[Ham-News] Amateur Radio Newsline 1319 November 22, 2002

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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1319 November 22, 2002

The following is a Q-S-T.  Ohio's Governor praises hams for their November 
10th tornado response and self enforcement really works.  Find out what we 
mean on Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1319 coming your way right 
now.

**

RESCUE RADIO:  HIGH PRAISE FOR TORNADO HAMS

Some high praise for Amateur Radio from some high ranking Ohio state 
officials.  This following last weeks deadly tornado that hit the town of 
Van Wert.  Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, tells us how the accolades came about:

--
Ron Moorefield, W8ILC, is the West Central Ohio ARES District Emergency 
Coordinator and well known throughout the area for his work in emergency 
communications.  And on Wednesday November 13th Moorefield says that he 
spent time in the Ohio Emergency Management  Situation Room with Govenor 
Bob Taft and Ohio State E-M-A Director Dale Shipley.

Moorefield tells Amateur Radio Newsline that both men stated without any 
reservation that it was the volunteer efforts of the regions ham radio 
operators that really saved the community of Van Wert on November 
10th.  This,  through their efforts in the Skywarn program and providing 
early warnings.  W8ILC adds that both men had a high praise for all aspects 
of the Amateur Radio service.

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

Hams across the Mid-West and into the South-Central and South East 
activated on November 10th.   They were active in spotter and emergency 
nets before, during and after numerous killer tornadoes struck the region. 
As previously reported, this years SKYWARN recognition Day is Saturday, 
December 7th.  (ARNewsline(tm))

**

INTERNATIONAL - SOLOMON ISLANDS:  FIRST NATIVE HAMS GRADUATE

The remote Solomon Islands now has a native ham and C-B radio population of 
its own.  This, as the first group of trainees graduate from a special 
licensing class.  Jeramy Boot, G4NJH, has the rest of the story:
--
On the 25th of October, the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands attended 
a special graduation ceremony at which he presented 21 students with 
certificates marking their successful completion of an amateur radio 
training course. The students were the first native-born Solomon Islanders 
to graduate from a unique school set up by Australian radio amateur Sam 
Voron to bring amateur radio to the people of the Solomons for the first 
time. All other Solomon Island licensees were ex-patriate amateurs.

At the ceremony, the deputy head of the Australian High Commission in the 
Solomons presented each student with a CB or amateur radio transceiver 
which had been donated by overseas amateurs and CB operators, while the 
Minister of Home Affairs gave each student an antenna.

School radio clubs might like foreign amateur radio operators visiting the 
Solomon Islands are welcome to stay at the school and help the students.

Jeramy Boot, G4NJH
--

Not mentioned in the story is that Sam Voron's call sign is VK2BVS.  Also, 
school radio clubs worldwide might like to keep an eye 
on  28.490MHz.  Thats  where the Solomon Islands ham radio school has 
already many contacts.  (GB2RS)

**

ADVANCED PROPAGATION:  THE LEONID METEOR SHOWER REPORT

A possible new record for 222 MHz meteor scatter.  Ron Marosco, K5LLL, in 
Mc Dade Texas reports over the VHF Reflector that Tom Haddon, K5VH, worked 
Peter Macgregor Shilton, VE3AX, during the Leonid meteor storm on Monday, 
November 18th.  K5VH is located in Dipping Springs Texas while VE3AX is in 
Cayuga Ontario Canada.  Ron estimates the distance between the two stations 
was in the order of 1300 miles.

As for himself, K5LLL says that he made only 16 QSO's this year.  He says 
that's about a quarter the number made 12 months ago.

Out West, W6GYD says that he worked 14 stations on the rocks beginning at 
about  08:45 UTC and ending his operation at 12:01 UTC.  Not bad when you 
consider that he was running only an Icom IC-756 bare foot to a 5 element 
Telrex beam at  13 meters elevation.  (VHF Reflector)

**

SELF ENFORCEMENT: BEACON QRM'S SPACE HAM TAKES IT OFF THE AIR

Now the story of a UHF beacon with a signal that was a bit to good.  And as 
its owner explained on the VHF Reflector, a complaint came from an 
unexpected source.  And. as Amateur Radio Newsline's Henry Feinberg, K2SSQ, 
tells us it had to do with the final frontier:

--
Within 48 hours of turning up his new 1296.300 Mhz beacon in Derry, New 
Hampshire, Ed Parsons K1TR, received a phone call and a signal report from 
the Chief Engineer at the Millstone Hill Observatory in Westford, MA.  This 
would turn out to be the first, last and only QSN report the beacon would 
receive.

The good news: the observatory hearing it loud and clear!  The bad news: 
The observatory was hearing it loud and clear.  So loud that the engineer 
told K1TR that the beacon's signal was impacting the observatory's 
capability to track satellites in certain directions.  Also, that the 
recipient of the satellite tracking information, the US Air Force, would 
not be pleased.

It seem that the Air Force radar uses about 8 Mhz of spectrum centered at 
1295 Mhz. They use an 80 foot dish for an antenna.  The K1TR  beacon was 
less than 30 miles line of sight from the observatory.

So the Ed's 23cm beacon is off the air while he finds a new home for 
it.  Anyone with a good UHF site more than 50 miles from the town of 
Westford but still in New England, and who is willing to host the beacon, 
should contact K1TR by e-mail to esparsons at lucent.com

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Henry Feinberg, K2SSQ
--

K1TR says that a  companion 33 cm beacon is still on the air.  He says that 
signal reports are still appreciated for this one. (VHF Reflector)

**

ENFORCEMENT:  FCC SAYS YES TO SCHOENBOHM

The FCC is granting the application of Herbert L. Schoenbohm for an Amateur 
Radio station license and a General class operators license.

According to the W5YI Report, the decision was adopted by Administrative 
Law Judge Arthur Steinberg on October 9th as a follow-on to a May 7th 
hearing to determine if the former ham possessed the requisite character 
qualifications to be a Commission licensee.  If no objections were filed 
with the regulatory agency prior to November 9th, this initial decision 
becomes effective on November 29th.

Whether or not Schoenbohm will be granted his old KV4FZ call sign remains 
to be seen.  It has not yet been reassigned and appears to be available 
callsign pool.  (W5YI)

**

ENFORCEMENT:  NEW MEXICO STATION FINED FOR EXCEEDING RADIATION EXPOSURE 
RADIATION

FCC enforcement reaches the Land of Enchantment.  This as the agency 
proposes to fine A-O Broadcasting $28,000 for alleged violations of the 
radio frequency radiation exposure limits applicable to transmitters on 
towers and for other rules.

A-O Broadcasting is the licensee of FM radio station KTMN in Cloudcroft, 
New Mexico.  Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennent, K6PZW, tells us why 
the fine is being levied:

--
The most serious charge by the FCC says that KTMN exceeded the radio 
frequency radiation exposure limits in publicly accessible areas.  The FCC 
maintains that measurements taken by the agents showed that operation of 
KTMN's transmitting antenna at only 40% of its authorized power created 
radio frequency radiation fields which exceeded the exposure limits for the 
general public by more than 300%.  That engineering snafu will cost them 
$10,000.

Failure to install E-A-S equipment brings another $8,000 assessment while 
not having a main studio is another $7,000. Lastly, failure to have what 
the FCC calls an adequate transmission system control is a $3,000 fine.

  It should be noted that this is the first case in which the Commission 
has proposed a monetary forfeiture for a violation of the radio frequency 
radiation exposure limits.

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

--

As usual, A-O Broadcasting has the customary time period to respond. More 
is on the web at 
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-228609A1.doc  (FCC, 
CGC)

**

ENFORCEMENT:  CALIFORNIA RACEWAY GETS FINE REDUCED

Still with enforcement news, the famed California Speedway in the city of 
Fontana, California, has been fined $8,000 for operating an unlicensed 
one-watt FM transmitter on 104.7 MHz.  The fine was reduced from $10,000 
originally proposed, because of Speedway's otherwise good compliance record 
with the Commission's rules in regard to other FCC permits that it holds. 
This one is in cyberspace at
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-02-3105A  (FCC, CGC)

**

THE WEB:  UK HAM ASKS HELP IN LOCATING E-MAIL PIRATE

A United Kingdom ham says that he did not originate some nasty e-mails 
bearing his name and he needs your help to find out who did.

Brian Jones, G8ASO, of Worcester, England says that his name and callsign 
are being pirated on e-mail that carries what's being described as a rather 
distasteful message.  According to the GB2RS News, Jones says that he is 
not the originator of those messages.  Also, that he is equally appalled by 
their content.

Since e-mail can originate anywhere in the world and is very hard to trace, 
G8ASO is asking your help to track down the originator.  If you have 
knowledge of the person responsible for the unwanted messages please e-mail 
Brian at bajones at worcester.demon.co.uk.  Your information may be useful in 
an investigation that is now underway.  (GB2RS)

**

WITH THE HANDI HAMS:  MALIBU CAMP OPEN FOR ENROLLMENT

Enrollment is open for the Handi Hams Winter Radio Camp in the Malibu 
California.  The session runs Sunday, March 2 through Sunday, March 9,2003, 
at Camp Joan Mier overlooking the mighty blue Pacific Ocean.

The Malibu California Camp is open to Handi Ham members with disabilities, 
and will offer numerous study opportunities to upgrade licenses and learn 
new communications technology .  If you are interested in attending please 
e-mail Pat Tice at wa0tda at arrl.net.  More information is on the web at 
www.handiham.orrg  (HandiHams)

**

HAM RADIO BUSINESS: KOTT REPLACES MC CUSKER AS WORLDRADIO EDITOR

Worldradio Magazine has announced the appointment of Nancy  Kott, WZ8C, as 
its new Editor.  Kott replaces Rick McCusker, WF6O, who left  the magazine 
on 13th November for a career  in Law Enforcement with  the Sacramento 
County Sheriff's Department.

Regular listeners will recognize Kott as a long time writer of the 
"Positively CW" column appearing in Worldradio.  She also is the Editor of 
the FISTS Club magazine "Keynote."  For those not aware, FISTS is the 
world-wide More code preservation society.

Nancy Kott is a resident of Metamora Michigan.  As such she is part of a 
new breed of magazine Editor telecommuting to work.  Worldradio Magazine is 
headquartered in Sacramento California.  (Worldradio)

**

HAM RADIO POLITICS:  MEETING TO UNDERSTAND EMC COMPATIBILITY

Ham radio will have a forum of its own at next springs IEEE International 
Symposium on Electromagnet Compatibility slated for Istanbul Turkey from 
May 11th to the 16th.

World Radio 2003 will take place in Geneva in June and July 2003. There are 
several important issues for radio amateurs on the agenda most of them 
impose a threat from various interest groups on the frequencies allocated 
to the Amateur Radio Services.

Realizing the significance of the threat to ham radio from radio frequency 
compatibility issues, the Organizing Committee of the 2003 IEEE 
International Symposium on EMC, has allocated a special session in this 
Symposium to deal with problems related to the Amateur Radio 
Services.  This will be the last chance prior to the next World 
Radiocommunications Conference for ham radio to meet with key persons from 
the international EMC and Radio community, researchers, regulators and 
others, exchange views and influence the decisions.

And hams with knowledge in this area are also being invited to provide 
formal papers, informal papers or a presentation for the conference.  More 
details are in cyberspace at www.ortra.com/emc2003. Just click on the 
hyperlink marked "Radio Amateurs".  (IEEE, ANS)

**

INTERNATIONAL - CANADA:  CANADIAN HAMS TO PARTICIPATE IN 5 MEGS EXPERIMENT

A Canadian Amateur Radio Club will be taking part in the 5 Megs 
Experiment.  The Marconi Amateur Radio Club of Newfoundland, under the 
leadership of Joe Craig, VO1NA, will be conducting a three phase 
propagation experiment at approximately 5.3 Mhz from the 22nd to the 25th 
of November, the 20th to the 23rd of December and finally from June 20th 
the 23rd of 2003.

The call sign will be VO1MRC with operation planned on or near  5.260, 
5.269, 5.280, 5.290, 5.319 and 5.329 Mhz.  Also the possibility of some 
time on  5.400 and 5.405 MHz as well.

All operation will be on CW and upper sideband.  For further details, 
contact Joe Craig, VO1NA ny e-mail to jcraig at morgan.ucs.mun.ca.  (RAC)

**

ON THE NET:  QCWA QSO PARTY RULES ON THE WEB

N0UF reports over the Quarter Century Wireless Associations internet 
remailer that the rules for the 47th Annual QCWA QSO Parties are now on the 
QCWA web site at.  Its in cyberspace at www.qcwa.org/qsoparty.htm   A 2ØØ3 
Log Sheet and Multiplier Sheet can also be downloaded from the website as 
well. The 2ØØ3 QCWA QSO Parties will be held on April 5th and October 4th 
of 2003.  (QCWA)

**

DX

In D-X, Albania is on the air.  A DXpedition team made up of OH2BH, OH2PM, 
OH5BM and OH8SR arrive in Tirana on Sunday, November 17th.  They set up two 
stations for a one-week activation of ZA1B.  Their operation  includes the 
CQ World Wide  C-W Contest, with the team's entry planned in the multi-two 
category.  QSL via OH2BH.  (OH2BH)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM:  GUY WIRE RETENSIONING, LAKE TAHOE STYLE

And finally this week the sad story of KTHO radio in South Lake Tahoe, 
Nevada.  The 590 kHz A-M station was off the air for over a day recently 
after its AC power and phone lines were destroyed by wind, fire, and 
falling trees.  But it did luck out in a way because its transmission tower 
is still standing.  Well,  kind of.

According to Bob Gonsett's C-G-C Communicator, the story goes this 
way.  High winds caused trees to fall onto the guy wires of the station's 
305-foot tower.  Near disaster yes, but not quite.

Thanks to the Forest Service the tower did not collapse.  The crew 
carefully cut the fallen trees piece-by-piece, gradually reducing the 
stress on the guy wires rather than allowing them to loosen suddenly.

Thats the good news.  The bad news is that the tower is now bent.  You can 
see what it looks like in a photo sequence taken by Bill Kingman, the Chief 
Engineer of KTHO.  It's in cyberspace at 
www.steveblodgett.com/ktho.html  (CGC)

**

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.

For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm Norm Seeley, 
KI7UP,  saying Happy Thanksgiving,  73 and we thank you for 
listening."  Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright  2002.  All rights 
reserved.