[Ham-News] Amateur Radio Newsline 1489 - February 24, 2006
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Tue Feb 28 18:19:18 EST 2006
Amateur Radio Newsline 1489 - February 24, 2006
Closed Circuit Advisory
--
Back to August, via PayPal we heard from Mark Lunge, KB6IPA, representing
the N6MPX repeater: David Billeci, WA6UHA; Ken Sprouse, WA3FKG; David
Byrd, KD7VA of Las Vegas; Michael Hyde, KE6RMW
Anne Huff of the Metropolitan Amateur Radio Marauders, W4JHK in Richmond,
VA; Brian Rayl, N7MOE of Santa Rosa, CA: Brian Stout, N7VLZ of Little
Rock, AR: Systems Reliability Solutions of Pleasanton, CA;
Lars Hansen ; C. Mark Burlingame, KB9TVD and John Roberts of Sheffield,
South York in the U.K. By going through PayPal, John solved the currency
conversion problem.
Month in and month out Newsline takes an average of $1000 to put the latest
news of Amateur Radio on the air- it doesn't come to us- we have to go get
it. With no advertising, we depend on you- our loyal listeners. Our
website- arnewsline.org has all the information you need to contribute,
including a quick link to PayPal.
Or there's our address: Newsline Support Fund, PO Box 660937, Arcadia, CA
91066. That address will be repeated at the end of the newscast.
Thanks for your help. I'm Andy Jarema, N6TCQ
--
Thank you Andy. Now, Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1489 with a
release date of Friday, February 24, 2006 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a Q-S-T. SuitSat appears to have ended its mission, the
3Y0X DXpedition winds down and a Louisiana teen is recognized for his
efforts during Hurricane Katrina. Hear the details on Amateur Radio
Newsline report number 1489 coming your way right now.
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: SUITSAT APPEARS TO HAVE GONE QRT
SuitSat appears to have finally gone QRT. According to AMSAT-BB postings,
the last time SuitSat's telemetry was heard was by Richard Crow, N2SPI, of
Smithville Flats, New York, on Friday, February 17th at 10:59 UTC. The
last known recording of SuitSat was made at 12:11 UTC on Thursday, February
16th by Harry Muller, KC5TRB. This, as the satellite built into a
discarded Russian spacesuit flew over his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As
Harry pointed out in his e-mail ti us, there really was not much to hear:
--
SuitSat Audio
--
What is really amazing is that recording was made almost two weeks after
SuitSat was deployed from the International Space Station on February 3rd.
It was expected to be on the air for only a few days to a week but it
surprised everyone with its self extended life. And even though the
signals from the makeshift satellite were never very strong, right up to
the end of its service life SuitSat'S 145.990MHz FM signal was still being
detected by radio amateurs throughout the world.
Though out the mission the signals from SuitSat have been very feeble. In
fact the signal was so weak that NASA initially reported that the satellite
had stopped working soon after it was deployed.
There are ongoing investigations as to why the signals were so faint.
Speculation is currently focusing on extremely low transmitter output power
or a bad connection between the Kenwood HT inside the space suit satellite
and the helmet mounted antenna as possible explanations. But even with its
puny signal back to Earth, SuitSat truly stirred the imagination of the
public and has for the moment again focused the eyes of the world back
toward the exploration of space. (AMSAT, ARNewslineT with audio provided
by KC5TRB)
**
ON THE AIR: 3Y0X NOW A PART OF HAM RADIO HISTORY
The worlds most expensive DXpedition to Peter One Island is now a part of
ham radio history. The 3Y0X team made its final contacts on Sunday,
February 19th after which the last of the gear was secured with it and the
operators on a helocopter for the short ride to the boat that will begin
their voyage home
While the final count is not yet in, it looks as if the 3Y0Xteam made well
over 81,900 QSO during their stay on the Antarctic island. Some were kind
of special like this one with veteran DX'er John Thompson, W1BIH, in
Kingston, Massachusetts. Take a listen to the quick but very important
exchange. Especially for W1BIH:
--
Actual contact audio: Here it in the audio version downloadable as an MP3
file at www.arnewsline.org.
--
What makes this contact so unique is that W1BIH is 90 years old and likely
the oldest DX'er still on the air. He reportedly sold his gear last year
and moved into a retirement community. On Thursday February 9th, Don
Greenbaum, N1DG, picked John up and took him to his station. About thirty
minutes later there was a big smile on Thompson's face. And with good
reason. Contacting Peter 1 was John's last needed country. Working 3Y0X
means that he can now get back on the top of the honor roll. Counting
deletions, Peter One was his country number 390. (3Y0X Team press release
with audio from Dxpediton wensite)
**
THE BPL WAR: LIPA - NY SAYS ITS PROCEEDING WITH BPL TESTS
Back in the USA, New York's Long Island Power Authority has outlined a
schedule it plans to use to choose who'll get to try their hand at offering
broadband and wireless Internet services through the area's electric lines.
In a February 15th news release the Authority better known by the acronym
LIPA said that companies have until April 28th to submit proposals for the
two-year test of broadband and wireless telecommunications over its power
distribution grid.
According to the company, the test will be to provide broadband and
wireless telecommunications through its lines for 105 residential and
commercial customers in the towns of Hauppauge and Commack. The Authority
plans to start the Broadband over Powerline testing during the second half
of this year. Ham radio operators in the affected area are strongly at
odds with the project and have mounted a letter writing campaign to express
their opposition. (WB2FXN)
**
THE BPL WAR: IDAHO UTILITY BACKS AWAY FROM BROADBAND OVER POWERLINE
The ARRL Letter reports that another utility company is having second
thoughts about the Broadband over Powerline business. Avista Utilities
announced recently that it's re-evaluating its plans to deploy a BPL
project in North Idaho.
The company, which serves some 330,000 electrical power customers in three
western states, said it and a BPL vendor had "mutually agreed" to end
contract negotiations for a test deployment in Post Falls. Avista Market
Solutions Manager Dave Heyamoto said in a news release February 9 that the
company wants to step back and look at how the industry is evolving in
terms of technology and the business model.
While Avista did not name the BPL vendor, a February 3 article in Spokane,
Washington's, Spokesman-Review newspaper identified the company as
Communication Technologies of Chantilly, Virginia. COMTek operates the
Manassas, Virginia, BPL rollout that's been the subject of ongoing
interference complaints from the local ham radio community. In mid-
January, the ARRL again called on the FCC to order the Manassas BPL system
shut down until it resolves the interference complaints. Avista says it
has not set a timeline for any future BPL projects, which reportedly could
involve power-grid monitoring. (ARRL Letter)
**
RESCUE RADIO: NEWPAPER PRAISES TEEN HAM ACTIVE IN KATRINA
Michael Taboada, KE5ELP, is a 7th grade student at the Glasgow Middle
School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is new to the hobby of ham radio
having only eared his Technician ticket about a year ago. And now, the
Baron Rouge Advocate newspaper is praising him for his communications
skills during hurricane Katrina.
In a February 18th story, the Advocate notes two specific incidents where
Michael's assistance was helpful. The first was when he realized radio
operators at the Red Cross headquarters were switching to a different
repeater. That's when he offered to tell each of the Red Cross shelters
about the change.
The second incident happened when the Louisiana Emergency Office of
Communications and the Texas EOC became unlinked. Until the intertie could
be re-established Michael became a human repeater and relayed the messages
between the two sites.
KE5ELP told the Advocate that electric power was out at his house and so he
was rationing his battery operated radio's on time. He said that initially
he was only following the conversations on two repeaters that were active
during the storm.
You can read the entire story about Michael Taboada, KE5ELP, and his work
during hurricane Katrina at the Baton Rouge Advocate website:
http://www.2theadvocate.com/features/2331966.html (Baron Rouge Advocate)
**
RESCUE RADIO: APCO FAVORS DROPPING THE 10-CODES
The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International has
released a statement that renews its assertion that plain speech
communications over public safety radio systems is preferred over the
traditional 10-Codes and other dispatch signals used by a majority of law
enforcement agencies across the country. According to the CGC
Communicator, this position is shared by the Department of Homeland
Security's National Incident Management System. The whole story is on line
at www.tinyurl.com/bfk4d (CGC)
**
RADIO READING: HOW TO PUT UP A TALL TOWER AND ANTENNA
If you are thinking about approaching your city or town for a permit to
erect a tower and cannot quite figure out the best way, then you will want
to read the Winter 2006 edition of Amateur Television Quarterly magazine.
In an article titled "So You Want To Put Up A Tall Tower" author Henry
Ruhweidel, AA9XW, takes you through the ins and outs of dealing with
licensing authorities and how to deal with them in a way that will likely
bring you the permit you desire.
They key to success says AA9XW is to present a professional appearance and
convince others that you are informed. He explains what documentation to
have ready at variance hearings, how to present it and much, much more. As
such it's a must read article that anyone planning a tower and antenna
installation.
Amateur Television Quarterly magazine is by subscription only and not sold
on newsstands. Subscription information can be found in cyberspace at
www.hampubs.com or by e-mail to atvq at hampubs.com. (Amateur Television
Quarterly)
**
ENFORCEMENT: DON'T INTERFERE WITH HAM RADIO
The FCC has contacted a number of businesses and utility companies to warn
them about alleged interference they are causing to ham radio operations.
Commission spokesman Daryl Duckworth, NN0W, is here with more:
--
Duckworth: "BRB Seeds of Prosser, Washington, has been asked about
interference to an Amateur in Prosser from their equipment associated with
seep processing. Other inquiries of this type went to Northwest Energy of
Helena, Montana, for electric utility interference to an Amateur in Helens.
A foloow-up request went to Soccoro Electric of Soccoro, New Mexico for
electric utility interference to a ham in Datil, New Mexico, and a
residential owner in Randolph, New Jersey, for interference to an Amateur
from an invisible electric fence.
And if that were not enough, yet another electric utility -- Cumberland
Electric Membership Corporation of Clarksville, Tennessee received an
inquiry from the Atlanta office on excessive powerline noise in the 40
meter and 6 meter bands to an Amateur in Springfield, Tennessee.
I'm Daryl Duckworth, NN0W, reporting."
--
The follow-up letter to the Socorro Electric Cooperative went to Paul
Bustamante, who is the President of the utility. In it the FCC notes that
the ham suffering interference in the Datil New Mexico area reported no
improvement in the noise levels at his location since the FCC first wrote
the power company in March of 2005. The interference problem itself dates
back to June of 2003. (FCC, RAIN)
**
ENFORCEMENT: FCC PROPOSES $1 MILLION FORFEITURE FOR MARKETING
UNAUTHORIZED EQUIPMENT
The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a $1 million
forfeiture against Behringer USA, Inc. for apparent violation of
the FCC's equipment authorization rules. The Commission has
concluded that Behringer apparently violated the FCC's rules by
marketing in the United States at least 50 models of unauthorized
digital audio devices.
In proposing its forfeiture amount, the Commission considered that
Behringer marketed the unauthorized devices for more than five
years overall and for almost a year after it was on notice of
the FCC's investigation. The Commission says that Behringer derived
substantial financial gain from the sale of the unauthorized
devices.
Behringer GmBH is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of professional
audio equipment, musical instruments and their related products. It is
headquartered in Germany with offices in ten nations including the United
States. Behringer's product line includes a number of wireless systems.
The Commission says that its rules require that these devices be
tested and verified compliant with FCC technical standards prior
to marketing them in the United States. (FCC)
**
RADIO LAW: WHITE HOUSE SAYS THAT WI-FI IS NOT THE A TAX TARGET
The White House says that a new budget proposal to set user fees on un-
auctioned spectrum would not lead to taxes on frequencies designated for
Wi-Fi. But in its on February 7 statement the White House did say that
satellite, taxi and other industry sectors that do not pay for spectrum
could be forced to antie-up for use of the nation's airwaves in the future.
A day earlier on February 6th RCR Wireless Newshad reported that the Bush
administration's tax plan was believed to be aimed at unlicensed
frequencies used for Wi-Fi and other applications. (CGC)
**
ON THE WEB: STOPPING THE PHISHING CYBERCRIME
This you may find hard to believe, but about one out of every four Internet
users in the United States are the target of phishing attacks. You know:
Those phony e-mails seeking personal financial data by sending you to a
look-alike website that's actually a decoy to gain your trust and give the
crooks access to your bank account.
According to a study conducted by America Online in cooperation with the
National Cyber Security Alliance 70 percent of consumers who received such
e-mails thought they were from legitimate companies. The study also found
that phishers are getting better at tricking consumers into revealing their
bank account and financial information because most Americans canot tell
the difference between real e-mails and the growing flood of scams that
lead to fraud and identity theft.
The study showed that 81 percent of home PC's lack either updated computer
software, spyware protection or a secure firewall. Tatiana Platt, AOL's
chief trust officer, who's in charge of privacy and security says that
consumers need to be more aware of the risk they face by not having these
safeguards in their machines. (Publised reports)
**
THE SOCIAL SCENE: MIDLAND TEXAS IN MARCH
Turning to the ham radio social calendar, word that the Midland Amateur
Radio Club will sponsor the 51st annual Saint Patrick's Day Hamfest and
West Texas Section Convention on March 4th and 5th. The venue is the
Midland Lions Club on Plaza Avenue with gates open at 8 a.m. both days.
Talk in will be on the 147.30 MHz repeater. More on this event is on-line
at hamfest.w5qgg.org (Press release)
**
THE SOCIAL SCENE: CHARLESTON WEST VIRGINIA IN MARCH
And the 22nd annual Charleston, West Virgina Hamfeat and Computer Show is
slated for Saturday, March 18th at the Coonskin Armory in the city of
Charleston. Admission to this one is only $5 with doors opening at 9 a.m..
Licensing exam sessions will take place at 12:30 p.m. local time and
parking is free. Your contact person on this one is Newsline anchorman Jim
Damron, N8TMW. You can reach Jim by e-mail to n8tmw at arrl.org (N8TMW)
**
ON THE AIR: THOUGHTS ON GOING MOBILE
And as home radio grows, more and more of us are getting our act together
and taking it on the road. In other words, going mobile on the H-F or VHF
bands. With some thoughts on this phenomena, here's Jim Linton, VK3PC:
--
Operating mobile has long been a part of amateur radio. Among the options
are single-band transceivers for VHF or UHF, dual-band sets or modern small
multi-band transceivers.
There are several ways to mount VHF or UHF antennas including a magnetic
mount that attaches to the vehicle's metal body using a strong magnet.
Before deciding to go mobile on the HF bands which requires larger
antennas it's best to check your state or territory's road laws. Ask a
knowledgeable radio amateur who already operates on HF.
Basically a motorist must have a full and uninterrupted view of the road
and any traffic ahead, to each side, and the rear through rear vision
mirrors. Another thing to avoid is interfering with the proper functioning
of vehicle airbag crash sensors.
Operating mobile is a skill that takes time to develop. Remember the
primary task always is to drive carefully.
Enjoy being a radio amateur and what the hobby has to offer.
I'm Jim Linton, VK3PC, for the Amateur Radio Newsline.
--
The bottom line. Operating mobile can be a lot of fun but only is you keep
safety on the road as your primary concern. (WIA)
**
CHANGING OF THE GUARD: GEORGE HIVELY, W6GRH - S.K.
The ham who brought the nation a comedy documentary about Field Day has
become a Silent Key. This with word that George Hively, W6GRH, passed away
on Tuesday, February 7th, following a short illness at age 72.
It was back in the winter of 1971 that Hively, who at that time held the
call WA6YEA, convinced the Palisades Amateur Radio Club of Culver City,
California, to undertake a film project depicting the way in which the club
handled its annual Field Day outing. Not having home videotape back then,
the movie was shot using Super 8 millimeter cameras. Hively, a feature
film editor by profession, wrote the script, recorded the narration and
pieced it all together with the audio track and music on a separate
cassette tape.
Within weeks of its first showing to the Palisades club, "Field Day 1971 "
became a ham radio cult phenomena across all of Southern California. By
the middle 1970's word had spread nationwide and the club was getting
requests to borrow the show. To accomplish this several duplicates were
made with the audio recorded on to a special magnetic track on the actual
film. These were mailed out on loan to any radio club that could find a
Super 8 sound projector to run it.
Career wise, Hively had been a staff editor at Sony Pictures for the last
14 years. He first worked as an assistant editor on the Perry Mason
television series from 1957 to 1966. During his time in Hollywood he was
associated with numerous big screen motion pictures. This included the
original 1974 "The Longest Yard," "Lucky Lady," "Deadhead Miles," "Movie,
Movie" and the 1984 comedy "Blame it on Rio" that starred Michael Caine and
Demi Moore. His TV credits include the late 1970's television series
"Heart to Heart" and the 1990's cop drama "Shades of L.A." starring Warren
Berlinger.
In addition to ham radio, George Hively was active in auto racing and
sailing. Ironically, he was in the midst of re-editing the Field Day film
for release on video at the time of his death.
George Hively, W6GRH, is survived by his wife Geraldine, W6GCH, a daughter,
Deborah Prince, son and daughter-in-law Ken and Cindy Hively and two
grandchildren, Roger Prince and Becki Hively. An at-sea memorial was
planned for Saturday, February 25th. (ARNewslineT)
**
CHANGING OF THE GUARD: DON BACHE, M0XJP - S.K.
And word from the Radio Society of Great Britain that its Deputy Regional
Manger Don Bache, M0XJP, has become a Silent Key.
A relative latecomer to the hobby, Don gained his amateur radio license
after he had retired as marketing manager. He quickly developed an
interest in weather satellites. This was a subject for which he gave
speeches at many clubs in his region.
Bache was responsible for District 91. That's the area that includes the
city of Hertfordshire, greater London and areas north of the Thames River.
(RSGB)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AMSAT-UK JOINS ESEO SATELLITE PROJECT
AMSAT-UK will be a part of the upcoming SSETI ESEO satellite project.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has the rest of the story:
--
E-S-E-O is an acronym standing for the European Student Earth Orbiter.
This is a satellite planned for launch in late 2008 that will go into a
Geo-stationary transfer orbit similar to the initial orbit of AO 40 and to
those planned for Eagle and P3E.
The prime communications system for E-S-E-O is being developed by the
University of Wroclaw in Poland. It will operate on commercial S-Band
space frequencies to provide all the usual telecommand and telemetry
channels.
But E-S-E-O also has a need for a redundant communications system that can
operate in the event of a primary system failure but can and also function
satisfactorily even if the spacecraft is not in its intended earth-pointing
mode. This is where AMSAT-UK is planning to assist.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, reporting.
--
The involvement of the AMSAT-UK team with the project was confirmed at a
Workshop at the European Space Agencies ESTEC facility in the Netherlands.
At the same time the members of the AMSAT-UK team were elected as 'Honorary
Members' of the SSETI Association in appreciation of their work supporting
the previous SSETI Express satellite project. (AMSAT)
**
WORLDBEAT - SOUTH AFRICA: SARL JOINS WRC INDUSTRY PREPARATORY GROUP
The South African Radio League joined the World Radio Conference 2007
Industry Preparatory Group. The I-P-G was formed to prepare industry's
position on the many agenda items that will be discussed at the next World
Radio Conference which will be held in 2007.
At the conference there are two agenda items that have specific impact on
Amateur Radio. The one is the allocation of 135,7 to 137,8 kHz to the
Amateur service and a harmonised 40 metre allocation from 7000 to 7300
kHz.
The South African Radio League will lead the discussion on the 137 kHz
agenda item and will work with. South African telecommunications regulator
Sentech and other industry (SARL, WIA News)
**
WORLDBEAT - MEXICO: CORRECTION - FIRST DTV SIGNS ON IN TIJUANA REVISITED
And a slight correction to last weeks story regarding television station
XHUAA-DT being the first digital operation on the U-S Mexican border.
According to Bob Gonsett, W6VR, of the CGC Communicator XHUAA-DT is
believed to the first Spanish language DTV station in Tijuana. XETV has
been broadcasting digital for some time, carrying Fox programming in
English for the San Diego market . (CGC)
**
DX
In D-X word that the list of the worlds most wanted DXCC contacts is out.
Chris Edmondson, VK4AA, has the top picks:
--
Scarborough Reef (BS7H) has replaced North Korea (P5) as the most-wanted
DXCC entity, according to The DX Magazine's 2005 survey of DXers.
The Daily DX and QST's "How's DX?" Editor Bernie McClenny, W3UR, says
several groups are working toward activating Scarborough Reef, one of the
Spratly Islands not far from the Banda Aceh region devastated by the Boxing
Day 2004 tsunami. Being close to both the Philippines and to China means
there's a territorial tangle of wills to sort out before you get within a
bulls roar of the place.
According to McClenny, "The problem is not obtaining a license or
transportation to the rocks," he said. "There must be serious diplomacy
between China and the Philippines in order for this one to be pulled off."
The second most-wanted is Lakshadweep (VU7), an island group to the west of
the Indian mainland.
And swapping spots with Scarborough Reef at number three is North Korea
(P5), which has had a couple of relatively recent activation's. Holding
position four on the DX Most Wanted list is Peter I Island (3Y/P), and at
five is Yemen (7O).
I'm Chris Edmondson, VK4AA
--
Rounding out the top 10 most-wanted DXCC entities on The DX Magazine's 2005
survey were Navassa, Desecheo, South Sandwich, Glorioso, and the Andaman
and Nicobar island group filling out the top ten. Of course, the 3Y0X
DXpedition to Peter I is expected to move that entity well down the list
for the 2006 survey. (WIA)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: CELEBRATING ENGINEERS WEEK
And finally this week, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
helped to celebrate Engineers Week with a contact to the ISS from the
National Building Museum in Washington D.C. It took place on Saturday,
February 18th with AMSAT Vice President for Human Engineering Frank Bauer,
KA3HDO, on-site to oversee the festivities:
--
Bauer: We have sixteen students from very deverse schools from around the
Washington DC area and we are all excited. There are thousands of people
in this bulding participating in robotic competitions and all kinds of
engineering activities. And one of the activities we are going to do in
just a couple of minutes is to talk to astronaut Bill McArthur on the
International Space Station."
--
Four minutes later the International Space Station was on-line and the
questioning of astronaut and radio amateur Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, began.
Here's just a sample of the exchanges between the students and the
astronaut ham:
--
Actual contact audio: Here it in the audio version downloadable as an MP3
file at www.arnewsline.org.
--
The youngsters who spoke with Bill McArthur were at the museum as part of
the Discover Engineering Family Day. And as engineering was the topic of
the day it was inevitable that some of the questions would touch on that
subject:
--
Actual contact audio: Here it in the audio version downloadable as an MP3
file at www.arnewsline.org.
--
Because of the timeline of the contact the station in communication with
the I-S-S was WH6PN located at the Sacred Hearts Academy in Honolulu,
Hawaii. The two sites were intertied using a world-wide tele-bridge
provided courtesy of Verizon Conferencing. You can hear the entire contact
between Bill McArthur And the kids at the National Building Museum by
downloading the MP3 file at
http://amsat.org/amsat/ariss/Audio/School%20Contacts/ (ARISS)
**
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 WIA 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.
A reminder that the nominating period for the 2006 Amateur Radio Newsline
Young Ham of the Year Award is now open. This award seeks to honor hams age
18 or younger for their outstanding contributions through Amateur Radio.
The cuttoff date for entries this year is May 30th. Full information on the
award along with on-line and downloadable nominating forms are at the
awards own wesite created and maintained by our 1993 recipient Kevin
Boudreaux, N5XMH. Its in cyberspace at www.yhoty.org. Agaig that's
www.yhoty.org
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm Jim Davis,
W2JKD, saying 73 and we thank you for listening." Amateur Radio
Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2006. All rights reserved.
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