[Ham-News] Amateur Radio Newsline 1399 - June 4, 2004

Sat Jun 5 12:44:27 EDT 2004

Amateur Radio Newsline™ Report 1399 - June 4,  2004

Amateur Radio Nerwsline Report number 1399 will follow in a few moments.  
First, this important announcement from our Support Fund Administrator Andy 
Jarema, N6TCQ:

--

The following is not necessarilly for retransmission.  I guess you already 
know that if you are hearing my voice on a closed-circuit advisory it means 
that Newsline is again facing a financial crisis.

Well, you're right. The funds are so low that we may not be able to pay the 
bills from May. Worse, for the first time in our history, we even do not 
have the money to send a representative to Huntsville this summer to 
present the 2004 Young Ham of the Year Award. And in two words --- "that's 
bad."  "Real bad."

The solution to both of these problems really lies with you. Our world-wide 
all volunteer staff produces these newscasts for you. The all volunteer 
Young Ham of the Year Committee labors tirelessly each year to select a 
youngster to receive the Award.  Joe Eisenberg, K0NEB, oversees the 
Newsline sponsored Roy Neal, K6DUE, Amateur Radio Mentoring Project 
database, doing so at no cost. The list goes on and on.

I too am a volunteer, but I have to be the realist. I'm the accountant who 
has to look at the bottom line and when it turns red, I have to say -- hold 
on -- there is no more money to continue.  And that's about where we are 
right now.

So, here's the bottom line. If you want the newscasts to continue. If you 
want the mentoring program to continue and the Young Ham of the Year Award 
to continue, we need you to show it now -- right now -- through your 
financial support of Amateur Radio Newsline.

Remember that Amateur Radio Newsline is a federally chartered 501(C)(3) and 
California state not-for-profit corporation. This makes your donations tax 
deductible, whether you're an individual or a club. The address to send 
them to is the Amateur Radio Newsline Support Fund, Post Office Box 660937, 
Arcadia California 91066. If you missed the address don't worry.  It will 
be repeated at the end of this week's report.

For now I thank you for listening, for responding and offer you this weeks 
newscast which follows immediately.

--

The following is a Q-S-T.  Ham radio on alert on a stormy Memorial Day 
weekend, a BPL deadline is extended, another country says goodbye to Morse 
code and June is Am,ateur Radio month.  We'll tell you where on Amateur 
Radio Newsline report number 1399  coming your way right now.

**

RESCUE RADIO:  HAMS AID AS TORNADOES CONTINUE

Strong storms with funnel clouds raced across Indiana during the Memorial 
Day holiday forcing thousands of Indianapolis residents and race fans alike 
to take shelter from tornadoes.  Jack Parker W8ISH was tracking the storm 
that left behind a train of devastation while putting radio amateurs on 
alert.

--

For the city of Indianapolis, the Race Day storms could not have happened 
at a worse time.  Hundreds of thousands of people were in town for the 88th 
running of the Indianapolis 500 mile race and for the NBA Playoff game 
between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons.  The rain delayed race 
was nearing the end when race officials threw out the checkered flag and 
warned nearly 400 thousand race fans to immediately take shelter.  

Accordling to early reports an F3 tornado passed just south of the 
Indianapolis Motor Speedway and began its destructive path across the south 
and east side of Marion county.  Hundreds of central Indiana amateur radio 
operators were kept busy from Sunday morning until late Sunday evening 
tracking the funnel clouds and reporting ground truth observations  back to 
the National Weather Service office in Indlianapolis.  

While the Pacers took on the Detroit Pistons, tornado sirens blared 
outside, motorists got stuck in traffic jams, and tree limbs and debris 
were tossed into roadways.  A funnel cloud described as two blocks wide, 
tore the roof off a nursing home leaving nearly fifty bed-ridden patients 
without shelter.  They spent over an hour out in the pouring rain as rescue 
personel attended to their injuries. Downed power lines, flooded streets 
and massive amounts of debris from damaged homes made it difficult for 
Indianapolis police and fire personnel to reach those in need. 

According to the National Weather Service more than a dozen tornadoes had 
touched down in 10 Indiana counties.  This was the third time in three 
years that powerful tornadoes have ripped across central and southern 
Indiana.  

Reporting from Indianapolis, for Amateur Radio Newsline, this is Jack 
Parker W8ISH 

--

Marengo in southern Indiana was hard hit, with at least one fatality, four 
injuries and numerous homes damaged or destroyed.  But Indiana was not 
alone in dealing with weather related problems.  According to news reports 
several people in Kansas and Nebraska were injured by the  weekend's 
tornadoes which also ripped through parts of those states.  Ham radio was 
on alert there as well.  More on this ongoing story in future Amateur Radio 
Newsline reports.  (ARNewsline(tm), W8ISH)

**

THE BPL FIGHT:  REPLY COMMENT DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JUNE 22

The FCC has extended the deadline to file reply comments on already filed 
responses in its broadband over power line Notice of Proposed Rule Making 
ET Docket 04-37.  The FCC granted the extension based on requests from the 
National Antenna Consortium and the Amherst Alliance. 

The two organizations had sought to have the FCC postpone the filing 
comment deadline until either September 1 or two months after the public 
release of the NTIA's Phase 2 study -- whichever was later.  The Commission 
responded that in its view an additional three weeks should be ample time 
to respond to any NTIA submission.

The FCC does not routinely grant such time extensions, and it denied 
earlier petitions, including filings from the ARRL.  Now it has relented 
and has set a new Reply Comment deadline of Tuesday, June 22nd.  (ARRL)

**

RESTRUCTURING:  MORE COUNTRIES DROP CW

More restructuring has taken place in Europe.  The GB2RS News Service 
reports that Finland has now officially dropped the Morse code requirement 
for that nations hams to have access to the High Frequency bands.  GB2RS 
says that Finland actually deleted the Morse requirement on the 1st of 
November of 2003.  Now, with the latest rules revisions there are now there 
are only two classes of amateur license in that European nation.

Also from GB2RS word that former French Class 2 licensees with F1 and F4 
callsign prefixes are now being heard on the High Frequency  bands.  
According to the French national amateur radio society, this change was 
implemented on May 16th.

But C-W is far from dying or dead on the other side of the Atlantic.  In 
fact the fourth European High Speed Telegraphy Championships take place the 
15th through the 19th of September in Montenegro and Serbia.  (GB2RS)

**
RESTRUCTURING:  NEW ZEALAND SAYS GOODBYE TO MORSE 

Finland and France are not alone in saying goodbye to Morse code testing.  
So has a nation down-under. 

On June 4th New Zealand's Telecommunications regulators issued a decree 
that says Morse proficiency testing has ended and thatNew Zealand Limited 
Class operators will soom have access to the high  frequency bands.  In 
fact, regulators have decided to upgrade Limited Class operators to the New 
Zealand General Class. 

According to the notice, operators will not be required change their 
callsigns or take any other action..  The new rules go into effect on June 
17th.  (ZL2BHF) 

** 

ENFORCEMENT:  POLICE JAMMER GETS 8 YEARS IN PRISON

A man convicted of jamming a Wisconsin emergency service radio system will 
spend the next 8 years behind Federal prison bars.  Amateur Radio 
Newsline's David Black, KB4KCH, is at the south-east bureau with the 
details:

--

University of Wisconsin graduate student Rajib Mitra faces eight years in 
prison after being convicted of intentionally jamming public safety radio 
communications.  The 25-year-old Mitra was sentenced by a federal judge as 
a domestic terrorist under the Patriot Act which punishes substantial 
disruption of a critical public infrastructure.

The computer science student converted a radio receiver to transmit tones 
that interfered with the 800 MHz emergency radio system used by Madison 
police, fire and paramedics.  In all, Mitra was accused of interfering with 
public safety communications 37 times last year.  He told a federal judge 
the incidents were accidental--the result of a loose wire.  But the judge 
likened that to a fairy tale, and increased Mitra's sentence for perjury.  
The disruptions happened between January and October, 2003.

Assistant U-S Attorney Tim O'Shea says Mitra's crime stems more from 
immaturity than ideology.  O'Shea says the case was about domestic 
terrorism, not like what happened in New York City September 11th 2001, but 
by the immaturity of the defendant.

Testimony included reports about disruptions that prevented police officers 
from communicating with each other while making arrests, keeping paramedics 
from getting patient information to hospital staffs and decreased safety 
for firefighters while on calls.

In one incident, Mitra was accused of interfering with communications for 
three hours on Halloween night.  He was also convicted of downloading 
pornographic sounds from the Internet and broadcasting them over police 
channels.

Mitra could have been sentenced to two years in prison.  He also faces 
three years probation and has been ordered to pay more than 6-thousand 
dollars to the Madison Police Department.

>From the South-East bureau in Birmingham, Alabama, I'm David Black, KB4KCH, 
for the Amateur Radio Newsline.

--

Its not known if the government will use Mitra's conviction under the 
Patriot Act as the basis of prosecution of others acused of the same type 
of crime.  (ARNewsline(tm) from Capital Times, others)

**

ENFORCEMENT:  RESTERAUNT FINED $10,000 FOR USING 2 METERS

Remember the case of Best Wok?  The New Jersey resteraunt that was warned 
by the FCC to stop using an illegal high power 2 meter cordless telephone 
to coordinate deliveries but which continued to do so anyhow?  

Well, that decision by the store manager is going to cost the company 
$10,000.  Thats the amount of the fine that the FCC has levvied against 
Best Work for transmitting on 145.8376 MHz without Commission 
authorization.  The resteraunt was given the customary 30 days rto pay up 
or to file an appeal.  (FCC)

**

ENFORCEMENT:  RIGHT APPLICATION - WRONG BURTON

The FCC admits that it made a mistake when it announced that it had sent a 
warning letter to a former California ham and designated his GMRS radio 
service application for a hearing.  What happened?  Amateur Radio 
Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, tries to sort it all out:

--

The FCC recently announced that it had sent another warning letter to 
Richard A. Burton, the ex-WB6JAC.  This, warning him about operating 
without a license and designating his GMRS application for review.  

Only one problem.  The regulatory agency had the wrong Richard A. Burton.

It turns out that it was a Richard A. Burton in another state who,  this 
time,  applied for a GMRS license.  It was not the Richard A. Burton who 
lives in California.  

Complicating thins further the California Richard A. Burton had filed for a 
GMRS license over a year ago.  He voluntarily rescinded his application 
after the FCC set it aside for review.

So what happened?  According to a note in the ARRL Letter, the FCC was 
acting on the belief that the latest GMRS application had come from the 
California Richard A. Burton.  And mistakenly, the regulatory agency 
designated it for hearing.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennnant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles.

--  

By the way, we did a search on the QRZ.com callsign supersite.  We found 
that there are 12 hams that have the name Richard Burton living in North 
America.  Of these one is a Richard A. Burton but he does not live anyplace 
near the Richard Burton who was seeking the GMRS license.  (ARRL, others)

**

ENFORCEMENT:  TO MANY CALL SIGN CHANGES

The FCC is asking a New York, ham why he has filed over a dozen call sign 
change requests with the agency in the past four years.  Since August 29, 
2000, Kiyoshi L. Nakamura of Buffalo has held the call signs K3DJ,  KJ6UZ,  
AD1L, K3DJ again, KH6DJ, AD1L again, K3DJ for a third time, AD2R, AD1L for 
a third time , AD2R, WH7S, AD1L for a forth time and  AD2R for a second 
time.  And on May 4th, he again filed a call sign change request.  This 
time he wants to give up AD2R and get back to K3DJ for the fourh time. 

In its letter to Nakamura, the FCC says that his numerous call sign change 
applications raise questions  about apparent abuse of the licensing  
system.  This says the FCC that with limited exceptions, each call sign 
would be blocked by Commission rules from being reassigned to another 
licensee for two years.  

So, the FCC gave Nakamura 20 days from the date of its inquiry letter to 
respond.  He was told to state his  intentions regarding the filing of 
these applications.  He was also told to coose one and only one call sign 
that he actually wants to keep.   (FCC)

**

RADIO HONORS:  AMATEUR RADIO MONTH IN NH 

June is now Amateur Radio Month in New Hampshire.  This, as Governor Craig 
Benson issues a proclamation honoring the states radio amateurs for their 
dedication and the service for its almost 100 year history of contributions 
to the advancement of communications technology.

First issued by the New Hampshire State Legislature in 1985, each 
succeeding Governor has recognized the role of the states Amateur Radio 
operators during the month of June.  2004 marks the 19th consecutive year 
that these proclamations have been issued.  (Via e-mail)

**

TECHNOLOGY:  IS IT BYE-BYE TO VHS?

Home recording using tape as a medium seems to be on its way out. According 
to the Consumer Electronics Association, in 2003, movie watchers rented 
more DVDs than VHS tapes.  Also, DVD sales increased by 30% while the sale 
of VHS VCR's dropped by an unexpected 50% in 2003.

Whats replacing the venerable VHS system?  Hard disk recorders like TIVO 
which have been dropping in price over the last twelve months.  When 
combined with satellite or cable TV, these devices make delaying a program 
to watch later as easy as 1-2-3.  (Science OnLine)

**

THE SOCIAL CIRCUIT:  HAM-COM IN DALLAS TEXAS IN JUNE

Turning to the ham radio social calander, if you will be in the Dallas., 
Texas area the weekend of June 18th and 19th, make it a point to attend 
Ham-Com 2004.  This is the ARRL West Gulf Convention held at the Arlington 
Convention Center in the Dallas suburb of Arlington.  This years features 
include indoor and outdoor flea markets, numerous commercial exhibits, a D-
X luncheon, an APRS workshop and much more.

Information on this one is on line at www.hamcom.org or by writing to Ham-
Com 2004. P.O. Box 12774, Dallas, Texas, 75225.  The phone and fax number 
is area code 214-361-7574  (Ham-Com)

**

THE SOCIAL CIRCUIT:  KNOXVIOLLE TN. IN JUNE

And the 38th annual Knoxville Hamfest and Electronics Exposition is slated 
for June 11th and 12th.  The venue is the Knoxville Exhibition, World's 
Fair Park in Knoxville, Tennessee. The theme this year for the event is 
"Promoting Youth in Amateur Radio."  More information is on-line at 
www.w4bbb.org  (K4PZT)

**

THE SOCIAL CIRCUIT:  A TALE OF HAM RADIO AT NAB

Also, if you want to read more about ham radio at the recent National 
Association of Broadcasters Convention in Las Vegas, take your web  browser 
over to www.haleisner.com.  Then click on the column titled "The Other Side 
of the Control Room Glass" by our own Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF.  This month 
Bill not only takes reads to the N-A-B show but also tells of his recent 
exploits at the Dayton Hamvention.  Again, its all on-line at 
www.haleisner.com  (ARNewsline(tm))

**

RADIO LAW:  FREQUENCY COORDINATION FOR THE 2004 NATIONAL  POLITICAL 
CONVENTIONS

Remember a few years ago when the ARRL became the FCC's "single Point of 
Contact" or spoc on repeater related matters?  Well how about one for this 
years  political conventions?  Well that honor has gone to a New York based 
consulting engineer.  Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has more:

--

At the request of the Frequency Coordinating Committee for the 2004 
Political Conventions the FCC has designated Louis Libin, as the single 
point of contact -- or spoc -- for coordinating broadcast R-F operations.  
This, under Section 74.24 of the agency's Rules.

Libin will oversee all RF operations for broadcasters in Boston from July 
26th through July 29th and in New York City from August 30th 
through September 2nd.  Nor is this the first time for him to do so either.  
Louis Libin is considered one of the worlds foremost authorities in the 
area of RF compatibility and has worked on numerous televised events over 
the years.

For the Amateur Rafio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in Los Angeles.

--

More on this story is at the cyberspace at   
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-1494A1.doc  (FCC, 
CGC)

**

RADIO LAW:  811 PROPOSED AS A NATIONWIDE CALL-BEFORE-DIGGING NUMBER

The FCC is asking for comments on a proposal to adopt "811" as a nationwide 
call-before-digging number.  The regulatory agency believes that this will 
give excavators one simple number to call to avoid cutting buried cables, 
gas lines and other important infrastructure.

Currently there are 70 nationwide "One Call" centers that serve different 
geographic areas.  They are generally accessed by dialing toll-free or 
local telephone numbers.  The FCC however believes that having one simple 
number to call like 811 should promote safety and lead to fewer utility 
outages.

Want to know more?  It's all on-line at   
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-247171A1.doc (CGC)

**

RADIO LAW:  COURT UPHOLDS CABLE RULING

Meantime, the FCC is considering a Supreme Court appeal in cable Internet 
access dispute.  This, after a federal appeals court says that it is 
standing by its October ruling that cable TV operators should open their 
lines to rivals who also want to use them to sell high-speed Internet 
service. 

The Federal Communications Commission asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of 
Appeals to revisit the decision, but the court declined to do.  If upheld, 
the circuit's decision would likely subject cable operators to the same 
rules as local phone companies, who are forced to lease their lines to 
rival providers of phone service and D-S-L Internet access.  (Published 
reports)

**

WORLDBEAT-UK:  2004 AMSAT COLLOQUIUM IN THE UK

Turning to news from around the world, the 2004 AMSAT-UK Colloquium will be 
held on Friday, July 30th through  Sunday, August 1.  This, at the 
University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom.  

A feature of this year's meeting will be a talk and Question and Answer 
session with Professor Colin Pilinger of the Beagle 2 project.  More 
information is on-line at www.uk.amsat.org.  (AMSAT-UK)

**

WORLDBEAT-ALBANIA:  TIRANA ALBANIA FOR DX'ERS IN JUNE

And Albania's first ever DX Convention, is scheduled for 19th to the 20th of 
June in the city Tirana.  Attendees will get to meet many figures from the 
DX community who donated equipment to put Albania on the air.  This 
includes G3LQP, W6UM, OH2BH and T93Y.  United States Amateurs should 
contact  K2WR, at k2wr at njdxa.org for advice how to travel to  this 
gathering. (Via e-mail)

**

ON THE AIR:  FRENCH RULES CHANGE SPAWNS DX OPERATION

FT1ZL is on Amsterdam Island and is expected to become active soon.  This, 
after the French have change their licensing structure to grant holders of 
that nations VHF only license operating privileges on the High Frequency 
bands.

French stations with the numeral 1 or 4 in their prefix can now operate the 
low bands using all modes except A1A, A2A, F1A and F2A.  FT1ZL will use his 
new found privileges on 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 meters SSB during his 
Amsterdam Island stay.  (Internet)

**

DX

In D-X, IK4RUX says that he plans to operate portable IF1 from Favignana.  
He will be found on SSB and C-W from the June 19 to the 26 th. QSL this 
operation direct or via the ARI Bureau.  (GB2RS)

And K8AQM reports that his upcoming trip to Samoa will take place July 7th 
to the 21st.  He will operate as 5WZ0TR from the   Samoan Village Resort on 
160 though 10 meters.  Modes will be CW, SSB, RTTY and PSK. All QSLs are 
via K8AA at his callbook address.  (OPDX)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM:  BANNED BY ONE WORD

And finally this week, the tale of why hams in Thailand were not allowed to 
talk to hams in other parts of the world for a number of years.  The truth 
be known, it was  all because of a three letter word.  Here's Q-News Graham 
Kemp. VK4BB, with the rest of the story:

--  

Audio report only.  No text available.  Lisen on-line at 
www.arnewsline.org/

--

And for those of you who do not speak French, the word oui -- sometimes 
pronounced as the English word "we" -- means "yes."

**

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. 

A reminder that the nominating period for the 2004 Amateur Radio Newsline 
Young Ham of the Year Award is now on.  This program is open to any FCC 
licensed young radio amateur age 18 or younger residing in the contiguous 
48 states and who has made a significant contribution to the community, the 
nation or ham radio though the United States Amateur Radio Service.  

More information and a downloadable on-line nominating form is at our 
website. That's in cyberspace at www.arnewsline.org.  The cutoff for 
nominations this year is midnight on June 30th. 

For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm Don 
Wilbasnks, AE5DW,  saying 73 and we thank you for listening."  