[Ham-News] Amateur Radio Newsline 1282 - March 8, 2002

Sun Mar 10 00:09:07 EST 2002

Amateur Radio Newsline 1282 - March 8, 2002

The following is a Q-S-T.

The Dayton Hamvention announces the EMMY AND OSCARS of Amateur Radio.  
We have the winners on Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1282 coming 
your war right now.

**

HAMVENTION 2002:  AWARD WINNERS NAMED

The Dayton Hamvention has named Radio Amateur Information  Network 
founder Alanson "Hap" Holly, KC9RP, as its 2002 Radio Amateur of the 
Year.  Holly received the news of his selection on Thursday evening 
February 28th in a phone call from Cathi Hoskins, N8ZCQ, who chairs the 
Hamvention Awards and Banquet Committee.  KC9RP tells Amateur Radio 
Newsline that he was completely taken by surprise:

--
Holly KC9RP: "I was absolutely stunned!  In fact, all I could say was 
me?  I mean seriously, I was just absolutely floored."
--

Holly, lives in Des Plaines Illinois has been licensed since 1965.  He 
began his ham radio informational programming career in 1984 on a local 
Chicago Area repeater.  This eventually lead him to become founder, 
moderator and guiding light of a weekly amateur radio audio feature 
magazine known as the RAIN Report.  

RAIN programming is distributed to hundreds of repeaters across the 
country via a telephone dial-up line, the rainreport.com website, by a 
subscription tape service and broadcast over W-A-Zero-R-C-R's weekly 160 
meter informational net.

But that's is only a small part of the Hap Holly story.  Originally 
licensed in Escondido California at age 14, Holly who has been blind 
since age 7 served as a phone-patch station and net control for the 
famed WESTCARS traffic net until 1970.  He then headed off to Principia 
College in Illinois and from 1970 to graduation in 1974, ran phone 
patches and kept radio schedules for many of his fellow students. 

Holly graduated Principia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, 
and soon found himself in the Chicago area.  There, he sought out world-
class jazz accordionist Leon Sash, to pursue further training in music. 
As a professional keyboard player, Holly's diverse repertoire of 
American music of the past six decades has made him a popular choice in 
the Chicago area.

Hap met his wife-to-be while he was teaching a class in non-visual 
perception to high school students at a summer camp in Buena Vista, 
Colorado.  The two were married in August of 1976.  Stephanie, who is 
sighted, received her ham ticket and KA9WKD callsign in 1986. 

Over the years, Hap Holly has written articles for the Spec-Com Journal, 
Radio Scan Magazine and occasionally reports for us here on the Amateur 
Radio Newsline.  Holly is also a common sight at the Dayton Hamvention, 
taping forums which are then incorporated throughout the year into his 
RAIN Reports.  And since 1975 KC9RP has been an honored member of the 
Des Plaines Lions Club.  He has also been a member of the Des Plaines 
Toastmasters since 1976.  He and Stephanie are also active with Des 
Plaines Illinois Emergency Medical Alert system.

Named as this years Hamvention Technical Excellence award winner is Alan 
Waller, K3TKJ, of Laurel, Delaware.  Waller was chosen for his work that 
lead to the interfacing the Internet to Amateur Radio.  

First licensed in 1961, Waller combined his decades-long love for 
Amateur Radio and a burgeoning interest in the then-new Internet to 
design and manage the www.qsl.net and www.qth.net web sites.  That was 
back in 1993.  Since that time, Alan Waller's web sites have come to 
serve the needs of tens of thousands of ham radio operators worldwide by 
providing a vast technical reference platform, an electronic mail 
service, web page hosting services, and links to thousands of other ham 
radio related sites.  And in the true spirit of the Amateur Radio, 
Waller's initial work utilized leading edge experimentation to see what 
could be done with the technology then available.  This has developed 
into a mature, reliable service to the world wide ham radio community.

Rounding out this seasons winners are a pair of pair of space exploring 
hams who have been named as co-recipients of the 2002 Hamvention Special 
Achievement Award.  Former astronauts Owen Garriott, W5LFL, and Tony 
England, W0ORE, are being honored for paving the way for manned ham 
radio operations from the space shuttles that has made ham radio a 
permanent part of mans exploration of space.

Owen Gariott, W5LFL was first.  On November 28, 1983, Garriott, was 
launched into space aboard the space ship Columbia for the STS-9 
mission.  It was the Spacelab 1 mission and Garriott brought along the 
first Amateur Radio station on a crew-tended space vehicle.  It was a 
simple Motorola hand held transceiver connected to a special antenna 
designed to fit in the Space Shuttle's window.  

Three days later, W5LFL came on the air and hams across the United 
States and around the world were witness to a historic radio 
transmission:

--
Owen Garriott W5LFL:  "This is W5LFL in Columbia.  W5LFL in Columbia 
orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 135 nautical miles passing over the 
U.S. West Coast and calling CQ."
--

Among those who heard Owen Garriott's Amateur Radio transmissions from 
space was Lance Collister, WA1JXN of Frenchtown Montana.  Collister, who 
is now W7GJ,  is credited with being the first amateur to work an 
astronaut in orbit.  Take a listen:

--
Lance Collister WA1JXN/W7GJ:  "W5LFL on Columbia, WA1JXN, W-A-1-Japan - 
Xray-Norway, WA1JXN Frenchtown Montana standing by."

Owen Garriott, W5LFL:  "Hello W1JXN, WA1JXN, WA1-Juliet-Xray-November.  
This is W5LFL.  You're our first contact from orbit.  WA1JXN, how do you 
read?  Over?" 
--

The success of Garriott's mission lead to the development of SAREX -- 
The Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment.  And, over the years,  SAREX 
permitted youngsters in classrooms around the world to speak directly 
with astronauts in space.  But for this to happen, the technology of 
manned ham radio operations from space had to be enhanced.  This aspect 
of the then new SAREX program fell to the next ham radio operator 
orbited: Tony England, W0ORE.

W0ORE flew into space on the shuttle Challenger in 1985.  It was Mission 
51F, Spscelab 2.  In addition to the 2 meter FM voice gear, Tony England 
also had with him the first ever ham television station to go into 
space.  Slow Scan yes, but capable of sending back high resolution 
images which hams on the ground equipped with SSTV gear could view live 
or record on a simple audio cassette for later viewing and historical 
archiving.  From space, Tony England described the station he was using:

--
Tony England, W0ORE:  "Essentially we've got a commercial TV camera that 
anyone could go out to their local radio store ant buy.  We feed this 
into a scan converter built by a commercial outfit and modified by NASA 
Amateur Radio clubs and this takes a snapshot of the scene and digitizes 
it and put it in a memory.  

Then its sent to a handie-talkie like this.  From there we will send it 
over a wire up to the upper window upstairs and to this antenna when I 
get it up there in the window.  Then it will be transmitted to the 
ground.

When we get going, we will be able to send color TV images of what we 
are doing on board as a series of snapshots updated every 10 or 20 
seconds.  Amateurs anywhere on the ground will be able to receive them, 
and ones with scan converters will see the pictures." 
--

That flight also marked another first.  The first ever two way 
television -- ham radio television -- to and from space.

Tony England went on to flight prove both the improved FM voice and then 
new SSTV systems.  The SSTV was so successful that NASA gave very 
serious consideration to a permanent installation on all shuttles for 
back up communications.  More important, the early on-orbit operations 
by Own Garriott W5LFL and Tony England W0ORE made possible the thousands 
of educational contacts between children in school classrooms and the 
crews flying in space.  First, on board the shuttles, and now as a 
permanent part of the International Space Station.  

Hap Holly KC9RP, Alan Waller K3TKJ, Owen Garriott W5LFL and  Tony 
England W0ORE will receive their honors at the Hamvention Awards Banquet 
slated for Saturday evening, May 18th at the Nutter Center in Dayton 
Ohio.  Amateur Radio Newsline will be there to bring you this story and 
all the news about Hamvention 2002.  (ARNewsline™ from Dayton 
Hamventionr news release.  Some audio from "Amateur Radio's Newest 
Frontier" and "SAREX - The Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment" video 
presentations)

**

RADIO RULES:  FCC RESUMES VANITY PROCESSING

Vanity license processing is getting back on tract.  According to a 
Legaue bulletin the FCC now has all outstanding vanity applications 
filed last October in hand and is ready to resume routine vanity 
processing.  Until recently a single missing vanity application had been 
holding up a backlog of more than 2000 vanity applications.  The FCC 
credits the ARRL in part with helping to locate applicants and resolving 
the problem.  (ARRL, FCC)

**

RESCUE RADIO:  AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY COMMS SUMMIT

The first ever Amateur Radio Emergency Communications summit was held in 
Indianapolis last week.  Amateur News Weekly's Jack Parker, W8ISH, 
reports on the success of this first meeting.

--
They came from the Red Cross, Salvation Army, ARES, RACES and even CB-
radio's REACT team. Two dozen representatives of different Amateur Radio 
emergency communications groups met in a  Federal Building training room 
to find ways of helping local and state emergency management 
organizations.  The summit was organized by Marion County ARES director 
Mike Palmer, N9FEB.   Palmer cited a  need to develop better 
communications and cooperation between the different groups.  

Many amateurs wear two or three different hats when it comes to 
providing public service.  Palmer wants to identify those who are 
willing to help and to better utilize the voice and data communications 
available in the Marion County Amateur Radio Community.  Many of the 
summit participants agreed this type of effort is long overdue.

Members of Army-Navy and Air Force Mars, as well as the Indiana Wing of 
the Civil Air Patrol offered their services during times of disaster.  
Everyone agreed this was a good start and look forward to future efforts 
to better train and organize Amateur Radio Emergency Communications in 
Marion County and Central Indiana.

Reporting from Indianapolis for Amateur News Weekly, this is Jack Parker 
W8ISH.

--

According to Jack, everyone came away from the meeting knowing that 
cooperation between groups is a key element in providing better service 
to the public.  (ANW)

**

RADIO  RULES:  FCC ADOPTS AMBER EAS EVENT CODE FOR CHILD ABDUCTION CASES
The Federal Communications Commission has announced the adoption of a 
Report and Order amending the Emergency Alert System rules.  Included 
are several new EAS event and location codes, which broadcast stations 
and cable systems may use to alert the public in the event of state and 
local emergencies.  Of these, a new Child Abduction Emergency event code 
may be the most interesting to hams involved in Search and Rescue and 
who have E-A-S decoders installed in their repeaters.  

The plan is described as a voluntary partnership between law enforcement 
agencies and the media that will be used to alert the public of serious 
child abduction cases where police believe that the child is in danger 
of bodily harm or death.  Under the plan, radio and television stations 
will be permitted but not required to interrupt programming to 
disseminate information concerning serious child abductions when the new 
Child Abduction Emergency code is received.  It could also be used by 
hams as an automated call to action to help find a missing child if used 
to activate an E-A-S equipped Amateur Service repeater.

Police departments say that every minute counts in dealing with an 
abducted child situation.  In adding the Child Abduction Emergency code 
the FCC says that its responding to public concerns.  (FCC)

**

ENFORCEMENT: FCC COMPLETES GEORGIA ARRL VEC EXAM SESSION AUDIT

The FCC has wrapped up an investigation into apparent irregularities at 
five ARRL VEC-sponsored Amateur Radio examination sessions in Georgia 
during 2000 and 2001.  As a result of the probe, FCC Special Counsel 
Riley Hollingsworth says that several examinees will be called back for 
partial retesting: 

--
Riley Hollingsworth:  "We determined reviewing all of the information 
that was brought to our by the League that eight examinees will have to 
be retested on the code element.  The ARRL has also relieved ten VE's of 
their duties as volunteer examiners."
--

According to the ARRL Letter, all V-E's who might have been involved 
were suspended after the FCC investigation began last year.  (FCC, RAIN)

**

ENFORCEMENT:  A REPEATER OUTSIDE OF THE BAND

The FCC is also looking at the operation of repeater in the Metro New 
York City area.  Again, the FCC's Riley Hollingsworth:

--
Riley Hollingsworth: "We opened an inquiry into allegations that an 
uncoordinated repeater operated by Thomas Batista, KC2DDD, and Gerardo 
Arias, N2IFU, in Corona and Staten Island New York.  Now that repeater 
is not only causing interference to a coordinted repeater, but the input 
is apparently on a frequency not even allocated to the Amateur band.  
So, needless to say we are real interested in reviewing that response 
when it comes in.
--

What Hollingsworth will be looking for is an answer to why the machine 
is using 143.020 MHz as an input frequency as well as why its on the air 
without coordination.  143.020 MHz is a full 800 Kilohertz below the 
bottom edge of the 2 meter Amateur band. (FCC, RAIN)

**

CONVENTIONS:  SOUTH EAST VHF SOCIETY CONFERENCE

On a far lighter note, the Sixth Annual Southeastern VHF Society 
Conference will take place April 26th through the 27th in Oak Ridge, 
Tennessee.   And they too are putting out a call for papers.  If you are 
interested in participating, please contact KG4QDZ by e-mail to 
kg4qdz at arrl.net.  (VHF Reflector)

**

CONVENTIONS:  CHARLESTON HAMFEST MARCH 16

And the 18th Annual Charleston Area Hamfest and Computer Show will be 
held Saturday, March 16, 2002 from 9 AM to 3 PM at the Coonskin Armory 
in Charleston, West Virginia. Talk-in is on the 145.35 MHz repeater.  
Admission is $5 and there will be free parking.  More information is 
available by e-mail to n8tmw at arrl.net.  (N8TMW)

**

HAM RADIO POLITICS:  NCI LEADER CALLS FOR ELECTIONS

Bruce Perens, K6BP, the founder and an incumbent director of No Code 
International says that its time for new directions for the group and 
has called for elections.  Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP, 
has more:

--
According to Bruce Perins, K6BP,  when he started NCI in 1997, he never 
dreamed that it's goals would be achieved so quickly.  But says Perins; 
"we are most of the way there."

Perins notes that last year the International Amateur Radio Union voted 
to ask for the removal of the international treaty provision requiring 
Morse Code testing for Radio Amateurs.  Now Perins observes that even 
ARRL has voted in favor of removing code requirements from the 
international Radio Regulations. 

With what he terms as -- no remaining credible opposition to NCI's cause 
left on the international level -- Perins says that it is time to turn 
NCI's focus to domestic policy.  He says that for NCI to take an 
appropriate role in the end-game of the no-code battle means cooperation 
with national societies like the American Radio Relay League.  And to do 
this, Perrins believes may take some new people.

So Perins has asked that an election for new directors be held no later 
than April 30th of this year.  He also says that any person who was an 
NCI member on December 31, 2001 can be a candidate for director, and is 
eligible to vote in the election.  

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP.

--

More information about No Code International is on the web at 
www.nocode.org.  (ARNewsline with information from K6BP)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE:  AO-40 GPS TEST RESULTS PUBLISHED

The February issue of GPS World included an article titled Formation 
Flying in Space.  Authored in-part by AMSAT North America's Frank Bauer, 
KA3HDO, the essay shows G-P-S results from the receivers that NASA' 
Goddard Space Flight Center provided for flight on the AMSAT OSCAR 40 
bird.  According to Tom Clark, W3IWI, the data shown in the article was 
downloaded using AO-40's RUDAK system by WD0E and KB0G.  (ANS)

**

WRTC-2002:  ORGANIZING COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES THE COMPLETE LIST OF OFFICIAL 
ON-SITE REFEREES

The WRTC 2002 Organizing Committee has named a full list of on-site 
referees for the upcoming games.  The committee says that it received 
more than 100 highly qualified applications and those chosen were from 
that group.  A full list of referees and other information is available 
on the web at www.wrtc2002.org  (WRTC2002)

**

DX

In D-X, word that Dave Cree, G3TBK, has returned to work in the 
Caribbean.  Throughout March Dave will be active as J88DR from St. 
Vincent.  For the first two weeks of April look for him J3 slash G3TBK 
from Grenada. Operations will be on all bands, but concentrating on the 
WARC bands, mostly on C-W, but with some SSB.  QSL to Dave's home call 
either direct or via the RSGB bureau.  (RSGB)

The New Zealand Amateur Transmitters Society is warning hams world wide 
of what they say is a pirate operation.  According  the NZART News, a 
maritime mobile station using the callsign ZL2TO and the name Tony has 
been heard recently operating on nets on 15 Meters.  This station 
currently gives his location as the Cape Verde Islands.  Only one 
problem.  The ZL2TO call sign is allocated the Waitara Amateur Radio 
Club.  (NZART)

And the South Africa Radio League news service says that anyone who has 
held a QSO's with 7Q8 slash ZS6GH or C9 slash ZS6GH should write them 
off .  SARL says that these have been declared null and void because 
license or authorization to operate was issued by the telecommunications 
regulators in Malawi or Mozambique.  (SARL)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM:  NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR THE YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR AWARD

And finally, we started this weeks newscast with a story about awards. 
Lets end it on a similar note as we here a Amateur Radio Newsline 
officially open the 2002 nominating season for our own Young Ham of the 
Year Award.  

The Young Ham of the Year award was created in 1986 by amateur Radio 
Newsline producer Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, to fill what he viewed as a 
void where younger members of ham radio society were often overlooked:

--
Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF:  "When I was a young ham in the 50's and 60's 
the good deeds of young hams were often overlooked and ignored. When I 
grew up I was fortunate enough to be in a position to remedy this and 
thats how the Young Ham of the Year Award program came about.  Thats how 
it came into being" 
--

The award as originally envisioned as very low budget.  One idea was for 

a certificate that would be mailed to a ham, age 18 or younger who had 
shown some exceptional ability or performed some heroic deed that set 
him or her apart from the crowd.  When Bill mentioned the idea to Chip 
Margelli K7JA, of Vertex Standard back in the company's days as Yaesu 
USA, the idea quickly expanded.  Margelli offered company support on the 
spot:

--
Chip Margelli, K7JA:  "When Bill Pasternak gave me a call and dsescribed 
the project to me in the tiniest bit of detail it was obvious that this 
was a no-brainer and something that we as a company at Yaesu wanted to 
encourage.  So, I jumped at the opportunity to be a major contributor 
and it has been a great project ever since."
--

The award now had substance, but it lacked a permanent home.  One was 
found in 1993 when it was invited to the Huntsville Hamfest:

--
Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF:  "The way we got to Huntsville?  Simple.  We 
advertised.  We put a notice into the newscast that we were searching 
for a permanent home.  The answer came in a note from Scotty Neustadter, 
now W4WW, who is the Huntsville Hamfest Chairman.  Scotty basically said 
bring it to Huntsville.  And we did."
--

While the presentation ceremony did go to Seaside Oregon in 1994, it 
returned to Huntsville in 1995 where it has been ever since.  And in 
1996 a second major corporate underwriter came on board.  C-Q Magazine.  
Rich Moseson W2VU, is editor:

--
Rich Moseson, W2VU: "We at CQ have always thought that it is very 
important to promote Amateur Radio to young people and we saw that co-
sponsorship of the award was the way to help do that.  
--

What CQ did was to add to the Young Ham of the Year awards chest 
something very special.  A week of fun and excitement at Spacecamp. 
Today, with corporate sponsorship from Vertex-Standard USA and CQ 
Magazine, and support from countless others including the ARRL, Dave 
Bell Associates and Rosewood Communications the Young Ham of the Year 
Award continues to honor the Amateur Radio related achievements of those 
hams age 18 or younger.  And now its time to find a fitting recipient 
for 2002.  

Full details, rules and a nominating form are available right now on our 
website at www.arnewsline.org.  Just scroll down to the Young Ham of the 
Year Award area and click to download.  Or you can send a self addressed 
stamped envelope to the 2002 Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award, 28197 
Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita California 91350 and we will mail back the 
materials.

The Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award is a one of a 
kind.  It honors the youth of ham radio and in doing so, we hope it 
helps to insure a bright future for the hobby and the radio service that 
all of us love.  (ARNewsline)

**

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 at 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(tm), P.O. Box 660937, Arcadia, California 91066. 

Before we go, another reminder that the nominating period for the 2002 
amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year is now open. Nominees must 
be 18 or younger.  Full rules and an application is on our website at 
www.arnewsline.org.