the 5000 to have a price point a little less. So this year we just topped that with now an entry level TFT screen radio with a built-in bandscope and the kind of features you would find on a higher priced radio." -- Not to be outdone, Icom was there with two new products. The company showcased both its ID-51A portable and IC-7100 mobile radios. Both are are D-STAR ready and as such they facilitate clear digital voice, short data messages, worldwide D-STAR linked repeater access over the Internet and more. The IC-7100 is particularly of interest in that it combines VHF and UHF analog and digital with all-band all-mode mobile operations using a new slanted control head with what is the amateur industries first touchscreen interface. This is the radio many saw previewed on the Ham Nation Internet TV show a few months ago. Icom, along with several other manufacturers were also prize contributors to one of the highlights at the Hamvention for over a quarter of a century. That being the Youth Forum hosted by New York City educator Carole Perry, WB2MGP. This session usually pulls one of the largest crowds of any session and 2013 was no exception: -- Perry: "Well this year was a banner year for the Youth Forum. It was our 26th year and we had close to 300 people in what I refer to as the love audience. Those who come out to support the kids. "I had six young speakers age 10 to 18 who gave phenomenal presentations. We had a scientist doing a live demonstration on cloaking (which is) a new technology and he tied it into his childhood involved with amateur radio. And we had twenty-two radios that were donated by the manufacturers Icom, Kenwood and MFJ. And it was simply wonderful!" -- Meantime, over in the ARRL Expo area there was also an emphasis on youth and according to the Leagues president Kay Cragie, N3KN, this young peoples interest in ham radio bodes well for the future: -- Cragie: "One of the things I think is most positive is that young people who are in technical and engineering fields `get' amateur radio today. A lot of them are going to spend their careers in the wireless industry so radio makes sense to them in a way that it might not have twenty or twenty- five years ago when everything was computer programming." -- Even though the theme of this year's Hamvention was DX, there was a lot there dealing with ham radio technology as well. One of the most interesting hi-tech displays was over at the Amsat booth where AMSAT-North America had the engineering model of the Fox-1 satellite on display. The satellite is presently scheduled to fly in November 2014. But for the average ham in the street it was a book that caught a lot of attention. The Heil Ham Radio Handbook, Edition 2 is a newly revised edition of Bob Heil, K9EID's earlier work but updated for ham radio in the 21st century. And according to K9EID, this was for him a labor of love: -- Heil: "The big focus here for us this year is our book. Thanks to a lot of people, Stephan Kinford probably being one of the most valuable, we were able to take our book from 1976 and we've enhanced it. A lot of the old stuff left there but we also put a lot of new stuff in it. And its really been successful here; everybody is thrilled with it and I am honored to bring things to this industry that haven't been here before." -- Thank you for the compliment Bob. I can tell you that working with you on this project was one I enjoyed as well. Theres lots more to tell you about Hamvention 2013, but that's all the time we have right now. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephan Kinford, N8WB, in ham radio city, U.S.A. -- Stephan will be back next week with more on Hamvention 2013. Meantime if you were not there and did not see any of the live streaming video of this years event there's still a way to get a peak at some of the highlights in a slide show video posted to YouTube by Joe Eisenberg, K0NEB, Just take your web browser to tinyurl.com/freeze-frame-video, sit back and enjoy. (ARNewslineT) ** HAM HAPPENINGS: NORTHERN NEVADA SWAPFEST ON JUNE 1ST Turning to other events on the ham radio social calendar, the 8th annual Northern Nevada Swap Meet is slated for Saturday, June 1st at the Brad Hollander N7RCA Ranch in the city of Minden. That's about 15 miles South of Carson City. Anyone interested in radio from the latest and greatest to old boat anchor gear is welcome. A map and contact information is on-line at www.N7RCA.info. (N7RCA) ** HAM HAPPENINGS: SEA-PAC AMATEUR RADIO CONVENTION MAY 31 - JUNE2 The SEA-PAC Amateur Radio Convention takes place in Seaside, Oregon, May 31st to June 2nd. SEA-PAC is the Northwest's largest amateur radio gathering with communication equipment dealers and factory representatives on hand to demonstrate the very latest in ham radio technology. Also seminars will be held on emergency communications, digital communications, the national electrical code for amateur radio and there will also be amateur radio licensing testing. For more information on this fun event take your web browser to seapac.org. (SEA-PAC) ** 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) ** ENFORCEMENT: PITTSBURGH CB OPERATOR ISSUED $18000 NAL A Pennsylvania Citizens Band radio operator has been issued an $18,000 Notice of Apparent Liability for several violations of Part 95 of the FCC rules. Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather Embee, KB3TZD, reports: -- In its May 14 order the FCC alleges that Pittsburgh resident Nathaniel Johnson failed to comply with restricted hours of station operation as required in an official notice. Also that he failed to make his CB station available for inspection by authorized FCC representatives. This story goes back to January 19, 2012. Thats when the FCC received a complaint alleging that Nataniel Johnson's CB station was causing interference to his neighbors' telephone and television reception. When agents in the Enforcement Bureau's Philadelphia Office attempted to conduct an on-scene inspection at Johnson's residence on February 16, 2012, no one answered the door. So on March 19, 2012, the Philadelphia Office sent a Warning Letter to Johnson, directing him to contact the Philadelphia Office within ten calendar days to schedule an inspection. The Warning Letter also specified that if the harmful interference continued, and arrangements were not made with the Philadelphia Office to schedule an inspection, the Commission might impose restricted hours of operation for the CB station. Johnson did not contact the Philadelphia Office to schedule an inspection as directed. This pattern repeated itself even after the FCC sent Johnson two separate warning letters and imposed quiet hours on his operation. On October 11, 2012, agents from the Philadelphia Office performed an on-scene investigation to confirm the source of continuing interference to televisions and telephones in Nathaniel Johnson's neighborhood. At 9:55 a.m., during the Quiet Hours period, the agents monitored multiple radio transmissions on the frequencies 27.025 MHz, 27.055 MHz, and 27.015 MHz. They then T-Hunted the interference directly to Johnson's residence. Agents then knocked multiple times on the door but no one answered but the transmissions on 27.025 MHz, 27.055 MHz, and 27.015 MHz ceased. The agents left copies of the June 12 Warning Letter on Johnson's front door, back door, and in his mailbox to remind him of the operational restrictions and the directive to immediately contact the Philadelphia Office to schedule an inspection. However the FCC says that to the day it issued the Notice of Apparent Liability that Nathaniel Johnson still had not contacted the Philadelphia Office, and that Office continues to receive interference complaints concerning Johnson's CB station operation. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD, in Berwick, P.A.. -- In addition to the $18,000 proposed fine which he was given the customary 30 days to pay the FCC has also ordered Johnson submit a written statement, signed under penalty of perjury, confirming compliance with the Quiet Hours restriction. He is also ordered to specify a date and time no later than forty-five calendar days from issuance of the NAL when FCC agents can inspect his CB radio station. (FCC) ** PUBLIC SERVICE: HAM RADIO COMMUNICATORS NEEDED FOR 2013 SUMMER SPECIAL OLYMPIC GAMES Ham radio volunteers in Southern California are needed to provide communicators for the 2013 Special Olympics Summer Games. The dates are June 8 and 9 with the venue being the California State University in the city of Long Beach. More than 1,100 athletes from throughout the region will showcase their determination, courage, and skills at this years summer games. This event is free and open to the public. If you or your group is available to volunteer please contact Mark Lidikay, KE6TNM, by e-mail to MLidikay (at) holdenandrew (dot) com (KE6TNM via N6ZXJ) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: CLYBURN NOW ACTING CHAIR OF THE FCC Some names in the news. First up is FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn who became acting chair of the agency, effective Monday, May 20th. She is temporarily replacing former FCC chairman Julius Genachowski who retired from that position on Friday, May 17th. Clyburn is the first woman to hold that post and will continue to helm the agency until President Obama's nominee for Chairman, Tom Wheeler can receive his nomination hearing. According to a Senate Commerce Committee spokesman that's not likely to happen any earlier than sometime in June. Also up for grabs is the seat of now retired Commissioner Robert McDowell who is headed for a new position at the Hudson Institute. That could take from several weeks to several months. Until at least one of the two vacant positions can be filled the FCC will be at operating with the bare minimum of three seated commissioners that is required for a quorum. (RW) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: JUSTIN JOHNSON, G0KSC RECEIVES AWARD FROM RSGB InnovAntennas, Ltd. founder Justin Johnson, G0KSC, has been awarded the Harold Rose Plate by the Radio Society of Great Britain. This in recognition of Justin's many contributions to 50 MHz antenna technology and the amateur radio community. The award citation was presented to G0KSC at the RSGB's Annual General Meeting in April. This is considered to be a very prestigious honor and was made in recognition of Justin's years of design, development and teaching of the tools and techniques that have led to the introduction of several novel antenna designs. These include such antennas as the Loop Fed Array and the Optimized Wide-band Low- Impedance Yagi. (GB2RS) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: CQ MAGAZINE ANNOUNCES HALLS OF FAME INDUCTEES CQ magazine has announced eight inductees to its Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. Its also adding two members each to the CQ DX and Contest Halls of Fame. The 2013 inductees to the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame are longtime amateur radio industry leader Evelyn Garrison, WS7A; former QST Magazine Managing Editor Joel Kleinman, N1BKE; well known BBC correspondent Laurie Margolis, G3UML/GPC3L; former Wireless Institute of Australia leader and Chairman of IARU Region 3 Michael Owen, VK3KI; Harry Rubinstein the ex-9EEV who is credited as the inventor of the printed circuit and several other devices; journalist, author and historian Walker Tompkins, K6ATX; famed guitarist and performer Joe Walsh, WB6ACU, and former CQ Novice Editor Bill Welsh, W6DDB. Evelyn Garrison, Joel Kleinman, Michael Owen, Harry Rubenstein and Bill Welsh are being honored posthumously for their contributions. The 2013 inductees to the CQ DX Hall of Fame are Vladimir Bykov, UA4WHX/AC4LN and Robert "Gary" Dixon, K4MQG. CQ Contest Hall of Fame inductees are Dale Green, VE7SV, and Charles Fulp, K3WW. Formal ceremonies to the CQ Contest and CQ DX Halls of Fame took place at last weeks Dayton Hamvention. A more detailed descriptions of this years inductees will appear in the July 2013 issue of CQ magazine. (CQ) ** BREAK 3 With you 52 weeks a year, every year since 1976. 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) ** RADIO HISTORY: FIRST RADIO REPORT OF SPORTING EVENT COMMEMORATED A bit of radio history. Were you aware that the first reporting by wireless of a sporting event took place in Dublin Bay during the Kingstown Yacht Regatta way back in July 1898? It did and plans are afoot for ham radio to commemorate the event. The story goes this way. At the request of the Express newspaper, famed inventor Guglielmo Marconi installed wireless equipment aboard the vessel the Flying Huntress and transmitted reports to the harbormaster's office in the town of Kingstown which is now known as Dun Laoghaire. The results were posted in a window and published even before the yachts returned to port. Now in 2013, to commemorate the event Ireland's Howth Martello Radio Group and the South Dublin Radio Club plan to set up two special event stations. As the races took place off Howth Head, one station will operate from the Martello Tower in Howth and the other from the Maritime Museum in Dun Laoghaire. The weekend of 20-21 July is proposed for this operation but it has to be added that planning is at an early stage. As such things are still subject to change. (IRTS) ** RADIO SCIENCE: NASA ROVER EXPLORING GREENLAND ICE SHELF A new NASA wheeled explorer has been released here on mother Earth. Named Grover which is an acronym for the Goddard Remotely Operated Vehicle for Exploration and Research the radio equipped rover will explore Greenland's ice sheets to better understand how they form, and how quickly they may be melting. Grover was developed by teams of students in the 2010 and 2011 summer engineering boot camps at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, according to a release from NASA. The 6- foot-tall, 800-pound vehicle is equipped with ground- penetrating radar that will send pulses into the ice sheet, and measure the reflections to tell researchers about the characteristics of the snow and ice layers. While radio equipped, Grover is solar-powered and semi- autonomous. It began its first mission on Friday, May 3rd, and will continue through Saturday, June 8th. More about this Earth based NASA explorer is in line at tinyurl.com/meet-grover (NASA, Live Science) ** HAM HAPPENINGS: CALL FOR PAPERS FOR 2013 DIGITAL ARRL-TAPR DCC Hams worldwide are invited to submit papers for publication in the printed proceedings of the joint ARRL and Tucson Amateur Packet Radio Digital Communications Conference. The conference slated for September 20th to the 22nd in Seattle, Washington but you do not have to attend to submit a paper for consideration. Submissions will not be edited and authors will retain all rights. If you have such a presentation that you would like to see included, please send it before July 31st to Maty Weinberg, ARRL Headquarters, 225 Main Street, Newington, Connecticut, 06111 or by e-mail to maty (at) arrl (dot) org. (ANS) ** WORLDBEAT: DARC AWARDS: PDF VERSIONS AND PAYMENT VIA PAYPAL The national amateur radio society of Germany says that following a successful test certain Deutscher Amateur Radio Club awards will become available as PDF printable file at reduced fees, and payment via PayPal will be accepted. At the same time fees for printed awards were adjusted to their actual costs. The DARC says that as of June onwards printed awards will cost 7 Euros while an e-mailed PDF file award will be available for only 3 Euro. Implementation of this new payment system will begin with the Worked All Europe Award with others to follow. (DARC) ** WORLDBEAT: THREE DECADE OLD TI9CCC DATES FINALLY APPROVED Bill Moore, NC1L, at the ARRL DXCC Desk reports that an almost three decade old operation from Cocos Island has been approved for DXCC credit. According to Moore, over the years some applicants have had the TI9CCC operation rejected in their DXCC application mostly due to an "Incorrect Date Period." Now, the issue with the dates for this operation has been resolved. If you had this operation rejected, and your confirmation falls between February 15 through February 28, 1984 you are invited to send an e-mail to bmoore (at) arrl (dot) org to be placed on the list for an update to your record. (ARRL DXCC) ** DX In DX, word that OD5SK is currently active from Jordan as JY8KS. He is reported to be on the HF bands only. QSL via IZ8CLM. Five English amateurs will use the callsign SZ8S from the Greek island of Samos through the 30th of May. This will count as EU-049 for the Islands on the Air Award. QSLs go via G1LAT for direct cards or via M0SCG for bureau cards. VE3DZ will be active from Bermuda through May 30th as VP9FOC He will be operational on all of the High Frequency bands QSL via home call. DJ2II will visit IOTA reference EU-042 through May 30th working stroke P on 80 through 10 meters. He will be using SSB and CW only. QSL via DJ2II either direct or via the bureau. K9VV and WP2XX will be visiting the Radio Reef DXers super station on St Croix Island from May 21st to 28th. They will be on the air with their own callsigns and as KP2M for the CQ WPX CW contest. QSL for KP2M go via Logbook of the World or direct via AI4U. UT6UD will be operational from Hiva Oa Island in the Marquesas from July 7th to the 13th and from Rurutu in the Austral Islands from July 14th to the 22nd operating stroke F Oh. He will be active on 30 through 10 meters on CW , SSB , RTTY. QSL via his home call of UT6UD. Lastly, WB8BZK will be on the air stroke VE3 from Seseganaga Lake in Ontario. Canada between May 26th and 31st. He will be operating only on 6 meters, primarily on 50.135MHz running SSB and CW. Operating times are tentatively each morning at 1230 GMT and then again between 22.30 and 23.00 GMT each evening. If you make contact, please QSL with a self addressed, USA- stamped envelope to WB8BZK at his address on QRZ.com. ** THAT FINAL ITEM: DAYTON 2013 - THE MARGELLI REPORT And finally this week, no report on the Dayton Hamvention would be complete without a few words from someone who has quite literally devoted his entire life and professional career to amateur radio. Heres a quick assessment of this years Dayton gathering from Chip Margelli, K7JA: -- Margelli: "Ive seen a lot of excited people this weekend looking to put up new antennas or get new radios or looking tp learn something new. "The theme of the convention this year is DX and to me DX is what ham radio is all about. It's right at the heart and soul of everything to do with ham radio. "Everybody seems to be having a good time learning, seeing, meeting up with old friends and just having a ball in Dayton." -- Thank you Chip and our thanks also to the organizers of Hamvention 2013 for yet another great show. Ands less we forget to mention, mark your calendars now with the dates of next May 16, 17 and 18 for Hamvention 2014. We will see you there. (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 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 Before we go a reminder that the there are only about a week and a half left to nominate a young ham age 18 or under for this years Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award. The closing date is midnight on May 30th and any nominations postmarked or sent to us electronically after that date will not be counted for this years judging. This years winner will receive an expense paid trip to the Huntsville Hamfest courtesy of Yaesu USA, a week at Spacecamp Huntsville from CQ Magazine, a prize of ham radio gear and a plaque commemorating the event from us here at the Amateur Radio Newsline. Full details and a nominating form are on our website at www.arnewsline.org/yhoty. We look forward to receiving your nominations. For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors' desk, I'm Jim Davis, W2JKD, saying 73 from Florida's Treasure Coast, and we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1866 - May 17 2013
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1866 with a release date of May 17 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a Q-S-T. Hamvention 2013 is here; D-Star and kids become an important part of Hamvention; Russian Radar invades 80 meters; a California ham seeks signatures for petition on public warning legislation; the Hurricane Watch Net says it could use more Net Control Stations; registrations for International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend ramp up and the tale of some newly developed self healing integrated circuit chips. All this and more on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number 1866 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here) ** HAMVENTION 2013: THE GATES SWING OPEN AND HAMVENTION BEGINS Its Hamvention time in Dayton, Ohio. This as the gates at the HARA Arena swing open for this years show of shows in amateur radio. And in an interview with Rain's Hap Holly, KC9RP, Hamvention spokesman Dave Kalter, W8CI, there's a lot to look forward to including some spectacular prizes: -- Kalter: "Our prize committee has been really busy. They want to out-do what they did last year. Last year we had over $80,000 in prizes and this year we want to surpass that." -- But while prizes are an important aspect of Hamvention, so are other activities with the many forums being front and center: -- Kalter: "We get a lot of questions about forums and how important forums are to amateur radio. And a lot of people love to mix their day And sit down, watch a forum and learn something. All that information can be found at our website at www.hamvention.org." -- As this year's theme is the DX Hamvention, there are a lot of visitors from outside the United States. -- Kalter: "We have people coming literally from all over the world. A large contingent is coming in from China this year. We had large group from India last year. And of coarse Qatar and all throughout the middle-East, Europe; a very strong (presence) from South America and throughout Africa. And that's the big thing about amateur radio: When you see people with a call that you know is a foreign call - most of these people I find are just absolutely delighted to get to know you and (have you) talk to them face to face." -- According to Kalter, its not easy for some foreign visitor to get to the Hamvention, but planners are always ready to assist: -- Kalter: "People come from a lot of countries for which they need an actual written. The city of Dayton; the city of Trotwood; the counties around have all joined in to help us to make amateur radio operators from all over the world feel welcome. Sometimes as many as four letters to one person (are needed) just so they can get their visa." -- And says Kalter, the Hamvention would not be possible without the volunteers who make it happen. -- Kalter: "This is an all volunteer undertaking. From the General Chairman all the way through. We do contract for some emergency services; for bus services; we lease out the Hara Arena but as far as the nitty-gritty work and the planning, all of that is done by volunteers." -- Kalter adds that not all of the volunteers live in the Dayton area: -- Kalter: "We are really pound of our amateur radio community here. We are also proud of the fact that there are amateur radio operators that come from all over the United States and other parts of the world just to help volunteer for this great event." -- By the way, if you are in Dayton for Hamvention 2013 and find yourself in need of any kind of assistance, simply dial your 2 meter mobile or handheld to the repeater pair of 146.34 in and 146.94 out. That's the official repeater for Hamvention. Its call is W8BI and no PL tone is required. OK. Its time for our reporters in Dayton to grab their audio recorders and go to work. You will hear their reports on Hamvention 2013 beginning next week. (ARNewsline with audio supplied by RAIN) ** HAMVENTION 2013: KIDS AND D-STAR MIX AT HAMVENTION 2013 Kids and D-Star were to be part of Hamvention 2013's activities. This as the Texas Interconnect Team announces that for the Hamvention weekend, reflector REF033B will officially be the Dayton Kids Reflector. Megan McClellan, K5MEM, will spearhead the project from the ARRL Youth Booth starting Friday morning and continuing during show hours on Saturday and Sunday. The objective is to give the future young hams an opportunity to experience the fun and excitement of talking with someone far-away place using the magic of Amateur Radio. The participants in the Youth area will have access to handheld radios and a DV- AP, and will operate under the supervision of an experienced Control Operator. Even if you not at this years Hamvention you can assist in this effort by connecting using D-Star to Reflector REF033B during event hours Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. If nobody is talking, give them a call. Remember, for any QSO to begin it takes someone calling the first CQ. (N9JA, others) ** HAMVENTION 2013: UPDATED AMSAT LVB TRACKER SHOWN AT DAYTON One product at Dayton that likely won't make headline reviews but which is certain to be of interest to satellite enthusiasts is a new version of AMSAT G6LVB Tracker. The new unit replaces the original amber only LCD display with an O-LED or Organic Light Emitting Diode display will be available in blue, green and amber. The new display offers a high visibility contrast with a wide angle of view. More information and a photo showing the old and new displays can be found on-line at amsat.org. (ANS) ** INTRUDER WATCH: RUSSIAN RADAR ON 75 - 80 METERS In other news, the latest IARU Monitoring System Newsletter reports the Russian Over The Horizon Radar that has invaded the 3.5 MHz band is still very active. The interfering Radar system is believed to be located in the area of Makhachkala, on the Caspian Sea and transmits simultaneously between 3.515 to 3.545 and 3.560 to 3.590 MHz. As a result, amateur radio and other services are suffering interference during the evening hours. The German and Dutch telecommunications regulators have been informed and have been asked to intercede. (IARUMS) ** HURRICANE WATCH NET SEEKS NEW MEMBERS FOR NET CONTROL STATIONS The ARRL Letter says that with the 2013 hurricane season approaching, the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, and the Hurricane Watch Net are gearing up for what could be a very active storm season. And in preparation for what Mother Nature might have in store the Hurricane Watch Net is seeking new members who can serve as net control stations. For those not aware, the Hurricane Watch Net provides on-the- ground, real-time weather data from amateur radio operators who volunteer their time to monitor their own properly calibrated home weather stations. The hams then report the data collected to the Hurricane Watch Net, which in turn forwards it to WX4NHC which is the amateur radio station at the National Hurricane Center. For more information on the role played by hams in this vital, life saving service, and how you can become a part of it, take your web browser to tinyurl.com/hurricane-net-2013. (ARRL) ** STORY CORRECTION: PROPER SOURCE CREDIT ON DARC AND UBA SUPPORT AMATEUR RADIO IN TUNISIA STORY And before we go any further, a correction to the source credit in last weeks newscast concerning the story about Germany's DARC and Belgium's UBA supporting amateur radio in Tunisia. In the print edition we gave the source credit to an organization called A-R-A-T. Well it turns out that the groups actual name is ASTRA which stands for Association Tunisienne des Radio Amateurs that translated into English is the Association of Tunisian Radio Amateurs. How the credit which was only seen in the print edition got typo'ed remains a bit of a mystery, but we are sincerely grateful to our listeners and readers across Europe and in Tunisia for bringing this discrepancy to our attention. (ARNewsline) ** BREAK 1 From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the W8BI repeater of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association serving the Hamvention City of Dayton, Ohio. (5 sec pause here) ** RESCUE RADIO: W6TIA SEEKS SIGNATURES ON PUBLIC WARNING LEGISLATION PETITION Richard Rudman, W6TIA, who is a core member of the Broadcast Warning Working Group, has posted an online petition urging Congress and the Executive Branch of government to enact legislation for a national public warning strategy. This so emergency public information is always coordinated with other emergency response measures. In the petition Rudman and the Broadcast Warning Working Group advocate that Emergency Public Information be treated as a true response resource within the culture of emergency management professionals and to be legislated by Congress. And in an interview with Amateur Radio Newsline, W6TIA, explained the importance of getting the government to pay attention to this special need: -- Rudman: "The petition was started because we feel that two pieces of legislation that died in the last session (of Congress) should be brought back and strengthened, so that for one thing there is a unified strategy for emergency management and tying it to emergency public information including warnings." -- The legislation referred to by W6TIA was based on the Partnership for Public Warning report titled "A National Strategy for Integrated Public Warning and Capability." He noted that this was reinforced with language from the previous legislative attempts and feels this proposal can finally give real, wide-ranging value and meaning to FEMA's Common Alerting Protocol warning tool called the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System. Rudman tells Newsline that he hopes to collect between 100 and 200 signatures. He then plans to present them to what he terms as key people in Congress who supported past attempts at such legislation in the hope of getting them to introduce them again, and get them passed. W6TIA has about 75 signatures so far. You can read and sign the petition at tinyurl.com/true-response-resource or tinyurl.com/epi- strategy. (RW, ARNewsline) ** RESCUE RADIO: EMCOMM HAM RADIO REPEATER EVICTED BY AMERICAN TOWER A decision by American Tower Corporation to evict an amateur radio emergency communications system from a tower the company recently acquired in New Mexico has both the sponsoring radio club and many of the people working in local emergency services very concerned. Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP, reports: -- The repeater in question is located on Buck Mountain overlooking the community of Ruidoso. New Mexico, and is operated by the Sierra Blanca Amateur Radio Club. The equipment was installed on the tower in 2004 and except for when the tower suffered some damage three or four years ago the repeater has been used continuously for emergencies such as the Little Bear Fire in June 2012, and in the Rio Ruidoso flood of July 2008. Tony Davis is the president of White Mountain Search and Rescue. He said that he learned late Wednesday May 8th that the tower holding the amateur radio repeater that is owned and maintained by Rick Sohl, K5RIC, had been sold to American Tower Corporation. Despite attempts by Sohl to negotiate an arrangement, American Tower has decided to terminate amateur radio use of the facility, effective immediately. Davis said that there are other towers near the same location, but they are largely occupied. Ruidoso Acting Fire Chief Harlan Vincent also serves as the village emergency services manager. He says that he is not happy about the decision of the Boston-based American Tower company. He noted that Ruidoso relies heavily on heavily on ham operators in time of emergency. He said that when emergency service repeaters go down, the ham radio repeaters are still functioning and able to get information from point A to point B. According to the Ruidoso News article reporting the repeaters eviction, this system is used by amateur operators not just in Lincoln County. It also provides coverage into Otero, Chaves and Eddy County, and as far away as the Panhandle of Texas and into the city of El Paso. Davis and Doug Thompson, W5DET, who is president of the Sierra Blanca Amateur Radio Club, have sent an "open letter" for publication in the Ruidoso News to the chairman, president and chief executive officer of American Tower Corporation. It asks him to reconsider the company's stance. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, in Scottsdale, Arizona. -- More on this story can be found on-line at tinyurl.com/repeater-evicted. (Ruidoso News, Southgate) ** ENFORCEMENT: FCC UPHOLDS $15000 FINE AGAINST UNLICENSED OREGON BROADCASTER The FCC has upheld a $15,000 fine against an Oregon resident for allegedly operating an unlicensed radio station. Following up on a complaint from a local broadcaster in 2011, the Portland office of the Enforcement Bureau traced the signal on 97.9 MHz in Prineville, Ore. to the residence of Joshua McMurchie's. A police officer accompanied the FCC agent to the address where the FCC agent inspected the station and issued McMurchie a Notice of Unlicensed Operation. Following another complaint in 2012, an agent again T- hunted the source of the signal to McMurchie's residence and found a transmitter there. The commission said that McMurchie admitted operating the station and offered to surrender the transmitter. Last July, FCC issued McMurchie a Notice of Apparent Liability in the amount of $15000 raising by $500 it from the base amount of $10,000 because the unlicensed transmissions continued even after McMurchie was ordered to cease operation. But in its May 9th release the FCC says that McMurchie never answered the original Notice of Apparent Liability. Based on that and the evidence before it the agency has now issued a Forfeiture Order for $15,000 giving him 30 days to pay or the case may be referred to the Justice Department for collection. (FCC) ** RADIO BUSINESS: PUBLISHER SOUGHT FOR VHF COMMUNICATIONS MAGAZINE A small but popular magazine targeted at those who operate 50 MHz and above is on the block. This as Andy Barter, G8ATD, announces his intention to retire from publishing the currently U-K based VHF Communications Magazine According to Barter, he has published VHF Communications Magazine for the past 13 years and now wants to retire. He says that he will publish all 4 issues in 2013 but if anyone in the group would like to take over publication of the magazine from 2014 on and give it a new lease of life please contact him. Barter says that the job of publisher involves translating articles from the German magazine UKW Berichte plus finding additional articles to fill the VHF Communications. In addition there is the work of producing the magazine, getting it printed and distributed, handling subscriptions plus orders for back issues and the like. The current circulation of the magazine is 349 with just 80 of those from the UK. If this interests you, please contact G8ATD by e-mail to andy (at) vhfcomm (dot) co (dot) uk. (Southgate) ** ARRL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION: ARRL PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE SPONSORING "I AM THE ARRL" VIDEO CONTEST As part of the ARRL's Centennial Celebration in 2014, the League's Public Relations Committee is sponsoring an "I am the ARRL" video contest. The Committee is looking for pairs of short video clips featuring ARRL members. One clip should show the radio amateur on the radio, while the other should show the same ham in his or her work setting saying who they are, that they like ham radio and that they are the ARRL. As explained by ARRL Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, an example might be a car mechanic in coveralls working over an engine who looks at the camera and says 'I am Henry Smith, N0XCC. I like to talk to people in exotic countries and I am the ARRL.' This clip would then be paired with a shot of him at home talking on the radio. Pitts says that the ARRL is looking for videos that communicate that you are that guy or gal down the street and you are an important part of the ARRL. W1AGP adds that with Field Day coming up next month, there is a great opportunity for filming clips. If this project interests you can find out more is on-line at tinyurl.com/arrl-second-century-video. (ARRL) ** SOCIAL SCENE: AMSAT ANNOUNCES DATE AND LOCATION OF 2013 SPACE SYMPOSIUM And if you are an amateur radio space enthusiast the mark down November 1st to the 3rd as the dates for this years AMSAT Space Symposium. The venue will be the Marriott Hobby Airport Hotel not far from the grounds of the grounds of NASA's Johnson Spaceflight Center in Houston, Texas, which is the home of the famed ham radio station W5RRR. The AMSAT Annual Meeting will be held in conjunction with the Space Symposium. This will provide you with an opportunity to hear about AMSAT's plans for the future and voice your own thoughts and opinions to organization's Board of Director members and other officials. Over the coming months both the AMSAT Journal and AMSAT News Service will be issuing timely updates on plans for this years Space Symposium. More information will also be available on-line at www.amsat.org. (ANS) ** HAM HAPPENINGS: OLE VIRGINIA HAMFEST JUNE 9 On the social scene, word that the Ole Virginia Amateur Radio Club will be holding its 39th Hamfest in Manassas Virginia on June 9th, and you are invited to be a part of the festivities. This year in partnership with the 4 H, the club the gathering will be hosting a Youth Lounge to provide teen and preteen youth complete with on the air ham radio demonstrations. There will also be a number of educational events to foster amateur radio awareness among the younger members of the community. Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM, will be organizing and chairing the Youth Lounge. Hartlage, was the 2004 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year and a former ARRL Vice-Director. She is nationally known as a promoter of Youth in Amateur Radio and is an active member of the Youth in the Second Century Committee sponsored by the American Radio Relay League. More about both the Ole Virginia Amateur Radio Club hamfest and its dedicated youth activities can be found on-line at www.manassashamfest.org. Organizers say that they hope to see you there. KC4DV ** 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) ** EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: GOOGLE ASKS FCC PERMISSION TO CREATE EXPERIMENTAL 2.5 GHZ NETWORK Google may be trying to create an experimental wireless network covering its Mountain View, California, headquarters. This in a move that some analysts say could be a sign that the company may be planning the creation of a super-fast wireless networks in other locations that would allow people to connect to the World-Wide-Web using mobile devices. Google recently submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission, asking for an experimental license to create an experimental radio service with a two- mile radius covering its headquarters. The network would only provide coverage for devices built to access frequencies from 2524 to 2625 megahertz. This is spectrum which could work well in densely populated areas and which mobile operators in China, Brazil and Japan are already building wireless networks using. This in turn means that compatible devices can eventually be manufactured. According to Communications News, much of Google's application is confidential, but it does say that the first deployment of the experimental network would take place inside a specific building on Google's property. That building reportedly houses the company's Fiber Team, which is part of the Google Access unit that has introduced high- speed wired Internet and video in Kansas City. A Google spokesperson declined to comment on the purpose of the application, saying the company regularly experiments with new ideas. More is on the web at tinyurl.com/google-2- ghz. (TechNewsNow.com, ARSTechnica, CommNews, others) ** WORLDBEAT: ILLW REGISTRATION TIE The battle for the most registrations for the 2013 International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend leadership appears at this moment to be a tie between Australia and Germany with 40 registrations each. This out of more than 220 from 30 countries around the world. Looking at other nations, the United States has registered 23 lighthouse and lightship entities. It's followed by England at 18, Argentina with at 12, Ireland and Scotland with 9 each, with Canada, Netherlands and Sweden at 8 a piece. With registration only at about the half-way mark, it so far appears that the number of entities planning to take part is ahead of last year at this same time. If you plan to activate a lighthouse or lightship for this fun operating event and want to register it, simply take your web browser to www.illw.net. This year's International Lighthouse and Lightship weekend takes place the weekend of August the 17th and 18th and planners say that they hope you will be there. (VK3PC) ** WORLDBEAT: RADIO AND TV MARTI BACK ON THE AIR AFTER FIRE Radio and Television Marti broadcasts to Cuba from the United States government resumed on Monday, April 22nd. This after a trashcan fire forced the temporary evacuation of the headquarters of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting in Miami the day before. According to the United States Broadcasting Board of Governors, the building that houses Marti and its website reportedly sustained damage due to an accidental fire caused by a lighted cigarette left in a container in a designated smoking area outside the building. While windows cracked due to the heat, no one was injured and sprinklers were automatically set off. Carlos Garc�a P�rez, director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting said he was grateful for a quick response from firefighters, and for the continued work of the station's broadcasters through the ordeal. In Cuba, Radio Mart� is available on 1080 AM and also on 1260 AM as Radio Caracol. (RW) ** ON THE AIR: GB4PEN - THE PENLEE LIFEBOAT SPECIAL EVENT On the air, keep an ear open for Geoff Powell, M1EDF, will be on the air as GB4PEN through the 24th of May. This, to commemorate the crew of the United Kingdom lifeboat the Penlee. According to Wikipedia, the lifeboat Penlee sank off the coast of Cornwall in the UK on December 19, 1981. This after it had gone to the aid of the vessel the Union Star after its engines failed in heavy seas. The story goes that after the Penlee had managed to rescue four people that both vessels were lost with all hands. In all, sixteen people died including eight volunteer lifeboatmen. M1EDF says that he will be operating on 160, 80, 40, 30 meters using CW only. QSL's go direct to M1EDF who adds that any donations received with QSLs will benefit the United Kingdom's Royal National Lifeboat Institution. More is on-line at www.qrz.com/db/GB4PEN (Southgate) ** ON THE AIR: NEW REGIONAL NET SERVING TN, VA, MC AND BEYOND The State of Franklin Friendship net is a brand new regional net serving East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and Northwest North Carolina. This new ragchew net is held on several linked local repeaters in the area and also worldwide via Echolink. You're invited to join in every Thursday evening at 9:30PM EDT. More details and a list of net repeaters and Echolink nodes can be found at facebook.com/stateoffranklinnet. Stateoffranklin is all one word. (AE5DW) ** DX In DX, 7Z1HL will be active from Saudi Arabia until May 31st as HZ1FOC He is active on the various H-F Bands. QSL only Heribert Lennertz, HZ1FOC , P.O.Box 85661 , Riyadh 11612 , Saudi Arabia. PB2T is currently operational stroke TF from Iceland on the High Frequency bands. If you make contact please QSL via his home call OD5SK is currently active from Jordan as JY8KS. He is reported to be on the H-F bands only. QSL via IZ8CLM OH6VM will be on the air from Market Reef from June 2nd to the 5th. He will be using the call sign OJ0VM also on the various High Frequency bands QSL OH6VM. HA0NAR will be active as 3D2AR from Viti Levu Island in the Fiji Island group sometime in October. His operation will likely on 160 through 10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via his home callsign and for updates please visit www.ha0nar.hu on the World-Wide-Web. Lastly, G3SXW and G3TXF are on the air from Jersey Island on all of the HF bands using the call sign GH4FOC for the FOC commemorative operation as well as GJ3SXW and GJ3TXF. QSL's for GH4FOC go via G3SWH while GJ3SXW go via G3SXW and GJ3TXF via G3TXF. All calls can be either paper or electronic using Logbook of the World. (Above from various DX news sources) ** THAT FINAL ITEM: SELF HEALING CHIPS ARE A REALITY And finally this week, indestructible electronics are a step closer to reality thanks to engineers at the California Institute of Technology who have developed what they are calling self-healing integrated chips. Amateur Radio Newsline's Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, has more: -- The team from the High-Speed Integrated Circuits laboratory in Caltech's Division of Engineering and Applied Science repeatedly blasted tiny power amplifiers with a high-power laser, vaporizing many of their components. They then watched the chips develop their own work-arounds in less than a second. The new integrated circuits are so small that 76 of them, including the amplifier and everything needed to heal it, can fit on one penny. The amplifiers developed by the team use on-chip sensors that monitor temperature, current, voltage, and power. These sensors send the information to a custom application-specific integrated circuit or ASIC which is a central processor on the same chip that functions as the system's brain. The ASIC evaluates the information it receives from the sensors about the amplifier's performance, decides what adjustments need to be made to the system's actuators, and makes those changes. The unit was designed to get to the optimum state for all actuators in any situation without outside intervention. The benefits of this approach go beyond overcoming severe damage. Because of the self sensing, these amplifiers used about half as much power as those without the self-healing capability, and performance was more predictable and reproducible. In addition to working around damage to parts of the circuits, the amplifier's self-healing can repair static variation due to differences across components and long-term aging problems that arise over time as use changes the internal properties of the system. It can also handle short-term variations caused by changes in load, temperature, and differences in supply voltage. Since chips such as these are useful for next-generation communications, imaging, sensing, and radar applications, showing successful self-healing here should mean that it also can be done in less cutting-edge electronic systems such as cellphones and maybe someday even in ham radio gear. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, in Zion, Illinois. -- Research on this project was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Air Force Research Laboratory. More on this story is on-line at tinyurl.com/self-healing-chips. (CalTech, WIA) ** NEWSCAST CLOSE With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the RSGB, the Southgate News, TWiT-TV, Australia's WIA News and the 2013 Dayton, Hamvention, that's all from the Amateur Radio NewslineT. Our e-mail address is newsline (at) arnewsline (dot) org. More information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline'sT only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio NewslineT, 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350 A reminder that the there are only about two and a half weeks left to nominate a young ham age 18 or under for this years Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award. The closing date is midnight on May 30th and any nominations postmarked or sent to us electronically after that date will not be counted for this years judging. This years winner will receive an expense paid trip to the Huntsville Hamfest courtesy of Yaesu USA, a week at Spacecamp Huntsville from CQ Magazine, a prize of ham radio gear and a plaque commemorating the event from us here at the Amateur Radio Newsline. Full details and a nominating form are on our website at www.arnewsline.org/yhoty. We look forward to receiving your nominations. For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors' desk, I'm Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, in South Mississippi saying 73 and we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1865 - May 10 2013
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1865 with a release date of May 10 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a Q-S-T. A new 24 Gigahertz E-M-E record claimed between Australia and the Czech Republic; new life for ham radio in Tunisia; NASA and ham radio assemble a PhoneSat image of Earth and an in-depth preview of the 2013 Dayton Hamvention. All this and more on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number 1865 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here) ** HAMVENTION 2013 PREVIEW: DOORS OPEN FRIDAY MAY 17 It won't be long before the gates at the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio swing open for the 2013 Dayton Hamvention. This year's gathering runs May 17th to the 19th and for the first time ever, its theme is the DX Hamvention. And in a recent interview with Hap Holly, KC9RP, of the RAIN Report, Hamvention spokesman Michael Kalter, W-8-C-I, explained the reasoning for this choice: -- Kalter: Our theme this year, the DX Hamvention, seemed to resonaste with us because in order to have good DX and to make contact, toy reach out to the world. That's literally what Hamvention is tryiong to do; we reach out to the world and bring amateur radio operators in throughout the whole world. -- And says Kalter, this appears to be a record year for those showing and selling their wares at Hamvention: -- Kalter: "We have more vendors inside this year than we have ever had. Last year was a big year so we nearly sold out inside. It appears as if its going to be another great year inside. Its hard to keep up with all of the folks that are coming but you know that's part of the surprise of Dayton is that a new vendor comes in and you go: `.oh my gosh, I didn't know about these people and you find some new and interesting radio gear.'" -- And will there be anything really special taking place? Kalter says most definitely: -- Kalter: "One of the big things this year is that Homeland Security is going to be involved with us. They approached us last year and they are going to have a special emergency (class) this year. I think you can get your different certificates from the 100B through the 800B certificate. That's a new thing for this year." -- As usual, Amateur Radio Newsline has its team of reporters at Hamvention 2013. We also will be hosting the annual Ham Radio Town Meeting on Saturday, May 18th where the central topic will be "What DX Means to Me." In keeping with the theme of this years Hamvention, this will be a non-technical look at working and being DX from a very personal point of view. Among our presenters will be world-class DX operator Chip Margelli, K7JA, of Innov Antennas; Hollywood film maker and DX'er Dave Bell, W6AQ and the United States Coordinator of the International Morse Code Preservation group FISTS, Nancy Kott, WZ8C, to mention only three. So if you will be at Hamvention 2013, please stop by Meeting Room 2 on Saturday, May 18th from 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Meeting Room 2 for this year's Ham Radio Town Meeting. We are looking forward to seeing you there. (ARNewslineT with audio supplied by The RAINReport) ** HAMVENTION 2013: LIVE NETCAST COURTESY OF W5KUB And speaking about Hamvention, if you cannot be there in person, then you can travel to Dayton vicariously again this year thanks to Tom Medlin, W5KUB and his live television streaming at W5KUB.com. Tom's live broadcast begins on Wednesday May 15th at 8:00 AM Central time as he starts the 550 Mile drive from Memphis to Dayton. On Thursday you can get a peak of the various vendors setting up and then enjoy the next three days of the Hamvention itself. And if you make it to Hamvention, Tom says that he and his crew will be set up at space SA302 and to drop by and say hello. Once again, that's the 2013 Hamvention live on your computer or tablet courtesy of Tom Medlin at W5KUB.com. (W5KUB) ** HAMVENTION 2013: ICOM TO STREAM LIVE FROM HAMVENTION And this just in. In addition to exhibiting some new products, Icom says that it will transmit a live video stream across the Internet from its Dayton Hamvention booths on Saturday, May 18th. At airtime, guest speakers include Emmy-nominated television producer John Amodeo, NN6JA of the hit ABC sitcom "Last Man Standing;" noted ham radio educator Gordon West, WB6NOA and AmateurLogic.TV host George Thomas, W5JDX. Thomas is also the recipient of this years Dayton Hamvention Special Achievement Award. A complete webcast schedule and other Dayton-related information can be found at www.icomamerica.com/dayton2013. (Icom) ** RADIO IN SPACE: M CLASS SOLAR EVENT CAPTURED ON MAY 3RD In other news, an intense solar storm erupted from the Sun on Friday, May 3rd in what astronomers have described as a dazzling solar display. The solar flare discharged from the left limb of the Sun peaked at 17:32 GMT, registering as a medium-strength M 5.7-class event that launched hot solar plasma about 200,000 kilometers above the surface of the Solar Disc. Photos of the event were captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and sent back to Earth by radio. The May 3rd solar storm was the second major space weather event in three days, but was not aimed at Earth. The Solar Disc fired off an eruption on Wednesday, May 1st from the same region, which at the time was at the very leftmost limb of the Sun as seen by the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Astronomers predict that this active region will be rotating to face Earth fairly soon. So far the strongest solar flare of the year occurred on April 11 and registered as an M 6.5 class storm. M-class solar flares are medium-strength events and are the weakest type of storm that can still have an impact on Earth. When aimed directly at our planet they can cause aurora displays and some short term radio communications outages. The stronger X class flares are the ones that can interfere with communications satellites and cause major radio blackouts on Earth. The Solar Dynamics Observatory is a NASA mission in launched in February of 2010 to study the Sun for over five years. It is one of several spacecraft constantly monitoring the our star to track these solar weather events as we approach what's believed to be near the peak of Solar Cycle 24. (Space.com, Spacenews, Wikipedia) ** BREAK 1 From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the Hamvention repeater, W8BI, serving Dayton, Ohio. (5 sec pause here) ** WORLDBEAT: DARC AND UBA SUPPORT AMATEUR RADIO IN TUNISIA Amateur radio could soon have a new life in Tunisia as we hear from Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP: -- The Deutscher Amateur Radio Club, which is Germany's national amateur radio society, reports that after the political changes in Tunisia amateur radio in that North African country has a new opportunity to expand. This as members of the Association of Tunisian Radio Amateurs used World Amateur Radio Day on April 18th to inform the that nations public and in particular its Minister for Technology, Information and Communication about amateur radio in its various forms. Representatives of European amateur radio organizations were there to support the event. This included the International Office of the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club in the person of Mustapha Landoulsi, DL1BDF. Landoulsi gave a presentation on the important role of amateur radio in emergency and disaster situations. Stefan Dombrowski, ON6TI, from the Belgian federation the U- B-A was also on hand. He explained the history of the development of amateur radio satellites, and in particular, the construction of CubeSat spacecraft and the AMSAT-UK FUNcube satellite. According to reports, the Tunisian Minister was quite impressed by the potential of amateur radio. As a result he has promised to ensure that the necessary statutory basis for granting individual licenses would be created as soon as possible. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, in Scottsdale, Arizona. -- This information appears to open up the prospect for the successful development of amateur radio in Tunisia. (ARAT) ** RADIO RECORDS: NEW 24 GHZ EME WORLD RECORD OF 16383 KM Rex Moncur, VK7MO, has completed a Earth-Moon-Earth QSO with the OK1KIR EME Team in the Czech Republic with some 10,180 miles between. This, to claim the new world EME record on 24 GHz. To accomplish this feat VK7MO used just a 1.14 meter dish and 10 watts which he has designed for portable operation. On the other end of the path OK1KIR used a 4.5 meter dish and 22 watts. According to the VK7 News, this has been a 12 month project for VK7MO during which he collaborated with famed Digital low noise mode developer Joe Taylor, K1JT. The two worked to produce improved decoders that could cope with the very wide spreading of signals on the 24 GHz E-M-E path. Word is that VK7MO and K1JT will be publishing this work in the next edition of DUBUS magazine. This is a publication which is devoted to VHF and Microwave amateur radio communications. More information is at www.dubus.org. (vk7news) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: NASA AND HAM RADIO ASSEMBLE THE PHONESAT PICTURE Engineers at NASA's Ames Research Center in California and amateur radio operators around the world recently collaborated to reconstruct an image of Earth sent to them from three smartphones launched into a low Earth orbit. Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather Embee KB3TZD, reports: -- The joint effort was part of NASA's nanosatellite mission called PhoneSat. The first phase was launched on Sunday, April 21st aboard the Antares booster from NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia. Although the ultimate goal of the PhoneSat mission was to determine whether a consumer-grade smartphone can be used as the primary flight avionics for a satellite in space, the three miniature satellites also used their smartphone cameras to take pictures of Earth. These images were then transmitted to multiple ground stations as data packets with each packet holding a small piece of the big picture. As the data became available, the PhoneSat Team working with multiple ham radio operators pieced together a high- resolution photograph from data sent back by the tiny birds. Amateur radio operators from every continent except Antarctica contributed in capturing the data packets needed to piece together the final image. This first PhoneSat mission successfully ended Saturday, April 27th after atmospheric drag caused the tiny satellites to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up as predicted by the mission planners. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD, in Berwick, Pennsylvania. -- The PhoneSat project is a technology demonstration mission funded by NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate and the Engineering Directorate at NASA Ames Research Center. The project started in summer 2009 as a student led project between the Ames Research Center and the International Space University at Strasbourg. For more information about the PhoneSat mission and the part played by amateur radio please visit www.phonesat.org on the World-Wide-Web. (NASA Release, Southgate) ** RESCUE RADIO: PREMIERE NETWORKS JOIN FEMA IN EAS FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, says it will add Premiere Networks as a Primary Entry Point station for the nations Emergency Alert System or EAS. FEMA has already been installing satellite receivers at Primary Entry Point stations, intending to use satellite delivery of emergency alerts as an alternative distribution method. According to reports Premiere Networks will use its satellite program receivers at its affiliates as another tool for delivering national EAS messages. The radio affiliates would in turn broadcast the emergency messages to the public. Primary Entry Point stations are private or commercial radio broadcast stations that cooperatively participate with FEMA to provide emergency alert and warning information to the public before, during, and after incidents and disasters. Since the national EAS test in 2011, both FEMA and the FCC have been studying the results and executing fixes. (RW) ** RADIO POLITICS: PRESIDENT OBAMA TO NOMINATE TOM WHEELER AS NEXT FCC CHAIRMAN President Obama says that he will nominate wireless telecommunications and cable executive Tom Wheeler as the next FCC chairman. He will also designate Commissioner Mignon Clyburn to act as "acting Chairwoman" once current Chairman Julius Genachowski leaves the agency. In a press statement, Genachowski said he's known Wheeler for 20 years and he's made strong contributions to the FCC's work. This includes unleashing spectrum for mobile, removing barriers to private investment, and strengthening our cyber security. Genachowski called Clyburn a strong, experienced and thoughtful leader who's distinguished herself as a champion for closing America's digital divide. (Published news reports) ** RADIO POLITICS: W7EQI SAYS TV SPECTRUM AUCTION SHOULD BE UNENCUMBERED Representative Greg Walden, W7EQI, of Oregon is worried that the FCC could mess up its planned auctions of TV broadcast frequencies by imposing too many restrictions on the process. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim Davis, W2JKD, has more: -- In a recent statement Walden, who the chairman of the House Communications and Technology subcommittee, endorsed the recommendations of the Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition, a group of TV stations interested in participating in the auctions. In his statement Walden asked the rhetorical question of what if the FCC held a broadcast incentive auction and no one came? He went on to note that could be a distinct possibility if the Commission does not heed the advice that the coalition of television stations filed recently with the agency. Walden also agreed with the broadcasting group that the FCC should not exclude any wireless carriers, such as AT&T and Verizon, from the auctions. They argue that restricting bidders would likely suppress the final bid amount, leaving crucial revenue on the table. Consumer advocacy groups have urged the FCC to prevent Verizon and AT&T from buying up the entire TV spectrum at auction. They argue that it would further consolidate market power in the top two carriers and stifle competition in the industry. I'm Jim Davis, W2JKD. -- Last year, Congress authorized the FCC to encourage TV stations to voluntarily give up their rights to some of their spectrum for auction to cellular and broadband carriers. These broadband suppliers claim that they are struggling to keep pace with the booming demand for mobile data spectrum. (The Hill) ** HAM HAPPENINGS: ARMED FORCES DAY CROSSBAND MILITARY/AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNICATIONS TEST HELD EARLY The Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard co- sponsored the annual military to amateur radio communications tests in celebration of the 63rd Anniversary of Armed Forces Day a bit early this year. That's just after this newscast goes to air. Although the actual Armed Forces Day is celebrated on May 18th, the Crossband Communications Test was conducted May 11th to prevent conflict with the Dayton Hamvention, which is the same weekend. The annual celebration featured traditional military to amateur cross band communications using both SSB voice and Morse code. These tests give Amateur Radio operators and Short Wave Listeners an opportunity to demonstrate their individual technical skills, and to receive recognition from the appropriate military radio station for their proven expertise. QSL cards will be provided to those stations that made contact with the military stations. Full details can be found at tinyurl.com/crossband-2013. (US MARS, ICPO, Southgate) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: RAC NAMES SCOTT WOOD VE1QD AS CANADIAN RADIO AMATEUR OF 2012 The Radio Amateurs of Canada Board of Directors has announced the selection of Scott Wood, VE1QD of Halifax, Nova Scotia, as the Canadian Radio Amateur of the Year for 2012. Wood celebrated sixty years in Amateur Radio in 2012. Over these years he has contributed enormously, and in many and varied ways both to our hobby and to radio in general. In his youth as a net controller in the Oregon State Fire Service, later as a radio operator in the US Naval Reserve, as a member of the Board of Directors for Radio for Peace International, in contesting and DXing, and in elmering aspiring new hams, both young and old. However, it is the leadership in Amateur Radio that Scott has demonstrated locally, regionally, and internationally that is being recognized with this award. According to Radio Amateurs of Canada, Wood has demonstrated vision, enthusiasm, and a commitment to excellence in the area of Amateur Radio DXing. This through the establishment and management of the Maritime DX Forum for eight consecutive years. Radio Amateurs of Canada says that VE1QD envisioned the forum to be a venue where DX'ers in the region could come together annually to hear world-class, as well as local DX experts speak about important and current DX topics. The gathering would also provide a forum in which to share ideas with some of the best operators and leaders within the amateur radio community. Presentation Canadian Radio Amateur of the Year for 2012 will be made to Scott Wood, VE1QD at the Radio Amateurs of Canada booth at the 2013 Dayton Hamvention. (RAC) ** 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) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: VO-52 SATELLITE COMPLETES EIGHT YEARS ON ORBIT VU2WMY reports that AMSAT-India's VO-52 hamsat completed 8 years on-orbit on Sunday, May 5th. He notes that the overall health of the satellites parameters are excellent and that AMSAT-India hopes that transponders on-board VO-52 will continue to render services for many more years to come. He also notes that during the time it has been in space that VO-52 has proven to be a valuable communications resource for the amateur radio community. (VU2WMY, Southgate) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: DEAD SATELLITE COMES ALIVE The Times of India reports that a three-kilogram student satellite named Jugnu that was thought to be dead has come back to life. Jugnu was launched on October 12, 2011 with a one year mission life. After it stopped transmitting controllers stopped tracking it. Now comes word from the Nitte Amateur Satellite Tracking Centre in Bengaluru that it has been heard once again. Also that while its signals were strong, some of its internal functions had apparently weakened. You can read the entire story on the re-birth of this bird at tinyurl.com/india-satellite-lives. (Tmies of India) ** WORLDBEAT: SULTAN ORDERS CONSTRUCTION OF HEADQUARTERS FOR ROARS His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said has ordered the construction of a permanent headquarters for the Royal Omani Amateur Radio Society also known as ROARS. This on a piece of land allocated for the ham radio society. The plan was recently unveiled by the Secretary General of the Royal Omani Amateur Radio Society. In a speech during opening the regular session of the General Assembly, the Secretary General extended the thanks and appreciation of ROARS members to His Majesty the Sultan for the support given to the group since its establishment in the 1970's. He also noted that is what he termed as the wise vision of the Sultan that has played a major role in moving forward with all of the activities that may advance the nation's youth while giving them the opportunity of added scientific and technical progress. (ROARS) ** WORLDBEAT: LONDON GB3LV IRLP/ECHOLINK NODE UP-AND-RUNNING AGAIN Some good news for hams in North London, England. After some software hardware problems along with extensive radio room refurbishments, the GB3LV I-R-L-P and Echolink node is back in service. The node holds the IRLP designation of 5600 and Echolink assignment of 155403. It was off the air for several weeks during the upgrade. (G4CJC) ** WORLDBEAT: SARL PLANNING YOUTH WEEK IN FEBRUARY 2014 The South African Radio League is planning to hold a Youth Week in mid February of 2014. This to coincide with the ARRL School Club Round-up from February 11th to the 15th of 2014 in the United States. The South African Radio League's newly appointed Youth Councilor is Gerhard Coetzee, ZS3TG. He says that he is looking for input and suggestions on the type of activity young radio amateurs in South Africa would like to see included. If you have any ideas, please e-mail then to youth (at) sarl (dot) org (dot) za before the end of May. (SARL) ** ON THE AIR: BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC SPECIAL EVENT G0ELZ and G3UFO have announced that special event call signs GB70BOA and GB70WA will be on the air between May 20th to the 27th. This to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic. Operations using all modes will take place on 80 through 10 meters as well as on 144 and 432 MHz. Station operators are hoping to make over 2800 contacts during this period. A special commemorative QSL card will be available. More details can be found on line at tinyurl.com/cmvdvq8 (G0LEZ) ** DX In DX, word that HD2A and HC2AQ will be active from Galapagos Islands May 15th to the 20th as HD8A. Operations will be on all of the High Frequency bands. QSL via HD2A. OY1CT will be active from the Faroe Islands during May with special call OW75FOC. He will be operating on the High Frequency bands only. If you work him please QSL via Carsten Thomsen, OW75FOC, Kvivik, the Faroe Islands or as directed on the air. UA4WHX is currently operational portable CP1 from Bolivia. You will find him on the various HF bands. QSL via UA4WHX. ZL2AGY will be active from Rarotonga Island from May 9 to the 29th as E51FOC and E51AGY. QSL either via his home call. Members of F6KUF Club station will be operating from Noirmoutier Island from May 18th to the 20th as F6KUF stroke P. They will be active on 80 through 2 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via F6KUF F4CZU will be on the air from Gozo Island through May 18th as 9H3ZU. He will be active on most HF Bands. QSL via F4CZU Lastly, HA0NAR will be operational from Viti Levu Island, Fiji Islands in October 2013 as 3D2AR. Listen out for him an all of the High Frequency bands. QSL via his home call (Above from various DX news sources) ** THAT FINAL ITEM: GLOW IN THE DARK SHEEP And finaly this week, word that scientists in Uruguay have announced the world's first genetically-modified phosphorescent sheep. No, we are not kidding as we hear from Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, who has this glowing report: -- According to news reports, nine glow-in-the-dark sheep were born in October of 2012 at Uruguay's Institute of Animal Reproduction in a genetics experiment in conjunction with the Institut Pasteur. The scientists say that they used the fluorescent protein from a species of jelly fish to give sheep a distinct glowing green color when exposed to ultraviolet light. One of the team's lead researchers is Alejo Menchaca. In a recent press conference he noted that the genetic modification was done in the desire to fine tune the technique. Other researchers believe that these genetically modified, glow in the dark animals can help mankind to better understand diseases and how they develop in both the animal kingdom and in human beings. The scientists say the nine sheep developed normally. They claim there are no differences between them and their non- genetically modified siblings other than that they can be made to glow from head to toe. And before you ask, we have no idea if they can been trained to blink on and off in Morse code nor if they did if they would be considered for bonus points on Field Day. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, not all that far from the glow of Hollywood. -- More can be found on line at various on-line news sites including tinyurl.com/sheep-glow. (Various news sources) ** 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 A reminder that the nominating period for the 2013 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award is now open. Full details and a nominating form are on our website at www.arnewsline.org/yhoty. For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors' desk, I'm Jim Damron, N8TMW, in Charleston, West Virginia, saying 73 and we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.
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