Text 5074, 576 rader
Skriven 2012-02-10 06:54:45 av Roy Witt (1:387/22)
Kommentar till en text av Y'all
Ärende: Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1800 - February 10 2012
==============================================================
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1800 with a release date of February
10th, 2012 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a Q-S-T. Ham radio activates after a killer earthquake
hits the Philippines; some good news out of WRC 12; new rules about United
States ham radio operation on 60 meters take effect on March 5th and CQ
Magazine's Editor says that ham radio use of the Morse Code is still alive
and well in an era of no-code licensing. Find out the details are on
Amateur Radio NewslineT anniversary report number 1800 coming your way
right now.
**
RESCUE RADIO: HAM RADIO RESPONDS TO PHILIPPINE QUAKE
Rescuers assisted by armed forces are hard at work searching for survivors
in the quake hit central Philippines. The 6.8 temblor shook the country
on Monday, February 6th. At least 56 are confirmed dead and thousands are
homeless. And soon after the shaking ended ham radio operators were asked
to provide what appears to be a first response effort. We have more in
this report:
--
Most of the information to date comes from Jim Linton, VK3PC, who is the
Chairman of the IARU Region 3 Disaster Communication Committee. Jim
reports that the after effects continue across the central Philippines
after the magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck triggering numerous landslides
and other devastation.
Linton notes that Eddie Valdez, DU1EV, is the Chief Operating Officer for
IARU society PARA. Valdez says that ham radio operators are now active in
communications assistance, especially those near the quakes epicenter in
the DU7 and DU6 call areas. They have chosen to mainly use the VHF and UHF
bands for in-country communications. With phone communications cut, the
services they are providing include message handling, reporting on
widespread power outages as well as other infrastructure damage.
Meantime Radio Amateurs of Canada reports getting a message from a
shortwave listener in Taiwan. He notes that 7 point 095 MHz on 40 meter
Lower Sideband is also in use for emergency communications into and out of
the Philippines.
This latest disaster come on the heels of a series of typhoons that swept
the Southern Philippines last December. Those storms brought with them a
heavy loss of lives and severe property damage. In that scenario, radio
amateurs were called on to become that nations communications front line.
For the Amateur radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in the
Newsroom in Los Angeles. Jim.
--
As we go to air aftershocks are continuing and the Philippine ham radio
community remains on the job as an important first line of search, rescue
and quake relief communications. (VK3PC, DU1EV, RAC)
**
RADIO LAW: A HAM RADIO ALLOCATION AT 500 KHZ COMES A STEP CLOSER
A ham radio allocation neat 500 KHz has taken another step closer to
becoming a reality. According to several reports out of WRC 12 being held
in Geneva, Switzerland, Working Group 4 has approved an agenda item that
calls for a worldwide secondary allocation to the Amateur Service from 472
to 479 kHz and has sent it on to the full assembly called the Plenary for
its consideration.
There are some restrictions which come with this action. Power output is
limited to an effective one watt but would permit nations that are more
than 800 Kilometers from an Aeronautical Service non-directional beacon to
permit hams up to five watts effective radiated. Either way, ham radio
operators must not interfere with any other spectrum user holding a
primary status in that band.
Hat said, this is far from a done deal. Next up is two separate
presentations or readings of this proposal before the Plenary session of
all nations taking part in the world wide communications law making
process. There, footnotes to the proposal can be added by any
administration that has a representative at the conference.
While there is still a lot of work to take place before WRC 12 ends, at
least near 500 KHz, there appears to be some light at the end of the
proverbial tunnel in the matter of a new super low frequency ham radio
band. We should know for certain by this time next week. (Various WRC
2012 Reports)
**
RADIO LAW: NEW 5 MHZ RULES GO INTO EFFECT ON MARCH 5
In the United States, word that the new rules governing ham radio
operations in the 5 MHz or 60 meter spectrum take effect on March 5th.
This after a notice to that affect appeared in the February 3rd edition of
the United States Federal Register.
As previously reported, last November the FCC released a Report and Order
detailing new rules for the 5 MHz Amateur Radio band.
The announcement brought with it a number of changes for 60 meter
operators. This included substituting a channel at 5 point 358 point 5
MHz for 5 point 368 MHz previously authorized. The effective radiated
limit in the 60 meter band will be raised by 3 dB to 100 Watts Peak
Envelope Power relative to a half-wave dipole. Also, three additional
emission types are authorized. These are Data, RTTY and CW.
Currently, amateur radio in the United States holds a secondary allocation
for 5 MHz and ham radio operations must not cause any interference to the
primary users of that band. These include fixed service, as well as
mobile stations authorized by the telecommunications regulators of other
sovereign nations. Access in the United States to the channelized 60
meter spectrum is limited to holders of General class or high FCC license
grants. You can read the entire Federal Register item explaining the 5
MHz changes at tinyurl.com/6wzsfjm (FCC)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: SUMBANDILASAT MAY LIVE AGAIN
From South Africa comes word that the SumbandilaSat amateur radio payload
may resume operation in the near future. This according to the South
African Radio League which says that a combination of ingenuity and
innovation by the satellite payloads ground control team has resulted in
bringing the ham radio functions back to life. Amateur Radio Newsline's
Norm Seeley, KI7UP, has the latest:
--
A statement issued by South Africa AMSAT and released by the South African
Radio League says that there is a real possibility that communication
through SumbandilaSat may resume next month while the satellite is in
sunlight. Here's the back story:
According to Johann Lochner, ZR1CBC, last June the primary controller on
the power distribution unit for the On-Board Computer stopped responding
to commands from the ground. While the exact cause has never been
determined it appears likely that this failure was related to a major
solar radiation event on June 7th.
It later appeared that the battery had also failed and nothing was heard
from the satellite for some time. In the meantime the ground station
operation to monitor for SumbandilaSat on passes over South Africa and to
begin any recovery procedure was automated.
After a month of trying contact was made with SumbandilaSat. That was
last November and the control team set in place a planned recovery
procedure. It took about 4 days to discover that the main battery had
indeed failed with SumbandilaSat responding only when it's solar panels
were in full sunlight.
The ground stations at the South Africa National Space Agency's
operations center at and the Electronic Systems Laboratory at Stellenbosch
University are now receiving telemetry when the satellite's solar panels
are illuminated by the sun. As a result, Lochner is confident that some
operations will be restored even to the point where it may be possible to
have the amateur radio transponder back in operation within a reasonable
time frame.
The bottom line is that while the overall space-frame has been written off
by South Africa's SunSpace, the SumbandilaSat ham radio payload may be
usable whenever the bird is illuminated by the Sun. In the world of ham
radio space operations having that kind of service is far better than
having nothing at all.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, in Scottsdle,
Arizona.
--
More on SumbandilaSat recovery efforts are on line at www.amsatsa.org.za.
(SARL)
**
RADIO LAW: PROPOSED MOBILE CELLPHONE LAW COULD END HAM RADIO MOBILE
OPERATIONS IN ILLINOIS
Proposed laws introduced into both houses of the Illinois legislature
could severely impact on mobile operation by hams, C-B operators and even
long-haul truckers passing through that state. Matthew Chambers, NR0QQ,
has the details:
--
New legislation has been introduced into the Illinois House that will have
a significant impact on the mobile use of amateur radio transceivers
within the state.
House Bill 3970 introduced by Democrat Representative Karen May would ban
use of all electronic communication devices with the limited exceptions of
those in a hands-free or voice-activated mode and for law-enforcement and
operators of emergency vehicles or parked vehicles.
Not included in that bill is any exceptions for two way radios or amateur
radios. That would in effect ban all amateur and CB / GMRS / FRS activity
in vehicles in Illinois.
Also introduced into the Illinois House is House Bill 3972 by Democrat
Representative John D'Amico that is identical to HB 3970.
As the legislative sessions are getting into full swing across the nation,
here at the Amateur Radio Newsline we will be watching closely as more
cell phone bills are being introduced that may effect the mobile use of
amateur transceivers.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Matthew Chambers NR0Q.
--
As we go to air, efforts are being made from within the amateur radio
community to obtain exclusion for mobile ham radio operations, but the
wording of the two measures may make that very hard to accomplish. (NR0Q)
**
ENFORCEMENT: COLLEGE STATION GIVES UP LICENSE FOR NET ONLY OPERATION
Yet another college radio station has gone QRT. Amateur Radio Newsline's
Stephen Kinford, N8WB, reports:
--
Paul Smiths College in Adirondack Park, New York, has relinquished its
Class D FM broadcast license for its campus radio station WPSA FM. The
school had been facing problems keeping it on the air that came from a
series of FCC Monetary Forfeiture Orders over the late renewal of the
station license in 2006 as well as lack of interest from the student body
in the stations operation.
WPSA reportedly operated at around 10 watts with a service radius of two
miles that covered little more than the campus. Its problems began when
its license was cancelled by the FCC and the call sign deleted. Two years
later, the college filed a Petition for Reconsideration and had it
reinstated. Following the late renewal in 2006, the FCC issued a Notice
of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in the amount of $7,000 fine for
unauthorized operation of a radio station after the license had expired.
Adding to the situation was a seeming loss of interest by its potential
audience. According to the schools coordinator for student activities,
students were part of the decision to give up the broadcast license. She
said that no one wanted to participate in it and that it had very few
listeners.
The spokesperson added that it appears the trend these days is that the
students are on-line rather than listening on the airways.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephen Kinford, N8WB, reporting.
--
WPSA will live on but without a transmitter or antenna. Current plans are
to bring it back to life, but as a strictly online entity. (RW)
**
COMMUNICATIONS LAW: FCC CHAIRMAN EMBRACES DIGITAL TEXTBOOKS
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has joined Secretary of Education Arne
Duncan to discuss the state of digital learning in American schools.
At the first-ever Digital Learning Day Town Hall held recently in
Washington, D.C., the Digital Textbook Collaborative presented them with
the "Digital Textbook Playbook." This is a plan to help Kindergarten
through 12th grade schools transition to digital textbooks. The
Collaborative also helped the FCC and the Department of Education update
the School 2.0 bandwidth planner to help schools plan for their
connectivity needs.
At the meeting, Chairman Genachowski challenged state leaders and the
digital textbook industry ecosystem to make national adoption of digital
textbook a reality. He also announced a meeting for March with CEOs
of companies in the digital learning space to drive national adoption of
digital textbooks in the next five years.
The complete FCC press release that details the agency's plans to help
facilitate the conversion to digital textbooks is available on-line at
tinyurl.com/fcc-digital-textbooks. (FCC)
**
LIGHT SQUARED VS GPS: GOVERNMENT REPORT SAYS THERES NO WAY FOR THE TWO TO
CO-EXIST
More problems for LightSquared in its bid to construct a 4 G network in
spectrum adjacent to that used by the GPS navigation system. Amateur
Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, reports:
--
A joint panel of representatives from nine federal agencies says that it
has determined that there are no practical solutions that would allow
LightSquared's proposed broadband service to operate without significantly
interfering with the Global Positioning System or GPS that operates in
adjacent spectrum.
The report was made in a January 13th letter from the National Executive
Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing to the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration. It said that
over the past year it has closely worked with LightSquared to evaluate its
original deployment plan, and subsequent modifications, to address
interference concerns. It said that substantial federal resources were
expended and diverted from other programs in testing and analyzing
LightSquared's proposals. The report added that no further tests are
warranted, as LightSquared has not demonstrated any means that would
prevent such interference from occurring.
As previously reported, numerous tests over the past year have shown that
signals from LightSquared's proposed 4G network held the potential to
interfere with the weaker signals from space used by global positioning
system receivers. As a result, In December 2011, the company offered to
limit its signal to lower frequency spectrum farthest away from the
bandwidth used by GPS in exchange for immediate access to that spectrum.
Then as reported last week LightSquared lashed out at the GPS industry in
a Federal Communications Commission filing, claiming poor design of GPS
units is solely to blame for the problem.
Not surprisingly, LightSquared immediately issued its own press release
calling for the FCC and NTIA to retake the lead on conducting tests of its
network, claiming the committee report demonstrated bias and inappropriate
collusion with the private sector. LightSquared noted a director for
Trimble GPS, whom is called an outspoken LightSquared opponent, served as
Director of the Advisory Board. It also claims that government testing
has become unfair and shrouded from the public eye.
With the latest on this seemingly never ending story, Im Bruce Tennant,
K6PZW, in Los Angeles.
--
With the committee decision now on the books, a final ruling from the FCC
on whether LightSquared will be allowed to go ahead with its plans to turn
on its 4 G could come at any time. (Various News Reports)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: W9GKA WANTS JANUARY VHF CONTEST E-SKIP INFO
Some names in the news. First up is Kevin Kaufhold, W9GKA, of Belleville,
Illinois. He says over the VHF Reflector that he is looking for log data
on the E-skip conditions in this year's January VHF Sweepstakes. W9GKA
says that he is writing an article on the e-skip QSO's in the contest, and
would like to include as much information as possible. If you can assist,
please send the log information on your e-skip contacts to him at kaufhold
(at) yahoo (dot) com. (W9GKA)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: G0SFJ RELEASES NEW NOVEL INVOLVING MORSE CODE
A new novel featuring Morse code and radio is now available for purchase
on the internet. Of Martian Lines was written by Andy Thomas, G0SFJ.
It's plot is set on the Mars and in modern Russia and the Ukraine of two
generations in the future. The book is described as a blend of cosmology,
radio, space technology and Russian literature.
This is the second novel in the "Dmitri" series that explores the first
Russian colony on Mars, and the lies and tensions the first Cosmonaut
colonists from Earth bring with them. Of Martian Lines is available for
sale on-line at www.createspace.com/3739192 (Southgate)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: SARL NATIONAL CONVENTION
The 2012 South Africa Radio League's National Convention will be held in
Pinetown from April 20th to the 22 at the Premier Hotel in Pinetown. The
event kicks off with a buffet type supper at the Highway Clubhouse on
Friday evening featuring a presentation highlighting how South Africa's
electronic industry found it's origin in Pinetown and the local
development off SSB.
The South Africa Radio League's Annual General Meeting will be held on
Saturday morning at the hotel venue followed by two presentations covering
VHF antennas and Logbook of the World. An awards banquet will also be
held at the Premier Hotel. The full program and booking details are
available on-line at www.sarl.org.za. (SARL)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: HAMVENTION 2012 QCWA DINNER MAY 18
The 2012 QCWA Banquet will take place on Friday May 18th at the Dayton
Ohio Airport Holiday Inn simultaneously with the Dayton Hamvention. The
gathering will begin at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time with nature photography
expert John Lemker as the featured after dinner speaker. For more
information or to make reservations please contact Jerry Ragland, WA8BOB,
at his Callbook or QRZ.com address.
**
CHANGING OF THE GUARD: WORLDRADIO FOUNDER ARMOND NOBLE, N6WR - SK
The changing of the guard in amateur radio continues with the sad news
that Armond Noble, N6WR, founder and publisher of WorldRadio Magazine for
37 years has become a silent key. According to Les Cobb, W6TEE, Noble
died February 1st in Sacramento, California after a short illness.
The print version of WorldRadio was published monthly from July 1971 until
the end of 2008, when N6WR sold the magazine to Hicksville, New York-based
CQ Communications, Inc.
Armond Noble had a long and distinguished career in communications and the
media. From 1953 to 1955 he served in the U.S. Army with a VHF radio relay
unit. He went on to positions at commercial radio and TV stations around
the United States. These included KTWO-TV and KATI in Casper, Wyoming;
KOOK-TV, Billings, Montana; KTVB, Boise, Idaho; KERO-TV, Bakersfield,
California, WOOD-TV, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and KCRA Radio in Sacramento.
During the Vietnam War, Noble was a reporter and photographer for TIME
magazine and the Milwaukee Journal. He also served in the TIME-LIFE bureau
in Sacramento, California.
Armond Noble, N6WR, was reportedly hospitalized about two months ago. As
we go to air memorial services have not been announced. (W6TEE, W6FJ, CQ
Publishing)
**
WORLDBEAT: RSGB WANS HAMS ABOUT UNAUTHORIZED USE OF OLYMPIC LOGOS
The Radio Society of Great Britain is warning that although
telecommunications regulator Ofcom has granted permission for that nations
radio amateurs to use special prefixes over this summer, this permission
does not extend to use of the various logos associated with the London
Olympic games on QSL cards or elsewhere.
The RSGB notes that these logos, or Games Marks as they are called in the
UK, are strictly controlled by the London Organizing Committee of the
Olympic and Paralympic Games. As such they are not free for individuals
and organizations to use without express permission..
There is so far only one exception. Project ECHO which is concerned with
the two main special event stations has been granted permission to use the
games Inspire logo, but only in a limited way.
More information about the use of the Olympic logos and their use can be
found in the at the Frequently Asked Questions on the www.london2012.com
website. (RSGB)
**
DX
In DX, HA0NAR and HA0SR will be active as FW0NAR from Uvea Island through
February 20th. The plans were to have two stations active on 160 through 6
meters using CW, SSB and RTTY, with a focus on the lower bands. However,
this may change since they lost the third operator who was to make the
trip. QSL FW0NAR via HA0NAR.
SP5APW is expected to visit Phu Quoc Island between March 7th and the
12th. He has applied for the callsign 3W4JK. Operations will likely be
holiday style on 40 through 10 meters using SSB, PSK31 and RTTY, with
possible operations on 6 meters. QSL as directred on the air.
Lastly, well placed reports indicate that an international group of 10
operators will activate St. Paul Island during the middle part of 2012.
More details should be forthcoming in future Amateur Radio Newsline
reports.
(Abve from various DX News Sources)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: CQ SAYS MORSE IS ALIVE AND WELL
Finally this we we take a trip back to February of 2007. Thsats when the
Federal Communications Commission took action to eliminate Morse Code
testing as a requisite requirement to obtain any class of Amateur Service
license in the United States. Now, five years later, CQ Magazine Editor
Rich Moseson, W2VU, has published a very pointed editorial where-in he
notes that both ham radio and use of the Morse code are alive, well and
growing. This despite the ney-sayers who predicted the abandoning of
Morse testing would bring a sudden end to the hobby.
In his editorial titled "No-Code Plus Five Years: An Assessment", W2VU,
states that ham radio is still here. CW is still here and despite the
fears of many CW supporters the universe did not implode on February 23,
2007.
Rather his article was prepared based on research that checked on signs of
the state use of Morse by today's ham radio community. It did this by
asking manufacturer of keys and paddles about sales, talking to the FISTS
Morse preservation group, looking at CW contest results and overall United
States licensing statistics. And says W2VU, the article has already
brought some interesting response:
--
W2VU: "We've gotten a lot of good feedback from readers on this already
and any ofb them are agreeing with the comment that we had at the end that
the only real hiccup that we see and that was pointed out by Nancy Kott,
WZ8C, is a difference in the conversion of CW learners to comfortable CW
operators. That a lot of the newer hams that are learning the code do not
yet feel comfortable on the air with it."
--
Moseson adds that ham radio has a long tradition of lending a helping hand
to newcomers in need of assistance:
--
W2VU: "The best way to deal with this of coarse is the way that hams have
dealt with learning experiences for decades which is to hook up
experienced people with newcomers and helping them one-on-one, either on
the air or off to be more comfortable as code operators and they will find
a lot more enjoyment in it."
--
Without giving away all the findings in the article, W2VU does note that
Morse has a bright future in amateur radio, despite or perhaps because of
the elimination of the code test requirement. You can judge for yourself
by reading Rich Moserson's complete article. You will find it on-line in
Adobe PDF format at tinyurl.com/6rreyxy (ARNewslineT, VK3PC)
**
A VER SPECIAL 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 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, I just want to say a word of thank you to all of you who
listen in each week to these Amateur Radio Newsline bulletins. As we end
this 1800th consecutive week of bringing these newscasts to you, we want
to pause for a moment and look back to 1977 when Jim Hendershot, WA6VQP,
and Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, produced and issued the first Westlink Radio
Network bulletin. It was devoted entirely to repeater deregulation and
only heard by those in the Los Angeles area with a transceiver set to
223.5 MHz simplex. Likely no more than two dozen people or so. Now just
a few months shy of 35 years later, Amateur Radio Newsline, which is the
successor name to Westlink Radio, is heard on thousands of repeaters world
wide and by tens of thousands over the Internet. And as it was back in
1977, so it remains a free listener supported service to the ham radio by
your fellow radio amateurs.
Yes, there are many people to thank, but we will limit it to three who
were part of the original 1970's core group and who sadly have become
Silent Keys. So as we end Newscast 1800 we lift up our imaginary glass to
toast the lasting memory of our original Production Coordinator Bill
Orenstein KH6QX. We also salute the master wordsmith and anchor Alan
Kaul, W6RCL. Last but by no means lest, we remember our guiding light of
many years and the man who made it possible for Astronauts to take ham
radio into space. Of coarse we are referring to one of the world's
greatest news reporters, producers and anchors, the late Roy Neal, K6DUE,
of NBC Network News. All three may no longer be with us in the flesh, but
they will never be forgotten here in the Amateur Radio Newsline studios.
What they helped to pioneer in the 1970's 1980's and 1990's is the reason
you are hearing this 1800th newscast right now.
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, and for all of
the Amateur Radio Newsline volunteers the world over, I'm Jim Davis,
W2JKD, saying 73 and we thank you for listening all of these years. You
are an important part of the Amateur Radio Newsline family and we would
not be here if not for you.
Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
R\%/itt
... Only those who will risk going too far can possibly
... find out how far one can go ~ TS Eliot
--- Twit(t) Filter v2.1 (C) 2000-10
* Origin: SATX Alamo Area Net * South * Texas, USA * (1:387/22)
|