[Ham-News] Amateur Radio Newsline 1466 - September 16th, 2005

Sat Sep 17 19:46:22 EDT 2005

Amateur Radio Newsline 1466 - September 16th, 2005

The following is a Q-S-T.  Ham radio and the Hurricane Katrina saga 
continues as the NCVEC changes the schedule on the release of the new 
Amateur Radio test question pools.  Find out the details on Amateur Radio 
Newsline report number 1466 coming your way right now.

**

RESCUE RADIO:  KATRINA - THE STORY CONTINUES

Ham radio operators continue as the communications backbone of the post 
hurricane Katrina rescue effort.  Mark Abramovich, NT3V, is here with the 
latest:

--

Amateur radio operators from all across the country have responded in a big 
way to the call for help from the Hurricane Katrina disaster zone. 

The American Red Cross plea for operators - transmitted through the 
American Radio Relay League - drew responses by the hundreds. So many, in 
fact, that there's now a hold on the call for operators and a stand-by list 
has been assembled. 

Bob Josuweit, an assistant ARRL Section Manager in Eastern Pennsylvania and 
CQ Magazine's Public Service editor, says hams have shown their true 
spirit. 

"The response has been absolutely phenomenal," Josuweit says. "According to 
the section manager for Alabama who's helping to coordinate things in 
Alabama, the response has been fantastic. He has suggested that people just 
stand by because the need will still be there. 

"He suggested monitoring the ARRL website and waiting until the next call 
up is posted." 
And, Josuweit has suggested anyone deciding to take off on their own runs 
the risk of running into serious trouble with federal, state and local 
authorities in the states hit by Katrina. 

"Some areas with martial law or the equivalent thereof, you are being 
stopped without proper ID and having an assigned task," Josuweit advises. 
"So, it's really important to work through local government or local 
agencies to have a plan before you go down there." 

Allen Pitts, W1AGP, the ARRL's media and public relations manager, spent 
three days in the disaster zone at a Red Cross disaster headquarters center 
in Montgomery, Alabama. 

The headquarters served as a clearinghouse for volunteers, including 
Amateur operators, who were assigned to duties in Alabama, Mississippi and 
Louisiana. 

Pitts, who just returned, gave Amateur Radio Newsline his on-the-ground 
perspective. 
He says the operations center was set up inside a large department store. 
And, it's the place where hams were sent to get their assignments. 

"Greg Sarratt (W4OZK), Section Manager, was talking with them, finding out 
their capabilities," Pitts recalls. "Most of the time, he knew they were 
coming; and then making making assignments based on their capabilities to 
where he knew the needs were. 

"We were primarily working with the Red Cross which is a primary served 
agency in the area. And Greg was getting continuous updates of where the 
Red Cross was setting up shelters, food kitchens and other operations and 
then we would be matching people out and deploying them as quickly as we 
possibly could." 

Pitts says he was most impressed by the care and professionalism of all 
involved. 
"There had to be at least 400 people from the Red Cross and all that were 
there just processing the thousands of volunteers going on through," Pitts 
says. "It was absolutely huge, it was noisy, but it was organized very well 
and the one thing I found in this entire time while people were really 
frazzled, really hectic, really beat, and pushed to the limits. 

"Not once, not even once did I ever hear a cross word or an argument. 
Everybody was trying to work together, trying to understand. And if there 
was disagreement, they would be working it out. OK, what's best for the 
people." 

Pitts says the operations center kept in close contact with those who had 
been sent out. 

"The hams were finding a number of different things," Pitts says. "Some 
areas were not as bad as were initially reported and other areas were 
absolutely destroyed. 

"And so we were getting various reports from different places where some 
hams were saying: 'Gee, 
I'm not sure what we should be doing' and other hams were saying: 'Please, 
send more help, send more help. I've never seen anything like this.' " 

Pitts describes the volunteer hams as a diverse group with a sole purpose. 

"Some of them looked at it as an adventure and that was OK," Pitts says. 
"But, it's an adventure in service. They also were very aware that they 
would see things which they had never seen before and the emotions would be 
running high. We kind of talked with them about that. But they were 
dedicated to setting things up and doing in right." 

Pitts says it's clear amateur radio's role will continue to be an important 
one in parts of the hurricane disaster zone in the weeks ahead. 

"My guess is that this is going to be going on, and this pure guess on my 
part, I have no better crystal ball than most people," Pitts says. "But my 
guess is we're probably going to need people for at least another three 
weeks, possibly longer." 

Pitts says the media has picked up on the success of amateur radio in the 
aftermath of Katrina. 

"There have been articles in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, 
The New York Times, there's one that just came out in Christian Science 
Monitor, and all of them are basically saying the same thing that amateur 
radio came through when the other communications capabilities failed," Pitt 
says. 

Now, Pitts says, it's up to those hams who are helping out in any way in 
the wake of Katrina to continue telling amateur radio's side of the story. 

"As things start to slow down and you have time, the media is going to be 
looking for human interest stories, looking for people, local people that 
can tell the story of 'I was there' or 'I did that,' " 

"And I would encourage hams all around the country who have been part of 
this - there's thousands of them. Go to your local paper, call your local 
radio station and let them know that you were there, that you were handling 
traffic, that you were monitoring things and then offer to talk to them 
about amateur radio and its capabilities." 

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in Philadelphia. 

--

Mark will continue to follow this story and will have more for you next 
week.  (ARNewslineT)

**

RESCUE RADIO:  DON'T GO TO THE DISASTER AREA UNLESS YOU CHECK FIRST

If you get an e-mail or read an announcement from an unfamiliar ham radio 
group that urges you to head toward the disaster area with AMTOR gear, 
please ignore it.  This is not an official request coming from any agency 
directly associated with the relief efforts.  

All official requests for ham radio aid being issued by the various relief 
agencies are being funneled through the American Radio Relay League and no 
place else.  If you have any questions about the authenticity of any 
Amateur Radio aid request please check the postings at www.arrl.org.  
That's where you will find the latest and most accurate listing of this 
emergency's ongoing communications needs.  (Various)

**

RESCUE RADIO:  NAB DISTRIBUTES RADIOS TO KATRINA VICTIMS 

The National Association of Broadcasters has announced an initiative to 
distribute 1,300 battery operated hand-held television sets to public 
safety officials for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.  According to tvweek 
dot com, the 5-inch analog sets, which include AM and FM radio receivers, 
are being distributed by the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters and the 
Mississippi Association of Broadcasters.  

David Young is the Executive Director of the Louisiana State Troopers 
Association.  In a statement, he thanked the NAB and added that the 
donation will help law enforcement officials stay connected with their 
communities and help the citizens through this difficult period of 
recovery.  

Earlier in the emergency the NAB, with the help of the the Salvation Army 
and the American Red Cross, distributed 10,000 hand-held battery-operated 
radios to Gulf Coast residents displaced by the hurricane.  (RW-Online, 
CGC, others)

**

RESCUE RADIO:  FEMA INTEROPERABLE RADIO SYSTEM FAILS

A new interoperable FEMA radio system designed to let various emergency and 
relief organizations talk to one another appears to have problems that not 
even experienced ham radio operators can overcome.  Amateur Radio 
Newsline's Jack Parker, W8ISH is in Indianapolis with the people who tried 
hard to put it on the air:

--

Indiana's Task Force One was one of the first Urban Search and Rescue teams 
sent into the eye of the storm. They arrived in Meridian, Mississippi as 
Hurricane Katrina was sweeping through the state. Two Indianapolis amateur 
radio operators headed up the team's communications sector. Denny 
Carmichael  WA9DFE and Ed Elrod W9PTO were tasked with getting the new FEMA 
radio system up and running. It was a mission fraught with problems.

Elrod:  "We charged radios for the new Motorola radios that we have which 
have 160 channels preprogrammed which we cannot change or modify. We were 
unsuccessful in getting a repeater up that would pickup the new radios and 
repeat the transmission."

According to Elrod the two veteran ham radio operators tried every trick in 
the book to get the new repeater system up and running.

--

Elrod:  "We think it was a desense problem."

--

The search and rescue team tried talking simplex and found they only had 
about a six block range. They wound up relying on limited cell phone 
service to keep contact between teams.

Elrod: "One day Nextel would be up and Cingular would be down and next day 
Cingular would be loud and clear and Nextel would be down. And one day we 
had no cell phone service at all"

Despite their limited communications the Indiana search and rescue team did 
have some early success with their primary mission, to save lives.

Now, back home in Indiana, Ed, Denny and the rest of Task Force One's 
communication team will have begun getting the new FEMA radio system ready 
for the next disaster. From Indianapolis, Jack Parker W8ISH

--

Meantime at least one Motorola representative seems to be rather unhappy 
that the hams are on site providing the communications that the 
professionals cant. Jim Screeden, who runs all of Motorola's repair teams 
in the field for its emergency-response business is quoted in the Wall 
Street Journal as saying  -- and we quote: "Something is better than 
nothing, that's right.  But ham radios are pretty close to nothing."  
(W8ISH)

**

RADIO LAW:  CALIFORNIA HAM VOWS TO PROTECT HIS ANTENNA

A San Bernardino County California ham radio operator is threatening to 
take the town of Grand Terrace to court if they force him to take down his 
32 foot high tower and beam.  Hans Ehlert, AE6TV, was quoted in the 
September 14th San Bernardino Sun as saying that his antenna is going to 
stay or he is prepared to take the matter as high as the United States 
Supreme Court.

Before putting up the antenna Ehlert tells Amateur Radio Newsline that he 
went to the City and ask about permit requirements for the installation. 
That was back in March and he was told that he was the first one to ask.  
Also, that the City has no specific ordinance.  He was later contacted and 
reassured that if the structure was under 35 feet, no permit was needed.

So in May he installed his tower which he kept at a height of only 32 feet.  
Even so, his neighbors consider the antenna system to be an eyesore 
petitioned the city to have it removed.  

City officials initially ordered Ehlert to take the tower down, but after 
checking into the situation they concluded that he might have the right to 
have one after all.  Even so, the City came up with another code for 
"Accessory Structures" with a height limit of 20 feet.  They again told 
AE6TV to take the antenna down and apply for the approval of a Conditional 
Use Permit.  Ehlert refused to remove the antenna but did apply for the 
permit and paid a $365 fee.  

Then, in a June 3 letter to the city, Ehlert quoted FCC regulations that 
limit local authority over amateur radio facilities.  Under the limited 
Federal preemption known as PRB, a city cannot ban a ham radio operator 
from having an antenna and must reasonably accommodate a radio amateurs 
needs.  In addition, a law protecting ham radio antenna installations was 
unanimously passed by the California state Legislature and signed by then 
Governor Gray Davis in July 2003.  Like PRB-1, it  also requires cities and 
counties to reasonably accommodate Amateur Radio service communications.

Ehlert's lawyer is William Seligmann, WA6UUY, of Pacific Pallisades. On 
July 20th he also responded in a letter to the city.  At that time Seligmann 
restated that Amateur Radio facilities must be reasonably accommodated and 
threatening legal action if his client was forced to remove his antenna.

In theory, Ehlert thinks he should be able to put up a 60-foot or 70-foot 
antenna because the city has no specific ordinance regulating amateur radio 
structures. But AE6TV says that he is willing to settle for 32 feet if 
that's what the city will give him.  He has also offered to paint the tower 
the same color as his house so that it would blend in better.  

Its now up to the city.  If they force him to take down the antenna or drop 
it to a height where it wil negatively impact on his ability to 
communicate, AE6TV says that he is ready to take the matter into the 
courts.  (ARNewslineT, San Bernardino Sun)

**

THE BPL FIGHT:  INITIAL SAN DIEGO BPL TEST RESULTS 

Some interference to ham radio from San Diego Gas and Electric's initial B-
P-L 
tests has been reported.  Interference seems most prevalent on the WARC 
bands. 

But the CGC Communicator which is following these tests says that instead 
of launching a formal complaint with the FCC at this time some folks are 
recommending that the ARRL wait until all of the utility's proposed B-P-L 
tests have gotten underway before a report or complaint is filed.  This 
they say is in consideration of the small geographic area being tested.  

Interference to broadcast frequencies has yet to be tested, as far as we 
know.  (CGC)

**

HAM RADIO TESTING:  NEW QUESTION POOL RELEASE DATES ANNOUNCED

The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators, that's the N-C-
V-E-C - it has that the Question Pool Committee has adjusted the schedule 
for revising question pools used in the Amateur Radio Service.  Amateur 
Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZWW has the details on how it will now 
work:

--

According to the N-C-V-E-C announcement, a new Technician Class Element 2 
pool is being prepared now.  It will be released to the public in January 
2006 and  will become effective on July 1, 2006.  

Next up will be revising the General Class pool for Element 3.  It was 
scheduled to become effective on July 1, 2008.  Instead it will be released 
on December 1, 2006, and become effective July1, 2007. 

Finally, the release of an updated Extra Class pool Element 4, which was 
originally scheduled for 2005, has also been changed.  The new Extra Class 
pool will be released on December 1, 2007, and will become effective July 
1, 2008.  

Barring any major rules changes, subsequent updates to all pools will 
follow the traditional 4-year cycle.  This decision to revise release dates 
now was prompted by recent announcements by the FCC, as well as by changes 
in radio communication technology and recommendations from V-E-C 
organizations around the country.  

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

--

The Question Pool Committee feels it is imperative to produce a new 
Technician Class pool now to better position the Amateur Radio Service for 
growth in the years ahead.  (NCVEC)

**

RADIO FREE-BEE:  NEW VERSION OF WSJT AVAILABLE

Joe Taylor, K1JT, has announced his latest beta release of WSJT.  This  is 
a major revision of WSJT, with many new features.  Further  enhancements  
are still to come, building on the all-new multi-threaded  foundation code 
of version 5.8.1.  

Joe does say however with many thousand lines of new code, it is likely  
that there are some new bugs.   Go to the WSJT Home page to download the 
new program at  http://pulsar.princeton.edu/~joe/K1JT/  (VHF Reflector)

**

RADIO SCIENCE:  UK STUDY REJECTS CELLPHONE TO CANCER LINK

A lengthy European study has found no link between cancer and cellular 
telephone use.  At least not yet.  Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Wilbanks, 
AE5DW, reports from the road:

--

One of the largest and most rigorous studies ever into the alleged links 
between cancer and the use of mobile phones has failed to find any 
connection between the two/  At least for the first ten years of use.

According to the study, published on line by the British Journal of Cancer 
and conducted by scientists at the world-renowned Institute of Cancer 
Research in London, there is no link between a type of brain cancer called 
acoustic neuroma and the number of years that mobiles had been used, the 
time since first use, the total hours of use or the total number of calls.  
The study also failed to establish any links between the use of older 
analog headsets compared with newer digital versions as regards the 
occurrence of acoustic neuromas in the brain.

Acoustic neuromas are benign tumours that grow in the nerve connecting the 
ear and inner ear to the brain. They appear close to where people usually 
place their mobile handsets so it was an obvious choice of cancer for the 
scientists to investigate.  Researchers admit that there was relatively 
little information concerning the risk of tumours after mobile use of over 
ten years. This, they conceded, needs to be monitored.

--

The study was carried out in five countries.  These were Great Britain, 
Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.  These are all nations that 
established mobile cellular networks early on and have a high mobile phone 
penetration rate.  Read more at 
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=170102141  
(British Journal of Cancer, Info Week, Science-OnLine)

**

WITH ARNEWSLINE:  A WORD ABOUT DON AE5DW

By the way, Don asks that we let all of you know that he and his family are 
on their way home.  Well, almost.  

By the time you hear this newscast, Don, Dawn and their son Tyler should be 
at their summer home in Mississippi which came through Hurricane Katrina 
unscathed.  Their regular place in Chalmette, Louisiana is still under 
water and theres no word how long it will be before they can return to 
assess the damage.

The only problem at the place in Mississippi is that the phone lines to it 
are still down.  This mean no Internet connection or D-S-L until they are 
repaired.  Don does have a cellphone and his ham radio gear so he does have 
contact with the world.  (arnEWSLINET)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE:  ISS PACKET SYSTEM FAILS

The packet system on board the ISS has developed some problems taking it 
off the air.  AMSAT's Ken Ransom, N5VHO, reports that the Kenwood packet 
system on 145.99MHz up and 145.80 MHz down seems to be having trouble 
again.  First the BBS failed a couple of weeks ago and now the digipeater 
has stopped working. 

On September 13th the crew was asked to cycle the power on the radio but as 
of this report being produced  the system seems to have not yet recovered.  
But Ransom says that there is hope.  He says that in previous cases, the 
system eventually was restored.

N5VHO also passes on some good news.  According to Ken the packet system on 
P C SAT 2 is still functioning on 145.825 MHz up 435.275 down.  He says 
that the science data telemetry is still being down linked on 437.975 MHz 
at 9600 baud.  (AMSat bbs, n5vho)

**

WORLDBEAT - AUSTRALIA:  VK3APO APPOINTED VK REPEATER COORDINATOR

The Wireless Institute of Australia has appointed a national repeater 
Coordinator.  This is because all Australian ham radio licensing is now 
centralized in Canberra and it is a government requirement that all 
applications for a repeater are submitted with W-I-A endorsement.  As a 
result, the W-I-A board has appointed Peter Mill, who holds the call signs 
VK3APO and VK3ZPP to this position.  Mill is described as having  a wealth 
of experience in repeater operation and  frequency allocation, starting in 
the late 60's.  He even attended that nations first National VHF band 
planning meeting held back then.  (wia News)

**

WORLDBEAT - NEW ZEALAND:  A NET OF HONOR

New Zealand's Amateur Radio Community Service Award has been presented to 
net manafers Alistair and  Davina Campbell, ZS5MU and ZS5GC.  Alistair 
started a net om October 26th of 1979, in response to a request for weather 
information froman international yacht.  Since then Alistair's Net has been 
involved in assisting numerous medical emergencies, mechanical and rigging 
emergencies, rescues, comedies and tragedies, and even legal issues.  He is 
supported by his wife Davina who often handles the net those times when 
Alistair is not available.   (NZART)

**

WORLDBEAT - INDIA:  SEANET AND IARU MEET IN OCTOBER IN INDIA

VU2RCR passes along a reminder that the annual SEANET meeting  takes place 
from 7th to 9th of October in Bangalore, India.  SEANET occurs just  prior 
to the IARU Region 3  Board of Directors gathering at the same venue.  (WIA 
News)

**

RADIO MISTAKE:  OPEN THE WINDOWS FOR THE SIGNAL

Back here in the U-S-A we have a story of an incredible engineering blunder 
as reported by the CGC Communicator.  

When the University of California at San Diego's Police Department decided 
to move to new quarters, and the university hired a consulting firm to 
design and install a microwave system to go from police new location to the 
top of Mt. Soledad.   The consulting firm reportedly looked at a 
topographic map, found no listed obstructions and installed the equipment.  
They then discovered that the path wouldn't work.  

Why?  It seems that there was an unforeseen attenuator in the way.  It's 
called the San Diego Veterans Administration Hospital.  Its big.  Its made 
of steel and cement.  It was there first and is definitely not going to go 
away.  (CGC, ARNewslineT)

**

DX

In D-X, a large group of Dutch amateurs will be going to Qawra, Malta for 
their 18th holiday DXpedition.  They will operate on 80 through 6 meters.  
Moses are  CW, SSB and digital with the call sign  9H0VRZ.  They will be 
there through October 2nd.   QSL this one as directed on the air.  (Via e-
mail) 

**

THAT FINAL ITEM:  HAMS TARGETED IN EXPANDING INTERNET FRAUD SCHEME

Anfd finally this week, it appears that ham radio operators are the latest 
targets of an ever expanding Internet fraud scheme.  Jim Linton, VK3PC is 
here with the details.

--

Sellers beware of Internet fraud.  A popular way of selling things is to 
use the Internet and this includes various on-line ham radio classifieds. 

Recent reports in Australia, the United States and elsewhere confirm that a 
scam known as `advance fee fraud' is being used to try and rip off those 
selling a piece of amateur radio gear.

It works like this: The seller receives an email response to their 
advertisement, telling them to consider the item sold, and payment will be 
made by a bank cheque.

But the cheque will be much more than the advertised price of the 
equipment. There will be a seemingly plausible reason for this such as an 
invoice overpayment or some other ruse.

The seller is asked to return the over-payment to the buyer or another 
person. 

The so-called bank cheque is a fake. It's a ploy to get the seller to 
despatch the equipment plus a refund from the value-less cheque. 

This fraud is not confined to on-line classifieds but sellers in magazines 
are also being targeted. Email has helped this and similar scams to 
proliferate in recent years. 

If you experience an attempted `advance fee fraud' the advice is do not 
respond, but simply ignore it. 

I'm Jim Linton VK3PC for the Amateur Radio Newsline.  

--

How do you avoid getting ripped off?  If you get a call, letter or e-mail 
offering to buy your gear but with the providso you cash a check and return 
the over amount, walk away.  Or better yet, file a report with the consumer 
fraud division of the F-B-I.  Either way, your bank account will be in tact 
when the day is done.  (VK3PC)

**

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 W-I-A News, that's all from the Amateur Radio 
Newsline(tm).  Our e-mail address is newsline at 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. 