[Ham-News] Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1527 - November 17, 2006
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Sat Nov 18 15:03:18 EST 2006
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1527 - November 17, 2006
Closed Circuit Announcement
The following is a closed circuit advisory. Ladies and gentlemen, with
a word heres Amateur Radio Newsline's support fund administrator, Andy
Jarema, N6TCQ.
--
Well, we have some good news and some not so good. The good news is
that some of you responded and we are now only a month behind in paying
our bills. The bad news is -- well -- that we are still a month behind
in paying our bills and we need your help to get caught up to date.
With the holiday season approaching, I am going to ask you to remember
to add the Amateur Radio Newsline to your gift list. The simple fact of
the matter is that we can only bring you the news if we have the
ongoing monies to do it. And it is you and only you that is the source
of the funds that keep Amateur Radio Newsline coming your way.
Remember, Amateur Radio Newsline is a federal tax exempt 501(c )(3) not
for profit corporation and your donations are tax deductible. Making a
contribution is only a mouse click away if you have Pay Pal. Just go to
www.arnewsline.org and click on the button at the top of the page
marked "Make Donation." Or you can send in a donation to the Amateur
Radio Newsline Support Fund, Post Office Box 660937, Arcadia
California, 91066.
Whichever way you choose, the all volunteer crew at the Amateur Radio
Newsline will be eternally grateful.
Once again that's the Amateur Radio Newsline Support Fund, Post Office
Box 660937, Arcadia California, 91066. Or by Pay Pal at
www.arnewsline.org
Also, less we forget, best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving from our
home to yours.
For the Support Fund, I'm Andy Jarema, N6TCQ.
--
Thank you Andy. Now, Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1527 with a
release date of Friday, November 17th, 2006 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a Q-S-T. Hams offer to help other hams for Christmas,
the Federal Register sets December 15th as the effective date of
restructuring and Amsat announces Suit-Sat 2. Find out the details on
Amateur Radio Newline report number 1527 coming your way right now.
(Billboard Cart Here)
**
HAM HELP: CA FUNRAISER CALLED "HAMS HELPING HAMS"
With the ARRL not organizing a Christmas Toy Drive this year one radio
club that has taken part in years past has come up with a novel idea.
It plans to raise money to assist other radio clubs to replace gear
lost or destroyed by disasters. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has the
details:
--
Last year, the members of the Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club out in
Thousand Oaks, California held a fund-raiser. This, to benefit the
ARRL Toy Drive.
Club spokesman Jeff Reinhardt, AA6JR, says that they had so much fun
that they are doing it again this year. But, in the absence of an ARRL
sanctioned toy drive, the club is instead looking to extend the spirit
of "Hams helping hams."
--
AA6JR: ".We thought -- you know -- this would be a good opportunity to
perhaps do a hams helping hams effort and look dfor clubs --
especially in the Katrina impact area -- or any other club that my have
been affected by the hurricanes last year -- to perhaps make a small
cash donation to not only help them get back on their feet, but to
perhaps help them to increase their ability to provide emergency
communications services should another emergency arise."
--
Specifically, the Conejo club would like to know if there is another
radio club that was adversely affected in any of the disaster areas
that could use some financial assistance to get needed assets in
operation. Things such as a repeater back on the air. If so, the
Conejo club is willing to help. But there are a few ground rules as to
who is eligible for assistance.
--
AA6JR: The deal candidate would already have a501 (c)(3) not-for-
profit designation from the IRS and would contact us though the Conejo
Valley ARC website at www.cvarc.org."
--
Reinhardt says that the donation will not be monumental. Probably a
few hundred dollars that may help with buying some gear that makes a
community better prepared for the next emergency.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline. I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF.
--
Reinhardt says that if there is no needy ham radio group is found, the
club will donate the money to another worthy cause such as Toys for
Tots. He also suggests that this could be a good project for other
radio clubs around the country to emulate. (ARNewslineT)
**
RESTRUCTURING: R&O IN WT-DOCKET 04-140 EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 15TH
An early Christmas present from the FCC. This with word that the final
rulemaking in its latest round of restructuring as outlined in WT
Docket 04-140 was published in the Federal Register on Wednesday,
November 15th. This makes 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Friday,
December 15th the effective date for these rule changes to come into
effect. The full Report and Order as printed in the Federal Register
is at
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gp
o.gov/2006/pdf/E6-19189.pdf (FCC, W3BE)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: TELECOM COMMITTEE CHANGES COMING TO CONGRESS
Congressional committee chairmanships will soon change in the House and
Senate, following the recent election that swept Democrats into control
of both the House of Representatives and US Senate. This includes
committees dealing with communications and spectrum issues that are
closely watched by leaders in the ham radio community.
Democrats John Dingell of Michigan and Ed Markey of Massachusetts will
likely take over the House Commerce Committee and Telecom and Internet
Subcommittee, respectively. The names are familiar to moist in
telecommunications as both have chaired those committees before the
Republican congressional takeover.
The chairmanship of the Commerce Committee is expected to go to Daniel
Inouye of Hawaii. He co-chairs that committee now with Republican Ted
Stevens of Alaska. What long term effect these changes may have on
Amateur Radio is not yet clear. (RW)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AMSAT ANNOUNCES SUIT-SAT 2
A second disagreed Russian space suit may soon be orbiting the Earth
loaded with ham radio gear as Suit-Sat 2. Delegates to the recent
AMSAT Space Symposium in San Francisco were told that a second Suit-Sat
is on the drawing boards and that it will be a bit more sophisticated
than was Suit-Sat 1.
Lou McFadin, W5DID, headed the SuitSat-1 hardware team. According to
the ARRL Letter, he told those at the symposium that SuitSat-2 will
incorporate some features his team didn't have the chance to accomplish
the first time around.
For example, this second Suit-Sat will have an onboard Amateur Radio
transponder using digital signal processing technology. Solar panels --
something SuitSat-1 did not have -- will be used to energize the
hardware and recharge SuitSat-2's batteries. With all of these
improvements Suit-Sat 2 could have an operational lifetime of six
months or longer.
While no specific date has been announced for it to be deployed,
theoretically, an I-S-S crew could launch SuitSat-2 during a spacewalk
as early as next fall.
Lou McFadin says the design team is looking at SuitSat-2 as a test bed
for the hardware that AMSAT plans to launch on its Phase 3-E "Eagle
Project." That ham radio satellite will employ software defined radio
technology. (AMSAT, ARRL, others)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: EUROPEAN HAMS HEAR STEREO SPACECRAFT
A group of European amateurs has successfully received signals from two
space craft that were recently launched to study the sun.
The amateurs hearing the Stereo spacecraft were M0EYT, F5PL, CT1DMK,
DH2VA, and EB3FRN. All managed to copy the 8.4GHz signals from the
space craft using a variety of home-built and off-the-shelf equipment.
The twin Stereo Mission spacecraft were launched from Cape Canaveral on
October 25th. The solar satellites are the central planks of a mission
that hopes to shed new light on coronal mass ejections.
Further information about the ham radio efforts to detect the space
craft can be found on the web at www.uhf-satcom.com/stereo. (GB2RS)
**
FOLLOW-UP: MORE ON AMERICAN RED CROSS WANTING PERSONAL INFO ON HAM
RADIO VOLUNTEERS
More fallout from the recent ARRL warning to all radio amateurs
regarding information that they supply when volunteering to the
American Red Cross. Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, is
in Philadelphia, with the latest:
--
The American Red Cross does not appear to be backing off its
requirement that ALL volunteers and employees - including ham radio
operators - undergo a background check which could include a credit
check and other information if they wish to work with the organization.
The checks, being performed by mybackgroundcheck.com, have sparked
privacy concerns among amateur operators who volunteer in an Amateur
Radio Emergency Services capacity for their local Red Cross chapters.
In response to the American Radio Relay League's concerns about the
background checks, the American Red Cross' director of diaster public
affairs, Laura Howe, released a two-page statement to the League.
Howe spoke with Amateur Radio Newsline, but would only quote from the
statement.
"The consent form, which is a standard form based on federal and state
fair reporting credit acts, contains standard legal language that's
used by both nonprofit and for-profit organizations for their
background checks. By signing the consent form, it's true that the
person does agree that the Red Cross has the right to conduct a credit
check or other investigation into an individual's background," she
says, reading from the statement.
"However, it's only in a rare applicable circumstance that the Red
Cross will actually run a credit check. Instances when a credit check
may be warranted include, but aren't limited to, when a unit is hiring
someone to work with finances or fundraising or when an individual is
suspected of a theft, fraud or other crime related to his or her
activities with the Red Cross," she continues.
"While the Red Cross will never run a credit check on the vast majority
of its employees and volunteers, it is important that this standard
legal language is included in the consent form to protect our clients,
volunteers and employees."
Howe insists the credit check approval - sought by
mybackgroundcheck.com - doesn't apply for most volunteers and
employees.
"Now, the Red Cross does realize that some volunteers may have concerns
about authorizing a credit check. And, those concerns are
understandable. But please rest assured that the credit checks are only
run in rare instances and are not a part of the routine minimum basic
check that the Red Cross performs on its employees or volunteers," Howe
says, reading from the agency statement," she says, reading from the
statement.
What are those checks?
"The standard minimum check only includes only a Social Security number
verification and a search of the National Criminal File for the the
past seven years (from the date of release from prison or probation, or
whichever occurs later.)," she says, reading from the statement.
"If a volunteer has questions about whether their chapter would need to
conduct an additional check besides the standard, those questions
should be directed to that particular chapter administrator."
Allen Pitts, ARRL's media and public relations manager, says the League
and the Red Cross are two separate organizations that have a
relationship through a Statement of Understanding.
"The decision of the Red Cross to initiate the background checks is a
Red Cross decision and the ARES members are free to choose their own
comfort level as to what types of information they will give to any
outside organization without detriment or consequence to their ARES
membership," Pitts says.
Pitts and the Red Cross' Howe confirmed the dialogue is ongoing. Only
Pitts would put it on the record.
"At this time there is continuing conversations going on between the
ARRL and the American Red Cross and we hope to have further
clarification in the future," Pitts says.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in
Philadelphia.
--
Mark will be keeping an eye on this story and will have more for you in
future Amateur Radio Newsline reports. (ARNewslineT)
**
PUBLIC SERVICE: PA CLUB DONATES WEB SPACE TO PARADE
A Pennsylvania radio club has provided a rather unique service to the
planners of the Mayfair Holmesburg pre-Thanksgiving parade.
The events organizers were looking for a spot on the World-Wide-Web to
put last minute changes to the order of march. This, after local
newspaper deadlines had passed.
Rich Shivers, KB3FGJ, webmaster for the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club,
offered to post the information on the club web site at
www.harcnet.org.
Based on last years participants 2,000 parade marchers and 10,000
spectators were likely to have visited the site over the period of one
week. The Mayfair Holmesburg parade is the largest community based
event of its type in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. (WA3PZO)
**
ENFORCEMENT: UK ENACTS NEW RADIO LAWS
Some tough new rules regarding enforcement in Great Britain. The new
United Kingdom Wireless Telegraphy Act for 2006 permits
telecommunications regulator Ofcom and those authorized by Ofcom to
impose fixed penalty fines for breaches of the U-K's Wireless
Telegraphy Act.
The new Act was passed by Parliament on October 25th and received Royal
Assent on November 8th. It will come into force in the United Kingdom
in about 90 days and preparations are underway to extend it to the
Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
The Act makes no actual wording changes to the law and existing
wireless telegraphy licenses or regulations. However, it does
consolidate the rules under which Ofcom manages radio spectrum in the
U-K. (RSGB)
**
ENFORCEMENT: FCC AFFIRMS A PAIR OF $10,000 FINES
Back here in the U-S-A, the FCC has acted to affirm a pair of $10,000
files for operating an unlicensed transmitter. Raul Guzman Reyes who
resides in Des Moines, Iowa and Carlos M. Colon of Coamo, Puerto Rico,
were each assessed this amount for what the FCC called willful and
repeated violation of Section 301 of the Communications Act.
Back in September the Commission's Enforcement Bureau issued Notices of
Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in the amount of $10,000 to Reyes and
Colon in separate cases. Neither man filed a response to the N-A-L.
Based on the information it has before it, the FCC has now issued an
order that affirms both fines. Reyes and Colon were given the usual
time to pay or file a further appeal. (FCC)
**
ENFORCEMENT: HACKER SENTENCED IN T-MOBILE CASE
A hacker has had his day in court. Burt Hicks, WB6MQV, has more:
--
A California computer hacker who broke into the network of T-Mobile USA
Inc. and accessed personal information of hundreds of customers
including a Secret Service agent was sentenced has been sentenced to
one year of home detention. Nicholas Lee Jacobsen, was also ordered to
pay $10,000 in restitution to T-Mobile to cover losses caused by his
acts, which took place in 2004.
According to court records, Jacobsen was able to read some sensitive
information that Special Agent Peter Cavicchia had access to through
his wireless T-Mobile Sidekick device. The Secret Service said that no
investigations were compromised because of Jacobsen.
--
Jacobsen could have faced a maximum sentence of five years in prison
and a fine of up to $250,000 for the crime of accessing a protected
computer. (Published reports)
**
RADIO LAW: BOSTON CONSIDERING BANNING SAT-TV DISHES FROM BUILDING
FRONTS
The Boston City Council, citing a proliferation of satellite television
dishes across the city, is considering banning the devices from the
fronts of buildings.
Boston cannot complexly ban installation of such antennas from
buildings in that city. This is because of FCC action in 1996 where
the agency adopted rules for Over-the-Air-Reception Devices and later
amended them to include exclusive use areas by renters and customer-end
antennas that receive and transmit fixed wireless signals such as
terrestrial and satellite television. The so-called pizza dish antenna
rule.
More is on-line at
www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/10/17/city_may_banish_tv_dishes
_from_view/ (CGC Communicator))
**
THE SOCIAL SCENE: CES CONVENTION COMING TO LAS VEGAS JANUARY 8-11,
2007
The gigantic International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) takes place
in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 8th to the 11th. This convention is so
large that it is not only expected to fill the recently expanded Las
Vegas Convention Center, but also Halls B, C and D of the Sands Expo
and Convention Center, and portions of the adjoining Venetian Hotel.
While not a show dedicated in any way to ham radio nor open to the
general public, CES is the largest electronics expo to be held each
year. Annual attendance is estimated to be about 140,000 representing
more than 130 countries. More about CES 2007 is on-line at
www.cesweb.com (CGC, CES)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: TOURE' ELECTED ITU SECRETARY GENERAL
Some names in the news. First up is Hamadoun Tour‚ of Mali who has
been elected Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication
Union. This, at the current I-T-U meeting taking place in Antalya,
Turkey.
Tour‚ has been the director of ITU's Telecommunications Development
Bureau since 1995. He beat five other candidates in the race for the
post in which nearly 1,150 delegates voted. The new Secretary-General
replaces Yoshio Utsumi of Japan. (Media Network)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY TO OH2BH
And congratulations to famed DX'er Martti Laine, OH2BH, who is abut to
turn 60. And a lot of his friends around the world are planning to
celebtrate the event, on the air.
Special event station 4O60BH will take to the airfrom zero hundred
hours UTC on November 18th and and run for 48 hours until 23:59 on the
19th. Operation will be on CW and SSB simultaneously using frequencies
that are on numbers .025 and .225 MHz . For example on 20 meters it
would be 14.025 and 14.225 with signals coming from a 600-meter high
mountain overlooking Kotor Bay in the Republic of Montenegro. You can
also send your birthday greetings by e-mail through msg-60 at oh2bh.fi.
(E-Mail)
**
WORLDBEAT: LIBYA ON THE AIR NOV 15 TO 29
Libya should be on the air by the time you hear this report. An
international team of operators is scheduled to activate that rare
nation using the callsign 5A7A from November 15th to the 29th.
DL1BDF is a member of the 5A7A team. He reported this past week that
the team was preparing to leave Frankfurt, Germany for Tripoli on
November 15th. The hope is to send the first "CQ de 5A7A" the same
evening or on the morning of November16th at the latest.
DL1BDF says that part of work of the DXpedition is to setup a
settlement for a permanent 5A station for some Lybian newcomers. For
more info and updates are on-line at http://5a7a.gmxhome.de More DX
news later on in this weeks newscast. (E-mail)
**
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: SUN PUTS JAVA UNDER GNU PUBLIC LICENSE
Sun Microsystems says that it is making its Java technology an open-
source software project available for free on the Internet. The
announcement made on Monday, November 13th represents one of the largest
additions of computer code to the open-source community.
In its announcement, Santa Clara, California based Sun said it is
making nearly all of Java's source code available under the GNU General
Public License. The same type of permit also covers the distribution
of the core, or kernel, of the popular open source Linux operating
system.
Making Java an open-source project marks a major shift for Sun that
until recently strongly protected the Java source code. The move means
that programmers from around the world will be encouraged to examine,
modify, fix bugs and contribute new features in Java's underlying code.
It also requires that any changes be made public.
Java script coding is used in numerous applications dealing with
communications including some ham radio software programming. An
estimated 3.8 billion cellular telephones also use this technology.
(Science Today)
**
DISAPPEARING TECHNOLOGY: PAY PHONES - AN ENDANGERED SPECIES
The old pay telephone on your corner could soon be a remnant of an era
gone by. This as rising cell phone use along with vandalism and
neglect taking their toll.
According to an estimate by the American Public Communications Council,
nationwide, the number of pay phones has dropped by half to
approximately 1 million over the last nine years,. This worries
consumer activists and advocates for the poor. Both groups have
protested the drop in numbers saying that public pay phones are
necessary in emergencies and represent a lifeline for those who can't
afford a cell phone or even a landline. More is on-line at
www.apcc.net (press release)
**
RADIO RESEARCH: VULNERABILITIES OF CELLPHONES STUDIED
Is your cellular telephone vulnerable to a cyber attack? Assistant
Professor Hao Chen at the University of California at Davis, and a team
of graduate students are looking into that potential risk.
Attacks focused on cellphones and cellular networks. Chen's team has
already found ways to use a personal computer to flood mobile phones
with data streams called zombies that have the potential of
accelerating battery drain. This the researchers say is a technique
that could simultaneously target upward of 5,000 phones at any given
time. (Communications Newswire)
**
ON THE AIR: PROJECT DIANA IN JANUARY
New Jersey's Ocean Monmouth Amateur Radio Club will commemorate the
Prokect Diana EME experiment nest January 14th and 15th. This, as it
operates special event callsign to commemorate the first successful
signals to be bounced off of the moon.
The special event station will be activated from the historic Project
Diana site at the InfoAge Learning Centre in New Jersey. The Ocean
Monmouth club plans to operate the special event station using SSB CW,
PKS31 and RTTY on 80 through 10 meters.
The Project Diana experiment was carried out by the Army Signal Corps
on January 10th of 1946. You can find out more about Project Diana at
www.omarc.org (OMARC)
**
WORLDBEAT - UK: CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED TO PRESERVE 500 KHZ
Turning to news from around the world, the United Kingdom's Radio
Officers' Association has launched a campaign to get 500 kHz recognized
internationally as a heritage frequency. The campaign kicked off on
3rd November at the centenary of the 1906 Berlin Wireless Telegraphy
Convention. That's when 500 kHz was chosen as the maritime calling and
distress frequency and SOS was picked as the international distress
signal. The centenary of the 1906 Berlin Wireless Telegraphy
Convention was also celebrated in Germany and Italy. (RSGB)
**
WORLDBEAT - MONGOLIA: COMMEMORATING STATEHOOD
Amateur radio operators from Mongolia have been authorized to replace
their prefix with JV800 for the rest of the year. This, to commemorate
the 800th anniversary of Mongolian statehood initiated by Chinggis
Khan. That took place way back in 1206. (OPDX)
**
WORLDBEAT - BELGIUM: CELEBRATING BELGIUM'S AIR FORCE
The Belgian Air Force Amateur Radio Association is operating special
event stations ON60AF, ON60AP and ON60BAF . This, until October 1st of
2007 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of that nations Air Force. All
contacts will be confirmed with a special confirmation card. QSL via
bureau or direct to ON6KN at his call book address. (OPDX)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: LEONIDS ON NOVEMBER 19TH
Meteor scatter enthusiasts take note. On Sunday, November 19th, the
Earth will pass through a stream of debris from comet Tempel-Tuttle.
The result should be a shower of Leonid meteors and a chance for hams
to bounce their signals off their ionized trails as they burn up after
entering Earth's atmosphere.
The November 14th issue of NASA Science News says that our planets
encounter with the comet dust is going to be brief. It says that
forecasters differ on when the outburst will occur. Estimates range
from 0445 UTC to 0630 UTC. This timing favors Western Europe, Africa,
Brazil and Eastern parts of North America. (NASA Science News)
**
DX
In DX, listen out for F4DZY who will be active from Furiani, Corsica
until November 25th. He plans to operate mainly on the WARC bands as
TK/F4DZY in his spare time.
And DJ4SO, will operate CW and RTTY/PSK31 on 160 through 6 meters
signing slash V51 from Namibia. He will bew there througgh Decembe 1st.
Lastly, IK5ZUI, will be active in his spare time as 8Q7IM from the
Maldives for the next 12 months. QSL all of these operations as
directed on the air.
Above from various DX news sources
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: PEDDLE POWER RADIO IN THE VK OUTBACK
And finally this week, the story of peddle powered radio, down-under.
Here's W-IA newsman, Graham Kemp, VK4BB:
--
Balloons Fly for pedal radio man. Ashley Anderson reports on an
interesting Radiocomms Magazine article reporting on Alf Traeger.
Out Charleville way in Southern VK4 the Royal Australian Air force
illuminated one of their hot air balloons for a 'nightglow' display at
the Alf Traeger Oration.
The Oration and Mulga Awards presentations marked the beginning of
three days celebrations of the Year of the Outback 2006 and the
Charleville School of the Air & School of Distance Education 40th
birthday.
Traeger is famous for introducing the concept of a radio which could be
powered by foot-pedalling. The first message was sent by Pedal Radio
from Augestus Downs, Cloncurry on 19th June 1929.
The Alf Traeger Oration and following celebrations was a special Year
of the Outback 2006 activity. Chairman and founder, Bruce Campbell said
that the event drew attention to the contribution of Alf Traeger to
the lives of the people of outback Australia.
"Alf Traeger should be remembered as an Australian hero for the
invention f the pedal radio, without which the work of the Rev John
Flynn and the foundation of the Royal Flying Doctor Service would not
have been possible."
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB, of the WIA News
in Brisbane, Australia.
--
The Pedal Radio was a significant development in the development of
Australian outback communications. (WIA News)
**
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. Our e-mail address is newsline at arnewsline.org. More
information is available at Amateur Radio Newsline's only official
website located at www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or
support us at Amateur Radio NewslineT, P.O. Box 660937, Arcadia,
California 91066.
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm Jim
Damron, N8TMW and I'm Jeff Clark, K8JAC, wishing you a Happy
Thanksgiving holiday, 73 and we thank you for listening."
Amateur Radio Newsline is Copyright 2006. All rights reserved.
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