 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||
|
|
 Previous: Reciprocal Licensing Information is On the Web |  Next: ARRL Board Names Year 2000 Humanitarian, Leonard Award Winners |
January 24, 2001
(In alphabetical order:)
AO-40's Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, honored by hometown: AO-40 Project Leader Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, recently was chosen as "Marburger of the Year 2000" by readers of the Oberhessische Presse, a daily newspaper published in Meinzer's hometown of Marburg. Nine Marburg citizens were nominated, and Meinzer, a professor of physics at Philipps University in Marburg, took top honors for his role in the development of AO-40, which was launched last November. "This honor isn't only my merit, it belongs as well to the colleagues all over the world and my deputies who joined the project," Meinzer said after learning of the award. AMSAT-NA President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, expressed congratulations to Meinzer on behalf of the Board of Directors, officers and members of AMSAT-NA. "Your outstanding technical expertise and hard work in leading the P3D team has, I am sure, contributed toward this award," Haighton said.--AMSAT-DL; Oberhessische Presse; Philipps-Universitaet
This jacket packs away into the left chest pocket for portability. Great for outdoor activities! |
ARRL introduces official custom-embroidered sportswear: ARRL has teamed with Barker Specialty Company to provide quality ARRL logo sportswear for hams. "What a great way to help identify yourself as an ARRL supporter," said ARRL Marketing Coordinator, Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R. "All the items make a classic, yet casual, statement about the service we all enjoy!" Items include a nifty pack-away jacket, Oxford sport shirt and dress shirt, fleece pullover and twill cap. View the entire line and order on-line from Barker Specialty's Official ARRL Sportswear site, http://www.barkerspecialty.com/arrl.
Automotive electrical systems appear headed to 42 V: Is there a high-voltage vehicle in your future? According to an article in the February 2001 issue of Poptronics, the automotive industry appears poised to start introducing vehicles with 42-V electrical systems in a few short years. The magazine says the 42-V standard is being advocated by the MIT/Industry Consortium on Advanced Automotive Electrical/Electronic Components and Systems, sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers. The new systems would use a 36-V battery--essentially three times the voltage available under today's nominal 12/14-V automotive electrical systems. The additional voltage--and resulting power--would allow more vehicle accessories--such as pumps, advanced electronics and even air conditioning--to be run from electricity, instead of taking power from the engine. The higher-voltage systems could generate up to 8 kW or so of power (current car systems can handle up to maybe 3 kW) at higher efficiency and with lower pollution. The higher voltage also could lead to lighter-gauge electrical wiring in cars, because of the lower current consumption. German manufacturer Siemens AG is said to have a 42-V starter-alternator-flywheel system in the works. Poptronics predicts the first 42-V systems could appear in Europe by 2003. It's anticipated that 12/14 V dc would continue to be available for some accessories, such as lighting, through the use of dc-to-dc power converters.
Belgium to join the 5 WPM fold: The Belgian Minister of Telecommunications has signed a new decree on Amateur Radio that, among other things, reduces the Morse code requirement for HF access to 5 WPM. The decree will go into effect after official publication, which is expected to take a few weeks.--Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
Dale Hatfield, W0IFO, takes on industry role: Retired FCC Office of Engineering and Technology chief Dale Hatfield, W0IFO, of Boulder, Colorado, has joined Fantasma Networks as a technical advisor. In that role, he'll advise Fantasma--a provider of wireless video networking technology--on issues involving ultra-wideband (UWB) technology. Hatfield also serves as director of the Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Before joining the FCC in December 1997, Hatfield ran his own telecommunications consulting firm. Fantasma Networks (http://www.fantasma.net/), headquartered in Mountain View, California, develops wireless networking technology for homes, schools and small offices.
FCC changes e-mail address for auction site complaints: The FCC has requested that complaints about the sale of possibly illegal equipment on eBay, Yahoo and other auction or sales site be sent to fccinfo@fcc.gov.
Lee DeForest in a circa-1907 photo |
Hams help in search for stolen plane: Phil Fiol, WB2BMC, says a Piper Aztec twin-engine aircraft stolen December 21, 2000, in the Bahamas, was recovered thanks to help from participants of the Intercontinental and Maritime Mobile nets on 14.300 MHz. As the story goes, the plane's owner, Dale Blanchard, contacted a couple of ham friends--Warren Doli, KC8ON, and Mel Fragassi, K9AE--to spread the word on the missing aircraft, which, he suspected, was headed south (the culprits also purloined 100 gallons of aviation fuel before they took off). Stations along the net relayed the alert, and others in the Caribbean and down into South America soon became involved. As it turned out, the plane landed in Cartegena, Colombia, where it was greeted by law enforcement officials, including US Drug Enforcement Administration agents. Blanchard and his son recovered the aircraft after some negotiations with the Colombian government.--Phil Fiol, WB2BMC
Hearing set for Washington PRB-1 expansion bill: Proposed Senate Bill 5002 that would set a 70-foot minimum regulatory height limit for Amateur Radio antennas in the State of Washington is set for Monday, January 29, 8:30 AM, in Senate Hearing Room 2, Cherburg Bldg, Olympia, Washington (on the Capitol campus). The proposed amendment would specify that local governing bodies could not restrict antenna height to less than 70 feet without a clearly defined health, safety, or aesthetic reason.
John Westbroek, KD7LNC |
Jamboree On The Air success story: Gary Smith,N7IHZ, challenged Boy Scouts gathered at the Jamboree On The Air last October in Davis County, Utah, to a contest to see which two participants would be the first to pass their Amateur Radio license exam. As an incentive, he offered some prizes. The first Scout to get his license was John Westbroek of Troop 1211, Lindon, Utah. True to his word, at the January meeting of the Davis County Amateur Radio club, Smith presented Westbroek with a membership to DCARC, a subscription to Worldradio magazine and a copy of The ARRL Repeater Directory. A week later, John's father, Glen, earned his license. The father and son call signs are KD7LNC, and KD7LLE. Smith loaned them a handheld dualband transceiver and accessories so they could start immediately enjoying the hobby. John already has expressed interest in attending JOTA 2001 and in being an instructor for the Radio merit badge course. More information is at http://www.dcarc.net/.--Gary Smith, N7IHZ
Newsline to hold town meeting at Miami Tropical Hamboree: Amateur Radio Newsline will host a ham radio town meeting at the 2001 Tropical Hamboree, February 3-4, at the Miami Fair and Exposition Center. The town meeting will be February 3 at 3:30 PM in the Tower Building (second floor), northeast of the exhibit area. The topic is "Ham Radio in the 21st Century." Guest speakers include ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, Chip Margelli, K7JA of Yaesu, and ARRL Lab Supervisor Ed Hare, W1RFI. Newsline producer Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, will be the moderator.--Amateur Radio Newsline
Next ARISS school awaits a date with KD5GSL: Students at the George West Elementary School in George West, Texas, will be the next in line to speak via Amateur Radio with Space Station Alpha Commander William "Shep" Shepherd, KD5GSL. The contact is being arranged under the auspices of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station--or ARISS--program. The contact will be during the week of January 29, but a specific date and time has not been set. Successful ARISS contacts have been completed so far with schools in Illinois, Virginia, and New York. A contact with a school in Canada is being arranged. For more information on ARISS, visit http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov/.--ARISS
NG3K "Announced Operation" tables for the 2001 ARRL DX contests available: The NG3K "Announced Operation" tables for the 2001 ARRL DX contests (CW and SSB) now are available. CW operations are at http://www.ng3k.com/Misc/adxc2001.html; SSB operations are at http://www.ng3k.com/Misc/adxs2001.html. Tables may be sorted either by call sign (default) or by DXCC entity. "New" icons are tagged to just-added announcements and will remain for seven days. New listings for significant operations are appreciated. Send full particulars to bill@ng3k.com. Include: Operational modes and call sign(s) to be used; DXCC entity; entry class; QSL route; Web page URL, if any; e-mail contact; dates of additional operation outside the contest; city or locale of operation; operators' call signs; and any additional details of interest. Announcement tables will be updated as new information is received.--Bill Feidt, NG3K
Palomar ARC celebrates its 65th year with "birthday bash": February 13 will mark Palomar Amateur Radio Club's 65th anniversary as a club as well as its continuous affiliation with the ARRL. The PARC charter was signed in 1936 by then-ARRL President, E.C.Woodruff, W8CPM. Headquartered in California's San Diego County, the club will celebrate the occasion with a "birthday bash" at its February 7 meeting in the Carlsbad Safety Center. From an original 27 members, the club has grown to 560. Membership still includes founding member Jack Cornell, W6MMO, and one centenarian, a YL. PARC's multimode repeaters--atop Palomar Mountain, next to the famous observatory--cover more than 10,000 square miles of Southern California and extend into Mexico's Baja California and 100 miles out to sea. For more information, visit the Palomar Amateur Radio Club site, http://members.home.net/parc .--PARC
Pirate alert: A station identifying as ZB2FUM allegedly is a pirate. Wilfred Guerrero, ZB2IB, who is secretary of the Gibraltar Amateur Radio Society (http://www.gibnet.com/gars/), reports that the Society has determined that the call sign was not issued by Gibraltar authorities.--Wilfred Guerrero, ZB2IB
Standing (L-R) behind Parker and Fletcher Wold are REACT Vice President/Team Coordinator Dave Birch, REACT International CEO Frank Jennings; Sergeant-at-Arms Rick McCann; Assistant Team Coordinator Ted Minden, and REACT member Sheryl Forrest. |
S21YV is QRV from Bangladesh: ARRL member John Core, KX7YT, is on the air until February 1 as S21YV from Dhaka, Bangladesh, 20 meters only, SSB, PSK31, MFSK16, and possibly CW and RTTY, looking stateside 0100-0200 and 1500-1700 UTC. He's been alternating days on 14.195 MHz SSB and 14.071 MHz on PSK31. QSL via KX7YT. Core says he will apply for an extension of operating authority and hopes to be back in Bangladesh in April as well.--John Core, KX7YT
The 100th anniversary of DX: 100 years ago--on January 23, 1901--Guglielmo Marconi worked his first DX, a station 186 miles distant, thus proving that "wireless" was more than line-of-sight. Marconi's first long-distance transmission was sent from the Isle of Wight to Cornwall, England. Until Marconi's experiment, much of the scientific community believed that it was impossible to transmit a radio signal beyond Earth's horizon. The Isle of Wight to Cornwall transmission was more than double Marconi's previous DX record, but he is said to have kept the accomplishment a secret for a week out of respect for Queen Victoria, who had died a day earlier (also on the Isle of Wight, as it turns out). Marconi's first transatlantic transmission would come later that same year--on December 12, 1901. Marconi won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1909.
Logo from the NFL-licensed Super Bowl XXXV T-shirt. |
West Central Florida hams plan Super Bowl XXXV net: A stand-by Amateur Radio Emergency Net will be activated in the Tampa, Florida, area on Super Bowl Sunday from noon until midnight. West Central Florida Assistant Section Manager Paul Toth, NA4AR, says the net participants will be ready "just in case" any emergencies arise during the annual sports spectacular that's expected to attract 100,000 or more visitors to the city. "Tampa is center stage on Sunday," Toth said. "Anything and everything is possible. We'll be there, in place and ready to go if the situation warrants it." Toth says that a number of hams--among them several Hillsborough County law enforcement officers--will operate a voice and digital net from several sites, including Raymond James Stadium, Hillsborough County's 911 center, St Joseph's Hospital near the stadium and the National Weather Service station WX4TBW in Ruskin, Florida, 20 miles to the south. "Several repeaters and APRS will be used during the operation," Toth said.--Paul Toth, NA4AR
WM7D call sign server breaks 5 mil queries: Mark Downing, WM7D, who runs a call sign server and Amateur Radio page (http://www.wm7d.net) says he's now recorded more than 5 million hits on his call sign server--in just under three years. WM7D reports he now has a telnet (text)-based database application. Its available by telnet to www.wm7d.net port 5000. "This app will allow people using text-based internet connections to query the database for call signs," he said. While name queries are not yet available, Downing says he plans to add that capability.--Mark Downing, WM7D
| Previous: Reciprocal Licensing Information is On the Web | Next: ARRL Board Names Year 2000 Humanitarian, Leonard Award Winners |
