[Ham-News] Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1285 - March 29 2002

[Tim Miller]

Amateur Radio Newsline™ Report 1285 - March 29 2002

Russia orbits a new but temporary ham radio satellite and the ARRL says its time to re farm the Novice bands.  What is refarming?  Find out on Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1285 coming your way right now. 

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HAM RADIO IN SPACE:  RS-21 IN OBIT

Yet another ham radio satellite is now in space.  This one is the Russian Radio Sport 21. Roy Neal, K6DUE, has the details:

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Meet the latest ham radio satellite:  RS-21.  The newest ham radio satellite.

The satellite's formal name is the Russian-Australian Scientific and Educational Microsatellite Kolibri-2000.  To most hams however, it is simply Radio Sport 21.

According to the AMSAT News Service, the new ham-sat was remotely launched on March 20th from a Russian Progress M-1-7 launcher that had brought supplies to the International Space Station.  That launch took place after the Progress ship had un-docked from the I-S-S.

Alex Zaitzev, RW3DZ, the director of the Microsat Office of the Russian Space Research Institute, describes RS-21 as a non-government, non commercial project, built with cooperation from students in Russia and Australia.  It is currently in a circular orbit just over 200 miles above the Earth and on the air.  Downlink frequencies are listed as 145.825 and 435.335 MHz.

The birds uses both CW and FSK for its telemetry transmissions, but it wont last very long.  Zaitzev says that RS-21 was designed with a limited lifespan and that it will fall back into the atmosphere during the late winter or spring months.  Till then though, RW3DZ, says that the satellite will send down data and digitally recorded voice messages.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Roy Neal, K6DUE.

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Meantime, the L.A. Daily News reports that the current crew on board the International Space Station will be spending an extra month in orbit. Russian Cosmonaut Commander Yuri Onufrienko, RK3DUO along with American Astronauts Carl Walz, KC5TIE and Dan Bursch, KD5PNU will spend the time correcting problems with the Canadian built robotic arm used for ongoing I-S-S construction.  This will mean the crew will be on board for a total of 189 days.  This will be a new record for the US crew members on board the International Space Station.  (AMSAT-NA)

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HAM RADIO IN SPACE:  HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENT TO THE ISS

A small science experiment at two Bloomington, Indiana High Schools is now headed for the International Space Station.  A ham radio operator is helping to make it happen.  Amateur News Weekly's Jack Parker, W8ISH, has the details from the home of Indiana University.

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Eleven honors chemistry students from Bloomington North and Bloomington South High Schools have collaborated with NASA to prepare a protein crystal growth experiment.  The protein, frozen since November, is now ready to be transported to the International Space Station.

Bloomington North advanced chemistry teacher Neil Rapp, WB9VPG  will join the students as they travel to the Kennedy Space Center for the April 4th launch of the Atlantis space shuttle.  Once the experiment is aboard the International Space Station, it will thaw and allow the crystals to grow.  After the crystals are formed, they will be transported back to earth and studied by NASA, and eventually returned to the Bloomington High schools.

According to Neil Rapp, the formation of protein crystals is an important step in the development of drugs designed to cure various diseases.

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

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All eleven chemistry students will be on hand for the launch of Atlantis.  Each will receive a plaque and shirts designed to commemorate the launch of their experiment into space.  (WB9VPG)

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ARRL TO FCC:  TIME TO RE-EVALUATE THE NOVICE BANDS

The ARRL has asked the FCC to eliminate the 80, 40 and 15-meter Novice and Technician Plus Morse code subbands.  It also wants the FCC to reuse that spectrum, in part, to expand the radiotelephone allocations on 80 and 40 meters.  Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW has the details:

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According to the ARRL Letter, a Petition for Rule Making filed March 22nd, the League requests that the FCC revise its Amateur Service rules in accordance with the modified Novice band refarming scheme the ARRL Board of Directors okayed in January. The Petition has not yet been put on public notice for comment.

Refarming is a government-ese term coined a few years back.  Its a  way of saying that spectrum assigned to a given radio service will be reassigned for other uses within that service.   In this case, reassigning spectrum now primerally dedicated to Novice C-W operation to various other modes.

If the FCC approves the plan, current Novice and Technician Plus licensees would be permitted to operate on the 80, 40, 15 and 10-meter General-class Morse code allocations at up to 200 watts output.

The ARRL's petition also asks the FCC to permit amateurs to use spread spectrum on the 222 to 225 MHz band.  It also requests an expand the pool of special event call signs beyond the 1 by 1 format to include identifiers for US territories and possessions that do not provide for mailing addresses.  And it asks the FCC to clarify its rules to indicate that modulated CW is permitted for repeater station identification.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW.

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In its petition, the ARRL cited substantial advancements in the use of "digital techniques" in the HF bands such as PSK31 to bolster its assertion that a refarming plan is needed.  The ARRL says that the Novice High Frequency sub-bands are underutilized and Amateur Radio cannot wait any longer on this issue. A copy of the ARRL's complete Petition for Rulemaking is available on the ARRL Web at www.arrl.org. (ARRL)

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A NEWSLINE FOLLOW-UP:  A POLITICALLY DISORGANIZED 11 METER CLASS D SERVICE

A few weeks ago we reported that the FCC has refused to hear an appeal by an Illinois C-B operator convicted of Disorderly Conduct for interfering with a neighbors home entertainment electronics.  In the days since that report first aired, it caused quite a stir on several Internet discussion groups. Everyone wants to know how a service that once boasted 3 out of every 5 Americans with radios in their cars could wind up where the local sheriff or policeman could take an operator off the air.

After a bit of research, the answer seemed pretty clear.  In one word: Politics.  Here is Amateur Radio Newsline's South East Bureau Chief David Black, KB4KCH, with part 1 of a multi part look at the strange political side of 11 meter C-B.

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When it comes to having political representation, most communication groups are in good shape.  Hams have the American Radio Relay League looking after their political well being.  Broadcasters have the powerful National Association of Broadcasters.  Cellular telephone companies have the CTIA.  Even the General Mobile Radio Service, which shares frequencies with the Family Radio Service, has representation amid the Personal Radio Steering Group.  So, what form of communications lacks representation? That would be 11 meter, Class D Citizens Band radio. What does CB have?  This:

-- Sound from 11 meter CB --

Give CB a listen, and you hear lots of people using a service without any structure or formalized representation.  Some might even call it anarchy.

-- More sound from 11 meters --

Ironically, CB's lack of political power--as well as its inability to defend against bureaucratic attack--is not due to shortage of people using the airwaves.  Many believe that next to cellular telephones, the second largest selling piece of 2-way radio equipment in the 20th century has been the CB radio.

During the gas crisis in the 1970s, many cars sported some sort of 11 meter whip and a cheap CB radio under the dash.  Low cost 11 meter radios by the millions were manufactured, imported and sold.  The industry had hobby magazines and several newspaper style newsletters devoted to CB radio.

CB operators outnumbered hams by at least 20 to one.  And they outnumber GMRS users by 1000 to one.

But CB was not able to defend itself from outside pressures either back then or today.  Why?  Part of the reason goes back to CB'ers themselves in the 1970s and early 1980s.  Most of them were not really interested in the service.  It was just a utility.  A way to help learn where to find the cheapest gasoline or avoid speed traps.

The CB radio service lacked any real monetary commitment.  Without that, there was no political commitment.  And when fuel prices began to ease, many but not all 11 meter operators pulled their radios out of their cars--and put them in the attic.

Then there were the few others, the die hard CB hobbyists.  They treated CB channels 1 through 40 as a sort of ham radio-like hobby.   Some operated illegally, but would take the chance just to make a DX contact. But they never organized.  Why?

Different CB groups formed over the years.  Many called themselves political messiahs of 11 meters.  But many turned out to be bogus.

During the late 1970's and early 1980's, C-B radio scam artists were busy, trying to separate the 11 meter radio operator from his hard earned cash.   As group after group appeared and then vanished, it became apparent to most using C-B that trusting anyone was too expensive.  Now, more than 25 years later, trust in any C-B political organization seems little more than a remote possibility.

And what about the legal C-B operators?  Those dedicated to public service?  That part of the story, next week.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm David Black, KB4KCH.

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Next week David tells us about the only successful C-B organization and the reason that it survived when the rest went away.  (ARNewsline(tm))

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SHORTWAVE:  ARNEWSLINE VISITS AN SWL-FEST