[Ham-News] Amateur Radio Newsline July 12, 2002
Tim Miller
tmiller at nethawk.com
Sun Jul 14 03:39:57 EDT 2002
Amateur Radio Newsline July 12, 2002
Celebrating a quarter of a century in service to ham radio, this is Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1300 with a release date of Friday, July 12th 2002. It follows in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a Q-S-T. The ham radio Olympics are happening in Finland and a Reading Pennsylvania teen is named Young Ham of the Year here in the United States. Find out who on Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1300 coming your way right now.
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RADIOSPORTS: THE HAM RADIO OLYMPICS FOR 2002 ARE ON
Its the Super Bowl of ham radio contesting. The 2002 World Radiosport Team Championship games also known as WRTC 2002 have been taking place this week. Jeramy Boot, G4NJH, reports:
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The World Radiosport Team Championship, sometimes called 'the Olympic Games of Amateur Radio', takes place in Finland between the 9th and 15th of July. WRTC is a competition among 52 two-person teams of the top amateur radio contest operators in the world.
By bringing competitors together in one geographic area and providing equal operating conditions, including antennas and power, the variables normally associated with radio contesting are minimised, and the individual team's operating skills are emphasised. Look for the national teams taking part in next weekend's IARU HF Championship contest from sites in the Helsinki area and using callsigns with the unique OJ1 to OJ8 prefixes.
Jeramy Boot, G4NJH.
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The contest began at 1200 U-T-C on Saturday the 13th of July, and runs for 24 hours. The WRTC 2002 organizing committee is asking any of you who worked the conterstants to e-mail your logs by 1800 U-T-C on July 14. These "early bird" logs will be used only for log checking purposes related to the WRTC 2002 teams. The e-mail address is logs at wrtc2002.org
Also, Film maker Dave Bell, W6AQ, is in Finland recording the event on digital videotape. Bell produced the popular Ham Radio Olympics video that chronicled the 2000 WRTC games. (WRTC2002, GB2RS, W6AQ)
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RESCUE RADIO: HAM RADIO AND THE TEXAS FLOODS
On this side of the Atlantic, the Federal Communication Commission declared a general communications emergency Friday July 5th in response to severe flooding in parts of Texas. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW has more:
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Thousands of people were evacuated from three West Texas towns as a massive storm dumped more than a foot of water on an area that rarely sees more than 2 feet a year. This, as rainfall in flood-weary Central Texas continued and flood water surrounded homes in 29 counties.
Statewide,the week of flooding has forced at least 4,000 people to evacuate, killed at least eight people and caused tens of millions of dollars in damage. Its also cut off normal lines of communications to some areas and that's where ham radio was called in.
On Friday, July 5th, the FCC issued an edict declaring two parcels of spectrum -- one on 40 meters and the other on 75 as off limits to all but those stations handling flood emergency traffic for 72 hours. Those frequencies were 7.285 MHz during daylight hours and 3.873 MHz at night. Amateurs not directly involved in the emergency communications were required to stay at least 3 kHz away from these frequencies until the order is rescinded. The FCC cancelled the order at 1700 UTC on Monday, July 8th. But as we go to air, hams involved in Texas ARES, along with other volunteer groups, are still providing assistance to the flood ravaged areas. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles.
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More on this story as information is made available. (FCC, ARRL Bulletins, Internet postings, other sources)
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RESCUE RADIO: AZ HAMS STAND DOWN AS WILDFIRE IS CONTAINED
After weeks of battling the largest wildfire in Arizona history, ham radio has stood down and firefighters from around the country are being reassigned to other states or sent home. This, as the half-million acre Rodeo Chedeski blaze was finally contained on Sunday, July 7th. And hams have gone home. Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP, in Scottsdale has the rest of the story:
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SATERN, which by the way stands for "Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network was probably the most visible ham radio communications group involved with the giant Rodeo Chedeski firestorm. SATERN was active throughout the emergency providing assistance to The Salvation Army in it's disaster relief mission. The Salvation Army was assigned by the State of Arizona to be responsible for receiving all material donations. It also was responsible to distribute these supplies to any agency or group requesting them. The SATERN net, operated on 7.265 MHz dayside and 3.990 MHz evenings It finally stood down and released the frequencies when the shelters closed down and their services were no longer needed.
What SATERN did not do was to handle health and welfare messages into and out of the area. That job fell to ARES and the Red Cross and both responded as expected. A-R-E-S used several High Frequency nets, local repeater communications and the Cactus Radio Network intertie to handle hundreds of tactical and health and welfare messages.
Another group deserving mention is the Kachina Amateur Radio Club. It was activated on June 18th handling communications for the Navajo Emergency Operations Center and shelters set up for the evacuation of all evacuation areas at that time. The Kachina Amateur Radio Club was on the air in support of the shelters through June 30th.
As the fire peaked in late June, more than 4,400 personnel -- most of them firefighters -- were working to corral the blaze. That number has been reduced to about 1100 now that the fire is fully contained. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, in Scottsdale Arizona.
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As we go to air, the firefighters still on the scene are busy mopping up smoldering embers top insure no new eruptions take place. In some areas, crews are already at work seeding the burned land to help minimize the effects of erosion from the coming monsoon rain season. (ARNewsline from various sources)
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RESCUE RADIO: EAS WORKING WELL IN THE ARIZONA WILD FIRE EVACUATIONS
The E-A-S system woked well in Arizona during the recent Rodeo Chedeski wildfires. According to reports in the CGC Communicator, Navajo and Apache County EAS woked almost flawlessly in ordering evacuations during fires. About 30,000 people were evacuated at the height of this emergency. (CGC Communicator)
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AWARDS: JOSH ABRAMOWICZ, KB3GWY, NAMED ARNEWSLINE "YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR"
The nominations are in and the committee has reached a decision on this yearsAmateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year. And now its time to share that decision with you. And who better to make the announcement than the 2001 Young Ham of the year. Pareick clark, KC8BFD. introduces us to yet another young ham who is keeping the hobby alive:
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He is 17 years old. An 11th grader at Central Catholic High School in Reading Pennsylvania and an Eagle Scout. And less we forget, he loves bringing new young hams into the hobby through the scouting program. And for those reasons and many more, Amateur Radio Newsline has named Josh Abramowicz, KB3GWY, as its 2002 Young Ham of the Year.
Josh was away at a scout camp when the committee reached its decision. We finally got him on the phone and this was his reaction when we told him the news:
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Abramowicz reaction audio
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According to the nominating form, Josh Abramowicz became interested in ham radio because of his parents and the Boy Scouts. His dad is Mark NT3V and his mother is Suzanna NZ3G. Josh says that for him, becoming a ham was in the cards:
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Abramowicz: I got into it [Amateur Radio] through them when they brought the stuff [ham station out years later after it had lied dormant for awhile. They hooked it up and I just could not keep my hands off of it As a matter of fact, I used to sneak up and just dial up and down the bands just listening to stuff sometimes."
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His parents also gave Josh a good reason to get his ham ticket:
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Abramowicz: "After the year years went by they said: `Why don't you go and get your license - and by the way - if you don't get your license you are not getting a drivers license. I said O-K."
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Talk about incentive licensing but in short order Josh had his Technician ticket. But it was his involvement in the Boy Scouts, a scouting Jamboree and a chance to operate K2BSA that really started his ham radio career:
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Abramowicz: "So I looked into what was required on the application. Of coarse you had tio be a licensed Amateur Radio operator. By then I had my Technician license and I really started pushing for my General license. That's where I am now, studying for the Extra license."
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As a member of the K2BSA staff at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, Josh helped to demonstrate ham radio to the 35,000 Scouts attending the event. He also helped in the training of some 400 Scouts who earned Radio Merit Badges at the gathering.
But thats not all. Another achievement credited to KB3GWY is that of organizing a scouting Amateur Radio Venture Crew with the Hawk Mountain Council in his hometown of Reading. PA. What is a Venturing Crew? Josh explains:
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Abramowicz: "Its kind of like the Explorer program. It involves boys and girls over the age of 14 until you become an adult. It's a completely separate program designated to high adventure kind of things - not your normal, average camping trips but more involved things like Philmont Treks and summer camp kinds of things or the Florida Sea Base would be considered high adventure."
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Josh presented his idea for a radio Venture Crew to the Frankford Amateur Radio Club and obtainded its support as the sponsoring organization. He then convinced the Hawk Mountain Council leadership to use space in a new science center at its headquarters for a perminant Amateur Radio station. This station will soon be available to campers the year round.
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Abramowicz: "Its up here on the mountain. The propagation will be absolutely great. I'm expecting some really, really good DX from up here and we have high hopes. As a matter of fact, we are going to be doing a demonstration up here this weekend on Saturday. We are going to have some of the Venture Crrew kids up. Just fiddle around with to see whats open and see what we can find. Get the kids on and let them talk a little bit. Maybe a 2 meter set-up. And I think that the Cub Scouts are up that weekend. And they will be checking us out during their free time. They are up for a Super Cub Weekend."
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Josh Abramowicz, KB3GWY, will receive his Young Ham of the Year Award plaque at the Huntsville Hamfest in Huntsville Alabama on Saturday August 17th. His trip to the hamfrest is a gift from Vertex Standard Corporation which wiull also be prssenting Josh with a gift of its Yaesu brand ham radio gear. Josh will also receive a week at Spacecamp Huntsville courtesy of CQ Magazine.
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The committee judging the award also name to runner-up finalists. They are Evan Anderson, KC0CWP, of Ashland Nebraska and Thomas Tenaglia, K3TAT who lives in West Chester Pennsylvania. Both will receive a certificate of appreciation from the award sponsors. (ARNewsline)
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REMEMBERING THE PAST: HEIL DONATES SPECIAL MICS TO QUEEN MARY AMATEUR STATION
A special presentation of `commemorative microphones' honoring the operators of the Queen Mary ocean liner Amateur Radio station will be made on Saturday, July 27th. This, by by Bob Heil, K9EID, the President of Heil Sound Ltd..
The Queen Mary is permanently docked in Long Beach California. The ship is a popular tourist attraction as is its Amateur Radio station, W6RO, which operates daily from the historic Queen Mary Wireless Room. And it is in that Wireless Room that the presentation will be made.
According to K9EID, the new microphones are being custom manufactured for the Wiress Room. He adds that each is an exact replica of the broadcast mic's used during the years the Queen Mary was at sea. (Heil Sound release)
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HANDI HAMS: EXTRA CLASS TAPES NOW AVAILABLE
The Handi Hams have announced that the Extra Class Question and Answer pool, valid through 2006, is now available in an MP3 audio CD and in two track tape for its blind members. If you need a copy, contact Handi Ham headquarters at area code 866-426-3442 or sewnd an e-mail request to secretary at handiham.org. Again, yopu must be a Hamdi Ham member to qualify for this recording. And Handi Hams also has announced that work continues on the main body of the ARRL Extra Class License Manual in audio format for its blind members as well. (Handi Hams)
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PROMOTING HAM RADIO: CQ MAGAZINE TAKES ON "THE HUMAN RACE"
CQ magazine has been named the Official Journal of "The Human Race." "The Human Race" is a planned educational television series in which two amateur radio operators will participate in a global "road rally." Amateur Radio Newsline's Henry Feinberg, K2SSQ, has an in depth look at the show and how it will work:
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How does it work? Simple. There will be two ham radio contestants. One ham will head East and the other West from Kansas City Missouri beginning in July of 2003. Over the next six months the hams will travel around the world but using only transportation that is volunteered by other amateur operators that the ham competitors meet along the way. The race will end in a location roughly halfway around the world where the paths of the two competitors cross.
But thats only part of the story. Along the way, each racer will encounter a series of pre-selected "ham hosts." These are people who have expertise in a particular area of amateur radio. They not only play host to the competeing amateur, but also are interviewed by the competitor about their area of specialty and the role ham radio has played in their lives. William Desjardins, W1ZY, is the shows producer. He says that " 'The Human Race' is based on the premise that Amateur Radio is inherently a human activity. As such, technology is a tool used by people around the world to connect and communicate with each other."
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Desjardens: "People who use the Internet, and use chat rooms and send video pictures to each other -- and engage in instant messaging and so forth -- these people are prime candidates to become amateur Radio operators."
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By way of technology, each competitor will be outfitted with advanced communications systems, including amateur stations. Each will also be accompanied by a TV production crew and tracked using the Global Positioning System and APRS. This information will be displayed on a constantly updated website enabling hams and others around the world to follow the progress of the race making it a competition that everyone can be a part of.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Henry Feinberg, K2SSQ.
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For its part, CQ will publish a series of articles and updates written by Human Race Producer Desjardins. It will also provide updates and additional information on its website.
The tentative schedule calls for the completed 8-part series ready to air in the fall of 2004.For more information on "The Human Race," see the program website at www.home.earthlink.net/~bdesj but soon to be moved to http://www.humanrace.org (CQ)
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UPCOMMING EVENTS: MUSEUM SHIPS WEEKEND
Some interesting upcoming events that you will want to know about. We start off with Museum Ships Weekend. That's the 20th and 21st of July and word that The U-S-S Salem Amateur Radio Club will be on the air as K1USN. During Museum Ships Weekend each participating vessel will be on the air for 48 hours and the idea is to work as many of them as you can In the case of the U-S-S Salem, a certificate will be available for working ten or more event stations during the event. For more information and a QSL address please take your web browser to www dot qsl dot net slash K1USN. (Via e-mail)
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SPACE AND SCIENCE: HIGH ALTITUDE HAM RADIO BALLOON LAUNCH SUCCESS
EOSS 57, the Edge of Space Sciences Amateur radio group of Colorado successfully launched and recovered 3 high altitude balloons on June 22nd. THis, using Amateur Radio APRS and DF techniques to track and recover the payloads. According to several Internnet postings, he balloons carried high altitude experiments, camera's and fast scan amateur television to an altitude in excess of 80,000 feet. The launch took place in DeerTrail, on I-70 east of Denver, with the balloons taking a general North easterly track. The landings occuring near the Fort Morgan Colorado area. The Montana Space Grant Consortium, and Iowa State University Habet crews launched with EOSS and tracked the balloons to touchdown. More information is on the web at www.eoss.org. (EOSS Release)
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INTERNATIONAL - AUSTRALIA: VNG GETS 6 MONTH REPRIEVE
The Australian standard time and frequency station VNG, which was scheduled to close down on the 30th of June, has received a six-month reprieve. The station will now close down on the 31st of December 2002. The postponement came about following complaints from Radio VNG users. However, the commission that agreed to the postponement has also insisted that the VNG Users Consortium provide a voice announcement for broadcast on the station from mid-July, advising all users of the new closing date. (Q-News)
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INTERNATIONAL - CANADA: PERMISSION TO JAM
The Canadian military and police departments have been authorized to block radio and mobile phone signals if necessary during the G8 Summit and during the Pope's visit to Toronto in July. A Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesperson told szeveral newspapers that the move was essential to ensure the safety and security of those attending both events. This is the first time legal provisions against the interference of radio communications have been overridden in Canada. (Published news reports)
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DX
In DX, word that SP3GVX, who operated from HF0POL in 1997 and 2000 will spend a year at the Hornsund Base on Spitsbergen starting in July. His new callsign is JW0HU. There is no QSL information available at this time. (GB2RS)
Also, SV1BRL will be active again portable from Kefalonia Island from July until mid-September. He welcomes bureau QSLs, but please note that they should be routed through the French REF Bureau, marked DPT 33. Do not send cards through the Greek QSL bureau. (GB2RS)
And a new RSGB QSL Bureau sub-manager has been appointed for the holders of Foundation Licences in Scotland. Those are the new MM3 series of callsigns now being heard on the air. The person taking on the post is Mr R Simpson, GM7NZI. His addxress is 53 Jedworth Avenue, Glasgow , Scottland, post code G15 7QE. (RSGB)
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INTERNATIONAL - UK - A SECOND CHANCE FOE DIGITAL TV
Still in the U-K, an attempt is being made to revive that nations terrestrial digital TV industry. This, following the collapse of ITV Digital, the company that held the license. According to the Netherlands based Media Network e-newsletter, the U-K's Independent Television Commission considered four bids to take over the license, and has decided to award it to a consortium consisting of the British Broadcasting Company, British Sky Broadcasting and transmission services provider Crown Castle Communications. But the question remains as to whether or not the new consortium be able to restore confidence in the British digital television industry. More is on the web at http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/uk020705.html (Media Network)
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THAT FINAL ITEM: THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL TV: PART 4
And speaking of digital television, this week we take a look at transmission systems and who is providing a digital picture to you. Again, from the pages of the D-X Audio Service magazine, here is Editor Fred Vobbe, W8HDU.
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This is an audio only report. No text available. Please download MP3 audio at www.arnewsline.org.
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By the way, for those of you not aware Fred Vobbe, W8HDU, is not only the editor of the DX Audio Service magazine. He is also the Chief Engineer at WLIO television in Lima Ohio where he das a first hand working knowledge of whats happening in the world of Digital TV. (NRCDXAS)
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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(tm), P.O. Box 660937, Arcadia, California 91066.
Before we go, we want to pause a moment to thank each and every one of you for spending part or all of the past 25 years with Amateur Radio Newsline. We also take this oportunity to pledge to do all we can to continue to bring you these weekly newscasts for another 25 years and maybe longer. You are the reason that we exist. We thank you for your encouragement, for your generousity and your ongoing support.
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm Jim Damron N8TMW and I'm Jeff Clark, K8JAC, saying 73, and we thank you for listening." Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2002. All rights reserved.
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