[Ham-News] Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1567 - August 24, 2007
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Mon Aug 27 06:30:00 EDT 2007
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1567 - August 24, 2007
The following is a QST. UHF repeaters face new challenges from Pave
Paws radar, Germany comes to 500 Kilohertz, D-Star is the star of the
Huntsville Hamfest and Grant Morine, W4GHM, receives the 2007 Young Ham
of the Year Award and a cat tries some strange communications of its
own, Find out the outcome of its curiosity on Amateur Radio Newsline
report number 1567 coming your way right now.
**
HAM RADIO VS PAVE PAWS RADAR - ROUND 2
The saga of the government's Pave Paws radar system versus a number of
UHF ham radio repeaters in Northern California and New England
continues. This, as the ARRL Lab sends out a letter to those systems
to bring them up to date on where interference mitigation now stands.
Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, is here with some of the
details made public by one repeater owner:
---
The following is from a letter to an unnamed California repeater owner
from ARRL Lab Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, posted to the Internet. It says
that back on July 16th a teleconference was held among ARRL
representatives, the staff of the US Air Force Space Command and
civilian contractors from the Department of Defense that operate of the
Pave Paws radar sites.
During the meeting Department of Defense representatives confirmed that
specific interfering signals were measured on a number of frequencies
used by the Pave Paws Radar system. The research was done using a
calibrated antenna and receivers at both Pave Paws sites during August,
2006.
The Air Force stated that its concerns about interference are based on
these actual measurements. Also, factors such as tower shielding or
other antenna patterns have been fully taken into account. In other
words, the claims of interference from UHF repeaters operating near the
two Pave Paws sites is real. Also that it is based on solid data and
good engineering practice. -- end quote.
So what's to be done to eliminate the problem? According to Hare's
letter to the repeater owner, to work towards resolving this with his
repeater, the ARRL Lab recommends that he take the following steps,.
Again in part we quote:
In some cases, it may be possible to reduce power. The reduction in
power from 50 watts to 5 watts, for example, is a reduction of 10 dB.
In some cases, however, where tens of dB of power reduction is
required, it simply is not practical to do that much power reduction to
that extent.
Power reduction can also be combined with a change in antenna pattern.
If the antenna used on your repeater is omnidirectional, installing a
directional antenna with a null in the direction of the Pave Paws Radar
site should further reduce the signal transmitted in the direction of
the radar system.
In cases where significant attenuation by use of nulls is required --
more than 10 to 15 dB, for example -- it will be necessary to "aim"
that null carefully. One way to do this could be to listen to the radar
signal, using a receiver with an S meter, and adjust the orientation of
the antenna until the received radar signal is at its minimum value.
You may be able to relocate the repeater, either significantly farther
away, or perhaps lower in elevation, if you can take advantage of
terrain shielding in the direction of the Pave Paws Radar and still get
reasonable coverage for the repeater. Terrain shielding can help, but
that, too, has its limits. -- end quote.
W1RFI continues by stating that there is a practical limit to how much
interference mitigation can be accomplished. While there is no limit
to how far power can be reduced, at some point the repeater becomes
unusable. In some cases, especially those where significant mitigation
is being required, the only practical solution may be to shut the
repeater down, or locate it significantly farther away, or in a
location where significant terrain shielding can further reduce the
signal at the Pave Paws radar site.
For the repeater owner operators of the affected systems and their
users, none of this is very good news.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los
Angeles.
--
The situation currently involves 15 repeaters in an area of less than
100 miles of Otis Air Force Base near Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and more
than 100 repeaters within some 140 miles of Beale Air Force Base in
California.
And FM voice repeaters might not be the only ones eventually affected.
Department of Defense officials indicated to Hare that there could be
other sources of interference identified in the future including other
amateur operations in the 70cm band. However, for now they are only
working only with the original list of repeaters provided to them last
March. (QRZ.com, VHF Reflector, others)
**
RESCUE RADIO: HAMS STEP IN AS WICKED WEATHER HITS
Ham radio has been working side by side with first responders from the
Caribbean to Mexico to the U-S mid-West. This as Mother Nature shows
that she is still in charge of the rain, the wind and the skies.
First to America's heartland heavy rains have sent rivers spilling
over their banks, flooding towns and stranding thousands from Minnesota
to Ohio. As the wicked weather moved in, hams across the effected
region went on alert. As waters rose, some ham radio communications
units were called up.
According to a report posted to QRZ.com, early on, Winona County
Wisconsin ARES and RACES was looking for spotters to help them with
their flash flooding reports. Also, a Red Cross shelter had been
activated at St. Mary's college as part of the county were being
evacuated. The hams involved in both operations stayed on duty all
night without any breaks.
In Ohio, Governor Ted Strickland termed the situation a major disaster.
He said that in one county alone more than 700 houses were severely
damaged or destroyed by the raging overflows. Hams there are also
heavily involved in relief efforts as well.
Across the Caribbean and into Mexico the story is Hurricane Dean. The
storm first raked Martinique, St Lucia, Dominica, and other islands.
It then hit Jamaica:
--
"I copy 81 MPH winds in a North-Wst direction from Kington from John
Williams. Is that a gust or is that a sustained wind?"
"From what I understand, that is a sustained wind. KA4IYK."
--
Using both over the air radio and the Voice over I-P Hurricane Net,
hams passed along vital environmental reports to the National Hurricane
Center in Miami. Thats where station WX4NHC had been activated. Radio
amateurs also became a lifeline to some islands as cellular telephone
service was all but obliterated as wire-line communications and
electrical power was literally blown away.
Dean then made its way across the Gulf of Mexico slamming into the
Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 5 storm. Thankfully, Dean
made landfall in a less heavily populated area than originally
predicted. Still, winds in excess of 120 miles an hour were reported
in Corozal. And across the region most phone service and electrical
power was knocked out. During the height of natures rampage, much of
the communications into Belize and surrounding areas was using ham
radio circuits.
As we go to air, Dean has become a scattered tropical depression.
Forecasters say that its remnants could bring some flash flooding to
desert areas of the great American south-west. (ARNreslineT, Audio
provided by KD1CY)
**
BPL UPDATE: RSGB OPPOSES BPL SCHEME
Turning to news on the Broadband Over Powerline front, the Radio
Society of Great Britain is supporting International Amateur Radio
Union Region 1 efforts to stop proposals, whereby Broadband over
Powerline systems could operate within the High Frequency broadcast
bands. This, using a technique called dynamic notching. The RSGB
support has been to echo IARU's detailed technical objections; the
response can be seen from the link on the RSGB web site. (GB2RS)
**
THE BPL FIGHT: DIREC-TV IN BPL WEB ACCESS DEAL WITH CURRENT GROUP
Some better news from this side of the Atlantic. That's where United
States satellite television provider DirecTV is going into the
Broadband Over Powerline business, but there is very little concern
that the system they will be using will cause interference to ham radio
or any other service. This is because Direc TV is partnering with the
Current Group to offer subscribers high-speed Internet and voice
services carried by over electric power lines. And the Current Group
has a good track record when it comes to protecting over the air
reception from the kind of interference caused by other B-P-L systems.
According to the CGC Communicator, it contacted the ARRL and was told
that Current Technologies is the company that has already deployed B-P-
L to about 60,000 homes in Cincinatti, Ohio and is in the process of
building out a deployment in the greater Dallas area as well. The ARRL
told CGC that these deployments have proceeded without major
interference problems for ham operators.
The ARRL told the CGC Communicator that Current has been an early
leader in carefully choosing its design to avoid interference to
Amateur Radio. Their equipment does not operate below 30 MHz on
overhead lines and all on premise wiring uses HomePlug technology
which notches out the ham bands.
Direc TV says that its service could start as early as the end of 2007.
To date the ARRL says that it has no interference reports involving
either Current or HomePlug equipment. And that's very good news for
hams in the Dallas - Fort Worth Texas area where the Direc TV BPL
rollout will begin. (CGC)
**
THE SOCIAL SCENE: HUNTSVILLE HAMFEST / ARRL NATIONAL A BIG SUCCESS
Take a warm weekend in the South. Add in some 5000 hams eager to see
one another. Provide the latest Amateur Radio gear to play with. Add
in some of the nations top speakers and baste with the gigantic ARRL
expo. What it all adds up to is the combined Huntsville Hamfest and
2007 ARRL National Convention. And according to Heil Sound's Chip
Margelli, K7JA, this has got to be one of the best Huntsville Hamfests
ever:
--
Margelli: "I have to say that the show has been very exciting so far.
I was coming down the stairs in the lobby just as the doors were
opening. There was a crowd of people like I have not seen in years.
(They were) all the way out to the front door and completely loaded the
lobby. People were just storming into the exhibit area and it looks
very exciting. People are having a great time."
--
And having a great time they are says ARRL Alabama Section Manager Greg
Sarratt, W4OZK. He termed this years Huntsville Hamfet as being among
the very best:
--
Sarratt: "Oh, this hamfest is by far the best. Its just o much fun
this weekend. So many people here. So many activities. Its
wonderful."
--
And wonderful is not an overstatement as far as the manufacturer
displaying their wares were concerned. Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV, of
Vertex Standard says that Huntsville 2007 was one of the very best:
--
Motschenbacher: "I'd rate it on a scale of 1 to 10 at least a 9. The
organizers did a great job. And on a national level and counting all
shows, this one is probably in the top 4, I would say."
--
Motschenbacher 's words were echoed by just about every manufacturers
representative and vendor. And according to this years Huntsville
Hamfest emcee Doug Childs, K4DIG, the best may be yet to come:
--
Childs: "Im hoping that everyone goes home this year and tells
everyone what a great time they had and that brings more out-of-towners
here because that what makes it so much fun to talk to these distant
contacts (in person) that you do not normally get to see unless you go
traveling all over the place."
--
And some hams we spoke to did travel long distances. A number came
from as far off as Europe and Asia. Some were delegates to the Global
Amateur Radio Communications Conference that was held in tandem with
the Huntsville Hamfest. But others were just there to share the sights
and sounds of one of the friendliest ham radio shows found anywhere on
the globe. Southern ham radio hospitality, at its very best.
(ARNewsline)
**
THE SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY SCENE: D-STAR IS THE STAR IN HUNTSVILLE
Every convention needs a star attraction, but in the case of the
Huntsville Hamfest, the star was not a person but rather an emerging
mode of communications. Its called D-Star and Alabama is likely the D-
Star capital of the world. The area sports more D-Star users and D-
Star repeaters than just about anywhere else in the country so its not
really surprising that this emerging replacement for FM would take
center stage at the Huntsville Hanfest. Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, says it
all came about as the result of improvements in the regions ham radio
emergency communications capability:
--
Sarratt: "We've had a statewide analog link for many years like many
states do. And we have lost a few sites so we are looking at D-Star as
addubf to and enhancing that system. And once we started promoting it,
it really caught on like wildfire and were covering the state pretty
much now."
--
Because of this, more and more hams in Alabama are going the D-Star
route. So in planning the hamfest a decision was made to devote a lot
of forum time and some after hours gatherings to the new mode. Again,
Greg Sarratt, W-4-O-Zed-K:
--
Sarratt: "We had standing room only in our 'Introduction to D-Star
(forum). Probably 150 people. Last night after the hamfest (closed)
we had a D-Star users group meeting and reception. Same thing: We had
an overflow capacity and we actually asked the hotel to move the
retractable wall away to give us more space and more seats. They
gladly did that adding another 120 to 150 people at the reception."
--
So will D-Star eventually supersede analog FM as the mode of choice for
VHF and UHF repeater operation nationwide? Maybe it will, but not
right away. At present there are only about 60 D-Star repeaters on the
air as opposed to the 3000 or more operating analog F-M. And while
there are those who will always want to be the first to try something
new, it appears that for the immediate future a lot of eyes and ears
are on Alabama to see where that states D-Star trail leads.
(ARNewsline)
**
THE SOCIAL SCENE: W4GHM RECEIVES YHOTY AWARD AT HUNTSVILLE
Another aspect of the Huntsville Hamfest is that it's the unofficial
home of our own amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award
ceremony. Since about 1993 its been where most of the winners were
presented with their award and this year was Grant Morine, W4GHM. Mark
Abramovich, NT3V, has more:
--
It was a proud moment for all as our Newsline editor, Bill Pasternak,
brought Grant up to the stage for the award presentation.
"Most, though not all, most of the winners have one or two things in
common: They're either members of the Scouts or they come from a family
of educators. In this case, Grant is a Scout and he's been involved in
Scouting virtually all his life from what I understand.
"He is singled out for one specific project that he undertook which was
the design and fabrication of antennas, stand-by antennas to help an
emergency operations organization in his home state. But, his other
accomplishment which is just equally as important is that of having
spent a lot of time helping other youngsters - you're only 18 now,
you're a youngster, 17, you're one of the young ones. Grant has brought
a number of kids into ham radio, kids, young adults who are starting
their own ham radio careers."
For his part, Grant gave the credit to others for his achievement.
"I would like to thank anyone who helped me with my Eagle project which
is what helped me get this award - all those people back at home who
helped me, especially my mentor, all the Scouts who helped me to do my
Eagle project. I'm really grateful for all of that. I just came back
from a week of space camp and that was part of the prize and that was
amazing.
"And, I'd like to thank CQ Magazine and Yaseu for the nice equipment
they gave me and also Newsline for the plaques and the award. I had a
wonderful time here and I'm looking forward to having more fun as a
ham. Thanks very much."
Grant, from all of us on the committee, congratulations, once again!
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, chairman of
the Young Ham of the Year award committee.
--
Our sincere thanks to our corporate underwriters Vertex Standard and CQ
Magazine. Also to Charlie Emmerson, N4OKL, and the team that puts on
the Huntsville Hamfest for welcoming us back, year after year after
year. We truly thank you all for your hospitality and your support of
the Young Ham of the Year Award program. (ARNewsline)
**
RESCUE RADIO: MARYLAND HAMS ASSIST IN ROAD RESCUE
Two Maryland ham radio operators recently helped bring speedy
assistance to the scene of a two-car collision near northern Stafford
County. According to the Fredricksburg Free Lance Star on-line,
During a heavy rainstorm on July 27, Siegfried Gates, KG4UCM was
driving south on State Route 612 ialong the western edge of Quantico
Marine Corps Base. At 6:30 p.m. he came across two cars that had
plunged into the southbound ditch. Other vehicles had stopped to see
if they could assist.
Gates asked if anyone had called 911 and he was told there was no cell
signal in the area. So KG4UCM used his 2 meter radio to contact Camden
Bullock, N2CLB, who in turn used his cellular phone to call the local
emergency response number. He was connected to the Prince William
County dispatcher. Within minutes the Stafford emergency unit arrived
and the victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
T.J. Pittman ,N4SJX, is secretary of the Stafford Amateur Radio
Association. He told the newspaper that this story brings great credit
to the two ham radio operators, and also to the police dispatchers and
the medical teams who responded to the aid of our citizens during this
time of need. (eHam.net, Fredricksburg Free Lance, K0OV)
**
RESCUE RADIO: NM AMATEUR RADIO CRUCIAL IN RESCUING ELDERLY WOMAN
Amateur Radio was crucial in summoning help for an elderly New Mexico
woman after repeated attempts to contact 911 services by landline and
cellular telephone failed.
On August 12th, a thunderstorm knocked out parts of Cibola county's
telephone service. About 5:50 in the afternoon, Jonathan Pickens',
KD5PHG, received a phone call for his wife, Pam. She told him that a
resident of the El Morro Ranches had discovered an elderly neighbor
lying semi-conscious on the floor of her home.
The couple rushed to the home of the woman. It turns out that the woman
was eighty-six years-old. She had been on the floor for at least two
days and was suffering from an apparent stroke and broken hip. She had
been unable to yell for help or move to reach a phone. Pam, having
medical training as a first responder, began providing assistance while
neighbors tried to summon help.
Another El Morro resident was finally able to reach the Cibola County
Sheriff and notify them of the situation. But the Sheriff's office was
unable to contact area ambulance services because their local phone
service had also failed.
KD5PHG realized the situation required an ambulance or possible life
flight. With local landline and cell phones useless, Jonathan used his
mobile radio to contact the Cibola County Amateur Radio Emergency
Service on the Zuni 2 meter repeater.
Dana and Kathy Farmer, WA5SOX and KB5QGH, responded to the call for
help from Vanderwagen, New Mexico. They were able to contact the
Gallup Metro dispatch who sent the Vanderwagon Fire Department and the
Pine Hill Clinic ambulance. The elderly woman was eventually taken to
the Gallup medical center for further evaluation. Shes likely alive
thanks to the quick response of her ham radio neighbors and their
ability to communicate with all phone service knocked out. (K5CEC)
**
RADIO EXPERIMENTS: GERMANY IN 500 KHZ EXPERIMENT
Five experimental German stations are now on the air in the 600 Meter
Band. While most of the operators are German hams, the experiment is
not classified as Amateur Radio because there is no 500 KHz or 600
meter ham radio allocation in the Germany.
Rather they are considered as being experimental stations that operate
under special permission and use the special D I prefix. All stations
are allowed to transmit only on 505 point 1 kHz with a bandwidth not
exceeding 100 Hertz. They are also limited to an effective radiated
power no greater than 9 watts.
All operators welcome QSL cards. Send them to the addresses that they
give you on the air. (Southgate)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: ARRL SECTION MANAGER WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Some names in the news. First up in the only contested ARRL Section
Manager race this summer, Bill Hillendahl, KH6GJV, was re-elected as
the S-M for San Francisco. He received 237 votes and his opponent,
Warren "TR" Reese, WB6TMY, received 134 votes. Election ballots were
counted Tuesday, August 21, 2007 at ARRL Headquarters. Hillendahl, of
Santa Rosa, California, begins his third two-year term of office on
October 1st. .
All other ARRL Section Managers running for re-election and who did not
face opposition and were declared re-elected. This includes Jeff
Ryan, K0RM, of Colorado; Mark Tharp, KB7HDX, in Eastern Washington;
Susan Swiderski, AF4FO, in Georgia; Phineas Icenbice (PRON ICE IN
BICE), W6BF, of Los Angeles; Ray Taylor, N5NAV, down in South Texas and
Ann Rinehart, KA8ZGY, of West Virginia.
Ron Murdock, W6KJ, who already had been declared elected as the new
Sacramento California Valley Section Manager as of October 1, began his
term a little early on July 2nd. Murdock was appointed to fill in for
Casey McPartland, W7IB, who stepped down because of a planned move out
of the section. (ARRL)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: CONGRATS TO KC6LXQ
A word of congratulations to television reporter Tony Valdez, KC6LXQ,
on his recognition by the Los Angeles Police Department for his public
service work on its behalf. KC6LXQ was honored on Tuesday, August 21st
for his volunteerism in producing and hosting a new video presentation
for that law enforcement agency.
Tony Valdez is a career reporter for the Fox owned KTTV and host of his
own public affairs program "Midday Sunday" that airs on that station.
He also profiles criminal suspects and missing persons in an ongoing
news segment called L.A.'s Most Wanted. To date, L.A.'s Most Wanted
has resulted in the arrest and surrender of more than 100 suspects
since its inception back in early 1992. KC6LXQ is also known within
the ham radio community as an occasional contributor to these weekly
Amateur Radio Newsline reports. (ARNewsline)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: CLAY FREINWALD, K7CR RECEIVES RADIO WORLD AWARD
And kudos to our longtime friend Clay Freinwald, K7CR. Clay has been
named to receive the 2007 Radio World Excellence in Engineering Award
from the editors of Radio World.
The announcement was made by Editor in Chief Paul J. McLane. He says
that the recipients of the award represent the highest ideals of the
U.S. radio broadcast engineering profession and reflect those ideals
through contributions to the industry.
Clay Freinwald is an RF systems engineer for Entercom in Seattle,
Washington, and vice president of the Society of Broadcast Engineers.
He is recognized for his work to improve the state of emergency
alerting systems in the United States and broadcasters' involvement in
the Emergency Alert System, as well as for his accomplishments as a
corporate technical executive.
K7CR is also well known in the ham radio world for his longtime
involvement in frequency coordination matters. He was one of the
founders of the Western Washingtom Amateur Relay Association.
The publication bestowing the honor, Radio World, is a highly respected
specialty newspaper for radio managers and engineers. (RW)
**
THE SOCIAL SCENE: HANDIHAMS AT 40
And this summers Handi Ham Minnesota Radio Camp will also be a
celebration of 40 years of the Courage Handiham System. And to
commemorate this milestone, camp stations W0ZSW and W0EQO will be on
the air making anniversary contacts. Operation will be on 40 and 20
meters using C-W and SSB. If you work either of these stations between
Friday August 24th and Tuesday the 28th, QSL with a self addressed
stamped envelope to Avery Finn, K0HLA, 3915 Golden Valley Rd, Golden
Valley, Minnesota, 55422 (Hamdi Hams, N7HVF)
**
RADIO SAFETY: KOREAN STUDY TIES AM TOWERS TO LEUKEMIA
A new study conducted in South Korea suggests children who live close
to an AM radio transmission tower may have an elevated risk of
leukemia. According to Radio World, researchers found that children
who lived within 2 kilometers of an AM radio transmitter were twice as
likely to develop lymphocytic leukemia as children who lived more than
20 kilometers away.
The study included 1,928 children with leukemia, 956 with brain cancer
and 3,082 healthy children. The researchers took measurements of
electric and magnetic fields surrounding AM transmission towers in
various areas of South Korea. They then used a mathematical model to
estimate residents' exposure to radiation from the towers.
The findings were published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
(RW)
**
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: MODERN DAY FANTASTIC VOYAGE
Shades of the 1960's science fiction classic Fantastic Voyage. A news
medical telemetry capsule that when swallowed travels through the
digestive system becomes a sort of mini transponder has won federal
approval. The wireless device, about the size of a large vitamin pill,
journeys along the gastrointestinal tract collecting data and
transmitting it to a receiver worn on the patient's belt or around the
neck.
Doctors like the telemetry capsule because it can be given at the
office and is reliable and noninvasive. They say that it is a way to
diagnose an uncomfortable stomach condition and other digestive track
problems on a real time basis. The Food and Drug Administration
approved the device on July 19th following clinical trials that wrapped
up in November 2006.
Manufactured by a company called Smart Pill, each of these micro
transponders will sell for about $500 each. And for those of you not
familiar with the 1966 movie Fantastic Voyage, its plot involves a
diplomat who is nearly assassinated. In order to save him, a submarine
and its crew are shrunken to microscopic size and injected into his
blood stream. Their job is to burn away a blood clot before the
patient expires. For now, the Smart Pill is likely as close to that
scenario as medical science is going to get. (Press Release)
**
WORLDBEAT - SWEDEN: NORDIC HF CONFERENCE
The latest Nordic High Frequency Conference was held August 14th to the
17th. The 3 day program covers Very Low Frequency, Low Frequency as
well as High Frequency operations.
The conference was initially planned for a limited audience of Nordic
countries now. It has since gone international with contributions of
papers, exhibits and participants from around the globe.
The Nordic conferences on H-F communications began back in 1986 in
Sweden. Since then the event has been held every 3 years at Faro
Island off Sweden's south-eastern coast. More about the Nordic HF
Conference is on-line at www.nordichf.org/ (Southgate)
**
BEACON NEWS: NEW 600METER BEACON IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
A new 600 meter propagation beacon has come to 505.060 KHz in the Czech
Republic. According to OK2BVG the OK0EMW experimental beacon is in
operation from Grid Square J N 88 K S running 1 watt out to an inverted
L antenna. It uses a home built transmitter and identifies in Morse at
6 words per minute. QSN reports go by e-mail to lubomir.bobalik@
rtv5.cz (VLF Reflector)
**
DX
In D-X, a DXpedition to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea will take
place between October 5th and the 14th. Operators will be KH7Y, EA5BRE,
EA5YN and EA5BYP. The team will operate with two stations and will sign
3C7Y. Activity will be on all bands and modes SSB, CW and RTTY. QSL via
EA5BYP.
Look for several stations to be active between September 7th and October
20th to celebrate the World Rugby Association Championship in France
and the U.K. Four different levels and awards will be available.
Details about the awards are available on line at www dot ref-union dot
org
And G3RWL, will be active from Barbados as 8P6DR between September 27th
and October 14th. He plans to be active in the CQ WW RTTY DX Contest
on September 29th and 30th. QSL direct to G3RWL.
Also plan for W7EJ active from Morocco as CN2R starting around October
19t. He also plans to be active in the CQ World Wide DX SSB Contest
on October 27th and 28th as a Single-Operator Single-Band 160 meter
entry. QSL via W7EJ.
Lastly, DF8HS, will activate Samso Island for the Danish Islands Award
from August 26th to September 8th. He will be operating all bands using
SSB, PSK-31 and RTTY. QSL to DF8HS.
(Above from various DX news sources)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: CAT USES TECHNOLOGY ON COMPOSER
And finally this week, a truly different kind of communications. That
between feline and man. That's feline as in cat or in this case
kitten. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, grabs for
some catnip to tell this one:
--
To tell the story we must wander across the Atlantic pond to Merry old
England. That's where the creator of the musical CATS has had his
latest work destroyed by one of his own feline friends. Specifically by
a kitten named Otto who was a bit to curious about a computer built
into an electronic piano.
London's Daily Mail reports that famed composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's
new kitten managed to obliterate the music he had penned for the
upcoming sequel to his famed The Phantom of the Opera. This, after the
six-month-old cat somehow climbed into the frame of the composers
digital piano and then managed to erase the audio files on its built-in
computer and hard drive.
The new musical that Sir Andrew is writing is titled the Phantom in
Manhattan. It is based on a novel of the same name.
Andrew Lloyd Webber told the London paper that he was at work trying to
write some more new music when Otto got into the grand piano. The cat
then jumped onto the computer and the entire score for the new Phantom
was lost. According to news reports Otto the kitten was unhurt.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Evi Simons, in New York.
--
The composer says that kitten did all the damage all in one fell swoop.
We are wondering what message Otto the kittie was trying to deliver to
Sir Andrew. (Published news reports)
**
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, the Southgate News 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'sT only official website located at www.arnewsline.org.
You can also write to us or support us at Amateur Radio Newsline, P.O.
Box 660937, Arcadia, California 91066.
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk, I'm Don
Wilbanks, AE5DW< saying 73 and we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio Newsline is Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
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