• Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1890 - November 1 2013

    From Roy Witt@1:387/22 to Y'all on Fri Nov 1 10:14:56 2013


    Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1890 - November 1 2013

    The following is a closed circuit advisory and not necessarily for air.
    With a report on Amateur Radio Newsline's current finances, here's our
    producer Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF:

    --

    Well, the last time I was on here with a financial report I told you that
    I thought we had enough in the bank to hopefully hold us over the summer
    months June, July and August, and that I would not be asking for any contributions unless the sky was falling. Sadly, the sky is falling this
    year. This is mainly because we did not get some of the larger donations
    that we have come to count on to keep us going over the lean summer months
    when people are away on vacation.

    Right now, we only have a couple of hundred dollars left in our bank
    account. Most of that will vanish as we pay off our financial obligation
    in regard to presenting this year's Young Ham of the Year Award and the outstanding bills which are quickly piling up. And unlike the years up
    through October 2009 when I retired from full time employment, I'm now
    living on fixed income and honestly cannot afford to underwrite the cost
    of bringing these newscasts to you.

    To be candid, I do not like to lead off a newscast with an appeal such as
    this, but we have no other method of getting the word out to you that we
    need your financial assistance to keep Amateur Radio Newsline on the air,
    and that we need it now. To all of us involved, each donation is looked
    upon as an ongoing vote of confidence in the quality of the news and information that we provide each week. And for this I add my personal
    thank you.

    Remember, Amateur Radio Newsline is a 501c3, not for profit corporation
    and your donations are tax deductible. The easiest way to donate is by
    going to our website at www.arnewsline.org and clicking on the Pay Pal
    button. Or you can mail a donation to the address you will hear at the
    end of this weeks newscast.

    Whichever method you choose, the all volunteer Amateur Radio Newsline team
    says thank you so much for caring. We promise to do all that we can to continue bringing you the news and information you want to hear about
    amateur radio and personal communications in the coming years.

    Thank you. I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, and now this week's newscast.

    --

    Thanks Bill. Now, Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1890 with a
    release date of November 1 2013 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

    The following is a QST. Australia's WICEN stands down as the brushfire
    menace eases; A new satellite subband is coming to 2 meters; Congress is
    asked to consider mandating regularly scheduled EAS tests and the South
    Sudan will be on the air in mid-November. Find out the details are on
    Amateur Radio NewslineT report number 1890 coming your way right now.

    **

    RESCUE RADIO: FOLLOW-UP - AUSTRALIAS WICEN STANDS DOWN AFTER FIRE
    EMERGENCY

    The work of ham radio operators in the wildfire response has come to an
    end down under. Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, has this follow-up report:

    --

    Australia's WICEN has stood down from its assistance to fire-fighting
    efforts in the Australian state of New South Wales. This as more
    favorable weather conditions has lead toward containment of the blazes
    that threatened the outskirts of the city of Sidney as it raged through
    the Blue Mountains.

    WICEN had been activated by the Volunteer Rescue Association to provide manpower after a State of Emergency was declared. Several of its members
    were sent to Lithgow as part of a Volunteer Rescue Association team 24.
    The others had been held in reserve for later deployment as needed.

    With the worst of the emergency now over, WICEN New South Wales President Compton Allen VK2HDX has thanked the ham radio operators who made
    themselves available in New South Wales time of need.

    For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, in Nelson, New Zealand.

    --

    In all, the wildfires destroyed some 220 homes with an estimated insurance value into the millions of dollars. (VK3PC, published news reports)

    **

    RESTRUCTURING: NEW REGION 2 BANDPLAN INCLUDES ADDED 2 METER SATELLITE
    SUBBAND

    More room on 2 meters for ham radio space operations is one of the
    outcomes of a recent IARU Region 2 meeting in Cancun, Mexico.

    The gathering whose minutes have now been published covered all Region 2 bandplans for all allocations from 137 kHz to 250 GHz. Included is a new allocation for the Amateur Satellite Service on 2 meters from 144.000 to 144.025 MHz.

    There is also a reference to Near Space Stations or NSS operations in the definitions section. This is believed to be the first mention of High
    Altitude Balloons in any amateur radio band plan.

    IARU Region 2 is the organization of the International Amateur Radio Union
    for the American continent. You can view the entire document containing
    this and bandplans for all other amateur radio spectrum on the web at tinyurl.com/ANS300-IARU-Region-2-bandplans. (ANS)

    **

    RESCUE RADIO: CONGRESS ASKED TO CONSIDER REGULARLY SCHEDULED EAS TEST

    A bill recently introduced into the United States House of Representatives
    to reauthorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA includes a provision that would require national EAS tests at least once every three years.

    The measure is designated as H.R. 3300 and reauthorizes FEMA through
    Fiscal Year 2016 at $972 million each year. However about $12 million of
    the total would provide Congressional authorization for FEMA's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System or IPAWS, which uses several technologies
    to simultaneously send alerts through many different channels. This
    includes the EAS, along with wireless alerts, Internet services and NOAA.

    The measure would also establish system requirements and capabilities for
    IPAWS and gives certain stakeholders, including federal, state, local and private sector entities, input into its development. (RW)

    **

    RESCUE RADIO: FEMA AND NPR TEAM FOR ALERTING DEAF TO EMERGENCIES

    The Department of Homeland Security has announced a pilot project in cooperation with NPR Labs, to demonstrate the delivery of the first-ever, real-time emergency alert messages to people who are deaf or
    hard-of-hearing in five Gulf states.

    Twenty-five NPR affiliates in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas have agreed to participate in the venture to transmit emergency
    alert messages, such as weather alerts, to 475 individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing in the stations' listening areas. This to determine how effectively the messages are being sent and received.

    The public radio stations participating in the project will receive
    emergency alert messages from FEMA's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System. The stations will then broadcast the emergency alerts to
    specially designed FM Radio Data System receivers that alert the
    participants with a flashing indicator.

    The receivers can also show the content of the alert through the
    receiver's digital display. Participants can connect a strobe light or bed-shaker alerting device to the receiver to help ensure alerts are
    noticed both day and night. (RI)

    **

    DX UP FRONT: WAKE ATOL OPERATION COMING ON THE AIR

    Up-front in DX, the Wake Atoll Commemorative K-9-W DXpedition team has
    been approved for entry onto Wake Atoll and should be operational by the
    time many of you hear this newscast. Their equipment is already on the
    atol and in safe storage awaiting arrival of the operators that was
    scheduled for November 2nd local time. They will then immediately set up antennas and the stations.

    As we go to air team leaders say that they plan to begin operations on
    November 3rd and continue until November 15th, once again local Wake
    Island time. There will be two CW and two SSB stations operational during
    this DXpedition. More information and updates will be on the web at wake2013.org (K9W Management Team)

    **

    DX UP FRONT: SOUTH SUDAN TO BE ON NOVEMBER 14 - 28

    An international group of hams, including CQ Magazine's DX Editor Wayne
    Mills, N7NG, is planning to operate from South Sudan as Z81X from November
    14th to the 28th. This is the time period that includes the CW weekend of
    the 2013 CQ World Wide DX Contest.

    According to Mission Goodwill South Sudan spokesman Martti Laine, OH2BH,
    the group of ten hams is led by International Amateur Radio Union Region
    One President Hans Timmerman, PB2T, and includes two local operators.

    The operation is hosted by South Sudan's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, and will include a series of workshops aimed at
    developing a permanent amateur radio licensing and regulatory structure.
    On the operating side, the plan is to activate all HF bands with an
    emphasis on 80 and 160 meters. QSL via OH0XX and we will have more DX news
    for you later on in this weeks report. (CQ)

    **

    RADIO POLITICS: SENATE CONFIRMS WHEELER TO FCC CHAIR

    The Senate confirmed Thomas Wheeler as the next chairman of the FCC and
    Michael P. O'Rielly to fill another vacancy at the agency.

    Wheeler's confirmation came after Senator Ted Cruz removed a hold on his nomination after meeting with Wheeler on Tuesday afternoon, October 29th
    and Wheeler was confirmed that evening.

    His nomination was partnered with that of O'Rielly, a Republican, to draw bipartisan support. Their confirmations came in a unanimous vote.
    (published News Reports)

    **

    ENFORCEMENT: FCC ISSUES $15000 TO UNLICENSED BROADCASTER

    The FCC has issued a Notice of Apparent Liability in the amount of $15,000
    to Florida resident Juan R. Nieves, Jr.. This for his alleged operation
    of an unlicensed radio transmitter on the frequency 97.7 MHz in the city
    of Summerfield. Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP, has the
    details:

    --

    According to the FCC, agents from the Enforcement Bureau's Tampa Office
    used direction-finding to locate the source of the transmissions on
    several occasions last May and June to an FM transmitting antenna located
    at a residence in Summerfield, Florida. On each of those days, the
    agents took field strength measurements of the station's signal and
    determined that it exceeded the limits for license free operation under
    Part 15 of the Commission's rules.

    On June 25th the agents inspected the unlicensed radio station and
    interviewed Juan R. Nieves, Jr.. He admitted renting the residence
    housing the station, owning the transmitter, and being the sole
    responsible party for the unlicensed operation. In fact, he claimed to
    have operated the station on 97.7 MHz for over a year. He also stated
    that he had been in the broadcast industry for many years, was a former
    officer of a low power station in Summerfield and knew he needed a license
    to operate.

    Now in proposing the $15,000 penalty the FCC says that it finds that the violations in this case warrant a proposed forfeiture above the base
    amount. The record evidence in this case shows that Nieves was an officer
    of a low power FM station, and was expected to be familiar with the Commission's licensing requirements. Nevertheless, he operated the
    unlicensed station for over a year, in deliberate disregard for the Communications Act and the Commission's rules. As such the FCC finds that
    an upward adjustment of $5,000 in the forfeiture amount is warranted.

    For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, in Scottsdale,
    Arizona.

    --

    Nieves was given the customary 30 days from the October 24th issuance date
    to pay the proposed $15,000 fine or to file an appeal. (FCC)

    **

    ENFORCEMENT: FORMER MISSOURI HAM FINED $500 FOR UNLICENSED OPERATION

    The FCC has fined Jared A. Bruegman, the former KC0IQN, of Bolivar,
    Missouri, $500. This, for transmitting without a license in the Amateur Service 20 meter band.

    Last February, the FCC issued Bruegman a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in the amount of $10,000 after its agents observed an
    unlicensed radio transmitter operating on 14.312 MHz from a residence in Bolivar in December 2012. Bruegman was the only person at home at the
    time and admitted to owning the radio transmitting equipment.

    In his response to the Notice of Apparent Liability Bruegman claimed that
    the $10,000 would be a financial hardship and requested that the FCC
    cancel the proposed fine. He also submitted the required financial
    records to back up his claim.

    Now in a Forfeiture Order released October 23, the FCC has reduced the
    fine to $500 stating that there is a sufficient basis for such a reduction
    but not to outright cancel the forfeiture. It gave him the customary 30
    days from the date of it issuing the Forfeiture Order to pay or make arrangements to pay the fine. If he fails to do so the matter can be
    turned over to the Department of Justice for further enforcement action.
    (FCC)

    **

    PUBLIC SERVICE: OREGON HAMS TEAM WITH FRS IN EMCOMM EXERCISE

    The Emergency Volunteer Corps of Nehalem Bay, Oregon recently held a
    training exercise where it activated its local Map Your Neighborhood
    captains' emergency communications operations. This, using the combined resources of citizens with FRS radios and local ham radio operators who
    were asked to set up a spontaneous net.

    According to news reports, the Map Your Neighborhood captains responded
    with professionalism and competency. Moreover the operation by the hams
    taking part in the exercise was described as simply being great.

    The article in the North Coast Citizen Journal stated that that everyone
    was proud of the community and its team of volunteers. 13 hams out of the
    28 living in the area took part in the emergency preparedness exercise. (CitizenJournal.com, eHam.net)

    **

    RADIO BUSINESS: ELK ANTENNAS AND DAYSAVER POWER SUSTEMS TO MERGE

    DaySaver Power Systems is merging with Elk Antennas. DaySaver products
    will continue to be offered by Elk, which says that that the transition
    from DaySaver Power Systems to Elk Antennas should be seamless, with no interruption in order fulfillment or warranties.

    Currently, the DaySaver.com website will continue to operate, but in the
    future the link will likely take you to the Elk Antennas site at ElkAntennas.com for an expanded array of products with the DaySaver name.

    According to Elk Antenna's Jim Siemons, AF6PU, the merger helps fulfill
    Elk's goal of expanding its product line for portable, remote and
    emergency communications. Both companies service the Amateur, Commercial, Military and Public Safety Radio Services. (Press Release)

    **

    NAMES IN THE NEWS: FIRST AND ONLY 2 METER DXCC IN SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

    Some names in the news. Back in 2011 to Bob McQuarrie, ZL3TY was awarded
    the first 2 Meter DXCC ever issued in the southern hemisphere. This after
    he contacted and confirmed contacts with 102 countries. McQuarrie was
    also the first New Zealand amateur to achieve DXCC in mixed VHF 6 meters
    and 2 meters using digital technology combined with his CW skills and moonbounce. Now comes word that his name and call have been inducted in
    the New Zealand Hall of Fame. We say congratulations. (SARL)

    **

    NAMES IN THE NEWS: VE3RHF NEW RAC DIRECTOR FOR ONTARIO SOUTH

    Rod Hardman, VE3RHF has been recently elected as the Radio Amateurs of
    Canada Director for Ontario South. His term as Director will be for the
    two years starting January 1, 2014 and ending December 31, 2015.
    (RAC)

    **

    NAMES IN THE NEWS: MIKE CALLAGHAN, WA6KPD RETIRES

    And congratulations also to Mike Callaghan, WA6KPD, who recently announced
    that he plans to retire on November 1st after a long and distinguished
    career in broadcasting. Callaghan was the chief engineer for station
    KIIS-FM in Los Angeles. This is a position that he has held for only a
    few months shy of 40 years. You can read the story of his fascinating
    life in the broadcast engineering field at
    tinyurl.com/Mike-Callaghan-retires (RW)

    **

    HAM HAPPENINGS: INSPIRING YOUTH AT THE ARRL MIDWEST CONVENTION

    Inspiring youth will be an important part of the upcoming ARRL Midwest Convention slated for Joplin, Missouri on November 8th and 9th. And to
    help meat this goal New York City educator Carole Perry, WB2MGP will join forces with former Astronaut, Colonel Steve Nagel, N5RAW, to bring the
    magic of two way radio and spaceflight to youngsters in a Joplin school:

    --

    WB2MGP: "He and I are going together to a high school where we will be
    goin a presentation in front of an assembly of gifted science students and ohers who will be able to ask questions of astronaut Nagel."

    --

    Then on convention Saturday, WB2MGP will be hosting a Youth Forum with
    Steve Nagel, N5RAW, taking part:

    --

    WB2MGP: "Astronaut Nagel is going to be coming to my Youth Forum. I'm
    going to have a 9-year-old give a very exciting presentation. One of the
    Youth Advisors for the ARRL will be giving a small presentation and then
    we will be opening up for questions for astronaut Nagel from the audience
    which I hope as it is in Dayton contains a lot youngsters in it so that
    they can be inspired by the sheer presence of this incredible human being
    who has been in space."

    --

    In addition to Steve Nagel and Carole Perry there will also be a Ham Radio
    in Space presentation featuring Eddy Paul, KYOF; Jeremy Widner, ACODX and
    Randy Schulze, KDOHKD. They will provide those attending their session
    with information how to successfully get on the FM ham radio satellites,
    in most cases with equipment they already own.

    More on the convention and its special ham in space youth events are on
    line at www.arrlmidwestconvention.com. (ARNewslineT, AMSAT, WB2MGP)


    **

    WORLDBEAT: INDIA'S FIRST MULTI-MODE RADIO SCOUTING REPEATER OPENED

    A new repeater dedicated for use by scouts has come to the airwaves in
    India. Hosted by the Malabar Amateur Radio Repeater Society the VU2MJJ
    system came to life on October 20th during the 2013 Scouting Jamboree on
    the air.

    The VU2MJJ repeater is located at the Malabar club station and reportedly
    has wide coverage in South India. It is also the first D-STAR capable
    repeater in India that can also relay other digital and analog modes
    including traditional FM.

    VU2MJJ operates on 145.450 Mhz with the standard minus offset shift. (Southgate)

    **

    WORLDBEAT: FRIEDRICHSHAFEN LECTURES AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD

    Six of this years lectures presented at Germany's Ham Radio gathering are
    now available as PowerPoint slides with synchronized audio. Available
    programs include Tom Perera, W1TP's talk on the Enigma and other historic cipher machines; John Alexander, G7GCT's small cipher machines
    presentation and Chris Duckling, G3SVL's, 100 Years of the RSGB and its International Partners. If you are interested in finding out more, go to www.dokufunk.org/talk on the World-Wide-Web. (Southgate)

    **

    RADIO IN SPACE: ESA DRIVES FORWARD WITH ALL-ELECTRIC TELECOM SATELLITES

    The European Space Agency is set to begin development of a new generation
    of satellites propelled by solar electric thrusters as it signs a contract
    with SES of Luxembourg for development of this project. This for the next phase of the Electra project.

    Electra is described as a partnership between European Space Agency and satellite operator SES to define, develop and validate in space an
    electric only propulsion platform for geostationary telecommunication satellites of around 3 tones. The first launch is expected by the end of
    2018. (ESA)

    **

    EXTRATERRESTRIAL COMMUNICATIONS: LASER SPEED DEMO IN SPACE

    NASA has used laser technology to transfer data over the 239,000 miles to
    and from the moon. This at a speed of 622 megabits per second.

    Badri Younes is NASA's deputy associate administrator for space
    communications and navigation. In a press release he said that his agency
    is encouraged by the results of the demonstration of the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration to this point. As such NASA is confident that
    it is on the right path to introduce this new capability into operational service soon.

    The space agency's Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration is the first
    two-way space communication system to use a laser instead of radio.
    Younes calls it the first step on NASA's roadmap toward building the next generation of space communication capability.

    The Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration is hosted on NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer or LADEE satellite. (NASA)

    **

    WORLDBEAT: SOMALI BROADCAST STATION ATTACKED

    The National Union of Somali Journalists says that it is shocked by the
    latest violent attack on the media in Puntland, which involved a double
    bomb strike on a private radio station in Galkayo. According to the information received from the site of the attack, gunmen hurled two hand
    bombs at Radio Daljir, at around 10 p.m. local time on Tuesday, October
    15th. Eyewitness said that the attackers were riding in sedan with no
    plate number. No one was injured in the assault. More is on-line at tinyurl.com/somali-broadcaster-bombed (Published news reports)

    **

    ON THE AIR: OQ4CLM CELEBRATES LIBERATION OF KNOKKE, HOLLAND

    On the air, special event station OQ4CLM is on the air through November
    15th to commemorate the liberation of the town of Knokke, Holland by
    Canadian troops in 1944. This is the 32nd time the station has taken to
    the airwaves. More information is on the web at www.oq4clm.be (ON4RO)

    **

    ON THE AIR: CELEBRATING 200 YEARS OF THE NETHERLANDS

    Fred Weidema, PA0FAW, of Arnhem Holland will be operating as PG200NL,
    between November 2nd and the 29th. This in celebration of 200 Years of
    The Netherlands.

    As of now, he will mainly be active on CW, but he hopes to also use SSB
    and some digital modes if locations become available.

    In his announcement, Fred notes that he is an International Short Wave
    League member and can be worked or listened to by I-S-W-L members for the organizations Monitor award. QSL go to PA0FAW either direct, via the
    bureau or electronically using eQSL. SWL reports are obviously also very welcome. (PA0FAW)

    **

    DX

    In DX, YL2GM is currently reported on the air from Sao Vicente Island as D44TYL. Activity has been mainly 20 and 15 meters SSB. The length of his
    stay is unknown. QSL via YL2GM.

    HB9EYP will be on the air from Zanzibar between November 2nd and the 9th possibly using the call 5H3JJ. Activity will be QRP on 20 through 6
    meters with 10 watts into a Windom antenna from a beachfront location. QSL
    via his home callsign either direct, via the bureau or electronically
    using Logbook to the World.

    Members of the DX Friends group will activate San Andres Island as 5J0R
    from November 1st to the 10th. Operations will be on 160 through 6 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. Visit their Web page at
    dxfriends.com/SanAndres2013 for more information and QSL via EA5RM.

    DL7VOA will be active as 6V7D from Senegal between November 29th and
    December 7th. His operation will be mainly on CW, with some SSB, on 40
    through 10 meters. QSL via DL7VOA.

    A group of operators from India will be operating from the Lakshadweep
    Islands from November 20th to the 10th of December as VU7AG and VU7KA.
    They will be active on 160 through10 meters using CW , SSB and RTTY. QSL
    via W4VKU

    Lastly, a team of 8 operators will be active from the rare Banda Besar
    Island between November 10th to the 15th. Callsigns have not been
    announced yet but operations will be on 40 through 10 meters using CW and
    SSB. Look for more details to be forthcoming at oc157.blogspot.co.uk.

    (Above from various DX news sources)

    **

    THAT FINAL ITEM: POLICE SAY ALLEGEDLY INEBRIATED MAN CONFUSED $20 BILL
    WITH CELL PHONE

    And finally this week a story out of Minnesota that kind of speaks for
    itself. Here's Don Wilbanks, AE5DW:

    --


    Call this one enforcement of a truly different kind as in trying to make a phone call without a phone. This as a Minnesota man is been charged with public intoxication after he allegedly tried to make a phone call using a
    $20 bill.

    Iowa City Police on foot patrol on the pedestrian mall recently noticed
    the man passed out on a bench at 2:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning. The
    officers said that the man smelled strongly of alcohol, had watery,
    bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and poor balance.

    When officers requested identification, the man reportedly grabbed money
    from his wallet and handed to the officers instead. Police say officers
    then offered him the chance to call his friends from his cell phone but
    instead he placed a $20 bill to his ear and used it to try to make the
    call.

    But $20 bills don't have built in receivers or transmitters so for the
    police that was enough. They placed the unidentified man under arrest for
    his own safety.

    I'm Don Wilbanks, AE5DW.

    --

    And so ends another strange moment in communications history.
    (Press-Citizen)


    **

    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, TWiT-TV and Australia's WIA News, that's all
    from the Amateur Radio NewslineT. Our e-mail address is newsline (at) arnewsline (dot) 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 NewslineT, 28197 Robin
    Avenue, Santa Clarita California, 91350

    Before we sign off, a reminder that the Dayton Amateur Radio Association
    is soliciting nominations for next year's Hamvention awards. This
    includes the Amateur of the Year, Special Achievement, Technical
    Excellence and Club of the Year. Nominations must be received by January
    17, 2014. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/hamvention-awards-2014.

    For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors' desk, I'm Skeeter
    Nash, N5ASH, near Houston, Texas, saying 73 and we thank you for
    listening.

    Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.

    __._,_.___

    R\%/itt - K5RXT



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