[Ham-News] Amateur Radio Newsline 1317 - November 8, 2002

Sat Nov 9 08:58:38 EST 2002

Amateur Radio Newsline 1317 - November 8, 2002

The following is a Q-S-T.  Some good numbers for ham radio here and across 
the seas.  The hobby is growing once again.  Find out the details on 
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1317 coming your way right now.

**

RESTRUCTURING:  GOOD NUMBERS IN THE USA

The numbers are in and they speak for themselves.  Restructuring is finally 
having a very positive impact on ham radio growth here in the United 
States.  Amateur Radio Newsline's David Black, KB4KCH, has the good word:

--

Last year at this time there were nearly 683,000 hams licensed by the 
FCC.  As of October this year, there are 2235 fewer--but numbers are not 
always what they seem.  The reality is that ham radio in the United States 
is growing once again.

First, the General and Extra class have increased substantially since the 
13 and 20 word per minute Morse code exams were eliminated April 15th of 
2000.  In fact, the number of people holding these licenses has increased 
by well over 25,000 for each license class.  And that's great news for ham 
radio equipment suppliers since they rely on higher dollar high 
frequency  transceiver sales for much of their yearly income.

The Technician class is holding its own, too.  The number of new Tech 
license holders is keeping pace with the number of hams either upgrading or 
dropping out of amateur radio.  The net change is close to zero.

Only the Novice and Advanced classes are seeing significant drops in 
numbers.   No new Novice or Advanced class tickets have been issued since 
April, 2000.  And while existing licenses can be modified and renewed, it 
appears as if that's just not happening among Novices.  They appear to be 
fading away, and quickly -- there were 65-thousand Novices in 1997 -- only 
about 37-thousand, though, today.

The bottom line is that for the last 12 months ham radio has seen an 
average of 16-hundred brand new ham licenses issued each month.  That's an 
improvement of 160 a month over the previous year.  And that improvement is 
very good news for ham radio.

As to the state with the largest number of hams?  It's still California 
which can now claim being home to more than one seventh of all the nations 
hams.  Latest figures show there are more than 100,000 hams now living in 
California.

The state with the fewest hams? North Dakota -- only 1575 hams there.

Reporting from the Amateur Radio Newsline's South-East Bureau in 
Birmingham, Alabama, I'm David Black, KB4KCH.

--

The bottom line is this.  Restructuring seems to be doing the job it was 
intended to do.  Its now up to those in the hobby to work to swell its 
ranks even more.  (W5YI)

**

RESTRUCTURING:  5000TH UK FOUNDATION LICENSE CELEBRATED

The United States is not the only place where ham radio is growing.  In the 
United Kingdom Andrew Finch, M3FMA, is only 11 years old and suffers from 
dyslexia.  But nothing was going to keep the young scout from becoming a 
ham.  And now he is the 5000th person to obtain that nations new and very 
popular Foundation Class license.  Jeramy Boot, G4NJH, has more:

--

The Radiocommunications Agency has been so pleased with the numbers taking 
up the license, that it decided to commemorate the 5000th amateur with a 
special award. Alan Betts of the Agency's Amateur Radio section, 
commented:  "The radio amateur community was around 50,000 strong before 
the new license was introduced, and so this level of interest is very 
welcome".

He also added "The License has proved very popular with young people and 
amateur radio is very much an up-and-coming hobby for them".

The presentation of Andrew's prize took place at a ceremony held at the 
Radiocommunications Agency's monitoring station in Baldock, Hertfordshire 
on Tuesday the 22nd of October.  Andrew was also presented with membership 
of the Radio Society of Great Britain by its President, Bob Whelan, G3PJT, 
who also presented a host of radio amateur goodies and books.

Andrew's day was not over after the ceremony - he was given a tour of the 
Radiocommunications Agency monitoring station at Baldock. 'Heartbeat FM' 
from Hertfordshire then conducted an interview with him before he was 
whisked off for another interview with 'Dream FM' of Chelmsford.

Jeramy Boot, G4NJH.

--

Andrew had told his parents that he was going to begin saving his pocket 
money to buy a radio.  He won't have to do that.  Among the gifts he 
received for becoming the 5000th Foundation license holder was a brand new 
F-T 817 transceiver donated by Yaesu.  The Foundation License has only been 
available to U-K residents since earlier this year.  (GB2RS)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY:  HAM RADIO INVITED TO DIGI RADIO EXPERIMENT

Ham radio has been asked to be a part of an important digital radio 
experiment.  Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has the details:

--

Digital Radio Mondiale, or DRM, is a project aimed to revitalize the 
short-wave, medium-wave and long-wave AM radio broadcast bands.  This, by 
using digital signals to provide near-FM quality.

Radio amateurs and serious broadcast-band listeners have been invited to 
become part of the DRM Software Radio Project.  They may also be among the 
first to access the initial DRM programs when test transmissions begin next 
month.

James Briggs is the DRM Projects Co-ordinator with Merlin Communications in 
Dorset England.  Biggs says that the project relies on adding an extra 
down-converter board to existing receivers and then using software to 
decode the signal via a PC soundcard.

The interface is simple and the sound -- hopefully -- will be superb.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF.

--

To find out how you can play a part in the DRM experiment take your web 
browser to www.drmrx.org  (Media Network)

**

RADIO LAW:  CONGRESS AND CCR'S

Some good news and some bad news in the drive by the ARRL to get Congress 
to ban deed restrictions on hams who want to put up towers and 
antennas.  The good news is that several more members of both houses have 
signed on as co-sponsors in recent weeks.  The bad news is that no action 
took place on the issue before Congress adjourned for elections and there's 
little chance of any action once it returns to close out the year.  The 
bottom line:  The ARRL says that it will try again when Congress reconvenes 
in January of 2003.  (ARRL)

**

ENFORCEMENT:  FCC PROBES JAMMING OF THE HURRICANE WATCH NET

The FCC is asking a Morrison Colorado ham to explain why he allegedly 
interfered with an onging hurricane emergency net.  The FCC's Daryl 
Duckworth, NN0W, tells us about the case:

--

Duckworth:  "The Enforcement Bureau opened an inquiry into allegations that 
Merle W. Garbe, W0SBE, of Morrison Colorado interfered with the Hurricane 
Watch Net on 14.325 MHz on October 3rd of 2002 during its Hurricane Isadore 
operation."

--

The FCC letter to Garbe notes that the Hurricane Watch Net is operated to 
assist the National Hurricane Center in Miami, other government agencies 
and people in a target area of a hurricane system.  The letter goes on to 
note that the agency considers this service to be one of the most important 
purposes of the Amateur  Radio Service .

**

ENFORCEMENT:  NO RADIO CALL-IN SHOW PERMITTED ON 75 METERS

The FCC is asking a California ham why he allegedly ran a radio call in 
show on 3.830 MHz and requested shortwave listeners to participate.  The 
regulatory agency alleges that  James C. Watkins, KI6GU, of Burbank ran 
such an operation last August 16th and 24th and used a reverse autoptach 
system to facilitate the call-ins.

Along with the FCC inquiry Watkins was furnished 9 pages of material 
relating to the complaints against him.  He was given the customary 30 days 
from the date of the Commission inquiry to respond.  (FCC)

**

ENFORCEMENT:  BIG FINE AGAINST FLORIDA PIRATE BROADCASTER

The FCC has levied a $10,000 fine against a Florida man who has allegedly 
been operating a radio transmitter without a license.  Richard Munoz of 
Naples was issued the forfeiture notice for operation of a radio station on 
105.1 MHz without Commission authorization.  Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill 
Burnett, KT4SB, is in Miami with the details:

--

The story begins on April 20 if this year.  This, when agents from the 
Tampa Office investigate a complaint alleging that an unlicensed radio 
station was transmitting on frequency 105.1 MHz in the Naples, Florida 
area.

A search of Commission records shows that there was no FM radio station 
licensed on 105.1 MHz in Naples.  So, using a mobile direction finding 
vehicle, the agents trace the station to the Tree of Life Church in Naples.

The agents then interview several witnesses at the church who identify 
Richard Mu¤oz as the operator of the radio station transmitting on 105.1 
MHz.  The witnesses also provide the agents a business card identifying 
Richard Mu¤oz as the pastor of a Spanish-language ministry called Mission 
Possible Ministries.  A brochure advertises a radio program called "Mission 
Possible" on 105.1 MHz.

The agents interview Mu¤oz.  He admits that his ministry owns the radio 
station equipment and is operating it.

The agents ask Mu¤oz if he had a license for the station.  He replies that 
a friend has submitted an application to the FCC.  Also that the friend 
has  advised him that he could operate the station while the paperwork was 
being processed.

The agents advise Mu¤oz that he cannot operate the station without a 
license and directed him to terminate the unlicensed operation.  Mu¤oz 
requested additional time to notify his listeners that the station had to 
go off the air.  The agents again tell Mu¤oz that he could not operate the 
station without a license and order him to take the station off the 
air.    Mu¤oz directs another person to turn off the transmitter.

But the story does not end there.  On April 30th the FCC'sTampa Office 
receives another complaint alleging that an unlicensed FM station is again 
operating on 105.1 MHz in Naples.  Also that it is causing interference to 
the reception of an FM broadcast station licensed to operate in that area.

On May 14th, agents again trace the station to the Tree of Life Church and 
on May 17th the Tampa Office issued a warning letter to Andrew dealing, the 
head pastor of the Tree of Life Church.  The warning letter advises  DeLong 
that operation of a radio station without a license violates Section 301 of 
the Act, ordered him to cease operation of the unlicensed station 
transmitting on 105.1 MHz immediately.

Then, on May 24, 2002, the Tampa Office receives a letter from Pastor 
DeLong.  In the letter, DeLong states that Richard Mu¤oz is the operator of 
the radio station transmitting on 105.1 MHz.  Also that that Mu¤oz leases 
space for the radio station from the Tree of Life Church, and that the Tree 
of Life Church had no control over the operations of the radio station.

Based on the facts before it, On June 5th the Tampa Office issues an Notice 
of Apparant Liability for a $10,000 forfeiture to Richard Mu¤oz for 
operating a radio station without a license in willful and repeated 
violation of Section 301 of the Act.  In his response to the notice, Mu¤oz 
admits that he operated the unlicensed station on 105.1 MHz, but requests 
cancellation of the forfeiture.  He tells the FCC that his church, Mission 
Possible Ministries, had agreed to purchase 50% of the radio station for 
$15,000 from Daniel Morisma approximately eight months earlier.   According 
to the reports, Mu¤oz maintains that Morisma told him that there was an 
application for the radio station on file at the FCC and that the station 
could go on the air while they were waiting for the application to be 
processed.

According to Mu¤oz, Morisma told him that the station should go back on the 
air because the FCC would not visit again, and that if the FCC did visit 
again, it would issue a second warning before proceeding with any 
penalties.  Mu¤oz asserts that the station had been using the time between 
the FCC's first and second visit to explain to listeners that they would 
soon be off the air because they had been lied to and scammed and that the 
station was a week away from dismantling when the FCC visited the station 
the second time.

But the FCC sees it another way.  In its order the FCC says that it is 
unfortunate that Mu¤oz may have been duped into believing that there was an 
application for the radio station on file with the FCC and that he could 
put the station on the air while the application was being 
processed.  None-the-less says the FCC, Mu¤oz clearly knew following the 
inspection by its agents on April 20th that the station was unlicensed. The 
bottom line.  The FCC says that under these circumstances, it concludes 
that no reduction of the forfeiture on this basis is warranted. From Miami, 
I'm Bill Burnetrt, KT4SB, reporting for the Amateur Radio Newsline.

--

Mu¤oz was given the customary 30 days to pay the fine.  If he fails to do 
so the FCC indicates that other punitive action may be taken.

**

WITH THE SCOUTS:  JOTA FOLLOW-UP

ARRL Educational Programs Coordinator, Jean Wolfgang, WB3IOS, reports that 
so far over 125 scouting Jamoboree on the Air or JOTA survey have been 
received for this years event.  The reports show over 9079 Scouts, 2855 
visitors, and 657 hams participated. This is a substantial improvement over 
last year when only 65 surveys were returned!

But says Wolfgang,  there are several state we have not heard from. They 
are Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, 
South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming.

If you participated in JOTA 2002 and have not yet completed the ARRL survey 
please have a representative of your JOTA event complete and submit the 
form as soon as possible.  You will find it on the web at 
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/jotalog.  (WB3IOS)

**

HAM RADIO BUSINESS:  HAS HAMVENTION 2003 GOT A DEAL FOR YOU

The planners of Hamvention 2003 say -- have they got a deal for you! The 
Hamvention, in cooperation with the Dayton Montgomery Convention and 
Visitors Bureau has put together a special V-I-P package.  It will do to 
five of the first 500 who purchase a preregistration ticket before 
Novermber 15th.

The five lucky winners will be chosen in a randon drawing in early 
December.  They will receive two nights of hotel accommodations during 
Hamvention, dinner for two at Jay's Restaurant, a V-I-P badge, a special 
souvenir package and the most important prize of all.  An on-site V-I-P 
parking pass for the show!  Thats right -- parking almost at the Hara Arena 
front door.

More information on this special Hamvention 2003 promotion is available by 
e-mail to tickets at hamvention.org.  You can also phone during business hours 
Eastern time to area code 937-276-6930.  (Dayton Hamvention)

**

HAM RADIO BUSINESS:  WORLDRADIO EDITOR DEPARTS FOR CAREER IN LAW 
ENFORCEMENT

One ham who may not be at Hamvention 2003 is Worldradio Magazine editor 
Rick McCusker, WF6O.  This is because McCusker has announced that he is 
leaving the post in a major career change.

Accordong to McCusker, he has been in training for some time to become a 
peace officer.  He has also been working as a Reserve Depuity Sheriff in 
his spare time.  Now, he has accepted a full time position with the 
Sacramento California County Sheriff's Department.

Duruing his tenure at Worldradio, McCusker completely redesigned and 
modernized the magazine's look.  He took most columns by-monthly permitting 
the addition of new writers representing emerging technologies in the 
hobby.  His legacy is a well respected publication with a steadilly growing 
reader base.

McCusker's last day at Worldradio will be on Wednesday November 13th. At 
airtime no replacement editor has been named.  (ARNewsline™)

**

THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD:  KL7Y LOST IN MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT

Some sad news.  Word that famed contest operator Daniel Robbins, KL7Y, of 
Wassilia Alaska has died in a motorcycle accident while in Hawaii. 
According to the Honolulu Star Bulletin, the 54 year old Robbins died 
Thursday October 31st after he lost control of a motorcycle while riding in 
Kona and drove into a lava field. The Fire Department said that Robbins, 
who was not wearing a helmet, suffered head and other injuries.

KL7Y was a friend to many inside and outside of the world of ham radio 
contest operations.  He had just completed operating the CQ World Wide SSB 
contest from KH7R a few days before the accident that took his life. A 
memorial guest list for his friends to pay their respects has been set up 
on line at www.contesting.com.  (K7JA, contesting.com)

**

ON THE AIR:  THE MIGHTY MO CELEBRATES VETERANS DAY

The "Mighty Mo" is coming to the ham radio airwaves for a very special 
event.  Bob Maguire, KA2WXU, reports over the Internet that on November 9, 
10, and 11 the Battleship Missouri Amateur Radio Club will be on the air 
each day from 17:00 to 04:00 U-T-C on 14.263, 21.363 and 28.363MHZ, in 
honor of Veteran's Day weekend. There is no special event QSL card for 
Veteran's Day event but if you Q-S-L via KH6BB you will receive a regular 
Mighty Mo QSL in return.  More information is on the web at 
www.kh6bb.org.  (KA2WXU)

**

ON THE AIR:  UARC CELEBRATES 75TH ANNIVERSARY

The Utah amateur Radio Club will celebrate its 75th anniversary with an 
on-the-air event beginning Saturday November 9th and continuing through 
November 10th.  Operation will be on most high frequency bands with 
emphasis on 20 meter SSB.  The call sign to listen for is W7SP.  For a 
special commemorative card, QSL as directed on the air.  (N7HVF)

**

INTERNATIONAL - INDIA: PIRATES PERSIST

The president of the Amateur Radio Society of India, reports a significant 
number of pirate operations using call signs VU4A, VU7A and similar other 
call signs continues. VU2SDN says that a blanket ban exists on operations 
from Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands, and that VU4 and VU7-prefix 
call signs have not being assigned for 10 years. The only exception was the 
brief 1993 VU2JPS operation from the Andaman Islands. Quoted in the ARRL 
Letter,  VU2SDN says that call signs that begin with VU2 followed by two or 
three letters or with VU3 followed by three letters are the only valid call 
signs for India.  (ARRL)

**

INTERNATIONAL - USSR:  A WALL OF SOUND

Radio Liberty's broadcasts to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were 
the target of Soviet noise jamming for several decades.  But Media Network 
reveals that the Russian operators actually left frequencies undisturbed so 
their friends could hear the programs.  Now, you can too with a 30 second 
audio sample of what jamming sounded like for those of you too young to 
remember.  Its on the Radio Netherlannds website.  The URL is 
http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/jamming021018.html (Media 
Network)

**

DX

In D-X, a surprise U-S to Japan long path opening surprised many South- 
West region hams the morning of October 31st.  At about 15:45 UTC, D44TD 
was worked as far west as Arizona. while N6XQ was reported to be 599+ into 
JA-land,  Unfortunately for many U-S hams the surprise opening took place 
while they were away at work and preceeded an X-class flare a bit later in 
the day.  (K7JA)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM:  SOLVING AN AGE OLD QUESTION

For nearly a century, mathematicians have been stumped by one of the math 
world's most difficult problems.  This is a conjecture by French scientist 
Henri Poincare about the properties of three-dimensional space.  And now, 
it appears as id a British math whiz claims to have solved the 
problem.  Amateur Radio Newslines Henry Feinberg, K2SSQ, has the puzzeling 
story:

--

Jules Henri Poincare was dubbed by E.T. Bell as the "Last Universalist. A 
man a who was at ease in all branches of mathematics.

Poincare was also a 19th century professor of astronomy who made 
fundamental contributions regarding the motions of the planets.  He went on 
to found the field of topology, a branch of geometry, and even competed 
with Albert Einstein in the study of relativity.

Before Poincare, mathematicians fully understood two-dimensional space, 
such as the Earth's surface, and could list all the possible shapes of 
two-dimensional surfaces and use mathematical calculations to distinguish 
between them. But The math mystery Poincare raised regarded the properties 
of three-dimensional space.  His question, or conjecture, was whether the 
two-dimensional calculations could be easily modified to answer similar 
questions about three-dimensional spaces.

He was pretty sure the answer was yes but couldn't prove it mathematically. 
Nearly 100 years later, math whizzes remain stuck, except for one.  His 
name is Martin Dunwoody.

Dunwoody is described as a British mathematics expert.  His answer is 
barely six pages long and only an outline.  And as you might expect, 
Dunwoody's solution - complete with formulas and diagrams - has been 
praised and challenged in England.

No, we will not try to explain all the math here.  What is interesting is 
the reaction of the scientific community.  Professor Ian Stewart of the 
University of Warwick, one of Britain's most respected mathematicians calls 
it  the first good shot at this problem in years,. But Colin Rourke, 
another University of Warwick mathematician, disagreed.  Rourke says that 
when he raised a problem in the solution, Dunwoody admitted on his Web site 
that it could be difficult to overcome.

Once the math community has accepted the solution, the Clay Mathematics 
Institute in Cambridge, Mass., must conduct its own review. Only if that 
proves successful will Dunwoody be rewarded.  And if the reaction of the 
British math professors is any indication, this conrriversy could rage on 
in math circles for years.

Adding it all up for the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Henry Feinberg, K2SSQ.

--

Even if Dunwoody continues to refine his answer and eventually is proven 
correct, it could be a long time before it's official.  First, he must get 
it published in a mathematics journal, then undergo a two-year waiting 
period of international review.  (Science Today)

**

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.