[GVARC] March Newsletter
Tony
[email protected]
Tue, 23 Mar 2004 18:45:33 -0800
************************* Garlic Valley ******************************
Volume 19 Mar 2004
******************* 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
TX REP BARTON REPLACES TAUZIN
SSB PIONEER W6QYT SILENT KEY
MEANWHILE, AT THE FCC
FCC PRESSURE ON UNLICENSED 10-METER
OSCAR 40 IN BIG TROUBLE AGAIN
CONTEST CALENDAR MARCH 2004
COMING EVENTS
***NEXT CLUB MEETING - Saturday, 27-Mar-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]
***TX REP BARTON REPLACES TAUZIN
--------------------------------
Texas Republican Rep Joe Barton was named the new chairman of the
House Energy and Commerce Committee <http://energycommerce.house.gov/>
on February 25. He replaces Louisiana Republican Billy Tauzin, who
announced last month that he was stepping down as chairman and would not
run for re-election in November. Energy and Commerce is the parent
committee of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the
Internet, which is considering two Amateur Radio-related bills: HR 713,
the Spectrum Protection Act of 2003, and HR 1478, the Amateur Radio
Emergency Communications Consistency Act of 2003. Barton also serves on
the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, but he
has not yet signed on as a cosponsor of either HR 713 or HR 1478.
***SSB PIONEER W6QYT SILENT KEY
-------------------------------
The man who pioneered single sideband on the amateur bands has died
at age 87. According to the ARRL Letter, Stanford University Professor
Oswald G. =93Mike=94 Villard, Jr., W6QYT, was among the first people to
experiment with SSB in the late 1940s and that under his guidance,
Stanford=92s ham station, W6YX, reportedly became the first amateur
station to use SSB transmissions. Villard was also a pioneer in radar
and meteor-scatter techniques, held a half-dozen patents and wrote
dozens of articles in amateur and scientific journals.
Among his non-amateur accomplishments were developing over-the-horizon
radar to detect incoming missiles and military aircraft, demonstrating
the feasibility of =93stealth=94 aircraft, and designing a small HF
receiving antenna that nulled out jamming signals aimed at western
shortwave broadcasters during the Cold War.
-- CQ
***MEANWHILE, AT THE FCC
------------------------
* - Congressman Greg Walden (WB7OCE, one of two licensed hams in
Congress), has warned the FCC not to be too hasty in approving higher
emission limits for BPL. In a letter to FCC Chairman Michael Powell, the
Oregon Republican said the interference potential made the issue =93of
great concern=94 to him and, according to the ARRL Letter, said the FCC
should wait for the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA), its counterpart for federal government spectrum
usage, to complete a BPL study it is conducting and for the public to
comment on the study results.
* - FCC Chairman Powell, meanwhile, finally admitted publicly that BPL
does have the potential to cause interference problems. The ARRL Letter
says Powell told the National Press Club the FCC =93will continue to
explore ways to support this technology while protecting services from
interference.=94 And the NTIA=92s Assistant Secretary for Communications and
Information told the BPL trade association that the risk of interference
should encourage BPL operators to =93design and operate their systems to
avoid such interference.=94
-- CQ
***FCC PRESSURE ON UNLICENSED 10-METER
--------------------------------------
The FCC is continuing efforts to stem alleged unlicensed
operation--primarily by long-haul truckers--on the 10-meter amateur
band.
Enforcement Bureau Special Counsel Riley Hollingsworth, this month wrote
FedEx Corporation CEO Frederick W. Smith enclosing a complaint asserting
that some FedEx drivers have used "Amateur Radio transmitters to
communicate on the 10-meter Amateur Radio band without a license,"
Hollingsworth said. The complaint focused on alleged operations in
Tennessee.
"Many truckers use CB radio, which does not require a license,"
Hollingsworth told Smith. "However, any person using a radio transmitter
on Amateur Radio frequencies must possess both a station and operator
license, for which an examination is required." He pointed out that some
truckers have been known to use uncertificated dual-purpose CB radios
that also can transmit on 10 meters. CB gear must be FCC certificated,
formerly known as type acceptance, but ham radio gear does not need to
be.
So-called dual-use ham/CB transceivers may not be sold or marketed under
FCC rules.
Two additional trucking firms this month were the target of FCC
warning notices involving complaints of unlicensed operation on 10
meters.
Hollingsworth wrote Carl Leonard Ross of CLR Transport in Saluda, North
Carolina, citing allegations that a CLR Transport vehicle traveling on
I-85 in North Carolina "was the source of unlicensed radio transmissions
on the 10-meter Amateur Radio band on July 14, 2003." Cassidy's Express
of Bristol, Pennsylvania, heard from the FCC regarding reports that one
of its vehicles was the source of unlicensed radio transmissions while
under way in Pennsylvania last October 9.
Hollingsworth asked Smith to advise FedEx drivers that such operation
of radio transmitting equipment without a license is a violation of
federal law and could subject violators to stiff fines and even jail
time as well as seizure of equipment. Pointing out the same penalties
for violators, Hollingsworth asked the other two trucking firms to
contact him to discuss the allegations.
Earlier this year, the FCC sent warning notices to two shipping
companies in the wake of reports to the Commission that some of the
companies' vehicles may have been illegally transmitting on 10 meters.
At least one of the companies, UPS, offered its full cooperation and
promised to investigate.
***OSCAR 40 IN BIG TROUBLE AGAIN
--------------------------------
AMSAT=92s trouble-plagued OSCAR-40 satellite is off the air and
controllers don=92t know when or whether they=92ll be able to bring it back.
They suspect a short-circuit in one or more cells of the spacecraft=92s
main battery is pulling the voltage levels down to the point where
neither the 2.4 GHz transmitter nor the onboard computer are operating.
There is a backup battery system but it=92s tied to the main one and
attempts to bring it online independently have so far failed. Soon after
its launch in late 2000, OSCAR-40 suffered what is believed to be an
on-board explosion, disabling much of its transmit and receive
capability. Controllers believe the current problems may be a result of
whatever happened then as well.
Meanwhile, AMSAT-DL (Germany) reports that efforts are being made to
get a large non-amateur radiotelescope to aim at the satellite and try
to determine whether the receivers=92 local oscillators are operating.
-- CQ
***CONTEST CALENDAR MARCH 2004
------------------------------
DATE WEEKDAY - TIME UTC CONTEST NAME - MODE
----- ------------------- -------------------------------------------
29- 1 Sun 1700 - Mon 0300 North Carolina QSO Party - CW/SSB
2 Tue 1900 - 2100 AGCW YL CW Party - CW
4 Thu 1700 - 2000 SSA 10 m Aktivitetstest - CW/SSB/FM
6- 7 Sat 0000 - Sun 2400 ARRL International DX Contest - SSB
6- 7 Sat 1000 - Sun 0959 The Makrothen Contest - RTTY
6- 7 Sat 2200 - Sun 0159 Open Ukraine RTTY Ch.ship Low band - RTTY
7 Sun 0800 - Sun 1159 Open Ukraine RTTY Ch.ship High band - RTTY
7 Sun 1100 - 1700 DARC 10 m Digital Contest "Corona" - DIGI
11 Thu 0200 - 0400 Pesky Texan Armadillo Chase - CW
13-14 Sat 0000 - Sun 2400 YLISSB QSO Party - SSB
13-14 Sat 1000 - Sun 1000 RSGB Commonwealth Contest - CW
13 Sat 1200 - 1700 DIG QSO Party (10 - 20 m) - SSB
13 Sat 1400 - 2000 AGCW QRP Contest - CW
13 Sat 1800 - 2400 *?* SOC Marathon Sprint - CW
14 Sun 0000 - 0400 North American Sprint Contest - RTTY
14 Sun 0700 - 0900 DIG QSO Party (80 m) - SSB
14 Sun 0700 - 1100 UBA Spring Contest - CW
14 Sun 0900 - 1100 DIG QSO Party (40 m) - SSB
14 Sun 1200 - 1600 NSARA Contest (1) - CW/SSB
14 Sun 1400 - 1500 SSA M=E5nadstest nr 3 - CW
14 Sun 1515 - 1615 SSA M=E5nadstest nr 3 - SSB
14 Sun 1800 - 2200 NSARA Contest (2) - CW/SSB
14-15 Sun 1800 - Mon 0100 Wisconsin QSO Party - CW/SSB
20-22 Sat 0200 - Mon 0200 BARTG HF RTTY Contest - RTTY
20-21 Sat 1200 - Sun 1200 *?* DARC SSTV Contest - SSTV
20-21 Sat 1200 - Sun 1200 Russian DX Contest - CW/SSB
20-22 Sat 1800 - Mon 0200 Virginia QSO Party - CW/SSB
21 Sun 1200 - 1600 9KCC 15m-Contest - CW/SSB
27-28 Sat 0000 - Sun 2359 CQ WW WPX Contest - SSB
27-28 Sat 1300 - Sun 1300 Oklahoma QSO Party - All
27-28 Sat 1700 - Sun 1700 *?* CLARA & Family HF Contest - CW/SSB
29 Mon 0000 - 0400 QRP Homebrewer Sprint - CW/PSK31
-- Jan-Eric Rehn - [email protected]
http://www.sk3bg.se/contest/text/c2004Mar.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.
- Foothill (now Sunnyvale) Flea Market - 2nd Saturday of each month
from March to October HAS MOVED from Foothill College to the Lockheed,
Sunnyvale. Exit 101 or 237 at Mathilda and head west on Moffet Park 1
block. Turn just past the big white dishes (near the "blue cube"). Still
on the FARS NET on 145.23 repeater Thursday nights at 8 PM. See
http://www.asvaro.org for a info on this long running electronics flea
markets.
-- Don, KA6AUR
***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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