[Ham-News] Amateur Radio Newsline 1388 - March 19, 2004
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Amateur Radio Newslin(tm) Report 1388 - March 19, 2004
The following is a Q-S-T.
Dayton announces the Emmy's and Oscars of Amateur Radio, the National
Conference of Volunteer Examination Coordinators files a far reaching
restructuring proposal with the FCC and the time to file comments on BPL
is now. Find out the details on Amateur Radio Newsline report number
1388 coming your way right now.
**
HAMVENTION 2004 AWARDS: "MAY WE HAVE THE ENVELOPES PLEASE"
The Awards Committee for Hamvention 2004 has made its decision as to who
will receive this years coveted Radio Amateur of the Year, Special
Achievement and Technical Excellence honors. And as they say in
Hollywood, may we have the envelopes please:
--
And the winner for Technical Excelllence for developing a multi-channel,
multiphase modulation scheme known as Redundant Digital File Transfer,
Barry Sanderson, KB9VAK of Indianapolis.
In the Special Achievement category, a man whose five decades of service
to Amateur Radio through the American Radio Relay League is being
recognized: He's George Wilson, W4OYI, a president emeritus of the ARRL,
living in Owensboro, Kentucky.
And, now, the Radio Amateur of the Year: He's KY1V, David Kopacz, of
Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
Kopacz is being recognized for his program offering a ham - 18 years of
age or younger - the chance to go on an all-expenses paid DXpedition.
Kopacz says it evolved after last year's surprise birthday trip arranged
by his wife, Stacy. The destination: VP5-land, La Villa Rose on North
Caicos Island in the British West Indies.
After they got back, Kopacz says he and Stacy talked.
"I was telling her about how I had always dreamed as a kid to be able to
go on an expedition somewhere and operate as a rare DX station, or in a
contest," he recalls. "My wife said that was a great idea, that maybe we
should consider taking a young ham with us."
Kopacz went to work - booking La Villa Rose - and making contacts with
websites.
"We started making announcements for the VP5X DXpedition for CQ
Worldwide CW and we started advertising on there that we were looking
for a young ham to take with us," Kopacz says.
Kopacz says he wanted some key information from applicants.
"Describe how they got started in ham radio, describe their Elmer and
how their Elmer helped them to foster their beginnings in ham radio,"
Kopacz says. "And then, in the essay, they were to describe why they
should be selected for this trip and how they would contribute to the
team."
Kopacz says Daniel Bradke, W2AU, of Niskayuna, New York, was selected.
Kopacz remembers the November day they arrived on the island.
"The first thing we did, of course, we fired up the radio and we let
Daniel operate," Kopacz says. "Within just a few minutes he had a major
pile-up and I think that was an experience that he'll never forget.
"And, we took him deep-sea fishing and snorkeling, and he had a grand
time. I'm sure it'll be an experience he'll never forget.
"In fact, he will be attending the Dayton Hamvention with his father,
(John Bradke) W2GB, and his mother, also will be there, and we're going
to do a presentation of his trip in front of the contest group."
Kopacz says applications for the 2004 DXpedition will be sought soon.
"This year has not been announced where we're going yet, we still
haven't got any final plans," Kopacz says. "And I think that we may save
that for Dayton.
"Once we announce where we're going, we'll start accepting essays from
hams -18 years and under - to go on the trip and all the information on
what they need to provide is on the VP5X.com website."
Dayton Technical winner, Barry Sanderson's work on the digital file
transfer system included writing software to run on personal computers
using sound card DSP capabilities. It allows for error-free
transmissions of computer files by way of standard amateur radio
equipment.
Special Achievement Winner George Wilson's work on emergency
communications and operator training are being recognized. A1995 stroke
Wilson suffered while in Washington on ARRL business, forced his
retirement. But his courageous struggle to regain his health enabled
Wilson to return to active service as voluntary assistant director for
the ARRL's Great Lakes division.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in
Philadephia.
--
This years awards will be presented at a special ceremony at Hamvention
2004. The exact time and place will be posted on the Hamvention website
at www.hamvention.org (ARNwsline(tm))
**
VECs PROPOSE NEW ENTRY LEVEL COMMUNICATOR HAM LICENSE
The National Conference of Volunteer Examination Coordinators has filed
a Petition for Rulemaking with the FCC proposing their version of a new
entry-level Amateur Service license. The March 1st filing also calls
for redistribution of some High Frequency spectrum to General and Extra
class licensees. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW is here
with the rest of the story:
--
The National Conference of Volunteer Examination Coordinators or N-C-V-
E-C is the group that oversees the question pools used in preparing
Amateur Radio exams. While this is the groups primary mission, on a
growing number of occasions it has weighed in on regulatory issues as
well. And as we head toward yet another round of restructuring, it has
done so once again.
The N-C-V-E-C petition is somewhat similar to the one filed by the
American Radio League. It requires no required demonstrated Morse code
proficiency for any license class and the N-C-V-E-C says that this
should include the Extra. The ARRL view is that Morse at 5 Words Per
Minute should be retained for the Extra.
It N-C-V-E-C proposes the same spectrum allocation for the entry level
class as the ARRL and both petitions grant more privileges to all
classes, here is also where the two depart. The N-C-V-E-C proposal
calls for wider voice subbands and less exclusive CW and digital
frequencies. The petition also places more emphasis on the use of 15
and 10 meters for entry-level voice operation than does the ARRL.
The N-C-V-E-C proposes an additional 50 kHz of 80-meter voice spectrum
over the ARRL proposal and 25 kHz more 40 meter voice spectrum for both
the General and Extra Class. At 15 Meters, the General Class would get
an additional 75 kHz of voice spectrum over ARRL proposal. The Extra
Class, an additional 50 kHz. The frequency privileges proposed for the
new entry level class which the N-C-V-E-C want to call the
"Communicator" Class are far greater than those suggested by the ARRL as
well.
The N-C-V-E-C envisions that all Novice Class operators would
automatically become Communicator Class licensees as of the effective
date. At the same time, Technician and Tech Plus amateurs would be
upgraded to the General Class and Advanced Class licensees would become
Extra. The N-C-V-E-C believes that there is no other effective way to
redistribute the current Novice and Tech Plus spectrum to the General
and Extra Class without this automatic upgrade feature. This means that
some 350,000 Tech and Tech Plus and 85,000 Advanced Class would not be
testing for an upgrade to the next class. This amounts to about 60
percent or all current licensees and those in the two year grace period.
On the other hand, the VECs anticipate a greatly expanded demand for
entry-level testing and license preparation material. Some 40,000
Novices would be automatically upgraded to the new entry level which
would not only contain their current frequency bands, but additional
High Frequency, VHF and UHF bands as well.
This is perhaps one of the most far reaching restructuring proposals to
date. Its also one that's certain to draw a lot of comments as
regulatory changes go forward in what many are already calling the post
Morse code days.
In Los Angeles, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, for the Amateur Radio
Newsline.
--
The FCC acknowledged receipt of the National Conference of Volunteer
Examination Coordinators petition on March 4th. It is not known when it
will be distributed for initial Public Comment. The ARRL Petition has
not yet been assigned an rulemaking file number either. An interview
with the N-C-V-E-C's Fred Maia, W-5-Y-I, is on line right now at
www.rainreport.com. Its also on the phone at 847-827-7246. (NCVEC)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AO-40 RESCUE ATTEMPTS CONTINUE
A rise of a few decibels of noise on the AO-40 2.4-GHz beacon frequency
has raised hopes that the ham-sat may still be alive. According to the
ARRL Letter, Colin Hurst, V-K-5-H-I, noticed noted a noise peak of 4 to
5 dB in the vicinity of the beacon frequency after he had issued a
transmitter reset command sequence to the satellite.
This took place on March 9 th between 0310 and 0320 UTC. After
listening for about 15 seconds, Hurst, who is a member of the AO-40
command team issued a command to shut down the transmitter and the noise
disappeared.
As previously reported, AO-40 has been silent since January 27 in the
wake of a abrupt voltage drop. Satellite controllers believe that one
or more shorted battery cells are at the cause of the problem. (ARRL,
AMSAT)
**
BREAKING NEWS: BPL COMMENT DEADLINE SET BY FCC
I'm Bill Pastenak, WA6ITF, with a late breaking story. Dateline
Washington DC where CQ reports that the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rule
Making Broadband over Power Lines -- ET Docket 03-104 -- has been
published in the Federal Register. This starts the clock on the comment
deadline. Comments are due by May by 3rd. Reply comments due by June 1.
Comments may be filed electronically via the FCC's Electronic Comment
Filing System at http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/ecfs/upload. More information
on BPL and its potential impact on hams and other HF spectrum users is
available on the ARRL website at www.arrl.org. Also see the "VHF-Plus"
column in the April issue of CQ magazine. (CQ)
**
THE BPL FIGHT: ARRL'S W5JBP ON COAST TO COAST AM WITH ART BELL
Also in breaking news, word that the general public will learn a lot
more about the potential problens caused by Broadband over Powerlines,
early Sunday morning the March 21st. This, when ARRL President Jim
Haynie, W5JBP, appears as a guest on Art Bell's Coast to Coast A-M radio
show.
As previously reported, Bell is concerned with the interference B-P-L
could cause to all sorts of communications in the range of 2 to 80 Mhz.
He's already had others on the program to discuss the problem from a
shortwave listeners point of view. Now it will be the ham radio
perspective as the leader of the nations only recognized Amateur Radio
society presents information that until now the general public has not
been aware of.
Coast to Coast A-M airs at 1 a.m. Eastern time on the Premiere Radio
Network. To find the station in your area take your web browser over
to www.coasttocoastam.com. And for those of you not aware, Art Bell is
W6OBB. (ARNewsline(tm))
**
HAM RADIO PRAISE: PAUL HARVEY DOES IT AGAIN
Call this one deja vous. A few months back, nationally syndicated radio
commentator Paul Harvey heaped praise on the Amateur Radio Service. Now
he has done it again.
On his Friday, March 12th noontime broadcast the commentator again took
note of ham radio and the emergency services we provide. He noted that
in any national emergency and with all of the nations sophisticated
technology, in any real disaster our country still relies heavily on its
Amateur Radio operators.
Harvey characterized hams as being ready, willing and able to coordinate
with emergency services while keeping the public informed to a degree
that commercial radio stations cannot. He then singled out the Tri-
State Amateur Radio Club of Cresco, Iowa, noting that this group will be
honored by the Points of Light Foundation on March 29th.
Harvey concluded his report saying that President Bush has called for
more citizen involvement in civic activities. Harvey says this includes
a lot of people and organizations, but none more unsung and certainly
none more unpaid than the hams standing by around the clock.
If you missed Paul Harvey's latest on ham radio its not to late to hear
it. The show is archived on the Paul Harvey website. Just go to
www.paulharvey.com and click on the Friday March 12th noon report. Its
about 7 minutes into the broadcast. (Via e-mails)
**
ENFORCEMENT: 160 METER GATEWAY NET UNDER FCC SCRUTINY
The FCC has written the operator of one of the nations leading news and
information nets asking about how his station is controlled.
The February 24th letter from FCC rules enforcer Riley Hollingsworth
went to Vern Jackson, WA0RCR, of Wentzville Missouri. In it the
Hollingsworth notes that Jackson operates the "Gateway 160 Meter Net"
on 1.860 Mhz from 1 PM Saturdays until 2 AM Sundays Central time.
Hollingsworth asks Jackson to describe what methods of station control
are utilized during this 13 hour period. He also asked that WA0RCR
furnish the names and addresses of all control operators during the
period. The letter gives no reason other than the FCC exercising its
right to obtain information under Section 308(b) of the Communications
Act for this request. (FCC)
**
ENFORCEMENT: COMPANY FINED OVER PART 15 DEVICES
Meantime, the FCC has notified Samson Technologies of that company's
apparent liability for monetary forfeiture in the amount of $35,000.
This, for importing and marketing five models of multi-track music
recording devices. This includes the Zoom MultiTrak Recording Studio
model MRS-1044 that does not comply with the FCC's Part 15 radiated
emission limits. (CGC)
**
HAM RADIO BUSINESS: QRZ ONLINE FROM QRZ.COM
The Q-R-Zed dot com website has announced the grand opening of Q-R-Zed
Online. This is a new subscription based callsign service that provides
advanced database lookup features in a fast, commercial-free format. In
addition, Q-R-Zed Online also includes access to a new X-M-L data port
which provides direct-connect capability to popular logbook and contest
logging programs.
Subscriptions to the Q-R-Zed Online services is only $5.95 per month.
It's lower on a yearly contract.
The new service is in addition to the advertiser based Q-R-Zed dot com
callsign database that many hams depend on. For more information go to
www.qrz.com (qrz.com)
**
CONVENTIONS: JOPLIN IN APRIL
Turning to the ham radio social scene, this years Joplin Hamfest is
slated for the evening of April 9th and all day on April 10th. This,
at the John Q. Hammon's Trade Center in Joplin Missouri.
Situated about halfway between Tulsa, Oklahoma and Kansas City, this 200
table event has become popular with hams across the Middle West. It
features spacious parking with easy access, wide aisles, forums,
testing, and prizes. And this year the OzarkCon QRP conference has come
to Joplin and will be held at the Ramada Inn in conjunction with Hamfest
2004. More information can be found on-line at www.joplin-ARC.org
And -- oh yes. The Joplin Amateur Radio Club says that it is sponsoring
this hamfest as a warmup exercise for those going to Dayton, Ohio for
Hamvention in May. (Joplin Hamfest)
**
HAMFESTS AND CONVENTIONS: THE DAYTON WEAK SIGNAL BANQUET
The 12th annual Weak Signal banquet is slated for Friday night, May
14th. The venue is the Holiday Inn on North Waggoner Ford Rd. in Dayton
Ohio. Festivities begin at 6 P.M. and run to 11:00.
Timed top coincide with Hamvention 2004, the gathering permits VHF'ers
from all over the world to mingle, exchange ideas and enjoy dinner
together. The cost is only $35 dollars per person but there are only 125
seats available. Ticket Orders with full payment and an self addressed
stamped envelope go to Tom Whitted, W-A-8-W-Z-G, 4641 Port Clinton East
Rd., Port Clinton, Ohio 4-3-4-5-2. For more information please e-mail
WA8WZG at WA8WZG.COM. (WA8WZG)
**
CONFERENCES: THE NZART 2004 IN JUNE DOWN-UNDER
And if you just happen to be planning a trip down-under for June 5th and
6th, be sure to drop by the New Zealand Association of Radio
Transmitters 2004 Conference. The venue is Marlborough Girls College,
in Blenheim and planners have a full line up of interesting speakers and
forums prepared. Blenheim easily accessible by land, air and sea.
More information is at the NZART website. Go to www.nzart.org.nz and
click on Conference 2004. (NZART)
**
THE NET: E-MAIL VS. SPAM - REDUX
SPAM is up. Way up according top a report from Z-D Net. It says that
April 2003 saw the rate of unsolicited e-mail up 61% over April 2002.
This, translates to 40% of all e-mail traffic last April being SPAM and
that figure is almost a year old. In fact, some predictions are that
SPAM could exceed 50% as early as this summer.
Brightmail.com, a service that filters SPAM for its subscribers believes
that the increase in unsolicited mail has spiraled out of control. It
says that when the rate reaches 90%, Internet e-mail will become
essentially unusable.
More is on-liner at http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-1000497.html (CGC)
**
RADIO SCIENCE: DF5AI HEADS UP AURORA PROBE
If you have contacted more than stations using Aurora during your ham
career, you are invited to take part in a study on Auroral backscatter.
This, by submitting your QSO data for analysis purposes to Volker
Grassmann, DF5AI.
Grassmann is heading up a scientific probe of this communications
phenomena. He says that he is interested in any and all Aurora QSO's
hams have managed to make from the same geographical position.
Gassman says that the reason for the study is to compare the
geographical distribution of DX stations with the theory of Auroral
backscatter. He says that by analyzing Aurora band openings provides
him with a large base of individual observers to provide the needed
data.
DF5AI has placed a lot more information on his website. If this study
interests you take your web browser over to www.df5ai.net to view the
details. (DF5AI)
**
WORLDBEAT - CROATIA: RADIO CLUB ZAGREB AT AGE 80
Turning to news from other parts of the world. Dateline Croatia where
9A6AA has told the Ohio Penn Newsletter that the Radio Club Zagreb is
celebrating its 80th anniversary with a special on the air event. There
will be three stations active daily through December 24th using the
prefix 9 Alpha Eight Zero. Look for the calls 9A80Z, 9A80ABD and
9A80ADE and Q-S-L as directed. The Radio Club Zagreb was founded on
March 29, 1924 and is one of the oldest radio amateur radio
organizations in Europe. (Modern DX)
**
WORLDBEAT-UK: NEW UK 4 METER BEACON
With 4 meter operations expanding across Europe, the new GB3WSX West
Country Beacon will be of interest to experimenters on that band. It is
sponsored by the United Kingdom based Wessex Repeater Group and operates
on 70.007 MHz from Yeovil, Somerset, at grid square locator IO8QW.
The beacon came on the air March 1st. It identifies in Frequency
Modulated M-C-W with its call sign and location. Although the license
allows for 22 d-B-W Effective Radiated Power, GB3WSX is currently
operating with only 2.25 watts into a 5-element beam at 90 feet. The
antenna is aimed 70 degrees East of North, towards Eastern Europe.
Reception reports go via e-mail to gb3wsx at twxrg.info (GB2RS)
**
CONTESTS: WELCOME TO THE 6 METERS MARATHON.
Attention 6 meter operators. The Rientolan Amateur Radio Club which
operates station OH3AG, invites you to participate in the first Global
Six Meter Marathon. The party starts May 8th, at 0000 UTC and runs
through 2400 UTC on August 8th. Operation is across the entire six
meters band with the simple objective being to work as many DXCC
countries as possible.
This 6 meter marathon is open to all amateur radio operators world wide.
The results will be made public during the Tampere Six Meter Forum on
August 14th. You can follow this contest online a www.50mc.tk (GB2RS)
**
DX
In DX, OPDX reports SM1TDE will be active portable 5H3 from Dar Es
Salaam, Tanzania between April 4th and 18th. His activity will mainly
be on CW but with some RTTY and SSB. Eric will use 100 watts and simple
antennas. His frequencies for C-W are usually 2 kHz up from the band
edges. QSL to SM1TDE, direct or via the bureau. )OPDX)
Also, HK1HHK in Colombia has announced that he will be using the
callsign 5K1X. This, during the CQ WPX SSB Contest. QSL directly to
HK1HHX. (OPDX)
And, W8GEX and friends are expected to be on the air from Double Headed
Shot Cay in Cay Sal Bank Cays, the Bahamas from March 25th to the 29th.
They will be operating as C6DX on the usual Islands on the Air
frequencies. The group will be on all bands including 60 meters running
CW, SSB, PSK-31 and RTTY. QSL via K9AJ. (NB8V)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: THAT FINAL ITEM: THE HAM BAND RETURNS
And finally this week, Remember a C-D of Amateur Radio songs that began:
--
"Is this frequency in use? (static) Is this frequency clear?
(static) Hello CQ, CQ, CQ..."
--
Of coarse we are talking about the album Seek You from a group called
The Ham Band. Now they're back and they are taking the airwaves by
storm with their new music video titled "Come And Join Us On The
Airwaves."
For those of you who don't remember, the Ham Band burst on the country
music scene about a half dozen years ago with their C-D "Seek You." A
C-D chock full of ham radio songs and even a real Q-S-O thats still
available over a direct sales website.
The group is made up of entertainers Andrew Huddleston, OZ1XJ, is wife
Lissa and some of the very best session musicians that Nashville has to
offer.
Andrew and Lissa do the music part of their CD's here in the United
States but the vocal tracks are recorded in picturesque Aarhus, Denmark.
That just happens to be where this very talented couple live. Now you
can get to see some of Denmark's countryside as well as see and hear
Andrew and Lisa perform with the on-line release of their new ham radio
music video.
You will need Real Player to see it and we do suggest you have a high
speed connection such as cable modem or DSL. Just take your web browser
to www.hamband.com, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on video.
Then click on the word "here," turn the audio up a bit and enjoy the Ham
Band's latest as seen from, a rather lofty perch.
If you ever wanted a way to explain to a non ham what Amateur Radio is
about, this music video will definately do the job. Again that u-r-l is
www.hamband.com. Click on the word video and then on the word "here"
for some great music and pictures, ham radio style. (ARNewslin(tm)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alan Labs, 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 Jim
Davis, W2JKD, in Vero Beach, Florida saying 73 and we thank you for
listening." Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2004. All rights
reserved.
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