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 Previous: Hop up your Hustler |  Next: Hams Help Get Wounded Boy from High Seas to Hospital |
March 28, 2000
(In alphabetical order:)
Book recommendation: Ward Silver, N0AX, recently wrote to recommend Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, which he just finished reading. "First, it's a great read," he said. Beyond that, Silver says the book contains a lot about radio, cryptography, and codes. Near the end, he relates (page 800 of 918) "there is a sweet little twist that involves Morse Code and ham radio at an absolutely crucial point in the story." Ward says that if you have a long plane ride or some hotel time coming up, "make room in the travel kit for this one."
Club e-mail address update: Clubs are registering for ARRL E-Mail Forwarding Service addresses at an ever-increasing rate. Thanks to restructuring, it's anticipated that many more clubs will be added to this list after April 15. Many clubs find having a club e-mail address beneficial for local and national bulletins that assist them with such organized efforts as hamfests, conventions, and special event stations. With the @arrl.net e-mail address for your club, there's no need to notify everyone each time you change your internet service provider. Check your address at http://www.arrl.org/field/club/clubsearch.phtml or http://www.arrl.org/field/club/biglist.html. If yours is an ARRL-Affiliated club and you would like to subscribe your club to the ARRL E-mail Forwarding Service, see the information on our Club Companion Web site, http://www.arrl.org/field/club/club.html. --Dan Miller, K3UFG
Court of Appeals overturns FCC in Internet reciprocal compensation order: The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled in Bell Atlantic v FCC that the FCC had not properly justified its use of "end-to-end" analysis in determining whether a call to an Internet service provider is local or long-distance. The FCC had ruled that calls to an ISP, even those within the caller's local area, "ultimately extend beyond the ISP to Web sites out-of-state and around the world" and therefore are "non-local" and exempt from the reciprocal compensation provisions of the Communications Act. The Court vacated the FCC's Order and remanded the issue to the FCC. For more information, see http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/common/ opinions/200003/99-1094a.txt --FCC
FCC announces filing windows for LPFM applications: The FCC has announced filing window procedures for applications for new low-power FM authorizations. The FCC has divided the U.S. into five groups of states or territories. It will announce a filing window for each group on a staggered basis. The first window was to be selected by lottery on March 27, and the FCC is issue a Public Notice thereafter providing 30 days notice before the window is opened. For more information, visit http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/ Public_Notices/LPTV_Notices/da000621.doc
Florida ham cited for saving life: Ken Johnson, N4ZEB, of Palm Bay, Florida, received the Life Saving Award from the Palm Bay Police Department on March 8 after helping to save the life of a motorcyclist earlier this year. Johnson is a volunteer with the Palm Bay Police Department's Volunteer Citizens Observer Program (VCOP) and Disaster Communications Services (DCS) programs. Early on the morning of February 27, he and two other volunteer observers were on a night patrol as part of a pilot volunteer program to perform nighttime commercial building checks for the Palm Bay Police Department. The program seeks to demonstrate if volunteer observers could lighten the load on local police by deterring nighttime burglaries. At about 2 AM, Johnson spotted a fast-moving motorcycle on the opposite side of the highway go out of control. The volunteer observers reported the accident to police. Johnson then went back to where the motorcyclist was lying unconscious in the passing lane of the highway. Because that section of highway was unlighted, the motorcycle off the road, and the motorcyclist dressed in black, the accident scene was not obvious to traffic. Johnson positioned his vehicle between the traffic and the motorcyclist. He then assisted the other observers by providing communications and directing traffic around the scene until police and fire crews arrived. The motorcyclist--who was wearing a helmet--was treated at a hospital for minor injuries and released. As a result of this incident, night patrols continue to be an integral part of the Palm Bay Police Department's VCOP program. --Steven Hathaway, WB2CKM/President, Platinum Coast Amateur Radio Society
FO0AAA logs available on the Web: Logs from the Clipperton Island FO0AAA DXpedition are now on-line at http://www.qsl.net/clipperton2000. A report and pictures will follow soon. --The Daily DX
Free vintage radio screen savers: Dave Kelley, AI7R, offers two new screen savers free-of-charge that will appeal to those who enjoy "classic" Amateur Radio gear. Both are between 2 and 2.5 megs so they may download a little long. They average 25 images each. Collins collectors should check out http://www.tempe.gov/screensaver/collins3.exe. If your interest is simply boat anchors in general, see http://www.tempe.gov/screensaver/bav2.exe. Other screen savers remain available at http://www.tempe.gov/screensaver/collins.exe http://www.tempe.gov/screensaver/collins2.exe http://www.tempe.gov/screensaver/bav1.exe. These are Windows only, and, once downloaded, you just run them. Kelley says they install very fast. "I used almost all of the images that were sent to me," says Kelley, who compiled the screen savers from contributed images. --thanks to John Dilks, K2TQN
Ham radio represented at ITU Americas Telecom 2000: Amateur Radio will be represented at what's being billed by the ITU as "the most important telecommunications event in Latin American history." The International Amateur Radio Union Region II will be a featured participant April 10-15 at the International Telecommunication Union Americas Telecom 2000 in Rio de Janeiro. This follows IARU Region II's successful participation in the Americas 96 Telecom. The show will feature 265 exhibitors from around the world, including the most influential and dynamic telecommunications companies showing the latest technologies, products and services. Project Manager for Region 2 is Vice-President Reinaldo Leandro,YV5AMH. Also on hand will be Region II Directors Reinaldo Szama, LU2AH, and Jorge Lunkes, PT2HF, and from the Washington office of ARRL, Jon Siverling, WB3ERA, assisted by radio amateurs from the Rio de Janeiro area. Visitors are welcome. --Executive Committee, IARU Region II
Joe says it ain't so: Rumor had it that, under pending new regulations, hams in Israel would not be allowed to send Morse code faster than 25 WPM. Not true! IARU Liaison Officer and Honorary IARC President Joseph Obstfeld, 4X6KJ, says the incorrect notion resulted from a misunderstanding that stemmed from an single sentence in the March HaGAL newsletter. The newsletter stated, "it is now forbidden to transmit Morse faster than 25 WPM." As Obstfeld explains: "It came across to those attending the annual general meeting as something strange, it was enthusiastically picked up by the newsletter, and promptly reported." Obstfeld said that the error--made in the speech as well as in the newsletter report--doesn't jibe with the new Israeli licensing conditions--yet to be issued and which will be printed on the back of each license: "A station shall not transmit in the Morse code faster than 25 WPM for identification purposes." Obstfeld said the intent, in the context of the new Class D+ license with its 5 WPM Morse code requirement, was to give those "less competent in the CW field" a fighting chance to at least identify faster stations. It is not an across-the-board requirement. "It is said that nature provided man with two ears and one mouth," Obstfeld said. "The reason for this phenomenon is simple: We should listen twice as hard, and twice as much, as talking. Only if that is taken into consideration, can we prevent discrepancies from taking place." --Joseph Obstfeld, 4X6KJ
KF2GC is new Northern New York SM: Thomas A. "Tom" Dick, KF2GC, of Saranac Lake has been appointed Northern New York Section Manager to replace Chuck Orem, KD2AJ, who has stepped down. The term of office expires January 1, 2001. Members may contact Tom Dick at kf2gc@arrl.org.
LIMARC to celebrate 35 years: The Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club will celebrate its 35th anniversary with a dinner-dance Sunday, April 9, at the Maine Maid Inn in Jericho, New York. LIMARC was founded in 1965 and has maintained a focus on public service and support for emergency preparedness, marathons, walks, bike rides, and other charitable events. The officers and members of LIMARC invite everyone in the Amateur Radio community to attend the celebration. There will be a special 35th Anniversary Journal and some special awards. The Journal will include a history of the club and a list of all the officers and board members from 1965 to the present. Booster ads are $5, which will list your name and call sign; full page ads are $20. Contact George Tranos, N2GA, n2ga@aol.com or LIMARC (see below). The ad deadline is March 30. The dinner/dance, with music by the Norm Wesler (K2YEW) Jazz Ensemble, is $26 per person (advance reservations only). Make s checks payable to "LIMARC Anniversary Dinner" and send to: LIMARC, PO Box 392, Levittown NY 11756-0392. For more information, contact Diane Ortiz, K2DO, k2do@limarc.org.
New Caledonia admitted to IARU: Voting has been completed on a proposal to admit Association des Radio-Amateurs de Nouvelle-Caledonie (ARANC) as a member of the International Amateur Radio Union. ARANC has been notified of its admission effective March 22, 2000. The action paves the way for the Chesterfield Islands to become a new DXCC entity. ARANC was established on July 25, 1961. It reports that there are 130 licensed radio amateurs in the country, and 50 are regularly active on radio while the others pursue related information technology hobbies. ARANC has 32 members, 25 of them licensed to transmit. The application for IARU membership was prompted in part by increased autonomy recently granted to New Caledonia by France, including the management of telecommunications and related licenses. The official address of ARANC is PO Box 3956, Nouméa 98847, NEW-CALEDONIA. The IARU, founded in 1925, is a worldwide federation of national Amateur Radio societies with members in 150 countries and separate territories. --IARU news release
New Canadian Amateur Radio info circulars posted: Industry Canada has recently posted one new, and three revised Information circulars on their Strategis Web site. RIC 3 updates operating information to reflect the changes to be introduced with the new authorization process on April 1; RIC-9 details the policies governing Amateur Radio call signs and special call signs and prefixes; RIC-7 and RIC-8 are updated versions of the new examination question banks. Copies of the new documents in Adobe Portable Document Format can be downloaded from the IC Strategis Web site, http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/sf01709e.html --RAC
New Sacramento Valley SM: Jerry Boyd, K6BZ, becomes Sacramento Valley Section Manager April 1. He was appointed to succeed Jettie Hill, W6RFF, who has stepped down. Boyd expressed his appreciation to Hill for his 16 years of service as Sacramento Valley SM and for his many years of work in the ARRL Field Organization.
QST "How's DX" Editor W3UR in East Timor: Bernie McClenny, W3UR, is operating as 4W/W3UR, from East Timor, not as 4W6DX, as previously announced. He and Thor Stefansson, 4W6MM, are in Baucau and were to be joined by Jose, CT1EEB/4W6EB. Because of the relocation, on-line logs may not be posted daily. The operation was to begin March 26 and continue for up to 10 days. QSL via OH2BN. Several stations now are QRV from East Timor.
RAC sends anniversary greetings to IARU, REF: Radio Amateurs of Canada President Ken Oelke, VE6AFO, has extended anniversary greetings to the IARU, Union Francaise des Radioamateurs (REF-Union), and IARU Region 1, on behalf of the RAC Board, Executive and members. The IARU marks its 75th anniversary and IARU founding member REF-Union celebrates 75 years as a national society on April 18, while IARU Region I celebrates its 50th anniversary in May. Canada also was one of the founding nations of IARU and was present at both the 1924 planning meeting and the 1925 founding Congress. "It therefore gives me great pleasure to extend greetings to all Society Members on this auspicious occasion," Oelke said. --RAC
Spacecraft damaged in vibration test mishap: A $75 million NASA spacecraft designed to study solar flares was heavily damaged when engineers mistakenly shook it 10 times harder than intended during a preflight test. The shaking cracked at least two of four solar panels on the High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, and tests were planned to find internal damage. Launch, which had been scheduled for July, will be pushed back at least to January. It's the latest embarrassment for the space agency and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which last year lost two high-profile missions to Mars. The cause of the mishap remains under investigation, JPL spokeswoman Mary Beth Murrill said March 23. --NASA
![[Sabina Armbrust, KE4YIO]](spark2.jpg)
[Sabina Armbrust, KE4YIO] |
"Sparky" racks up 60 years as ARRL member: West Central Florida Section Manager Dave Armbrust, AE4MR (left), presented a 60-year ARRL membership plaque to John "Sparky" Spark, W4LHP, of Lakeland, Florida, on March 7, 2000 at the Lakeland Amateur Radio Club. "Sparky"--who's 89--was first licensed in 1937, and he still remembers when going mobile required special permission from the FCC. --Dave Armbrust, AE4MR
Successful Ariane 5 launch viewed as good omen for P3D: An Arianespace Ariane 5 launch vehicle recently completed a successful launch from the European Spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana. The vehicle is the same type that is tentatively scheduled to carry the Amateur Radio Phase 3D satellite into orbit in July. "The success of this launch is very important to the eventual Ariane 5 ride that Phase 3D will undergo," AMSAT News Service said. Four additional Ariane 5 launches are scheduled for this year--the next set for May 23.--AMSAT News Service
Two die in tower mishap: Two North Carolina men are dead after wind toppled a radio tower they were helping to erect in Burke County. The Raleigh News & Observer reported March 21 that Chester Arthur Smith, 46, and Steven Albert English, 37, both of Nebo, North Carolina, fell 60 feet to their deaths when a wind gust toppled the tower as it was under construction. The newspaper and other accounts identified the structure as a "ham radio tower." Neither man's name could be found in the FCC's Amateur Service database, nor could the name of Foy Deal, who, the news report said, lived at the site where the tower was under construction. The news account said the tower was being built for Deal as a "birthday present." Burke County Sheriff's Office Det Stacey Buff said four other men were hoisting a tower section to Smith and English atop the partially assembled structure when a wind gust broke the suspended section, causing the tower to topple. The same edition of the News & Observer reported that three men who fell 1000 feet to their deaths from a communication tower in Salisbury "were lifted by a winch designed only to lift materials, not people, according to a state report."
TX0DX has left the building! The TX0DX DXpedition to Chesterfield Islands is QRT as of 0040 UTC March 29. Deteriorating weather forced the team to decide to pull the plug several hours early. With a goal of 70,000 contacts, TX0DX had topped the 60,000 mark as of 2230 UTC Monday, March 27, and maintained an average rate of more than 500 QSOs per hour during the first five days of the operation. Six meters yielded more than 2600 QSOs. The operation had been expected to continue through approximately 2200 UTC March 29. The HF log search will not be available until a few days after the operation. For additional details, visit http://www.n4gn.com/tx0dx/. --Tim Totten, N4GN
ULS out-of-service hours: The FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau has announced that the Universal Licensing System no longer will be accessible between the hours of 12:15 and 2:15 AM Eastern Time. This is to facilitate system maintenance. Users are advised to file applications at other times. The FCC Technical Support Hotline is 202-414-1250 (TTY: 202-414-1255); or send comments or questions to ulscomm@fcc.gov. For ULS licensing support and forms information, call toll-free 888-CALLFCC (225-5322) or e-mail ulshelp@fcc.gov. To obtain forms, call toll-free 800-418-FORM (3676); via fax-on-demand, call 202-418-0177. --FCC Daily Digest
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Virginia ARES gets coveted award: In a surprise move that caught both ARES/RACES leadership and the Virginia Department of Emergency Services off guard, the Virginia Emergency Management Association presented Virginia ARES with its coveted Clarence P. Rea Jr Group Achievement Award. Deputy SEC and Deputy State RACES Officer Tony Amato, KR4UQ, already had been invited to the Annual VEMA State Conference to screen the new Hurricane Floyd/Franklin flood video and to provide an overview of how ARES and RACES works as a team in Virginia. "Shortly before the 10:30 AM RACES workshop, I was advised I needed to stay for lunch--which was not planned," he said. "At that time I was advised an award would be presented to Virginia ARES." The award was presented March 21 "In Appreciation for Outstanding Services Rendered to Virginia's Emergency Management Community." Amato says the award "demonstrates how much your emergency managers think of you and the outstanding efforts you put forth all year!" --Tony Amato, KR4UQ
You're never too old to upgrade: Volunteer Examiner John Creel, WB3GXW, of Maryland's Laurel VEC, reports a heartwarming experience at a VE session Sunday, March 26, at the Greater Baltimore Hamboree and Computerfest. During the session, the team tested 148 applicants who took 205 elements, including several upgrades to Extra. "The highlight was when Charles A. Earp Jr, W3DKT, came through the door," Creel relates. "He had in his possession his 1933-issued license. At 83 years and one month he upgraded to a grand Extra by passing Elements 4B and 1C. His CSCE was signed by all 23 VEs who worked the session. What a day!" The team's next test date is April 15. --John Creel, WB3GXW
ZL establishes new exams, procedures: Restructuring fever continues around the world. New Zealanders are preparing for their new amateur examination system. Key features there include a decentralization of the process, with exam preparation, administration, and grading performed locally. Examiners will be associated with branches of New Zealand Amateur Radio Transmitters, that country's Amateur Radio society. Examination papers will be generated locally using specially written software. Questions will be selected from a publicly available question bank of 600 questions. The new amateur examination in New Zealand will be a single 60-question test that covers both theory and regulations. Forty correct answers are required for a General or Limited license, and 30 for a Novice ticket. --WIA QNews via This Week in Amateur Radio/The Hudson Loop
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