Text 5409, 585 rader
Skriven 2012-07-13 09:33:55 av Roy Witt (1:387/22)
Kommentar till en text av Y'all
Ärende: Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1822 - July 13 2012
==========================================================
Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1822 - July 13 2012
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1822 with a release date of July 13,
2012 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a Q-S-T. Hams continue to provide assistance as wildfires
rage in the great American West; the FCC to investigate telephone failures
after the big windstorm of Friday, June 29th; Illinois hams get PRB One
like protection for towers and antennas and the story of a 9 year old in
South Carolina who learns first hand about ham radio on a television
program that he hosts. All this and more on Amateur Radio NewslineT
report number 1822 coming your way right now.
RESCUE RADIO: HAMS CONTINUE WILDFIRE RESPONSE
Wind-fanned wildfires are proving stubborn, but firefighters are beginning
to gain ground in their fight against the numerous stubborn blazes dotting
the United States West. One of the worst hit is Colorado. Amateur Radio
Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP, who grew up there and knows the area well
has the latest:
--
In Colorado, one of the hardest hit states, the ARRL reported that since
June 9 when the first of the wildfires began, hams have been assisting
with disaster communications. This, by providing communications support
to the State and to several served agencies.
Shortly after the High Park fire broke out, radio amateurs in Estes Park
and Fort Collins were called upon to help provide communications support
to the American Red Cross. Hams set up a crossband repeater to provide
communications from Red Cross Headquarters in Estes Park to their
facilities at the fire base, as well as to an evacuation center at a local
high school.
On June 26th, ARRL Colorado Section Manager Jack Ciaccia, WM0G, and
Boulder County Emergency Coordinator Allen Bishop, K0ARK, were returning
from the High Park Fire when they were notified that Boulder County Office
of Emergency Management had activated ARES for the Flagstaff Fire. A
lightning strike had hit just west of Boulder, caused a 20 acre fire that
due to high winds had become a 230 acre blaze in only 30 minutes. .
According to Ciaccia, the Boulder Office of Emergency Management wanted
ARES positions manned at the Emergency Operations Center. They also
wanted to send additional operators to video positions and set up packet
and voice communications at a local school that would serve as the
evacuation center. Ciaccia said that within one hour, ATV equipped hams
had a video camera set up, while other hams at the evacuation center team
had set up packet communications, providing data and video, as well as 2
meter FM voice communications. Other portable video positions were fully
operational by the end of two hours.
According to Ciaccia, the live video feeds were displayed on huge video
screens at the Emergency Operations Center. This permitted the entire
emergency staff to see heli-tankers and US Forest Service bomber aircraft
making fire retardant drops. They could also see the fire live from the
backside, which was not otherwise visible without our portable ATV teams
live video feeds.
When the Type I federal fire teams showed up to determine whether the fire
would escalate to their level, they noticed the live video feeds at the
EOC and made special trips to the ham radio field video sites. Until then
there were apparently unaware that a television resource was available
that could be used for their purposes and were quite pleased at that
capability. The federal officials wanted the A-T-V to continue operations
if the fire escalated to a Type I. Thankfully, this fire never grew beyond
300 acres and it remained at a Type II level.
The served agencies in this response included the Boulder County Sheriff's
Office and their Office of Emergency Management. Both were extremely
pleased that the ham radio community responded so fast and so well.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, in Scottsdale,
Arizona.
--
Meantime, hams were also active in assisting firefighters at the Waldo
Canyon Fire. Amateur Radio Newslines Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in the
newsroom with that part of the story:
--
According to Amanda Alden, K1DNN, of Canon City, Colorado, her group was
contacted by the Amateur Radio Emergency Service and told that the
situation for communications due to the Waldo Canyon blaze was looking
grim. Alden, along with Canon City residents Jeff Carrier, K0JSC and Phil
Ott, WA0NLK along with Pueblo West resident Neal Tew, KD0NBL, immediately
responded. Most of their assignment was the handling of health and
welfare communications for a shelter at Summit.
At that point, Jeff Reynolds and Chaz Carmichael, W4CHZ, arrived to help
at the Cripple Creek shelter. Here the ham radio operators stayed around
the clock, helped make food, ate with the evacuees and slept on cots while
providing various forms of communications. The hams stayed on site until
evacuations began lifting.
Amanda Alden is best known as a contributor to the Ham Nation video
podcast on TWiT-TV. She was quoted as saying that the hams are proud of
how quickly we came together and kept the emergency lines open for the
real heroes and victims of the Waldo Canyon Fire.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in Los
Angeles.
--
Elsewhere across the West, firefighters are making slow progress in Utah,
Wyoming and Montana. A wildfire that had burned more than 390 squares
miles in southeastern Montana was reported to now be 90 percent contained.
A separate fire in the same region of the state near Fort Howes, was 65
percent contained after blackening nearly 97 square miles. We will have
more on ham radio involvement in these wildfire emergencies in future
Amateur Radio Newsline reports. (Denver Post, ARRL, other sources)
**
RESCUE RADIO: FCC TO INVESTIGATE PHONE FAILURES AFTER JUNE 29 STORM
The Federal Communications Commission is looking into the damage that a
massive wind storm caused to wireless and landline phone networks in the
mid-Atlantic U-S-A. Amateur Radio Newslines Heather Butera-Howell,
KB3TZD, is here with more:
--
The storm took place on Friday, June 29th. It swept from the Midwest into
the Northeast with the mid-Atlantic states including Virginia and West
Virginia taking the worst pounding.
David Turetsky, is the Chief of the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland
Security Bureau. In an e-mailed statement he said that his agency plans
to meet with a number of carriers in the coming weeks to explore the cause
of service issues to 911 service centers and the overall lessons learned.
Truetsky continued by saying that these and other issues will be taken
under advisement to ensure that the public receives the best
communications service possible and is able to communicate effectively and
in a way that safeguards public safety in these situations.
FCC spokesperson Lauren Kravetz said the commission is still investigating
the problems with emergency calls, but that 911 operators might have been
unable to identify a caller's number and location. She said it is unclear
how many people were unable to make an emergency call at all.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Heateher Butera-Howell, KB3TZD, in
Berwick, Pennsylvania.
--
According to The Washington Post, many 911 callers in the region heard
silence, busy signals or recorded messages saying the line was
inoperative. Meantime, here in West Virginia, so far there have not been
any reports reaching us concerning ham radio related severe weather watch
or post storm amateur radio emergency communications efforts. (The Hill)
**
RESCUE RADIO: ARRL TO HOST HURRICANE RESPONSE WEBINAR
Still with emergency communications matters, word that the ARRL will host
a webinar from 8 9:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday, July 17th.
This, to present information about the 2012 hurricane season and the
Amateur Radio response.
The program will offer presentations from representatives from the
National Hurricane Center and WX4NHC which is the Amateur Radio station at
the National Hurricane Center. Also on the agenda are presentations by
the VoIP Hurricane Net, the Hurricane Watch Net and the ARRL.
Webinar registration is open to all, but this informative web session will
be of particular interest to those amateurs living in hurricane-prone
areas.
If you are interested in emergency communications and hurricane
preparedness and response, you are invited to attend this online
presentation. To register for this webinar, please go to
tinyurl.com/ham-hurricane-webinar and fill out the required registration
form. (ARRL)
**
RADIO LAW: ILLINOIS GOVERNOR SIGNS MEASURE PROTECTING HAM RADIO ANTENNA
RIGHTS
Some good news for hams in Illinois. That state now has its own PRB
One-like law to protect the antenna rights of radio amateurs. Amateur
Radio Newsline's Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, has the rest of the story:
--
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has signed Illinois House Bill 1390 into law.
This despite unfounded fears on the part of some of the states radio
amateurs as widely posted to the Internet. Fears that home owners
associations and real estate groups would try to derail the measure. It
turned out that these fears were totally groundless.
With Governor Quinn's signature affixed, the Illinois Municipal Code was
amended by adding Section 11-13-1.5. Paraphrased, it basically reads as
follows:
With regard to Amateur radio communications and antenna regulations, and
not withstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no ordinance or
resolution may be adopted or enforced by a municipality that affects the
placement, screening, or height of antennas or antenna support structures
that are used for amateur radio communications. Also, a municipality may
not regulate the antennas or antenna support structures that are used for
amateur radio communications in a manner inconsistent with this Section.
It should be noted that Illinois House Bill 1390 does not supersede such
things as deed restrictions, Covenants, Conditions Restrictions and
homeowners association rules that forbid the installation of outdoor
antennas. These are considered to be personal and binding business
contracts and therefore not subject to override by the new PRB One-like
law.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, in Zion,
Illinois.
--
According to several knowledgeable sources in Illinois, it took less than
3 months to gain House approval, 20 days for Senate approval, and 38 days
before Governor Quinn signed the new measure into law. (Various)
**
COMMUNICATIONS HAPPENING: THE GREAT INTERNET BLACKOUT A WHIMPER
The over-hyped Great Internet Blackout of 2012 came and went with little
more than a whimper on Monday, July 9th. This, as the so-called
"Doomsday" deadline passed with few reports of service outages.
At 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time the FBI shut down temporary servers it
had set up to handle Web traffic for thousands of computers infected with
a virus spread by a ring of cyber criminals that the bureau busted last
year. Those using the estimated 200,000 computers still infected with the
virus were expected to lose their Internet connectivity after the servers
were taken off line.
But like the Y-2-K fears some 12 years ago, this latest loss of service
simply failed to materialize. According to the FBI, 41,800 of the 211,000
worldwide computers infected with the virus were in the United States, but
U.S. Internet providers reported far fewer victims. (Published news
reports)
**
ENFORCEMENT: KJ6CEY ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY POINTING LASER AT FIRE ENGINE
Thirty-one year old Irene Levy, KJ6CEY, of San Jacinto, California, is in
trouble with the law once again. This time after allegedly pointing a
laser at a firefighter behind the wheel of a fire engine.
At around 3:45 a.m. on June 30th, officers from the San Jacinto Police
Department responded to a call to assist CalFire. When officers arrived,
the fire personnel claimed that Levy had shined a laser light at the
driver of their engine while they were driving on East Main Street. Also
that she had shined the laser at their driver several times earlier in the
evening as well.
Levy was taken into custody and booked into the Larry Smith Correctional
Facility charged with pointing a laser at a moving vehicle and violating
the terms of her probation. At last report she was being held in lieu of
$25,000 bail.
You may recall back in May of 2010 when Levy used an amateur radio station
to interfere with an emergency response dispatcher. In that case Levy was
found guilty of jamming emergency radio frequencies by broadcasting
threats. As part of her probation, she was ordered to complete a mental
health program and stay out of trouble. (Riverside.com)
**
ENFORCEMENT: FCC ISSUES NOTICE OF UNAUTHORIZED OPERATION TO FALLBROOK CA
RESIDENT
The Federal Communications Commission has issued a Notice of Unlicensed
Operation to a Southern California, resident for operating an unlicensed
transmitter on 106.1 MHz.
According to the FCC Notice, the agency received information that an
unlicensed broadcast radio station on 106.1 MHz was allegedly operating in
the city of Fallbrook, just North of San Diego. On May 22nd, agents from
the San Diego FCC office confirmed by direction finding that the signal on
106.1 MHz was emanating from a residence in Fallbrook's Gird valley area
that reportedly belonged to one Lewis A. Parks.
Bob Gonsett, W6VR, is involved with the Fallbrook Amateur Radio Club and
works in the broadcast engineering field. He was quoted in the Fallbrook
Village News that the station in question was relatively low powered, yet
still strong enough that it could be heard for about a mile radius. The
unlicensed transmission was picked up by a listener who ordinarily
receives KPLM on 106.1 MHz. FCC records show that no license is issued
for operation of a broadcast station at this location on 106.1 MHz in
Fallbrook.
In the Notice of Unlicensed Operation, Parks was warned that operation of
radio transmitting equipment without a valid radio station authorization
constitutes a violation of the federal laws. As such it could subject the
operator of such a transmitter could be subject to severe penalties.
These include but are not limited to substantial monetary forfeitures,
seizure of the offending radio equipment, along with criminal sanctions
including imprisonment. More on this story is on-line at
tinyurl.com/unlicensed-fallbrook-station. (W6VR, Fallbrook Village News)
**
ENFORCEMENT: YET ANOTHER UNLICENSED FLORIDA BROADCASTER FACES A PROPOSED
$15000 FINE
The FCC proposed a $15,000 fine against Luis Ernesto Rivas Jr. for
operating an unlicensed station in Miami. Earlier this year agents from
the Miami office of the Enforcement Bureau traced the source of RF
transmissions on 89.1 MHz to an antenna on a roof in Miami. While
monitoring the station, they heard a reference to "The Streets FM."
According to the commission's account of the incident, the agents went to
the building roof with the building owner and saw radio transmission gear,
including an FM transmitter connected to a transmitting antenna and a
laptop computer. The computers screen displayed a Facebook webpage
stating 'Underground Station In Miami @ USTREAM: Go To Our Website
www.thestreetsfm.com ...On 89.1 Miami #1 Underground Station."
The agents found a Web page for the station at www.thestreetsfm.com and
matched a photo of Rivas from the site with one from the Florida
Department of Motor Vehicles.
Now, in issuing the Notice of Apparent Liability, the FCC says that all of
the facts point to Rivas as being responsible for operating the illegal
station. It also noted that it had Rivas operated another illegal station
in Florida in 2007. That garnered him an extra $5,000 penalty, making the
total fine $15,000.
Rivas has the customary 30 days from the date that he was notified of the
proposed fine to pay it or to file an appeal. (FCC, RW)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: NEW VIDEO FROM MCLEAN FAHNESTOCK SHOWS ALL SHUTTLE
LAUNCHES
Some names in the news. First up is McLean Fahnestock who has produced a
High Definition video showing all 135 space shuttle launches. The
engrossing video runs just under 4 minutes and can be viewed on-line at
www.mcleanfahnestock.com/images.html (Southgate)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: LASER LIGHT DEMO VIDEO BY DH5YM
An interesting albeit short laser light communications video has been
made available for on-line viewing by Mario Roessler, DH5YM. In it, you
can see the green Laser of DK5WMA and hear the demodulated telegraphy
signal. The fading by humid air is clearly visible and audible. The
distance was about 48km. The video is on-line at
tinyurl.com/green-laser-light (Southgate)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: INFORMATION ON EARLY 1900'S RADIO EVENTS NEEDED
Leland Francois, KI6AWN, of Oakland, California says that he is looking
for what he terms as senior radio operators who could possibly help share
some insight on two events. First is the Congressional Radio
Communications Act of 1934 while the other is in regard to the historic
signing of the United Nations Charter that took place in San Francisco
during the summer of 1945. This latter event involved may amateur radio
operators and was coordinated by the early Oakland Radio Club under the
call sign W6OT. If you have any information on either of these two events
please contact Leland Francois by e-mail to ki6awn (at) aol (dot) com.
(KI6AWN)
**
CHANGING OF THE GUARD: INVENTOR LEONARD KAHN EX- WB2SSP - S.K.
Communications inventor Leonard R. Kahn, the former WB2SSP, passed away on
June 3rd in Florida.
Kahn is likely best remembered for his development of the Kahn-Hazeltine
AM Stereo system that used independently modulated upper and lower
sidebands. He was also the inventor of the CAM-D AM digital system.
Kahn's AM stereo design was later revamped for monaural use and used in
the Power-Side system, in which a decreased signal in one sideband is used
to improve coverage and loudness. Power-Side became the basis for CAM-D,
Compatible AM Digital, a digital system that is still used on several AM
stations.
Leonard Kahn worked for RCA Labs for many years and turned out over 80
domestic and 100 foreign patents. As such, he is considered one of the
five "fathers of the wireless industry." (Published reports)
**
THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD: VHF PIONEER LARRY HOGUE, W6OMF- SK
And sadly we also bid farewell to Larry Hogue, W6OMF, who passed away
undergoing open heart surgery on June 29th.
W6OMF was the long time Net Control Operator for the Northern California
Sidewinders On Two Sunday night net and was one of the leading spokesmen
for VHF DX on the West Coast. He was considered by many as being the
driving force behind Sidewinders on Two's presence on the West Coast and
the Sunday night net had check-ins from Oregon in the North to Los Angeles
in the South. (WB6AEA)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: HAM IN SPACE SESSION IN KANSAS CITY
This note for amateur radio operators near Kansas City, Missouri. On July
20th, the Hams in Space Team will be presenting a satellite lecture at the
University of Missouri, Kansas City's Communiversity. The Communiversity
is the University's Community Education Program available to anyone from
the area who wishes to attend.
According to Randy Schulze, KD0HKD, the group is preparing a seminar to be
enjoyed not only by licensed radio amateurs but also to members of the
general public. This as a means of providing information about one of the
fun and amazing things that can be done within the hobby.
If you plan to attend, please register early. All necessary information
is on-line at www.umkc.edu/commu. (ANS)
**
WORLDBEAT: WARRINGTON ARC GRANTED GB2012MV FOR OLYMPIC GAMES
The United Kingdom's Warrington Amateur Radio Club have been granted a
license to cover both the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. In a
collaborative effort with West Manchester Radio Club and South Manchester
Radio and Computing Club, the Warrington group has been assigned the
special call sign GB2012MV for the event at Old Trafford, home of
Manchester United soccer team. This is one of the venues for the Olympic
football tournament. The decision by telecommunications regulator Ofcom
means that GB2012MV will be one of only four stations nationwide to be
permitted to officially commemorate the Olympic games. The club will
begin transmissions on Wednesday, July 25, the start of the Olympic
football tournament and end on September 9, which will be the closing
ceremony of the Paralympics. (Southgate)
**
WORLDBEAT: GB2VET FROM JULY 27 TO 29
Also, U-K special event station GB2VET, celebrating the army, navy and air
force reunion's 10 anniversary will be operational July 27th to the 29th
from East Park in the city of Hull. Plans are to operate all available
bands using both World War 2 and modern gear. Modes will include D-Star
on VHF and UHF. There will also be a display of vintage equipment as
well. (2E0BRQ)
**
ON THE AIR: CELEBRATING THE APOLLO MOON MISSIONS
The Italian Radio Association known as the ARI have announced sponsorship
of a special award to commemorate the Apollo Space Program. This specific
for contacts made before July 31st this month. To qualify for the award
you need to have confirmed contacts with the ARI Headquarters Station
IQ1TW and three other stations. More information is on-line at
aritortona.xoom.it. (Press release)
**
ON THE AIR: EIFFEL TOWER ON THE HAM BANDS
F5SKW and several other French radio amateurs will be on the air 24 hours
a day through July 15th as TM70TRS or TM70TE from the 3rd floor of the
Eiffel Tower, in Paris. This activity is to commemorate the 70th
anniversary of the French Army Signal Corps. The operation will use CW,
SSB and RTTY, and on the HF and VHF bands. A special QSL card will be
available. QSL via the F6KHX Amateur Radio Club or F5OGL, direct or by
the REF QSL Bureau.
This operation also brings to mind a question we frequently get asked by
listeners here in the United States. That being, are there any ham radio
repeaters operating from the Eiffel Tower? If you know the answer, please
drop us an e-mail with repeater call signs and operating frequencies to
newsline (at) arnewsline (dot) org. (OPDX)
**
DXCC: SIX OPERATIONS APPROVED FOR DXCC CREDIT
Bill Moore, NC1L, the ARRL Awards Branch Manager, reports that several
operations have been approved for DXCC credit. These include the 2012
operations as 3C0E operation from Annobon; 3C6A from Equatorial Guinea,
5X1RO from Uganda and XW4XR from Laos. Also approved are the 2011 J25DXA
and 2010 J28RO operations from Djibouti. If you've had any of these
operations rejected in a recent DXCC submission please send an E-mail to
bmoore (at) arrl (dot) org to be put on the list for an update. (ARRL
DXCC)
**
DX
In DX, word that the long awaited St. Paul Island CY9M operation will take
to the airwaves from July 26th to August 1st. This as an international
team will put this rare island, located approximately 14 miles northeast
of the northern tip of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the
air. No word yet on bands or modes. QSL via M0URX.
The Hellenic Amateur Radio of Association of Australia is organizing a
DXpedition to Campbell Island from November 28th through December 9th.
Campbell Island whose prefix is Zed-L-9 is number 15 on the current DXCC
most wanted list. You can follow the planning for this one at
www.zl9hr.com.
A group of operators from Switzerland known as the Radio 7 Team will be
active from Rodrigues Island as 3B9SP from between October 16th and the
23rd. Most operation will be on CW and SSB with some RTTY and PSK 31.
Bands mentioned are all of the HF frequencies plus 6 meters. Logs will be
uploaded to Logbook of the World within 6 months after the operation
concludes. QSL via HB9ACA.
The World-Wide DX Group will be on Conway Reef from September 24th to
October 5th. Their announced goal is to provide as many DXers as possible
with this rare DXCC entity. The group says that it will target European
contacts during those periods when propagation is possible and we will ask
Japan and North America to stand buy during those brief periods when the
bands are open to Europe. The World-Wide DX Group is the same group which
brought you the 3D2C Rotuma Island Dxpedition in September, 2011.
Lastly, the Araucaria DX Group, in conjunction with the TX3A Team, will
sponsor a DXpedition to St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks, in the late
November to mid December time frame. The actual dates will depend on
weather conditions. The operation will have a strong low band focus.
There will be a dedicated 160 meter station operating from sunset to
sunrise. A second station will be on 80 and 40 meters at night as well.
During the day we will operate two stations on the higher bands including
6 meters based on conditions. RTTY will also be supported. More on this
planned operation is on-line at www.pt0s.com.
(Above from various DX news sources)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: MEET COLBY AND VISIT HIS CORNER
And finally this week the story of an inquisitive pre-teen who has his
first experience with ham radio with a television camera watching and
recording the event. The young mans name is Colby, he's 9 years old, and
he is the star of a new children's television series called Colby's Corner
that recently began airing on Christian Television Network station WLCN in
Summerville, South Carolina. .
The theme of the show is very simple. Its Colby learning about various
aspects of life by experience as would any other youngster. Only Colby is
sharing his encounters with the kids who watch on WLCN. And one of his
recent trips took him to a ham radio station operated by Vince Lombardo,
K4AOC.
For those of you who are out of the coverage of WLCN but would like to
watch Colby learn about ham radio from a real pro, that episode and all of
the others can be seen on line on YouTube. A direct link to the one we
have been describing is tinyurl.com/colbys-ham-radio. The show also has a
website at www.colbyscornertv.com. (NN4F, QRZ.com)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC Communicator, CQ
Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the
RSGB, the Southgate News Twit-TV, and Australia's W-I-A News, that's all
from the Amateur Radio NewslineT. Our e-mail address is newsline(at)
arnewsline (dot) org. More information is available at Amateur Radio
Newsline'sT only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You can
also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio NewslineT, 28197 Robin
Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm Jim Damron,
N8TMW, saying 73 and we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
R\%/itt
--- Twit(t) Filter v2.1 (C) 2000-10
* Origin: Roiz Flying \A/ Service * South Texas * USA * (1:387/22)
|