[GVARC] Jan 2004 Newsletter
Tony
[email protected]
Tue, 27 Jan 2004 18:23:22 -0800
************************* Garlic Valley ******************************
Volume 19 Jan 2003
******************* Amateur Radio Club Newsletter ********************
GVARC OFFICERS
President Frank Fahrlander, N7FF
Vice President Ed Vines, KG6WU
Secretary Mark Deger, KG6IFQ
Treasurer Tony Armendariz, AD6ID
Newsletter Editor Tony Armendariz, AD6ID
WEBster Claud Furnare, NA6W
Web Site http://www.qsl.net/gvarc
FEATURES IN THIS ISSUE:
NEXT CLUB MEETING
GVARC MEMBERSHIP
HOSPITAL NET
ENTRY HF LICENSE PROPOSED
FCC'S ABERNATHY ACKS BPL CONCERNS
AUSTRIANS SQUELCH BPL PILOT
CONTESTS FEBRUARY 2004
COMING EVENTS
***NEXT CLUB MEETING - Saturday, 31-Jan-2004
--------------------
GVARC usually meets on the LAST Saturday of each month, at the
Sunrise Cafe in Gilroy on Monterey Avenue (near the Hilton, in
front of Motel 6). From the North or South, take the Monterey St. exit
from highway 101 (south end of Gilroy) and head north. We trickle in
about 8 a.m. and eat at 8:30ish. The South County ARES net is held
each Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. on W6GGF/R (147.825 -.600, no PL 100Hz).
***GVARC MEMBERSHIP
-------------------
Attention current and prospective GVARC members: There are no dues
for 2004. We did extra well volunteering at the Garlic Festival, so
voted to benefit us hams.
Usually dues for all members become payable each January. The annual
cost is only $20 per person and $10 for each family member in the same
household. Membership dues helps such things as the W6GGF/R repeater,
this newsletter, emergency readiness, etc. Membership, not required for
general use of the repeater, adds autopatch and autodial privileges.
GVARC is a non-profit organization per IRS section 501(c)(4) - we
don't make any money, do service for the community, but are not a
charity.
To join or for more information, please contact the treasurer:
Tony Armendariz, AD6ID
11950 New Avenue
Gilroy, CA 95020
408-683-2025 home
email: [email protected]
***HOSPITAL NET
---------------
There is a Santa Clara County hospital net each month on the 4th
Wednesday of each month. Locally, this is at the St. Louise Regional
Hospital (on No Name Uno Rd., near the freeway).
This is a chance to participate in maintaining and testing the auxiliary
communication system that the hospitals plan to use in an emergency. In
a disaster such as an earthquake, it could be difficult for hams out of
the South County area to reach the hospital.
We have a need for more hams to become familiar with the equipment, its
location, and the Hospital Net procedures and forms. Hams have
installed and maintained this system, and it is working well - now.
The net is at 19:00 PST. The radios are on the 1st floor just down the
hall from the main hospital entrance. If you would like to join us,
please contact Wayne KD6HMJ or Pam KD6WQD at 408-778-2657 or Frank N7FF
at 408-779-9311 so we can either meet you or arrange for Security to let
you in.
If you can't make it to the hospital, but would like to listen in, tune
to on N6NFI on 145.230MHz, PL 100Hz. See
http://www.scc-ares-races.org/freqinfo.htm for related info.
-- Hope to see you there - Pam, KD6WQD
***ENTRY HF LICENSE PROPOSED
----------------------------
The ARRL will ask the FCC to create a new entry-level Amateur Radio
license that would include HF phone privileges without requiring a Morse
code test.
***Novice
The entry-level license class--being called "Novice" for now--would
require a 25-question written exam. It would offer limited HF CW/data
and phone/image privileges on 80, 40, 15 and 10 meters as well as VHF
and UHF privileges on 6 and 2 meters and on 222-225 and 430-450 MHz.
Power output would be restricted to 100 W on 80, 40, and 15 meters and
to 50 W on 10 meters and up, thus avoiding the need for the more complex
RF safety questions in the Novice question pool.
***Technicians and Generals
The middle group of licensees--Technician, Tech Plus and
General--would
be consolidated into a new General license that no longer would require
a Morse examination. Current Technician and Tech Plus license holders
automatically would gain current General class privileges without
additional testing. The current Element 3 General examination would
remain in place for new applicants. ARRL already has proposed additional
phone privileges for Generals in its "Novice refarming" petition,
RM-10413, but the FCC has not yet acted on that petition.
***Extra
The Board saw no compelling reason to change the Amateur Extra class
license requirements. The ARRL plan calls on the FCC to combine the
current Advanced and Amateur Extra class licensees into Amateur Extra,
because the technical level of the exams passed by these licensees is
very similar. New applicants for Extra would have to pass a 5 WPM Morse
code examination, but the written exam would stay the same. The League's
plan calls for current Novice, Tech Plus and General class licensees to
receive lifetime Element 1 (5 WPM Morse) credit.
"This structure provides a true entry-level license with HF privileges
to promote growth in the Amateur Service," Harrison said. "It also
simplifies the FCC database by conforming to the current Universal
Licensing System (ULS) structure and does not mandate any modifications
to it."
Proposal Includes "Novice Refarming" Band Plan
The overall proposed ARRL license restructuring plan would more smoothly
integrate HF spectrum privileges across the three license classes and
would incorporate the "Novice refarming" plan the League put forth
nearly two years ago in a Petition for Rule Making (RM-10413). The FCC
has not yet acted on the ARRL plan, which would alter the current HF
subbands. The Novice refarming proposal (put forth nearly two years ago
in a Petition for Rule Making, RM-10413) would eliminate the 80, 40 and
15-meter Novice/Technician Plus CW subbands as such and reuse that
spectrum in part to expand phone/image subbands on 80 and 40 meters.
For the full story, see
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/01/19/1/?nc=3D1
***FCC'S ABERNATHY ACKS BPL CONCERNS
------------------------------------
In a seeming shift away from "Broadband Nirvana," FCC Commissioner
Kathleen Q. Abernathy <http://www.fcc.gov/commissioners/abernathy/> this
week specifically cited Amateur Radio concerns about the interference
potential of Broadband Over Power Line (BPL). In remarks prepared for
delivery at her alma mater, the Catholic University of America's
Columbus School of Law <http://www.law.edu/>, Abernathy said BPL should
not be widely deployed before dealing with ham radio's interference
fears.
"I recognize that Amateur Radio licensees have raised concerns about
harmful interference," Abernathy said, "and that is something that will
have to be addressed before any mass market deployment can occur." She
addressed the convocation "The Journey to Convergence: Challenges and
Opportunities" January 22 on the school's Washington, DC campus.
Abernathy said that if engineers can find a way to prevent harmful
interference to other radio services, BPL would represent "a tremendous
advance for consumers, because it could bring broadband to any home that
has electricity."
In her speech, "Overview of the Road to Convergence: New Realities
Collide with Old Rules," Abernathy called BPL "another promising
technology" that electric utilities have already successfully field
tested. As an "add-on service to the existing electrical grid," she
said, BPL might be a cost-effective alternative to provide broadband
service to rural and other "underserved communities."
Missing from her remarks was any mention of interference worries that
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) have expressed
to the FCC in the BPL proceeding.
Abernathy drew fire from the Amateur Radio community last September
after she expressed unabashed enthusiasm for BPL in a talk before the
United Powerline Council's <http://www.uplc.utc.org/> annual conference.
In that talk, she'd suggested that BPL was a step along the pathway to
"Broadband Nirvana."
The ARRL led the barrage of strong objections in the wake of
Abernathy's characterization. ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, pointed out
that preliminary testing already had established BPL is a significant
source of radio spectrum pollution" and that BPL could not be
implemented without causing harmful interference to radio services.
Abernathy's office later conceded that her "Broadband Nirvana" speech
may have failed to make sufficiently clear her concerns about potential
BPL interference.
***AUSTRIANS SQUELCH BPL PILOT
------------------------------
The Austrian Amateur Transmitter Federation
<http://www.oevsv.at/index.shtml> reports that a Broadband over Power
Line (BPL) field test in the city of Linz has been cut short as a result
of excessive radio interference. =D6VSV, Austria's International Amateur
Radio Union (IARU) <http://www.iaru.org> member-society, said in
December that the Government Ministry for Commerce, Innovation and
Technology closed one location where BPL was causing harmful
interference to a radio amateur.
BPL has been deployed over a large part of Linz, and all power
lines--not just individual BPL users--are radiating HF interference.
Legal action reportedly is pending.
Shortwave broadcaster Radio Austria's futureZone service
<http://futurezone.orf.at> says the case that brought the issue to a
head was a Red Cross report that emergency services radio traffic during
a disaster response drill last May was the victim of massive BPL
interference.
"The Commerce Ministry Order not only means the end of the Linz BPL
pilot project," the Radio Austria report said, "but the end of the
deployment of this technology in Austria, especially given the
interference to radio communication in places of business." According to
the broadcaster, measurements were said to have indicated that radiation
from the BPL system exceeded permissible field strength levels by a
factor of 10,000.
=D6VSV says radio amateurs in Austria have opposed deployment of all BPL
experiments as neither legal nor compatible with "vital, worldwide
shortwave radiocommunication." Among other problems with BPL, =D6VSV has
cited its potential to disrupt emergency communications and
safety-of-life services as well as military operations on HF and
navigation and aeronautical communication.
Last fall, =D6VSV representatives and Linz amateurs got together with
power company representatives in an effort to resolve BPL's
incompatibility with HF radio operation. The meetings followed news
reports of interference to emergency service communications and QRM
complaints from several area hams. "Because of the racket, expensive
installations, such as a 20-meter monobander on a high-rise building,
become totally worthless," =D6VSV said.
The utility agreed to look into the possibility of a 100-meter
protective zone around each amateur's location, notch filters for
amateur frequencies, network system filters and the use of 5 GHz
wireless local area networks.
***CONTESTS FEBRUARY 2004
-------------------------
------- (From-to) -------- -------------------------------------------
DATE WEEKDAY - TIME UTC CONTEST NAME - MODE
----- ------------------- -------------------------------------------
1 Sun 0000 - 0400 North American Sprint Contest - CW
1- 2 Sun 2000 - Mon 0600 *?* Classic Radio Exchange - CW/SSB
5 Thu 1700 - 2000 SSA 10 m Aktivitetstest - CW/SSB/FM
7- 8 Sat 0000 - Sun 2400 New Hampshire QSO Party - All
7- 8 Sat 0000 - Sun 2400 Vermont QSO Party - All
7- 8 Sat 0001 - Sun 2400 10-10 Internat. Winter QSO Party - Phone
7 Sat 1400 - 2400 Minnesota QSO Party - CW/SSB/RTTY
7 Sat 1600 - 1900 AGCW Straight Key Party - CW
7- 8 Sat 1700 - Sun 0500 Delaware QSO Party (1) - All
7- 8 Sat 1800 - Sun 2400 Mexico International RTTY Contest - RTTY
8 Sun 0000 - 0400 North American Sprint Contest - SSB
8- 9 Sun 1300 - Mon 0100 Delaware QSO Party (2) - All
8 Sun 2000 - 2400 QRP ARCI Fireside SSB Sprint - SSB
9-14 Mon 1300 - Sat 0100 School Club Roundup - All
14-15 Sat 0000 - Sun 2359 CQ World-Wide RTTY WPX Contest - RTTY
14 Sat 1100 - 1300 Asia-Pacific Sprint - Spring - 20/40 m - CW
14-15 Sat 1200 - Sun 1200 PACC Contest - CW/SSB
14-16 Sat 1400 - Mon 0200 *?* YLRL YL-OM Contest - CW
14 Sat 1700 - 2100 FISTS Winter Sprint - CW
14-15 Sat 1700 - Sun 0500 *?* OMISS QSO Party - SSB
14-15 Sat 2100 - Sun 0100 RSGB 1.8 MHz Contest - CW
15 Sun 1400 - 1500 SSA M=E5nadstest nr 2 - SSB
15 Sun 1515 - 1615 SSA M=E5nadstest nr 2 - CW
18 Wed 1900 - 2030 AGCW Semi-Automatic Key Evening - CW
21-22 Sat 0000 - Sun 2400 ARRL International DX Contest - CW
21-22 Sat 0000 - Sun 2400 YLISSB QSO Party - CW
21-23 Sat 1400 - Mon 0200 *?* YLRL YL-OM Contest - SSB
22-23 Sun 2200 - Mon 0359 CQC Winter QSO Party - CW/SSB
27-28 Fri 2100 - Sat 2100 Russian PSK WW Contest - PSK31
28-29 Sat 0000 - Sun 2359 CQ WW 160-Meter Contest - SSB
28-29 Sat 0600 - Sun 1800 REF Contest - SSB
28-29 Sat 1300 - Sun 1300 UBA DX Contest - CW
28-29 Sat 1500 - Sun 0300 Mississippi QSO Party - CW/SSB
28-29 Sat 1800 - Sun 0600 North American QSO Party - RTTY
29 Sun 0900 - 1100 High Speed Club CW Contest (1) - CW
29 Sun 1500 - 1700 High Speed Club CW Contest (2) - CW
29- 1 Sun 1700 - Mon 0300 North Carolina QSO Party - CW/SSB
-- Jan-Eric Rehn - [email protected]
http://www.sk3bg.se/contest/text/c2004Feb.txt
***COMING EVENTS
----------------
- Livermore Swap Meet - 1st Sunday of each month at Las Positas
College in Livermore, 7:00 AM to noon, all year. Talk in 147.045 from
the west, 145.35 from the east. Contact Noel Anklam, KC6QZK, (510)
447-3857 eves.
***GVARC EMAIL LIST SUMMARY
---------------------------
[email protected] is the official list of GVARC members with
e-mail addresses. This is a closed list; Joining GVARC gets you on the
list. Anyone on the list can send to the list; no one else can.
[email protected] is a list of those interested in gvarc.
Anyone can join (with confirmation message) and any member may
unsubscribe freely. Members of the gvarc_cc list can send to the list.
No one else can send to the list. List administrators, Tony, AD6ID,
and Frank, N7FF. The list's web site is http://www.qth.net.
______________________________________
To leave GVARC list, Contact Tony Armendariz, [email protected]. If you're
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