[Ham-News] Amateur Radio Newsline 1277 - February 1, 2002
Tim Miller
tmiller at nethawk.com
Sun Feb 3 00:35:12 EST 2002
The following is a Q-S-T.
The President of the United States speaks to hams in Florida and is ham
radio seeing a second Solar Max? These stoies are first on amateur Radio
Newsline report number 1277 coming your way right now.
**
BREAKING NEWS: PRESIDENT BUSH COMES TO HAM RADIO
The President of the United States has come to ham radio. Bill Burnett,
KT4SB, has the details:
--
President George W. Bush has taken to the ham radio airwaves. This, to
thank the Florida Amateur Radio community for being ready to serve the
public when it is needed.
The President's comments were made during a stopover the morning of
January 31st at the Volusia County Fire Services and Training Center
near Daytona. Around 9:15 AM Eastern Time, President Bush checked in to
the Northern Florida Amateur Radio Emergency Service Net on 3.950 MHz
using a portable station set up John Schmidt, AF4PU. Then the President
made these remarks to the 40 or so stations listening to the net:
--
President George W. Bush:
"I want to thank all the volunteers who help make sure that Florida is
prepared for any kind of emergency. I also want to assure you that your
Federal government is doing everything we can to make sure that there is
not an emergency--starting with unleashing the mighty U.S. military
overseas to bring evil ones to justice. But should there be a need for
a response, I want to thank you all for helping our communities be
prepared. And finally, I want to tell you--we are lucky to be Americans
and may God continue to bless this great land of ours. Thank you very
much."
--
Needless to say the net members were delighted to have the President of
the United States address them. More important, hams nationwide can now
be sure that President Bush knows that Amateur Radio operators are ready
to serve whenever he, and the nation, needs to call on them for help.
In Miami, I'm Bill Burnett, KT4SB, reporting for the Amateur Radio
Newsline.
--
The complete story is on the web at
http://firstcoastcommunity.jacksonville.com/northfloridaamateurradiosocietynofars
(Tnx NU4F, CQ Magazine)
**
HAM RADIO SCIENCE: TWO SOLAR MAXIMUMS THIS SEASON
In case you are wondering why the current solar cycle is still providing
such amazing VHF and UHF DX, one researcher may have the answer. He
says that the current cycle appears to be having a second peak and that
this is really not very unusual. Henry Feinberg, K2SSQ, looks at the
scientist and his latest data.
--
The most recent and ongoing Solar Maximum -- or Solar Max --
theoretically crested in mid-2000. Sunspot counts were higher than they
had been in 10 years, and solar activity was intense. One remarkable
eruption on July 14, 2000 caused brilliant auroras as far south as
Texas. But after that, sunspot counts slowly declined and the Sun was
relatively quiet for month-long stretches. Most scientists said that
the Solar Max was over. But was it?
Now, as 2002 unfolds, the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations
solar foorecasters say that it looks as if the Solar Max is back with us
again. The Sun is again peppered with spots, eruptions are frequent and
hams notice that the VHF DX keeps rolling in.
Why is this happening? Well David Hathaway, a solar physicist at the
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville Alabama has one theory.
Hathaway says that the current solar cycle appears to be double-peaked,
and the second peak has arrived.
Scientists track solar cycles by counting sunspots and Hathaway is an
expert forecaster of sunspot numbers. He says that sunspot counts
peaked in 2000 some months earlier than we expected. He says that the
subsequent dip toward solar minimum seemed premature and before long,
sunspot counts reversed course and began to climb toward a second
maximum that now appears to be only a few percent smaller than the
first.
Hathaway notes that there is a widespread misconception that solar
activity varies every eleven years like a pure sinusoidal wave. It
isn't. He says that solar activity is chaotic and there can be more
than one peak in any given period. Translated for ham radio: Enjoy the
VHF DX while you can.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Henry Feinberg, K2SSQ.
--
Hathaway says that the Solar Max eleven years ago was much the same as
this one. The first peak arrived in mid-1989 followed by a smaller
maximum in early 1991. And if you are interested in hearing more about
this interesting phenomena from David Hathaway its as easy as taking
your web browser over to http://www.rainreport.com. Or you can call
on the phone to area code 847-827-7246. (NASA, RAIN)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: HF ANTENNA INSTALLED ON ISS
High Frequency ham radio operations from the International Space Station
could be on the not to distant horizon. This, after a successful space
walk on January 25th to install another antenna on the orbiting outpost.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Roy Neal, K-6-D-U-E, has the details.
--
The spacewalkers have had another good day in space. On Friday the 25th
of January, Cosmonaut Yuri Onufrienko, RK3DUO and Astronaut Dan Bursch,
KD5PNU, successfully mounted a second ham radio antenna near a docking
port amidships on the International Space Station. It is made of
flexible tape and is similar to but longer than another antenna
installed on January 14th. That one tunes both VHF and UHF frequencies.
The new antenna will tune HF frequencies.
ARISS Board Chairman Fran Bauer, KA3HDO, says it definitely will work on
ten meters and may even be made to work on 15 and 20 meters. BUT right
now there is no gear on board to handle those frequencies. Experiments
using the lower frequencies are on the list of futures for ARISS but no
timetable has been assigned to design and build them.
Owen Garriott, W5LFL, the first man to operate ham equipment in space,
once prophesied that a five watt transmitter in orbit might well be heard
simultaneously world wide. The great number of hams with good stations
on the lower frequencies also makes them enticing to ARISS. It's a safe
bet that serious consideration now is being given to expedite such a
project. Once a station is sent up, the antenna will be waiting.
The new antenna is the second of four to be installed on board the space
station. No timetable has been announced for the final installation.
All of these amateur antennas were built by Italy, tested and qualified
in the US, to fit ports built by Russia, as befits the international
nature of the ISS.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Roy Neal, K6DUE
--
Installation of the 2.5-meter long flexible tape antenna involved not
only the mechanical deployment but routing cables and establishing the
R-F connection as well. (ARISS)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: THAT ANNOYING SATELLITE IS OFF 2 METERS
An annoying mystery satellite transmitting AFSK, frequency modulated
Morse on 144.100 MHz for several days has been identified. It turned
out to be a signal from the MAROC-TUBSAT satellite. This is an Earth-
sensing spacecraft owned by a Moroccan government agency called he Royal
Center for Remote Sensing. It was placed into a polar orbit by a
Russian launcher on December 10, 2001.
As soon as he learned of the interference to amateur operations,
Professor Udo Renner of the Center had the 144.100 MHz transmitter
turned off. He then notified AMSAT Germany that TUBSAT was no longer on
two meters.
But TUBSAT also has a downlink at 436.075 MHz. This system is only busy
over North Africa and Europe and only when the control stations in Rabat
and Berlin are activated. It has not been heard elsewhere in the world.
(AMSAT-NA)
**
SPECTRUM PRESERVATION: ARRL SAYS IT WILL FIGHT TO KEEP RFID OFF 70 CM
The ARRL says that it will go all the way to protect the 70 centimeter
ham band from a threat brought by commercial interests. At issue is a
plan from SAVI Technology and already tentatively agreed to by the FCC
to deploy unlicensed transient R-F identification tag transmitters
operating between 425 and 435 MHz. These tags run at much higher field
strengths and duty cycles than Part 15 rules now permit.
According to a League bulletin issued on January 29th, ARRL officials
have already met with members of the FCC staff as part of the League's
effort to stave off a band threat. The bulletin says that General
Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, and ARRL Technical Relations Manager Paul
Rinaldo, W4RI, delivered an ex parte presentation to FCC Office of
Engineering and Technology staffers January 14th outlining the
opposition of the ham radio community. (ARRL)
**
FCC: CHAIRMAN POWELL HOME AFTER HOSPITAL TESTS
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell was discharged
from the hospital on Friday January 25th. This, after a two-night stay
in the to undergo tests because of a lingering stomach bug.
Stomach discomfort caused him to cancel appearances at the Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas on January 8th and again at the annual
conference of the National Association of Television Program Executives
on Wednesday January 23rd. Doctors advised precautionary tests that
required overnight stays at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in suburban
Washington. (Published news reports)
**
ENFORCEMENT: THAT SONG WAS NOT AS BAD AS WE THOUGHT
The Federal Communications Commission has dropped an indecency fine
against a Colorado radio station. KKMG FM of Colorado Springs had been
fined seven-thousand dollars for airing the edited version of Eminem's
"The Real Slim Shady." This, after a listener wrote the regulatory
agency to complain.
At the time the fine was issued federal regulators said the edited
version still included some expletives and references to violence and
graphic sex. But the FCC now says it has reconsidered. It now says
that the lyrics in the edited version didn't violate its rules by being
"patently offensive." (FCC)
**
RESCUE RADIO: BRAZIL RADIO OPERATORS HELP IN POWER OUTAGE CRISIS
A major electricity blackout hit at least five Brazilian states on
January 21st, and it was hobby radio enthusiasts that let people know
about it.
The blackout, which began at 1:30 p.m., hit hardest in the industrial
southeast and the major cities of Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Rio De
Janeiro, Goiania, Vitoria and the capital, Brasilia.
According to news reports, Brazil's National Energy Agency blamed the
outage on transmission line failures. The same news report credited
Brazilian hobby radio operators as informing authorities that subways in
Rio De Janero and Sao Paulo were halted and that traffic lights were out
snarling commuters in several areas.
The outage was caused by a failure at the Itaipu hydroelectric station
in southwestern Brazil. A power-line failure caused thirteen of the
dam's eighteen turbines to stop, cutting off nearly 20 percent of the
country's energy. Power was restored about three hours later. The news
story did not identify the radio operators as being hams. (Various
shortwave news reports)
**
RESCUE RADIO: NEW INTER-JURISDICTION RADIO SYSTEMS BEING INTRODUCED
Santa Clara County California, police, fire and emergency medical
personnel have never been able to communicate with one another at the
scene of a major disaster. This is because each agency uses a separate
radio system. That is expected to change this year.
Santa Clara County will be leading the nation in using new digital radio
technology to solve the inter-agency communications problem. The new
system will allow up to eighteen participating jurisdictions in any
county to talk to one another instantly.
By way of example, once the system is up and running, officers involved
in one of California's famed high-speed car chase will be able to talk
directly to police in the neighboring jurisdiction as the suspect
approaches that town. They won't have to switch channels or go through
dispatch centers. This means less time wasted and the probability that
lives will be saved.
While Santa Clara county is at the head of the pack in adopting this new
digital communications technology, the same news reports say that and
Washington, D-C is not far behind. (Cal-State Info.)
**
PUBLIC RELATIONS: A CHEAP SATELLITE
A Cheap Satellite is the name of an Associated Press item that
highlighted the work of the faculty and students at the United States
Naval Academy in the development and launch of the P C Sat ham radio
satellite. The story tells how the twenty-five pound bird was built
using off the shelf products including a tape measure for its antenna
and rechargeable double A cell batteries for power.
The story was written by Tom Stuckey and moved on the wire on Wednesday
January 23rd. It noted that PCSat, was the 44th amateur satellite put
in orbit. It is one of more than a dozen built by university students
around the world. (VHF Reflector)
**
CONVENTIONS & HAMFESTS: ORLANDO HAMCATION WEAK SIGNAL FORUM
The Orlando HamCation will host its first ever Weak Signal VHF and UHF
forum. Beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday Ferbruary 9th, the one hour
session will be moderated by N2CEI, of Down East Microwave. Also, Tom
Haddon, K5VH, will be on hand to motivate more Florida hams to become
active on the Microwave bands.
If you are in the Orlando Florida area on February 8th to the 10th drop
in on the Orlando Hamcation. For more details and or advance
reservations, go to oarc.org/hamcat.html on the World Wide Web (W2BZY)
**
CONVENTIONS & HAMFESTS: DATE CHANGE FOR RADIOFEST 2002
Brian Broggie, W6FVI, asks that we pass along a date change for
RadioFest 2002 sponsored by the Naval Post Graduate School Amateur Radio
Club in Monterey California. The new date is February 23rd. More
information is in cyberspace at k6ly.org/radiofest. (W6FVI)
**
HAM RADIO SCHOLARSHIPS: THE DARA SCHOLARSHIPS
The Dayton Amateur Radio Association is one of three ham radio
organizations seeking nominations for its scholarship program for the
2002-2003 academic year. According to DARA, applicants must be
graduating high school seniors in 2002 and hold any class of an FCC
issued mateur Radio license. The scholarship awards run up to $2000,
as determined by the scholarship committee. Money must be used toward
tuition at an institution of higher education.
To obtain an application, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the
Dayton Amateur Radio Association Scholarship Program, 9873 Lower Valley
Pike, Medway, Ohio 45341. You can also obtain an application by e-mail
to n8emo1 at msn.com. Completed applications must be postmarked no latter
than June 1st to be eligible for this years scholarship program.
(DARA)
**
HAM RADIO SCHOLARSHIPS: THE FOUNDATION FOR AMATEUR RADIO
Another organization offering scholarships to hams id the Foundation For
Amateur Radio. The Washington, D.C. area group will administer sixty-
two scholarships for the academic year running from 2002 through 2003.
Licensed Radio Amateurs may compete for these awards if they plan to
pursue a full-time course of studies beyond high school and are enrolled
in or have been accepted for enrollment at an accredited university,
college or technical school.
The awards range from $500 to $2500 with preference given in some cases
to residents of specified geographical areas or the pursuit of certain
study programs. Additional information and an application form may be
requested by letter or QSL card to the FAR Scholarships, Post Office Box
831, Riverdale, Maryland, 20738. (Foundation For Amateur Radio)
**
INTERNATIONAL - SOUTH AFRICA: SA RADIO AMATEURS OF THE YEAR NAMED
Turning to international news, South Africa is honoring two of its own
as that nations Radio Amateurs of the Year. Q-News Graham Kemp, VK4BB,
brings us the details:
--
The South African Amateur Radio Development Trust have announced the
winners of the 2001 Siemens Radio Amateur of the Year Award. This
award is made annually to a Radio Amateur who has made a major
contribution to the Amateur Service either on a technical or
development basis in ZS land.
The award has been bestowed jointly on Bradley Phillips, ZS5BP, and
Garth Wilson, ZR6CY. ZS5BP for his work on the introduction of Iphone
and the development of the Internet Radio Linked project. ZR6CY for
his continuous efforts to develop communication skills amongst the
youth. He has to date presented no less than 80 camps for Voortrekkers
to learn the Morse code and basic communication skills.
For Q-News Australia, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB, reporting for the Amateur
Radio Newsline.
--
This award is considered as South Africa's equivalent to the Dayton
awards presented here in the United States. (SARL News, Q-News)
**
INTERNATIONAL - UK: KENWOOD TROPHY AWARDED TO G3XWH
Meantime, over in the U-K, Richard Horton, G3XWH, who chaired the RSGB's
Future Licensing and Examination Forum has been awarded the Kenwood
Trophy. This, for his significant contribution to training and
development in amateur radio.
Horton recently retired from the Radio Society of Great Britain's Board
where he was responsible for amateur radio development. His committee
was responsible for much of the work that went into the creation of the
new U-K Foundation Class license. (GB2RS)
**
DX
In DX, DJ4KW and DK9GG are currently active from Belize as V31YN and
V31GW, respectively, through early February. Activity is on CW, RTTY and
PSK 31. (RSGB)
And IN3QBR will be active from Vientiane as XW3QBR until the 31st of
July. He will be joined, from the 20th of April until the 10th of May
by IN3ZNR operating as XW3ZNR. (OPDX)
And R1ANF began operations as CE9 slash R1ANF on the 29th of December
from a Chilean base in the South Shetland Islands. He is active on 10
to 28MHz with 100 watts to an R6000 vertical. For all three QSL as
directed on the air. (RSGB)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF ED CLEGG W2LOY
And finally this week, if you were on the VHF bands in the 50's, 60's
and 70's then the name Clegg Labs touched your ham radio operations.
And as we hear in this report, the family of the man behind the gear is
inviting you to help celebrate his life.
--
Even if you did not own any Clegg gear, the chances are that you talked
to someone on the air who did. Whether it was the top of the line
Interceptor receiver and Zeus transmitter or the entry level 99'er
transceiver, it was easy to spot a Clegg signal by its almost
overpowering modulation that seemed just right for the R-F carrier it
was on.
Almost every product that carried the Clegg label was designed by the
company's founder Edward T. Clegg, W2LOY. When he moved the company to
Pennsylvania in the 1970's, Ed took the call W3LOY. Likewise, after
retiring to Ohio he traded the 3 for an 8, but kept the famed L-O-Y
suffix.
And regardless of the call area, Ed Clegg was first and foremost a
communications designer well ahead of his time. Even more important, he
was a positive influence on just about everyone with whom he came in
contact.
Ed Clegg left us last September at age 80. Now, his wife Martie will be
hosting a gathering in March near the Clegg home in Lancaster Ohio.
The purpose is to celebrate the life of Edward T. Clegg. And they are
asking you to help.
Martie, her daughter Linda and Linda's husband Rob MacGuffie, K2HZN, are
asking anyone who knew Ed to share in the celebration. They know that
most of you won't be able to be in Lancaster Ohio on March 30th. But
some of you do have memories, stories, photos and other Ed Clegg
memorabilia that would help to make this day even more unforgettable.
If you have something to share, please contact Linda and Rob before the
end of February. Their address is 70 Province Road, Gilmanton New
Hampshire with a zipcode of 03237. Rob's cyperspace address is
K2HZN at yahooo.com.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Cathy Anno, KB0FDU.
--
By the way, a number of us here at the Amateur Radio Newsline began our
ham radio careers using gear designed by Ed Clegg. In fact, our
producer Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, got to know Ed while Bill was still a
teenager operating A-M on the 6 meter band. (Clegg family)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alan Labs, Amateur News Weekly, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC
Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX Bulletin, Radio
Netherlands, Rain, the RSGB and Australia's Q-News, that's all from the
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm). Our e-mail address is newsline
@arnewsline.org. More information is available at Amateur Radio
Newsline's(tm) only official website located at www.arnewsline.org. You
can also write to us or support us at
Amateur Radio Newsline
P.O. Box 660937
Arcadia, California 91066.
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