*************** The ARRL Letter Vol. 20, No. 23 June 8, 2001 *************** IN THIS EDITION: * HamCom Promotes Education in Amateur Radio * Kentucky Hams Substitute Their Repeater For "Deaf" 911 System: * IN BRIEF: Alinco still catching up with service issues following move ARRL 2001 Atlantic Division Award Winners announced Eleven year-old ham gets Life membership and 60-year plaque Francis Shepard, W7HAH, SK Indiana policeman receives first Radio Hero Award ISS Commander Frank Culbertson is now KD5OPQ Mario Acuna, LU9HBG, elected Fellow of AGU Meningitis scare at school brings out Ohio ARES unit SKYWARN operator struck by lightning Walter Taylor, K2MLT, SK Western Washington DX Club to host Northwest DX Convention WIDAD, K1MOM and K1D call signs mean it's Kids Day again =========================================================== Editor's note: The ARRL Letter and ARRL Audio News are on vacation. They will return June 13. This abbreviated update was produced by the editorial staff. See you next week. =========================================================== ==>HAMCOM PROMOTES EDUCATION IN AMATEUR RADIO The West Gulf Division Convention and HamCom 2001 is just days away--June 8-10--at the Arlington, Texas, Convention Center. According to this year's Chairman, Maury Guzick, W5BGP, it promises to be an education in Amateur Radio. "For starters we have a new attraction this year that's never been done before," Guzick wrote. "The ARRL and Ham-Com have joined together to bring the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course to you, live and in-person. It's the same course as the one ARRL offers on-line, but with a live teacher in a classroom style." ARRL Public Service Specialist Steve Ewald, WV1X, will conduct the two-day course at HamCom. Students have pre-registered and will attend class sessions Saturday morning and afternoon, completing the course Sunday morning. This is the first time that Level I: Introduction to Amateur Radio Emergency Communications (EC-001) will be offered as a classroom course at a weekend convention. To learn more about the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Program and the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course, see http://www.arrl.org/cce . ==>KENTUCKY HAMS SUBSTITUTE THEIR REPEATER FOR "DEAF" 911 SYSTEM Twice within a 24-hour period, Harold Hicks, KE4HON, an EMT for the Whitley County, Kentucky, ambulance service, and his father, Jim Hicks, WB4CTX, a Kentucky Asssistant Section Manager, used an H-T, the KB4PTJ 444.050 MHz repeater and a telephone to relay emergency information to 911 dispatchers. On Sunday morning, May 27, Whitley County and McCreary County Emergency Medical Services responded to an automobile accident in a remote area where the two counties join. Both ambulance services lost radio contact with their 911 dispatchers due to the remoteness of the area. They could not relay patient information or their location to their dispatcher, nor could they advise whether they needed a helicopter to fly the patient out. KE4HON, using his H-T, contacted WB4CTX via the KB4PTJ repeater and asked him to relay information to the respective 911 dispatchers. Using the repeater and his home phone, Hicks advised Whitley County EMS that the patient was conscious and alert and that the helicopter and rescue crews could stand down. He told the McCreary County 911 that their unit was okay and would be the one transporting the patient. Incredibly, less than 12 hours later, another accident occurred in almost the same place and with the same consequences regarding loss of 911-repeater contact. The same situation played out-Hicks-to-Hicks-to 911. Whitley County EMS was dispatched and the patient was brought to the hospital. Again Amateur Radio stepped into the breach and rendered a public service. Incidentally, the KB4PTJ repeater and the ambulance service repeater are less than three air miles apart--John Meyers, N4GNL ___________________________________ ==>IN BRIEF: * Alinco still catching up with service issues following move: The transfer of Alinco's distribution system from California to ATOC Amateur Distributing in Ohio is nearly complete, according to Craig Cota, a principal with ATOC. Complicating the transfer was the fact that the Dayton Hamvention occurred as the transition was taking place. "Our timing couldn't have been worse," said Cota. "We were literally unloading a moving van, and driving merchandise directly to the dealers at the show." One aspect of the transfer still pending is the service function. "We had hoped to have factory training personnel work with our staff in the transition. Unfortunately, plans were delayed," said Cota. "We will continue to honor warranty claims, even if the warranty expires during the transition period." For More Information: http://www.alinco.com/usa.html . * ARRL 2001 Atlantic Division award winners announced: The ARRL Atlantic Division Awards Committee has named Roy Heimel, AB4XS, 2001 Atlantic Division Ham of the Year. Dennis Silage, K3DS, received the 2001 Atlantic Division Technical Achievement Award. The committee members made their choices based upon ballots received. Heimel has served his club, the Headwaters ARC, in many capacities and has organized and taught amateur radio licensing courses. He has been associated with the Boy Scouts for over 22 years, and served as a Girl Scout leader. Silage, K3DS, is the technical chairman for the Delaware County ARA and the Mid-Atlantic ARC. He is a frequent speaker on technical subjects at amateur radio clubs through out the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area--Bernie Fuller, N3EFN, ARRL Atlantic Division Director. * Eleven year-old ham gets Life membership and 60-year plaque: Ryan Rose, K3RLR, of Pasadena, Maryland, got more than he bargained for at the Dayton Hamvention. Originally licensed in May 1999 as a Novice--KB3DVA--Ryan now hold a General ticket. This year at Hamvention he took out an ARRL life membership (thanks to his dad, Bob, AA3RR). Due to a vendor error, Ryan's plaque credited the 11-year-old with 60 years of membership instead of Life Membership! The problem was corrected, and the correct Life Membership plaque arrived a few days later. * Francis Shepard, W7HAH, SK: Francis Shepard, W7HAH, of Stevensville, Montana died May 16. He was 79. An ARRL member, Shepard held VUCC on 50, 144 and 432 MHz. His 50-MHz certificate was endorsed for 625 grid squares. "Shep led the 2-meter EME roles for contacts with a four-Yagi system. As a ham, he lent a hand and his friendship to many, far and wide," said his friend, Pat Hamilton, WA7PDC. "I will miss listening to W7HAH work the stations I barely even heard." * Indiana policeman receives first Radio Hero Award: Bill Ward, N9RHY, of the Henry County, Indiana Sheriff's department received the Radio Hero Award in recognition of his use of Citizens Band radio in the capture of two suspected murderers. Ward is the first recipient of this award, which will be presented biannually by its sponsors-REACT International Inc, Cobra Electronics and Popular Communications magazine. The incident involved two Vermont high school students who were suspected of murdering a husband and wife-both professors at Dartmouth College. Ward intercepted a truckdriver's CB call asking if anyone could help these youths with a ride further west. Without identifying himself, Ward told the youths to wait and someone would be along to pick them up! In an earlier story regarding REACT, ARRL and REACT signed a Memorandum of Understanding intended to promote joint coordination of the resources of both organizations and recognize the capabilities of individual members to facilitate the flow of information to and from the public during disaster and emergency situations. For the complete MOU, see http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/mou/react.html. * ISS Commander Frank Culbertson is now KD5OPQ: The latest NASA astronaut to become an Amateur Radio operator is the commander of Expedition 3, Frank Culbertson, KD5OPQ. Joining him on the International Space Station as part of the Expedition 3 crew will be cosmonauts Mikhail Turin and Vladimir Dezhurov, who will also have Amateur Radio licenses prior to launch. Culbertson has logged over 344 hours in space. Shuttle Mission STS-105, scheduled to fly in August, will ferry Commander Culbertson to the ISS. It will return with Expedition 2 crewmembers Susan Helms, KC7NHZ; Yury Usachev, RW3FU; and James Voss who have spoken via Amateur Radio with students in 15 schools during scheduled ARISS QSOs. * Mario Acuna, LU9HBG, elected Fellow of AGU: Mario Acuna, LU9HBG, has been elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, an honor reserved for the top one percent of the scientists working in Geophysics and Space Physics. The award was made at the AGU Spring Meeting in Boston. Acuna, well known in the AMSAT/Satellite community, helped in the development of P3A, AO-10 and AO-13. For many years Acuna has been the supplier of high accuracy magnetometers flown on the UoSATs , professional earth-orbiting satellites and deep-space probes. * Meningitis scare at school brings out Ohio ARES unit: When two fifteen year old students in a near-by community died of Meningitis, the Salem, Ohio community hospital set up antibiotic dispensing stations at the southeast elementary school as a precaution. At times the line exceeded 1000 people. Hospital phone lines were jammed by incoming calls. People standing in line to get medication were using their cell phones making matters worse. ARES EC, KA8OEB, activated the Salem club and set up stations at the school and hospital. Members of Columbiana County ARES and Salem Area ARA assisted, using 2-meter and 70cm repeaters. ARES services ran for two days. More than 37000 people in Salem and Alliance received antibiotics. * SKYWARN operator struck by lightning: Danny Townsend, KB5ZEA, was struck by lightning on Sunday, May 27, while engaged in SKYWARN reporting. As Townsend keyed his mike to respond to KD5JGW's weather report, lightning hit the tower, destroying the station equipment and knocking Townsend to the floor. He was taken to the hospital and found to be OK, but he says he still has a ringing in his ears. "As we operate Skywarn and ARES, we need to keep in mind the dangers we can be exposed to," said Townsend. " I have always been conscious of lighting and what it can do, but have continued to operate during bad weather. I will continue to do what I can to help my fellow man, but with a little more caution. I will attempt to rebuild my station with total emergency power as well as attic antennas."--KB5ZEA. * Walter Taylor, K2MLT, SK: Walter Taylor, K2MLT, of Hammondsport, New York- died April 20. He was 69. A fourth-generation vintner, Taylor was also an artist, inventor, aviator and poet. An ARRL member, his radio interests also included ownership of two commercial broadcast stations. Among his survivors are his wife, Lillian, three sons, a daughter, and two grandchildren. * Western Washington DX Club to host Northwest DX Convention: The Western Washington DX Club will host the Northwest DX Convention--DXing in the 21st Century!--in Seattle, Washington, July 20-22 at the Everett Holiday Inn. Speakers include Bill Fisher, W4AN; Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA; DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L; Garry Shapiro, NI6T and NCJ Editor Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV. DX videos will be shown hourly. Send questions to convention@wwdxc.org or to WWDXC, PO Box 395, Mercer Island, WA 98040. For on-line registration and the up to date convention agenda, visit the WWDXC Web site, http://www.wwdxc.org/convention . * WIDAD, K1MOM and K1D call signs mean it's Kids Day again: Peter and Jeanne Schipelliti, W1DAD and K1MOM, respectively, and their kids Geena, age 6 and Luciano, age 4, have activated the special 1X1 call sign, K1D. The family wanted to promote ARRL's Kid's Day and assist hams in igniting the interest of children in Amateur Radio. They plan to use the call sign from June 2-17. Kid's Day is June 16, from 1800-2400Z. Listen for K1D on 28350, 21380, 14270, 7230 and 3895 kHz. Hams who plan to put youngsters on the air for Kid's Day, can get a free Amateur Radio coloring book and youthful operating aids from K1MOM at: k1mom@arrl.net. For more info on Kid's Day, see: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/kd-rules.html . =========================================================== The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American Radio Relay League--The National Association For Amateur Radio--225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259; http://www.arrl.org. Jim Haynie, W5JBP, President The ARRL Letter offers a weekly e-mail digest of essential news of interest to active amateurs. The ARRL Letter strives to be timely, accurate, concise, and readable. Visit ARRLWeb at http://www.arrl.org for the latest news, updated as it happens. The ARRLWeb Extra at http://www.arrl.org/members-only/extra offers ARRL members access to informative features and columns. Material from The ARRL Letter may be republished or reproduced in whole or in part in any form without additional permission. 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