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Ärende: Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1851 - February 1 2013
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Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1851 - February 1 2013
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1851 with a release date of February
1 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a Q-S-T. The FCC turns down a petition for
reconsideration on its report to Congress about ham radio emergency
communications; The 2013 Global Amateur Radio Emergency Conference to be
held this June in Zurich, Switzerland and ham radio assistance in the
Australian flooding begins as Tasmanian brush fire communications winds
down. Find out the details are on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number
1851 coming your way right now.
**
RADIO LAW: PETITION FOR RECONSIDERATION FROM DENIAL OF PETITION FOR
DECLARATORY RULING GN DOCKET NO. 12-91 DENIED
The FCC has turned down a petition for reconsideration on the text of its
report to Congress dealing with amateur radio and how land use
restrictions might interfere with emergency communications. Mark
Abramovich, NT3V, is here with the details:
--
The FCC's Scot Stone, deputy chief of the mobility division in the
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, responded to the petition from James
Whedbee, N0ECN, of suburban Kansas City.
And, Stone's legal language was pretty direct - essentially, the matter is
decided and Whedbee should stop wasting the FCC's time.
In his reasoning for refusing Whedbee's petition, the FCC's Stone says the
division which rejected his first appeal of the matter was within its
rights to do so without any further public hearing.
Stone also stated in legal terms that Whedbee engaged in a "frivolous
statutory interpretation," of the FCC's regulations, especially those
stemming from PRB-1 which authorized limited preemption of state and local
regulations governing amateur station facilities, including antennas and
support structures.
But those regulations don't extend to private codes, covenants and
restrictions, known as CC&Rs, including homeowner association rules that
restrict amateur radio facilities.
However, in 2001, the FCC left open the door on prohibiting CC&Rs from
interfering with amateur radio if Congress so decided it should do so.
This latest chapter in the ongoing debate was launched in February 2012
when President Obama signed the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation
Act of 2012.
That bill also included a provision requiring the FCC to report to
Congress on the uses and capabilities of Amateur Radio Service
communications in emergencies and disaster relief.
It also directed the study identify impediments to enhanced Amateur Radio
Service communications and make recommendations regarding the removal of
such impediments, including "the effects of unreasonable or unnecessary
private land use restrictions on residential antenna installations."
The FCC record shows Whedbee filed comments pretty quickly claiming CC&Rs
violated sections of the Communications Act.
He also demanded the commission issue a legal decision called a
declaratory judgement - essentially asking the FCC to rule without any
further hearings or delays that CC&Rs were indeed an impediment to amateur
radio operations, causing a controversy for amateur radio and were
unenforceable.
The FCC denied Whedbee's petitions saying that was going to be addressed
in its report to Congress.
But Whedbee kept at it, asking the FCC to reconsider.
When the FCC issued its report to Congress last August, it stated there
was no overwhelming public comment supporting any problems related to
CC&Rs and amateur radio.
The FCC's Stone finally addressed Whedbee's appeal petition in a January
25th letter in which he explained the report to Congress essentially
trumped Whedbee's appeal and rendered the matter - using a legal term -
moot or essentially of little value or meaning given the FCC's findings in
the report to Congress.
Amateur Radio Newsline made several attempts to reach Whedbee, but was
unsuccessful as we went to air with this report.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in
Philadelphia.
--
At airtime it's not known if Whedbee plans to file any further appeals on
this matter. You can read the entire text of this FCC decision on-line in
PDF format at tinyurl.com/petition-turned-down. (FCC)
**
RESCUE RADIO: GAREC 2013 TO BE IN GENEVA JUNE 25 - 28
IARU Region One has announced that this years Global Amateur Radio
Emergency Conference or GAREC 2013 will be held in Zurich, Switzerland
from June 25th to 28th. Among the draft topics to be discussed are the
relevance of Amateur Radio Emergency Communication in the '1st World,' and
the HAMNET high speed data network. There will also be presentations from
the three regions of the IARU and talks by groups with recent experience
in disaster relief communications.
General information on GAREC 2013 including information on the venue,
registration fees and the tentative agenda and the registration forms is
now available on line at www.garec2013.ch. This website will be updated
frequently to keep all updated with the latest news and program changes.
You may also e-mail to info (at) garec2013 (dot) ch for updates.
It should be noted that this years conference has been timed to precede
Europe's largest amateur radio exhibition, HAM RADIO in Friedrichshafen.
Germany. This is so that people can attend both events. (IARU-R1)
**
RESCUE RADIO: WICEN HAMS RESPOND TO FLOODING DOWN UNDER
Flooding has hit the Australian state of Queensland. This as ex-tropical
cyclone Oswald that had already caused record flooding has moved south.
Jim Linton, VK3PC, is the Chairman IARU Regon 3 Disaster Communications
Committee. He tells Amateur Radio Newsline that as this disaster unfolds
that a picture of emergency communications provided by radio amateurs is
starting to emerge. According to Linton, several High Frequency links
have been requested to be set up by the ham radio emergency response group
WICEN by the Queensland Water Police. These links are to connect the city
of Brisbane to Cairns. WICEN's role is expected to expand in the coming
days.
As this newscast is being prepared, four people are reported to have died
and others are reported missing. Many thousands have been left homeless
and taking shelter in relief centers as the widespread flooding, which
included tornados, is continuing. (VK3PC)
**
RESCUE RADIO: WICEN TASMANIAN BUSH FIRES OPERATIONS END
Meantime, ham radio assistance by WICEN in the Tasmanian brush fires has
now come to an end as we hear in this report from the Wireless Institute
of Australia's ham radio news service:
--
WICEN in Tasmania was finally stood down after 20 continuous days of
operation at the Incident Management Centre at Cambridge, near Hobart
airport. Operations have now been wound back.
WICEN was posted by the Tasmania Fire Services to mainly control the busy
80MHz radio traffic during massive fires.
Although those the major fires, which started on the 3rd of January on the
Tasman Peninsula and in the Derwent Valley, are still active, one being
classified as contained and the other controlled.
The days serviced by WICEN and other southern Tasmanian radio amateurs
varied between 12 and 24 hours.
WICEN Tasmania (South) Operations Coordinator Rod Finlayson VK7TRF reports
that 24 radio amateurs contributed to the effort, totalling 666 hours at
the radio desk, plus time in logistical support keeping up the supply of
operators to the task.
Seven operators did in excess of 45 hours each, including three more than
60 hours and one working a total of almost 80 hours. Initially there were
two operators on each of the two networks, but this was wound back to one
after ten days.
--
For those who may not be aware, WICEN is an acronym for the Wireless
Institute Civil Emergency Network. It is described as a group of
Australian amateur radio operators trained to assist in emergency
situations. Their job is to provide emergency and safety communications
when normal communications do not exist or are inadequate. (WIA News,
VK3PC)
**
BREAKING DX NEWS: MARION ISLAND TO BE ON BY SUMMER
Some breaking news in the world of DX. Marion Island should be on the air
before the start of summer in the Northern latitudes. This according to
reports that South African radio amateur David Hartzenberg, ZS1BCE, has
been appointed to be the new radio technician to that rare location for
one year between April of this year and May of 2014.
Hartzenberg is expected to depart from Cape Town on April 15th, and his
amateur radio operations are expected to begin about four weeks later.
Currently, he does not have a Zed-S-8 callsign, but plans to apply for
ZS8D. Once set up, his operations will be on SSB on most High Frequency
bands.
And less we forget to mention: His QSL Manager will be Pierre Tromp,
ZS1HF, who just happens to have been the last operator from Marion Island
using the call ZS8M. And we will have more DX news for you near the end
of this weeks newscast. (OPDX)
**
RADIO LAW: NEW RECOMMENDATION ON PLASMA TV EMISSIONS IN EUROPE
Tired of hearing this when you tune your favorite ham radio band?
--
Plasma TV radiation audio here
--
That's the sound made by a near-by plasma television set. And now Europe
is starting to set some standards to make it a thing of the past
Thilo Kootz, DL9KCE, in Wabern, Germany reports that a European
specification or recommendation on the limitation of the emissions of
plasma TVs between 150 kHz and 30 MHz. One that was approved in the last
meeting of the Comité International Spécial des Perturbations
Radioélectriques.
Even though it does not have the same legal implications as a regular
Electromagnetic Compatibility standard, it does show the plasma industry
what could be part of one in the future. It should be noted that this new
recommendation is the result of work started in 2007 by an Electromagnetic
Compatibility working group of IARU Region One.
(Southgate, IARU-R1)
**
ENFORCEMENT: FCC ISSUES $8000 NAL FOR EAS VIOLATION
A noncommercial FM station in Puerto Rico has been dinged $8000. This
after the FCC found that it was incapable of issuing an EAS alert without
human intervention.
Based on a complaint that it received, last April agents from the
Commission's San Juan office inspected WVID FM in Anasco, Puerto Rico. At
that time the station personnel demonstrated to the agents that the EAS
equipment couldn't transmit an emergency message without someone manually
reducing the on-air programming volume down to zero or mute. The station
employee also told the agents that he believed the equipment had needed
manual intervention since at least September 2011.
Now in issuing the proposed monetary forfeiture, the FCC notes that all
stations must ensure that EAS encoders, decoders, attention signal
generating and receiving equipment is installed and operational so that
the monitoring and transmitting functions are available when the station
is operating. When a station is unattended, the rules require stations to
use automatic systems to interrupt programming to transmit an alert. WVID
is only staffed from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and unattended overnight.
Centro Colegial Cristiano is the owner of WVID FM and was given the
customary 30 days to appeal or pay the fine. It also has the same amount
of time to submit a sworn statement to the San Juan office certifying that
its EAS equipment is now fully operational when the station is unattended.
(FCC, RW)
**
RESCUE RADIO: NPR LABS HOPES TO DEVELOP EMERGENCY ALERT RADIO FOR THE
DEAF
A new way to alert the deaf and hard of hearing to oncoming disaster
situations may soon be on its way. Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather
Embee, KB3TZD, is here with the details:
--
The trade newsletter Radio World reports that NPR Labs personnel hope to
begin a project that demonstrates an emergency alerting system for the
deaf and hard-of-hearing population in the United States. This, using
broadcast radio as the transmission medium.
The end goal of this research is to develop a deaf-accessible radio
receiver with a large text display and bright flashing lights. This in
turn could alert the user of a potential threat to life and property.
Rich Rarey is the NPR Labs Manager of Strategic Technology Applications.
He told Radio World that there are currently some AM radios with aural
warnings and FM H-D receivers that have very small text displays but
without accessible warning mechanisms. He says that the aim of NPR Labs
is to create a receiver that is useful for deaf and hard-of-hearing
people, which will also be helpful for alerting the general public as
well.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD, in Berwick,
Pennsylvania.
--
You can read the entire report of this potentially life saving project
on-line at tinyurl.com/emergency-alerts-for-the-deaf (RW)
**
RADIO LAW: PODCAST IS A PATENTED TERM OWNED BY PERSONAL AUDIO LLC
If you are a podcaster or thinking of becoming a podcaster, even on a very
small scale, then its worth your time to read an article on who owns the
rights to the term podcasting that appeared in a recent issue of the chron
dot com business report.
In a nutshell, it appears as if the term podcast is not generic as most
people might think. Rather it is a patented system owned by a company
called Personal Audio LLC that developed it and other internet streaming
back in 1996. And now Personal Audio LLC has decided to assert its rights
by going after both podcast content creators as well as podcast
distributors.
So far it has won every case that has gone to trial. Even Apple has lost
to them. In that case a jury awarded Personal Audio LLC an $8 million
judgment plus $4 million in interest for infringing on the company's The
Playlist Patent.
So if you run a podcast or are thinking of creating one, you might want to
take a few moments to read the story at tinyurl.com/podcast-patent and
then talk to a knowledgeable patent attorney before proceeding or
continuing your podcasting journey. It could theoretically save you every
penny that you have ever will make or have saved. (chron.com)
**
RADIO LAW: MAN WHO POINTED LASER AT AIRCRAFT ARRESTED
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that an unnamed Oakland resident has
been arrested for allegedly shining a laser at two aircraft hovering over
the scene of a shooting on Monday, January 21st.
The 40-year-old man is alleged to have aimed a red laser several times at
a KGO television helicopter as it flew about 1,000 feet over the scene of
the incident in which an undercover Oakland officer was shot in the arm.
The man is also alleged to have shined the laser at a California Highway
Patrol fixed wing aircraft that was circling at about 3,500 feet.
Thankfully no one aboard either aircraft was injured.
Under Title 18 Sub-part 39A, whoever knowingly aims the beam of a laser
pointer at an aircraft in the jurisdiction of the United States, or at the
flight path of such an aircraft, shall be fined or imprisoned for up to 5
years, or both. (Media News)
**
RADIO LAW: COALITION PUSHES FCC TO RECLAIM AT LEAST 120 MHZ OF BROADCAST
SPECTRUM
The coalition of broadcasters willing to sell spectrum rights has grown to
39 major market stations. This according to comments filed to the FCC by
the Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition. The trade group
also wants the regulatory agency to make the auction as attractive as
possible by not limiting wireless bidders or which stations can share
spectrum.
The coalition was formed because the principal broadcast trade
association, the National Association of Broadcasters, is focusing on
making sure the auctions hold harmless broadcasters who are not selling
and want to remain in the business. The coalition members don't have to
identify themselves publicly because of the obvious competitive and
operational issues related to publicizing their willingness to sell.
However they are reportedly pushing the FCC to reclaim at least 120 MHz of
spectrum.
The deadline for comments on the FCC's framework for broadcast incentive
auctions was January 25th. Reply comments are due in March.
(B&C)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: CQ APPOINTS AA6TS AS NEW INTERNATIONAL EDITOR
CQ magazine will be adding a monthly international news column called CQ
World Wide as of its April edition. The new column will be coordinated by
new International Editor Tom Smerk, AA6TS. Smerk lives in Dulzura,
California and has been active in ham radio since 1988. He is active in
ARESr, SKYWARNr, RACES, California Disaster Corps and CERT, and is a
volunteer examiner as well. For the past 25 years, he has taught business
information technology for the San Diego Community College District. Hams
with news of events and activities outside the United States can contact
Smerk by e-mail to aa6ts (at) cq-amateur-radio (dot) com. (CQ)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: QCWA DAYTON BANQUET ANNOUNCED
More Dayton Hamvention related news this week. This in the announcement
by the Quarter Century Wireless Association that it will be holding QCWA
Banquet: on Friday May 17th at the Dayton Airport Holiday Inn. The dinner
begins at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time . The after dinner speaker will
be James Crabtree with a presentation on Lincoln. Cost is $25 per
person. Reservations and payment go to Jerry Ragland, WA8BOB, 409 Park
Av. Franklin, Ohio, 45005. (WB8IFM)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: 39th ANNUAL EASTERN VHF/UHF/MICROWAVE CONFERENCE APRIL IN
CT.
Registration is now open for the 39th annual Eastern VHF/UHF and microwave
conference to be held April 26th to the 28th at the Baymont Inn and Suites
in Manchester, Connecticut. This years program includes numerous talks
and presentations for those who enjoy operating in the world above 50 MHz.
This yearly get together is sponsored by the North East Weak Signal
Group. More information including registration and hotel information can
be found at www.newsvhf.com/vhfconf.html (W1GHX, VHF Reflector)
**
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: ADAPTING RFID TO IDENTIFY AND MONITOR HUMAN ACTIVITY
Australia's University of Adelaide computer scientists are leading a
project to develop a novel sensor system to aid senior citizens. One that
would help older people to keep living independently and safely in their
own homes. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, is here with
the details:
--
To accomplish this far reaching goal of aiding the senior citizen
community, researchers down-under are adapting radio frequency
identification better known as RFID sensor technologies to automatically
identify and monitor human activity. This in turn makes it possible to
determine if an individual's normal routine is being maintained so that
timely assistance can be provided if it is needed.
Although RFID technology has been around since World War II and is in
common use today in applications such as anti-shoplifting and vehicle
identification at toll road collection points, its potential use in
interpreting human activity remains largely in the laboratory.
The chief investigator for this project is Dr. Michael Sheng at he
University of Adelaide. He says that work will be among the first few
projects in the world conducting large-scale common-sense reasoning in
automatic human activity recognition. In addition the system will be
low-cost and unobtrusive, and without the privacy issues and intensive
monitoring of video surveillance. There will be no need for older people
to wear anything or turn anything on or off.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW. In Los Angeles.
--
The technology will be first investigated in a laboratory setting and then
in hospital trials with geriatric patients. More aboiut this possible new
use for RFID is on line at tinyurl.com/senior-citizen-RFID
(Radio Comms E-zine, VK7WI News)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: NEW ANIMATED UK VIDEO FEATURES UKUBE-1 AND FUNCUBE
A new animated video has been released that tells the story pf the UK
Space Agency's first CubeSat UKube-1 slated to launch in the 3rd quarter
of 2013. UKube-1 will carry a set of AMSAT-UK FUNcube transponder boards
to provide a 435 to 145 MHz linear transponder and a 1200 bps BPSK beacon
for educational outreach. For more information on FUNcube and a link to
the video please take your web browser to www.amsat-uk.org (AMSAT-UK,
Southgate)
**
WORLDBEAT: SARL ANTENNA DEFENSE FUND GETS A MAJOR BOOST
The South Africa Radio League's Antenna Defense Fund increased to 37,100
Rand which equates to 4100 U.S. dollars. This, on its way to its 50000
Rand or 6000 U-S dollar target.
The funds first contribution from industry came from the Radio Accessories
and Data Modems Company which made 6000 Rand donation to the fund. As
previously reported, this fund is to assist South African hams facing
antenna restrictions and the like. (SARL)
**
WORLDBEAT: PH00ZWAT ON THE AIR UNANNOUNCED FROM FLEVOLAND
Shortwave radio writer Kim Andrew Elliott advises that a special short
term amateur radio station with the callsign P-H-00-Z-W-A-T was active
January 26th and 27th UTC time. This from the former Radio Nederlands
Flevoland antenna site near the town of Zeewolde in the Netherlands.
The operators were reported to be using relatively low power feeding the
various curtain type directional arrays at 120 meters height on the
various High Frequency amateur radio bands.
According to Jonathan Marks, G8WGN, there have been several events like
this. The first was in February 1985 when special event station PA6FLD
took to the airwaves. Video of that operation was included in the ARRL
film "The New World of Amateur Radio" produced and hosted by the late Roy
Neal, K6DUE. (G8WGN via Critical Distance Weblog)
**
DX
In DX, word that W1USN, AA1M and W1SSR will be on the air stroke PJ2 from
Curacao between March 8th and the the 22nd. Their activity will be on 160
through 10 meters using CW, SSB, PSK and RTTY. QSL via their home
callsigns either direct or by the bureau.
Members of the Westnet DX Group will once again be active as EJ7NET from
the Aran Islands between May 10th and the 15th. Operations will be on all
HF bands and modes. QSL via Logbook of thr World or direct to EI6FR. No
eQSL or bureau QSLs will be accepted for this operation.
DF7ZS will again be on the air from Aruba between March 26th and April
3rd. Activity will include the CQ World Wide WPX SSB Contest from March
30th to the 31st as a Single-Operator All-Band entry. Some casual
operations will take place before and after the contest on 17 and 12
meters. QSL via his home callsign.
PA0FAW says that he will be operating with the special callsign PF100ZOO
between February 1st and the 28th. This activity is to commemorate the
100th anniversary of the Arnhem Zoo. Operations will mainly be CW and SSB,
with some digital modes. QSL via PA0FAW either direct, via the bureau or
electronically using eQSL. SWL reports are also welcome and appreciated.
TU5KG is once again traveling through the South Indian Ocean on a fishing
boat. As in past years, he will be sailing in both the Kerguelen and
Crozet Island regions, and may activate the islands if he goes ashore)
using his new callsigns. These are FT5XT for Kerguelen and FT5WQ for
Crozet. When at sea he will sign TU5KG maritime mobile.
QSL via F4DXW, direct only.
Lastly, ten operators from the Oceania DX Group will be operational from
Norfolk Island between May 3rd and the 13th as VK9NT. The group plans to
have 4 stations covering all bands 80-10 meters on CW, SSB and RTTY. An
Online QSL Request Service will be available for bureau and direct cards
on ClubLog which is the preferred method or direct to VK2CA.
(Above from various DX news sources)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: 15 YEAR OLD INVENTOR FROM SIERRA LEONE VISITS MIT
And finally this week, the story of a young inventor who is already
leaving a very positive mark on society. Here's David Black. KB4KCH, with
the rest of the story:
--
Kelvin Doe is not a ham radio operator but he is being called the wonder
kid of Sierra Leone and with good reason. This is because the 15 year old
who recently won a trip to visit the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
taught himself how to build generators, batteries, and FM radios using
parts he found in the trash.
In the best tradition of the maker and hacker movement he does it using
things that would otherwise have been thrown out and, with almost no
formal training, turns them into useful products.
Doe's inventions are especially valuable in his hometown where, according
to Kelvin, the lights there only turn on "about once a week." Kelvin
builds batteries and generators to provide electricity for his family. He
also uses his home made gear to operate a successful radio station where
he is known as DJ Focus.
Kelvin says he hopes to use his radio station as a way for the youth in
Sierra Leone to debate about issues in their area. He says he plans to
build a windmill generator to provide more stable electricity for his
town.
Kelvin Doe visited MIT as part of the university's Visiting Practitioners
Program. The Syllabus allows inventors to use MIT's plentiful resources
and perform their own research in the schools labs.
Kelvin Doe became the youngest ever Visiting Practitioner after winning
the Innovate Salone Challenge. Innovate Salone runs a program that asks
young citizens of that nation to creatively come up with solutions to
problems facing their community.
From the South-East Bureau in Birmingham Alabama, I'm David Black, KB4KCH.
--
In our view, its young people like Kelvin Doe, who will be the ones who
will truly advance all of mankind in the years and decades to come, and
the world really needs a lot more like him. (StarAfrica.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
Before we go, a note to those of you who obtain these newscasts over the
661-296-2407 dial up line. While we have decided to keep it in service a
while longer, it will be down for equipment maintenance from Febdruay 4th
to the 12th or there-abouts. Parts are getting really scarce for the
antique gear used to feed the phone line, so we must do what we can to
keep things going. If you are a phone access user, please make alternate
arrangements to obtain the newscast until we can return the system to
operation.
Also a reminder that the Dayton Hamvention is seeking nominations for its
2013 Radio Amateur of the Year, Technical Achievement, Special Achievement
and the Radio Club of the Year awards. The cutoff date to submit
nominations is February 15th. More information and official nominating
forms are now on-line at www.Hamvention.org/awards.PHP.
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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* Origin: Texas Lone-Star - Texan, American, USAian (1:387/22)
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