[Ham-News] Amateur Radio Newsline 1498 - April 28, 2006
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Sat Apr 29 09:17:59 EDT 2006
Amateur Radio Newsline 1498 - April 28, 2006
The following is a Q-S-T. The B-P-L fight continues in Virginia, the FCC
looks at several more repeater problems and the Morse code can be fun.
Find out the details on Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1498 coming
your way right now.
**
THE BPL FIGHT: ARRL DOCUMENTS FLAWS IN MANASSAS BPL INTERFERENCE REPORT
THE ARRL disputes claims by B-P-L supplier COMTek that its system in
Manassas, Virginia cannot be shown to be the cause of ongoing interference
complaints by local amateurs. The ARRL says that it is the source of
massive interference and has told the FCC to disregard COMTek's claims.
The ARRL is also demanding that the FCC shut down the Manassas system until
the interference problems are solved. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce
Tennant, K6PZW, has more:
--
The ARRL Letter reports on an April 14th communication sent to a pair of
FCC officials. This, from the League's General Counsel Christopher D.
Imlay, W3KD.
The information supplied by the ARRL concludes that in light of the record
of long-standing interference to licensed stations in Manassas, Virginia,
and the failure of BPL provider COMTek and the City of Manassas to comply
with Section 15.615(d) of the FCC's rules, that the Commission should
require that the BPL system be shut down immediately. Also, that it not
be permitted to resume operation until the facility is shown to be in full
compliance with Commission rules regarding radiated emissions and the non-
interference requirement.
The 10 page letter was addressed to Joseph Casey, who is the Chief of the
Spectrum Enforcement Division, and to Katherine Power, of the Spectrum
Enforcement Division. It sets out in detail the tortured history of
interference complaints involving the Manassas BPL system. Attached to
the letter is a detailed analysis of the technical study prepared by ARRL
Lab Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI. Hare concludes that the testing performed
by COMTek was in no way is sufficient to reach any general conclusions
about emissions levels. The analysis goes on to criticize the methodology
used as well as the conclusions of the tests.
COMTek's survey was submitted to the FCC in response to a letter from Casey
requiring a report of system compliance and actions taken to address the
alleged harmful interference. COMTek's report says that the current
configuration of the Manassas BPL System is not the source of
interference to amateur radio licensees.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles.
--
The ARRL response, cites ongoing interference complaints, called the study
fatally and obviously flawed. (ARRL)
**
THE BPL FIGHT: CALIFORNIA PUC SAYS YES TO STATEWIDE BPL
I'm Bill Pasternak WA6ITF, with some late breaking news on the BPL front
that is bas news for California hams. This with word that the California
Public Utilities Commission approved a plan on Thursday, April 27th to allow
providers of high-speed Internet services to test using electricity lines
to deliver online access throughout the state.
California Public Utilities Commission commissioner Rachelle Chong drafted
the plan. She said broadband over power lines could become a new
competitor to Internet services delivered via telephone, cable and
satellites and help reduce prices for consumers. She noted that BPL uses
existing utility lines delivering power to neighborhoods, and that can also
carry broadband signals into homes.
The regulatory commission adopted guidelines for electric utilities and
companies that wish to develop and test projects in California. Among them
are that electric utility affiliates and other developers can invest in
and operate BPL systems. The announcement made in San Francisco made no
mention of mitigating interference to or from ham radio, C-B or others
already using the spectrum that any California B-P-L system might share. At
the moment only San Diego Gas and Electric is involved in any sort of BPL
trial in the Golden State.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, In Los Angeles.
(Published news reports)
**
RADIO LAW: FOR THE BIRDS
An FCC order dealing with the effect of communications towers on migratory
birds appears to be a loss for several groups that say construction of some
communication towers violates environmental laws. Amateur Radio Newsline's
Evi Simons reports:
--
In its initial action, the Commission says that it was responding to a
petition filed three and a half years ago by the Forest Conservation
Council, the American Bird Conservancy and Friends of the Earth. Those
groups claimed that FCC policies regarding construction of towers in the
Gulf Coast region violated the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969,
the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
The environmentalists were pushing the FCC to require tower owners to
prepare environmental assessments for about 5,800 existing structures and
to require an Environmental Impact Statement evaluating the effects of all
antenna structure registrations along the Gulf Coast. The petitioners also
wanted the FCC to consult formally with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
regarding the effects of antenna structures on threatened and endangered
species. More important, they wanted the FCC to impose a moratorium on
registration of new communications towers until environmental review could
be completed, and adopt other measures to address deaths of migratory
birds.
But the FCC says that the environmental groups have failed to justify their
request for a moratorium, which the commission said also would hinder
availability of commercial and public safety communications. The agency
also says that the request for environmental assessments lacked specific
allegations relating to individual towers as required under the FCC's
rules.
The commission also denied the remaining claims as unsupported. It did
however note that many of the same issues will be considered in a separate
FCC rulemaking proceeding.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Evi Simons, in New York.
--
Its not known when this NPRN will be released by the FCC. Nor is it known
if small communications towers like those used by hams, CB operators or
consumer rural television reception will be impacted. (FCC)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: EUROPEAN HAMS DETECT VENUS EXPRESS
A pair of European hams are among the first to hear signals from the
European Space Agency's Venus Express orbiter. GB2RS News Reader Jeramy
Boot, G4NJH, in Nottingham in the UK has the rest of the story:
--
Paul Marsh, M0EYT, the amateur who recently made headlines for receiving
signals from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter at a distance of 72 million
kilometres, has proved his prowess at detecting radio transmissions from
space craft once again. Paul and fellow amateur Bertrand Pinel, F5PL,
recently received X-band signals from the Venus Express space craft just
before and after it was brought into orbit around Venus.
Venus Express's mission is to carry out a detailed characterisation of
Venus's atmosphere, using state-of-the-art sensors to solve some the
mysteries that
remain unexplained from previous probes. It will also be the first Venus
orbiter to conduct optical observations of the surface through 'visibility
windows' discovered in the
infrared spectrum.
The space craft set off on its 400,000,000 km journey to Venus on 9th
November 2005, arriving at the planet on 11th April. Despite having only
been in orbit for a short time, the orbiter has already transmitted back
images that are shedding new light on Venus's many mysteries. The images
include the first ever pictures of the planet's south pole.
Jeramy Boot, G4NJH.
--
Details of how M0EYT and F5PL managed to detect the Venus Express signals
can be found in cyberspace at www.uhf-satcom.com/newvex Further
information about Venus Express, is on the European Space Agency's website
at www.esa.int. We will have more ham radio related space news later on in
this weeks Amateur Radio Newsline report. (GB2RS)
**
RESCUE RADIO: CALIFORNIA HIGHSCHOOL EMBRACES HAM RADIO E-COMMS
Amateur radio and the training of operators have become an essential part
of a new and revolutionary school program with wide ranging community
benefits in Moorpark, California. Mark Abramovich, NT3V, has the details:
--.
It's simply called RADIO. And it's an acronym that stands for Radio
Amateurs and DIsaster Operations.
It's the brainchild of Thomas Baker NC6B, the adviser to the Moorpark High
School Amateur Radio Club W6MHS in Ventura County.
Baker, who teaches math and meteorology, conceived the idea for a class
last fall after watching on local TV the response of state and local
governments to the devastating hurricanes Rita and Katrina that hit the
southeastern United States.
Its primary goal: Teaching students about disaster preparedness and getting
them involved.
After getting the okay from his school principal to begin developing a
curriculum, Baker consulted a variety of sources, including the American
Radio Relay League and his community's mayor, to come up with the
parameters for the groundbreaking course. Baker also gleaned ideas from the
government's February report on the federal response to the Katrina
disaster and incorporated some of the recommendations into the class goals.
RADIO was offered as an elective to students in the ninth through 12th
grades signing up a few weeks ago for classes starting this fall. Sixty
students stepped up, quickly filling two classes and there is now talk of
creating a third.
The year-long class - meeting one hour a day, five days a week - will give
students an opportunity to earn an amateur radio license, first aid and CPR
certifications through the American Red Cross, search and rescue training,
and a host of disaster-preparedness skills.
Baker's goal is to have the graduates become involved with the National
Incident Management System and Incident Command System, as well as local
emergency agencies.
Baker, and partner Guy Arnoff, a history teacher at the high school, will
bring in various officials from emergency agencies in Ventura County to
help provide the training for the classes. Those agencies also will assist
in certifying the students in various levels of emergency preparedness.
Through the course, Baker hopes to give some of the students a chance to
shadow emergency professionals as they do their jobs and open up volunteer
opportunities to the students in a variety of organizations and agencies.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in Philadelphia.
--
More about this exciting new program can be found at
www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/mo/article/0,1375,VCS_167_4632804,00.html
(CGC, ARNewslineT)
**
ENFORCEMENT: REPEATER AND REPEATER USER INQUIRIES
The FCC enforcement folks have again been busy dealing with repeater
related issues. The agency's Daryl Duckworth, NN0W, has the details:
--
"Harold Finley, W4BAD, of Raleigh, North Carolina, has received an Advisory
Notice concerning the operation of four uncoordinated repeaters in North
Carolina and one in Virginia.
A Warning Notice went to David Mason, KG6YPA, of Upland, California. This
was for failure to heed the request of the licensee to stay off of the
N6USO repeater.
And finally, Howard Levine, WB2HWW, of Flushing, New York, has been asked
for information on his repeater operation regarding lack of station
control, failure to identify in crossband mode and use of excessive power
for local operation.
This has been Daryl Duckworth, NN0W, reporting."
--
The only other matter in this period not yet reported involved interference
on another band. In this one, a letter of inquirey went to Jay Chesler,
K1UA, of Marston Mills Massachusetts. It concerned what the FCC calls
deliberate interference on the 20 meter band on January 6th and February
5th of this year. (FCC)
**
ENFORCEMENT: COMPANY FINED $14,000 FOR UNAPPROVED DEVICES
The FCC fined Vitec Group Communications Ltd. $14,000 for reportedly
marketing unauthorized radio frequency devices. They were offered under the
trade name Clear-Com Communication Systems. The complaint indicated that
Vitec advertised an unapproved digital wireless intercom system called the
"CellCom Digital Wireless Intercom" including marketing it at last year's
National Association of Broadcasters show. (FCC)
**
COMMUNICATIONS LAW: MOVIE COMPANIES UNITE AGAINST PIRACY
Six major movie studios in Hollywood will create a nonprofit research and
development company to protect their films against electronic theft. The
company, which is expected to create new technologies to protect the
distribution of films particularly on the Internet, will be called Motion
Picture Laboratories, or Movielabs.
The founding owners of the company include Walt Disney Pictures and
Television, Paramount Pictures Corp., 20th Century Fox Film Corporation,
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal City Studios, and Warner Brothers
Entertainment Inc. The organization will have offices and staff in Los
Angeles and will act as an outside management and technology consultant to
the new venture, according to a film industry association. (Press Release)
**
ELECTRONIC SAFETY: DISNEY BRANDED DVD PLAYERS RECALLD
About 102,000 Disney branded portable DVD players are being recalled. The
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission claims that the battery packs sold
with the players can overheat and possibly burst when recharging.
McNair Technology Co. Ltd. and Unitech Battery Ltd., both of China,
manufactured the batteries. Memcorp Inc. of Weston, Florida, distributed
them here in the United States.
The actual DVD players were sold at Walt Disney Co. theme parks, through
the Disney catalog, and at discount and electronics stores nationwide from
April 2005 through March 2006. Consumers are advised to stop using the
battery pack supplied with the DVD players and contact Memcorp for a
battery replacement. Memcorp's customers service department can be reached
at 1-800-326-0315 or customers can view Memcorp's Web site
www.disneyelectronics.com.
The commission said there have been 17 reports of batteries overheating
with three reports of minor skin irritations and three reports of minor
property damage. (Consumer Product Safety Commission release)
**
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: ON CATV RECORDING
Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable have their support behind Cablevision's
plan to offer a digital video recording service that can replace DVR boxes.
Cablevision says that its proposed new service will be called RS-DVR .
That's an acronym meaning remote storage digital video recorder.
RS-DVR would allow cable TV subscribers to record programs on Cablevision
Systems network servers, which could do away with the need for digital
video recorders., Such devices are curently supplied by companies such as
Scientific-Atlanta and TiVo Inc. (Comcast)
**
HAMVENTION 2006: DXCC CARD CHECKING
Want to have your QSL cards checked for DXCC? Wello bring them to the 206
Dayton Hamvention. That's where you will find Bill Moore, NC1L,the ARRL
DXCC Branch Manager.
Moore says that he and the DXCC staff, along with approved card checkers
will be at Hamvention and on hand to check cards throughout the weekend.
But says Moore, there are some simple guidelines that will help make
processing go quick and easy.
Do not sort cards alphanumerically. Rather, cards must be pre-sorted first
by band, then by mode. Also, there is a 120 card limit per applicant.
Larger submissions may be checked as time is available, but only after all
other applications are finished. And cards with more than one QSO should
be placed together at the end of the application.
Lastly, you are required to prepare all paperwork ahead of time. Use the
latest application form available at www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc and be sure
to fill in all fields on the record sheet. Then head off for Hamvention
2006 and have a great time. (OPDX)
**
HAMVENTION 2006: NATIONAL FREQUENCY COORDINATORS' COUNCIL INFORMATION
SESSION.
And the National Frequency Coordinators Council -- better known as the NFCC
is planning an informational meeting at Hamvention 2006. The moderator
will be Doug Sharp, K2AD , who is both the organizations President and
Chairman who will lead a discussion on the current state of the NFCC, what
is happening in the organization, what the group currently provides to the
amateur community, and where the NFCC sees itself going in the future.
Regional frequency coordinators will have a chance to speak about
happenings within their groups. There will also be a chance for those in
the audience to have an opportunity to bring legitimate issues before the
council.
The NFCC gathering is slated for Friday, May 19th from 4 to 5 p.m. in
Meeting Room 3 of the Hara Arena. Frequency coordinators from across the
nnation are likely to attend. (NFCC)
**
SPECIAL EVENT: INTERNATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE AND LIGHTSHIP WEEKEND
A highly popular and ever growing amateur radio event is on again this
year. The International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend takes place on
Saturday, August 19th beginning at 00:02 UTC. It ends at 23:59 UTC on
Sunday the 20th This year's event will be dedicated to the memory of its
founder Mike Dalrymple, GM4SUC, who passed away last December. Full
information and an entry form is on-line at http://illw.net (RSGB, VK2CE)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: GPSL IN KANASAS IN AUGUST
The Grand Prairie Super Launch or GPSL 2006 takes place in iHutchinson,
Kansas on August 4th and 5th. This is the event where ham radio high
altitude baloon enthuiasts gather each year to launch, compare notes and
talk about their achievements.
The venue this year is the Grand Prairie Hotel which is very close to the
Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center with the actual balloon launch site
determined at the conference. More information is on-line at
htwww.custom-ds.com/gpsl/ (Oklahoma Research Balloons)
**
CHANGING OF THE GUARD: INNOVATOR TOM BENHAM, W3DD, -S.K.
The changing of the guard continues. This with word from the Handi Hams
that radio amateur and assistive technology innovator Tom Benham, W3DD,
became a silent key on April 15th.
Benham spent most of his adult life making technology available to the
visually impaired. He founded Science Productsin 1954. An adaptive
products company, one of his first products was a multimeter for use by
blind hams and electronics technicians. Science Products later adapted
hundreds of Simpson 260 multimeters for this use.
Benham was also a writer who directed his literary work to thehe
handicapped. His series on the history of Science Products and his
adventures in a long ham radio career ran several years ago in the Handi
Ham Weekly E-letter. (Handi Hams)
**
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: HD RADIO OPPS
All is not well in H-D Radio-land. This according to Greg Hardisson's B-C
Update which says that a well known tabletop H-D receiver reportedly has
noisy switching components and needs an external antenna to receive much of
anything. Greg notes that before H-D Radio can take off other issues must
be resolved including outrageous receiver prices and the lack of H-D radios
in cars. On the positive side, the broadcast industry is starting to
promote HD Radio and multicast programming. (BC Update)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: P3E TO LAUNCH IN 2007
AMSAT's planned Phase 3 E ham radio satellite looks like its headed for a
2007 launch. If all the modules function well and the satellite passses
some critical vibration tests the launch could be early next year.
The sibling satellite of OSCAR's 10 and 13 is in its final building stages
and tests. It may look like a twin of AO-10 or AO-13 but it has some of
the latest bommunications technology onboard. Some is even being tested
for the future Phase 5 A Mars orbiter.
You can find updated information on the AMSAT D L website. There you can
also learn of other upcoming ham radio in space events as well. As always,
the AMSAT North America web portal has links to information sites for all
the latest satellite news. Its in cyberspace at www.amsat.org (AMSAT)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: A CD COMMEMORATING KC5ACR'S ISS OPERATION
Astronaut Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, was on the air quite a bit during his
recent 6 month stay aboard the International Space Station. Now, PD0RKC in
the Netherlands plans to produce an audio C-D commemorating this ham radio
in space operation and he needs your help.
According to Cor, to make this album happen, he needs whatever audio you
may have of McArthurs contacts made on-orbit. He prefers MP-3 files, but
will take anything you have regardless of format including school contacts.
If you have any audio, please send it by e-mail to wegaman at gmail.com. Cor
says that once the C-D is complete, the master copy will be sent to Ken
Ransom, N5VHO, to be hand delivered to astronaut Bill McArthur so that he
can relive his ham radio in space operation any time he so desires.
(PD0RKC)
**
THE FINAL FRONTIER: PENS IN SPACE
And speaking of space, ever wonder how one writes in zero gravity? Well
two nations involved in the exploration of the final frontier had to solve
that problem many years ago. Each took a different path. John Williams,
VK2BUI, tells the way it all worked out:
--
When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they found out that
the pens wouldn't work at zero gravity (ink won't flow down to the writing
surface). To solve this problem, it took them one decade and $12 million.
They developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside down, underwater,
in practically any surface including crystal and in a temperature range
from below freezing to over 300 degrees C.
And what did the Russians do...?? They used a pencil.
Reporting the weird and wonderful, I'm John, VK2BUI
--
The bottom line. For many years we have all been able to buy pens like
this. Lots of people have but few get to use them on-orbit or in deep
space. (WIA News)
**
WORLDBEAT-EUROPE: THE EUROPEAN ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIP
The European Athletics Championships will see special event calls 7S6EM and
8S6EM aired by SK6AG and SK6AW. This, from July 1st through August 13th to
celebrate the 19th outing of the games to be held August 6th through the
13th. Further information, including on-line logs and details on the
relevant award, can be found at http://sm6.se/em
**
WORLDBEAT - SWITZERLAND: TELECOM WORLD 2009 IN GENEVA
Geneva, Switzerland, is to host the International Telecommunication Union's
Telecom World 2009. This, according to a recent announcement made t by ITU
Secretary-General Yoshio Utsumi.
The decision was reached following an evaluation of all bids received and
based on a recommendation of the ITU Telecom Board made mid-March. ITU
Telecom events are major meeting places for the global information and
communication technology community (ITU)
**
DX
In DX, word that several operators from radio clubs iin Japan will operate
from East Malaysia between July 7th and 10th. The location is Kota
Kinabaru using the calls JA3EGZ and JA3DFM portable 9M6. They hope to
operate on 80 to 6 meters, on CW and SSB and will participate in the IARU
HF World
Championship as a Multi-Op/All-Band/Mixed-Mode entry. QSL via their home
callsigns via the bureau or direct with an SASE to JA3EGZ, P.O. Box 6,
Himeji, Japan.
And here's a rather strange one. Hams from the Ukrainian State Centre of
Radio Frequencies along with a number of other Ukrainian radio amateurs
operated from Chernobyl City between April 24th and the 27th. This in
connection with 20th anniversary of the accident at the Chornobyl Nuclear
Power Plant. The call used was EM20U with QSL via UT3UZ, Alex Arbuzov,
P.O. Box 7, Kiev-232, 02232, in the Ukraine.
(Aboive DX news from various sources)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: A TIME FOR MORSE
And finally, a word about a mode that should be near and dear to every ham,
but sadly is not. Yet its supporters say that it is something easy to
learn and lots of fun to use. It's the Morse code and Jim Linton is here
with some suggestions on how codefree hams can have fun with this oldest of
modes:
--
Our first transmission mode rolls on! Have you had thoughts about Morse
code? It remains popular worldwide, is here to stay although this method of
operating is not attractive to everyone.
Individuals around the world are learning it, or improving their operating
skill with the A1 mode as a personal achievement and for its enormous on
air benefits.
It's never been easier to learn the code with slow Morse practice
transmissions and code training software.
Learning to receive the code first before attempting to send is the best
way to go.
Regular practice of 10 to 15 minutes at least five days a week will help
build up the skill. There are some good publications that tell you how to
go about it.
Highly recommended is seeking help from a radio amateur who regularly
operates using CW.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Linton VK3PC.
--
Morse code is not only a lot of fun. It is probably the lest expensive
mode to take to the air with. If you have never tried it -- give it a
whirl.
**
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 @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 at Web Designs by Kevin by our
1993 recipient Kevin Boudreaux, N5XMH. Its in cyberspace at www.yhoty.org.
Again. that's www.yhoty.org
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm Burt Hicks,
WB6MQV, saying 73 and we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2006. All rights reserved.
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