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 Previous: World Radiosport Team Championship 2002! |  Next: Youth@HamRadio.Fun: K2BSA--Promoting Amateur Radio to 40,000 |
July 5, 2001
(In alphabetical order:)
Andy Funk, KB7UV, snags another Emmy:
ARRL Public Information Officer and Atlanta broadcaster Andy Funk, KB7UV, has
won a second Emmy from the Atlanta Chapter of the National Academy of
Television Arts and Sciences for outstanding technical or engineering
achievement. As assistant news operations manager for FOX5/WAGA-TV in Atlanta,
Funk is responsible for the technical aspects of news gathering. The Emmy was
awarded for the RunnerCam segments of
FOX5's broadcast of the Peachtree Road Race--the world's largest 10K race.
RunnerCam is FOX5's name for its broadcast of live pictures and sound from a
photojournalist and reporter actually participating in the race. To make
RunnerCam happen, the photojournalist carries a camera, wireless microphone
receiver, two-way radio, and a small microwave transmitter and antenna. While
running in the race, the photojournalist points his microwave antenna at the
"Chopper 5" helicopter overhead. Electronics in the aircraft relay the signal
to one of FOX5's microwave Electronic News Gathering receivers. At the controls
of the station's receivers, Funk coordinated this effort along with live feeds
from five ground locations, two motorcycles and a second helicopter. Funk was also
honored with an Emmy for RunnerCam last year.
Senior News Editor Rick Lindquist, N1RL. [ARRL Photo] |
ARRL Audio News shifts to single audio format: Starting with the July 6 edition, ARRL Audio News will be available only in MP3 format, which is compatible with currently available media software, including RealPlayer. ARRL Audio News will continue to be available for playback directly from the ARRL Web site or for downloading as an MP3 file. ARRL Audio News--a weekly Amateur Radio newscast--is available for personal or repeater playback without charge or special permission. ARRL Audio News will remain available as a dial-up telephone service at 860-594-0384. ARRL Senior News Editor Rick Lindquist, N1RL, produces the program. He said the change to MP3-only will mean consistently superior audio quality and eliminate the duplication of effort involved with producing the newscast in two audio formats.
BQ9P QSLs could be "a bit slower" in coming: Steve Wheatley, KU9C, who's handling the BQ9P (Pratas) QSL duties, says he expects see BQ9P QSL cards by mid-July. He says, however, that due to family commitments, he'll be "a bit slower than normal" in getting QSLs out the door. He said he plans to start processing the cards immediately, but since he has some 6500 envelopes to fill, "I don't anticipate having the cards out completely before mid-August." Wheatley said he would do the best he can to improve on that schedule. He asked that operators awaiting cards to be patient and to refrain from e-mail requests on the status of a particular card. "Someday I'll post a picture of what my 'process station' looks like," he said, "but with perhaps 12,000 envelopes in the queue, I can find yours, but it takes an amount of time that I'd rather devote to sending cards!"--Steve Wheatley KU9C
New York cell phone
law does not apply to Amateur Radio operation: The widely reported New York
bill banning the use of hand-held cell phone while driving should have no
affect on Amateur Radio mobile operation, according to ARRL General Counsel
Chris Imlay, W3KD. "There is no ambiguity in the bill," he said. The bill,
A.9280, was signed into law recently by Gov George Pataki, a former amateur. It
requires cell phone users to use hands-free devices when calling. The measure
specifies "mobile telephone" use, and defines a "mobile telephone" as a device
used by subscribers to a wireless telephone service. That, in turn, is defined
to specify a commercial two-way wireless telecommunications service that
accesses the public switched telephone network. The bill also specifies "using"
as holding the mobile telephone "to, or in the immediate proximity of, the
user's ear." The new law will be phased in starting November 1. It calls for
fines of up to $100. The measure also calls upon the New York Commissioner of
Motor Vehicles to study the effects of the use of mobile telephones "and
similar equipment" in conjunction with the operation of a motor vehicle and
report back to the legislature in four years. The full text of the
measure is available on the New York legislature's Web site. A similar measure requiring hands-free cellular
telephones recently passed the Rhode Island legislature.
It's the blimp, Frank, it's the blimp!
If you worked the Jayhawk Amateur Radio Society's W0LB Field Day station in
Wyandotte County, Kansas, on 80 meters and wondered why they were loud, well,
here's why. The W0LB crew used a 13-foot "blimp" inflated with helium to carry
an 80-meter full-wave delta loop aloft to 110 feet! The idea for the blimp and
the 80 meter delta loop come from The
ARRL Antenna Compendium. "The blimp and antenna were great fun and worked
flawlessly during the entire contest," reports Marshall Toburen, AA0FO.
The 1912-vintage tugboat Frederic Mistral will host the OE6XMF/FM operation from Vienna, Austria, during the museum ships special event. |
Museum ship special event set for July 21-22: Amateur Radio stations aboard or associated with some 60 historic vessels will be on the air July 21-22 for the annual museum ship special event. The yearly outing is sponsored by the USS Salem Radio Club, K1USN, in Quincy, Massachusetts. Warships, submarines and various motorized vessels from WW II and earlier from the US and elsewhere will be on the air. All have a history and a story to tell. A certificate is available. Visit the USS Salem Web page for a list of participating ships, operating frequencies and certificate information.
New York amateur antenna bill a step closer
to passage: ARRL Hudson Division Director Frank Fallon, N2FF, says that New
York's Amateur Radio antenna bill, Assembly Bill 1565, has been reported out of
the Ways and Means Committee. Both A. 1565 and the companion bill, S. 2893, are
in the Rules Committee, where they can immediately be brought to the floor
before the 2001 session ends. Fallon says the legislative session resumes July
10. "The good news is that it's not over yet, but the bad news is that we have
to continue to make the telephone calls, write the letters and send the
e-mails," Fallon said. "We need to continue pushing for action on the bills."
Fallon urged New York hams to continue sending the same message to Albany,
"Please enact the Amateur Radio legislation." He said Senate Majority Leader
Joe Bruno bruno@senate.state.ny.us,
House Speaker Sheldon Silver speaker@assembly.state.ny.us
and Gov George Pataki gov.pataki@chamber.state.ny.us--a
former ham (K2ZCZ) and a current ARRL member--each have the power to bring
these bills to the floor for a vote. "We need to ask them to do so, now."
Additional information on how to contact key lawmakers is available on the
Hudson Division Web site, http://www.arrlhudson.org.
"You may want to send QSL cards this time around," Fallon said. "The governor
knows what they are."
"The White Tonettes"--sisters Janet Ault, Carolyn Davis and Rosalie White, K1STO--"on stage" recently at ARRL Headquarters. (Sorry, no one had a tape recorder rolling.--Ed) |
Once a
ham, always a ham: ARRL Field
and Educational Services Manager Rosalie White, K1STO, has been a ham a lot longer
than she's been licensed. One of three daughters of Roland and Betty White of
Westport, Indiana, Rosalie has a somewhat secret past as one of a family
singing trio called "The White Tonettes" (we're not making this up). "I started
singing with them at age four," she recalled recently as the three sisters
visited at ARRL Headquarters and reprised their repertoire before a small, but
appreciative, audience of staff members. "We sang three-part harmony in
state-level competitions in Indiana, along with a state-wide TV talent show,
and in the Hall of Mirrors at the Netherlands Plaza Hotel in Cincinnati for a
tri-state convention." She said her mother and dad occasionally would sing too,
but most times her mother accompanied on the piano. "We loved hamming it up on
stage--and still do!" she said. "I think the entire family would make good
hams--I'm still working on them, and got Carolyn and Janet on the air for Field
Day last year."
Martin Cook, N1FOC, manager of the Outgoing QSL Service. [ARRL Photo] |
Outgoing QSL Service tops one million cards for 2001: The ARRL's Outgoing QSL Service Manager Martin Cook, N1FOC, reports that as of June 29, 2001, the service had shipped 1,041,316 QSL cards. This includes cards going to US incoming bureaus and cards sorted and mailed by contractor. "This is an increase of 135,456--15%--more cards than we had mailed at this time last year," Cook said. The Outgoing QSL Service handled 1,868,895 cards in 2000.
Sailor-ham
wounded in pirate attack continues slow recovery: Sailboat skipper Bo Altheden, SM7XBH, shot and wounded when pirates accosted
and robbed his vessel earlier this year off Venezuela, is home in Sweden and
continuing his long recovery. Following the March 20 incident, hams on the
Maritime Mobile Service Net assisted Altheden and his wife, ViVi-Maj Miren,
after Miren put out a call for help on 20 meters. Altheden now is out of the
hospital and recovering at home in Malmö
under the care of his wife and visiting
nurses. He still is unable to eat solid food. The couple is looking forward to returning to their vessel, the Lorna. The
couple was aboard the 44-foot ketch en route to Trinidad and Tobago when
pirates--later described by Miren as six men in a fishing boat--pulled along
side. The Lorna is being stored in Trinidad.--Eric Mackie, 9Z4CP
Sprucing
up the big sign: With summer in
full swing, what better time to visit ARRL Headquarters while you're in New
England? ARRL is located not far off I-91 or I-84 in the Hartford suburb of
Newington, Connecticut. Like Tom Sawyer whitewashing the fence in the Mark
Twain classic, ARRL Building Manager Greg Kwasowski, KB1GJF, recently
refurbished the paint on the sign that stands in front of ARRL
Headquarters--all the better to find us. Of course, the distinctive W1AW
building and those towers are dead giveaways, too. Information on visiting ARRL Headquarters is on
the ARRL Web site.
Ten-Tec solicits comments on pending transceiver: Ten-Tec is looking for comments and suggestions
from the amateur community on its proposed Model 516 "IF-DSP" low-power
(variable from 1-5 W) HF transceiver--a general coverage, software-defined
radio. The rig is expected to be on the street by next January at a price under
$600. It will offer CW, SSB and FM and AM and 38 DSP filters from 200 Hz to 8
kHz. Because of its software-defined design, Ten-Tec will be able to
incorporate changes much later in its production schedule than typically is
possible with discrete-component design. Ten-Tec says almost all functions and
features are stored in flash ROM. To add new features, users will download the
latest software version from the Ten-Tec Web site. Ten-Tec invites suggestions
for features to be incorporated in the new radio via e-mail, sales@tentec.com.
Details on the transceiver are
available on the Ten-Tec Web site.
Paul Toth, NA4AR (left), and ARRL West Central Florida SM Dave Armbrust, AE4MR, at WX4TBW last fall during the Hurricane Gordon response. |
West Central Florida hams respond to telephone outage: West Central Florida hams stood by to assist on June 30 when a software glitch cut off some 2.4 million Verizon telephone customers from long-distance and other telecommunications services. The failure occurred in both the primary and secondary switches that control access to long distance services in the Greater Tampa Bay area. ARES and SKYWARN operators from a 10- county area responded to a call for assistance from Paul Toth, NA4AR, who's the regional Amateur Radio coordinator of the SKYWARN program on Florida's West Coast. He'd arrived at the National Weather Service office to find the toll-free SKYWARN hotline out of service. "I activated WX4TBW, the amateur station at the NWS immediately and put out the call," said Toth. "Within minutes, we had ARES and SKYWARN operators in the 10 counties affected by the outage on standby, ready to pass emergency and priority traffic, if needed." The Emergency Net operated for about five hours until services were fully restored, Toth said. The net used the K4WCF regional repeaters, put on the air earlier this year to provide emergency communications support. "The traffic we were asked to pass was primarily SKYWARN information and a notification to the SKYWARN operators throughout the Ruskin CWA that the 800 number was down," he said. Walt Zaleski, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service office praised the hams for their response. "We have a system in place in case there are technological problems, and it worked pretty well," he said. West Central Florida Section Manager Dave Armbrust, AE4MR, called the response "a good example of how Amateur Radio can bridge 10 counties and four area codes to get the message through. Our hams performed well. The repeaters did their job." The overall outage lasted for just under 12 hours, Toth said. Within an hour after the ARES Net terminated, he said, WX4TBW was back on the air in response to an outbreak of severe weather along the West Coast.--thanks to Paul Toth, NA4AR
| Previous: World Radiosport Team Championship 2002! | Next: Youth@HamRadio.Fun: K2BSA--Promoting Amateur Radio to 40,000 |
